You know those days when you're running ragged at work or traipsing the kids from place to place and you don’t have a minute to breathe, let alone prepare a nice meal for everyone? If you're like me, you have one of those days at least once a week. A rotisserie chicken always saves the day for me and often helps out with the next couple of days as well. Chicken lasts in the refrigerator for three to four days, but you can also freeze it for up to three months. Wegmans knows this. Have you noticed that rotisserie chickens wait for us at the cash registers? They know what moms need: dinner—fast…

Your child wakes up looking pale, sneezing, coughing and complaining of a sore throat. You take their temperature and it’s an even 99 degrees. He/she doesn’t look well; you can tell they feel awful. What do you do? Our family follows the fever or vomit rule. You stay home if you have a fever or you’ve thrown up within the previous 24 hours. I don’t always obey rules and, to my husband’s dismay, I tend to break this particular one pretty often. He thinks I let my kids stay home too easily. I think I know my kids pretty well and know when they need to skip a day of school. Regardless of the …

  The fourth graders in room 135 at Eleanor Rush Intermediate School are working on a unique kindness project. Their teacher, Tat Monnoleto, is extremely proud of her “kind bunch” as she calls them. “It all started with Kyle R., and the act of kindness that he did over the winter break to remember the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Kyle and his dad bought (partly with Kyle’s pocket money) 26 dozen donuts and then handed them out to their friends and neighbors,” Monnoleto said. Monnoleto added, “I thought this was a lovely idea and decided that we should keep the kindness going …

  I started a yoga class this week. It's something new for me. I’ve always been more of a high intensity aerobic, kick boxing, boot camp kind of exerciser. I thought exercise had to be super intense and exhaust me for there to be benefits. But yoga is a less intense style of exercise said to relieve stress, sculpt muscles, prevent depression, and make you overall healthier so I decided to give it a try. My sister and I signed up for a five class deal. It’s always nice to have a buddy when you do something new. Of course, I was kind of in a rush getting there, I wanted to be early, and was …

  Concussions have been a recent hot topic in professional sports news. The CDC defines a concussion as a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth, according to the CDC. Not only have brain injuries been popular in national news, I've heard so many stories about local children and adults suffering from the aftermath of a blow to the head. My nephew, an athlete and honor student, has been out of …

  One of my favorite things to do as a little girl was to spend time lingering over old photo albums. I loved hearing stories about the people and places in the worn and tattered books. I adored the old clothes and the formality of the black and white photos. I grew up taking pictures of everything I could. I have pictures of family, friends, school, vacations and so much more. Pictures painted all kinds of words for me. They helped me catch up with my life. I got married and I gushed over pictures from our wedding and honeymoon. I took pictures of our puppy like he was our baby. He has …

  Steamy, hearty, nutritious and satisfying—that’s what soup is to me. It is my ideal comfort food, the perfect cold weather meal. I spent this past weekend making a couple of batches of savory liquid meals and even enjoyed a bread bowl of broccoli cheddar soup at Panera Bread. Yes, that’s where the picture is from! My soup didn't turn out so pretty. Soup is great for what ails you, keeps the diet in check and is easy and inexpensive to make. It’s also a great way to clean out your pantry or freezer. You can use up leftover ingredients and serve them up in creative ways. Here are a few …

—Originally run December, 2011 Somewhere along the line, the holiday card evolved into one captioned picture or collage designed to capture the essence of an entire year.  I find myself stressing about my holiday card in early fall. I search for the perfect picture. I try to catch my kids playing in the leaves, jumping on the trampoline or in those rare moments, being nice to each other. I spend hours on the computer formatting my card and thinking of a cute caption or saying. Crazy? Yes! My borderline obsession with my own family card has filled a drawer in my china cabinet with hundreds of …

  As the year ends, I’m kind of stuck on what to write about. The news of late has been so overwhelmingly disturbing and dark. The last twelve months have been full of political controversy, natural disasters and horrific events and stories. My own little world has been shaken with the sudden death of my dad and I’m still grappling with it all. Life is sometimes really scary and often very sad. It is messy, difficult and dark.  A new start is always welcome and luckily each year we get just that in the potential of a new year. I’m not making any huge New Year’s resolutions but in my heart I …

  Peace, Hope, Love and Joy—the words are used quite often at this time of year. But this year, they take on a deeper meaning for children, families, and teachers in Connecticut who are trying to heal from unthinkable heartbreak. Schools all over the country have packed their wishes for healing into simple art projects for the grieving community. Cinnaminson’s compassionate teachers and students wasted no time pitching in to help. Sherry Spier, Cinnaminson Schools' media specialist coordinator, contacted all four of Cinnaminson’s schools after reading an article online and learning that the …

Kids love getting messy in the kitchen and creating sweet confections to serve or give to family, friends and teachers. Here are some fun ideas that don’t require a lot of time or culinary skill to prepare. Perfect for my family because we don’t have much of either! Chocolate Dipped Chocolate covered pretzels are always fun to make and even more fun to eat. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or double boil, whichever is easiest for you to do. You can use regular old Hershey Kisses or baking chocolate or chocolate chips, it all works. Be sure to have lots of wax paper and napkins around. …

Do you know when a child should have their first eye exam? Could poor grades have anything to do with your child’s vision? Do you think your child might need glasses? Parents often have a lot of question when it comes to pediatric eye care. Most wait until school starts to even think about vision care but that is not the best course of action. The American Optometric Association recommends that the first eye exam occur between 6 and 12 months of age.  Dr. JoAnn Bailey, a local optometrist and Cinnaminson mom with a keen interest in pediatric eye care says, “This (first exam) can be considered…

What should I bring to the party for the hosts? This is a question I ask myself before every party we go to. I usually opt for a bottle of wine because it’s easy and most people like to serve it and drink it. Did you bake any cookies yet? Baked goods are a perfect hostess gift during the holiday season. I haven’t baked yet this year but when I do, I will definitely be packing cookies wherever we go. One year, I picked up a bunch of reasonably priced holiday dishes so I could make pretty platters of cookies to give to friends who had us over for parties. I often give chocolates too. I love the…

  A conversation with a colleague inspired Mrs. Janice Wills-Kingsbury, supervising teacher at Eleanor Rush Intermediate School, to implement the use of Amazon Kindles in the classrooms. Her co-worker told her he had always disliked reading but became an avid reader after discovering e-books. “I realized that this technology could be used to stimulate reading interest in children who were reluctant readers as well as those who already had the reading 'bug,'" said Wills. She also knew there was a gap between the technology students are exposed to and use at home and what is available in school…

Just when you think it can't get any better, Disney adds some new magic. Its newest attractions do not disappoint. As Disney Vacation Club Members, my family and I were able to attend a “dress rehearsal” for Disney World’s new Enchanted Forest in the Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom last week. Disney World’s recent and vast expansion includes the Storybook Circus area, which opened a few months ago and sports a second Dumbo ride, an activity filled circus tent to keep the crowds occupied while waiting, and a splash area for the little ones. There is much more to come in future months …

  You might recognize her as the friendly mom who doles out deli delights to Cinnaminson High School students or she may have helped you in recent years with a local real estate transaction. Patricia Cahill Small has been a real estate agent for Century 21 and has also worked part time in the high school cafeteria for several years. What you may not know about her is that this Cinnaminson mom is making Disney vacation dreams come true right in her living room. After numerous vacations to Disney World and years working in sales, Small decided to start her own home-based travel business last …

The big questions at my house as we waited for the perfect storm to begin were “What about Halloween?” and “Has school been cancelled yet?”   They are pertinent questions for children but I’m more concerned with flooding, downed trees and power outages. We’ve got water, flashlights, snacks, canned goods and food for the dog. We are crossing our fingers that the electricity will stay on. We have two sump pumps that work feverishly during tiny rain showers, if they stop running during "Frankenstorm," it will be a mess. We will then be working feverishly with buckets and towels, finding family …

I’ve got major writer’s block this week. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get my words to make sense. My dad passed away suddenly last week so time has kind of stopped for me. I’ve been going through the motions in a numb state, waking up when someone asks me how I am or tells me they are sorry for my loss. I thought I could write about him but it feels too personal right now. I can’t seem to keep my writing on one topic either. I was going to write about something going on at school but then I started writing about digital photos, then switched to how the holidays are coming so quickly, and…

If you read my column, you know I am no Martha Stewart, but at Halloween, you don’t have to be. My kids love Halloween and they enjoy making dishes and drinks when friends come over. This year, we’re hosting a small gathering and here are a few haunted ideas we’ve come up with. Batty Beverages Our creepy punch hides a frozen hand. We take a plastic glove (clean or new, of course) and fill it with water and freeze. We add it to our punch for an eerie surprise when guests ladle it up. Add a few drops of food coloring or use grape juice in the glove to make it creepier. This year, we bought some…

I recently dodged a beginning of the season cold which for me usually turns into a full blown sinus infection. I had a sore throat, a stuffy nose and a pounding headache that got increasingly worse for several days then suddenly stopped. I’m not sure why my symptoms went away but I did make a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. Can food cure the common cold? Is chicken soup my magic potion? I don’t know so I decided to read up on it. Kids Health says, “Chicken soup contains a mucus-thinning amino acid called cysteine, and some research shows that chicken soup helps control congestion-causing…