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Community Corner

Moms Talk: Valentine Traditions

Local Moms give advice on things to do for Valentine's Day. .

Moms Talk is a new feature on Pine-Richland Patch that is part of a Patch initiative to reach out to moms and families.

Pine-Richland Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Pine and Richland townships.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council will take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Find out what's happening in Pine-Richlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? 

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So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with questions and answers from moms Wendy Compernolle and Margo Jochims.

Q: Do you have Valentine traditions in your family?

A: Margo:  In our family, we gather new or gently used stuffed animals and have our children make anonymous Valentine cards.  We then deliver them to a local ambulance service to distribute to children who find themselves in need of an ambulance ride.  It's amazing how a little stuffed animal can help comfort them during a scary time. If interested, check with your local ambulance service to see if they accept stuffed animals. Other places to check might be local hospitals and libraries, as well as North Hills Community Outreach.

Another tradition is for our kids to cook dinner for Mom and Dad.  They choose the menu  -- a past menu included crab legs, wedge salad, asparagus, gourmet potatoes -- and cook it with surprisingly little supervision (remember the easy meals like hot dogs and grilled cheese are for when Mom or Dad is in charge of dinner!).   Of course when they were younger, we would handle all stove and oven duties for safety's sake. 

Any traditions in your family?

Q: The public schools will have a three-day weekend for President's Day. What are some options of things to do?

A:  Wendy:  Last year, my family decided to take a road trip.  We set a drive-time limit of five hours, pulled out a map and drew a circle encompassing cities within the five-hour driving distance.  We decided to go to Lexington, KY.  With a quick internet search of places to visit in Lexington, each member of the family identified a unique place of interest to visit.   

The kids chose a military aviation museum, a working thoroughbred horse farm, the Kentucky Horse Park, and a "family fun" spot. My husband wanted to go to a bourbon distillery and the Toyota manufacturing plant, while I wanted to photograph thoroughbred racehorses.   Upon arrival in Lexington, residents suggested we taste the local favorites --  "Hot Brown's" sandwiches, "beer cheese," "grits" and "bourbon balls."  

I would recommend that families use the Internet for hotel accommodations.  We got two rooms in a 4-star hotel for $49 each. 

Q:  When you take a road trip, what car trip games do you recommend?

A:  Wendy:  We have a DVD player in the van, but we don't allow the children to use it unless the trip is three hours or longer.  We do the alphabet game. You find a letter in an auto's license plate or road sign and get through the alphabet.

A:  Margo:  We have a bin of travel games that includes CD car bingo (a CD calls off numbers randomly as everyone plays), a deck of scavenger hunt cards (pick a card and hunt for the item on the card as you drive) and logic games (Perplexors, Code Breakers, Rush Hour).  Our kids enjoy listening to old-time radio shows like "I Love Lucy" or "Father Knows Best” on XM Radio.  Sometimes we read a book aloud; everyone takes a turn reading a chapter.   

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