Awesome Dads.net
13515 W. Avenue Suite 217
San Antonio, Texas 78216
210.837.4601
gregoryberlanga@awesomedads.net
www.awesomedads.net
Awesome Dads.net
13515 W. Avenue Suite 217
San Antonio, Texas 78216
210.837.4601
gregoryberlanga@awesomedads.net
www.awesomedads.net
NEWSLETTER / April 2010
First Monday Fathers Network
Monday, May 3, 2010! 11:15 to 12:30. Please have your order in before 11:30 – it will make life a whole lot easier for everyone!
Party Room @ Fuddrucker’s (I-10 & Wurzbach, in front of the Bank of America Bldg.)
As many of you know, our format and mission are pretty simple – connecting with fathers, promoting male involvement, education enrichment, and fatherhood resources.
Speaker for May;
Vincent Duran
"Fatherhood Values"
Many Blessings,
Vincent Duran, Director
Cal Farley Family Resource Center
210-482-9769
Spring is in the air, wildflowers are blooming and parent teacher conferences are just around the corner. Parent teacher conferences are an important insight into how your child is doing in school both academically and socially. It gives a parent the opportunity to learn about their child's world at a time when the parent isn't present. Most conferences are scheduled for no more than 30 minutes. So how do you make those 30 minutes count for you the parent, teacher and, most of all, your child? Here are a few suggestions to make the most of your 30 minutes
1. Talk with your child and ask if they have any information they would like you to get from the conference or something they want you to ask the teacher.
2. Make a list of your questions and prioritize them.
3. When possible, both parents should try to attend a parent teacher conference. If both parents cannot attend, be sure to take accurate notes.
4. Be on time; teachers are usually running on a very tight schedule. If you arrive late, your conference maybe shortened.
5. Be aware of your own emotions going into the conference. Studies suggest that parents often have their own memories of school experiences often negative ones. Try to keep a positive attitude.
6. Be willing to listen to what the teacher has to say.
7. All parents want to hear how well their child is doing school academically, but it also important to ask the teacher how the child is doing socially.
8. Ask how you can help prepare your child for the next grade (are there books they should read over the summer, skills that need to be reviewed etc.).
9. End the conference on a positive note. Share with the teacher an experience or learning activity that your child really enjoyed this past year.
10. After the conference when you return home, your child is likely to be very anxious about what was said. Share the highlights of the conference with your child. If there was a difficult area that you and the teacher discussed, share this with your child if they are old enough to understand the topic. Always end the conversation with something positive that was said about your child by the teacher.
Here are 11 Qualities to pass on to your children, from Charles R. Swindoll. I will add my own thoughts to each one of these qualities. We as Fathers should
One note, the BEST (perhaps the ONLY) way to teach these qualities to your children is to exhibit them yourself.
1- Determination. “Stick with it, regardless.” Resolve. Teach your children that not everything comes easy. Many things must be struggled for, but it’s critical to finish the job. Be a finisher.
2- Honesty. “Speak and live the truth — always.” This is such an important quality in a person, and sadly lacking in modern culture. Be a person of CHARACTER, and pass that along to your kids. Invaluable.
3- Responsibility. “Be dependable and trustworthy.” Take responsibility for yourself and your actions. Accept defeat without complaint and victory without apology. You are responsible for your life. In todays culture (rampant entitlement mentality), this might be one of the most important qualities to model for your kids.
4- Thoughtfulness. “Think of others before yourself.” It’s so easy to never grow up and be selfish. It must be, just look around. Watch how people act. This is part of being a person of character, quality. Those are good things.
5- Confidentiality. “Don’t tell secrets. Seal your lips.” Respect others. If you do, you won’t go telling everyone about others problems behind their back. Gossip is in poor taste. Don’t go there.
6- Punctuality. “Be on time.” This is a real hot-button for me. I am on time. ALWAYS. I EXPECT you to be as well. If you can’t be on time, use your phone and let me know. Just to show up 20+ minutes late like it’s no big deal is so incredibly selfish and rude, it makes me crazy. Be a quality person who respects others time.
7- Self-control. “When under stress, stay calm.” Learning self-control is essential for happiness in life. My 3 year old son has difficulty in this area, but then again, he’s 3. By the time you are an adult, and especially by the time you are a parent, you had better have learned self-control. It’s part of the maturation process, and a requirement for success.
8- Patience. “Fight irritability. Be willing to wait.” Being able to delay self-gratification is very difficult these days, but an essential part of building a successful career. It’s also a crucial component of parenting. Patience needs to be developed. You will be stressed and pushed well beyond anything you can imagine as a parent. Being patient is a key to your (and your family’s) sanity.
9- Purity. “Reject anything that lowers your standards.” This goes back to a theme I have written about many times in this blog. Doing less than your best erodes your self-confidence. Maintain a standard for yourself. In your personal performance and in the things you spend your time on. For your confidence and self-image to suffer, it just takes YOU to know you are not meeting your standards. Even if nobody else knows, you DO. That’s all it takes to start the process to negativity, depression and poor performance.
10- Compassion. “When another hurts, fell it with him.” As the saying goes, there’s a time to laugh and a time to cry. Let life touch you. Be empathetic to others. This will help you better understand another’s point of view, and lead you to being more helpful and kind.
11- Diligence. “Work hard. Tough it out.” Is that kind of quality person known for getting things done. There is great satisfaction in completing a tough job. That builds self-confidence and leads to bigger and better things. Don’t settle for putting in a half-way effort. There’s no reward for that.
As I write these, I constantly am thinking about my own grandfather. He was born in 1912 and always had great stories for my brother and myself growing up. When I think of him, the word GENTLEMAN comes to mind. He would be disgusted by so many of the common attitudes of today. Meanness, entitlement philosophy, sarcasm, shock-culture, lack of hard work and the general lack of appreciation for what we have would not sit well with him. He was a man of values and principles and he lived by them. That’s something I will never forget, and hopefully I will pass along his life’s ideals to my kids.
We so desperately need these qualities today. It’s up to us; the parents to make sure these ideals don’t become extinct. We can do it, and we MUST do it. I want my kids to live quality lives, and it starts right here with me doing my part
Hello Everyone, .thaks again for taking a look at our April Newsletter. This has been a busy month for me due to the site taking off and partnering up with numerous wonderful organizations to help provide wonderful things for Fathers and our Children. As some of you know this is Prevent Child Abuse Month and it is something that has become a huge issue in our great city. If you see the news we have seen a great deal of men harming our young Children and it must stop.
Here are a couple of scary statistics, the rate of abuse to a child is 33% higher if the child is living with a mother who is cohabitating with another man and 1 in 4 women in North America were molested in childhood for more important statistics click on the prevent Child Abuse logo.
11 Qualities to Pass to your Children
Parent Teacher Conference
San Antonio, TX – May 11, 2009 – San Antonio WineStyles @ The RIM Shopping Center, a locally owned wine boutique simplifying the wine experience, announced today the launch of its Masters Wine Panel to benefit its customers and Wine Club members. Comprised of independent Master Sommeliers and Masters of Wine, San Antonio WineStyles’ unique Masters Wine Panel provides expert guidance in selecting and discovering great wines from exclusive wineries spanning the globe.
“We’re excited to bring this new and insightful educational benefit to all our customers,” said Robert Garza, owner of the San Antonio WineStyles. “Our panel is made up of some of the most knowledgeable people in the wine industry, and this incredibly diverse group will help further our mission of demystifying wine and delivering world class bottles for an incredible value.”
San Antonio WineStyles Masters Wine Panel is led by Doug Frost, a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier. In fact, Frost was the second person in history to complete both the rigorous Master Sommelier examination and Master of Wine certification and remains just one of three people in the entire world to hold both distinctions. According to USA Today, "Frost likely knows as much as anyone in the world about how to make, market, serve and identify wines." Other members of the WineStyles Masters Wine Panel include: Ron Edwards, Master Sommelier; Drew Hendricks, Master Sommelier; Virginia Philip, Master Sommelier; Randa Warren, Master Sommelier; and Jay Youmans, Master of Wine.
“We’ve been fortunate to assemble some of the brightest minds in wine and deliver their recommendations to our customers because our panel believes in WineStyles’ underlying principle of stripping down the pretentiousness sometimes associated with wine and simplifying the whole experience,” said Garza. “They are going to bring our customers some of the most interesting wines being produced right now from the best wineries and estates in the U.S. and from around the world.”
The WineStyles Masters Wine Panel will collaboratively rate and recommend each of the two bottles of wine that are included in every WineStyles monthly Wine Club. In addition to the Masters Wine Panel recommendations, each Wine Club member receives tasting notes and suggested food pairings to compliment the wines chosen. Wine Club members also receive unique discounts and invitations to private tastings and special events.
Designed to transport customers into an old-world wine cellar, San Antonio WineStyles is a unique concept that allows customers to choose wines based on their individual style preferences such as crisp, silky, rich and bubbly or fruity, mellow, bold and nectar. The store features a rotating selection of over 170 world-class wines from unique labels, and hard-to-find wines from small and large vineyards around the world. Furthermore, most of the wines are priced between $10 to $25 per bottle. The store also has a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee offering customers a full credit on their next purchase if they are not completely satisfied with their selection.
“At WineStyles, we’ve taken the guesswork out of buying and enjoying wine,” said Garza. “Whether you’re a novice or wine enthusiast, we can help you find the perfect bottle for any occasion because we encourage our customers to buy what they like based on taste, not price or region.”
The San Antonio WineStyles in the Rim Shopping Center is open from 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM on Tuesday - Saturday. To contact the store directly, call (210) 558-6788 or visit www.winestyles.net/attherim .
About WineStyles:
WineStyles is the country’s largest national wine boutique franchise demystifying the wine shopping and wine drinking experience by organizing its wine by taste instead of varietals or regions. Each store features over 170 rotating unique and hard to find wines from around the world with most priced $10 - $25 per bottle. Every store prides itself on being a community resource where first time buyers and experienced consumers can taste, learn and enjoy wine. Headquartered in Margate, FL, WineStyles has more than 295 locations currently open across the country. The company is the fastest growing wine franchise in the US and was ranked number one in the wine category by Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” listing in 2007 and 2008. WineStyles encourages all customers to drink wine responsibly. For more information visit www.winestyles.net.
WineStyles @ The RIM
Tuesday – Saturday 12:00 – 9:00 PM
12:00 – 9:00 PMSunday 1:00 – 5:00 PM
1:00 – 5:00 PMWinestyles at the Rim Panel
Cooking with our Kids
Some of the short-term benefits:
* It encourages kids to try healthy foods.
* Kids feel like they are accomplishing something and contributing to the family.
* Kids are more likely to sit down to a family meal when they helped prepare it.
* Parents get to spend quality time with their kids.
* Kids aren't spending time in front of the TV or computer while they're cooking.
* Kids generally aren't eating junk food when they're cooking a meal at home.
Some long-term benefits:
* Learning to cook is a skill your children can use for the rest of their lives.
* Kids who learn to eat well may be more likely to eat healthfully as adults.
* Positive cooking experiences can help build self-confidence.
* Kids who cook with their parents may even be less likely to abuse drugs.Cooking With Your Children
Why it's so important to spend time in the kitchen with your children -- and how you can get started
(continued)
Under 5 years old:
* Scrub, dip, tear, break, and snap (for example, snapping the ends off green beans)
* Shake, spread, and cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter
* Peel (some items), roll, juice, and mash
* Remove husks from corn
* Wash vegetables in a colander
* Measure and pour some ingredients
* Hand mix
8-10 years olds:
Everything listed above, plus some more advanced duties, such as:
* Cracking and separating eggs
* Reading some recipes by themselves
* Inventing their own easy-to-fix recipes
* Using the electric mixer (with adult supervision if needed)
* Stirring food over the stove (with adult supervision if needed)
* Using and reading a candy thermometer (with adult supervision if needed)
* Operating a can opener or food processor with safety features
* Grating cheese
* Cutting vegetables, fruits, etc. (using a plastic knife or dinner knife)
Parents, grandparents, and youngsters cooking together in the kitchen, sharing family recipes and secrets passed from one generation to the next, is a lost art in many households across America. These days, it's hard for busy parents even to take time out to teach their kids basic cooking techniques.
It's true that including the kids in cooking meals requires time, patience, and some extra clean-up, especially when the children are younger. But many experts think it is well worth the effort.
For one thing, cooking with your kids can help get them interested in trying healthy foods they might normally turn their noses up to on a regular basis. I have heard this happening countless times. It's true that kids will be kids -- they'll snack on chips at a school party or enjoy ice cream after a soccer game. But what is most important is how they eat most of the time and that's where parents can play a role. Keep in mind that for kids today, healthy eating essentially means eating more fruits and vegetables, having whole grains and beans when possible, and choosing leaner types of animal foods (even some fish every now and then.)
Encouraging kids to try healthier foods isn't the only benefit of cooking as a family. Among the recommendations in a recent American Heart Association report on overweight in children and teens were:
* Reducing the number of meals eaten outside the home.
* Having structured times for family meals.
* Offering healthier, low-calorie foods.
* Involving children in meal planning, shopping, and food preparation.
Indeed, cooking with kids can be the gift that keeps on giving; it has both short-term and long-term payoffs.
for the kids
Blueberry Fool
Don't let the name fool you, its not only good but fun to make with the kiddos. click on the photo to see the recipe
Gregory and Preventing Child Abuse Month
Tuna Melt
Ingredients
* 12 ounces canned chunk light tuna, drained (see Note)
* 1 medium shallot, minced (2 tablespoons)
* 2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* Dash of hot sauce
* Freshly ground pepper, to taste
* 4 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted
* 2 tomatoes, sliced
* 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine tuna, shallot, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, salt, hot sauce and pepper in a medium bowl. Spread 1/4 cup of the tuna mixture on each slice of toast; top with tomato slices and 2 tablespoons cheese. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Tips & Notes
* Note: Chunk light tuna, which comes from the smaller skipjack or yellowfin, has less mercury than canned white albacore tuna. FDA/EPA advice recommends no more than 6 ounces of albacore a week; up to 12 ounces canned light is considered safe.
Nutrition
Per serving: 252 calories; 6 g fat (3 g sat, 0 g mono); 66 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 31 g protein; 3 g fiber; 408 mg sodium; 242 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A & Vitamin C (20% daily value).
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 3 very lean meat, 1/2 high-fat meat
