Now that the holidays are over and the family is getting things back in order, surviving the cold months ahead may be at the top of your agenda. Jumpsuits made with fleece and plush cotton materials are the best option for keeping your newborn warm and toasty; some suits are designed with detachable gloves and hats, while others feature a cozy hood for extra comfort. When your newborn is spending most of the winter’s day indoors, you’ll need to stock up on a few of these basics for baby:

Ribbed Jumpsuits
A ribbed suit is a very lightweight and versatile one-piece made of cotton. The cachcach Carousel Pony Jumpsuit is perfect for your little boy, and features long sleeves and a snap-on inseam for extra versatility. This one can also be layered with gowns or a jacket when temperatures drop.

Velour Jumpsuits
Velour Jumpsuits give them the royal treatment in a plush, velour jumpsuit like the cachcach Rocket Sub Footie . This adorable suit is designed with cute embroidered images and a snap-on inseam for easy removal. It’s made with a cotton and polyester blend and is designed with black footies that will trap in the heat.

Bunting Jumpsuits
Let them cuddle up in a warm and cozy costume made with plush fleece and cotton. The Obermeyer Kids Cuddle Bunting suit is designed with a full-length zipper and fold-over hood for extra winter protection. It’s also machine washable and designed with mittens and booties, making it a super-versatile winter one-piece.

Baby Bundler
When it’s time to head outdoors and brave the snow, you can bundle them up in a thick baby bundler that traps in the heat and keeps that frosty air away from baby’s skin. The Hatley Kids Baby Bundler is designed with a soft lining and zips together at the bottom for an easy fit. The bundler is an easy way to brave the winter storm and enjoy the season frostbite-free.

From velour jumpsuits to baby bundlers, there are plenty of ways to kick the winter blues and enjoy the season! Fill up baby’s wardrobe with a few of these winter must-haves as you forge through the season ahead.

Playing in the snow is one of my favorite winter family recreation activities. Unfortunately, in the depths of winter, it isn’t always easy to get outside; sometimes it’s just too cold! So on days like this, it is a good idea to think of some indoor family activities that you can play.

Educational Activities and Games
Especially on a snow day, family recreation can benefit the kids when it is educational. Some of the educational and brain building things that you can do together include:

• Visualization
• Matching
• Word games (for the older children)
• Drawing games (such as Pictionary)
• Reading aloud

• Creating stories

Playing educational games can help children enjoy learning, as well as keep them sharp. My husband and I like playing Cranium games with my son on cold days, because they have active portions, as well as different activities that require different creative skills.

Getting Exercise on a Cold Day
If it is too cold to go outside and exercise, it can be done in the house. There are workout videos for children, and it can be fun to put on workout clothes and do some exercising together. You can learn to enjoy cardio, yoga and stretching together as a family. This is also beneficial, since it provides a chance to talk about health habits. You can prepare healthy snacks together afterward.

Other indoor family recreation activities that can be enjoyable, depending on your family’s talents and tastes, include holding an indoor picnic in the family room, creating and performing a play, making music together and playing board and card games. All of these activities promote family togetherness and can give you a good chance to build fond memories.

There are plenty of options for indoor family recreation. There is no reason to let inclement weather keep you from having good family fun.

Salmon is a great source of heart healthy fat. While you may enjoy salmon sautéed in olive oil with a side of steamed vegetables, your children may turn their noses up at this healthy meal. Thankfully, there are ways to make salmon more appealing to children. The key is use salmon to prepare foods and recipes they already love.

Salmon Sticks
Serves 4
1 pound of thick salmon filets
1 cup of flour
4 egg whites, beaten
2 cups of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of ranch dressing mix
Cooking spray

1. Cut the salmon into sticks about 2 inches long and half an inch wide.
2. Place the flour and egg whites in separate shallow dishes.
3. In a third shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs with the ranch dressing mix.
4. Dip the salmon sticks in the flour, then the egg whites and the seasoned bread crumbs.
5. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place the sticks in a single layer. Spray with additional cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees until cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Turn the sticks halfway through the cooking process.
7. Serve with a salad or baked French fries.

Salmon Tacos
Serves 4
1 pound of salmon, deboned and trimmed of skin
½ teaspoon of cumin
½ teaspoon of chili powder
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
Olive oil
Whole wheat tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Salsa

1. In a small bowl, mix the spices together and sprinkle them onto the salmon.
2. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and sauté salmon until cooked through and browned on both sides.
3. Use two forks to break apart the salmon and then top each tortilla with a ¼ of the salmon.
4. Top with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa.
5. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

These recipes are only a starting point for introducing your children to salmon. Play around with this wonderful ingredient and discover more recipes your children will love. As they get older, they’ll be more apt to eat salmon on salads and even by itself.

“I want an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle (BB gun) with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time.”

Just about everybody recognizes that Christmas wish made by Ralphie Parker in A Christmas Story. The BB gun has been a traditional Christmas gift since at least Ralphie’s time, and for those who are interested in a little bit of history to go along with owning a Daisy Air Rifle, why not take some time to visit the Daisy Airgun Museum in Rogers, Arkansas.

Red Ryder and Buzz Barton should bring back solid memories to some parents who grew up with their own rifles. While you can’t actually find that really cool model that Ralphie would have sold his soul to own in A Christmas Story (because it never actually existed), you can see every other model that Daisy ever made. But the really impressive part of the Daisy Airgun Museum is that it goes well beyond just being a commercial showcase for the company’s products.

This museum is also a history of the airgun itself. One of the most fascinating parts of the history of airguns is one that is incredibly important for kids to learn. An airgun is a gun; it’s not a toy. It can do harm if handled improperly. When you take the kids to this museum, they will learn that even a powerful man like Napoleon Bonaparte recognized the dangers of putting an airgun into the wrong hands. He actually ordered anyone found with the precursor to Ralphie’s 200-shot model air rifle to be put to death.

Another really cool bit of trivia that kids will love is that an astronaut used a customized air rifle to project himself through space. The Daisy Airgun Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

It is that time of year again, and everyone is gearing up for the big game. In anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday, it’s a great time to throw a party and include the kids! They may or may not understand football, but they certainly understand the fun and excitement of the big game. And, oh boy, if you are lucky enough to have a football-crazy boy with a late January or early February birthday, half your planning is done for you!

To decorate, throw football confetti on the party table and around the room. If you have any football “stuff” in your home, such as jerseys, knee pads, shoulder pads or other memorabilia, put it out as well.

Arrange your party area and furniture to accommodate all of your guests. This is an especially good time to set up a separate kids’ area if possible. You can decorate the kids’ table with a football tablecloth and a balloon tied to each chair, perhaps in the color scheme of the teams playing, or the team you are favoring!

When your guests arrive, hand out a safety pin for each person to wear and make “football” the quiet word. When someone says “football,” the person who catches him collects his safety pin. The person who has the most safety pins at the end of the game wins!

Assign a party referee—an older kid may love to play this role. Have him wear a referee shirt and throw a yellow flag for the following offenses:

• Party Foul: Double dipping anything!
• Holding: Holding on to food for too long!
• Illegal use of hands or language

Have the kids make their own paper footballs. Buy brown construction paper, black markers and finger paint kits for decorating their balls. Play a round of football Pictionary and definitely include the kids. Some of the words teams may want to draw include cheerleaders, penalty, helmet, pass, bleachers, fans, safety and touchdown.

Have the kids break open a football piñata. You can fill it with trading cards, whistles, bubble gum, stickers, etc. for goodies to take home.

If you have two TVs in your home, arrange one for non-football viewing. Even kids with good attention spans can find the pre- and post-game shows and all the hoopla of the big game a liitle long.

Serve a great party food menu and make sure to rename each item to fit the party’s theme:

• Nachos (Touchdown Tortillas),
• Hot Dogs (Holding Hot Dogs),
• Munchies (Defense Doodles)

Other foods to serve include a large pot of chili with breadsticks, veggie platters with dips, cheese platters with crackers and relish side dish, etc.

For dessert, make a batch of brownies and cut them out with football-shaped cookie cutters.

Here’s to the best team winning and the kids really whooping it up for the big game!

During the winter months it is difficult to keep the kids busy, especially when the weather makes it impossible for them to go outside to play. On these particularly wintery days you need to have a few standby activities that will keep your multiples entertained. These activities include things like games, science projects and even learning how to do things around the house.

Card Games for Wintery Days
Some of the easiest winter day activities to put together are card games. Card games are great because they are inexpensive, appropriate for all age levels and teach various skills. Young kids can play card games like go fish and memory, while older kids will enjoy learning more mature games like Hearts, Solitaire, Blackjack and even Poker. All of these games teach you special skills such as matching, strategizing, counting and calculating odds.

Playing Dress Up
Another quick activity that you can pull together for a winter game is dress up. Dress up is fun, and all you need is a basket, a pile of old clothes and accessories and a little imagination. For this game you can let your multiples rummage through the basket and put together an outfit.

Cooking and Baking
If your multiples are really bored, let them help you make a treat in the kitchen. Young kids can help you with the measuring and mixing of the goodies, while older kids can move on to helping with the chopping and cooking. This activity not only teaches your kids how to cook, but it also rewards their efforts with a tasty snack.

Science Experiments
Another indoor activity that can be a lot of fun is a science experiment. There are a lot of science experiments that you can conduct with every day household products. For example, you can create a chemical reaction by mixing vinegar and baking soda, or you can even grow your own salt or borax crystals. Instructions for these simple projects can be found online, or you can pick up science experiment kits at your local science or toy store.

Juvenile osteoporosis used to be a very rare condition. Unfortunately, many children aren’t getting the amount of calcium they need each day. For this reason, juvenile osteoporosis has become a well-known condition. The causes may be poor nutrition found in school meals and the fact that children choose to reach for pop rather than milk. Thankfully, as a parent, there are things you can do to prevent this horrible condition. It all begins with providing your family with meals and snacks that are high in calcium. Here are a few recipes to get you started.

The Breakfast Parfait
Serves 4
This is both fun and packed with calcium. Best of all, you can prepare this breakfast in a reusable container so that kids can enjoy it on the go.

4 cups of non-fat yogurt (any flavor)
2 cups of calcium fortified cereal (any flavor)
2 cups of sliced strawberries
1 cup of slivered, toasted almonds

1. Layer the yogurt, cereal and strawberries in tall parfait glasses.
2. Serve with calcium fortified orange juice or low-fat milk.

Black Bean and Salmon Wraps
Serves 4
This makes the perfect calcium-rich substitute for school lunches.

4 whole wheat tortillas
4 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
12 ounces of grilled or baked salmon, skin removed
4 cups of canned black beans, rinsed and drained
8 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
1 large tomato chopped

1. Spread each tortilla with a tablespoon of sour cream.
2. Add 3 ounces of salmon, 1 cup of beans, 2 tablespoons of cheese, ½ cup of romaine and some chopped tomatoes to each tortilla.
3. Roll each tortilla and wrap in aluminum foil for easy transport.
4. Serve with baked sweet potato chips and non-fat milk.

Fat-Free Yogurt Shakes
Serves 4
Kids will forget all about sugar-laden sodas when they can have a milkshake instead.

1 cup of non-fat milk
4 tablespoons sugar-free, calcium-fortified chocolate syrup
1 cup of berries, chopped
4 cups of fat-free frozen yogurt (any flavor)

Add ingredients to blender in the order they’re listed and blend until smooth.

What kid doesn’t love comic books, cartoons and comic strips? For this reason alone, a visit to the amazing Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Art Museum in Cheshire, Connecticut, is one that comes with a solid guarantee to entertain everyone. If it has something to do with comic books, animated movies and TV shows or newspaper strips, it is almost assured to be found inside this museum. This fascinating trip through the history of animated art, founded by Herb and Gloria Barker, continues to grow at an almost alarming rate. At last count, the collection of collectibles at the Barker Museum was well over 80,000 pieces.

Sure, a 1930s vintage, Popeye, burlap bag that was once used to haul popcorn to a cinema of bygone days probably won’t appeal to a lot of kids by itself, but it is the entirety of the collection that will make an impression. Sheer wonder is instilled by the recognition that all these classic cartoon and comic-strip characters have made their way into the cultural orbit of America from a tin pail featuring the likeness of Herman Munster to a 1930s blackboard featuring the likenesses of Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto.

The Barker Museum is not just a chance for kids to browse through the history of pop culture; it also presents an opportunity for the shock of recognition of characters that adults have long forgotten. The underlying beauty of the museum is the revelation that things that are wildly important to kids eventually get tossed into the trash bin of memory. Only by being reminded through discovery do some of the characters that meant so much to you when you were a kid begin to resurrect themselves in your consciousness. The museum offers a perfect opportunity to remind kids today how they should take care to preserve their own memories while they have them, because so many of the items that are valued today will be relegated to the dustbin when they become adults.