JAK CHAT

Fall Into Playgroup by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Update to original post "Do U Playgroup" published 08/25/2011 The year was 1995...seven moms and their tots gather in the modest living room of a Racine north side home.  The hostess scrambles to clean up and make her house presentable for the once-a-week-on-Thursdays-at-9am event. It's her week to provide the play space and snack spread for the lively 2 1/2 hour mess fest.  Another "Playgroup" is born!  Read more... Not sure when the first of such social events took place, however, they are organized either formally or  informally for moms and preschool children to gather for the purpose of play and companionship.  I was fortunate, as a new mom in more than one sense (1st baby and newcomer to Racine), to have linked up with two of such groups back in the mid nineties. The first came together because this mom's husband worked with this mom's dad, and had a sister-in-law who was also a new mom, ...

Back to (Home) School by JAK’s guest mom blogger from Burlington, Colleen Nagle I can recall end of summer days of years past. Walking into any store and being bombarded with back to school clothes, sales, school supplies....and moms scrambling to hoard necessities before the shelves went bare. I recall the scramble; trying to locate every supply on the teachers wish list. The stress of finding 'acceptable' shoes that my child would be willing to wear, and the debt! The burning through my credit cards to ensure my kids had the best clothes, best shoes, best backpack and best supplies. Now that I home school, the end of summer means I can enter any store and not wince at the sight of school supply lists. Read More... Purchases are made out if necessity. My school supply list consists of locating leftover spirals from last year, and dusting off the Rubbermaid container filled with a hundred broken crayons and half used glue sticks. Since most days our school uniform is pajamas, w...

Chris. by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann [youtube=http://youtu.be/zuBSRC1zpHw]   From the mouth of Ashton Kutcher, as he accepted his MTV's "Ultimate Choice" Award at the 2013 Teen Choice Award's this past weekend. Amazing things he learned about before he was 19, when he was called by his real first name, Chris. (Ashton being his middle name, that he soon took on as he "put on" Hollywood as Ashton Kutcher, who catapulted to mega stardom, in my mind, as actress Demi Moore's cougar eye candy): 1) About "opportunity", 2) about "being sexy", and 3) "about" living life. The birth of MTV came at a time in my life, when I was pretty much the same age as the screaming girlies in the audience of this awards program.  Read more... Now, I am the mother of girls that are teens (18, 16 and 11 going on...well, she's a preteen, so it changes with the wind), MTV ain't what it used to be, and (much to my pleasant surprise) As...

Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann I dreamed about a summer of chilling out, rest and relaxation, fun, a family getaway, getting more healthy and fit...Hmmmmm, at this juncture, it doesn't look too promising. I am not sure what went wrong. It all started okay once I got past the end of the school year hangover. As a mother of 4 kids, (now 18, 16, 11,9...yah, that old!) I figured out years ago, a mom's busiest months are May, September, and December. Maybe not in that order for everyone. I think I'd flip the last two months. But definitely May (into early June) tops 'em all if your kids are of school age. Might anyone refute that? Read More... So what the heck happened this past week that has had me flyin', drivin' by the seat of my panties? As I recap: I promoted and participated at the (wonderful) fundraiser for Autism Solution Pieces last Friday night; a graduation party and a birthday party on Saturday; 2 singing performances for...

...Hello! Meeting Cindy, Gavin & Rusty By Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann It might sound a little creepy to say that I fell in love with a relationship. Well, I did. I bumped into the trio of mom, Cindy; son, Gavin; and therapy dog, Rusty Schultz at a special needs resource fair a few months back. I, there representing the resources Just Add Kids has to offer families, including those with special needs* children. And "team Schultz"? They were there at the table next to me, sharing the opportunities available from the support group Autism Solution Pieces , selling merchandise, and seeing and making new friends. Wasn't too hard!  The adorable, extremely well-behaved Goldendoodle is a magnet.  Read More... I spent some time learning more about the group that I had been introduced to before via a phone call from co-founder and Vice-President Cathy Wathen months earlier. By meeting the other half Cindy, President of the founding team of A.S.P., as it is commonly r...