JAK CHAT

by Just Add Kids Founder,  Paula Herrmann My how the time flies. A little over a year ago, my dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. A spring and summer journey bounced between the hospital and residential rehab facility, he was finally brought home for Labor Day weekend. He successfully licked the cancer. Unreal. Yet, numerous seemingly minor (compared to the cancer) issues continued to surface. His quality of life sucked. Mostly exhausted, on oxygen 24/7, in pain due to degenerative disc issue that no surgeon would touch, my dad's body finally had it. He died on Monday, May 23rd at 2:18pm. Myself, my mom, two of my children, my siblings, and a number of other family members and friends, were there when he passed. I'm a lucky gal. I had. My siblings had. My mom had. My hubs had. My kids had. Many had a great relationship with my dad. He was a great guy. Although the last year of his life was not a pleasant one for him, it sure was a gift to us. Knowing that we di...

Now, and in the month April and throughout the year, Just Add Kids encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Southeastern Wisconsin a better place for children and families. By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, we can help promote children’s social and emotional well-being and prevent child maltreatment within families and our communities. Consider the following five protective factors that protect families that are under stress: 1 – Social emotional competence of children Children who learn how to identify their feelings, empathize with the feelings of others, share emotions appropriately and problem solve with peers and adults are more likely to succeed in school and have friends. Give your children many opportunities to talk about feelings and discuss positive ways of coping with their feelings like listening to music, play-ing sports, drawing or writing, etc. 2 – Knowledge of child deve...

And how YOU can help! Read more... Dear Just Add Kids friends, I would like to tell you about a special opportunity that Beatrice, a 4 year old from Racine, has along with 599 other children with special needs. An organization called Friendship Circle is running a campaign called the Great Bike Giveaway  where they hope to give away 600 adaptive bikes to children with special needs from around the United States. I am sure you remember the day you received your first bike. The joy you experienced and the freedom you felt when riding a bike for the first time. For a child with special needs bike riding offers far more than a recreational experience. Bike riding provides a source of much needed exercise, gives therapeutic value and contributes to an inclusive environment where a child with special needs can ride a bike like everyone else. Due to balance and mobility challenges many children and teens with special needs require the use of an adaptive bikes. Sadly, many cannot afford the hi...

#3 at age 8 A "Little" Girl Named "Pink Stink" Written by Just Add Kids, Founder Paula Herrmann   Daughter #3 brushed past me this morning in the kitchen. Yah, so? We were able to look at each other eye to eye, meaning our eyes were level with each other. Rrrgh...another one growing up.   I don't like it one bit. Another daughter on the cusp of teenhood. Please stop now!   Am I being selfish, or do you feel like this as you watch your kids grow right in front of your eyes? Read more... It's funny, it seemed as though she stayed a little girl for so long and I kinda expected her to stay that way like FOREVER . There is a 5 year gap in between her and her next older sister (#2) and 7 years in between her and #1, my oldest.  As 1 & 2 transitioned into teens and now into young adults, Pink Stink, which is one of the names we dubbed #3 at birth, seemed to get stuck. She's always been on the petite side. When the older two would cause me distress, there wo...

Oh Where, Oh Where Do the Children Play?                by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann                                                                                                             I was able to take a short trip south for a few days this week. Ah, it was so nice to feel what summer should be feeling like, especially being that it is the end of June, right? Eighty degrees, mild humidity...perfect, in my opinion!                                                                                                            It was the tri-state area of the Ohio River Valley, an area that I've never really experienced, rather have driven through a number of times. This trip brought me through hilly, lush, neighborhoods of the surrounding communities of Cincinnati. Beautiful countryside!  Many things the same as our hometowns here in SE Wisconsin...downtowns rich in history, schools, parks, waterfront destinations, your national chain restaurants and retail stores, ...

Oh, Yes, I Did! by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann   So you know I am on this May Mother(over)load kick.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Too darn many balls to juggle, at least for this momma to claim sanity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         On that note, I've decided to take a little break today, ya know, in honor of Mother's Day, of which I am one....a mom of four humans, and a puppy and a fish, to be exact.                                                                                                                                                                                                              ...

Deserving of a Blue Ribbon, Part 2 by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Well, April is just about wrapped up, and a couple of campaigns I'm involved with will dwindle down with the promotions. Not that the issues go away...sadly not. Last week, in JAK Chat, I described my work with the Turn the Town Blue Campaign, a Kenosha county-wide initiative to share the light on Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month in "Deserving of a Blue Ribbon". Click the green link, in case you missed it!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Part of the focus of this campaign is not only to lace the community with blue ribbons, yet to celebrate strong families by appreciating all the...

Deserving of a Blue Ribbon by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann I'm always looking for a good party to crash! A few years back, I ran across this group of Kenosha County peeps that rallied (and continues to do so)behind a blue ribbon campaign in recognition and support of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month. That being the month of April, obviously. Being a resident of Racine, though a stakeholder in the health and well-being of families in the county, I thought this would be a good fit for me personally and for my business, Just Add Kids. Thankfully, our family is strong. Mine and my husband's relationship is intact. We are resourceful and have a strong network of family, friends, and community. Becoming an active member in the Turn the Town Blue Campaign community collaborative introduced me to the front line people that work day in and day out with families that are struggling to keep it together. Read more... I could rewrite what was well written by the Kenosha New...

The EXPO! Afterglow [caption id="attachment_2469" align="alignright" width="300"] Just Add Kids EXPO! 2014[/caption] by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann I stayed up late last night, taking waaay too long to formulate a letter of appreciation to the folks at Racine Unified School District. I sent it on to 7 recipients. I'm going to share it here with you. Please read more...     Greetings!                                                                                                                                                                                                                      On behalf of myself, the Just Add Kids team, and our community at large, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your support and partnership with this past Saturday's Just Add Kids EXPO!. For the third year in a row, we've proven that when private and public entities work together with a common goal, great things can happen.  And bo...

For Those "In" Service...  It's We Care Packs               My name is Katie Pollock, I am a ninth grade student at Tremper High School in Kenosha, WI. I am working on a community service project. It began when I was in the seventh grade looking for a community service project for National Junior Honor Society and it has continued on since then. My mom's coworker has a son who was critically wounded while serving our country. We discussed the need to support our troops, so I decided to work on collecting items to send to the soldiers that they can use for daily life. These items are put into care packages to be sent to them in Afghanistan. They include things like: tea, books, lotion, cookies, candy, soap, dental care items, socks, etc. In order to receive these products for the packages, I reach out to companies and ask for donations. We also have had donation drives.    Read more... Once we get enough products we have a “packing party”.  At these packing parties th...

Spring Break! Staycation-Style (Updated 6/10/2014)              Written by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann   Not on your way to Phoenix or Florida or somewhere else south where your face won't freeze? Nah, me neither. It's spring break for a great number of us, and I'm sure like some of you, traveling far far away just wasn't in the cards for me and my family. C'mon and give a big "boo hoo" with me. Well, dang it, we've got 40's in our future, and just because I'm stuck here in good 'ole Southeastern Wisconsin, doesn't mean I can't get escape the cold. Come with me as I share some options... Read more.... I'm not going to overwhelm you, or myself. I've got to work most of the next coming week, yet I am going to break away.  So, here are 3 unique ideas, I think! The first thing that pops into my mind is warmth and water....Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark! Located in Lake Geneva, our destination is probably an hour or...

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Time for Family by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann [caption id="attachment_2091" align="alignright" width="193"] Rueben Hansen 1931-2013[/caption] Yesterday we buried my uncle. My Uncle Rueben lived a long life of 82 years. He leaves my dad, his younger brother, as the last survivor of their immediate family: The Hansen's of Covington, Michigan. Never heard of Covington, Michigan? Have you heard of Yoopers? Yeah, there's a band that put out a song called "Second Week of Deer Camp". Those folks, Da Yoopers, also hail from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I am Yooper offspring. Read more... And yesterday, took my immediate family, the Hansen's of Green Bay (my mom, my dad, my older sister, my younger sister, my brother, and myself) piled in my brother's minivan up to the celebration. As kids in the seventies and eighties, we Hansen's of Green Bay (HGB), took many a trips up north. We have a vast number of relatives from bo...

Trick or Treat! Smell My Feet! by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Tis the season! Last week Just Add Kids brought you up to speed on many of the area's festive fall family destinations . With this amazing extension of beautiful warm weather, I hope that you have gotten a chance or plan to head out with the family soon to take in a pumpkin farm or haunted house, or both.  My family...we're in both boats (mellow & frightful) with the age ranges we've got. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we Herrmann peeps haven't waited too long and we can sneak in our seasonal fun this weekend. I don't hold up too well in cold, damp weather. Uh uh. So let's fast forward to the big gig: the day/night of your community's big candy haul...Trick or Treat! And this year, with Halloween landing on a Thursday, your kids could go trick or treating multiple times, multiple days. And no, I am not suggesting that. To each his own. Check out our listing of southeaster...

Taking Flight by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Several weeks back I introduced you to the trio of Cindy, Rusty, and Gavin Schultz: a mom, a dog, and a teen with autism. (see JAK Chat: "You Had Me At...Hello!") Since our introduction at a special needs resource fair back in April, I've hung out with them at Gavin's R.P.M.(Rapid Prompting Method) Therapy, gone to his horse therapy; worked side by side with Cindy to bring the Kid's Carnival to life in late July; and followed along with their comings and goings (Brewer games, summer camp, hospital, Auditory Integration Therapy, to the pool, bowling alley, Gentle Worship, and the list goes on) mostly via Facebook. This trio has an amazing social life, of which admittedly, I am a bit jealous! Cindy exhausts me! Her hard work with A.S.P. and tending to Gavin's needs inspires me. However, her latest posts/texts/conversations about Gavin concern me. Please READ MORE... Gavin is non verbal. He can certainly com...

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...