While Sesame Street’s Big Bird is definitely one of a kind, it turns out he’s got plenty of cousins! In a recent post on Twitter, the beloved character reminisced about his fellow feathered family members––and he shared pics!
“I heard my friends on Twitter were asking about my cousins around the world! It’s true, I have a lot of bird cousins in different countries. Here’s a little bit about them,” shares Big Bird.
This is Abelardo, he’s from Mexico. We reunited in California last summer during my road trip! pic.twitter.com/FSg4sfPL3T
Big Bird shared photos from relatives in Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey, Portgual and Brazil. While not every cousin made the lineup, fans from all over the world have weighed in with their childhood memories from episodes over the years.
Meet cousin Minik Kuş! He’s from Turkey, but he's no turkey himself! He's a canary bird just like me. pic.twitter.com/HcS94Um6E3
National Grilled Cheese Day was Apr. 12 but Disney wants us to enjoy it every day of the year. In a recent post on the Disney Parks Blog, park chefs shared the delicious recipe for the Grilled Three-Cheese Sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box!
Rather than visiting Disney Hollywood Studios to grab this dish, now you can make it in the comfort of your own kitchen. So what goes into this ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness?
According to the ingredients, you’ll need cheddar, provolone, cream cheese, artisan bread and a delicious homemade garlic spread. The easy-to-assemble sandwich is made like any other grilled cheese but this time with a little more magic––because, Disney.
Head to the Disney Parks Blog to get the full recipe with instructions!
When it came time to celebrate their daughter Calista’s first birthday, pit master and restaurant owner Paul Morales and his wife Denise decided something a little more fitting was appropriate for their lifestyle. Basically, a regular cake smash just wasn’t going to cut it.
In a festive and funny photo shoot, the Texas family decided on a more meaty take on this tradition and served up two racks of ribs! The result was a delicious-looking set of pics.
Little Calista wasn’t going to let those ribs pass her by for her first “Rib Smash.” Donning a white onesie and crown, the 12-month old dug right in, clearly not a stranger to Texas BBQ.
In a recent post by dad, Paul shares that Calista is becoming quite the sensation as a result of her unique photoshoot. We just wonder what kind of “smash” we’ll see next.
Can’t score any avocados for the Super Bowl? The new Tostitos Avocado Salsa will do the trick!
Why spend a fortune on avocados and time in the kitchen when you can whip up a super snack in seconds, simply by opening a jar? Instagram user JunkFoodIntheTrunk3 shared the unique find in a recent post captioned “I’m wondering how unrefrigerated jarred avocados taste.”
We have to admit, it does sound a little questionable, but some fans are raving in the online product reviews writing comments like, “I don’t know how they did it, but this is amazing!!” and “I could eat the whole jar!”
The jar says it’s made with real avocados and real chunks of garden vegetables, so it could be a snack win if you can get your picky eaters to give it a shot. You can find Tostitos Avocado Salsa at Walmart for $3.18.
My recent post about 8 Things Kids Need to Do By Themselves Before They’re 13 went wild around the web. Parents are weighing in and while majority agree with integrating life skills into their kids lives, others have dubbed me uninvolved, lazy and say they feel sorry for my kids.
One reader said, so what do you do exactly, if you aren’t doing these things for your kids? So glad you asked….
1. Laugh and enjoy life with them
Don’t get caught up in the to do list of the day. Make connective time with your kids a priority because you can’t get one second of this back. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we have regret when our kids head out the door at 18 and we realize that we didn’t take enough time to enjoy their childhood. Seize the simple moments.
Taking crazy family selfies after dinner on our vacation in Hawaii last week.
Purposefully prioritize time to laugh and fit in carefree fun with the kids no matter how old and cool they get. Take breaks and vacations when and where you can to reconnect with your loved ones. Memories of time well spent together will sustain us when everyone dismantles in a few years.
2. Date their Desires
When you have teenagers, you have to be strategic to score one on one time with them. Not so long ago, I could plan anything out of the ordinary and my kids would be game. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Most ideas I come up with are met with a blank stare and a “not happening, Mom.” I must be in tune with my kids passions if I want to have close relationship with them.
Suns game with the sons!
My sons love anything sport so I take them to various college or pro baseball and basketball games each season. Or I take them to a new restaurant because food is always an easy way to a guy’s heart. With my other kids, I may choose hikes, movies, local concerts, plays or shopping excursions that feed their soul and in turn, fuel our relationship.
3. Encourage them to advocate for themselves
Last year, a teacher forgot to input one of our son’s homework grades at the end of the quarter and it affected his final grade. The mistake had my son very upset. (He went from a high A to a low A, but to him it was close to the end of the world.) He talked with the teacher and she apologized, but said there was nothing that could be done because grades had already been finalized. My son continued to talk his frustration out at home, so I advised him to go to the principal if he felt so strongly about it. We then talked about forgiveness and letting this mistake go, which is what he ended up doing.
What I wasn’t going to do was get involved with the teacher, even though I believed he was right. It’s hard not to write that email when our child has been wronged, isn’t it? It takes major self control to step back sometimes. But my son needs opportunities to learn to work things out in his world without Mom swooping in for the rescue.
4. Gather for family meals
Our family dining table is a sacred space in our home. A lot of beautiful, and usually loud, bonding goes on around that table. I wrote that I no longer make weekday breakfasts or pack school lunches, but I cherish our dinnertime together.
Sharing regular meals as a family has been proven to be one of the most important things we can do in our homes. Connections are made during conversations over food. Typically, teens are spending less time with family and more time with peers, so family mealtime is an important time to be together.
5. Support their passions
One of the most exciting aspects of being a mother is watching my kids choose their own unique paths. It intrigues me to see what makes them tick. I found myself as a volunteer judge at the high school speech and debate tournament that one son was competing in last weekend. How in the world did I end up there in my life?
I love finding myself in environments that I would never experience without my children. I’m on the sidelines of many games every weekend as well, because that’s what my others love to do. I don’t yell out or provoke them after a game, because my role is to simply support them. Their passions are not my passions and their interests are not mine. My kids know that I’ll be there when I can but that I’m not wrapped up in their performance.
6. Be the person you want your child to be
Practice what you preach because your kids are watching you. How well are we living our own lives according to what we say is important to us? Model the values that you want to see in your kids because what they see you doing just may rub off.
I’m mindful that my children are watching me. They are seeing if what I say matters matches up with my actions and yours are doing the same!
7. Create opportunities to build empathy and compassion
In this me, myself and I culture, it’s important that we create opportunities to serve others on a regular basis. Weave giving into your family culture so that serving others becomes who you are instead of what you do. If we want to raise kind and caring kids then we must put as much emphasis on caring for others as we do achieving good grades and winning games.
Early Saturday morning serving with Kitchen on the Street with two of my kids!
8. Talk technology
Got kids with high tech devices that resemble a body part? Me too. We have to balance giving our teens the freedom to communicate with their peers while letting them know that we will check their phone anytime we feel it necessary. Follow your kids on whatever social media feeds they are using. Know their passwords so you can scroll through Instagram and see what their friends are posting on spam accounts. It is eye opening. I always tell mine to remember that other parents are watching them as well. I agree with granting my child privacy, but never checking in is a mistake. We definitely grant our teens freedom and space, but they know that we care enough to check in as well.
What else should we be doing for our teens today?
Do you have a story to share with our readers? We want to hear it!Sign up for our Spoke Contributor Network and startsubmitting your writing today.
Amy is the author of the book Parent on Purpose: A Courageous Approach to Raising Children in a Complicated World. Her work can be found at www.amycarney.com. She and her retired NHL playing husband, Keith, are raising 18-year-old triplet sons, a 16-year-old daughter, and a recently adopted 13-year-old son.
Even with an epidural, labor and delivery isn’t exactly easy. So if you have plans to go med-free or you want one more idea for your pain-fighting arsenal, this hair-themed hack from Fox Valley Birth and Baby may come in ‘handy’!
When Fox Valley Birth and Baby, a doula, lactation, photography and videography service, shared a recent post, plenty of mamas-to-be took notice. The post includes a genius childbirth idea that’s not exactly well known.
The post starts off with, “Did you know a comb can be used during labor?! And no its not for your hair.” So why hold a comb during labor? The caption continues, “When gripped in your hands, a comb can help hit acupuncture points in your hands.”
If you’re looking for specifics, Fix Valley Birth and Baby suggests holding the comb so that it hits the base of your hand near the palm. And here’s the big question—does the comb hack really work? Judging by the comments, the answer is yes. One commenter even said she uses this trick when she gets tattooed!
Eric Arnold, CEO of the Canadian financial services company Planswell, forgot it’s not okay to ask a potential employee whether they have kids or not. But before anyone trolls the dad for his not-so-legal question, check out the reason he behind this accidental interview inquiry.
Arnold had absolutely no ill-intentions when he asked an applicant if they had children. Instead, the CEO and father of four, is all for it!
In a recent post on LinkedIn Arnold wrote, “You can’t ask if a candidate has kids. I forgot that during an interview… They paused, gave a weird look and said “no.” I forget people discriminate against parents.” Arnold continued, “Our team has 15 kids, 4 of them are mine. We might show up after 9 am drop off. We often leave at 5 for dinner. We might run if school calls… But we do amazing work in between. We don’t succeed despite our families… We succeed because of them.”
And we only have one thing to say—is Arnold still hiring?
Those mesh underwear they give you in the hospital after birth are a long way from sexy, but you have to admit they are pretty comfortable. So it’s not too much of a stretch, to want to wear them forever. Which is exactly what Amy Schumer declared in a hilarious Instagram post.
New mom and comedian, Schumer hasn’t been shy about sharing her pregnancy and postpartum experiences with fans on social media. Her most recent post is one all moms can relate to, the love of this completely hideous, but oh so lovely mesh hospital underwear.
Schumer wrote “5 weeks. Hospital underwear for life!” Pulling on a pair of regular underwear after these is never fun so it’s easy to understand why the post garnered over one million likes and thousands of comments applauding Schumer’s honesty and pure bravery to post those mesh underwear pics.
Is pumping a problem for you? Don’t stress—seriously. Stressing over milk production may lower your output, making it harder to pump. That is, until you follow lactation consultant Johanna Sargeant’s genius hack.
So how does Sargeant stop stressing during pumping sessions? Instead of staring at the bottle, only to watch nothing but air fill it, she came up with the brilliant idea of hiding the goods behind a baby sock.
Simply slip the sock over the bottle and your source of stress magically disappears. In a recent post on the Milk and Motherhood Facebook page, Sargeant wrote of her hack, “We know that oxytocin release is inhibited by stress, and oxytocin release is required for letdowns, so if you find you are getting stressed while watching, try it!”
Sargeant also added, ” Some women are reporting often 2-3 times more milk when they remove themselves mentally from the result of their pumping session!” Go ahead and grab a baby sock (because you only have a zillion mismatched pairs), cover the bottle up and get to pumping!
CEO of Facebook and proud father, Mark Zuckerberg, recently shared a photo of him with feeding his daughter. “Most important meeting of the day #LeanInTogether” he captioned.
Not only do we agree with this millennial billionaire, but so do plenty of dads. After Zuckerberg shared his ‘meeting of the day,’ Dads on Facebook are posting their fatherly pictures in support.
Quoc Pham commented with this adorable picture of his daughter: “Mark Zuckerberg I completely agree that any meeting that involves your children are important. Right now one of my kids is in the PICU right now potentially with cancer, and spending every moment with her is worth it.”
#LeanInTogether is the NBA’s campaign with LeanIn.Org for gender equality. “Men have an important role to play in reaching equality, and everyone benefits when they do. Children with involved fathers are happier, healthier, and more successful. Couples who share responsibilities have stronger marriages. Diverse teams and companies produce better results. Leaning in is not just the right thing to do—it’s the smart thing to do” says the foundations website.
How’s your ‘most important meeting of the day’ going? Tell us in the comments below!
