Now that it is spring, we are fully into tee-ball and softball season at my house.

Just yesterday I was playing catch with my eight-year-old daughter, Sara. Now that she is in softball with bigger girls, she is going to be expected to throw better than she does now. So we did some straight throwing and I threw up pop-ups for her.

Picture by K.C. Blanchett

Slowly, she is getting it and able to throw the ball hard to the person she wants it to go. Slowly, she is learning to close the glove as soon as she catches that ball. Slowly, she is learning to take a step with that next throw. Sooner or later it will all be second nature to her and that is wonderful to watch.

Our youngest son, Sam, is now in tee-ball. This is his first year which is exciting for him, almost sad for us because this is the last child to start tee-ball. He is learning to throw and does it well enough. He is learning to hit the ball with a bat and stated he had a homerun during his turn.

The games will start in the middle of May so practice time is hot and heavy right now. Which means on Thursday when I have two practices plus a karate class for another child, I am pulling out the crock pot. Supper is going to be crazy and I am not going to have time to make it right. But I can put together something great in the crock pot in the morning, make a pasta in the evening to go with it and have a great meal.

If you are trying to reduce the number of fast food dinners you have on these nights, how do you do it?  Share your comments below and teach the rest of us something new…

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

When my friend Barb asked me to be on her Relay For Life team, I said yes because she had just bought 10 boxes of Girl Scout cookies from my daughter.

I think I would have done it even if Barb had not bought the cookies.

How many of you have been like me, very lucky to be relatively healthy and happy. My marriage is going well despite the days I want to scream or make my husband scream. I have been in one or two car accidents that could have caused much more damage to myself and my passengers.  My kids are healthy, even with my 13-year-old’s bought with pneumonia last summer.

I have been very lucky. But I have also known people who have battled a variety of cancers. One of the other soccer moms when we were in Dynamo Soccer died from breast cancer. Another was a long time farm neighbor who died of brain cancer. I have quilted with a woman whose husband died from pancreatic cancer – just like that.

If I started counting people I have known who beat cancer or succumbed, including my own grandmother and Aunt Barbara, I would run out of digits. The sad truth is this disease is all over the place. It is sneaky and nasty. The person you are changes as the illness progresses.

But that is why there is Relay for Life which takes place at Bishop McNamara High School on June 12 this year. The teams and the walkers collect money to help research, to help people suffering and to bring information to the public about prevention.

Of all of the researchers who have been funded by the American Cancer Society, 44 have received the Nobel Prize which is the highest prize a scientist can receive. We have learned about the link between smoking and lung cancer, the need for colonoscopy and the importance of getting your weight down in regards to prevention.

The other night I was at the Relay For Life team meeting. I saw many people who were committed to raising money to fight, including Marti who raised over $1100 over the internet and her Facebook page. Marti was diagnosed with breast cancer last September. This is her personal battle. But it could hit any of us at any time. Her battle is our battle.

How can you help, you say? You are pretty sure you cannot walk on the day of the relay but you want to do something. Visit the website at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10IL?sid=81409&type=fr_informational&pg=informational&fr_id=22183.

Here you can find all sorts of events that are fundraisers for Relay For Life teams. Use a special coupon on certain days to buy pizzas from Monical’s, take part in bowling parties or Bunco parties. There is going to be a breakfast fundraiser at the Knights of Columbus and Paul’s Place. Go to a garage sale or buy some baked goods. Maybe you do not want to do the walk but do not let that stop you from making a difference.

To paraphrase Gandhi, be the change you want to see in the world. This is just one way to do it.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

by Karyn Bowman

Many of my weekday mornings are spent at Northfield Square Mall from 8 am till 9 am.

It is not because there are terrific sales going on at that time of the day. In fact, most of the stores are closed or only have one or two people in them, adjusting displays or doing the daily clean up work. Only Taco John’s is open to provide beverages to those early walkers.

What I – and several other people – go for is the chance to walk without having to deal with the cold weather. Some people are walking by themselves, others are in two’s and three’s. All are walking around the mall at the pace that best suits them. Depending on how fast you go, it can take 10- 15 minutes to go around the entire building.

Many times when I am walking, I join my pastor and his wife. They go at a pretty fast clip, which is great for me. At this rate I am going to be losing my left-over pregnancy belly by springtime. Because of the various studies that have stated and verified that belly fat is a leading factor in heart problems and diabetes, I am trying to decrease mine. Let me give credit to where credit is due because I do not think I would be seeing changes already if were not for Debbie’s quick steps.

I think I have shared in the past that my family has a history of heart attacks and diabetes. I do not want to be like my grandmother, who had her first heart attack when she was forty. Nor do I want to be the next relative who announces they have diabetes. That is why I walk in the mall every morning I get.

Besides losing my love handles, there is another benefit. I get to learn great snippets of information. I recently heard a group of men talking about the History Channel’s new reality show called Pawn Stars. This is a show about a pawn shop that has ritzier clientele and interesting items that come in. Having never seen the show before, I am willing to tune in to this new gem on Monday nights.

 Another thing I’ve learned, besides Wet Seal having the boots I want, is that Aéropostale is having a great deal on jeans. You bring in an old pair that can be donated to Haiti and the store will give you 25% off on a new pair of jeans. You cannot miss the huge packing boxes in the windows.

According to the website, some of Aéropostale’s jeans start at $45 – $50. But that doesn’t mean the price is still at that level. What I do think is great is that commerce is willing to do something to help others in a time of great need. For more information call the Northfield Square Mall location at (815) 935-8850.

I am not sure what else I am going to learn on these daily walks but I am willing to find out!

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook.

By Karyn Bowman

How many times in the past week have you heard anyone besides media people say new year’s resolutions are blown within the first week of the year?

New habits are hard to make. I have heard studies say it takes about three weeks to make a new habit stick. But when the payoff is a smaller dress size or better blood sugar numbers, the hard work is worth it. And lets not kid ourselves, to make these changes does take effort on our parts.

Usually this time of year I pull out Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. While Breathnach has gone on to bigger and better things, I still find guidance in her book to find a more authentic self. I like her push to do a gratitude journal or to have a gift drawer for yourself for those days you need a little comfort.

It is books that Simple Abundance and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron that helps a person discover what they love. And it makes you think about how you want to make that dream come true.

Being a more authentic artist is only one goal on my list. The other is to lose weight. I am one of those people for whom breast feeding did not work as the incredible weight reducer after pregnancy. I would be so hungry not matter how much I drank that I would continue to eat for two. In the last two years, I have taken some of the weight off. so much so that I have taken clothes to the consignment shop because they were too big for me. But I want to go further to make a goal that is realistic for my height and body shape.

I noticed in my various e-newsletters that Dr. Jon, a veterinarian, encourages his readers to take their pooch for a longer walk than usual. His reasoning is that it has been shown that people lose weight better when they exercise with a buddy. And there is no better buddy than the one with the big eyes begging you for a walk. Of course, you might want to give the pooch a check up to make sure he can handle to extra exercise.

I did that one day last week. Storm is on orders from the vet to lose weight. So Storm and I did a walk around the block. He loved it. I was thinking about getting warm again but at least I did get my exercise in. Once the weather gets really cold, Storm gets a little short changed but I know sooner or later he and I will find our way into a regular routine of an afternoon walk.

Have you kept up with your New Year’s resolution? And has it made a difference yet?

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook.

By Karyn Bowman

Over the years I have been asked by people how to become a writer. They talk of a great need to write and all the stories they have inside of them wanting to get out. Others enjoy the process and want to go further with it, develop their skills and learn how to make something in their head take on a life of its own.

My first words of wisdom are always this: find or create a writing support group. Find people who write and want to share their works to get feedback and reassurance. Elizabeth Berg and Jennifer Chiaverini are two current authors who do just that.

I also encourage people to read as much as possible, see what others do in your field and figure it out. Implement what works and throw out what does not.

Writing is not easy. It can be messy and irritating when you know a favorite sentence has to go out the door in order to make a more perfect piece of work. It is all a part of the deal. An author of a recent book I read stated it took her almost 12 drafts of the novel to get it right. It meant ripping apart who was the love interest, the heroine, the ending, and the entire format of the book. In the end, all of the drafts and hard work made for a perfect book.

Recently, I have had more time on my hands and decided to get back in touch with a writer’s group I had joined before. They welcomed me and my poetic efforts (the first in years). What was also interesting was hearing contributions from the others, how they worked with the actual rhyme pattern of a Robert Frost poem or didn’t. People had fun with the topic or took a serious note.

For me, it was refreshing and invigorating while we had lunch at Russ-n-Rosie’s in Chebanse. Below was my poetic offering. If upon reading it, you feel so inspired, send it in the comments section and we can have a poet’s corner in this blog.

Mastodon Fruit

We pulled into the field that held soy bean just a few days ago.Hedge apple

The popping sound of the stems comes from under the tires.

Looking over, my daughter sees the prize we are searching for

Bright neon green orbs, hedge apples.

I tell her to pick up a few, that we want seven all together.

“Why seven?” the bright eight year old asks

“It is a good number to get,” I say.

Already I imagine how they will look in a glass bowl on my table.

Later my son sees them and says “Mastodon fruit.”

Not that this area has seen a Mastodon in thousands of years

He tells me the seeds need the digestive system of the Mastodon

In order to make germination possible.

Yet, I look around and see hedge apple trees along the fence rows

I see them along ditches in the country and in forest preserves.

But the place I love to see them best, the place that makes me happiest,

Is in a glass bowl in the middle of my dining room table.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

Recently we noticed that family pooch, Storm, has begun to gain weight. Storm is a three-year-old Labrador retriever and can be very active. He also likes to eat anything that falls on the floor, has been deserted on the table, or is not being looked at while still in a child’s hand. Plus we had him fixed this past spring.

He has become bulked up in the hips and tummy, leading to knocking down our five-year-old son more often than not. Then the kid usually socks the dog but that is another story.

I feel for our Storm because he has been put on a diet. Nothing ruins the mood of sneaking candy out of the kids’ Halloween stash more than having big brown eyes looking up at you in the hope that something will drop directly into his mouth. Plus, I know where he is right now, if a dog cares that they have more weight than they should.

In the past few years I have finally been successful at losing weight that has crept up on me over the years. It has not been easy but it meant that I had to change some bad habits. I stopped drinking soda and lowered my chocolate intake. Then I worked to add good habits such as drinking unsweetened ice tea or water and having yogurt as a snack everyday. Plus I am trying to make sure I add a piece of fruit to my lunch menu and salad at supper.

That can get you only so far. Now it is time to up the ante.

The last few Sundays the husband and I make a point of taking the dog – and the whole family – for a walk in one of the great forest preserves we have nearby. This past Sunday we went the entire three mile trek at the Aroma Park Forest Preserve on Heiland Road that took us to the shore of the river and back.

The week before I took the kids and the dog to the new path by KCC that has been paved. We took the entrance drive by the softball fields and went all the way back. We did not go as far as we could have but the dog and the kids were happy with the trip. And before you think I allowed my dog to do his business recklessly, let me inform you that we always, always, carry bags with us for the solid matter.

I asked my husband how long he felt we could do this, considering the cold weather that is coming our way. His response was perfect for a man who loves to hunt in the winter.

“We’ll just bundle them up and make sure to bring hot chocolate and water along,” he said.

That’s good because I am planning for the family to hit Perry Farm and the State Park walking trails in the near future. Do you have any other great suggestions for a Sunday afternoon trail walk?

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

When Exploration Station has their Grand re-opening night a month ago, we went as a family. One of the reasons was we do have a membership to this fun museum.

But another was that over the years we have enjoyed coming to this museum with our kids. Our age range is 5 years to 17 years. We have had a child at the right age for the exploration station for the last 15 years.

When we first moved in the area, we came and conquered the castle. I use to climb up and down with the kids. Plus the grocery store was always great fun. I was sad when that went away.

But now with the new hands-on areas upfront I am happy to say Exploration Station has done a great job of re-inventing itself. We have been to the museum a couple of times since that grand opening night and we are loving what we see.

The old gift shop area is now a diner. Right next to it is a new auto repair shop. My boys think this is a really cool area; my five-year-old grabs tools and starts fixing cars. All of my kids love the new inventor’s workshop area.

Plus the grocery store is back with a flower wagon. I love how the new area is smaller with canvas shopping bags to encourage green behavior.

Overall, I love the slightly smaller play areas that encourage a lot of fun and imagination. The art table and dinosaur bones are still there as well as a wonderful dress up area and the waterworks.

Most important though is the castle. We could have spent an hour in that room going up and down the stairs or hiding in the dungeon or playing with the puppets.

Bravo, Exploration Station! You have enhanced what worked well, brought back old favorites and created some wonderful new areas. This is one family that is loving it!

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

Hoo-Hoo, the sweet corn is in!!!!!

“Yeah, we know” you are all saying to the computer. But have you gone out and bought some yet?

Oh, baby, this is what summer eating is all about. There is nothing like an ear of corn that has been cooked to perfection so that it is crunchy and sweet without being over-cooked and soggy. Slather that ear in salted butter and you never have to reach for the salt shaker.

How good is it? When we pick some up we make sure there is enough for everyone in our family to have three ears because that is all my kids will eat for supper.

We all have our favorite places to buy it. Mine are on the east end of the county because that is where we live. Perhaps some of you can share your favorite places. One place we go is Reitveld’s on the corner of 4000 North Road (Larry Power Road to some) and 4000 East Road (Skyline Road to others). They have more than corn but that is what we always get.

Another place we go to is a farmstand on Rt. 17 east of Exline Road but west of the River. What makes this place unique is the owners trust you to put in the right amount of money in the box for the number of ears you take. It is the country, it is what we do. They will do the same with tomatoes as well.

Both places have good corn and when it is done for the day it is done. So you take your ears home, clean them and throw them in the pot. The husband and I have debated the number of minutes to leave the ears in our favorite tall stock pot over the years. I put the timer on for 12 minutes and have had great results.

I am open to hearing how people do it on the grill since I have never tried that method.

I assume you would take off the outside tassels but I wonder if you should completely clean the corn and put it in foil or can you leave the husk on?

Now should you have leftover ears that have not been eaten I have a great corn pudding recipe to use them in. But you are going to have to tune in another day for that.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

One of the brightest spots of the summer has arrived and that is the county fair.

You may have read about the history of the county fair in the paper and you may have thought about getting over there. But what I also hope you do if you go is to visit the Creative Arts building that shows off many of the projects done by the various 4H groups in our area.

When I was growing up, 4H was for the country kids. Many of the projects focused on what people considered the skills needed for a farm – canning, sewing, and livestock. But there are other projects that you may not think about as being farm related. Woodworking, photography and leadership kills are just a few of the projects.

Let me give full disclosure. I had a cousin in 4H and I am the mom of two 4H members. My kids have done photography, drawings, rocketry, woodworking, forestry, guinea pigs (in the small pet category), rabbits and dog training for projects.

Other kids I know have done veterinarian projects, horticulture, basket weaving, public speaking, electricity, aerospace and quilting. There are myriad other topics that including clothing construction and nutrition. When our son took in his baking project, my husband watched another 4H member bring in a steak they had cooked. You heard me right, a steak.

What I like most about 4H is that it gives kids the opportunity to try a number of different projects. Maybe it fails one year and the next they get it right. Sometimes it can work the other way around; the first year is a great success and the next doesn’t go so good. Or they can find a different project better suited for their skills. The point is kids get to try out different things to see what they like and don’t like.

Plus some of the projects offer scholarships if you plan on sticking with it for several years. That is something a lot of parents look for. Another plus? For each ribbon, kids can get a premium check, the amount varying with the color. It may not be a lot cash-wise but what a boost it can be to the self-esteem.

Enjoy the fair while it is here, take the time to admire the hard work of these kids in the creative arts building and in the livestock barns. But also remember to stop at the 4H foodstand by the Grandstand to help fund this worthy organization that helps our kids learn to be better.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

One of the great things about spring is the return of church rummage sales.

I love going over rows of forgotten treasures that others realize they no longer need. Last week I hit the Wesley Methodist Church sale and found many good items. A small lamp, a hanging quilt rack, a hot wheels carrier. But the best was a book – The Secret of the Old Clock. A Nancy Drew mystery.

My own collection had been given to some organization or another for their own sale. I thought it was appropriate at the time.

I nearly squealed with joy when I saw the blue and yellow cover. There was Nancy in a field trying to pry open the clock face. I collected these books as a child and loved them. I wanted to be Nancy although I was never going to be slim and blond with a roadster or a boyfriend like Ned.

As delighted as I was with my find, it was doubled when my 7-year-old daughter saw the book and became excited. Guess we will have to start looking for Nancy Drew books all over again.

I had better look up which churches are having sales this weekend.

~ By Karyn Bowman

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her husband and four children.