Mary Bingham-Johnsen has been appointed to the position of Sr. Vice President for Family Foster Care at MercyFirst.? Her appointment is effective September 1.? She will oversee all the various components of this division ? Family Foster Care, Therapeutic Family Foster Care, Youth Development, Adoption, Intake and Homefinding, and Clinical Services that together work with almost 600 foster children and their families, and over 300 foster families in Brooklyn, Queens and Suffolk County.
Bingham-Johnsen has worked in various capacities with MercyFirst since 1983 when she first started with Angel Guardian Home. She was appointed in 2010 as Vice President of Family Foster Care directly supervising Therapeutic Family Foster Care, Youth Development, Adoption Services, Intake and Homefinding.
?Mary is extremely committed and a skilled manager who has demonstrated strong leadership with everyone she has worked with.? said Gerard McCaffery, President/CEO of MercyFirst, ?She has been successful in meeting goals set by ACS with Reinvestment Funding that includes recruitment of foster homes for teens, and reducing lateral moves and step-ups while improving all the other benchmarks so critical to the success of this program.??
Bingham-Johnsen has also been responsible for the development of MercyFirst?s ?Bridges to the Future? program which includes a Scholarship Program to assist older teens to attend college or vocational school as a means to succeed in life after they leave MercyFirst.
FILE - In this June 26, 2001, file photo, Tyler Hamilton fights his way up the hill during the 8th stage of the Tour de Suisse, the mountain time trial from Sion to Crans-Montana in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Hamilton makes allegations in his book, "The Secret Race. Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs," that Lance Armstrong gave him an illegal blood booster at his house before the 1999 Tour de France and the two teammates compared notes on using performance-enhancing drugs as far back as 1998. The book is set to be published Sept. 5. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday. (AP Photo/Keystone Alessandro della Valle, File)
FILE - In this June 26, 2001, file photo, Tyler Hamilton fights his way up the hill during the 8th stage of the Tour de Suisse, the mountain time trial from Sion to Crans-Montana in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Hamilton makes allegations in his book, "The Secret Race. Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs," that Lance Armstrong gave him an illegal blood booster at his house before the 1999 Tour de France and the two teammates compared notes on using performance-enhancing drugs as far back as 1998. The book is set to be published Sept. 5. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday. (AP Photo/Keystone Alessandro della Valle, File)
FILE - In this July 24, 1999 file photo, overall leader Lance Armstrong of the U.S. strains on his way to winning the 19th stage of the Tour de France cycling race, a 57-kilometer individual time trial around the Futuroscope theme park near Poitiers, western France. Tyler Hamilton makes allegations in his book, "The Secret Race. Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs," that Armstrong gave him an illegal blood booster at his house before the 1999 Tour de France and the two teammates compared notes on using performance-enhancing drugs as far back as 1998. The book is set to be published Sept. 5. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday. AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
Lance Armstrong talks to supporters prior to a run, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, on Mont Royal Park in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)
Lance Armstrong speaks to delegates at the World Cancer Congress in Montreal Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Tyler Hamilton says Lance Armstrong gave him an illegal blood booster before the 1999 Tour de France and that the teammates took blood transfusions together during the cycling race the following year.
Hamilton makes the allegations in his book, "The Secret Race. Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs," set to be published Sept. 5. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday.
Hamilton and Armstrong rode together on the U.S. Postal Service team from 1998 to 2001.
Armstrong has long denied doping but last week chose not to fight drug charges by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. USADA has erased 14 years of Armstrong's competitive results, including his seven Tour de France titles.
The books covers much of what Hamilton said in a 2011 interview with "60 Minutes" and what he said he told federal criminal investigators looking into doping allegations on the Postal team. Officials closed that investigation in February without bringing any charges against Armstrong.
But Hamilton also provides sharper, personal details of what he says was an alleged doping program encouraged by Armstrong and other team leaders. He describes in detail how he and other cyclists doped and how they avoided getting caught.
"Lance worked the system ... Lance was the system," Hamilton wrote.
Armstrong's agent Bill Stapleton declined comment when contacted by phone.
Hamilton discusses at length his own descent into performance-enhancing drug use and said the team started even before Armstrong joined in 1998. He and Armstrong soon became roommates and confidants who would discuss using the blood-booster EPO and other PEDs.
"Nobody sets out wanting to dope," Hamilton said.
While visiting Armstrong's home in Nice shortly before the 1999 Tour, Hamilton said he asked him if he had any EPO and Armstrong pointed to the refrigerator. Hamilton took it, thanked Armstrong and remarked to himself how cavalier Armstrong was about simply keeping it in the refrigerator.
Hamilton described a doping plan put in place by the team for the 1999 Tour de France, with Armstrong's knowledge, that included a motorcyclist riding behind racers with a thermos full of EPO. It was to be dispensed to riders in the team camper after race stages.
He said team leaders, doctors and mangers encouraged and supervised doping and PEDs were handed out to cyclists in white lunch bags.
Hamilton said he and Armstrong sat near each other to take a blood transfusion after the 11th stage of the 2000 Tour de France, under the watchful eye of team director Johan Bruyneel. That would have been right before the Tour's punishing and famous Ventoux mountain stage.
Bruyneel is also facing doping charges by USADA and a lifetime ban if found guilty of leading what the agency has referred to as a vast doping conspiracy on his teams. Bruyneel has taken his case to arbitration.
Hamilton also renewed his claims that Armstrong told him he tested positive for EPO at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland but was able to get the International Cycling Union to cover it up. The UCI, cycling's governing body, has denied Hamilton's claim.
Armstrong argues that hundreds of negative drug tests prove his claims of innocence. He has previously sought to discredit Hamilton as a drug cheat who was twice banned for doping and was recently stripped of his 2004 Olympic gold medal.
According to USADA, Hamilton is among its key witnesses ready to testify against Armstrong. In all, it said as many as 10 former teammates were ready to do so. The agency has withheld most of their names, saying it feared Armstrong would try to intimidate them.
Hamilton alleged that former Postal rider George Hincapie, a key Armstrong lieutenant during his seven Tour victories, also was given PEDs while he rode for the team.along with rider Kevin Livingston.
Hincapie was among several riders reported to be ready to testify against Armstrong.
There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from Hincapie's management team. Nor was there a response to a telephone message left at Livingston's athletic training business.
New DNA-method tracks fish and whales in seawaterPublic release date: 30-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Philip Francis Thomsen pfthomsen@snm.ku.dk 45-27-14-20-46 University of Copenhagen
Danish researchers at University of Copenhagen lead the way for future monitoring of marine biodiversity and resources. By using DNA traces in seawater samples to keep track of fish and whales in the oceans. A half litre of seawater can contain evidence of local fish and whale faunas and combat traditional fishing methods. Their results are now published in the international scientific journal PLOS ONE.
"The new DNA-method means that we can keep better track of life beneath the surface of the oceans around the world, and better monitor and protect ocean biodiversity and resources," says PhD student Philip Francis Thomsen from the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen.
Marine ecosystems worldwide are under threat with many fish species and populations suffering from human over-exploitation, which greatly impacts global biodiversity, economy and human health. Today, marine fish are largely surveyed using selective and invasive methods mostly limited to commercial species, and restricted to areas with favourable conditions.
However, researchers at Centre for GeoGenetics now lead the way for future monitoring of marine biodiversity. They have shown that seawater contains DNA from animals such as fish and whales. The species leave behind a trace of DNA that reveals their presence in the ocean based on water samples of just half a litre.
The groundbreaking results are now published as two papers in the open access international scientific journal PLOS ONE.
From freshwater to seawater
The development of the novel DNA monitoring approach was accomplished by PhD student Philip Francis Thomsen and Master's student Jos Kielgast from the Centre for GeoGenetics headed by Professor Eske Willerslev. In December last year, they showed that small freshwater samples contain DNA from several different threatened animals, and after having published these results they began to focus on seawater. Here it also proved possible to obtain DNA directly from the water, which originated from local species living in the area.
"We analysed seawater samples specifically for fish DNA and we were very surprised when the results started to show up on the screen. We ended up with DNA from 15 different fish species in water samples of just a half litre. We found DNA from both small and large fish, as well as both common species and rare guests. Cod, herring, eel, plaice, pilchard and many more have all left a DNA trace in the seawater," says Philip Francis Thomsen.
In the other study the researchers showed that it is also possible to obtain DNA from harbour porpoise in small water samples taken in the sea, so the approach is not only limited to fish, but can also track large marine mammals.
A new and efficient method
The study also compares the new DNA method with existing methods traditionally used for monitoring fish such as trawl and pots. Here, the DNA method proved as good as or mostly better than existing methods. Moreover, the DNA method has a big advantage that it can be performed virtually anywhere without impacting the local habitat it just requires a sample of water. Associate Professor and fish expert Peter Rask Mller from the National History Museum of Denmark, who also participated in the study, is optimistic.
"The new DNA method has very interesting perspectives for monitoring marine fish. We always keep our eyes open for new methods to describe marine fish biodiversity in an efficient and standardised way. Here, I look very much forward to follow the DNA method in the future, and I think it could be very useful to employ in oceans around the world," says Peter Rask Mller.
The researchers also see great perspectives in the method for estimating fish stocks in the future.
###
Read the papers: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041732 and http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041781
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
New DNA-method tracks fish and whales in seawaterPublic release date: 30-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Philip Francis Thomsen pfthomsen@snm.ku.dk 45-27-14-20-46 University of Copenhagen
Danish researchers at University of Copenhagen lead the way for future monitoring of marine biodiversity and resources. By using DNA traces in seawater samples to keep track of fish and whales in the oceans. A half litre of seawater can contain evidence of local fish and whale faunas and combat traditional fishing methods. Their results are now published in the international scientific journal PLOS ONE.
"The new DNA-method means that we can keep better track of life beneath the surface of the oceans around the world, and better monitor and protect ocean biodiversity and resources," says PhD student Philip Francis Thomsen from the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen.
Marine ecosystems worldwide are under threat with many fish species and populations suffering from human over-exploitation, which greatly impacts global biodiversity, economy and human health. Today, marine fish are largely surveyed using selective and invasive methods mostly limited to commercial species, and restricted to areas with favourable conditions.
However, researchers at Centre for GeoGenetics now lead the way for future monitoring of marine biodiversity. They have shown that seawater contains DNA from animals such as fish and whales. The species leave behind a trace of DNA that reveals their presence in the ocean based on water samples of just half a litre.
The groundbreaking results are now published as two papers in the open access international scientific journal PLOS ONE.
From freshwater to seawater
The development of the novel DNA monitoring approach was accomplished by PhD student Philip Francis Thomsen and Master's student Jos Kielgast from the Centre for GeoGenetics headed by Professor Eske Willerslev. In December last year, they showed that small freshwater samples contain DNA from several different threatened animals, and after having published these results they began to focus on seawater. Here it also proved possible to obtain DNA directly from the water, which originated from local species living in the area.
"We analysed seawater samples specifically for fish DNA and we were very surprised when the results started to show up on the screen. We ended up with DNA from 15 different fish species in water samples of just a half litre. We found DNA from both small and large fish, as well as both common species and rare guests. Cod, herring, eel, plaice, pilchard and many more have all left a DNA trace in the seawater," says Philip Francis Thomsen.
In the other study the researchers showed that it is also possible to obtain DNA from harbour porpoise in small water samples taken in the sea, so the approach is not only limited to fish, but can also track large marine mammals.
A new and efficient method
The study also compares the new DNA method with existing methods traditionally used for monitoring fish such as trawl and pots. Here, the DNA method proved as good as or mostly better than existing methods. Moreover, the DNA method has a big advantage that it can be performed virtually anywhere without impacting the local habitat it just requires a sample of water. Associate Professor and fish expert Peter Rask Mller from the National History Museum of Denmark, who also participated in the study, is optimistic.
"The new DNA method has very interesting perspectives for monitoring marine fish. We always keep our eyes open for new methods to describe marine fish biodiversity in an efficient and standardised way. Here, I look very much forward to follow the DNA method in the future, and I think it could be very useful to employ in oceans around the world," says Peter Rask Mller.
The researchers also see great perspectives in the method for estimating fish stocks in the future.
###
Read the papers: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041732 and http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041781
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Dinosaur fossils found with the bones of birds and small dinosaurs in their stomachs reveal the beasts may have been adept hunters capable of downing prey more than a third their own size, researchers say.
Fossils are occasionally found with the remains of animals and plants inside what were once their guts. These tummy contents can shed light on what they once ate ? for instance, past research showed a mammal predator apparently had a tiny dinosaur as its last meal.
Scientists investigated two specimens of a carnivorous dinosaur from Liaoning, China, known as Sinocalliopteryx gigas. The predator was roughly the size of a wolf, about 6 feet (2 meters) long, and had feathers or hairlike fuzz covering its body to help keep it warm.
Back when this dinosaur was alive, about 120 million years ago, the area was a warm, wet forest, with a diverse fauna of dinosaurs, birds and crocodilians. "It was kind of a quintessential dinosaur environment, with lots of volcanic activity that periodically inundated the landscape and buried things within it with exquisite preservation," said researcher Phil Bell, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative in Canada. "Today the area is pretty much farmland, although the farmers all understand the importance of fossils and the interest they create, and a lot have turned to farming for dinosaurs."
One of the Sinocalliopteryx specimens, a complete and remarkably well-preserved skeleton, apparently dined on a birdlike, cat-size feathered dinosaur known as Sinornithosaurus, judging by the partial leg found in its gut. [See Images of the Dinosaur Guts]
The other Sinocalliopteryx specimen, an incomplete skeleton, held the remains of at least two primitive crow-size birds known as Confuciusornis, as well as acid-etched bones from a dinosaur. (Confuciusornis was probably limited to slow takeoffs and short flights.)
"Stomach remains are evidence of actual interactions between animals, which is extremely rare in the fossil record," Bell told LiveScience. "We're lucky to find one or two bones of anything; to get a specimen with the remains of its last meal or meals is pretty cool."
It remains uncertain whether the dinosaurs actively hunted or scavenged these meals. Still, the fact that Sinocalliopteryx gobbled at least two birds of the same species at about the same time "says chances are very good it was actively selecting its prey; that makes it a predator," Bell said.
And capturing flying prey points to a stealthy, capable hunter, the researchers added.
Science news from NBCNews.com
Boy finds a bonanza in whale vomit
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: An 8-year-old boy in England could be up to $63,000 richer, thanks to a piece of solidified whale vomit he picked up on the beach.
Scientists study dinosaurs' last meals
Pigeons vanish in the 'Birdmuda Triangle'
Glowing fish help seals hunt in the dark
"What I think is coolest about these findings is that it starts to bring these animals to life," Bell said. "A lot of people look at fossils as just dead things ? it's hard for them to imagine them as living, breathing animals. When you get something like this, it really brings them to life."
The scientists detailed their findings online Wednesday in the journal PLoS ONE.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook? and ?Google+.
Imagine that you, your spouse, or a beloved relative is terminally ill. A man approaches you and asks whether your family would be interested in a little proposition. Your relative would need to provide their name, Social Security number, and a signature or two. In return, they would receive a few thousand dollars. Sounds like an identity theft scheme, doesn't it? Only it was all perfectly legal. No families were swindled, no fake credit cards were opened. The lawyer behind this scheme was taking advantage of a loophole in the rules of a specific type of life insurance product, variable annuities. Investors used a system intended to protect a large nest egg for future generations to profit without having to die.
You can learn about this scheme and the loophole savant who invented it, Joe Caramadre, over at ProPublica. ("This American Life" told most of the story on public radio this weekend, if you'd like it in a form you can listen to while commuting.)
In normal life insurance, you pay a relatively small premiums either for the rest of your life (whole life insurance) or a fixed period of time (term life insurance.) This scheme took advantage of the flaws in a product that debuted a few decades ago, variable annuities. For these, a person hands over a certain amount of money to an insurance company, and that company extracts fees and invests it for them in a variety of places (government bonds, mutual funds, etc.) If the investment increases in value, the profit belongs to the investor. Well, to his or her heirs. If the investment's value falls, the investor's heirs are guaranteed to receive back at least the same amount that was invested in the first place. That's called the "death benefit." The system is designed for the investor and the annuitant to be the same person. Insurance companies didn't anticipate that someone would invest in a variable annuity and seek out a dying stranger to serve as the annuitant.
There are three parties involved in a variable annuity: the investor, the person who puts up the money. There's the beneficiary, the person who will receive the money at the end of the scheme. Then there's the annuitant or the "measuring life," the person whose death will end the investment.
The combination of the short timeframe and guaranteed death benefit meant that investors could choose the most aggressive investments available.
The insurance companies were not pleased with this scheme, but it wasn't illegal. Is it unethical? Everyone seems to have a different opinion on that. Caramadre's scheme appalls people because of its sheer size and lack of subtlety. He distributed flyers. He advertised in local Catholic newspapers.
Death Takes a Policy: How a Lawyer Exploited the Fine Print and Found Himself Facing Federal Charges [ProPublica] Loopholes [This American Life]
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy grew at a tepid 1.7 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, suggesting growth will stay weak in the second half of the year.
Slightly stronger consumer spending and greater exports were the main reasons the Commerce Department reported Wednesday that growth was better than its initial estimate of 1.5 percent. Still, growth has slowed from the 2 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter and the 4.1 percent rate in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Economists expect only modest improvement in the second half of the year. Most believe the economy will keep growing, but at a subpar rate of around 2 percent.
"The economy was sluggish in the second quarter and the slight upward revision ... does nothing to change that picture," said John Ryding, an economist at RDQ Economics, in a note to clients.
The report was the government's second look at gross domestic product for the second quarter. GDP measures the country's total output of goods and services, from the purchase of restaurant meals to construction of highways and bridges. A third and final estimate of second-quarter growth will be released next month.
Growth at or below 2 percent is not enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.3 percent in July. Most expect the unemployment rate to stay above 8 percent for the rest of this year.
A weak economy and high unemployment could hurt President Barack Obama re-election chances and bolster Mitt Romney's campaign. Republicans are in Tampa, Fla. this week to formally nominate Romney and have pointed to the dismal growth in making the case to elect their candidate.
Economist Robert Brusca said the various changes in the second estimate should be positive for growth going forward. He noted more consumer demand in the spring than previously thought, which drives 70 percent of economic growth. And he pointed to less restocking of shelves, which suggests businesses could replenish their stockpiles in the current quarter. Faster inventory growth increases factory production, which boosts growth.
But Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the small revision to second-quarter growth "offers little comfort."
"We are already two months through the third quarter and more up-to-date figures show that the economy is still struggling," Dales said.
Slow growth could prompt the Federal Reserve to take greater steps to boost the economy when policymakers meet again on Sept. 12-13. In late July, Fed policymakers spoke with increased urgency about the need to provide more help for a weak U.S. economy.
Chairman Ben Bernanke could offer some clues Friday to what the Fed might announce when he speaks at a Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Some suspect the Fed will wait to see how the economy performed in August, especially after July's data was better than expected.
Employers created 163,000 jobs in July, the most since February. Consumers stepped up retail spending, factories produced more goods and the housing recovery continued with increases in both new and previously occupied homes.
The upward revision to second-quarter growth was largely because consumers spent at a slightly faster pace than first estimated. Consumer spending grew a 1.7 percent rate, better than the 1.5 percent initial estimated. Exports, which add to growth, were also stronger, growing at a 6 percent rate.
Government spending, which has been a drag on growth for the past two years, contracted again in the second quarter. But the decline at an annual rate of 0.9 percent was less than the initial estimated drop of 1.4 percent. That reflected a much smaller dip in defense spending than first estimated.
All of the changes boosted economic output by $6.5 billion more than previously estimated, leaving total GDP at $13.56 trillion, after adjusting for inflation, in the second quarter.
MIS and Strategic Planning Departments of Southcoast Hospital Group are interested in bringing on some Charlton College of Business interns for the Fall 2012.? These internships will qualify for enrollment into our (UMD-CCB) online internship course for Fall 2012.? The course awards a letter grade a 3 credits for a business elective.
Innovasians Business Manager / CRM manager with a passion for green business
We are looking for a person with a passion for green business:
1. Textile background in trading/merchandising for at least 4-5 years 2. Team player 3. Self-driver ? and motivated 4. Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines 5. Understanding green textiles and eco-products 6. Ability to liaise with Technical Management and China manufacturing back-office 7. Manage timelines with procurement in China 8. Support customers and bridge China production back office and customers globally 9. Always reply to e-mails within 24 Hours 10. Building relationships with customers to sustain and grow business 11. Liaising with China manufacturing back office to ensure lead times are realistic and meet the buyer expectations. 12. Building customer relationships to sustain customer business as well as grow business 13. ALWAYS keep the following up to date:
WIP
Prospect client list
Suppliers list
Client list
14. Negotiating cost down to minimum and optimizing profitability for Innovasians 15. Never short ship 16. Never send a quotation out without confirming margins with Management 17. Always use Company documents and pdf for quotation, order confirmation, invoice. 18. Aiming to convert every inquiry to a sale. 19. Growing accounts you manage and assisting in growing new customers 20. Fluent in written English, Cantonese and preferably Putonghua
LONDON (AP) ? Outside the idyllic English village of St. Osyth, police are hunting a lion.
A small army of officers and tranquilizer-toting zoo experts, along with a pair of heat-seeking helicopters, are spending their Monday combing the woods, ponds, and farmland around the coastal community after a resident spotted what was believed to be a lion lounging in a field of grass.
Where such a beast may have come from is anyone's guess; the local zoo says its animals are accounted for, and police have said a local circus isn't missing any either. As of early afternoon, the force hadn't found any paw prints or droppings, but officers said they were treating the sighting seriously, and so too are St. Osyth's 4,000-odd residents.
"I wouldn't expect to see a lion walking up the high street, but it seems to be very quiet in the village," said Jason Amos, who owns St. Osyth's timber-framed Red Lion pub. "People are taking it very seriously."
The sighting has prompted a media frenzy in Britain, with the Daily Mail tabloid splashing a picture of a snarling lion across its front page and camera crews racing to the historic village, which is built around medieval priory only a couple of miles from England's south coast.
Amos said he'd just seen journalists from Britain's Sky News television broadcasting from outside the pub.
Improbable sightings of dangerous animals are a familiar part of the British news cycle, particularly at the height of summer when journalists struggle to fill papers and news bulletins.
Last year, police in northern England scrambled a helicopter and passengers were stopped from leaving a train after a motorist reported seeing a lion (a hunt turned up nothing). During the riots that hit London in 2011, there were rumors ? quickly disproven ? that a tiger was on the loose in the capital after escaping from the city zoo.
In 2007, the British media went wild over a man who claimed to have photographed a great white shark off the coast of Cornwall, in southwestern England. He later admitted that the pictures were actually taken while on vacation in South Africa, adding that he couldn't believe anyone had been foolish enough to take the hoax seriously.
I found this recipe from Rachel over at Bliss Events by Rachel. I actually like it more than the Paleasagna that I blogged about here. It is a great way to slam lots of veggies into one meal. Thanks for the great new dish, Rachel! We will be making this often!
{Garden Style Lasagna}
olive oil and cooking spray 2 onions 4 cloves garlic 1 squash 1 zucchini 1-2 heads broccoli 2 carrots 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup parmesan salt, pepper, and nutmeg 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed 2 cups mozzarella cheese 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese lasagna noodles
Preheat your oven to 375. Chop all of the veggies up. Start with sauteing your onions. Add in some garlic and enjoy the incredible smell. Move the onions to a bowl and throw in your squash and zucchini. Make sure you add in extra olive oil with each round of veggies. Cook until the veggies are tender, and add them to the onions. Last, add in your broccoli and carrots. I used mini carrots and ended up with about 1 cup chopped carrots. Cook until tender and add to the veggie bowl.
?If you love using as few dishes as possible, like me, then add your flour and milk to the same skillet you cooked the veggies in. Or you can use a new one:) Whisk the milk and flour until well combined. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened. Since I used an already heated skillet, I had to really stay on top of stirring my mixture right away. It was thick and ready to go in no time. Remove the skillet from the heat and add in your parmesan cheese, spinach, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I just did a dash of each seasoning. I prefer to add more once it's done if I think more is needed.
In a separate bowl, combine the cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese. Even though it only calls for 1 1/2 cups, the container had 2 cups and I used it all. I knew the cottage cheese would go to waste otherwise. Ok, we are ready to assemble!
Grease a 9x13 dish and start with a thin layer of the spinach mixture. Layer lasagna noodles on top. *I love to use no-boil noodles. They are easy to work with and taste wonderful every time.* Add half of the cottage cheese mixture, half of the veggie mixture, and 1 cup of the spinach mixture. Top with lasagna noodles and repeat the layers. Finish your lasagna off with a layer of noodles and the rest of the spinach mixture. I topped the whole thing off with shredded cheese. Cover your dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 20 more minutes. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The streak is over, but is the trend intact?
A six-week string of gains in the S&P 500 <.spx> ended on Friday amid shifting expectations for central bank stimulus. This week could bring clarity on that issue, and that could determine whether the recent rally that took the index to four-year highs will persist.
"The streak is broken, but the trend isn't, and I think the next major move on the S&P will push us up towards 1,450 or 1,500," said Mark Arbeter, chief technical strategist for Standard & Poor's in New York. "Small- and mid-cap stocks are near their all-time highs, and if they break those highs, I think that will prompt the market to really rip higher."
Still, the market could be in for a bumpy ride this week ahead of Friday's meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Investors are looking for clues on whether Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will announce a third round of quantitative easing.
Bets on aggressive action to increase growth have spurred most of the market's recent gains, meaning any disappointment could stop the rally in its tracks. The CBOE Volatility index or VIX <.vix>, a measure of investor anxiety, jumped almost 13 percent last week.
While many analysts expect QE3 - and Bernanke wrote a letter to a congressional panel that the Fed has room to deliver it - the odds seemed to decline following comments on Thursday from James Bullard, a non-voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee. He said the latest Fed minutes, which indicated the central bank might be ready for more stimulus, were "stale.
"Rhetoric is going back and forth about what we can expect, and we could see some big gyrations going into the meeting, depending on the latest rumor," said Michael Matousek, a senior trader at U.S. Global Investors Inc in San Antonio.
IS QE3 BAKED INTO THE CAKE?
In the recent six-week winning streak, the S&P's longest since January 2011, the index climbed 4.7 percent. That could indicate QE3 has already been priced into shares.
"I think we're priced so that we won't see a major move if something is announced," Matousek said. "But if the status quo persists, which is what I'm expecting, that could be a big disappointment."
Daily trading volume, which has been among the lowest of the year recently, is expected to remain muted ahead of the meeting. Low volume could amplify stock swings in both directions, and there is little other news to otherwise drive trading.
Following the Jackson Hole meeting, there will be a market holiday on September 3 for Labor Day. Trading is expected to pick up after that, with a major catalyst seen on September 6, when the European Central Bank has its next meeting.
The ECB recently pledged to "do whatever it takes" to address the euro zone's debt crisis, comments that contributed to recent positive sentiment.
Earnings season is winding down, with only five S&P 500 components scheduled to report in the coming week, including Tiffany & Co , Joy Global Inc and H.J. Heinz .
With 98 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported results, 67 percent have topped expectations by an average surprise factor of 4.3 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. The 67 percent beat rate is higher than the long-term average of 62 percent. However, there have been some notable disappointments lately, including Hewlett-Packard Co .
Economic indicators includes August reads on consumer confidence and sentiment, the latest read on Chicago PMI and July pending home sales. The Fed's Beige Book, a collection of anecdotal information on current economic conditions, will also be released.
"The market is torn between macroeconomic concerns on one hand, and relatively good earnings and business trends on the other," said John Carey, who helps oversee $260 billion as a portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.
"I'm encouraged by the fundamentals out there, but unquestionably, the economy has slowed."
The S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent last week, a relatively mild decline after six weeks of gains. On Tuesday, it surged to its highest level since June 2008 before pulling back. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> slid 0.9 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq <.ixic> slipped 0.2 percent.
For the year, all three major U.S. stock indexes have racked up substantial gains. The Dow has gained 7.70 percent for 2012 so far, while the S&P 500 had advanced 12.21 percent and the Nasdaq has climbed 17.84 percent.
"The market has been so strong lately that there's the idea Bernanke could pull back from QE3 as a result of that," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading at Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. "But then, all that really means is that the market is able to stand on its own two feet."
(Wall St Week Ahead runs every Sunday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: ryan.vlastelica(at)thomsonreuters.com)
High waves pound the shore in Yonabarucho, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, Sunday morning, Aug. 26, 2012. The strongest typhoon to hit Okinawa in several years lashed the island and surrounding areas Sunday, injuring several people and cutting off power to about 30,000 households. (AP Photo/Ryukyu Shimpo, Futoshi Hanashiro) JAPAN OUT, NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT
High waves pound the shore in Yonabarucho, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, Sunday morning, Aug. 26, 2012. The strongest typhoon to hit Okinawa in several years lashed the island and surrounding areas Sunday, injuring several people and cutting off power to about 30,000 households. (AP Photo/Ryukyu Shimpo, Futoshi Hanashiro) JAPAN OUT, NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT
High waves pound seawall in Yonabarucho, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, Sunday afternoon, Aug. 26, 2012. Residents were being told to stay indoors and warned wind gusts from the strongest typhoon to approach Okinawa in several years could overturn cars and cause waves of up to 12 meters (40 feet) on Sunday. (AP Photo/Okinawa Times via Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, TV OUT, MAGAZINE OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, ONE TIME USE ONLY, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
TOKYO (AP) ? A powerful typhoon lashed the southern Japanese island of Okinawa and surrounding areas Sunday, injuring four people and cutting off power to about 57,000 households.
Weather officials had warned that Typhoon Bolaven would be the strongest to hit the region in several years, but its gusts weren't as powerful as feared. Disaster authorities reported no major damage as of early Monday aside from the blackouts.
The center of slow-moving storm, the 15th of the season, passed over the island late Sunday and was expected to move northwest into the East China Sea on Monday, possibly affecting coastal areas of South Korea by Tuesday, weather officials said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said wind speeds near the center of the typhoon were about 180 kilometers per hour (112 mph), with gusts reaching 252 kph (155 mph), possibly equaling or surpassing past records for the area. Public broadcaster NHK had warned that such strong winds could overturn cars and knock over telephone poles.
But NHK reported that the gusts measured on the island of Amami, north of Okinawa, reached just 140 kph (87 mph).
"The winds weren't as strong as expected. We're glad there's no major damage so far," said Yoshimitsu Matsusaki, an official with the Okinawa government's disaster prevention and crisis management division.
Authorities also scaled back the amount of rainfall expected over the most intense 24 hours to about 350 millimeters (14 inches) from 500 millimeters (20 inches) earlier.
About 43,000 households on Amami island were without electricity, and 14,000 households on Okinawa also lost power, NHK reported. Video footage from Naha, the prefectural capital, showed trees thrashed by the high winds and driving rain in largely empty streets.
On Amami island, some 2,450 households were ordered to evacuate to public shelters.
Okinawa disaster authorities said four people were hurt.
All domestic and international flights in and out of Naha Airport were canceled.
More than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa. At Kadena Air Base, one of the biggest bases on the island, all shops and service facilities were ordered closed and movement around the base was to be kept to a minimum. All entry into the ocean was prohibited.
Bolaven comes on the heels of Typhoon Tembin, which soaked southern Taiwan on Friday, largely sparing populated areas before blowing out to sea again.
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Apple-Samsung Case Shows Smartphone as Legal Magnet Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters
A Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone, left, and an Apple iPhone 4. By STEVE LOHR Published: August 25, 2012
The smartphone in your hand is a marvel of innovation, packing sophisticated computing and communications technologies into a sleek digital device. What the Verdict Said
* Samsung violated a series of Apple's patents related to the software and design of mobile devices. * Apple's patents were valid. * Apple did not violate any of Samsung's patents. * Apple was awarded $1 billion in damages. Document: How the Jury Decided http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/26/technology/26apple-jury-verdict-doc.html?ref=technology
It is also a litigation magnet.
In the last few years, the companies in the smartphone industry have spent billions of dollars buying patents and hundreds of millions suing one another. On Friday, that battle reached a peak with the decision by a federal jury in San Jose, Calif., to award Apple $1.05 billion in damages from Samsung for infringing on just six patents.
The case underscores how dysfunctional the patent system has become. Patent litigation has followed every industrial innovation, whether it is steam engines, cars, phones or semiconductors, but the smartphone wars are bigger, global and unusually complex.
And it is the courts, rather than the patent office, that are being used to push companies toward a truce. In the end, consumers may be the losers.
?It is hard not to see all the patent-buying and patent lawsuits as a distortion of the role of patents,? said Josh Lerner, an economist and patent expert at Harvard Business School. ?They are supposed to be an incentive for innovation.?
By one estimate, as many as 250,000 patents can be used to claim ownership of some technical or design element in a smartphone. Each patent is potentially a license to sue.
Samsung says it will challenge the jury?s decision, which covered design basics like the shape of the iPhone itself and its array of small on-screen icons. So the courtroom conflict could continue for years, and even then, the case is but one of dozens of suits and countersuits in 10 countries between Apple and Samsung, the world?s two leading smartphone makers.
But Apple has more than Samsung in its sights in its litigation campaign against the Korean electronics giant. Samsung is the leader among companies using Google?s Android mobile operating system. So while Apple may be suing Samsung in courtrooms from Germany to Australia, the real enemy is up the road from Apple?s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., at the Googleplex in Mountain View.
Ultimately, the Apple-Samsung roadshow is just the main attraction in the global smartphone patent wars. The roster of litigants includes Microsoft, Nokia, HTC, Google?s Motorola Mobility subsidiary and others.
In a recent case between Apple and Motorola, Judge Richard A. Posner, a prominent federal appeals court judge in Chicago, said in court that the use of patents in the smartphone industry showed a system in ?chaos.? In June, Judge Posner dismissed the case, chastising both sides. He heaped scorn on Apple?s broad claims for its user-experience patents and on Motorola?s claim that Apple should pay a rich royalty on its basic communications patents. Both companies have appealed.
The disputes are fueled, legal experts say, by companies rushing to apply for patents as both defensive and offensive weapons, and by overburdened government examiners granting patents too easily.
?The smartphone patent battles are enabled by lots of trivial patents that never should have been granted in the first place,? said James E. Bessen, a patent expert and lecturer at the Boston University School of Law. ?That?s where Judge Posner was coming from in his ruling.?
To the winners of the patent wars, the rewards will be rich. Mobile computing, or smartphones and tablets, is the most lucrative and fastest-growing market in business. It has made Apple the most valuable company in the world. As Samsung passed Apple in the last year to become the largest smartphone maker, its profits surged along with its sales.
Despite the hostilities, experts say the smartphone patent wars will eventually end in an industrial armistice.
The California court decision, if it holds up on appeal, could have that effect. ?This ruling sends a message to all the handset makers that you have to make truly differentiated products that look different,? said Colleen V. Chien, an assistant professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law. ?And that?s the message Apple wanted to send with its litigation.?
Most legal experts thought Apple would have the most trouble winning infringement judgments on its design patents, which are generally considered weaker than engineering patents for hardware or software, known as utility patents.
But the jury found that Samsung infringed on three of the four design patents in the case. The fourth was a patent for shape of a tablet computer ? a rectangle with rounded corners.
?This could open up a whole new front in the patent wars, as companies race to file applications for design patents,? said Kevin G. Rivette, a Silicon Valley consultant and former vice president of intellectual property strategy for I.B.M.
Yet Mr. Rivette is convinced that the smartphone patent wars will subside and an accommodation will be reached. The sheer number of smartphone patents and the speed of innovation in product development undermine the power of the patents. That is very different than the role patents play in an industry like pharmaceuticals, where a blockbuster drug may be covered by a single patent or a few. In chemistry, the molecule is the patentable idea.
Smartphones are very different. An infringement ruling can slow a rival down for a few months, but not block it. Samsung engineers, for example, have already devised an alternative to one of the patents found to have been infringed upon in the California decision ? the ?bounce? feature. Pull a finger from the top of the iPhone?s touch screen to the bottom and the page bounces. On the newest Samsung smartphones, the same downward finger stroke brings a blue glow at the bottom on the touch screen, not a bounce.
?In this industry, patents are not a clean weapon to stop others,? Mr. Rivette said. ?The technology, like water, will find its way around impediments.?
BONUS DD: A Verdict That Alters an Industry http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/technology/a-verdict-that-alters-an-industry.html
In The Apple vs Samsung Decision, The Real Winner is Microsoft's Windows Phone http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2012/08/25/in-the-apple-vs-samsung-decision-the-real-winner-is-microsofts-windows-phone/
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Vin Scully is sticking around another season to broadcast Los Angeles Dodgers games.
The 84-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster will return for a record 64th season in 2013. Scully will call all Dodgers home and road games in California and Arizona.
Scully said Sunday that the team's new ownership has "revitalized the city, the team, the fans and myself." He says he's so convinced of the new owners' "great purpose and leadership" that he eagerly looks forward to joining them in pursuit of the team's first World Series title since 1988.
The Dodgers say Scully's tenure is the longest of any broadcaster with any team. He calls all nine innings of the team's TV broadcasts, while the first three innings of each of his games are simulcast on radio.
Dodgers chairman and owner Mark Walter says Scully's return for another season "means a great deal to all of us."
Scully began his professional baseball broadcasting career in 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He has called three perfect games, 25 no-hitters, 25 World Series and 12 All-Star games.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney now has Secret Service agents assigned to her at all times. The move comes as her husband is set to formally receive the GOP presidential nomination later this week.
Mitt Romney has had Secret Service protection since January.
It's standard practice for the wives of presidential candidates to receive such protection as Election Day approaches.
Agents accompanied Ann Romney to a supermarket near the Romneys' New Hampshire vacation home on Sunday morning.
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (3)
"Journeys" is simply a trip most need not take.
I'd say the movie does a fine job of completing the trilogy, but I wouldn't be surprised if Demme and Young have more in them yet.
Like Young, Demme often takes an iconoclastic route. This is in part a concert film, yes, but not a traditional one.
Forget Crosby, Stills and Nash and maybe even Crazy Horse. Jonathan Demme might be Neil Young's ultimate collaborator.
As a songwriter, Young can still deliver: one of the best tunes here is a lovely, piano-propelled number, "Leia," that he hasn't even released yet.
The wartsy antipode of Katy Perry: Part of Me, with an intimacy and intensity bordering on the overwhelming.
"Journeys" is about looking back - not in sorrow or wistfulness, but in affection and, often, impassioned remembrance of times past and how they still resonate in the present.
A mesmerizing and intimate visit with a performer who is identified most closely with rock 'n' roll, but whose artistic curiosity has taken him in myriad directions musically throughout his 40-plus-year career.
Neil Young Journeys does for some of us what a rare film can do - it revives and renews our spirit. Neil Young and Jonathan Demme. Heart and soul. Wisdom and age. Fire and ashes. Lightning and thunder.
For fans, Journeys is like that box set of uneven rarities that they simply must own. For casual friends, it's 90 minutes in good company. For the rest - ho-hum.
An unusually fulsome tribute to the singer-songwriter from the director of The Silence of the Lambs.
On its own terms, "Neil Young Journeys" is an enjoyable concert film of a solo show in Toronto, interspersed with memories of his Canadian boyhood.
The concert camera work is sometimes a little tight for comfort (not really interested in Young's bridge work), though it adds to the intensity.
Movie fans probably don't need to hear him sing "Ohio" again, but "Neil Young Journeys" -- Jonathan Demme's second Young doc, if you're counting -- does have some new wrinkles.
In a sense, this film finishes a cycle that began with the homey and impressive "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" and continued with the raucous "Neil Young Trunk Show" of 2009.
"Look at Mother Nature on the run..."
A portrait of a true musical legend who is equally fascinating both onstage and off.
'Heart of Gold' was a great concert film, and 'Journeys' doesn't match it. BHut on its own it's a highly enjoyable ninety minutes of music and droll talk.
by Simona Ganea, posted in Interiors, on August 25th, 2012
It?s impossible to come up with something completely new, something that has nothing to do with everything else that?s already existent. It?s why we all need inspiration, whether it?s for decorating out homes or choosing our clothes. If you want some inspiration for your home and you?re seeking something chic and stylish without following a specific style, then this home is what you?re looking for.
This home has it all. It?s simple but not austere, it?s elegant but not traditional, it?s stylish and glamorous but not opulent and it?s cozy but not rustic. In fact, it has something unique and it?s not necessarily something new. This unique charm comes from the mix of styles from TaCstudios. The residence has an eclectic interior and, as you can see, it combines old with new and modern with traditional as well as several different influences and the result is something original and very beautiful.
The house, located in Atlanta, Georgia has been organized vertically and this allows it have a small footprint and yet to be spacious. In the center of the house are the entertaining and family spaces. They dictate the rest of the d?cor and they set the main direction to be followed. Overall, the house features vivid colors and bold textures and has been beautifully decorated with eclectic artwork. Even though there is a central axis around which the entire interior d?cor has been set, each room and each separate space has its own look.
Yesterday I had a conversation with a woman who has one child, a singleton?16-month old little boy. She kept telling me she doesn't know "how I do it" with two 16-month olds, all that waking up in the night. Truth is, our toddlers sleep through the night. We put them to bed at 8 pm and they wake up at 8 am.
Sleeping through the night is a hot topic with young children. The first year, sleeping through the night is a relative term. A newborn needs to eat more frequently than a 10-month old. After the one-year mark, I want to sleep through the night, fully. I don't want a relative term. Sometimes I find that other moms use "sleeping through night" when they don't mean it. I have heard moms say their children sleep through the night when 1. they co-sleep 2. they "only" go in the nursery once or twice or 3. they have no set bedtimes. My first "slept through the night." We usually put him to bed around 8 pm. After a year old, he usually went to sleep in his own bed and he would crawl into our bed at some point in the night (he co-slept the entire first year). We usually heard him at some point in the night, even if we didn't go in to him; oftentimes, we were in the nursery once or twice in the night. Did he sleep through the night? I thought so. Then I had twins.
My twins sleep through the night. We followed Twelve Hours in Twelve Weeks: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success by Suzy Giordano. We didn't start right away with a schedule. It wasn't really something I was interested in, having co-slept with my first and breastfed on demand. I wanted something that worked for all of us, but?was sensitive to?our children's needs. Our twins came home from the hospital on a schedule, eating every 3 hours, then every 4 hours. It worked for us. Around the time they were 10-weeks old, all hell broke loose. For 3 days, I slept on the nursery floor. They woke up at separate times at 45-minute intervals. Why? I don't know. I barely slept. I was stiff from sleeping on the floor in a comforter. I was tired from waking up so much. I didn't think they slept all day. I didn't play with them at night. I didn't feed them when they woke up "off-schedule."?I couldn't think of anything I was doing wrong. Thankfully, there was a twin group meeting that week. I dragged my disheveled self to the meeting and asked, "What should I do?!" A fellow twin mom recommended 12 Hours in 12 Weeks. I went out and bought it the next day, devouring the book in 45-minutes and writing our new schedule that very evening.
I immediately noticed improvement. We slowly moved in the right direction until our twins were right on schedule. They "slept through the night." We fed them at 10 pm and again at 7 am. During the day, they took a one-hour nap in the morning and a two-hour nap in the afternoon: three "baby free" hours. I even got my two-year old to take an afternoon nap during their naptime. It was glorious. We had to make sacrifices, such as scheduling appointments and playdates at times that "worked" for us.?I ran errands at times that "fit in our schedule." When family came to town, I made sure my husband supported my endeavors to keep our twins "on schedule." Sometimes that meant ending playtime with the grandparents early for nap or reminding my dad that no matter how warm the babies are, they may not nap on him. (My dad is a baby-nap magnet.) My husband and I preferred to feed the babies their bottles so they drank them "on schedule," no dilly-dallying. Our schedule was posted throughout the house. That first year, my husband could call from school and know exactly what we were doing at any given time. There were sacrifices, but there were huge rewards. I felt rested. I knew I had "me time" in the afternoons. I had time for laundry and cooking dinner. I showered. When we put the kids to bed, we had time to ourselves in the evening. The babies slept at night between feedings, no going in the nursery "one or two times." We did not go in the nursery at all between the 10 pm feeding and the 7 am feeding. Not on principle, but because the babies slept.
We got rid of the 10 pm feeding. The babies started sleeping from their last feeding at 7 pm to their first feeding at 7 am. Yes, the evenings were fussy. We pushed the 7 pm feeding up to about 6:30 pm to put an end to the fussiness. We loved the schedule. I loved the sleep. The first year, though, there are a lot of hiccups. The babies get angry because of developmental stages: they want to crawl, but can't yet. They want to hold the spoon. They don't want a sippy cup or whatever. And that terror called teething. Teething was a major problem at our house. Our 16-month olds have 14 teeth each. When their teeth started coming in, they came in pairs and groups! All of these things mess with the schedule. When teething was bad, the babies would wake up in the night. Ironically, they woke up every 6 hours, when the Ibuprofen would wear off. Or a cold would hit our house and they would be congested, bless their hearts. We followed the sleep methods in the book and would get them back to sleep. When they had colds, we would let them sleep more upright in bouncey sets or their swings (strapped in). It helped them breath better.
A funny thing happened in our adventures in scheduling: the babies preferred to fall asleep in their cribs. I remember my oldest wanting me to rock him to sleep. He wanted to drift off in my arms and then be laid down in his cribs. The twins want to fall asleep on their own, in their cribs. We use things to make a consistent sleep environment: the Sleep Sheep (familiar sounds)?and their blankets (has that "home" smell). They can fall asleep in Pack'N'Plays away from home or, of course, in their own cribs. It is very easy to put them to bed, much easier than putting our oldest to bed at the same age.
We've had varying nap schedules with them. The first year I stuck to the 12 Hours in 12 Weeks nap schedule. Around the time they turned a year old, we switched to one nap. It took place from 10 am to 2 pm. I loved that large block of time. I hated being strapped to the house during prime get-out-of-the-house hours. I fed them breakfast, let them play, then put them down to nap. When they woke up, they wanted to eat again, making it impossible to leave until 3 pm. I don't know if you've ever left the house with a toddler, but I can tell you that there aren't a lot of good places to go with two toddlers approaching 4 pm; that time starts getting close to the evening fussy hours. (Why do the evenings always mean fussy time?) Because I didn't like such a structured nap time, I started playing with the nap hours. Now we have a fluid nap schedule. If we are home all day, I may put them down around 10 am for a short morning nap. I may put them down around 11 am. I may put one down and let the other stay up. I shoot to give them each 2 hours of total naptime, all at once or 2 broken up naps. Usually, if they take a morning nap, they will still take almost a 2 hour afternoon nap, from about 3 to 5. I keep a Pack'N'Play up in our bedroom with a Sleep Sheep. That way I can lay them down at different times, if needed. Last weekend, they took opposite naps. One toddler went down at 10 am to 11:30 am. The other toddler went down to nap at 11:30 am to 2 pm. The first toddler went down from 2 pm to 4 pm. The second toddler went down from 4 pm to 6 pm. We had 2 hours with both toddlers, then they went to bed at 8 pm. When school starts, I plan on wearing them out in the morning and giving one long afternoon nap. Even with changing naptimes, they still sleep through the night. If they started having issues sleeping through the night, I wouldn't change their nap schedules so much. They also have personalities that support varying naptimes. It has worked well for us.
But, when I say they sleep through the night, they truly sleep through the night. We put them to bed at 8 pm. Sometimes they wake up at 9:30 am. Sometimes 10 am. Sometimes 7:30 am. One week, one of the twins woke up between 6:30 and 7:00 am consistently. I worried he was a morning person, but, thankfully, he fell back on schedule. Our summer plans have varied. Some mornings we are leaving early; others, late. Some days we are home all day and it doesn't matter what time we wake up. When school starts, I will set a wake up time again.
There are a few things that I wish I had done a little differently the first year. Putting them on a schedule is not one of them. There were hard times, but we stuck to it. And it has paid off. As Jane Roper says in Double Time: How I Survived--and Mostly Thrived-- Through the First Three Years of Mothering Twins:
I suspect that some of our friends and acquaintances thought we were uptight crazies for planning our lives around the girls' nap schedules and insisting on putting them down to bed every night, in their own cribs, at seven o'clock sharp. We knew plenty of singleton parents who toted their babies around at all hours... But when those rock and roll babies hit the one-year mark and still weren't sleeping through the night... several of our friends sheepishly asked us: um, how did you do it? ...When you've got twins, you don't mess around with sleep routines. You can't, or you'll never have a moment's rest yourself. Which isn't to say that it it's easy, but it can be done. Stick to your guns. You may even end up the envy of your singleton parent friends.
As for my oldest, while I was pregnant with the twins, we cracked down on the co-sleeping. By the time the babies were born, he was sleeping through the whole night in his own bed. When we potty-trained him at 3 years and 3 months, we taught him how to use the restroom, get some food, and entertain himself until Mommy wakes up (he has always been a morning person). Most mornings, by the time I wake up, he has eaten a banana and some cereal and is playing with his Star Wars toys or puzzles quietly at the table. I love waking up to, "Good morning, Momma! How did you sleep?" Such a sweet boy.
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Public release date: 30-Aug-2012
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