Arkansas Women Bloggers @ MOD: A Recap, Fawn Warner-Rechkemmer

EDITOR'S NOTE: MOD VOICES is thrilled to present Fawn Rechkemmer. Fawn has been a long-time friend of the Museum of Discovery and we're happy to have her present a recap of the December 11 Arkansas Women Blogger event at the Museum of Discovery.


As an event planner, it’s always hard to come to grips with the idea that nothing is definite when you pull together a first-time event. So, when Stephanie Buckley (aka The Park Wife) called and told me that we had been offered the opportunity to have a meetup for the Arkansas Women Bloggers at the Museum of Discovery, I was excited, a little nervous, and very curious about what the end result would be.

Luckily, putting the event together seemed to evolve fairly easily. The Park Wife lead the charge, along with Katie McManners from Museum of Discovery and Julie Kohl from WillowTreeCreek Farm.


Our advertising spread via word of mouth and our Facebook page for the most part, but we also had the added bonuses of a nice preview article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, and an excellent early morning appearance by the lovely LaTonya Richardson on KATV channel 7. We ended up with 44 bloggers and bloggers-to-be in attendance at the meetup.

A Chatty Crowd

Stephanie was a champ at approaching businesses for support, but many of our sponsors came to us, which was very exciting. Misty Willbanks and Petit Jean Meats provided turkey, ham, and summer sausage for our lunch, plus a whole ham to give away. Boulevard Bread provided 5 different kinds of bread, Kroger provided fruit and vegetable trays, and Cupcake Crazy provided 120 beautiful, yummy cupcakes. We also had a lot of great support from our member bloggers, who provided great door prizes including locally grown food, gourmet dog biscuits, eco-friendly candles and soaps, and a signed cookbook from The Pioneer Wife.


The meetup started off with blogger speed dating, led by Julie. This gave everyone a chance to get to know several people in the room. It was so fun to watch everyone match faces with blogs. Several times I introduced myself: "Hi, I'm Fawn." The response was, "Oh! you're Instead of the Dishes!" It was like attending a secret society meeting where everyone had code names. It was also interesting to see different types of bloggers mixing. The author-blogger chatting with the fitness blogger, the surgeon blogger with the mommy blogger, and the foodie blogger with the lifestyle blogger, all chatting it up. Overall, it was an incredible group of women, many of whom were brave enough to come out to our meetup despite the fact that they didn't know anyone else there!

Speed-Dating Bloggers

 
 
 

 
 
Next on the docket was lunch.  While we munched, we were treated to two mini-talks by seasoned bloggers (see pictures in post below).  The first talk was from LaTonya Richardson on finding your blog niche. She made us all laugh as she invited us all to work hard at just being ourselves, because no one else can do that better.  So, so true. Kyran Pittman finished out the "formal" part of our program with a chat about avoiding the numbers game for blogging.  Turns out Kyran speaks just as well as she writes, and certainly she is the poster child for making HUGE things happen as a result of a small blog. Huge Thanks to both of these ladies, who added so much value to our afternoon.
 
 

 
 
Finally, our elegant hostess, Katie McManners, let us all in on future plans for the Museum and touted MOD Voices guest blogger perks such as behind-the-scenes hard-hat tours of the upcoming expansion project.  Museum of Discovery will be completely re-doing their "You" over the next year, and I'm sure they'll be paying attention to their numbers. That's ok, though, because their enthusiasm for being an integral part of the community is outstanding, as is evidenced by their invitation to host our inaugural meetup.  Either that, or Katie didn't realize what an unruly bunch us bloggers can be.

==============================

Fawn Rechkemmer is a freelance writer/editor with a love for learning new things and a hatred for all things domestic. She has mastered the skills of reading book club novels while playing hide and go seek, convincing other women to cook her husband dinner, and saving money by swapping therapist fees for a YMCA membership.  Fawn blogs at http://insteadofthedishes.com.

Good enough to tell Granny!

Editor's Note: MOD Voices is pleased to welcome one of our favorite 'behind the scenes of radio' guys, Chuck Gatlin! 

Until last Wednesday, my kids and I had never been to the Museum of Discovery together. My kids have both been with school groups or daycare field trips, but Wednesday was the first time I was able to see them enjoy the museum.

Our visit started on a high note. I was able to find a great parking spot with 25 minutes left on the meter. How cool is that?

Our first stop was Room To Grow. Emma, my 2 yr old, had a ball. As soon as she would get to one play area, she could hardly wait to get to the next. She especially liked the little stage and the barnyard.

Since Room To Grow is for kids 6 and under, my 8 yr old, Robert, and I left Emma with mom and we hit the big kid (and aren’t we all big kids?) stuff.

We weren’t in there two minutes before Robert ran into one his friends from school. And that was it. They ran from exhibit to exhibit…“Hey, come do this…come check this out…no, come do this…watch what this does.”


 

The cloud maker was the big hit. Robert was quick to correct me when I made the mistake of calling it smoke coming out. He said “dad, it’s not smoke, it’s steam.”

Another one of Robert’s favorite stops was the earthquake table. He built and destroyed a small city of wooden block buildings.

Eventually, we made it to Harry’s Big Adventure: My Bug World. Each display was approached with much trepidation. The kids wouldn’t open any of the flaps for fear that a bug would fly out at them. When we were in the kitchen area, Robert found the cockroaches in the "under the counter area" a bit disturbing. He kept a safe distance and didn’t spend any longer than necessary looking at them.

 

Before we left, we took on a family project.

We put together the large topographical puzzle of Arkansas. We were so proud of ourselves.

That evening, we made the 3 hour drive to my mom’s house in Paragould. After we got there, Annette and I were in the kitchen having a bite to eat and we could hear the conversation from the living room.


“Granny, we went to the Museum of Discovery today. They have this thing that you push down on and it makes clouds. And there’s a baton that’s straight and when you push it, it goes through a curved hole. And they have an earthquake table with blocks you can build with and then watch’em fall.”

I think any parent would agree that you know you have had a successful outing when it’s good enough to tell Granny about.

* * * * * * * * * * *

 

Chuck is the Promo Guy for the Point 94.1, husband to Annette, father to Robert and Emma, and drummer for Canvas and the Little Rock First Christian Church Praise Band.

Date with Discovery

Editor's Note: MOD Voices is thrilled to welcome blogger JoBeth McElhanon.  We invited JoBeth and her husband to come on a date to the Museum of Discovery.  Let's see what she had to say about her outing.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the most perfect date in the heart of Little Rockʼs Rivermarket. We didnʼt linger over coffee. We didnʼt savor fine food in a restaurant. We didnʼt dance the night away in a club. We laughed, engaged in witty banter, and learned new things about each other at the Museum of Discovery.

 

Entry to Museum of Discovery, Downtown Little Rock

A date? At the Museum of Discovery? Why yes, let me explain. Websterʼs defines “date” as an act of meeting and engaging in some mutually agreed upon social activity between two people with the aim of assessing the otherʼs suitability in an intimate relationship or as a spouse.
 
Being a hopeless romantic, I have never stopped to think that “a date” is indeed an assessment - a science experiment of sorts set up to answer the questions. How does he react in this situation? Does he exhibit the properties I desire? Do I possess the properties he desires? Am I measuring up? What is it exactly we are looking for in each other? Is he adventurous? Am I graceful? Is he brave? Am I warm? Is he flexible? Is my head in the clouds when Iʼm with him?
 
Whether you are on your first date or your 1000th date, these are questions we should never stop asking. With that in mind, the husband and I set out to DISCOVER the answers one Saturday afternoon.

Our first stop at the Museum of Discovery was “Harryʼs Big Adventure. My Bug World!” We meandered through the exhibit observing all creepy crawly things.

I was wearing my brave face. I was doing pretty good until we were came upon interactive exhibit / our first challenge: chocolate covered crickets and Mealworm Salsa. The buggy chef was touting her treats. We agreed to try the chocolate crickets. And then, the hubs surprised me. He tried the Mealworm Salsa. Weʼre talking little green leggy worms hanging out in tomatoes. He ate it! Now, thatʼs adventurous.
 
 

Mealworm Salsa, tastings every Saturday and Sunday through January 8, 2011

 
 
Not to mention he saved me from that mean olʼ Harry the Praying Mantis. My husband was proving himself to be a real Prince Charming.
 
 

Photo booth in Harry's Big Adventure exhibit

We continued our journey through bug world to the butterfly room. In this virtual experience animated butterflies flittered about and alighted on me. It was time Prince Charming knew how much of a virtual Snow White I am. I mean, if a butterfly lands on me, I must be graceful as she, right? 

Butterfly Room in Harry's Big Adventure exhibit

Proving that he is brave and I am graceful, we still had more to learn about each other. We strolled to Health Hall. We tested our blood pressure to see just how strong our hearts were. Glad to report, weʼre in good shape there. (Due to HIPPA, youʼll have to take my word on that.)
 
 

Health Hall Blood Pressure Testing Station

Next came the real test of a relationship - flexibility. After 11 years of marriage, we admit we both are stubborn. We donʼt bend as easily as we did in the early years, or do we? According to the flexibility test, the hubs has an excellent flexibility range and mine was off the chart. So , maybe we arenʼt as stubborn as we thought. If we can bend a lot physically, surely we can learn to bend a little emotionally.

So far we learned: we are brave, graceful, strong hearted, and flexible. Great qualities in a spouse, but what about “the heat”? All great relationships have heat? Do we? According to the thermography scanner we do. Weʼre hot all over (except for my nose. itʼs always cold). It was at this exhibit we bumped into a younger couple - on a date. They were laughing and giggling and making crazy eyes at each other. Ah, young love. Then I realized, we, the old married couple, had been doing the very same thing all the way through the museum. Eleven years later and our our heads were in the clouds. Literally. There were honest to goodness clouds! They were rising from the lower level where children played and made cloud rings. We ran down the stairs, pushed the kiddos out of the way (not really) and started to make our very own clouds.

One of the many quotes on the "Einstein Wall"

While the sound of laughter and learning rang out in the Museum, I realized, what a great treat this day was. On our 1000th plus date, we were having fun, learning new things about each other. We didnʼt have to wait to bring our nieces and nephews to enjoy this Little Rock treasure. The Museum of Discovery is a fabulous, creative date spot for adults. Plato was right. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” What are you waiting for? Make that call. Send that text. Ask that cutie for a date to the Museum of Discovery. You never know, while you are there, you may discover love.  
 

Harry the Praying Mantis

JoBeth McElhanon

JoBeth McElhanon is an active community volunteer and a BIG fan of Little Rock.  She is a former marketing director and registered dietitian turned blogger. Her mission is to help other women live gracious, beautiful, strong lives and find the perfect shoe.  She and her husband Phillip can often be found scouting out the south’s best barbecue. Despite her recent date to Arkansas MOD, she has zero plans to incorporate mealworms into her diet or holiday entertaining. 

My first visit to the Museum of Discovery, Eden Huffstickler

Editor's note: MOD Voices is proud to welcome budding writer Eden Huffstickler. :-)
Now that I know how much fun birthdays are, I can’t wait for my next one! Mommy and Daddy helped me celebrate my first birthday by taking me to the Museum of Discovery. We all had so much fun! The first thing I saw when we walked inside was a big green dragon sitting on top of a castle door. There was a button on the door, and when I pushed it, the dragon came to life! She opened her eyes and talked to me and Mommy.

Inside the room with the castle door was all kinds of fun stuff. Mommy said it was called the “Room to Grow” and it was for little kids just like me. The first thing I found to play with was a bunch of letters that stuck to the wall. Daddy said they were magnets, and he even helped me spell my name!

Next, Daddy put me in a pit filled with pretend dirt and toy trucks. But I SO wasn’t dressed for that! I just wanted out!

After that we walked over to a giant train track with lots of little trains that I got to move along the track. I had a lot of fun with that, but not quite as much as Daddy!

There were so many other fun things for me to play with and explore, too! I got to climb a rock wall, get in a boat, go down a slide and visit a farm! I loved the farm a lot. Me and Mommy read a lot of books with farm animals in them, and I got to see a big cow just like the ones in our books. I just couldn’t stop looking at it!

When we left the “Room to Grow,” we visited the rest of the Museum. Mommy said I’ll really love the rest of the Museum when I am a little bit older, but for now the “Room to Grow” is just my size! And I can’t wait to go back!

= = = = = = = = = = = =

Eden is the one-year-old daughter of Tyler and Kelcie Huffstickler. When she’s not blogging, she’s watching Diego or playing with her dog, Barnaby. She had a little help on this post from her mommy, who works for Little Rock Family magazine and blogs about their family at http://www.thentherewerethree.me/

"Dude, it's cool!" Susan Toone, Part 5: Mad Museum Mash

Editor's Note: MOD Voices guest blogger Susan Toone continues with a look at "other cool stuff" in the Museum of Discovery

Fascinating though Kind of Creepy:

An eyeball is filled with fluid called vitreous humour, which gives it its shape. So are people who lack senses of humor short on this stuff?

The average brain weighs three pounds and is 80% water. I don’t know what to make of that, except I’m wondering if I can improve my IQ by drinking lots of water like I’m supposed to.

Old-fashioned dentists thought that tobacco rubbed on teeth prevented toothache. And you don’t EVEN want to see their tools. But you do want to see the giant set of teeth, although to my great disappointment, they don’t clatter. I never tire of clattering teeth, just as I never tire of hearing someone ask “Will you call me a cab?” and I say, “Okay, you’re a cab!”

We saw a reproduction of Spanish armor – a chain mail poncho-type things that some poor guy drowned in. He was apparently trying to climb out of his canoe and fell back into the water. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get back up!” This is a preventable tragedy happening too often at medieval fairs when the actors try to “keep it real.”

Thanks to a camera that senses heat, I know what I look like to a snake – my whole head looks tasty except for my glasses. Worse, I know what my children look like. This might explain why a mother cobra sometimes builds a nest for their young, only to leave them to prevent her from eating them. Because they look pretty creepy. As Warren Zevon sings, “it ain’t that pretty at all."

A skull with a big hole drilled in the top was part of a display on how mental illness was treated in the past, the thought being that drilling such a hole would let demons escape. What kind of clowns at a medical convention, upon being presented with this idea by Dr. Harold “Mad Sadist” Malevolent, would say “Yeah, I like that idea. I think my mother-in-law has some demons in her head.” And trust me on this, the screenwriter who wrote Silence of the Lambs obviously visited the exhibit – remember Hannibal’s Lector’s mask? Not made up.

****************

 Just Plain Cool

 You can:

 • Put on a show in a small TV studio! My youngest daughter, bossy by nature, looked right at home there as a producer, barking directions at her friend who announced the weather. Then they changed the settings, and she announced the news underwater. Without holding her breath or her eyeballs bursting.

 • Build a working circuit! I could not do this, due to my limited scientific ability, but I know you can. Electricity scares me. For example, my husband and I received an espresso maker as a wedding present 23 years ago, and I got tired of hiding after I turned it on for fear of it exploding. I gave it away.



 • Watch forces of nature without being scared out of your wits. You can watch a tornado gather force into the dreaded funnel shape and skip lightly over the surface. I never really understood how it gathered force, or how the hurricane worked either. For the hurricane to work, you press on a big, circular wet thing and steam shoots out in the shape of a mushroom cloud – it is very cool. For the best example of both seeing a mushroom cloud up close and personal and how crazy our world leaders can be, see Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

My youngest daughter remarked that after the hurricane ran out of steam, “it “kind of looked like the smoke the Hookah-smoking caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland blew out as he spoke to you.”

Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.


Editor's Note: This concludes our mini-blog series by Susan Toone. Thanks Susan!

"Dude, it's cool!" Susan Toone, Part 4: Night of the Living Dead Stuff

Editor's Note: MOD Voices guest blogger Susan Toone continues. Today we learn about bedbugs. For more buggy facts visit the Museum of Discovery's current exhibit, Harry's Big Adventure


Night of the Living Dead Stuff

Bedbugs, thought to be eradicated in the dark ages of the 1950s (the same decade as when the landscape started sprouting hotels for all those travelers going west who grew weary of sleeping in their covered wagons), are now back with a vengeance. Even chic New Yorkers are fleeing their posh apartments and sleeping in the streets because the hotels are full of screaming tourists demanding new rooms, “and hold the bedbugs!”

Talk about gross. Here’s how the repugnant little bugger operates: he first zaps you with TWO hollow feeding tubes. Into the first tube, he injects his saliva into directly into your skin. This blocks the sensation while he sucks your blood out of the other tube and feasts on you. It’s a bit like a wine tasting: if the first bedbug smacks his lips with enthusiasm, the others join in.

I’ve never been fond of cockroaches, but since I found they are natural predators of bedbugs, I’m going to start treating them like family. Your other two options for avoiding these nefarious but tiny monsters:

 • NEVER travel.

 • NEVER allow anyone who has traveled – anywhere - to stay with you. That’s what hotels are for.

Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.

Editor's Note: Susan Toone finished her blog mini-series with other Museum awesomeness.

"Dude, it's cool!" Susan Toone, Part 3: Breaking the news to celebrities who recycle

Editor's Note: MOD Voices guest blogger Susan Toone continues. Today we explore the wonderful recycling talents of bugs. Learn more buggy facts at the Museum of Discovery's current exhibit, Harry's Big Adventure


Julia Roberts was on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Green Issue a few years ago, radiant in green as the Earth-Mother Goddess. I like Julia Roberts (except when she says things like “I am, like, so totally, definitely a practicing Hindu and really into chanting!”). I found Vanity Fair’s choice comical, as their cover girl said she was new to recycling, but had started taking her own mug to Starbucks. 


Wow – that’s event-changing for all of us! 


I hate to break the news to her and Leo and all the other celebrities who make headlines by arriving in a Prius at the Oscars: Millipedes, beetles and wild termites are SO far ahead of you in recycling! They not only eat stuff, but also help recycle nutrients. And they laugh and point at your behind your backs because they know you have at least 20 other cars parked at one of your many mansions around the world. And spend a fortune on coffee from a place where workers can’t afford a cup of joe.

Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.

Editor's Note: Up next...why cockroaches should garner more respect.

"Dude, it's Cool!" Susan Toone, Part 2: Harry

Editor's Note: MOD Voices guest blogger Susan Toone continues. Today is all about Harry from the Museum of Discovery's current exhibit, Harry's Big Adventure.

Harry is a travelling mantis; he was in a fancy hotel room somewhere in the heartland ordering takeout when we visited. However, he left behind video that my oldest daughter and I watched over and over again. Harry seized a butterfly and ate it alive, followed by a black bug, followed by a lime green bug….. After each meal, Harry delicately cleaned his hands of every morsel, as I do after I’ve made something chocolate or a meringue. I couldn’t stop watching him. My daughter commented, “What a slow and painful death. Not the best kind of death,” and then added “I’m both freaked out and fascinated."




I got chills thinking about my close encounter with one of Harry’s brethren while recently watering an Autumn Joy during a really dry spell. I thought my mantis was a leaf, so I bent to pluck him; he startled me by flourishing his little arms, informing me that I should really consider my next move. I raised the nozzle a bit higher so he could enjoy a nice shower vs. a deluge. He climbed to the tip-top of the plant and signaled his thanks – he couldn’t get enough of the water. I didn’t know what a predator he was then, and I shudder to think of the consequences had I not done his bidding. He never did tell me where he was from.



(Incidentally, the “praying mantis fist” is a form of martial arts, inspired by the aggressiveness of guys like Harry.)

Weekend bug petting zoo

Next to the scary videos of Harry, we discovered a family of Dung Beetles. They almost shimmered and might be more appealing if they weren’t eating and playing in poop. Unlike some of the other insects (for example, Cuddles the Scorpion, who looked lonely), they looked very busy and we couldn’t help but wonder: where does the poop in the habitat come from? Because I have two dogs and I’d be happy to contribute.



We experienced what a locust attack would sound like and watched a few people, including my daughter, eat savory bugs and worms prepared by the Terminix chefs. I could go on and on about the bugs – who knew they were so fascinating.

 Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.

Editor's Note: Up next..what bugs could teach a thing or two to celebrities.

“Dude, it’s cool!” Susan Toone, Part 1: Falling in love with bugs all over again

Editor's Note: MOD Voices is honored to present a blog mini-series by our friend Susan Toone!
 
Note to Readers: This blog does not contain scientific terms.
I wasn’t sure how much enthusiasm three teenagers, ranging in age from 13 – 15, were going to display when told I was taking them to the Museum of Discovery. They got really excited, like teenagers do. “Yeah, okay. Cool.”

Visiting the cow in "Room to Grow"

We were greeted at the museum by Borus the Sphinx Rat (who is hairless and jumped on his wheel immediately to impress us), Charles, a baby ball python whose body size has not yet caught up with his head, and Ginger, an Iguana who looks as if she has found her bliss.

Exhibits at the museum range from cool to creepy, from mystery to murder, from silliness to heartbreak. You can’t help but notice that Albert Einstein is to the museum what Nearly Headless Nick is to Hogwarts: an enthusiastic, friendly presence who gleefully peeps over the shoulders of children discovering their world through play.

My greatest learning experiences were twofold: how much I love bugs and how much science fiction owes to their behavior. You can’t help but think of Alien as you watch a spider deftly wrap a munchie in her web. Harry the Chinese Praying Mantis and his kin have obviously influenced the look of many aliens, both in look and manner. Although Harry also reminded me of Hannibal Lector, minus the fava beans and a good bottle of Chianti.

Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.


Editor's Note: Next, read more about Harry the Praying Mantis!

Birthday Parties, Amy Bradley-Hole

Growing up, I had some awesome birthday parties. They were pretty simple - no bounce houses or circus acts or fancy food or hundreds of guests. No, they were simple but fun affairs. They usually involved splashing around in a pool or lake and generally being wild and crazy and burning off some energy. My mom really made them great, though. She had a knack for making a fun cake and tasty snacks. Plus she always came up with a neat theme and made sure the decorations were perfect.

As a mom, I'd love to give my kids the same kind of birthday experience. But the problem is, I work full time. I just don't have the time to plan a party, shop for decorations, come up with activities, etc. If I even thought about tackling a project like that, I would lose my mind.

The birthday boy

That's why I love the Museum of Discovery. They have the greatest birthday party service for moms like me. They let you choose from an assortment of themes that are sure to please any kid. And they take care of almost everything for you. Activities? Check. Drinks? Check. Plates and napkins? Check. Awesome-fun staff members who love hanging out with crazy, loud, rambunctious kids? Check! Someone to CLEAN UP AFTER YOU? A big, fat answer-to-my-prayers check. All you have to do is send out invitations and bring a cake.




And while it may not be the simple birthday party of my memories, it's still good, clean educational fun. It doesn't feel "bought" in any way. It feels wholesome. And after all, I think that's really what I loved about my childhood celebrations.

Captivated by a birthday party activity!

So if you want an easy birthday experience that will please you, your kid, your guests (and your wallet), look no further than the Museum of Discovery!

Amy Bradley-Hole is a busy working mom who barely has time to do laundry, let alone plan parties. An avid museum-goer, she loves all types of museums and exhibits. She also loves introducing her two sons to the world of technology and science. When they’re not in the Room to Grow space, you can find Amy and her family watching LSU football.

Editor's note: MOD VOICES is proud to publish this entry by our friend Amy Bradley-Hole.

Healthy Habits at Home, Ginger Beebe

Arkansas' First Lady Ginger Beebe

As First Lady of Arkansas, I care deeply about the well-being of the children of our State. They are our future and our greatest responsibility.


Childhood obesity is a growing problem in our Nation and in our State. Almost 38 percent of Arkansas children and teens are overweight or obese, compared to 29 percent nationwide. Being overweight not only contributes to other health problems, it also affects academic performance. The obesity epidemic is not something we can ignore; fighting it requires a persistent focus on daily efforts to change our eating and fitness routines.


There are small steps we can take to teach Arkansas children healthier ways to live. We have to change the way people think about food, not just children but parents and teachers, as well. We have to increase physical activity and encourage children to play outside. You can even start your own garden, and have children learn the benefits of working with the soil to produce delicious food!


If we all work together, we can help ensure a healthy future for all children in Arkansas!


Below, you will find some of my favorite easy-to-prepare recipes for children. I encourage you to visit my Web site at http://www.arkansasfirstlady.com/ to view more recipes.


Pizza Squares
2 (8- count) packages refrigerator crescent roll dough 1 carrot grated
4 green onions, chopped
½ cup black olives, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 small head broccoli florets cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup shredded low fat Cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped cauliflower
16 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll dough and pat into a rectangle on a baking sheet, pressing the perforations gently to seal. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until light brown. Remove crust and let stand until cool.


Toss vegetables with the cheese in a large bowl and set aside. Combine cream cheese and salad dressing mix with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Spread cream cheese mixture over the cooled baked crust. Sprinkle with the vegetable mixture. Cut into small squares to serve.


You can substitute other vegetables if you like. Example: bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach leaves, red onion, and alfalfa sprouts.


Apple Cheddar Quesadillas
6 whole wheat tortillas
12 oz. shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese
2 apples (Gala or Fuji), washed and sliced
2 tbsp. butter


Sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsp. cheese over one-half of tortilla.
Place several apple slices, barely overlapping, on top of cheese.
Then sprinkle 2 more tbsp. of cheese on top of apples and fold tortilla in half. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat and cook quesadillas until the cheese melts and the tortillas are golden brown on both sides.


Editor's Note: MOD Voices is honored to have our state's First Lady as a guest blogger.