1. The Family Meeting 2015 – Session 2 Chores
   
2. By Tracy Lamperti, LMHC, BCETS
   
3. Lamperti Counseling & Consultation
   
   
4. The Family Meeting 12 Session Course!
   
   
5. Sign Up
   
   
6. Session 1 covers the following basics of beginning family meetings; 
   

• Keys to success
• Suggestion for calling the first meeting
• When to Hold The Family Meeting
• Structure for The Family Meeting
• Rules for The Family Meeting
• Follow Up for The Family Meeting
• The 7 Components of The Family Meeting
• Reproducible worksheet for the first Family Meeting.

Session 2 follows the format of Session 1 materials but goes more in depth about chores; 

• how to follow up on agreements and topics covered in session 1
• tools and resources for household responsibilities
• helping children learn how to be accountable for their responsibilities with pride, rather than having to punish them to get the job done

Please enjoy this short video where I demonstrate some of my favorite chore plans!

Anyone is welcome to join The Family Meeting on any date.  When you sign up, you will begin on Session 1 and follow along at your own pace.

Appropriate for families with children ages 5 to 16, however, younger and older children are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Opportunity for question/answers/comments/troubleshooting via The Family Meeting on Facebook.  Don’t forget to *like* the page, rather than just a post on the page, in order to stay connected.

Included topics and related worksheets:

• family meeting format
• implementing teamwork strategies
• communication strategies
• taking turns leading the family meeting
• taking turns recording the minutes of the family meeting
• integrating brief teaching moments
• passing down family values
• problem solving
• learning how to distribute household responsibilities
• helping children learn how to be accountable for their responsibilities with pride, rather than having to punish them to get the job done
• building traditions
• impromptu family meetings for urgent matters

$15 per family with sessions delivered via email in pdf format!

Sign Up

Payment via paypal or USPS at:
Lamperti Counseling & Consultation
26 Wampum Dr.
Eastham, MA  02631

As always, if I can be of any assistance to you, please contact me at:

Tracy Lamperti, LMHC, BCETS
Lamperti Counseling & Consultation

We were able to get a PDF copy of the Childcare Subsidy Application for the Towns of Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Harwich, Dennis & Provincetown.  Please click on the file below and download and you will be able to fill it out!

Childcare Subsidy Program
FULL APPLICATION
"Thank you for your interest in applying for the Childcare Subsidy Program as part of a Community
Development Block Grant. Eligibility for this program is income and residency based and as such,
the following application will help us ensure that your family qualifies."

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Carol Bergen
Bailey Boyd Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 636
North Eastham, MA 02651
508-430-4499 x5
cbergen@baileyboyd.com
508-430-4498 (fax)

By: Rebekah Thomson, Pediatric Sleep Coach

Happy New Year! This is the third part of a series dedicated to laying a good foundation for sleep with babies under six months of age. If you missed the last part, click here.

Infant Sleep Tip #3: Look for natural day/night cycle to emerge – usually 6am-6pm or 7am-7pm

Most babies fall into a 6am-6pm or 7am-7pm (or thereabouts) schedule. During the day, we want to focus on full feedings every few hours, outside time, floor time to practice new skills, and napping at appropriate intervals. When you notice your little ones starting to fall apart around 6pm or 7pm, she’s probably ready to call it a day.

Many parents mistake this fussiness as a need for one more nap. But after a 12-hr day, her central nervous system is taxed, and it is time to get her into a less stimulating, more sleep friendly environment. Bring her to the bedroom, give her one last feeding, change her diaper, dim the lights, turn on some white noise (especially if the rest of the house is still up and at ‘em), sing her a song, swaddle her up (if she’s into that), and put her to bed.

Infant Sleep Tip #4: Manage day and night feedings so that caregivers can get some rest too.

Even though she’s ready to hit the sack around 6 or 7pm, a later evening feeding works well for babies and parents. Rouse her for full, boring feeding 2-3 hours later (around 9-10pm), then put her straight back to bed. Then YOU go to bed too!

Babies can naturally take one long stretch per 24-hour period. At first the long stretch may just be 4 hours, but it will lengthen over the upcoming months to 5, 6, 7 hours and will eventually become her night sleep. We want to encourage the long stretch to be at night after that last 9-10pm-ish feeding. If she takes it during the day in the form of an epic nap, she will legitimately be up all night making up for calories didn’t receive during the day. (Yes, that means wake a sleeping baby from a nap so that she doesn’t sleep through a daytime feeding.) And if she does her long stretch from 6-10pm, then you haven’t benefitted from it. So encourage her little body to take its long stretch after that last evening feed.

Note: If mom really needs some more sleep, see if another caregiver can do the next feeding (probably around 1-3am) so that mom can get a solid stretch herself. If breastfeeding, this can be a bottle of expressed breast milk. As the saying goes, “if mama isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Knowing how intense as the first few months can be, we need to do what we can to support ourselves. An uninterrupted 6+ hour stretch of sleep can do wonders for a mom coping with baby blues, postpartum depression, or simply trying to regroup after a challenging postpartum time.Most babies fall into a 6am-6pm or 7am-7pm (or thereabouts) schedule. During the day, we want to focus on full feedings every few hours, outside time, floor time to practice new skills, and napping at appropriate intervals. When you notice your little ones starting to fall apart around 6pm or 7pm, she’s probably ready to call it a day.

Contact Rebekah Thomson for your Sleep Needs! Rebekah Thomson Counting Sheep Pediatric Sleep Coaching rebekahjthomson@gmail.com  (917) 455-3054

Long Pasture Wildlife Playgroup
This program is created especially for the older preschool child and their family who are
looking for a fun learning experience around natural science here on Cape Cod. We will have a Long Pasture
Naturalist guide us through fun activities and themed learning with the support of Miss
Gaby. Appropriate for ages 4 and up (siblings welcome). 
This is a fundraiser for the FUN
Program. 

By: Emily 

As a mom to a preschooler with eczema and a person who suffers from dry sinuses during the winter months, I have gone through my fair share of humidifiers, from inexpensive store brands to high-end ultrasonic models.  Because of this, I have become rather opinionated about what I look for in a humidifier and believe I am a good candidate to test and review this product.

The Luma Comfort Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier HC12B is pretty straightforward to assemble out of the box.  I did get confused about the number of nozzle pieces, and the instructions were ambiguous about the fact that you can set the humidifier up with various-length nozzles, depending if you have it sitting on the floor or on a table.

Once I figured that out though, I set it up with the medium-length nozzle, as I was placing the humidifier slightly off the floor on the hearth in my living room.

The bulb-shaped bottom of the humidifier is made up of two pieces.  The top piece lifts off and is the tank that you fill with water.  This was easy to do, and the water reservoir is a pretty decent size, holding over a gallon of water (9.5 pints according to manual).

After it is placed on the base, you hear the water gurgling into the base and the instructions recommend waiting five minutes before you turn it on.  After that, I had my preschooler press the power button, which gave a satisfying beep and illuminated.  Within minutes cool mist was visibly floating out the top of the nozzle, adding moisture to the air.  The cool mist part is great, because the first thing my son did was cover the nozzle with his palm and I had no concerns about him getting burned.  The whole unit feels cool to the touch.

The unit is very quiet, producing a barely noticeable whirring or humming noise that I only hear if I consciously listen for the sound.

One of the key features of this unit is that it is designed to be attractive.  I typically hate having a bulky humidifier take up precious table space in my small home, typically crowding a table or dresser for the duration of winter.  While I’m sure I could put any humidifier on the floor, this one looks like it belongs there and is far less obtrusive than the other humidifiers I own.

Additionally, for your family’s health and product longevity, humidifiers need to be cleaned regularly so I appreciate ones that are easy to clean.  While the manual explains that the humidifier can run for 45 hours continuously on a single tank, it also recommends that you replace the tank of water daily to reduce the chance of buildup or bacteria.  I found this to be a bit confusing.  If I’m going to change the water daily, what’s the point of a 45 hour cycle?  Good thing for me, I’m not that organized.  If I can’t remember to scoop out my cat’s litter box each day, there is no way I’m going to find time to dump out and refill a humidifier tank.

I have learned the hard way that cleaning out the reservoir frequently is important, not only to keep the humidifier running efficiently, but to avoid nasty mold growth.  Trust me on this, it is not only nasty to look at but really unhealthy to neglect, so if you are going to use a humidifier, keep it clean!  I clean mine every other week when in use continuously, which is what the manual recommends.  Anytime I unplug it I try to remember to dump the water out immediately.

I ran the humidifier through two 45 hour cycles, then drained it and cleaned it as I would twice a month.  Previously I have cleaned my humidifiers with white vinegar and water, but the manual suggested using a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, as recommended by the EPA, to help remove mineral buildup and disinfect the unit.  Good old Google helped me figure out that to make a gallon I needed to combine 1.25 cups of hydrogen peroxide, 14.75 cups of water (to get 16 cups, which equals a gallon).  I put this in the reservoir and let it sit for 20 minutes, swishing it around a bit any time I came back into the kitchen.

After the soaking was complete, I rinsed both the base and the water reservoir with clean water and let the pieces dry out in the bathtub before putting the unit back together.

The humidifier comes with a remote that includes one of those coin shaped batteries.  I understand why they went that route design-wise.  The remote mimics the shape of the humidifier and is too small to hold AAA or AA batteries.  However I never have anything but those batteries in stock and typically get irritated by products that require something that necessitates a specific trip to the hardware store to replace.  Honestly I haven’t even put the battery in the remote since you can operate the unit directly from the base.

Overall it is a unique take on humidifier design with a large tank capacity to get several days use on a single run.  I found it easy to clean and appreciated the ability to customize the nozzle height based on where the unit was placed. 

The Luma Comfort Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier HC12B is available for purchase through www.air-n-water.com. Check out their Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/airnwaterinc.  

For a limited time, Cape Cod Mom’s readers can save 20% on any purchase by using the code Save20 at checkout!

Air n Water has also graciously allowed us to host a giveaway for our community!  One lucky Cape Cod Mom will win their very own Luma Comfort Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier HC12B. Read more for how to enter below!

GIVEAWAY

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." The company who sponsored it sent us a sample product  to write an honest review. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Family Meeting 2015 – Session 1 Intro
By Tracy Lamperti, LMHC, BCETS
Lamperti Counseling & Consultation

Introducing!  The Family Meeting 12 Session Course!

The Family Meeting Overview
The Family Meeting Session 1 Overview

By: Gary M. DellaPosta, CPA

In late December Congress finally took action, passing the tax extender bill, officially known as the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), which was signed into law by President Obama.

The good news is that these tax provisions are retroactive to January 1, 2014. The bad news is that they expired on December 31, 2014. Even so, you might be able to take advantage of them when you file your 2014 tax return. Let's take a look at some of the tax provisions most likely to affect taxpayers when filing their 2014 tax returns.

1. Teachers' Deduction for Certain Expenses
Primary and secondary school teachers buying school supplies out-of-pocket may be able to take an above-the-line deduction of up to $250 for unreimbursed expenses. An above the line deduction means that it can be taken before calculating adjusted gross income.

2. State and Local Sales Taxes 
Taxpayers that pay state and local sales tax can deduct the amounts paid on their federal tax returns (instead of state and local income taxes)--as long as they itemize. In other words, if you're thinking of buying a big ticket item such as a boat or car and live in a state with sales tax, you might want to think about buying it this year.

3. Mortgage Insurance Premiums
Mortgage insurance premiums (PMI) are paid by homeowners with less than 20 percent equity in their homes. These premiums were deductible in tax years 2012, 2013, and once again in 2014; however, this tax break ended on December 31, 2014. Whether it will be extended for 2015 is unknown. Mortgage interest deductions for taxpayers who itemize are not affected.

4. Exclusion of Discharge of Principal Residence Indebtedness
Typically, forgiven debt is considered taxable income in the eyes of the IRS; however, this tax provision, which was extended through and expired at the end of 2014, allows homeowners whose homes have been foreclosed on or subjected to short sale to exclude up to $2 million of cancelled mortgage debt. Also included are taxpayers seeking debt modification on their home.

5. Distributions from IRAs for Charitable Contributions
Taxpayers who are age 70 1/2 or older can donate up to $100,000 in distributions from their IRA to charity. Some people do not want to take the mandatory minimum distributions (which are counted as income) upon reaching this age and instead can contribute it to charity, using it as a strategy to lower income enough to take advantage of other tax provisions with phaseout limits.

6. Parity for Mass Transit Fringe Benefits
This tax extender allows commuters who used mass transit in 2014 to exclude from income (up to $250 per month), transit benefits paid by their employers such as monthly rail or subway passes, making it on par with parking benefits (also up to $250 pre-tax). Like the other tax extenders, this provision expired at the end of last year (2014). In 2015, pre-tax benefits for mass transit commuters drop to a maximum of $130 per month, while parking benefits remain at $250.

7. Energy Efficient Improvements (including Appliances
This tax break has been around for a while, but if you made your home more energy efficient in 2014, now is the time to take advantage of this tax credit on your 2014 tax return. The credit reduces your taxes as opposed to a deduction that reduces your taxable income, and is 10 percent of the cost of building materials for items such as insulation, new water heaters, or a wood pellet stove.

Note: This tax is cumulative, so if you've taken the credit in any tax year since 2006, you will not be able to take the full $500 tax credit this year. If, for example, you took a credit of $300 in 2012, the maximum credit you could take this year is $200.

8. Qualified Tuition and Expenses

The deduction for qualified tuition and fees, extended through 2014, is an above-the-line tax deduction, which means that you don't have to itemize your deductions to claim the expense. Taxpayers with income of up to $130,000 (joint) or $65,000 (single) can claim a deduction for up to $4,000 in expenses. Taxpayers with income over $130,000 but under $160,000 (joint) and over $65,000 but under $80,000 (single) can take a deduction up to $2,000; however, taxpayers with income over those amounts are not eligible for the deduction.

Qualified education expenses are defined as tuition and related expenses required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution. Related expenses include student-activity fees and expenses for books, supplies, and equipment as required by the institution.

9. Donation of Conservation Property
Also extended through 2014 was a tax provision that allowed taxpayers to donate property or easements to a local land trust or other conservation organization and receive a tax break in return.

10. Small Business Stock
If you invested in a small business such as a start-up C-corporation in 2014, consider taking advantage of this tax provision on your 2014 tax return. If you held onto this stock for five years, you can exclude 100 percent of the capital gains--in other words, you won't be paying any capital gains. If you waited until January 2015 however, you will only be able to exclude 50 percent of the capital gains.

In addition to the tax extenders, there's also good news for people with disabilities. Attached to the extender bill is the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act that allows people who were disabled before the age of 26 (and including family and friends) to contribute up to a combined total of $14,000 a year to an ABLE account. Accumulated earnings are tax free. Also, money held in the account would not disqualify the disabled person from receiving federal assistance benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income--provided it is not used to pay for housing, transportation, education and wellness.


Gary DellaPosta is a CPA and founder of the firm.  A graduate of Bryant University, he is a member of the American Institute of CPA's as well as the Massachusetts Society of CPA's.  In addition to providing accounting, tax and advisory services to individuals and businesses, he also provides litigation support to attorneys and has been recognized as an expert in numerous Massachusetts' courts.  Mr. DellaPosta serves on the Board of the Barnstable County Mutual Insurance Co., where he serves on the audit, investment and employee benefit committees.  He also serves as the Treasurer of the Community Health Center of Cape Cod, is a Director at The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod and is a former director of Eastern Bank and Plymouth Savings Bank.