5 Ways Kids Can Serve Communities

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If you are looking for ways to get your kids involved in the community, below is the repost of a nice article that I found at www.pbs.org.  Our kids are always watching us, so we if demonstrate love and kindness to our neighbors, they will do as we do.

"The best way to instill a commitment to service is to start at home. Encouraging small acts of kindness, like helping a family member who has had a rough day or caring for a pet, can teach even the smallest children the power of caring. As children grow, you can help them develop empathy and support good causes with these five tips:

1. Give kids a vote.
   Sit down as a group and discuss whether there are any individuals, organizations or causes that you are especially interested in helping. What talents and skills do you and your children have that will be most beneficial to them? Even small acts, like donating extra food and blankets to the animal shelter, will have meaning for children, if they choose the cause.  The best way to instill a commitment to service is to start at home. Encouraging small acts of kindness, like helping a family member who has had a rough day or caring for a pet, can teach even the smallest children the power of caring. As children grow, you can help them develop empathy and support good causes with these five tips: Give kids a vote. Sit down as a group and discuss whether there are any individuals, organizations or causes that you are especially interested in helping. What talents and skills do you and your children have that will be most beneficial to them? Even small acts, like donating extra food and blankets to the animal shelter, will have meaning for children, if they choose the cause." Read more.

5 Benefits to Being Sick

I am up at 5a.m. because I went to bed at 8p.m. last night. This would never happen if I was in good health, so I started thinking about the benefits of being sick.  My brain is still foggy at this time of the morning, so thankfully, it didn't require much thought. Here are my top 5.

1. Increased ability to prioritize. Instead of spending the day doing 10 things, I identify the most important thing and try to accomplish it first because I may be in bed for the next 6 hours.
2. More time with the family. Last week when the baby had pink eye, the two of us spent our evenings closed off in a room together because I didn't want the other kids to get sick. We had the best time! We laughed and played and rolled around on the floor together and bonded in a major way.
3. Weight loss. Who doesn't want to lose that baby bump. Not being able to keep food down and surviving on lemon tea and soup has its benefits.
4. A much needed day off. Every time that I am home sick I wonder why I don't take a day off more often.  It is lovely to be home on a Wednesday with no distractions.
5. Sleep. It is almost impossible for a mother to get 8 hours of sleep per night. Even when the baby doesn't wake up because he can't find his bottle and the older boys don't crawl into my bed at 2a.m., I always wake up to check on them. I think that my body is programmed to do the 1a.m. "did someone fall out the bed" check but when you are sick, the body demands that you sleep long and often.

I am sure that I could think of a few more benefits but the baby is awake. Add your top 5.

Wellness of Mind, Body and Spirit

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As I type this, I am sick with my 4th cold in 3 months. I really have no concrete explanation, only a few guesses - the kids are in daycare and they bring me every germ known to man, I am not taking enough vitamin C, my stress level is too high, I need to use the hand sanitizer as often as I use my cellphone, although I practically live on vegetables, I am STILL not eating the right mix of foods, and of course, I can blame it on the Orlando weather, which is 79 one day and 48 the next.  My husband sat next to me in my misery and suggested positive affirmations reminiscent of The Game of Life and How to Play it. "Say to yourself, I am fine," he tells me. No, I am NOT fine, my body is aching; I haven't been fine for weeks!  To preserve our marital bliss, I proclaimed "I am fine and this will pass in a day." Thyroid goiter, hyperglycemia, constant colds; I am overwhelmed. Maybe, if I get my mind and spirit in a good place, my body will follow.  Kids don't understand that mommy is under the weather, so I better find the balance to turn this struggling caterpillar into a butterfly for myself and for them.

The body, the mind and the soul all wants to be well, we just need to get out of our own way. Every day is a new day to start on the journey to complete wellness. If you have already started, build upon what you have accomplished. To get inspired, I turned to Dr. Zimmerman, who inspires me each week with his uplifting Tuesday tips. I am sharing his wonderful definition of Wellness

Wellness Is…

knowing what your real needs are and

   how to get them met;

expressing emotions in ways that

   communicate what you are

   experiencing to other people;

acting assertively, and not passively or

   aggressively;

enjoying your body by means of

   adequate nutrition, exercise and

   physical awareness;

being engaged in projects that are

   meaningful to you and reflect your

   most important inner values;

knowing how to create and cultivate

   close relationships with others;

responding to challenges in live as

   opportunities to grow in strength and

   maturity, rather than feeling beset by

   “problems”‘

creating the life you really want, rather

   just reacting to what “seems to

   happen”;

relating to troublesome physical

   symptoms in ways that improve your

   condition and increase your

   knowledge about yourself;

enjoying a basic sense of well-being,

   even through times of adversity;

knowing your own inner patterns -

   emotional and physical – and

   understanding “signals” your body

   gives you;

trusting that your own personal

   resources are your greatest strength

   for living and growing;

experiencing yourself as a Wonderful

   Person.

Pure Poetry!  This year, I am working on acting assertively, enjoying my body by means of exercise, being engaged only in things that are meaningful to me, and for today - relating to troublesome physical symptoms in ways that improves my condition and increases my knowledge about myself.  Are you on a journey to wellness? Share your story.

Boys and Poop

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I love when I find new perspectives on raising boys. Below is one from Thomas Matlack, the Men's Project.
http://www.babble.com/toddler/toddler-behavior-and-learning/raising-boys-fathers-parenting-advice/

Some of his thoughts are generalizations or relate to his family but he has some funny points. I have yet to find a mother with a son who is not fascinated by poop. I often hear, "Mom, I have a surprise for you". What is the surprise? Poop. I sit in the bathroom, sometimes with my laptop, because they want me to be a witness to the pooping. It is a big, darn deal for them! They want me to smell it and hear the sounds. I blame myself for making such a big deal about it the first month or so that they finally became potty trained. One day, I will appropriately say, "Son, pooping is private and no one should be in the bathroom with you." Or "Sweetie, please do not discuss poop at the dinner table." For now, I just sit on the bathroom floor and smile. Is this one of the moments that I will miss when they get older?

My Old New Self

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Do you plan on reinventing yourself this year or are you one of the few that are completely happy with your life. I plan to do a little reinventing. I grew up in the country with a small house in a really big yard with fruit trees, a verandah, a place to play marbles, yams to dig, fruit trees to climb, game playing in the street, a big pot cooking the in the back yard, and friends dropping by the house often.  This year, I am reclaiming the old me. I may not be able to recreate the magic of Jamaica in Orlando but I am sure going to try.  Yesterday, I was out house hunting and decided that any house that I buy has to be surrounded by at least 1/2 acre of land. I want the boys to experience how it feels to grow your own food and go out back to get dinner from the earth.  I want to look out the kitchen window and see them playing sports in the yard. I want to get back to being an outdoor, sports chick. I used to be able to run and climb trees as fast as the boys but I am now out of breath after 5 minutes of soccer. After 20 years of city living, my resolution for this year is to reclaim the old me.  Sometimes you can and should go home again.