Monday, March 29, 2010

Simple Treasures

One tradition I started a few years ago is to say the best part of your day at the end of dinner. It has led to many discussion on life and how to look for the good in things. Often if they didn't get to play with a friend, they will say that nothing was good. I then have to help remind them of the fun they did have.

Another simple thing I do almost daily is write things down on the fridge to remember the good things. I started this five years ago when my daughter was born and was having a hard time focusing on the good, because I was always tired and the 15 minute naps were never enough to regroup. I take a blank piece of paper, write the month and year at top and the kids initials. I try to keep the process as stress free as possible. It has been so funny to go back and reread the comments they have made.

The last simple thing I started doing a few weeks ago was to set my phone alarm for every hour. I had had a conversation with a friend that told me about a meditation retreat, where they would ring the bell hourly, you had to stop and meditate. Well we thought we need a Momma Monk that lives our busy life and can actually stop and breathe or focus on something good. I then thought of my fancy phone and promptly set the alarm for a lovely harp sound. It goes off and has a space for a positive affirmation. The morning one says "you will have a great day." The one before dinner says "get ready for a yummy dinner." The last one reminds me how lucky I am. My son heard the alarm and I told him that it said to be greatfull for what we have and that we are lucky. He said "does it automatically send that out?" I said, "I set it!" He thought it would be good to have one that said we would have a great day in school!

Simple tools for real moms!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Bagua Workshop

Wow, what an uplifting day!! I had the opportunity to attend a Bagua Workshop held at my therapists office. I actually feel she is more of a life coach for me, I of course have no problems :)!

The day was the first day of spring and she had incense burning in the entry way, we got sprayed with lavender and anointed our hands and inhaled lavender oils. We then chose an angel card with one word on it. There were about twelve participants, 3 being men. We all shared our card with each other and gave a word that came to mind. My word was Enthusiasm! What a perfect word for me. I love new things that are to help bring focus and clarity.

After that we looked at images and shared what we felt when we looked at them. We then shared color cards and read what each color stood for. My color was pink which represented the relationship corner and love.

The Bagua board, as I understand it is like a vision or dream board. It has nine quadrants and each is represented by colors, images, words and helps bring consciousness. We did a few meditations throughout the day to help keep our mind and body connected to the experience.

My paid friend had worked in the past in gerontology. She used to ask people what they were grateful for and one guy said he was grateful to be vertical! She then posed the question to us . We went through all the different phases of life, 18 and under, 20, 30, 40, ect. all the way to 100 years old. We wrote down our thoughts on what we would be grateful for at that age. It was enlightening to see how we always wanted connection with others, health and happiness. We get these things in different ways at different parts of our lives. We then received a gratitude box, mine was in the shape of a heart. We wrote 5 things down that we are grateful for. Mine were qualities I like about myself. We are supposed to write things down everyday and when we are having an off day, to read them.

We were fed wonderful food, of course I would have been happy with peanut butter and jelly as long as I didn't have to make it!! During lunch we chatted and I met this amazing woman whom works with pregnant drug addicts, in recovery. We shared our passion for informing women and being there for the babies.

After lunch we finally learned about the nine quadrants for the board. It was then time to find pictures that meant something to us from old magazines. I found it interesting how people went about this process differently. Some were cutting each picture as they came to it. I like flipping through the magazine quickly and ripping out any picture that grabs my eye. I had so many pictures I was wondering if my board was going to be too cluttered like my home and life! This process took 3 hours!! Including gluing the pictures in the different sections. We then put our boards out and blessed each person. It was powerful to be allowed into people private lives, via the board. I was amazed by how my life overlaps in many areas. I also noticed that I am so focused on my family and career, that my relationship corner seemed to be lacking. I look forward to continuing looking at my board daily so as to manifest the things I want for 2010. I feel so confident in this process and attention to the law of attraction, that I hope I can share it family and friends!

Poor Choices

Ok, so we live close to juvenile hall. We have driven past and the kids have asked what it is. I have said that boys or girls who make poor choices in life get sent there. I was trying to keep it general! Well that was months ago. Fast forward to yesterday! My 8 year old son, Cade was making some poor choices with his interactions with his sister. He then made a poor choice with a friend. I didn't have the details that he and the friend were playing a throwing stick game. I have the philosophy that if you do bad things, bad things are going to happen to you. So if you play with sticks, you run the risk of getting hurt. I felt I may have overreacted and felt bad when we got home. He was sitting quietly on the couch, so I went up to him and said, "do you want to talk about what happened today?" He said, "ok, I'm ready for you to take me to juvenile hall." He was serious, I burst in to laughter, although I really didn't think it was funny. Guess it time to be more clear what type of poor choices I'm taking about!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Leprechaun Craziness

Well, after a long ski trip yesterday, the kids weren't too tired to remember the leprechaun! He has been visiting us for at least 5 years. My mom caught a small doll like figure when she was a kid and the doll has been passed to my kids. Every year he appears in March. We decorate and make his bed. This year he would hide daily and the kids would enjoy finding him and taking pictures. One day he was left at my parent's home and he even went on an adventure there. My mom took pictures in every spot he hid! The kids later wrote a story about his adventure at Oma's. Last night as we were trying to get to sleep, the kids set a very elaborate trap! They even left potatoes to catch him. They were successful and caught the little doll. So at 6:30 this morning we were up, following the clues to fill his pot of gold. Now the leprechaun had so much fun at our home, he forgot to go to our best friends house down the street! My friend told her kids he must have been on a different time zone! Whoops, should really try to keep the kids from bragging how much the leprechaun loves them!!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Kite Got Stuck, I'm Moving Out!!

Monday was a very windy, wild day! Too cold for me, but just right for daddy, our two kids and two neighbor kids! He took them to the school around the corner to fly three kites. My 8 year old son was gracious enough to share his big kite with his 5 year old sister. She of course is small and trying to manage it was quite challenging. She got the kite stuck in the phone lines and my son was quite distraught. My husband managed to get it down. Well after some coaxing, he let Josie try again. When they got home they were so happy to have so much fun with their friends at the school yard. After dinner we have a tradition where you tell the best and sometimes worst part of your day. Well Cade said the best part was flying the kite, the worst was Josie getting it stuck in the line! Of course she felt bad, and he had a way of making her feel a bit worse. We talked with him, had him apologize for making her feel worse, pointing out how it all worked out. After dinner Josie had me write down her dictation in a card addressed to all of us. She said it was going to be sad.

It said: Dear Dad, Mom and Cade, I have been very happy to stay with you. Now is the time I'm going to move on. Tomorrow, I'm going. Love, Josie

I tried to hold my composure as she called us all in for something very serious. She asked daddy and I to open the envelope, she then proceeded to try and read it. She then needed me to whisper the words in her ear. As she read it I let out a crazy sad cry! She was laughing so hard at how sad I was. She told us she would move to her cousins in Oregon. She packed her suitcase and has been living out of it for three days! Oh, she did go out front and come to my front door, pretending it was a hotel and asked if I had room for her to stay! Of course I do!!!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

We Got Cable TV!

Well, we finally joined the majority and got cable TV. I have been limiting TV since the kids were little. Heck, I watched TV on mute for my son's first 2 years of life! I am really trying hard to censor what they see, I believe that they are so impressionable and don't need the stress of the everyday news or media to worry them or influence them. They are happy when they get to watch something and I have tried to relax a little, so I can have a break from the non stop play time or teaching. I do have a hard time not feeling guilty! I just want them to enjoy simple things and to build on their passions and imagination. Sounds good, well, my husband really wanted to have cable for the past 8 years. He travels so much that I don't see the point. I do feel he works so hard, that he should have the simple pleasure of watching what he wants. So here comes the compromise. I did not object loudly to a new TV. Now the cable. I let the kids watch a show tonight, and had a hard time seeing how the kid shows are really appropriate for young kids. I know most people don't see any problem, but I do. When they characters are dressing like adults, in revealing outfits, talking about adult relationships and bullying each other, I can't believe that that's the norm!!! I have a hard time trying to keep balance when we are home all day, my husband travels a lot and I don't hardly get a break. It is going to be a challenge that I feel I must fight. I will let the children watch some shows, as long as they are age appropriate, by my standards, not the cable guy's!

Things I find fascinating

  • Bagua Board/ Dream board
  • Balanced Birth Approach
  • Birthing From Within
  • E Is For Ethics
  • Homeschooling
  • The Bradley Method Of Natural Childbirth
  • The Family Virtues Guide
  • The Power of Wisdom
  • Waldorf
  • Young Living Essential Oils
  • Zen in Ten Seconds