So after watching this video
and seeing it post all over the net. It got me thinking, what would I say to 16 year old me?
Dear 16 year old me.
Boys don't make the world go round. Some of them are actually pretty special. Be nice to them, you'll marry one some day. 16 year old me, it gets better..I promise the world gets better. Hey have you gone to class today? Not just school, but class? I know you graduate in 2 years, but have you thought about college? You should think about it, really think about it. Your good at so many things, you love so many things..maybe just a few night classes? 16 year old me, learn to drive! Get over it and get your license! When's the last time you called your Dad? Your step mum is not an evil witch...she's actually pretty smart and nice...you should give her a chance..
What about 18 year old me?
Dear 18 year old me.
Life is about to take a serious turn to coo-coo land....hold on and ride it out. I promise you 19 and 20 will look up. You've made it to 18, stop making silly mistakes...don't quit your job until you have a new one, don't be afraid what others think of you and for gosh sakes step away from the hoodies! 18 year old me, I know your confused about school...travel! Travel to France and sit quiet some place and eat a baguette. Travel to Portugal and find out about your family. Boys will always be there. Don't be afraid of life, don't be afraid of the world. Take a chance.
What about 25 year old me?
Dear 25 year old me.
Your married now, and your thinking about children?! Aren't you just a child. 25 year old me; your beautiful and talented, you could do so much. I'm sorry 25 year old me, I think your going to be making a mistake. You've painted a picture for yourself of something that does not exist. Don't forget your birth control pills! 25 year old me, life is about to get really hard. You have a rock for a husband, but he won't understand. When the hard part comes, don't be scared. Don't judge yourself and don't blame yourself. You'll have to embrace the changes or your going to sink. I wish I had good news for the next few years, but it's about to enter a whole new dimension of challenging. Don't forget your loved and strong.
What about today?
Dear Me
This isn't a test. I know it feels like your sitting in the gym with your sharpened no. 2/HB. But your not. This is reality. This is life. I know somedays suck monkey balls. I know there are days that getting out of bed seems like a challenge. Your hundreds of miles away from your family and you feel like the last man alive. It's okay, you'll be okay. Remember, strong like bull? Dear me, you'll ride this out! The kids won't kill you, I promise. My darling me, I wish we really could step out for a moment..ride the wave from the beach instead of the undersized boogie board with a shark bite. It has to get better. You need a hobby, and no cleaning is NOT a hobby. Remember what it felt like to sleep in? to have breakfast after 8? Remember how boring life was? Dear me. Head up and carry on. Don't forget the lists and to call your mamma and papa every now and then. Chin up, it can only get better from here!
What would you say to you? Are you happy with how it went, do you have many regrets? Anything you wish you could just scream at yourself? Funny. While writing this, I thought I would have more to say to me as the years went on. In truth I have lived my life without much regrets, and that I think is awesome! okay, I might have made a few bad choices and said a few horrible things. But that makes us who we are today..no?
xo
Tuesday 30 August 2011
Thursday 25 August 2011
Loving the real you
In todays crazy world, filled with 'fakery' and photoshopped people. It's hard to love the real you. Sometimes you begin to wonder if you even know the real you. You question simple things like your feelings, actions and emotions. Looking in the mirror can even be a time for doubt and lots of it!
Since moving to the Uk, I have really had a tough go at finding me. Not because there is more media here. But because England embraces the hippie me. It encourages me to be all things natural that I love. I was never a confident child. I wasn't confident in my teens and I certainly was not confident in my 20s. There was so many labels put on me that it was hard to know what was me and what was a front. I guess that's the way life is. Now a mother to three kids, a wife to an executive and living without family, I start to wonder about these labels again.
In my heart there is a hippie. She is a free spirit. The wind calls and she moves. The hippie me loves all things natural and spiritual. The very thought of moving to a farm, having chickens, baking bread and doing macrame all day appeals to me. Never shaving my legs, living off the grid, washing my clothes by hands, drying them on the line. Saving the earth with every grocery shop. Hand making all the family clothes and using natural remedies to solve everything is my ideal of heaven. I have attached my self to this hippie girl and I want to be her. Really bad! I feel I have tried everything to be her. I really thought that this hippie girl would make my life peaceful and relaxed and it would make me an awesome person. The type of person everyone would want to be around.
The truth is; I like shaving my legs, I'm not very good at arts and crafts, my kids wear too many clothes to wash by hand, I can't save the whole earth (although I do my bit!), my body hates natural remedies, I like pretty clothes, I like smelling good, I like having a house that's pretty and I'm to hyper and moody to be peaceful and relaxed. I could never have chickens because honestly who can keep up with that? I don't even have time to walk the dog! I like make up, I loooooove a sexy pair of shoes! I now after months of denying it, own a kindle (okay that was an emotional play by my hubby, who told me to think about all the trees I would be saving!) I'm creative. I appreciate nature and the feelings it provokes.
My heart will always be a hippie. I love the feel of dew on my feet in the morning. I love the smell of rain. I love baking bread. I love yoga. I love the ocean. I hear the wind and I embrace her, she brings in seasons of warmth and cold. She bring in emotions strong and free.
You know what? I'm okay with that. For the first time, in a long time! I'm okay with that. This is me. This is me and who I am. This is me without being who others want me to be. It's freeing, really.
It's really hard pushing past the crap of the media, pushing past the labels and digging into you. Digging past the who I should be, past the ideal me and past the who everyone thinks I am. It's really hard. You need to do it. You need to do it for you. For your heart to be free, you need to do it for you.
You are loved no matter who you are and no matter what you do. But you need to love you first. Really, that the first, last and most important step.
xo
Since moving to the Uk, I have really had a tough go at finding me. Not because there is more media here. But because England embraces the hippie me. It encourages me to be all things natural that I love. I was never a confident child. I wasn't confident in my teens and I certainly was not confident in my 20s. There was so many labels put on me that it was hard to know what was me and what was a front. I guess that's the way life is. Now a mother to three kids, a wife to an executive and living without family, I start to wonder about these labels again.
In my heart there is a hippie. She is a free spirit. The wind calls and she moves. The hippie me loves all things natural and spiritual. The very thought of moving to a farm, having chickens, baking bread and doing macrame all day appeals to me. Never shaving my legs, living off the grid, washing my clothes by hands, drying them on the line. Saving the earth with every grocery shop. Hand making all the family clothes and using natural remedies to solve everything is my ideal of heaven. I have attached my self to this hippie girl and I want to be her. Really bad! I feel I have tried everything to be her. I really thought that this hippie girl would make my life peaceful and relaxed and it would make me an awesome person. The type of person everyone would want to be around.
The truth is; I like shaving my legs, I'm not very good at arts and crafts, my kids wear too many clothes to wash by hand, I can't save the whole earth (although I do my bit!), my body hates natural remedies, I like pretty clothes, I like smelling good, I like having a house that's pretty and I'm to hyper and moody to be peaceful and relaxed. I could never have chickens because honestly who can keep up with that? I don't even have time to walk the dog! I like make up, I loooooove a sexy pair of shoes! I now after months of denying it, own a kindle (okay that was an emotional play by my hubby, who told me to think about all the trees I would be saving!) I'm creative. I appreciate nature and the feelings it provokes.
My heart will always be a hippie. I love the feel of dew on my feet in the morning. I love the smell of rain. I love baking bread. I love yoga. I love the ocean. I hear the wind and I embrace her, she brings in seasons of warmth and cold. She bring in emotions strong and free.
You know what? I'm okay with that. For the first time, in a long time! I'm okay with that. This is me. This is me and who I am. This is me without being who others want me to be. It's freeing, really.
It's really hard pushing past the crap of the media, pushing past the labels and digging into you. Digging past the who I should be, past the ideal me and past the who everyone thinks I am. It's really hard. You need to do it. You need to do it for you. For your heart to be free, you need to do it for you.
You are loved no matter who you are and no matter what you do. But you need to love you first. Really, that the first, last and most important step.
xo
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Stop the world
As you know my fuse is short. Really short. It does not take much for me to be 'set off'. I'm pretty sure that whoever God is, I was created this way for their enjoyment and fun.
Today started as a typical day. Up early, coffee made for hubby, set hubby off on his way (too early for my liking!) and proceeded to continue normally with the kids. I must admit, the morning is my time. When I sit down to tea or coffee and breakfast, I turn on my computer and let the kids free play. This normally works fine and the kids are very happy running around and playing. This was the case today. I did have somethings that I needed to do this morning. So I knew I had to be moving and cleaned to go for 9am. Que God. Laughing. They had to be.
8am arrived with a muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum, the whole jar of fish food is in the fish tank!
'WHAT?!'
As I arrived on the scene I asset the damage. 1 jar of fish food, in 1 fish tank. Plus what ever didn't make it in, all over the floor.
'Who did this?!'
Luigi-'MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'
'Great, just great'
As I gathered the items needed to clean the fish tank plus the tools to scoop out the food, someone turned on the TV full blast and then someone hit someone on the head which lead to the princess screaming.
'Dear God' At this point, why am I even praying?
Scoop out food, cypher water (drink some), head to kitchen with one very large pot filled just about to the brim with water...why make 2 trips with half pots, when you can make 1 trip with an over filled pot?
on the way to the laundry room the cord to the filter (that was in my pot) got snagged on a kitchen chair, sending dirty fish water plus food all over the kitchen floor.
I won't dear reader tell you the words that came falling out of my mouth. Lets just say that they were less then ideal for a house filled with children.
As I clean up the fish mess on the kitchen floor, I heard giggling from the living room.
Luigi thought that maybe he should get the fish out of the bowl, for their safety of course.
Rescue fish, clean up kitchen, finish the tank.
Try to finish breakfast cleanup.
Then a thought came to mind. 'I should make the brownies now and they can cook while I get dressed.'
Que God laughing again..
Grab the ingredients...oh I'm almost out of white flour, I'll add brown. Oh I'm almost out of oil, I'll use buttermilk....needless to say these turned out as the brownies that never should of been.
After 40 minutes they still weren't cooked.
covered them, turned down temperature to low and headed out the door to run errands.
What's that noise?..oh yea, God laughing...
Get into town, realized that I didn't have much change for parking...found enough in the car to give me 30 minutes. Walked to the library, dropped off books...by the time I had walked downstairs and back up. The sky had opened. In England it doesn't rain, it's like a bucket of water falling at your face..seriously.
I still had dry cleaning and dog food to pick up..did I mention that Mario, Luigi and the Princess are with me?!
By the time we got back to the car we aren't just wet we are honestly soaked. Soaked right to the knickers!
Now we're home. We're tired and everyone is in the most foul mood I have ever seen.
We're supposed to go out this afternoon. I'm almost afraid to go out that door.
Is this just my life? Please tell me I'm not the only one that has too much going on and it all goes wrong at the same time!
I'm so over this day. I'm over this week. I'm over summer break.
Stop this world, mamma needs a spa day!
xo
Today started as a typical day. Up early, coffee made for hubby, set hubby off on his way (too early for my liking!) and proceeded to continue normally with the kids. I must admit, the morning is my time. When I sit down to tea or coffee and breakfast, I turn on my computer and let the kids free play. This normally works fine and the kids are very happy running around and playing. This was the case today. I did have somethings that I needed to do this morning. So I knew I had to be moving and cleaned to go for 9am. Que God. Laughing. They had to be.
8am arrived with a muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum, the whole jar of fish food is in the fish tank!
'WHAT?!'
As I arrived on the scene I asset the damage. 1 jar of fish food, in 1 fish tank. Plus what ever didn't make it in, all over the floor.
'Who did this?!'
Luigi-'MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'
'Great, just great'
As I gathered the items needed to clean the fish tank plus the tools to scoop out the food, someone turned on the TV full blast and then someone hit someone on the head which lead to the princess screaming.
'Dear God' At this point, why am I even praying?
Scoop out food, cypher water (drink some), head to kitchen with one very large pot filled just about to the brim with water...why make 2 trips with half pots, when you can make 1 trip with an over filled pot?
on the way to the laundry room the cord to the filter (that was in my pot) got snagged on a kitchen chair, sending dirty fish water plus food all over the kitchen floor.
I won't dear reader tell you the words that came falling out of my mouth. Lets just say that they were less then ideal for a house filled with children.
As I clean up the fish mess on the kitchen floor, I heard giggling from the living room.
Luigi thought that maybe he should get the fish out of the bowl, for their safety of course.
Rescue fish, clean up kitchen, finish the tank.
Try to finish breakfast cleanup.
Then a thought came to mind. 'I should make the brownies now and they can cook while I get dressed.'
Que God laughing again..
Grab the ingredients...oh I'm almost out of white flour, I'll add brown. Oh I'm almost out of oil, I'll use buttermilk....needless to say these turned out as the brownies that never should of been.
After 40 minutes they still weren't cooked.
covered them, turned down temperature to low and headed out the door to run errands.
What's that noise?..oh yea, God laughing...
Get into town, realized that I didn't have much change for parking...found enough in the car to give me 30 minutes. Walked to the library, dropped off books...by the time I had walked downstairs and back up. The sky had opened. In England it doesn't rain, it's like a bucket of water falling at your face..seriously.
I still had dry cleaning and dog food to pick up..did I mention that Mario, Luigi and the Princess are with me?!
By the time we got back to the car we aren't just wet we are honestly soaked. Soaked right to the knickers!
Now we're home. We're tired and everyone is in the most foul mood I have ever seen.
We're supposed to go out this afternoon. I'm almost afraid to go out that door.
Is this just my life? Please tell me I'm not the only one that has too much going on and it all goes wrong at the same time!
I'm so over this day. I'm over this week. I'm over summer break.
Stop this world, mamma needs a spa day!
xo
Sunday 21 August 2011
Little Island of Red
As I sit here in my cold England summer. As I sit and feel fall coming in faster and faster, I dream about an Island full of red dirt. Yes there is an Island full of red dirt. Red as a little orphan girl's hair with two big braids. Red as a the most glorious sunset on a hot summer's night. Red as apples.
I miss our little Island.
Not so long ago, hubby and I decided to pack up our belongings and move to the Eastern Coast of Canada. Actually truth told. It was my decision. It held promise of work and a great life for us. We'll I didn't get the work, but we did start our great life. You see dear reader, as a wee one I had spent the better part of my summer in New Brunswick. My family is in New Brunswick and my heart is in the East Coast. The ocean calls to me like a mamma calls to her first born gone away to college. We settled on Nova Scotia for my work reasons. Plus Hubby's Dad had opened an Inn on Prince Edward Island..and it was easier for us to get to him. Maybe we just settled on Nova Scotia because I really wanted to move to the Island but I couldn't convince the man on that one!
Our lives have been unfolding on PEI for sometime and it just feels right. We got married at the Inn, on boxing day. The fire was lit for our grand event. 7 people surrounded us as we said our vows. Bag pipes filled the room. The day was warm and the bay in St Peters glistened like diamonds. It was perfect. perfect. We've been renting a cottage there for our vacation. Our baby girl took her first steps there. My father in law who we love so very much and miss with all our hearts, rests there. Our precious baby girls will lye with Grandpa (when I gather the courage). We vision a little home there. Christmas's there. Family gatherings there. Grandchildren. Weddings. We can't picture our lives playing out any where else. le sigh.
We've always lived in Ontario. We grew up there. We called it home. In truth dear reader, it's home because our family and friends are there..and for that reason alone. Home to us, is in the vast cold ocean on the atlantic. Home is the red dirt that stains our clothes and our pets. Home is the fishy air and the fresh blue sky. Home is the people that fill our hearts with love every time we arrive. Home is a little Island of Red. PEI.
We miss you dearly Island. We long for the days that will be our future. You are always in our hearts and in our minds.
xo
Oh please check out the Inn at St Peters and our gentle Island
I miss our little Island.
Not so long ago, hubby and I decided to pack up our belongings and move to the Eastern Coast of Canada. Actually truth told. It was my decision. It held promise of work and a great life for us. We'll I didn't get the work, but we did start our great life. You see dear reader, as a wee one I had spent the better part of my summer in New Brunswick. My family is in New Brunswick and my heart is in the East Coast. The ocean calls to me like a mamma calls to her first born gone away to college. We settled on Nova Scotia for my work reasons. Plus Hubby's Dad had opened an Inn on Prince Edward Island..and it was easier for us to get to him. Maybe we just settled on Nova Scotia because I really wanted to move to the Island but I couldn't convince the man on that one!
Our lives have been unfolding on PEI for sometime and it just feels right. We got married at the Inn, on boxing day. The fire was lit for our grand event. 7 people surrounded us as we said our vows. Bag pipes filled the room. The day was warm and the bay in St Peters glistened like diamonds. It was perfect. perfect. We've been renting a cottage there for our vacation. Our baby girl took her first steps there. My father in law who we love so very much and miss with all our hearts, rests there. Our precious baby girls will lye with Grandpa (when I gather the courage). We vision a little home there. Christmas's there. Family gatherings there. Grandchildren. Weddings. We can't picture our lives playing out any where else. le sigh.
We've always lived in Ontario. We grew up there. We called it home. In truth dear reader, it's home because our family and friends are there..and for that reason alone. Home to us, is in the vast cold ocean on the atlantic. Home is the red dirt that stains our clothes and our pets. Home is the fishy air and the fresh blue sky. Home is the people that fill our hearts with love every time we arrive. Home is a little Island of Red. PEI.
We miss you dearly Island. We long for the days that will be our future. You are always in our hearts and in our minds.
xo
Oh please check out the Inn at St Peters and our gentle Island
Friday 19 August 2011
Importance of Grass to our cows
Are you getting enough grass fed meats? Do you know why it's important for our cows to eat grass? Do you know the benefits to us? oh and I'm not talking about marabelle and daisy sitting around the barn passing a splif.
Okay, so somewhere between farmer Brownie and Farmer super feed lot. We decided to stop letting our cows sit in the field eating grass and decided that cows should be eating grains, other cows and parts of this and that. Cows are vegetarians. They wants to eat vegetarian food. They love vegetarian food! Soy burgers and Tofu need not apply. They just want that sweet, sweet grass that you have in your field over there!
As you know (or should know!) when a cow eats the grass, those lovely heifers are doing something truly amazing for us. They are making life vital vitamins for us! So what's in it for you? Vitamin A, E,
K2, D, Omega 3's and CLA.
Lets start with Omega 3's as everyone knows those bad boys! A person consuming a diet rich in Omega 3's are less likely to have high blood pressure or irregular heart beats and 50% less likely to have a heart attack! These people eating Omega 3's will less likely suffer from things like; depression, schizophrenia, ADD or alzheimer's. Omega 3's may also reduce your risk of cancer. Grass fed cows have shown to have 2-4x's more Omega 3's then those in feedlots!
CLA-or Conjugated Linoetic Acid. CLA is one of our best defenses against cancer. It helps with high cholesterol, building your immune system, lowering body fat, lowering blood pressure and osteoporosis. Just to name a few! Don't you want some?!
Vitamin A, E D, and K2. K2 supports bone strength and cardiovascular health. A; promotes heathy body tissue, helps fight infections and helps build strong teeth and bones. E; helps fight free radicals, may boost your metabolism, it offers some skin protection and aids in cancer prevention. D; cancer prevention, helps in brain function, it tells our body to absorb calcium!
You get all this just from eating beef that has been raised on pasture. You don't get it from cows sitting in a feed lot, getting fat on injections eating number 64 because she was to sick to go on. You need these in your diet! NEED them!
I know it can get expensive. I know that. I get it. I'm not saying you have to eat pasture raised meat at every meal. Just get some into your diet, as much as you can afford. Can you afford not to?
Okay, so somewhere between farmer Brownie and Farmer super feed lot. We decided to stop letting our cows sit in the field eating grass and decided that cows should be eating grains, other cows and parts of this and that. Cows are vegetarians. They wants to eat vegetarian food. They love vegetarian food! Soy burgers and Tofu need not apply. They just want that sweet, sweet grass that you have in your field over there!
As you know (or should know!) when a cow eats the grass, those lovely heifers are doing something truly amazing for us. They are making life vital vitamins for us! So what's in it for you? Vitamin A, E,
K2, D, Omega 3's and CLA.
Lets start with Omega 3's as everyone knows those bad boys! A person consuming a diet rich in Omega 3's are less likely to have high blood pressure or irregular heart beats and 50% less likely to have a heart attack! These people eating Omega 3's will less likely suffer from things like; depression, schizophrenia, ADD or alzheimer's. Omega 3's may also reduce your risk of cancer. Grass fed cows have shown to have 2-4x's more Omega 3's then those in feedlots!
CLA-or Conjugated Linoetic Acid. CLA is one of our best defenses against cancer. It helps with high cholesterol, building your immune system, lowering body fat, lowering blood pressure and osteoporosis. Just to name a few! Don't you want some?!
Vitamin A, E D, and K2. K2 supports bone strength and cardiovascular health. A; promotes heathy body tissue, helps fight infections and helps build strong teeth and bones. E; helps fight free radicals, may boost your metabolism, it offers some skin protection and aids in cancer prevention. D; cancer prevention, helps in brain function, it tells our body to absorb calcium!
You get all this just from eating beef that has been raised on pasture. You don't get it from cows sitting in a feed lot, getting fat on injections eating number 64 because she was to sick to go on. You need these in your diet! NEED them!
I know it can get expensive. I know that. I get it. I'm not saying you have to eat pasture raised meat at every meal. Just get some into your diet, as much as you can afford. Can you afford not to?
Monday 15 August 2011
The Good Ol' Days
I've been racking my brain for the last 3 days thinking of 'what to write now'. It hit me today while browsing the discussions on the WAPF london chapter. The message? 60 Watt bulbs now outlawed. Seriously. I read the first part of the discussion before my mind went to that black abyss your brain always goes to when it's bored in disbelief.
okay so the first part I read was
"Our Government has decided to not ignore EU crazies planning to outlaw tungsten bulbs. Even 60watt and I believe 40watt bulbs are now banned. Stocks are being drawn down and they will be illegal for retail come September"
So my brain in the black abyss, was wondering what happened to the good ol' days?
You know those days where your kids stayed out until 9 at night playing with the neighbours kids? You remember when you roasted your hotdogs on a fire and didn't worry about the nitrates in the weenie? Remember when pop was a treat? Do you remember having a DVD system in the car? The world was filled with real farmers and people who wanted to help others. Family and Friends were one in the same. The judd's were a mother and Daughter singing country band-not daily news because yet another one had prosecuted Loca Lohan. Family dinners. Spraying your hair and not worrying about it killing the polar bears. Le sigh
I really can't believe how far as a world we've come. I don't always think in a good way. Sure science has brought us some out of this world shit. Sure technologies now allow us to find out what anyone in any part of the world is doing at any moment...but is it all necessary? I'm really starting to worry about the future of my children and what their children might see or not see one day. It's these thoughts that make me want to pack my bags, take my children and head for a remote spot somewhere on this planet.
We're now banning light bulbs and people are actually worried about the effects and how it might just be another ploy by the government.
Can we just please slow down and rewind?? My brain keeps screaming this is all too much shit!
I can't imagine what 2020 is going to look like or 2050 or God willing 2070. Do you think we're going to get so far ahead we're going to start going backwards?
Oy! Oy! Oy!
okay so the first part I read was
"Our Government has decided to not ignore EU crazies planning to outlaw tungsten bulbs. Even 60watt and I believe 40watt bulbs are now banned. Stocks are being drawn down and they will be illegal for retail come September"
So my brain in the black abyss, was wondering what happened to the good ol' days?
You know those days where your kids stayed out until 9 at night playing with the neighbours kids? You remember when you roasted your hotdogs on a fire and didn't worry about the nitrates in the weenie? Remember when pop was a treat? Do you remember having a DVD system in the car? The world was filled with real farmers and people who wanted to help others. Family and Friends were one in the same. The judd's were a mother and Daughter singing country band-not daily news because yet another one had prosecuted Loca Lohan. Family dinners. Spraying your hair and not worrying about it killing the polar bears. Le sigh
I really can't believe how far as a world we've come. I don't always think in a good way. Sure science has brought us some out of this world shit. Sure technologies now allow us to find out what anyone in any part of the world is doing at any moment...but is it all necessary? I'm really starting to worry about the future of my children and what their children might see or not see one day. It's these thoughts that make me want to pack my bags, take my children and head for a remote spot somewhere on this planet.
We're now banning light bulbs and people are actually worried about the effects and how it might just be another ploy by the government.
Can we just please slow down and rewind?? My brain keeps screaming this is all too much shit!
I can't imagine what 2020 is going to look like or 2050 or God willing 2070. Do you think we're going to get so far ahead we're going to start going backwards?
Oy! Oy! Oy!
Thursday 11 August 2011
Mamma's Wooden Spoon
When I had my first born I promised I would NEVER be that crazy parent that screams at her kids and spanks them when they don't listen. Well dear Reader, I am now that mum. I am that mum who's voice raises 12 octaves when the no one is listening. I am that mum with the screechy voice, to which her kids mock. I am the mum with the wooden spoon.
I have never been a fan of spanking, I always thought 'there are better ways'. My stepmum spanked and I never liked when my siblings ran screaming in fear. I never wanted to go down that road. In hopes of detouring there, I tried all the other 'nanny' methods. Time out, taking away toys, getting down to their level, taking away special things...I tried them all dear Reader. The result? Well it was a joke! The princess would often put herself in timeout, Mario would rather a temper from hell in his room and Luigi just doesn't get it. Punishment of the 'today' variety just doesn't work for my kids. I find them often going back to the 'naughty' activities they were doing before I went crazy.
I really feel in today's world, most parents are afraid to discipline their children. Fear of their children not liking them, fear of what other parents will say, fear of going to far. I really believe that this 'fear' has rubbed off on our children and they are now immune to these new methods.
I was never spanked as a child. I was hit. Seriously. The few times my dad flew off the handle I felt it. This is not the discipline I want for us to use for our children. I don't want us to discipline out of anger and I don't want us to discipline for them just being children. I'm talking about disciplining our children because they aren't listening. I'm talking about disciplining for hurting others, or maybe themselves. I'm talking about disciplining because they truly are being naughty.
My number one rule for discipline is never do it when angry. I would rather walk away from the situation, take 5 and think about what I need to do and collect my thoughts before acting. I know this isn't always practical...but you know when you need that 5 minutes...
So the wooden spoon?!
Yes, it's my new tactic. A tactic that seems to be; surprisingly, working. After a warning they get the spoon. I'm not talking about walking over to them and beating them until they are blue. I'm talking about a swift swat on the bum. My children now know that if mamma gets out the spoon that they have deserved it. Most of the time they stand there and take it. This is strange to me. Very strange. The spoon has been resolving issues left right and center and now in some cases that I needed it before..I don't.
I'm not promoting child abuse here. I think child abuse is a serious problem. Very serious. We don't need to take any test or classes in order to get a parent license and in some cases and in some people..it's needed. Please don't think that this is what I'm trying to do here.
I want you to be confident enough as a parent to pull out the tactics that work for you. Maybe standing on your head and telling jokes works. Maybe it's time out. Maybe it's bed early. Maybe you just need to say 'don't'. Maybe it's a spoon. I don't know. I have found a method, that I swore I would never use. It's working. The kids know about it and they are now listening (well as much as 3 kids can listen!) Please don't be afraid of disciplining your children. They need it. They need to know that you mean business and your not going to take shit. They need to know that the world isn't going to take their shit. Discipline in our children needs take place!
I am now in some cases much more calm about things and I know I have a plan. The children know this plan. I have set out when it needs to be used and when a simple talking to needs to take place. I feel confident in my choice and confidence in parenting is really hard to achieve. I know it's hard being a parent, but please feel confident in the choices you make and stick with them! Kids smell fear and if your afraid, then nothing is going to work!
Remember Happy parents = Happy children!
Be confident and don't be afraid!
xo
I have never been a fan of spanking, I always thought 'there are better ways'. My stepmum spanked and I never liked when my siblings ran screaming in fear. I never wanted to go down that road. In hopes of detouring there, I tried all the other 'nanny' methods. Time out, taking away toys, getting down to their level, taking away special things...I tried them all dear Reader. The result? Well it was a joke! The princess would often put herself in timeout, Mario would rather a temper from hell in his room and Luigi just doesn't get it. Punishment of the 'today' variety just doesn't work for my kids. I find them often going back to the 'naughty' activities they were doing before I went crazy.
I really feel in today's world, most parents are afraid to discipline their children. Fear of their children not liking them, fear of what other parents will say, fear of going to far. I really believe that this 'fear' has rubbed off on our children and they are now immune to these new methods.
I was never spanked as a child. I was hit. Seriously. The few times my dad flew off the handle I felt it. This is not the discipline I want for us to use for our children. I don't want us to discipline out of anger and I don't want us to discipline for them just being children. I'm talking about disciplining our children because they aren't listening. I'm talking about disciplining for hurting others, or maybe themselves. I'm talking about disciplining because they truly are being naughty.
My number one rule for discipline is never do it when angry. I would rather walk away from the situation, take 5 and think about what I need to do and collect my thoughts before acting. I know this isn't always practical...but you know when you need that 5 minutes...
So the wooden spoon?!
Yes, it's my new tactic. A tactic that seems to be; surprisingly, working. After a warning they get the spoon. I'm not talking about walking over to them and beating them until they are blue. I'm talking about a swift swat on the bum. My children now know that if mamma gets out the spoon that they have deserved it. Most of the time they stand there and take it. This is strange to me. Very strange. The spoon has been resolving issues left right and center and now in some cases that I needed it before..I don't.
I'm not promoting child abuse here. I think child abuse is a serious problem. Very serious. We don't need to take any test or classes in order to get a parent license and in some cases and in some people..it's needed. Please don't think that this is what I'm trying to do here.
I want you to be confident enough as a parent to pull out the tactics that work for you. Maybe standing on your head and telling jokes works. Maybe it's time out. Maybe it's bed early. Maybe you just need to say 'don't'. Maybe it's a spoon. I don't know. I have found a method, that I swore I would never use. It's working. The kids know about it and they are now listening (well as much as 3 kids can listen!) Please don't be afraid of disciplining your children. They need it. They need to know that you mean business and your not going to take shit. They need to know that the world isn't going to take their shit. Discipline in our children needs take place!
I am now in some cases much more calm about things and I know I have a plan. The children know this plan. I have set out when it needs to be used and when a simple talking to needs to take place. I feel confident in my choice and confidence in parenting is really hard to achieve. I know it's hard being a parent, but please feel confident in the choices you make and stick with them! Kids smell fear and if your afraid, then nothing is going to work!
Remember Happy parents = Happy children!
Be confident and don't be afraid!
xo
Monday 8 August 2011
France
As I sit here with my fresh pressed coffee, I'm now ready to write about France. While in France, I couldn't think of the words to describe what I was experiencing. There is so much untouched beauty in France. It's hard to think of words to write. The family's trip was 4 cities, two weeks. In tow; 3 crazy kids and 1 Jack Russell. Crazy?! Mais Oui! But that's the way we roll Yo!
First stop Paris.
It's really only 5 hours from our house and we thought we left early enough to be able to have an afternoon there. When driving in France you learn the meaning of 'longest 20 minutes' seriously. When we arrived in Paris and started making our way through the construction, we were 20 minutes from our hotel. 1 hour later we were still 20 minutes from the hotel. 1.5 hours later...or 20 minutes according to Madge (that's our GPS) we arrived. We're not staying in the Ritz. We picked accommodations that supported 3 noisy kids, and 1 dog, plus a kitchen(ish). We didn't stay in the best part of town, but that's how we like it. Really. In only 4 days we saw everything we needed to see. Notre Dame, The Louvre, markets, and everything in between. Oh did I mention Disney?! Yes we did it. Yes we are that crazy. Yes it was that crazy. Best highlight of Paris? Really for me, it was experiencing Parisian life. We went to open markets. Talked to local people. Stayed in the Grit. We saw Paris. It was beautiful and awesome and in 4 days we were off....
Next?! Dijon!
I was not ready for Dijon. I had come off a Paris high and didn't know it could get better then that. It did, and more! Dijon is small, compared to Paris. The beauty old and untouched. The historical part is full of character and architecture as old as Jesus. Our apartment two stories up, no lift..original features. Big french windows, original beams and that floor! I love old wood floors! From our room we could see the old roof tops of Dijon. This city is a feast for the eyes. We devoured it. Ate it all up and it left us hungry for more. Hubby and I love all things French and this was to us, the icing on our French gateau. We did take a side Tour of Beaune. Wow. We took the back road of wine country to get there. I really can't tell you or describe to you what we saw. It was amazing. It was awesome. It was everything French country. le sigh...
Where to next?! Bandol!
We wanted to stay in the South of France. Some place where the kids could play on the beach. We wanted to be in the middle of everything! I was sadden by this part of the world, I have to admit. I was expecting French beach and what I got was Mexico. There is nothing overly special about this part of the world. It's warm. The sand is nice. The water green. It's nice. There is nothing to 'feast your eyes on' (unless you count the topless woman and hunky tanned men! yummy!) We did beachy things. We tanned. We warmed up. We went to Marseille and saw Hitler. I don't have much to write on this part. I'm sorry. It wasn't my idea of France and I feel I got ripped off. I wanted beach french and got Will Smith. We did have a nice time though and enjoyed much wine here.
Okay last stop! Bordeaux
Like Dijon, I was not ready for Bordeaux. I thought it was going to be a small city with nice things to see. Wow. It was a LARGE city with more then 'nice things to see' this was the city to see. This was better then Paris! This was everything I imagined France to be (and more!) I wish dear reader that you could see what I saw. I wish you could have felt what I felt. If you are ever, ever going to take a trip to France..you need to go to Bordeaux. We only had 1.5 days. We took it ALL in. We walked and took a bus tour. We snapped pictures until the fingers were sore. This part of France has been maintained so well. Much of the original Bordeaux still lays intact today. Arches and stone works. Churches and cobble stone. Bridges and waterways. It's all there. My heart I think is still there. I can honestly say (again!) that there are no words for Bordeaux. It's on the list of 'to go back, without children' list.
Dear reader there is so much to see in France. There is so much to experience. There is so much to do. It was the trip of a life time. One filled with too much driving. Too much screaming children and too many packing and moving. It was worth it though. To know that places like Beaune and Bordeaux still exist in our world today. Places of pure beauty and no sky scrapers!
I hope you all have a chance to visit one day. It will be worth every penny you save, promise.
xo
Stay tuned for part deux! (sorry! Paris, Dijon and Bordeaux need some more details!)
First stop Paris.
It's really only 5 hours from our house and we thought we left early enough to be able to have an afternoon there. When driving in France you learn the meaning of 'longest 20 minutes' seriously. When we arrived in Paris and started making our way through the construction, we were 20 minutes from our hotel. 1 hour later we were still 20 minutes from the hotel. 1.5 hours later...or 20 minutes according to Madge (that's our GPS) we arrived. We're not staying in the Ritz. We picked accommodations that supported 3 noisy kids, and 1 dog, plus a kitchen(ish). We didn't stay in the best part of town, but that's how we like it. Really. In only 4 days we saw everything we needed to see. Notre Dame, The Louvre, markets, and everything in between. Oh did I mention Disney?! Yes we did it. Yes we are that crazy. Yes it was that crazy. Best highlight of Paris? Really for me, it was experiencing Parisian life. We went to open markets. Talked to local people. Stayed in the Grit. We saw Paris. It was beautiful and awesome and in 4 days we were off....
Next?! Dijon!
I was not ready for Dijon. I had come off a Paris high and didn't know it could get better then that. It did, and more! Dijon is small, compared to Paris. The beauty old and untouched. The historical part is full of character and architecture as old as Jesus. Our apartment two stories up, no lift..original features. Big french windows, original beams and that floor! I love old wood floors! From our room we could see the old roof tops of Dijon. This city is a feast for the eyes. We devoured it. Ate it all up and it left us hungry for more. Hubby and I love all things French and this was to us, the icing on our French gateau. We did take a side Tour of Beaune. Wow. We took the back road of wine country to get there. I really can't tell you or describe to you what we saw. It was amazing. It was awesome. It was everything French country. le sigh...
Where to next?! Bandol!
We wanted to stay in the South of France. Some place where the kids could play on the beach. We wanted to be in the middle of everything! I was sadden by this part of the world, I have to admit. I was expecting French beach and what I got was Mexico. There is nothing overly special about this part of the world. It's warm. The sand is nice. The water green. It's nice. There is nothing to 'feast your eyes on' (unless you count the topless woman and hunky tanned men! yummy!) We did beachy things. We tanned. We warmed up. We went to Marseille and saw Hitler. I don't have much to write on this part. I'm sorry. It wasn't my idea of France and I feel I got ripped off. I wanted beach french and got Will Smith. We did have a nice time though and enjoyed much wine here.
Okay last stop! Bordeaux
Like Dijon, I was not ready for Bordeaux. I thought it was going to be a small city with nice things to see. Wow. It was a LARGE city with more then 'nice things to see' this was the city to see. This was better then Paris! This was everything I imagined France to be (and more!) I wish dear reader that you could see what I saw. I wish you could have felt what I felt. If you are ever, ever going to take a trip to France..you need to go to Bordeaux. We only had 1.5 days. We took it ALL in. We walked and took a bus tour. We snapped pictures until the fingers were sore. This part of France has been maintained so well. Much of the original Bordeaux still lays intact today. Arches and stone works. Churches and cobble stone. Bridges and waterways. It's all there. My heart I think is still there. I can honestly say (again!) that there are no words for Bordeaux. It's on the list of 'to go back, without children' list.
Dear reader there is so much to see in France. There is so much to experience. There is so much to do. It was the trip of a life time. One filled with too much driving. Too much screaming children and too many packing and moving. It was worth it though. To know that places like Beaune and Bordeaux still exist in our world today. Places of pure beauty and no sky scrapers!
I hope you all have a chance to visit one day. It will be worth every penny you save, promise.
xo
Stay tuned for part deux! (sorry! Paris, Dijon and Bordeaux need some more details!)
Thursday 4 August 2011
Hard being a farmer today
I try to stay out of politics. I try to stay out of Government affairs. I don't understand the workings so it's easier for me to just keep my nose out!
Since diving into the world of 'real' foods, I have become so much more informed on how our world is being taken over by our lovely government. Somethings are just scary.
Lets talk about Raw Milk for a minute shall we? I know most people are scared of raw milk. I know that there is a place for pasteurization in some countries. I understand that. I'm talking about getting raw milk from your local farmer. The farmer you can trust. The farmer that takes care of their cows. The farmer that you can trace back your milk from and the farmer that will tell you if there is any problems with the cattle. I'm NOT talking about going down to your local mega dairy and asking for a liter of milk!
I haven't really researched getting raw milk in Canada yet, but I have in the US. I know that 28 States do not prohibit the sales of raw milk. If your lucky enough to live in those states, you can probably find raw milk on your store shelves. Lucky.
Before dear reader I tell you the next bit, lets remind ourselves that I'm talking about milk here...not drugs, not weapons of mass destruction..I'm talking about milk.
CA is one of the lucky states to not prohibit the sales of raw milk. They allow with permits and shit loads of paper work for raw milk to be sold.
In the last little bit, the government has got in in their head, that while they are allowing most to sell their raw milk...they should still be able to send in SWAT teams to stores and do raids..Did you read that right? SWAT teams. Full out in gear, with guns, SWAT teams..to raid farmers. Seriously people. Check out the movie trailer for farmageddon. Again, raw milk here people.
The awesome people at Rawesome health foods in CA were raided this week. When I say raided, I am talking about the SWAT team moving in and scaring the shit out of people. The owners arrested and bond set. The charge? selling raw milk without a permit. Not even joking.
okay so they had no permit. WHO FUCKING CARES?!?!?! Did you know that your country is in debit? Did you know that they owe trillions to creditors? Good thing we have all the surplus money to send in a SWAT team to raid people of raw milk.
Is there really nothing else we could spend that money on?! Who really cares that I want to drink raw cow milk? That's a choice I make for me and my family. If I want to 'poison' myself and send myself into danger, shouldn't that be my choice? I guess all those stupid people out there who sue for hot coffee, have ruined it for everyone else? Maybe the government just doesn't like us having our hands in their money pot?
Anyway. It's frustrating. There are good farmers out there. Farmers who are making a difference and trying the best they can to provide a life for their families. There are farmers who believe in the old traditional ways, and are suffering for it.
Le sigh..
Please read about James Stewart and his Rawesome Raid here.
Its just milk people. just milk.
xo
Since diving into the world of 'real' foods, I have become so much more informed on how our world is being taken over by our lovely government. Somethings are just scary.
Lets talk about Raw Milk for a minute shall we? I know most people are scared of raw milk. I know that there is a place for pasteurization in some countries. I understand that. I'm talking about getting raw milk from your local farmer. The farmer you can trust. The farmer that takes care of their cows. The farmer that you can trace back your milk from and the farmer that will tell you if there is any problems with the cattle. I'm NOT talking about going down to your local mega dairy and asking for a liter of milk!
I haven't really researched getting raw milk in Canada yet, but I have in the US. I know that 28 States do not prohibit the sales of raw milk. If your lucky enough to live in those states, you can probably find raw milk on your store shelves. Lucky.
Before dear reader I tell you the next bit, lets remind ourselves that I'm talking about milk here...not drugs, not weapons of mass destruction..I'm talking about milk.
CA is one of the lucky states to not prohibit the sales of raw milk. They allow with permits and shit loads of paper work for raw milk to be sold.
In the last little bit, the government has got in in their head, that while they are allowing most to sell their raw milk...they should still be able to send in SWAT teams to stores and do raids..Did you read that right? SWAT teams. Full out in gear, with guns, SWAT teams..to raid farmers. Seriously people. Check out the movie trailer for farmageddon. Again, raw milk here people.
The awesome people at Rawesome health foods in CA were raided this week. When I say raided, I am talking about the SWAT team moving in and scaring the shit out of people. The owners arrested and bond set. The charge? selling raw milk without a permit. Not even joking.
okay so they had no permit. WHO FUCKING CARES?!?!?! Did you know that your country is in debit? Did you know that they owe trillions to creditors? Good thing we have all the surplus money to send in a SWAT team to raid people of raw milk.
Is there really nothing else we could spend that money on?! Who really cares that I want to drink raw cow milk? That's a choice I make for me and my family. If I want to 'poison' myself and send myself into danger, shouldn't that be my choice? I guess all those stupid people out there who sue for hot coffee, have ruined it for everyone else? Maybe the government just doesn't like us having our hands in their money pot?
Anyway. It's frustrating. There are good farmers out there. Farmers who are making a difference and trying the best they can to provide a life for their families. There are farmers who believe in the old traditional ways, and are suffering for it.
Le sigh..
Please read about James Stewart and his Rawesome Raid here.
Its just milk people. just milk.
xo
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