Sharing recipes, crafts and frugal living, the challenges and triumphs of parenting a neurotypical child and a child on the Autism Spectrum. Yoga Instructor said goodbye to her nightly glass of Chardonnay to give up habits that were not serving her purpose in life! The CocktailMom name remains, however with a new focus on healthy and authentic living.

12/31/2011

2012 will take you ANY WAY!


Many people create New Year's resolutions, lists of ways in which they want to become better people in this new year. Remember that you have a choice! A choice to live your life ANY WAY you want.

Accept yourself, accept your flaws, accept the things that make YOU- you.

Remember there is no "right" or "wrong" path, there is only the choice that will make you happy and to live your authentic life.
Any way will be okay.

12/30/2011

Jenga Wedding Guest Book

Instead of a traditional wedding guest book I wanted to have guests write messages to us on something we'd use more often than a book on a shelf, something we would see throughout our lives. I saw this idea on another wedding website and loved it! 
Each guest wrote a message to us on a Jenga block using fine tip sharpie markers. I created this sign and displayed it in a frame so that guests understood what exactly it was they were expected to do.
I will warn you that if you do this idea to make sure someone is watching the kids at this table. We had a few kids who thought they could write on every single block! Also having it displayed where guests could leave the card they brought helped us in getting adults to participate.   




12/29/2011

Wedding Card Holder


I knew I wanted to do something unique to hold the cards we received from guests at our wedding. I also didn't want to really spend any money on something that was only going to be utilized once. So I used what I already had in our house, a vintage blue suitcase.

Thin, twelve inch dowel rods propped the suitcase open. The sign was created from textured card stock, the same card stock used for the butterfly topiaries, and hot glued to ribbon.  I tied a simple tag with the words "messages of love" to the handle.
We received so many wonderful comments from our guests remarking that it was "unique" and "so us"!
This idea would be great for a birthday party, baby shower, as well as a retirement luncheon. The possibilities are endless!



12/28/2011

Fabric Micro Suede Flowers for Wedding Centerpiece

As I previously mentioned I was recently influenced by Martha Stewart and a micro suede fabric flower tutorial.
I used the flowers at the base of the topiaries that I made for our wedding centerpieces. I bought the moss topiaries at a Michael's Craft Store in the flower arrangement section and using a Martha Stewart butterfly craft punch, I punched out different colored butterflies from textured card stock and pinned them to the topiaries. The base of the topiaries were mason jelly jars filled with sand and rock and a little bit of artificial straw grass. Simple and fun as they sat on tables surrounded by votive candles. 

(Pictures by Jessica Shepard)




12/27/2011

Martha Stewart's Craft Influence

I'm going to say it...I don't really follow Martha Stewart and her craft endeavors. I don't watch her show (is it still on air?), I don't read her magazines or books. I might sometimes buy her craft products at Michaels when they are on sale but in general she's just not really my style. Don't get me wrong I think she's a phenomenal business woman and I'd love to sit down with her and pick her brain. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't search her out.
Now there is Pinterest in my life, my latest addiction. So many folks pin Martha Stewart crafts and I found myself liking them! In fact I liked this flower tutorial so much that I decided to use it in the decor for my wedding and I made myself a cute little headband. It was so simple to make using microfiber suede, a little fabric goes a long way!
For the headband I purchased a black elastic one that comes in a pack at Target and simply sewed the flower to the elastic, along with a button centerpiece. It's the perfect crafty girl accessory!

12/19/2011

Knitted Rainbow Shrug


September can be hit or miss weather wise in the Washington DC area. Since I was wearing a spaghetti strap dress for our wedding I wanted to make sure I had something fashionable to wear over my dress just in case the day turned out chilly. The twenty year old-me would have dealt with the goosebumps and impractical shoes but in my mid thirties I've learned a thing or two about comfort and fashion. 
I headed to my local yarn store, A Tangled Skein,  and found this stunning yarn on clearance. It's from japan and a mix of cotton and bamboo. And no, I didn't use a pattern..I never do. I call it Zen Knitting. I cast on and hoped and prayed I bought enough yarn to make the shrug...and I did! I love how it turned out.

Don't be afraid to create!

12/16/2011

Hot Chocolate Holiday Gift for Neighbors


I like to spread the holiday love to friends and neighbors. A simple surprise package on their doorstep. It doesn't have to be an extravegant gift but something small and homemade means a lot to the person that you wave to everyday as you back your car out of the driveway, or to the mom-friend you chat with outside of the school after dropping your kids off every day.
Small, simple gestures of love and peace.
This year I made homemade hot chocolate, the recipe I received from a friend's mom so I don't know if I'm allowed to post it. (I'll update later if so.) But a search on google produces many quick and easy recipes to try out.

I love the Keep Calm posters, I know they are so last year in popularity...but I still enjoy them. I created these fun gift tags for the hot chocolate keeping with the Keep Calm style but forming the words to make a Christmas tree.


Feel free to use it for personal use only. I printed them using Picassa as wallet size prints, 8 to a 8.5 x 11 inch page.


The little ornament is crocheted yarn and recycled wine corks, I'll be selling them in my etsy store in the new year. Oh and the cards.... I downloaded the template from Becky Higgins, she has so many great free downloads including a lot of holiday card templates.


12/15/2011

Teachers Pay Teachers


While searching on the internet for something, I don't recall what I originally was looking for, came across this website: Teachers Pay Teachers.

That is how it always happens for me. Great websites appear in my life through so many clicks from other sites. And when friends ask "how did you hear about this?", I never really know what to tell them because I actually stumbled across it entirely by accident.  Once 20 minutes went by and I'm still on this website, I knew I had to share it with other parents and hopefully some teachers read this blog as well. There are so many FREE resources as well! Please pass along to your classroom teacher.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com
TeachersPayTeachers® is the world's first open marketplace where teachers buy and sell original teaching materials. It was founded in 2006 by Paul Edelman, a former NYC public school teacher.


TpT's mission is to make teachers lives easier by bringing together those who create curricula with those who are seeking fresh new approaches in the classroom. Teachers work hard and deserve extra compensation for all those hours spent lesson planning. Newer teachers and those looking for ideas can save time and leap ahead in competency by learning from veterans. We strongly believe that the ensuing exchange lifts all boats and leads to the better sharing of best practices. In the end everyone wins, especially our students.

12/14/2011

My Anthropologie Wedding Dress

I bought my wedding dress at Anthropologie randomly, we were out shopping for something else, I saw it in the window. Within minutes I was trying it on. As I opened the dressing room door Lauren had a huge smile on her face and said "that's the dress!"
The only problem was it was strapless. I have large breasts and after nursing two babies, strapless bras aren't comfortable for prolonged periods of time. This is originally what the dress looked like.
It had tiny little straps that weren't large enough to hide bra straps. So I cut the bow in the back of the dress and used that fabric to make larger straps to hide my bra straps. I still had the fabric for a bow in the back, but instead of a bow I simply tied it. I loved how comfortable it was to wear. I'm thankful that I chose a dress that I will be able to wear many more times throughout our lives. 

Oh, and that adorable flower on my dress I bought off Etsy by Emerson Made. Sadly you can't get them anymore. The blog, Junebug Weddings, did a wonderful post about them.


12/13/2011

Routine

My wife and I went away for a "mini-moon" recently and during that trip we got snowed in, we were staying at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast. Being forced by the weather to do nothing, tune into one another and just be. It was the best gift we have received.

12/12/2011

Ikea Blog- Home

I've been an Ikea junkie for years. Lately I've been trying to ween myself off of Ikea and buy more "big girl" furniture pieces. Antiques or furniture that doesn't come packaged flat in a box. But in my heart there will always be a special place for Ikea!
When the catalog arrives in my mailbox I pour through it the way my children do a toy catalog, I love the pictures of the rooms. I feel inspired and creative....all from an Ikea catalog!
Well today I learned that Ikea has a BLOG!!!! OMG!!! Talk about eye candy. It's written in Swedish but google has a handy translate button on the top left corner, I think you need to have google as your search bar but I'm not 100% sure on that. Pour yourself another cup of coffee and enjoy the beautiful pictures.
http://livethemma.ikea.se
Hopefully it will inspire you as well.

12/09/2011

Jessie Mary Photography



When Lauren and I set the date to get married I wasn't like other brides combing through stacks of bridal magazines. No, that's not for me. I've done this before, remember? I knew what I wanted and the number one thing on my list was finding the best photographer. I spent hours looking at photography websites, searching for someone who would be willing and able to photograph a gay wedding. (Yes, there are people in the world who will refuse to take pictures at a gay wedding.)
Through a recommendation from another photographer Jessica Shepard entered our lives. After chatting with her on the phone and learning that our lives have taken similar routes from living in NYC to Seattle and also being a mom...I had this feeling in my gut that she was the photographer for us. And I was right, I am ecstatic with the pictures she took at our wedding.

We exchanged vows privately with a small group of family and friends at the Washington DC courthouse. The room is really small and you are only allowed to have 12 people, we are a family a four which means that didn't leave a lot of room for invites.

The day after our wedding Jessica emailed us one picture, a teaser of what was to come. I opened the email and inhaled loudly, I told Lauren "This is the picture! I don't care if the rest look like shit, this is the ONE!"

Thankfully we ended up with hundreds of pictures that were fantastic. Check out Jessica's blog, she posted many more pictures that truly captures our day. Thank you Jessica, we are overjoyed!!!!

12/08/2011

A GAY Family!

I think I forgot to tell you...I GOT MARRIED!!!!
I know here on the blog I share very intimate moments of parenting. I talk at great length about the struggles and joy of raising a child on the Autism Spectrum. But I haven't been talking a lot about the recent transformation that I've made. Here is the quick version: I use to be married to a man...we had 2 children together... we got a divorce...I met a fantastic woman, fell deeply in love and we recently married in Washington DC.

I've been skirting around talking openly about my divorce because I want to be respectful of my ex-husband and his very public life (he's an author). I'm also the type of person that lives by the mantra: "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".
I will say this...we are amazing parents together. I think friends and family can agree on that...we do a hell of a job communicating the boys needs and always putting them first.
Anyway.... when I had to announce to family and friends that I was getting a divorce, it's awkward and I wanted to be the one to tell my friends. I didn't want it spreading like gossip and turning into something poisonous. I sent messages through Facebook to almost everyone I knew, this is what I told them:
Some of you may have heard the news travel through the gossip chain of friends and family. This is a hard email to write to all of you. And there is no easy way to say it, other than just to say it. Jon and I are getting a divorce. It's not an easy choice or a light-hearted decision to leave a relationship when you thought it was supposed to last "forever". Jon and I came to a point where in our hearts we weren't happy in our marriage any longer and realized that we needed to except that and continue to seek joyful expression of ourselves. I have spent the last year in a state of awakening. I've rediscovered what happiness means. I've laughed more this past year, felt joyous and here I sit taking a deep breath in and knowing in my whole heart I am following my true bliss. It's not easy. There are hard decisions to be made along the way. We all have to do what makes us happy, to not become stagnant, to awaken our core beings. I've gotten REALLY clear over the year that I am not responsible for others happiness or to make sure anyone else is living a joyful life, only that I continue to be an example of staying connected to the universe and live my life in joy.I hope you are all well and wish you a year of awakening in your spirits to follow your own true bliss.

I found the courage from within myself to "come out of the closet" to my family and friends. (I told my parents at Ikea of all places, which I think should be the title of my book.) 
I have been awakened. I feel like I'm finally living my authentic life. I have thankfully been surrounded by love and acceptance. I fell in love with a woman. And she is the most amazing person who has entered my life. I smile more. I laugh more. My children love her. And she in turn, adores the boys. 
And we are now a family. 
Logan was asked recently by a classmate, "do you have two moms?"
His reply, "yeah, I have two moms AND a dad! I know, I'm awesome."

These kids are okay. They are better than okay. We all are.



12/07/2011

Placemat & Gift of Thanksgiving

I came across this placemat on Pinterest. It was one of those things that seemed like everyone was re-pinning. It is so cute and functional, you can see why it was going viral! (Click here to see the rest of the Thanksgiving collection.)

Around my Thanksgiving table each person had a placemat and in front was a small gift from me. I used a toilet paper tube and taped scrapbook paper to it and folded the ends inside. I printed off a small picture of each person and adhered it to the outside in lieu of traditional name cards. Inside each tube was a felted acorn ornament that I made and a small note telling the recipient why I am thankful for them. 


For my youngest son I wrote:
When I look at you it's like looking into a mirror of my own soul. Being your mom has taught me to embrace who I am as well as embrace what makes you- YOU!

So often I think words are left unsaid and I don't ever want to leave this earth and not tell the people whom I love how much I in fact love and cherish them. 
Use your words.
Take a moment and tell the people in your life how thankful you are for knowing them. I believe it will be cherished.

12/06/2011

College Park Patch: A 6-Year-Old's Buyer's Remorse

This article was originally published on the College Park Patch. 

So far, the Responsibility Chart we started in our household to eliminate whining and teach my children better table manners is working.
They aren’t perfect, but I don’t have to say, "Lips together chewing" at every meal. And to the chorus of “Mommy, I want that!” at every toy commercial during Saturday morning cartoons, I can simply say, “Save YOUR money.”
The day after Thanksgiving we joined the masses at Arundel Mills Mall hoping to find a great deal in the aftermath of early morning Black Friday shoppers. Each child needed new pants and shoes, and the death of my espresso machine couldn’t have come at a better time. As we turned a corner, my oldest son’s eyes grew big as he spotted the Lego logo.
“Can we go in?”
“Of course, but we are only looking.” How many parents have spoken those words?
After many minutes of Lego building and drooling over boxes of Millennium Falcom, my youngest uttered the words that every parent has heard hundreds of times: “Can we buy something please!?!”
“Yes, you can,” I replied. His eyes lit up and he actually jumped in the air with excitement. “But you have to spend your own money, and I think it’s safe to say you have $5. You can pay me back when we get home.”
His face changed. 
To continue reading click here.

12/05/2011

Spinach and Cheese Puff Goodness


Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I typically host, my mom handles the turkey cooking (my least favorite part of Thanksgiving) and I do all the sides. Each year I make something new. I try to never repeat the same dishes. Most families like the tradition of having the same thing each year. But I prefer to take the time and experiment, to try new dishes with obscure ingredients. One of the dishes that got the most thumbs up amongst my family was this Spinach and Cheese Puff, originally pulled from Martha Stewart's website.
Within her recipe is conflicting directions. Here is what I did to make this yummy goodness a success.

Ingredients:
3 (10 ounce) packages of frozen, chopped spinach. Thaw and squeeze dry.
1 1/2 cups of fat free half and half
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces smoked gruyere cheese, coarsely grated.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
Spray a shallow baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients (set aside a half cup of cheese) and stir. Spread evenly in prepared dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown on top.

12/02/2011

Thanksgiving Dinner Party Games 2011

I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday for throwing a dinner party. Once everyone has finished eating and we sit around the table, finishing wine, settling our stomachs before dessert.... I pull out the game of questions. (Last year I did this.)
This year I put questions on small strips of paper and stored them in a mason jar. One person reads the question and around the table everyone answers, then you pass the mason jar to the person next to you and we begin again. I choose questions that both children and adults can answer, in hopes of getting to know what our guests are thinking. Everyone around my Thanksgiving table this year was family. And though I know them all very well I love to hear the answer that my teenage niece gives to questions like "who are you most proud of amongst your friends?". Or what my 8 year old son will say when asked "if you could pick a color that represents your personality what color would that be?"
(His answer by the way: Black, when I probed further on why he chose black his response was, "cause it's all the colors into one." That kid is smart!)
The website, How Does She?, has a wonderful selection of questions that they created for family dinner time. I used their lists as inspiration. Make a list of questions for your family, it doesn't have to be for Thanksgiving...it is something that can be used anytime. Start a new tradition! This would also be a very inexpensive gift to make and give to another family.



11/14/2011

College Park Patch: No Longer Standing Guard


This article was originally published on the College Park Patch. 
My children are now old enough that I can leave them in the bathtub while I go downstairs to check my email, without fear of them drowning. I no longer need to cut their food in bite-size pieces for fear of them choking.
We’ve moved into a new stage of their development that I am calling “playground independence.”
We bought our house in this neighborhood because of the playgrounds and because there are so many families with children. From my front door, we can see one of those playgrounds, and within seconds of hearing laughter from that direction my sons will put on their shoes in lightening-fast speed, calling as they run out the door, “I’m going to the playground to play with …”

11/11/2011

College Park Patch: Teaching Children About Responsibility

This article was originally published on the College Park Patch as part of the weekly column by Gretchen Schock,Parenting on a Tightrope


There are many moments that I hope my children will recall as fond memories from childhood when they are adults — moments they don’t appreciate now, but might later say, "If it wasn't for my mom..."
We are working on responsibilities in our house. Each member of the family has responsibilities in our household — including the children. I'm purposely not calling these "chores.” I'm not looking at this solely as an opportunity to have someone help me scrub the toilet or feed the dog, but hope to eliminate whining about homework and begging for a toy every time we walk into Target.
Each week some responsibilities change, and some remain the same, like doing homework. Each completed responsibility earns my children a smiley face. At the end of the day, if they’ve received a smiley face next to each of their responsibilities they earn 25 cents. If they don't earn a smiley face for even one responsibility ... no money.
It only took my youngest son, who is six years old, two days to catch on to this.

11/10/2011

College Park Patch: Using Behavior Charts in the Classroom

This article was originally published on the College Park Patch as part of the weekly column by Gretchen Schock,Parenting on a Tightrope

My children are well behaved, but I don’t notice it as often as I should.
L had years of public meltdowns; the meltdowns of a child on the Autism Spectrum are nothing like a meltdown of a nuerotypical child. Trust me on this one.
He no longer lies motionless, completely dead weight in the middle of the supermarket aisle. He no longer kicks, arching his back and screaming while trying to put him in the car seat, every single time that we have to go somewhere.
Thankfully we have moved past that phase. He’s no angel, and like anyone he has his moments, but with maturity they have become more reserved. He’s become embarrassed by the public attention that a meltdown attracts.
His teacher last year said she could have written his name in permanent marker on the top on the behavior chart hanging in her classroom, because he was so well behaved. He never moved from the top spot all year.
Enter son No. 2. I knew from the get-go we would have issues with a classroom behavior chart.

11/09/2011

College Park Patch: Starting the Day Off Right with a Compliment


This article was originally published on the College Park Patch as part of the weekly column by Gretchen Schock,Parenting on a Tightrope
(My sister has one of the best smiles when she laughs, I don't tell her that enough.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning. Everyone woke up in a happy mood, got dressed and brushed their teeth without one gripe or grumble.
We left the house for church on time instead of our usual rush. As we walked to the car, L grabbed my hand and looked up at me as if it was the first time he’d seen me … really seen me that morning. 
He looked me directly in the eye and said, “Mommy, I like your clothes and necklace.”
My mouth dropped open. Giving another person a compliment — unprompted — has been one of L’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals for the past two years.
Making eye contact and noticing something about another person is a huge milestone for a child on the Autism Spectrum. I wished I could freeze frame this moment and replay it for the entire IEP team, which consists of his special education teacher, occupation therapist, speech therapist, general education teacher, school psychologist, school counselor and the four other random people who sit in on every IEP meeting.
I promptly thanked him, and he gave me that huge smile that makes his eyes twinkle.
During church I tried to pay attention to the minister, but all I thought about was L’s compliment and how far he has come in his development. And the more I thought about it, I realized that maybe our entire family needs to work on this goal of giving another person a compliment, unprompted.
Couldn’t the world use more compliments? What if everyday we said something nice to another human being?

11/08/2011

Public Service Announcement for Teach.gov on Special Education

It took a little longer than expected, but the final version of the special education teacher recruitment video is live on the web!

Did you know that my son Logan and I participated in a Public Service Announcement for Teach.gov? 
They are creating videos to solicit people to become teachers for underserved populations. 
i.e.: african-american males, latino and special education. We were asked to participate because Logan is on the Autism Spectrum and because I am such a HUGE advocate for him.

A group of moms sat in a circle and we talked for hours. And out of that amazing day came this 5 minute PSA! Logan and I are both featured throughout the video along with some amazing kids and
mama lions.


The easiest way to share is by viewing on the US Department of
Education's TEACH.gov YouTube site -http://www.youtube.com/teachgov
It's the featured video!

Please share widely! Post on your Facebook page, send a Tweet with the link, email to all of your friends and even people that you only sort of like! 


We've also been told that the video will be used as one of the lead ins at each of the screenings of the new documentary "American Teacher." http://www.theteachersalaryproject.org/screening.php

10/31/2011

Bat Stuffed Animal - Happy Halloween!

This year my sons will be with their father for trick or treating. We switch holidays each year and along with Thanksgiving and Christmas we rotate Halloween. Thankfully their dad and I have a good parenting relationship, after they get gobs of candy from the houses near where he lives they will be stopping by to trick or treat our house. I am going to surprise them with these new "cuddly friends", as my youngest likes to call them. Special Halloween bats for the special boys in my life.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween!

10/20/2011

Routine

First off let me tell you a little about me...I don't like guns. I refuse to allow fake guns into my home, that means no nerf guns or toy guns of any kind. This past summer I was convinced to purchase water guns but that is as far as I will go.
I have two boys and the reality is that they will turn anything and everything into a gun. I shouldn't have found it surprising when I came into the living room and found my oldest using my (unplugged) glue gun as a toy gun in his make believe battle.
It made me chuckle and I had to snap a quick picture. Only my kids, sons of a crafter would think to use a glue gun!

10/19/2011

Simple Crochet Baby Hat

Everyone is having babies around us, it's dangerous!!!
I created this simple crochet hat for one of the newest additions. I purchased a skein of cotton/bamboo yarn and went to work single crocheting in a circle, adding three rows of double crochet to make it interesting. As always I didn't use a pattern and just eyeballed it until I felt it was complete.

10/18/2011

Photo Gift Tags Upcycled into Frame


My sister-in-law has the cutest pictures of my nephews printed on Moo cards and uses them as gift tags for the holidays. I adore this idea! 

But I couldn't bring myself to just throw away the gift tags. So I decided to place them in a frame to hang on our "family wall". (More pictures of our "family wall" to come.) The cards are an odd shape so it was difficult to find frames that would display them in a traditional sense. After many trips to various stores I gave up and decided to add them all to this multi picture frame that I already had in the attic. I adhered the pictures to a textured piece of scrapbook paper. I actually don't mind the blank spaces and feel as though it highlights each picture nicely. 





10/17/2011

College Park Patch: Holding on to Hope

This article was originally published on the College Park Patch as part of the weekly column by Gretchen Schock, Parenting on a Tightrope

Ten years ago, Sept. 11, 2001, I didn’t have children; I was living in New York City managing an Off-Broadway Theatre.
It was my day off, and I was sleeping in.
I woke up to the sound of my best friend’s voice leaving a message on my answering machine: “An airplane flew into one of the twin towers. Gretchen, WAKE UP!”
I sprang out of bed not knowing if I was awake or if this was a dream. I remember the sound of my bare feet hitting the hardwood floor as I ran to my fire escape, where I had a clear view of the twin towers.
All I could see was smoke.
I grabbed my camera — the only thing I owned that would give me the ability to zoom in and really see what was happening. I poised the camera to my face and looked into the viewfinder. My finger automatically went to the shutter button, and I pressed my finger as another airplane flew directly into the second tower.
Click.
To read more click here. 

10/14/2011

College Park Patch: Collecting, Counting or Compulsion?

This article was originally published on the College Park Patch as part of the weekly column by Gretchen Schock, Parenting on a Tightrope

Most kids at some point in their lives have a collection of something: Polly Pocket dolls, Pokémon cards, stamps, and so on. A lot of adults have collections as well. At one point my mom collected little pig figurines that aligned the top of a dresser in her house. (Thank goodness that phase is over!)
The difference between neurotypical kids and kids on the Autism Spectrum is that, AS kids tend to be obsessive about their collections.
There was a time when L would collect “treasures” on our walks — random things he would find that would interest him. Shiny rocks, a hairclip, bottle tops … there never seemed to be any rhyme or reason for what caught his eye.
But God forbid you even think of throwing them away!
Curled on the couch, in a lull between reading stories, I asked my youngest son, Z, “Do you think at some point you would want your own room?”
I am shocked by how fast Z answers with a firm, “No!”
“Why not?”
“I’d be too lonely. I’d miss L. And I can’t sleep without his counting.”
“What do you mean? His counting?” I asked, rather perplexed because this is the first I heard of counting happening after I tuck them in.
To read more click here.


10/06/2011

Routine

I'm making an effort to have more moments like this in my life. It fills my well...spiritually, emotionally and physically.

10/05/2011

International Walk to School Day

Today is International Walk to School Day in the USA. The boys and I walk to school everyday. Well I walk, as they scooter. We live close to the school so it isn't a huge ordeal. On the days when I've driven in order to commute to a yoga class that I am teaching... I feel embarrassed about it.

So it was a no brain-er when the PTA put a call out for volunteers to help corral the children from the designated meeting spot to school. I wanted to make the morning special for the kids so I woke up early and headed out of the house with sidewalk chalk in hand. Along the route I wrote messages to the kids, words of encouragement and fun things to do along the way.
Walk the Tightrope.


Spin. Jump. Tap your head. Wave.

And who couldn't benefit from hearing "you are so smart" as they make their way into school.

I know the kids had fun this morning and hopefully some of them will ask their parents to be able to walk to school more often.

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