Click the image to find out how to tame technology and create balance in your home.
Of course, this type of post is not new for me. I am one of those parents who is very uptight when it comes to screen time. I hate what it is doing to our children and it has become a huge bone of contention in many families. I’m not even going to attempt to paraphrase this letter….you must read it in its entirety. Renee Robinson wrote this letter to her boys to explain to them why she restricts their screen time. I honestly have never read anything more in line with my beliefs about screen time. This letter is the perfect portrayal of what so many parents feel, but can’t seem to put into words. It’s easy to see why her post went viral. Here is a short excerpt from her letter, but you really must read the whole thing.
Well, boys, it’s not you. It’s me. Me being selfish maybe. You see I can’t bear to miss a moment with you. Let me explain.
I want to talk to you when we are out to eat. I want to listen to your questions. I want to have training opportunities. I want to allow space for conversation that can take us deeper. And if you are always distracted with electronics, well… I might miss those moments.
I could give you all the statistics about how damaging it is to your development, your attention span, your ability to learn. While all of those are valid reasons to keep electronics away, that is not my primary reason why I say no to you so much. It’s more than that. Much more. I need you to understand this.
As we head into summer, please consider Renee’s letter and although it is much easier to give in, lets all make an effort to limit screen time, for all the right reasons!
No, this post is not about helicopter parents. Although as parents, we are always walking that tight rope trying to determine when to loosen the reins and when to hold on for dear life, this post is not about “hovering” around our kids. This post is actually referring to the perpetual question of what to do when entering a public restroom and faced with the decision of whether to sit down or test your skills at going about your business from 2 inches above the comfort of the toilet seat.
To Hover or Not to Hover:
Well, this new video puts it all in perspective and basically says do what you want, but as far as protecting yourself from germs, it’s pretty much a lost cause. It’s disturbing to think that your cutting board is probably even more disgusting than the public washroom. Yuck!
As a teacher, June is the busiest month of the year. You are busy doing final report cards and tidying up all of the loose ends from the current school year and at the same time, having to prepare letters, class lists, supply orders, etc for the following year. On top of the work load, family life continues. Shay has a June birthday, so that always entails two parties to plan and prepare for. Soccer is in full swing for both kids, piano is wrapping up, dance recitals are happening, there are end of the year gifts to buy, people to thank and chores to be done. For me, the first two weeks of June are by far the toughest. Once I submit my reports, everything seems to be more manageable. I am by no means a master at managing stress and work load, but I am often asked how I juggle work, blogging, kid’s activities, etc., so here are a few things that I’ve learned over the years:
Plan ahead to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Use a master calendar to schedule all of your events and commitments.
Break the master calendar down into a weekly schedule.
Take your weekly schedule and slot in your “to do’s” for that week.
Multi-task and make use of spare minutes. I love to watch my kids activities, but I will often take marking or the laptop to work during warm-up or between drop-off and puck-drop or kick-off. Use your time wisely. I am a master at using every spare moment when I’m out and about. I will often run an errand in the 10 extra minutes between dropping off one kid and picking up another. I can get a lot done during a half hour piano lesson.
Never procrastinate. Try to knock the small tasks off your list as quickly as possible. Once they’re off your list, they’re also out of your mind and you can let them go completely. Do not put off the big jobs as these are the “to do’s” that seriously weigh on your shoulders and bog you down. Get started immediately and I promise you’ll feel better.
Know your limits. When I have a stressful time coming up, I try to keep myself as “non-committed” as possible. Predict those times and be wise with what you take on.
Say “no”. Don’t be a martyr. Do not say “yes” to something you don’t feel you can handle. I have learned that even fun social engagements can be too much for me when I am extremely busy. I will often decline, just knowing how adding one more thing to my calendar will make me feel.
Make a menu. If you don’t have to worry about meals and what you’re having for dinner, it will be less to think about.
Make sure you get enough sleep. The absolute last thing you need is to be sick on top of the stress you are already feeling.
Write everything down. Make lists and use your calendar. Transfer your thoughts, ideas and “things to do” to paper, so you won’t worry about forgetting something. Organization is key.
Assign chores. Make sure everyone is helping out around the house.
Take one day at a time. Try to get through only what is most pressing today and don’t waste time thinking about what is on your list for tomorrow. Tomorrow will come soon enough.
Over the years, I have found that what often makes me feel the most overwhelmed is one particular task. I know myself well enough to know that when I have something big weighing on me, all of the other smaller things feel huge. For me, it’s writing June report cards. It doesn’t matter how many other things are on my list, until those reports are written, edited and submitted, I carry a heavy weight. It’s a huge job and constantly on my mind until they are completed. Although it feels like the stress is being caused by the overwhelming number deadlines and little things that need to get done within a short period of time, it often all comes down to the one big job on the list. Once my report cards are done, all the other items on the list seem much more manageable. The keys to managing really busy stretches in life are simple: plan ahead, be prepared, know your limits and get started right away ~ do not procrastinate.
Here are some links to related posts on being organized.
This is the best yet! It may be referred to as smoothie #3, but it’s definitely #1 on my list! I absolutely love this concoction. In fact, I drank it up before it even occurred to me to take picture!
Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie Ingredients:
1 cup of frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup of fresh strawberries
1/4 to 1/2 cup of apple juice
Throw the ingredients in the blender and voila….a delicious smoothie. Add some chia seeds for protein, if you wish. The apple juice adds the extra liquid you need as well as this awesome burst of flavour. I like that it doesn’t have yogurt or anything milky….very good!
*I didn’t do this, but I am guessing you could swap the strawberries and pineapple (ie frozen strawberries and fresh pineapple) and get the same result. If both fruits are frozen, you will need to compensate with more juice and this will alter the flavour.
Let’s not mess around with semantics and cut to the chase….I’m horribly out of shape. I never thought I would see the day when my daughter would be encouraging me, when it came to working out and athletics. Eden has always been involved in activities and sports, but she’s not what you would call an aggressive competitor. She was the kind of kid who would get off her bike and walk it up a hill with a 10% incline because her legs hurt or stand by and watch the soccer game ensue around her, holding back so everyone could have a turn.
This spring her school started a running club which she was adamant she would not be joining. She “hates” running and always complains about sore legs when we do anything “strenuous” including lots of walking. So, you can imagine my surprise when she came home from school a few weeks back and announced that her teacher had convinced her to join the running club. Yay! Joining didn’t actually mean she liked running, only that she agreed to take part. She complains about running club all the time, and yet has asked me to go running with her more than once in the past few weeks. I can’t say running is high on my interest list, but I totally believe that an active life style is essential and it’s my job to display that for my kids. I literally could not say “no”.
Not only am I currently in poor shape, but I also hate running. I have done a bit of running in the past and even took the Running Room’s Learn to Run program several years back. A former colleague and avid runner once told me it takes 6 weeks to get hooked on running. It’s a lie. I stuck with it much longer than the suggested 6 weeks and still hated every step. I continued to run grudgingly and only stuck with it because it seemed like the simplest and most cost effective way to get in shape at the time. However, it didn’t seem to take that long before I quit altogether. I just don’t like it.
Despite my lack of interest in running, I really feel that Eden needs a good role model and I am so proud that she not only joined running club, but is actually showing an interest in pursuing running in her free time. So, when she asked me to go, I got myself up and ready, and off we went. Eden has some kind of an App to track your running distance and time. So I know for a fact that I was already dying at a 1/3 of a mile. At this point, it wasn’t so much the cardio,as my legs. By about 7/8 of a mile I was at least 20 paces behind Eden. I managed to continue running to the one mile mark and then had to walk for a minute. After a short walk and a one minute break, we began running again. It was hilarious. It was a total role reversal. Eden was encouraging me and telling me to stick with it and even slowing down to wait for me. I honestly never thought I would see this day. So, we continued on with her mostly running and me doing shorter spurts of running followed by longer distances of walking in between. In the end, we did 5 miles, but I’m sure I didn’t actually run much more than 2!
Eden and I about 45 minutes after our run ~ my face is still very red. Ugh!
My neighbour, Lisa, thought it is was kind of a special “first” and insisted on taking a picture of us after our first run together. You’ll notice how red my face is. The embarrassing thing is that this photo was taken about 45 minutes post run. I am now sitting here, about 2 hours after my run, and I think my natural colour has finally returned. I must say, I do feel better now, but I definitely needed some recovery time. I can’t say I enjoyed the run, but it was great to be out with Eden and I’m so proud of her. I told her that she could be my “personal trainer” and if we ran 3 times a week all summer, she could help get me back in shape. I found this winter to be one of the toughest ever and quite honestly had no motivation to do any form of exercise. Channel surfing was pretty much the extent of my physical activity this past winter. I love the idea of her and I going running together. I am not even going to suggest that we’ll be committed to this as that is way too premature, but it would be a great way to get back in shape and enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve waited so long for. I’m cautiously optimistic!
I’m determined to find a pineapple smoothie that can be my new “go to” breakfast drink. I tried out another recipe this morning and so far it’s ranked number one. I liked it more than the first, but I’ll continue to try out a few more.
Pineapple Strawberrry Smoothie #2
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
3/4 cup coconut milk (1.5 grams of protein)
1 to 2 Tablespoon of chia seeds (2 T. is 4.4 grams of protein)
Dump the ingredients in a blender. Mix well and serve. The coconut milk and chia seeds add some protein to the shake. I really enjoyed this smoothie. It was lighter than the first recipe which included both banana and yogurt.
My Thoughts:
I think I’ll continue to play with a few more recipes, as I feel like I still need more protein. Although I enjoyed this version more than the first, I was quite hungry by mid morning.
An egg has 6 grams of protein and my favourite breakfasts are usually 2 poached eggs on one slice of whole wheat bread (about 15 to 16 grams of protein) or a 3 egg omelette (18 grams of protein). I find that a high protein breakfast really sets me up for the day and I’m definitely missing this in my shake. I know I could throw some protein powder in, but my preference is to try and get the protein more naturally. When writing this post, I actually pondered the idea of tossing a raw egg or two in my shake just to boost the protein. I thought I’d look into it a bit and found this great article on Mark’s Daily Apple that suggests the protein in eggs is actually more digestible when the eggs are heated. The thought of raw eggs doesn’t really turn my crank, so I think I will continue to look for other sources and stick with cooking my eggs.
I love peanut butter and would even consider eating a Tablespoon of it along side my smoothie to knock my breakfast protein up by 4 grams. My daughter often adds peanut butter to her smoothies, but I only like peanut butter combined with certain fruits. A chocolate peanut butter smoothie sounds wonderful, but it also sounds more like dessert than a healthy breakfast shake. I’ll keep you posted as I continue to test out more recipes.
I’m not sure what’s up with me, but for the past few weeks I have had very little appetite. It’s not that I am not eating, but more just that I don’t crave anything in particular and nothing really seems all that appealing to me. This is especially true at breakfast time. I am not the type of person to skip breakfast. I absolutely need breakfast every morning, especially on a work day when I know I won’t really get an opportunity to snack before lunch. I have my breakfast staples like eggs (of any kind) and homemade flax granola, but lately I just don’t feel like eating breakfast. I like smoothies, but I try to drink 16 oz of water as soon as I get up and always have a large coffee before I leave the house, so the thought of more liquid before work doesn’t seem like a good idea, but I honestly need to change things up a bit. We always have frozen berries in the freezer because my daughter eats them like there’s no tomorrow, but my husband brought a bag of frozen pineapple home from his last Costco trip. I love fresh pineapple, but the frozen bag has been sitting in the freezer untouched for about 2 weeks already, so I decided that I might try a pineapple smoothie for something completely different to start off my day. Pineapple is packed with nutrients and is supposed to aid in digestion as well, so it seems like great choice. In preparing for this post, I found this article on Style Craze, that highlighted 17 Amazing Health Benefits of Pineapples. If you like pineapple, check out the post and stock-up on this delicious nutritious fruit.
We make fruit smoothies all the time, but I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever made one with pineapple. I searched the web and came up with several different recipes. I decided to try a few and see which one I like this best. Here’s today’s Pineapple Smoothie Recipe taken from Creme de la Crumb.
Skinny Pineapple Smoothie
This simple recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make and has good flavour.
1 cup frozen pineapple
½ medium banana (I used a frozen banana)
½ cup crushed ice (I omitted the ice in lieu of the frozen banana)
½ cup vanilla yogurt (or greek vanilla yogurt)
1 cup coconut milk
Toss the ingredients in the blender. Blend and serve.
I liked the taste of this smoothie, but I can’t say it will be my new “go to”. It was a bit creamier than I like and so I think I will test out another recipe next time and see if it is more to my liking. Don’t get me wrong, this recipe is good, just not quite what I’m looking for.
My friend Pat shared this video on Facebook. It is such a great example of the power of the human spirit. Some how the fact that it is boys gives the gesture even more impact. I think that experiences like this obviously have a huge impact on the victim, but I would expect that it was also a very powerful experience for each of the boys and their families and may even have a life long influence on how they treat others. Wow! A real testament to the power of friendship and uniting for a great cause.
I am so glad that we have finally had some sunshine and can begin to get outdoors and enjoy a good dose of Vitamin D in its most natural form. I just finished placing an order for some Vitamin D and thought it might be a good time to remind people of the benefits and importance of maintaining optimal levels of Vitamin D. Most of this information was taken from a previous post I did. On his website, Dr. Frank Lipman talks about Vitamin D, appropriate levels and some symptoms of deficiency.
What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?
There is no clear pattern of symptoms. In fact many people remain asymptomatic despite low levels. But here are the more common symptoms
Fatigue
General muscle pain and weakness
Muscle cramps
Joint pain
Chronic pain
Weight gain
High blood pressure
Restless sleep
Poor concentration
Headaches
Bladder problems
Constipation or diarrhea
Of course, our very best source of Vitamin D is that which is received via the sun, but many people need to incorporate more Vitamin D by taking supplements. Dr. Oz recommends 1000 IU a day, as do many health care providers. The chart below shows Vitamin D levels and what they mean in terms of your optimal health. Although this chart was not shared by my naturopath, this fits with the numbers and plan we had for achieving optimal levels for me. He felt that I should be within the 80 to 100 range due to the medication I take and other risk factors that I have. (However, another site I found stated that 50 ng/ml was the optimal level ~ so there are definitely different schools of thought regarding Vitamin D and supplementation.) I have my levels monitored to ensure that I am not taking in too much , but I generally take 10, 000 IU per day. In the time I have been taking this large dose, I have never tested much higher than 70. Keep in mind, that I live in Canada and work almost full-time, so my exposure to the sun is very limited in the winter. Vitamin D levels must be closely monitored by your health care provider as excessive amounts (above 100 ng/ml) can be harmful. The important thing to consider is whether or not you might in fact be deficient and need to get your levels checked and monitored.
Vitamin K and Vitamin D
A few months ago, my chiropractor told me about new research suggesting that taking a combination of Vitamin D and K really helped to enhance absorption and effectiveness of both when taken together. I found a supplement on iHerb that was less expensive than many similar supplements found locally and I have been extremely pleased with the results. This liquid Vitamin D3/K2 is manufactured by Ortho Molecular Products. I usually order 2 at a time to offset the duty and shipping fees. If you are interested in the link, here it is:
But there’s a new kid on the block that could end up being “the next vitamin D,” and we are finding that some of vitamin D’s benefits are greatly enhanced when combined with this other vitamin.
That “new kid” is vitamin K.
Much new research is now focusing on the synergy between vitamin K (specifically, vitamin K2) and vitamin D3, particularly in terms of bone strength and cardiovascular health.
If you find that you are feeling “off” or are experiencing some of the symptoms mentioned above ~ get outside. For many, just being outside, can make you feel better. The fresh air, sunshine (Vitamin D) and immersion in nature can be the best medicine of all. However, if you feel that you may need to supplement, check with your health care provider. I think that most GP’s would recommend the standard 1000 IU’s and that you may need to see a Naturopath in order to get an accurate measurement of your levels and specific needs. I have found that supplementing my Vitamin D has had a huge impact on my over all health throughout the past 3 – 4 years. I can tell when I have missed taking it or run out, and it is an absolute staple in my daily routine.
