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What Dreams May Come

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

I, with the rest of the world, am deeply saddened by the loss of Robin Williams. I had the privilege of spending time with Robin and his then wife Marsha many moons ago. He was as brilliant and comedic in person as one would imagine, and also extremely warm and caring.

They had small children at the time and it was clear he loved them dearly. His eyes lit up every time their names were spoken.

In honor of his family’s request to focus on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions, I wanted to share how Robin Williams positively influenced our lives very recently.

We watched Popeye the movie two weeks ago and my sons have eaten mounds of spinach everyday since. I mean they can’t get enough. They wake up asking for it, and shove it in their tiny mouths faster than they can chew it.

My 5 year old has spontaneously burst into laughter and when I ask him what’s funny, he recounts a scene from the movie. Small things I know, in light of such a giant loss, but life is all about the little things.

Today we are listening to the incredible “What Dreams May Come” soundtrack composed by Michael Kamen and I am finding joy and laughter in all the moments that make up our daily life.

Robin Williams

To be, or not to be, that is the question—
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come

-William Shakespeare

In Honor of Moms

The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.
– Barbara Kingsolver

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

A mother is she who can take the place of all others but
whose place no one else can take.
— Cardinal Mermillod

The phrase “working mother” is redundant.  ~Jane Sellman

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan

I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.  ~Abraham Lincoln

A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.  ~Victor Hugo

Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother.  A child is a child.  They get bigger, older, but grown?  What’s that suppose to mean?  In my heart it don’t mean a thing.  ~Toni Morrison, Beloved

Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds.  Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends – but only one mother in the whole world.  ~Kate Douglas Wiggin

Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face. -George Eliot

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of you amazing mothers out there, especially my Mom!

Batter Blaster…

I seriously don’t know what to make of this:

Batter Blaster

It’s organic pancake batter in a whip cream type can.  I have confirmed that they are now BPA-free cans, but I just really am confused about how I feel about this product.  The name itself is pretty funny and I’m always happy to see a convenient way to eat organic food, but isn’t half the fun of having pancakes actually whisking up the batter?  It also breaks the Food Rule of  “only consume what your great grandmother would recognize as food.”

I don’t want to be negative here so I have no choice but to try this product and report back…

I welcome any of your thoughts on this!

Slow Parenting, Anyone?

In response to friends and family who occassionally chided my husband and me about our parenting style, I would often say, “there’s no such thing as being overprotective.”  Sometimes I followed up with, “he depends on us for his safety and health and whole life and I prefer this to the alternative (uncaring, clueless, absent father, resentful mother, etc)?  Can you tell I was passionate about this?  Well now that we’ve ventured into the toddler years, I need to add on to my original quote. “There’s no such thing as being overprotective…with an infant.”  Past the crucial first year, my son now needs his freedom and independence, and we need to let him fall so he learns he can get right back up again and everything will be ok.  Here’s an interesting article I just read in Time Magazine about overparenting and the damage it can cause.

The antidote to this parenting style might be found in the “slow parenting” movement and this new book by Carl Honore Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting

Thoughts?

Vitamin D for Immune System Health

Vitamin D is very important for overall health, and harder to get during the winter months.
If possible, get some sunshine! It’s the best way to get this happy hormone (not actually a vitamin at all!) Here are some food sources of D:
The flesh of fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel)
fish liver oils especially cod
beef
liver
cheese
egg yolks