Travels of Food Allergic Tween

What does it take for a tween living with severe food allergies to travel?  Realistically, it means the responsible adult must be ready for anything.  Even with a responsible, well-adjusted, kid...

Vera Bradley Crossbody

1.  Be prepared!  Never allow your young child with food allergies to travel without an allergy pack (containing medical information, snacks, and just-in-case medications.)  This makes a HUGE difference down the road when your now tween balks and does not want to draw attention to being different.  Our tween has a collection of purses - most recently Vera Bradley crossbody and that helps somewhat.  Always carry.  No exceptions.
    

Twisted Fruit

2. Be Proactive!  My tween headed to Portland with extended family and packed extra milk-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free treats and snacks - just in case.  Sure enough, she reported those little extras - Cliff Organic Twisted Fruit helped make mornings special.
    

Salmon

3.  Be Open!  While in Portland, my tween reportedly tried different food options (fresh salmon, deconstructed mango salad, vegan strawberry cream cheese, crab) she knew were safe. She was thrilled and sent pictures to me via her cell phone (which, by the way, is NOT a substitute for carrying allergy pack).

Cuz you never know...At one of the vegan bakeries, an employee stuck a peanut donut in with an assortment.  Tween had a bite (not of the peanut one - thank goodness!) and her throat started to feel itchy.  Not wanting to make a scene, she mentioned it in passing to present adult.  The adult did not pick-up on the cue. 

The story ends without blame (ALWAYS!), 

but with a sober reminder and Benadryl.

FAAN

Fourth of July Pie

This Fourth of July Holiday, my multiple food allergic tween and I cobbled together a Milk-free, Egg-free, Nut-free berry pie.  We have made apple and berry pies before, but this one was special.  We didn't have enough cherries in our Farmer's Market stash, so we decided to add our Farmer's Market blueberries too.  It turned out berry delicious!  Recipe follows below:

Cherry-Blueberry Pie

Milk-free, Egg-free, Nut-free

The Flaky Pastry crust recipe is adapted from the 1982 edition of:
Sunset Easy Basics for Good Cooking

Flaky Pastry
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup solid shortening or lard
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Stir together flour and salt.  Cut shortening into flour until about pea-size.  Sprinkle water over mixture a little at a time - stirring lightly with a fork.  When just moistened, gather mixture into a ball.  Divide ball in half and flatten.  Wrap and leave in fridge for an hour.

Filling
4 cups pitted cherries
2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light
2 tablespoons soymilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Sprinkle berries with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice.  Roll out bottom crust and fill with berry mixture. Dot around top with Smart Balance Light.  Roll out top crust and cut to create lattice effect.  Brush top lightly with soymilk. To prevent excess browning, place strips of foil around edges.  Place pie on baking sheet and bake on lowest rack for 30-35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 25-30 more minutes.

Bring to picnic dinner at the fireworks!

Ice Cube Tray

Life Cycle of the Ice Cube Tray
 

Before kids - the ice cube tray is for ice cubes.
Raising babies - freeze lil portions of homemade baby food in it.
Tween girl - uses the ice cube tray to corral earrings :)
Busy Mom - tidies the junk drawer with it.
Garage - relegated to nails, screws, and bits.
Recycle bin - Recycled - into another ice cube tray?

Food Allergy Positives

Read with interest the simple "How To Organize Your Loose Recipes" post on Wikihow from fellow NAPO-Chicago member, Barb Tischler this week.  My multiple food-allergic tween and I have been collecting recipes from magazines, on-line searches, and FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) newsletters (from back in the day when newsletters were of the snail-mail variety) for several years.  Inspired, we piled our collection and got to work.

My almost-not-a-tween spent her own time culling and sorting, so I stepped aside.  Adapting the binder idea, she re-used an accordian-style folder from school.  The result is a file of sheets of recipe options she has used, will use, or will adapt to use.  The plan is to collect the most successful recipes from the collection and start a new binder with the plastic protectors per Barb's suggestion.  It will be her very own Milk-free, Egg-free, Nut-free (except almonds!), and Sesame-free cookbook!

---------------------------------------

The Gifts of Food Allergy

I want to share an excerpt from our former FAAN newsletter binder of recipes.  It is an uplifting message from 2003 that my almost-not-a-tween found, highlighted with happy orange marker, and posted on the fridge. It speaks to the value of living with food allergies and we live it every day.

Post as it appeared in 2003:

The Gifts of Food Allergy

Raising a child who has food allergies brings many unexpected challenges into our lives.  Life would be much easier without having to deal with food allergies.  However, think of all you have learned and the positive ways food allergy has affected your life.

Nothing is all bad or good, and food allergy is no exception.  Listed below are some of the positive ways food allergy has enriched the lives of families just like yours.

* Your family is aware of what they eat, and is likely to make healthy food choices.
* You are active in your child's academic life; the administration, nurse, and teachers all know you.
* You've become more than you were (stronger, wiser, more assertive) to keep your child healthy and happy.
* Your child knows what it feels like to be different and has learned to be compassionate to others.
* Your family has learned to "look out for each other," allowing children to learn true caring.
* Your child has learned that his or her actions can have extreme consequences and has learned to make responsible decisions.
* Food allergy teaches patience, safety, and restraint as opposed to immediate gratification (e.g., the label must be read before eating an item, food cannot be shared, etc.)
* Your child grows up focusing on activities rather than snacks and meals.

These are only a few ways that food allergy can affect our lives in positive ways.  There are many, many others.  Feel free to share some of yours with us.  We'd love to hear from you.

Tween and I would love to hear from you too!
Eat happy :)

Sprinkle

Keep summer simple.

Hot weather and bored kiddos tempting you to purchase new Super Soaker plastic water guns?  Yes, kids find these toys entertaining but you probably have enough on hand - scattered in the back of the garage!

First things first, take stock of your munitions!  Rally the troops to test and wipe down your current stockpile.  Label the keepers with a sharpie and store them in laundry baskets in the "KID ZONE" of the garage. 

If you are still prepared to introduce a new item into your water play arsenal, I stumbled upon a simple option I want to share...

Looking for a replacement garden hose at Target, I discovered a line of PURPLE garden hoses and sprinklers.  Fifty feet of lightweight hose was inexpensive and has more creative uses (read: chores - washing car, rinsing garbage cans, watering hanging baskets) than water blasters that require a reload every few minutes and encourage attack play.

Right away, my 9 year-old was inspired to set it up to oscillate on the driveway while he and a friend played basketball in the "rain" in 90+ degree heat!  It has also been a water "volleyball net" for a beach ball and a "car wash" for bikes!

Maybe you already have a hose on hand your kids could use?  Make it accessible and bring on the fun :)  What would your kids do with a sprinkler and a hose?

Order Up!

Know you should be teaching your kids how to prepare meals, but can never find the time?
  

Resigned to the fact that your family will eat out too often again this summer?

...or are you just tired of doing all the work?

What if you could teach skills that will last a life-time,
save money on restaurants, and
make happy memories with your kids?

Organize summer meals by creating a "culinary school" in your own kitchen
and

Make Dinner Matter!

     This summer vacation marks the third year in a row I have made a summer cooking schedule for our family.  In the beginning, I decided to have the kids help me - just so I wouldn't be alone in the kitchen.  Now my food allergic tween proudly prepares entire meals for the family - on her own!  My goal for your family is to keep the expectations realistic and the mood fun.  This means writing the toddler into the rotation too! 
     Sound too complicated?  Hey, you've got weeks worth of soccer practice, or swim lessons on the calendar.  Teaching your kids independence in the kitchen is important.  And less expensive than signing them up for another camp.  What if you just scheduled it in?

For example:
1. COMMIT  I selected the 7 weeks between Monday, June 20th, and Sunday, August 7th.

2. BE REALISTIC  Of the 49 days, I figured 2 per week for special occasions and/or eating out.  Subtracting a vacation week left 30 days to make dinner matter. 

3. ASSIGN DUTY Who gets to cook/help you cook dinner when...?  Put it on the calendar!  (Note: Use the phrase, "gets to," rather than "has to!"  It will change your attitude too.)

Considering?  Read on...

------------------------------------------------------------------

Make Dinner Matter

Step 1 - Menu Plan

One of the benefits of being assigned a night in our house is getting to select the meal!  If this is new for your family, you may want to select a few kid-friendly cookbooks from the library for inspiration.  It also helps to menu plan once a week and shop for as many items as possible at one time.  To save money, you may want to shop first and hit the sales, then menu plan based upon what you purchased. 

Bonus points - As you schedule the meals, display a few days worth of "menus" on the fridge (or computer screen).  Have your kids write (or type) it up.  They look forward to their meal nights!...Can't write yet?  Kids can glue pictures of items - or draw them.

Step 2 - Make Time

Kids in the kitchen need time to explore.  Make sure you allow enough time for food prep, mishaps, and messes!  Then teach them how to clean-up...

Step 3 - Land the Helicopter

Don't hover.  If a particular task makes you nervous, break down the steps and teach your child how to perform it safely.  If your child has never cut an onion, for example, you have a lot of groundwork to lay (use a cold onion, pre-cut manageable chunks, and be ready with sympathy if eyes are burning).  Learning a new task is nerve-wracking if someone keeps catching you doing it wrong. 

Above all be flexible, be realistic, and have fun!  Think you are going to try it?  Have questions?  Let me know...

Knife Skills for Toddlers 
Food Allergy Organization Tips 

p.s. I have a super-picky eater.  On his nights, someone else prepares the meat for the rest of us, as needed,  because meat grosses him out! 

Six Items or Less - I Did It, So You Don't Have To

Put your closet on a diet!

When it comes to food, you probably know what your bad habits are.  Mine is Coke.  The sugary corn-syruped one.  But what about your clothes?  What bad habits do you have?  Did you even know you had clothing habits?

Before I challenged myself to attempt the Six Items or Less clothing experiment last fall, I think I would have said the following about clothes: "It's hard to find clothes that are comfortable."  And, "My 9W feet are why I don't wear cute shoes."

What I learned was I actually had bad habits.  For example, buying clothes in a hurry that didn't really fit!

Eight months into my journey, I no longer make excuses.  I have learned what works for me and make an effort at the beginning of each month to create a set of comfortable, versatile options.  Down to the toes.

What bad clothing habits do you have?  

Discover what a clothing diet could reveal for you!

I am not suggesting you attempt the Six Items or Less challenge - because I already did that for you!  Your goal (as with a food diet) is to eliminate the bad habits and create new ones.  You can start by reducing (not eliminating!) the percentage of clothing items you have at your fingertips on a daily basis.  Focus on just keeping the good stuff!

Phase 1:
As with any diet - PREPARATION IS KEY!
1.  Locate a "staging" area large enough to temporarily accommodate ALL of your clothes.  Yes, ALL of them.
2.  Sort clothes by type.  Yes, ALL of them.  T-shirts, Cute Tops, Blouses, Long-sleeve shirts, jeans, pants, shorts, dresses, leggings, long skirts, mini-skirts, costumes, prom dresses, sweaters, cardigans,...   
3.  Take a break.  From ALL of it.

Phase 2:

Prepare the environment by removing distractions.  
1.  Select a few items from various categories that fit RIGHT NOW and might be useful in the next 30 days.
2.  Put everything else away.  In your regular closet and drawers. 
It's just 30 days!  No big deal.  You can have them back :) 
3.  Bonus points - Donate some things.  Or give them to your sister.  Or whatever.

Phase 3:

Get your CLOTHING DIET PLAN IN ORDER!
1.  Try on what you did not put away.  Scrutinize the fit.  Eliminate a few more.
2.  With what remains, try all kinds of combinations together.  Eliminate a few more.
3.  Set aside an area of the closet to access these items for the month. 
Get sweaty items, pajamas, and underwear don't count.  Use what you need.  :) 

Did you pare it down to 10? 15?  Put one more away!
Good Luck and Bon Appetit!

Maintenance...
You shouldn't need to pull ALL your clothes out again. :)

It just helps the first time to see what you have.

What to Wear - The Six Items or Less Clothing Diet

Fourth in a series:

Six Items or Less - becoming a habit.   

After applying the Six Items or Less philosophy to my clothes for two months, true change began to set in!  No longer racing around in the morning trying to figure out what to wear, I could focus on the task ahead.  I learned it's NOT all about the accessories (It's All About the Accessories, Right?) and I certainly learned What NOT to Wear.

I also learned that, because of the temperature controlled world we live in, my clothes did not get THAT dirty.  It was rare that I would sweat or play in dirt! without time to change.  As a result, I began changing out of the selected items as soon as possible.  This way, I could get a 2nd, or 3rd! use out of them before laundering.  Two particular cotton t-shirts and yoga pants became my uniform around the house - or when getting sweaty or dirty.

I learned to hang-up my clothes.  I know, not a big deal, but it was not my habit.  Take it off.  Hang it up.

In anticipation of November, I began to scrutinize my wardrobe and add to the donation pile.  Sweaters with any trace of wool - gone!  Too itchy.  Cropped pants - gone!  They look all wrong on me because they hike up in back.   Cute tops that hung limply at the wrong length no matter how much I liked them - gone!

November was upon me, and I was ready.  I thought through my month - Homebound Tutor for special needs child, Battle of the Books coach at the Elementary School, Thanksgiving hostess, Temple Library volunteer...I spent 30 minutes here and there scrutinizing my options.  The clear winner was the black stretch pant, as it could be dressed up or down.  Two cardigans followed.  And my favorite brown corduroys.

In the closet, I pulled 10 brown hangers to use as a guide for my new hanging habit.  And culled my November wardrobe to 10.  No need to limit all the way to six.  I had learned my lessons.

The Six Items or Less challenge reminds me of when I tried the South Beach Diet.  Eating consciously and eating the good stuff - spinach, tomato, and egg omelettes.  I didn't last two months without cheese mixed in, but I carry habits from that experience to this day.  Whenever I need to drop a pound or two, I skip the carbs.  And I always have eggs for breakfast!  

Thursday...Synopsis and takeaways.

What NOT to Wear - The Learning Curve

Six Items or Less, cont...

Per yesterday's post (It's All About the Accessories, Right?), I learned from my "Get Really Sweaty" options that clothes should be comfortable and flattering.  Common sense, right?  It was a message I had not been heeding.  It was one of those Oprah ahas - my clothes should always make me FEEL GOOD!

One of the shirts was clingy in all the wrong places, so I avoided wearing it.  Unfortunately, that didn't leave many options!  The white shirt wrinkled too easily, so it didn't look fresh by the end of the day.  I got in the habit of changing out of the six items whenever possible and wearing my Life is Good t-shirt.

The result?  At the end of the 30 days, I wanted to try it again!  Getting the other six items out of rotation was a relief.  The weather was changing and I had more pants options to choose from.  And I decided to use eight items instead of six.  Just to make it a little less work.

This time, I tried everything on!  And scrutinized the fit.  Jeans were no longer an option, as I was working and volunteering more often.  I had always felt unprofessional in jeans anyway.

During month two, I was no longer thinking about getting dressed, so when someone complimented my clothes (which was happening more often!) I saw it as validation I had selected better items.  I looked more "put together" because - I WAS!  Pants that poked and shirts that hung without shape were in the back of the closet.  The clothes were no longer wearing me.  

I learned I had "put up with" certain items of clothing for the sake of variety.   

More Tuesday...still going!

What to Wear - It's All About the Accessories, Right?

When I selected my six September clothing items for the 6 Items or Less challenge last August (see yesterday's - What to Wear), I thought of all the possible combinations.  I did the math.  Because two tops could also be worn UNDER the dress AND with or without the white button down shirt, I determined there were about 20 possible options.  Here are photos of three:
 

Cute top OVER dress

3 items at once

White shirt OVER dress

Next up - the accessories!  I piled jewelry from various sources (read - tween) and selected color stories.  Then I organized them in bags for easy retrieval.

I also selected 6 options to "Get Really Sweaty" in.  These were clothes to use when cleaning house, completing yardwork, walking in forest preserves, or doing pilates. I chose to use them as pajamas too.

2 items with icing

Etc...etc...etc...

6 "Sweaty" options

In the end, however, I really only used 4 of the "Get Really Sweaty" options.  I just kept throwing the Life is Good t-shirt and the yoga pants in with other laundry.  They were comfortable and flattering and I got good use out of them.  

It was from my "Get Really Sweaty" options that I began to understand how to achieve success when wearing fewer clothes.  

It was NOT:

1. How the items looked in tandem on a bed.

2. How the pieces hung in two feet of space in the closet.

3. How chunky turquoise accessories accented the black.

4. How white floral accessories highlighted the floral print.

5. How creative it was to layer shirts OVER a dress to make it look like a skirt.

The way to achieve success was finding clothes that fit.  And only one of the six items was comfortable and flattering and made me feel good.  It took me nearly 30 days to figure this out.

Tomorrow...trying again.

What to Wear

Please join me as I prepare my 8-10 wardrobe pieces for the month of May.  What started as an experiment last fall, has become a life-long habit.  It changed the way I use my clothes. 

WEAR it all began...

In August 2010, I read about the 6 items or less challenge in the Chicago Tribune.  The challenge?  For people to look critically at their clothing and keep fewer items in rotation.  The actual challenge was to wear the same 6 items for 30 days.  Inspired by the photos, I spent several days thinking and paring down.

Looking back at the earnest photos (followed by supportive comments) posted to Facebook eight months ago, causes me to shake my head and smile - I have learned so much since then...

September 2010.  First attempt at pairing down my wardrobe for 30 day stretches.

1.  Jeans

2.  Black Shorts

3.  Colorful T-shirt

4.  White Shirt

5.  Cute Top

6.  Dress

More 6 items or less tomorrow...

Eco Easter

Easter baskets are a colorful tradition, but you don't have to spend money for them to be festive.  In fact, you do not need to purchase plastic Easter eggs, plastic grass, or baskets.  Get in the habit of reusing these items from year to year - think Christmas ornaments (and/or menorahs and dreidels, for double observing households like mine).  Make do with what you have on hand.

If you didn't save last year's grass, you can STILL make your own (and toss it into beach buckets?)!  Martha Stewart suggests shredding old wrapping paper.  Too cute :)

Martha Stewart

Shredded paper Easter grass!  

Eco Easter made Easy!

Reuse plastic grass from year to year.  About a week after Easter, dismantle the baskets and store everything (baskets too!) in an "Easter" box.  Check the plastic eggs for jelly bean crumbs first.

This year, try filling the eggs with loose change and serve the candy in bowls!  My mom (aka: Easter Bunny) used to hide jelly beans in cupcake liners.  And reuse peeps!  For constructing award-winning dioramas (Chicago Tribune Peep Contest).
 
Declare Order learned something new:
Beeping Easter eggs are available for children with visual impairments.
Inspired!

Game, Set, Match

I do not like to waste time looking for mates.   
Here is how I store reusable plastic storage containers...

With the lids attached.

Stacked by shape and size.

Caution:  This method takes up space and does require assigning an entire cupboard for reusable plastic containers!  I am a heavy user, so this solution works for me.

DAILY LEFTOVERS - If your house is like mine, there will inevitably be lidless containers and container-less lids.  Keep these stragglers out of the daily rotation.  Drop mismatched plastic lids and containers into a separate holding area.  The kids can sort through them and find matches as it starts to fill up.  Then...just pop the reunited lids with their container mates and return them to the stack in the cupboard. 

LEFTOVER SOCKS - If your house is like mine, there will inevitably be mate-less socks.  Keep these stragglers out of the daily rotation too!  Drop mismatched socks into a Lonely Sock Box.  The kids can sort through them and find matches as it starts to fill up.  Then...they can roll reunited socks and return them to their rightful owner.  OR have a rolled sockball fight.

Tip:  If a sock is without a mate for over a year, relegate it to dust bunny duty.  (This will not, however, work for plastic lids.)

Absolute Socks

Tween girl's socks may not require matching, as mismatched sox are trending.

Whose Turn Is It?

"Did anyone feed the dog?"
 "The table should be set for dinner."  
"Who has time to hang the cloth napkins to dry?"

Managing the day-to-day household responsibilities can be a chore.   How to divvy it all up?

When I was a classroom teacher, we assigned jobs by the day: Line Leader, Paper Passer, Attendance... Whenever a need arose, the designated kiddo popped up to help.

Though older kids are less likely to "pop up!" at home, assigning responsibilities by the day has proven effective in our family.  My son has Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.  My daughter is responsible Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Hubby takes Sunday.

The dog is scratching her bowl.  Whose day is it?
Time for dinner, but the table hasn't been set.  Whose day is it? 
A load of cloth napkins is ready to be hung to dry.  Whose day is it? 

This system is also helpful because it teaches a variety of skills.  When the designated family member is unavailable, I might get a volunteer chirping, "It's not my day, but...I'll feed the dog."

Don't call them chores.  Call them responsibilities.  

Responsibility.  A comic thriller by Nigel Cox. 

Plan Ahead Pranks

Today's blog is devoted to harmless April Fool's Day pranks researched around the web...Because we like to amuse ourselves :) 

Pranks to Play From:

 April Fool Zone

Fake Nail Polish Spill

Pour nail polish on a piece of waxed paper.
Let dry.
Remove.
Place in frustrating location to simulate accidental spill.

Top of Car

Attach cup, newspaper, coat, etc. to the top of your car.
Drive slowly in parking lot.
Act confused when people attempt to help.

May I Have Mayo

Replace the lotion in prankee's bottle with mayonnaise.

(Unless victim has an egg allergy!  Mayo has eggs.)

Link to more pranks...

Speaking of eggs...

Crack Up

Glue the eggs to the bottom of the carton.  Nuff said.

Crack Up Disney Junior Style

Click link to learn how to disguise sweet treats as eggs.

Still Cracking Up...

Hard boil eggs.  Then return them to the carton.
 

Dollar Stores are a quick stop for prank item ideas.  

Like a whoopee cushion (Youtube video.  Cute monkeys.).

Chicago Tribune 3/30/11- Mmmmm.  This is tasty.  April Fools!

Prank happy :)

There is always switching the salt and sugar.  If you're in a pinch...

Interpretive Discussion

My eight volunteer teaching weeks at the local elementary school conclude this week.

Groups of approximately 10 kiddos meet with me during lunch and recess.  Each day is a different grade level.  While I am glad the workload is coming to an end, I will miss the daily inspiration.

The Program?
Junior Great Books - "An interpretive discussion program that moves students toward excellence in reading comprehension, critical thinking, and writing."

 ------------------------------------------------------

An unexpected surprise last week was a story with a lesson about clutter...from an African Folk Tale, no less!

Inspired by the unique perspective on the topic, I prepared an additional extension activity for my fourth grade class.  On a giant piece of white butcher paper, I drew an outline of a tree, set out crayons, and asked the students to fill the top branches with words about their lives.

They wrote:     book titles,                  x-box games,               soccer and other sports,         macaroni           and cheese and other food,       markers, crayons, and yarn,            religious ed.,              names of pets and siblings,              and favorite sports teams,                             

and music                    and movies...

(They wrote lots of other stuff too,
but one of the students asked to 

take the end result home 

and I don't have it to refer to.)

The bottom trunk
of the tree
(per the overall
concept
from the
story)
was 
left blank.

The colorful top of the tree was heavy with color and detail.  We discussed all the fabulousness the world has to offer.  And that our story in the text referred to it as, "clutter."  At first the kids were offended.  They thought I was saying their lives were messed up.

The Problem?
The tops of our trees are running out of room.  The clutter (or disorder) of man-made stuff is threatening our empty space.  As we discussed the idea further, I realized their generation will have to be conscious of making their own boundaries in this land of opportunity.  They will be responsible for reducing the clutter.  For increasing the space between the leaves.

These kids are fortunate to be living in abundant times.  They will need to be taught to see below the clutter.  To appreciate the simplicity of the trunk that supports them. To see the forest for the trees.

Pretty tall order :)

Going Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

from,

Declare Order Kids

This mischievous leprechaun chose soccer socks 
to complete his school ensemble  :)

St. Patrick's Day Quiz for kids from Funschool Kaboose

Patty's Day Quiz for tweens from Holiday Spot

Colorful Solutions

My son's fourth grade class whined to their teacher about having to work on writing.  The clever teacher erased the board and assigned a persuasive essay around the topic, "Why We Shouldn't Have To Write This Paper."  In honor of Colorful Solutions, I have asked my son if he would be my guest blogger today...  

I Don't Want To Do Writing Now!

by,

a nine year-old Declare Order kid

     Auggh...I don't want to do writing...I don't want to writing because ISATs just ended and I am exhausted.  I also want to hang out with my friends.

     Our class needs a BIG break.  ISATs are hard because, #1 they are hard, and #2 there are extended responses.  We could feel better if we didn't do writing.  Anyway, writing just make me go bonkers.

     We haven't had much time to talk to friends lately and we would like to hang out.  We also want to see how everyone thinks they did on ISATs.  It would be an adrenaline rush to predict what we got.

     It has been silent lunch for two days in the lunchroom in a row :(  I hate silent lunch!  Because I can't stand being quiet!!!  

     We don't want to do writing because ISATs just ended and we feel like we are going to BURST!  POW!  We haven't had much time to visit with friends lately and if would feel great if we finally got to talk.  

Yay...

Thank you, son, for your persuasive contribution :)  Below, please find a photo of the Colorful Solution I just happened upon for your toothpaste with the missing cap.  Hmm...perhaps we could sacrifice a lid from one of the sample tubes from the dentist?

Colorful Solution

"Looking back, I realize that nurturing curiosity and the instinct to seek solutions are perhaps the most important contributions education can make." ~ Paul Berg

Leo Babauta. zenhabits.net.

Define, "zen."

noun:  school of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment 

can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith; China and Japan

Meet Leo Babauta, the creator and writer of  zenhabits.net .  

He is married with six kids and lives in San Francisco... Read more...

His piece, "25 Ways to Simplify Your Life With Kids" 

can be found by clicking the link below...

It starts with, "Self-sufficiency."

Zen Habits

Smile, Breathe, and Go Slowly -
25 Ways To Simplify Your Life With Kids

From 25 Ways To Simplify Your Life With Kids...
#19 reveals even the enlightened among us must get down on the floor and declutter from time-to-time!

#19  "Make decluttering a family event. I like to set aside one day every few months when we go through all the stuff in our rooms and declutter. We do it together, and it can be a bonding time. We end up with trash bags full of junk, boxes full of stuff to donate or give to family, and in the end, much simpler rooms. It’s very satisfying."  ~  Leo Babauta

Smile.  Declutter.  Enlighten.

Psychology 101

Are your family's stacks off-balance?  Try getting back to basics.  Find the missing needs!

When Abraham Maslow created his Hierarchy of Needs, I imagine he thought of the bottom row as a kind of throw-away.  In short: food, water, sleep, and sex.  No brainers, right? 

In 2011, our Land of Opportunity runs 24-7, yet it can be challenging to meet our basic physiological needs!  Can "food" be  purchased with a debit card behind the wheel of a mini-van?  Does a 20 oz bottle of diet soda hydrate?  Is sleep in a car seat or on a sectional with the tv blaring restorative?  And make sure you make time for sex.  Make time?  Sheesh.

Attack your time management stacks pyramid style.  Take a Psych 101 lesson from the chapter on Humanistic Psychology and prioritize that bottom red row.  Make old Maslow proud... 

 

For me, respecting my basic needs means cutting out the bottle of  Coke.  Sometimes I switch to Organic Root Beer first. (Try sipping that from a brown glass bottle at a stoplight.  Always gives me pause.)  I find the rest of my reds are generally in order, but when my inner stacks need to re-sync, I have usually neglected water.  

Down the hatch!