In just 30 pages, I will have finished the epic that is the Harry Potter series. My son and I started it in July, a week after his cousin had read him a chapter at a beach cottage and two days before my son ended up breaking his leg. We did a lot of reading…
Lessons from my nephew and my sister
Today my sister published a piece on The Mighty about her son and his experience getting excluded from his Boy Scouts troop, essentially because they couldn’t handle his autism. I will have to revise this post tomorrow to say more, but on the off chance that anyone is reading this post, please go read my…
Chords and tears
Today was a day of children singing and playing music, and a day of me crying. At the UU church where got married in 2002 and are these days, at best, sometimes-attendees, today was an all-welcome service designed around Sesame Street songs. I thought about going when I saw the email describing the service, and…
I have no words
Today, I lost my keys. I lost patience. I lost hope. I am not yet sure what I gained. After looking unsuccessfully for my keys, at least I found this.
Interviewing a local leader – D.C.’s lil omm yoga studio owner Pleasance Silicki
My blog work today was to post an interview with a local – and national – leader in the children and family yoga scene here in Metro DC, Pleasance Silicki, owner of lil omm yoga studio. Mom of two Pleasance shared with me how she made the difficult decision to close her studio and how she…
You can’t splash in puddles if it doesn’t rain
At the last second, I changed my mind against picking my kids up from the bus in the car and instead grabbed the umbrellas and a jacket. It was warm. I figured they had probably not had recess, what with all the rain. The afternoon included a longer-than-normal piano lesson for my son during which…
Slippage
Whew, this month is kicking my behind. Or at least this week is. So much stuff to attend and cover, so much school stuff – all-day field trip Monday, two health committee meetings today. Business-building phone calls and interviews… Trying to build a team… I am waking early and exercising and writing. But I’m also…
Winter health tip #1: Homemade broth
Inspired by a friend who has a cold, I thought I’d do a series of winter health tips. My top favorite way to stay healthy in winter is to always have homemade bone broth around. If you can boil water, and if you can roast a chicken – or even if you can buy an…
4th grade field trip, starting at 4:44 a.m.
Today I needed to get my son to school by 6 a.m. for a field trip to Jamestown. The only reason I can take a moment right now, in my exhausted state before going up to bed probably at the same time as the kids and possibly before 7:30 p.m. is because he is showing…
Taking the message to heart
I had a wonderful time this weekend at the National Kids Yoga Conference. But I did end up missing the last hour so that I could heed the advice of Leah Kalish of Move with Me Yoga Adventures: to take care of yourself before your To-Do list. Or, well, maybe I kind of mixed them…
National Kids Yoga Conference returns!
I had an amazing day at the National Kids Yoga Conference! More writing to follow, but see my @MindfulHealthy Twitter Feed @CrunchyChewy Twitter Feed and Mindful Healthy Life Facebook page for updates from the day! And here’s a pic of me and a former student, who was volunteering at the conference and who teaches yoga…
My day in the world
Here is the photoblog I created today after touring the new Arlington MOM’s Organic Market store!
Getting my kids at home outside
“It takes me a while to get to stuff” would be an appropriate opening for at least a dozen blog posts I could write. One of them has to do with getting on the ball about making my kids at home in the outdoors and also getting at home in the garden. When we set…
A day “off”
Today my blog energy went to Mindful Healthy Life, where I finally got up a profile the local natural foods grocery store chain MOM’s Organic Market, on the almost-eve of its Arlington store grand opening as well as a gift card giveaway. But just to get out a little update on things around home: I…
What I did today
Today I did write before the kids got up, but nothing personal for here. So behold a partial accounting of my day. Today, I: wrote this play review about Hansel & Gretel put together this quick weekend preview of DC-area wellness events after some research, emails, texts and a phone call added this School Garden Meetup…
My Experience Wish-List
On my yoga mat this morning, I had that feeling you get when you are addicted to exercising and you have just gotten a hit of the drug. I had just spent 22 minutes on the elliptical, which I’ve done (or exceeded) nearly every day of late, except yesterday. It’s been regularly followed by yoga,…
Channeling the yoga class I didn’t take my kids to
This afternoon was pretty only with respect to the weather. The rest of it had lots of ugly moments, and buckets of tears from my five-year-old. No, I didn’t do yoga with my kids today, and we didn’t meditate together before bed or anything like that. But I did hold on to the imagined beauty…
No expiration date on learning or growing
Today I led a meditation at a health & wellness fair at my children’s school! This happened because last year, after I attended the first National Kids Yoga Conference, I suggested to the principal that mindfulness activities at school be considered, in general and in particular using the wetlands learning lab we built three years ago….
What life smells like this fall
It smells like leaves. Leaves warming in the sun, leaves rotting in the rain. They are are plentiful in the woods, but not enough have fallen in our yard to put that much energy into raking, not compared to what is to come. It’s about time to sweep the deck and the walkway, though. The…
The art and joy of saying no
Sometimes it’s important to celebrate the fact that we didn’t do something. I don’t mean harmful or negative stuff, though, yes, it’s good to give yourself a pat on the back when you choose the high road. What I mean is the things I chose not to do because I chose calm instead. Long ago,…