If you know me, you know that one of my most favourite brands (next to Nike and [new] Under Armor [though they spell it wrong ] is Coke.

Our house is revving up for the Olympics in February.  We’ve got our calendar of what’s on when.  The boys are talking about what their favourite winter Olympic sports are (hockey and snowboarding top the list).

And me, of course, I love all that and the advertising.

So, Coke is out of the gate first with one of my most favourite ads of all times.  I’m so very proud to be a Canadian (not just today - but always).  We are a hockey family through and through.  Our littlest one already yells with as much enthusiasm as he can muster, in his toddler voice:  “cores” and puts his arms up in the air!

This great ad is not only highly watchable, relevant and on-target, but wonderfully Canadian.

Thanks Coke!~

Scores!

I have just heard the news that my nephew was in a horrible car accident.  The car was going very fast, around a sharp corner.  The driver lost control and my nephew was thrown out the passenger-side window, several feet from the car.

The good news:  he’s alive and able to walk.

The bad news:  he has suffered serious brain injury and is recovering in hospital.

By the grace of God (and his Guardian angel) he is alive and not a quadriplegic.  Really.

The other person in the car had their seatbelt on and suffered a minor concussion.

Over the course of the last few days, I have wept for my nephew and how this injury and life-altering experience may affect him in the days, weeks, months and years to come.  And my heart  has gone out to his wife and young children.  She is a strong woman, who is handling all this right now with a strength and spirit that is amazing, but the time will come when all that has happened will really hit her.

I am thankful to the doctors and emergency teams that helped him and I am thankful for his guardian angel.  When he’s feeling better, I’d like to smack him (though not on the head) for not wearing his seatbelt.  This was a close-call.

* Please * buckle-up:  yourself and your children.  Do it all the time.  Do it properly.  Do it today.

“Unbelted occupants of a motor vehicle can, in essence, become projectiles in a collision, seriously injuring themselves and others. In almost 60% of all car accident fatalities, the victim was not wearing a seat belt” (  Source ).

If this isn’t enough, here is some additional information:

Statistics - U.S.

My 9-year old son is now playing competitive MD level hockey (yes, I still have mixed feelings about this - but that’s for another post / another day).

In town, since they started the season they are undefeated!  Wow.  That’s super-awesome …

However, they go to an away-tournament over the holidays and it all comes crashing down.  They go from undefeated to badly-defeated.  And, my son is one of the two goalies on this team.  (yikes to be the mom-of-the-goalie … again - another post / another day

I went into the dressing room after the game.  I’m thinking I’ll hug him and tell him all kids of wonderful mother-sentiments … he takes one look at me and says “I don’t want you in here.”

Hmmm … ok … ummm … that’s not what I was expecting at all.  So, in the time it takes me to

I can remember as a teenager, I made up long (long) lists of resolutions - things that I was going to do better in the coming year.

Then I went through a period of:  no resolutions.  Just live life.

Now I believe that a new year is definitely a chance to reflect on a few things:

• what’s working well
• what’s not working well (and may need some tweaking) and - most importantly -
• what am I thankful for

I typically pause at least daily, to be thankful for the many gifts in my life - not the least of which, of course, are my hubby, kids and the fact that I live in Canada (yes, I think this is a big one).

I actually made a resolution of sorts, last fall which is really *really* working for me.  I hug my kids all the time (and smooch their beautiful faces too) but I decided that when I hug them, I will no longer “let go” first.  You would be shockingly surprised at how long people will hug, if you don’t break-it-off first.

Try it out.  See if that’s working for you.  I bet it will.  And you’ll be happy you did.

… and it’s over.

No really.  It’s over.  In my house we have a 4.5 and 9 year old and a 20-month old baby.  The house is electric with the excitement of what is to come.  It is a house of believers.

And all this time comes and goes much too quickly.

Here’s hoping next year is just as magical!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that we’re big on snuggling in our house and that bedtime is quite ritualistic for the boys:  pj’s, brush teeth, story, lights out, prayers, song (or 2) and a snug.  Then sleepy-time.  I love this time of the day - even though it’s hectic - because there is time to connect with each kid, one-on-one.  And you never know what they might have to share.

Last night, my 4 -year old, hair-twirling, snuggler wrapped his little arms around me and kissed me on my upper arm (I had a t-shirt on).  He paused, kissed my upper arm again and said “Momma - is that what chubby’s called?”  pointing to my upper arm.

So, wanting to portray a positive body image, and self-identifying that - even though I carry a 20+lb toddler around and have been known to carry my 4-year old at (rare) times - does not give me pipes like Madonna’s, I smiled … and said to him “no, honey, that’s not chubby.  That’s mommy’s muscle on my arm called a bicep”.

He paused to give this answer thought for a minute.  Then my sweet boy leaned over and kissed my upper arm again … and said:

“Nope, I tink that’s chubby”.

My middle-boy is in JK.  He is quickly learning what is ok and not-ok within the institution of higher-learning.  He is an energetic, sweet, funny, caring boy … who  hit and kicked his buddy in the school ground yesterday, when they were playing.

I was not there - but here’s what I understand to have happened.  He and two other boys were playing CloneWars.  ASIDE: For those of you  not in the loop:  this is an animated show that has come from Star Wars origins, and, to say it’s huge in our house is a gross understatement.  It’s well written, exciting and we typically watch it as a family.  BUT it is violent (as in: there is a war, there are guns and light-sabres, good guys and bad guys).  And N loves it!  It is a part of his imaginary play every day.  And it’s not all violence.  There are good lessons taught in each show, and good fodder for discussion afterwards.

Ok - back to what happened.  Three boys playing, running, shooting, playing CloneWars.  They see their big brothers coming out of the school.  They run to those big brothers (and further away from their adults), they get into some sort of kafuffle, and N hits his buddy in the face and kicks him in the leg. I hear about all this when N gets home.

I could go into all the details - but I won’t.  This email is about “How do we handle this” … and trying to determine how big a deal it is.

Here’s what I think.  Three boys were running off end-of-the-schoolday steam and playing a make-believe game.  They are 4 and 5 years old.  Many research studies have been done to show that kids this age have very little cognitive ability to connect cause:effect and they are virtually and completely NOT able to separate fantasy from reality.  Really.  This is true.

The game got out of hand.  When I asked N why he hit his friend, he looked at me and said (very reasonably):  “Because he wouldn’t stop running.  We were CloneTroopers”.

First of all - as that parent whose child has hurt another child:  I’m mortified.  Embarassed.  Upset.  Concerned.  I feel all of this for his friend AND for my own child.  Is this the beginning of bullying behaviour?  Is my sweet, caring and sensitive boy suddenly going to become a terror in the playground?  How would I feel if I was the parent of the other child?

Then - I had to check all that at the door.  Yes.  I feel those things and that’s natural.

In the end - his intent was not malicious.  He’s not a violent kid by nature.  Truly, I believe that this game they were playing got out of hand.  And someone got hurt.  It could have been any of the three boys that got hurt - but it was my boy that did the hurting this time.

So what to do?  At this age (and for this boy) consequences are not particularly effective (remember - because that whole cause:effect piece is not wired yet in kids this age).

1. We talked to him - short sentences; clear message:  no hitting.  no kicking.
2. His Sensi (karate teacher) talked to him.
3. I’ve talked to the teacher and principal (I have suggested that *if* anything like this should happen again, he should get the full-meal-deal on punishment to scare the jeepers out of him and have a longlasting memory).
4. We remind him, just before play.
5. And we’re suggesting that either they no longer play CloneWars or that the CloneTroopers are peaceful guys who work together to help eachother out.

In the end, I hope that N is still allowed to play with his buddy.  I hope that the parents understand and are ok (sometimes the effects of these interactions last longer on us than the kids - and we apply adult-experienced judgements on kids - that kids don’t initially deserve).  I can only hope that I can be as gracious and forgiving as I’m hoping these parents will be, when it’s my kid that’s been hit in the playground.  Hope.

A recent study, highlighted today, shows that the majority of facepaints on the market contain above acceptable levels of lead as well as other metals that are not great for your kid’s skin.  Even those that were marked as being “hyper allergenic” were not.

What does this mean?  A doctor went on to say that for once a year, for trick-or-treating, it’s likely not a big risk for your kids.  However, if you’re taking a puritan approach to chemicals then you may want to avoid the dollar-store face paint this year.

Believe it or not, and depending upon what you’re painting on your wee-one’s face, I’ve had great success with a set of brushes and my make up.  Good for making whiskers on a lion and also worked to make my eldest look even scarier.  If you want a darker effect, wet the brush first in water and then into the make up pot.

Happy Halloween!

We recently had friends over for dinner, and I made my date squares.  They loved them - and asked for the recipe (which I’m always happy to pass on).  They’re so yummy - I thought I ‘d send it out to all of you as well.

They take about 10 minutes to make, and then bake - and are crazy easy to make.  The trick to mine is LOTS of dates.

Joy’s Date Squares

1997 (the first time I ever made them — yes, I keep track of this stuff).

1. Take a large container of dates, put them in a large pot, with enough water to *almost* cover them
2. Put the pot to boil
3. Once boiled, stir occasionally for 10 minutes (this softens them)
4. Remove from heat and cool
5. Once cool’ish, use a blender to blend them up, so they’re smoother

Meanwhile - make the topping and base:

* you can adjust the amount you make depending upon the size of the pan you have.  You can play around with it a bit, but generally:

1. 1/2 cup of margarine or butter
2. 1 cup of large flake (not instant) oatmeal
3. 1 cup of flour
4. 3/4 cup of brown sugar
5. You can add cinnamon / ginger / nutmeg, if you like that - I don’t because the kids don’t like these spices at all
6. Blend together.
7. Use 1/2 of mixture for the bottom of the pan, pressing it down into the pan firmly
8. Put the date mixture on top
9. Use the remaining oatmeal mixture and kind of “crumble” it over the top (looks nicer) and then lightly press it all down with your hand.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (not too long or the bottom with burn - yuck).

Cool and eat and eat and eat … I like them for breakfast. I make them for my friend’s Dad – and she thinks he eats them for breakfast, lunch and supper!

And – as an added benefit – they’re very good for the * constitution *

To Immunize or not … for H1N1.

I believe in getting immunizations for the BIG ones, but I don’t believe in the flu shot, we’ll take Chicken Pox when it comes AND I have no intention of getting the vaccination for H1N1.

We eat whole foods that are mostly organic.  We take our vitamins (especially the C in winter). We wash our hands.  A lot.  Especially with the heightened awareness of H1N1.

Imagine how glad I was to receive these articles sent to me, outlining that you can protect yourself and your family as effectively (or moreso) with Vitamin D.  Now - I’m not a doctor or a health professional of any kind.  But (for those who know me - you know … ) I do like to pass on information and *sometimes* give advice.

So - here goes:

Increasing your daily intake of Vitamin D (and still eating good foods, and your other regular vitamins) will exponentially strengthen your system against H1N1.  Yes.  Really.

” … people with the worst vitamin D deficiency were … more likely to suffer respiratory infections {like H1N1} than those with sufficient levels, according to the research in this week’s Archives of Internal Medicine…”

You can get Vitamin D from some foods - but it’s virtually impossible to get enough of this powerful vitamin to protect you and your family this cold season.

The sun also gives you Vitamin D - but one of the disadvantages of living in Canada is that we do not get enough Vitamin D, year-round, from the sun, to do the job.

What to do?  Take it orally.  It’s quick.  It’s easy.  Your kids will take it.  It has the added benefit of helping you build stronger bones.  Check it out today at your local health food store and read up online and get informed!~

Vitamins vs. Vaccine for Swine Flu

Canadian Rearch on Vitamin D and H1N1

Vitamins to avoid Swine Flu

H1N1 - Vitamin D Council Report