This is a fun craft to make with the kids - design and make your own Olympic medal.

We are going to give this a try this weekend.

Today\’s Parent craft

As the Olympic ferver picks up, I find that we are in a much more competitive mood regarding Canada and the United States.  AND - can I say - I can’t believe we lost to them in hockey (well, the men did, anyways - Go Women’s Hockey Team!!).

We are continually compared to the US with regard to medal standings … why?  Canada is about 1/10th the size of the US which means that they have a much (much) larger pool of athletes to draw from when choosing their teams.  I wish we were just happy with the medals we win and not make even that part of it a competition.

Anyways - I digress.

On the news today they were talking about Tom Brokaw explaining Canada to the US.  Initially I expected it to be a joke (kind of like when Rick Mercer goes to the States to interview people on the street … ).

Rick Mercer: Talking to Americans

However, it is not.  While Rick shows us that many Americans don’t know all that much about Canada.  Tom Brokaw provides information that is not only (fairly) accurate but aspirational, kind, sincere and speaks to a longstanding relationship between the countries that is a bond often not communicated.

Tom Brokaw

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!

… 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!

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.

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

Brad Pitt was once quoted as saying: “Breakfast is my favourite time of day.  With all 6 kids at the table and everyone talking at once, it’s chaotic.  I like to just sit back and enjoy the chaos”.

Well - it turns out that Brad and Angelina likely have a good thing going there, with a family that eats together.

Maybe you would like to see a return to the “good old days”?  A simpler time.  A time without kids being programmed every single waking minute of their little lives.  A time when food was prepared … cooked even … in something other than the microwave or a takeout container.

Well, believe it or not, a recent study has shown that a return to these simpler times my not only boost your child’s brain development, but help them make smart choices about drugs, alcohol and smoking.  Impossible!! you say?  Not … says I (and an article in the Globe & Mail).

The number one thing that you can do to help your kids grow into self-assured, balanced, smart youth is to eat supper together.  Yes.  Really.  It’s that simple.

“Eating as a family can protect children from all sorts of harm, experts say the bonding and connectedness that comes with regular family meals may positively influence the brain development of kids”.

When was the last time your family ate together?  This is really important folks.  And something that requires a bit of organizing (gotta love that crock pot), commitment, and cooperation - but it IS possible.  One of our boys has now started competitive hockey [yes, I caved.  and yes, he made the team - but that's a blog for another day].  Last week he was out the door for hockey over our regular supper hour, SO, we ate supper as a family at 4:30.  Impossible?  No.  Worth it?  Definitely.

Sure our kids are getting tonnes of developmental opportunities to learn every sport known to humankind AND art classes AND music and, and, and … but what they really need is THEIR FAMILY.  My sister-in-law once told me that as long as you keep looking your kids in the eye when they talk to you, you’ll always know where they’re at (physically and psychologically).

Ok -maybe it can’t be every single night, but let’s commit to our future generation of parents, leaders, business people, caregivers … who are our KIDS TODAY - have supper together more often in the week, than not.  It’s been proven.  Everyone will benefit for it and in a big way.  They are worth it.

Chewing Over the Benefits of a Family Meal - Globe & Mail article

I’m at rookieball today, and my eldest son has a game.  So - these kids are about 6-8 years old.  Still little people (in my opinion) but finding their way …

It’s beginning to rain, but this is a make-up game for one that was cancelled earlier in the summer (rain, of course - seems like this is the summer of eternal rain on baseball nights)  so they’re going to try to squeeze in as many innings as possible.

One little guy gets up to bat, swings his heart out, but doesn’t connect.  As the only two spectator parents in the crowd for our team, I’m coincidentally sitting beside his mom.  He’s out.  No hit. And he’s devastated (he’s probably 7 years old).  He comes off the diamond and you can see in his face that he’s so utterly disappointed.  He’s heading towards his mom.  His eyes well up with tears.  I so feel for this little guy and just want to hug him.  His mother says:  “No - don’t start.  You know what happens if you cry.”

So - I respond, instinctively, trying to break this energy by saying “that’s ok buddy - you can try again.  It’s hard to hit in the rain”.  He’s looking at his mom and getting more upset “but I just wanted to hit the ball.  I just wanted to hit it.”.

His mom says ” that’s it - you know what happens when you cry.  Get your stuff and get in the car.”  And so it begins.  This makes him more upset - likely because he is embarrassed, having super-intense emotions AND he doesn’t want to leave his team, his game.

She turns to me and very reasonably says:  “he has to stop crying.  So we’ve told him - if he crys, no matter where we are, we leave”.  “Really?”  I venture to say.  “In our house, we are taking the opposite approach.  One of my boys holds his feelings in so much, it makes his stomach and his head hurt.  It’s good if they cry.”

I (of course) want to give this boy a big hug, build up his confidence in himself and send him out again … I can’t believe this is her parenting strategy.

She looks at me like I’m nuts, and leaves the diamond, her 7-year old little boy, crying and trailing behind her.  And believe it or not, this is not the first time I’ve seen this happen.  It happened about a month ago - with a 4-year old boy, on the TBall diamond.  Four years old!  He was crying and mom was threatening him with going home, if he didn’t stop.

So - here I have two thoughts.  First:  Why can’t boys cry?  How old is too old to cry?  When we teach our boys to hold in their emotions and not find a constructive outlet for them (which should be their parent’s arms and then a conversation to help them work through what they’re feeling) we are not giving them effective tools and strategies to carry them into their older years.  Guess what? That bottled up, pushed down emotion will come out some day / some time.  Likely in aggression and anger at themselves and/or at others around them.

Second:  Is it about the child’s feelings or the parent’s?  Are parents so uncomfortable with their own emotions, that they can’t handle the display of feelings in their own child?  Or are they simply embarrassed?  Well, in my experience - likely both are true.  Is it hard to work through our own acquired emotional baggage so we can help our kids be healthier?  Hell yes.  It’s hard.  But it’s the right thing to do.  Otherwise we run the risk of recreating all the stuff we grew up with that was not as healthy as it could have been.

And is it embarrassing when our child is crying in public?  Is it hard when they’re not doing what we’ve planned and what we want them to do at that particular time?  Hell yes.  But truly, how would you feel if you were having a bad day - completely devastated about something - brought you to tears - and then you go to the person you trust the most with those feelings (partner, parent, friend) and they embarrassed you further, and then marched you out to the car - all the while telling you not to cry.

Hmmm … not so good.  I’m getting a tight feeling in my chest just thinking about it.  Take 10 seconds.  Put yourself in their shoes.  What are they feeling?  What do they need?  Sometimes we don’t have to have the answers at all.  Sometimes they just want a hug and to know that you love them.  Even though they just struck-out in baseball.

Children need to cry.  Boys especially need to cry.  Give them a safe and warm place to do it.  Once the crying is out, then help them sort through how they’re feeling.  You’ll both feel better for it.

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