Building Happy Kids

I found the most touching blog today, and just had to share it.

First of all, this mother is amazing–to have multiple children with autism, to not only know her kids, but to appreciate them for who they are, and to be able to express her insight to the rest of us in such a beautiful way is just, well, amazing! (I’m having problems with synonyms today…you’ll have to excuse me!)

My favorite part?

These things may have gone unnoticed if they were “typical”, in their place a talk about the kids’ day at school or for a round of Go Fish or bedtime stories, but most of the time I prefer the wind, or the ant, or the leaf. Those things touch me and remind me of life and its perfect creation and place in this world.

This mom, who gets to see the world from a completely different perspective, not only sees the positive side of it, but embraces and thrives in it.

I love to live my life this way–to notice and appreciate the wind, the ant, and the leaf. Part gratitude and part letting go, I forget sometimes in the routine and worries of everyday life.

Thank you to this wonderful, strong woman for reminding us all…

I’ve been having a lot of trouble letting go lately. It’s the hardest of the Seven Keys for me, but (ironically) it’s the one I like the most. Between money, work, summer scheduling with my ex, and the standard, every-day stuff, I’ve been worrying a lot. Even the stinky mice have been getting on my nerves!

I’m better when I have my kids–it is easier for me to be in the moment with them. Since I share custody and have them half the time, I try to focus on really being with them when they are with me. Don’t get me wrong–my kids annoy me sometimes just like yours do (especially when they do that thing, you know, where they suddenly start yelling at each other over nothing, like what TV show they are going to watch? UGH!)

And, of course, when I’m stressed, everyone is stressed!

The entire basis of my writing is that my stuff affects my kids, right? And in the long run I want to teach them to cope, not stress out. The only way to teach them that is by example.

So I was thinking–what works to bring back the calmness of being in the moment?

Giving and gratitude are huge. They are two of the Seven Keys to Happiness, right?

But why?

I was reading this blog by law of attraction guru Eva Gregory, and I was thinking about the Seven Keys in relation to the law of attraction. I haven’t talked much about the law of attraction, but I use it–I figure it is there, so I may as well take advantage of it!

Gratitude and giving work together. Both put out good energy, so you attract good energy–simple enough, right?

Another way to think of it is this: giving and receiving are a cycle. If you send out good vibes by giving, gratefully accept things when they come back to you, and then send good vibes back out again, the good energy grows. It spirals outward and upward–like this shell–and so does how you feel. As you feel better, you send out more good energy, and the spiral continues. How cool is that??? Read the rest of this entry »

This isn’t exactly classy, but, being a single woman, I think this is HILARIOUS!!!

Be honest–how many of you have met this guy? You know what I’m talking about!

Wanna really upset some people? Start talking about weight!

The photo above is from an article about childhood obesity by Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times. As you can see, the responses were overwhelming, (and sometimes angry), and the discussion quickly moved to the question of happiness.

Culturally, we like to eat a LOT. Especially in some parts of the country, buffets are everywhere, and people can eat as much as they want. Restaurants have huge portions, and we want to clean our plates, right? There are starving people all over the world–we don’t want to waste it!

At the same time that we have all this food, we are inundated with pictures of skinny models and TV shows with bikini-clad, perfect bodies.

Can you be fat and happy? Sure!

Can you be fat and self-conscious and unhappy? Of course. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday in a Boy Scout campsite north of Omaha, Nebraska, 93 boys aged 13-18 were at leadership training camp when a sudden tornado destroyed the camp, killing four boys and injuring an estimated 48 more.

I grew up in Nebraska and have lived through tornados. I remember being terrified as a child when the tornado sirens would wail, sending everyone huddled to the basement with a radio and a flashlight, silently wondering if we were going to have a home when it was over.

As I got older, the ramping scream of the sirens didn’t bother me–I had been through so many false alarms that it didn’t affect me anymore.

When I was in college, a tornado ripped through my front yard moments after I was talking about going to the store to satisfy a cookie craving (Nutter Butters, I think…) We had no warning at all, and were standing in the living room watching the trees bend to the ground when we realized that, though we hadn’t heard any sirens, we had to go to the basement.

The house shook and the windows rattled in the panes. It sounded like a freight train was going through my yard. I was terrified, and there was nothing to do but wait. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever stopped to think about how you view other people? Do you tend to see them as sheep or angels? And does it matter?

I used to be pretty negative. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but I was very judgmental and thought most people were stupid sheep that were too afraid to think for themselves. I had friends who felt the same way, and I thought I was pretty cool–I was one of the special, smart people!

Read the rest of this entry »

Alright, I’m a little embarrassed at this point…what I thought was going to be a simple change of domain knocked me off-line for over a month! Thanks to a determined friend of mine, I got all my old stuff back and am up and running. Whew!

I’ve been moving, too, so it’s been quite a month. Now I’m settled (ok, except for a few boxes–where did all this stuff come from?) and ready to go.

Hope all is well with everyone!

If you haven’t seen this, it is amazing. It is a little slow in the beginning, but stick with it. I promise it’s worth it.

If you HAVE seen it, watch it again!

My 8 year old daughter has been a little poopy lately. Hey, it happens to the best of us, right?

She has recently been doing the eye-rolling, face-distorting, completely obnoxious “Yeah, whatever, mom!” thing when I tell her to do something she doesn’t want to do. And I’m gonna be honest with you—it instantly REALLY pisses me off (excuse my language!) Read the rest of this entry »