Happy New Year!

We enter another year, 2010, forever grateful for the abundance that is life, complete with its trials and tribulations.  My resolutions this year are dramatically simplified:  I vow to be the best me possible, in the best and the worst of times.  I’m struck by these words of wisdom taken from the book What it Takes to Be Number One by Vince Lombardi:

Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs.

Watch your beliefs, they become your words.

Watch your words, they become your actions.

Watch your actions, they become your habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Wishing you a year filled with happiness, peace and prosperity.

Happy New Year!!!

Hatin’ on Barbie

It finally happened. For 20 and a few years, I’ve dreaded the day. I always knew it would come, but so soon?!? This Christmas, my daughter asked for a…a…a…A BARBIE DOLL!!! All of my repressed feminist feelings resurfaced. “Barbie” is one of those places that I swore no child of mine would ever go. I first deferred the Barbie buying responsibility to her Dad. After all, how bad could Barbie, one of the Three Musketeers be? Ultimately, I had to take matters into my own hands. Off I went on a Mission to find a Barbie that would make her mother proud…

Living “If”

The tree is decorated…well, at least the top half. “Thing 3″ has scattered the ornaments that were within his reach, but the colorful lights continue to bling. We have the ceremonial poinsettias on the mantle. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care. Even Santa, now re-capitated after an unfortunate accident, stands smiling merrily under the tree next to Rudolph the Cast Iron Rocking Reindeer. And yet Christmas 2009 brings the uncertainty of new beginnings.

The fallacy of Space and Stuff

For two weeks this summer, I slept in the same bedroom with my three children. This was not a large or palatial room, but we were comfortable. And we were happy. I started thinking about our six-bedroom home filled with all the requisite Stuff. Despite all the bedrooms and furnishings, my two older children sleep in sleeping bags on the floor in the same bedroom. I wake up everyday thinking, “Something’s wrong with this picture!”. And indeed there is. It’s the fallacy of Space and Stuff. Has Space and Stuff become our modern-day KAHUNAS???

This meeting is called to disorder

My generally mild mannered, kind, empathetic 7-year old has suddenly asserted his independence. We have been pulling our hair out trying to decide the best way to handle this new behavior, so I decided to have our first family meeting — with our 2-, 4- and 7-year olds. . I got the idea from one of my favorite parenting books, Positive Discipline. I’ll admit that the meeting got off to a rocky start. However, after calling the meeting to its appropriate level of disorder, I have three promising observations and several agreements to report.

Transitions

After a month-long hiatus, I am back to the blog! We’re all transitioning from the fun-filled but sleepy days of summer to the back-to-school craze. The school year has hit with a bang as each child faces his age-appropriate challenge. And, of course, I’m going through my own professional transition. Nonetheless, we welcome the rhythm and structure of a new year, its challenges and changes yet to be revealed.

The gift of humanity

Yesterday I had the privilege of serving food to over 100 homeless men and women as a volunteer with a DC-area non-profit, Miriam’s Kitchen. I was struck by the Miriam’s Kitchen culture of service with humanity and dignity. This non-profit has a truly tough role — they serve the chronically homeless. I worked in housing for some time and know that chronic homelessness is often related to either substance abuse and/or mental illness. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from the volunteer experience. I left the organization in awe of the staff, the volunteers and the guests we served.

You can get with this, or you can get with that

It occurred to me the other day that any time I’ve had a choice between two options, the right answer in hindsight has been to choose neither! I’ve always chosen one, rationalized why it was the right choice and later found that I’d settled for something that didn’t meet my needs. It’s easy to develop the habit of settling for less than what truly brings us joy. Women do it all the time in both our personal and professional lives. I think the fundamental issue is that we often undervalue ourselves. Settling and self-deception are outcomes of our understated self-image.

Screamfree parenting??

My all-time favorite parenting book is called Screamfree Parenting. Screamfree Parenting promotes itself as the “revolutionary approach to raising your kids by keeping your cool”. I LOVE that book. I ADORE that book. I wish I LIVED that book more often! That book helps me to understand and embrace a liberating idea: When your children go out and act like Bébé’s Kids, it’s not your fault.

Birthday Wishes

Today is my birthday! I am officially 24 years old…again. With all of you, I share these birthday wishes…