She was dancing for the camera-can you tell?!? LOL. I cannot wait to get some fall pictures of her.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
snap shots
These are the snap shots that Paul took of Torie before taking her to preschool on Monday. She said she had fun playing in the water. I finally figured out what she meant when I saw her painting-done with watercolors! I can't believe Monday she will go all day. I cannot wait to pick her up and see how well she did! I am so looking forward to our extra time together. While I am excited about starting preschool, I am sad that we are leaving Mrs Glenda's. Torie has made leaps and bounds this spring and summer. Mrs Glenda always takes extra time to help Torie practice her words-and it showed when Torie started making wonderful M sounds. I love hearing Mommy! Torie can now say almost everyone's name at daycare and loves playing with her friends. I will always keep in touch with Mrs Glenda, because she knows and understands what we are going through as parents of a child who is different. We were blessed to have our good friend Lisa suggest Mrs Glenda to begin with-Lisa is awesome too.
She was dancing for the camera-can you tell?!? LOL. I cannot wait to get some fall pictures of her.
She was dancing for the camera-can you tell?!? LOL. I cannot wait to get some fall pictures of her.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
praying for the Stansel family
Join me in prayer for this family. They had sextuplets earlier this week, but have lost 2 babies. I have linked their blog to the right. You can go there and follow their twitter also. The babies were only 22.6 Weeks gest from what I have gathered. Bless this family with your thoughts and prayers.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
I saw this on a website today and just had to add it here. With over ten years of training and over seven years of teaching Martial Arts, I have seen many girls lack confidence. These girls tend to look down all the time, rarely looking anyone in the eyes when talking with them. I see women in the office everyday that were never shown how to be a strong person. I see those women passing it on to their children. I see women who get hit and shoved around by their husbands. Their children see it too. Why do people live like this?!? That is not a life! What are you thinking? When are we,as a society going to teach girls to be confident and know how to get what they want out of life?
It was always my goal to teach girls (and women alike) to be strong, know who you are and that you are important. I always loved when I had students do well and make it to Black Belt, but there was always something more touching and more empowering when my girls were promoted to Black Belt. One day, hopefully sooner than later, I will teach again. I will teach my Lil Dragons to my ladies only class. And I will help them learn to stay strong and be a fighter!
Empower Girls To Be Strong from the Inside Out
By Patrick Sandora on August 3, 2009 10:58 AM
I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from a bad case of only what I can call "Shudder Syndrome", and it seems to be worsening. It's a relatively new ailment, but it always materializes when I read those disturbing statistics about young girls. I'm sure you know the ones about anorexia, depression, cutting, date rape, binge drinking, aggression, and bulimia. The list goes on and on. The minute I hear one, my ailment flares up: it always starts with a bad feeling deep down, and then my whole body just shudders. There has to be other parents like me who are shaking with worry. And I'm the mom of three boys! I can only imagine your symptoms if you're raising daughters. This is scary stuff. Don't get me wrong. I'm not implying that our girls are doomed. And certainly boys have their own share of problems as well. I'm just saying we need to keep a closer eye on those trends and realize leading experts are concerned about the young female gender (and with quite valid reasons). We are seeing a rise in depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem. Most experts agree that it's due to continual negative messages that happiness comes from the outside (being a particular dress size, wearing designer labels, or getting liposuction or breast implants (I kid you not. The increase of plastic surgery among young women is frightening!) Robbed is that great notion that real happiness comes from the inside. So how do we counter those constant negative media continually bombard our girls? How do we help young girls realize that there are other ways to be happy than by being rich, famous, or pencil-thin? What are ways for parents to help their daughters learn to feel comfortable in their own skin without having to copy "the look" of this week's Hollywood idol? And just how do we turn these troubling trends around and help our girls grow to be strong, confident and happy?
Here are the four strategies:
1. Be a confident mom. Girls don't learn to love themselves by hearing our self-esteem dinner lecture, but by having confident role models to copy. Sounds so obvious, but how easily that child development tenet is overlooked. And there's proof: A famous University of California at Davis study found that a mother's working status, occupation, income, education, religious affiliation, and even IQ were no where as significant on her child's self-esteem as the mother's own confidence level. Your self-perceptions--whether high or low--do trickle down to your child. So take care of yourself so your daughter can learn to love herself just as she is. Ask yourself one question each night: "If my daughter had only my behavior to watch today what would she have caught?" Was it independence or dependence? Confidence or insecurity? Be mindful of your influence. Model what you want your daughter to become. You do matter.
2. Stay connected to your daughter. I know those preteen and teen years can be tough on a parent's ego, but a big mistake is stepping back from our daughter's lives. Don't! One of the most comforting finding (that didn't make me shutter) was a survey conducted by the Girl Scouts of America survey. (Gotta love the Girl Scouts). Read this carefully: Ninety one percent of over 2000 girls surveyed aged eight to nine go to their mothers for advice. Find ways to stay connected and get into her life. Granted, it may take a bit of creativity, but think! If your daughter is leaning more towards her peers, why not get a few of her friend's mothers on board? Start a mother-daughter book club or go to yoga or exercise as a group. Watch Friends or Mean Girl with her. Read and discuss Harry Potter because she loves it. Or do what one mom told me she did: read Teen People so you can get into her zone.
3. Foster her strengths and passions. Find that spark in your daughter and help nurture her passions, capabilities, and interests. Yoga, horseback riding, drawing, basketball, writing, cooking: what turns your daughter on? Always tailor your parenting towards her natural nature so she has permission to be herself. Let her know you love her for who she really is--not for what you hope she will become. Doing so is one of the best ways to nurture strong identity and self-worth.
4. Find positive, female role models. Let's offer our daughters female role models who feel comfortable in their own skin (and don't need to rely on Botox, breast implants, dieting, and designer labels to feel attractive). What about J.R. Rowling, Erin Brockovich, Michelle Wei, Anne Hathaway, Great Aunt Harriet or even the neighbor lady next door? Expose your daughter to authentic, confident women, and then tell her why you admire them. Our girls need strong, resourceful female examples to emulate. Enough of Paris, Lindsay and Britney! Our best hope is to help daughters learn as early as possible that real happiness isn't borrowed or copied, but lies within. That's exactly why we need to help our girls become strong from the inside out. Doing so is what will help our daughters feel comfortable in their own skin. It's also the best cure for not only my shutter syndrome (and I'm sure yours), but for those troubling trends plaguing today's American young girls. You can start by boosting your influence with your daughter and stay more connected in her life. It's the best way to counter those negative media messages and help her become her own person and enjoy who she is.
Get more Parenting Solutions by following @MicheleBorba on Twitter.Dr. Michele Borba is the author of over 22 books including the upcoming Big Book of Parenting Solutions. She is a leading educational consultant, national parenting expert, contributor to iVillage, adviser to Parents magazine, regular guest on NBC's Today Show, and mom of three.
It was always my goal to teach girls (and women alike) to be strong, know who you are and that you are important. I always loved when I had students do well and make it to Black Belt, but there was always something more touching and more empowering when my girls were promoted to Black Belt. One day, hopefully sooner than later, I will teach again. I will teach my Lil Dragons to my ladies only class. And I will help them learn to stay strong and be a fighter!
Empower Girls To Be Strong from the Inside Out
By Patrick Sandora on August 3, 2009 10:58 AM
I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from a bad case of only what I can call "Shudder Syndrome", and it seems to be worsening. It's a relatively new ailment, but it always materializes when I read those disturbing statistics about young girls. I'm sure you know the ones about anorexia, depression, cutting, date rape, binge drinking, aggression, and bulimia. The list goes on and on. The minute I hear one, my ailment flares up: it always starts with a bad feeling deep down, and then my whole body just shudders. There has to be other parents like me who are shaking with worry. And I'm the mom of three boys! I can only imagine your symptoms if you're raising daughters. This is scary stuff. Don't get me wrong. I'm not implying that our girls are doomed. And certainly boys have their own share of problems as well. I'm just saying we need to keep a closer eye on those trends and realize leading experts are concerned about the young female gender (and with quite valid reasons). We are seeing a rise in depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem. Most experts agree that it's due to continual negative messages that happiness comes from the outside (being a particular dress size, wearing designer labels, or getting liposuction or breast implants (I kid you not. The increase of plastic surgery among young women is frightening!) Robbed is that great notion that real happiness comes from the inside. So how do we counter those constant negative media continually bombard our girls? How do we help young girls realize that there are other ways to be happy than by being rich, famous, or pencil-thin? What are ways for parents to help their daughters learn to feel comfortable in their own skin without having to copy "the look" of this week's Hollywood idol? And just how do we turn these troubling trends around and help our girls grow to be strong, confident and happy?
Here are the four strategies:
1. Be a confident mom. Girls don't learn to love themselves by hearing our self-esteem dinner lecture, but by having confident role models to copy. Sounds so obvious, but how easily that child development tenet is overlooked. And there's proof: A famous University of California at Davis study found that a mother's working status, occupation, income, education, religious affiliation, and even IQ were no where as significant on her child's self-esteem as the mother's own confidence level. Your self-perceptions--whether high or low--do trickle down to your child. So take care of yourself so your daughter can learn to love herself just as she is. Ask yourself one question each night: "If my daughter had only my behavior to watch today what would she have caught?" Was it independence or dependence? Confidence or insecurity? Be mindful of your influence. Model what you want your daughter to become. You do matter.
2. Stay connected to your daughter. I know those preteen and teen years can be tough on a parent's ego, but a big mistake is stepping back from our daughter's lives. Don't! One of the most comforting finding (that didn't make me shutter) was a survey conducted by the Girl Scouts of America survey. (Gotta love the Girl Scouts). Read this carefully: Ninety one percent of over 2000 girls surveyed aged eight to nine go to their mothers for advice. Find ways to stay connected and get into her life. Granted, it may take a bit of creativity, but think! If your daughter is leaning more towards her peers, why not get a few of her friend's mothers on board? Start a mother-daughter book club or go to yoga or exercise as a group. Watch Friends or Mean Girl with her. Read and discuss Harry Potter because she loves it. Or do what one mom told me she did: read Teen People so you can get into her zone.
3. Foster her strengths and passions. Find that spark in your daughter and help nurture her passions, capabilities, and interests. Yoga, horseback riding, drawing, basketball, writing, cooking: what turns your daughter on? Always tailor your parenting towards her natural nature so she has permission to be herself. Let her know you love her for who she really is--not for what you hope she will become. Doing so is one of the best ways to nurture strong identity and self-worth.
4. Find positive, female role models. Let's offer our daughters female role models who feel comfortable in their own skin (and don't need to rely on Botox, breast implants, dieting, and designer labels to feel attractive). What about J.R. Rowling, Erin Brockovich, Michelle Wei, Anne Hathaway, Great Aunt Harriet or even the neighbor lady next door? Expose your daughter to authentic, confident women, and then tell her why you admire them. Our girls need strong, resourceful female examples to emulate. Enough of Paris, Lindsay and Britney! Our best hope is to help daughters learn as early as possible that real happiness isn't borrowed or copied, but lies within. That's exactly why we need to help our girls become strong from the inside out. Doing so is what will help our daughters feel comfortable in their own skin. It's also the best cure for not only my shutter syndrome (and I'm sure yours), but for those troubling trends plaguing today's American young girls. You can start by boosting your influence with your daughter and stay more connected in her life. It's the best way to counter those negative media messages and help her become her own person and enjoy who she is.
Get more Parenting Solutions by following @MicheleBorba on Twitter.Dr. Michele Borba is the author of over 22 books including the upcoming Big Book of Parenting Solutions. She is a leading educational consultant, national parenting expert, contributor to iVillage, adviser to Parents magazine, regular guest on NBC's Today Show, and mom of three.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
OK, yes, I am still here. LOL. Things have been so busy. I have taken several photos, so hopefully I can get them up soon. we also had Torie's *third* birthday party. Sometimes it seems like life after her open heart surgery has went three times as fast as those first 8 months. We have been truly blessed with a daughter is not only surviving but really thriving. We went to her 3 yr well child check and saw a new ped. He was awesome! Dr Johnson was so impressed with Torie and her growth. He did not even realize what her health issues were until several minutes into our conversation. yes, I did that on purpose. It showed me that Torie is very much a "typical" preschooler. That makes me a happy momma. Than, last week we actually went on our first family vacation. We decided that since Torie was doing so well, that we should go now, instead of waiting. She loved the beach, but loved the ocean even more! She spent some time in the pool and tried swimming. I found an awesome children's museum there too. I can't wait to post the pic of Torie inside of a bubble! If you ever go to Myrtle Beach, you must go to the SC children's museum. It's only $8, very worth it!
This week we had Torie's preschool orientation at West Wood. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I am sure she will have fun and love her new friends. I just worry about the transition from our loved Mrs Glenda Young to a whole new group of kids/teachers/routines. I am also excited that I will be leaving work at 4 pm every day to pick up Torie. Since I work in Tullahoma at Dr Good's office, I won't be able to take her to school. It means a lot to me to pick her up every day. If you are attending West Wood, contact me-maybe we can plan playdates before it gets too cold
This week we had Torie's preschool orientation at West Wood. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I am sure she will have fun and love her new friends. I just worry about the transition from our loved Mrs Glenda Young to a whole new group of kids/teachers/routines. I am also excited that I will be leaving work at 4 pm every day to pick up Torie. Since I work in Tullahoma at Dr Good's office, I won't be able to take her to school. It means a lot to me to pick her up every day. If you are attending West Wood, contact me-maybe we can plan playdates before it gets too cold
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
prayers for kayleigh anne....
My heart is breaking for the Freeman family. I have been following this blog since fall of last year. It is the story of an amazing family and baby Kayleigh Anne. My heart is breaking for them during this time of loss, but they seem to be such a strong family and strong in faith. Please read their story of their 1 pound miracle! It is truly inspiring. Bring out the tissues before you even click on this link-you will need them. Please join me in praying for them and their two other children who only saw baby Kayleigh a few times....
http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/
Please read their whole blog, as you will learn just how much this family has been through. They really need our help.
http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/
Please read their whole blog, as you will learn just how much this family has been through. They really need our help.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
what a week!
Things have been a little crazy hectic this week, but it did give me a chance to pick up Torie from daycare. I spent some time with the other children and we played. It was so nice to see Torie interacting with them. I have not had the chance to take any pictures in this rainy weather-I am *SO* ready for warm weather. I am going to try to take some nest weekend, again depending on the weather. Until then, I am adding some quotes I found. Just some things to think about. Hope you enjoy them!
You must look into other people as well as at them. Lord Chesterfield
Hear the meaning within the word. William Shakespeare
The more you say, the less people remember .François Fénelon
It is always good to know, if only in passing, charming human beings. It refreshes one like flowers and woods and clear brooks. George Eliot
The future depends on what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi
Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. Albert Einstein
Now, I am going to go play with my family!
You must look into other people as well as at them. Lord Chesterfield
Hear the meaning within the word. William Shakespeare
The more you say, the less people remember .François Fénelon
It is always good to know, if only in passing, charming human beings. It refreshes one like flowers and woods and clear brooks. George Eliot
The future depends on what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi
Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. Albert Einstein
Now, I am going to go play with my family!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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