New digs

Hi all,

I've moved over to new digs at tumblr.  Come see me there and update your RSS feeds! I've got a giant new project in the works and hope to share my many adventures with you.

Sara

Paper Purging

I got the cutest help with my piles!

In October, I took on the commitment to get clear about our finances and get everything in order.  Because after 17 years we hadn't exactly figured this out for ourselves, I hired a GREAT finance coach to help me find our way.  Though I have been following Mikelann Valterra's blog for over a year, it took a friend

wondering if working with a coach might help me in my quest to prompt me to call and set up an appointment.  Step by step, her knowledge and experience is moving us towards the understanding we want and need.

Last week, the exhilarating by-product of seeing where we are at included paperwork purging.  I threw out 5 large bins of paper.  We're now down to one file drawer, all our past taxes info in one place with a tidy folder waiting for Bill and me to take a first stab at this year's taxes. My favorite part? the complete elimination of paper avalanche potential!

Here is the article Mikelann shared with me about what to keep and what/when to dump that started the cleaning frenzy.  Maybe you'll find it inspiring, too.

Why I am excited about grey hair and menopause

I love my grey hairs because for me each of them is a Badge of Courage.  Each course hair testifies to one the many hard, sad, stressful or traumatic days and events I have survived.  The resilience developed from scraping through those days and grieving the hard parts of life moves me towards the healthy, thriving woman I want to be. Woe to the hairdresser who suggests coloring them for a "younger" look!

A post of one of the new blogs I'm enjoying, Paleo for Women, explores why grandmothers are important to the health of the human species. It deeply resonated with my own thoughts on aging and community. "Why grandmothers kick ass" provides inspiring thoughts for those of us in our premenopausal age!

Give it a read here: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/if-reproduction-is-what-livings-all-about-why-does-it-stop/.

Paleo truths

Oh, never a truer word was spoken:

http://whatshouldwecallpaleolife.tumblr.com/post/60364316712/true-confessions

Passing of Glenn Doman

This spring the man originally responsible for my becoming a developmentalist passed away.

Glenn Doman was one of the pioneers of the neurodevelopmental model of treating children.  Through his intensive courses I found answers for the questions no-one else would listen to.  Through his passionate disciples I found support, programs and hope for my child who was hurt and stuck. Through his deep belief in mothers I found the drive to become the parent my children need.

Thanks, Mr. Doman, for your commitment and vision. It has forever changed my family's world for the better.

Remembering Glenn Doman

Glenn Doman often said that mothers are the best teachers the world has ever seen, and the parents that he inspired and taught continue to prove that each day. Champion of every child on earth, he never gave up on any child, and his dream of better kids for a better world lives on.

When Glenn founded The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in 1955, he was a young physical therapist who, as an infantryman, had led his men through World War II. He had seen men destroyed on the battlefield and set about to save people. At this point, Glenn had begun to formulate the groundbreaking concept that brain injury is in the brain-not the arm, leg, or foot-and that brain growth and development is dynamic and ever-changing, a concept broadly accepted today as neuroplasticity.

Sitting on his mother's lap, Glenn learned to read before he went to school. His philosophy of learning was shaped by love and nurturing, and he always remembered that mothers were the key to the future. 

 read the whole obituary here

Coming Up for Air

We're just back from a family trip to New York City.  Meeting Bill at the end of a conference, we spent 5 days exploring the city and exposing the kids to his childhood world.

Highlights for the kids included both FAO Schwartz and Toys R Us, the huge toy stores.  An exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of El Anatsui's Gravity and Grace show intrigued and moved me.  Bills says taking the kids to FAO Schwartz and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge rated high in his experiences.

Weirdly, in the middle of some crowded subway somewhere along the way, I was struck with the sudden knowledge that there was one thing I could do to make my family's life more smooth and comfortable: return to my habit of weekly meal planning. 

For years meal planning grounded my week.  I'd spend an hour Sunday writing down a menu and the associated shopping list, doubled checked against the family's schedule for the week.  Monday, we'd trek to the grocery store, list in hand.  I can't  remember why I started making menus or when and why I stopped.  What I do know is that the ease of checking the menu for the next day before heading to bed releases me from tons of stress - the need to figure out what to cook on the fly, the hassle of realizing the dish I figured I'd make on Wednesday can't work out because I forgot about soccer practice.  It saves us money and time, many fewer last minute runs to the store, fewer wasted items that slink to the back of the fridge because they were purchased without a plan, and fewer excuses to order take out because no adult can figure out what to cook.  And of course, healthier more balanced meals get consumed when my clear-thinking parts drew up the menu instead of just slapping something onto the table.

In the past, I've written up a full plan for 3 meals a day plus snacks.  As I ease back into this and build up my muscles, I've started with just lunch and dinner as breakfasts are pretty standard around here and I just don't have it in me to figure out snacks.  Maybe next week?

For lunches this week we'll be eating: kielbasa and kraut with sweet potato chips, smothered pork chops with kale chips, pork medallions with smashed sweet potatoes, left overs. I ran out of steam, so we'll see what the weekend holds.

For dinners: seared tuna, crockpot chicken tikka masala, fried chicken nuggets, cross rib roast with veggies, left over roast fajitas, roast salad.

What's on the Coffee Table Now

A quick glance at the coffee table entertained me for its sheer range this evening.  Everyone's been on the couch read and then piling their books on the table when they head off for more.

Here they are starting from the one closest to my lazy, propped up feet:
- Toward The Fullness of Life: The Fullness of Love by Arnaud Desjardins (spiritually, relationships - Sara)
- Gladiator: the Roman Fighter Unofficial Manual by Philip Matyszak (history, Theo)
- Magic Zero: Dragon Secrets by Thomas E. Sniegosky and Christopher Golden (fantasy, Theo)
- Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald (fiction, Rosie and Theo)
- Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess by Phil and Kaja Foglio (audio book, steampunk, Theo)
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu (history, Theo)
- When Life Gives You OJ by Erica S. Pearl (audiobook, fiction, Rosie)
- Twenty Poems to Bless Your Marriage and One To Save It by Roger Housden (spirituality, relationships, poetry - Sara)