Robin Williams' died on Monday at the age of 63. A lot of people may just say, "Another celebrity killed himself. Happens all the time." But to me, it hits so much deeper. It hits close to home.
My father is 63 years old. He has suffered from depression his entire life. When I heard about Robin Williams' death and realized he is the same age as my father, all I could think about was calling him to tell him how much I love him and that I'm thinking about him. I don't know what has gone on with my father at all times. I know that there were probably times that depression had such a grip on him that he contemplated suicide. I am so blessed that my father is still here with me after all these years.
Not everyone is so lucky. I too have suffered from depression. Depression is a monster. It changes your perception of your world. You can have loving friends and family who care so very much about you, but in your mind the world is a dark and cold place. No one cares about you. You are worthless. This is what your mind tells you. People tell you to think positive, but when you are deep in that pit it is so very hard to get out.
There is a lot of talk going on about suicide as a result of Robin Williams' death. There's talk about how suicide is selfish and not considering that Mr. Williams and other depressed people who commit suicide are not thinking about the people that love them so much. The truth is, the depressed mind is selfish. It cannot think about anything about itself, and never in a good way. It is mean. It is unforgiving. It only thinks about itself and sometimes it gets to the point where it only thinks about taking this pain away.
So here's the question. What can you do? Learn about depression. Read about it. Educate yourself. Learn about the signs of suicide, especially if you know someone who suffers from depression. Talk about depression. It is an illness. It hurts the people who suffer from it and their loved ones. I hope that Robin Williams' death will open up people's minds about depression and help to bring about awareness of this condition that affects so many but still has so much stigma behind it.
Above all, tell your friends and family you love them because you never know what they may be going through inside.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
Breastfeeding Mothers: Respect One Another!
Last week, Olivia Wilde's Glamour photo shoot created quite a stir. Here in my neck of the woods, a local radio station discussed the photo and breastfeeding in a less than helpful manner. I did not hear the broadcast, but according to friends of mine in a Facebook breastfeeding support group, the host stated that if women need to breast feed in public they need to use a cover, pump and bring bottles, or feed their baby in the bathroom. This upset a lot of women and prompted a nurse-in to be organized in front of the radio station.
This whole thing fueled a lot of debate and the main idea that came across is that no one respects anyone anymore and they all seem to be accusing each other of disrespect.
The radio host was being disrespectful in his remarks, not taking into consideration that there are babies who will not be covered or will not take bottles and that it is disgusting, unsanitary, and uncomfortable to feed your baby in a restroom.
Some of the comments from listeners and Facebook members were along the lines of respect as well. There were non-breastfeeding and breastfeeding mothers alike saying that it was disrespectful to others to show your breasts in public. The answer back to this from nursing mothers (like me) who have babies that will not be covered or take bottles was that is was disrespectful to deny a mother her right to feed her child and to also assume that because you may choose to cover when breastfeeding, every other mother must also do so.
This argument will continue for as long as mothers are breastfeeding their children and as long as breasts are seen as a sexual object. So in other words, this argument will always be around. As a breastfeeding mother, I will do my part to respect those who choose not to breastfeed (or cannot breastfeed), those who choose to cover, and those who choose not to cover. All I ask in return is that other nursing mothers respect that it is indeed legal for me to breastfeed in public, covered or uncovered, and I am not a bad person if I choose to do so uncovered. Nursing mothers, if we respect each other then the ignorant people who disrespect us and our right to breastfeed wherever and whenever our child needs will be silenced when we band together instead of adding more fuel to the fire.
Instead, let's be supportive of each other and that we have made a great choice for our babies. Let's help each other succeed instead of fighting amongst ourselves!
This whole thing fueled a lot of debate and the main idea that came across is that no one respects anyone anymore and they all seem to be accusing each other of disrespect.
The radio host was being disrespectful in his remarks, not taking into consideration that there are babies who will not be covered or will not take bottles and that it is disgusting, unsanitary, and uncomfortable to feed your baby in a restroom.
Some of the comments from listeners and Facebook members were along the lines of respect as well. There were non-breastfeeding and breastfeeding mothers alike saying that it was disrespectful to others to show your breasts in public. The answer back to this from nursing mothers (like me) who have babies that will not be covered or take bottles was that is was disrespectful to deny a mother her right to feed her child and to also assume that because you may choose to cover when breastfeeding, every other mother must also do so.
This argument will continue for as long as mothers are breastfeeding their children and as long as breasts are seen as a sexual object. So in other words, this argument will always be around. As a breastfeeding mother, I will do my part to respect those who choose not to breastfeed (or cannot breastfeed), those who choose to cover, and those who choose not to cover. All I ask in return is that other nursing mothers respect that it is indeed legal for me to breastfeed in public, covered or uncovered, and I am not a bad person if I choose to do so uncovered. Nursing mothers, if we respect each other then the ignorant people who disrespect us and our right to breastfeed wherever and whenever our child needs will be silenced when we band together instead of adding more fuel to the fire.
Instead, let's be supportive of each other and that we have made a great choice for our babies. Let's help each other succeed instead of fighting amongst ourselves!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Craft Day - Footprint Butterflies
I decided to up my difficulty level on the crafts and make footprint butterflies after I saw this picture on Pinterest:
Mine were not nearly as beautiful, but that was more due to my limited ability to draw the body of the butterfly than anything else. Also, it's hard to make these with big kid footprints. Baby footprints are much easier.
Big Sis painting her foot. I didn't get pictures of the painted baby feet because I was the one painting them. T-Rex cried while I was painting his foot because he wanted to play with the paints. Little K liked getting his foot painted, I think. He gave me a look that seemed to say, "Mom, what are you doing to me?"
T-Rex's footprints
Little K's finished product
T-Rex's finished product
Overall, this project was fun. I think the boy's turned out well. Big Sis's did not, so I don't choose to show it here. Like I said, this works out a lot better with baby feet!
Mine were not nearly as beautiful, but that was more due to my limited ability to draw the body of the butterfly than anything else. Also, it's hard to make these with big kid footprints. Baby footprints are much easier.
Overall, this project was fun. I think the boy's turned out well. Big Sis's did not, so I don't choose to show it here. Like I said, this works out a lot better with baby feet!
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Your Workout Doesn't Have to Be a Bore!
I don't like to exercise. I will admit it. Make me run on the treadmill (or speed walk is more like it for me) or walk just to walk but not go anywhere, I won't be doing it for long. If I'm going to exercise, I need to make it fun. Here's what has worked for me.
->Exercise with your children!
Especially in the summer, we can get a lot of exercise this way. I will walk them to the park. It's only about a mile away, maybe even less, but walking pushing a double stroller that weighs maybe 10 lbs on its own and has 40+ pounds of children's weight in it will sure get you a workout! Not to mention, some of the walk to the park is uphill! When we get there, I push my kids on the swings (upper body workout!) and I swing on the swings too.
Me at the park...Big Sis took this picture!
->Video games can give you a workout!
Do you have a Wii or an Xbox with a Kinect? Play one of the active/fitness games! You will be surprised how much of a workout they can give you.
My favorites are the Just Dance games for the Wii and the EA Active game for the Wii. The EA Active game bothers me a bit because you have to wear a leg strap and put the nunchuck in there. It doesn't like to pick up your moves properly every time, so it can get a bit frustrating. But when it works right, it's a great motivator and it has helped me learn how to do squats the right way!
->Use workout DVDs.
I have to admit I haven't used my workout DVDs in a while. I need to break these out. All of the DVDs I have, I actually do like doing and they give me quite a work out. It's also like having my own personal trainer there and it helps me make sure I'm doing the exercises the right way. I have Biggest Loser Boot Camp (with Bob), Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga (This one is harder than it sounds!), Ab Workout for Dummies, and Dancing with the Stars workout (with Maxim...try not to lose all your hydration through drooling, ladies...)
Matter of fact, posting about these videos has motivated me to do one of them later.
What do you do to make your workout fun?
->Exercise with your children!
Especially in the summer, we can get a lot of exercise this way. I will walk them to the park. It's only about a mile away, maybe even less, but walking pushing a double stroller that weighs maybe 10 lbs on its own and has 40+ pounds of children's weight in it will sure get you a workout! Not to mention, some of the walk to the park is uphill! When we get there, I push my kids on the swings (upper body workout!) and I swing on the swings too.
->Video games can give you a workout!
Do you have a Wii or an Xbox with a Kinect? Play one of the active/fitness games! You will be surprised how much of a workout they can give you.
My favorites are the Just Dance games for the Wii and the EA Active game for the Wii. The EA Active game bothers me a bit because you have to wear a leg strap and put the nunchuck in there. It doesn't like to pick up your moves properly every time, so it can get a bit frustrating. But when it works right, it's a great motivator and it has helped me learn how to do squats the right way!
->Use workout DVDs.
I have to admit I haven't used my workout DVDs in a while. I need to break these out. All of the DVDs I have, I actually do like doing and they give me quite a work out. It's also like having my own personal trainer there and it helps me make sure I'm doing the exercises the right way. I have Biggest Loser Boot Camp (with Bob), Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga (This one is harder than it sounds!), Ab Workout for Dummies, and Dancing with the Stars workout (with Maxim...try not to lose all your hydration through drooling, ladies...)
Matter of fact, posting about these videos has motivated me to do one of them later.
What do you do to make your workout fun?
Monday, July 21, 2014
Craft Day!! Fun with Paints
It's time for another craft day! For this craft, we just let the creative spirits roam free. I gave my daughter and my son paints, paintbrushes, and sponge brushes and let them do whatever they wanted. This was T-Rex's first experience with paints. He did try to eat them and he did paint on his legs a little bit, but I wasn't worried. I recommend Crayola's washable kids paints. They come off of skin and clothes very easily. I didn't even need soap to clean him off at the end of our craft. He had a blast and Big Sis loves painting as well! I'll let the pictures tell the story.
Big Sis's finished products
Another one of Big Sis's paintings.
T-Rex's finished product
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Quick and Easy Taco Chili
Here it is! My first recipe blog post! I don't consider myself a great cook by any means, but I came up with this new recipe. It tasted great, so I thought I would share it with my readers.
I call it...
Taco Chili!!
What you need:
2 pounds of 93% lean ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning
2 cans of Bush's dark red kidney beans
1 tomato
1 onion
Brown the ground beef. I used a wok the combine all my ingredients. As the ground beef is browning, add beans, chopped tomato, and chopped onion. I put two cans of beans. My daughter though it was "too beanie", so you can always put less beans or more meat depending on your taste.
Since I used 93% lean ground beef, there wasn't much excess fat to drain off as it continued to cook. If you want to drain off all the extra, you can brown the beef and then add the veggies, but this will take a little longer.
Next step is to add the taco seasoning per the instructions. It is usually taco seasoning and 3/4 a cup of water per envelope. Since we are using two envelopes we will follow these instructions twice.
This can be served with rice on the side.
Enjoy!
I call it...
Taco Chili!!
What you need:
2 pounds of 93% lean ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning
2 cans of Bush's dark red kidney beans
1 tomato
1 onion
Brown the ground beef. I used a wok the combine all my ingredients. As the ground beef is browning, add beans, chopped tomato, and chopped onion. I put two cans of beans. My daughter though it was "too beanie", so you can always put less beans or more meat depending on your taste.
Since I used 93% lean ground beef, there wasn't much excess fat to drain off as it continued to cook. If you want to drain off all the extra, you can brown the beef and then add the veggies, but this will take a little longer.
Next step is to add the taco seasoning per the instructions. It is usually taco seasoning and 3/4 a cup of water per envelope. Since we are using two envelopes we will follow these instructions twice.
This can be served with rice on the side.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Lessons I've Learned from My Cat - Photo Post
The latest challenge on Liv, Laugh, Love's July Blogger's Challenge is a photo post. I thought I'd continue my Lessons I've Learned series with a photo post of Lessons I've Learned from My Cat. This features photos of my cat, Prince. There is also an appearance by my first cat, Coco - may he rest in peace.(If you haven't read my other Lessons posts, you can read about Lessons I've Learned from My Second Grader, Lessons I've Learned from My Toddler, and Lessons I've Learned from My Newborn.)
--> Sleep when you can, anywhere you can! (And in any position that you find comfortable!)
"This car seat sure is comfy!"
Comfortable??
--> Rock your own sense of style.
Prince rocking his mane.
--> Make your presence known.
Coco was a pro at this. I think every picture I have, he is either meowing or sleeping.
--> Stake your claim.
"These pants are mine."
"This laundry basket? Mine."
"This baby swing is mine."
"You want to use this? Too bad. It's mine."
"Did I mention that this baby is also mine?"
-->You are never too old to play!
As a baby...
Or a grown-up...
I hope you have enjoyed another installment of Lessons I've Learned...
What have you learned from your cat, dog, or other pet?
--> Sleep when you can, anywhere you can! (And in any position that you find comfortable!)
--> Rock your own sense of style.
--> Make your presence known.
--> Stake your claim.
-->You are never too old to play!
I hope you have enjoyed another installment of Lessons I've Learned...
What have you learned from your cat, dog, or other pet?
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