A Chip Off the Old (Swimming) Block

It's funny, all the work you put into giving your children every opportunity to find their own interests for themselves.  I have tried so hard through the years to avoid pushing my own hopes and interests onto each of them, and feel that I have done fairly well at not becoming one of "those" moms.  You know the type.  The ones that live vicariously through their kids.  

I want my kids to blossom within their own ambitions and dreams.

Despite our many years of swimming competitively and coaching other swimmers in turn, Bryson and I haven't pushed them toward the sport.  It has been a very conscious decision.  We have put them in swimming lessons consistently because we feel it is an important skill to learn, but as far as the competitive sport has been concerned we have tried to stay neutral.  In addition to swim lessons, we also have tried soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, and dance-- to varying degrees of interest and success.

But just a little while ago, Reilly happened to walk in on Bryson running on the treadmill, as he was watching the Swimming World Championships held recently in Dubai.  She stopped and stared at the screen, a curious look on her face.  Rebecca Soni, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin.  Swimmers of exceptional skill and talent competing on the world stage.  She was fascinated.

She turned to her daddy.

"I want to do THAT," she pronounced emphatically.

It really is funny.  I suppose the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree after all.

MLK

Take the first step in faith. 

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. 

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Morning Embrace

As you might imagine, trying to get everyone ready for the day when you have four kids aged five and under is not always an easy task.

Most days it is just organized chaos.

This last Friday was no different.  I was running from task to task, making sure that both Taylor and Reilly were getting ready for school.  I paused in the kitchen for a brief moment to check something on my laptop, when I felt a little tug on my pant leg.

Dani had followed me from the living room, where she had been playing happily.

Now she pulled herself up to a stand and looked at me with a soul searching gaze.  There were no words, but it was no matter.  The message came through loud and clear.

"Don't forget about me, Mom.  I'd like a little moment with you too, if you please.  Remember, I won't be little like this for much longer."

Then she cooed at me in her little baby babble and preceded to give me one of her megawatt smiles that could melt the heart of the even the iciest miser.

What could I do?
Clearly, there was only one option.

Embrace the baby.
Embrace the chaos. 

No regrets.

Crock-pot Porridge

Happy New Year!!!

Starting a brand new year calls for a great breakfast to kick things off.  I love breakfast.  In fact, I cannot function without a well-balanced breakfast.  But there are days when there is absolutely no time to cook anything.  Most breakfast cereals just don't cut it for Bryson and I-- we are literally famished just a couple of hours later.  So a nice solution is getting everything prepped the night before and letting the slow cooker work its magic.  All of the hearty grains in this yummy porridge will keep your energy levels high throughout the morning hours.  If you like a little more protein with your breakfast, just add a little yogurt on the side and you're good to go!


Crock-pot Porridge

1/2 cup cracked wheat
1 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (you can substitute regular oatmeal here if you wish, although you may want to increase the liquid a bit)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/4 cup wheat germ
4 cups rice milk
2 cups low-fat milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 chopped dates
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch ground ginger

1.  Spray medium-to-large crock pot with cooking spray.  Stir to combine all ingredients.  Cover.
2.  Set on lowest setting for temperature and cook overnight.
3.  Spoon into cereal bowls in the morning with a little extra milk.  If you would like it even sweeter, try a little applesauce instead of reaching for the sugar bowl-- yum!


Yield: 8 servings


Adapted from a recipe by Tosca Reno
 

A Poem for the New Year

Happy 2011!!!!!!

I love this time of year.  A time to reassess priorities, a fresh start to an endless array of new beginnings.  And so in that vein, I present one of my favorite poems.  I happened to crack open Leaves of Grass this week, and have been enjoying revisiting Whitman's words.  I really relate to this piece. With all the negative we come across in this world and within ourselves, it is easy to become discouraged.  But despite all these things, there are also infinite possibilities open before us and with them the opportunity to make a real and substantial difference.  So in a couple of weeks when the luster is starting to fade on those well-intentioned resolutions, don't become discouraged.  Take heart and renew your commitment to the verse you want to contribute in this powerful play called life.

O ME! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer. That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

- Walt Whitman

Art Imitates Life

Some days you're the bug catcher.
Some days you're the sheepie.

For the last two months now our entire family has been cycling through various lovely bugs brought home from preschool, kindergarten, church, and work.

I am getting major cabin fever.

Santa, if you're listening, I could really use that Grecian island cruise right now.

Thanks in advance.

Prematurity Awareness Day

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day-- a day that represents a cause that is close to my heart.

In the United States, 1 in every 8 babies is born premature, a statistic that lands us squarely behind most other developed countries in the world.

It is the leading cause of death in newborns.

This is heavy on my mind today because I was a preemie myself-- arriving just days after Christmas when my arrival into the world was supposed to have been around Valentine's Day.  I am grateful for my life and good health-- for I know that others who have been born premature are not as fortunate.

But my thoughts today are with a friend of mine, whose infant son was born twelve weeks early on August 27th and continues to be cared for in the NICU of Loyola Hospital in the Chicago area.  Thankfully, little Brayden continues to steadily improve despite a couple of scary infections that could have proved fatal.  My prayers are with Brayden, my friend Derek, and his wife Heather, and my hope is that he will be able to spend this holiday season where he belongs -- at home with his loving parents.

To read more about Brayden's story and learn how prematurity affects families on a very personal level, please visit Heather's blog.

To find out how you can help the March of Dimes in their efforts to educate and eradicate the prevalence of prematurity in our society, please visit their website.

I think that of all the words that have been written on the subject today, Heather phrased it best in her poignant post:

Keep fighting for the ones who can't.