Kind Human Nature.....

Obviously, racism and racial slurs are sticky things to talk about. I guess I am taking the easy way out by blogging about this topic rather than bringing it up to several individuals who have over the past year or so made offensive comments and racial slurs in front Margaret. I actually find talk, jokes, name calling.....based on race, religion, disability or really any outward characteristic VERY offensive. However, I am adult and am able to sensor in my head what is right and what is just plain ignorant and inappropriate. My almost 4 year old is not able to do that yet. Therefore, I want our (Jonathan and I STRONGLY agree on this issue)views about racially motivated comments and discrimination in general made very clear.

We believe that people are equal and should not be judged or commented about based on color or religion or any outward characteristic. We feel it is important to expose Margaret to a diverse group of friends to prepare her for the diverse world we live in. I am very proud to say that Margaret has many friends who are physically disabled, mentally disabled, brown, white, black, old, and young. She is a compassionate child and loves all of her friends for what is on the inside and honestly I don't even think it occurs to her that outside characteristics should be judged or considered at all. I do not want at her tender age for her to realize that everyone does not think that way. She will be aware of the cruelty and ignorance of our society soon enough.

This post is not directed toward any one individual. There have been several situations that we have been in and several slurs that have been said in our presence over the past several years that have prompted long conversations between Jonathan and I about how to handle this difficult issue. Today, we decided that making our views and preferences about what is said in front of our child very clear in writing is the most appropriate way to get the point across. This sort of talk will not be tolerated in the presence of our child and is quite offensive to us. We also want to make it very clear that next time we are put into a situation in which something inappropriate is said, we will address it immediately by explaining the ignorance behind the comment, joke, story or whatever and how this type of talk is totally unacceptable. We will clarify and educate our child in front of the person who made the slur (if it is appropriate) and she will most probably ask for an explanation from the seemingly respectable adult. She is an inquisitive and compassionate child who wants to understand things. I do not want to squelch this. We would never condone our child being disrespectful toward an adult who deserves respect. However, it this specific situation, the adult would need to be called on the comment.

We realize that this world has changed and that things that were accepted in the past (words, names for groups of people, and even society's view on racism) has evolved. I think that several of the slurs that have been stated in front of us have been out of ignorance and not hate. I like to hope that anyway. However, it is still inappropriate and will not to be tolerated. Hopefully, this post will be read with the love and concern for innocence of a child's kind human nature that we want to preserve. We welcome any discussion about this post, as ignorance can only be addressed by communication and gaining of knowledge. We are not trying to change anyone's views or preferences, just the way people talk in front of our child.

Why go Organic?

As many of you know, I serve a great deal of organic food and milk products in my house. We also try to stay away from artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose....) that are found in many drinks. Yes, Margaret LOVES water. She is very proud to order it at resturants. Sometimes she wants a sprite, lemondae, or juice (which I water down to cut the sugar and or artificial sweetener) and that is ok. I feel that I have done her a service in helping to build her love of drinking water. We also strive to avoid products that have partially hydrogenated anything or high fructose corn syrup (read labels and you will be amazed to see all the products that contain this junk)in them. This is not always easy but we (Jonathan and I strongly agree on this) think it is really important to put healthy things into our bodies and into our child. I have had several friends call me a "food natzi" and tease me about depriving Margaret of things that "normal" kids get to have. I find this funny and I almost take it as a compliment. I am VERY proud to say that I really regulate what my child eats and drinks and really hope that everyone who cares for and about her does the same in my absence. Anyone who is around us knows that Margaret gets her fair share of sweets, I just prefer for her to have things that are organic, home made and whole wheat (figuring out what is REALLY whole wheat can sometimes be tricky). I have an outstanding whole wheat chocolate pound cake that she LOVES. We also have quite a weakness for chocolate, but tend to keep it dark (more antioxidants)!

OK, back to organic foods/milk products......I have read and been told many things about how pesticides and hormones used in producing food today affect kids in the way of causing issues such as premature puberty (especially in girls). This makes lots of sense when you think about it. When a mother is breast feeding she is put on a different type of birth control pill because hormones ARE transferred through milk. I don't want Margaret ingesting hormones through dairy products! YUCK and YIKES if it would cause puberty to happen any earlier. I have heard of little girls as young as 8 years old starting their period! So, I want to do my part to keep my child's diet as "clean" as possible. Organic milk is no longer hard to find. It costs more but in my opinion is well worth it. However, cheeses, cottage cheese, and sour cream are not as easy to find. I have been substituting plain organic yogurt for sour cream and it works well. I also plan on talking to our local grocer about ordering some organic milk products. I spoke with a grocer at BiLo today about ordering organic celery. He said he would have it by Thursday....wow, it was just that easy! All I had to do was ask. Imagine if more people were educated and just asked for some products that are more healthy....even this small town like this could be a more heathy place to shop and live! Hopefully, it will be that easy at our small grocery store. Here is a link to the 12 most important foods to eat organic......

http://green.msn.com/galleries/photos/photos.aspx?gid=164&ocid=T003MSN51N1653A

Some great organic/healthy brands/sites that I have come across are:

http://www.fullcirclefoods.com/

http://www.stacysnacks.com/

http://www.horizonorganic.com/

http://www.organicvalley.com/

http://www.producedbynature.com/

There are soooo many more that is can get almost overwhelming. The take home message I am trying to get across, I guess, it this is important and avaliable with some effort (at least for many products). I hope this post will facilitate some thinking and some awareness about the importance of "going organic." As I learn more I plan to post about it.

Happy Birthday EO!

Saturday was EO's real birthday, although we did already have the famous cheese braid at Easter. We made a spur of the moment trip to the lake after church on Sunday to visit and sing Happy B-day to EO in person. It has been a REALLY long time since we have been down there! We had a great time with EO, El and Punk. Margaret worked outside with Elliott for a long time while Olivia was napping. They washed the peddle boat and actually took Margaret's first ride of the season. She was thrilled! When Olivia woke up she was so surprised to see "Margie" at her house. We enjoyed playing inside and out, eating cake and icecream, touching an earthworm (this was a first), riding bikes, and trying to catch some wild puppies. Does anyone need a really cute puppy? There are 6 of them that need good homes. Hopefully, we will catch them later in the week and get them to homes or to a shelter. It is so sad to see them roaming around and hungry!SO, here are the pics of all of our fun.....

Loving Romeo

Saturday was a rainy day for Margaret at her Columbia house. I enjoyed watching her and a really weird show on Discovery (Dirty Jobs), which I could not seem to stop watching! Anyway, Margaret and Romeo were best friends....they played under the blankets, hide the bone, make a "path" of pillows, and balloon reach on top of a stack of blankets and pillows. It is amazing how entertaining some pillows and blankets are.

Lauren Before her Prom

As promised, since she took a nap, Margaret and I went to see Lauren in her pretty dress before she went to her Prom last night. Margaret wore her hot pink dress so she could match Lauren. Margaret was thrilled to see Lauren and all of the other girls in their pretty dresses. She really wanted to go to the dance too and could not understand why it was only for "big kids."

A Style all her Own....

As I have shown previously, Margaret loves to decorate herself with ribbons and belts and neclaces. Well, this morning before school she decided she needed and extra bow (pink of coarse!), a belt (also with pink in it) and a neclace that she made out of a silver pipe cleaner and many, many beads. She was very fashionable and proud of decorating herself. Yes, I did send her to school like this--I don't want to squelch her sense of fashion, style, creativity and most of all her pride in herself. She came home with the belt still on!

She is Asleep in the DAYTIME!!!

Most everyone who knows Margaret knows that she is NOT a napper. Even when she was an infant she was not a fan of naps. I honestely do not remember the last time she slept during the daytime other than when she was really sick! I actually gave up even trying for a nap right after Margaret turned 3. She goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 and is a good sleeper so I decided to not even fight for the nap. However, today she had some incentive and she went down for a nap like a champ----is this my child?
Lauren, my first baby girl, who I babysat for since she was born has her Jr/Sr Prom tonight. She invited us over to see her in her pretty "hot pink" dress and to take pictures. Margaret is so excited that she can barely stand it. She likens Lauren's prom to a princess ball, since all the girls will be dressed up and dancing with handsome boys. She has asked if Lauren will be wearing diamonds in her hair and if she will dance prettiest of all! So, we have been talking about her taking a nap all week in order to stay up late and see Lauren. This afternoon we went to lunch and the park with Marg's little friend and came home and she actually fell asleep by herself! I am still in shock! Most moms of almost 4 year olds will surely find this post silly, but My Girl is not the best at going to sleep......much less sleeping in the daytime! I am a proud mommy today! She has been sleeping for MORE than an hour now......WOW!