Raising Bilingual Toddlers!

My toddler's favorite word isn't in English! It is SALTA, which means jump in Spanish.  The catch? I don't speak Spanish.  How am I raising a bilingual toddler?

I wrote about it! Read more!

5 Helpful Tips to Travel with Babies

My husband and I have two beautiful children.  Our children do not stop us from living exciting lives; instead, they make our lives exciting.  This includes traveling.  Some might find this crazy.  I wrote an article on the subject of travelling with children. 

One of my husband's goals is to be well-travelled.... We have a two-and-a-half-year-old son and a 10-month-old daughter. We have travelled near and far with them. The general initial reaction is either: you're crazy or you're brave. We might be a little of both, but mostly, we're strategic.

Read more here. 

It is important that we view children as blessings.  They enhance our lives; they bring us blessings.

We have taken them to the Hawthrone House in Salem, MA.

We have taken them to Colorado and New Mexico.  We stayed nestled in the mountains.

We hope to take them back to Washington.

We are planning to take them to St. Louis, Michigan, and Rhode Island this year.  It is very exciting.  They travel well, so I know they will enjoy themselves. 

Meditation - Should I Be Doing That?

What is meditation? Meditation is a valuable tool.  Should I be doing that? Simple put, yes.

Meditation is a tool for self-care, prayer, and coping.

Whether in pain, anxious, depressed - meditation is a common recommendation.  When faced with an important decision, meditation is recommended.  Meditation is recommended for athletes, students, professionals, and religious.  Meditation is recommended by therapists, nurses, doctors, homoeopathic practitioners, priests, nuns, spiritual directors, and life coaches.  The catch is: meditation may mean different things to different people.

Arguably there are two types of meditation: prayerful and self-care.  There is, of course, some crossover in these.  Praying can contribute to self-care.  Self-care may include praying.  The purpose is different.  Prayerful meditation should be focused on God.  Self-care meditation can have a variety of focuses.

Prayerful meditation can be guided or unguided.  Guided meditation may follow a rule, such as the Ignatian or Carmelite method.  It might be as simple as placing oneself in the presence of God.  It may be more complicated, like analyzing a prayer line by line.  The Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy are also guided meditations.

Unguided meditation involves praying more freely with the intent of "being still" and "knowing that" He is God.  This may be simply sitting in the presence of God's creation.  The moments of awe can be unguided meditation.

Self-care meditation can have many purposes.  It could be to improve a mood, cope with emotions, conquer a problem, and look toward the future.  Meditation can be used for weight loss, pain control in labor, and coping with mental health concerns.  Meditation can be used to learn new things and process things learned.  Meditation can be used to balance work and life.  It can be used to prioritize.

Guided meditation, which can be called self-hypnosis, involves relaxing and holding an image in your mind.  This is often done with the help of another person who guides the meditation, such as a nurse.  This can be done with recordings.  It can also be done alone.  The setting must be relaxing.  The image must be positive.  Breathing must be rhythmic.

Unguided meditation can be used as a coping mechanism used in any situation.  It involves deep breathing and banishing thoughts for a minute or two.  It can be used in the instant.

This is not intended to teach meditation; rather, just to mention it.  I am currently listening to a podcast on happiness meditation.  It is interesting to hear different methods of meditation.  If you are not meditating, it might be what you need to find a meaningful, happy work-life balance.

House Aesthetics

Recently, my family returned from visiting New England.  While there, we saw many houses like this one.  Houses painted black - imposing, gloomy.  My husband was delighted by them.  I was fascinated.

My husband joked that I should not be surprised if my house was painted black. Our house is blue.  It is calming, welcoming, and secure.

A black house is unique. It is overwhelming. 

I would not want a black house. 

The aesthetics of a house help to invite people in or keep them away. 

It is my goal to be a more welcoming person. Painting my house black will not convey this.

I wish to be a happier person. A dark house may not assist here, either.

Visiting Salem, the House of Seven Gables, the Witch House, and other such Gothic locations has proven to be a fascinating deterrent.  I enjoyed my time there, but I do not want to live in a manner which would be reflected in a black house.

No, I prefer the blue.

From New England with Love

I was MIA last week.  Why? Because I was in New England!

My husband and I are about to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary.  In order to celebrate, we headed to New England for an adventure.  If you follow me on Instagram, you got to see some of the pictures.

 We headed to Salem, MA.  We saw Proctor's Ledge, where many innocent (and maybe a few not so innocent) people were hung.  We went to downtown Salem and experienced "Witch City".  

We also made our way to Hawthrone's Birthplace and the House of Seven Gables.

 The weather greeted us with a powerful, beautiful storm.

My Official Political Stance

Sometimes I read the news or friends’ statuses on Facebook and wonder why there seems to be such a disconnect between what people say...and what they mean....or what they do.

I am not a very political person. Politics bother me because invariably the rhetoric is empty and poor logic is found. I have a great love for logic. I need the world to make sense. When I have commented on politics, it has always been from this need. This desire to understand. After all, the philosopher states that the nature of Man is to know. On occasion, I will read a particularly heinous example of poor logic and I am almost compelled to comment.

Facebook had me pegged as very conservative. Politically, I am not very conservative. Personally, I wouldn’t say conservative. I live a simple, minimalist, and happy life.  I am a moderate. I believe in appropriate and swift penalties for breaking the law, but I think governments should stay out of personal lives. I think that true socialism is unsustainable, but I hold entities, such as Medicaid and Financial Assistance, as necessary. I value the success of capitalism, but I believe the successful should share their success through their generosity. I am very moderate in most things. Why? Because I am not a “conservative”. I am a conservationist - I believe in building foundations first, but applying interventions if necessary.

The second thing that gets me to comment is disrespect or disregard for life. I am a conservationist. My educational background is biology. I am also a Catholic and I believe in the sanctity of human life. It makes my blood boil when I see a disregard for the state of the environment. I loathe the aftermath of protests because of all the trash left behind. It makes me sick to hear of unnecessary loss of life for animals and habitats. Ecosystems are vital to survival. And it deeply wounds my heart when I hear or read of the disrespect of persons.

Race, creed, birth status (born or developing), citizenship, immigration status, job, socioeconomic background, education, mental health, physical health, birth defects, etc. - these all deserve respect. By their very nature, they deserve respect. They deserve the chance of happiness. They deserve dignity. The tiniest fetus. The oldest person in the world. The brilliant mathematician. The disabled adolescent. They deserve respect.

I am an advocate. I give back. I do not judge. I care about the world and everything and everyone in it. My official political position is this: Who can judge the value of life?

What Inspires You?

Sometimes one must gaze out into the world and wonder. 

Sometimes wonder brings action. 

Sometimes wonder beckons contentment.

Inspiration is the movement of the soul. 

Contentment is the rest of the soul. 

Are you content today? 

Or, are you inspired? 

What contents you? 

What inspires you?