The Questions you Should be Asking

Read this. It's a beautiful article on being a stay-at-home parent as well as a guide to what answers to ask in a relationship--whether that be a friend, lover, or parent.

Have a great weekend :)

Monday's Intention

Hope you had a great weekend! I am inspired by this Monday's intention by an article that I read Sunday morning over breakfast. I found it on Pinterest, but it was published on the ASHAsphere website. To summarize the article, it states that parents who continue to give their toddlers sippy cups are only doing their children a disservice. Sippy cups encourage an immature suck-swallow pattern and could do some damage to dentition. So, what should you do instead? Use an open cup or a cup with straw. A sippy cup is NOT a part of a child's developmental milestones.

This leads me to my intention for the week, but also for my lifetime... I want to continue to learn and research about what is out their in my profession. It will help me be a better clinician but also a well-educated mommy someday!

Have a great weekend! Please pass along the article to all parents!

Recommended Children's Books

I am a speech-language pathologist, and as a part of my graduate education, I had to take courses and seminars and complete real-life clinicals within the pediatric population. At one time, I thought that I would work with kids after I graduated, but I am working with adults now. I think one day I'll go back to working in the schools with preschool kids, but for now I am happy working in the nursing home. 

I still enjoy going on Pinterest and perusing arts and crafts and activities to do with kids in speech therapy. During one of my clinical placements in the Boston Public Schools, I would often use a book to target the child's goals in therapy (e.g. vocabulary, increasing expressive language, etc.). I've used several books, some good, some not so good; so, I've decided to share some of my favorites with you.

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow
Great for labeling body parts and clothing

The Very Noisy Night
Increase & use vocabulary through pictures 

Frog and Toad Together
Wh- questions

I Need a Friend
Increase & use vocabulary through pictures 

We Share Everything
Targets sharing skills

The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)
Sequencing steps to make a pizza
Labeling food & animals

Today is Monday
Labeling days of week, food, and animals with a sing-a-long

If You Give a Moose a Muffin
Cause and effect

There’s a Billy Goat in the Garden
Targets big, bigger, biggest

We’re Making Breakfast for Mother
Rhyming and labeling breakfast vocab

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Learning emotions--happy, sad, mad, and excited

Most of the books above are appropriate for ages two- to eight-years-old. I used most of these books in a preschool with kids who had literacy difficulties or in a special needs elementary school program.

Enjoy sharing these books with the young kids in your life! Many of the books above have great arts and craft activities too!

Wine (Wednesdays)

As most have you have done at least once in your lifetime, I've taken the Myers Briggs personality test. I had to take it in college and graduate school a few times. Each time I've taken it, I've always gotten "E" for extroverted. As I get older, I feel like I'm becoming more introverted though. I like my routines and don't always venture out of my comfort zone.

As a part of my quest to rid myself of negativity in my environment, I also want to decrease the negativity within my self. I want to be more of my extroverted self and have plenty of opportunity for socializations.

I've mentioned the idea of having a wine night with my friends, and I've decided to roll out with it! A few of my friends used to host a Wine Wednesday every Wednesday night in college. That schedule doesn't seem that conducive to our working lives now. I would love to have a wine night once/twice a month on a Friday, so that we can each get drunk and not feel bad about going to work the next morning.

I would also want there to be a theme to each wine night. A friend of mine gave me this idea: each person must bring a bottle of wine that goes with the theme for the night. Below are a few theme ideas...

Bring a bottle that:

• Comes from Spain
•  Has a quirky name
•  Has a red label
• Is a Cabernet
•  Is 1.75 L
• The store recommended
• Is under $10

 I love the idea of the themes! Hopefully, we can start having our wine nights in a week or two. I'll keep you posted of what themes we do. Cheers to being social and getting tipsy off of wine with your friends!

Do you host a wine night with your friends? How do you make it more fun? Pair the wine with cheese?

Have a Snowy Weekend

Hello blizzard of 2014! Ekk my street is filled with snow and not a plow to be seen. Luckily, my car is safe and sound in the parking garage down the street. I LOVE not brushing my car off or shoveling myself out of a parking spot.

Since I'm stuck inside and you are too most likely, I thought a few videos and links would pass the time along this weekend. Enjoy and stay warm! :)

Do you have 2 sisters too?

Obama, you wise, wise man

Byeee

I made this soup recipe Wednesday night with a ham, cheese, pesto, & avocado panini. YUM

Another article on anxiety re: yesterday's blog post

Piperlime is having a 25% off sale using the code CHIC that ends tonight

• J Brand denim
• Pim + Larkin Shift Dress
• Franco Sarto spring heels

Thursday Thought

"If you are depressed, you live in the past. 

If you are anxious, you live in the future. 

If you are at peace, you live in the present." 

Lao Tzu

Too often, I build up anxiety and worry about things that I can't control in the future. I prepare the best that I can in the present for whatever is making me anxious, but I still can't seem to let go. 

I like this article by The Greatest Daily. It teaches you techniques to kick anxiety in the butt. One technique which I use often is monitoring my breath. I try to have slow, controlled breaths like in yoga. It's very helpful in lowering my blood pressure and body temperature. 

Take a look at the article! I hope that we all can try to live in the present a little more in 2014.

Flash Your Peace Signs

Hey everyone, another guest post from Adriana!

I am a self-proclaimed hippie. Yeah, it’s not the 60’s anymore and I don’t casually do LSD on the reg’, but I identify with the good vibe mindset and simplicity of living that occurred during my parents’ generation. In my opinion, a modern-day hippie is someone who wants to live in the moment, contemplate the universe, generate good vibes, and fight for important causes. These folks just understand the substance of life and pursue their passions while making casual political statements.

This image is something completely opposite from our generation’s identity aspirations. In this modern technology era, the millennials aim to create their mark on this Earth by updating their FB prof pic, taking a perfect selfie, and maintaining meaningless relationships. Where’s the uncomplicated lifestyle that the Hippies (our parents!) created? It seems like the more technology takes over our lives, the more the media infiltrates our thoughts, which leads to an increase in this young generation losing their originality.

Where is the substance in a life consumed by technology? I am sick of spending time with my friends and their smart-phones. Notice it. At any gathering of millennials, almost every person will have their cellphone in their hand or on the table. Back in the day, people had to interact with one another and not resort to anti-social cell-phone behaviors. They had to live in the moment because they didn’t have the luxury of an IPhone 5 distraction. Where are the peace, tranquility and serenity of a simple life that was created in the ‘60s? Not here.

As always, I want my life to be a statement to my generation (hey, what the hell else am I gunna do?). I want to show other millennials that losing a bit of technology and gaining some common decency will change their lives. I want to show my generation that gaining a Hippie mindset will probably reduce the stress of such a fast-pace lifestyle. Let’s chill a bit. You don’t need to answer that text right now. You don’t need to stress about your future. You don’t need to take a picture of that beautiful sunset. Just be still. Be in the moment. Take in all the sounds, images, and vibes of whatever the present moment brings you. That moment will be significant, but you don’t need to share it with your 1,000 Facebook friends. They won’t understand that moment and they don’t need to, either. It was for you.

Now look at the standards of beauty for women in the ‘60s. They look fantastically natural…and beautiful. Long, un-dyed hair and minimal to no make-up. Well, I’ve adopted these practices. I’ve never dyed my hair and I don’t wear make-up anymore unless I’m going to a party. And it feels fantastic. I don’t want to strive for beauty perfection. I will never be Barbie and I never want to fucking be her. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin (super cheesy, but whatevs!).

So to summarize: Modern-day Hippies don’t have to subscribe to the stereotypical boho attire (but that’s pretty rockin anyways!) or the lack of regular hygiene routines (hey, whatever!) or even experimental drug use. But they can represent compassion to oneself and others, the simplification of their lives, and a philosophical approach.

So flash yo peace signs, listen to your rockin’ music, make your political statements, and give out your free love, my friends!

 Peace & Love,

Adriana