Change Becomes Change

How do you think about food?

This past weekend I went out with some of my foodie girlfriends to see the movie Food, Inc. The last words my husband told me as he kissed me goodbye was, “tell me if you liked the movie or not, but I really don’t want to hear the details”. Well, I did enjoy the movie…and while we debated about many of the points made throughout the movie, we agreed on many as well. Especially those that come down to food safety, worker rights and the treatment of farmers.

I don’t want to give too much of the movie away, but urge you to find some time to see it. You can watch the trailer right here.

The movie hasn’t changed how we feed our family because we  made changes years ago. For our health, as well as the health of  the earth and animals, we...

• Don’t eat much meat - we’ve really cut back here

• When we do, it’s free-range, grass-fed chicken and occasionally a hamburger

• We buy hormone-free dairy products for our children (neither of us eat dairy)

• We buy mostly organic and/or local fruits and vegetables, especially the dirty dozen that tend to absorb the most pesticide residuals

• We try not to buy processed foods

• We buy local as much as possible

I’ll admit that we spend more on our food bill today than we used to. We try to buy quality and nutritious food that fills us up with the nutrients we need. Since we’re not buying much processed foods, we’re cooking and making things from scratch. It’s often more economical than buying organic processed foods, but yes, more costly than conventional. Since I enjoy cooking, especially with and for my family, I don’t mind the additional efforts.

It’s important to know that we didn’t make these changes overnight. We’ve made these changes over time and continue to. For example, this summer we plan to can, preserve and freeze a lot of summer fruits and vegetables that we grow or buy locally so that we can enjoy them all summer long.

So, how do you feel about food choices? If you could make on change this week, what would it be?

Believe

At my mom's birthday celebration last weekend, all the ladies took home a necklace with a different symbol. My symbol was one word: Believe. Which was really special for my mom who repeatedly told herself "don't stop believing" as she dealt with my dad's health scare just a few days prior. I was glad to have blindly picked that symbol.

My aunt, who organized the party and the ritual around these symbols, sent along two charms for the kids with me. A butterfly for Marcelena and a wise owl for Patrick. When I gave them their necklaces, I shared the meaning behind each but didn't say much about mine since I wasn't wearing it.

Well, I just wore it. And my little girl, who adores jewelry, asked about it before she even said good morning to me. Patrick was quick to read the word to her, and she was equally as fast in asking him "believe what?". His exact response was...

You know, Marci, believe in yourself, and believe in God, and believe in peace, and believe in love. And, just believe in everyone, Marci.

Saying goodbye - it's been a tragic day

As I write this, I've got Dateline NBC's special around Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett on the TV. It's still unbelievable that these two icons have passed away. I grew up listening to my favorites, like Billy Jean, while teasing my hair before school, then performing the entire Thriller routine at practically every dance team competition in high school. I moonwalked and went through my own one-glove phase (thankfully a really short one!). And I later watched the star get tainted as his years of emotional and mental troubles came to surface. I hope that Michael is always remembered for the unbelievably talented king of pop that made young girls around the world cry and scream - not for the hurt that overcame his life. 

A friend posted this on Facebook tonight - it gave me goosebumps, so I had to share. This is part of the MJ I'll always remember. Like me, I'm sure you have special memories around the first time you heard "I wanna be startin' somethin'" or "Beat it", and the first time you saw the long version of Thriller. When we hear his music now, the memories will mean so much more.

And then there's Farrah Fawcett. Oh, how I wanted to be one of Charlie's Angels. And Farrah had the most fabulous hair! I even had her "styling head" - a gigantic Farrah Fawcett doll head with hair that you could style with the perfect feather and apply some makeup. Baby blue eyeshadow, of course. I practiced with that head of hair until I had it perfected so that I could move on to my own mane.

But recently I got a little closer to another side of Farrah Fawcett - the courageous, brave woman fighting a daily battle against cancer. While I cannot even begin to understand all that she went through and felt, I'm so very touched that she wanted to share her journey with me. And she shared it all in Farrah's Story - the good, the bad and the sometimes very ugly side of her cancer and it's impact on her body.

What I really enjoyed was witnessing the growing love and respect between Farrah and her long-time partner, Ryan O'Neal. Over the many years of their love affair, Ryan proposed to her multiple times and it wasn't until earlier this week that she said yes - as soon as she was strong enough to say "I do". My heart breaks for them both.

 

Farrah- you have touched my life. I'd like to think of you as my very own Angel. Thank you

If Farrah has touched your life, or if someone that you love has fought this battle too - click here and donate a gift in memory of them to the American Cancer Society so that critical research will find a cure someday. Our own lives, or our children, might depend on it someday. Thank you

Celebrating mom

I just returned from a few days in my Southern California home town . We've had this trip planned for about five months since it was centered around a surprise birthday party for my mom's 60th in July. The weekend before we left, my dad had a heart attack after a routine surgery but thankfully was in the right place and right hands and they took excellent care of him. Those of us who planned the party talked everyday, trying to determine whether we should cancel the birthday celebration. We finally decided to let my mom decide. So, two days before the party, with my dad still in the hospital, we told her about the party - just not the details. When she was done crying she told my aunt, "we need to have this - we need a celebration right now for many reasons".

So, about fifteen of my mom's closest and dearest friends gathered this weekend to honor and celebrate my mom. Some of these ladies she met in grade school, high school and college and the rest she's met through church later in life. At one point, she went around the room and shared with the group how she met each of them and what they mean to her. It was beautiful to hear the stories of these friendships and the journeys they've taken together. My mom hasn't been able to drive since 1992, but her close group of friends support her in such a way that you'd never know. She's one of the busiest ladies I know and I don't think we'd ever talk if she didn't have a cell phone! She and her friends are busy each week with church activities, work in the community wherever help is needed and day trips to the beach for walks in the sand.

We all had a homework assignment too: bring one thing that symbolizes what Linda means to each of us. I took this quite seriously and searched for weeks for just the right thing that said it all. I agonized over this week after week until I finally realized that all the wonderful things that I wanted to say about my mom comes down to her love. My mom has this incredible heart that holds unknown capacity for unconditional love, forgiveness and tolerance. She welcomes everyone into her home, family and heart based on her immediate sense that they're a good person. She extends this love to the homeless, hungry and even incarcerated (I mentioned at the party that I thought she was nuts when she told me she was going to pray for inmates with a friend at the prison) with the work she does through many organizations and her church to help them. And, amazingly, my mom has never been taken advantage of - other than the Cable company who's name will go unmentioned because they know who they are.

There were many, many tears shared during this celebration. Most by me. And mom. And my sister-in-law who also gave my mom a heart to represent what she means to her. As I listened to each of her friends and family telling my mom how wonderful she is and how much she means to them, I couldn't help but feel so proud to be her daughter. She is an amazing woman. She is what I work hard each day to be. To have a heart that can just give and give, so effortlessly and unconditionally is truly a gift I wish for everyone.

ps. The "crown" my mom is wearing was part of the celebration and made by my daughter, Marcelena - not something she  normally wears!

Amazing kid moment - Finn Case helps improve water poverty

This Amazing Kid Moment is brought to us by Kids Are Heroes- the place where all kids are encouraged to make a difference.

Finn Case, from Alberta, Canada, learned about water poverty and its impacts in the developing world at a very young age. He was so touched by the hardships faced by others, that a kindergarten project in 2006 on ‘wheels, pulleys and levers’ set his mind in motion. Deciding to construct a kinetic well, Finn realized that if placed in the classroom, he could ask for coin donations to be placed in the well’s bucket before being lowered to make a wish. The proceeds would then go toward a real well somewhere there was a need.

By exposing Finn to people in real need as a young child, his parents have helped support his youthful spirit to change the world...one bucket of water at a time. It all ads up!

Go to the site and give Finn a SHOUT OUT to let him know how you feel about his efforts. Have your own Amazing Kid Moment to share with us? Send us a note and we'd love to share your great stories.

Summer Reading Fun

Not much makes this mama happier than knowing my kids love books. While they do occasionally try to use old board books as skate pads, they actually enjoy reading the stories too.

Before we had children, we knew that we wanted to instill a love for reading but we had a pretty big problem. My husband and I are not big readers. So, before our first was born we had some ideas on setting a good example. They weren’t good ones but included things like packing books in my purse everyday for the commute to work, wearing sunglasses to disguise my resting eyes, or hiding a Game Boy inside an open book to appear that my husband was reading.

Thankfully we never had to test those ideas out. Our kids love books. They will ask to read everyday throughout the day - not just at bedtime. So, this year we’re signing up for the Summer Reading program at our local library and with Borders. The library program is great - we did it last year and I‘m sure most have a similar program with rewards for the kids. The Borders Kid’s Reading Challenge rewards them with 50% off any book after they’ve read 8 books.

I often hear from friends that they wish their child enjoyed books more. It’s not always easy, that’s for sure. But here’s a few simple ideas that might help:

1. Keep books around the house, car, etc. so that they’re seen often and your children have easy access to them - make them more visible than toys! We keep our library books along with our magazines in a basket on our coffee table so they’re a constant reminder.

2.  Read together often. Sometimes bedtime is the only time that works and it’s better than nothing! This summer, try reading outside on a blanket under your favorite tree or on the beach.

3.  Make it enjoyable. Find books or themes they already have interest in. Marcelena loves to dance and has fallen in love with many books, but is especially fond of Angelina Ballerina. She could listen to her stories all day long.

For me, other than my favorite magazines, reading has never been a joy. Nor for my husband - which makes us scratch our head when we see our kids choose books over toys at times! But we did a couple things that we believe made a big difference: we read to them from the day they were born (really. I felt pretty silly at times reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a newborn but I did it!). And we try to never say no to a request for reading. So, even though I might not have time, I’ll do my best to at least tell them a story as I’m racing around the house in the morning.

Does your child enjoy books too? What did you do to encourage them? How are you supporting the reading habit throughout the summer? We’d love to hear your ideas!

3 Reasons to stop using antibacterial wipes or soaps

 

When my first baby was born, I was often called a germaphobe - for very good reasons that I won‘t even attempt to deny. Before we even brought him home from the hospital, every sink in the house was outfitted with some sweet-smelling antibacterial soap from Bath n’ Body Works. Our diaper bag was filled with antibacterial wipes, along with both cars, all purses and the nursery. We encouraged the use of a bink at indoor play places like our children’s museum so that he couldn’t put germ covered toys or fingers in his mouth. And as he got older, we had our own little mats to put down at restaurants (after scrubbing the high chair, table and other surfaces with the wipes!).

We didn’t do half of those things with my second baby, and we rarely use an antibacterial wipe now. Why? What’s changed? A couple things.

1. He still got sick. Our primary goal was to protect him from evil germs but they found their way thru our protective barriers. Funny thing is, antibacterial ingredients don’t kill viruses that lead to colds and flu. Great. We didn’t know.

2. We learned about the potential danger of “super bugs” - bacteria that becomes resistant to drugs from overuse of antibacterial soaps. We certainly didn’t want to help those kinds of bugs.

3. All of those products labeled “antibacterial” contain a harmful chemical called triclosan that has been linked to cancer, liver and inhalation toxicity, and thyroid issues.  Now, I’m no scientist, but these are critical development years for my kids and chemicals can’t be good for growing strong, healthy bodies.

So now we wash our hands with good old fashioned soap. There’s not much in our soap and we look for the kind without dyes, perfumes and other chemicals that we and the earth are sensitive to. The key is to wash our hands for 26 seconds to really kill the germs so the kids know to sing the alphabet while they scrub. For our youngest, she loves to show us how well she sings her ABC’s so this is almost a game (hurray).

I’ve learned to let go of most of my germ fears knowing that we’re armed with soap and water - but I know they still lurk in school, at restaurants and other indoor places where children gather. I haven’t figured out how to win the battle there yet since I know it‘s not something that always happens when I‘m not around. And I continue to look forward to the day when my youngest doesn’t lick her finger after dragging it along the escalator rail.

Life without shoes

Other than the daily selection process, how often do you think about your shoes? Could you imagine life without them? If you think your dogs are barking after a long day of walking or shopping in heels, think about the pain if you didn't have shoes.

Well, there's a lot of people all over the world, and right here at home, that don't have shoes. And that means they're exposed to cuts, scrapes and other harm on a daily basis.Think about the nastiness you see on the street, in the park or mass transit. Yeah, pretty bad.

There's a great group called Soles4Souls that have come together to give shoes where they're needed. So far, they've already put over 4 million pairs of shoes on feet since they started this venture! Just last week they held one of their Barefoot Week events right outside my office in Portland where they gave 5,000 pairs of shoes to our large homeless youth population and families living on the streets.

Watching this event throughout the day from my desk broke my heart. I watched families wait for hours in line to get shoes for their young children while I counted my blessings knowing my kids were running around in good shoes at the park.

They're doing a great job but they need our help because there's still so many people, even kids, without proper shoes. So, here's a few easy way we can all help protect their feet. 

Find a shoe drive near you and help keep the 300 million pairs of shoes Americans toss in the trash (yes, 300 million!) out of landfills - and help someone else!

Host a shoe drive with your group, neighbors or friends. Soles4Souls makes it super easy.

Donate your gently worn shoes. Wouldn't it be great if Imelda Marcos did this?

From their site you can learn more about donating cash, or your time on a relief trip.

Let's all commit to one thing so we can support Soles4Souls in their mission to change the world, one pair at a time. My kids are at that age where they're growing out of shoes while they still look new so we'll be taking ours to a drop off location.

What can you do? Do you have one pair of shoes to donate?

  

This was one of those families so happy with their new shoes.

 

Soles4Souls volunteers hard at work with smiles on their faces as they help folks living on the street find shoes that fit.

Don't forget to sign up for delivery of Change Becomes Change right in your In Box and share this with a friend looking to help make this a better world.

Parents on the edge

"Parents that kill" -that's a really scary headline that has been in the news too much lately. Each time I hear these stories, I watch in tears as I wonder what happened, could this have been avoided, what went wrong. Being a parent myself, I cannot imagine that horrible place where this becomes even a considered option. Saying goodbye to my kids in the morning is hard for me most days.

But the reality is that there are a lot of families living on the edge of survival. One father described the feeling like "living in a closed box with no opening". With homelessness and hunger on the rise, parents become stressed out, maxed out and strung out. They don't know where to turn as the pressure to provide becomes overwhelmingly impossible.

There are places to turn, like county crisis lines, food relief organizations and homeless shelters, but things get in the way. Awareness, access and pride are just a few.

So, what can we do? Most parents aren't publicizing the magnitude of their stress or sharing their mental state, so it's not easy to identify early signs of danger. But what if we took some time to get to know our neighbor or someone we see often that has recently lost a job or home? Over time, could we see indications that things have gotten much worse?

Most of us are feeling some economy-related stress right now. Even if we have jobs, they might not be that secure. There might be a new baby coming soon, a daycare provider significantly increasing their rates, a medical emergency, or an unexpected expense that burdens the family.  We all know families in these situations.

While it's easy to feel that we are unable to help neighbors with these challenges, there are little things we can each do that make a difference to someone in need.  

• Visit or call someone who's going through a tough time. Just to listen. An empathetic ear can make their day! Maybe bring some tea.
• Share a meal with a family. Invite them over and insist they bring nothing.
• Provide some fun for kids that might not be having a lot of it. Invite them over to play with yours. Take a bag full of bubbles, sidewalk chalk and jump ropes to the park or neighborhood where kids gather.
• Check in with folks you might regularly run into to see how they're doing. There's a homeless woman outside our local bakery that we've gotten to know and we can tell when she needs someone to just give her a few minutes of time.

These are little things that we can all do. If you can donate food to your local food bank or funds to a women's shelter, that's wonderful! If we all do what we can to make a small difference, it will add up. I promise. But it has to start with each of us today.

I like to keep this quote in mind from Gandhi: Be the change you want to see in the world.

BPA issue isn't going away (yet)

Since the post last week regarding BPA and the chemicals industry fight against parents seeking safe products for their children, there's been a lot of chatter on the topic. And a lot of questions. There's still a lot of us that aren't sure what BPA is, what products it lurks in and how it's harmful for children. So, I've put together a list of helpful links to answer some of these questions. 

Good overview of BPA - what products tend to contain it, it's potential harm and some history of the FDA on BPA

If you didn't catch it, here's the post from last week that talks about the scare tactics and other efforts the chemicals industry is discussing to convince parents that BPA is just fine.

Another look at the chemicals industry efforts by the Environmental Working Group.

Easy tips to avoid BPA exposure for you and your family.

If you want to join other parents to protect our children from harmful chemicals, there's a few easy things you can do right here. Parents across the country are making big strides to keep BPA out of children's products but there's still much to do and we need your help.