Don't Throw Santa Under The Bus!

A few weeks back while at work there was a family that came in with their kitten. Having young children of my own (and because I love kids), I always try to engage children in conversation as I am setting up for an appointment. (For those that don't know I am a Veterinary Technician) My best guess was that the kids were around four and six. Since it was just before Thanksgiving I thought this would be a perfect time to bring up Santa! Most kids can't wait to rattle off the list they have created and are anxious to babble on about all the things they will ask for.

Let me preface this next paragraph by saying I do know that not everyone celebrates Christmas. I am aware that people do practice other religions and have their own traditions which do not include Santa. I decided to go out on a limb with it anyway and asked: "Are you getting your lists ready for Santa"? Both children took a moment before answering with a "No". I knew right then with how the room suddenly felt that I should have kept my big mouth shut and stuck to topics on furry animals rather than the man in the red suit. It was their mother who filled in the silence with: "We don't celebrate Christmas. It is too commercialized." Let's just say she had the last word on that conversation as I quickly jumped to how cute their kitten was and other ramblings that did not have a thing to do with Christmas.

Just like that Santa was thrown under the bus. Not because of religion, not because it was not their culture, yet because society has turned Christmas into dollar signs and presents. Yes, this mother is indeed right about that. I do not argue the fact that our culture has turned Christmas into a money making event. This does not mean we can't still celebrate Christmas and the mystery of Santa because of it. I believe it is our responsibility to teach our children what the holidays are really about. Let's face it friends, there are many things in society that will teach our children things we do not want them to know. Society will hand our children ideas that we cannot keep them from. Unless you have a bubble and a blindfold for your children you are not going to hide them away from what society has to say.

I have fallen in love with the holidays once again now that I have children of my own. Living their excitement through their eyes has been nothing short of amazing. I was brought up with Santa and I will be damned if I don't let my children experience him just as I did. As much as we talk about Santa, the elves (yes, I did falter to the evilness of those scary looking dolls. Ours are named Percy and Sheldon) and Rudolph we also talk about what the holidays mean. It is my job as a parent to teach my children that the days ahead are more than just gifts. It is my responsibility to talk about giving and sharing with others, doing kind deeds, donating and offering to help one another.

Here is what we can do during the holidays to teach our children what the holidays are truly about:

* Have your child divide up their toys. Make three piles: a pile to keep, a pile to throw away, and a pile to donate. I recently did this with my almost five year old and when given the responsibility he made some great choices. We got rid of toys that were broken and things that he didn't play with much he wanted to donate. We got a bag together and he brought it in to Goodwill. He was happy to donate his toys as we talk often about being thankful for the things we have that others don't.

* Donate food to a local shelter. This time of year there are several places that are in need of food, bedding, and even pet food. Check within your community and local family centers and see what they need. Have your children participate in gathering a bag of donations. This is something we have done the past couple years and my son loves to help put things in a bag. You don't always have to go buy things either. Take inventory of your own shelves and pantry, if there are doubles of anything put those things aside. Maybe you go grocery shopping and pick up an extra container of oatmeal, bag of pasta or can of beans. Every little bit counts!

* Talk to your children! Have conversations around what the holidays mean. Tell them how lucky they are. Explain that even though we exchange gifts and Santa comes that Christmas is much more than that. Teaching the value of family, love and compassion comes from home.

* Make homemade gifts with them. There is nothing more my son likes to do than to do a project of some sort and give away the end result away. He is always giving my husband and I something he made or insisting he draw something for his grandparents. He does this with such pride and excitement. Get art supplies, glitter, glue, and paint. The internet is full of wonderful craft ideas for homemade holiday gifts. Get crafty, be creative, and let them have fun. It will mean so much more to them if they make it!

These are just a few ideas and things I try to practice within my own home. I am not judging you if you choose not to celebrate Christmas or Santa because it is a spiritual decision. Yet before you try to destroy the magic of Santa just remember that Christmas is whatever we want it to be for our children. Don't throw Santa under the bus because of what society has made him! Let's teach our children about gratitude, love, and sharing during the holidays. Let's show them what the Christmas spirit truly is. Let's let Santa be a part of the holidays; leave the big guy alone! 


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Liquid Gold

In a recent post, Hooray For Boobies, I talked about Breastfeeding and how I was fortunate to have nursed/nurse both of my boys. Not all of us are blessed with babes who come out ready to breastfeed. There are some mothers who struggle with wanting to give their babies breastmilk yet sometimes other circumstances cause this to be a struggle. Babies are born premature and are unable to nurse right away, some babies reject nursing, babies are born with conditions which cause them to be too ill to nurse, then there are parents who adopt yet still want to be able to give breastmilk. Did you know that you CAN induce lactation! How awesome is that! It takes a lot of work and sometimes it isn't successful yet this just shows how amazing the human body is.

For some families this is when it is fabulous that we have organizations such as Human Milk 4 Human Babies. I started following their Facebook page awhile back. I was drawn in by the stories that filled the pages. Some were heart breaking others were stories of gratitude of how milk sharing was an important role in the nourishment of their child.

I worked full time the first time around so every drop of "Liquid Gold" went to Chase. This time around I was fortunate to be home with Wesley and exclusively nurse. I pumped the first 7 months. Wes decided early on he wanted nothing to do with a bottle or a pacifier and his method of eating would strictly be the boob. I was left with a good amount of breastmilk that I had stored up. We have been using it in a sippy cup with Wes for months and will be using it to do our transition to cows milk. I still have a good amount frozen and it was decided that I wanted to share my milk! Vermont has its own Facebook page for Human Milk 4 Human Babies. With the help of this page I found a local family who wanted breastmilk. This mother was currently nursing and pumping but had a low supply and was looking to have more human milk for her baby. I was able to happily donate 53 oz. That may not be a large amount but to some even an oz is a blessing.

Nursing Wes at 7 Days New

Nursing Wes at 10 Months at The Big Latch On

I hope mothers everywhere consider to give the gift of human milk if they are able. Stop before you ditch that extra milk! Check the date, maybe you too can donate.

If you missed it jump on over to Because Mama Needs a Hobby and read the beginning of my journey with breastfeeding.

Happy Friday! Cheers! 

Paying it Forward

Monday was a rainy day. Not a wonderful thing when you have an active toddler. I wanted to be creative in trying to keep him busy and happy. Let's face it, being stuck inside with a 3 1/2 year old who is on week 4 of aspiring to be the Tasmanian devil is not a walk in the park. (If you think I am being unkind in my description of my child feel free to borrow him, please)

First we made more freeze pops from the blueberries we picked last week. Chase really likes doing things like this in the kitchen with me. We had made strawberry ones a few weeks back which were a big hit so I thought we would try blueberry.

That took all about 10 minutes. Now what were we going to do?!

I had already planned on him watching a movie after lunch for quiet time (otherwise known as mommy sanity time and work time). So I had to be creative. I came up with doing something that would make me happy, him happy, and even the community happy.

I told Chase we were gong through our cupboards and the things we weren't eating or have not been touched we were cleaning out. We would not throw them away though, we would collect them in one bag and donate them to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.

Chase may be young but I still like to try to teach him to be thankful and not take things for granted. I figure I better start now right?! He is a toddler and tends to be wasteful, especially when it comes to food. Lately we have been discussing (or I should say I have been preaching) that not everyone has the things we have. That we should be thankful that we have food because some people don't. I took this opportunity to go a step forward with involving Chase in paying it forward.

He was more than happy to help mommy. He gets into things like this (clearly my son)! I went through the cupboards and he put into the bag things that we could donate.

This morning we went to drop off the food. Chase was excited. He insisted on carrying the bag saying that the "people will be happy" because we gave them food.

Off to donate some food!

A rainy day activity turned out to be an act of goodness. Something which Chase may not understand now, but hopefully will remember some day. I want to be able to start doing this with him. I want him to know that we are fortunate and blessed. I want him to know we can't save the entire world and everyone in it, but we can try and do our part. Even the smallest of things can make another person happy.

Give Love, Give Blood!

I received an email today that started like this :

"Dear Crystal,Thank you for joining the Be The Match Registry^®. You are now an official member of the registry, making you part of every patient's search for a match".

I was driving on a Sunday morning listening to the radio. There is a program on one of the stations that has is called E Town. On it they always have pre-recorded shows and interviews from artists. On this particular morning they were featuring an interview with Mike Peters. He started talking about his battle with leukemia, how he survived it, and now how he gives back. I was moved by his words. Mike started a foundation called Love Hope Strength. His mission: Saving lives, One concert at a time. Check it out!

After that morning I felt like all of a sudden I was seeing things on the news or my Facebook feed about people needing donors. I would see pictures of children fighting their battle. Having children of my own I was able to slip into that place where you start to think, "that could be my child". Then it just clicked, I wanted to be on the list. There is a high probability I will never be a match, but there is still a chance. A chance to help save someone's life. Someone's mother, father, brother, or child.

I also feel strongly about giving blood. Since I was little I remember my father giving blood. He has for years and still does every time he can. I have also given a number of times, I don't now because I am nursing. The cycle of  being pregnant and nursing my children put a hold on that but I will give again when I can. I think we all should. Why wouldn't you want to give someone the gift of life? That is what giving blood can be to some patients: life! Think about it! Maybe it is time you get out there and give!

Think about life. Think about love. It's worth taking the time to donate in any way you can.