Just because the school year is winding down, do not think our sports schedule is doing the same. Sure, in the Fall – it is soccer and basketball, but in the Spring and Summer, we are running full-tilt into softball and baseball.  Both small people.  And I’m told this is just the beginning.  (I was not much of an athlete growing up, so ‘traveling teams’ are foreign to me…but apparently they have a place in my very near future)

So…here’s the thing:  as the mom of a couple of little athletes, my job is to keep them healthy and hydrated.  This means skipping the sugary snacks that seemed to populate the end of every Pee-Week soccer game.  ESPECIALLY because they are a) working hard on the field and b) it is HOT in St. Louis in the summer.

But I still want something they will enjoy, right?

Good news.  The Dish… Con Agra’s newest site for bloggers, has a whole list of Quick Snacks for Sports – including items you can dish up on the sidelines and things you can serve on the fly at home. Think peanut butter. Think apples. Think cold water.  Think lemons. Think cheese.

Nice Save, Dish.

Disclosure: I was a consultant on The Dish and was compensated for my time.

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Or sending them outside to get their exercise while I found myself too busy to fit it in?

Or standing over them, encouraging breakfast, ‘the most important meal of the day’, while I skip it myself.

I’ve had a few epiphanies about this lately.  Some have come in conversation with friends.  And some?  Right from the mouths of the very people I’m trying to raise.

I’ve always known my children watch what I do.  I’ve witnessed my daughter wrap her hair in a towel as I do after a shower, my son use his hands to get his point across in conversation, both of them hold doors open for strangers, request to write blog posts, bury their noses in books, pose automatically for an iPhone picture and occasionally use the word ‘um’?  (I have to accept the good and the bad, right?)

But somehow, I had, until recently, convinced myself, that my ‘bad habits’ wouldn’t have a lasting effect.  I was visiting the U.S Olympic Training Facility in Chula Vista, California with Kellogg’s and a group of fellow bloggers.  During a roundtable discussion about family eating habits, one of the bloggers was talking about her teen children.  And it hit me… I have future teenagers.

I know, I know… maybe not a shock to you, but to me?  Cooper and Delaney are about to turn 6 and 8 and quite honestly, I can’t picture them any older than they are now.  In fact, I’m not sure where the last 8 years have gone….

Delaney is now halfway to driving.  *shudder*  And sadly, while I may be a good mother to her in many ways, I am not setting her up with the best eating habits to start her day…not because I don’t provide healthy foods, but because I am not the example she needs.

So, I’ve come up with a few changes I need to make.

Change #1 – Start eating breakfast

Now, I wouldn’t classify me as ‘unhealthy’, per se.  I’m not overweight, and my diet does include fruits and vegetables.  But I don’t get enough exercise.  There is nothing like spending time with an Olympic athlete – in this case – Javelin hopeful – Kara Patterson – to recognize just how well she cares for her body and what a poor job I am doing in comparison.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying out for the Olympics – for her this is a full time job…. but being a mom and an example of health to my children is certainly important to me.

So – later that day, I was given the opportunity to try my hand at a sport I had never before attempted.  Under the guidance of Olympic Archery hopefuls like Jake Kaminski, I found that I LOVED the sport.  Ignore my Hunger-Games-Katniss-getup.  Clearly, I didn’t dress for the occasion.  After failing miserably at my first arrow, my ‘coach’ said I was ‘right eye’ dominant and told me to close my left eye for my remaining shots.  Success.  I’m no threat to the U.S. Olympic team, but I had fun.

Change #2 – Exercise is Crucial – try a new sport

My children are wickedly athletic.  They come by it honestly – from their dad’s side of the family.  They play it all – baseball, softball, soccer, basketball….even horseback riding.  And they do it well.  I was injured playing anything and everything as a child.  Broken bones, knocked out teeth.  I’m not kidding.  The only sport I ‘played’ successfully in my youth was swimming.  But my kids think ‘swimming’ and ‘sports’ are two different categories.  In fact, my small girl wanted to get me a baseball glove for Mother’s Day so she ‘could teach me’ how to play.

My children are yearning for my participation in the things they love.  And that means sports.

Do As I Do.

Change #3 – Prove That Swimming IS a Sport.  AND?  Learn to play catch.

I want my small people to remember an active mother.  I want them to know I am capable.  And, I want to introduce them to something amazing.

We’ll see how I do.

Those Olympic Games are pretty powerful, now aren’t they?

I’m grateful to Kelloggs for the opportunity to visit the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. (and for the inspiration to be a better mother) I am delighted to be working with them. 

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And since this story is about LETTERS, I won’t be telling, I’ll be writing.  You can judge my prose at the end.

This story, for me, begins back in 2009 when I first entered this blogging space.  I didn’t know a soul.  But I was about to be moved to tears by the love a man could have for his wife, the creativity he could exhibit when faced with needing to find the ‘perfect gift’ for the woman he loves without spending a dime, the respect he had (and still does) for her role as a mom AND the powerful connection we feel to each other as mothers.

I met Amber Haines at Blissdom in January of 2009.  Her smile alone can knock you over… but her gentle spirit and her kindness have fovever made her one of my favorite people.  The Mother Letters Story is hers. (and her husband’s). For Christmas in 2008, Amber and her husband Seth agreed to create gifts for each other, instead of buying them. Recognizing that Amber could use some motherly encouragement (she was the mother of three young boys), Seth decided to collect a group of letters written by mothers for other mothers. He started with friends and family, but then decided to reach out to some of Amber’s favorite online authors.  The response was better than he dreamed.  Not only did Shannon Lowe, Ann Kroeker, and Ann Voskamp reply, but Shannon asked if she could reach out to her online community for more letters.

Seth agreed. For months, letters came in – filled with love, wisdom, beauty, joy and grief.

Amber received the collection on Christmas Day, 2008.

It was glorious.

And now?  Seth and Amber have curated this collection of Mother Letters: Sharing the Mess & the Glory and made it available to everyone.

Fifty stories.

Different. Beautiful. Heart-tugging. Messy. Faith-filled. Laugh-until-you-cry. Cry-until-you-can’t-breathe.

You will read, breathe deeply and think, “We are all in this together.”

And that is extraordinary.

I will wrap up my portion of this story by telling you something that makes my heart flutter.  I am proud to be included in this collection of Mother Letters.  It is a Mother’s Day gift of epic proportions to see my name on the pages of this ebook, among women, among writers I have long admired.

Thank you, Amber and Seth, for the gift of Mother Letters.

And for you, Dear Readers…. as you NEED this book in your life, for encouragement, for love:

• Code: Buy1Give1 — It’s BOGO with a twist. Buy one for YOU and gift one to another mama. Purchase 2 for $9.99, keep one and give one as a gift.
• Code: ML25 —- 25% off Mother Letters

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To divide us.

To get us fighting and picking each other apart.

And unfortunately, it seems to be working.

Time Magazine released its latest cover and the Internet exploded with opinions.  With attacks.  With applause.

It seems to me that the point of this cover was purely to divide….as the title doesn’t appear to have anything to do with the image.   It hits at the heart of guilt: “Are You Mom Enough?” and provides a provocative image: a mom (a blogger like so many of us) breastfeeding her child…. but not in a shared, private moment between the two of them, one on display – taking a ‘stand’ about a particular style, if you will, of parenting.

It strikes me as a blatant attempt to troll for controversy…

I’m tired of it.  Aren’t you tired of it?  All this guilt and comparison and ‘who’s-style-of-parenting-is-the-best’?

Edited to add 5/11 Since I have been asked, “did I read the article?” I will confirm, in fact, I did.  And it is in large part BECAUSE I read the article that my opinion on this is such.  The piece itself, I feel, is fairly benign.  It focuses almost entirely on Dr. Sears, his history and the evolution of ‘attachment parenting’.  I didn’t feel it was saying one style of parenting was any better than the next.  In fact, the mom, Jamie Lynn, on the cover?  She is mentioned in a whopping ONE SENTENCE in the entire piece.  And yet – there she is on display with that title, “Are You Mom Enough?”.  This is Time Magazine spinning this piece to be provocative.

I would venture to say there are plenty of things I do wrong as a mom.  And also – plenty of things I do right.

One of them is giving other moms the benefit of the doubt and respecting their right to parent as they choose.

What do you think?  Was Time’s intention to start a thoughtful conversation about attachment parenting?  Or set the stage for Moms to once again take sides on parenting styles?

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And especially fun when ‘in the know’ and food go together.  At least in my house.  The small people and my husband jockey to see who gets to open and try new foods as they make their way into our home for the first time… and for the kids – getting to take something to school that is ‘brand new’ – well that’s always a treat.  (assuming of course that they *liked* the newest addition to our pantry or fridge)

Con Agra and their newest venture, The Dish, have combined to offer a ‘First Look, First Taste‘ to bloggers interested in expanding their palatte and learning more about Con Agra’s products.  By signing up on the site, you can be among the first to know when a new product, like Orville Redenbacher’s Ready-to-Eat Gourmet Popcorn, is getting ready to hit the store shelves.

This latest offering comes in four flavors: Sharp White Cheddar, Classic Kettle Korn, Farmhouse Cheddar and Signature BBQ.  Once you register for ‘First Look, First Taste‘…it is as simple as requesting a sample for you and your family to try.

Don’t forget there are also plenty of recipes, expert kitchen tips and even blogging advice featured throughout the site!

Disclosure:  I was a consultant for The Dish and was compensated for my time.

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