Turning the Other Cheek

Now, I don't typically get on my blog and gripe. It's not my style really, and most definitely not the type of energy I choose to put out there. There does, however, come a time when one should voice their opinion about events that just don't sit right with the individual.

If you have never read my blog, then you don't know that I have a radio show. If you are reading my blog, you know now at least. The radio show is geared towards Pagan youth; nothing more, nothing less. Once a month I use activities and music for some great learning. The music I have garnered by directly contacting artists for their permission. Because I don't want negative repercussions, I keep all of the emails from those musicians. In contacting various people, I happen to be friends on FB with a musician who is a cousin of one of my good friends. This musician knows me through his cousin, and my ex-husband. His music I really enjoy, so I contacted him. The response I received back was enough to make me stumble backwards for a moment and regather my thoughts. The long and the short of it was that he said "no." Fine, enough said. Unfortunately, he took it a step further. I appreciate that he doesn't support Paganism, but to tell someone that you "find the idea of a Pagan children's show disturbing in itself" is a bit of a stretch and a bit uncalled for, in my humble opinion. Instead of responding out of anger, I took the higher road and thanked him for expressing himself honestly, but also let him know that he may have a misunderstood view of Paganism to call a radio show that he hasn't even listened to disturbing. After that, I let it go, although I will say that since February I have found it quite difficult to listen to his music. Believe it or not, of all the times I have put my iTunes on shuffle, not once have one of his songs played.

So, that was February. I moved on. So, towards the end of August, I received a message from a young someone who comes to me for advice, etc. This person has a friend who has recently found a Pagan path and was hoping I could give them some advice. I told this young someone to have this friend contact me via email or private message on FB. I received a message from that other young someone. In essence, as much as this person had been reading, they felt it was probably best to learn some things from an actual person, or at least seek advice and counsel. What this person wanted was a basic starting point. I ignored (stupidly) the gut feeling of saying talk to your parent first and gave some very basic advice as well as providing said young person with some great links for young Pagans. I was thanked many times. Apparently this young person never had a conversation with their parents because earlier this week I received a call from this person's mother. At the time I was grappling with a certain 16-month old of mine while trying to get ready for open house at one of my other kid's schools, so there wasn't much of a conversation. I was told to never speak to her daughter regarding a Pagan path again (funny it wasn't much of a conversation at all), and that the mother personally didn't hold the beliefs. About the only thing I could get out was "That's fine, but you need to understand that your daughter contacted me, NOT the other way around." She did acknowledge that she knew that. Personally, I wish she wouldn't have caught me so off guard and at a bad time. I would have liked to talk with this mom a little further to see what it truly was that bothered her so much. Was it really the religion thing? Or was it the fact that her daughter went seeking advice from someone other than her parents or a priest regarding her own feelings towards faith and spirituality? Maybe it was even just the fact that it was upsetting to find that her daughter's belief system was different even from her own. No matter what the real reason was, I hope that at least this discovery upon looking at her daughter's FB account will lead to an open conversation between them.

Parents, talk to your kids! Stay involved. Kids, especially you teenagers out there, talk to your parents. Open dialogue is important. Also, don't be so close-minded to think your religion is the only way out there. Being so stringent like that MAKES a kid go to someone else.

Lessons learned. It isn't always easy to be open and out regarding one's religion, particularly in a society that doesn't view your religion as mainstream. Fear brings out the worst in people. This doesn't mean that I will never ask another musician for permission to use their music, as I have continued to do so. That one musician was the only one that said no to having their music put out there internationally. Nor does this mean I will never speak to a young person again, but I will go with my gut feeling of asking if they have approached the subject with their parents. I can only be me. If my being a witch, and openly so, bothers you, then go the other way. While at first what you say to me may offend, I will still turn the other cheek and continue you on my path. I don't go door-to-door advertising my religion or trying to convert anyone. I don't believe in it. Personally, cramming a religion down someone's throat is against every fiber of my being. I may not care for certain religions as a whole, but that doesn't mean I don't have friends who are a part of those religions. Everyone has a path and while they may be different, if you get passed the surface, you will realize how very similar they may be to each other.

Diatribe over. There is no going backwards. Time stands still for no man. There is only moving forward and that is the direction I must go.

Crazy Weekend

Well it has been a crazy weekend here. My mom had a heart attack. She is currently in the hospital. They do not need to do surgery (good thing) and will just give meds for the pain. 19 years ago she suffered a heart attack and had 6-way bipass surgery. 5 of the 6 are still open, one is blocked. The surgery will do more harm than good they feel, which is why she will only get meds for pain instead. She also has a lot of confusion, even off of medication so a CT scan was ordered. While they are still looking for some answers, they were able to tell us that she has the beginning stages of dementia. While none of this truly stresses me out, it really only confirms things that I had already known. She should be home from the hospital in a few days.

Meanwhile, I am steadily trying to keep up with the kids, get ready for their camping trip, attempt to clean/organize my house, get things ready for back-to-school, etc. I think at some point today I'll just turn life off and take a nap.

Blessings until I can get back to the keyboard!

Move Over Cupcakes! There's a yummier treat in town!

Recently, I was offered the opportunity to do a blog review of the book Ice Pop Joy by Anni Daulter. Being that the days have been so hot, and I am not always a huge fan of giving my kids sugary snacks or desserts, I said yes. Let me tell you how happy I was to do so!

Ice Pop Joy is filled with amazing (and amazingly easy), yummy recipes for creating healthy desserts in the form of popsicles. I love frozen fruit bars, but never thought I could love popsicles made with vegetables. I have many fond memories as a child making popsicles from Juicy Juicy. Now, I am sharing these experiences with my own children, and, with Anni's book Ice Pop Joy, I can take it a step further and make it nutritious as well.

Now, not only will you find the recipes simple to follow, Anni Daulter has really taken the book a step further. She offers tips on getting your kids to eat healthy, gives an explanation of the different, healthier option sweeteners that are listed throughout the recipes, as well as, discussing about buying local and fresh. You will also find a breakdown of the different pop molds that are available to purchase from stainless steel to getting creative with something like a loaf pan. Ms. Daulter explains the equipment needed and also explains why. At the bottom of each page that features a recipe, you will find shopping tips, seasonal tips, booster (as in immunity) tips, or health tips. The end of the book lists out resources and references for items that may be a little harder to come by at your local market.

Recipe after recipe is filled with yummy goodness that you aren't going to find in the freezer aisle of your local grocery store chain. There aren't just recipes with fruit, or vegetables. There are recipes that have both, recipes that include tofu, soy milk, and even herbal teas. There is a recipe to fit practically every palate out there.

My kids and I had such a wonderful time with this book and making some of the different pops. What really makes me happy is knowing that what they are eating is good and good for them. There's no guessing what they might be ingesting or trying to decode the ingredient label on a box. I know exactly what it is they are eating because it was made at home.

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Popsicles created, or even inspired, from Ice Pop Joy beat out the world's best cupcake on any given day of the week, hands down. Having tried out recipes from this book, I went to the library and borrowed a copy of Anni Daulter's first book, Organically Raised: Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers. All I can say is YUM!

My Latest Creation

Sometimes I wonder WHAT I was thinking when my daughter and my sister both convinced me I should have a table at the Delmarva Pagan Pride Festival this year, but I am definitely committed to it.

Having kids, a radio show geared towards Pagan children and just generally getting involved in my community (online and in-person) I really began to realize that our children can use spiritual guidance. I don't believe they are ever "too young" to be exposed to our faith & spirituality. I involve my children and they have just this incredible understanding.

In my home, we have a "family altar." Anyone is able to help by adding things to what is there. I also think personal altars are nice. With kids of varying ages, it became obvious to me that something simple should be used with younger children. So, I developed a children's learning altar cloth, complete with elemental goddesses and "markers," per se, for where candles would be placed.

The great thing about this is that the elementals can be moved and placed however needed. For example (in case I've lost anyone), if the place where you lay this cloth faces west, the elementals can be arranged so West is at the top, and all the others placed accordingly. Each elemental can also be picked up and held. This creates the perfect learning opportunity for children. Children can learn about each element with their parents and place anything they feel represents that element with it. By designing this learning cloth as such, I have also left plenty of room for personalization.

My younger children haven't seen this yet, but my oldest loves it. Everything was sewn by hand, so there is plenty of positive magickal intent in there! Now to make the other 17!

Well, I am off to continue working on my latest broadcast of Raven's Circle before heading to bed.

Have an Awesome Day!!!!

My 14 Month Old Boy, the Vegetarian...Almost

Having 6 children of varying ages, taste preferences, etc. can be a bit challenging when it comes to family mealtime. One needs to make sure that all palates are satisfied, but not compromise on healthy. It's not impossible, but can be interesting.

Enter Anthony, our now 14 month old son. He loves eating right alongside all of us. He loves fruits and veggies, although he is allergic to bananas; poor boy. We bbq quite a bit and so the kids love their hot dogs and hamburgers. Anthony used to eat hot dogs. He used to eat macaroni & cheese made from the box (when mom needs a quick fix for dinner sides). He used to eat chicken. Then, one day he stopped. He won't even touch them unless the chicken is a breaded chicken dinosaur and the mac n cheese needs to be made from scratch. The only beef he will eat is teriyaki beef jerky; long enough to chew the taste out of it, then he gives it to the dog. My son also hates cow's milk. Anytime I have attempted to give it to him, he takes a sip then looks at me like I've poisoned him.

Luckily, I am still breast-feeding him. However, nursing alone is no-where close to enough to sustain this boy. What does a mom do when her youngest decides he doesn't like meat or cow's milk? Oh, did I mention he doesn't really care for the taste of eggs either and I'm allergic to fish so I don't cook it? Enter the conundrum that is my household mealtime. I really started to think. What do I do? This kid HAS to eat. I give him all sorts of fruits and veggies; he loves to eat green beans straight from the garden, sometimes as I'm picking them. For a short bit, I panicked. Then, seeing this as a great thing, though seemingly hard in a family of meat eaters, I texted my best friend. She had me email her brother, while also providing me with sage advice. I love my best friend, she's awesome. I also messaged another friend and started researching.

After text messages, emails and Facebook messages, I finally felt better, almost. The advice and research helped greatly. The one thing I forgot was that I should trust my instincts, as well as my knowledge. Since he won't drink cow's milk, I bought a small container of vanilla soy to try out on him. Remembering that my daughter Sophia used to not be able to stomach cow's milk during the hot summer but always could drink soy milk came to mind. I also bought chocolate soy as there are kids in my house that love it. I used to use it as a special treat. Success!! He loves it! Next up, I bought tofu; extra firm to try frying up in the pan. My former mother-in-law used to cook up slices of it in soy sauce. I always loved it like that. I didn't break out the soy sauce, but, rather, bbq sauce. Pairing that with a side of peas and we have a yummy dish that he loved.

Prior to us realizing his absolute distaste for meat (mostly), I had picked up a couple of the Plum Tots squeeze pouches to have on hand for trips to the pool and such. Boy, did Anthony fall in love with them. The only thing I have to watch is the ingredient list. I didn't realize that the blueberry one with quinoa also had bananas. My poor baby's bum! Apart from that, I highly recommend them for on-the-go. I had one Peter Rabbit Organics pouch, but I knew it had bananas, so my oldest (she's 15 on Monday) and I ate that one. No wonder Anthony loves those squeeze pouches! Yummy!!!! I'm sure my kids will find at least the ones from Peter Rabbit popping up in their lunches every now and then.

So, here I am now, in a much better spot about my son's intolerance to meat. And you know what? I am so okay with it. Both my husband and I know that there isn't anything wrong with what he's eating, so we work meals around it. On nights when I know the main dish involves meat, I make a substitute for him. Otherwise, he eats what we have. Anthony is happy, I'm happy and so is everyone else. I did make sure my larger family all understand that he won't eat meat. My dad, whom I expected to maybe catch some flack from, was very supportive. He and my stepmom totally get it. My mother just said she didn't understand that, and it seemed strange to her. Ok, so my parents had the opposite reactions I thought. Live and learn.

For me, this is a great thing, a positive step to better health for the whole family, as we will all get to try out new foods that no one in our family may have ever thought to cook. And the best part? I have a new buddy to eat eggplant parmigiana with! Yay! Ok, ok, MAYBE I'll share with the rest of the family.