Proof Anyone Can Do Yoga

I thought I had taught yoga to just about everyone already: elite marathon runners, chronic back pain sufferers, seniors in their 70's, 80s and even 90s. I've taught yoga to kids, teenagers, ballerinas, a wheelchair bound MS patient, and a woman who just received cochlear implants.

I say it all the time:  Everyone can do yoga -  If you can breathe you can do yoga.


But I never saw myself teaching yoga to a cow. Yes, a cow with black spots that says moo.

This is the Chick-fil-A cow participating in the pre-race stretch before one of our local 5K races. Every year the organizers of the Mito-What 5K and the Munford 5K invite me to lead a stretch before the race. It's always fun and I meet so many potential new yogis.

Well yesterday as I was leading the Mito-What runners through a flowing warm up I looked up, there was a cow right in front doing yoga. I started to laugh, which caused the front row of runners/yogis to turn around, and they started to laugh too.

It was a great morning of yoga, running and laughter.

And, I will no longer accept any reason anyone gives me when they say they can't do yoga!

Control Issues Out Of Control

I've been told - by more than one person - on more than one occasion - that I have control issues.

I don't exactly see them as control issues. More "if the world would just do things my way it would be a better place" type of issues.

But recently my control issues have been tested and at one point even went flailing out of control. Why?

I have teenagers! I have one teenager with his driver's license, a second teenager about to get his driving permit and a teenager who went away for an entire weekend to a rugby tournament without his momma!

Wait - I need to get back control here. I'm not sure there's enough pranyama or meditation in the world to deal with teenagers.

I've done my best to teach Kid #1 safe and responsible driving skills, but I've been told it's not normal to stalk and follow him every time he pulls out of the driveway. Not that I would do that. Maybe I would. I might have done it. But just a little bit.

Kid #1 has very specific instructions to text me when he arrives at his destination (but NOT while driving), text me when he leaves to go to a new destination, and he understands that I know exactly how long it takes to drive from our house to the pre-selected and agreed upon places he is allowed to drive to. I know down to the second how long it takes to get to Sonic! Don't test me.

Kid #1 has, so far, been very good about humoring my control issues. Except, this week he has an appointment with the Air Force recruiter. I've been calm and reasonable listening to him talk about it. I just continually tell him don't sign anything!

This weekend Kid #2 left to go to a rugby tournament 3 1/ 2 hours away without me. Not only did I not go, but I wasn't even in the same state when he left to ride out there with a family I had never met before. I wasn't even around to do a background check or pass judgement on this other family.

Rugby is a violent sport. It's a cross between soccer and football with made up rules and no protective gear. Not only wasn't I on the sidelines to cheer him on, but I also wasn't present to use my good karma and made up prayers to make sure he didn't get hurt.

Kid #2 was also given very specific instructions. Text me when you get in the car with unknown family, text me when you arrive, text me each night before lights out, text me each morning before the first game, text me once during the day, text me when you leave to begin driving home with unknown family.

Too much? I don't think so either.

Kid #2 has NOT been very good about humoring my control issues. I got one text from him Friday night letting me know he was eating dinner, one text Saturday night asking me to send him info he needed and one text Sunday night asking me to pick him up from the drop off point in 30 minutes. That's less than half the texts I should have received for those keeping track.

Kid #3 will go to high school next year and we go to registration this week. Apparently I am not allowed to fill out his course schedule based solely on what I think would be best.

Kid #4 will go to the middle school next year. My little girl will be alone in the middle school without any older brothers to look out for her. But it will be OK. The middle school has lots of windows for me to look in and check on things. Just kidding. Sort of.

Kids #5 & #6 so far are pretty good about letting me control their lives. Or maybe I'm just too focused on trying to control the older kids I've lost the energy to battle with my youngest daughter over wearing her cowgirl outfit to school.

Wear what you want. Just text me when you get there.

Sunday Cooking 3/11/12

When my kids were all very little and I was a SAHM, out of financial necessity I was very good about eating most of our meals at home. I even got so good at once a month cooking we went out and bought our first deep freezer for the garage. 

The kids are older now and we all are way busier. In the garage we now have a deep freezer and an upright freezer/refrigerator full of drinks, snacks and heat-and-eat processed meals. Although the teen boys aren't complaining,  I hate that the kids are eating so much processed food lately ( I call it Tyson frozen chicken shit). Since most nights I'm either working and/or chauffering kids to their activities, dinner needs to be something quick and easy. 

So I have recommitted to cooking ahead in hopes of getting my kids back on a healthier track.  Since most cook ahead and freeze meals are high in fat and calories (cheesy casseroles made with "cream of" soups), I'm cooking ahead one week at a time for now. 

The other benefit is I'm hoping it will help me stay on a (mostly) vegetarian diet. I actually feel better when I eat vegetarian, yet lack of vegetarian options in my area combined with a family that prefers meat make it way too easy for me to fall off the wagon.

Yes, cooking ahead takes planning and an afternoon spent in the kitchen, but the financial and health benefits are worth it.

Today's cooking session (I'm sure it will be obvious which meals are for me only vs. the whole family):

• Chicken Spaghetti
• Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups - the kids LOVED these tonight so I'm glad I made a double batch to freeze. I originally found the recipe at my friends blog Dreaming of the Disney Princess Half and she found them over at between 3 Sisters blog. Really, if you have kids you must try these! Although it would be easy to leave out the chicken and make them vegetarian, I no longer eat any pot pie after a very nasty pregnancy induced sickness 17 years ago.
• Pizza casserole
• Large batch roast vegetables
• Sweet potato veggie burgers - I had one tonight with a slice of avocado and it was delicious!
• Large batch quinoa
• Oatmeal
• Glowing Green Smoothie - I've never had much luck making ahead juices or smoothies. But Kimberly Snyder says on her website that she freezes a few days worth in individual size cups. So I made 3 days worth and hopefully they will freeze and thaw well. 
• Happy Herbivore Tomato Soup - I had never made homemade tomato soup until I tried this recipe. It's so easy and so good! Of course I made enough to freeze for later too. It will  also double for Spaghetti Soup when I add the spaghetti squash to it that I roasted tonight. Yes, the kids also like the Spaghetti Soup.
• Hard boiled a dozen eggs for egg salad for kid lunches
• Chickpea salad  for my lunches this week. 

Wednesday and Saturday I'll be home to cook a good, fresh dinner. Looking at my list and all my hard work in the refrigerator right now, I think the rest of the week will be pretty good too.

This Is Somebody's Child - KONY 2012

Today I took kid #1 to get his driver's license. I paid the license fee and then let him take my car to his girlfriends house and then to dinner at Subway. I gave kid #2 the money he needed to eat dinner out with his rugby team. Kids #3 & #5 went to Tae Kwon Do tonight in cleanly washed uniforms and the paid registration for their upcoming belt tests. I filled out the forms and inserted the check to order kid #4's t-shirt for both her class and student council. Kid #6 played math games on my MAC most of the afternoon.

My kids don't even know how blessed and privileged they are. If you have children, I'm guessing they are equally blessed and privileged.

Not all children are. And it's easy to ignore it.

This video is long, but it's good. And these kids are somebodys child.

UPDATE 3/8/12: Yes, I am aware and was aware before posting that there was criticism towards the Invisible Children Organization. However, it does not negate the atrocities that continue to happen, nor lessen the evil of Joseph Kony. There are numerous organizations dedicated to helping, but none will be successful until enough regular citizens stand up and demand Kony be arrested and convicted as a war criminal.

For more information, I also recommend the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of  Boy Soldier.

How To Control A Woman

1. Call her a witch and burn her at the stake

2. Call her crazy

3. Question her private life

4. Pay her less for equal work

5. Take away her ability to control her reproductive health

6. Publicly call her a slut

How Women Own Their Power:

Stand up. Stand together and say I am not a whore and I will not be silent. I will not sit in the corner. I will stand with my sisters and fight for what is right and what is fair. My mother fought for me and I will fight for my daughters. We will not be silenced any longer.

My Creative Princess-In-Training Friend

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

It's a Mr. Potato Head Cake Pop - completely edible! 

My good friend Natalie over at Dreaming of the Disney Princess Half makes them and she made one for each of my kids. 

In addition to being the most crafty person I know, Natalie is also a yogi, into fitness and beginning to train for the Disney Princess Half Marathon next year.  Please check out her blog and help encourage her on her way to Disney!