Promo Time!

I thought it was high time to toss a promotion out there for you. Here is just one style of earring I have designed for my website. I call them the "Tiny Tear" because of the shape. (I also have a larger earring in this shape that is called the "Tear Drop"). I love these earrings. They are a cute way dress to dress up anything. Trust me, I’ve worn them with sweatshirts & jeans as well as slacks and a nice blouse. They are so lightweight that you’ll forget you’re wearing earrings. Go to my website and order a pair in any color or combination of colors and get 40% off until the end of March 2009. They regularly sell for $7.00.

When you check out punch in coupon code: BLG 1

Have a glass of water

I have always been a fan of drinking more water. I don’t always do it as much as I should. It seems as though I go through phases but the bottom line always comes down to the fact that water is really good for you. As a therapist, I would frequently instruct a client to drink their water. It helps in giving the body a means to transport medications and nutrients to all the places they are needed. It also picks up and carries waste out of the body. In the clinic or during a home visit I would regularly use the task of getting a glass of water as a functional activity for my clients. When recovering from a stroke, you might be surprised how difficult getting a drink for yourself can be, or how rewarding. After I delivered each of my children, I was convinced that drinking water helped me recover more quickly no matter how real or psychological, it did get me up moving. We know that we are supposed to be drinking water during and after exercise. We hear that we should have 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. Some have even studied the effects of water as a tool in weight loss.

Well, the other night I was watching the food detectives on the food network and they had a segment devoted to water. Their study reviewed how the right amount of hydration can make your skin appear healthier and more glowing. They even came up with a formula to determine just how much is enough. You take your body weight and divide by two. That is the number of ounces of water that you should be drinking each day to be adequately hydrated. The easiest way to keep track of your daily intake of water is with a separate container just for your water. Once you have done the simple math to figure out just how many ounces you need daily, figure our what size container will hold that amount. Here is a quick glance at a conversion table. But for a simple example, if a person weighs 140 pounds, they should drink about 70 ounces of water each day. That is a little more than a half-gallon which holds 64 ounces. So whether it is for exercise, to be momentarily busy or to get the toxins out, go get a drink of water.

W-sitting

Aaahh, What? W-sitting??? Ok, this is one of the big issues from my therapy days. W sitting is referring to the position of a child’s legs when they sit on their bums with their knees bent and their feet out to either side of their hips. I see the light bulbs coming on. I know you have seen this somewhere before. You did it as a kid or know someone who has. Maybe you have seen it in your own kiddo.

So what? Now that we have a name for it, what’s the big deal? Well, as a mom and as a therapist, it is one of the biggest pet peeves I have. Let me give you a brief run down of why and how to stop your little one from W sitting.

While it may be more common in children with special needs, most children, at one time or another will transition through a phase of sitting in this manner. All children should be discouraged from sitting in a W formation. What the child gets from W sitting is a greater sense of stability. To sit this way provides trunk and hip stability. This allows them to have more control over the toy in front of them. One problem is that it limits their ability to transition into different positions during play. So this makes it difficult to move within their space, change positions or reach for a different toy. When the child consistently sits and plays in this position their development of lateral trunk muscles is hindered. Why is that an issue? Well, this will make it more difficult for them to run and play in gross motor activities on the playground or in sports and this will make it more difficult for them to sit at a desk and attend to a classroom task. Not to mention the effect that it will have on the hips and knees from an orthopedic perspective.

Ok, here is some therapy jargon for you. To have distal control, one must have proximal stability. Blah blah blah. What did she just say??? What that means is that to have good control of a pencil or a crayon that is held in the distant or distal part of the body/arm, there has to be good muscle control and a certain amount of strength in the body parts that are proximal or close to the trunk or base of the body. So if you decrease the amount of time your kiddo is sitting in a W shape, in theory they will develop stronger muscles on the sides of their body throughout their hips and shoulders and this will in-turn give them better control over things in their hands. Things like toys, balls, crayons and pencils.

That covers the why, now lets talk about the how. I’m not saying you have to be on top of your kid every minute and send them to time out for sitting the “bad” way. Just keep an eye out and know in the back of your mind that it will help them in the long run if you correct it early. The first few times you can just give them some suggestions of other ways to sit.

Like sitting with legs crossed.

Or they can side sit.
Or there is long sitting. You can manipulate or move their legs into a better position and model or show them how you can sit correctly. “See how Mommy sits.” After several times, usually a few days or so, a simple verbal command will be enough. “Fix your legs please” and voila. No need to loose any sleep over it, sleep is way too hard to come by.

Goals...Why have them?

One thing you will learn about me is that I feel strongly about having goals? Goals are something I use in my everyday life. I’m one of those people that needs to see or at least have a finish line. Goals were always a part of being therapist and something I have incorporated into my jewelry business. They give me something to focus on and help to hold me accountable for my life and aspirations. As an Occupational Therapist, goal writing is like blinking. There are classes devoted solely to learning the skill of good goal writing. Not to mention that the concept is peppered throughout all the other classes and an integral part of our profession. As an O.T., I would write goals on a regular basis for patients/clients, students, co-workers and for myself as a professional. I know what you’re thinking, “What’s the big deal? Just do it.” Well that’s where a lot of people get lost or rather their goals get lost. Setting a goal is key to reaching an accomplishment. If you are going to put something out there that you want to target, you can’t be wishy-washy. If there is no way to quantify what you are trying to do and no deadline to reach for, you’re just talk.

To set a good goal, first determine what it is that you want to do; be healthy, get organized or have more family time. Things you need to know are: a who, what, how, and/or how much and a when. Ok, we know the who (that would be YOU). We know the what (that’s the goal in general). Now we need to fill in the rest of the blanks. The best goals or the goals that actually work are the ones that have a few extra key points. All goals need to be measurable, have a time frame and be realistic. Otherwise, we won’t reach them. So what the hell am I talking about??? To measure something, I need to put a number on it. “I will loose 5 pounds.” Five pounds is realistic and something that I feel confident that I can accomplish. (As apposed to twenty-five pounds) Now we need to establish a time frame. If I just throw a goal out there I can always say that I am working on it or that I will focus on my goal tomorrow. (There will always be another tomorrow). Can you say procrastination? “I will clean off the top of my desk by the end of the week.” Now I know when I will be held accountable so that each day I can see if I am getting closer to reaching my goal and adjust my actions accordingly. That should take care of the basics of what goes into writing a good goal.

Now we need to consider if we want a long-term goal

or a short-term goal.

Well, how big is the task and is it something that might need to be broken down into several smaller tasks? You don’t eat an elephant in one big bite do ya? I know…cliché but you get the idea. Right? It’s all about the baby steps. Ok, my long-term goal is to have more balance in the various areas of my life by the end of 2009. Now this is a big job and could easily be lost in the chaos of daily life or procrastinated. (There’s that word again). To reach my long-term goal, I need to break it down into one or more short-term goals. How does this help? It will give me opportunities for success. By reaching the smaller goals, I will gain motivation to move forward in reaching the bigger goal. So, I need to identify the various areas of my life and set goals for each of them. I know that each day I want to give my attention to: my kids, my house, my “family” as a unit, my business and me. Hey! Why am I at the bottom of the list? I know. I know. That is where we usually put ourselves. I guess I should be happy to be on the list. To really reach this goal, I need to sub-divide into achievable goals, ensuring that they are measurable and obtainable. That will enable me to take the baby steps towards the bigger goal and ultimately success.

Why Do I Blog?

Several months ago I started tossing around the idea of having a blog. I thought I could use a blog as a means to shamelessly promote my business. I started lurking around a few blogs and googling “how to blog” to learn as much as I could about the whole process. Having such a full plate then, I put the idea on the back burner for a while. A few weeks ago, I was telling my friend how cool I thought her blog was and she offered to have me post something if I wanted. So I started thinking about topics I could write about. Umm? What should I say? Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I have a lot to say. Maybe, I need to move my plan to start a blog back up to the front.
Now I need to pick an area that will be the theme of my blog. Uh Oh. I have to make a choice? Umm, I want to promote my business and get more web traffic but I’m about more than that. So are the other women in my life. I bet there are several chicks out there that have lots of layers or wear many hats.
Since starting a blog was on my list of goals for 2009, why not use one of my other goals to help me with a theme. Balance. I hear a lot of people taking about getting some but it seems few really have balance in their life. I want balance. I have quite a few things to focus on and I wear many hats throughout my day. I’m a woman, a mom, a wife, a homemaker, a friend, an occupational therapist and a jewelry designer. To have more balance, I wanted to make sure one or more of the areas in my life didn’t get left out for too long. My goal is to do something everyday for each area of my life; each of my three kids as individuals and my family as a unit (or one-on-one time with my husband which can only help the family unit), the house, my friendships, my business and something just for me. Hey! How did I get moved to the end of the list? And what’s with the word “just”? OK, I’m calm; at least I am finally on the list. As long as I stay true to my goal, I will pay attention to myself at some point each day. (Even if it’s for one minute, I will give to me.)
So what’s my theme? I’ll be blogging about my many hats. What will you find on my blog? There will be something for every area of my life and probably a few areas of your life.

Here you will find my ideas on how to have fun one-on-one time with your kiddos. I’ll share some fresh ways to have family bonding time. I have a few ideas for the house, whether it is decorating, quick clean up tricks or simple DIY projects. For health and wellness, I will give you helpful hints from the perspective of an occupational therapist. Remember the shameless promotion of my web site business? Keep your eyes open for special discounts and coupons for my web site and my theories on accessorizing and jewelry making. (I’ll even be doing some "how to make your own" from time to time with lots of pictures for you to follow). Oh yeah, let’s not forget about the “me” part. I’ll share my ideas on how to give to yourself. I promise to try my best in keeping everything short and sweet because we are all busy and we want to fit as much into our day as we can. So, let me know if I get too long-winded and please send me your new ideas to share with other busy moms, homemakers, friends, entrepreneurs and wonderful women.