Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, 

Except for myself.

My child was sleeping, all snug in his bed.

While visions of Nintendo games, flew through his head.

Only I heard the sound of reindeer hooves clatter,
Which made me sigh, "Now what's the matter?"

With ribbon and gift wrap still clutched in my hand,
I descended the stairs, and saw the old man.

He was covered with ashes and plenty of soot, 

Which fell with a shrug, all underfoot.
"Oh great," I muttered, "Now I have to clean the rug too."

"Ho-ho-ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake."
"Your gift was especially difficult to make."

"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is some time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" I asked, "What good is that?
Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit-chat."

She was my twin. Same hair, same eyes.
Same look of chagrin, same gaze of surprise.

"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.
You relax, take it easy, read a book, go to bed."

"Fantastic!" I cheered. 

"My dream come true!
"I'll internet shop. I'll read. I'll sleep the whole night through! "

From the room above, my son began to fret.
"Mommy?! I’m scared...is Santa here yet?"
The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," I smiled, "She knows her part."

The clone went to comfort my son with a tune.
"You’re the best Mommy ever. " I heard my son swoon.

“I really love you." The clone smiled and sighed, 

"I love you, too," my sweet son replied.

I frowned and I said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal. "
“That's my child's love, she's trying to steal."

Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear, "
Only one loving mother, is needed here."

I kissed my child, and tucked him into bed.
"Thank you, Santa, for clearing my head.
I sometimes forget, it won't be very long,
When he'll be too old, for my cradle-song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa said to the clone, "It works every time."
With the clone by his side, Santa merrily said, "Merry Christmas to all!”

To me he whispered, “And to you, a good night!”

We wish all our readers a very Happy New Year!!

Cara’s Holiday Stress Relievers - by Cara Potapshyn Meyers

Dream Water

Dream Water is the first all natural sleep enhancer. It is perfect for Motherhood Later...Than Sooner readers, especially during the holiday season. Just in time for holiday travel! With everyone running around getting ready to celebrate, we could all use good nights of sleep!

Dream Water helps you relax and fall asleep fast and has zero calories, no preservatives and natural active ingredients (GABA, Melatonin, 5-HTP). Dream Water is TSA approved in its 2.5 oz shot, which makes it the perfect travel companion.

My husband tried Dream Water versus his usual melatonin tablet. He reported that he fell asleep faster and felt that he slept more solidly. He also loves all natural products, so he plans to purchase Dream Water in bulk. 

We were given samples of Lullaby Lemon and Pineapple flavors. The pineapple flavor was my husband’s favorite! He said the lemon had a nice, soothing taste to it, however. Dream Water also comes in Snoozeberry.

Bill Clinton, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, Kristin Chenowith, Katherine McPhee & Khloe Kardashian, are all fans of Dream Water, along with over 70 Million Americans who can’t sleep.

Dream Water is excited to announce a retail alliance with CVS/Pharmacy making Dream Water available in over 20,000 points of sale nationwide! Dream Water can be found in Walmart, Walgreens, Hudson News, Duane Reade as well as airport retailers. The Dream Water website is: www.drinkdreamwater.com. Or “like” them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dreamwater.

Shanti Generation:

Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers

Yoga, practiced by nearly 14 million American adults, has developmental benefits for young people that can help develop self-confidence, combat obesity, and support academic achievement. Yoga has helped children with ADHD, Autism and chronic disease to stay physically healthy and mentally focused.  

Abby Wills, MA, is a Southern California yoga instructor, who holds an MA in Education and has 15 years of hands-on experience working in schools. Her unique insights enable her to understand the specific needs of the educator and the day-to-day classroom experience as well as developing tools for a teacher without a yoga background. She has developed an innovative yoga program created in tandem with seven Los Angeles teenagers and set to soothing music by Aaron Wills (aka P-Nut), the bassist of the rock band, 311. The result, SHANTI GENERATION. 

This DVD is making it easier to introduce the lifelong benefits of yoga into schools by making it classroom friendly. With the help of young teens, Abby Wills developed a transformational new yoga program to help tweens and teens develop confidence and strength while cultivating inner peace and mindfulness. The first DVD in the series, ‘YOGA SKILLS FOR YOUTH PEACEMAKERS,’ offers invaluable tools for children ages 7-16  and is now on DVD at major retail outlets as well as its five digital “pathways” available on VOD platforms.

“Shanti,” means “peace” in Sanskrit. In fact, says Wills, “We plan to build a movement by teaching young people peacemaking skills, to build a world that respects and celebrates differences in effort to create a culture of peace and unity. The yoga program we developed cultivates social and emotional learning, or SEL, through mindfulness practices including movement, breathing and meditation. Each practice is offered in a context directly relevant to the developmental needs of adolescent youth, unlike yoga DVDs created for adults or young kids. In particular, the program is designed to empower teens to cope with real life challenges, including bullying.”

DVD FEATURES:

·         Over 30 unique options for beginner and experienced yogis:

o       5 unique half-hour practice sequences: Creating Happiness, Energy Amplified, Choosing Peace, Being Sound and Voice Choice Possibility  

o       Library of Poses: 18 mini sequences for Focus, Energy and Calm 

o       Breathing Room: 5 sequences featuring stress management and self-regulation.

o       Self-Connection Room: two mindful awareness practices.

·         Interviews with the seven teen yoga students.

·         Optional narration in Spanish and Japanese.

DIGITAL PATHWAYS AVAILABLE ON VOD:

Five segments, each between twenty to thirty minutes, are available to purchase download or rent online on portals such as Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon.  These pathways include:

1. Creating Happiness: Looking for happiness? Get flexible! Breathe and move your way into happiness with forward bends for flexibility. True happiness comes through shining health.
2. Energy Amplified: Balancing and core strengthening postures give you what no energy drink ever can: sustainable body energy to power your life. Get strong, be healthy.
3. Choosing Peace: Peace is a behavior you can choose at any moment, no matter what. Get your mind on board with your breath for a peaceful journey through standing poses, backbends and forward bends designed to empower you to find your own peace inside.
4. Being Sound: Twist, bend and relax your way to deep peace. To be sound is to be free and secure at the same time. Be vibrant and radiate peace.
5. Voice Choice Possibility: Take a moment to remember what you really want and fuel up on positive energy to make your dreams come true. Breathe, visualize and move the way you want to feel.

If you have a child or tween stressed out from exams and an overload of projects before the Winter Recess, buy your child the gift of inner peace. And join them! You could probably use a little inner peace as well!

The DVD retails for $16.95  and is 90 minutes long. For more information and updates, please visit: www.cinemalibrestudio.com.

Note: Thanks to Cinema Libre Studio and Jonesworks, Inc. for providing sample products.  Cara Potapshyn Meyers and MotherhoodLater.com assume no liability relative to products reviewed in this blog.

Helping Children Deal with Loss and Grief of a Pet

My son saying goodbye to his favorite companion

It has been a little over five weeks since the loss of our beloved female dog. During this time, my son has been acting oddly, with no real explanation for his behavior. He has been going to the school nurse with various maladies. The nurse knew of our loss, so she has been very caring and tolerant of his visits to her.

My son had been complaining about headaches, stomach aches, eye problems, neck strain...and he has been biting his fingernails half way down his nail beds. As a mother, knowing your child is suffering inside, is excruciatingly painful. We read appropriate books for children on the loss of a pet. I spent countless hours having conversations with my son about his feelings of losing our dog. Still, days and weeks have gone by and my son has lost interest in his normal activities. My husband and I even spent our entire parent/teacher conference discussing my son, his behaviors and his apparent disinterest in school activities due to his grief.

The first thing we did was to speak with the school psychologist about having our son meet with her a few times. She readily agreed to do so. I then decided to do an Internet search on how children grieve and what could be done to help my son through his grief.

I learned that children grieve very differently from adults. The death of a family pet is often the first death experienced by a child. Children naturally develop strong attachments to companion animals, relating to them as siblings, playmates, confidants and even imaginary protectors. Although children experience grief differently than adults, they do grieve. They need support and guidance to understand their loss, to mourn that loss, and to find ways to remember and memorialize their deceased loved one. Children look to us for guidance in word as well action. The death of a beloved pet presents an emotional stress, even for a well-adjusted adult. Thus, it is important for adults to access bereavement supports in order to deal with their emotions and be more effective parents for their children. Also, we must avoid projecting our own overconcerns on a child, creating problems that would not have otherwise existed.

There are age related stages related to the death of a pet. For my eight year old son, children in his age group know that death is irreversible. They do not normally think this might happen to them, but they may be concerned about the death of their parents. My son mentioned to me that I had to live to at least 90 years old. They are very curious and may ask questions that appear morbid. These questions are natural and are best answered frankly and honestly. At this age they may manifest their grief in many ways, such as school problems, anti-social behavior, somatic or physical concerns, aggression, and withdrawal or clinging behavior. As with young children, it is important that they be reassured that they did not do or say anything that caused the death.

A child’s ability to cope with an animal companion’s death can be compromised by other stresses, such as parental or sibling conflict, mental health issues, and other family pressures. Children in high stress families often develop early dependencies and attachments with a family pet. When that companion dies, it may create a crisis for that child.

As adult helpers and caregivers, we need to be mindful of our own loss history and any gaps in bereavement support for us, particularly when we were children. Many of us have early memories of a pet loss. They may be punctuated with resentment due to a lack of factual information or parental preparation regarding a pet’s death. Too often, we still have feelings that we were excluded from opportunities to say goodbye to a beloved animal, when we were children. In order to adequately support our children now, when they are facing the loss of a pet, we need to heal our wounded hearts, and be mindful of our own “inner child” that may also grieve deeply when a family pet dies. In a too-busy world, so many of us have lost contact with that. Adult relationships with beloved companion animals tend to evoke our own more child-like qualities. And when we lose a pet we can be left feeling bereft, ourselves, longing for the very comfort that we now need to provide our children.

The loss of a pet can be a significant source of grief in a family. Indeed, it is the loss of a beloved member. That can lead to disorganization in family functioning, due to bereavement and changes in routines. New ones will have to be created, and it can be beneficial to discuss this. Children will need support to cope with the changes - as well as to understand the emotional impact on everyone, including their parents. It is important to show them it is good for families to react and grieve together.

When a child loses a beloved pet it is advisable to inform other significant people in your child’s life. This includes teachers, the school nurse, even the school social worker or school psychologist. We chose to involve everyone mentioned. They are in an excellent position to observe and understand any significant changes in our child. There may be an onset of daydreaming in class (noted by our son’s teacher), or at home. Homework may not get done (which has been occurring), and participation in class may drop noticeably. Appetite and sleep habits may change, or the child may become quiet, or even irritable. These are all signs that need to be addressed. Children can’t cope by themselves, and will need all the understanding and support available. Sometimes, if requested, a good teacher will schedule class time to talk about pets and their death. The loss of a beloved companion animal is often our children’s first real encounter with death, and that experience will remain and affect them for the rest of their lives. They need their adult role models to learn appropriate responses. We can help them by better coping with our own emotional problems associated with loss, death and dying. It is never too late to develop skills and approaches for yourself, that will also enhance your child’s growing ability to deal with this kind of traumatic loss.

Through my research on this subject I came across a suggestion to help with a child’s grief that never occurred to me: Memorialize your pet. According to an article called, Grief and Children, by Kimberly L. Keith, children need good distractions from fixation on the death of a pet. The following is a list of ways Ms. Keith provides, to creatively memorialize a pet.

• Encourage children to express their grief by drawing pictures of their pet, and sharing what the pictures mean to them. Always listen to what they have to say, and praise them for their thoughts. If a child would like the picture put in his/her room, then honor that wish. It could keep the pet closer to the child at bedtime until the grief has subsided.
• Make a scrapbook or log with photos as well as drawn pictures of the pet and family members. Write memories beneath or beside them. Humorous instances should be included on the pages - which can help develop associations with happiness each time the book is opened. Other small items such as a dogtag, or small toy, can be included, as well as sympathy cards, and letters. You can find some very nice packages on the market, for making scrapbooks.

• Planting a living memorial, such as a tree or bush in memory of a pet, can feel very satisfying. Making a small flower bed in a spot that was favored by the pet, can also be a fine memorial that brings some closure to the grief.
• Some people have a ritual of lighting candles on anniversaries, and reminiscing about their life with their pets. This offers them a special sense of comfort and respect. Let children participate in this.

We chose to get a memorial rock, to place in our rock garden which will have our dog’s name, date of death, and a paw print etched into it. Once it arrives, we will have a memorial service to honor our sweet dog. Each family member will have the opportunity to say what they loved about our dog and what she used to do that made us laugh. This will hopefully lead to some closure for our son.

There is a lovely, short story, written by Wallace Sife, Ph.D. from his article: All Pets Go to Heaven. To read the full story, click here.

As the last line states:

“Heaven is love, and and pets always share that with us.”

Cara's Holiday Goodies from GrandCamp Adventures

GrandCamp Adventures is a company dedicated to delivering toys and activities that help kids have fun and strengthen their relationship with their family members...especially grandparents! The products are beautiful and would make great kids' holiday gift items whether for a toddler, adventure seeker, or bookworm!

Here We Go!

Around the World Family Adventure Storybook

by

Walter Sorrells and Victor Tavares

If there is a bookworm in your home, this book is sure please! Here We Go! Around the World Family Adventure StoryBook is a beautifully illustrated book for any child who enjoys an adventurous and magical bedtime story. The book is about a set of adventure seeking grandparents and grandkids who, with the assistance of papa’s magical compass, circle the world to recover their lost treasures. Along the way, children Savannah, Luca, Aidan and their “Pa-Parents” get to know more about each other and the world around them. They discover faraway lands and traditions, breach castle walls, survive a brush with quicksand and meet a stowaway meerkat. My eight-year-old son found this book very captivating. He loved the fact that the “Magic Compass” helped the characters find their missing treasures all across the globe! Here We Go! Storybook is perfect for ages 7+ and is available for $18.95. 

Shake it Up! 

3- in- 1 Handshake Game

Secret handshakes have become a popular way to show that you are a member of a group. Great times are in store as you create your own Grandparent/Grandchild secret handshake with the guidance of 24 handshake cards.  Turn the cards over and solve the floor puzzle picture from the Here We Go! Storybook Adventure.  Enjoy these fun games at home, on vacation, or anytime you've got a few minutes for GrandCamping. 

FEATURES

• Includes three different games
• Shake It Up Handshake
• Shake It Up Memory Game
• Shake It Up Storybook Puzzle
• Handshake 101- the history of the handshake
• 3 Levels of difficulty to ensure fun for all ages

I had my son play this game with his grandparents. They had the best time making up their own “secret” handshakes (my son told me I had to close my eyes!). Because we had read the Here We Go! Storybook the day before, my son and his grandparents had a fun time trying to figure out the Storybook Puzzle. This is certainly a game that is fun for all! Suggested age: 5+. Available at local retailers and www.GrandCamp.com for $16.99

Here We Go! Music CD

Ahoy Matey! Hear pirates singing in their search for treasure or join in with a “mob” of Meerkats in a chorus all about family with original music, along with a few classics from GrandCamp Adventures.  These songs bring everyone to their feet from blues to bluegrass to reggae and even a lullaby, the CD features 10 songs, including 8 originals that cover a broad spectrum of musical genre sure to appeal to both young and old. My son and I listened to this CD and found ourselves holding hands and dancing around the room! We particularly liked, “We’re a Meerkat Family,” “Backwards Day” and “Love and Happiness for You.” What makes this CD even more special are songs specifically for children and  their grandparents to enjoy together. These include, “Nobody Loves Me Like My Grandma,” “Old Granddad” and “Nobody Loves Me Like My Grandma” sung as a lullaby. Here We Go is available at local retailers, iTunes and www.GrandCamp.com for $12.00.

Other GrandCamp items which are quite appealing include:

Meerkat Family Cuddly Collectables

Don’t just buy any cuddly stuffed animal! Begin your cuddly stuffed animal collection with the entire Meerkat family—perfect for the animal lover. A great reminder of the fun adventures you’ve been on as well as traveling companions for adventures yet to come, these high quality plush animals make the perfect gift for grandparents to give their grandchildren. The only plush animal line created just for grandparents and grandkids, these high quality characters are sure to become a part of your family. Buy them all together for greater savings and then give them one at a time or all at once. Available at $49.00 and up.

Longbeard’s Treasure Hunt

What’s not to love about a treasure hunt? The Longbeard’s Treasure Hunt activity features a note from a colorful pirate character as well as treasure maps, clues, coins and special action cards. Explore how the adventure evolves in a way that will have kids and adults scrambling from clue to clue to find hidden treasures. Available for $54.99.

Note: Thanks to GrandCamp Adventures for providing sample products.  Cara Potapshyn Meyers and MotherhoodLater.com assume no liability relative to products reviewed in this blog.