Everyone worries about their kids. I don’t want to make it sound like I think I care about my kid more than you care about yours, that’s not what I mean at all. What I mean is, imagine going through life where every second you are thinking something will go wrong like:

What if those strawberries are bad and make us really sick?

What if that homeless guy attacks us?

What if he darts out in front of the train at the last second?

What if someone comes in and holds up this store?

What if some wild animal comes into our yard and bites him?

What if he falls out the front window?

What if he’s ‘dry drowning’ from the water he swallowed in the bath last night?

This list could go on and on. And it’s crazy, right? I know that I sound crazy and rationally I know none of that stuff is likely to happen, but I can’t help it. My husband is often reminding me, “Just don’t worry about it.” And I wish so much it were that simple. It’s such a part of my being that I cannot control my mind and keep it from thinking those horrible thoughts. This is especially bothersome while lying in bed late at night (and my insomnia more than likely caused by my high stress level). I recently admitted to my husband that in any give situation, I take a moment to form a game plan in case anyone tries to snatch my son. (Yes, I really do that.) He was floored. I know that my level of worry is not normal, but sometimes I forget.

However, I recently read an amazing article written by Deepak Chopra for the Huffington Post that has changed how I look at the world. I am still a massive worrier, but it is getting better every day. Once in a while, I re-read the article to remind myself what I have to do. Here is the article for you to read.

He spoke to every part of my worrying. Stuff like this:

Since [worriers'] minds are filled with every conceivable risk, worriers wind up being right some of the time. They are like hoarders who never throw anything out. If one hoarded item proves useful, it justifies keeping a hundred that aren’t.

I often justify my worry to myself by thinking, in an emergency, I will be prepared. I am simply preparing myself for what might happen. But really, this kind of behavior does a lot more harm than good, as Chopra explains. And worriers end up alienating themselves from family and friends with their excessive need to control every situation and examine all the risks.

One of my other main worry issues is that I need to always expect the unexpected. Something horrible and life altering could happen at any moment. I hate when people say “live every day like it’s your last; you could go at anytime!” That kind of talk makes me lightheaded. Literally. My head spins with what could happen, and I’d just as soon never leave home again when I’m in that kind of mood. Chopra speaks to this behavior too:

Worried belief: Life is full of accidents and random bad things. I have to be on the lookout for them.

Better belief: Accidents can be prevented with useful measures like wearing a seat belt and not living in a flood zone. Once they are in place, there’s nothing more to do. By definition, unpredictable things cannot be foreseen.

That last part has been my mantra for the past week now, ever since I first read the article. It rang so true with me. There’s just no sense in worrying about the unexpected, because it is just that: unexpected. We can’t see what’s coming, and worrying about it is useless.

And the most true of all for me:

Worriers feel that they need to worry. If this need isn’t fulfilled, they fear calamity. Who will keep things in one piece if they aren’t doing the worrying that is so desperately needed?

I worry about everyone, and everything. Things that have nothing to do with me. People who are adults and fully capable of worrying about themselves. I just worry all the time about everything. Obviously, the world will not be any worse off than it already is if I stop worrying about things I have no control over. My loved ones can live their own lives without me “helping” them to worry. I need only take care of myself and help my husband and son with what they need from me, and that is all that I can do.

Reading this article, and recognizing the issues with my worry was such an eye opener. Seeing it as the obsessive and anxious behavior that it really is has motivated me to change it. It’s going to be a slow road, but it’s a necessary one. As Chopra says:

Even though worry is milder and less disabling than phobias or panic attacks, it needs to be healed if you want to find the kind of inner peace that no one can take away from you.

Worry might not be as challenging as some other panic disorders, but certainly warrants some attention if I ever want to calm down and be happy (and sleep at night!).

How are you on the scale of worry? How do you cope?

It is graciously being completed by my talented designer friend (and don’t we all need one?) Kerry. Check her out, yo. So, BIG MEGA HUGE thanks to her and you just brace yoself because seriously, it just might blow your mind.

He’s so shy around other adults right now, I was prepping myself for disaster. The hygienist even warned me that “kids his age almost always cry and stuff”. But, he did so great!

He did cry a little bit at first, but nothing major. I remembered to bring his little Piglet, who he hugs when he is scared, and I got to hold him in my lap for the whole process. The hygienist turned it into a game of “counting his teeth”, and he’s sooo into counting right now, so that worked like a charm. She was also sure to mention that she had strawberry toothpaste and banana fluoride treatment, which quite piqued his interest.

The dentist swept away my fears that he had any tooth issues at all, and said he’s got great spacing, great enamel and no cavities at all! Yay, mom!

I wish I had gotten a picture of this, but I was holding on to him the whole time. Rest assured it was pretty cute (once the crying stopped). He even got to pick a little toy.

There, now the whole family has been to the dentist! Load off my mind…

I started noticing this with Bowie in the way that he explores the world around him. He runs too fast and falls on his face, but gets right back up and plays again. He picks up rocks and sticks and sticks his fingers deep into the mud puddles. Given a wide panel of toys, he will always gravitate to the ones with wheels or wings or engines, nothing soft and cuddly. I haven’t consciously tried to gear him toward other activities, but as his personality emerges I can see that he is completely B-O-Y.

So, when he got the Melissa & Doug Tools Chunky Puzzle from a friend of mine for his birthday, I knew right away that it would be the perfect fit. Not only did he love putting the puzzle together and taking it apart, but he learned the names of all the tools, and takes the puzzle pieces around the house and “fixes” things for mommy.

So, if you have a total BOY like me, I suggest this puzzle. He’s sure to love it for years. And it’s a nice alternative to guns and swords.

What you’ll notice about that list is that there is a lot of salt and sugar, but very little in the nutrition department. Sure, I can get him to eat a chicken nugget or an egg or a sweet potato fry once in a while, but he really needs less fat, less sugar and more veggies.

Things are already improving a little bit. I can get him to eat bean quesedillas sometimes, and he’s really starting to love pizza. He also eats cheddar cheese now, which a few months ago he’d never have touched. My options are opening up a little bit. I have had this cookbook since I was still pregnant, and I think finally I can use some of the recipes in it. I’m going to get a whole bunch of green veggies from the farmer’s market, and make tons of purees and get so much nutrition in him, he’ll be the healthiest flippin’ kid on the block!

And thanks to Weelicious, I also have so many new recipe ideas that I just know he will love. I can’t wait to go grocery shopping this week to pick out all of his new foods! This is so overdue for us, I hope he likes at least one thing that I make.

Do you have a Picky Pickerson at home? What are your tips and tricks for getting them to eat well?

Wee Bee Honey

Wee Bee Honey is a great company, and a family-owned and operated apiary. They produce what they call an “extreme raw honey”. Their honey is completely pesticide free, and has proven to be in lab testing. This raw honey has a thick, creamy texture and makes a delicious addition to your toast or tea or whatever you use honey on!

Artisana Almond Butter

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Being a stay-at-home or work-at-home parent is such a challenge some days. You feel like every three minutes you are angry with your child about something, which is preventing you from doing anything else at all. Then all of a sudden it’s 4:30 and your day is almost over already. (Note: Not saying that parents working outside the home don’t experience some of this, I’m sure they do. Being WAH or SAH is just so…INTENSE.)

You get so frustrated with your child because they never listen, they keep getting into trouble, they won’t do what you ask and they beg and beg and beg incessantly for things you are not going to give them nor do for them. And you are just trying to read that news article or take care of that one email or organize the fridge or whatever.

That’s about the time someone says something like, “Make sure you put this one on his graduation announcements.”, which is what a friend said to me, commenting on the picture I posted here yesterday (which I also posted on Facebook). And you’re like, graduation? What the– You mean he’s actually going to grow up and not be a two year old terror forever? Some day he will be 10, then 16, then 25 then, then, then…[hyperventilating].

And then you turn of the computer, put down the book, let the dishes sit for a minute. These moments are so precious. They might not seem like it when you are in them, but you will miss them. We have to slow down and try as hard as we can to cherish all these moments with our children. Even the ones where you have to explain why we don’t dump our pee pee all over the bathroom floor when we are done using the potty. And, that’s enough juice for now. And, please don’t pull the kitty’s tail. And why don’t we keep our bath water in the bathtub. And let’s stop throwing toys out the front window. And……

But, it was a letter from Sutter Health informing us that a vaccine that he had received in 2010 (no specifics, just “a vaccine” ugh) “may not have been stored at the correct temperature, so the vaccine may not have protected your child as intended”.

So THEN, I’m thinking about the mega problem California is having right now with a whooping cough outbreak, and I’m all OMG he has whooping cough now and we’re all going to diiiiiiieeeeee!

I called the hotline to figure out what was up. The woman told me he would need to get all of the vaccines again that he had gotten in 2010. My heart started pounding in my ears. I mean, kids get a LOT of shots in those first few years, and it seemed like he had gotten so many, this was going to be a nightmare, even if we didn’t have to pay for the re-vaccinations.

But, I pulled out his vaccination record, and it turns out the only ones he had in 2010 were a Hepatitis A booster and the flu shot. WHEW.

But still. My poor son has to go get his Hepatitis A shot again because the clinic didn’t have their fridge at the right temperature? Seems unfair, and I am so glad he won’t remember any of this. We go tonight at 5 to get the shot, hopefully he gets a lollipop or something. I am one ticked off mama bear.