#ChooseKind : Making The Case Against Bullying

April 11, 2018

We feel so grateful to have created a platform that allows us to write on topics that hit close to home. In recent times, “bullying” has become a buzz word and hot topic. Movies like “Wonder” bring to the forefront that bullying can start as young as elementary school. With children of
our own, tolerance and inclusion is critical now more than ever, especially with the introduction of cyber bullying. The word “bully” generally insinuates a situation in which one uses intimidation to make another feel excluded or oppressed. We feel a responsibility to take control of bullying in our own hands by starting with our own home and through our blog as a platform.

The Campaign

We recently heard about the PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center and wanted to attach ourselves to their mission of anti-bullying. The term “bully” is sensitive, but we’ve come to realize it sees no age limit or boundaries. “Choose Kind” takes a stand against bullying and promotes rolling up your sleeves against it.

As bloggers, we have decided to “choose kind” over words of hurt. As women in our late 30s deciding to put ourselves out there has come with a lot of insecurity and fear of judgement. Not only is it important for us to always to choose to be kind, but it is also important for us to tell our children to make that same choice.

Our children hear and see everything we do, so leading by example is the best we can do for the next generation. As parents we are influencers on our children. We’ve all heard the expression “the apple does not fall far from the tree,” therefore if you are critical and judgmental in your home it will likely reflect through your children.

Fortunately for adults, given our experiences, we are equipped with the tools to handle situations that make us uncomfortable. Teaching those same tools to our children is so incredibly important and is our responsibility in reshaping future generations. Growing up it was not uncommon to hear our parents tell us, “if you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.” That standard still holds true today.

Take Action

We as parents need to be aware and vigilant and the Chicks of ChicksAndSalsa have decided to roll up our sleeves against bullying and hope you will join us on this mission! Take the pledge to speak up, reach out and be a friend and consider purchasing a shirt to show your support!

With Love,

Rina and Sonia

Travel

Happy To Keep Austin Weird

April 4, 2018

We have all heard of it, everyone is moving there, songs are written about it… Austin, Texas!

Over Thanksgiving my family and I went to Austin. I have a cousin who lives there and he can’t rave more about what a wonderful city it is! With two kids, 5 and 7 years old, we were looking for a good balance of sightseeing and family-friendly activities.

The Hotel: Westin – Downtown Austin

We stayed at the Westin in downtown Austin. The location of the hotel was central to many of the the places we planned to visit. Being a Starwood member with Westin allowed us to upgrade our room to a suite for a comfortable stay in a new city.

I recommend renting a car when you visit…unlike other cities, like New York or DC, a lot of this city is best accessed by cars or ride-share services. Majority of the things we saw were a driving-distance away.

For those of you who have read my previous travel diaries, you’ll notice I like to recommend my favorite vegetarian spots.

The Eats: Uchi and Counter Culture

Uchi was a fantastic spot for both food and ambiance. Don’t be fooled by its label as a sushi restaurant, chef Tyson Cole whips up many delicious vegetarian dishes. Uchi’s dishes come both in the form of sushi and others variations! My personal favorite was the nasu sushi…..I’m still dreaming about it! This dish was a succulent eggplant dish that literally melts in your mouth. This restaurant is not necessarily family-friendly but our kids enjoyed themselves nonetheless.

Another restaurant I would recommend is Counter Culture. We came upon this restaurant on our drive back from the grotto (which I will touch on later). It was a small vegan restaurant with a quaint feel. The food was absolutely fantastic — they were able to mimic regular restaurant food with vegan replacements….it’s always a great feeling to know you can eat everything on a menu! Unlike Uchi, this was a much more causal spot. Don’t leave without trying their nachos!

Lake Travis

A MUST stop is Lake Travis. While I didn’t find the vegetarian food at the Oasis to be all that great, the views were simply breathtaking! We had a family sunset dinner on their outdoor terrace which made for a beautiful family memory…I would highly recommend this stop if you have time!

Family Friendly Activities

Because we were with our kids, we enjoyed doing a variation family friendly activities. Some that stood out were the bat cruise, canoeing Lady Bird Lake and paying a visit to Westcave Canyon and the Grotto.

The bat tour takes you beneath the bridge that is home to thousands of bats. If you take the sunset tour, as we did, you can see hundreds of them flying in and out. Needless to say, both adults and kids delighted to see the hustle of nature as it integrates with man-made architecture. As city dwellers we don’t get a lot of time to connect with the great outdoors so this made for a fun stop!

We took the kids canoeing at Lady Bird Lake – which is a clean and crystal clear body of water. The kids loved spotting turtles and fish all in their natural habitats. My husband and I spent most of our time doing the rowing, but the kids loved pitching in every now and again. Not a bad workout, honestly!

Finally we went to Westcave Canyon. They provide guided tours to the infamous “Grotto” (pictured below). This beautiful natural occurrence made for a beautiful sight and great teachable moment for our kids. Our guide was knowledgeable and respectful about nature, serving as a role model for our children. The hike there was easy enough for a 5 year old and the end result….seeing the Grotto, was the cherry on top! A must-visit, but make sure you call and book in advance!

“Keep Austin Weird” is a common phrase throughout the city. This is likely in reference to its diverse array of activities and food, enough to entertain populations from children to adults. I would venture to add “Keep Austin awesome!”

I would highly recommend this beautiful city for a great family trip! See where else we have wandered here.

Your chick,
Sonia

Lifestyle, Parenting

Mean Mommies – Stop The Bullying!

March 7, 2018

Oftentimes, when we think of the word “bully,” we picture a small, sweet, little kid getting beaten up by a group of much bigger kids. He is outnumbered and not really looking for a fight. He looks fearful and doesn’t fight back much.

Bullying has changed these days — and I’m not referring to the trending topic amongst school moms hurdled around whispering during after-school pick-up. I’m talking about the type that not a whole lot of people talk about…mainly because it sounds pretty silly. I’m talking about the mom bullies. Mom bullies are the ones that are usually telling her own kid to not bully others, or are telling someone else’s kid to not bully — but she is the worst offender of them all. She talks the talk about “inclusion” and “kindness” but she’s the one spreading the toxicity.

She’s the one who intentionally organizes play-dates, birthday parties, and outings excluding others. Her intent is never to really target the kid involved, but the mom…she somehow excludes the kid to get to the mom. She has made her intentions a sport and will go out of her way to exclude the moms she doesn’t want around. She rotates friends — or best friends in almost a “flavor of the month” type fashion. She will approach another mom about an issue her kid is having with her kid in probably the most one-sided manner. She will accuse other kids of being mean while she’s blind to her own kid’s ways.

You would think I have a personal anecdote or an agenda in writing this…I don’t! In fact, I’m the wallflower that watches this all go down. I’m the observer — the one people don’t think that’s paying attention, but sadly I am. I see things others don’t. I see the pain and impact it makes on the kids. I see the concern on a kid’s face when they realize that everyone was invited but them. I see the mom’s that feel excluded, but hold their heads up so their kids don’t see her embarrassment.

Raising a child these days is hard enough — do we really need to bully each other to make ourselves feel better? Do we really need to use the little amount of time and energy we have left in our day dealing with the drama? Do we really need to show our kids that this is what adulting is all about? To one up another or put others down? NO!

Stop The Hate

Stop the hate — stop the mom bullies. Call them out and exclude them until they come around and show them what inclusion means by befriending her. More-often than not, these moms have been hurt themselves and this is their coping mechanism to shield herself from the potential haters out there. She needs the extra TLC and some time, but eventually she will come around. And if not…let it be and move on. Life is way too short for the nonsense — make it count!

And with that…cheers!

Komi

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Collaborations, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Parenting, Travel

Exchange Screen Time for Family Time with Teal Firefly

November 22, 2017

The other day I went into the kids playroom while they were at school and it dawned on me that the way I spend time with my kids has drastically changed over the last two years. Two years ago, both started their journey in full day school which meant them spending more time out of the house than in it. Gone were the days where every waking moment was spent trying to “pass the time” with the kids. As I rummaged through the jumble of toys, I began to reminisce when the kids were babies. In those days, I remember looking at the clock and wondering how it was only 9 AM when it felt like I had already been up for 12 hours. The toys and trinkets were my saving grace, and just what the kids needed to keep busy. While those days were amazing, it didn’t require much more from me other than supervised self-play.

As I filled bags with toys that the kids no longer play with, I couldn’t fight the bittersweet feeling of having both kids gone all day. On one end I was thrilled to have a little bit more time for myself, but on the other end, I was sad that our time together was reduced to just a few hours before bedtime. With after school clubs and sports I’m finding that the time I spend with the kids is engrossed in “the grind.” It has become so much more important to make those short windows of time together meaningful in some way.

My daughter, who is seven years old, loves to craft and do projects. What I learned was that she not only has a genuine interest in doing it, but relishes in the face to face time she gets with just me when working on a project. Juggling time between making meals, picking up, going to activities, doing homework and dropping off….things get busy! I try not to be hard on myself, but I too crave those moments… alone with each child, one-on-one.

My husband and I are big travelers and especially love to travel with the kids. It’s an opportunity to break from the grind and make time to do things together as a family. We’ve had travel plans scheduled for the Thanksgiving holiday for some time. Knowing we would have some down time, I wanted to do some fun crafty projects with my daughter, so I poked around the internet for some meaningful projects for us to do together.

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I stumbled across Teal FireFly, whose DIY crafting kits have everything you need to make creative, embellished cards from start to finish. And they are not overwhelming or messy. The kit contained cards/envelopes, direction cards for 4 designs, tags, glue dots, embellishments (rhinestones, glitter confetti) and a glitter glue pen. These kits come in a small box, so are easy pack and do while at the airport. Like most parents with little ones, we always give ourselves some extra time in case the kids walk at a snail’s pace or Chicago traffic does what it does best….take forever!

While sitting in the lounge I pulled out one of the cupcake card set and my daughter’s eyes lit up! She was excited to have a box of goodies with instructions toward a useful finished product! I loved the simplified, full color direction cards, as the illustrations made it easy enough for Carina to follow on her own. We made fun cupcake cards from the Celebration kit that we plan to distribute with gifts during the holiday season. She, and I, loved the one-on-one and even shared the goodies for some quality father-son time for my husband and son. It was such a great alternative to screen time as we had a chance to chat and be creative together! These cards will make a thoughtful touch to holiday gifts that can seem so impersonal sometimes. I know that family members and friends will appreciate the extra effort!

Founder, Laxmi Shah, breaks it down best, “When you make a card by hand, you pour your heart into it!! I have found that there’s immeasurable pleasure in that for both kids and adults alike.”

So even though one chapter of endless hours in a day are over, I am grateful for companies like Teal Firefly for making products that we can do ourselves while spending quality time together. Bye Bye supervised self-play….Hello creative togetherness!

Right now Teal Firefly is offering 10% off the entire store in honor of the shopping season!! Check them out here: www.tealfirefly.com

Your Chick,

Sonia