Wired to Attach

"Human beings are biologically wired to attach." - Dr. Gabor Mate

I came across this video of Dr. Gabor Mate where he speaks about children and attachment.  I would have to say that of all the videos or articles I have shared, in my opinion, this one is the most important.  Dr. Mate seems to tie together everything that I believe about human/child development and parenting in an AMAZING speech.  If there is a message that I would like to convey to the world, this would be the one. 

I will be getting his book as soon as possible !!

Enjoy:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6519665

Valentine's Day The Gonzalez Way

It seems there are as many opinions about Valentine's Day as there are Valentine's. Most play along and celebrate with cards and gifts and other cheesy (oops, I mean Romantic) gestures. Some find it another annoying attempt from corporations to guilt us into spending money. Some know the history of Valentine's Day and can't even believe we "celebrate" it at all. Oh and then there's the, "Why should we have a designated day to express love when we should do it every day of the year anyway" club. So, which one best suits the Gonzalez family? I would say, all of the above in one way or another.

I started my morning with a curiosity about the origins of Valentine's Day and found an interesting article from National Geographic. Then a Valentine's breakfast for a hungry little boy: A cheese omelet shaped like a heart, of course !!

After that I asked Luis if he wanted to go to a Valentine's Party with our new Funschoolers Group (a play on words: putting the "fun" in "un"). We decided to go, quickly made Valentine's to share with 33 kids and stopped at Trader Joe's to get a snack to share.

We had so much fun at our party and are so happy to be making friends with so many wonderful families. We are looking forward to many more fun events with this group. When we got home Jose and I opened each other's cards (he knows me so well) and Luis opened his. He has always loved getting cards. He saves all of his birthday cards. So, knowing how much he loved them is why I chose to participate in the consumer aspect of the holiday. We also made a last minute decision to go out to dinner. Luis wanted Mexican food so we went to Acapulco restaurant. We had to wait almost an hour for our food to arrive but listening to them tell knock, knock jokes while we waited was hilarious. I've never heard Luis laugh so hard. We finished our Valentine's day with a Butter Pecan Cheesecake to share. Yummy !!

Last, but not least, a little shout out to my mom. The most thoughtful person I know and she makes the best rice crispy treats. Here is Tatiana with rice crispy lips. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Hope yours was..well...whatever you wanted it to be.

Kites, Bikes and Ladybugs !!

After Luis' music class in San Diego we decided to hang out at Mission Bay Park. It is starting to become our Wednesday routine. After his class we find something fun and free in San Diego. So far we've been to Cabrillo National Monument, a playdate with fellow Unschoolers and now Mission Bay.





Luis has been fascinated with *AIR* lately. What is air made of? Is there air in space? What makes the air move? etc., etc. Luckily it was windy today so I brought the kite. He watched it move for what seemed to be hours. Really, it was probably more like 30 minutes. Flying a kite was such a simple activity but it helped me show him the answer to his questions.












His endless energy never ceases to amaze me. He also rode his bike with me on roller blades beside him. No, there isn't a picture of that. Sorry. My energy: not so endless.












The highlight of Luis' day seemed to be finding a lady bug. You would have thought he found gold. He studied it, talked to it, let it crawl all over him and when we had to leave he wanted to make sure he put it back where he found it close to grass and water so it would survive.



Sometimes our adventures are small and sometimes they are big. Either way, everything seems to be an adventure for us and everything a learning experience.

New Year, New Blog

I've been thinking a lot about family, friends and Facebook !! I have experienced many wonderful and positive things because of Facebook: Reconnecting with old friends, checking in with family and being updated with the happenings in their life, learning about myself and the universe and just basically having a place to share pictures and express myself.

However, I am finding that I am feeling more and more discouraged and disappointed when I don't feel or see those positive things. There are really only a handful of people that respond or provide feedback of any kind. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way so it isn't all of my "friends" that are to blame. Nor is it Facebook or myself. It just IS !!

So, I have decided to start packing up my Facebook home and move into the blogging world. I will keep my account and profile and a few pictures, etc. but I won't be using it as my primary social networking residence. I want to start blogging more and will try to post regular blogs and pictures. I already feel better about making these changes however slow the process will be. I see my blog as a "public journal" so to speak, therefore I will not expect comments or feedback just as you wouldn't expect it if you were writing in your journal in the privacy of your home with paper and a pen. But, this doesn't mean that I wouldn't LOVE to receive comments and I would LOVE for more of my family and friends to join me and "follow" the blog. I hope this is making some sense. I love to write and I love to express myself. I love to ask questions, share quotes and take pictures. I can do all of those things here. It feels safer for me. I feel more confident in sharing who I am and my thoughts. So, here I go, time for change !!!!