Last week Heather gave me a birthday treat. She asked the experts about dreams....

Then this last Sunday I posted on Dare To Dream about our business, our dream and the dream I didn't dare to dream, Motherhood. Yet the dream came true; 7 Years ago today. I gave birth to a dream. My baby Tabitha came into the world and set my dreams on fire. She is one of the reasons dreaming is now so easy for me to do.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. You challenge me daily which is a great thing. You make me laugh and teach me math. I am so proud of you for being such a good friend to others and that you love everyone.

I asked Tabi some questions for a class project. She gets the spotlight on her birthday during our weekly small group that we attend.

Here are the answers....( her answers in bold)

I don't want to brag , but I'm really good at  MATH. People say I'm the best SINGER they've ever met. The talent I have that nobody knows about yet is SWIMMING. I wish I were better at PLAYING SOCCER.I ALWAYS KICK IT THE WRONG WAY. If I were famous, I'd be famous for DOING HULA HOOPS THE LONGEST.

I love you my smart, sweet girl.

I love that you have good friends both near & far

Picture taken by our lovely friend Gina at Monkey Moon Photgraphy. My Tabi is on the right with her sweet friend and Gina's daughter, on the left.

For more wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes For Mom.com

Today is a special day for women –women all around the globe!  It is an annual celebration to celebrate and honor their economic, political and social achievements.  That means you!  It’s an opportunity to celebrate who women are, how far we have come and all our accomplishments, both large and small.  

As quoted from the United Nations, 'It is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights.  It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women’. 

International Women’s Day was birthed through labor movements at the turn of the 20^th Century in North America and Europe.  The first National Women’s Day was observed in the US on February 28, 1909.  Shortly after, an international meeting in Copenhagen in 1910, an international Women’s Day was established to honor the movement for women’s rights and to build support for achieving “universal suffrage for women”. 

Women bring a unique perspective to life circumstances and are able to collaborate well for social change. They are often the primary caretakers of children and responsible for fostering future generations.  As often quoted in the world of International and Humanitarian Development professionals, “Teach a girl, change the world”.

Now every year, on March 8, International Women’s Day is a day specifically set aside around the world to celebrate women.  That means you and all the wonderful women you know!  On this special day, let them know how great they are and call, email, or text and send them a special message wishing them a happy International Women’s Day and how much you appreciate them.  To all the little girls in your life, encourage them, let them know how special they are to you, and tell them how much you love them.

For more information on International Women’s Day and events and celebrations around the world, go to: International Women's Day.com.   To be inspired by brave women and girls who have overcome shocking poverty and abuse, I recommend the non-fiction book, Half the Sky by New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof and his wife and co-author Sheryl Wudunn.  Go to The half sky movement.com for more information.

Love to the moon and back,

Connie

and a Mom with a mission. Read their story.

The I Love Lucy blog has been set up by Linda Eyre and her daughter Shawni to fight against blindness on behalf of Shawni's daughter Lucy. Lucy, who is three-years-old, was diagnosed last year with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome which causes blindness, obesity, and a wide array of other health issues.

We are on a race against time to fight against "retinitis pigmentosa," the type of retinal degeneration that will most likely affect Lucy's eyesight between ages 9-15. We are hoping that before the degeneration becomes more dramatic, the cures that wonderful foundations are working toward finding will come to fruition.

But these foundations need money in order to speed on their research. We hope this blog will be an avenue to create awareness and raise funds to help Lucy and others who suffer from this debilitating disease.

Donna and I have been talking a lot about dreams lately.  One really wonderful thing about a friendship that spans a couple of decades is being able to participate in eachother's dreams, to encourage and support them, to comfort when they don't go as we'd hoped, but always to share the journey. It has made me realize how thankful I am for her, and for the gift that she has of inspiring me to dream big and to follow through!

Anyone who knows Donna would agree that this is something that comes easily to her. Knowing her story, how she shares her heart and lives with integrity, even being in the same room with her makes you think that great things are possible. What occurred to me is that I don't think that she even knows she has this gift... so our gift to her is to honor her on her birthday by asking some experts about their dreams, and to share their answers here.

So, the question was asked, "what is your wildest (or biggest or most amazing) dream?"

...and here are the (unedited) answers:

"I wish I could fly.  I would fly all around the world and stop at Africa first."

-Noah Santini

"My dream is to see my art hanging in a museum someday."

–Jaden Santini

"I dream that I would see leopards and monkeys and wildcats.  I would play animal games.  And the wildcats would be very nice to me even though they are mean.  And then me and the monkeys would reach from tree to tree.  Then me and the wildcats would eat wildcat food because I would be transformed into a wildcat in my dream.  By the way, I would like to meet some hippopotamuses in my dream.  I would feed all of the wild animals as long as I am staying at the jungle."

-Riley Kluczynski

"I want to be a Golden Knight and break down the bad castle.  I will help them when the bad guys try to attack the city.  I want to help people.  I will have a horse and a lance with a flag with a sign that says “the Knight Castle”."

-Aiden Burchett

"I want to be a real knight with shiny armor and with a helmet and a feather and a sword.  I want to be a knight in shiny armor!  I want to fight the bad guys, and dragons.  A white knight.  I want a white lance with a white circle and a white horse!"

-Jojo Burchett

"I have a dream a lot that Uncle Bubba pops his head out of the ceiling & the walls to surprise me. He doesn’t say anything. Sometimes he pops his head out of the floor & we’re playing a board game & his head is under the game board."

-Gracie Pyron

“I fell deeply in love with a boy on the bus…”

-Nadia Scorza

"For terminally ill kids, I could design a version of Carebot (a previously-designed robot used to relay information from shut-ins to their hospital or doctor) that could play with the kids; it could play games, tell them jokes, maybe even go get their meds for them and tell them when to take them. It could maybe even get a glass of water too. It could read them the time when they asked it, it could be moved around with a remote control, it could show them pictures like a digital photo frame, and even show movies. It could make telephone calls for them and interface with their tv so they could use the same robot remote to change tv channels. The robot could tell the kids stories and play them music, and emulate various video game consoles. It could videoconference so the kids could talk to their parents or a doctor, or maybe even a friend from around the world. It could let them be able to email people from inside itself. Using face recognition, the robot could identify people the child requested. It could also be used to interface with a room automation system to shut shades, turn off lights, when asked.
I want this robot to really brighten up their lives. I would like it to be able to act like a pet, a robot they can have fun and play with that they don’t need to feed or anything…rechargeable batteries with a solar charger all built in. I can build this someday…maybe even not too long from now. I really hope it will make someone happy."

p.s. "Mom?" yelled from his bed..."Do you think I could add in a Bible to the Carebot-Plus? I think the Bible is a great addition!"
From my office, "I think it's a fabulous idea!"
"OK, add that in."

-Matthew East

Stetson, Jamesen and Emmersen Bardfield:

Pretty amazing, right?! What is your dream?

Happy Birthday, my dear friend. Thank you for never letting me give up on the dreams that matter the most.

love, to the moon & back,

Heather

homeschool.

ballet.

play.

                   4H

make Heather laugh..

manage the Nest at Blessed Nest

Can you beet my busy? What does your Tuesday look like?

I viewed this tonight on FaceBook. Thank you Amy for sharing this. We post a lot about this issue on our perch but this made me so sad! What we eat in America is really a problem!

If you have more time, view this too; from Jamie Oliver. Eye opening!

I personally found this hard to read yet I know it is true and so important to learn about.  We as women have a huge impact on our girls, our daughters, nieces and Grand daughters. Let us all learn to have a healthy perspective on appearance and health for our kids. For their future.

Thank you Dr. Joanna for teaching health! ~Donna

The Quest For A Thin Baby:

How Far Some Parents Will Go

First there was the airbrushing of babies in magazines and now parents are starving newborns so they don’t become “fat babies”. What is this country coming to?

 We all know that being overweight is unhealthy and can put a person at risk for medical illness. Being too thin, however, is also not healthy and often not attainable. Most of us were not meant to be a size zero. And those who do manage to starve themselves to this size, wind up regaining the weight. Yes, there are some people who are naturally skinny and they can be healthy. But most people really have to work to get (and stay) at that size, often using unhealthy methods. Society’s obsession with emaciation is leading to many adverse side effects.

Consider the case pending against Brittainy and Samuel Labberton for attempting to starve their newborn daughter to the point of clinical emaciation. They were much more concerned about the child’s looks than the child’s health! When the baby gained some (much-needed) weight during a hospitalization, Brittainy complained “’Oh my God, she’s fat’ and ‘I have a fat baby,’” according to Senior Deputy Prosecutor Carol Spoor. The baby’s dad was not better. He complained to detectives that his 9-month old daughter had “gained so much weight that now she is fat,” according to court documents. In fact, during a visitation after she was taken to a foster home, they gave the infant a bottle filled with a laxative to help remove some of the weight gained since the child’s removal from the house.

I see more subtle cases of this in my office, on a regular basis. I have seen mothers bring in normal-weight teen girls, complaining that they are too heavy. One mom even forced her daughter to drop her jeans so I could see “how disgusting her huge thighs are”. These moms are never pleased when I refuse to treat their daughters and instead I tell them that they are “healthy and beautiful.” Can you imagine what this does to a young girl’s self-image? My job is to help overweight kids get to a normal body weight, not to help young girls starve themselves to live up to some unrealistic expectation from their mothers!

The truth is that babies, children, and even adults NEED to have some body fat! The human brain is not fully developed at birth; during the first years of life, fat is used to nourish the brain and allow for proper development. Kids are supposed to have fat on their bodies, as well. Unlike adults, children are still growing and need sufficient calories and nutrients to do so. Even adults need some fat on their bodies. We were not meant to be stick-thin. A person considered “normal-weight” by the medical community would be considered enormous by Hollywood standards. Admiring pin-thin models and celebrities only leads our children to have more self-doubts and lower self-esteem. Instead of focusing on getting skinny, we should discuss getting healthy. There is a happy medium.

Children who feel accepted by their parents are more likely to feel secure, do better in school, and simply be happier. As parents, we must do all we can to nurture a positive sense of self in our children. Let’s stop obsessing about cellulite and a few extra pounds and instead focus on keeping weight in a healthy range, not too heavy and not too skinny. As my mom always says, “Everything in Moderation!”

Buy Dr. Jaonna's book Red Light, Green Light Eat Right

Visit Dr.Joanna at Dr Weigh.com

and blogging here

Become a fan on FaceBook

and Tweet with her here at Twitter

Today's post written by Tara from MedBasics.com

 Which TWO facts below are true and which ONE is a NON- truth?

1. Brain damage from lack of oxygen (when your baby stops breathing) begins in 4 minutes and death shortly thereafter.
2. The average time for EMS to respond to a 911 call is 8 minutes.
3. When trying to clear a blocked airway, if the object hasn't been removed after 5 minutes you should just stop trying.

Which 2 are true, which one is not? I'll post the answers tomorrow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Which two are true and which one is not?

1. Brain damage from lack of oxygen (when your baby stops breathing) begins in 4 minutes and death shortly thereafter. TRUE

Love, to the moon and back

Tara has experience as a cardiology nurse. She is the founder,owner-operator of MedBasics along with her husband Luke.

 I think we'll sit here for a bit, take it all in! Have a wonderful weekend. We'll be back Monday with a new post!

Use "Tweet" at check out on our web site BlessedNest.com  for 10% off~ Enjoy!

Love to the moon and back,

Wordless Wednesday ~ More at 5 Minutes For Mom

In Ashville, NC area? Get your picture taken.

Monkey Moon Photography

Follow Gina on Twitter