Category: Redefining Motherhood

Interview with Chef Hollie Green From JoyFoodly

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Redefining Motherhood, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Screenshot 2014-10-02 10.35.29

Screenshot 2014-10-02 10.34.52

 

Chef Hollie Green, master over atJoyFoodly, asked me to do an interview for her site, which I was only too pleased to do!

Go check the interview out here!

10-2-Tamarah-and-her-5-kids-top-image-v2

 

(teaser exerpt!)

“Tamarah has been living with Celiac disease for over 10 years. She strives to find healthy, well balanced, gluten-free recipes for her family of seven.

Tamarah Rockwood is a mom of five beautiful children, and she is busy. Between home schooling and raising a family, Tamarah looks for new and fun ways to engage her kids in the kitchen to explore vegetables. As a fellow blogger of thePlatypus Directive, whom I greatly admire, I’m so delighted to share her story with our community of how she has found new ways through the Joyful 12 to cook vegetables with her kids. Between regular school work and special projects like learning about the French Revolution and how it coincides with Dicken’s “A Tale of Two Cities,” I don’t know how Tarmarah gets it done, but I’m so honored the Joyful 12 can be a helpful tool to such a rockstar mom…”

 

So awesome 🙂  Thanks Chef Hollie!!

Science Wrangling: Go Suck An Egg

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Redefining Motherhood, UncategorizedLeave a comment

 

I really didn’t think this would work…but by golly, it did!

For the most part. We should have used a bigger bottle, but I just didn’t have any around. This is a really fun experiment to do with the kids, and to teach them about the properties of fire and vacuums.

What’chu Need:

  • Hardboiled eggs
  • Matches
  • A glass bottle

IMG_8807

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you are going to do:

  1. Take a peeled hardboiled egg, a glass bottle and matches
  2. Light 2 matches and drop them into the bottle (make sure the inside of the bottle is dry, or you will extinguish the flames)
  3. Quickly put the hardboiled egg on top of the bottle
  4. Watch as the egg gets sucked into the bottle!

 

 

 

 

So, what is happening in the bottle?  How did you create a vacuum in the bottle?  How did the fire affect the oxygen levels in the bottle?

 

Scientific Method on Enchanted Learning Printout (link)

“A scientific experiment involves many steps, including:

  1. Observe, State Experimental Questions – After observing a phenomenon, you may wonder what is happening, and what caused it to happen. Write down your observations and your questions.
  2. Gather Information – Do background investigation on the phenomenon you are interested in. Find out what is known about it already.
  3. Formulate a Hypothesis – Write a statement that predicts what may happen in your experiment based on your knowledge and data from other experiments.
  4. Design an Experiment to Test Your Hypothesis – Determine a logical set of steps to be followed in your experiment.
    • Independent/Experimental Variable – Determine or guess which factors could affect the phenomenon you are studying. The experimental variable is the one variable the investigator chooses to vary in the experiment.
  5. Perform the Experiment
  6. Collect Data – Record the results of the investigation in a table or chart.
  7. Summarize Results – Analyze the data and note trends in your experimental results.
  8. Draw Conclusions – Determine whether or not the data support the hypothesis of your experiment.“

 

For more information, you can visit Science4Kiz.nz

 

Science Wrangling Wednesday: Explosions

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Redefining Motherhood, Uncategorized1 Comment

 

Color Explosions

This is a very simple experiment, and it is super easy to do!  It’s just a fun experiment to break up the week.

Materials:

  • 3 bowls
  • baking soda
  • food coloring
  • vinegar

IMG_8078

Take 3 bowls and put 2 Tbsp of baking soda in each one.  Add a few drops of food coloring on top of the baking soda.IMG_8080Let one of the kids slowly pour 1/2 cup of vinegar into each bowl.IMG_8091

The trick is not to let them know what color is in the bowls! IMG_8099

It’s always fun watching stuff bubble over 🙂IMG_8108 IMG_8112In the end, you will just have smelly bowls, a clean stove and happy kids!  Can’t beat that 🙂

Little Moments on Friday

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Redefining Motherhood3 Comments

Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 5.22.52 PM

Line up your martinis like a lady, girls.

Now that school has started, I am a little busier.

Just a little bit. (she says sarcastically with a wickedly wry smile)

It has been my goal all week to get caught up with laundry (no…stop laughing, I’m serious).  I am happy to say we have clean towels and a couple clean pants.  Fortunately we have a free weekend at home, so I’m really…really…going to try to make a dent in laundry.

I woke up this morning feeling overwhelmed with the kitchen, that was clean yesterday afternoon.  There are mysterious spots on the carpet that I’ve been meaning to clean for a week or two.  I did get back on track with exercising…for the most part.  And I’ve been doing well with eating good food all week.  But you know how you wake up and all you see around you are things you haven’t done, things you have done that have been undone, and things you don’t even want to do?

Those are rough mornings.

I realized I was in a bad place when I began the day by snapping at the kids…but I’m not spending the day getting on them for my own frustrations.  So I took all those expectations that I think matter so much…and drowned them in a cup of coffee with 3 sugar cubes and heavy whipping cream…because I am a beast!…and I didn’t sit at my desk all day.  I did school with the kids on the couch, I got the kitchen cleaned (again), I took some of the kids for a walk with the dogs and enjoyed talking with some neighbors.

It was shaping up to be a better day.

But then I went outside to water the plants, and I noticed there was a mom and her little boy at our Little Free Library.  I’ve noticed a few moms already who make it a routine to stop by the Little Free Library with their kids, and it is now part of their week to get books together.  You know what that is?  That is AWESOME!

Seeing them really made me think though: as parents, you invest so much time into your home and into your kids.  So many little things throughout the day to make sure everyone is heard and taken care of.  Making their favorite sandwich for lunch when you know they have a tough day ahead of them; finding their favorite shoes for class; remembering the names of their favorite characters and asking about them.  All these little moments can add up…and they are no longer little moments, but the moments that they will remember when they are older.

I really didn’t know how the Little Free Library was going to turn out.  I just did it because it was a fun project to do with the kids.  But I’m finding out that there are tons of other families who are actually making it a part of their lives now…sometimes the little things you do have big effects that you don’t see until later.

So, that’s what I’m finishing the week with.  Make the little moments count just as much as the big ones.

Cheers 🙂

giphy

Coloring Inside The Lines

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Redefining Motherhood, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This morning I was just about to start mopping, for obvious reasons, when I found a square out of place:

IMG_8074

This was from my very artistic 4 year old.  She has been hiding crayons in her pockets forever so she could color her crib (when she was in a crib), and the walls surrounding her crib, in peace.  I don’t want to overreact and say her need to color on the house is an epidemic, but we’ll just say it’s a bit of a habit.  One that I thought we had grown out of, since there hasn’t been a crayon outbreak lately.

But armed with new crayons, to her, this particular square of kitchen needed to be filled.  Apparently.

Now, I’ve already talked with her about drawing on the house (again), and I imagine that since we just got fresh crayons for the school room, this won’t be the last time I see something on the house colored.  And today won’t be the last time I talk to her about not drawing on the house.

But here’s the thing: it’s really not that big of a deal.

I’m not too worried about it because I can wash this off.  I was going to mop anyway, and it will come off.  It’s just crayon, and it’s drawn on tile.  Even permanent marker isn’t permanent (nail polish is a little tougher).

But the heart of my daughter is.  And I take that into grave consideration when I scale the discipline with my kids.

There are some things that are inexcusable: lying, betrayal, violence, rage…things of destructive natures.

But drawing on tile is not destructive…it is an instructive moment.  I can teach her why we don’t draw on the house in this moment.  She can get a sponge and help me clean the crayon, so she sees how hard it is to get off.  We can discuss this together, and I can make this moment a learning moment for her.

Honestly, when I saw this, the first thing I thought was, “If you teach your kids to color inside the lines, sometimes we have to also show them where the lines are.”  Because, as you can see, she did color inside the lines very well.

I just need to show her that we color inside the lines on paper.

“Poetry. Beauty. Romance. Love. These are what we stay alive for.”

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn As A Woman, Redefining Motherhood, Uncategorized1 Comment

tumblr_na68gzqVE11qjepkzo1_500

 

Last night I went to see “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and got caught up in the whole first 5 minutes of the film.

If you haven’t seen it, his mom dies.  You’re welcome.

Anyway, as I was watching the scene, I realized that my perspective has certainly changed over the years.  I think I was supposed to be identifying with Peter Quill in that moment: trying to figure out what was going on, angry that my mom was dying, isolated from humanity through the unbearable grief of death…

But in that moment all I could think of was the things I would want to tell Peter as his mother.

“Peter, this is going to be tough, and I can’t be here to help you anymore, so listen to me sweetie.  Death is painful…for you.  I won’t be in anymore pain after I die, but you will. You will have this pain like a rock inside of you that you can’t move.  You will feel like you can’t breathe with this rock sitting in your chest.  I want you to take some time to feel the rock, so you know what it is, and so you can let it go.  Take time to write all your questions to God on the rock.  Go ahead and ask Him why this had to happen: it’s okay to ask.  Write down all the betrayal you feel, every tear of grief and lay it on top of the rock.  And when you are ready, go down to the ocean and put the rock on the shore with the rest of the rocks.  Let the waves come and go over your toes.  And you can remember me there.  But when you turn around to return home, I want you to be the best man you can be.  Be kind to those who hurt.  Be loving to those who are angry.  Be forgiving to the bitter.  Because you understand what it feels like, and you know how much pain we all are in.  And you can be their smile when they forgot how to smile.

Peter, life isn’t always going to be fair, and I am sorry for that.  But you will never regret being too kind or too loving.  Make sure you see the people around you who you can love, and make sure you let them love you back.

Love,

Mom”

Death is so final.

Most of my family has died.  There is nothing I can do to bring anyone back.  And I spent a lot of time sitting at the desk, so to speak, staring out the windows trying to find answers to the “whys” of death.

But after I became a mother, my perspective has definitely changed.

I looked down at the people sitting in the desks staring hopelessly out the window, and I at want to find the words to make sense of things.  At least the best as humanly possible in the face of ethereal pickles.

The death of both Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams are tough.

Both of them brought so much beauty and joy through their art, it is agonizing to think that there is nothing we can do to bring them back.  I can’t write them a letter and tell them that millions of people love them.  I can’t reassure them that sometimes life hurts, but if they need to talk to someone, someone will always be there.

I can’t tell them these things, but I can tell the people around me…I can love them, and help them with their rocks that are keeping them at their desks.

And maybe, if I extend my hand to them, maybe I can help them stand on the desk too.

You never know.

 

The Purpose of the Artist: The Sensitive Spirit, or the Eccentric Ego?

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Homeschooling, Redefining Motherhood, UncategorizedLeave a comment

the-weeping-woman credit

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. – Pablo Piccasso

 One of the goals of parenting should be to broaden the parent-child relationship from “supportive” to “engaged.”

The other day my son was playing a spelling game, and he had to spell the word “axe.”  I was curious what the difference was between “ax” and “axe”…and although I’m sorry to say there isn’t a big difference between the two, I did read a definition of “phrases which use ax”  that seemed relevant to what I am trying to explain.

The phrase was, “have an ax to grind have a self-serving reason for doing or being involved in something: she joined the board because she had an ax to grind with the school system.”

 A lot of times I see parents, or if I’m being completely honest, I see myself, participate with what their children are doing for self-serving reasons.  You could say, “they have an ax to grind with life/school/careers, and so they have a self-serving reason for being involved in what their kids are involved in”:

Continue reading “The Purpose of the Artist: The Sensitive Spirit, or the Eccentric Ego?” →

Navy SEAL Motherhood Training

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn Redefining Motherhood, UncategorizedLeave a comment

imgres

The other day I was reading the transcript of Adm. McRaven’s commencement speech to the graduating class at  University of Texas at Austin, and it was just an incredible journey.

He talked about the people who started the SEAL training, he talked about what they did in training and he talked about the people who had to leave.  What was left was a group of SEALS.

The whole time I was reading this I was thinking: if mothers had training guidelines like this, it would make a world of difference!  We would know what to expect, what our expectations should be, what our days will be like …and most importantly, where the journey will take us and for what purpose.

Now, making “training guidelines” for mothers is kind of ridiculous.  It doesn’t scare me away, but I’m a little more “tough as nails” on the scale of womanhood.  I can only imagine how it would come across for my more tenderhearted peers.

Nevertheless, I believe it would be helpful to have some guidelines for motherhood…and I’m using SEAL training as my base! :

1) Navy SEAL Motherhood Training (yes, I’m going there!)

2) The Big 4 Mental Toughness

3) 15 Things Emotionally Strong Mothers Don’t Do

4) Avoid The Trenches

5) What Is The Point.