Teaching Tolerance

Whether McSexy and I are able to conceive naturally or not, we eventually hope to adopt internationally. I have always felt strongly called to adoption (since 4th grade, God has put adoption STRONGLY on my heart), as has my husband. We would love to adopt through my cousin Julie's adoption agency All God's Children International. Julie coordinates adoption with Ethiopia, and we would hope to adopt from there. As it is so important for self-esteem for children to see themselves or those that look like them reflected in art, I have been looking off and on for Black children's art. I also would like nursery decor for ALL of our children to reflect diversity. I found this website (Keisha's Kids) in Oprah's magazine, and fell in love. Here are some of the must haves for our nursery:

Keisha's Kids has cute wall art in retro style. Perfect to go along with Dick and Jane bedding if we go with that!

Tick tick tick! All girls love ballerinas and pink!

LOVE this rug! My daddy was a fireman, so I always have a soft spot for big, red engines in kid's rooms! Plus, the Dalmation driving the truck is TOO cute.

The site also has adorable growth charts. I am hoping that their selection grows even further with bedding, pillows (you know me and fabric!) and other accessories. Integrating multi-cultural images into your home, as well as talking openly and candidly with you child about race, is even more important when you consider this article from Newsweek. I found it through Teaching Tolerance, a group that discusses ways to promote and support diversity in the classroom. This article is worth a read for parents, teachers, grandparents or anyone who has a relationship with young children.

If anyone finds other retailers with multicultural, kid-friendly art, please let me know!

Icky Sicky Poo

Don't ask me how I got sick my last weekend before school starts. Oh wait! Duh. That's right. Nolan got sick HIS first week of school so in turn got ME sick this week. Awesome. I haven't been sick all summer thankfully, and now I am being reminded of the hazardous nature of being a schoolteacher. Strong immune system and ability to work while woozy should be in every teacher's job description.


I made Jason look up acupuncturists on our insurance and I will be making a call to one next week to try to nip this in the bud. I really can't do another year like last year where I was chronically sick with colds, the flu, and a host of other nasty bugs. I am hoping that a naturopathic doc can give me holistic ways to boost my health and maybe some herbal remedies and/or acupuncture to strengthen my immune system, which has never been that strong anyway. You would think after all these years of working with kids my immune system would figure out a way to get it together on it's own, but I don't think it is the quickest greyhound on the track and needs some nudging.

It was funny because I was at school today helping my friend and co-teacher Aja get the classroom ready for the kiddos. As I was leaving and moaning about my illness, I said, "I'm going to go home and make Jason wait on me hand and foot this weekend." Aja goes, "Um... How is that different from any other weekend?" Touche, Friend. You know me all too well :)