One of my "Why's": The Piña Colada song

When I think about songs that remind me of why I do what I do, one of the top songs that comes to mind is “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes. It’s an oldie but a goodie. :)

If you haven’t heard it in a while, click on the link above and give it a listen. Then come back and check out why this song is so important to me. And I bet that you’ll be singing along as you read, just like I am doing as I write!

This is a song about an almost-affair. The technology is of course outdated: personal ads in the newspaper. But the story is not at all outdated. The couple finds themselves bored of each other and starts to seek excitement elsewhere. They go searching for someone who likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. They have stopped getting to know each other. They have stopped expressing their needs to each other. Their relationship has lost its spark, and they have stopped prioritizing each other. But they learn that they actually have more in common than they think. They reconnect. They go back to curiosity and adventure. And that’s what I am here for. I am here to help people to reconnect, to spark curiosity and plan to be spontaneous! Because when we look back on our lives, we are not going to wish that we worked more, but we might wish that we had prioritized our relationships more.

And it’s worth asking; why is a PARENTING coach also doing MARRIAGE coaching? Well, they say that you can measure the health of parents’ relationship by testing the stress hormones in their kids. The quality of our relationships influences our health and immune systems, and it influences our kids’ ability to function in school.

So if connection matters to you but you feel like you’re ready to answer a personal ad, or if you’re early in your relationship and don’t want to get to that point, let’s chat.

My favorite play dough recipe

Just wanted to share my favorite play dough recipe that I’ve used over the years. The recipe was given to me by a colleague years ago, and I love knowing exactly what’s in the play dough and being able to easily make more. If you’re careful with the temperature, you can get the kids to help make it!

Looking at the recipe now, if I thought my kid was going to eat it (because let’s face it, LOTS of kids do), I would experiment with using a better oil (like extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil) and natural food colorings (here’s a post about how to make your own).

One side note: fine motor activities such as play dough can be great activities for children to do to help them to be still long enough for them to fall asleep. There is always the potential that the dough could be messy. But like I say, the great thing about a homemade recipe is that you know exactly what’s in it, and it’s relatively easy to make more.

Homemade Play Dough Recipe

Materials

• 1 cup water

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• Half a cup of salt

• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar

• Food coloring

• Sauce pan

• 1 cup flour

Directions

1. Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a sauce pan and heat until warm.

2. Remove from heat and add flour.

3. Stir, Then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last six months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don't have it on hand.

4. Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.