There’s So Much In This World We Can Learn

Today marks eleven years since we lost one of the most loving and inspirational voices of our time: Mr Rogers. I remember watching episode after episode of “Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood” while eating my rice and milk. (rice, milk, and honey was one of my favorite breakfasts.) I loved his lessons about confidence, peace, and love. I was fascinated by his love of books, as it was so similar to my own, and his vast collection of awesome zip-up cardigans.

He truly made you believe you were capable of anything you put your mind to, and he made it fun to learn. He let you know that learning was something to be done everyday, and that it made you better. He even talked about EXERCISE. Way before it was cool. He talked about how important it is to move your body every day. He had breakdancers and ballerinas and gym teachers on his show kids that loving the vessel you’re given is as important as what you do with it! This was back before Cookie Monster ever saw a vegetable! Living by example!!!

Unfortunately, we no longer have his genius and love and peaceful personality in our everyday lives. Fortunately, PBS has turned one of his most-beloved characters into a cartoon that shares his spirit of learning and love. “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” My kids are obsessed. My Peanut knows how to find it on Netflix, and always insists on its being played. She likes to watch it while she’s  having her snack. I hoped his love of hoodies would encourage her to maybe not watch it in the nude. So far, no such luck. All snacks and netflixing are still done while naked.

As most of you know, I’m a member of the Netflix Stream Team, wherein I blog about my Netflix experience every month. Every month they give us ideas about what they suggest our theme should be. A recent theme being: “watch while you workout.” Well, I do, occasionally, “Watch While I Workout,” but more likely, my kids are watching while I workout! My daughter is INCREDIBLY shy, and my son has Sensory Perception Disorder, so a lot of the time, the gym childcare just isn’t an option because of crowding, etc..However, if I let them have my tablet in childcare, (in an otterbox because I’m not dumb) they can watch Netflix streaming in a safe environment, while I workout. I just turn on Netflix Kids, and I know they won’t be inadvertently watching “Shaun of the Dead” again. –This happened. I fell asleep on the sofa, and woke to my son watching “Shaun of the Dead” on HBO On-Demand. Parenting Fail. 

As a mother of a child with special needs, I can’t tell you how comforting it is to see my son on the childcare monitor, happily sitting and behaving perfectly in the childcare center. I’m not going to lie, it has made him quite popular in the gym. Also, I should be 100% honest: I may or may not watch “Arrow” streaming on the ‘flix (as none of the cool kids call it) on my phone to get through static exercise, because….

Don’t act like you don’t want to get sweaty with him. Just don’t lie to yourself or me like that. (stream time, around 42 minutes. PERFECT for a run or the elliptical, just don’t slip in a puddle of your own drool, that’d be embarrassing.)

I would bake him cake. He could show me how good his aim really is. 

Banana Peanut Butter Cup Bread

by Cat Bowen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients (1 loaf)

• 2 over ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (the kind with 2 ingredients)
• 2 eggs or chia eggs
• 6 oz plain greek yogurt (or soy yogurt. NOT coconut milk yogurt)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup DARK cocoa powder
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9″ loaf pan

with a mixer, beat bananas into a paste

add other wet ingredients (the order makes no nevermind as you’re working with bananas and yogurt)

sift in dry

mix on minute

pour into loaf pan

bake approximately 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

eat the heck out of it.