drink tea.

Did you know that tea contains minerals and is rich in antioxidants? Do you know that is it safe to say that tea is good for you and has cancer fighting properties? One of my pleasant habits is to brew fresh loose leaf tea every morning. I mix a blend of berry black tea with some berry white tea , which is berry-good. hee. (I like some caffeine but black tea has about half the caffeine as a cup of coffee.) I recommend using filtered water and organic loose leaf tea for the best experience.

Tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water. Black, green, white and oolong derive their leaves from a warm weather tree known as Camellia Sinensis. These leaves have magic powers when it relates to health benefits because they contain polyphenols. It is these antioxidant polyphenols that are all the rage in studies for fighting cancer and heart disease.

And besides all of this, another Mother Rabbit served chamomile tea to her son Peter after he had a rough day with Mr. McGregor. It must be a good idea.

the 12 noon rule.

Mother Rabbit has a little rule for anyone who decides to miss school or work for an illness. I am all in favor of staying home from work or school when one is truly sick, both to help your body to recover and to protect the world around you from your germs.
But here is the rule: If you stay home, you must stay in bed until at least 12 noon. This means in bed in a horizontal position without a DVD player, phone or computer. If you are truly sick, what your body needs and craves is sleep. This little rule helps provide that need, and sometimes helps the bunnies know if they really want to stay home.

respect the mommy meter.

In my 25+ years of being a mother, I have learned the importance of respecting my mommy meter. A mommy meter is an internal barometer of the heart that alerts you when things are awry or danger is pending. You might call it a still, small voice of a mother's heart. You might call it a mother's intuition. Mother Rabbit calls it The Mommy Meter.

Mother Rabbit has learned to respect the workings of this marvelous internal meter. More often than not, the mommy meter is spot on. It is not uncommon for a daughter to get a call or text when mommy's meter goes off just to check in and make sure things are OK. It is not uncommon for Mother Rabbit to withhold permission for an activity based on a mommy meter reading.

My encouragement to mothers everywhere: Learn to listen to and heed your motherly intuition. Fine tune your meter reading skills. And never, never hesitate to act on a gut feeling when something just does not feel right.

My encouragement to children everywhere: Listen to your mother. When she birthed you, she was equipped with a unique set of skills to care for you. Mothers come equipped with a honing system and protective instincts. A Mother Rabbit could kill something with her bare hands that was trying to hurt a baby rabbit. A mother's heart knows more and cares more about you than you will ever understand... until you are a mother. Heed her voice.