There’s something special about March, and I’m not talking about college basketball. March is when I start gardening. I ordered seeds before I left for South by Southwest Interactive and they arrived while I was gone. Now I’m home and eager to get dirty.

It’s still too cold to plant most things, but I can start seeds indoors, go out and turn some manure into the soil, and I can also plant that half pound of snap peas. Can you believe I plant a half pound of peas and never have any to freeze? My kids devour them.

You should think about planting some veggies this spring. If you don’t have much space, or if digging is a problem, you can do amazing things with container gardens. My mother has great luck with tomato plants in big flower pots on the side of her house.

We all know that growing your own vegetables is a tasty and nutritious hobby, but it also saves energy because your food doesn’t have to travel hundreds of miles in a truck to reach your table, it saves money, and you get some fresh air and exercise. Another benefit is that when you grow your own food, you know where it came from. In these days of industrial food factories, and processing, and salmonella, and E. coli, I like to control the safety of my food.

In English

Para mí es importante que Eva sea bilingüe y bicultural. Eva es una niña de 16 meses muy activa. Le encanta bailar y "organizar" las ollas en la cocina varias veces al día.

Todos los padres compartimos unas metas similares sobre la crianza de nuestros hijos pero a mi lista de metas he añadido el enseñarle a Eva dos idiomas (para empezar) y sobre otras culturas, especialmente la de ella. No soy una experta en crianza de niños ni soy uno de esos padres que ha leído millones de libros o visitado todos los sitios web disponibles en busca de respuestas a cada pregunta. Sin embargo tengo que admitir que hay dos excepciones a esa aseveración, las cuales puedo resumir en:

• ¡Necesito dormir! – después de no haber podido dormir por 13 meses estaba dispuesta a pagar cualquier cantidad a quién pudiera ayudarme a arreglar el problema- y en...
• ¿Cómo puedo asegurarme que Eva crezca aprendiendo dos, tres o muchos idiomas? ¿Cómo puedo fomentar un amor por ambas culturas? La norteamericana y la puertorriqueña. Dora y Diego pueden ser de gran ayuda pero en realidad estoy en busca de métodos más científicos.

Aquí comparto unos consejos que mis amigos me han dado y sobre los cuales también he leído:

• consistencia: "siempre habla español (en mi caso) en el hogar y en tus interacciones con ella. Eva aprenderá inglés al interactuar con otros y también en la guardería y en la escuela".
• exposición a otras culturas, especialmente a la de ella.

¿No sería buenísimo que en esta era de globalización fuera la meta de todos fomentar en nuestros hijos el amor por otros idiomas, incluyendo el inglés por supuesto, y por otras culturas? Comparte conmigo tu opinión y tus consejos. También puedes enviarme un "tweet" - @leilani73.

En español

Making sure Eva grows up to be bilingual and bicultural is important to me. Eva is an active 16 month-old girl. She loves to dance and “organize” several times a day the kitchen drawer that has all the pots and pans.

I know that as parents we all share common goals when it comes to raising our children but to my list of goals I’ve added to raise a child that is bilingual (to start with) and interested in learning about other cultures, especially hers. I’m definitely not a guru when it comes to raising children nor am I one of those parents who has read millions of books or visited many sites trying to find the answer for every issue.

However, there are two exceptions to that, which I can summarize as:

• I want to sleep again! – after suffering from 13 months of severe sleep deprivation, I was willing to pay money to whoever could help me fix this “problem.”
• How can I ensure that she grows up learning two, three or many languages? How can I encourage her to embrace both of her cultures? The Puerto Rican and the American. Watching Dora and Diego could help but I’m in the quest for more proven methods.

Here are some key tips based on advice that was given by friends as well as on what I've read so far:

• be consistent: “always speak Spanish (in my case) at home and when interacting directly with her. She will learn English once she starts going to school and interacting with others.”
• expose her to different cultures and teach her about her heritage.

Wouldn’t it be cool if in this era of globalization we could all make it a goal to instill in our children a love for languages, including English of course, as well as an appreciation for cultures around the world? Share your thoughts and advice. You can also tweet me - @leilani73.

Having pets has made a big impact on me.  I didn’t really grow up with pets or other animals around, so I never really gave animal life much thought.   Animals were just things to see at the zoo or on a National Geographic television special.  I felt no particular attachment or concern towards animals.   To me, they were just part of the background of life.  It wasn’t until I became a pet owner and developed strong bonds with my pets that I started to take notice and feel an attachment to all animal life around me.

When I started paying attention, for the first time I noticed that animals, whether wild or domesticated, are not just thinking, but feeling beings.  They have personalities and they feel contentment, suffering, and fear.  I came face to face with this fact a while ago.

I was out in the yard with my dogs when a young buck, clearly panicked and running from something, jumped the fence into our yard.  My little dogs went chasing after him down the side of our yard, so I ran after them stupidly thinking I could somehow stop them.  I heard a loud WHAM as the deer hit the front fence and more barking.  I rounded the corner and there was the deer coming right at me.

For a brief moment, I had eye contact with this young buck and we shared the same feelings… pure fear and panic.  My mind flashed to the image of a news anchor reporting, “Local woman pierced in the heart by an antler, film at 11:00.”  The deer swerved and avoided me.  He ran up into the back of our yard and jumped the back fence.   Freaked out and shaking like a leaf, I went inside and changed my pants!

Some domesticated animals are capable of complex emotions of love, loyalty, and dedication towards human beings.  Throughout history, animals have worked with humans side by side performing valuable tasks.

Assistance animals are trained to help people with disabilities.  They serve as the eyes, ears, or hands for people who have limited abilities.  These animals go through rigorous training to learn how to help their companions. Here are some helpful links for people with companion animals:

• TSA service animal information
• Commonly asked questions about service animals in businesses
• Emergency preparedness for people with service animals
• Pet Health

Animals serve humans as protectors and guardians, guarding both property and livestock.  In the federal government animals serve as soldiers and agents along side their human handlers.  Here are some links that describe the types of tasks these animals perform:

• Working dogs in the military
• FBI working dogs
• Navy Marine Mammal Program

If you have a story to share about service/working animals, I would love to hear it.

Getting stuck in traffic is stressful, especially if you're running late for an appointment or to pick your child up from school or for an important work meeting. Unfortunately, a new study shows that our risk for a heart attack triples in the hour after we've been stuck in traffic.

For a healthy person, that might not mean much, but for someone already at an increased risk, this study could be troubling.

The study didn't say specifically what about being stuck in traffic prompted such an increase in risk, but being in a backlog seems to affect driver and passenger in the same way, and if you have angina, are elderly or are a woman, your chances increase even more.

For tips on staying mellow, no matter how long you're stuck, you can check out these resources on managing stress and keeping your heart healthy.

How to Keep Your Heart Healthy
Healthy Heart Handbook for Women
Exercise and Your Heart
Managing Stress
Win Control Over Stress in Your Life

If those don't work, you could always crank the radio and have yourself a karaoke session until traffic starts moving again.