We couldn't have hoped for a sweeter pup than little Mr Angel but I have to admit we are in the midst of an adjustment period. People aren't joking when they say it's like having a newborn; you know with all the getting up in the middle of the night and having to be aware of his whereabouts at all times.
This too shall pass but until then I'm applying my handy dandy Simplicity Parenting principles and utilizing too the Kaizen Muse creativity coaching tools I'm honing through my coaching certification process. Until then, I'm building much character and we're all falling in love fast with a little pudgy puppy and the sweet role he's slipping into in our family.
To help you dive deeper into the Simplicity Parenting realm I'm excited to announce that sign ups for my Simplicity Parenting ecourse are just around the corner!!! Be sure to sign up for my Mama Bliss E-zine today to stay on top of the latest developments of this exciting opportunity to grow your simplifying and parenting love muscles!
Last year I interviewed my mama while she was here for her annual spring visit. I condensed it down to the sew love highlights but if you want to see the full, unedited version you can kick back for the full duration of a cup of tea and witness the look of my mama's motherly concern around my mental health when I unveil to her the secret of my inner French child named Madeline.
This was filmed last spring whilst I was in the midst of launching my Spring Sewing Course which you can sign up for here. And once again it's the season to get our smocks and bloomers on! So tell a friend, or don't tell her and then make a whack of these sweet spring flavoured frocks and then sell them them to her from your Etsy shop! :)
We've come a long way in our relationship with our divine bovine, Miss Daisy. It took us a while to get comfortable with each other and to figure out a routine that works but I think we have it down pat!
Right now we leave her with her baby, Meatballs, together throughout the day (she's practicing attachment parenting with him) and then we separate them at night (not very AP that part now that I think of it) so we only have to milk her once a day and have the option to skip it all together if Craig's out of town or are busy with something else in the morning.
It's a beautiful part of my morning routine this milking time. I squeeze it in right after my morning latte and getting some blogging action in. I get the feeling she loves morning coffee breath!
Off to hit publish and get my milking ensemble on and give Daisy a squeeze or two!
I grew up with a master seamstress of a mother (ooooo, that sounds so straight from the hood!) who in my youth has sweetly and in the most motherly lovingly way imaginable attempted to teach me many times over this amazingly cool life skill of making your own clothes. But funny enough, I never really go into it until I had kids of my own. I often wonder if that was just due to maturity (stifle of snicker here) or, not be rude, because my mom's not around.
To put it gently my mom and I have different sewing/living styles. Maybe it's a personality thing or because of the way she was taught (by a hoity-toity haute couture type) but she is impecable with her mad skillz! I remember working alongside her feeling my energy drain quickly after the giddy initial planning of the project stage as I had to rip out seams and start things over and over again because it wasn't. just. so. I eventually felt I didn't have, or ever will have, the eye for detail or the patience required to be a proper, card carrying seamstress.
This week in my creative coaching training we were asked to think back to a moment when we were able to overcome this very common roadblock to creativity; perfectionism. For me it was the discovery of the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi; the beauty in imperfection.
Craig and I were introduced to this worldview together. I can't remember how exactly but he wrote me a poem around that time, when we were still fresh, called Wabi Kathy (gush) and this was how I started falling in love with sewing and seeing more beauty in the world in general.
My Backwoods Mama Spring Sew Camp is a testament of the not taking it too serious bit. The important part is having fun with the process, taking shortcuts when the opportunity presents itself and then daring to wear your beautifully imperfect creation out. Or at least in the garden. Or on the couch. Either way what happens in the Backwoods, stays in the Backwoods.
For today's vlog entry, I cracked this video out of my Top Secret Backwoods Mama Access Only Vlog Vault to show you a sample of what one of the classes is like to see if you'd like to take my hand and go into the deep not-so-scary Backwoods with me. Just don't forget your bread crumbs!
And you might be interested to know that Campers are eligible to take part in an affiliate program. If a camp purchase is traced back to you you get 50% of the sale! Get two of your buddies to join and voila; free spring wardrobe! Kinda.
Not to jinx us or anything but I'm certain that we've experienced the last of the heavy snowfalls of the year. I'm usually pretty conservative about my timing around uttering this statement (having been raised in a city that is known for freak May snow blizzards) but I have that twitchiness that's pretty dialed in with the Farmer's Almanac that gives me this compulsion to want to shove all our belongings (saving the pretties or the usefuls) into cardboard boxes to be appreciated by someone else, in another home, far, far away, and to help bring a sense of space and order to our great indoors before moving my energies and focus to the great outdoors.
Here in today's vlog entry I share how I've been using the smallest of steps of to ease myself into the mindset of what can feel like an enormous task. It need not be all encompassing - it can even be fun! And how I'm planning on cranking up the fun factor an extra few notches is by joining in on Goddess Leonie's six week Goddess Haven space clearing and decluttering ecourse that you can purchase here (I'm an Ambassador, yo, so I get a bit of a commission if you sign up but I'm just such a fan of hers and her offerings that I can't imagine you won't be too, not to mention this course rocks!).
I'll be plugging away at this throughout the rest of the spring so if you want to play along I'll be showing you my before and afters if you show me yours ;) Leonie, or no Leonie, how does your spring cleaning glow?
I was reminded recently of the power of even just a few minutes of yoga can have on the outlook I hold for the rest of the day and for just simply getting reacquainted with my currently hormonally up heaved body. This reminder was then further reinforced during the latest session of my Kaizen Muse Creative Coaching training ~ which is zooming along super spanky and I looooooove it and can't wait to share all the tools I'm picking up along this amazing journey with you.
Yes ~ five minutes of yoga! Yes ~ five minutes of anything blissful you want to experience during your busy mama-ing day!
During my simplicity parenting workshop this weekend we were exploring our personal parenting style. Parenting styles can morph with time, experience, life. For instance, with Edie we were way less structured and super attached as in she went where we went, stayed up as late as we did, slept in until whenever. With Kale, now that I think about it, our approach has taken a complete 180. So much so at times it feels our days have a tinge of the Groundhog Day effect (the Bill Murray movie from the nineties; not being easily spooked by our shadows).
When Craig asked me what I got up to while he was away all week all that really stood out was make breakfast, clean up, make lunch, clean up, make dinner, clean up and get the kids in bed. Of course there were in between highlights but that there is the heartbeat of our lives together and I love it and, to be honest, in some aspects was what I clung to to keep from losing it while Craig was gone.
But what I especially love in our daily rhythm is getting to hang out with Craig once the kids are tucked in, safe at sound, lights out at 8:00 (I am striving to ease this more toward seven so we can enjoy even more hang out time. Mama gets sleepy by 9:00 these days!).
I was hoping to capture a rich exchange between Craig and I about this special time in our lives but he says doesn't want to 'be in the cloud' (paranoia will destroya I told him), so instead I had to play his role. Again.
What do you do once the kids are in bed? If you simply pass out like I used to, do you have another time for connection with your partner?
This vlog entry has been brought to you by the letters "I'm Bored". What's your snappy comeback to that?
But let's not dwell in the land of boredom but instead take a look to her annoyingly prettier and popular older sister - good times! As in I'm so excited to announce the first day of my ebook blog tour. Twelve blogs are on the queue to graciously open their online homes to the topic of bliss and mama love. Join in on their juicy conversations to be entered to win a copy of The Bliss Filled Mama!
The first hostesses with the mostestses are Catherine of Catherine et les fees and Elizabeth from Just Add Fiber. I'll be back everyday until Saturday sharing the rest of the bliss filled itinerary. Until then, tell them only boring people get bored and sister good times sent ya!
So happy to announce my new ebook and audio The Bliss Filled Mama: Self-Care for Soulful Mothering is alive and kicking! A happy, healthy baby ebook I gave birth to just last week. Wheeee!!! I'm exhausted but glowing from happiness as heck from riding that wild donkey (inside Goddess circle joke).
I also want to share that I'm going to take the book out on a virtual book tour next week. There are a few spots left so if you think you would like to participate, send me an email and I'll be happy to put your blog on the itnerary and offer one of your readers a copy of my musings as a giveaway.
Thanks again so much you guys ~ much bliss to you all!
Edited to add: I forgot to mention I have a guest post over at Homespun Waldorf today! I'm participating in the Winter Carnival this month. There will be much seasonal radiance going over there as many Waldorf-inspired mamas share their winter celebrations and insights over the month of February.
Also, I'm going to announce the winner of the ebook copy tomorrow morning instead of today. I just want to make sure my newsletter subscribers are in on the contest entering fun :)
You might notice a split second at the end of the video where you can faintly hear the little wheels in my head turning. I remember now the second my mama anetdote I wanted to share:
The first time my mom met Edie was when she was a month old - right at the prime of her nighttime fusiness. Craig and I were like: "so.... what are you suppose to do when this happens?"
My mom grabbed Edie and started walking around with her and lo and behold, Edie settled impressively quick. "Kahhhh-tee (imagine me doing my mom impression), babies are like horses. They can smell your fear".
So that kind of nicely ties up the whole cow/puppy/kid/gentle disciplining/fear smelling flavour of the vlog entry for this week. Enjoy!
