more

Posted in love and happiness by

a year of more:

more attention to the things that truly matter to me. more sleep. more books. more picnics on sunny days. more cleansing breaths. more crying when i feel like it. more gratitude. more naps. more nourishment. more hikes. more traveling. more music. more quiet spaces. more time alone. more time with friends. more bike rides. more lemonade. more laughing till it hurts. more phone calls. more love. more hugs. more support. more babies being born. more growing families. more dirt. more work. more cheese, of all types. more cartwheels. more push-ups. more baking. more snuggling. more frozen yogurt. more note cards. more family gatherings. more movie nights. more money struggles. more reading. more listening. more self-care. more yeses. more sympathy. more nights under a starry sky. more singing. more visits. more shiny, LOTS more. more dreaming. more scheming. more bedtime stories. more butter.

yes, more butter.

a wish for the new year

Posted in love and happiness, Momma Needs a minute... by

i’m really excited to leave 2012 behind me. even years are always bad for me. odds are with me on the odds. i feel it brewing in me bones that 2013 is going to be a great year.

look, my life is the bomb diggity. i know that. i really, really know that. I believe it in a way today that i didn’t believe it 6 months ago…or even 2 months ago. but this year has been marked by pain, grief and anger and I’m just ready to move on and into a new year. because… i feel this positive energy out there in this “new year” future. i wanna step into it.

so i’m sending out a new year’s wish to the universe: let this next year be as flourishing, wonderful and fulfilling as it could possibly be. let’s just take it to the max. i’m really ready to go all in. i’m placing all my bets on happiness. there’s no other alternative.

2012 waste reduction

Posted in Run Da House, zero waste home by

People,

this is the time of year when everyone sends out their “best of 2012” lists. last year I reposted lots of my fave photos from the year. this year i want to do something different.

i just watched GasLand and now have a fire re-kindled in my heart to further our waste reduction efforts in the coming year. I know what it feels like to be a mother with all her resources tapped and dwindling. I feel I strongly want to examine ways I can reduce my consumption and maybe even replenish dear old Momma Earth.

I wanted to take a look back at some of the implementations from 2012 that has taken us down to less than one bag of trash a week:

bulk grocery shopping and moving towards a mostly produce based grocery list. not a lot of chips or crackers brought into this house anymore.

started using a compost bin.

clothesline drying laundry in the warm months.

Bikes were our main source of transportation May-October. Mike is still riding his everyday.

lineRuJu

Well, that completes the list of new things for the year. I’m always looking for ways to become more eco-friendly so if anyone has a tip let me know.

grandparents’ weekend

Posted in familyness, kiddie-do by

darla snow we had a few nice, quiet days in indiana complete with some snow romping and fort building. darla is staying with my parents for a few extra days. i’ve already 4 boxes lined up at our door of things i’ve separated out to go to donation. I know she’ll enjoy a few extra days with her adoring grandparents and I’m thankful for the extra post-christmas organizing time.

i’m so very thankful to have loving, supportive parents that are a positive presence in my daughters’ life. i’m very grateful for the times they support us by giving us a weekend here and there to recover from the everyday stresses of life.

mostly, i’m just thankful that they treat her with such kindness and true generosity. i’m not talking about simply buying her stuff, but generosity of their spirit. they are wonderful examples of kindness, love and support. i aspire to be more like them.

better to see you with

Posted in familyness, love and happiness, parenting apparently? by

3rd eye

i know i’m supposed to be showing you pictures of all the festive holiday stuff we’ve been doing but the truth is i’m kinda over it. this photo is the one i really wanted to share because i think it speaks more about our life than any holiday projects or baking we’ve been doing. darla asked to have a third eye drawn on her head before we went out to see the hobbit and well, you can see i obliged.  for the record, she does know the significance of the third eye and fell asleep many nights listening to the story of shiva and his third eye read from the children’s bedtime storybook from India i picked up a couple of months back. she is a real kook and i love her and i will draw a third eye on her forehead and let her wear it in public any day if that is how she wants to interact with her world!!!

well, ok i’ll show you just a few of our winteryness pics, too:

graham cottagecottagesnow walksnow icee

graham cracker cottage with dad, first stomp in the snow, and maple syrup snow slushie.

radical support

Posted in love and happiness, Momma Needs a minute... by

“what if we were all just radically supportive of one another?”

i posed this question yesterday on facebook. it seems that it was well received. a friend posted a response of “I could be radically supportive if I was radically supported.” hmmm. that’s something to think about now isn’t it?

so why not? could we all at least give it a shot? it’s really not that hard. i feel that i was raised in a sort of natural cheerleader environment. i see it in my daughter, too. she’s naturally enthusiastic about whatever any one else is doing. i would like to believe she learned this from her father and i but whatevs. it’s there and that’s all that matters.

the thing is, i really REALLY believe in people. i do. i believe in leaps of faith. all kinds of faith.  and right now i just wonder how different everything could be if more of us started saying “you can do it” to each other. i have received this support countless times in the past few months and i can’t even begin to tell you the transformation it has ignited inside of me.

“you can do it” is now a mantra for the work i am doing. I have seen the difference a simple “i believe in you” sentence can have on a mother in her vulnerable birthing moments. the thing is…more of our moments could be birthing moments. we could be birthing new ideas, life goals, hobbies, movements a lot more if we began operating in a culture of support.

so why not? could we all at least give it a shot?

who do you admire right now? someone you know that you could contact in just a few minutes to say “i really believe in you” … “i admire your work” … “i see how much growth you’ve had and it’s been beautiful to watch” … any of those would do.

maybe 2013 will be my year of radical support…