Contemporary Earth Mama

handwritten letters

Who doesn’t love a handwritten letter?  Can you even remember the last time you received something just for you in the mail, handwritten by another, that gave you warm fuzzies?  I know I can’t, but I’m on a mission to get back that lovin’ feeling!

Fourteen years ago, ahem, while a mere twenty years old, my best friend and I were separated by five states, a mountain range or two, a gorge, and the desire to be hanging out together climbing every day.  Later in the year, the call from the West won my heart and off I drove to live with her in Mammoth, CA.  Prior to that we would write letters to each other on the cardboard from cereal, mac’n’cheese, and pizza boxes.  The fun in collecting boxes for writing to one another was outrageous as we tried to outdo the other time and again.  From tampon boxes to the cardboard that comes with a new set of sheets, we shared tales of love lost and gained, healthy living (i.e., “how do I make hummus again?”), college and what we desired most out of life.

A few weeks back I saw the back of the brown crispy rice cereal box in a whole new light, suddenly remembering this fun way of communicating, and decided to have a go at it again.  You know what’s awful?  I no longer even knew the address of my dear friend thanks to email and Facebook, so swallowed my foot when I had to ask her for it!  I now have a handful of cardboard letters that are ready for the mail and my 7 year old is getting a huge kick out of this and now has a cardboard collection of her own developing under her bed.

I encourage you this week to find a way to upcycle or recycle something into a handwritten letter to someone who may return the favor of fun mail!

a new bedtime ritual

Fannie moved into her big girl bed last week and a few days into it developed a new way of saying goodnight to me.  After nursing, we read a bit, say prayers and I tuck her in, snuggling up with her for a few minutes before leaving the room.

One night I leaned over to kiss her and this is what happened next as she proceeded to smother me with soft little kisses with the heavy breathing only found attractive in 2 year olds:

"mom, I will kiss your mouf,

and your forehead,

and your cheeka,

and your uva cheeka,

and your nosy,

and your eye,

and your uva eye,

and your chin,

and your ear,

and your uva ear,

and your mouf,

oh, and your forehead again."

And she does this now every. single. night.

(Insert sigh of calm here.)

What are your favorite bedtime rituals?

abc's of Thanks and Giving~ and a little extra giveaway

Over the weekend I already began to see and read bits and pieces of what people are thankful for...that has to be my favorite part of the holidays. Watching people connect, I mean really connect, is not  something we see enough of on a daily basis.  Hearing people genuinely thank others, or as a friend of mine teaches her children, watching people genuinely show thank you to others, really lights my fire.

Let me entertain you with a list of what I am especially thankful for and where/how I will give more of myself throughout the coming year:

a)  my marriage

b) generosity

c) checking in with integrity

d) good intentions with equally as good follow through

e) patience

f) understanding

g) my children

h) my family

i) wine with my cousin on Saturday night

j) conversations longer than fifteen minutes with my husband

k) learning how to better communicate with family

l) realizing my ability to empower others

m) realizing my ability to rally others

n) tapping into my ability to connect others

o) sharing my experiences with others

p) the many helpful people who have shown up for me in 2010

q) the many people who remained patient and kind during transitional and transformational times in 2010

r)  the listening others do for me

s) the listening I do for others

t)  the spirit of keeping home

u) the creation of new possibilities in my mothering

v) the endless opportunities just sitting at my fingertips

w) the philanthropy of time and energy

x) date nights

y) right now, this education for my Sunny

z) the land of ice and snow, the seasons and Mother Earth's relentless ability to keep me on my toes

So I have a little gift to give.  I would like for you to share with me what you are grateful for this year and how you plan on giving of yourself in the year to come.  In return, I will randomly generate the recipient of a 30 minute massage therapy session with yours truly.

I will close comments on Friday, November 26th at 8 a.m. and announce the winner.

 

postpartum support

The other day I had an interview with a local mama who is looking for postpartum support specifically under the category of nourishment.  She is due with her third child within the next month and is looking for help in having healthy meals made for them in their home for the first week or two following baby's arrival.

I completely commended her for thinking beyond the birth, because so few of us actually do.  When I work with a mom just as a birth doula, she can never understand why I want to talk for at least an hour about her postpartum plan...and then, post baby she is delighted ( to say the least) that we had that conversation.  There are many things that one can prepare for when you know help is not necessarily around the corner for your postpartum survival, maintenance, and success.

This mama's concern is that she has moved here recently and has yet to establish a circle of friends, there isn't a lot in terms of family around, and they are gluten and dairy free.  The children she has are old enough to help themselves to prepared snacks, but not old enough to do the preparing themselves.

I also shared with her some of my favorite tips for best supporting her children during the labor/delivery as this is a homebirth and they will be present, along with household management tips for them after the baby comes.

We will meet within the next two weeks again so I can get acquainted with her home, kitchen, and pantry.  In this session we will also make a list of favorite meals and snacks, get a handle on where the like their shopping done ( they are co-op shoppers, yeah!!!) and take a look at what we'll need to tackle first after baby's arrival.

There is nothing I enjoy more than supporting a mama in this lovely transition to holding a new life.  There is always much to be done and when I can leave her tucked in and quiet to enjoy the new babe and some rest, there is nothing like it.

If you are considering postpartum support, check out my website for the many options available.

at the front window...

 

Last night in the front window, baby hammocks were made.  Sunny was skimming through Toymaking with Children with me, as I sought ideas for the coming holidays for the wee ones in our lives, and came upon the baby hammocks.

Five minutes later a little room was constructed just so between a chair and the rocker, and babies were laid in their hanging beds, and all was well with the world.

It never ceases to amaze me that life without the influence of media and television for children renders nothing but pure and innocent imagination.

What is it you love most about your children's imagination?

what i did this week that scared me...

1-was more generous than usual

2-persevered

3-asked for help

4-trusted my Faith

5-showed up

6-followed through

7-asked for humility

8-stepped in

9-faced it

10-and as a result, felt So.  Much.  Better.

 

And you?  What did you do this week that scared you?

 

thought i'd share...

For those of you who haven't done or heard of the Landmark Forum...participating in this was the single most powerful thing I have done in my life ( with, of course, the exception of having given birth twice over).

The men and women I know who have gone through this course on powerful living are doing nothing short of moving mountains for themselves and for those around them.  They have supported myself in mountain moving as of late and will continue to act as key-turners in my life as I take important steps forward into places I have yet to visit.

If any of you are considering or curious or wondering or just want to check it out, come with me tomorrow night, Tuesday, from 7-10 to learn more.

For now I will leave you with a quote that is helping me to stay the course of life today:

"Don't be afraid to go where you've never gone and do what you've never done, because both are necessary to have what you've never had and be who you've never been." ~Mike Dooley

'nuff said, huh?  now, take action.

when life hands you marshmallows...

When life hands you marshmallows...you make s'mores, right?

 

Who's power went out the other night with the gale force winds that blew through here all evening?  My pakistani kima had to wait because without electricity, the evening called for an impromptu picnic on the living room floor.

The menu included:

almond butter and rhubarb-strawberry jam sandwiches

pickles

carrots

apple slices

AND, s'mores....with marshmallows roasted on a fork by candlelight.

 

I was so glad to have had marshmallows on hand...not something that's always in my pantry!  When it came time for dinner and I realized it was picnic time, I sent them off to play suggesting I had a surprise, requested grass (i.e., blanket) be laid on the floor, packed up our picnic and led them on a spooky trek through the enchanted forest before landing at a grassy knoll for a moonlit picnic (this amounts to a slow, deliberate walk through our little house where we carefully looked for stinky trolls around every corner before spotting the blanket where we'd sit for our picnic).  They loved it.

Actually, the power came on over an hour later, and they requested we use as little electricity as possible and continue through the bedtime routine of pj's, teeth brushing, tinkle, reading and tuck-in's all by candlelight.  It made for a really calm and beautiful evening.

After tucking Fannie in, I caught a glimpse of Sunny sitting on her bed, brushing the hair of her doll in a shadow of candlelight from her nightstand...so beautiful!

How did you fare in the power outage?

 

crafty fun

Today is my mother in law's birthday, and as we are up north to celebrate it with her, we decided to a) bake her favorite cake, b) make her requested dinner of homemade GF pizza, and c) craft something for her to add to the large collection of Halloween decor.  Last year we felted a black/green spider on a web of cream colored roving, and this year, felted pumpkins.

I found this little number and I've felted a few of them already.  They are so cute and super easy...Sunny decided to spend her time next to me on the couch finger knitting a new leash and collar for Campbell.

Any crafty fun in your day?

...and the winners are....

Thank you to the following winners of the Mark Romero Music CD:

"What an interesting concept! I am a musician myself and would be interested in hearing this music"-Kate Gregory

"I would love to hear this CD!"-Sarah Billingsley