Archive for the ‘family’ Category
27
Apr
Posted by alivingfamily in culture, family, learning, technology. 2 Comments
April 30 – May 6 is Screen Free Week.
I had never heard of this. When I researched it, I found out it was started by Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood. Their motto is “Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers.” I can definitely get with that idea. They have lots of resources on their website on media issues, including body image, the sexualization of childhood and the commercialization of babyhood.
This celebratory week represents putting all this invasive media messaging in its place.
Before I found out about Screen Free Week, though, I had already gone back to screen free for my daughter. She now Skypes with her grandparents, but is otherwise playing. Usually she can be found singing a little song while “cooking,” “riding a horse,” or “going farmers’ market.” I don’t know if it’s a result of no screen time or if I’m noticing more, but her imagination has gained strong foundations. I find myself joyfully pretending scenarios with my daughter, much as I spent my time as a little girl myself.
Although I have my daughter screen free, I continue to have issues with computer use.
I am using Screen Free Week as an excuse to reevaluate my relationship with this device called a computer. I considered scheduling posts, but I decided that it wasn’t really supporting Screen-free Week if I encouraged others to get online. I hope that I still have folks reading and commenting when I come back in a week. I’ve really enjoyed the increase in discussion on the Facebook page, appreciated the “likes” and new subscribers to the blog and found support for many aspects of my life through other people’s sites.
It’s just that I find myself wondering what life would be like without it.
No computer at all.
No electromagnetic waves hitting my energy field.
No time spent waiting for uploading and downloading or sending or posting.
MY PLAN: After Screen Free Week I will shift my relationship with the computer.
I want to have a time boundary for a tasks.
I will have 30 minutes, say, to do things on the blog and write, over the course of the day. What I don’t finish, I don’t finish. I want to see how far that time gets me. Work to use those minutes efficiently. I think this will help me move forward on multiple fronts rather than over-focusing on one area. I can use this as a starting point from which to evolve.
I want to try out different timings for computer work.
I tend to feel like checking everything in the morning when I get up. I don’t think that is necessarily the best thing for me. Maybe I would be more efficient doing computer things at another time. Maybe I write in the morning and do FB stuff in the night. I want to find what my rhythms are, what my family’s rhythms are.
I enjoy the work I am doing online.
I feel vibrant and guided as I build A Living Family community (locally and online). I feel passionate about supporting other families I connect with online. I am constantly growing and learning from all I do online. This computer has made me a better parent, truly.
I just need to put the computer use in its proper place in my life, to use it effectively as a tool to enrich and further my life.
With that, friends, starting Monday I will be off finding out what life is like without a screen….
RESOURCES
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23
Dec
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, baby sign language, development, family, natural parenting, parenting, RIE, Uncategorized. Tagged: attachment parenting, baby sign language, development, family, natural parenting, parenting, RIE. 2 Comments
Has anyone ever made it through toddlerhood and not had to think and talk about sharing?
Before about 20 months, my daughter was a dreamy playmate. Caring, thoughtful, concerned, open and giving — she seemed more interested in the people themselves and their feelings than in taking or keeping a particular plaything. I watched friends and strangers going through their own (non)sharing experiences and searching for ways to deal with the issue. I felt gratitude that more children were taking from my child than she was taking from others. A thought flashed in my mind that maybe I’d been blessed with a child so skilled socially that I would have to do little agonizing over sharing.
Then came the reality of child development. My daughter began to explore ownership (mine!) and more complex relationships (other people have needs and wants). She started out fairly easy to redirect. Recently, though, as her verbal skills explode, she seems to be having a harder time with sharing. I have been thinking about and researching ways to help her develop an internal motivation to share (versus an external demand/expectation). [Resources below.]
Here’s what I’m currently striving for as we work together on sharing:
1. I use consistent language, including empathy in the conversation.
I say the same thing at home, before we get to some place where she will have an opportunity to share, when something is happening, and after the opportunities have been experienced. I usually say something like the following:
“You want to play with that toy, huh? Looks like ____ isn’t finished playing with it yet. Maybe when they are finished they will give you a turn.”
I say this knowing that the other child may never “finish” playing with the toy. I also encourage her to ask for a turn using this same language. When we play together I try to use this language often myself so that she can feel the difference between me taking something and me asking for a turn (“When you’re done, can I have a turn?”)
2. I give space for me to observe and my daughter to practice the art of sharing.
This is not easy for me at all. I do want to jump in to “solve” and “direct.” I try to keep my mouth shut until I have observed. I am looking to see what my daughter and the other child are doing and feeling, and I try to give my daughter ample opportunity to observe the other child’s behavior and try out her skills. I also talk to her about waiting and being patient. If she does actually want that thing and is having a hard time we talk about waiting.
3. I use ASL signs: turn, finished, wait, patient, frustrated.
I have a post planned for a while from now on signing, but I definitely find that my daughter responds more quickly and positively when I sign than if I just use my words. When she sees me sign “turn” I see her face register the symbol, and she almost always uses the language from #1. Of course, patience is hard for all of us, so we also talk about being frustrated with waiting. Our strategy is to breathe. Usually by the end of all that, even though it’s quick, she is ready to move on or give her friend some space.
So far, these things have been making it easier for me to know what to do (and what I don’t want to do). My daughter seems to be responding. We still have issues sometimes, but I feel that we have created a foundation for us to build upon with each opportunity that arises.
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Articles
Teaching the Art of Sharing
How to Teach Sharing by Giving up Control
Baby Teamwork (Sharing because They Want to)
These Toddlers Are NOT Sharing
Should We Stop Babies from Taking Toys?
Toygrabbing
What to Do about a Toddler Toy-Taker
What Do You Do When Other Parents Force Their Kids to Share?
Those Awkward Moments between Moms when Toddlers Won’t Share
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11
Dec
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, culture, development, discipline, family, grandparents, health, homebirth, homeschooling, learning, living, motherhood, mothering, natural birth, natural parenting, parenting, RIE, sleep, society, Sunday Surf, Uncategorized, unschooling. Tagged: attachment parenting, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, culture, development, discipline, family, grandparents, health, homebirth, homeschooling, learning, living, motherhood, mothering, natural birth, natural parenting, RIE, sleep, society, Sunday Surf, unschooling. Leave a Comment
Holidays and celebrations usually mean family get togethers and all that comes with those situations.
For many, this is a joyous time when perhaps people who rarely enjoy sharing the same space have a day or more to “live together” in some ways. What happens when the small family unit chooses to live differently than the family at large? For parents who subscribe to alternative/gentle/positive/natural/attachment whatever you call it parenting, the coming together of different styles of raising children can cause tension and frustration. Some families also have a hard time over the phone or the internet.
A few things I think cause trouble are a lack of compassionate understanding of the various “sides” and feelings of judgment and defensiveness that block communication. This happens for everyone, but it seems that the hows, whats and whys of a less typical type of parent are less known (and also, therefore, respected?). I know I wish that my family could read some of the articles that shape my parenting choices.
What follows is a rough draft of my dream list of 10 blog posts to give someone a sense of where I am currently coming from as a mother. (Yes, I reserve the right to change and learn and grow.)
***Last minute addition!***
I just found this post on the 10 RIE principles of caregiving, and it addresses all the main issues I’ve been trying to raise with my own family. I may even share it with said family…….
10 Articles to Help Understand My Parenting Aspirations
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10
Dec
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, babywearing, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, community, culture, development, family, High needs/sensitive children, living, motherhood, mothering, natural parenting, parenting, sleep, society, Uncategorized. 1 Comment
Part One: High Needs Babies
When my son Beanie was born, we struggled to breastfeed. I tried every position my midwife recommended, every trick I read online and still nothing worked. I was terribly upset and so was he. What I thought would have been the most magical time of our life was turning out to be a nightmare. On the third night, sleep-deprived, hormonally volatile and bursting with milk, I begged him, “PLEASE nurse!” I looked into his eyes and saw it – sheer stubborness. “You are going to be a stinker, aren’t you?,” I sighed. We rented the breast pump the next day.
I had a “high-needs baby”. (They are also labeled “fussy babies”, a term I do not like due to its negative connotations. These babies can’t help what they feel; they are just being themselves!) I should have expected it – he was a wiggly, hiccupy little guy in the womb and he continued to be after he was born. Having researched and discovered attachment-style parenting to be biologically normal, my husband and I were excited to try out babywearing and co-sleeping. We were trying to be “minimalist parents”, getting by with only the necessities, so this fitted well with our philosophy. Instead of spending on a crib and stroller, we got a huge King-sized bed that we placed on the floor and a few slings. We did buy a vibrating bouncer that saw little use. Honestly, though, it was HARD. Even though I had worked with babies before, I had no frame of reference of what it was like to be on-call 24-hours-a-day, of what “normal” was. I was pumping round-the-clock (while still trying to get him to latch on with a nipple shield), carrying/babywearing him and after he started spitting up/reflux, sleeping with him on my chest.
While reading Dr. Sears’ Baby Book and website, I realized Beanie had most of the characteristics of a high-maintainance baby! He was: intense (I called it going 0 to 60 in 3 seconds), hyperactive (constantly needed motion to dissipate his energy), draining (physically and emotionally), always hungry (I barely pumped enough to satisfy him), light sleeper (sometimes wanted a swaddle, sometimes not), unpredictable (what worked one day, would not the next, but maybe the day after that), very sensitive (to outside stimuli and emotions), needed constant touch (and later, motion) and was very sensitive to separation (although generally it was only daddy and occasionally grandma). He had a love/hate affair with our convertible car seat (he would fall asleep in it, but he would arch back and refuse to sit down to get buckled).
How did I cope? First, my husband and I job-shared at that point, so he was able to provide lots of hands-on support. He did most of what needed to be done (cooking, cleaning) and going out to the supermarket was our weekly “date”. There was even a brief period when Beanie was waking up at 6 that Dan would take him downstairs, cook breakfast and bring both upstairs an hour later. My day revolved around laying in bed upstairs watching Netflix and then moving downstairs in the afternoon to watch cable. It was boring. But it was all I was able to handle at that point. As he got older and we both felt more comfortable with babywearing, I would take him out for walks close to home. When he napped on me, I would use that time to sleep mostly, but sometimes I’d read a book or play Wii. When he woke up, ready for action, I would cook or clean something or just have a dance party with him. Things got easier at about 2.5 months (the fourth trimester); I felt like he was more interested in the world around him and that made him more interesting too. When he started to crawl at 6.5 months, I was ecstatic! He could disspate energy on his own and it gave us both some much-needed space and independence. I also want to mention that some of the homeopathic remedies we used for teething (particularly Hyland’s), were also remedies to promote calmness. I also noticed a relaxation in his temperament when he consistently wore his teething/eczema hazelwood and amber necklace.
There are a few things I wish I done differently. First, I would have made some good mama (and papa) -friends before we had Beanie. It would have been nice to spend time with some other folks who understood what I was going through in those early months. In a similar vein, I would have also attended more groups, like La Leche League and Holistic Moms’ Network. It would have been helpful to have advice and tips from people who had “been there, done that”. I think I would have been able to breastfeed more quickly (he finally latched on at 3 months) and babywear earlier (which would have saved my arms and kept me from watching too much of The Office.) I would have asked more people to do more for me: dropped off some food and maybe throw in a load of laundry. Ultimately, I am glad we put in all that hard work in those early months – because I see it starting to pay off now! More on “the spirited toddler” next time.
Is/was your baby high-needs? How did this affect your parenting? What words of advice would you give other parents at this stage?
Resources:
Dr. William Sears: Author of The Baby Book and The High Needs Baby website, including information on characteristics, sleep and handling criticism. Information on attachment parenting found here.
Dr. Harvey Karp: Author of The Happiest Baby on the Block. His website has book and video excerpts.
Dr. Elaine Aron: Author of The Highly Sensitive Child with a chapter on babies. (Although I must note, I do not completely agree with her views on sleep. Whatever works best for you and your family is best!) There is also a quiz to take on her website, although it is intended for older children.
The Fussy Baby Site
Fussy Baby
High Need Child Facebook Page
High Needs Baby Yahoo! Group
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5
Oct
Posted by alivingfamily in birth, development, family, homebirth, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday. Tagged: birth, development, family, homebirth, wordless wednesday. 4 Comments
Listening for the Heartbeat: My midwife's daughter shows my daughter how to use the fetoscope
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22
Sep
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, better mom, development, family, goals, learning, living, Montessori, motherhood, parenting, Uncategorized, Waldorf. Tagged: attachment parenting, development, family, goals, learning, living, Montessori, motherhood, parenting, Waldorf. 9 Comments
It’s taken me a while to get to the next part of the Be a Better Mom series. Why? Because I’ve been trying to be a better mom! I’ll be posting about materials separately, turns out. I feel so inspired to get my creative juices flowing and my hands working as I think about activities. I’ve been taking time to look through blogs of some mamas doing fun stuff with their kids. Much time has also been spent brainstorming some magnetic board activities for my daughter. There’s also been gathering materials and making things!
So far, all I’ve done is made one magnet set and start another magnet/felt set. One is a button shape/size sorting activity — 4 colors, 3 sizes. Unfortunately, the first set has already been scattered from off the fridge through multiple rooms (before pictures were taken). I am thinking now that future magnetic sets should be meant for the board only, just so there are more buttons to play with than are stuck under the fridge.
The other set I started is a color/fruit sorting activity where she could “pick” apples, bananas, plums and/or pears from the tree and put them in a basket. I was hoping to go apple picking soon so it makes some experiential sense. Now I am thinking, that I might make just an apple set with numbers to 10 on them. The other day she was insisting I count to ten, and she’s been into numbers lately.
There are a number of activities I’d like to do more of with my daughter to make our time together engaging, exploratory and playful.
Sensory activities are where she’s at right now. Sensory tubs are one idea; so far I have thought of waterbeads, leaves, and beans. I’m waiting for fall to advance a bit for the leaf one. Then I want to collect leaves together and bring out a fall leaves/tree magnet set I hope to make. I also liked this loud-quiet shaker idea and this smell matching activity.
Pouring is what Montessori would call a “Practical Life” activity. She is into pouring for sure. Any parent of a toddler knows that spilling and playing with liquid are fun times. My daughter seems pretty good at pouring from big things with help, but I want to get her a kid-sized pitcher from For Small Hands so she can pour things herself. I hope to put this pitcher with some of her small glasses on a table so she can get her own water and snacks. (Time to modify the snack station of old?)
Finally, it is feeling like time to move from chopping to cutting. She loves to cut with her wooden knife and food set. I have also helped her cut with a big butter knife. I’d like to find something like a small butter knife to help her cut things like banana. Her cooking role can take a new turn, and she will have more to offer and do in the kitchen.
Eventually, I’d like to get into the light box and other fun from the links below, but I’m trying to focus on things I know I can follow through on and actually accomplish. I still want to share the awesome ideas I’ve run into through my online travels…
Here are some play-based learning blogs/sites I found to keep an eye on:
Warm Rain Walk Treasures
Ideas by Category:
For the road: Toddler Activity Bags
Light(box):
Sensory:
Magnetic Board:
Rock Play:
Outside/Messy: Play at Home Mom Outdoor Play
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15
Sep
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, better mom, culture, development, family, goals, living, motherhood, parenting, Uncategorized. Tagged: attachment parenting, culture, development, family, goals, living, motherhood, parenting. 1 Comment
TIME. I never seems to have enough. I always seem to need more.
I’m not convinced I use the time I do have wisely. Sometimes I find myself standing or sitting there, wondering what to do with myself. Well, I have a perfectly long list of things to do–what is the big question?
Somehow time management is not that simple, especially with a little one (or more!). I think I will be a better mom if I can wrap my head around managing several projects and responsibilities at once. As a teacher at school, this comes more easily to me. At home, not so much.
My goals for this area of mom improvement are:
- have a clear(er) sense of daily tasks
- have a stronger feel of a rhythm to our lives
- build in some predictable routines and activities to set that rhythm
- have a more accurate sense of time passed and “productivity”
- assign a purpose to bits of time so that I can be more present with my energy
These goals are lofty, but I do plan on following some of Stay at Home Papa‘s insights into efficient use of time to help me along. I suggest you read his post for more clarification, but here are some basic tips he has to offer:
- Make a “To Do” list and prioritize it.
- Get the most important, life-changing items done on your list first.
- Check email no more than 2 times a day.
- Batch items on your list, especially minutia.
- Set a timer.
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14
Sep
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, baby-led solids/weaning, development, family, health, learning, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday. Tagged: attachment parenting, baby-led solids/weaning, development, family, health, learning, wordless wednesday. Leave a Comment
Smoothie Making Complete!
Having fun in the kitchen lately, cooking toddler style–much pride, joy, concentration and tasting! Made two little movies. (Well, I guess they’re longish at 5 min but the far away grandparents love every picture they can get.)
Green Smoothie Recipes:
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13
Sep
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, better mom, development, family, goals, homeschooling, learning, living, Montessori, motherhood, parenting, Reggio Emilia, RIE, Uncategorized, unschooling, Waldorf. Tagged: attachment parenting, development, family, goals, homeschooling, learning, living, Montessori, motherhood, parenting, Reggio Emilia, RIE, unschooling, Waldorf. 3 Comments
I know everyone always says their house is messy (when it’s not), but I really am organizationally and spatially challenged in some ways….like the ways that keep a house clean and put away.
I love to see things organized, love baskets and boxes and labels and rows of things. It’s just that doing whatever it takes to get to that point doesn’t come naturally to me. Whether or not it is my strength, I need to develop a clear sense of organization and purpose in the spaces in our house, for the sake of every family member and friend who inhabits those spaces. Plus, with a little one on the way and due during the middle of winter, I want to make sure my daughter has an engaging and comfortable space to play inside when it’s hard to go outside. I have one room she can kind of take over, but otherwise I have always liked and tried to have a little play space in every room (including the kitchen). This calls for different structures for different spaces. I have some moving around of stuff and furniture to do, but more than that I needed to think on what those play spaces look and feel like.
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I know I want them to be organized.
I would like for it to be easy and clear for my daughter and any adult to know where everything goes. “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.” If there are baskets and bins with clear purpose, everyone can use them. Eventually I would love to make my own labels (in English and Spanish and maybe even ASL), like Christine from The Aums did when organizing her clothing station. [Oh goodness, a clothing station was one of the things I wanted to maintain.....and haven’t. Clothes are my own worst offense, and now I'm in charge of someone else's clothes?!]
I, and my daughter, need the space to be as YES as possible.
The more YES the space, the less “no” I have to say. When she was smaller and just starting to get mobile, everyone was telling me about child-proofing, which we don’t really do much of. Every child is different, and some children need more safety boundaries than others. My daughter has always been a rather safe explorer with a will that can be reasoned with. (Who knows what #2 will be like…could change everything!) She began moving around, and we went through the house trying to make things as YES as possible. This meant that if she could reach it, we had better consider whether we wanted her to be able to reach that thing or not. Well, we need to do that again. She is considerably more mobile now, and I find myself saying “No” more than I need to just because of the way my space is organized and set up…..or not. Ideally everything in reach is touchable and ok for play.
The space, the things in it and the way they are set up should encourage and support opportunities for my daughter’s independence, confidence and sense of belonging.
Once she has a clear, organized space that is mostly YES, I want to make sure the things I put in there and the way it is set up fit her developmental needs. Right now, she wants to do everything she can for herself. One thing I would like is for her to have greater access to food and drink items so that she can pour for herself. However, this means, I need a developmentally-appropriate space for her to be able to do these activities. For instance, right now, there isn’t really a child sitting/work space. Having a more functional, child-centered space will most likely be good for her and good for us (and the new little one).
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Now that I had a sense of what I’m looking for, I wanted to do some research and see what other folks want out of their spaces.
I liked what Childhood 101 had to say about creating a child space that is inspirational:
- Inspires them to play in more purposeful, meaningful ways.
- Inspires them to learn through those play experiences.
- Inspires them to value what they have.
- Inspires them to help maintain the space in an organised way.
- Inspires who they become…
Reading about Montessori principles and home/school spaces inspired me to get more clearly organized so that my daughter can take more ownership of the activities in her life. Here are some guidelines for spaces:
- They are attractive, orderly and clean.
- They have a place where children can store and organize personal items, as well as keep complete and in-progress projects.
- There is adequate open space for children to easily move around, and for everyone to sit together during group time.
- Children can independently access their Montessori materials from low shelves. They can also help maintain the order on these shelves. It is also important to have appropriately-sized tables and chairs so the children can sit and move with ease.
- There should be a few interesting, real-life pictures at child’s-eye level, a few beautiful objects that could break easily, living plants, and pets (even small, non-poisonous reptiles and fish are fine).
Reggio Emilia history, philosophy and approach, in addition to the concept of the environment as a child’s “third teacher,” gave me aesthetic ideas for an overall feel and look. Here are some aspects a Reggio class might have:
- indoor plants and vines
- natural light
- open to view
- capture the attention of both children and adults through the use of mirrors (on the walls, floors, and ceilings), photographs, and children’s work accompanied by transcriptions of their discussions
- displays of project work are interspersed with arrays of found objects and classroom materials
- ample space for supplies, frequently rearranged to draw attention to their aesthetic features
- encourage community
In addition, there are some RIE principles I’d like our spaces to facilitate. Similarities across the board, here. You are surely seeing a theme emerging.
- Basic trust in the child to be an initiator, an explorer and a self-learner.
- An environment for the child that is physically safe, cognitively challenging and emotionally nurturing.
- Time for uninterrupted play.
- Freedom to explore and interact with other infants.
- Involvement of the child in all care activities to allow the child to become an active participant rather than a passive recipient.
- Sensitive observation of the child in order to understand his or her needs.
- Consistency, clearly defined limits and expectations to develop discipline.
With a better understanding of the principles and values I’d like to encourage, I was ready to look at actual play/learning spaces other people have set up.
NEXT STEPS: Move things around, go through “stuff” (post to come), set up spaces!
I am inspired!
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10
Sep
Posted by alivingfamily in attachment parenting, better mom, family, goals, living, motherhood, mothering, parenting, society, Uncategorized. Tagged: attachment parenting, family, goals, living, motherhood, mothering, parenting, society. 1 Comment
It occurred to me that having two kids gives me a second chance to mess up another kid….I mean *nurture* another child.
Seriously, though, I feel like I was a better mom her first year and have struggled more her second. It’s strange, but I feel like she needs me more as she has grown more independent and capable. I guess it’s that she needs me now in ways that are harder for me than the ways she needed me when she was little(r). When I am with her and see (and hear!) how big she is I can’t help but think about how little time I have — to hold her like a baby, to have it just be her voice, to give her (and just her) my undivided attention. I think about what I could have done better, and what I want to do better the second time around.
I have always had a hard time with balance. With a new life about to join our family, I want to work intentionally to make my mothering of my daughter closer to what my hopes are…..in the hopes that I can create a strong foundation for each of us to welcome and support and nurture this new baby and still feel strong and whole and nurtured ourselves. I only have a few months with just us the way we are now, and I would like to make them count. Ideally, I would like to use them to help her transition into being a big sister as well. I also want to take this transition as an opportunity to make some changes in our life as a family so that they hopefully stick as our family grows.
So, with a new school year starting up, I figured I could outline some “homework” for myself as a student in The School of Life.
There are six categories in my ambitious plan. I want to write about each one separately to give resources and ideas for each (you know, so this isn’t all about me). I hope that some of my grasping for greatness has others inspired if they need to be ….
Oh, and let me be clear: Parenting is not about perfection. As Mama Eve says, mothering is a terrible job for perfectionists.
I don’t believe perfection is a desirable or useful goal to try to achieve, for a variety of reasons. All I really want is to feel like I’m more like that parent I had envisioned myself being. I want to take a step back and evaluate if what I’m doing is what I really want to be doing. If I strive for that goal of my best self, I need not worry about perfection because I’m going towards where I want to be.
BETTER MOM CATEGORIES (click heading to see posts)
Space (and Organization)
I want our spaces to be more organized, more YES for my daughter, more reflective of our values and needs, and easy to clean and pick up.
Time
I want to have some more structure in my mind if not in reality for how to use time and what time is needed for what tasks. I want to make moments more valuable and meaningful. Though I value flexibility, I would like there to be a bit predictability in our life and schedule for my daughter (and the rest of us).
Materials
I still need to get rid of the plastic and polyester pile I made going through her toys and clothes from last year. I would like to do that purging again, but this time keeping in mind more natural, open-ended “toys.” I want to rotate toys in, but I need to know what I’m working with. I also have some ideas for activities and objects that I can make or we can do together.
Food
The food we eat. Mine and hers. Mostly mine!
Relationship
I want to be more mindful about my relationships with my daughter and my husband.
Mind, Body, Spirit
I need to make sure I find healthy, happy ways for me to be me. I also am preparing for another homebirth. Breathe, stretch, walk, dance, yoga….write, create, dream…..
So, there you have it, in a nutshell. A big one. What about you? Do you have any ways in which you’d like to be a better parent or person?
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