natural parenting center

i love

sunny play corners and sweet Larkin bird

beautiful loving mama-friends who come to craft and willingly read hockey stories instead

this child of mine (who is not mine at all)

this love that turns me inside out

a rainy walk

I want to move my body outside, every day. Sometimes, from inside where I sit imagining all the layers and all the steps to get out the door, that seems daunting. And, always worth it. Especially when Papa comes along.

Into man's inner world, the senses pour their cornucopia; the Spirit of the worlds retrieves Itself here in the mirror of the eye, the human eye that from Itself as source must ever and again renew its force.

Rudolf Steiner
Calendar of the Soul: The Year Participated

one day

This hockey-obsessed boy now known as "Elliott Peter Laroche GOALIE" is in love.

Mom. I like the players so much because (sheepish grin), I love them

The primary object of his adoration is Jim Craig, goalie in the movie Miracle which we've now watched, oh, probably twenty times. No kidding.

The big speech before the big game, well, let me just recite it for you.

Great moments are born from great opportunities.
That's what you have here tonite, boys.
That's what you've earned here tonite.
One game.
If you played them ten times, they might win nine.
But not tonite.
Tonite, you skate with them.
Tonite, you stay with them and you shut them down, because you can.
Tonite, you are the greatest hockey team in the world.

And he goes on.
And those boys do it. They play like it is in fact the only game they will ever play.
One game.

One day.
What if we really lived like there is only one day.
My sister told me about Griefwalker today.
We need to think about death more.
If we lived as if we had only one day left what would be different?

Our quality of presence would be immense.

One day. Why not live like that? These sweet ones already do.

space

Space.
There are as many other galaxies in the universe as stars in our galaxy.

When I feel tension, resistance to something that is happening, like Elliott not wanting to go outside, or concern about my mom, or someone doesn't want to be my friend, I remember that.
Space.
This whole little drama right here is very, very small.

There is as much space inside of us as outside of us, vast galaxies right here in this body. Breathe.

Create more space.
The pick up truck is FULL of stuff ready for the Good Will. We've been clearing out space around here. I am trusting that whatever we need will show up, and my job is to create space. I'm beginning to notice the space between the objects in the house.

Feng Shui.
The motivation is feng shui. The Wealth corner was a bunch of dusty jars of beans and dog food. Sheesh. So, get this. I moved the beans, scrubbed the shelf, took down the cluttered corkboard, put rocks and seashells and purple and vision board in that corner. Not five minutes later the accountant emailed: our tax return is double what we expected. Tim thinks I'm nuts, but whatever. It works whether he believes it or not.

Space.
The most essential of all to create more space between your thoughts.

crafty mamas and kids

We started our own crafty mama and kids Mondays here yesterday. Here is Joanna and Axel and her first hat. Four mamas and six children. A few stitches were knit, some tea made, and lots of other play. Gabe our knitting guru kept making the rounds helping us out. Sweet fun. Especially with the newly converted craft and play room.

Nurturing creativity. It has even more to do with how we interact with our children than anything else. Consider this exchange...

Mama, what's that?

That? That's called a roller skate.

Oh. For chickens?

Chickens? Are you asking if chickens like to roller skate?

Yeah.

Well. Hmmm. I'm not sure. I've seen people use roller skates. They slide a shoe inside those straps and then roll around on the wheels. What do you think?

Chickens.

You think chickens use them?

Yeah.

Oh. Well, of course that's possible. Do you want to take the roller skate over near the chickens and see what happens?

Yeah.

They try it, taking the roller skate to the chickens. Turns out chickens don't roller skate. At least not this time, and not while we were watching.

Be open.
Be neutral. (Do you remember what it felt like to be laughed at?)
"Who knows where these ideas come from."

saying no.

"You are all Buddhas
There is nothing you need to achieve.
Just open your eyes."
Siddhartha Gautama

Saying no with loving kindness.

Elliott asks Natalie if she has any gum.
"Hmmm. Let me check.
Yes, we do. Would you like a piece?"

Yes, he would like a piece. And so he has one.
Echo asks for gum. Natalie doesn't want her to have any. She is 22 months old. Elliott is going on four.

"No."

Sometimes we say NO

"Why?" asks Echo.

"Because gum is something that stays in your mouth. It's just for chewing. Your body wants to swallow. Your body hasn't learned about chewing gum and not swallowing and I want to help you keep your body healthy and safe."

"oh"

"Would you like to find something else that we can pretend is gum?"

"yeah."

spring. possibility.

Yes, it was this warm here today. Warm enough to shed shirt and shoes and run in the field.


This girl loves to swing. Humming to herself in the sunshine.
Just look at this exquisite baby chubby-ness. It melts me.

It is all just perfect.
Huge jar of tea spills all over. 'ahh. I've been meaning to wash the floor'

Continuous waking in evening hours. 'I see..I'm meant to go to bed early tonite.'

Wanting to eat everything I'm eating. 'Oh yes. I get to change what I'm eating so that it's healthier and just right for both of us.'

I want to see the opening, the possibility, in everything. It's right there in front of me when I'm able to open my eyes and free myself from reacting.

Have a lovely weekend, wherever you are.

magic and honey

I Will...

Listen, I've decided: Life is too precious to ponder the petty details any longer and to put it bluntly I will not participate. I will not be coming to the party I will not be returning the call. I will not be anything to anyone. I will stare at the gray sky till it is blue. I will walk in the green fields and smell the wildflowers. I will imbibe this life the way it was meant to be imbibed. I will listen only to my body and the black crows. I will live by the true laws of the Land. I will pick the wild blackberries and pet cats. I will write poems I share only with the wind. I will raise a child on the edge of nowhere. I will nourish her on magic and honey. I will teach her the languages of fairies. We will play in the forest at twilight. We will hurl all hardship downhill to the sea.

Marni Norwich

Oh yes...that poem brings me home. Magic and honey, on the edge of nowhere, the language of fairies. mmmm. Precious things.

I'm thinking about precious things.
After children are breathing steady in the family bed, snuggled up together for however long before I join them, there is this space. I actually love having such a small window of personal freedom. It's brevity helps me get to the core of what matters to me, what nurtures me. There is always some cleaning and organizing and maybe a little fun planning for tomorrow to create ease. I might do a sewing project or write in a journal for creativity. Coaching with sweet clients is deeply satisfying..sacred, loving, discovery, connection. Writing to you on this blog is, of course, so much fun (otherwise I wouldn't do it.) Watching a movie, talking to Tim, or knitting and listening to something rich. I try not to plan this time while lying down while they fall asleep, otherwise I lose touch with what I feel in the moment. Be present and when I get up, see what happens. What needs doing.

How do you spend this time? What do you love?

Recently I've been listening to Non-violent communication audio programs here and I just discovered this! which I'm going to check out. For fun, have you heard of hulu for free movies?
So much to enjoy.
Enjoy.

i choose this

I've been wallowing.
It's never pretty. Starting with sore throat sickies and feeling low which leads to frustration and fatigue which leads to unhelpful thoughts, all of which revolve around the theme of this must change, not OK as it is. (Eg. husband needs to be different, house needs to be different, kids need to be different....)

Do you ever go there?

Thankfully, I am not successful at trying to get everybody else to change so I end up facing myself, once again.

Thankfully, I have Natalie who reminds me to LET GO.

Thankfully, wise wee ones on the move, having needs, unwilling to be put on hold CALL me back to what's real: this right here.

Thankfully, I remember that I CHOOSE THIS.

Choice is quite something, isn't it? We can be duped into thinking that we are victims to whatever is happening which we happen not to like.

But we are not victims.
We choose. Consciously and unconsciously, we choose.

During the first week of The Presence Process you repeat as often as possible to yourself "I choose to experience this moment".

Of course, you can choose something else. But I'm guessing that what is happening right now is what is supposed to be happening. Your soul asked for it.

manifesting

It is of great value for you to give your conscious attention to what you specifically want, otherwise you can be swept up by the influence of that which surrounds you.

Abraham Hicks

So, with that said, dragging my reluctant mind along behind me, I focus, beginning with what delights me already. As I open E's baby journal to enter the snippets on scraps of paper I've been keeping, I read sweet boy words of wisdom.

I can't make words yet. I can only learn.

I'm pretty snotty, but I'm pretty better.

Mom, will you move the cookies because I want them when I see them.

Girl, there are birds on the internet.

The goalie is mad about that. He doesn't like sadness in his heart. He has love in his heart.

I'm pretty big so I don't run away sometimes.

Don't be mad about this, mom. I'm very friendly.

Mom, I want ice to grow all over so we can skate.

Daddy and I have different ideas.

I can't wait for you to talk, Girl.

See, mom? It always works out.

See what you want to see. Here are a couple of more examples from today.

I've been wanting to smell lavender because we're out of that essential oil...climbing into bath, Sascha picks up lid and I catch a whiff. Ahh. Lavender.

Looking around for clean pot to make ginger tea (sore throat cure) and thinking...we really could use another pot. Open stove drawer to discover glass pyrex pot I got for free at garage sale that I had forgotten about. Yes. Thanks.

Begin here, and you shift the energy within you. From that point, we can manifest anything we want...unconditional inner peace, daily belly laughs, fabulous new outfit, abundance of food and love for every baby born...you get the drift.

Also check out this for inspiration and this for adorableness.