natural parenting center

camping with kids

A little overnight to Harper's Lake up the Blackfoot River, Montana. Sweet family time together before Tim is off fighting fire for the summer.

see joy

Well, I have a slew of sweet pics for you, but none of them are uploading right now. Hmmm. Also, I've been reconfiguring all the photos from archives (turns out they were waaaayyyyy too big) so that we can transfer over to typepad. Been quite a project!

Anyways...just not quite as much fun for you without something to look at. So, you tell me...what joy are you seeing, right now, right where you are, either in your mind's eye, or right in front of you.

It is a worthwhile practice, don't you think? To practice seeing joy? Oh there is so much there. Don't let your mind fool you into thinking you are hard-done-by. Feel your feelings, most certainly, and know that you are always, always a gazillion times more spacious, more beautiful, more light than anything you think, even anything you feel.

Try that on.
See joy. It's always right here. It's only right here.

Oh goodie. It worked!

998

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5GdUMVnzTw&hl=en&fs=1]

you do not have to be good

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Mary Oliver

echo ' s birthday

Oh sweet girl. Happy second birthday.

You are full of light, radiant.
Constantly amazing us.
Thank you for being.

Echo's empathic parents planned the perfect birthday for her. Just a few close friends, in her own backyard, allowing her to be exactly who she wants to be. Comfortable, naked, simple delights.

Opening gifts when she wanted, at the pace she wanted.
Showing gratitude in her own way.
Fresh, homemade playdough.
Balloons. Flowers.
With plenty of freedom to just play.

What a lovely day.

big me

small me

::is irritated by neighbours walking in backyard to check out patio being built

::is overwhelmed and annoyed by MESS everywhere i look

::is wanting to freeze kids where they are, stop them from moving for period of time to clean mess, eat alone, listen to silence

::is stuck in thinking mind, numb in body, disconnected from feelings, from self

::is not seeing magic anywhere, seeking change, relief from shifting outer circumstances

big me

::hears the joy in these two beings playing, beauty in their perpetual motion

::feels warm sun streaming in window, morning sun filling life with light

::knows there is magic in every mundane, extraordinary moment

::writes this to connect with my true self, full and beautiful and open and divine and communing with every living being, always

::loves all of it, the mess, the fatigue, the chaos, the noise, the neighbour

::senses what is real...that we are all one, we are all The One

::giggles adoringly at small me and all of her fussing and fuming about nothing

::is loved for no reason at all, and so are you.

becoming conscious

Waking up from sleep-walking through parenting, repeating old patterns and basically not being who you really are, well, it requires some conscious effort. Here is my current list...

I want to be calm and quiet when Elliott falls or something happens. Reacting doesn't help. (This is a specific request of his, actually. Oh what a boy he is.)

I want to allow more and interpret, explain, understand less. This habit of "explaining" is for my sake and not all that helpful to them. Allow...watch it unfold.

I want to say "yes" even more, then DO IT immediately, instead of "just let me finish.....". He is SOOOO patient, really.

And the list goes on...
What are you creating for yourself? Who are you becoming?

When we shed these old patterns of thought, we become our true, fresh, responsive selves. It just feels sooooo good.

i love

this baby girl wearing flowers.

our raw milk being delivered by edible missoula friends

trusting there is no such thing as boredom

bliss balls
(choose any combination of ground almonds, ground flax seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, soaked dates, maple syrup, peanut butter-usually not raw, carrot meal-from juicing carrots, hemp seeds, water. mix to desired consistency and form into balls, roll in coconut or sesame seeds)

new raw food creations, like this wrap, inspired by Hannah at Natural Choices for Living
(Let me know if you want the ingredients and I will post them!)

moments like these...

I love believing in kindness towards children. When he grabs something from her, I don't have to threaten, punish, shame, or ignore him. Instead I can open my heart, give her empathy, and then offer him love, knowing that is what he is asking for. I love that.

fun

Life is supposed to be fun. You said, "I'll go forth and choose. I'll look at the data, and I'll say, yes to this, and yes to this, and yes to this, and I'll paint a picture of the things that I want, and I'll vibrate about them, because that's what I'm giving my attention to. And the Universe will respond to my vibration. And then I'll stand in a new place where a whole new batch of yeses are available, and I'll say yes to this, and yes to this, and yes to this." You did not say, "I'll go forth and struggle into joy", because from your Nonphysical Perspective you know it is vibrationally not possible. You cannot struggle to joy. Struggle and joy are not on the same channel. You joy your way to joy. You laugh your way to success. It is through your joy that good things come.

jerry and esther hicks

elimination communication, then and now

around two months

around seven months

ten months

Elimination communication (EC) or Natural Infant Hygene, is just one more way to be sensitive, tuned in, and responsive to your baby. This will come as no surprise to you all, who are so very aware of how remarkable these wee ones are, but it turns out that babies are born with an awareness of their elimination patterns and needs. They are SO smart, aren't they? Babies communicate when they need to pee and poop, we just need to learn how they are telling us and then offer them a potty. Diaper free is possible!

Our diaper-free adventure started at birth, though I didn't know what I was doing. It just seemed wrong to me to put a diaper on this perfect little bottom, and I had heard something about EC, so I held a cloth below her until I finally got my hands on this book. Then I started using signals, and actually offering her a bowl to eliminate into, instead of just the cloth. Catching those first pees was ridiculously fun.

We have had stretches of times when I've caught almost every one in a day, and stretches of many misses. The difference is how into the moment and out of my head I am. Intuition is a remarkable thing. I often just "know" when she has to go. It has been fulfilling for me to find yet another way to listen to my heart.

Recently we went through about six weeks of being out of sync. Every time I offered to hold her over the sink or toilet, she would stiffen her legs and "refuse", then pee wherever. I thought it was all over. The winter weather had meant lots of diapering and maybe that took away her attunement to her own elimination needs, I thought.

Then, we got a bigger potty, one she could crawl over to and sit on. That was what was going on. She, and we, are now back in the flow. This ten month old girl will signal to me that she has to pee, then we get to the potty together, and there she goes. It's astounding. Sure we miss lots, but just knowing what she looks like when she needs to go, just having that degree of intimacy and connection is divine. It has nothing to do with "training", it is all about listening.

She shows me what's up, as usual.

I wish I had known for Elliott. What a gift to know now. How fun it would be for everyone to have the support and information to practice this with their babes.