Creating
The struggle of the young mom who is alone on her parenting journey is near and dear to my heart. I’ve partnered for a good cause with Heather from Mama Knows Honey Child and the artisan whimsical children’s products shop on testy called Honey Child Forest or on instragram, too, Honey Child Forest. She felts, makes amazing banners, hand lettered art, and so much more (including custom family portraits!). We met at the Edel conference in 2014 and I thought, this is my kind of girlfriend! Lately we’ve been working together over at the instagram popup weekly shop of many mama artisans called Zelie & Co. For the shop’s weekly sale tomorrow, we’re changing things up and doing an auction-style sale with ALL the proceeds going to charity! {My girlfriend Jenny is telling you about my gift set offering–leggings, bib, burp cloth, plush blanket–all organic!} My charity of choice is the Philomela House here in Saint Paul. They provide housing for homeless expecting mothers and the support they need along their journey. A friend’s mother (since deceased) founded it and we pray for those mamas every night! Heather’s offering a super sweet bunch of goods valued over $100!! Needlefelted heart garland – 3 feet long Needlefelted/embroidered wool felt fawn crown Totus Tuus felt flower and wood sign A rustic “Give Me Jesus” banner And two Fox and Gnome beeswax candles GET OVER THERE tomorrow and BID, friends!
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Somehow this last six months has felt like a shift in our family. SuperBoy isn’t a little kid anymore. He’s in a whole different place, so I’m in a whole different place as a mom. Yes, he still has epic clashes with me and trouble listening at times, but his maturity is sometimes (sometimes) amazing. His wings are growing. Banging. Bashing around, looking for higher heights to leap from, and leading the way for the little kids to want and be and do more and more. Case in point. The other day, for the first time in months, SuperBoy was the gentle big brother I know is in there somewhere. He changed into his play clothes in the morning without a fight. He let his sister play with his legos without apoplectic screeches. He spoke in the cutest LOUD SLOW BABY TALK to the toddler who understood him perfectly and let us know with lots of “BABA” and “JEE-JEE” responses. {that’s my dad’s name and Jesus, FYI}. His idea for Lent? Offering up all treats and adding in doing all his morning chores before breakfast. WHO IS THIS KID? I thought about these posts I had written throughout the years: big boy battles, taming your toddler’s tantrums, feeling powerless with your preschooler, power parenting: why force & fear don’t work, helping emotional boy find his voice & ears. He’s growing up. That’s my dad’s dresser from his childhood we’ve repainted around those 50’s decals a few times for our babes. …
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My friend Shannon is a Brooklyn mama of two, and an amazing designer. She and her husband launched this gorgeous line called Natti Natti which means nighty night in Swedish. It’s organic, hand designed, and so soft. She was kind enough to send over this. And we swooned. And swooned hard. She has designed pocket duvets, regular duvets, pillows, blankets, and art prints. Her home in Brooklyn is one where you never want to leave because every wall has something thoughtful and interesting on it, but in a simple, clean, modern Swedish style so it’s not overwhelming. My daughter will not stop. She will not relent. She is in love with her duvet. To her core. Even though it was for her baby brother’s toddler bed! She’s hiding the special pillow. Because . . ?? When we switch the kids’ rooms up this summer and hopefully the boys are happy in one room and she’s happily established in her own palatial girl room (requests for her wall paint have ranged from gold stars to purple polka dots to wallpaper of dogs–we’ll probably go less exciting), I am getting this or maybe this for her big girl bed. Her teddy (my old teddy) desperately needed this bread stuffed into his pocket on the duvet, just in case he needed late night toast. Clearly, he’s hungry. If you have a babe moving into toddlerhood, you probably need this snuggler for him or her. Or if you need to swaddle, skip on over for this because my…
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It’s been a wonderful lull between Christmas and now BAM–Lent. I’ve kinda cleaned up the house, arranged our schedule to have more togetherness and less messy running ’roundedness. And I’ve even allowed my daughter to categorize her threads by color. She’s really going after thread right now. In writing my weekly newsletter for the Waiting in the Word group of Christian moms, I realized, yes, I’m into threads too. I’m looking for slender but strong connections to God. I’m looking for less me-time and more Him-time. How do I really turn to Him? How do I really center in Him? I’m so busy with life with small kids, the crying, the spilling, the hugging, the snuggling, the swim lessons, the reading, the hitting fences with sticks repeatedly. This is how. I wrote a scripture study with my two good girlfriends. We broke the six weeks of Lent into six struggles we face as moms of little kids, and then paired those with six attributes we strive toward. selfishness . . . to . . . sacrifice frustation . . . to . . . forgiveness judgment . . . to . . . love envy . . . to . . . gratitude failure . . . to . . . humility anxiety . . . to . . . surrender Buy the bundle. It includes the study, a printable journal, a bookmark with lectio divina steps, and a calendar to print with all the Bible verses we picked. Today and tomorrow,…
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I struggle with this. With a daughter + girly-ness. I struggle with wanting her to feel empowered and not be victim to the trashy marketing of “you’re just a girl” and “pink is the only color” and “math & science are hard for girls.” She’s a few months shy of four, but these thoughts really pound on me as she continues to grow into her own (carefully shaped by me to the extent I can) interests. Despite coming from a family with four girls and then one boy, we weren’t girly girls. I didn’t shave my legs til I was 20, around the same time I got my ears pierced. I never learned to apply makeup or shop for my body type. I still struggle with “doing” my hair. And I’m the fourth girl! My older sisters weren’t complete tomboys but were more interested in academics & athletics than shaping their eyebrows. So when I look at my little girl, I think oh gosh, I need to teach her how to be feminine and powerful in her femininity. I need to teach her how to dress for her shape, perform basic female upkeep, and all the while battle away the influence of early sexualization and imposed roles on her. It’s on my heart a lot. I think I have a lot to figure out as she ages. But one thing I can/do deal with right now is gifts. Christmas & birthdays–we love gifts in my family! Here’s my list of gifts for…
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I loved this year and my sewing. It was such a joy to add a few new product lines! To scale back in some ways, but build in others. To figure out my pattern, my rhythm, my actual need and time for sewing. Homeschooling kinda kicked any spare seconds I had to the late nights, but if anything, it also showed me I’m crabbier and less patient without creative time. My last of my holiday items are all up! The shop has about fifty (5-0) things for you and your beloveds until next Wednesday and then I’m putting the shop on vacation til after the holidays. I’ve never done that, but it means I will make sure everything ships to you before the holidays! Lots of caps. Those double sided organic wash mitts. A handful of pennants are left. Only 5 of my triple layered soft organic blankets. A few sizes in the leggings. B U T in plenty are bandit bibs & contour cloths in gift sets (discounted & free shipping)! I just slipped these in–quick quick quick. These blankets have been so special for me. Last year I still used a poly minky but now I use a heavy cotton flannel (organic!) that feels more authentic and is incredibly soft yet durable. I have hung on to some of these fabrics for the right project, and others I snapped right up when I saw them this winter. Each blanket is filled with organic cotton batting and secured throughout…
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