Is Blue one of the colors of Fall?
October sucks!
There I said it.
I LOVE Fall, it is by far my favourite season of the year. I long to see the leaves changing and the myriad of colors in the river valley and feel the crispness in the air.
But somewhere around the middle of October this all changes for me.
The leaves fall off the trees, it gets cold outside, the days become noticeably shorter and somewhere in all of this my mood shifts.
Two years ago, when Princess L was just one, it was so bad that I had to get some help and started to see a therapist for a few months. I attributed that time to some latent postpartum depression, but in hindsight, I think it was my usual seasonal blues. Last year I just pushed through it.
I remember a time in University when I did not get out of bed for about 2 weeks and suffered from some pretty severe panic attacks when I did manage to leave the house. That year was the worst of it.
As far back as I can remember, at least in my adult life, this time of year is just not great for me. And this year is turning out to be no different.
You would think that this would not be the case. All looks or seems great from the outside. I attended not one, but two awesome blogging conferences in the past month. I landed a sweet co-editor position with an up and coming online mom's website. I am probably in the best shape physically that I have been in in years, thanks to some personal dedication and my amazing trainer. I was nominated for an award recognizing my abilities as an entrepreneur AND a mother. And I continue to do what I love, surrounded by the people who I love.
So why so sad, so uninterested....so tired ALL THE TIME!?
I know what depression is. I can recognize the symptoms, I know the chemical reasons behind why it happens and yes, I know how to treat it. I have seen depression in friends and family and colleagues and I have lost someone to the darkness that it is as well. I spent years of my life and in my previous career learning about, marketing and selling antidepressants.They are life savers for so many people, but I personally just don't like going that route. I feel like I take enough meds as it is to keep my rheumatoid arthritis controlled and I don't like to overload my body with too many synthetic chemicals to process.
And so I am pushing through. Getting through one day at a time and trying to keep my head above water (or often above the piles of laundry). Some days are better than others and some days I wonder if other things that I can't control are affecting me as well.
Today was kind of one of the latter. I wonder if my mood is also affecting others? If I am no fun to be around and if that makes me less likely to be invited to playdates or get-togethers? I wonder if I have alienated some friends as of late and then I also wonder why I am wondering this? If they are truly my friends should this be an issue? Should I not be able to talk my friends about this?
And now I am wondering if I should even be writing this post. But I am 500 words in so I am just going to keep going....
Tomorrow is November. I know the days are getting even shorter and colder, but I will keep going. I am going to love on my little people and bask in their sweet innocent goodness and silliness. Natural Urban Dad and I are going away for a weekend to our happy place at Jasper Park Lodge to reconnect and focus on US as a couple. And I am going to write. I am going to write lots of things. Lists to keep my days on track, meal plans to keep me better organized and blog posts both here and on Mom Nation to feed my soul, to purge my brain of the many thoughts that often keep me up at night, and to keep me going.
This will pass...it always does (usually right before Christmas).
So please bear with me as I get this little seasonal beastie under control and find my way back to my happy place within.
Sincerely,
Natasha~
Finding my Blogging Bliss
Two weeks ago I went to my first big blogging conference.
And I learned a few things about myself.
I am a writer.
And a business woman.
And a mom.
And a wife.
A friend. A fan. A partner.
A very bad singer.
And one hell of a One Man Wolf Pack.
I was very excited about going to Blissdom Canada 2011. I bought my ticket the hour they went on sale and suspect that I might have gotten THE last one available that day! And fresh off of my time at ShesConnected two weeks prior, I thought I had a 'plan' going into this one. Yet once again, what I came out with was so much more and not really what I had planned at all. And to be perfectly honest, in reading some of the other attendees posts after the conference, I have learned and discovered even more. About myself and what it is that I want to give and get in this world we call the "blogosphere".
First and foremost what I want is hours and hours more to sit and talk with a few very special people who I met. I have been doing a lot of back reading this week of some pretty amazing blogs and wishing with all my heart that I had more time with their writers. Thank goodness for Twitter and comments and all the multiple ways we can still 'talk' to each other online. Otherwise, I think I might descend into a deep depression!
Secondly what I want or maybe what I got was perspective. As in, what we think we want is not always what we need. On day one of the conference at the CBC Live Welcome Reception, I was interviewed by Social Media Week and was quoted in their #BlissdomCanada post this past week. In it I am referred to as the Healthy Business Blogger and when I spoke to the interviewer I was focused on my 'plan', I talked about how I was at Blissdom to build momentum for my blog and interest from the brands and sponsors present to get them to venture West to the great Prairie plains that we blog from! This may still be part of the plan, but after the two days of sessions, the screening of the documentary MissRepresentation and the many conversations with my fellow bloggers, with the brands and sponsors present and with other small business owners like myself that walk a fine and often very different social media line that others, the 'plan' has been refined.
I think there are some really great companies out there that I am very excited to work with. And essentially what I took away from Blissdom and from reading some great post-conference posts from the likes of Alex from @Clippo, @BonStewart and Annie from @PhdinParenting, is that at Natural Urban Mamas, I am here for YOU. And I will NEVER compromise my voice, my talent, my writing or my opinions for the almighty dollar. If and when I do work with brands, they will be in line with my values, they will ADD value to you, my readers and they will be fun people to work with! You know...like you and me! ;)
Once I wrapped my brain around this and took a step away from the "Business" track of the conference, I was able to connect and get to know some rather amazing women and a few cool dudes too and focus on the 'why we do what we do' part of blogging.
I ended up attending more of the Art Track sessions at the conference than the Commerce Track (not what I thought I would do, but these were the people and rooms that I was drawn to). The 'Social Media for Social Good" session was a very big reminder of how we can change the world and how a simple harnessing of the power of social media and directing it to "do good" for others can really affect change. I had a hard time keeping the tears from streaming down my face as I sat at my table with the incredible Heather Hamilton (@tjzmommy) and watched a video of her sweet baby boy Zach, who is gone now, but who lives on in the hearts and on the Twitter avatars of so many with that tiny little Elmo. The most powerful message that I got from that session was that it is not always about doing big things and changing the world, sometimes it is simply about doing something to change even one person's life. And we can all do that.
Next up was the session on 'Taking your Craft to the Next Level'. This session appealed to the perfectionist in me. Spelling and grammar matter to me, and it seems that I need to get myself a writing Style Guide too!! Seriously--if you ever find a typo in my posts, please send me a DM or email so I can fix it! The panel consisted of some great writers, including the very funny Karen Green (@Karengreeners) who had one of my favourite lines of the day..."I am not interested in winning the internet, I want to win a Pulitzer!" and the every witty Aidan Morgan (@palinode) who gave us a fabulous 30 second writing for search engines tutorial (which we all made him repeat very s-l0-w-l-y). And yet another of my online super-crushes, Elan Morgan, Aidan's wife and the woman better known as Schmutzie, was sitting at the table next to me. Needless to say, I felt like the kid who just walked into the "gifted" class by accident. I may have also Googled one or two of the bigger words used that day! Thank Gawd for the Merriam-Webster online dictionary!
I then managed to squeeze into the standing room only session about "Defining Yourself and Your Creative Work", the beast also known as 'personal branding'. This particular panel did not disappoint their audience and kept their moderator, Julie Cole from Mabel's Labels on her toes! Dee Brun (@CocktailDeeva), Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Kimberly Seldon and Patti Sullivan all showed us just why they are who they are and why we love them so much. The overall message I got from this session is that it is OK to be you, just know then that YOU may not be what everyone is looking for. Having conviction, knowing who YOU are and not compromising your integrity, your values or your voice matters, not only to those hearing or reading you, but to your kids, your community and most of all to YOU! This was a good session for me and um...why yes, it did end with Gail giving me a big old smooch...right on the mouth!!!
I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to some of the great women I met that weekend. The highlight for me may have been meeting and spending time with a woman whose writing, whose insight, and whose activism is an inspiration to me every day.. yes, I am talking about the amazing Annie Urban of Phd in Parenting. And she is one heck of a dance partner too!!
To Hollie Pollard (@commoncentsmom) for welcoming me with open arms first at #SCCTO and then for being the first familiar and friendly face I saw when I arrived at Blissdom Canada. This woman is truly one of the kindest, most genuine human beings that I have ever met and I am honoured to count her as a friend! Thank you Hollie for taking me 'under your wing' and for facilitating some very important introductions!
To Tilley from @Preshusme for giving me my baby and babywearing fix while away from my littles! Seriously woman, you make some damn cute babies and that little Peanut of yours practically stole every heart at Blissdom Canada this year. I swear I can still hear his crazy babbling and sweet baby laughs!!
And finally to my incredible friend and fellow Edmonton Blogger, the amazing Jennifer Banks (@JenBanksYeg). Thanks for being my roomie, for kicking me under the table when I was talking too loud, for being the Yin to my Yang in practically all that we do and for well...just being the ever so awesome YOU! I am so glad that we got to share this experience together and were able to actually have time to just hang out, meet some great people and come away with a whole new plan for our little corners of the interwebs!
Refreshed and with a new plan,
Natasha~
Perspective
The ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance.
I have been reluctant to write anything either here or on Mom Nation for the last few weeks. My last few posts brought out some strong emotions in a few people and some of the comments made either directly to me or indirectly and very passive aggressively on various social media platforms gave me my first taste of the dreaded 'trolls'.
And although I heeded the advice of many a blogger who has walked that bridge before me and did not feed the trolls, I would be lying if I said that the comments that got personal, the ones that questioned my integrity, my compassion and my right to say what I mean and mean what I say, well... they got to me.
Now don't get me wrong, I knew when I wrote that particular post that what I had to say might make some people uncomfortable. I am not a subtle woman, never have been, and never will be. I do not like to play games or mince words (I am way too old for that!). I did appreciate that my words made people think, that they did indeed illicit an emotional response and that perhaps they made some people look at themselves or others in a different light, be it good or bad.
I love a lively debate as much as the next person and these days, what better way is there to connect online and discourse than within the "blogosphere". A blog post is the starting point and the comments are the conversation. I truly do love that about this medium!
And also, it can totally suck! People can hide behind pseudonyms and anonymous comments. They can completely miss the point of a post and forget to click on the links to get the whole story or background information needed to understand what is being written and why. They can have knee-jerk reactions, spurred by their own feelings of resentment or guilt or regret or what-have-you THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH what was written by the blogger and they send out into the universe words, tweets or comments, that are personal attacks and that live on in perpetuity.
This whole aspect of blogging, and social media in general, the part where it gets ugly, really makes a person rethink why they are doing this, why they are putting themselves out there for all the world to see and read.
And then comes some perspective for (and from) the writer. In this case, me.
If you had asked me two years ago if I considered myself a writer of anything, I would have given you a funny look and said, "Uh, no, NOT at all!" When the Natural Urban Mama blog was started in 2009 it was a struggle for me to write anything. And to be perfectly honest, I had not really written anything of substance since my university days in the late 1990's, and what I was writing then was mostly scientific in nature (yes, I once had aspirations of being a lab/research geek).
It wasn't until I was invited to participate in the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival of Blogging in the Summer of 2010 and had to write a post a day for 14 days about my nursing experiences and thoughts and advice about breastfeeding that I really started to find my writing 'voice'. I realized then what blogging is about.
It is about telling a story. My story.
And what I found was that my story resonated with others. People started commenting on my posts, asking me questions, thanking me for sharing and in turn sharing my posts with others. And that felt good.
Here is the thing...I became the parent I am and by extension the parenting advocate I am very organically . I did not 'plan' to do a lot of the parenting practices that I now think are very important and yes, even essential in our world and definitely in our household. I was not a cloth diapering mama, I did not have a ridiculous baby carrier collection, let alone a babywearing business. And I had planned on breastfeeding for 6 months max!! Oh, how these little beings we bring into the world change us...
And so I began telling my story and sharing my passions and my experiences and my learnings here on my blog.
And more and more, my story has evolved, as have I as a person...and a mother, a business owner and a writer.
I blog for me, to get my thoughts about life and parenting out of my head and onto the screen. To make these thoughts and ideas more clear to me and perhaps to others too. It is a very public journal of sorts!
I blog for my readers and customers. I want to share my experiences. I want others to learn from my mistakes and my triumphs. I want to share my expertise and educate others about the things that I am passionate about like babywearing and breastfeeding and natural childbirth and cloth diapering and elimination communication and gentle discipline. Parenting practices that, believe it or not, can be done without trading in your designer boots for a pair of Birkenstocks and signing up for your Hippie-Mom Card.
I blog for a cause. What is that cause you ask? I blog for women. For mothers, for girls, for daughters, for wives, for women of all colours, creeds and yes, parenting 'styles'. I write to empower others to find their own voices, to live their dreams, to own their choices in life and live without regret. To be the kind of people they want their children to be.
I don't believe in hiding behind a facade of perfection. I don't believe in striving for a life/work balance just to be constantly disappointed and exhausted. I don't believe in being a fake friend or pretending that we all must get along just for the sake of appearances. I don't believe in living with regret or allowing negativity to permeate my head space or my online space!
I was in Canmore this weekend for my sister-in-law's wedding. Canmore is my happy place, where I witness magic and majesty at every turn and where I can just stop and breath and appreciate all the beauty that is around me. We took the kids to our favourite tea shop for lunch and on our way out I saw this card.
And it hit me to my core....
It was as if the universe was speaking to me and about me.
THESE are the things that I strive for in my life. How I choose to live and how I want my children to live too.
This is perspective to me and what matters and why I will not let the noise of a mere handful of people, drown out my inner or my outer voice!
Natasha~
Isn't it Ironic
I wrote a post last week that seems to have fueled an already burning fire. You know the one, the much-debated, 'Why do we do this to each other?', so-called "Mommy Wars". And while I stand by my message in that post, that not everyone has to or is going to like me (or you) or what we have to say, whether it is in person or online, I have since realized that the way I conveyed this message and the words I used may have seemed insensitive and {unintentionally} hurtful to some of you.
I have just read a most compelling post by Meredith Fein Lichtenberg, which echoes the thoughts I was trying to convey in my post, but does so in a much more gentle and compassionate way.
In it she talks about mom to mom cyber-bullying and compares it to the It Gets Better Campaign by Dan Savage (whom I LOVE BTW!) and she states the following:
How can you teach your children not to be mean and hateful, but turn around and diss, name-call, or hatefully criticize mothers you don't even know online?
Don't do that!
Instead, strive to understand others' decisions and predicaments, even where you can't agree with them. It's okay to be angry, but even then, try to use balanced, thoughtful language.
Try to comport yourself as a model, even when you disagree. Try to be your most honorable self.
Stop snarking at each other.
Did I use balanced, thoughtful language in my post. No, I did not. I used myself as an example of how I do things, but did not give an example of the other side of the coin or state that both are valid choices. I should have done that.
Was I my most honorable self? To me honor means honesty, so in that sense, yes, I was honorable. I was being honest about MY feelings and MY thoughts on the subject at hand.
Was I snarky? Yes. I told everyone to "suck it up" and THAT was definitely snarky.
I read the comments on my post, the local "mommy community" twitter chatter and subsequent blog posts written and struggled to not engage and fuel the fire even more...
Ha! The irony of that struggle is not lost on me.
So here's the deal everyone. I get it.
My choice of language may not have been the most productive. Boiling it down to the basic premise of my post, I simply want us to be free to have our opinions, to own our choices and to stand by them in the face of judgement. Because unfortunately, yes, that judgement is going to come. How we respond to it, that is also a choice we must make.
I will very likely still stick my foot in my mouth write things here or on Twitter or on Facebook that not everyone will agree with and I just want to say thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to read MY blog and thank you for reminding me that we are all so much more than our parenting practices. And finally, a big thank you to April, for pointing out that all may not always be as it seems.
All the best,
Natasha~
P.S. Please visit the It Gets Better site and sign the pledge to end online and all bullying of gay teens everywhere. (And then substitute 'gay teens' for 'all moms' and then say it again).
That's OK, I don't like you either.....
We have to say what we believe...whether it is popular or not. ~Howard Dean
There is a lot of animosity on the web these past few days. At least in the mommy world. And specifically in the "I am a breastfeeder" and "I am a formula-feeder" world. Now, I am not going to go into this debate again, because, well, A) you all know how I feel about it and B) it is kind of "useless, never-ending round and round we go saying the same things and not hearing each other" conversation.
This latest round of "She said, She said", has just solidified a thought that has been brewing in my head for a long time. And likely in a lot of other's heads too...
So I am just going to say it.
NO, we DO NOT all have to get along.
It's true. I may not only not agree with you, but I may genuinely not like you. And you may not like me.
And that's OK.
I had the pleasure of sitting in a room full of 200+ women last week. We were described by some as a 'sisterhood', digital women from all walks of life coming together to learn, to network, to connect. Some of these women are moms, some are not, some are more successful than others, and some were 'working the room' like an E-Talk reporter clamoring for sound bites on the Emmy Red Carpet!
And each and every one of us was sizing up the person next to us and figuring out if they were someone we wanted to get to know, someone who is 'competition' or someone whom getting to know would somehow get us further along in the game. THIS is human nature people, it is not a judgement of anyone, it's just a plain and simple fact of life.
You know the sayings..."Like attracts like", and "Birds of a feather, flock together", well, they are true. Just look at your own life. Who is in your 'tribe'? Your core group of friends? They are most likely people who share your beliefs, your values, and who give YOU validation for the choices and decisions that you make in your life.
I met some really amazing women at the ShesConnected Conference. People that I want to get to know better, that I think can offer me something in my life and people to whom I think I can offer something as well. And yes, I also met some people who I was immediately turned off by. People who made no effort to get to know me or who were perhaps just as turned off by me as I was by them. And so I moved on to the next person...
Which brings me back to the 'She Said, She Said' battle again.
And I will use myself as an example.
I believe in living as close to a natural, chemical-free, and so-called 'crunchy' life as possible. Especially when it comes to parenting. I use cloth diapers and practice elimination communication, I wear my babies in beautiful baby carriers, I do not believe in letting them 'cry it out', and I have breastfed each of my children to the ripe old age of three years. I am not opposed to home-schooling and I also believe in a delayed vaccination schedule.
In doing all of these things, I have met a lot of other mamas that feel the same way as me and that share my parenting philosophies. And I have met a lot that do not.
And while I respect all people and all parents to make decisions for their own families....
...who do you think I am more likely to hang out with?
I am not saying that if you don't do things exactly as I do that we can't be friends. Personally, I love diversity in my life and I learn so much (about life and about myself) from people who are NOT like me.
What I am saying is this. Respect others, yes. Agree to disagree, very likely. But do I have to always like everyone and everything they say or do? Absolutely NOT.
I liken this to the nursing in public argument. If it makes you uncomfortable, than JUST DON'T LOOK!
So if I see or read something that I don't like, or meet someone I just don't click with, then I do not have to click on their link, share it, or if it is a person, engage with them, either online or in real life. MY choice. Simple as that.
So with all the talk this week of Mom Vs Mom and more about how we are shaming each other and blah, blah, blah, all I have to say is...
...SUCK IT UP LADIES!
This whole line of 'dialogue' (and yes, I am using the term lightly) is getting us nowhere.
Please just OWN your choices, your decisions, and your opinions. Share your knowledge and your insights if you so choose, but know that once you do this, you are opening yourself up to scrutiny and other's opinions too. Be prepared for what may come, don't take it all too personally and know this.
Not everyone is going to like you or what you have to say...
I will leave you with the words of a brilliant man.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
I hear you....
I have a four and a half-year old who "doesn't love me". No wait..., no, now he wants me....no, needs me....
...no... yeah, he's pretty sure he doesn't love me anymore....
....and now he needs a hug.
The above is a fraction of a 'conversation' that is happening on a daily basis at our house right now. Interspersed within this 'conversation' are the ear-piercing screams and stomping of feet and crying and a myriad of other rather unpleasant behaviours. The boy's, not mine (I swear)!
And I know it shouldn't, that I should not let this get to me, that it is a 'phase', but I can't help it...
....it is breaking me down.
Today after the third incident of screaming and 'I don't love you'/'I need a hug' and I want to do everything MY way or else, etc.... I had to walk away and go and have a good cry myself.
And I just don't know what to do. I wonder every day where my sweet boy went and who this defiant, mood-swinging maniac is??
We try to talk to him, but when he gets worked up it is completely useless trying to communicate with him. He can't even hear himself, let alone what we are trying to say to him.
Our usual reward system is not working (he earns points for good and loses points for bad behaviours, and once his points have accumulated to a certain level he gets the reward of his choice). He has lost ALL his points this weekend!
We talk to him after the fact and once everyone has calmed down and he seems to understand what went wrong and that his behaviour is unacceptable. We offer him alternative ways to express himself at the times when he is getting worked up and angry and he says he will try harder.
This past week I had my Reiki practitioner come over and do a session with him before I had mine (I am seriously willing to try anything at this point).
C was very excited for the session and was so calm while Kim worked her energy flowing and balancing magic on him. One of the main things that came up during his session was that Little C seems to be having feelings of 'not being heard' lately and mainly by me.
And as much as it pains me to admit it (on a lot of levels), the kid is not wrong...
I have been extra busy with a lot of other things lately. Work, volunteer work, more volunteer work, and then more work have been dominating my mind and my days for the past few weeks. There has been no time for proper scheduling of work hours versus play hours because it all just has to get done and as a result our play hours have suffered.
And so, it seems, have my children.
I fully admit that the TV has been on too much, I have asked them to go play by themselves too much and my mind is always on a billion things at once and my phone or laptop never leaves my side. Little C has said to me on more than one occasion..."Mom, turn off your computer and come and play with us." and he has even modified it to, 'Mom, come play in my room...you can even bring your computer with you." And I have said, "just one more email, or "just one more phone call", more times than I want to admit.
(heart breaks and sinks to stomach. BIG sigh.)
So what is a Mama to do?
Something has to give. And soon. Because it can NOT be my kids anymore. We are all suffering because of this now and I don't want to continue like this.
I think I also need to re-read a few of my go-to books again:
Playful Parenting to get my head and myself back into the games (and off the computer all the time)!!
and Discipline without Distress to help us all find better solutions and ways to deal with attitude, anger and frustrations.
In the end, no amount of work, or anything else for that matter is ever going to be as important to me as my child. And perhaps {publicly} admitting that I am not doing such a great job at this Mommy gig at the moment is what I need to get me back on track.
Well that and I visual reminder too...
...one of the very cute reasons why I get up in the morning...
Natasha~
Where I ended up.
In the past two days... I have had one kid with diarrhea and a bad attitude (and I am not sure which is worse!!).
One kid who woke up in the middle of the night and puked her guts out and everywhere (I found even more of it today!).
One bout of something nasty myself.
One fight with a friend.
And one more thing added to my plate that already looks like this.
I know I crapped out on a post for yesterday, but it just was not in me AT ALL. And I am squeaking this one in tonight because the plan was to get out of the house, go to Starbucks and write something profound and meaningful.
What actually happened was that I left the house, got in the car, had full intentions of sitting down in a quiet corner, having a nice chai tea latte and pounding out a great post....
...and then somehow I ended up at D'lish Wine Bar drinking wine and eating yummy food with the lovely Amanda Babichuk and Steven Hodges and a few other really awesome new friends.
And it was just what I needed.
Thank you lovelies!
And tomorrow is another day....
Hopefully one without any gastrointestinal issues or 'seconds' of any kind!!
Cheers y'all!
Natasha~
In the moment...
I was about to crap out on a post for tonight!!
You all know it has been a rough week for me (see yesterday's post)!
But, NO, I can't do that to you (and also I hate that Liam YELLS at me in his SBC update posts if I skip a day!!)
Instead I thought I would take a page from a fellow Summer Blog Challenge participant and post about the things that have really made me happy these past few weeks.
One-on-one time with my little girl.
It is not often that I get to have one-on-one time with my kids. We try to have Mommy days and Daddy days with each of them separately, but more often than not they don't want to do anything without each other (they really are that close). So with Little C in Sportball Camp for another week, the Princess and I had some time to just hang out and do whatever we wanted....just us girls!
We hit the playground one day and she was so much more adventurous on her own. Climbing and sliding and spinning on all the different structures. She even made a little friend! And then she spotted the BIG swing and that is where we spent the next half hour! We had fun, she had me all to herself and I got to focus on just one kid for a few hours and I think we both needed that!
Pretty vintage things for me
I was on Facebook one night and saw these beauties and HAD to have them!
A) Because I am a sucker for anything blue and green **Tangent: My British Grandmother used to always tell us that "blue and green shall never be seen, unless there is a monkey in between". I still don't know what that means?
And B) My hands get cold, especially when I am typing, so they seemed like a perfect solution.
And C) They are locally made and the fabric and the buttons are vintage--do I have to say more?
The two most important dudes in my life.
Natural Urban Dad and Little C really are two of a kind. They look alike, they have the same mannerisms, they have the same crazy obsession with cleanliness (not complaining) and they are my world! There is nothing that makes my heart swell more than seeing them together and how much they love each other. Oh, and the Ferris Wheel idea--totally Little C's! Seems he is a little thrill seeker and on that one note he is VERY different than Natural Urban Dad!
My new Duvet Cover.
Yes. I am very serious. I have been wanting a new duvet cover for months and just haven't found the right one. So I hit up HomeSense once more this past week and buried underneath all the other plain, boring duvet covers, I finally found the ONE! Now the kicker with this is that I did not inform Natural Urban Dad of my plans, mainly because I knew that he would probably kybosh the whole idea and then we would be stuck with a BIG GIANT CHICKEN at the door kind of mess! So I bought the duvet, washed it and got in on the bed before he got home and had a chance to tell me to take it back! Doesn't it look purdy? And bonus, it makes me want to actually make my bed every morning! (Which is slight consolation for Mr. Tidy Pants!)
Matching my outfit to my baby carrier.
It is true, I do like to match what I am wearing to who I am wearing and this day it worked out perfectly. The kids and I took the dog for a walk and Princess L decided she really needed to go on mama's back. It was the perfect opportunity to use of new "Magic Wrap" Woven from Cosy Baby Happy Mommy. And it matched my hat perfectly!! I promise a more in-depth review and post about this incredible wrap very soon. I want to get some more miles out of it and break it in a bit more before I give the final verdict (which so far is quite awesome!!).
**And PS: The hat the The Princess is wearing is a Woodland Rogue Hat available here.
Summer Days spent with Best friends
Today the kids and I spent the day at the Legislature Grounds with our best friends. We packed a picnic, spread out our blankets and splashed and played in the fountains and wading pools. It really is amazing that my bestie and I have been friends for over 20 years now. We have been through all of the major milestones and events in our grown-up lives together and are about to hit another big one (hint: it's a major birthday). Our kids are growing up together too and nothing makes you step back and take stock of your life and how fast is whizzes by like the realization that our babies are really NOT babies anymore. Today was a great day for us, for ME. It was a day where I felt very Zen. Like all the troubles of this past week could not affect me. I was in a happy place, with my happy people and that was all that mattered.
Today I lived in the moment and it was wonderful!
And now I am going to go to bed!
Natasha~
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Summer Blog Challenge Posts for August 26th, 2011
- Peter takes his toys home: Crazy Wookie Cookies
- Shaun discusses human networking: Expedition of Truths
- Earl shows us his bad movies list: My Name is Earl (J. Woods)
- Zita introduces work/life balance: Ignite Strategic Solutions
- Brad tries not to sound sexist and comes up short: Kick Me Out Soon
- Natasha is intimidated into putting out a post: Natural Urban Mamas
- Kim provides tasty fuel to the family: Nature Baby Bloggings
- Cliff has no Canadian pride: Peer Pressure Works
- Tammy watches reality TV: Tam I Am
- Vlad : Analog Coast
- Chad rips off In The Now’s Song/Blog title theme: The Daily Grind
- It’s all part of Liam’s football fantasy: In The Now