Saturday, December 31, 2011

Winter Wonderland on New Year's Eve








The winter beauty on a New Year’s Eve walk
Wishing you light, peace, simplicity and love in 2012.
Happy New Year!

Friday, December 30, 2011

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soulemama.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Reflecting

I often find myself reflecting between Christmas and the New Year. I always have more time during this week and usually spend some of it outside running, hiking and walking our dog.  It is during these times outside, when I am alone with my thoughts, some of my best thinking occurs....it is amazing how calming and opening Mother Nature can  be. So, it was no surprise as I headed out on Monday to hit the trails for a run I found myself reflecting on the year past.

Great things happened this year with my nutrition business Your Green Baby. It has continued to grow and I am passionate about the message I continue to share with moms and dads.  I released my first book, Raising Happy Healthy Babies; such a huge accomplishment. This was an 18 month process which found me writing into the wee hours of the morning while Reece was sleeping.

I have been fortunate this year to find some new mama friends and a wonderful new group called Thoughtful Parent. These both allow me the pleasure of sharing my mothering experiences with other mamas who are on the same path.

As a mama, this year has far exceeded anything I could have hoped for.  I am continually amazed at the journey I am on with my little man. Each day I rediscover life through his eyes. I am so grateful for this. Reece reminds me every day that he is on a journey and while I am part of that journey, I cannot control it. I am here to guide, support and love but he is his own little person and will choose his own path. He is an amazing little person and I am so fortunate to be his mama.

As a family, we successfully nurtured, grew and enjoyed eating food from our gardens again this summer. The process is a wonderful experience and walking out to the garden in the afternoon to pick food for dinner, well, that is just amazing! We plan to keep this up by adding an extra bed this summer with hopes of sustaining our little family.



We continue to forge ahead with our goals of living a simpler, more sustainable life, it is a process and we are enjoying it. We are slowing down, we are taking notice, we are enjoying our simpler life and everything it has to offer.

This year, as with our world, our countries and our communities, we, as a family, have had some ups and downs, but we struggled through and come out on the other side stronger and wiser.

With each passing day this past year I became stronger. I became a better person. I became a better mother. It is a journey and on it I continue to learn, grow and change.

So, as I reflect back on 2011, I am grateful for a wonderful year and I look forward with anticipation and hope to a New Year.

What have you been reflecting on as we approach a New Year full of possibility and promise?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Winter Run



A quiet afternoon
Time to run
The trails are perfect
Just covered in snow
It’s quiet
The only sound
The crunching snow beneath my stride
I love this sound, the crunching
It’s meditative
It’s beautiful
These runs in the forest, I love
They are my time
To think
To reconnect
To ground myself
To breath
To be



Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Savouring
















I am taking every last moment I can to savour the wonderfully simple and so very special Christmas we shared in our home. It was fun, magical and full of love.
Our time together was perfect and is packed away in my heart to remember forever.  I look forward to keeping the magic alive over the remaining days of holiday fun ahead.
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday with your family and that you too can find ways to keep the magic alive and enjoy it a little bit more before real life takes hold again.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Happy Holidays!



May your Christmas be filled with peace, joy and love.

Enjoy the magic and treasure each moment.


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Celebrating the Winter Solstice

It was the perfect start to winter solstice this morning...the sun was shining! After a few days with no rays from the sun gracing our home, I was delighted to see it on the morn of the winter solstice.
Winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of winter. 
For our family winter solstice marks a day to celebrate, get outside, laugh, love and enjoy time together.


We started our day with a trip to the dentist with Reece, a tooth to be capped and one extracted, meant we were not quite sure how our plans for winter solstice would turn out. Reece was a trooper, amazing not only his mama, but everyone else in the office, with his calm and patient manner.
Once home, we cuddled on the couch for a bit and then had lunch. Not sure my little man would eat, he gobbled up his plate of food and asked for more...weird, I know. So, we figured we could give our plans a go.
We got ourselves dress to head outside for a hike to enjoy the most beautiful day. It really felt more like spring then the first day of winter. It was lovely. Reece enjoyed the hike from the Boba.  Once home, we got a little campfire going, hung out for a bit, filled the bird feeders and then came inside for a special treat – banana ice cream (which is really just frozen bananas, a drizzle of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon whipped up in the blender, but please don't tell Reece), and some reading.














We finished off winter solstice with a candlelight dinner for three and an early bed time for our little man.
Happy winter solstice!!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

In Our Home








In our home...
Christmas carols are playing
Granola is being made to share
Chocolate covered dates are everywhere
Toys are being made for the little one in our life                          
Presents are being wrapped
We are wishing for snow
We are crafting for fun and to share
We are enjoying time together
We are slowing down
We are enjoying the magic of the season

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Our Dinner Time Blessing

A few weeks ago I shared our dinner time rhythm and since then have had a few requests for the blessing we use, so today I will share it with you.
Earth we thank you for our food,
For rest and home and all things good,
For wind and rain and sun above,
But most of all for those we love.
I found this verse in the summer, can’t quite remember where, and it really spoke to my heart and soul. Since then, it has been the beginning of all of our meals.  Reece refers to it as “our story” and looks forward to hearing it.

This blessing gives us a chance to give thanks for the many things in our life we are grateful for and also allows as a moment to breath and slow down before we begin our meal.
How do you express your gratitude before your meals?

Monday, December 19, 2011

Would Love to Share...But I Can't

I have been blogging for two and half years over at my nutrition site, Your Green Baby, but this is the first holiday season for Mothering with Mindfulness.
I have already shared with you two holiday recipes I will be giving as gifts this year – Pumpkin Granola and Chocolate Covered Dates, but I have not shared with you any of the crafting I have been up to, and I recently learned this is the curse of the December blogger – the fact that we must keep our crafting projects secret in case those who are receiving our gifts are reading our blogs. And so, I must keep everything under wraps for now, with the exception of the gifts we have been making for Reece. Since he is not yet reading my blog, I can share with you the gifts he will be receiving, both handmade and bought.


Bedtime Bag with Pyjamas and Book


Scarf

A Neck Warmer (in the same yarn that his daddy is getting a scarf in)



Wooden Tree Blocks

A Tree House with gnomes (hoping Canada Post gets them here in time)
 
For his stocking - a Waldorf doll, play silks, play clips and crafting fun!
 
What are you busy crafting for the little one’s in your life?