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Gratitude

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Naomi

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

I have this new app on my iPhone called My Journal that I am using as a gratitude journal. I’ve intended to record at the end of each day three things I am grateful for, but I almost never remember to do it. So I decided to use this app to record little moments as they happen. It’s on my home screen adjacent to my calendar so I can’t help but see it and remember.

Posted in Mindfulness | Tagged gratitude, iPhone, Sarah Ban Breathnach | Leave a comment

Between Interruptions is now an e-book

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Naomi

You may remember that I took two writing classes from The Momoir Project and found writing about motherhood to be cathartic. The online group of women in the classes became a supportive sisterhood for me and I am still connected to some friends from the classes.

Cori Howard, who teaches The Momoir Project, edited a compilation of essays and had it published a few years ago. Titled Between Interruptions : 30 Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood, the book is full of essays that explore what is unspoken, cut off or lost in the years spent raising children. I recommend buying it.

The sad news here is that the publisher of her book recently went bankrupt. So Cori has hundreds of copies of her book sitting in her basement. Cori says in this post that she cares first and foremost that these stories get out into the world and that these heartfelt stories are not lost. So she decided to turn her book into an e-book. Now that it’s even more affordable ($3.03 on Amazon!!!) and accessible, perhaps you’d like to read it?

Posted in Books, Motherhood, Writing | Tagged Between Interruptions, Cori Howard, E-book, Momoir Project, self-publishing, women, writing | Leave a comment

Ah, daylight savings with a toddler

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Naomi

I wrote this post on Friday. It actually wasn’t too terrible an adjustment. I can deal with a few whiny moments and an extra long day.

I remember the days when it really didn’t matter that the clocks were changing. Those days are long gone for us since the daily schedule is queen over here and if we somehow forget that a particular spoon goes with a particular meal, we are going to hear about it. When I read in the paper that it is soon time to change the clocks, I groaned aloud. What is the point of this again?

We are supposed to enjoy the extra hour on Sunday, but I predict that when the usual 6:30am wake-up happens at 5:30am, I’ll be enjoying an extra cup of coffee (or two). Lord help me when it gets to be “happy hour” around 5pm and the whining begins. Usually when my daughter does not nap, I try putting her to bed a little earlier so she can get at least half an hour of additional sleep. But I can’t put her to bed early this time for fear that she’ll wake up even earlier.

Every year, twice a year, I am reading articles and discussion boards about how to prepare for the time changes by beginning to shift the child’s schedule in 15-minute increments each day. This year, I am going to continue my trend of obliviousness and just go with it. I’m expecting the last couple hours of the next few days to be complete crap, but I’ll remember my choice and that it’ll all be better soon. 🙂

If only school wasn’t cancelled on Monday morning. 🙁

Posted in Motherhood | Tagged Daylight saving time, toddlers | 3 Comments

Photo Friday

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Naomi

Here are a few photos from our Sunday wanderings at the Houston arboretum. We had no direction, just enjoyed our daughter’s delight at picking up pine cones and being outdoors. All images were shot with my 50mm compact macro.

Posted in Photo Friday, Photography | Tagged Houston Arboretum, macrophotography | 1 Comment

Change yourself, change the world

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Naomi

This is from Saturday’s Daily Good e-mail and was written by Birju Pandya. If you’d like to read the full article, click on the link.

There are 4 ideas you have to believe if you seek to “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Real change requires patience: Taking that weight loss example, it’s not easy to shift from junk food to veggies, and results don’t come right away. It takes time to move others through love (rather than by carrot or stick), but the results are real and lasting. Being patient is OK!
Real change is decentralized/local:The revolution will not be provided by governments or corporations. It is not in their interest. It has to be owned in each household, one by one, to be real change.
Real change cannot be traditionally measured: We are a society that believes strongly in measurable cause and effect. However, world doesn’t work that way — each result is born of millions of conscious and unconscious acts. Similarly, each action leads to millions of results. Why measure that complexity? Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply keep track of the root, which is the intention that people are cultivating?
Real change is never complete: Each person in society is a seeker. As nobody has the answers, it is incumbent on all of us to humbly support each other in being better people.

If those elements resonate, there are many ways to cultivate this movement towards other-orientation. A few examples: building person-to-person relationships based on deep respect and connection, offering one’s gifts freely for some portion of the day, intentionally doing small acts of kindness, seeking internal clarity through any number of awareness-building practices (such as introspection, prayer, or meditation). The opportunities literally are unending.

Posted in Mindfulness | Tagged Birju Pandya, Daily Good, internal change | Leave a comment

Play Grow Learn – a new ezine

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Naomi

Christie Burnett is the educator and mother behind Childhood 101, a blog full of content about fun, play, and learning. She covers education, creative projects, organization, nutrition, and gives great ideas for fun projects to do at home with kids. It’s supportive, positive, and inspiring. Check it out!

So I was browsing the site and I saw that Christie now has an ezine. I was happy to pay $4 for the 65- page instant download and I am enjoying reading it. (I had to print it out because I like to read these things in bed at night and it’s just so hard to snuggle up with a pillow and the computer.)

Here’s what how the magazine is advertised on Childhood 101:

Play Grow Learn brings together the ideas of early childhood teachers and real Mums with a passion for play and offers over 100 playful activity and project ideas to make playtime that little bit easier for busy parents.

Because play matters.
As parents of young children we are regularly told that play is important for the development and learning of young children and Play Grow Learn helps you to make the most of playtime with 62 pages of great ideas for, and useful information about, playing with babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

Issue One of Play Grow Learn includes;