Pastimes for Your Future

What do you love to do? What are those things that just make you happy no matter what? Though I don’t get the opportunity to do it very often one of my great loves in life is working with clay. It’s like reconnecting with the earth and immersing yourself in the very base of nature. The way the cool body feels against my warm hands and the smell of earth that emanates up as I wedge it into a more useful form. The way clay makes me strong both physically from the pure force needed for manipulation and mentally because it’s truly one of my most peaceful and centered places; the endless possibilities each bag possesses and how with the right technique and proper dedication you can turn it into anything imaginable. It’s bliss, pure, earthy, messy, cool, bliss.

As you can probably tell clay is my happy place, and I think that anything that makes a person happy on that level is not only a gift to ones self, but a gift you can so easily share with your children. Have you ever been completely taken by someone talking about something they were truly passionate about? So absorbed in their words you found the interest almost contagious because it obviously makes the speaker feel more alive? I have, and there’s not difference for children.

Whether it’s sitting at the wheel with me or curling up in here Daddy’s lap while he plays a game on the computer my daughter is entranced by anything we show passions for, and the level on which we are able to connect and share with her the things we love is amazing because not only are we being filled with a sense of happiness by doing what we love we are overcome with a sense of pride as we watch our daughter, the person that we made from love, as she learns to love and appreciate the things that mean so much to us.

So get out there and share with your kids. Don’t expect anything from them, but give them the opportunity to amaze you with the interests and new light they can shed on your most cherished pastimes.

 

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment and/or ask questions.

 

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A Week Without a Theme (Closing on Our House)

blowing bubbles in front of the barn

Oops… I kinda dropped the ball on my theory of keeping my 2.5 year old stimulated with weekly themes and corresponding craft projects. I also dropped the ball on regular bedtimes and eating anything that has to be prepared with heat. My poor husband has been coming home from work to a wife who has eaten cheese, crackers, salami and spinach for dinner…. again (I’m only on like the 4th night).

But in my defense it’s all for a really really good reason. You see, on Thursday we closed escrow on our very first home! It’s the most incredibly fantastic feeling to know that in 2-3 very short months when we bring home our second child it will be to a home we can live in forever if we want to.

Currently we live in a second story one bedroom apartment. It’s a wonderful little place and being a family that relates to the downsizing movement (living more simply in less space) it was really perfect for us. As a fairly crunch bunch of three a one bedroom was really all the space we needed for co-sleeping, closet sharing and closeness in our family.

But then my daughter turned 2 and energy exploded forth from her little body like sunlight piercing through the tiniest crack in a curtain and shining strait into your sleeping eyes… and I knew that as far as backyardless apartment living went… we were screwed. Two weeks later I found out I was pregnant.

So the house hunt began. Well the house hunt began…. And then stopped because we weren’t really in a practical position to buy a house at the moment and our rent was so cheap in the apartment that we couldn’t get to a practical place without staying here longer, let me rephrase… So the pre-house hunt began! We used all the money we were saving from living in a smaller location to pay off ALL of our debt, every last penny of it. Fortunately being young (and somehow wise about this particular subject) we had very minimal debt and had been sort of working to pay it off already. So then we were completely 100% debt free!

When we went in to talk to our mortgage broker (If you live in Humboldt County and are looking for a mortgage broker use PMG and never look back) we assumed she would tell us that we could start looking to buy a house in a few months when my husbands work history was a little longer and a little stronger, really all we were looking for that first day was an idea, an idea of what we could afford and how it was going to impact our budget, but no… that day she told us what we could afford and that we could start looking… NOW.

So…. The house hunt began. We still had a little bit of time left in the day so we called a realtor and fell in love with the first house that we saw, and were given a full case of the heebie-jeebies by every other thing on the market in our price range. The next day we put in an offer and after 37 of the most stressful days of my life we were given the keys to our new home; a two bedroom one bath with a big yard and open concept kitchen living area.

Now back to the lack of theme this week. This week has been crazy. I have been packing like mad because I am a pregnant woman in her third trimester that has been completely deprived of the ability to nest over the last month due to the ever changing uncertainty of escrow. Being told that it really is our house and we really do get to move into it has triggered some primal part of my pregnant brain and I was able to almost completely pack our entire space by myself with a 2 year old in two days. My only break downs have been over the heat (the reason why there have been no fancy diners for my hubby), and my inability to move my packed apartment to my new house because as a pregnant person I draw the line at carrying boxes down stairs. If we lived on the first floor everything but the furniture would already be over there, but since we don’t I stare at my giant pile of boxes (gratefully) waiting for my husband’s day off.

I would just like to add that while moving and escrow are stressful on me as the domestic of our family and my husband as the provider, it is also very important to remember that anything stressful to adults stresses out children, they can feel displeasure and uncertainty in their home and it’s very important to give them a break and do what you can to ease the transition for them. One of these things for us has been to put our potty learned daughter back into diapers after seeing she was struggling and uninterested in continuing with her current potty skills. Giving her the grace to take a little break from the stresses of being hauled off to the bathroom every 45 minutes made a huge impact on her overall happiness and we know that once things are settled she will be ready (in her own time) to try again.

And lastly I would like to thank the U.S. Veterans Association Loan Office for giving us the opportunity to become home owners before 25. My husband’s service in the armed forces has given us countless opportunities to better our lives and I appreciate all the wonderful benefits we receive.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment and/or ask questions.

 

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Balancing Motherhood

It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I check in every so often and stare longingly at the cover page of India’s Roses and wish I never put it down, but that’s just a thing I can’t undo like most things in life that have already been done. So instead I pick myself up, dust the cobwebs from my headline and try again.

So here goes….

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