Many Moons :: New Moon

Many Moons

1 week old

15 months

Fifteen moons have come and gone since the birth of my littlest chick. It hit me this week that my baby is flying into little-girl hood at high speed. She's communicating clearly, playing imaginatively, loving openly and truly becoming a participant in our little family, rather than just an observer.

It's such a mixed bag of emotions... you want them to stay little so you can nibble those tiny toes, breathe in that baby smell, squeeze all those squishy parts... and yet the lure of "what's next" is there too. The development of a personality, the unfolding of special talents, the exposure of quirky traits. Each moon brings new revelations, new challenges and new joys.

New Moon
On the topic of moons, I gathered with my Moon Sisters on Monday night to welcome the New Moon in Aquarius and the first day of the Chinese New Year. Among our circle of eight were three beautiful growing bellies...
...one of which came all the way from Sweden (at 34 weeks!) for a little juju from the mamas. So we laid it on thick and amidst the dancing candlelight and the smoky, earthy scent of dried sage from smudging, serious intentions were set. And so we go forth into this new lunar cycle, full of promise and with a hearty dose of magic.

Happy Friday!

Reading Between the Lines

On the way home from a family trip to the library, while looking at a Princess and the Pea book, Selby announces: "All those mattresses would squish a pea."

"It's just a story, so anything is possible," I reply.

And then, from the backseat, a revelation it took me over 30 years to come to understand: "Are we a story someone is reading?"

And so she gets it...at 4! Or perhaps at 4 she has just not yet forgotten we have the power to create our own experiences - to write our own stories.

So yes, little one, we are a story. We are the creative expressions of spirit. And collectively, we create a universal book that, I am certain, "someone" is reading.

That day in the car I could almost feel Selby making the connection...if we are a story, then anything is possible for us too.

And it is, you know. We simply must remember.

Kitchen Comfort; Trapped In The House

I'm on day five of quarantine with Sage, who is suffering from the croup. Stuck in the house, I've kept it cozy with a fire burning nearly around the clock and plenty of activity in the kitchen.

Tuesday, I made a big pot of chicken soup using a recipe recommended by (of course) Rose, that she found on Posie Gets Cozy. Full of fresh dill it was just what the doctor ordered: Sage sucked it down and then toddled around all drunk like! It also soothed Daddy Bird's cold, and, along with a gazillion packets of Emergen-C, has kept the ickies at bay for me.

Wednesday was sauteed organic cabbage, apple & onion salad with turkey kielbasa and (uhum, frozen) pierogies, which are actually pretty good if you bake them until slightly crisp. It's the warm salad, however, that makes the meal:

Sauteed Cabbage & Apples
1 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, cut into rings
1 Braeburn or some other crisp apple, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1/4 small head green cabbage, shredded
1 T apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt & pepper

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the apple and cook 1 minute. Add the cabbage, vinegar, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and cook, stirring, until the cabbage is slightly wilted, but still crunchy, about 3-5 minutes. (recipe from Real Simple magazine, March 2008)

I was back in the kitchen today, cooking up more comfort with a crock-pot turkey chili, served for dinner with cornbread muffins, a fresh green salad and IBC root beer.Here's my original recipe:

Crock Pot Turkey Chili
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (fire-roasted is important)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can red beans
1/2 (big) box of chicken broth
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 T salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 package ground turkey
1 dark beer (stout is best)
1/4 quick-cook oatmeal (or more if needed)

Brown turkey with onions & garlic. Combine in crock pot with the rest of the ingredients (except oatmeal) and simmer 4 hours or more. Add oatmeal in last hour to thicken, as needed (it will disappear into the chili), Garnish as you like with cheese, green onions, sour cream, or whatever suits your fancy.
And, because it's Friday and I've been stuck in the house all week, a batch of homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies found its way into my kitchen too. Whole wheat flour, oats and dark chocolate redeem these sinful treats. Another recipe from my kitchen:

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup 100% whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur brand)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats (I use McCann's Irish Oatmeal)
3/4 cup Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. In medium mixing bowl, stir all dry ingredients. Then stir dry into sugar mixture until combined. Stir in oats, then chips. Roll into balls and place 2" apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. Makes 30 cookies.Feed them to the ones you love - and don't forget yourself. Have a comforting weekend!

Creating Community

Over the past five years, as I've been raising my family, I've also been raising a community. Not alone, mind you. I belong to a band of women who are creating a community of families based on friendship, shared values and, above all else, support for one another.

I'm starting to dissect this community for the sake of my writing - exploring it first here on my blog. I plan to delve further into it for an article I have in the works. And then write about it in great depth in my novel, which follows the lives of a section of this special community.

We're a diverse tribe. Among us is an artist living in a two-mommy household, a baby-wearing business woman and a midwife married to a local politician. However, despite our differences in occupation and association, strong common threads run among us. Most prominent, we're all mothers practicing natural parenting who birthed our babies at home (or planned to). The camaraderie we've discovered amidst our likenesses and differences has blossomed into the makings of a community like none other.

Initially, a core of us met through the birthing home where we received prenatal care for our first pregnancies. Many of us were in childbirth education or AquaNatal classes together. More babies led to more connections and over the years, our community has grown to many families strong.

This group loves to gather! What started out as occasional play dates and kids birthday parties has grown to encompass all sorts of events. As mamas, we often join together for blessingways, birth story circles, new moon circles, birthday dinners and craft nights. As families we gather for potlucks, holiday parties, beach trips, kiddie camps and cookouts.

Friendship has seen us through a lot together. We've collectively celebrated the births of dozens of babies...and coped as a community with childbirth complications in all degrees of severity.

We've supported each other through family illnesses, difficult diagnosis and crisis, dealing together with everything from colds to cancer. We've celebrated a wedding for two righteous babes. And we've seen one of our own move across the globe. Together we've traversed the ups and downs, experienced the life-changing and the mundane.

There is something magical about our community. It just evolved out of our like-minded choices in childbirth and family-rearing, out of a love for our children, out of a common belief in being part of something greater than ourselves.

This community, born along side my children, has grown with them - and me - developing into a family of friends beyond anything I could have envisioned or set out to create. I can't imagine experiencing motherhood in any other way.

A Simple Celebration

This weekend I threw a birthday dinner party for my mother. For her, I wanted it to be fun, delicious and lovely. For me, simple. It was all of these things.

The menu was built around the main course: Rose's Moroccan chicken, chock-full of olives, apricots, capers and prunes. This yummy, super-easy meal was made complete with whole wheat couscous, roasted organic vegetables and a crisp green salad adorned with colorful Nasturtiums (edible flowers) from my local farmer's market. For table settings, I pulled from all around my home. For the tablecloth I used a batik cloth I usually keep in the car for picnics and beach visits. It's muted jewel-tone, elephant print set the ethnic ambiance. Combined with straw place mats, gold dishes, golden stamped cloth napkins and bougainvillea clippings from the yard, it was a cheery, fun table. Before dinner, a glass bowl full of tangerines served as a fragrant, natural centerpiece. To add to the eclectic, ethnic feel, I served the veggies and couscous in covered, hand-thrown ceramic bowls and the chicken on a fancy sterling silver, lidded platter. Finally, the table was lit with a scattering of votive candles. The kids sat at a decked out kiddie table next to us. For dessert, I called on Rose again, requesting the recipe for her delicious chocolate cake. She even lent me her beautiful fleur-de-lis bundt pan, which made for a gorgeous presentation. I served it with fresh raspberries and Edy's Raspberry Chip Royale ice cream.
A warm fire, several bottles of wine and adorable children made the night complete. Simple. Lovely. Fun. Everything I set out for it to be. Happy Birthday, Mother!

An ode to Rose: She is a fabulous cook, who makes everything from scratch. Her creations are almost always dairy-free, dye-free and low-sugar, made with organic and locally produced foods. And they are quite delicious. She has a collection of fabulous easy-to-make meals and desserts that fool everyone in terms of effort, and blow them away in terms of flavor. She is an inspiration in the kitchen.

A Little Bit of Juju

When I gather with my mama friends for a ritual, such as our New Moon Circle or a Mother Blessing, we always open the ceremony by smudging each other, calling on the spirits of sacred plants to clear away any negative energies. It is an essential piece of "juju," as we call our assembly of ritual paraphernalia.Smudging works equally well - and fast - on restoring the balance in your physical space. When the house gets a bit too stuffy - be it literally or figuratively - a smudging is the perfect remedy. Tonight, my house was calling out for a little energy clearing. So I lit a bundle of dried baby sage that was appropriately gifted to me at my blessingway for my daughter Sage. One deep breath, and I could practically feel the accumulated emotional and psychic garbage drifting away in the smoke.
At my blessingway, I was also gifted a beautiful, approachable book on smudging called The Smudging and Blessings Book, Inspirational Rituals to Cleanse and Heal by Jane Alexander. It offers basic directions for a self-clearing using a smudge stick:

1. Light the end of a smudge stick and let it burn until the tip starts to smolder. Then extinguish the flame so the smudge stick smokes.
2. Call on the spirits of the smudge to cleanse and protect you saying, "Sacred sage, drive away all negativity from my heart; take away everything unworthy and impure."
3. First, waft the smoke towards your heart. Then take the smudge smoke over your head, down your arms, and down the front of your body. Imagine the smoke lifting away all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that have become attached to you.
4. Breathe in the smudge, visualizing the smoke purifying your body from within.
5. Bring the smoke down the back of your body toward the ground. Visualize the last vestiges of negativity being taken back into the earth, and away into the air.
6. As you smudge, imagine yourself being surrounded by gentle, loving energy - breathe in positivity, courage and love.

You can adapt this simple ritual to cleanse your space, or another person. After my simple space-clearing tonight, the energy in my home feels lighter. And it smells so good. Ah...it's a little bit of juju you just don't want to be without!

Princess Spirit

Selby attended her first "Princess Party" today. The invitation instructed her to wear a favorite dress or princess gown. A big fan of dress up, Selby's style is typically more funky than frilly, more diva than princess. Nonetheless, she was very excited about the party, and prepared herself with ladylike care. She chose a dress Nana gave her for Christmas (a treasure from Goodwill), gloves from Grandpa (also from Christmas) and a sparkling tiara. I loved her non-Disney idea of what a princess should look like.
I have consciously avoided pushing the "princess" theme on Selby. To me, it conjures up a spoiled, must-have-a-prince, dripping in jewels image that no preschooler needs to be associating with. But it still seeps in from outside sources - school, movies, uh - a trip to Disney last month... So I was a little uneasy about the whole princess party idea. I was pleasantly surprised. The girls came dressed in all manner of unique "princess" attire, showing much originality.The party itself was darling and included face painting, a treasure hunt and a sweetly decorated dining area for the ultimate in princess food - pizza & cake.
So I have a new perspective tonight after being among these little ladies. They seem to have found the perfect balance between enjoying all things feminine & lovely and daringly flaunting their authentic style. A modern day princess spirit I can embrace!

Domestic Mindfulness: 3 Missions

I've always thought of cleaning as therapeutic - and I actually don't mind it, as my jumbled mind seems to clear as I perform my daily chores. Lately I've been thinking, perhaps housekeeping has a spiritual value to it. This is not an original thought for the world - just for me. In Zen monasteries, chores are referred to as Work Practice and hold definite spiritual value. And many have written on the subject of housework as spiritual practice, from Thich Nhat Hanh in The Miracle of Mindfulness to Gary Thorp in Sweeping Changes.

If neatness alone determined one's level of spiritual enlightenment, I think I would be quite advanced, as I am somewhat obsessive about keeping a tidy and minimalist-inspired home. Here are a few of my tenets:

1. Everything has a place and must return to it by the end of the day.
2. When something new comes in, something old goes out.
3. Nothing in life is permanent - it is OK to let things go. Consider it a gift to the universe. Take the karma and release the clutter.

So, I have three work practice missions nagging at me here in early 2009. Inspired by my friend Laura's birthday gift to herself, I have launched Mission 1: Clean Fridge. The task - clean out all old stuff and the unit itself; even those nasty drawers. The good part is the reward - a shopping at Whole Foods to restock (this is such a nice healthy gift to give yourself, Laura).Mission 2: Vanishing Toys is also inspired in part by Laura, who actually got Santa Clause to come in and remove bins of old toys from her boys' room on Christmas Eve (read about it here). I must be stealth, like Old St. Nick, to pull this one off. It involves making many unnecessary and underloved toys magically disappear from my girls' rooms. The reward for them is more room for imaginative play. For me...less stuff to pick up, of course!Finally, Mission 3: Magazine Control. The stacks have grown out of control and something must be done. My mother isn't helping on this one, as she kicked this mission off at her house before me, and is sifting all her cut-up issues down to me to love on briefly before I too let them go (get ready Tonya - they're coming your way!). Mission 3's reward is sweet: lots of inspiration torn out and stored for just the right place & time and new material for my vision board.
This will be my work practice this month. I'm pretty sure it won't result in enlightenment - but a clean, well-stocked fridge, less clutter and a full well are certainly all divine pursuits!

Happy Friday!

PS - Want to join in on one of my missions? Commit here and let me know how it goes. Or tell me your own work practice for January - maybe I'll adopt it too!

May the Force Be With You

My Jedi Nephew, Ethan!

On the past new moon, I was unable to attend my New Moon Circle due to some sleeping issues we are working out over here with our littlest chick. So after the girls were asleep, Daddy Bird joined me in a long discussion about our intentions for this lunar cycle. We closed with a joint affirmation: "I am a positive force in the present moment." During more challenging moments, I've been calling on this affirmation to perform a Jedi mind trick on me.

Then, in the characteristic synchronicity of the Universe, I came upon a chapter in Sarah Napthali's Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children entitled "What Does This Moment Require?" The chapter not only reminds we have a choice in the way we respond to each moment, but pulls from Buddhist teachings to offer suggested positive responses! These include joy, compassion, humor, solitude, patience and generosity.

So I've been finding myself asking the question - what does this moment require of me? - quite often. And then pulling from one of the teachings. With demanding children at my feet so much of the time, I have called on patience and humor quite a bit. When something or someone irritates me, I try and respond with joy and compassion. And so forth...

Have I just been waiting for these mind states to appear on their own? Too often I was falling back on anger, irritation and criticism; not exactly a mindful path. But I am learning. And today, armed with new tools, I reaffirm my choice to be a positive force in the present moment.

May the force be with you too.

In A Word...

Many years ago, I was introduced to the idea of selecting a "word of the year" instead of making New Year's resolutions. The concept stuck, and this has become my annual routine. The idea is to create a theme of sorts to govern your goals and actions throughout the year. This year, my word is MINDFUL.

Applying your word to different areas of your life adds a positive twist to traditional resolutions. For example, instead of resolving to lose 10 pounds, I will eat mindfully. Instead of resolving to spend less money, I will practice mindful spending. I will not resolve to go to the gym, but instead, be mindful of my body's need to move & stretch.

Over the years, my words have included: balance, compassion, energy and joy. Not knowing the official rules behind the "word of the year" concept, this year I thought I might add a secondary word: SIMPLICITY. Of course, then I realized I was actually complicating a very simple idea of focusing on one word. So it is just MINDFUL for me, which is really enough don't you think?

Selecting a word is a such a powerful affirmation to carry with you throughout the year, I just have to encourage you to pick one too. Reply to this post with yours and let's see how many "words" we can manifest!