we all need a little love

I am not super mom. I have tried, believe me. Laundry, dishes, house, kids, work, meals, groceries, doctor's appointments, husband, garden, banking, nature time, book time, playtime....really, no me time. I am good at doing one or two things really well. 20 things, hmmm, not so much. But I try as best as I can each day because I love this little family of mine. I cook them beautiful suppers each night because I love the time we spend together at the end of the day eating a meal together. I make sure they have clean laundry in their drawers because I want them to know someone cares enough to make sure they don't have to wear their underwear inside out because there is nothing left that is clean. Everything I do here is out of love.

But sometimes I need some love too. My family is wonderful at saying thank you, for bringing me the occasional bunch of flowers, maybe if I'm lucky a small masterpiece of crayon imagery from my littles. For all of this, I am always grateful. But sometimes, I want someone to take care of me a little, the way I take care of others. Sometimes, I wish I had a wife.

This weekend my dreams came true. Friday our car was in the shop, I was spending the day getting ready for a party I was hosting the next day and taking care of the kids since there was a pro-d day. To say I was overwhelmed would be a grand understatement. And then it happened, the dryer smelled like fire. Immediately I rushed to turn it off and throw the breakers. With two loads of sopping wet laundry staring me in the face, I wanted to crawl into a hole.

And then the laundry fairy came. She took my laundry on Saturday, dried it, folded it, put it back in the basket and brought it to me with a magazine she knew I would love tucked in between the towels. This is a different kind of love then poetry and chocolates. This is the love that only another mother can understand, the kind of love that we all need a dose of once in a while. The kind of love that feels like someone cares about those little corners of your heart that only a domestically exhausted women could truly appreciate. Thank you friend.

We all need a little love sometimes, especially in the laundry pile.

Ruby Mamas

The Ruby Slipper Studio is finished and open! Classes start tonight and I couldn't be more excited. This was such a process and it took a village to complete. Nancy who painted the room, Andy who donated tools and his time to help Stefan put in the floor, Doug who did the drywall, Waterglass Studios who refurbished my original 1920's light fixture, Dave who did the finishing, Stefan who built my easels and Laurel who has been behind me the whole way.

So, now that I have my very own space, I am inspired to offer something I have been wanting to do for a long, long time. I am going to offer an art class for pregnant mamas....Ruby Mamas.

We spend so much time filling up our heads with information when we are venturing into the unknown world of birth and mothering, filling up our baskets hoping we will be prepared for the unknown. What we don't do is prepare our hearts and internal wisdom that we all possess. Information isn't what will help a woman when she is trying to cope with contractions nor is it what will support her when she is trying to figure out why her baby won't stop crying. It is her intuition every single time. That is what will be her survival skill in this journey ahead.

So on Monday October 18th, I am offering a one night workshop for those beautiful pregnant mamas in my community. You need bring nothing but yourself, an open heart and some comfy clothes. I will provide the space, art supplies and a wonderfully supportive environment where you can connect with your own creative resources, your baby and other mamas in the Cowichan Valley. You don't need to be an artist, this class is not about an outcome, it is all about the Process, just like labour. Dorothy had the answers within her the whole time as she journeyed to Oz, just as you do. Come and discover how wise you are and create art from the heart. The fee is only $25.00 and the experience will be priceless. You are most welcome here.

For more information or to register please contact Catherine at: 250-597-2770 or catherine@beautifulbirth.ca

learing to be still

I wrote about this a few months back. I thought that I had been doing it. Not so much. Still in some ways, constantly moving in others. The result? A continuous state of overwhelm, burn out and some days coloured blue. Why? Because in my ever moving mind, there is something that always needs to be done. And because there is something that always needs doing, I am always reminded that I can't keep up. Painting, laundry, birthday projects, cleaning, cooking, shopping, advertising, gardening, exercise.... oh the list goes on and on.

It wasn't until I spoke to my divinely wise friend who said "maybe you don't need to do those things right now, maybe you just need to be still" Hmmm, I thought, maybe I do. But how? And what would come out of it? More things that I am just getting behind on because I decided not to do them right now? No, not at all.

Our conversation continued on the vein of listening. I mean really listening. To ourselves, our bodies, our own wisdom, to our partners, friends and children. All of those facets are trying to send us a message, but how can we hear it if we can't be still enough to listen?

Then it came to me. We are all searching for an answer of some sort. Some questions are deep and meaningful, others more practical. We are all waiting to receive yet how can we if we can't first listen? And how can we listen if we can't first be still? Hmmm, very Zen of me I know. Sound as obvious as the sky is blue? Sure it does. Can you do it? Ahh, the deeper question, it's not as easy as it looks. I wanted to write this post as soon as I had this epiphany, but I forced myself not to, just to practice being still and allowing the idea to fully develop.

So the laundry, it's coming. The birthday project is on hold, the groceries got done today, but no one starved, the cleaning? I'm working on it. I feel more grounded, more able to listen and maybe one step closer to peace.

come on over...

There are exciting things underway for this mama. The Ruby Slipper Project is going to have a permanent home this fall. A new studio is underway and I couldn't be more excited. I have also started a new blog and invite you to come on over. Want to come to a class? There is a space for you. Do you think you are not an artist? Yes you are, you are creating every single day. The creative impulse is in all of us. This is a safe, fun, open place free of judgement and expectation. I'll even make you a cup of tea.

a new way

I have been teaching Birthing From Within classes for 5 years now. They are fun, informative, unique and honour all aspects of birth and parenting preparation. While I love this work and find it so rewarding there is one aspect about it that I love the most. That is the birth art. When most people hear the word "art" they can get a bit freaked out. So many of us hold stories about our ability or inabiltiy to create and can't understand why facing that fear has anything to do with birth preparation. The reality is that birth preparation is all about facing fears, discovering your own strength and experiencing moving through it. That being said, I often don't do as much art in my classes as I would like, somehow defaulting back to the information aspect that I don't really believe is as important as an exercise in self-discovery. I am always trying to strike a balance and let my own fears go.

I have a very dear friend and colleague however who has developed a whole new way of approaching birth preparation. She calls it the pregnancy circle and I think it is genius. She brings her background in counselling, mothering, Buddhist mediation and childbirth education and marries it into an on going class that I believe truly has the ability to change how we look at birth preparation and women as a whole.

Her classes begin when you are 3 months pregnant and continue up until birth. Each week women engage in soulful, meaningful discussion, meditation and art. Stages of labour and when to go to the hospital are left to someone else to teach. What she is doing here is truly preparing women in their own bodies and hearts for the journey they are about to embark on. If you live in California in the Ventura, Ojai, Santa Barbara or surrounding areas, I would HIGHLY recommend that you check out her class. You will experience something you won't get anywhere else and have the privilege of working with one of the most gifted women I know.

You can find out more about The Pregnancy Circle here.

3

Well, my littlest one is now 3. It was a lovely day, tea party, party dresses, a fairy and of course cupcakes. She also potty trained last week in one day. That's my girl. She takes her time with EVERYTHING, but when she's ready, it's like she's been doing it forever. It's official, I am out of the baby stage. Moving on....although I'm not sure I'm ready. Happy Birthday little one!

everyday adventures

Well, the summer is here and I couldn't be happier. I realized that it has been a long time since I last posted and I suspect that my blogging may slack over the summer. These two are my full time job right now, there is no school and no daycare for either, so it's all me.

So what will we do? Camping in Tofino, soccer camp for a week and lots of everyday adventures. We went to the beach yesterday and looked for moon jellies, we've been spending time in the woods and today we went to the local consignment store and found an old Fisher Price record player (it is almost 40 years old) and my kids think it is the bomb. Tomorrow we're going to another beach to look for sand dollars and the day after that, well, we'll see. It feels good to let go of the routine of school, even if that means taking them both to the way too small grocery store so that my daughter can knock over a box of pop and have it spray all over the floor and her mother just after she started opening chocolates. I really think it is a conspiracy that grocery stores put all of these things in the reach of little ones just to drive the mothers crazy.

What will you do this summer?