Cat Skinner June 13, 2014

Be Here Now

This morning I had a PMS induced hormonal breakdown of sorts. Luckily for me, I have the kind of guy they write about in chick lit (the good kind of guy, not the bad) and he picked me up, dusted me off, packed up the baby and myself, stopped at the grocery store for a picnic and took us to the local library/community centre/splash pad.

He knows me so well.

A few hours chasing the baby around the playground in the rain, picnicking at a child-sized table in the deserted community centre during a thunderstorm, reading stories in the library, and even getting a bit of my own work done while the baby napped in his stroller made everything wonderful again. Bliss, even.

Sure, an amazing partner helps, and I’m so grateful to have such a sweet fella, but the secret ingredient here is one you can discover without the help of anyone else.

The secret to happiness is to be able to exist wholly in the present when the present is good. To soak up each and every drop of the happy moment at hand.

4. Be Here Now

Indulge yourself. Take a few minutes to yourself to really be in the moment, in the present tense. Don’t think about what happened earlier in the day, or the week, or even further in the past. Don’t worry about the future.

Breath, take it in. Notice everything you see, hear, feel, smell, taste.

Now, list five things, happening in the present that you are grateful for.

Send Us Your Anonymous Journal Entry

[sform]1[/sform]

Cat Skinner June 9, 2014

The Journal Project

I’ve been keeping journals ever since I was 8 years old. I’ve done this fervently and with great regularity, and I’ve done this sporadically and only when I’m at my absolutely lowest. This blog has been a journal for me of sorts, and through it I’ve worked through some monumental moments of my life. One thing that has always kept me writing here is the beautiful feedback from readers who say they were grateful to be able to relate to the various things I’ve written. It means so much to know I’m not alone, and that I’ve helped shed a little light into other people’s lives. Today, as our Inspired Monday post, I’m giving you something very new and special that I’m going to call The Journal Project.

Each day, I will invite you to journal with me. I’ll post a ‘starter’ or a suggested topic, and then I’ll write my own entry. You can use the form below each post to send me yours, and I will publish it anonymously. If you don’t want to share here, then you can use the starter to inspire an entry in a journal of your own creation, be it digital or physical, written word or visual art. In coming days, I hope to include some downloadable, printable journal pages that are so pretty you’ll be inspired to create.

I’d like to encourage you to share with us here because it’s been incredibly rewarding for me, and I think you’ll feel the same. The big wide world isn’t really so big, and it’s this beautiful connectedness that really keeps us filled with light. If we can build a little community here, wouldn’t we be so proud of ourselves?

I’ll be watching for nasty comments, and other negative stuff so I promise to always keep this Journal Project a safe space for sharing.

Starters and inspiration for The Journal Project will live under the Mommy’s Diary category. If I post something else on a given day, you can look forward to two posts from me.

Are you ready? Here we go!

1. The Jumping Off Point

Why is keeping a journal something that feels important to you right now?

My life is in a place of huge transition, and I can’t see where I’m heading. I’m trying in vain to stay “in the moment” and be grateful for everything that I have in my present tense, instead of being discouraged and preoccupied with the impossible-to-imagine future. I want to use my journaling to meditate on thankfulness and staying present in the now.

What has prevented you from journaling in the past?

Time is the great destroyer of all of my good creative intentions, or at least the way I manage time seems to get in the way. I need to carve out space for my own creativity, because I feel so much more at peace, and more myself when I am able to occupy some of my day with creating – be it writing or other creative endeavours.

What are three things from last week that you would like to avoid this week?

1. Though I had a lovely time with lots of different family, I’d like to be sure to spend more time on things for my own pleasure.

2. I’m going to embrace my PMS and self-medicate with chocolate to avoid any crankiness that might be directed towards my loved ones. I will balance this with daily yoga.

3. I’d like to ride my bike! Perhaps someone will help me install the baby’s seat on my bike so we can have a family ride!

Now It’s Your Turn!

[sform]1[/sform]

Reader Entries

I’m keeping a journal because I want to start writing things down so my kids have something to look back on when they are grown up.

I haven’t had much luck with journal writing in the past because I usually think that everything I write is lousy.

Three things from last week that I’d like to avoid:

1. Unexpected car expenses (thanks to the jerk who hit me in the parking lot of the grocery store and didn’t bother to leave a note).

2. Make more quiet time for myself.

3. Try to eat better. With three family functions in one week, there were too many temptations to stay on track.

By D. from Burlington, On

I wish I would started journaling when I was younger. Now that my kids are grown and I now have a grandson, it seems to be more important than ever to start writing so that when I am no longer here my little one will know more about me and my life as a mom.

I did start journaling several years ago but for some reason when I sit down with pen and journal the words just do not flow like I would like them to. I am told that does not matter.Just write what you are thinking and doing.

1. I would like to avoid eating too many ginger cookies at lunchtime.

2. I would love it if my husband brought dinner to me for a change. I have been doing it now for 43 years and don’t ever remember him cooking for me.

3.I would like to get out every morning and go for a fast walk either outside if weather is nice or go to the Mall and do a few rounds.

By ML, from Winona, ON

Cat Skinner June 17, 2013

Mommy’s To-Do List – Week of June 17

Ayla’s Neon Toes

Weekend Highlights

My favorite moments of this weekend are split evenly between events on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we spent a wonderful day being spoiled by Mama S’ mom, the kids’ Nana. She took us mamas and The Noodle out for lunch in the afternoon while the girls were at Muslim school, and then treated all of us to pedicures once the girls returned home! I haven’t had a pro give me a pedi since well before my pregnancy, and the girls had never had one at all, so it was a wonderful treat.

On Sunday we spent the whole day working together to continue with packing up the kitchen. Even the kids helped. We then enjoyed dinner together on our roof top patio. I think this space has been sorely underused in our time here. H & A build themselves an eating fort out of the awesome fort building kit they got for Christmas. This fort kit is one of the girls most-used toys. It’s a simple box of sticks that fit into little balls, and you build a structure that you then lay a sheet over. Mama S shot some beautiful pics of our happy monkeys with their dad.

One of my favorite pictures ever.

VIP Tasks this Week

The Yard Sale!
Getting ready for Saturday’s yard sale is at the top of the list this week.

I need to finish purging the rest of the house to see what else we can sell

I also need to sort and price all of our items for sale, and take stock of everything we have to sell to decide how to lay it all out

I need to list the yard sale various places online. Where do people look for yard sale information?

It will be great help to have the girls making signs, pricing toys, designing lemonade stands, etc.

Maybe Mama S can bake her killer chocolate chip cookies to sell too!

Oh, and Daddy could build a cheery yard sale play list to attract customers.

We need to remind the neighbours that they very kindly are lending us their driveway, and we need to get them a parking pass.

I’ll need to hit the bank for change and small bills.

Yard sale people, what am I forgetting here??

Personal Goals

I want to get as much packing done as I can with a rambunctious baby who just wants to crawl and climb on everything, plus two little girls who may be good helpers, or may decide to try to kill each other.

I want to try to manage the incredible stress of moving with humor and grace. This is going to continue to be very challenging, I think.

I want to continue to post every day! You can’t imagine how hard this can be! I’m so grateful that my partners are so supportive and happy to wrangle Noah as required to help me carve out some writing time. I think I’m getting to the point where I’m going to need to map out posts ahead of time and just write in chunks to make sure the week is covered off. That in itself is very exciting.

Things to Look Forward To

Hanging With the Girls!

It’s their first week off from school, and I’d like to have some fun in the midst of all the hard work we have ahead. I’m sure there’s some emotional impact from leaving their friends behind and from watching us pack up their home (even though they seem relatively okay), so I need to keep that in mind, and tend to it accordingly. I think we’ll hit the JCC pool, Dufferin Grove Park, Smock, and probably our neighbourhood park before the week is done.

Patrick Watson!

Free concert on Thursday night for the Luminato festival! Now we just have to decide whether or not to bring the kids. I think it would be awesome to take them, and the stage is outdoors. Details are here for those of you who are fans.

The Yard Sale!

This could be super stressful, but I think it will likely be super fun if I can keep my head on straight. Usually the secret to my Zen state is to have the Noodle with me. Looks like I’ll be wearing him a lot that day, though Grandmere will be on hand to help too. Things really get done when the grandmas are around.

Happy Birthday Henry Hind!

I can’t believe that it’s been a whole year already since one of my besties had his first kid. We’re going to head from the yard sale to the birthday party on Saturday with the last ounce of energy left. They have a beautiful backyard, so it will be a great chance for the kids to blow off some steam after the yard sale.

How does your week look? I hope it’s productive, and filled with opportunities for fun and great photo ops. I’m always saved by list-making and planning ahead, and I’ve learned to add some me time to the to-do list too. I hope it’s a beautiful week!

Kisses on your nose,

Mommy