November

November is here and as the seasons change outside the window, so do our own inner feelings and energies. You might have the urge to spend more time cozying up with warm tea, some knitting or a book. Fires may be lit for the first time in woodstoves,  and the time change invites us to go to sleep a bit earlier. November beckons us to turn inward and it’s a great time to find the light within and nurture the heart of the family. Nurturing the heart of the family means creating our own family culture as we shift focus from doing to being.

Mili Weber [Swiss painter and illustrator 1891-1978]

Weave together past and present by embracing the traditions and culture that your family shared with you, let go of what doesn’t feel true to your family right now. Most importantly, create new celebrations and traditions that represent your family values. We are the parents; we are the keepers of the magic. Take a moment to write down a family tradition that you enjoyed as a child and one that you would like to create. Share what you’ve written with a loved one or write and share together. If you feel inspired to share with others, please comment below. It will be wonderful to see the variety of celebrations and traditions and perhaps receive some new inspiration to share with your own family.

The uniqueness and magic of family culture is found in the simplicity of everyday life.
If you are ready to dive deeper into parenting with intention and heart, connecting to the rhythm of the seasons and creating a family culture that embodies your uniqueness, please join our newest e-course, The Heart of the Home.  This self-paced year long course will support you as you create a parenting intention each month with our printable worksheets which guide you to clarify your vision each month. Songs, games, verses and recipes weave in seasonal traditions and beauty. Our printable journal pages and prompts help you reflect on who you are becoming as a parent. A collective of wise women from educators to herbalists to nutritionists share insights to deepen your parenting practice. Monthly live video group chat connects you with an online community of moms just like you sharing real life challenges and joys. Sign up before the end of the year to gain forever access and save $25 with the coupon code, goodfriend. With heart, Kerry

In this newsletter you will find:

• Crafts and Seasonal Verses to share
• FREE Mama’s Mini Retreat
• Thoughts on Meal time
• Recipes for the season
• Printable of the month
• Mama, Take a Bath! Essential Oil & Epsom Salt Soak
• Self-Care invitations for parents
• Journal Prompts

Crafts

Sweet and simple lantern tutorial from the blog River Blissed

Lanterns are an easy activity for families to create together. They symbolize that though the sunlight is waning, warmth and light still shine from our hearts, our homes and within the spirit of community.

Upcycled Sweater Mittens from Hobby Farm and Home

This tutorial is easy enough for children in first or second grade and would make a great gift. You might want to do this with a group and create mismatched friendship mittens from everyone’s old sweaters. You could also bring them to a homeless shelter to warm another heart.

Table Adornments

How do you create an inviting and beautiful table for your family? This website, Remove and Replace, has many lovely ideas to adorn your table for Thanksgiving or anytime. I’m going to give the dried corn and candle centerpiece (pictured left) a try this year.

Seasonal Verse

November is the start of the rainy season here in northern California (we hope)!

It’s raining, it’s raining, the roots are getting wet.

It’s raining, it’s raining, the roots are getting wet.

The rain it helps the flowers bloom, the mud we’ll sweep out with our broom.

It’s raining, it’s raining, the roots are getting wet.

Listen this and other songs

Thoughts on Mealtime

Mealtime is a welcome time of day in our family, a time to reconnect and nourish after work and daily adventures. We try to create a pause and share gratitude for our yummy food, the earth and the farmers whose hands brought it to us. This pause also offers a grounding moment to relax into being together as a family, gratitude is a great way to simply connect heart to heart.

A few simple blessings:

• Blessings on the blossom, blessings on the root, blessings on the leaves and stems, blessings on the fruit.
• Give thanks to the mother Gaia, give thanks to the father Sun, give thanks to the veggies in the garden where the mother and the father are one.

• Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you earth for everything.

• Bless the growing of the grain, bless the falling of the rain, bless the flower and fruit and tree, and bless the sun that shines upon me.

download

Do you have a special blessing? Please feel welcome to share in the comments below.

Perhaps The World Ends Here by Joy Harjo

Artwork by Phoebe Wahl copyright 2015

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.

The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.

It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.

At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.

Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.

This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.

Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.

We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here.

At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.

Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.

Seasonal Recipes

Roasted Persimmon and Ginger Custard from the Nourished Kitchen.

I love this recipe. It is child approved and full of great brain building nourishment. Make a double batch because it goes quickly. My biggest challenge is to get to the ripe persimmons before the squirrels eat them all!

The Savory Lotus is one of my go-to sources for grain free and delicious recipes. We just made this Pumpkin Spiced Dutch Baby the other day and it was outstanding.

Vegan triple squash alfredo

Up to your ears in squash? We still have a few from the summer harvest. This recipe from Chef Hawk works well with most squashes. I like it especially with delicata, red turban, zucchini and spaghetti squash.  Enjoy!

Mothering Arts Free Stuff!

Did you know that we have lots of lovely and free printable resources for parents? It’s true!

Each newsletter will offer a different free printable to support your art of mothering. This month our gift to you is the Mothering Arts Essentials E-booklet. This little mother’s helper is a sampling of the supportive resources we offer in our in-person classes. We named it the “essentials” because it really feels like the essence of what moms need to thrive while shared in bite sized pieces. We hope you like it and find it helpful enough to share with friends, your local and online community, and if you are a care provider, it would certainly be a gift to the families your serve.

Click here to download the Mothering Arts Essentials E-booklet.

Mama, Take a Bath!

“Wow, a soak every day, that sounds lovely, and doable!” Her advice transformed my self-care regimen, which had become non-existent since the baby had come…

Jaime Jean Klocek shares her favorite essential oil and epsom salt bath recipes for tired Mamas (and Papas).

Self-Care Invitations for November

• make or buy a few new candles for the table and light them at breakfast time
• if hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, make it a potluck
• women, give yourself a Yoni steam (here’s how)
• jump in a pile of leaves..I dare you!
• hire the neighbor to rake up your leaves(or shovel snow)
• throughout the day, ask folks what they are grateful for and share what you feel thankful for as well
• make a yummy pot of tea, keep it in a thermos and drink it all day long (recipe for mama tea)
• pay attention to your breathing
• simplify by clearing out one large bag of stuff from each room
• simplify by creating a healthy home rhythm
• shift away from consumerism this holiday season and ask for the gifts of time and experiences this year from family. The So Kind Registry will show you how.
• create a special night just for self-care each week and protect it (learn more about how in our e-course)
• hire a plow service for the winter season or ask for that as a gift

 Conversation or Journal prompts:

What do I love about coming home?

What warms my heart most is…….

My inner light feels brightest when……

Many thanks to Ben and Jaime at Bracia Design for our beautiful website.