Craftily Parenting

Welcome to the January 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Experiments in Natural Family Living
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have reported on weeklong trials to make their lives a little greener and gentler. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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I’m good at taking care of people. The sick, the hungry, the young, the old, those with special needs – bring them on.  I’ve spent years honing my relationship and communication skills.  I am good at taking care of people.  Other people, that is.  Myself, well, that can be another story.

My laundry is always sitting in a basket while the kids have neatly organized closets and a baby naps in my bed.  I eat my waffles cold while the kids have theirs cut in just the right size bites with their choice of dipping sauce, on or beside, and could I just get a wipe for their hands before I sit down.  And of course, the baby is yelling for more bites in his mouth and less in mine.  I can put myself last on my list while everyone else accomplishes their to-dos.  I can take on babysitting for a friend while I try my best to figure out how to get my house cleaned for an event.

While packing for our holiday trip this week, late in the afternoon before we were supposed to be leaving, the baby peed on my jeans.  My only jeans.  They had to be washed and dried before we could leave, while I wore my jammie pants around the house.   Then, when we had a near miss with the jammie pants, I realized that I was one accident away from having nothing left to wear or pack for our trip.  Perhaps I did need a second pair of jeans and pajamas after all.

So, yes, taking care of myself can be hard for me.

And then I got this call for the Carnival of Natural Parenting, and this month’s assignment is to run an experiment in natural living or natural parenting – do something you don’t normally do to be more environmentally friendly or a more natural parent, for at least a week.  And you know, that is a tall order for our family.  There was a whole list of possibilities to get people thinking – and my husband and I laughed about the list because there wasn’t much on there that we felt we could do that we weren’t already doing.  So, what would our experiment be?

Fast forward a few days to me in my rocking chair, crying to my husband.  I’ve got a teething baby who won’t detach from me for more than a few moments at a time.  I’ve got a husband who is completely overwhelmed by a class and working at it every spare waking moment.  I’ve got two children who are awaiting the magic of Christmas and all of the things that go with it.  And I’m drowning in the stress of taking care of my home, my children, my husband, my baby, and – oh yeah, myself!  In crying and talking about how much I was struggling, the words came out of my mouth, “I just want to sit down and work on my Christmas gifts, and relax for a few minutes and it seems like every little thing that comes up is something that I have to deal with before I can do what I really want to do!”  And it sank in.  I have not only given up my night out of the house for a baby who can’t handle either me being away from him or him being away from home at that time of night.  I had given up my one daily reprieve of knitting, crafting, and creativity.  I had given up my ONE LAST THING that I do because I enjoy it.  I was putting myself last on my list AGAIN.  Because it is obviously more important to have my house sparkling and the lunch dishes off the table than it is for me to get the Christmas gifts made – because I ENJOY the making of the Christmas gifts.  Or, is it?

And suddenly, my experiment revealed itself to me in a brilliant flash.  For at least a week, and hopefully longer than that, I would make getting in an hour of crafting a PRIORITY every day.  I would do it because taking the time to do something I enjoy makes me a better mom.  It makes me a better wife.  It makes me a better person. 

So, I began my experiment and it was such a huge success!  In the midst of my Christmas stress, the best days were those in which I got the most crafting done.  I was less stressed about getting the rest of my list done.  I was less stressed about getting my daily chores done.  I was less stressed about planning and packing for the impending trip.  I was less bothered by whatever craziness the kids were creating.  I was so much calmer and happier over all that I was better able to deal with all of the other inconveniences that arose on a daily basis.

We will definitely be keeping an hour of creativity in my day, from now on.  So if you peek in my window and see a table full of dishes, toys all over the floor, a baby playing on a blanket on the floor, and me happily knitting away in my chair – it is because I’m taking care of the most important item on my to do list first – and being a better parent.

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Make your own moisturizer! — Megan at boho mama whips up a winter skin-friendly moisturizer.
• Cold Water Only — Brittany at The Pistachio Project talks about how you do not need hot water to wash laundry.
• Family Cloth... Really?? — After lots of forethought and consideration, Momma Jorje finally decides to take the plunge with family cloth.
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle : 5-5-5 Things A Day — Luschka from Diary of a First Child writes about decluttering her home in an attempt to create a gentler living space. She takes on a new project where she sets a goal of reducing, reusing and recycling every day.
• Pros and cons of family cloth — Lauren at Hobo Mama would love to continue replacing paper products with family cloth … if she could only get over how damp she feels.
• Craftily Parenting — Kellie at Our Mindful Life finds that crafting makes her a better parent.
• Changes — Laura at Pug in the Kitchen couldn't choose just one area to experiment with, so she wrote a long post about all the fun changes initiated in her life!
• Life without Internet: Not all it's Cracked up to Be — Adrienne at Mommying My Way tries to go a week without the Internet, only to realize a healthy dose of Internet usage really helps keep this stay-at-home mom connected.
• My Progression to Raw Milk — Kerry at City Kids Homeschooling shares her natural parenting progression all the way to trying raw milk.
• mama's new little friend. — Sarah at Bitty Bird tries a menstrual cup to "green her period," and is pleasantly surprised when she falls in love with the product!
• Before you throw it out, try homemade laundry soap! — Jennifer at Practical OH Mommy shows visual proof that homemade laundry soap is cheaper, easier, and works better than the store-bought chemicals!
• Oil, Oil, No Toil, No Trouble — K from Very Simple Secret talks about her foray into the oil-cleansing method.
• I Need a Hobby — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro couldn't decide which experiment to run, so she did them all.
• 7 days of macrobiotics for a balanced family — The Stones make a [successful] attempt to release the "holiday junking" with 7 days of macrobiotic meals to balance their bodies and souls. Elisabeth at Manic Mrs. Stone includes an explanation of macrobiotics.
• Chemical Free Beauty Challenge — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction turned to natural alternatives for her daily beauty and cleaning routine, with great results.
• Greening my Armpits!? My Green Resolution — Shannon at The Artful Mama talks about how she decided to give up her traditional antiperspirant and make the switch over to crystal deodorants and definitely isn't looking back!
• Going Raw (for a while) — Jenny at Chronicles of a Nursing Mom shares her family's experience with raw food.
• Do we get to eat gluten today? — Sheila at A Gift Universe has been trying to figure out if her son does better with or without gluten in his diet … but it's really hard to tell for sure.
• Hippies Can Smell and Look Fabulous Too! — Arpita of Up, Down And Natural details her experience of going shampoo-free and overhauling her cosmetics to find the balance between feeling beautifully fabulous and honoring her inner hippie.
• Our cupboards are full...but there's nothing to eat — Lucy at Dreaming Aloud takes on the challenge of chomping through the contents of her storecupboard rather than going shopping — but there's something that she just can't bring herself to do …
• Elimination Experiment 3.0 — MudpieMama recounts the messy adventures of her baby daughter trying to be diaper free.
• Family Cloth Trial — Amyables at Toddler in Tow talks about making and using family cloth wipes in the bathroom for the first time.
• Taking a Hiatus — Amy at Peace 4 Parents shares how her experience of much less internet interaction affected her family and how it will change her approach in the future.
• Trying Out the Menstrual Cup — Lindsey at an unschooling adventure ditches the tampons and gives menstrual cups a try.
• Managing Food Waste in Our Home — Tired of the holiday waste, Robbie at Going Green Mama takes a weeklong focus on reducing food waste in her home, and learns some lessons that can take her through the new year.
• Going Offline, Cloth Tissues, and Simplicity — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama muses over her time away from blogging and social networking. In addition, she shares her newfound love of cloth tissues and simplicity.
• The Oil Cleansing Method — Erica at ChildOrganics explores an easy, organic and natural way to tackle skin care.
• Experiments in Natural Family Living - Natural Toys! — Lani at Boobie Time enjoys the silence of natural toys and being more present with her son.
• Discovering a New City and Organic Foods — Amy at A Secure Base describes her family's switch to and search for organic foods for one week.
• My Experiment in Homemade Bread — Crunchy Con Mommy tried — and loved — baking her own homemade bread.
• Menu Planning: Stop the Excuses — Gaby at Tmuffin stopped the excuses and started planning her weekly meals, drastically cutting her grocery budget and stress level and improving the quality of foods she fed her family.
• My First Menstrual Cup — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children was pleasantly surprised with her first experience using a menstrual cup.
• My Natural Beauty Regime — Christine at African Babies Don’t Cry shares the results of banishing cleanser and soaps from her bathroom, as well as a couple of natural homemade recipes that have worked well on her skin.
• Unplugging and Creating a Rhythm: Our Experiment in Natural Family Living — Dionna at Code Name: Mama focused less on gadgets and spent more time with her family to create a healthy rhythm for the new year.
• Experiments in Natural Family Living: 5 First Steps Toward Preparing for a Natural Birth — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama discusses how she tackled the pressing matter of how to begin preparing for a natural birth.
• All you need is...vinegar! — Kristen at My Semi-Crunchy Life learns that one household product can replace all the cleaners in her cabinet.
• Nope Nada Ixnay Negative Pass Decline — Zoie at TouchstoneZ finds out what shakes loose if she says, "YES!!" to anything anyone asks of her over the space of 10 days.
• Reducing our exposure to toxins found in plastics — Syenna at Gently Parenting Twins throws out the melamine and BPA plastics which have been hanging around the kitchen for too long.
• Duh! — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment shares how she began the process of helping her 2-year-old son stop physically acting out.
• Experiments in Natural Parenting: Starting, Stopping, and Gaining Perspective — Melissa at Vibrant Wanderings explains how pregnancy brain interfered with her attempts to complete an experiment, but how she gained some interesting perspective as she started and stopped several.
• From Experiment to Lifestyle — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares her experience avoiding processed foods for a month, and deciding to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
• From Disposable Paper to Reusable Cloth – AGAIN! — Terri at Child of the Nature Isle stops flushing trees down the toilet and switches to the softest ever butt-wiping material: cloth.
• Extra! Extra! Water Heater Turned Down, Mom Doesn't Notice! — Thomasin at Propson Palingenesis finds an energy-saving experiment that's so easy she didn't even realize it was happening.
• Worm Tea — CatholicMommy isn't sure how successful her worm bin will be, but she's having fun anyway.
• Miles to Go ... — Rachael at The Variegated Life learns that when it comes to sleep debt, she's in real deep.
• My Month With Water Kefir — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries experiments with a new fermented probiotic drink homemade in her own kitchen.
• OMG Mom is Home... All Day Everyday: A Week-Long Experiment in Connecting — What a difference a week makes! Ana at Pandamoly is afforded a week off from work and takes the chance to reconnect and reattach with her 16-month-old son through an experiment in simply being there.
• Creating Healthy Family Recipes — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares her experiment with healthy, gluten-free recipes and a chocolate muffin recipe that was created during the experiment.
• Adventures in Alternative Haircare: No 'Poo — This guest post at Natural Parents Network from Amy at Anktangle chronicles a months-long journey into the world of no 'poo.
• My Experiment in Natural Family Living: Natural Family Planning — Birth control options are seriously limited for those of us trying to live a little closer to the earth, so Mama Psalmist experiments with natural family planning.