“Is there anything you can’t do?“  I asked a friend in reference to a new project that she was working on.  I was in complete awe of her ability to do something new.

“Don’t you know we can do anything we put our minds to? Even if I fail, I still give it a try.” She replied.

We were typing back and forth and I just sat there staring at the screen nodding my head.

Up

and

Down.

A nerve hit.

Bullseye.

Every single day something calls to me. Inspiring me. It may be a tutorial, a space, a resolve, a technique, a photo, a doll, a pattern, a shirt, a recipe, a project. Whatever it may be, it never fails to stop me in my tracks..thoughts racing about how to go about attempting it….my own spin. My mind whispering all along…

” Just try it.”

For a long time I ignored the whisper. Unsure of my abilities. Early in the years of being a mother, a wife, an adult. Insecure in the craft of living (in general).   At the same time I was aching to learn and explore all that there is.  So much out there to see…to do…to be.

A surface barely scratched in the realm of things. The realm of life.

But every year there is a turning of the clock. And every year it shocks me as it rings in my ears…. the ticking of years gone by.

Tick.

And with each tick I get to know myself a bit more that the year past.

I do feel it. Maturity. And with it come the crashing waves of security in my own skin and my abilities. No more hiding. No more excuses. Less procrastination. Less worrying what someone will think of it.

I must own it.

I must.

The importance of following dreams and our hearts is ever obvious. It continually makes me realize that we are all responsible for our own happiness.  I am no different. There is a necessity to focus on what it is that we enjoy. What it is that we NEED. What it is that we want to give to others.

Spinning our one life.

Every day is anew.

What is it that pushes you?

Today we are so happy to offer Rhythm of the Home readers a chance to win an annual subscription to the Whole Family Kitchen meal plan series. Some of you may remember that Nicole, who owns and operates Whole Family Kitchen, was a contributor to the Being series here on the blog a couple of months back. She offered to return today so that we can share a bit more about her business, and offer readers here a chance to try out her fantastic meal planning service.

Nicole first found herself looking towards eating a more whole foods based diet after the birth of her first son, who seemed to have challenges related to food almost from the beginning. As she looked for ways to help her son, her family began to look to whole foods for healing and balanced nutrition. The end result of the research, planning, and hours of cooking that Nicole did is Whole Family Kitchen. Through the Whole Family Kitchen website, Nicole offers annual subscriptions to either gluten or grain-free meal plans, as well as regular blog posts on finding practical and tasty ways to incorporate whole foods into daily living. She also offers cooking tutorials that cover whole foods based kitchen basics such as making stock.

As some readers may already be aware, my (ROTH associate editor Annie speaking here) own family went gluten-free a little over a year ago, when my daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. I have always considered myself a cook, and love feeding my family healthy, delicious meals. But the combination of a new baby, a new diet, and the final year of my husband’s medical school education proved to be a bit more than I could sanely manage to take on. I found myself floundering in the process of meal planning and then actually having the time and energy to follow through with any plans I did make. And, I found that my plans were lacking in many ways. As time went on, instead of getting better at planning for our new diet, I was getting increasingly overwhelmed.

On a whim, I signed up for Whole Family Kitchen. It has been about eight weeks since that day, and I have to say that the Whole Family Kitchen meal plans are probably the best thing that have happened to my family in a very long time. The recipes are awesome, in large part because they are creative and interesting, and the inclusion of the weekly shopping list is pretty key for someone like myself right now. I have found that the plans are incredibly practical and feasible, but are also very clever and include tons of stuff I would never have thought of myself! Perhaps the biggest benefit of having signed up for the annual plan is the fact that much of my anxiety about meals has been alleviated. For my family, part of the healing process involved with our daughter’s celiac diagnosis goes beyond just physical health; it is also about finding a rhythm with healthy cooking and eating habits that make us feel as though we are finally on the right track.

There is a lot to be said for the mental healing that happens when you finally feel that you are making and eating the right kinds of foods for your body and offering those things to your growing children too. I didn’t realize just how large this loomed in my consciousness until the day that I found myself at the computer, deleting all the photos of wheat-laden foods I had given my daughter in the past. Apparently, I had some issues. And this fact is one of the reasons why finding Nicole and Whole Family Kitchen has been such a blessing for us. If any of you find that you are also trying to sort out the process of making whole foods based eating easier and more practical, while also trying to get them to taste good enough that your kids will eat them,  I think that it is very much worth checking out Nicole’s site. I can’t tell you how glad I am that we did!

Today Nicole is offering one Rhythm of the Home Reader a free annual subscription to Whole Family Kitchen. To enter, leave a comment on this post. We will pick a winner via random number generator next Friday, May 17th. Nicole is also offering ROTH readers a 30% discount on Whole Family Kitchen plans! Enter “RHYTHM30″ at checkout between now and the end of May to redeem the discount.

Thanks, Nicole!

Throughout much of the northern hemisphere, May 1^st is given to celebrating May Day.  In the United States, the most prominent tradition is the hanging of baskets of blossoms on the doors of our friends and neighbors, often anonymously.  (For simple ideas on making May Day containers, see Nicola’s piece in the Spring 2011 edition of RotH, Spring Flower Crafting.)

The history behind May Day is rich and complex, and our simple celebrations on this day reflect ties to ancient beliefs. It is no wonder that the beginning of May has inspired people of different cultures to create symbolic gestures like our modern May Day baskets.  In the past several weeks in the central US, the lush flowers on trees are unfolding into displays of color that seem all the more vibrant after a long winter full of neutral grays and browns.  Neighbors are meeting more often outdoors, while cleaning out garden beds and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Children are playing in the golden evening light a bit longer before bedtime, asking for a few more minutes of time running in the grass. Even those of us who have opened doors today to a fresh coat of snow can still see the tips of the daffodils, and feel their promise.

Our May Day traditions are rooted in the transition of the natural world. We have emerged from the internal quiet pace of the winter into a season full of noise and color and light. When we reach out to our friends and neighbors with simple gifts of blossoms, we are sharing not only the beauty of the season, but also an invitation to emerge. An opportunity to come out of our homes and have shared experiences among the greening trees.

Perhaps what we are trying to convey with our handmade baskets of blossoms is just this: renewal is what we can always count on. That all that is within us has the power to emerge, even after a long winter of lying dormant. Happy May Day.

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Rhythm of the Home is an online magazine for families that focuses on creating with children, nature explorations, seasonal celebrations, conscious parenting, and mindfulness in all that we do.   To learn more about us, please visit us on Facebook,Pinterest, and Twitter.

We welcome new submissions for our upcoming seasons. To learn more about submitting, please visit our magazine.

Being: Conscious, mortal existence; life.

Every month we welcome two families, two people, two voices to share their stories in whatever way they choose. We hope that you find joy in their daily lives, and their simple habit of just being.

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Here I sit, at the computer, sun-kissed and tired after a sun filled busy spring weekend.  What to write about? I’ve been asking myself for the last hour.  There are so many topics, and I have so many thoughts on life, gardening, cooking, mothering, creating.

And suddenly, it dawned on me.   

Rhythm.

The name of this blog, the editors of which have so kindly invited me to share in this space this month.

Rhythm.

What I’m so deeply feeling in this moment: the time in between the out breath of winter and the in breath of summer.  The desire for fresh vegetables after months of roots.  The need for movement, sunshine and warmth after so many still months in the cold.  The music that fills our house through all of it -always the music.  And all of it, built upon that word.  Six letters, put together simply enough, to describe so many very extraordinary things.  Music, dance, day, night, winter, spring, summer, autumn, growth, death, life.  Rhythm.

I had the very special pleasure today of dancing the May Pole.  Rhythm in our step as we danced, in our ears as we took in the music, and our hearts as we rejoice in the season.  The season of new life and growth, of a renewed world.  The sunrise to our day.

And so, as I sat, my cheeks rosy from an afternoon of sun filled dancing, it dawned on me.  Rhythm is what I should write about.  A word overflowing with meanings that may take a lifetime to understand.  In our world, it can take a lot of effort to listen to rhythm.  Every time we buy a tomato in the dead of winter, turn our air conditioner on in the heat of summer or turn the t.v. up over the birds of spring we drown out the rhythms of our world.  Living locally, seasonally, holistically, and in tune with the natural world is not always an easy task in our modern society.

But ignore the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, if only for a while and you will start to know the rhythms of our world.  You will hear it with the birds’ return in March and the silent snow of January.  You will feel it on your skin with the heat of August and cold of January.  You will see it as the leaves turn red in October and the grass turns green in April.  You will taste it with the fresh strawberries in July, and the winter squash in November.

Unknowingly, it is what I have been seeking: rhythm.  All my gardening, cooking, making and doing is in pursuit of knowing the rhythms of this beautiful world and the living beings within.  And the rich history of the May Pole tells me that I’m not alone in this pursuit.  These rhythms are bigger than us, bigger than our understanding.  They are rooted deep in the earth and each of it’s beings; every insect, plant, animal and mineral.  There are those who seek to unfold it’s mysteries, if even the tiniest bit.  The May Pole is a jubilant revelry of the rhythms, both what we understand about them, and what we probably never will.

Wishing you a lovely May, filled with new growth, life, music, and most especially, rhythm.

This month we are happy to welcome Beatrice to the blog to participate in the Being series! Beatrice is a mother, knitter, and urban chicken keeper.  She blogs about cooking, creating, and raising a little boy at Thread and Ladle.

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Rhythm of the Home is an online magazine for families that focuses on creating with children, nature explorations, seasonal celebrations, conscious parenting, and mindfulness in all that we do.   To learn more about us, please visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

We welcome new submissions for our upcoming seasons. To learn more about submitting, please visit our magazine.

Throughout the years, our contributors and readers have shared that they actively seek balance between technology and the rhythm of the natural world. For many of you, this results in placing limits on screen time — for your children, and for yourselves. We encourage each of you to use Screen-Free Week to take a closer look at your family’s screen time. Whether you choose to abstain entirely, or simply reflect on way that screens are integrated into your daily lives, we think you’ll find some great activities and resources for Screen-Free Week on our fresh Pinterest board.

Our family is preparing for a trip this weekend. The car is packed with our tent, sleeping bags, camp stove and food. Extra clothes fill our vehicle, so getting a little wet or dirty doesn’t matter. There are also scooters, pocket knives, cards and games, spotters’ guides, nature journals, books and knitting needles. For the next four days we will be camping. Everyone in the family is excited and ready to go.

This month we are happy to welcome Heather to the blog to participate in the Being series! Heather is a mama, homeschooler, knitter, and desert dweller who blogs at Mindless Ramblings. Welcome, Heather!

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Rhythm of the Home is an online magazine for families that focuses on creating with children, nature explorations, seasonal celebrations, conscious parenting, and mindfulness in all that we do.   To learn more about us, please visit us on Facebook,Pinterest, and Twitter.

We welcome new submissions for our upcoming seasons. To learn more about submitting, please visit our magazine.

 

Being: Conscious, mortal existence; life.

Every month we welcome two families, two people, two voices to share their stories in whatever way they choose. We hope that you find joy in their daily lives, and their simple habit of just being.

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One of the things I love about gardening, I never even realized until I stayed still for more than a growing season.  My first several vegetable gardens took a lot of work to install and were left behind after one mere growing season.  It wasn’t until we moved into this house, our house- our first house, that I began to see what happens to a garden from year to year.  We moved in in April, just in time to plant a vegetable garden.  And while I had never before had much of an interest in growing flowers, suddenly when it was my little piece of earth, I couldn’t plant enough of them.  So plant I did.  The next spring some of them came up bigger and stronger than when I planted them, and of course, some didn’t come up.

The ones that thrived grow more beautiful every year.  The hollyhocks now grow so many and so tall that they begin to topple over onto one another and I have to tie them up with twine.  The bee balm, which started from a small 6 inch pot, is now so prolific that we’ve planted it in other parts of the garden too.  The lavender hangs over the garden edging, the false indigo has exploded out into the lawn and the irises are crowding out everything else.

Now, entering my fifth spring in my own home, in my own garden, I know that every year it looks different and offers up all manner of surprises.  Something I planted two, three, four years ago may poke its head out of the soil, may never come again, or simply plod along despite my negligent care.  There are new things to notice, different flowers that grow stronger and others that fade away or change entirely after a fallen tree over winter.

I love the surprises my garden brings each spring.  I love to see how my work from 3 or 4 years ago has taken root and now needs nothing from me but to stand back, the proud gardener cutting stems for the kitchen table.

Now that I am a mother, I can’t help but think: the garden is not unlike children.  Last spring my darling boy was sleeping in my arms, totally unaware of the bursts of color emerging from the soil.  The spring before that he was a tiny jumble of cells growing rapidly in my womb.  It seems that he too changes season to season, some things about him blooming colorfully (interest in all things living) why other things fade away (the need to be held day and night).

In parenting you sow your seeds, loving, holding, feeding, teaching.  But even we as parents don’t know what lies deep within our children.  We can share with them many things, but in the end we have to stand back and see what takes root.  Will he be creative?  Artistic?  Kind?  Silly?  Quiet?  Talkative?  Will he love to garden too, or will he enjoy scaling mountains more?

I can only sit back and watch the story of him unfold.  We’re just beginning this journey with him, just like we once began our journey with our garden.  Next spring, and the spring after and the spring after, I can only imagine how beautiful his garden will be.  Now, in the springtime of his life, I am in complete awe of this little person.  What an honor it is to watch things grow.

This month we are happy to welcome Beatrice to the blog to participate in the Being series! Beatrice is a mother, knitter, and urban chicken keeper.  She blogs about cooking, creating, and raising a little boy at Thread and Ladle.

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Rhythm of the Home is an online magazine for families that focuses on creating with children, nature explorations, seasonal celebrations, conscious parenting, and mindfulness in all that we do.   To learn more about us, please visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

We welcome new submissions for our upcoming seasons. To learn more about submitting, please visit our magazine.

At Rhythm of the Home, we love to see children and families out in nature as much as possible. In honor or Earth Day, we have gathered a collection of resources for families of all ages to enjoy. We hope that you have a beautiful day crafting, cooking, hiking, or biking your way through this beautiful celebration.

Being: Conscious, mortal existence; life.

Every month we welcome two families, two people, two voices to share their stories in whatever way they choose. We hope that you find joy in their daily lives, and their simple habit of just being.

::::::::::::

Being: Conscious, mortal existence; life.

Every month we welcome two families, two people, two voices to share their stories in whatever way they choose. We hope that you find joy in their daily lives, and their simple habit of just being.

::::::::::::

Nothing says Sunday morning to me like a lazy family brunch.  We love to cook in our house, and so we find joy in getting up on a sunny spring morning and taking our time to make a meal that we can savor in both the cooking and the eating.  Just in time for spring, my darling husband has been perfecting his poached egg skills (because we have plenty of fresh eggs these days). 

This month we are happy to welcome Beatrice to the blog to participate in the Being series! Beatrice is a mother, knitter, and urban chicken keeper.  She blogs about cooking, creating, and raising a little boy at Thread and Ladle.

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Rhythm of the Home is an online magazine for families that focuses on creating with children, nature explorations, seasonal celebrations, conscious parenting, and mindfulness in all that we do.   To learn more about us, please visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

We welcome new submissions for our upcoming seasons. To learn more about submitting, please visit our magazine.