the trouble is...

If you would like to kick start your family's creative jive - check out my family e-lab. 

This is the perfect time to do this - after the holidays, as we ease back into our typical routines. Kids are on the way back to school but would love to still have the connection and joy of the past month. 

This lab offers 30 days, in your email box, of labs that are filled with writing prompts and real things you can go do immediately. These are not crafts or recipes - but ideas that you might have never thought of, or have forgotten. Open ended, fun, sometimes weird....

Your kids will love you for it.

We start on Monday! 

This will be the last time I do this particular lab for a few months (at least) because I have some other things cooking! 

I can not wait to play with you!

-Amy

{wellness challenge} water :: let's connect

Well, I certainly did not expect that. The water challenge I posted yesterday had so many page views and comments (on the blog and in different FB groups). I am crazy excited that so many people want to up their water take this month. I am four days in and already feel better.

The biggest thing I have noticed is that I am not hungry at all. I have heard this is a possible side effect - and am surprised at how true it is. After a day or two of filling up, I feel sated for much of the day!

Let's keep up the momentum so we can encourage and support each other. I have created a Facebook group here. If you do not want to join up there, feel free to use the comments here to share.

Woo!

How are you doing? Have you been able to get more water? Anyone close to 80oz?

{book review} Wolf Story by William McCleery

Wolf Story, written by William McCleery in 1947, was a gift for my 6 year old son, but we were all delighted as we read it aloud. 

The premise of the book is so simple; a boy and his father are creating an ongoing story  about a wolf who is trying to get a hen named Rainbow. Cunning problem solving and humorous word play keep the story moving along.

If your family loves telling stories and creating characters, you will recognize the situations and minor annoyances as the father indicates he is ready to move on from the wolf story, but the boy keeps re-envisioning it.

We were able to read it in 2 nights and all 3 of my kids enjoyed it. This would be a perfect gift for a young boy (maybe with a stuffed wolf or chicken?). In fact, it will go out as a gift several times from our family this year.

By the way, are you familiar with the New York Review Children's Collection? We have many books from this publisher and they are all great. 

If you love vintage kid's lit, I urge you to check out their offerings.

What books were a hit at your house this holiday season?

{wellness challenge} drink your H2O!

How about a fun challenge to kick off the new year?

Did you know I am a certified heath coach? I studied with Institute for Integrative Nutrition  for a year and even attended a conference to hear some big names talk about health and wellness. Nutrition and food can be a pretty overwhelming topic to study. It seems like there is conflicting information and new ideas out each week.

But, one easy thing you can do to feel amazing is drink more water. I am working with the Apothecary Circle for an entire year to up my skills in the healing arts (herbs, nutrition, natural cures).

So far, I am super excited by the women who are involved and the breath of information we are going to cover. (if you are interested in any of Laura Emily's programs, I have an affiliate discount code for 15% off ::  HERBS506)

Our first challenge is to rehydrate. It is a simple cleanse to start the new year. If you want to join with me, I would love to support you and work together. To join, just leave a message in the comments. I will post here every week this month with an update and you can check in. Easy.

Here are some guidelines:

+Try to drink a big glass of water every morning before you eat. I can do 24 oz with some lemon and it helps clear your system and gently wake you up. You could even fill up a water bottle to have next to your bed so you can drink it as you are getting dressed.

+Aim for 80-100 oz a day, but not all at once. Sip all day long. Yes, you will have to pee more, but some of the benefits can be better digestion, decrease in headaches and body ache, better sleep, better skin and more vibrancy in general.

Many health experts believe that most people are chronically dehydrated and that many, many health concerns can be cleared up with just drinking more water. It is certainly worth giving it a go!

+If you drink caffeinated or alcoholic drinks, add more water, as both of those are dehydrating. You do not have to give anything up - just add more to balance out the affects.

+Figure out how you will keep track. I like to drink from a 12 oz. Mason jar and I mark my ounces on the chalkboard each time I fill it up. You can also fill a pitcher of your goal amount each morning. And there are even apps that can help you keep track. However you do it - make sure it makes sense to you and your lifestyle. This is meant to be easy and take literally no more than 5 extra minutes a day.

+Feel free to add citrus, fruit and herbs to flavor your water. My personal favorite is lemon and rosemary. The aromatherapy benefits are powerful too. What about a splash of rose water? Or mint? Tarragon?

That is it!

I will post more later with some of my favorite ideas and hope you will share too. If this goes well, I have a whole year of monthly wellness challenges planned. Remember, my word for the year is FLY? Well, I am extending the metaphor into flock building. You know how birds fly together with one leading and making the air resistance less for the others? We can do that too. If we fly together we can ease the journey for each other. Are you in?

Healthy, vibrant mamas make healthy vibrant families!

25 mini-adventures in the library

We spend many afternoons at our neighborhood library. At one point our time switched from going to find particular books, to just hanging out.

For hours.

Reading, exploring, asking questions, sharing, talking....

I wanted to share a quick list of fun things you can do at the library other than just check out books. Any of these ideas would be a great boredom buster. Just tell your kid you have an adventure in mind and embrace the mission with verve. You will have a great time!

Please share the interesting, fun or just odd things your family does at the library in the comments!

You can download a copy to keep in your purse or journal here.

1. Look at microfilm from your birthday, or a hundred years ago, or when grandma was born.

2. Look for the biggest book in the library. Take your picture with it.


3. Browse the travel section, find a place you want to visit, make some plans.


4. Go to the cookbook area, choose a recipe, go the store, get the ingredients and cook it that day.


5. Everyone find a poem, read it out loud and then copy it into your journal.


6. Choose a random CD, listen to it all the way through.


7. Kind Bomb


8. Scan the books of quotes. Find a good one and write it outside on the sidewalk with chalk.


9. Bring paper and colored pencils. Draw from the easy I-Can-Draw-Books for an hour.


10. Take a present to the librarians.


11. Leave a thoughtful review on a post-it note in a book you really loved.


12. Find out what services your library offers. Ellison machine? Study prints? Study rooms?


13. Occupy! Have a meeting, writer’s group, books club, homeschool co op, adventure planning committee at the library.


14. Make photocopies of your hand, funny book titles, weird images....


15. Make a list of suggested books and media for your library to buy. Make the library YOUR library.


16. Arrange a library tour.


17. Browse books on the flora and fauna of your area. Learn to identify something new.


18. Check out the corresponding children’s or adult section to your favorite area (reptiles, art, mystery...)


19. Ask about the special collections.


20. Read a biography from the children’s sections on someone you know very little about.(I choose Justin Beiber).


21. Find a baby name book, make a list of funny name combinations, choose a new name for the day.


22. Hunt for authors with your same last name.


23. Look in the reference section. What is the weirdest reference book you can find?


24. Buy old magazines, cut them up and make happy posters, rehang in the library.


25. Make sure each kid has their own library card and bag. Do not fuss about late fees. Ever.

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Are you interested in infusing your family life with more creativity and connection? Join us in the next Mama Scout Family e-Lab. We are signing up right....NOW! 

I would love to have you!

choose your 2013 guiding word

The potential energy held in the time immediately after the holidays and before the new year is tremendous. You can hear it crackling under the surface, waiting to be harnessed and transformed into whatever you can dream up.

Each year, I eschew resolutions or life lists and instead gather my intentions around one word. I let this word being my guiding principle and use it to motivate and re-center myself through out the year.

I recently read an interview with Joy Harjo where she said, " ...writing tells the truth, but also constructs a truth upon which to build on." YES! Writing, even for the non-writer, can not only help figure out where you are at, but can construct the road map for where you want to go.

There are so many possible truths and one way to get to the one you want is to write it (or paint it, sing it, perform it...)

Grab your journal and use any of the following prompts  to uncover what your word for 2013 might be. And please, share with us!

What do I want to create in the new year?

What do I want to do and how do I want to spend my days?

What do I need to moving towards?

How do I want to feel each day?

What is the legacy I am creating right now?

What are the thoughts I am most afraid to think?

What idea makes my heart beat a little faster?

What can I give up?

How do I want to experience time?

What do I want to create in the new year? 


My word for the year is fly - which for me means to take leaps of faith and do all the madcap things I am thinking/writing/plotting about. I started last year with my labs and was rewarded in both huge and subtle ways. This year, the ideas might be even bigger and I am going to jump into to clear, blue air without a safety net. So, be prepared for some spectacular claims and perhaps some crushing failures. I expect both.

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Want to work with me and creative moms from around the world? Sign up for the Mama Scout Family e-Lab! 

It starts January 7th and offers you 30 packed days of ideas, prompts and creativity projects to help your family reconnect and think outside the box. Troop 4 needs you and your energy!

winter solstice

Hi there. I have slowed down in this space this month as I enjoy the season with my family. Also, I genuinely feel like I do not want to clutter my little digital world any more content than is necessary. You need to be with your family - not trying to keep up with blogs and Pinterest. I seem to be getting nonstop email blasts and links to last minute sales and huge craft round ups that only give me angst.

And in light of recent, horrible national events, I just don't feel like talking too much. 

But, I thought I would share something from the Holiday e-Lab about the winter solstice which happens this Friday. If you have never celebrated a solstice, this year might be a great time to start. It can be reverent, it fits easily into whatever spiritual practice you believe in, and it is full of light and beauty.  

Solstice is the shortest day of the year and although the days will start getting longer, for many, it marks the continutation of a season of early darkness and deep winter; a time for turning inward towards home and the family nest.
 
Although, I live in Florida, where the winters are mild, we do notice how early it gets dark. We like to celebrate with warm dinners and games, movie nights, extra long night-time reading and lots of blankets.
 
This season is also an ideal time to personally turn inward. By allocating a little extra time for journaling, art making or reading, the stillness of life becomes like a cocoon. You can plant ideas and dreams that are as wispy as a gossamer thread yet can manifest fully developed when the sun returns into creatures with wings.
 
Solstice is a time to celebrate and study light and the earth. We inevidably study the science of the earth and its rotation around the sun and make many kinds of lanterns and light sources to make our dinners awash with flickering color.

You might want to spend solstice night with out using any electrical lights. This is a perfect night for a bonfire, bathing and brushing your teeth by candle light.  

If you want to make some lanterns and lighted crafts, I have created a pinterest board with a handful of ideas.

Our traditional solstice dinner is fondue. When my husband and I were much younger we attended a magical wedding in Switzerland where we ate lots of traditional fondue dinners. It is like comfort food to us now as it brings back memories of an amazing adventure. 

We eat cheese fondue with crusty sourdough bread and apples. And we drink wine and hot tea, which we were told would aid in digestion. 

I was going to type up my recipe, but found this sweet story with the recipe, so I will share it instead. 

What is your warmest, most comforting food? That is what you want to serve on Solstice night.

I would love to hear how your family celebrates solstice.

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Be sure to check out the 2 e-Labs I am very excited to be offering this January. 

You can read more about them in the upper right hand side of this page. 

Email me with any questions!