What a month we've had, what a lovely intertwining building month. We're baring all & embracing transparency. We're learning & sharing & being real with ourselves & others about our journey as mothers & as women. Why is it though that being gentle with our selves can be so difficult? I think as parents we are each our own biggest critic. If only we could consistently offer our selves the same tender & empathetic nature we offer our young ones.

Having said that I do wonder how natural it is that we regularly lean toward being harsh on ourselves? Could it be a primal defence against complacency? Oh parenting really is an expedition at times.

 So we've been having some great conversations as we move toward this more real & transparent place...

 We've been talking a lot in the Gentle Guidance forum, about dealing with challenging kids, understanding boundaries & developmental stages. We've been sharing our struggles with consistency, support & conditioning whilst also figuring out where we fit in this, not just as the parents but as children who were once parented in ways that many of us are now try to avoid repeating.

Books are amazing & there are some good ones out there [we've just finished reading 'Children are People too' by Louise Porter in our Book Club] but sooner or later the rubber meets the road & we actually have to try to manifest this desired parenting of ours, usually in the middle of the supermarket with a couple of fighting &/ or screaming kids & a smashed jar of pasta sauce...more expeditioning.

We have just launched a Kids Kraft section (in the DIY forum) we will be filling that with inspiration & practical ideas for crafting with our children. Creativity is such an important part of a child's world & the tactile & messy aspects of craft are often the basis for their first contact with independent learning in a structured sense.

 The Trading Room that was re-launched last month & has some requests in there from people looking for specific items...birthing pools, kids clothes, books...I'm also hoping that we can all start to move some of our once loved/ no longer needed items through the trading room for other people to get use out of & to help minimise our contributions to landfill. The trading Room is a great place to give away or sell items that are of no use to you but that still have plenty of wear in them. Blessing others & caring for the environment, win win.

 Also make sure you go & meet your 'forum leaders' in the new forum of the same name. Read about who these women are & understand a bit more about why they volunteer in our village.

 Speaking of beautiful women, this month we will start to look at a subject that is paramount to most of us. Body image & more specifically, body image post baby. We will be looking at advertising & the media, society, relationships & legacies...& us...of course. I hope you can all tune in for these threads & discussions & share with us or just read along, which ever you feel comfortable with.

 Providing the opportunity & the support to discuss the truth of our lives, our hopes & our reality is exactly what this community is about. Our goal here is not only to help support each other in our endeavour to raise our children in connected, gentle & respectful ways but to also offer a place for us to each be free in our parenting journey.

Look forward to seeing you all on the boards

Peace

Shiremum