• About being a mother to a daddy’s girl •
I can still remember when I first realized that Eleanor was turning into a daddy’s girl.
Alma was just a few weeks old, and Eleanor was three and a bit. Every time I was nursing Alma, Eleanor would sit next to me hiding under a blanket while silently crying over the loss of her position as an only child.
• A few thoughts on the struggles of tidying up the children’s room •
Though we might live with less possesions than we did before our big move, this doesn’t seem to apply to the my daughters’ toy and book collection. Even though they’re good at a lot of things, tidying up isn’t one of them. There are evenings where I’ll have to navigate through Elsa-dolls, 20 teddies, half a tea-party and 200 small pieces of lego just so I can say goodnight to my girls in their bed. And days where I find them both sitting & playing on their couch because they made such a mess on the floor that there’s no space left for them to play.
• A small list of fun indoor activities to do with your kids •
The simple luxury of staying inside a whole Sunday, while the rain is beating on your window and the storm is shaking the trees. Those bittersweet moments of complete quietness when not a sound can be heard from the children’s room, and you now you should really enjoy it because in a few minutes someone will yell out Mama for the 50th time that day, a fight will begin or at least one of them will be hungry, thirsty or have to use the bathroom.
• A bit about my attempt of making some positive morning rituals •
Friday morning, and the first week of being back to everyday life and morning routines is almost over. The two weeks of vacation really slowed us down and getting back into days with a bit more hustle and bustle and many more plans hasn’t exactly been easy. Despite sleeping for 12 hours every night my daughters still feel tired when we walk to school in the morning, and yesterday was the first time my eldest was late during her whole time as a 1st grader.
Where the end of 2015 was full of energy for my youngest, 2016 has put her in a state of hibernation. Staying in bed, hiding under the blankets and being cozy on the couch seem to be her thing these days where the temperature is hitting way below zero, and just talking her into going to the playground seems like hard work.
• A list of all my little new year resolutions •
Yesterday I bought a new woolen coat. It’s not the pratical I-could-cross-the-northpole-and-sit-3-hours-on-a-bench-at-the-playground-in-minus-degrees-and-stil-not-be-cold kind of parka that I was planning to buy, but it is more or less everything else. Classic design, great materials, a beautiful color (not black, which is a huge deal to me), from one of my preferred brands (my wardrobe only consists of about 5 different brands) and on sale which didn’t exactly make it cheap but at least made it possible for me to buy it. It was also the first piece of clothing I have bought for myself in about 6 month and I know it will be a part of my wardrobe for many years to come. And since buying lesser things in better quality and in a classic and long-lasting design is one of my new year resolutions for 2016 I quickly convinced myself that this was a good decision.
I’m normally not the kind of person who will come up with a lot of new year resolutions, but for some reason I have a whole list this year. Nothing big, just small things I really want to do or not do in the upcoming year. And since a few of them are very easy to bring into your everyday life I thought I would share them here with you. Who knows, maybe some of you will be inspired.
• A sales shopping guide to my favorite conscious finds •
I see myself as a pretty conscious consumer. Working in the fashion industry for more than 10 years gave me some knowledge of how clothes are being produced. I try to support small businesses, I choose organic if the option is there, and I’m okay with buying less but better, if this means good quality and a longer life for my purchases. I don’t do a whole lot of high street shopping, but like most mothers, I’ll go there to buy cheap stockings, T-shirts and maybe a dress or a pair of pants.
• Some thoughts on a mother’s urge to keep all the little memories alive and a look back at some of our favorite 2015 moments •
To me, motherhood consists of a larger collection of small moments which together constitutes my life with my daughters. In all those moments lay my happiness, my fears, my sadness, my love, my anger, my biggest struggles and my admiration for being able to see these two little babies slowly form their own personalities. One thing that I really fear is for those small moments to slowly start fading or even worse, to escape my memory for good.
• About saying goodbye and moving on •
Yesterday we slept with the windows open. After a month of christmas celebrations, cozy afternoons, house guests, pine trees, presents, hello’s, thank you’s and goodbye’s, it felt like we needed some air. I normally leave our Christmas decorations out until after New Years, but this year it felt wrong and with 2016 slowly crawling upon us, I decided that today was the day to take them down. While the girls were playing in their room and I was drinking a cup of coffee (which as usual had turned cold while I was preparing a snack for the girls and helping my youngest go to the toilet) I said my goodbyes to snowflakes, stars and tiny christmas trees. Afterwards I put on my winter lipstick (yes, I have one favorite color, that I always go back to when my skin turns winter-white), enjoyed the scent from the white hyacinths I bought on my morning walk and started thinking back on the year gone by.
• A quick and easy DIY •
A simple, easy and fun way to keep the children busy while bringing a bit of Holiday spirit to the house at the same time. This year we’re making our own homemade wrapping paper, and on top of being the easiest activity ever, I cannot wait to see how cute it will look under the tree.
• How to make your own DIY felt animal ornaments •
I grew up with a christmas tree decorated only with red vintage glass ornaments and white candle lights. My grandparents, where we would celebrate christmas every single year, live in a huge house and no one except from my grandmother would see the tree before it was revealed to us all on the night of christmas with all the candles lit.
I would be happy keeping our tree low-key and minimalistic with just a lot of lights and simple white snowflakes. However, my daughters are into the opposite. To try and accommodate their wishes, I’ve made them a few simple felt ornaments.