21 Days: My gift to myself

21 days...Isn't that what it takes to change habits? I think I read that somewhere...In just under a month, it will be my birthday and I'll be one step closer to 40, than 30 (ok, maybe 2 or 3 steps closer. crap.). Across the past 5 years, I've been feeling...tired. When I fully absorbed the fact I was talking about five whole years of my life, I was shocked. Then, to make myself feel better, I rationalized that I have two small children, one of whom is turning 5 this month. It's been a busy 5 years, after all! I thought about my (previously) stressful job. That, before that, it took my son a good year to sleep consistently. All good reasons. Yup. Good reasons until I realized that I'd been feeling this way longer than 5 years. Isn't that like cold water on your head? I can recall my regular weekend afternoon naps when Andrew and I were first dating...over 10 years ago.

I truly believe comparison is a root of evil. But, when I looked around, I could see that something was off with me. First thoughts: maybe I'm sick? Depressed? Bad habit?? nope. nope. ...maybe?

This summer, I was inspired by my old friend Marla Carter of Marla and Shane Photographers and the popular blog, Left on Amelia. She wrote about TheWhole30 and eating Paleo...as in Paleolithic. Think eating foods like nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats.

2-3 years ago, my husband bought a book called The Paleo Diet. So there I was reading Marla's blog, and I could see the good health in her pictures and hear it in the tone of her writing. Then I read about her mid-day bike rides b/c she was no longer tired in the afternoon. What the what?!

Andrew and I talked, and we did it. It wasn't always easy. But, that's the truth. It's not always easy. I LOVE a good muffin with my coffee, a little wine and dark chocolate, and I'm a comfort food girl at heart. But, the pay off was tremendous. Within a week, my troubled skin cleared up, I was no longer taking a siesta, my moods had evened out, I had loads of energy, and was thinking more clearly. I have no idea if those kinds of results were common, but they were mine.

Paleo Carrot Soup with ginger, cardamom, and coconut milk. Crazy good!

off-the-tree apple slices to saute in coconut oil, cinnamon and almonds

Then, enter our summer vacation to Nantucket. Hello ice cream cones, cocktails and Portuguese breads. Hello naps, moodiness and troubled skin. We got home, and we definitely had a great time, but we felt like garbage.

We've gone back on Paleo, (ahem) loosely. Some weeks more loosely than others.

Paleo-ish homemade oreo cookies

What beer? This is clearly a picture of me making a Paleo-ish Apple Pie!

All forms of denial and kidding aside, my bday is around the corner...and I'm thinking to myself, what do I want? A spa day, carte blanche at Anthropologie, jewelry, a vacation?? Ummm, yeah, ok yes I'd like all of the above. (Andrew, are you reading this?? Anthropologie, are YOU??)  But, really when I get down to it...What do I want?

I want to feel like a million bucks when I wake up on November 4th.

I want to open my eyes and smile bc I feel awake, rested, and aware. I want to look out at the autumn morning golden sunshine, and be totally psyched to start my day.

I want to give myself the gift of my good.

So, my reconnection with true Paleo is part of this gift of good health. But, really, there is more to the story than that. Good health is more than just food, it's about a balance of all things in my life. My first step and shift towards choosing my gift of good health, really started last year. For me, the logical next step was reconnecting with my husband, children and family. Career-wise, it has all been all about rediscovering with MY aesthetic, voice, and point-of-view.

I'm a working, designer mom with an amazing husband and two small children. I'm blessed with amazing friends and family...AND I'm starting my own business. YAY!!!! Budding and dreaming entrepreneurs, it's A LOT to balance. There are pockets of feeling overwhelmed and times of push and craziness, and it wont always work out like a feel-good tv show. But, it's also so totally awesome. There is always something else to do, and for the most part, I can't wait to do it! (no, I'm not talking about you dumb forms!!)  Just like my physical health, for my business to thrive, there needs to be good health within it.

I've made the decision to cut back a bit on my freelance hours, to free up more for belle&beanzer.  My freelance work is definitely a good thing, it's fun, I looove NYC, but it  isn't where my excitement lies. I'm lucky to have it, to interact with SO many creative, talented and interesting people. It's actually put me in touch with some key people I've needed to play a role in my business. But, ultimately, it's really about the bigger picture. The big picture being belle&beanzer, and that I want to go live January 2012. 

Speaking of which, the latest and greatest is... my final prototypes will arrive at the end of the month. As will my final costing estimates, etc. I'll need to plug those numbers in and see where I land with everything. PS - run your numbers, folks. Seriously, hard core numbers. In a future blog, I'm going to be interviewing an truly amazing woman who wrote a book for people just like me. We've opened an email correspondence, and she's agreed to be a guest blogger here. More on that later...

As for the one-piece, I'm REALLY excited to do a reveal as soon as I get the protos back. I've been pulling together the pics and video from along the way. I've got some goood stuff in there. We'll get a glass of wine and have a good laugh together! 

In the meantime, I can't wait to post my mood board, logo, etc. It's all getting there, with the branding. I find it SO serendipitous in my venture adventure, that order to have a clear brand and point-of-view, I've had to really understand MY point-of-view, aesthetically. It's a simple concept. It's amazing how long it too me to get it!! I was too busy doubting and second guessing myself and comparing my ideas to others. GAH! Done with it! 

The less exciting news, but reality, is the surprising amount of paperwork and the appalling lack of information about how to fill out said paperwork. 

Oh yeah, heads up!...pretty soon, hopefully within the month, I'll be migrating my blog to my website. Therein lies the next piece, technology...migrating my blog, getting the website looking the way I envision it, setting up my email, linking up all my social technology. LEARNING. CURVE. 

So, there you have it. 21 days to better overall health. Finding a better balance in all aspects of my life and how they interweave. I'll keep you updated!

More Snuggles and Less Struggles

After my second, Jonah, was born, it wasn't just interesting or clever that all things baby/children be easier...It was VITAL to the happiness of my family. You accumulate a lot of "stuff" with one child. With two, it can feel a bit like YOU'RE the needle in the haystack of baby items...trying to find yourself.

One tired Mama

The question that kept popping into my head while I rummaged around trying to find something, during a quick (yeah, right) 2am diaper change, as I tried to efficiently (again, yeah, right) to change his diaper and/or clothes for the 10th time in a day, while my husband helped out and I crossed my fingers Jonah would end up in something resembling an outfit (again, again, yeah right)...
WHY? Why is all this stuff such a pain in the A**??

Don't they KNOW how little time I have? Don't they KNOW my 3yr old daughter is pulling at my pant legs and completely impatient for my attention while I dress my baby boy? Don't they KNOW I don't have time to iron little bits and pieces down on a shirt every time I wash it? Don't they know the little snaps suck, they're impossible to line up when you're sleep deprived (and otherwise), and make my husband crazy? Don't they KNOW my baby is squirming and twisting while I dress and change him? Don't they KNOW my baby doesn't like to almost fully undress in the middle of a sleep bc his diaper is soaked?

My career, before I left it in the traditional sense, is as a graphic designer for newborn, infant and toddler clothes. I create all those patterns that go on the clothes, the graphics, appliques and embroideries. It's basically children's illustration with a talent for making a full print out of it. So, as a mom working in the industry I was a "they." I KNEW as a mom what I needed, and I KNEW as a member of the industry that it wasn't being done.

There are plenty of gadgets and gizmos with a bent towards making life easy as a parent. Some of them work. Most of them depend on your personality, and more importantly your child's. But, what I didn't see, haven't seen, is anyone addressing what we do with your little ones several times a day. We dress them, we redress them, and we change their diaper again, and again, and again. Baby clothes are pretty much the same, with variances on aesthetic. But, what about the clothes themselves??

As a mom, I needed something that no one was giving me. I needed simplicity. I needed ease. I needed more snuggles and less struggles. So, one sleepless, squirmy, unhappy-baby-night my mind started chewing on it. Okay, let's start with removing the problem...what if there were NO snaps, NO zippers and it takes 30 seconds or less to dress and/or change your baby in any position your baby wanted? What would that  look like? Whoa. I would LOVE that! I bet other parents would too!

So, I started drawing. I started looking at all the staples I used for dressing my children. I considered what was frustrating, what I always complained about, what my mom friends complained about, what I saw emails, postings, etc. complaining about. Most importantly, I talked to Moms and Dads. It occurred to me that moms will put up with a lot for cuteness. Dads don't care. Changed? Good. Moving on.
I believed I could marry those two view points.
Keep it looking super sweet. Keep it super simple. Yeah, that's smart!

So far, there are 10 garments designed and ready to go. I'm starting with my first garment, the sleep and play. Why one? Because I value simplicity. I'm keeping it simple as I kick things off.

I affectionately named the sleep and play,  Little Hammies. They very well may be named Little Hammies. Named this because they are very flattering to your baby's cutie-pie little chunkle butt. I promise I will post pictures and videos. I want to get you all involved in the process. I'd LOVE, love, love your feedback and thoughts. This is FOR YOU.

Also, your baby and/or child is going to love it. It's waaay super comfortable. All my prototypes have been in my son's age, much to my daughter's dismay. I got one sample that was way too large. She found it and put it on herself, with no explanation. I couldn't get it off her. My son loves it because dressing him is no longer me pinning him flat on his back, alternately singing songs like a lunatic and begging him to stay still (babies don't like radical emotional swings like that, do they? LOL). He could sit up. He could stand up. He could sit on my lap. He could keep reading his book. He could be on his belly.

My first core value in this venture adventure is...Simplicity. In ALL things. Can you imagine if dressing and changing were easier? There would be less tears (for parents and kids). If there are less tears there is less stress. Less stress is more time to tickle, giggle, talk, find toes, and point out a sunbeam on the wall. More happy moments, added up to create more chunks of stress free time with your little one.

Simplicity  = more snuggles and less struggles.

What are your favorite things you have purchased that make your life easier as a parent, or person?
How would you feel if you had more time to just enjoy your children?
What did you think would be a great product, and in the end it wasn't?
What does simplicity mean for you as a parent and as a family?