Organic Living Diva

To be very honest, I had lofty goals for my blog site. I am sharing from the heart today because the struggle is real. Being a full time stay at home mom with a two year old toddler leaves little time for much else.

Mompreneur

I am so grateful as a family we were able to arrange life this way so that one of us could be our daughter’s primary care giver. On the flip side, the joy of being with her, helping her discover the world and find her way, truly is a full time job.

At the beginning of this year I decided to create a blog focused on what I love; health, wellness, natural and organic living. I thought I could post twice a week and offer valuable information that could help and inspire others. I also looked forward to connecting with others and creating a community.

Slow Progress is better than nothing

I’ve heard it said numerous times; figure out how to monetize your passion and you’ve created your dream job. Confessions! Well I’ve got a staggeringly lofty goal ahead of me in order to make this a career. I’d love to blog. I love to write (it’s what I studied in college). And I love the idea of developing Organic Living Diva into a career.

Fortunately, I did launch the blog and have made some progress. I was initially in research mode and thankfully my husband said, “don’t try to get it perfect, just get it started.” And I did. I have failed forward in creating the blog. I have made posts. And I have started to build an audience.

Sharing from the heart

Thank you for being here. You are with me on the beginning of this exciting journey. I am sharing from the heart today, sharing my confessions, to let you know it’s been a crazy year. I’ve not reached my goals, but I am not giving up.

It’s been a roller coaster emotionally this year for our family. We traveled for a number of family events. We had some wonderful summer camping trips. We made the most of the beautiful Northwest for the spectacular summer it provides.

Losing loved ones

However, amongst the joy, both my husband and I lost parents. Marty lost his mother, and I my father, within two months of each other. Neither were a surprise, but processing someone’s “goneness” and the responsibilities that follow are never easy on the heart.

Moving to a new home

We also moved to a new home in the middle of summer. I was consumed with packing, sorting, cleaning, purging and moving for weeks on end. Somehow I kept our daughter entertained and educated through it all. Fortunately my mother came to help for a few weeks, while my husband’s IT career took much of his time, yet provides for the family.

Weaning our daughter

I also surpassed my two year nutrition goal of breast feeding our daughter. It was an inner struggle of wanting to wean her, yet not give up the snuggling comfort breastfeeding provides us both. Skylar would have kept going, but at almost 28 months I had a calling and moved forward with weaning her. Life was hard for us all the first few days.

When you’ve had a routine for over two years and a forced stop occurs, most of us would be a little out of sorts. Well Skylar was very disturbed. She struggled to find her way to sleep no matter how much we tried to soothe her or create a new rhythm.

Change is good

This is a good reminder that although the change may have disrupted the routine, change inspires growth and opportunity. Change allows for the brain to learn new things. Change sparks new neuronal connections. Change disrupts habits that all too often consume us from from being in the present moment.

Parenting tricks

It’s been over a month and Skylar is starting to settle a bit. Mid day naps are unfortunately eratic in timing and often skipped. I’ve started to do the crazy parenting tricks of driving around town to get her to sleep. Or sit in my car and get work done, like I am right now. I giggle at the thought of it, but sitting in my car in the driveway to get the wifi so I can work while Skylar sleeps in the car seat is a great idea!

The struggle is real

Life has been busy. Life has been emotional. Life has been a struggle of joy and sadness intertwined. Life has been full of changes that may be hard, but are equally gifts of growth. I shared from the heart recently some of these confessions in a Facebook Live that I do now relate more deeply with parents juggling all we do with children in our lives. And I do relate more deeply to the pain of loss when someone special is permanently gone.

Sometimes just sharing from the heart with others can be soothing on the soul. We are not alone in this journey. Relating, connecting and supporting each other is very healing. The struggle is real. We may be going through different things at different times, but we are here to help each other.

Since becoming a full time parent, I realize there’s a world of people out there who all relate to the unconditional gifting of your personal time for the growth and life of your children. Nothing can compare to the love, the dedication, and the exhaustion that comes with raising children.

Building a blog

On top of personal life, trying to figure out how to build a blog is a major project. I break things all the time. There’s much to learn within the blog, then there’s the other world of monetizing a blog and creating affiliate connection. Writing great content is only part of the job.

I have jumped into this project with a dream and without the knowledge. I’m learning and growing on the way. Author Mark Victor Hansen said it well, “Don’t wait until everything is just right. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

Never Give Up

It’s so easy to say, “How is this ever going to work? There’s so much competition out there. I have so much to learn. It’s going to take forever. Will people really see value in what I do? Will I really connect with people?” And I’m sure you can relate. We’ve all got goals and dreams. Whether it’s perhaps to lose weight, get a new job, train for a race, go on a vacation or do something you’ve never done before.

I love this quote from Will Smith, “You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say ‘I’m going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that’s every been built.’ You don’t start there. You say, ‘I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid.’ You do that every single day. And soon you have a wall.”

Take small steps and work on creating quality in those moments. Be stronger than the negative self talk. Feel the freedom and exhilaration of what a new experience can offer us. Silence the voice that wants to keep us static and safe. Be willing to fail. Be will to get better. Be willing to be vulnerable.

With commitment and consistency, this blog will evolve and get better along the way. Thank you for being part of Organic Living Diva. I’d love to know where you are from, how you found out about the blog, what challenges you right now and what you are doing about it to grow? Comment and let’s connect!