Last Chance To WIN ♥

LAST CHANCE TO WIN THIS 
FREE SCRAPBOOKING SOFTWARE !!!

All you have to do to qualify is GO HERE
 and leave a comment ♥

Winner will be chose by Random Number Generator 
on Monday, May 28th

♥  Good Luck Everyone ♥

Keeping It Real

Listing the Highs and Lows of our week over at Mon's blog....her Friday "Keeping It Real" project for bloggers.

Highs 
~ a cool blog I was introduced to - adorable mamma & family and a ready-to-pop baby bump

~ was asked to host a give-away on my blog for FREE digital scrapbooking software!

Lows

~ only ONE person has left a comment so far..... ???

(please people!!  - scroll down and enter this contest in my previous post)

and have a wonderful weekend ♥

♥ Sponsor GIVE - AWAY ♥

♥ Don't you just love FREE stuff?♥

Winner to be drawn on Monday, May 28th 

by My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software

Calling all artsy creative types, scrapbookers, photographers, sentimentalists, and of course all moms out there who are stocked piling pictures of your kiddies doing their adorable, wacky wonderful growing up in front of the camera.

Just as your kids are growing and evolving, guess what? So is Scrapbooking! 

I remember the days of developing rolls of film and excitedly picking them up. I remember going to the "new Scrapbooking Parties" that were similar to Tupperware® parties, only we purchased packages of pretty printed papers, ribbons, stickers, markers, and acid-free adhesives.

I don't know about the rest of you, but here I am,  years later, finding all these items stuffed into drawers and cupboards and shoeboxes all over the house. My attempts at organizing  all this scrapbooking paraphernalia in sheet protectors and in binders was short-lived. I did come up with a couple of great scrapbooks, but somehow I can't see my daughter wanting to lug these big books of her childhood memories off to University with her and whereever else she ends up after leaving home with the "sacred scrapbooks".

Nope, our kids are growing up in the digital age, cameras with film are now considered vintage and scrapbooks are just big awkward books that will wear out or get lost or left behind one day.

The way of the future is the Digital Scrapbook. Some of you may already be into it,  Almost everyone these days uses digital cameras and we conveniently upload the pics to our computers - just like that! 

So now instead of shoe boxes full of photographs to sort through, many of us have file folders on our computer holding our digital photos of that sacred 1st Birthday party, our children's school plays, camping trips, your friend's wedding, and let's not forget holidays. Let's admit it, the convenience of the digital camera makes it very easy to record practically every moment of our lives.

And now there's an equally simple way of scrapbooking all those special photos into gorgeous layouts, or even an entire book....digitally!  Using My Memories Digital Scrapbooking, you can organize all those stuffed files on your desktop into beautifully displayed pages....all stored on your computer. And let's face it, for the memories we're capturing on film for our kids, the only way to save them permanently these days is to use  digital scrapbooking software.  

And, it's SO EASY!!  

Below is a layout I made for my daughter with 

My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software. 

  

It was simple to use, and fast! Easy enough for beginners and challenging enough for seasoned scrapbookers. 

The software is loaded with adorable extra embellishments for any and every occasion. My Memories has a large assortment of templates to choose from, for any occasion. 

What I like best are the spaces where you choose a text font and journal right on the template, personalizing what precious meaning your chosen pics have to you. 

Many people think all you can do is make scrapbook templates, but there is so much more! 

♥ There is even a fun and inspiring "Weekly Challenge Blog" 

to help you tap into your creativity....

"Need some new creative ideas?

 Done something fabulous you want others to see? 

Come to the blog and check out our weekly challenge to get some great ideas,

and share your own creativity, too! "

♥ Prizes are awarded every week!

There's so many great extras that come with this software. You'll never have to use another program for scrapbooking your digital camera photos.

Would you like to win this FREE

Digital Scrapbooking Software 

for your very own use? 

a $40 value - can be yours free,just for leaving a comment!

It's so simple and FREE to enter....


♥  Go to  www.MyMemories.com 
♥  just for fun, choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout.
♥  Then leave a comment on my blog saying which one you liked the best. It's that easy!


* Lurkers - now's the time to de-lurk! 
If you subscribe to my blog through email, get on over here, leave a comment and enter!
This contest is open to everyone! 
GOOD LUCK !!! 

VHS Tapes & Glass Pop Bottles

Laughing with my friend as I posted a pic of one of my " very first bohemian apartments". I used this pic in a post over at my Soul Journey blog, and wanted to share it here too - because it is just that cool! I loved everything about that apartment except the hideous paneling (that I was forbidden to paint over) !
(circa 1990 - ish)

♥ eating  ~"pick your own" strawberries
♥ enjoying ~ long weekend, sunny and hot weather with friends, the smell of fresh cut grass and happy dirty kids


peace & happy weekend!!

Keeping it Real

Sliding in under the radar here;  just in time for Mon's regular Friday blogger project - Keeping It Real 

We list our highs and lows of the week and it's a really great way to keep perspective on things- the good and the not so good....you should join in....just go here!
So here's mine......


Highs ~


~ 3 day weekend here in Canada - woot!! beautiful weather and an outing to a vegan mom -friend's cottage with my hatchling and some other moms & daughters.... eating healthy and local, creating meal plans together, plus lessons in frugality and other things we have in common.


~ going with my friend who recently bought a house to purchase lawnmower, hose, rakes, outdoor plants, etc. (doesn't seem like much of a high, but you haven't seen us together when we shop - hilarious and 100% girly girls on this particular mission)


~ I now have a Soul Coach ( applause !! )


~ watching my hatchling sing "Let it Be" at her highschool's Spring Concert. Omg - tears in my eyes, lump in my throat, all of it!  (wish I could share the video here, but she was surrounded on stage by her whole class and of course I won't post pics of 100 other people's kids on the internet)




Lows ~


~ 19 years ago this week was my father's death and funeral - (remembering like it was a month ago)


~ still cannot afford to insure my car, but getting there.....


~ slumlord still hasn't fixed the hole in my screen that a squirrel chewed through , so I'm afraid to open it and have to chase another squirrel out....(fresh air anytime please!)


~ heaps of laundry and a pile of dishes to tackle - ahhhh....what else is new? 


happy weekend everyone!!
peace & carpe diem!

New Blog, New Journey

Hello fellow bloggers, ....I welcome you to my new blog, "My Soul Coaching Journey". 

In addition to Bohemian Mom, I will also be writing here; sharing my personal growth experience, and insights I discover as I explore my SELF throughout My Soul Journey, and  I hope you all follow along to encourage me.
So come and check it out ......



Boho mom

The Great Mother's Day Freak - Out

So...have you seen this? There's been so much controversy over it, 
I thought it would be a fitting Mother's Day to post my personal favourite response to this Time Magazine cover story.  I think Kate Bartolotta nailed it in her following article....,.read on... (and let me know what you think.)


(and Happy Mother's Day from me ♥ )

via Time Lightbox

Motherhood is not a Competition

....as written by Kate Bartolotta for  Elephant Journal

Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing.

I’m a huge advocate for breastfeeding, and for natural and attachment parenting in general.

I agree with most of the moms in the Time article. Breastfeeding is something I’m passionate about and I’m glad I was able to feed my children that way. Breast milk is the perfect food for children under age one, and the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding your child until age two or until mutually satisfying for both mother and child.

Extended Breastfeeding (or EBF if you are into the whole mommy bulletin board scene), helps with brain development, prevents obesity, boosts the immune system and the benefits continue to increase the longer a child breastfeeds. Scientists are finding new ways that children benefit from breastfeeding all the time.

For women, it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and often helps women with postpartum weight loss (until those last five pounds that stay as long as you’re nursing…but that’s a totally different blog).

A few things you should know:

The choice to breastfeed is a personal one; it doesn’t make you a good mom if you do it, or a bad one if you don’t.

Breastfeeding does not make you more or less of a woman.

Breastfeeding is not remotely sexual, weird or anything negative.

Breastfeeding might change your breasts, but sometimes for the better.

Breastfeeding in public is your right in 45 states.

(Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise).

Supplemental formula feeding does not make you a bad mom (it just might make it harder to keep breastfeeding).

The age at which you stop nursing your child—by his choice or by your own—is not what makes or breaks your value as a parent.

I nursed my daughter until she was 22 months old and I was eight months pregnant with her brother. I nursed my son until he was 21 months old. I needed to be done. It took me another year to not feel guilty that I didn’t give them the same amount. It also took most of that year to get over the guilt of not participating in “Child Led Weaning,” or for the uninformed, letting them decide when it was time to stop.

Even writing this, I get that little knot in my stomach of, “Oh, but I could have done more. I should have done more” and at the same time I know some people will read this and think it’s weird that I breastfed so long.

As mothers, we will always want to give our children more. It’s how they survive. There is a primal drive in us to nourish our children—physically and emotionally.

But what works for one family isn’t what works for all families. What one child needs is not what all children need.

Pretty basic, no?

Then why the hell are we in constant competition with each other?

If you breastfeed too long you are a weirdo, too short and you’re selfish. Damned if you work, damned if you stay home. If you wear your baby you’re a hippie, if you use a stroller…well…I’m pretty sure your child is going to end up with attachment issues. Don’t even get me started on where your children sleep, or whether they fall asleep alone—no matter what you choose to do, someone is bound to think it’s awful and you are scarring your kids for life.

Enough!

photo: Time lightbox

What makes a good mother can’t fit in a Time magazine article.

Good moms nourish their children, and also take care of themselves.

Good moms know that sometimes it’s too hot to have anything but watermelon for dinner.

Good moms let their kids pick out their own clothes even when they end up in an ensemble of Batman pajamas, a tie-dye shirt and rain boots (true story) and they still cringe inwardly and hope no one judges them.

Good moms sometimes yell (but keep trying not to and aren’t afraid to apologize).

Good moms breastfeed for one month, or one year, or four years—or not at all.

Good moms sometimes hover too much, or not enough, and they keep trying to get it right.

Good moms aren’t Tiger Moms or Helicopter Moms or any other media invented phenomenon.

Good moms are all of us who care enough about our kids to think about this stuff;

to get the knots in our stomach when we see a news story about a kidnapped child;

to make shadow puppets, play I Spy, make up stories and invent colors;

to dance with their kids to The Ramones in the kitchen and sing into spatula microphones;

to say “no” when we have to, and “yes” as much as we can;

to say “screw you” to the people who want to put “motherhood” into a box and say there’s one right way to do it.

Because there isn’t. Because if you are a mom, and you care enough to read this, to think about it—you’re already “mom enough.”

Happy Mother’s Day—every day.

Kate Bartolotta is the strongest girl in the world. She is the love child of a pirate and a roller derby queen. She hails from the second star to the right. She doesn't know how to behave with all the apples and ibexes. She doesn't suffer from her eight million freckles, she loves them! She drinks her lemonade right from the jug. Like a rolling stone, Kate gathers no moss. Kate loves kale, being barefoot, Dr. Seuss, singing too loudly, gallivanting, pallindromes, blackberries, Elvis Presley, magic tricks and (of course) elephants. She has been charged with (and found guilty of) overusing the exclamation point! When she's not writing, you can find her practicing yoga, running in the woods, dancing with her kids, devouring a book, planting dandelions, changing the world and doing her dishes. Kate does not play the accordion. She is on her way to becoming a fabulous massage therapist, an imperfect vegan, a mediocre writer and a compassionate friend to all.

Highs + Lows of my Week

Keeping it Real over at Ink & Chai with Mon.

Highs ~

Fairy lights adorning our back deck, and weather growing warmer.

Veggie growing ideas for those of us without a yard....where there's a will, there's a way.


 Regular evening walks with a couple mom friends - healthy mind/body toning up 
and female bonding/time for us....can't beat it.


Farmer's markets in full swing, and our favourite 
"pick your own" fruit & veggie farms soon to be opening for the season.


Finishing with a 94% and a 98%  in my 1st & 2nd modules of Heath Care program....onto 4th and 5th module!

Sara's blog - she is a raw foodie and an "unschooling" mom, 
recently gave birth to her 3rd beautiful daughter, 
and had home births for all 3 of them - inspiring!

Lows ~

Ate a bit of meat for the first time in months and months; and watched my belly bloat out and couldn't digest it for days....when will I learn to stick with my vegetarian ways?

Truly not really enjoying this health care course, but sucking it up because it's where the jobs are around here. (however - my current unit is based on 

child care and children at risk and I'm really interested this aspect of it - 

will hopefully be working in this area of the program)

Myself & a friend doing an educational survey and watching obese young mothers pulling into McDonalds drive thru ... seriously, wtf? 
....a sad sight, really - I've seen Super size Me, but it's still shocking how many women/moms in their 20's and 30's are not focusing on healthier food choices, 
especially when women as young as 30 are having 
back and knee problems due to their weight.

Happy weekend & remember....

Carpe DIem !!!

Take Your Soul For a Walk

"Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice... No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out."                                 
                                                                           ...... Thich Nhat Hanh 

Yesterday I took a long leisurely soul-nourishing walk and snapped these gorgeous spring-time photos.
Taking a walking meditation can be very relaxing and soothing even though it is considered exercise. 
Pick a beautiful spot, a tree lined street, or a wooded area. And just walk. Remember the goal is not arriving anywhere or setting out for a particular destination....just walk. Breathe, be aware of each step and live in the present moment. If worrisome thoughts enter your mind, just shake them off, and continue walking.
Notice the sound your shoes make on the pavement or the grass, or the ground;  your physical connection to mother earth, the sounds around you, the sensation of a gentle breeze, the scent of spring flowers or fresh cut grass - whatever comes across your path. 
Relax and embrace feelings of the peacefulness in your surroundings;  happiness that you don't have to think about anything at this time; just focus on the fact that you are making contact with mother earth with each step you take. 
Feel the gratitude that you are able to take such meditative walks.

Green Smoothie Bliss or "my alternative to the caffeine buzz from coffee"

spinach

in the blender...

add fruit...fresh local is best, but frozen works too

pineapple juice (or almond milk)

a tablespoon of coconut oil and a splash of aloe vera juice

yummy, packed with vitamins and caffeine free!!