Scherenschnitte

Have you ever heard of, or created, scherenschnitte? My brother and I made it (Somehow? How did we do that? Why did we do that?) once when we were kids, and most of the joy was in saying the word and giggling endlessly.

Scherenschnitte is German for "scissor cuts," or the art of cutting paper designs. I'm not sure why I chose Spanish classes over fun languages like German or French in middle school. Oh that's right, everybody chose Spanish and I wasn't ready to be unique yet. Kind of like how I intentionally spelled myself out of the last round of the spelling bee because I didn't want to win and have all of that attention. Oy vey.

That's all I have to say about that, except that I am posting links and quotes AGAIN ... so I felt the need for at least a little creativity in my title. Enjoy.

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The most powerful thing you can say to another mom.


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Probably my favorite article ever on postpartum depression. 

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Kristen Bell has such smart things to say in this interview. She and Dax Shepard are one of many celebrity couples on my dream list of people to have dinner with. (See also: Jim and Jeanne Gaffigan, Chip and Joanna Gaines, etc.) Love this: 

"You do better in the gym with a trainer; you don't figure out how to cook without reading a recipe. Therapy is not something to be embarassed about ... I thought I had this life thing down pat when I met my husband. I didn't realize that I needed a much bigger toolbox to have confrontations and disagreements with people."  

[Kristen Bell]

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Glennon Melton on Why the World Needs The Mentally Different ... BRILLIANT TIMES INFINITY. (Worth reading the whole article.)

"Because yes, I’ve got these conditions—anxiety, depression, addiction—and they almost killed me. But they are also my superpowers. I’m the canary in the mine and you need my sensitivity because I can smell toxins in the air that you can’t smell, see trouble you don’t see and sense danger you don’t feel. My sensitivity could save us all. And so instead of letting me fall silent and die — why don’t we work together to clear some of this poison from the air? 

What we who are mentally different need is respect. We know we need help managing our mental differences, but what we ask for is a shift in your approach to helping us. Instead of coming at us with the desire to change us because we are inconvenient to the world—come at us with the desire to help us because we are important to the world. We want you to see that with a little help, we can be your prophets, healers, clergy, artists, and activists. Help us manage our fire, yes, but don’t try to extinguish us. That fire that almost killed us is the same fire we’ll use to light up the world. " 

[Glennon Melton]

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{One-year pictures of my little love. TECHNICALLY 13 months, because who can remember to schedule pictures on time. Maybe you can. I did not. Today he is 14 months.}

"slow down.  put away distractions.  make a cup of morning tea and sip it while sitting.  watch your babies prance on the couch.  put a couple drops of lavender oil in their bath and make them giggle.  have a day where you only let him wear diapers and sun hats.  take lunch to the library or park.  watch them smile.  feel yourself smile back.  hold them close when they ask for snuggles.  hold them closer when they don't.  teach them how to read by flipping the pages one by one.  sit back, and watch them try.  get carry out for supper.  show them how to really eat chips and salsa.  hoist them up on your hips and belly and back, they are only so little for so long.  let her put your make up on.  let her wear your heels.  take time to show them little things like peeling a carrot or folding a towel.  let them run barefoot everywhere and wear snow boots on sunny days.  if she sees a puddle, tell her to go for it, laundry takes all but a minute.  slow down.  savor life.  hold onto these moments tightly." 

[from the mama watters blog]