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Author Topic: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?  (Read 5379 times)

Anisaer

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Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« on: October 11, 2016, 10:29:19 pm »
Spinning off a topic in "Faith in Everyday Life", for those of you who specifically parent at home full-time, what kind of things do you do to integrate your beliefs into your average day? Does your practice/spiritually influence your parenting process or rhythm? How do you find time to engage with your concept of deity while driving the proverbial minivan?

And does anyone find the veneration of a deity associated with hearth and home helpful? If so, what does that look like for you?

MamaThistle

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2016, 10:34:41 am »
Quote from: Anisaer;197377
Spinning off a topic in "Faith in Everyday Life", for those of you who specifically parent at home full-time, what kind of things do you do to integrate your beliefs into your average day? Does your practice/spiritually influence your parenting process or rhythm? How do you find time to engage with your concept of deity while driving the proverbial minivan?

And does anyone find the veneration of a deity associated with hearth and home helpful? If so, what does that look like for you?

 
I'm not a full time stay at home mom, but I go to school so that allows me to stay home with my daughter as much as possible.

I'm new to Gaelic polytheism, but so far I've found that it coincides well with having a family. I have a small shrine to Brighid, which I'm developing and it makes me feel warm and protected.

My daughter is young, but she loves fairies so we have started making little fairy gardens. Unfortunately is has already started snowing so we will have to move them inside.

I also knit, when I make an item I used magic to protect the person wearing it.
"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

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Freesia

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2016, 05:27:03 pm »
Quote from: Anisaer;197377
Spinning off a topic in "Faith in Everyday Life", for those of you who specifically parent at home full-time, what kind of things do you do to integrate your beliefs into your average day?

 
I started an herb garden. Only two herbs came back after last winter and my puppy dug up every new plant this year, but it's a start.

I just got "The Kitchen Witch's Cookbook" by Telesco and some used books by Cunningham. I haven't transitioned into magical workings beyond blessing the food and things I make, but I think I'm ready to make the jump.

I would like a hearth goddess. I was thinking of Hestia, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I'd like to get a work book on goddesses honoring after my degree. Right now I need someone with smarts and kick-ass like Athena.

Anisaer

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2016, 09:56:53 pm »
Quote from: MamaThistle;197420
I'm not a full time stay at home mom, but I go to school so that allows me to stay home with my daughter as much as possible.

I'm new to Gaelic polytheism, but so far I've found that it coincides well with having a family. I have a small shrine to Brighid, which I'm developing and it makes me feel warm and protected.

My daughter is young, but she loves fairies so we have started making little fairy gardens. Unfortunately is has already started snowing so we will have to move them inside.

I also knit, when I make an item I used magic to protect the person wearing it.

 
Hey, I host a shrine to Brighid also! I connect strongly with her aspects of healing (as a novice herbalist), inspiration/creativity (my vocation per-children was in the arts), and transformation (from a mystical standpoint) but I struggle to approach/integrate her as a hearth goddess. I've heard of people offering their housework to deities, which if like to try, but it's so sporadic and interrupted - wipe a counter here, vacuum the rug quickly after lunch, throw dishes in the dishwasher - that it doesn't seem fitting.

My children are both young as well (2.5 and 3 months). Our biggest "thing" is going for hikes in the woods where we collect stream water for offerings. It is good for us in so many ways but I often find it hard to fit it in between laundry, meals, nursings, playground trips or other more structured activities, and general "get the toddler ready to leave the house" business. We usually make it out to the woods once a week.

I love the idea of your kitting - how do you find time/space for it that isn't interrupted by little fingers?

Anisaer

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2016, 10:09:39 pm »
Quote from: Freesia;197433
I started an herb garden. Only two herbs came back after last winter and my puppy dug up every new plant this year, but it's a start.

I just got "The Kitchen Witch's Cookbook" by Telesco and some used books by Cunningham. I haven't transitioned into magical workings beyond blessing the food and things I make, but I think I'm ready to make the jump.

I would like a hearth goddess. I was thinking of Hestia, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I'd like to get a work book on goddesses honoring after my degree. Right now I need someone with smarts and kick-ass like Athena.

 
I can commiserate. My herb garden was sadly neglected this summer between late pregnancy and post-partum resting. You can't see the sage and comfrey for the grass! I anticipate having more time next spring. It's hard to wait through these slower seasons with young kids.

Kitchen witchery has always piqued my interest, though I tend more towards formal herbalism. I bet my 2.5 year old might enjoy some simple workings. We try to give gratitude to Brighid before we eat but it doesn't always get remembered. We also usually make a big batch of herbal tea in the morning that we drink throughout the day. I'd like to start brewing that with more specific intention or dedication.

Sometimes I feel like a more "kick-ass" energy is what I need to keep this place running as it is! Who's the Mary Poppins or Molly Weasley of deity?!

MamaThistle

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2016, 01:16:27 pm »
Quote from: Anisaer;197450
Hey, I host a shrine to Brighid also! I connect strongly with her aspects of healing (as a novice herbalist), inspiration/creativity (my vocation per-children was in the arts), and transformation (from a mystical standpoint) but I struggle to approach/integrate her as a hearth goddess. I've heard of people offering their housework to deities, which if like to try, but it's so sporadic and interrupted - wipe a counter here, vacuum the rug quickly after lunch, throw dishes in the dishwasher - that it doesn't seem fitting.

My children are both young as well (2.5 and 3 months). Our biggest "thing" is going for hikes in the woods where we collect stream water for offerings. It is good for us in so many ways but I often find it hard to fit it in between laundry, meals, nursings, playground trips or other more structured activities, and general "get the toddler ready to leave the house" business. We usually make it out to the woods once a week.

I love the idea of your kitting - how do you find time/space for it that isn't interrupted by little fingers?

 
Oh yes I get that. We hiked a lot during the summer but it's already getting too cold to do that every weekend, plus the bears have been pretty bad lately.

Good question on the knitting lol! I put my yarn and work on top of our high book shelve (although I'm short so sometimes I have trouble getting in lol). As far as time, I try to just make it a priority at nights before bed or nap time, or when I need some me time. I also knitting as stress relief as well, still I don't always have time as I usually study at nights too.

I kind of like the idea of housework, but maybe just devote to one area and not the whole house.
"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

- W.B. Yeats

Fern

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2016, 12:06:11 pm »
Quote from: Anisaer;197450
Hey, I host a shrine to Brighid also! I connect strongly with her aspects of healing (as a novice herbalist), inspiration/creativity (my vocation per-children was in the arts), and transformation (from a mystical standpoint) but I struggle to approach/integrate her as a hearth goddess. I've heard of people offering their housework to deities, which if like to try, but it's so sporadic and interrupted - wipe a counter here, vacuum the rug quickly after lunch, throw dishes in the dishwasher - that it doesn't seem fitting.

My children are both young as well (2.5 and 3 months). Our biggest "thing" is going for hikes in the woods where we collect stream water for offerings. It is good for us in so many ways but I often find it hard to fit it in between laundry, meals, nursings, playground trips or other more structured activities, and general "get the toddler ready to leave the house" business. We usually make it out to the woods once a week.

I love the idea of your kitting - how do you find time/space for it that isn't interrupted by little fingers?

 
My kids are only slightly older than yours (preschool age) and I will say it is so much easier now than when they were a toddler and a baby. I can sew while they play more or less independently. While they're playing outside, I can sit nearby and read. They're still small children, though, so my daily practice is mostly limited to things I can share with them. We go out for hikes a lot, too, and I have started teaching the kids grounding and meditation to help calm them down from tantrums. We celebrate the changing seasons, collect leaves and stones and bits of wood for our altar. We have a lot of fires. We work in the kitchen together, cooking or making herbal teas. The kids are really into the moon right now, so we often go out to look at it together.

Of course, we also have a lot of days where the kids are plopped in front of Daniel Tiger, or they're fighting over an empty toilet paper roll while I'm in the kitchen guzzling nervine tea without tasting it. But, you know.

As for housework, one thing that's turned out to be great is making an herbal floor wash together. We go out and cut herbs from our garden, slice up lemons, throw in peels from the mandarin oranges the kids are constantly eating, cinnamon sticks, whatever we have, and let it all bubble on the stove for an hour or so. Of course it makes the house smell good, and then I add some vinegar to it and we use it to wipe down surfaces and wash the floors. The kids love helping with it, and I think the immersive experience of it (the good smell, the warm water, the music I put on while we're doing it) is calming for all of us. It's a fun way for us to find the magic in something mundane.

MeadowRae

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2016, 09:36:25 am »
Quote from: Fern;199752
My kids are only slightly older than yours (preschool age) and I will say it is so much easier now than when they were a toddler and a baby. I can sew while they play more or less independently. While they're playing outside, I can sit nearby and read. They're still small children, though, so my daily practice is mostly limited to things I can share with them. We go out for hikes a lot, too, and I have started teaching the kids grounding and meditation to help calm them down from tantrums. We celebrate the changing seasons, collect leaves and stones and bits of wood for our altar. We have a lot of fires. We work in the kitchen together, cooking or making herbal teas. The kids are really into the moon right now, so we often go out to look at it together.

Of course, we also have a lot of days where the kids are plopped in front of Daniel Tiger, or they're fighting over an empty toilet paper roll while I'm in the kitchen guzzling nervine tea without tasting it. But, you know.

As for housework, one thing that's turned out to be great is making an herbal floor wash together. We go out and cut herbs from our garden, slice up lemons, throw in peels from the mandarin oranges the kids are constantly eating, cinnamon sticks, whatever we have, and let it all bubble on the stove for an hour or so. Of course it makes the house smell good, and then I add some vinegar to it and we use it to wipe down surfaces and wash the floors. The kids love helping with it, and I think the immersive experience of it (the good smell, the warm water, the music I put on while we're doing it) is calming for all of us. It's a fun way for us to find the magic in something mundane.


I love the floor wash idea! I'm not a stay at home parent, but I do work from home now. On Saturday while my son was napping I dedicated scrubbing my floor to Brighid. I know it sounds strange, but it was actually very cleansing for the home. I burned some incense and busted out the Murphy's Oil Soap and got meditative about it. It was more fulfilling than expected.
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Fern

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2016, 06:47:59 pm »
Quote from: MeadowRae;199789
I love the floor wash idea! I'm not a stay at home parent, but I do work from home now. On Saturday while my son was napping I dedicated scrubbing my floor to Brighid. I know it sounds strange, but it was actually very cleansing for the home. I burned some incense and busted out the Murphy's Oil Soap and got meditative about it. It was more fulfilling than expected.

 
I love it when everyday tasks can turn out to be meditative. Cleaning is a big one for me, although you wouldn't know it to look at my house most of the time.

MamaThistle

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2016, 10:22:35 am »
Quote from: Fern;199752

Of course, we also have a lot of days where the kids are plopped in front of Daniel Tiger, or they're fighting over an empty toilet paper roll while I'm in the kitchen guzzling nervine tea without tasting it. But, you know.

As for housework, one thing that's turned out to be great is making an herbal floor wash together. We go out and cut herbs from our garden, slice up lemons, throw in peels from the mandarin oranges the kids are constantly eating, cinnamon sticks, whatever we have, and let it all bubble on the stove for an hour or so. Of course it makes the house smell good, and then I add some vinegar to it and we use it to wipe down surfaces and wash the floors. The kids love helping with it, and I think the immersive experience of it (the good smell, the warm water, the music I put on while we're doing it) is calming for all of us. It's a fun way for us to find the magic in something mundane.


I'm right there with you, only my savior is Creative Galaxy lol.

I love that idea. I use vinegar to clean but it never even occurred to me to add herbs and spices. I'm doing that today!
"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

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MamaThistle

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Re: Daily Practices as a "Stay At Home" Parent?
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2016, 10:26:32 am »
Quote from: MeadowRae;199789
I love the floor wash idea! I'm not a stay at home parent, but I do work from home now. On Saturday while my son was napping I dedicated scrubbing my floor to Brighid. I know it sounds strange, but it was actually very cleansing for the home. I burned some incense and busted out the Murphy's Oil Soap and got meditative about it. It was more fulfilling than expected.

 
Not strange at all and I think it's a great way to remove negative energy. I always feel lighter after cleaning.
"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

- W.B. Yeats

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