MamaViews: Nicole from Gidget Goes Home

It's so fun to have Nicole here this morning (she's a fellow Simple Organic contributor).  And so exciting because she just recently adopted a little boy!!  So sweet of her to take some time to chat with us with such exciting stuff going on at home.  I think you'll enjoy her thoughts on finding contentment, her journey to becoming green and striking a good life balance.  Welcome, Nicole! Surf Mamas is such a rad idea!  I think it's so important for moms to connect and build community.  How did you come up with idea and put it all together? 

Thanks! The ironic thing is that I actually started brainstorming and building it when I was living in Colorado, knowing that I'd be coming back to California soon. I learned to surf in high school with a girlfriend and then throughout college had a couple of other girl surf buddies. But I knew that coming back to San Diego county I wouldn't really have a crew to surf with, plus, now I was a mother so I had a kid to worry about too! My husband and I occasionally would trade off surfing, but I really love to surf with other girls. I'd heard of groups who swapped babysitting for surf time but there wasn't one that I knew of in Southern California. After I got started, I realized how cool it would be to have the community open to women all over the world. It's grown simply by word of mouth (and google) and we've got groups forming all over the place now which is really neat. I really wanted a community where like-minded women would be encouraged to get out and be active and also be able to form connections with other moms.

I really like the subtitle of your blog, "Finding contentment in daily life."  This is so important, but so easy to miss; we can go through a whole day without enjoying the little things that are what really make life enjoyable.  How do you remind yourself to do just that, to find contentment in daily life?

I wish I could say it was second nature for me at this point, but honestly, it's simply a daily choice. For one thing, I try to focus on being thankful for the life I have and the journey God has our family on. Another thing I have learned is to really try to be present in reality. When I was younger I would waste so many thoughts on crazy daydreams, or more recently on circumstances I'd like to change. Now I really endeavor to enjoy the place I'm in. I still dream about the future, but I wrap those dreams in prayer now, committing them to the Lord. I love being a homemaker and I'm learning to recognize all the sweet little things throughout the day as I seek contentment, too. It's so exciting that you're adopting!  What have you learned along the journey that has surprised you?  What advice would you give other couples considering adoption?

Since it has taken me so long to actually answer your questions Amy, :) the truth is we have actually adopted now!! Our son is three weeks old, and he came home with us at four days old. It's been an amazing whirlwind of a journey for us, especially the last few weeks. What has surprised me most has been how my heart has changed from simply wanting another child for our family (after struggling with some infertility despite one biological child) to really having a heart for adoption. I'm so thankful to have been put on this path. I've been stretched and taken outside of my comfort zone in a really good way, and have become a more compassionate person overall. One piece of advice would be to talk to other adoptive families. That has been a huge encouragement and education for us. I look forward to getting to know more adoptive families whether in person or in the blogosphere over the years. 

You mentioned that cloth diapers were the beginning of your "green journey."  What was the motivation to switch?  Has there been a domino effect, of sorts?

Yes, when my daughter was about nine months old, a friend started to share her research with me. I literally knew nothing about cloth diapers, but the more I started to look into them, the more I loved them-- the cost effectiveness, the eco-factor and of course the cute look. :) Both cloth diapering and my research on personal care products was what really started the "domino effect." The more I researched, the more I wanted to learn, and the more my mind was open to toxins and the consequences our choices have on the environment and on our families, the more changes I made. It's been a gradual process, and that's what I try to convey to others, that baby steps toward "greenness" and more natural living really do make a difference. 

I find that something else always suffers when I craft, usually the housework!  You do a lot of crafting and creating; how do you balance that with "regular life?"

Something usually suffers for me, too. Often housework, sometimes my sleep, and sometimes my personal interaction time with my husband. So I try to work in short segments of time. The best thing for me is to have a little nook set up (I call it my "studio" or "sewing room" but right now it's just a section of my room}. That way I can leave projects out and can work on them for even just a few minutes at a time. I have a special basket of scraps that my daughter loves to look through and pick out pieces "to sew." She'll often sit on my lap with me while I'm at the sewing machine which I love. I hope to get in more of a routine where I do bits of sewing throughout the week so I can get my etsy shop up and really running soon. As my daughter gets older, I can't wait to do more crafts and artwork with her- try new mediums and really raise a "creative family" as SouleMama would say.

Thanks so much for visiting, Nicole; keep in touch!