MOTHERHOOD – Plum Joyful

An apology and a pledge to my daughter after the election

PlumJoyful — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 07:45:46 +0000

I have spent the last week in a daze. My emotions spinning like a lazy Susan at a diner overloaded with mismatched condiments. Fear, anger, sadness, revulsion, confusion, hope, then back full circle to fear. I am not sure how this happened, and it most certainly doesn’t feel real, but every time I turn on my laptop or the TV I am reminded that it most certainly is. I woke up on Tuesday morning smiling and energized, which for a mom who hasn’t slept through the night in over two years is really saying something. It was election day and your Dad and I were taking you to the polls with us because I wanted you to see your mama vote for the first female president in history. But truth be told, it was so much more than that. This election felt like a true battle between good and evil, right and wrong. The delineation between the two candidates was so stark, so black and white that is was almost impossible to see it any other way. I’m not religious but it felt almost biblical. I wanted you to bear witness to your mother and many other Americans standing up […]

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Q&A: Dr. Shefali Tsabary on The Awakened Family

PlumJoyful — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 07:00:52 +0000

A few weeks back I had the great honor of meeting one of my parenting heroes Dr. Shefali Tsabary. I went to a beautiful book signing where a group of mothers were invited to hear Dr. Shefali speak and encouraged to ask questions. I was a little beside myself with excitement because I am such a fan of her work. Her book The Conscious Parent was one of the few parenting books I read before having my daughter, and it resonated with me in a way that nothing else has. The afternoon turned out to be nothing short of transformative, and I wanted to find a way to share that with all of you. For those of you who don’t already know, Dr. Shefali Tsabary is a New York Times bestselling author, a world-renowned clinical psychologist with a doctorate from Columbia, and a sought after speaker. She has written three life changing books, THE CONSCIOUS PARENT, OUT OF CONTROL, and her latest book THE AWAKENED FAMILY. She is Queen O’s favorite parenting expert, can be seen on Oprah’s Lifeclass as well as Super Soul Sunday (this sunday Aug. 7th!) and her TEDx talk is a must see. Her ideas are truly […]

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Mother’s Day Gift Guide

PlumJoyful — Thu, 05 May 2016 07:09:22 +0000

Things have been very busy over here at Casa Plum, so I apologize for the fact that this gift guide is rather late, but I assure you that the shipping on these awesome gifts can be expedited to get to you in time for Mama’s day! Now that I’m a mama I have a new found love and respect for this beautiful day. I have a real appreciation for my own mother now that I have a daughter, and I want to let her know how truly grateful I am for her and all that she sacrificed for me. I now truly know just how much she loves me, and I probably owe her an apology for the decade between 12 and 22. At the very least I hope some of these awesome gifts will atone for my teenage years. I want all mama’s to feel pampered and appreciated on this special day so this guide was created with that in mind. 1. Muriel Brandolini Beach Mattress– I love the beach with all my heart. I’m a Cali girl through and through. But sometimes laying on the sand can be uncomfortable after a while. I especially find this to be true […]

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Date night at home: Have your cake and eat it to

PlumJoyful — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 08:00:36 +0000

For those of us with babies and young children, getting out of the house for a date night can be challenging to say the least. It requires scheduling (especially if your breastfeeding), a babysitter, money for said babysitter, and the ability to stay awake past eight PM. I don’t know about you, but for me that’s just a little too much effort for any old night. I would rather save those nights for really genuine special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, landing a great job, or just because we really feel like it! That being said, carving out time to spend with your significant other is essential, especially with little ones because it’s so easy to get caught up in the busy day to day and let adult time fall by the wayside . My solution is a stay at home date night! Put your little monkey/monkeys to bed and have an easy relaxed at home date night. Think back to when you were first dating and it really didn’t matter what you did, you just wanted to be in each others company. My husband and I used to spend hours laying on a futon on the floor of his studio apartment […]

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Non toxic Nursery: Part Three

PlumJoyful — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 08:00:40 +0000

If you haven’t read PART ONE and PART TWO, on the non toxic nursery, you might want to start there. Now that we have a beautiful, clean and healthy nursery set up, let’s look at all of the accessories that go into this space. Creating a space like this is pointless if your going to be cleaning with traditional toxic products, or filling the space with plastic toys from China that contain BPA and phthalates. Here is a list of additional things to consider in order to keep your baby’s space fresh and clean, while also being kinder to this awesome planet. 1.The first thing I would recommend doing, especially if you have carpeting or are allergy prone, would be to invest in a really good air filter. The one I recommended in PART ONE is considered the very best, and will keep your baby’s room free of allergens as well as VOC’s like formaldehyde. However, the IQ Air is very expensive and rather large, so another more affordable option would be the AUSTIN AIR. I love this one because it’s effective and it’s a nice small compact size for smaller nurseries like ours. This would actually be my first […]

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Non toxic Nursery: Part Two

PlumJoyful — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 08:00:13 +0000

If you haven’t read PART ONE, you might want to start there. Now for the non toxic good stuff. Furniture. I love interior design. My mother is an interior designer, and it is in my very DNA to be affected by the aesthetics of a room. A nursery should be a place of peace, whimsy, joy, fun and love. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to create the room I wanted while keeping everything clean and green. I am happy to say that it is totally possible to have a nursery that is vibrant beautiful AND completely clean and safe. Let’s start with the crib and mattress. To me the crib and mattress are two of the most important purchases you will make because your baby will be spending around 12 hours a day with their little faces pressed up against it breathing anything and everything that the mattress and crib are made of. Here is the place where you want to make the necessary investment to get the safest and most non toxic materials possible. First up, the mattress. Most if not all conventional mattresses are treated with flame retardants. Flame Retardants are very dangerous chemicals […]

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Creating a non-toxic nursery Part One

PlumJoyful — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 00:00:31 +0000

When I got pregnant I set about learning all the ways I could create a non-toxic environment in order to best protect my little one from the allergies and autoimmune issues that I have struggled with most of my life. This led me down a veritable rabbit hole of toxins, pollutants and potential dangers lurking in the most innocent of places, our babies nursery! A study done by the Environmental Working Group found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. These included pesticides, and brominated flame retardants. More specifically, according to the study, of the 287 chemicals found, 180 are known to cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests. I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz but instead of “Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!” I was chanting “Flame retardants, Phthalates, and BPA Oh shit!”. The good news is that in the end it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I was worried it would be an impossible task and that I would have to […]

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