Inspiring Mama: Amanda {mandajuice}

Every now and then I will be highlighting some of the most inspiring mamas in the blogosphere..lol. I have sent out many interview requests and cannot wait to share their motherly inspiration here on Inspiring Mama. First up in our inspiring mama collection is Amanda of Mandajuice. Enjoy...she shares some great words of motherly wisdom & advice!
Who: Amanda
Where: Mandajuice
Why: I really enjoy Amandas humorous in your face sort of writing style on her blog, I like her honesty, her love for her children, her amazing dedication to taking photos and videos of her children and family, and I am beyond inspired by her weight loss story. You can find parts 2-9 on the left rail of her blog.
Occupation: Writer! Aspiring novelist.
Hometown: Vancouver, WA
Number of Children: 2
Her Perfect “Me Time”: Couch, coffee, Kindle.


Inspiring Mama: What do you enjoy the most about motherhood & what do you least like about it that you wish you could change?

Amanda: The answer to both questions is the same: the decibel level. I love having a chaotic house filled with noise. But sometimes I wish they'd all shut up so I could read.

Inspiring Mama: Since becoming a mother, what have you learned from your kids about yourself and or life?

Amanda: I've learned that we're all born into our personalities. When you have one kid, you get this God complex where you actually believe that you have a say in who they become. By the time you have two, you realize you have NOTHING to do with it. We are all born to be the people we become. I should have known this before having kids because I come from a big family. All four of my brothers and sisters and I are so totally different that it's impossible to imagine we share any DNA. But we do. I love watching old home videos because I was just as bossy and independent at six as I am now. I try to take a lot of videos of my kids because I'm sure some day they'll look back and see that they were always themselves. I'll never try to change them.

Her Recipes: Cashew Chicken,Simple Pizza Crust, Mushroom Orzo Pasta, Tasty Roasted Cauliflower.



Inspiring Mama: What do you hope your child(ren) will learn from you and carry with them through life?

Amanda: Optimism. Enthusiasm. Logic. I mostly just want them to embrace those personalities they were born into. And read. I hope my children love words as much as I do.

Inspiring Mama: Considering you were a financial planner before becoming a stay at home mom, do you have any tips or advice for managing the family finances?

Amanda: I think my biggest piece of advice is the simplest one: HAVE A PLAN. I repeat: HAVE. A. PLAN. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see families living paycheck to paycheck, never achieving any goals because they never SET any. It doesn't matter how much money you make, you still need to be the captain of your own ship, even if the winds aren't blowing in the right direction.


Inspiring Mama: Just for fun, describe the perfect meal for your son, and the perfect ,meal for your daughter?

Amanda: Both kids love macaroni and cheese (Annie's organic white cheddar shells) with chocolate milk.

Mimi Lou {whimsical decals}

OMG I love these! How cute. This company called MIMI'Lou out of France creates some of the most cutest wall decals for the little tots. These are my favorites. I also wanted to post this because for those of us that cannot afford such a splurge for the little ones, these sort of images can work for all the artsy moms by using a stencil transfer or freehand drawing of your own designs onto a wall or nestled within a corner or two, or you could use different fabric patterns to fill in shapes such as circles, mushrooms, hearts, and flowers!

Organize It {ikea shelves}

You know, I have re-arranged Sety's room so many times and have purged lots of toys that he has outgrown and even items that he has "collected" from around the house and turned into toys, but no matter what I do, he still seems to find a way to make a huge mess with random little trinkets. I do not necessarily blame him for the untidiness. My theory is that if I had a better way of keeping his room ORGANIZED, then he would have an easier time keeping it tidy.

Whenever we move to our next home (I just do not feel like re-decorating this apartment of ours) I want to design his room with lots of "cubby" holes, wide bookshelves, and plenty of organized spaces. One thing about decorating a child's room is that we as moms can get a little bit unrealistic. Sometimes we try to make it LOOK good and we tend to forget about the practicality of it for the little ones...lol.

So while browsing the web for inspiration, I came across a cool flickr group called "Ikea Shelves". I grew quite fond of these shelves featured in an array of kids rooms!

FunChi! {sweet baby knits for fall}

This post makes me daydream of the upcoming Christmas season. Can you believe that Fall is just around the corner? Oh my, where did the year 2009 go?

I recently ran across this lovely knitted organic baby clothing line called FunChi House of Inspiration. They are all lovingly made by Mateja in Slovenia. I love the style and the colors she uses...perfect for the upcoming fall and winter seasons; and to know that they are all organic makes them even sweeter. I would so love to have this pair for baby Halima. Cute!

Hello There...

Hi there to all my fellow inspiring mamas out there! I am so excited to have many of you following this little abode of mine! I am forever inspired by so many of you out there. It amazes me as to how many moms there are who carry a passion for creative motherhood, homeschool education, and crafting a warm home. I hope to bring more posts to Inspiring Mama which will highlight the many creative and inspiring mothers that I have stumbled upon in my blog hopping.

So, things have been a bit busy around here. Imsety has officially started the k12 kindergarten homeschool program. Me being me, I thought that I would get all advantageous and try waking up at 7am to start school at 9am...needless to say that is so not going to work for me. I am NOT a morning person, I NEVER have been. I find that my creative spirit comes alive at night, and many times quite late at night, so waking up at 7am after being up until 2 or 3am does not do my body any good. So I am being a bit more realistic with my schedule and have decided to start his schooling at 10am and I will wake up around 8:30 or 9am. Funny how much an hour or two can make, but I definitely feel more at ease starting a bit later in the morning. Our schooling lasts for about 4 hours and we take an hour lunch break and a 15 minute snack break as well. Imsety is loving the k12 program thus far. He even woke up at 7am, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and made up his bed and had on his back pack Monday morning(which was the first day of school). Little did he know that I had no plans to start until about 9am. He is so funny! He's adjusting well though, as the television consumption has pretty much dwindled down during the day. I let him watch it while we have lunch and then allow him to turn it back on around 3pm.

In other news, I have launched two more blogs...yes..please do not consider me crazy..lol. I honestly use blogging as a tool of visual reflection,organizing my life goals, and a way to reach out for inspiration as well as a way to offer inspiration for anyone who cares to listen. The first new blog is a food blog all about cooking and foodie inspiration called Bohemian Plates. The other is my baking/dessert blog called Copper Sweets. I heart them both and they are so much fun to blog to when I have the time to do so. I have tons of recipes scattered in a binder and I sort of felt like I was overwhelming this blog with food posts, which is not what I intended for Inspiring Mama. So I will resume with the 14 day meal plans and will link off to Bohemian Plates and Copper Sweets when it comes to the recipes!

I really want Inspiring Mama to flourish into a portal featuring not only my ideas and forms of inspiration but also a hub to learn about other creative moms around the world, and I am beyond elated to have you all on board.

I'm also in the midst of trying to loose my baby weight from having Halima this past May...35 pounds to be exact. I must be crazy because I continuously ask myself: "why oh why did you decide to launch a dessert blog while trying to loose weight?"...lol. Needless to say it will be challenging because I will be baking and experimenting for Copper Sweets, but eating it all is another story. I've asked the hubby to take the majority of my concoctions into work so that I will not pig out on sweets all week!

Ok, so that pretty much sums of the latest happenings. I must say that if you do not find me here, you can always find me on one of my other 6 blogs listed on the right rail. I tend to blog to different ones according to my mood at the time, so catch me if you can!

Livie and Luca {adorable little shoes}

Oh how adorable! I love these cute shoes for the little tikes over at Livie and Luca. They are super durable with a cost of $47...not terribly bad for chic baby style!

Clean Inspiration {the laundry room}

I have always wanted to makeover my cleaning regimen and one thing in particular that I have been meaning to do is to get rid of all the clashy boxes and bottles that the laundry detergent and cleaning supplies come in. In fact, I have done this with our cereal. I made some simple white drop cloth bags to keep our cereal in because there is nothing more irritating to me than seeing a bunch of cereal boxes lined up on top of the fridge.



This photo pretty much sums up what I envision in my head. This idea really does make a difference in how you feel when you go to do laundry or tidy up. I actually have a few of these type of bottles(mine look just like these and are french lemonade bottles in which you can find them in the soda aisle at the market). I mean for most of us cleaning is not a pretty task, so why not add a little decorative flair to such a mundane activity and make cleaning a bit more cute!

Currently Loving {sunsets & lemonade}

I am currently loving...

The smell of blooming roses, the scent of lavender and cedarwood candles, and freshly squeezed lemonade in pretty glass jars... I think that every home in the spring and summer should be adorned with fresh flowers and candles. I especially like to light mine after all is clean and tidy!


Learning to count money with the little one... After doing some printable math worksheets that I printed on the web, I grabbed some toys from his room and put prices on them. Then I would ask him what he wanted to "buy" and he would have to read the amount and get the correct amount from his bank to give to me. If he gives me the correct amount, he gets to keep "buy" it and if not, he has to put it back and try again.


Blooming tomatoes...I hope to get a few more herbs and flowers this weekend. I will be sure to share pics if I do!


Cotton candy and ocean blue sunsets beyond my window...


Halima and her BaBa napping...


& homemade cardboard forts handcrafted by little hands!

Dimples & Dandelions {bedding to build a dream on}

Oh how darling. Not only do I love the name of the website "Dimples & Dandelions", but I adore these bedding collections for girls! From pretty and frilly to simple and chic, these designs are sure to make your little girl feel like the magical princess she is!

Preparing Dinner Early {tips that work}

Many of us can relate to the all to familiar "rush hour" within our homes. You know, that block of time somewhere between 4:30 and 7:00pm, when you find yourself running around the house trying to: pick up toys, cook dinner, tidy up, clear the sink from breakfast and lunch, all while you waste a bit of time trying to chat it up on your twitter or facebook accounts.

This is the usual for me, but I have realized that with me being a stay at home mom, I can take maximum advantage of scheduling my time to the best of my ability to keep my sanity in tact! So, I say all this to highly recommend to you all who are stay at home moms to give cooking dinner early(before 5pm)a try; and be sure to clean up and transfer any food to your tupperware afterwards, because you do not want to have to deal with that after dinner either!

For those of you who work, you should definitely invest in a slow cooker and a meal plan. This way when you get home from work you either already have the meal prepared from the slow cooker, and with a planned menu, you will not find yourself staring into the fridge wondering what to cook because you have already planned and scheduled it out.

Nevertheless, it feels great to have the rest of the day/evening with no rushing around in a hot kitchen and missing out on dinner around the table, and it cuts down on clean up time after dinner when all you want to do is relax!

Great Gardens for Kids {creative ideas}

Recently we went to our local library and I ran across this book called "Great Gardening With Kids". While most of the book did not offer up the "wow" factor, I did find these photos to be quite inspirational. I cannot wait to have a backyard to grow fresh veggies, fruits, and plants for our home.

I think these little grass sitting pots are absolutely adorable! I can picture setting these around a bright and cheerfully colored table in the backyard, making it a great little spot to play and color in the spring and summer days. The rustic bird feeder branches are fantastic as well! You could change them out seasonally with different fruits and nuts.



I also thought that this in-laid playing "table/floor"& painted tire sandbox was genius!

When I Grow Up I Want To Be An Artist {when a mother creates}

Motherhood Is Art...Balancing the art of motherhood and creativity can sometimes come easy but many times it is quite a task to master. I appreciate this documentary entitled "Who Does She Think She Is" regarding being a mother and an artist collectively. I have always wanted to be an artist and a stay at home mother. In fact while I was still in high school I told my mother that these were my life goals. She did not discourage me with words like "well, you can be a career woman", but she nodded her head, gave me a smile, and said "That's A Good Thing", and I forever appreciate her for that response. I think that if she had shown any dis-agreement about it, it could have reshaped my thoughts and values. Nevertheless, while attending the Savannah College of Art & Design, I feel that I started out on the right path towards becoming an artist, yet with the interventions of life and motherhood, I must say that my creative spirit took a back seat for quite some time.

Now I feel have a bit more clarity when it comes to my creative time and goals, which is why I started my craft blog: Crafty Hues. I truly feel that creativity and motherhood goes hand in hand. I tell everyone that "A Mothers Creativity Can Save The World." As corny as it may sound, I truly believe this! Imagine a world where our mothers used ALL of their forms of creative expression and love to raise their children..imagine the level of confidence this world could have! I hear a lot of moms say that they are not creative, but I beg to differ...we create life, therefore, we can develop creativity within any shape and form.

So, as I grow up and as each day sets and rises, I hope to become an artist, but not just the kind of artist that creates beautiful paintings and decadent designs, but the kind of artist that also creates a masterpiece within my family..and with the help of my husband...sculpting each of my kids as you would on a potters wheel..with gentleness, creativity, and thought. We as mothers are all artists...as we bring out the art of life with each creative moment that we offer up to our families.