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“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? ” 
― Mary Oliver

I am grateful that through this blog I met so many inspiring families. 

I  would love to hear from you too!

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And just like that she turned 4 ✨ It feels like it was yesterday that she came into the world and her midwife and I took her out, tiny, slippery baby who immediately looked into my eyes and made me realise that we are forever mother and daughter. She taught me the most important lessons ever since and I know she will continue to do so. She makes me laugh and makes me cry and laugh and cry at the same time. She gives me things to reflect on and challenges to overcome. I definitely don’t get bored with her. And never will. These 4 years went by so fast. We traveled on 3 continents and lived together in 5 countries. I wore her in the rain forest in Australia, I nursed her in a shopping centre in Beijing, I watched her walking in the forest in Germany. Her first word was “bye-bye” and her favourite question when she sees something new in a book is “When could we travel to see that?” These 4 years went by so fast. Too fast. It was yesterday that she looked into my eyes with wisdom and wonder, and today she turned 4. Gentle, time, gentle. Don’t fly away too fast.
Baking day- with a 4 y.o. and a 2 months old ✨🤭 So today we had a new adventure and a double challenge: baking together, the 3 of us for the first time + baking my daughter’s birthday cake. It was... well.. how to say? “chaotic” would be an understatement 😄It should have taken us 2 hours all in all. We have started at 10 a.m. It’s 6 p.m. and we are almost done. I could have avoided it and bought her a beautiful cake. But... 1/ my daughter is so proud that she baked her own birthday cake 2/ she is so happy that we finally baked a cake, the first cake after her baby brother was born 3/ and delighted that her mom made something special for her birthday. Because you know, this mom is so busy with this new baby that sometimes she can’t even manage to read her a book without interruption 4/ my son seemed interested in taking part to an activity that involved all of us and seemed to enjoy the smell of hot chocolate 5/ I am so happy to have this gorgeous chocolate cake for breakfast If you want to know more about why cooking with children is important in Montessori, I have added in the bio the link to one of the most popular posts in my blog ✨ And now I’m going to sit and have a cup of tea. Because it was hard work today ☺️
Montessori Baby Mobiles ✨ We have presented the Gobbi Mobile this week and my son is delighted! I’m sharing on the blog our experience with the Montessori mobiles and the link to the Etsy shop of the lovely family who hand made them. The link to this new blogpost is in the bio ✨
Storytelling of the day✨ Each morning we try to connect through our Morning Basket and there is always a little story in it. This morning we read and played this lovely book by Kazuo Iwamura. My daughter loves it since she was 18 months and it’s still a book that we love go back over and over again. You can read more about our Morning Basket on the blog (link in the bio)✨
Mothers’Voices✨ Mothers’ Voices is back in 2019 with a new interview. Today I’m introducing you to Alison Barker, a homeschooling mother to two little girls and a Registered Nutritional Therapist who supports women through their different seasons: fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood… Alison is also hosting a very inspiring podcast “Mothering the Mother” Enjoy this interview where Alison talks about balancing motherhood and work, nurturing ourselves as mothers and finding ways to support each-other. Alison will also share her sources of inspiration as a homeschooling mother. The link is in the bio ✨
Bird ✨ “I’m a bird” she says and wears her collection of feathers she found in our garden or in the neighbourhood so n the past 3 years. Her imagination has no limits, her creativity always finds ways to decorate her hair. One year ago, just before her 3 years old birthday she cut her hair by herself and since then she never stopped trying new haircuts (all self-made) and all sorts of decorations she makes using ribbons, paper, washi tape, flowers from the garden, pieces of fabric, baskets, bands, wool, old clothes that she cuts into pieces and makes hats with... and recently feathers.
❤️ Montessori Mobiles ✨ The Montessori Mobiles might look “just like regular mobiles” but they are much more than that. We have replaced the Munari with the Octahedron a couple of weeks ago and I have immediately noticed a shift in my baby’s awareness when he was interacting with the new mobile. The Octahedron has kept him extremely focused for almost 30 minutes the first time he saw it. Then he started wanting to touch it with his hand and for the first time, he begun to try coordinating his moves in order to get closer to the blue Octahedron. It is amazingly watch how a baby interacts differently with the Montessori mobiles and how they are thought and designed according to a baby’s development. The Octahedron seem to have finished its mission since a couple of days do this weekend we will replace it with the Gobbi Mobile
Homeschooling ✨ This is how mothering looks like today. If you came yesterday though, you would have found us in a very different mood. A crying baby who could not fall asleep, a crying child who could not get her mom read her a book and a crying mom who couldn’t do it all. Mothering has so many seasons. Mothering more than one child is so challenging sometimes but the joy of the moments like this, when we can peacefully sit in the floor and enjoy our time together, are so precious ❤️✨
Happy New Year! ✨ Today it’s the beginning of a New Year according to the Chinese Calendar. It’s the beginning of Spring. We read this gorgeous book that explains the legend of Nian, the terrible monster who frightened villages of fishermen in the old times in China and the tradition of hanging red lamps and making a huge noise in the night before the New Years starts. We immediately felt in love with this gorgeous book printed on rice paper with stunning illustrations. My daughter made some Chinese New Year decorations this morning using origami-paper and washi tape and I’m amazed by the beauty of her work, the little details she added. I have no idea how she knew about the Chinese style decorations for the new year but the one you see in this picture definitely looks like those I saw when we lived in China. She was only a baby so she probably doesn’t remember it in a conscious way but... “The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul.” Maria Montessori

Mothers Abroad

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I’m Cristina, a life coach and a mother who has lived in 6 countries so far.

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