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!

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!

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.

And Then There Were Two

She is quite animated, she has dimples, her eyes seem to tell a story that will be told with wisdom in the future, she loves to stretch, she finds comfort in closeness, she is a messy eater, she smiles and laughs out loud in her sleep, her hair curls up when she cries, her big brother gave her a “tour” of our apartment, he picks out her sleep clothes and kisses her goodnight, she has no streaming tears yet, her feet are absolutely adorable, she loves her pacifier and throws a true conniption each and every time it falls out, and will literally knock your hand away as you try to give it back to her, she falls asleep while and after nursing and wakes up 2 minutes later to finish, she only likes baths when she is draped with warm rags, she hardly sleeps in her crib, she loves riding in her pink and brown stroller, she grunts more than she cries, she loves her boppy, she hates for her hands to be touched, purple is her color, she can stare at an object for a good 3 minutes, she sometimes makes a face of pure disgust when you try to give her the pacifier that she loves so much, she watches television with me, she sucks her arm and fist, you know she is in a deep sleep when she spits the pacifier out, I think she enjoys pooping consecutively after I have changed her diaper consecutively, she is hard to burp, and most importantly she sleeps through the night...she's our little goddess..Halima Ava Marie!



Hi everybody! Well, I am back! Our little family has grown by one and we could not be any happier. Her name is Halima Ava Marie Taylor and she joined us in this world at 10:35am Sunday May 17th at 7 pounds and 3 ounces. My delivery went pretty fast in my opinion, especially in comparison to the delivery of our son, which took around 16 hours. This time it took only 6 hours! I started having contractions Saturday, but they were so sporadic and not that strong, that I did not worry about them. It was not until 3am Sunday morning did I realize that um, hey these are labor contractions. Mind you I did not go into labor on my own with our son, so I honestly did not remember how a real contraction felt, but boy was I reminded. The contractions became faster and much harder as to where I would have to stop mid-walk and kneel down a bit. It was an odd feeling, because for a few seconds you feel absolutely miserable and then for several minutes it's pure bliss. So my mood went in and out from controlled breathing and a bit of tension to laughing and joking around with my husband.

At first they were not sure if they were going to keep me until the nurse saw how hard the contractions were. So after walking from about 4 up until 5:30am the contractions were getting even stronger and quicker. I opted not to go “au natural” with this birth as well, so after the nurse gave me a bit of pain relief I was in total bliss. I'm not going to lie, I felt great. I could still feel when I was having contractions, but the intensity of it was ten times lighter. My husband laughed as I was EXTREMELY relaxed by that point and then came the epidural. Not too shortly after that I found myself pushing so hard that once again, I felt as though I was pushing my organs out..lol. As I felt the shoulders of baby girl come out I took a sigh of relief which was immediately followed up by random questions and thoughts to myself like: will she cry(our sons cord was wrapped around his neck, so it was total silence at first, which had both my husband and I a bit scared)...is she ok, what does she look like, I hope we bond, does she have all ten fingers and toes, and is her head shaped ok..lol.

I was able to watch as they gave her her first bath, something I missed with my son, as they took him out of the room. I could not wait to meet her..to hold her, and to gaze into her eyes. She smelled heavenly and was quite cozy as I nursed her for the first time. I was quite happy..I could not believe it, we now had a baby girl...sweetness, delicateness, gentleness. We named her Halima..which means gentle.

So after all the usual cleanup all I could think about was how I was ready to get out of there. For some reason the nurses and doctors could not comprehend why I wanted to leave the next morning, and I'm like..um, because I would rather not be disturbed every 2 hours for pressure checks and temperature checks and offerings of medicines that I did not want. So we left the next morning with our bundle of joy and have been enjoying her presence since.

10 Things I Hope To Do for My Kids {raising them up}

What things do you hope you instill in your children that they will carry and remember when they are all grown up?

There are so many things that I hope and wish for our children. It is beyond scary when you sit and visualize their future, especially when we as parents know how intense life can get. I always just hope that my husband and I will succeed on teaching them gems of how to get through the rough and smooth patches of it all. Nevertheless, I thought I would share 10 things(yeah, and there are a lot more, but these are the basics...LOL) that I hope to surround,teach, and instill in our kids:

1. I want to cook & bake delectable dishes and sweets that they will talk about when they are all frown up.

2. I want them to reminisce about how their mother was always creating something new.

3. I want them to have a special memory/ritual that they can't wait to share with their own children.

4. I want them to not feel like they have to be obligated to love me, but to love me for who I am with all of my flaws and all.

5. I want them to see that true love can exist between a man and woman.

6. I want them to never fear failure.

7. I want them to always think outside of the box and to be open minded.

8. I want them to remember that if you don't have it or if you cannot afford it then try to create your own!

9. I hope that they will always stay true to their dreams and respect the dreams of others.

10. I want them to carry a huge appreciation for all forms of art, music, and cultures.

Handmade Home {amanda soule}

There are so many mothers out there that are doing amazing things within their careers and within their families, and one mom that never ceases to inspire me is Amanda Soule of Soule Mama. I absolutely adore every aspect of motherhood that she lovingly takes the time to provide and create within her home. I am so inspired by her and I only hope to grow into the type of mother who takes pride in the domestic arts, enjoys teaching my kids at home, instilling free-thought within their minds, and I guess just providing that one-of-a-kind experience that each one of us as mothers have the gift to give!

Ok, so with that said, I wanted to make sure I posted about Amanda's new book entitled "Handmade Home", which is currently available for pre-ordering for just $12.89. This book focuses on re-purposing cherished objects and making them home treasures. Handmade Home will be available August of this year! Also, you may want to pick up her first book called "The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination & Nurture Family Connections", which is filled with so many wonderful ideas on keeping the creative flow within your abode.

One Day You Should Get a Real Job{words from the kiddo}

So, what do you do when you are sitting on the couch watching an Episode of Spongebob Squarepants with the kiddo for the 400th time(because nickelodean loves their repeats) and your little one goes: “You should get a real job like BaBa(this is what he calls his dad)? I was a bit caught off guard with his statement as part of me wanted to laugh and then another part of me felt quite offended and a little paranoid (yes I can get offended by a 5 year old). But it made me think, maybe he really does not understand my role here as a Stay At Home Mom. He knows that his BaBa wakes up every morning, gets dressed, goes out to work, comes home, and makes money. Now with me on the other hand, the only time he feels that I am “working” is when I pull the laptop out.

So, instead of reflecting on all of the articles that I have read on how stay at home moms don't do anything or that they are bored out of their minds (which is totally not the case for myself). I just took that time to explain to him that both his BaBa and myself work, but that we just have different jobs; and that my job was to be a good YaYa(mother). I explained to him that my job was to make sure that he learned, ate his veggies and fruit, and to make our home warm and fun. I also told him that I also work at night on the computer after he has gone to bed.

He seemed to understand and that made me feel good, because even though I am a stay at home mom, the last thing that I would want is for my son to feel that their is no “work” put into such a role. So, if you are stay at home mother yourself, I highly suggest you explain to your kids what you do, your job, your responsibilities, and why your job as well as your husbands are equally important and how you two work together for their sake!

Fort Couch {imagine your playtime}

So, what do you get when you leave me with a five year old, lots of blankets and pillows and a combination of little imaginations and grownup daydreams? You get the "Fort Couch", that's what you get. I'm writing this post from his so called clubhouse in which he insists has windows and a rooftop, yet I see neither...LOL. Nevertheless, I must admit that there is a magical element to playtime "undercover". It's like you are separated from the rest of the world and anything your imagination carries can happen within those few inches..ahem, with that said..do they make big people forts? These "patchwork" forts are my favorite, made with all sorts of blankets carrying different patterns and colors, and the amount of imagination that your child can put into building them is amazing...true architects they are indeed!



Nevertheless, I love that our son has the imagination to build and I always imagine a space where I could make him a teepee to play in outside or a small one for our future house..I can see it now: Him and his little abode upon hardwood floors, flashlights, random toys, and reading books. Aaah! So, with all this talk about play forts and clubhouses I though i would search around a bit to find some cute teepee style tents. needless to say they were all well overpriced but I did find this awesome tutorial on making your own teepee by Meg of Boutique Nutmeg Designs Click here for the tutorial: Make Your Own Teepee



I also ran across Three Monkeys and Sewing, in which she makes the teepees for you at a pretty decent price of $100-175 bucks!

Make Your Own Baby Registry Cards {happy monday}

Happy Monday everybody! I went for my check up for baby this past Friday and everything seems to be fine. She had me have an ultrasound as she wanted to monitor the kidneys after she saw a slight dilation from the previous ultrasound. They are no longer dilated and little baby bella now weighs 3 pounds! During the ultrasound she was yawning and smacking her lips:)

So, I finally finished my registry announcement cards! I hope I have not waited to late, as we have not acquired much for baby yet. But I am sure everything will come together fine. I also have to make the bedding for her crib(bumper & blanket). Oh my, so much to do. I remember when it felt as though we had so much time and now I feel as though March is already over. Here are the registry cards that I sent out this weekend. I did them on the computer and I was a bit tired, so they are not totally up to par as to what I envisioned, but they will do. I registered at both Target & Wal-Mart to make things simple. If you are on a budget such as I, then I highly suggest making your own invites and announcements, heck, even if you are not on a budget, it is still quite fun to make your own!

My Days {little black books & organization}

I recently went through a long period of time where I would re-write, and re-format written out schedules on sheets of notebook paper to help clarify my life and my responsibilities. I had the hardest time trying to figure out how in the heck to organize my days, especially with having so many responsibilities and goals. Well, just recently I finally came up with an idea that seems to keep me inspired and organized and it involves two "little" black books!

I am in charge of the budget for now so I keep a 4 column ledger in which I keep track of EVERY single transaction that is made with our card as well as savings. I also do this for our business accounts as well. I keep small "check" registries at hand for those. In a large 3 ring binder is where I keep my life..LOL! But really, it feels that way. I love this book! I keep EVERYTHING tabbed in here that includes in this order:

In the front I keep a Daily Schedule/To-Do-List & a Two Week Menu(where i try to write down dinner ideas for 14 days) & a Pre-Printed Grocery list with space for special ingredients(I write down ingredients needed for the dinner ideas here & this way by the time i go grocery shopping i will have everything i need already in a list format)

Special Holidays/Birthdays

2009 Calendar

Address of special friends

Categories of My Life: Special Friends, Event Planning, Budget, Ymib, JuBella, Style Gypsy, Inspiring Mama, Crafty Hues, Tulips & Honey, Mery Tut)

Projects-to-Do & Project Wish lists: This is where I keep a running list of craft projects that I need and want to do as well as little notes about the current crafts I'm learning about

Homeschool Tabs: Reading, Writing, Spelling, Phonics, Math, Science, History, geography, Culture, Arts & Crafts, & Culinary(our little one LOVES to cook and says he wants to be a chef, so for now we are entertaining the thought...hey ya never know!)



So, in respect to not making this post into a book, I will spare you the details of each tab and will most likely share many of them in a few "Tips That Work" posts later on. I wanted to share this because like I said, organizing all of our responsibilities within motherhood can be not only challenging but can get really out of hand, which leads to unnecessary stress, & believe me, I have had so many stressful days and still do at times! I use to try to keep all of my life categories organized in separate binders, and it was beginning to get quite aggravating keeping up with them all. Having everything at hand in one binder is so much better!

The funny thing is that once baby arrives and our son starts his homeschool program through k12 this fall(we will register next month..keep your fingers crossed for us as far as getting through the registration process easily), I will have to totally re-arrange all of this! yet for now it works, and I am beyond thankful to have at least some sort of guide to live by!

After All Have Gone To Bed

How Do You End Or Begin Your Days?

As much as I would like to say that I am a morning person, I am just not! I happen to enjoy the late hours of the day when everyone has snuggled up in bed and have fallen off to sleep. This is when I find my quiet time. I take a hot shower/bath, find something good to sip on/snack upon, light a candle, grab my favorite floral/thrifted sheet and nestle in to the corner of my couch. Usually you can find me in this spot up until about 2am blogging, working, budgeting, dreaming, watching either the food network, nick-at-nite or some random movie. I find total peace at night. I have always been that way ever since high school! My favorite is to have a cup of chai and something sweet to keep my taste buds company while I write.

I think it is crucial for all mothers...anyone really, to find that special time within the day as well as a special place that you can just be at peace. A place to daydream, a place to feel inspired. Whether it is morning, night, or mid-day!

Mothering Balance

So, we as mothers tend to have to juggle a lot of little things that tend to snowball into one big enormous task that at many times can be truly hard to carry. I have found myself writing and re-writing, and formatting, and re-formatting a daily schedule for myself for months now; and while I think I have a decent schedule to follow, I find it quite hard to actually...well..follow it!

It's funny how life may seem complicated, but for the most part it can be very easy to manage if one can learn and discipline themselves to manage themselves properly. I find that when I fight the ongoing battle with procrastination, and push myself to put things back where they belong, that my life and my day to day tasks just flow perfectly. I think that life is about not only living within this world, but understanding that their must be balancement, and sometimes we may not be able to accomplish each and everything on our list, but, we can accomplish a portion of the tasks, and set goals to accomplish them over time.

When you can spread your patience amongst the time allowed within the week to accomplish your tasks..that to me is balancement. Balancement is not accomplishing one thing while letting something else fall under but allowing yourself to focus and nurture each task for a given amount of time during the day until it is done by the end of the week or month, or however long it takes to complete it.

So, as I learn by trial and error the art of balancing it all, I hope to learn more about myself, my standards, and to set a good impression for my children to live by. If I ever had to tell my children something to live by on my death bed, I would say: “live simple, live organized, and lived balanced”.

Question: How do you try to stay organized and balanced throughout your goals and days? Any helpful mama tips? Please share by leaving a comment!

Welcome To Inspiring Mama {enjoy}

Oh hi there! I finally got around to getting this blog up and running. So, let me start off by introducing myself.

About The Blog:
Inspiring Mama is a blog that I not only wanted to create to categorize my life as a stay at home/home-schooling mom & wife, artist, and writer, but a blog that I felt would really help keep me inspired to be a better mom each time I come here to post or share a motherly rant! LOL. Here on Inspiring Mama you will find an eclectic mix of my days within motherhood, creative mothering & teaching ideas, recipes & menus, as well as product highlights & reviews of all the things that I'm currently loving!

About The Mama:
My name is Ericka & I am a stay at home mom of a 5 year old little boy(Imsety) who is filled to the rim with creativity and imagination, and we are expecting another bundle of energy next May! I create within a home with my talented husband Dante, as we strive to make our dreams of raising a free and creative family come true. I heart all things creative and hate anything ordinary, anything taken to the extreme, and overly mainstream style & opinions(hey, I'm an artist, I like my individualism!) In between picking up toys over and over and over, and cooking dinner, and folding laundry, and all the other things we mothers have on our to do lists, I enjoy painting, creative cooking, arts & crafts, hot chai tea after everyone has gone to bed, mid-day naps, fashion, decor/design, and well, basically any and everything that inspires a creative life!

So, I hope you enjoy my little abode for motherhood! Leave a comment should you feel compelled, or simply drop by to pay a visit or two, either way I'm glad you came to visit!