Kelle, Author at Enjoying the Small Things

ETST Behind the Business: Teaplicity

April 17, 2013 By Kelle

Before I introduce today’s sponsor (whose interview answers are worth the read!), I have to say a few things.

First of all, thank you for your responses to yesterday’s post. I have so many e-mails to go through and am still reading your comments on the post and on Facebook, and–just, thank you. Thank you for being respectful and kind and understanding with a subject that often riles those “but I know I’m right” feelings. While there were many people who believe differently, of course (yay! we’re different! that’s okay! halleluiah! high five!), I felt, for the most part, there was great discussion–passion with kindness. That’s how I learn the most. And different opinions expressed that way–with love? They look all colorful and beautiful when they’re together.

Also, I was glad the post coincidentally fell on a day that called for love and some of those “Dear Gods.” I said them last night, and I share them with the rest of the world. For Boston. For those who are hurting; for those who help the hurting. You are in our thoughts and prayers, Boston. Amen.

Today, we looked for love and found it in many places. We slowed down. We heard some of Dash’s first coos and goos and, my favorite, the “ga-ahhhh!” that he tries so hard to muster so that when it’s finally released, it startles him. Big eyes and that bottom lip.

Now, Oh Canada! Google Analytics shows there are a lot of you friends out there. And since our book club offer was limited to the US, our sponsor today makes up for it a little bit–it’s just for Canadians (at least for now–opening to US soon). And all those other countries? If you’re still reading, we love you too.

Teaplicity is a family-run tea business. The website itself is an experience– the flavors, the descriptions, the thought behind every product, every business choice. If there’s one thing for sure, this family knows tea; and it’s not just the tea, it’s the ritual of tea. A simple life pleasure. From fruit, spice and classic teas to creamy blends like buttered rum and white chocolate, Teaplicity offers an impressive range of flavors and types–all premium blends, all natural flavors. Or shall I say, flavours. Love that u.

White chocolate (with a little cream and sugar) is my favorite so far. I tried several of these teas over the weekend, and every one of them was delicious and unique. Also–happy hour teas. Enough said.

Teaplicity provides great explanations of every tea to help you choose and, in addition to loose leaf, offers convenient bag tea (finer cut tea leaves) as well as tea products–tea pots, steeping pockets, etc.

I hope you’ll enjoy Nicole’s interview–the mama behind Teaplicity–as much as I did. I loved what she wrote about incorporating her kids into her business to teach them entrepreneurship (saw on Instagram the other day, her ten year old was having fun photographing teas).

1.) So I’ve tasted many of your teas and love them. And your site is a beautiful mecca of tea. So, why tea? What got you started in this business and how have you been inspired to bring good tea to the masses?

I was travelling to urban (read snooty) tea shops to buy my loose leaf tea, and I noticed a lot of customers would timidly try to select a tea through their confusion. I recognized the opportunity to simplify tea for us busy folks/mamas who want to find the perfect tea fit without having to earn a PhD in tea terminology. You will see this simplicity reflected in the layout of my website and in tea descriptions that are simple and sometimes humorous. Spending your hard earned dollars should not be hard – hence the name Teaplicity! Also, tea is one of the little pleasures in life that feels like a big indulgence. Like most mothers, I make the family budget work by taking care of everyone else and holding back for myself. Tea is a great way to feel like I’m getting something special for myself without breaking the bank.

2.) I love that you are a family-run business, and you say it’s important that your kids are involved in decisions and business practices. Explain why this is important to you and how you do this.

I had the incredible experience of starting up and running a successful and profitable company when I was twelve years old through a program called Junior Achievement. I credit the program for a lot of my confidence and skills. I wanted my children to experience the same challenges, risks, and rewards of entrepreneurship. Ethan (10) and Tessa (5) were involved in selecting the company name, logo, and product packaging. We talk a lot about ethical business decisions because tea is grown in developing countries (all our teas come from estates certified by the ethical tea partnership, which is similar to fair trade for coffee). Ethan attends business meetings where he is simply introduced as my business partner, and I have yet to see anyone bat an eyelash that I would bring a 10-year-old to discuss business. With guidance and in his best suit and tie, he has learned to confidently shake hands and discuss the Teaplicity concept with others. Ethan is a wonderful promoter of Teaplicity, and I’ve overheard him talking about ‘his’ business with his friends. Children are capable of understanding and doing so much more than we give them credit for sometimes, and I value their opinion when making business decisions. It has been enjoyable and memorable for us to spend time building something together.

3.) I love how you express an appreciation not just for tea itself but for the ritual of tea, particularly the beauty of loose leaf tea. (I agree!) Care to elaborate?

I love the ritual of making a hot cup of tea for that rare quiet moment amidst the daily chaos of life with a young family. I love the ritual of catching up with your best girlfriend over a steaming pot of beautiful loose leaf tea. And the ritual of serving a decadent chocolate tea to my family after a holiday dinner. Or enjoying quality steeped tea in my travel mug while watching my daughter’s ballet class or my son’s hockey game. Tea just enhances life’s small moments. And while it’s true that I personally adore the ritual of loose leaf tea, I understand why some women choose to use teabags for reasons of time and convenience. While most (again, snooty) tea shops would never dream of including teabags in their product line, we pride ourselves on providing a huge selection of high-quality teabags for our customers who might just go over the edge by adding even one more thing to their day. I have so been there, my friends, and I am not here to judge you!

4.) So, what’s your favorite tea and what does your tea ritual look like in your home?

Preparing tea is a reminder for me to be fully in the moment for a few minutes each day. Being present-of-mind allows me to engage all of my senses. I take in the beauty of the tea leaves as I scoop them from the tin, and I watch as they uncurl and dance in the hot water. I smell the wonderful the aroma. And, oh, the taste of the first sip from every cup – pure bliss! I never feel guilty taking a few moments to myself to enjoy this sensory overload as I know the laundry pile and child pulling at my pant leg will still be there after the last drop. It’s so hard to choose a favourite tea! I really enjoy the creamy teas from our vanilla collection, mmmm, and of course the chocolate teas. I’m working on several exclusive new blends right now so I’m trying something different all the time.

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Teaplicity often runs giveaways on their Facebook page and has created a nice collection of Mother’s Day gifts (something besides slippers! yay!) for you.

I spent a lot of time going through Teaplicity’s site and tasting their teas, and I’m really proud to have them as a sponsor. So much thought behind this business and such a great example of how one mama’s idea and passion can be expanded to teach lessons to a family while helping provide for it.

Welcome, Teaplicity.
And Hellooooooo, Canada!

A Faith for my Children

April 15, 2013 By Kelle

Five Children’s Bible Books. That’s what I found tucked away on our overstuffed bookcase this weekend while cleaning and sorting our ever growing stash. I have to admit, I didn’t buy any of them. With the exception of one that came from a sweet group of readers I Skyped with last year, I think grandparents can be accounted for the rest—gifts that carried the subtle plea of Dear-God-please-don’t-let–my-grandchildren-grow-up-heathen.

It’s not that I need the little Bibles to learn the stories in them. I know every single one of them by heart—how Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day, how God sent a rainbow after saving Noah from the flood, how a great big whale swallowed Jonah because he wouldn’t go to Ninevah to preach God’s word. These stories were taught to me from early Children’s Bible days of giggling at pictures of fig leaves covering Adam and Eve’s—ahem, privates— to somewhere in my early twenties when I stopped going to church.

I flipped through the pages of a few of them yesterday and tried to remember the last time I read these to the girls. By Lainey’s age, I not only had been read these stories and sang their tunes (“Who Built the Ark? Noah, Noah!”), but I knew their lessons—yes, that God loved us, but also: Don’t Piss Off God. He might send a flood or turn you into a salt pillar.

The latter lessons are the reason teaching faith to my children is a complex subject, one I stew over quite a bit. I was submerged in church for more than half my life, experiencing both the good—fond memories of flannel graph Sunday school lessons, church potlucks and Nativity plays—as well as the screwed up: fear, fear, judgment, fear. Oh, and we-are-superior-to-those-who-don’t-believe-like-us. The combination makes for a hell of a faith identity crisis. It’s taken me years to reprogram my brain and heart and replace the painful scars of judgment and empty guilt with love; even now, I struggle.

For a long time, I viewed my faith issues much like I view my house when it gets too messy—I stand back, take it all in, conclude the mess is too overwhelming, so I make a cup of coffee and walk away. But then I had babies and babies started growing up. And when babies start growing up, you begin thinking about everything you believe—how it matters, how it transfers, how the responsibility of passing things on suddenly bears weight. For six years, I’ve been asking myself “What do I believe?” Because, honestly…I don’t know. I do know that I believe in God, that God is Love, and that there’s enough truth in that statement to provide everything I need to teach my children about faith.

My friends and I have been talking a lot more about these issues as our kids are at the age of asking questions. Last week, Lainey and her friend Aleena were overheard discussing heaven—how when they went there, they’d make sure to take their favorite toys and blankets, as if it was just a summer road trip. Heidi’s daughter pointed out an image in the story of Noah’s Ark in her children’s Bible last week—a picture of a woman standing on a rock, holding a baby while flood waters swirled around her—the “unsaved,” apparently.

“What’s going to happen to that woman and her baby?” Peyton asked her.

“I didn’t know what to say,” Heidi admitted. “So I told her Noah was going to swing the ark back around to pick her up—he was on his way.”

I smiled. “Bravo.”

This is the exact reason why I’m not so sure of what role the Bible—the book that literally guided every decision and thought in my life for years—will play in lessons I teach my children. And my former self would be quivering with fear right now for the blasphemy I just typed. I did that a lot—quivered with fear. Say the word “rapture” and my knees go weak. Among meaningful stories of love and kindness, there are a lot of passages in the Bible that make God out to be He Who Demands and He Who Punishes. And for fun, He Who Tests You to See How Much You Love Him. As a mother who understands a little bit about loving children, these concepts aren’t things that align with the ultimate truth of parenthood (that’s what God is, after all)—Love.

I know that I want my children to know the limitless love of God.

I also know that I want my children to know their worth—worth that doesn’t hinge on things they do or the way they believe.

Although I believe in God and am confident of his presence in my life, I have a hard time teaching my kids statements like “we are nothing without God” or “you won’t know the answers until you ask God to help you.” Those teachings crippled qualities within me for years and, for a long time, paralyzed me from thinking for myself. I want my children to know that God made us all equal—that we are amazing from the start, that we are equipped with greatness and good decision making capabilities just because we exist. There are plenty of people who don’t, per say, “believe in God” who are living their one wild and precious lives with significance—founding organizations to help those in need, spreading kindness, choosing good, loving, loving, loving every day. They are happy and living a life with purpose. Their God might not be defined by my terms—perhaps they call him a higher power, the Universe, their inner self, what have you. But they are in no way less deserving of what we all are entitled to—love, albeit here on earth or life after death. I will tell my children to learn from these people and listen to them. Sometimes I think I’ve learned more about God and love and kindness from good people who believe differently than me than I ever learned within the establishments intended to teach the world about God.

But I also realized I’ve made the mistake of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as they say. Because of the pains of my past, for a long time I blacklisted all of it—organized religion, church, Bible studies. I thought I escaped the black hole all these people were tricked into believing, and I realize that’s just the kind of judgment I thought I was better than. Thinking I’ve got the truth, and they don’t. I left one kind of arrogance and replaced it with another.

I’ve since readjusted those beliefs, picking up a lot of the broken pieces of the faith of my past and realizing they’re not all bad. I quite like many of them and look forward to reincorporating lessons and experiences of that old faith into the truest faith I’ve known so far—an evolving one. One of love and kindness and acceptance both for those around us and for our less than perfect selves. I like feeling small compared to something, someone bigger, and I call that bigger thing God. I pray to him every day not so much in “Dear Gods” but in Be kind, How can I help?, Come sit by me, Let’s take a walk, Look at that!, Thank you, I’m sorry and I love you.

What my Sunday morning looks like: God is very present.

I am truly learning this year to open myself up and learn from others—to listen; to be curious, not judgmental. In my closest core of friends, I have a few Protestants, a few Catholics, an Atheist, two Agnostics, a Buddhist, a Hindu and several who don’t have names for their faith. I am intrigued by each of their beliefs and learn from all of them. It’s amazing how, when we look at our beliefs with different perspectives, so many of us really do believe in the same important life truths.

So, what to teach my children?

Well, just in typing this, I’m feeling confident that my children know God. You know, last year I had this random moment of guilty panic that I wasn’t telling my kids the things about God that I was supposed to teach them—the Sunday school basics, the Children’s Bible stories I wasn’t reading to them. We were driving, and for some reason, I suddenly felt like I had to do something to catch up for all my kids didn’t know—something right now in this car to get it started. We’d begin with creation.

“Lainey, do you know who made the trees?” I asked her. She looked at me like I was crazy. She didn’t answer so I went on.

“God did. God made the trees,” I told her, repeating something I had been taught as a child and consequently sighing a breath of relief for completing the first course of Godly wisdom for children. The grandparents would be so proud.

But there was a rebuttal from the back seat.

“No he didn’t,” Lainey argued. “Someone planted them.” Ah truth, my little Darwinist.

I realized I was being silly. The details of creation, the many stories, whether they be allegory or not—they aren’t as important as the truth we live every day. Love. Love this earth, love each other, love yourself. I am teaching that to my children through terms that literally include God but more so through events that breathe him. We pray “Dear God” when we remember to say the words, but we live “Dear God” when we forget.

And with all the unanswered questions I have right now about faith and my mission to explore them simply by living and learning from others, I’ve never felt closer to God in my life. I am confident my children will know him too.

I’ll end this with a story my dad once told me. A woman in a faraway country, who knew nothing of religion or God, had a son who grew very ill. Desperate to save him, she tried everything—village witch doctors, potions, medicine—until finally, she threw her hands into the sky and prayed to a higher being she knew nothing of. “Please,” she pleaded, “if you’re there, save my son and I will serve you my entire life.” The woman’s son became well and, although she knew nothing of this higher being she prayed to and believed saved her son, she did things she knew to be good—things she thought to be of service. She was kind, she helped others, she tried to make good choices, she loved, she practiced selflessness. One day missionaries came to her village and taught the people about their God, how he loved them, how their lives could be changed if they gave their heart in service to him. The woman smiled and patted her heart. “Oh, I’ve been serving him for a long time,” she said. “I just didn’t know his name was God.”

Last night, we said a real “Dear God” prayer before bed. I started with “Thank you for—,” and Lainey filled in the rest. Food, her mommy and daddy, her siblings, her friends, her puppy blanket, hair ties, pink crayons, Dora shampoo. And then we prayed for those who are hurting, for those in need. “Let them feel love,” I said, “and let us find ways to give love.” We talked about what it means to feel and give love. “Like when you color a picture for someone?” Lainey asked.

Yes, that.

Sometimes we make things so much more complex than they need to be.

Behind the Business: ETST Sponsor, Little Illustrator

April 12, 2013 By Kelle

I fell in love with the artwork of Jennifer Zetts as soon as I clicked on her shop, The Little Illustrator. Full of, as Jennifer describes, “cutesy quirky” illustrations, The Little Illustrator offers unique, colorful drawings guaranteed to add happiness to your home.

From the color palette and fun quotes to the simple playful characters Jennifer draws, The Little Illustrator art makes me smile.

Love seeing her art in our home:

Left: “You’re my Sweetheart” art, Right: Custom Family Art she created for us

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And I like giving you the chance to know the mama and artist behind this business. Meet Jennifer:

1.) How did you learn to draw? Were you always a “doodler” and it just evolved into your unique style or did you have some sort of art training?

I have always been a doodler but growing up I never liked art. All through elementary school and middle school, I dreaded going to art class. It wasn’t until high school that I found my love and appreciation for art. I’m not sure if it was because of my art teacher, my maturing, or a combination of both, but I found a passion for art. I remember sitting up late at night teaching myself to draw more realistic portraits using the grid method. I would sit for hours and hours erasing and redoing it until I felt like it was perfect. Although I spent quite a few years drawing realistically, it never felt like my style. It didn’t feel natural is the best way to describe it. I continued to draw and paint for years before I grew into my own unique style.

2.) I love how a lot of your art incorporates drawings with funny/cute/motivating captions. Where do you get your ideas/how do they come to you? (my best ideas sometimes come while I’m half-sleeping, so I keep a pen and paper by my bed).

My ideas come from my life and my family. Being a mother is a HUGE part of my life. I have a 16 year old daughter and 4 babies 3 years and under. Inspiration is never short in supply around here. There is a lot of love in my life, but at times there is just as much messiness. I try to tap into the messy parts of motherhood, or life, just as much as the sweet parts. Life can be hard. Motherhood can be even harder. Some of my most favorite prints come from some of the messiest times in my life.

3.) Do you have a favorite print in your shop or an illustration that has an especially good story behind it?

My most favorite print I have ever done is “You Are Our Perfect”. It will always have a very special place in my heart. The print is inspired by my sweet Camden. Before I had Camden, I remember going to ultrasounds and my biggest concern was about whether the baby had ten fingers and toes. It was like if the baby had the correct fingers and toes that meant that the coast was clear. That everything was going to be ok. I know for a fact that I didn’t once give a serious thought about genetic abnormalities, syndromes, feeding difficulties, hypotonia, etc. It’s funny how mother’s intuition works. Sometimes it’s not until we look back that we as mothers realize how right we really were. How we weren’t being crazy from lack of sleep or the emotions of the moment. That what we felt was more right than anyone could have ever imagined. When I held Camden in my arms for the very first time, the last thing I thought was how perfect he looked. I couldn’t even physically see him because my eyes were so filled with tears. I knew something was wrong with Camden after holding him for all of 10 seconds. I just didn’t know what. I remember unswaddling his arms and legs. Counting fingers and toes through blurry eyes, like that would somehow erase the sick feeling I felt and reassure me that everything was indeed alright. Dr’s and nurses reassured me that “everything was perfect with my baby” and that “he couldn’t be more perfect.” Turns out, depending on your definition of perfect, Camden was born perfect. Camden was born with a chromosomal abnormality, a slew of other health issues, and last week was diagnosed with autism. He has had a rough road in his short life, but he is truly one of the most amazing people I know. Camden is exactly as he was meant to be. He truly is perfect, although I’m sure there is a dozen Dr’s that would be the first to say he is the furthest thing from. Who he is is who we fell in love with and love. His heart is amazing and I wouldn’t wish for him to be any different than the 2 1/2 year old he is today. He is most definitely our perfect.

4.) How does a normal work day happen for you? Do you set aside a specific time to create/draw? Do you have a designated space where you create your art? (your own office/studio?)

With 5 kids, there is never ever a normal work day. If an idea comes to me, I find the nearest piece of paper that’s not stuck together, or that doesn’t have a stray sticky fruit snack on it, and I scribble/sketch it out. My life is crazy busy, but my art is what keeps me centered and grounded. When I draw, I feel like me. I try to make time for it everyday, even if it’s just for 20 min before bath time. I have a corner in our bedroom that is my studio. I dream of having my own studio someday with windows with flower boxes and cute curtainsmand multi colored Christmas lights everywhere. For now though, the corner works.

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Find the perfect little piece of happiness for your home, for a friend, for your mama, for your sister, for your baby’s room. The Little Illustrator has a whole slew of happies. Jennifer also creates custom art, so if you have something in mind, send her a message!

This one slayed me. First born love, baby.

Welcome to our little ETST things home, Little Illustrator. You fit right in.