beautiful wildflower

nursery signs are one of my all time favorites to make. thank you to all of the mamas who have chosen us to create the art displayed over the miracle that is the sweetest, coolest, (grossest), most amazing tiny thing you’ve ever created. 👶🏼

my best friend + i were the typical middle school girls who (wore too much eyeliner) + planned our double weddings + double pregnancies. little did we know that 15 years later— we actually would have baby girls at the same time.

i was more than honored to create this sign for you @ashhhleylento...Em can’t wait to hang out in Lu’s room + talk about having babies together like their mamas did. 🖤

his rock collection

my dad has been using resin for a couple years on live edge wood (i’m telling you, my humans are crafty) + resin always intimidated me because of the precision + lack of true control over the medium. i love a good challenge.

i went with geodes in memory of a very special human. a family man, proud italian + science teacher. but not any science teacher, the one who genuinely loved + lived the subject, with a huge heart for teaching the littles — the science teacher his students talked about well into adulthood. my grandfather had the B E S T geode + rock collection + i remember his explanations of where the stones/crystals came from + how they were formed— backed by hard science, strong faith + always a little room for mystery.

agate was originally found by a river in italy, referred to in the bible as “treasures hid in the sand,” + geodes are often referred to as “blossoms of the rock.” each geode tells their story- the experience of transforming from sand into gems of real worth. too much thought for a monday? you decide.

these ones are for you, Papa.🖤🤙🏽✨

back to the mental health world

this mama is back to work (part time) after an extended maternity leave. i’ve been in the mental health field for over 10 years + this upcoming spring marks my 5th in the emergency world.

so let’s take a quick side step from talking about products (although i couldn’t go back without a SAS lanyard, duh) to talk about mental health.

call me a nerd but grad school + physical health obstacles have turned me a research fanatic. i’m not the gal on google, but the one buried under a stack of empirical articles (with coffee + more coffee). since COVID began, there have been exponential spikes in worsening mental health outcomes, substance use + suicide (cdc). community-level efforts + strategies are not only important, but C R U C I A L to prevention + intervention. many parts of the system have adapted V E R Y well to new/adapted methods of treatment + access to that treatment. isolating, although necessary, truly isn’t good for anyone + unfortunately this spike didn’t come as a surprise. a global pandemic will most certainly cause physical health issues for many, but it’s the mental health impacts that will effect A L L. it’s how we acknowledge it + respond that matters.

dr mccarthy, of harvard med school said it best, “we [us + our children] cannot live through it without anxiety + sadness. we all need to... acknowledge our feelings + take care of ourselves in a different way, being proactive about our mental health.”

so friends, stay aware, take care of yourself in the little ways + big ways, check on your humans, + reach out for help when you need it. let’s end the stigma 🤙🏽✨