It’s been 4 years since the last journal entry, so this is well overdue! I wanted to take a moment to re-introduce myself (Alex) and Forty Wink since it’s not only been SO long since I’ve made an entry, but also so much has changed.

Covid completely changed the way I parent. I’m not the mom who loves to play toys and make believe. I barely played that way as a child from what I’ve heard. I love to do things. Pre-covid I was out of the house five or six days a week with the kids going to play dates, the museum, science centres, indoor playgrounds etc. We were rarely home and I loved it.

One of our goals at Forty Wink is to share this priceless knowledge with others. Today we’re lucky to be joined by Tess Belke as she takes us through what some of her favourite resources were for her daughter Molly when she was two and a half years old!

For our second edition of the Book Nook, we’re thrilled to share Kesia and her son Toru’s list of their favourite books.

Having children, having a big family is not something I have ever regretted but it has meant that the pandemic has had a real impact on my career. Without child care I had no choice but to say no to some opportunities or to take a step back from things I was trying to do. My family needs me and they will always take priority but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel sad about it.

The pressure women put on themselves to be both Betty & Don Draper is unsustainable. We don’t need to work 60 hours a week while planning perfect Pinterest parties, keeping pristine households & having pot roasts on the table by 6pm sharp.

It’s been having a village of support that lets me have a career and kids. From my ex-husband being a huge support (we still do projects together!) and my wife taking on the majority of homeschooling, I have been so lucky to have people around me who believe in me and my goals, and do what they can to support me.

For our second edition of the Book Nook, we’re thrilled to share Kesia and her son Toru’s list of their favourite books.

As a pregnant front line healthcare worker, the pandemic constantly brought on new challenges and changes. Lets just say pregnancy nausea and full PPE don’t mix well. I had a to make many quick exits from patient rooms over the past 8 months.

I recognize the pandemic has had negative impacts on many people, for me I feel grateful to focus on my own goals, in terms of my own brand and photography. During the pandemic, I have connected with many creators and small local business’ and have done partnerships with them.

At first, I was afraid that the impact would be negative to my career. But honestly, motherhood has only been positive in every way. I've learned to be more creative, more aware of my time, make more impactful art, be more direct about what I need, and in many ways more inspired.

When the world feels broken or chaotic, one thing that is within my control is how I mother. Yes, I still feel the weight of societal issues and this does not go away. Instead of letting it overwhelm me, I try to channel it back into what I actually have capacity to nurture under my own roof.

Being pregnant comes with its own challenges, so does being a new mom, so does running a business, and so does a pandemic. Mix all of them together and we’ve got a bundle of challenges. The only way to get through it all is resilience. 

I am trying to be kind to myself and work with the moto: Do what you can do and try not to stress about doing more. We all have enough stress, we don’t need to beat ourselves up too. That being said, I can be a bit of a procrastinator so I do need to stay on top of the things that I’ve got going on or they can all build up to more than is manageable.

Stay positive. Try to find the magic in every day. Pause when you need to. Don’t be upset that you need to take a break or slow down. Slowing down is not a bad thing. We need to take care of ourselves and a lot of the time, that means slowing down.

I went through a transformational time in my life when I was pregnant with my third daughter. I let go of what I thought career success looked like and embraced giving myself to the service of my family. I was so much happier and content working less and focusing on raising my kids.

Covid has no doubt made life more challenging and unpredictable. Couple that with parenthood and you’ll find life to be 10,000 times more emotionally taxing and stressful. But with everything going on in the world, we’ve been able to stay positive by making light of our situation.

Early on I knew I wanted to be able to shift my attention away from work and fully lean into motherhood and enjoy the early days of being a new parent. I treated it like training for a marathon, or doing research for a new client project.

One of our goals at Forty Wink is to share this priceless knowledge with others. Today we’re lucky to be joined by Paige Gesell as she takes us through what some of her favourite 5 month resources were for her daughter Maeve!

Today we’re sharing part two of creative director + illustrator Amanda Schutz and her son Jake’s beautiful library.