About me:

My name is Tana Padilla and I am first and foremost in love with God, my Creator and Redeemer and I live in awe of creation and the people in this world. Second, I am a wife to my incredible husband, Ricky Padilla.  Third, I am mother to our beautiful daughter, Addison who was born in Sept of 09, Abner, our son, who I believe is probably playing Cowboys and Indians with real ones in Heaven, was born Aug 2011, and Gable who was born Aug 2012.

I live in Englewood, CO and I love and enjoy being with people, laughing (which comes easy and often to me), being with horses, the mountains, seeing glimpses of Heaven on Earth, singing in my car and in the kitchen, going to concerts, giving access to clean water to those who don’t have it, and caring for those who are less fortunate.

I deeply and passionately desire to take all that I’ve been given in America and spend time with my kiddos and hubby not in front of any sort of screen, but in enjoying, struggling, learning, and experiencing life by doing it together. I really desire to be an incredible mother and wife. I have an amazing example that my mother set for me and I’m hoping to capitalize on that.

This is my blog about the ways I’ve learned and am learning to understand pregnancy, labor, babies, children, and how to live and give me, my husband, and children a life that is full of energy and health.

Please, pull up a chair and let’s do life together. Let’s learn, struggle and have successes together! I hope that this blog will come as an encouragement for you and that you will be enlightened as I have.  I’d love to get to know you as we sit at the Table together.

My roots:

I didn’t grow up going to the doctor or have the luxury of health insurance. My grandparents started going to a naturopathic doctor when my mom was still in high school and not even close to having her own family.  So I grew up with lots of home remedies and treatments, not knowing that most Americans don’t typically live this way or even have any clue as to how to go about it.

me and my younger brother

I grew up on a pig & chicken farm in southeast Iowa with my dad & mom and 3 brothers (2 older, 1 younger). Dad worked in the fields and with the pigs from morning till evening trying to provide for 3 strapping boys and a daughter who would eat and carry just as much as they would just to prove she could.  (And believe me-I did) My mom worked at home doing what farmers’ wives do and on top of all that took on the impossible task of home-schooling all 4 of us, which she excelled at. We also took classes and played sports at our public high school. I’m grateful for our parent’s wisdom in not trying to teach us subjects in which they felt unqualified. (Thanks, Dad & Mom, you guys are awesome!)

Growing up on a farm you learn that there are things that have to be done before you can play:

Rule 1) Work first, then play.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this from my parents. No horsing around or playing when there is work to be done. It is still hard for me to relax when there is stuff to do, but my husband has greatly helped me out in this dept. and I’m deeply grateful.

Rule 2) If you don’t do it right the first time, you’ll be sent back to do it right the second time, so you may as well do it right the first time around.

No need to discuss this one further. (I know my parents are chuckling at this one right now)

My parents, brothers and me

I have been doing childcare since I was 11, watching up to 5 kids at a time, which is a lot for an 11 yr old, but when you have 2 older brothers you learn pretty quickly how to boss people around and get things done. Plus, with my Farm Rules in place, I was ready to work and get things done.

Somehow throughout my life I seem to have always been involved with children in one way or another. I’ve been a nanny and been baby-sitting for many years now and I’ve seen it all. I’ve been hit, slapped, yelled at, called mean names, puked on, peed on, bit, clawed and anything else you want to add.

But I’ve also been hugged, kissed, ran to for comfort, called mama (not just by my kid), taught ABC’s and songs, been invited to play tea-party and Cowboys n Indians, read a gazillion books with kids snuggling close and been incredibly loved and cherished by some amazing children.

I’ve tried and failed-miserably. I’ve tried and had successes.

I’ve read books on parenting, watched DVDs, and TV shows on the subject. I continue to be intrigued and inspired to learn how creative I can be and how much pride and joy it can be to see a child who is hurting, angry, frustrated, or having that freakishly, embarrassing tantrum and have a break through with me through consistency and care. In the end, both of us can be better people.

My Mission:

I’m on a mission to revolutionize what a stay-at-home-mom can look like.

I don’t want to spend all my time just cooking and cleaning, although that is a huge part of the maintenance of life for moms and singles alike. But I want to be intentional with my free time with my children. During naps, I’m printing out learning sheets, reading parenting books, and planning their next awake times. I believe that children have an incredible learning capacity and I hope to take full advantage of their ability and desire to learn, experience, play and live fully in each moment. I really don’t want to waste or dread my hours and days with kids. I want them to be full of joy, hurts, comforting, sharing, love, exploring and learning.

I desire to assist and advise my kids in their own journey so that they in turn can go and live their own lives with joy, health, tools for life, knowledge, understanding, and love for all that God has created.

I want to give women permission to feel real feelings and then see and have hope for what the solutions could be for a better, healthier, fuller life for their own mind, spirit, and body as well as for their family’s.