I am very excited to be featuring in this edition of Mothers with Many, Cynthia Lauren Arnold! Cynthia captured my attention as my sister in law had seen her on FB . What an amazing lady!!! Cynthia ran a marathon while pushing her three children in a triple stroller and setting a new record!!! An incredible accomplishment! Cynthia is all about teaching her children to be respectful of our earth and understanding that they are part of a “bigger picture”.
Thanks Cynthia for sharing your story.
1)What is your name and how many children do you have, name and ages
My name is Cynthia Lauren Arnold and I have three children;
Marguerite 7 Simon 4 Asha 2
2.) What is your current occupation?
I stay at home with my kids
3.) What is your life philosophy?
I try hard to be grateful for the good in my life. It is easy to get caught up in daily inconveniences and let your emotions or mood run away from you. It is also easy to get sucked into a materialistic spiral of constant wanting of things that you don’t have, yet those things won’t really improve your life.
I try to focus of activities instead of objects, doing instead of buying. I try to protect my kids from consumerism and it is almost impossible. It makes me sad that everything is so disposable in our world. I am bothered that the products we buy while cheap and easy may have a hidden history of hurting the earth and or hurting people along the way.
I don’t let my kids kill bugs. I think walking around stomping on bugs fosters a me first attitude. I want my children to know they are part of a bigger picture and every living thing has a role to play.
We should strive to do the most good with the least harm.
4.) What is a piece of advice you would give other mothers and what is one thing you wish you had known before having children?
Less stuff. By my third baby I refused any new baby products, clothes, blankets, gadgets etc…I whittled down the stuff I had until it was just those things I really liked and used. It was so much easier not having so much laundry. I did use cloth diaper… but I still felt I was washing less.
I would also say maybe don’t look at all those advertisements for new moms and new babies, the houses are always clean, the mom is always clean, the baby is always clean, everything looks so great and relaxing and well,…that just an’t the way it is.
Moms should follow their instinct and within reason parent the way they feel comfortable. The best mom is not the one trying to be someone else. There is so much advice and so many rules, you shouldn’t lose who you are just because you become a parent.
5.) What is your greatest achievement apart from your kids so far?
I’m sorry, I honestly don’t know.
( I have to interject here and say from reading all about Lauren I would say there are so many wonderful things she has achieved from running the marathon to teaching her children to respect the world they live in!)
6.) What have you done that you thought you could never do?
I never though I could have three kids.
7.) What books do you /did you like reading to your children?
I love Harry Potter, Dr. Suess ,The Lupine Lady. We read a lot. My kids like the Box Car books, The Magic Tree House, Tomas the Train, and the American Girl Books.
There are so many amazing books for kids ! I always read to my kids when they were little and I really believe that it’s such a great tool for their imagination and to educate them.
Hope Cynthia will be adding “Three Times the Fun” to her book collection for her children, I am sure they will love it!
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