Lara Stewart-Panko

Sep 15 2019

This Sunday morning in September I rode my bike — hair and teeth bearing the signs of sleep — to a neighbourhood park to enjoy communing with Nature. I took a paved path in, coasted past the children’s playground and tennis courts to begin the long route that circled the naturalized storm pond. Wildflowers and […]

Aug 16 2019

I had wanted to attend a silent retreat for several years, but the one in Portugal I’d had my eye on never lined up in my schedule. It was a wonderful surprise when the Mexico retreat came across my radar as it worked in every which way, including being the particular spiritual tradition I wanted: […]

Aug 16 2019

In late April of 2019 I embarked on a 10-day silent mediation retreat in a remote coastal town in Mexico. I went alone (though I lied to my mother and told her I was going with a friend to save her a bunch of worry). Prior to the retreat I had meditated with some regularity […]

Apr 19 2019

In my childbirth ed classes I often tell expectant parents: “Parenthood is the best self-development program in existence, if you make use of it to that end.” While I wish I could’ve known much of what I’ve learned from parenting without having to be a parent, my reality is that I simply wouldn’t have gotten […]

Mar 13 2019

In the past decade or so, birth plans have become commonplace. Yay! Guess what next deserves to be a well-recognized tool? A breastfeeding plan. I recently interviewed Nicole McHardy, Lactation Consultant (LC), to gain her thoughts about the purpose of a breastfeeding plan. You can check out the complete interview here. So what can a […]

Oct 07 2018

The importance of interactive music for your child’s development is detailed in the 101 Days of Joyful Babyhood program. Interactive music is when we do more than just listen: we sing, play instruments, dance, do actions, tap out the rhythm… Plus, enjoying music with your little one brings you mental health benefits, too! Below is one […]

Sep 05 2018

This past year has been quite full of grief for me. In the past 12 months I’ve lost my “BFF” (I ended the relationship after struggling mightily for several years), my father died, my husband and I came to learn he has a neurological condition that significantly impacts many areas of life, my brother died […]

Apr 12 2018

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I want to sing with a wee one, my full repertoire of songs escapes me. So, after saying I was going to do so on many occasions, I’m finally making list of songs for future reference. Some are widely known, others not so much. My hectic schedule […]

Mar 12 2018

The image accompanying this post is what I put on our family’s bathroom whiteboard this morning. Little did I know how soon I’d need to apply these reminders. It was a relatively easy morning. I left for work as per usual, heading onto a parkway where the speed limit is 90km. It was snowing gently […]

Feb 21 2018

Well, in the case of myself and my partner, Kevin, we can count: Thousands of smiles, tears, laughs and hugs. Hundreds of challenging parenting moments, thousands of rewarding ones. A few dozen times apart for multi-week stretches due to tour and other travel (Kevin is in the music industry). A time or two where we […]