I have lived away from a real Autumn season for 13 years. (I know I have Vegas friends who claim Vegas has fall, you need to come to Utah for September and October and experience it for reals). I.AM.IN.LOVE. Wow it's beautiful. Love the vibrant yellows, oranges and REDS (reds are my favorite). I love the smell of fall, love the slight chill in the air, love the crunchy leaves on the ground. I have always claimed that spring was my favorite season...I think fall is tied for the favorite now. We have been to the mountains a few times recently, we have gone on drives and on a hike. Absolutely breathtaking!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Bloggin, schnogging...
I have lived away from a real Autumn season for 13 years. (I know I have Vegas friends who claim Vegas has fall, you need to come to Utah for September and October and experience it for reals). I.AM.IN.LOVE. Wow it's beautiful. Love the vibrant yellows, oranges and REDS (reds are my favorite). I love the smell of fall, love the slight chill in the air, love the crunchy leaves on the ground. I have always claimed that spring was my favorite season...I think fall is tied for the favorite now. We have been to the mountains a few times recently, we have gone on drives and on a hike. Absolutely breathtaking!
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Come on Mom..
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Mini retreat
I had a great co-presenter in Lacy Anderson, this was her first retreat being a presenter. She did amazing and is a natural teacher. Thanks Lacy, you made it easy to do this with you!
We had a small group for the retreat, 13 total. But it was actually really nice that it was small. Lots of participation and we could talk about specific questions and be more personal. The group we had was a really wonderful group of Moms who gave fantastic insights and participated so much. Thank you ladies for being so great!
Some of my favorite insights from the retreat were:
- You will always have people who disagree with the choices you make in parenting. You must get to the point where you are at peace with your choices and who you are and just thank them for input and let it go.
- What is unique about you? Write it down, come up with POSITIVE unique things about yourself and celebrate and develop those. Develop YOU so you have more to give to your kids.
- Find out what your "motherhood identity" is. Create your own "brand" of motherhood and become comfortable with that. What do you think of when you think of Nike or Coke? That is their brand, develop that for yourself.
- Write a motherhood "mantra". If someone were to ask what you believe about motherhood or something you believe in, you could "sell" your brand in a couple of short sentences.
- Write a mantra about how you want to mother, one participant's mantra is, "Be kind, cherish the moments and love them." Simple, yet a good reminder of what she wants to be as a Mother.
- Validate yourself, when you do something well pat yourself on the back (or the tush like athletes) and say, "Good job me! or Good game!" Heaven knows our kids don't validate us, we need to do it for ourselves. Write it down, give yourself kudos for doing a great job!
- Avoid the compare snare, be careful of social media. Your children want you!
- Balance can be an unattainable goal, learn to "tilt" instead. Sometimes you are tilting toward a newborn baby, sometimes you are tilting toward sick children or a difficult teen or a school carnival you are in charge of. The goal is balance for a lifetime, not balance for a day or a week.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
You are invited....
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Summer lovin
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Fitted sheets and lullabies
Last night was filled with multiple awakenings by a sad, sick 4 year old child and empty of any quality sleep. Every 15 minutes I was desperately needed by this boy who was scared to death at the intensity of his illness.
The morning after a night like that always tests me and pushes my body to its limits. Of course there were multiple loads of sheets and towels and pajamas to launder. As I yawned and folded yet another fitted sheet I realized that my skills at folding fitted sheets are subpar.
My Mother certainly tried to teach me how to fold them neatly; hospital corners were expected in the making of a bed in my growing up home. My Mother is an amazing organizer and has neatness woven into her character. I missed out on that gene somehow. . The skill of somehow managing to control those rounded corners into a tidy pile of linen to be properly placed on a closet shelf was not something that transferred from my mother’s skill set into my own.
Last night when my sweet boy was wracked with illness and I held him and kissed his sweaty brow and rocked him and rubbed his back, I sang to him and gently put him back to sleep. Neat sheets were low on the priority list last night.
In addition to her skills with hospital corners and fitted sheets, my Mother also taught me about nurturing a sick child in the night. I remember being very young and getting horrible ear infections and sore throats. One of my earliest memories (probably the same age as my son), is of her, rocking me in the wee hours of the morning in the creaky old rocker, while singing “Bye-O" to me (our family lullaby). My Mom sings off key and always has, but I remember as a child thinking her voice was like an angel’s. I can almost picture this night in my mind’s eye, it is one of my very earliest memories.
I'm quite certain the skill of folding a fitted sheet pales in comparison to the most important lessons she taught me that night almost 40 years ago. Thank you Mom for all the life skills you taught me, but most of all thank you for teaching me through example that my children are worth sacrificing for, staying up for, and staying home for. I know through watching you that Motherhood is a noble and worthy calling and the best choice for my life. Happy Mother's Day!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Survive or thrive?
I remember going to my first power of moms retreat and April Perry talking about not just surviving but thriving in this journey of motherhood. That really resonated with me because I had already years before decided that I do not want to spend a good chunk of my life in survival mode. I've been doing this parenting thing for 15 years and have at least that long until my youngest leaves home. That's 30 years that I don't want to white knuckle it through life, but I want to thrive and become who I am supposed to become. I want my kids to know that I loved life and adored being their Mom, that I was always trying to learn and grow and be better. My Mom is such a great example of always learning, growing and bettering herself. Of course there are days that I white knuckle it and barely get through but I don't want that to be my life. It's about making a conscious choice to love this life I've chosen and that has been given to me. It's about waking up every morning and to start out with the question, "What is this day going to bring and what am I going to get out of it? What am I going to learn and what adventure are we going to have? I am going to be an amazing Mom and person today!"
This wasn't always the case. I remember some days waking up and sort of dreading getting out of bed, I remember even occasionally vocalizing that I hated my life. I had sort of let life happen to me and hadn't made the choice to choose happiness and deliberately make my life happy. It's not about circumstance, it's about mindset. I for sure still have days where I have a hard time getting out of bed and where I feel down, but those are much fewer and farther between than they used to be because I have made the choice to intentionally be happy no matter what.
So what is your choice?
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Giveaway winner
Friday, April 18, 2014
Because of Him
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Easter week
http://beautyandbedlam.com/resurrection-rolls-easter-recipe/)
Thursday, March 27, 2014
GIVEAWAY...and my favorite parenting book ideas
Comment below with your favorite parenting book.
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Sunday, March 23, 2014
ABQ retreat
- From our host who has grown children, when it comes to teens remember 3 things: don't take it personally, have a sense of humor and this is temporary!
- Another insight is totally avoid getting into a discussion until you have a calm face, voice and body. Otherwise it is just an argument and nothing productive happens.
- Clear, communicated expectations are essential
- Teaching kids to work, isn't just about hard physical labor. Music lessons, sports and school can also teach important principles of hard work and persistence.
- Life is long, you can have it all, just not all at once.
- Comparison is the thief of joy...Theodore Roosevelt
- How do we teach our kids that progressing and learning new things is a good thing if we aren't doing that?
- How do we teach our kids to love themselves and not compare to others if we are constantly comparing ourselves to others?
- My favorite insight. I am so far from a perfect Mom, but I am a GOOD MOM because I am trying my best daily and I am 100% committed to my kids and I love them fiercely!
A big HUGE shout out to my husband. He is amazing, before I even asked him he took Friday off so he could be with the kids. I came home to a fairly clean house and pansies planted in my front yard. I LOVE flowers so he definitely spoke my love language. He is wonderfully supportive, I'm so blessed.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Shine on...
I have been thinking about quite a bit lately. So many times I find something I love to do and then the thoughts come into my head such as..."you aren't good enough", "who are you to accomplish that?", "you are selfish to pursue something outside of your family." I have turned from several opportunities or interests because of those thoughts. I have a firm belief in God, but also a belief on the flip side of the good that comes from God, that there is also a darker power named Satan who does NOT want us to live up to our potential and puts those thoughts there. He wants us to live in fear and insecurity because then it blocks us from fulfilling our God give potential.
It's not just with dreams or passions that it happens. It happens every day in our lives, especially as Moms. We never feel like we are enough.
An example of this is, I wrote a couple of articles, submitted them and was published on the Power of Moms website. I have submitted a few more articles that were rejected and I haven't written and submitted anything since. It deflated me a bit because that thought came, "See you don't have what it takes." But seriously how many writers are rejected multiple times? I am going to get back on that horse and write and submit again.
Tomorrow I am flying to Albuquerque with my friend Tiffany to be one of two presenters at a Motherhood retreat on Saturday. I wrote before how this was one of my dreams to do this, but this week those doubts have crept in and made me wonder if I can really do this. Not to mention it's been a less than stellar Mothering week. Who am I to be telling other Moms how to be better when I cannot get my nearly 4 year old potty trained, or inspire my child to do better in school, or get my older boys to quite fighting with each other?
However, I do know that it is the principles I will be teaching are powerful and empowering. It isn't me, it is the material we will be teaching. Plus I am a real Mom in the trenches and I won't sugar coat that it is hard and can be mundane and frustrating. But I also have found great joy and purpose in my Mothering by using these principles.
So I will hold on to that purpose I have felt with this opportunity and I will replace those negative thoughts with thoughts like this quote at the top from Nelson Mandela.
Do you have thoughts of fear and/or insecurity? How do you battle those?
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Lessons learned....
- Go to the funeral or viewing. It doesn't matter if you knew the person who died, if you love their family just go. It means so much.
- Exercise...it does a mind good. I have completely different day when I exercise than when I don't, even my kids notice.
- Go outside, dig in the dirt, play with kids, get that natural vitamin D. It makes such a difference in my mentality when I spend time outside daily.
- When someone's name pops into your head randomly, call them or go see them or write them a note. It's not a coincidence you thought of them.
- Snuggle with kids in the morning, even if you think you don't have the time, do it. It can change your whole morning.
- Play freeze tag in the front yard when your 6 year old asks (even if the neighbors stare), you will have a blast and she will talk about it for days after...
- Preserve the relationship at all costs, relationships are forever, schoolwork and scouts are temporary
- Make sure your kids know you are on their team, that you are their #1 ally.
- Raise the praise, minimize the criticize. I have to learn this one over and over again. I think I so much want for my kids to be their best selves that I focus on the things that they aren't doing, when in reality they are absolutely fantastic kids and I need to let them know I believe that about them.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Dreams....
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Meal planning
In February I didn't star until mid month and I am so glad I am back doing this, it works for me. It takes quite a bit of time to make the plans, create the shopping list etc, but once it is done I dont' have to think about it again for several weeks! How I write the menu on the calendar isn't set in stone. Sometimes we have a crazy night and so I switch it up and fix a more simple dinner that night. None of my dinners are gourmet by any means, but some take more time than others.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Going for Gold
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Ordinary days...
Friday, January 31, 2014
Building a new life
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” C.S. Lewis
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
A ship in a port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for....
Remember our "plot twist"? Well our twist has been resolved and we have landed back "home" near where we both grew up. We moved our family of 7 twice in 7 months, this last one being across state lines....wow that was fun! NOT! But we are here, boxes still aren't all unpacked, house isn't organized to my satisfaction, but we have a home that fits our family and my husband has a job that provides for us. What a blessing! To add to that blessing our kids are so HAPPY here. Our family, neighborhood and ward (church congregation) have been so good to us. We have all been welcomed with open arms by such wonderful, welcoming people.
That being said, it was really painful and hard to leave our dear friends who are like family. Here are a few pictures of my kids with only a few of our dear friends who we left. It was heartbreaking to see my kids sadness and heartache in leaving these amazing people we love like cousins, they have known many of these friends for most of their lives, some from birth. When you live in a place for almost 13 years and create strong bonds with people it is so hard to leave. In fact I still tear up when I think about being separated from these friends. I still have a hard time talking to them on the phone, it's still painful. However like one of my kids said, "It's good that it's so hard to say goodbye, it just means we have lots of people that we love so much." Amen to that.
I guess it's a good lesson to me and to my kids, just because something is right to do, doesn't mean it's necessarily easy. We know this move is right for us, everything has fallen into place, we couldn't feel better about where we are living, we love being close to family, but it still hasn't been easy.