ten on Wednesday

I saw someone do a "10 on Tuesday" post on their blog recently and thought it would be a cute idea........I forgot. Tuesday has come and gone, so here are my "10 on Wednesday."

1. I miss scrapbooking. I still buy a magazine every now and then, and cruise through a couple scrapbooking blogs, but it has been ages since I pulled out any sort of paper, glue, stickers, etc...and I miss it.

2. I thought this article was brilliant!

3. I adore Anna Quindlen. I am in the middle of her new book, "Every Last One" and it is terrific!

4. I am also reading "Growing Grateful Kids" by Susie Larson.......I just opened this one today so review to follow.

5. I did a complete organizing overhaul on our pantry the other day, and it makes me smile every single time I open the door now. It's amazing what a couple $7.00 plastic shelves can do for a space :)

6. I WILL be taking this course starting June 1st!!

7. I am in a total fashion rut these days......must clean out my closet, forbid myself from wearing the same 2 pair of jeans over and over again, and use the gift certificate for a local boutique that has been in my wallet since my birthday last year (August!!)

8. I ordered 2 swim suits from Lime Ricki this morning in anticipation of our upcoming trip to the beach......love the idea behind this company!

9. I am teaching my kids to take deep breaths when they are anxious, scared or angry. So far, so good.

10. Some favorite photos from Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week

a week in the life

Last week, I participated in Ali Edward's "A Week in the Life" project. Basically, I took lots of photos for seven straight days and kept a running list of what we did during each of those days. And because life is nothing if not unpredictable, there were a few bumps along the way that made documenting our week a bit challenging.......but I have decided to put my album together this week anyway, and to tell our story exactly as it happened (including the part about the "particles embedded deep in my cornea" that had to be removed on Friday!!). Here are a few favorite photos from Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I will post progress on my album along the way.....

Sweet siblings (I catch these moments when I can)

Our roses are starting to bloom

Backyard renovation = huge sand pile to play on

Pancakes for breakfast

I started walking/exercising this week

Grant in front of our new playhouse door

Sienna found a lady bug in the sand and was mesmerized

I tried to make sure I was present in a few photos :)

around here

Around here we are:

1. Looking forward to getting a sneak peak of the bluebonnet photos we had taken by a friend yesterday

2. Playing in our new playhouse

3. Climbing on the giant mound of sand that was delivered to our house yesterday (we are in the process of leveling out parts of our back yard)

4. Looking forward to our upcoming trip to the beach

5. Documenting our week in words + photos (following Ali's plan)

6. Coming up with creative ways to deal with sibling rivalry and the "terrible twos"

7. Looking for a new book after finishing "US" by Lisa Oz

8. Spring Cleaning = organizing, cleaning out the clutter and getting rid of things we haven't touched in over a year

9. Thinking a lot about raising kids with a heart to serve the Lord by serving others = trying to lead by example by finding a place to volunteer my time/resources

10. Getting in shape mentally and physically as a family = more time outdoors, less time in front of the tv, more vegetables, more water, more deep breaths when we feel ourselves getting stressed, more walks around the neighborhood, more dinners as a family, more prayer, more expressions of gratitiude

11. Buying flowers for the pots outside

what motherhood has taught me

1. You can love your second child just as much as your first child

2. Breast feeding is not my thing......I had no "good" excuse, I just didn't love it

3. Loving another human being this much is absolutely terrifying

4. Unstructured play is essential for kids and increasingly undervalued

5. Children are capable of way more than we give them credit for

6. All the cliches are true........it really is the most difficult and most rewarding job on earth

7. Believing in and having faith in God is the only thing that makes this journey possible

8. Everything tastes better with sprinkles on top

9. It would be easier to climb Mt. Everest than to go one day at our house without turning the television on

10. Boo-boos feel instantly better when kissed by a loving mommy or daddy

11. Seeing your children have their feelings hurt feels infinitely worse than having your own feelings hurt

12. There is something amazing that happens when you sit down as a family for dinner

13. Children have remarkable memories......so be mindful of what you say and how you say it

14. The way I handle stressful situations will teach my children how to handle stressful situations

15. Spanking just doesn't feel right in my soul, my bones, my heart

16. Distraction and Choices are the 2 best weapons in a parent's arsenal

17. The days are long but the years are short (Gretchen Rubin)

18. Craft projects are messy, but almost always time well spent together

19. Sometimes there is just no substitute for actually getting down on the floor and playing with your kids

20. A consistent bed time routine makes everyone's life more enjoyable

21. Advertisements will begin to influence children the minute they start watching television (advertising execs spend millions of dollars each year to make sure of this) = make good use of Tivo

22. The ordinary acts we practice every day at home do more for the soul than their simplicity might suggest (Thomas Moore)

23. The marriage that my husband and I have is the prototype for the marriage that my children will someday have

intentional motherhood

My goal in mothering is to be intentional (plan ahead, dream, make lists, etc..) yet still allow myself to enjoy our life exactly as it is. I was cruising around some of my favorite blogs today, and I came across this quote: "We often don't realize that the now we currently live with represents our dreams of yesterday fulfilled." That hit me like an arrow straight to the heart!! How long did I dream about becoming a mother? How often did I pray, wish, hope for the sounds of little ones running through the house, taking them to dance classes, pushing them on the swings, reading to them all snuggled in their beds? God has answered every single one of those prayers, but how often do I take the time to stop and thank Him before moving on to my next set of requests?

Instead of being grateful for the children He has blessed me with, I am often frustrated that I can't go to the bathroom by myself, that it takes way too long to get dinner on the table, that one of my children (I won't mention any names) is constantly pulling his sister's hair, or that one of them is sulking off to her room to pout and/or slam the door.

Sometimes, I let those moments get the best of me and I raise my voice in anger..........sometimes I even resort to bribery or threats ("If you don't start behaving, I am going to get in the cabinet and start throwing out every single DVD that we own!!") Many nights, I am literally counting down the minutes until I can tuck then into their own beds, and I can plop down on the couch with their dad to watch some mind-numbing television or just curl up with a good book.

One thing I know for sure, is that motherhood is hard, and when you genuinely want to get it "right," it can seem almost impossible at times. But I have also realized that with a tiny change in my own attitude, I can change the atmosphere of our entire home for the better. Here are a few things that have worked for me (and that I need to put into practice more often!!):

1. Taking a 10-15 minute bath after dinner while my husband plays with the kids or gets them ready for bed

2. Walking away from a frustrating situation to take 10 deep breaths and to pray that God will direct my words and actions when I return to the situation

3. When my son is being especially difficult, instead of raising my voice and matching his tone, I have found that it is MUCH more effective to get down on his level, lower my voice and speak in a calming, gentle tone (DUH?.....I wish I would have figured this one out sooner)

4. I have found that when my kids are hungry for my attention ("Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!!"), instead of trying to accomplish something that isn't really crucial at that particular moment (sending an email or text, organizing a closet, reading a magazine, talking on the phone), it is better for everyone if I just stop what I am doing, get down on the floor with them and really PLAY

5. My kids really thrive on routine, and our nights tend to run much more smoothly when we follow the routine and get them to bed at a reasonable hour (the time change has really messed up our routine and it has been tough for all of us to get back on track)

6. There is no substitute for reading to your children. I have started putting this one back on my "Must Get Accomplished Today" list. It is a win-win for everyone and it means less time in front of the tv!!

7. I make my bed every single morning...it just makes me feel better :)

8. I recently came to the stunning conclusion (insert sarcasm here) that more toys do not equal happier kids..........more toys simply equals more toys = more clutter, more stress, more stuff.......and it also just might equal a little four year old girl who thinks I am supposed to bring her something back every time I leave the house!! So my BIG goal this Spring is to get a handle on the toy situation: donate what we have outgrown, box up some to be brought out at a later date, employ the "something in, something out" rule, buy more handmade/interactive/child does the work toys (i.e. toys without lights and noise....i.e. the ones my son hands me and says they are "broke"), and teach my children (by example) that you can only keep what you have room to efficiently store = no overflowing baskets

9. Get outside. It always makes us feel better!!

10. Pray without ceasing

finding my groove

Last night, I went to bed thinking about blogging. That may sound strange to most people (especially those that don't have a blog), but blogging is actually something that I spend a lot of time thinking about. I blog for many different reasons. It is one of the ways I use to chronicle my family's daily life, it is a way to connect with friends and family, it is a creative outlet, and it is a way for me to process all the little and big things that make up my own crazy, messy, chaotic, happy life.

I really enjoy blogging. I like writing about things that make me smile, events that I am grateful for, places I want to visit, funny things my children say........anything that happens to capture my attention on that particular day. But recently, I have lost a little of my blogging mojo. I have gotten away from what I originally loved about it, and instead, I have found myself focusing on whether my photos were edited just so, whether my words were clever enough, or whether I was writing something that others would find interesting enough. It took the fun out of it for me, and I realized I needed to take a step back and re-evaluate.......I needed to get get back to a place of authenticity = writing from the heart, writing about what I want to write about and not worrying if anyone will ever read it.

So that's where I am today.....striving for authenticity again, being honest about my own journey, writing about what I find interesting, inspiring, uplifting, important, and praying that along the way someone else might be inspired as well.