girl's get-away

This past weekend, I took a little trip with some friends from law school to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and it was just what the doctor ordered!!! This is the third trip we have taken together, and we plan on making it an annual tradition from now on (we already have next year's trip in the works.....Cape Cod!!!). Although there were quite a few "events" that I won't be sharing here on the blog, I thought I would jot down a few of the highlights:

1. Soaking in the hot springs at Ojo Caliente

2. My first ever 2 hour relaxation treatment = massage, hot oil scalp treatment and reflexology = heaven!!

3. A certain bald man in a thong Speedo covered in mud at the hot springs.....don't ask!

4. Staying up late, talking and drinking too much champagne

5. Making our annual lists

6. Mango pina coladas by the pool

7. Shopping at the Spanish Market

8. Running back to our hotel after lunch in the pouring down rain

9. The best pasta and creme brulee I have ever tasted at SantacaFe

10. Having drinks at a bar where the servers and bartenders sing show tunes

11. Searching for unique doors to take photos of and add to my collection

12. Reading books and magazines, napping, having heart-to-hearts and being with 3 of the most amazing friends a girl could ask for

a collection of motherhood ideas

First of all, can I just tell you that this photos makes me laugh out loud!! It perfectly captures how 99% of the photos of my children and I turn out. They are usually running around at 90 miles per hour, I grab them in a choke hold........er, I mean loving embrace, and ask my husband to take a quick photos of us. I plaster on my best smile as the shutter releases, and this is inevitably what we end up with. Ahhhh, tender family moments :)

But I refuse to give up! I continue to park myself in front of the camera every now and then rather than always hiding behind it. I read an article in blogland ages ago about how important it is for mothers to make an appearance in the family photos albums........after all, when we are long gone, I have a feeling our children will treasure the photos of their mamas at least as much as the 100+ photos of their 3rd birthday party? That idea made so much sense to me, and I have never forgotten it.

Which got me to thinkin'. I spend a pretty good amount of time surfing blogs and websites, searching for ways to be a better mother, to strengthen family ties, to make our house a home, to infuse spirituality into our daily lives. It's become a hobby of sorts.......a hobby that has introduced me to amazing women, and taught me invaluable lessons. But sometimes, I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of "helpful" information out there in the blog-o-sphere. There is really only so much a person can take in, and only so many hours in a day to put those wonderful ideas into practice. And I know other mothers (and fathers) struggle with information overload as well. So I thought I would take some time every now and again in my own little corner of blog land, to share some of my personal favorite Motherhood Ideas......a growing "collection" of sorts.

(1) Movie Night - this is one that we are going to implement in our family very soon. Our kids are finally both old enough to sit through an entire movie without too many interruptions, and I love the idea of having a set movie night each week for them to look forward to.......complete with popcorn, blankets and chocolate chip cookies.

(2) Mother's Day Letters - I recently read about this one on one of my favorite blogs and thought it was a great idea! Basically, you set aside a couple hours on Mother's Day each year to write a letter to each of your children. What a wonderful gift to yourself and to your children....and a great way to stop and reflect on the previous year and your progress as a mother.

(3) Making a house a home - this is a big one for me.....something that I am constantly thinking about. A few of my favorite ideas in this area are: hanging up framed photos of family (it doesn't have to be perfect, just get them up on the wall!!!), decorating the kid's bedroom doors with their artwork, hanging up a chalkboard and filling it with favorite quotes, encouraging messages, bible verses, etc...., hanging a large map somewhere in your home and putting little red stickers on all the places someone in your immediate family has been (I especially love this idea because I want to instill a love for travel and adventure in my children).

(4) Have at least one major family tradition each month for the kids to look forward to and anticipate - I am currently working on this one and I LOVE this idea!! Here's an example of ours so far:

January = Grant's birthday

February = Valentine's Day ("heart attack" tradition)

June = Father's Day/Daddy's birthday

August = Mommy's birthday/Back to School celebration

September = Welcome Fall Day

We still have a few months that are tradition-less........working on those today :)

I would love to hear some of your favorite Motherhood Ideas!! I believe we can all be so much better, so much stronger, so much more when we work together and support each other along this journey.

photo album scrapbooking

It's been awhile since I have done any sort of "real" scrapbooking. In fact, I haven't done a traditional layout that you slip inside a 12 x 12 album in months. For whatever reason (or reasons), I just haven't made the time. But I still love taking pictures, and I still love documenting our lives and recording our memories, so I have become a huge fan of Photo Album Scrapbooking = a mixture of traditional scrapbooking (on a much smaller scale) and simply sliding photos into 4x6 slots = easy peasy.

In May, our family took a trip to Seaside, Florida, and when we returned, I realized I had taken over 500 photos!! There is NO way I would be able to scrapbook all those photos in a traditional album (nor would I have any desire to do so), so instead I put together this Vacation album in about 2 hours total.

The Cover

The Title Page

Photos + Journaling + Leftover letter stickers

I threw in a few vacation themed stickers on a few of the photos

More photos + journaling

Still have some journaling to add in a few places

I used some of the 4x6 openings to "scrapbook"

Photos + Journaling

Entire photo spread

Another photo spread

This was so fun and so easy to put together, but it still documents and records our memories from the trip, and it's all contained in one neat little album. Love this method!!!

summer reading

Here's a quick look at the books I have been enjoying so far this Summer:

1. "Trust".....this is the book I am currently reading, and let me just say, it is not for the faint of heart!! There is some pretty rough language and pretty tough subject matter in this one, but it is definitely a gripping, glued-to-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of book. I could not put it down last night, and ended up staying up way past my bed time!

2. "A Soft Place to Land".....I chose this one while I was browsing around Costco because of the recommendation on the front cover from Kathryn Stockett (author of "The Help" which is an amazing book). It is a quick, easy, enjoyable read......perfect for Summer.

3. "Summer Island".......picked this one up at Costco as well. I have read quite a few of Kristin Hannah's books, and I have enjoyed every single one of them (I recently read "Winter Garden" and highly recommend it!!). This is another great Summer read about a strained mother-daughter relationship and the journey they take in order to heal.

4. "The Red Tent"....I know I am way behind on this one, but for some reason, even though I have had this one on my shelf for a very long time, I just couldn't bring myself to read it until now. I am often drawn to a book's cover, and something about this one just didn't draw me in at first.

This book was a huge bestseller for a reason. It is beautifully written, and tackles a pretty tough time period in a way that makes it relevant and readable. This is one I won't soon forget!

5. "Just Let Me Lie Down"......this was the second book I purchased and read on my iPad. It is a witty, relatable, alphabetized look at working motherhood from the editor of Real Simple magazine. I am not currently a full-time working mother, but I struggle with guilt over the hours that I am away from my children, and I am always interested in other mom's perspectives on leaving their children in the care of someone else. I am in a bit of a transition period right now.....making some major life decisions about starting a business, going back to work, finding my "place," and this gave me some insight on how some women simply refuse to feel the guilt and instead, look at all the positives that their career brings to their family.

6. "Uncharted TerriTORI"........OK, you can stop laughing now! This was the very first book I purchased and read on my brand spanking new iPad, and it did not disappoint! I actually read this one while laying in bed with the stomach flu, and it was just what the doctor ordered: light, easy, funny and relaxing. I have actually read all three of Tori's books, and I find her to be quite interesting (and yes, I like the reality show too).

over the weekend

1. We took the kids to a park to play, eat lunch and have Pinkberry (I love this stuff!!)

2. Johnny and Sienna went out on our boat and Grant and I met them for dinner

3. We went to church

4. I organized the kid's coloring books, sticker books, stickers, flash cards and educational materials, and finally labeled all the bins where they belong

5. I finished reading "Summer Island" by Kristin Hannah

6. I set up an "Errand Zone" in the kitchen by the phone that holds a notepad, grocery lists, coupons, mail to be dealt with and a binder for photography inspiration

7. Everyone swam in the pool except me......just wasn't into it this weekend for some reason

8. Johnny went to the grocery store!!!!

9. I actually followed through on one of my many threats to take away one of Sienna's dolls if she continued to disobey me = "Jessie" was not allowed to sleep with Sienna last night and instead, had to remain high up on a shelf until this morning

10. I took a ton of pictures of the kiddos

our fourth of july weekend

With all the doctor's appointments, inhalers, allergy testing, nose sprays, etc... that have been going on around our house this week, I am just now getting around to uploading and editing our pictures from the Fourth of July weekend. The main thing I noticed while going through them this morning is that I DID NOT TAKE ENOUGH PHOTOS!! I hate when that happens.....but I guess it just means I was having too great of a time to stop and get out the ol' camera??

We did have a great weekend. It all started with our family tradition of getting donuts and heading to watch our local hometown parade. Now when I say hometown parade, I mean hometown parade. Let me say it this way.....we watched the entire thing go by twice and it still only lasted about 30 minutes :)

But Sienna looks forward to this parade all year long. In fact, she has been talking about it incessantly since last fourth of july, and she loved it again this year!

After the parade, we bought fireworks (sparklers) and then went to a park and had lunch. We also spent time with cousins, watched fireworks on Saturday night (the 3rd) from our car, played in the pool and had a Bar-B-Q at PaPa's house on Sunday afternoon.

I didn't take my camera with me for the big fireworks show Sunday night (boo hiss!!), but it was definitely the highlight of our weekend!! This was the first time the kiddos had seen big, huge fireworks set to music, and I absoluetly loved watching them take it all in. Grant was not a big fan at first....he sat in my lap and said he wanted to go home a few times, but when the show was over he said he wanted to see them all over again. Sienna, on the other hand, could not have been more thrilled!! She said the fireworks looked like Christmas, and when I asked her if she was having a good time, she replied "Mama, I have been waiting for this for so long!!"

And somewhere along the way, Grant decided that this was the face he would give me every single time I asked him to look at Mommy's camera??

We actually had no set plans going into the weekend, but it turned out to be filled with all the things that make the Fourth of July special: family, friends, flags and fireworks!!

one of those weeks

This has definitely been one of those weeks!

I have been suffering with yet another bout of sinus/allergy troubles, and it has left me feeling tired, overwhelmed, irritable and impatient = NOT a good combination :)

On the up side, our family doctor finally decided that I need to see an allergist, so maybe we can figure out how to put an end to this recurrent allergic nightmare.

In the meantime, I am trying desperately hard to be patient with my body.......to rest when I need to rest, to calm my mind, and to remember that everything will get done in due time.