Menu Mondays!

Today we are off on a camping trip.  We will be in Big Basin State Park.  My family will be there and we will have some time to just soak up nature, play some games and do a little exploring.   The Menu would  make dining easy for a stay at home vacation.  Has anyone ever had a successful stay at home vacation?  We tried it once but it was very difficult to leave the work that was accumulating.  Maybe we will try it again.  Being in Santa Cruz is the perfect vacation spot.

But I digress.....oh how the mind wanders!  We return from camping on Wednesday hence the pizza.  I need to unpack, do laundry and put stuff away so I try to plan a cook it self meal.  Enjoy!

Monday- Grilled Sausages/Corn on the Cob
Tuesday- Pulled Pork Sandwiches/Carrot Salad
Wednesday - Pizza/Green Salad
Thursday - Chicken Soup/French Bread
Friday - Taco Night
Saturday - Meatloaf
Sunday - Grilled Sausages

Have a great day!

This Moment...

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see...  inspired by Soule Mama

Give your pet an extra snuggle today.  Life is short, cherish the small things.

Increasing Fluid Intake

Plain water is good but sometimes I need something a little more interesting to motivate me to increase my fluid intake.  Water is vital to our health.   When you are properly hydrated, your mind functions better, your skin glows, you have more energy,  and for nursing mamas like me -it improves your milk production.    It is easy to forget to drink enough on a busy day but since I am also working out more, I notice that I don't perform as well on days when my water intake is low.

Just recently I figured out a way to increase my fluid intake which is super easy and quite tasty.  It is very simple and works especially well during the warm summer days.


Make a pot of your favorite herbal tea.  Put it in the refrigerator.  This stays fresh for about 24 hours (if you don't drink it all first!).  Drink frequently throughout day.  I have used green tea, chamomile, chamomile lavender, peppermint, and white tea.  They were all very good iced and I found the flavor motivated me to drink more.

Remember to take care of yourself so you can take care of your family!

Enjoy your day!

Why Sunday with Summer?

Summer is my last child in a line of many.  She is beautiful, bubbly, and full of life.  Since I have been down this parenting path a couple of times, I can really appreciate how short and precious each phase is.

  

Every phase has had it's beautiful moments - birth, the newborn sighs of contentment, the first smile, tooth, steps....These moments happen and then are gone, only remembered in a little compartment in my brain.

There are also the hard lessons learned.  The million books I have read and continue to read to try to parent my children in the manner that will help them thrive and become all they can be. 

Summer reminds me to get down on the floor and just be with her.  I am delighted by all her babyness.  I am delighted by her-all of her.  I am reminded that though my laundry might have become mammoth in size, that my kitchen counter can not be seen due to the volume of dishes that cover it, that this is so much more important.  

I will never get to recapture these years in my children's life.  Their job is change, grow, move forward down their own paths. 

My job is to relax.  Relish these moments.  Just be there.  Treat each day like a Sunday.  A day that is a bit slower then the rest of the week.   Time for a drive down country lanes just to look at the flowers.  A perfect summer day filled with sun, sand and the sounds of children playing in the ocean waves. A season of light and laughter.  A summer Sunday.

Have a great day.

Did I check the disclosure box for this?????!!!!

I am reading a book called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. Excellent book so far (I am only in the first chapter).  I am having aha moments frequently.  A particular paragraph really struck home.  Mr. Payne discusses many of his parents coming to him saying they didn't expect all the work, the chaos, the frustration that came with having children.  They didn't sign up for this.  

Parenting should be about the joy of being with your children.  The hugs, giggles and learning moments.  Some how this gets lost in the "I'm hungry", "Tommy hit me", and mountains of laundry, sleepless nights, having a million interrupted conversations with your romantic (what is that!) partner and I haven't even hit the teen years!  The stress level is high for me right now.  I am struggling to think straight, to plan for meals, schedules, etc.  Household responsibilities are overwhelming.  I clean the floor and two little munchkins come charging in with mud on their feet to find more cars and boats for the puddle outside.  It is enough to send me over the edge. 

I did NOT sign up for this.

We have many days and weeks where I am totally content to be in the thick of things.  I manage very well.  Our house is organized, relatively clean (we homeschool with 4 kids so the house is really LIVED in) and we are all happy.  But when I am not on my game, it all goes to hell in a handbasket.

What do I do?  Well, the first thing I do is start reading.  Inspiration is a wonderful motivator.  Blogs, books like the one mentioned above, anything that reminds you to dream.  Then I step back to see where I can simplify and streamline our life.  What can I do to take better care of me.  I am the captain of this life, I need to remain steady and strong so all these shipmates can do their work knowing their boat isn't going to sink.   (Even if the captain really really wants to jump ship at the next port) - what's with the boat analogy? hmmm...


Anyway, remember the dreams you had before you became a parent.  Figure out a way to reclaim those.  Find the love that you have for your children and your spouse.  Let if fill you.  Find the love you have for yourself.  Hold it close and breathe.


Have a peaceful day.

 

The importance of planning

 

Photo courtesy of iheartlinen @ flikr.com 

I've  lost my way.  How did this happen?  I forgot to make a yearly plan for our homeschool.  

We use a curriculum but I pick and chose from it.  I try to plan our yearly goals as we have 3 kiddos doing "school" of sorts.  We write down a daily plan.   However, I feel like our lessons have become somewhat random and unconnected.  

It happens to me every year. We are completely gung-ho for the first half of the year and then January hits.  I get a yearly case of the blues in January that morphs into spring fever.  So hence the need for a really strong guide that I can follow.

So last night I pulled out my planner and the curriculum and set out to make a guide so we can finish the year properly (in my mind anyways!).

It is quite the task but having a plan for our days really make life's rhythm much smoother and enjoyable.  I feel good about starting our "school" this week.  Yeah!  Now if I could just figure out what's for dinner.  Ha.

Have a great day.

Food for thought

 

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."  Charles Kingsley

 Before kids, I felt as if I were searching for something that inspired and challenged me.  Something I was so enthusiastic about that any fears of looking silly or not succeding became unimportant.   I took different classes in college.  Attempted different career paths.  Pursued hobbies.  

The thing that I have found the most enthusiasm for is being a parent.  I LOVE being a parent.  It is the most satisfying thing I have ever attempted.  Guiding four people into this world has tested me, frustrated me and given me a greater pleasure than anything I could ever anticipated.

This period in my life is fleeting.  My little ones are growing and changing rapidly.  I watch and learn from them.  They follow their instincts.  They are enthusiastic about learning whether it is learning to walk, ride a bike or any of the millions of other things they wish to master.   They fall and get right back up.  They seek answers to their questions. They have given me a gift.  To find a passion and pursue it uninhibited.


Have an inspired day!

Self Creation

 

I have been creating handmade items for many years.  My abilities have improved greatly since that first attempt at sewing by myself when I was 11.  I misread a the jumpsuit pattern and instead of creating two pant legs, I created a uni-leg.  It was awful.  I ripped out the stitching and managed to repeat the same mistake all over.  Aaarrgghh.  Now I find the tasks that I found so difficult and frustrating when I first started creating (there were many days where I swore I would never sew again) no longer slow me down.

Over time certain design elements have become important to me in my sewing and crafting. 

• it must be practical
• it must be pleasing to the touch and easy to wear
• there must be interesting details 
• it must be beautiful

Now I have begun venturing into new territory - e-commerce.  The development of the product line for the new business has been great fun.  Navigating the set-up of the website has not been so easy.  There is so much to consider and so much terminology which is completely foreign to me; HTML, encryption, SEO, domains, hosting, etc.....Yowzer!  How's a girl to see straight?  

The good news is I am getting it.  Mistakes happen but I am learning to fix them and improve on the original product just like the process I went through when learning to sew. 

I am very excited about the developing website.  I think we have a wonderful opportunity to share products that are lovingly made by us.  I hope you will like them too.

Have a great day.

The gift of childhood

Childhood is so short and precious yet it seems like there is such a big push in our society to grow up and become independent - the earlier, the better. There is an underlying fear that a dependent child will become a dependent adult.  A fear that a child which has not been properly enriched with the myriad of classes available will somehow never become a competent, competitive adult in our high tech world.

I think we would be better served if we could respect the gift of childhood.  Respect a child's need to be in nature, have a dependable nourishing home life, and be surrounded by adults who create an environment conducive to mastering the astounding amount of skills needed to function in our society. By respecting a child's needs, we will teach them to be respectful of others and to become responsible adults.  Time and freedom to play, create, dream and imagine with limitedoutside influences (especially media) will give a child a sense of well-being and balance.  A child will carry this sense of self with them throughout their lives.

In our house, we consciously choose to give our children plenty of time.  Some days it is a struggle.  There are so many wonderful opportunities available.  Yet by stepping back and leaving unscheduled time in our week, our children play alone or with each other, read, draw, explore outdoors and many other self guided pursuits.  They easily entertain themselves.  Hopefully as adults, this will allow them to be self-directed in their careers and their personal lives.  I am hoping that by respecting their childhood, we will give them the ability to respect themselves as adults, the ability to pursue paths which will fulfill them and the tools to know that they are responsible for making things happen.

Have a great day.

Happy Valentine's Day

picture courtesy of lake.sider @ flickr.com

They say love makes the world go round.  Well in it certainly turns my world.  I never imagined how much you could love anyone until I had kids.  

Don't get me wrong, I am madly in love with my husband.  He is the light of my life.  He is  my strength and guide on days where I just don't feel up to taking on the huge task of parenting.  He helps me conquer the bumps that life throws into my path.

The love for my kids is different, intangible, unexplainable in its enormity.  As I often tell them - "I just love you".  That simple phrase explains my feelings for them completely.  It is the kind of love that sees them for all they have been, all they are and all they might be.  It is a love that will always be there, no matter what.  

I can't really explain it.  I just love them.  I hope everyone has an opportunity to open their hearts and life to this kind of love.  It really challenges and inspires me to be more than I am today - every single day.


Have a great day.

Taking care of me

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowdeal/7933510/

I just started running on January 1st, 2010 after taking a hiatus when I became pregnant with my fourth child. I decided it was time to do something just for me. My goal is the Wharf to Wharf which takes place in July. I have run it before and thought it might be just the motivation I need to get me out the door and back into shape.

Taking care of myself has been very low in the priority list since my baby came and it was beginning to take a toll on me physically and mentally. A five minute shower while my eldest was taking care of the baby in the other room (hopefully no crying was involved) was all the pampering I was getting. Enough was enough. I needed to do something that would contribute to my happiness and sense of well-being. Something that I could manage to do on a regular basis which would easily fit into our busy life. Being happy and healthy had to be a priority so I could continue to be a good mother to my beautiful children.

Running seems to be the perfect answer. Many years ago, I starting running with a girlfriend as a way to manage my weight and I quickly realized that it provided me many other benefits as well. I was able to manage stress better, sleep better and I felt a sense of accomplishment every time I finished a run.

Now I run despite the weather, fatigue, sick kids or busyness. It is one of the few things I do for myself but not necessarily by myself. The kids often accompany me in the jogger or on their bikes. My older kids really look forward to going out with me and I enjoy having a unique way to connect with these lovely children.

The Wharf to Wharf will be here before I know it. Time goes quickly these days. But I will be ready to take it on and after it is done, I will run on to my next challenge with my children riding right beside me.

Have a lovely day.

It's raining!!!

It's pouring rain here. Just when you think King Winter is off to visit other lands... Sigh.


In reality my kids love the rain. The weather is generally mild here. So rain doesn't mean confinement as long as mama is feeling brave enough to face the laundry after a big puddle stomping outing.



The shrieks of joy and the delightful feeling of water rushing past their feet makes it all worthwhile.



Plus when Aunt Spring wakes up, all that rain helps her to bring us these...



Have a glorious day.