Snowy Sunday Morning.

My kids have been sick this week and we have been busy helping some friends with various things, plus we have been De-junking like crazy. All in all it has built up a culmination of chaos in our home. I am behind it seems in everything and my house looks like it has imploded.

I lay in bed at 6:30 am willing the alarm clock to turn back time just one more hour, since my head was throbbing and I longed for just a little more sleep. Lil' Monkey at some point had made his way into our room, and was cuddled up beside me. He is my cuddle and I find that I want to just cuddle him and keep him close and young.

When I was a new mother I read everything I could about sleeping, feeding, and parenting in general and stressed myself out on a regular basis about all the things I wasn't doing right. When Clutch Powers or Mini Boden would come in to our room in the middle of the night, we usually let them stay out of pure exhaustion, but I tried not to cuddle them to much, because I was so fearful of letting them get out of a sleep rotation. They both sleep fine now, so fine in fact that they no longer come into our rooms and I wonder if I missed an opportunity somehow to cuddle them a little more. I still hear the statements from those books in my head, but with Logan I have chosen to disregard them and whether that is the reason he is my cuddly one or maybe just because it is part of him. I try to tune out what every one else says and just enjoy a precious moment with my little one.

So I lay in bed this snowy Sunday, holding my little one's hand and feeling content to let time slip by for a few minutes. To not rush to my next meeting, or appointment. To not get up and frantically try and clean the disaster I knew was waiting me downstairs. But to just be in the moment with my little one who will grow up too quickly and no longer need me in this capacity.
I find at least for me that it is in these moments when I rely on what I think is best instead of what others think or expect, that I truly find peace as a mother.

I find that I am happy as a mother. There will be time to pick up toys today and that will happen because order balances out my soul. But for this moment I wanted to live in that moment and hold Lil' Monkeys's little hand that keeps growing, and hear his breathing and know that I was being a good mother.

Loving Downton Abbey

Almost seventeen years ago, my sister introduced me and the other women in my family to a wonderful show called "Pride and Prejudice" - the Colin Firth version. From the moment I finished that beautiful rendition of the Jane Austen classic, I have been hooked on BBC and Masterpiece Theater productions. I am a total and complete BBC and Masterpiece geek and proud of it. A few weeks ago my sister (same one) told me she was hooked on a new Masterpiece production called Downton Abbey. Over the next few weeks I realized that I was one of the only people not in the know.

I have spent wonderful moments folding laundry and cooking dinner with my new friends from Downton Abbey, and I can't wait till next week when the newest episode comes out. Check out the website here. Plus Dame Maggie Smith is in it, how could you go wrong. She is just brilliant.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! I love the New Year. I love getting rid of all the merry making and going stark, clean and minimalistic. I love the hope of spring eventually. The promise of change. I am a theme girl. A good theme helps me to focus and direct myself. I have been trying to come up with a good theme for 2012. Something that rhymes or is catchy. Nothing has come to me. Then looking through the paper and ad's today I saw the theme for the Young Women in our church. "Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations." D&C 115:3. If it is good for the YW why not for me. And although it was super difficult for me to arise this morning for 9 am church. I have found my theme. I love that there is action involved. First we have to get up, then we have to shine forth. That means not being sullen or fearful. Shining is bright, hopeful and full of light. The light of God.

Today Mr. M talked in church. He talked about looking upward instead of sideways. He told the Max Lucado story "You Are Special" about the Wemmicks who put stars or dots on each other depending on how good or bad they are perceived by others. It is only when we turn to the Master and realize that we were created to just be ourselves when we focus on what the Master thinks more than on what others think that we are truly able to let the praises and critiques of others mean little to who we really are. It is in that moment that we are truly able to Arise and shine Forth.

May you all have a Bright and Joyous New Year!

Catching the Christmas Spirit

I feel like time is running so quickly. It barely feels like we were trick or treating and now I am hanging Christmas stockings. Everything feels so rushed and always a bit crazy this time of year.

Tonight for Family Home Evening we read a little poem from the new Friend magazine. It talked about how we try not to catch sickness' this time of year, but we should try to catch the "Spirit of Christmas." As easy as it sounds, it is really much more difficult in the world we live in.

My kids are home off-track the entire month and our first real day home today, was a mess of crying, "I'm bored", fighting, light-saber duels and huge toy pile ups and it all ended with me yelling and screaming for everyone to be nice to one another. Not so much the spirit I was hoping for. But tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes and I am hoping that if we can catch a little bit of the spirit each day, maybe we will have it in full force by the time the celebrations begin.

We are planning some fun things to do as a family. Some secret Santa gifts, baking cookies for Primary teachers and neighbors, and doing things as a family to catch the spirit of Christmas.
I hope I will be able to report that we caught a great big dose of the full force of Christmas and came down with a great case of the "I feel so happy" by the time the last gift is opened.

So here's to a great year of catching the right things in our life, the spirit of giving, of love and of peace on earth. I would settle for peace in my home especially between my two young Jedi's in training. Even if it is just for a few minutes of each day. A girl can hope.

Halloween Decor

I know it is after Halloween, but I wanted to get pictures of this fun Halloween Decor. I put together the picture with wrapping paper and words printed from the computer.


I used black and white beans for filler and a glitter skull from the dollar store.

I found the pumpkin at the thrift store, put scrapbook paper in a clear vase and the crow came from the dollar store.


This is our countdown to Halloween. A frame from Michael's painted black with scrap book paper and a small wooden clip.


Than Mantel...I love the black/white and green theme. It was perfectly frightening.

Family Room Update

When you live in a small house you have to constantly be coming up with ways to keep things in order. We have to use spaces for multiple purposes and get creative. I want our family room to look nice but also to feel kid friendly since it is also the kids play room. It has been difficult for me to do both. Here is my latest attempt. I found these magnet boards on a super good sale at Roberts last Black Tuesday. I finally was able to get them painted this past month. I love the colors and that the kids have a place to put their art work and other important papers.



I love the fabric and color of the frames. The Paint color is Ivy Leaf (Krylon) The flash cards I picked up at the Chicks Store last year. Love that the math one equals my family. 3+2 =5.
Then I finally decided to use my coffee filter wreath in the middle and the frames I got from Mr. M's Mom. She had pictures of her kids in them years ago. They were perfect to put silhouettes representing my kids in. I cut them out with my Silhouette cutter. I just found one that was an older boy, a girl and a little boy.They make me so happy. I love looking at this wall. I love the colors and I love that it is coming together. Hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday. I am loving September sunshine

Remind Me....My Romance Story

In a few weeks I will have been married to Mr. M for 10 years, and I will have known him for sixteen. When you know and live with someone that long you know the good, the bad and the ugly about each other. You know how to push each others buttons for good and for bad. We have most definitely had our ups and downs. More ups than down's. We have fought and then made up, and then fought again, but we always make up and I always know I am loved even if we strongly disagree with each other.

When we were married I knew things would be difficult, I had already been in one failed marriage and knew it wasn't always bliss and roses, but I also knew Mr. M and knew we would always ultimately be committed to making one another happy. There are days however that I have thought, "Why did I think we were compatible? What were we thinking, we are so different? Over the past few weeks I have found a book and a song that have triggered in me the thoughts of why I love to be married to Mr. M.

I read a book review in the newspaper for "The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels a Love Story" By Ree Drummond. Ree is a blogger and in her book she tells about her unlikely love story with her now husband whom she calls The Marlboro Man. Always looking for a new book, I put my name on the hold list at the library and finally was able to read it last week. It was fun and insightful, but these are the things I really learned.

I forget sometimes in the middle of homework, laundry, potty training and life who I am and the reasons I fell in love with Mr. M.
He probably feels the same way

Remembering the reasons why I fell in love help me to see the reality of who Mr. M and I really are.
It would be a good thing to write out my love story with him and read it again and again.

Love often starts out as a quick burning firework. But real romance is a constantly burning flame that you have to give fuel to in order to keep it burning. Sometimes it starts to burn out and that is why we both have to be working on our relationship and reminding one another why we love each other, that is the fuel that keeps it burning.

I think that's why I'm loving the song above by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley called
"Remind Me"

If you haven't written out your love story, it might be a good exercise in Reminding Yourself why you fell in love to begin with.

Hope you have a lovely day.