Goodness Gracious, people are inspiring!

Though I already have my Valentine's present {a homemade one of course!} for my handsome hub, the blogs I follow are full to the brim of extremely cute ideas, so I wanted to share some of them on this "things I've found" Tuesday.

French Knots has this really cute idea...I love it. She also has a tutorial for handmade heart-shaped bean bags, yes!!!!

Traci at Beneath My Heart has introduced me to Lisa Leonard Designs and I don't think I'll ever be the same (this is Lisa's website if you just have to order....or want to give the man that subtle hint where he can find something for you.....)
(title of this necklace: "Rain or Shine so glad you're mine")
 

Over at The Fickle Pickle she has a GREAT idea for a framed Valentine for teachers. I think it would work wonderful for grandparents, children, husbands....really anyone!

I'm a HORRIBLE seamstress (I seem to always screw up the machine so it yells at me) but, I want to be better and I want to make this skirt I found on one of my favorite blogs, Homemade by Jill



So those are just a sampling of the great things I found this morning while sitting in a dark living room, listening to the snores of the 9 month old, the 2.5 year old and the 27 year old.

Coincidence? I think not :)

Monday Musings

Today, my thoughts are lingering on cleaning....why? Because it's the 2nd week of February, the sun is shining, not a cloud in sight, it's 68 degrees and my windows are open.

Did you know that in a survey of 1,000 husbands, 9 out of 10 agree that when they share household chores equally with their wives, they get along better?!?! Sounds like my hubby is holding out on me! (Just kidding hubby, you're a great helper!)

That's right ladies, doing all the chores yourself and grumbling about it later isn't doing anyone any good! (Oh wait? I'm I the only one who does that?)



Some facts about cleaning I found interesting:

• Women spend 17 hours a week cleaning, down from 26 hours 30 years ago
• Men have more than doubled their duty, from 6 to 13 hours
• BUT having a husband creates an extra 7 hours of work each week for women!
• (I find that last one incredibly hilarious......though also incredibly true.)

Some incredibly amazing tips I found about cleaning:

• Hairspray works wonders on countertops, walls and wallpaper. Lightly spray, let sit a few, then wipe off. Isn't that super!
• Drop some ice cubes and a cup of vinegar in your garbage disposal and run for a minute or so. The ice cleans the blades and the vinegar kills germs. Great!
• You can use lemonade mix to clean your dishwasher! Just put it in where your detergent normally goes and give it a run. The citric acid in the lemonade will clean the jets, the racks and the interior walls. Awesome!
• Does your vacuum have a bag? Put a few drops of lemon juice in the bag before vacuuming and the fresh smell will spread throughout your house. So cool!
• Rubbing wax paper on your countertops and appliances after you are through cleaning will give them a nice shine AND repels dust. Sweet!
• Have a musty smell in a cupboard? Maybe a piece of furniture? Fill a plastic container with white vinegar and put a lid on the top with holes poked in it. It will absorb odors overnight. Fantastic!

I hope some of these things will be of use to you, I know I'm definitely going to use them!

Happy Cleaning!!

Balance or Responsibilities or Realism or.....life?

You know, I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect. I mean, I'm responsible for a whole heck of a lot! I have these 2 little boys relying on me to teach them so they can grow up to be honorable men, that's a big responsibility! Not only do I have that responsibility, but I am also responsible for making our house not just a house-but a wonderful, comfortable, happy, {clean}, lovely, orderly home. Yet another big responsibility! Add in the responsibilities to teach piano lessons to a group of {great} kids and drama to a bunch of {troubled} teenagers......oh and don't forget teaching a lesson at church once a month to a bunch of {special} women who I worry all know more than  me....and before you know it, I start to make myself feel kind of inadequate as a woman/wife/mother/sister/daughter/friend.

 All of these responsibilities {which I have chosen with open arms by the way} can really be overwhelming at times, and that is where the special word BALANCE comes in.


Do you ever walk into someone's house and it is ALWAYS clean? No dust, no toys on the floor, no 2 day old veggie something-or-other crusted to the top of the dinner table where the toddler sits, fresh flowers{sigh}, super cool decor.... How does this make you feel? I'll tell you how it makes me feel: like I'm not doing something right. Shouldn't I be able to have a perfect house too? Well, here is where my A-HA! moment {special thanks to Oprah for that one} comes in: comparing  myself to others is not any way to live.


To further illustrate my point, a few quotes {because I LOVE quotes}

So my point? Balancing my responsibilities and looking at my life realistically is really the only way to go. I read this post over at the Mean Mommy Academy blog earlier today and thought, "man, this is so awesome!" {hence this post}

• My house may not be clean 100% of the time, but my kids will always be happy and entertained.

• My weight might not be budging much on the scale at this very second {yes, I am that concerned about it I say *second*} but I'm active and energetic

• My cooking skills may not be that of a professional chef, but they're a whole  heck of a lot better than they used to be

• My kids may still sleep in my bed occasionally....but I love the bond we share and know in a few years it will be tough to get a kiss from them in public

And I could go on and on.....and on.....and on......

But guess what?!

It's ok!!!  

That's right, I said it. It's ok not to be like those women in the 2-page spreads of Better Homes & Gardens that you know were staged just to take the photo. It's ok to not be as skinny as all those "Hollywood moms" who probably hate having to diet all the time because we all look at them and think, "gosh, she looks great for having a kid last week!" It's totally ok.

Totally.

So keep on keepin' on, and remember:

 

Valentines day in a house full of boys

I have always loved love, therefore, I have always loved Valentine's day. I remember buying flowers for a cute boy for Valentine's day when I was in elementary school (if I remember correctly, he threw them in the trash) and always insisted on giving out Valentine's to everyone, even if I didn't particularly like them. I always loved poetry, movies, books...pretty much ANYTHING that has anything to do with love. "A hopeless romantic" is what I labeled myself at a young age. As I grew, I happened to find an adorable 15 year old boy who also loved love (he had a book under his bed titled "1001 Ways to be Romantic"). I met him at an audition for a play, he was singing a Frank Sinatra song for his audition piece ("I've Got the World on a String" to be exact) and I fell head-over-heels in love with him.

 Fast forward 7 years later and
 he is now my husband :)







So, we have now been married for 4 years and have a 2.5 year old boy and a 9 month old boy....not to mention the 3 year old welsh corgi (boy) and the 5 year old cat (also boy). Hubby-man has always been good at being romantic and has showered me with creative hand-made gifts like:

• A large candle that he glued the words "Light of my life" 
• A vase that says on the outside "100 reasons why I love Emily," with 100 pieces of paper inside
• An awesome hand-made card, complete with stick figure drawings!
• and of course, flowers, which I'm a total sucker for.

Now that we have little boys running/crawling around, I want to instill in them the fun of Valentines day. The cookies, the cards, the games, all the fun stuff that comes along with being a child on Valentines day. I know it is still 10 days away, but I've definitely got it on the brain and want to make it a special day for ALL the boys in my house.

Someday, (not soon of course!) I want my boys to grow up to be the type of men their dad is: romantic, creative and thoughtful. What a job for me! But I will relish and enjoy every second.

Thrifty Thursday!

I've decided Thursdays from here on out shall be deemed "thrifty Thursday."

No, not THAT Thrifty :)


Would you like to know the method to this madness? Well, let me break it down for you:

• Sundays are church days, and while it is supposed to be "a day of rest" it hardly ever feels like it...

• Mondays my handsome hubby is home all day, so obviously it's "get-a-ton-of-stuff-done" day

• Tuesdays I teach piano lessons all afternoon then race home to feed the mouths of 3 males (make that 5 males if you count the welsh corgi and the cat)

• Wednesdays I teach drama at a local charter school in the afternoons then race home to feed aforementioned males.

This brings us to Thursday, excuse me, Thrifty Thursday.

I have decided to add that special word "thrifty" in the mix for one reason: I will not spend any money on Thursdays.
No driving into town (which is 20 miles away), no walking across the street to the lone grocery store for treats, no spending whatsoever. This shouldn't be that hard right? Right.

Thursdays are also the first day of my week I never have anything scheduled outside the home. It's always fun to see what kinds of things the boys and I come up with, from cutting out Valentine snowflakes (which we did today) to making a garage for all of the toy cars out of a cereal box (also today). Next week we're going to make these really super awesome hang-able heart ornaments and I'm really excited about it!

So, let it be known from this Thursday forward, no money shall be spent in my household...which will also open up plenty of fun new adventures! Yee-haw!

Wherever you're going, you have to start where you are.

I read that today and thought, "ok, so where am I?"

Well, I'm very happy and fulfilled being a mother to 2 incredible little boys. I am so very in love with my dear husband. I am creatively satisfied with my jobs teaching piano and high school drama. Those are all the good parts of "where I am."

But what about the constant, nagging, little voice in the back of my head? Do I really need to go there? Nah....

I've learned, in my long 28.9 years on this earth, that negative thoughts are not productive at all and not worth my time. Does it really make sense to be mean to myself?
No. No, it doesn't.

So, where were we? Oh yeah, Wherever you're going, you have to start where you are.

Now I know where I'm starting at, so where is my destination? Where am I going? Well, ultimately my spirit will leave this earth and continue on.....but, that's a whole different post!

Where I'd like to be is healthier, and what I really mean is: I'd like to be a healthier cook for my family. I cook, everyday. This was not always something I enjoyed or was good at, but as the years have gone on, I enjoy it more and more and now I would really like to start concentrating on cooking healthier meals.

I read an article in a magazine today (I swear I don't neglect my children and read magazines all day!) about a family who the magazine would be following throughout the year on their journey to a healthier lifestyle. In the article, it broke down some of the favorite meals that the mother cooked and how they could be tweaked to become healthier.

It really got me thinking....what could I do to serve my family healthier meals? Some of the things suggested in the article were:
-replace breadcrumbs with oats in things like meatloaf for less sodium and calories and more fiber.
-Switch out heavy cream and use 2% milk instead.
-Swap some meat for extra veggies in things like stir-fry. It adds vitamins and fiber and cuts fat.
-No brainer: Multi-grain pasta instead of the regular old enriched stuff
-And for some reason I never thought of this before! Make your cookies smaller so you can eat 2 or 3 instead of 1, hooray for that!

If you have any easy ideas for making healthier meals, I'm all ears!

Alright, beauty sleep time!

Don't forget:
Wherever you're going, you have to start where you are.

magazines, my link to the outside world

I LOVE reading magazines. I don't know what it is about them, I just love them. I feel like they are my connection to the "outside world"....as in the world that I don't participate in as often as I used to pre-children. I used to live in a big city and was so connected to style and design and all that stuff that doesn't really matter, but for some reason I still love tuning into it in the form of a magazine. I don't even read that many magazines (2 or 3 in a good month) but the ones I do read have so much information that I love to hang on to.

This morning I was reading while the boys ate their breakfast and there was a wonderful article on keeping yourself motivated to be organized/lose weight/keep the house clean/(insert a goal you have here). Here are some links that I'd encourage you to check out:

www.HabitChanger.com
This website offers 42-day programs for weight loss, stress management and more. They charge a fee of $20-$40 for the services offered.

www.stickk.com
All those things on your to-do list that don't get done? This website will charge you cold hard CASH if you fail. You get to set the amount and the best part? It's FREE to sign up!

www.HabitForge.com
It's a fact, the first few weeks of forming a habit are the toughest. For 21 days this site will send you a daily email remainder and will ask you to report on how you did the previous day. When you falter, it rolls the counter back to zero (sounds harsh! no more sneaking soda for me!) By the time you have done something for 21 days in a row, it's a habit and you're done! And once again, FREE!


Like I said, reading magazines is a blast. Not only do I learn new things, there are always pretty pictures to go along with the articles, SCORE!