Busted!

Ugh! Blech! Grrrrrrr….

Oh how humbled I am!  I set out to do this amazing 31 day challenge. I wanted to be more intentional and get back to being in control of my time and the structure of my day.  What happened?  Nothing.

Blame it on the incessant sleeplessness of my children, feeling lazier and lazier as the days got shorter, or not keeping myself motivated – October did not turn out the way I hoped. Than came November, I was embarrassed… and still not sleeping. December getting more sleep, but now I want  to play all the way through Christmas. How about a re-do in 2013?

I avoided the whole issue by not looking at my blog- If I’m not writing than no one is reading, and if no one is reading no one will remember my proud declarations of self improvement.  Okay, I can’t hide from this forever.  I want to be in, I’m going to be in, I really am! I’m coming back to blogging too, still not feeling exactly organized or planned out when it comes to what I’ll blog, but I’ll try and share things that catch my fancy, make me think, or make my life easier…

Here we go, thanks for your gracious acceptance of me, a flawed goal setter and delinquent blogger. 

P.S. So there will be something of interest in this post I’ve added a few pictures of my adorable family from the fall. If I can’t impress you with what I’m doing, I can distract you with cute kids and a handsome husband.

Have a great week-
Lisa.

 

Instagram Saturday

This has been a doozie of a week.  Not only was I not able to get to my October challenge because of kids being sick and a massive amount of sleep deprivation, but I escaped this week with a sinus infection.  I'v been sucking it up and pushing through the pain and congestion because I'm leery about taking any meds that warn nursing moms to think twice before using.... okay, I will.   Now if I could only find my Netty Pot I think I could get relief.

So in the mean time no updates to share, but I thought I'd start a regular installment that I can dust off and bring out from time to time.  Instagram Saturday (or any other day of the week for that fact)  I love taking photographs and have loved the Instagram app on my phone.  It has a bunch of built in filters that give photographs a more dramatic effect and make anyone with a camera on their phone look like they might actually be a budding photographer.

I hope you enjoy my pictures.  If you'd like to follow my feed on Instragram look me up- I'd love to follow you too.

Here are some of my favorites from this summer-

We spent the week of 4th of July with some dear friends at a lake house in Upper Michigan.  It was a relaxing and peaceful environment unless you are Kaylin and haven't grown into the fine art of doing nothing. :)  As we searched for ways to keep her busy, while taking care of Jordan who was only 2 months old at that point, our go-to solution became bubbles.  She would wake up every morning requesting "bubbles, bubbles," and we obliged. So much joy and freedom - I can't see bubbles and not think of our sweet girl and that week at the lake.

I went to a women's retreat with my friends from church and was challenged in what I believe about the Bible and how I would live that out in my life. I realized  I'm way to casual in how I value the Bible and the impact it can have on my life.  I started working through an inductive Bible study by Kay Arthur and have loved digging in to the word of God and seeing things that I haven't before.  This was one of those rare afternoons when both kids decided to nap at the same time and I got to enjoy some quiet time on the porch.

Another favorite of our dear Kaylin is Elmo!  I put Pinterest to work and found some cute Elmo Cupcakes that I thought I could reproduce for Kaylin's birthday.  These were my practice Elmos... they turned out cute but the final Elmo product turned out even better.  It just makes me wonder what kind of crazy things I'll end up attempting for my kid's birthday's throughout the years.

Happy Birthday Kaylin! Yet another favorite thing of Kaylin is Thomas the Train.  For her birthday we went to a Day Out with Thomas and then had lunch at a little diner called Two Toots.  They deliver the food to your booth via model railroad train.  My mom and dad were in town to help celebrate and we got some priceless pictures of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.  This is one of my favorites- three generations of energetic women.  So lovely!

Just in case you thought I forgot about Jordan here's some of the sweet snap shots of him this summer...  Nap time, Mini Daddy, and a day at the park.  This kid is amazing and blows me away with his clear blue eyes and gummy grin.  He is my little cuddle buddy and sweet peanut. 

Hope you enjoyed!  We'll be going to a pumpkin patch sometime soon and I hope to catch more pictures of my sweet family and what we're up to.

Have a great day!

Bring the Hype!

Today is day 2 of my 31 day challenge and so far, so kinda... okay.

I'm doing my best to stick to it, but I guess my kids haven't quite made the commitment yet. Sunday night I was up at 11:00, 1:30a, 4:14, and 5:30. Monday night, 2:13a, 4:15, and never got back to bed.  One kid has a hacking cough, the other has gas... pleasant combination. As soon as Kaylin isn't contagious I'm getting to the gym, as soon as Jordan is sleeping I'll get up in the morning.

If a picture says 1000 words
- this is my day in two words
 "Help, ME!"

Hoping the next check in shows a little more progress. :)

Today I was completely wiped out but still needed to parent.  Since watching Sesame Street for 8 hours isn't an option I had to be intentional about getting off the couch and out of the house.  So we combined our errand today (going to the grocery store) with an outing (having a picnic at the park).  It helped to have a plan for the morning and feel like I was doing something with my day instead of letting it do it's worst to me. We waited out Jordan's nap with a Sesame Street and played play dough, but then we were off and out of the house enjoying a beautiful fall day. This did wonders to wake me up and pick up my sleep deprived spirit.

Lesson take away- When exhausted, make one choice that can help take control of your day.

Later today as I was watching the clock and counting the minutes till Dad would be home, I got the call that could have made my train come off the tracks...  Dad needed to stay and work late to get a project done.   Arghhh!  I'm tired, have been on the job all day, and just wanted Jody to be home to tag in and take over.  Okay, deep breath, I can do this.

I let Kaylin sleep extra long, made an iced coffee, and moved the lap top down on the floor to get some work done while entertaining Jordan. When Kaylin woke up she played kitchen while I cooked dinner. Jordan went down for a cat nap and we rode out the early evening.  I fed both of the kids and got the call Jody was on his way home- Hallelujah!

I was still exhausted, still not very excited about the fact I had to do an extra hour on my own (really not that big of a deal, but remember I'm running on fumes) I needed to change my attitude and make dad coming home a fun event for the kids and the dad. So, I started to do a cheer ... "15 minute clean sweep, 15 minute clean sweep, 15 minute clean sweep" ... I was hyping up the kids, things were getting picked up, dad coming home was becoming the event of the day, and my attitude was completely changed.  We danced, giggled, raced around... and in the end had a really fun time.

Lesson take away- I need to decide to do things on the outside that help change my attitude on the inside.

Being with the kids all day when I'm really tired is trying, but I know Jody faces stuff all day at work that can be trying too.   I want to make sure that when he comes home at the end of the day he has a happy wife and kids to be welcomed by, and that the house isn't a complete pit. :) Another benefit of the 15 minute clean up- the toddler feels like a big girl because she helped get work done.  When she feels useful her tantrums aren't as frequent or as intense. Win, win, win- all the way around!

So, that's the check in and what I decided to do with my less than ideal situation, and crazy lack of sleep.  I guess, if I was hoping to be more intentional, that I'm doing it- even if it's taking a different form.

Plugging away at it- Hope your month has started well!

31 Day Challenge

Okay, it's time.  I'm ready to tell you what it is I'm going to be doing in the month of October to try and become more intentional in my life.  I've thought about it, I've talked about it some, but now it's time for the rubber to meet the road.... Drum Roll Please.....

(insert cymbal crash here)

For the month of October I will be;

Waking up an hour before my kids:
I need to wake up for my kids, not to my kids.  I will spend this time to get ready, read, pray, possibly journal, most definitely drink coffee, and go over the schedule for the day.  This way I'll be ready to hit it when the kids rise and shine.  (For those of you wondering, I'll be up around 5:00)

for this reforming, non-morning person this will be a tough goal but if I can do goal #2 I will help my self... help myself. :)

Going to bed by 9:30:
I've got in the bad habit of staying up to 11:00 or later these last few months.  Couple this with the shaky sleeping habits of both kids, and still having to get up earlier than I'd like- I'm pooped, all the time, every day, all week long.  This leads to all kinds of bad habits like eating way too much chocolate and other treats to stay awake, drinking cups of diet coke that are bigger than my head, not working out, and generally being a slug when I'm not working or hands on with the kids.  I can make myself keep going for my job and with the kids, but outside of that there's not much left in the tank to take care of me.

Again, this is a hard goal because I find all kinds of fun ways to eat up my evenings, surfing the net, watching TV, writing a blog.... uh, yah... I need to just go to bed.

And for my last goal....

I will go to the gym 3 times a week:
Oh my how the mighty have fallen! I used to run marathons, play ultimate frisbee, hike, bike and dance.  Now I chase a toddler, lug a big baby around in a car seat, and drag them both up and down the stairs at our condo.  Not much exercising going on here.

I have no excuse to not go to the gym since there is built-in child care with the cost of membership, and it's literally just down the street and around the corner. Hopefully getting active again will help clear some of the haze and bring back the energy I used to enjoy. If you're wondering I'm only committing to 3 times because I work early mornings two days a week, and 3 seems worthy of a 31 day challenge but still manageable.

there it is, that's the plan.  not very flashy but little, intentional, things that I will need to choose to do.   I'll keep you posted on how it's going and hopefully I can share any benefits I'm seeing too.

So how about you? Any choices you need to make this October to get back to being more on top of, and in control of your life?  Fill me in, I'd love to know what you're up to and know I'm not in this thing alone.

Thanks so much!  Bring on October!

P.S. Amazing husband is setting up a new blog for me using Word Press.  He's been teaching himself web design and development and wants us to work together to build Two Tootsies into a great blog.  We're still working on getting it just right before I make the move but wanted to give you a heads up that a change is a coming. :)

Getting to Intentional

For the last 6 months I feel like I've been living in a bit of a fog.  Even before Jordan was born I had some interesting side effects of late pregnancy that put me on semi-bed rest which was next to impossible with Kaylin running around.  So I started off my motherhood of 2 tired and kind of hazy.

Ever since I've been feeling like I'm surviving, sometimes with glimpses of brilliance, but mostly just getting through the day.   I feed, change diapers, run errands, keep house, pick up, and fall exhausted (and way past my night night time) into bed. Yes, I've experienced God's sustaining me, and Yes! I'm loving this time, but I don't have the energy, drive, and personal purpose that I enjoyed before the two tootsies came along.

I know that this is a season that won't last forever, but after 6 months I'm starting to develop habits that could be come a lifestyle.  When I was single I would say that I didn't want to be that person that "used to" do a lot of things but then forgot that part of themselves as life continued on.  But here I am on the verge of becoming a "used to" person. What do I need?  I need to get back to being intentional.

There are some things that I need to start doing again to help myself and, in turn, my kids and husband as I start living life on all cylinders again.  I've decided that I'm going to use the 31 days of October to get into some healthy patterns and get out of this haze.  I know my limits and am very aware that I don't have the time to make major, drastic, marathon sized changes, but I can start making little steps and see where they take me.

So, here's the deal, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to try and accomplish, then I'm going to report back and keep you posted on how it's going.  Hopefully the accountability of having a bit of an audience will keep me honest and on track. :)

I'm working on coming up with the things I want to do differently for the 31 day challenge, but will post those later this week.  I want to pick goals that are manageable, and hopefully make a combined impact of getting me back to a place of having energy and drive again.

Okay, so some questions for you:
What are some things you do to be on purpose in the season of life God has you in? what's working?  What results are you seeing in your life?  I'd love to know so I can learn from you, and be encouraged to do what I say I'm going to do.  Hopefully we can all cheer each other on!

Thanks  and I hope to hear from you!

Pinterest: How to

I mentioned in my first post that I have a mild addiction to Pinterest.  I think it's an easy way to spark creativity, pick up some helpful hints, and realize that you don't have to be Martha Stewart to do amazing crafts and DIY stuff for your own home and family.  It really is for the everyday person who wants to try new things and get things done.

I've talked to all my friends about it and most love it and are active pinners just like me, but others don't have the time or any idea how to make Pinterest work.  If you're like the later have no fear... this post is for you!  I want to break it down and walk you through step by step how to use Pinterest and help you get connected to this great resource.

By the way, this is just a quick start how to.  You'll get the hang of it once you start pinning and repinning on your own.  I hope this helps, and once I figure out how to add buttons to my side bar I'll add a "follow me on Pinterest" button come see what I'm pinning join in on the fun! :)


What Pinterest is:
Pinterest is an online bulletin board where you can collect "pins" about the cool stuff you find on the web.  Your board becomes the place you can store your information for latter reference without the hassle of trying to remember where you saw it and how to find it again.  You can search what other people are pinning by exploring the community board, or you can go online and find new ideas/ information and "pin it" to your own boards with a click of a button.  (you can also upload pictures from your computer to share)

A "Pin" is a picture that gives you and others a visual cue about what's being shared.

You organize your "pins" on boards that you can categorize by any topic or title; "Styles I like," "Ideas for the kids," "Recipes I'd like to try" etc..


How to Start:
To sign up for Pinterest, go to www.pinterest.com and elect the button "Join Pinterest" at the top of the page.  They'll have you click a couple of pins you like, then when you click the continue button, you can register using your Facebook or twitter account, or create a profile using your email address.

After you've completed the registration process you can start searching other peoples boards and setting up your own.

How to Repin a Pin, and Create a Board:
You'll see lots and lots of pictures or "pins" that you can start searching for things you like.  When you find something that catches your eye you can either hover over it and select the "repin" button, or click it to take a closer look.

When you click a pin another screen will come up that has an enlarged photo of the pin and any comments that other pinners have made.  if you click the larger image you'll be take to the original location of the pin on the web where you can see what the pin is all about.  If you like what you see you can add it to your own board by "repinning." You'll need to click the back button on your browser or select the pinterest tab at the top of the navigation bar. Select "Repin" and you're almost done.

If you've never set up a board before a window will pop up and ask you to name or create a board.  The Pin will then be added to that board.  Once you have multiple boards created you'll be able to select from a drop down menu which one you want to add your pin to.

From there.. just play around and have some fun!

i hope this helps, let me know if I left something out, or if there are any helpful hints for the first time pinner that I should pass along by leaving me a message in the comment section.

Thanks so much and happy pinning!

My first installment of things that make me nuts:

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping:

Okay, time for a moment of honesty... I used to think I was really on top of meal planning and shopping, I used to really like it.  Then, 2 years of being in one stage or another of pregnancy, I realized I would rather eat out, or better yet... have my mom fly in from Denver and cook and freeze lots of meals for us.  Anyone else been there?

I tried, really tried, to pull it together and come up with a menu that had a variety of foods and stayed in our budget, but week after week we ate the same thing and blew the budget almost every time.  Talk about feeling defeated!  I needed help but didn't have the energy or creativity to come up with something that was easy, cut costs, and over all made my life easier.  It wasn't till I happened to see a post on facebook that I discovered emeals.  Let me tell you- It's changed everything in my kitchen.

Emeals is a meal planing/ grocery shopping website that lays out a weeks worth of delicious dinners, the shopping list is organized by meal and sections in the store, and the best thing... the shopping bill is consistently within the 60-70 dollar range. LOVE IT!  Keep in mind there is a very minimal fee to use this service, but with the savings we're getting from using it (around 20%) who cares about the membership fee!

Okay, back to the functionality... the way the shopping list is laid out is pure genius and gives me the ability to cross off the items for meals I don't want to cook without having to cross reference and double check my recipes. The recipes are really tasty and have added back the variety I was looking for! We're trying new things, things I never would have come up with on my own, and enjoying eating and not wasting what I'm cooking (have I mentioned wasted food in the fridge drives me nuts?)

Anyway, I can't wait to share some of my favorite meals from emeals in the time to come, but do yourself a HUGE favor and check it out- you'll love that you can pick the stores and the type of meal plan you want (based on how many people are in your family, and what type of cooking you want to do- low fat, clean, gluten free, etc.)

This is the best tool for busy families on a budget- a must for this mom!  Hope you like what you see and will check it out  by clicking on the banner below-

Have a fabulous day!