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!

It's 6:30am, the kids are still sleeping... let's start a blog.

Having two children that are two and under has changed everything in my life!  It's been a huge learning curve about checking my expectations regarding the order of my 2 bedroom condo, the amount of sleep I get,  how I can use my time, and that being a mini van mom is indeed cool.

Sure I've had my moments of complete melt down and despair, but more often I've laughed because of the stuff that the toddler does, or been completely over taken by love for the baby when I hear his sweet coos and see his amazing gummy grin.   I know, I know ... moms with more kids are saying I have no idea what crazy is... and they're right.  But, in this combined season of toddlerhood and infancy I'm learning to keep my cool (and my mind) by being more on top of the way I live life with a few intentional tricks I'm picking up a long the way. (Thanks to amazing friends, and my mild addiction to Pinterest.)

This is my blog about my life as a wife, mom, friend, shopper, small group member, cook, household organizer, part time worker, sister,  & dog owner... I think that about covers everything. :)  There are a few things I'm learning along the way that help bring order to the busy, and keep me on the right side of  sanity, in the middle of this very packed, happy and busy life.

Welcome to my little spot, I hope you can find something that helps you too. Enjoy! :)