Best 10’s: Blogging

Posted on by
1

Over the weekend we had a great lunch and visit with one of Rob’s oldest childhood friends and his wife and adorable son. Rob lived up the street from this friend when he was little and we now live up the street from them now! Such a small world.

It was really nice to get to know them a bit (I had never met them). Rob mentioned that I love to blog and they asked me why?

It’s a good question. I used to think that there was something very narcissistic about blogging; something weird about sharing so many details of your life with people – sometimes complete strangers! I have traditionally been a very private person so blogging on a public forum was certainly pushing my limits. I started blogging a couple of years ago privately and liked it – and then last year started making it public, mainly to share with my family and friends.

There are lots of reasons why people blog, but here are my top 10:

1. Solidify the Memories: I have always been a record keeper. I love to keep a journal, keep photo albums, and scrapbooks. I love to document everything. It helps keep all the memories alive! “The palest ink is worth more than the sharpest memory”. Blogging is a great way to document: write, add pictures, link to other things. Plus, I really just like doing it – it’s enjoyable to me!

2. For the Love of Writing: I love to write, so blogging is an opportunity for me to write what I want to write (rather than write the reports I have to write). Helps me improve my writing skills too!

3. Leave a Legacy: I wanted a place to record memories and stories for future generations. My grandmother documented parts of her life which my cousin compiled into a beautiful book and we all have copies. We’ve read this book as a family and it was an amazing experience; learning a bit of our family history gives everyone a sense of connection and belonging. My Dad also loved to tell stories – but unfortunately many are not written down. How I wish he had documented more, or I had written them down. It would have been a way to still connect with him since he’s passed on. The record is essentially a gift I leave for my future generation.

4. Live more Deliberately : Blogging makes me more deliberate in my daily life. Sounds strange but if you write something, you are more accountable for making sure it happens. I can’t write something that I don’t actually do. It works the other way around too. If I want to make sure I do something, I just have to make sure I write it down – I’m now accountable to myself (and my kids who hold me to it!)

5. Find Clarity: Writing helps me organize my thoughts and evaluate how I am really feeling. It brings me clarity and perspective. Sometimes only after I write a post will I have a clear idea of what I need to do next, or what my opinion is, of how I really feel.

6.Communicate with Others : Blogging is a way of keeping in contact with family and friends. We live so far from some so it’s a way of still being connected in the everyday little ways.

7. Connection and Support : Blogging connects you to others. You don’t always know someone who can relate to your situation in your immediate social circle. The blog world opens up the opportunity to connect with people who are similar. You can find friendship and support.

8. Expand My Perspective: At the same time, blogging can expose you to different people who are not like you. You get exposed to other people’s point of view. It’s nice to hear other people’s perspectives. It really can help you broaden your own.

9. Express My Love: Blogging is a great way for connecting with my own kids! They love reading about themselves or our family or seeing pictures of everyone. I like that they can see in writing how much I love them – or what I think about them. It’s a permanent expression of my love for them – even when I’m not around.

10. Show Gratitude: Blogging makes me really feel like I’m living my life now and reminds me to be grateful of all the little things that really make up my life. It’s wasy to find joy in the big stuff. But, I want to find joy in all the in between stuff too. Blogging heightens my awareness of the small pleasures and triumphs. Things get appreciated more, expressed more, remembered more.

Art Day: Dreams

Posted on by
1

Josh came to me on Saturday and asked if we could do our art day ( from our family bucket list described here) on Sunday afternoon.

This was pretty good timing since I was all excited to start my new project: my art journal. (You can get more details here if you want to do your own). I figured maybe they could start lesson 1 with me since I felt a little hesitant to start it! . It could boost my confidence a bit.

So we did.

And it was so fun!

The first assignment was to capture your dreams: what do you daydream about, what are your dreams for the future ? We were to use lots of layers and textures to create our dream page.

I spread out a whole bunch of different papers and materials that I had, stickers, cut outs and pens and we all created away.

Everyone was quite engrossed in their work and really created their own, unique, imaginative piece.

Then we shared our creations with each other. It was really cool to see how many dreams we all had that are similar (to travel a lot) and then the differences too.

So far we are going to have two pilots, and two professional soccer players and an artist/dancer/ teacher. At least we have pilots to take us where we are traveling, obviously to watch the professional soccer players and see the art and dance shows!

It was also really nice how family was highlighted for each of us – our family now and our future family.

It was also amazing for me to see how many ideas flow so freely once you get started. I’m actually excited to start the next project – and I’m guaranteed to have some joiners for future projects too! I know the kids will be asking for art day again soon!

Quote of the Week

Posted on by
Reply

“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb…that is where the fruit is”.

Given my chosen career (working with people who have suffered from head injuries), I am a little bit of a cautious mother.

My children know to not even THINK about riding a bike without a helmet, or getting on a skateboard without one, or driving in a car without a proper seat belt for even a minute – it’s one of those non negotiable things with me.

Yes, there is always the argument that “anything can happen” even when you are most cautious. This is true; however, some risks are “smarter” to take than others. So we talk about “smart risks” vs “not so smart risks”.

We talk about these kind of risks because they are health and safety concerns. These are risks we don’t want to take to avoid danger.

But there are other kinds of risks; risks that we want to take because they can lead to growth.

Perhaps we avoid doing something because we may feel insecure, or not very confident. We may doubt our strengths or abilities, become paralyzed with our fears, or get stuck in a rut doing the same old thing. We can become set in our ways and believe we can’t do something and this may cause us to stay within our comfort zones.

We are constantly trying to push our kids to try new things. I want them to be exposed to as many different things as possible. I also want them to challenge themselves and do “hard things”. In doing the hard things (for each person – “hard things” is defined differently ) they will learn their true colours, they will develop their talents and they will overcome their weaknesses. Self esteem and confidence will grow as well. Even failures will be successful, because failures breed growth.

I try to teach my kids this, but sometimes I don’t always walk my talk. I will encourage them to do something “tough for them” and then turn around and avoid doing something “I know I am not good at”.

This year I turn 40. I have been really thinking of how to make this year “My Year”. Mid life crisis? I don’t think so. I do think at this age we take stock of our lives and look around and see if we are where we want to be. I certainly feel like I am in a very good place. But I always want to be in a better place!

I want to do something hard for me. I want to do something that doesn’t come naturally and that will push me out of my comfort zone. I want to show my kids that you can take a weakness and make it a strength (or at least not a weakness anymore). I want to go out on a limb and find the fruit.

And I think I’ve found it!

Creativity is hard for me. It just doesn’t come naturally. My hubby – he’s creative. My kids – great imaginations! Me? Planner, scheduler, routine girl, Madame Predicatable.

So this year, I am embarking on a bit of a creative journey. I found this great new blog: A Beautiful Mess. She has put out an e-course on creating a 52 week art journal. Every week, you are challenged to a different task. I ordered the course, started looking through it last night and felt defeated already! I don’t even know what some of the supplies are on the supply list!! But I’m doing it! In fact, I already started it (more on that in another post).

You can find info on this course and purchase it for yourself too right here.

I know for some this is not much of a “going out on a limb” – but for me it is! Looking forward to seeing what kind of fruit is out there!

Grass is Greener

Posted on by
Reply

I went back to work this week after enjoying some time off last week.

Today was a particularly long day, and as I was sitting at my desk, writing some notes, I was listening to Zach gab about his day. I stopped writing, leaned back in my chair, sighed and said “I wish I were a stay at home Mom so I wouldn’t miss all that”.

He started massaging my shoulders (sweetie!) and sighed right back, “I wish I were a stay at home kid”.

He cracks me up.

But I was thinking today, as I was walking into my last appointment how I wish I didn’t have to work – or at least work as much as I do.

Then, I caught myself. I was visiting a woman who was desperate to go back to work, desperate to walk again, desperate to have her memory back, desperate to not have a brain injury.

What the heck do I ever have to complain about? It’s a priviledge for me to be walking into her home, helping her in the ways I can, and then return home to my crazy-fun-loving-healthy-happy home.

It’s a priviledge that my work allows me to serve others and helps me remember to count my blessings.

I just need to remind myself of that when I am missing being home with my kids (and remember that if I was at home with my kids they would likely be driving me crazy and I would be craving that time to go be on my own working!!).

Grass is always greener. Need to appreciate the yard you are given!

Best 10’s Family Bucket List

Posted on by
4

For family night this week, we decided to make a list of 10 things we want to do together as a family this year – our bucket list so to speak.

Some things are things we already do – but I guess the kids want to ensure we keep doing them! Other things were more of a surprise but I think they sound pretty fun!

The kids are pretty excited about them too. I think 2012 is going to be a good year!

Tongue of Angels

Posted on by
Reply

When Zach and Josh were little, they went to a home daycare, with a wonderful caregiver, Ti-Tia. She was more of a Grandmother to them, and she loved all the kids she took care of, and treated all of us crazy stressed Moms with such love.

Being a family type of daycare, the Moms all got to know each other.

I remember one particular day dropping the boys off at the same time as another Mom dropped her daughter off. We said our good byes to our kids, with lots of hugs and kisses and left.

As we left, the Mom turned to me, with tears in her eyes, and said she had had a really bad mother morning.

Feeling her pain, having had many bad mother mornings myself, I asked, “What happened” ?

She replied, “I yelled at my daughter for the first time”.

“The first time today“? (Really, that’s the only thing she could mean in my mind….)

Nope, she meant for the first time ever.

Ever.

Her daughter was 3 years old.

Ordinarily I would say this woman was a big fat liar. But, knowing the little I knew about her and her sweet disposition, I was pretty sure she was telling the truth.

I have thought of this story so very often.

You see, I felt so guilty. I had yelled at my boys. Often. Probably too often.

I’m not sure if I’m a “Yeller Mom” or not. I mean, I do sometimes get angry, talk sternly, be sarcastic, and occasionally yell. But not as bad as some Moms I hear. I think??

But, regardless of whether I’d be classified as a “Yeller Mom”, I’d prefer to have my kids think back fondly and say, “My Mom/Smom” was such a patient, kind, soft spoken person. It was more like listening to an angel speak”.

Ok. Truthfully, it’s way too late for that.

But I would like them to not have tons of memories of me nagging, or raising my voice. I would prefer those times to be the exceptions.

In my readings of sorts lately, I have come across a few nuggets that really have caused me to pause.

In our faith, we believe that our spirits existed before here on earth, and will continue after we leave this earth. We are all tied together as one big family, having a loving Heavenly Father who sent us here on earth to experience joy and live in families. But, He is the ultimate Creator. We are all His children and He loves each of us individually.

The children we have here on earth are blessings and gifts to us, like I talked about here. Our children are not our possessions. We have no ownership per se over them. They are equals to us. Yes, we may have more experience, and we may be their coaches as I talked about here, but they are our equals. We need to remember who they are.

As such, they deserve the same amount of respect as we give to other adults. (Hopefully we do give that respect to other adults – if not, then we need to also remember who THEY are).

In one of my readings (by Jeffrey R Holland), he talks about how we speak to a child:

” We must be so careful in speaking to a child. What we say or don’t say, how we say it and when is so very, very important in shaping a child’s view of himself or herself. But it is even more important in shaping that child’s faith in us and their faith in God”.

He goes on to talk about negative speaking, and how it flows from negative thinking, which before long makes everyone feel miserable.

Maya Angelou asked the question : “How do you react when your child enters the room? Do your eyes light up”?

Children need to feel loved. They need to feel special. We can tell them they are special, or tell them we love them, but if our eyes are not lighting up, or the words coming out of our mouths are harsh, or the tone is demeaning, how will they feel this love?

On my bucket list was to “Speak with the tongue of angels (remember who they are)”. While it is not really something that I want to do just this year, it is something that I want to start being much more conscious about.

I need to watch my eyes, my tone, and my words. I want my children to feel they are loved every minute of every day. And then more. Even when I discipline (which I think is part of showing love), I need to be mindful of doing it with respect and dignity.

Tall order for myself. I think I’ll have to enlist the help of angels.

Quote of the Week

Posted on by
Reply

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow”
– Einstein

I thought this was a nice quote to start the new year off.

It’s always fun thinking back about the past year, like I did here. Thinking about the good and the bad. What you want to do again, what you never want to do again. As my children are growing, I do find myself drawn to watching the old videos, looking through the photo albums and thinking fondly of those times…. When did they become these big kids?

And then I do find myself thinking about (and planning) the future: Are we teaching the kids what they need to know? Will we be able to squeeze in all the experiences we want to have with them before they get “too old”? Will we be able to achieve our goals and ambitions? Will everyone be healthy, happy and feel loved as they get older?

Then there is the present. Now. This is when “the past” is formed, and when the “future” is unfolded. It really is the most important time.

Last year, my goal was to “Be There”. To be more present in our daily lives. To enjoy the moment. It is something I really struggle with. The hamsters on the wheel in my mind are always spinning with something that needs to get done next….

I wish I could say that this year I have a new mantra because I was so successful last year. But I don’t.

This year, my main focus, again, is to “Be There”. Enjoy those little moments. I’m planning on taking more pics and recording more on this little blog – as it really does help me be “deliberate in the moment”.

Must run – the present needs me.

Recipes – Quinoa Salad and Greek Tomato Pizza

Posted on by
Reply

I love a fresh start with the New Year. However, I’m usually feeling a little “full”. Full of all the rich foods, and yummy desserts. My clothes are feeling a little tighter too:(

So, every New Year, I have to go on a little “eat good food, avoid junk” diet.

That started today.

For lunch, we had a yummy salad that I got from one of my friends when she posted it on Facebook one day. I made a couple of alterations – like adding avocado (I love) and minusing olives (not so much). The salad is very good and super easy to make. It’s really good the next day (or two!) too.

Quinoa salad

4 cups chicken stock (or water – chicken stock just adds a nicer flavour)
2 cups quinoa
1 cup red pepper , diced
1 cup green pepper , diced
1 cup cucumber , diced
1/2 cup green onion , diced
1/2 cup black olives (optional)
1/2 cup red onion , diced
1 avocado, chopped in small pieces
5 ounces reduced-fat feta cheese

Dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
pepper

In a pan, bring stock to a boil. Stir in quinoa. Reduce heat to med low and cover. Cook 12-15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl and cool.

Mix in veggies and cheese into cooled quinoa (I’ve mixed it in when it was warm and it was pretty tastly anyways:). Mix together dressing ingredients. Pour over quinoa mixture and toss.

For dinner, we had:

Greek Tomato Pita Pizzas

I don’t really have a recipe, but it goes something like this:

Pita
Tomatoes (sliced thinly)
Feta cheese
Tiny bit of oil
Greek seasoning: garlic salt, pepper, oregano, basil.

Slice tomatoes and then layer on pita. Sprinkle with chopped feta. Throw on some seasonings and drizzle with some olive oil. Heat at 350 until pita is a bit crispy at the edge and feta is slightly soft and lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Best 10’s To Do This Year

Posted on by
Reply

This year is a big one for me: I turn 40.

How did that happen?

I read about all the 20 somethings and their smugness at being so young.

I was just there so wipe that smirk off your face.

Isn’t there a quote: “As you are now, so once was I”?

Anyhow, I have some “To do’s” on my “Year I turn 40” list. I think I’ll call it my “40’s bucket list”: