Good Neighbor Day

September 28th is national Good Neighbor Day! What a great reason to celebrate in your own community. What a great opportunity to teach your kids that it is important to take the first step in being kind to your neighbors. At our house we like to bake goodies (pumpkin bread this year) and take them to our neighbors. I think this year since my oldest can write I will have him write a little note to attach to them. We live in a really great neighborhood and I am so thankful for the friendly atmosphere our chunk of homes offer. For the most, we are surrounded by elderly and retired. I love it and my kids do too. My kids have been invited over to help wash a car for 10 cents, to help feed pets, to go swimming in a neighbor's pool, and just over for ice cream or cookies. I love the relationships my kids have with our neighbors and mine too. I can always go next door to borrow a wheel barrow or an egg or even a truck to load stuff away! We are blessed with our neighbors and I am happy to thank them on Good Neighbor Day! Take a few minutes to walk across the street tomorrow or next door, if even to say hello and drop off a candy bar or a flower from your yard. Good neighbors make great communities!

Here are some suggestions for celebrating the day:

• Help your neighbors in some way
• Offer a smile and friendly hello to your neighbor
• Have your neighbor over for a meal
• Hold a block party
• Get to know your neighbor a little better

I could really use...

Sometimes we just need a little something to get us over a hump... it may be something radical or something very small. Today, my somethings are small...I could really use a date night with my husband, a laundry fairy (did I mention I have done 6 loads today and still have about 5 left? ahhh!), a good hair-cut, and a movie night on my couch with a good chic flick. (Maybe I can make the husband thing and the movie thing happen at the same time tonight? :) These things are small and not super life shattering, but all the same, it would be nice!

When I start feeling or thinking this way I sometimes start to think about other people and what might they really need at that moment. I usually am surrounded by my healthy family, in a warm cozy home, and in comfy clothes when I have these thoughts. It makes me feel pretty darn blessed and the "somethings" I think I need are just icing on the cake for this life I get to live.

The days I get to have that hair-cut at that nice salon or a night out with my hubby or the remote all to myself for a night (and lets just be honest, there is no laundry fairy) become really great moments in an already great life. Are we not spoiled at times? Even better, I love spoiling my mommy friends when I can because I know under their already really blessed lives and totally awesome families, that they are very hard working moms who often put themselves last. And you know what? They deserve a little something every so often. So, what is it for you? What could you really use today? How about your pal? Maybe you could treat each other a bit?

I think us mom's should all tell our mommy friends to take a little time this week and do a little something for yourselves. I think we're better mom's for it!

Do you have space?

Lately, I have been thinking hard about how I live my everyday life. I am feeling like I want to live a life that has space for life to just happen... instead of trying to make my life happen all the time. I want to have my heart ready for what life brings us, my head able to be in the present moments, and my home available for life to just unravel here. Space. I am feeling a lot lately that in order to live daily filled with joy and peace that I need to allow for space. Leaving room for my heart to be filled and my head to be challenged and my home to have lots of possibilities requires me not being too bogged down to miss or over plan for these chances. Chances of a life time. These are short but important thoughts for me tonight. I want to start waking up in the morning feeling available for what God has planned for me and my family that day. Hmmm.... space for God to work and for me to follow. I think I need more space...

tip #2

Still plugging away with my book, The House That Cleans Itself. So far, so good. There is some serious thinking and habit to put into this, but I am liking the end results, so it is worth it so far! My next tip I have found helpful...

Do a 5 minute walk through of your house every day. Yes, every day and ONLY 5 minutes. Set your timer if you have to. This is when you will pick up those socks, hang up and straighten those towels, and put last night's newspaper into recycling. During this time do only light straightening and no heavy cleaning. Don't let your mind wander, don't get distracted by the wet clothes in the washer or the Internet pulled up with all your emails. 5 minutes of quick straightening. It becomes a habit after a couple weeks and a pretty good one if I don't say so myself. I have even added this to my kids list of chores they help with. Often it is the kid's toys or blankets thrown around on the floor. It's good for them to offer a hand for 5 minutes and return things to their home.

Wa-la! Tip #2 worth trying! Straighten away!

Today

Today I began my morning convincing my toddler that he needed to go back to sleep when I found him standing beside my bed at 4:30am. It was a day to get up and head to the gym with my girlfriend and I strongly thought about texting her and bailing. By 5:45, little one was finally back to sleep, but I was now wide awake even though I felt exhausted. I half walked, half slugged to my bathroom to slip into my gym clothes, pull my hair back, and try to stick my contacts into two half open eyes. Needless to say my work-out was about a C average and my body just kept trying to convince me to run straight to the nearest coffee shop and then find a place to nap. And soon. Days like today, I am so thankful for an accountability work-out partner!

After the gym I headed home to find two boys hungry and a husband off to work. 4 pieces of toast, 3 glasses of OJ, and 2 bowls of cereal later we were all three planted on the couch reading books and petting the family dog. Mmmmm, life felt good. Shortly after this and getting dressed and picking up toys from last night and cleaning dishes from this morning and of course finally drinking a cup of coffee, we were out the door. You see, my oldest is headed back to school soon and today I had all the time in the world with him and I wanted to do something fun.

After a quick stop at a little shop we made our way across the bridge to check out the "cool water" as my toddler calls it. Next was a morning of surprises. And even better, with my ever so faithful work-out buddy and her sweet toddler full of great comments to keep us laughing and blue eyes to warm anyone's heart. We spent the next hour playing at a fun little park across town that we never take the time to trek over to. After swings and slides and a sweaty game of "You're it!" we surprised the kids with lunch. Not that getting lunch is a surprise for our kids, but what was on the menu sure was. Today, like no other days we indulged in ice-cream for lunch. It tasted so good and I am now sitting here a bit jittery after ice-cream for lunch and my second cup of coffee for today, but oh well...we only get today's like today every so often.

Now here I am with my sticky faced toddler napping soundly in his bed, while I listen to the rain drop softly outside, and my big boy is having a last minute play-date with a friend from school. My cup of Vanilla Raspberry tastes especially yummy today (you know, since I am going off little hours of sleep) and I can't help but think about how my day could be going so much different.

There are days I choose to not get out of bed and go work-out, I don't take time to read books and snuggle after breakfast so I can clean the kitchen, I turn the TV on so I can "quick" do some laundry, I don't add any ridiculous idea to my agenda ( AKA ice-cream for lunch), I don't take time to just have my kids hang out with our friends or myself even, and so on. You get the picture... well, I like today. And I am thinking more often then not, if I would just choose the more relationship building, physical healing, time pausing, ridiculous idea implementing, and the good cup of coffee (always the goof coffee, always) that my today's could be an awful lot like this one.

Today, I feel connected to my kids so much, my heart is warm from doing random things with my dear friend, my body is feeling good from even a C average work-out, and my brain is even a bit clear....even off little sleep. We never know how many today's we get in this life. Today has been good. I could have chosen differently at 5 this morning, but it has been good. I hope I choose to have more today's like this. Life is filled up with today's, some just become old and some are yet to come. When I look back at my life I hope I feel like I spent my today's right where I was at and not thinking back at old ones or worrying too much about new ones. Live your life for today while those little ones are around and those friends are free to make it the best days of your life.

roots & wings

Being a mom is a BIG job! We all know that, don't we? It requires a lot of work, time, and energy. Doing this mom job though is much more then changing diapers, feeding their bellies, washing their faces, and car pooling to soccer. As mom's we have the opportunity to give the world little people who grow up to be positive, influential, serving, loving, and faith centered adults. These little one's we are molding will shape generations, near and far. They will set the bar for your great grandchildren and beyond.I truly believe this and strongly believe as mom's we have such a task ahead of us of doing our job to help get our kids there. I am sure you have heard the words "roots and wings" used together before, but as a mother it holds so much understanding as we are child rearing.

Once our little bundles of joy arrive we begin our journey of giving them solid roots. Roots that will help them stand tall and firm when life gets hard for them, confusing, or difficult to get through. Roots will give them a place to be landed on the ground and not blowing aimlessly through the winds of life. Roots will give them a secure place to make mistakes. Roots will guide them as they go on and try to fly on their own. And that time will come. We want it to come for them, hard as it is at times, but God intends for these little ones to fly away someday. By giving them deep roots, we also give them wings. Wings to try new things. Wings to see the world from a higher place. Wings to speak up when they need to, be humble when it's right, to reach bigger goals, to love better, to have the confidence to try and succeed, to be a positive, influential, serving, loving, and faith centered adult.

As mother's we can be a great disservice to our children by not taking the time now to help them plant their roots deep into a healthy, loving, faith filled, grace filled, encouraging, patient, kind, and hope filled ground. Roots planted deep in this kind of rich soil is the building ground for helping our little ones fly when the time comes.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I am doing now at home to help my kids dig deep into their roots. I want them to be able to fly someday, on their own. That means I have to work hard now to set the foundation for having a rich soil for their little roots to dig deep into. I only get this chance once with them. Not only do I need to help my kids get grounded with long, strong, deep roots...but I also have to be able to keep my roots planted deep in rich soil. Lately I am finding I need to be planted deeper in God's word and with God. Time away from both of these only make my roots wilt a bit. I want to see my kids fly away someday, but I won't get them there without keeping my own wings afloat. I am challenging myself to do what it takes to keep my roots planted deep in God's rich soil. Along the way, I have a feeling I will be pruning my kid's roots too.

absent in one way or another...

You may have noticed I have been a bit absent lately from this blog...or maybe you haven't. I have no great excuses other then this simple one that I let roll around in my brain weekly...

"Do not give away what you have not given at home first."

I read this when I first became a mother and it has sunk deep into my soul. I think of this often when I'm trying to choose between saying yes or no to something. I think of this when I think about sitting down to blog too. I enjoy blogging and writing and connecting, however lately my days have been filled with summer fun, my boys, cooking, getting ready for school, listening to my husband, chatting with friends, cleaning, and just being here...in my home...head, heart, and body. It's been good and even though I've let up a bit on some "outside" things, it's been right for all of us here in this household.

This does not mean I will always be absent! I've just had a period where I needed to really be at home...all of me. So this blog has seen a little break :) Time is priceless and lately I've been using mine up on who and what is in my home. More posts to come.... soon, I promise :)