Baby Steps

My morning scene(the end of my morning quiet time, it is dark when I get up). Journal, pen, coffee.

In order for bigger change to occur(eventually) I have decided that I have to start making small changes every single day... One day they will all add up to something bigger...but he beginning always requires baby steps, somewhere to start.

I have started making changes to my morning routine, I am forming new habits sloooowly, in order to replace old ones. I don't think you can wake up one day and decide that everything in your life is wrong and you need to change everything this second in order to be happy and at peace.
Eh...maybe some people can, I don't know...But that would not work for me. It has to be slower and more deliberate or I think you immediately fall back into old routines and habits. You have to look at things and decide what is working and what isn't and WHY. What you can immediately change, what you can start working on and long + short-term goals.

So in the name of Making Lasting Changes and Baby Steps, here is what I am doing in the mornings...
*Waking up at least an hour before the kids.
*Writing first
*Not looking at social media(or email or anything else) until I do some writing
* Setting intentions for the day...What I want today to look like, what I don't want it to look like and how I can best get there.

^ This last small step seems pretty simple and kinda silly... But I think it might make the biggest difference in my days. Planning, thinking, setting intentions and remembering that I decide what today looks like is big for me. Other people and things do not decide the outcome of my days, I do.

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Happy Monday, Hope it is a great week for you!

Last Minute Birthday Party

This past Tuesday Charlotte turned nine.
Nine.
My kid's Birthdays normally really kinda depress me but we have had so much going on lately that there was no time to really feel too bad about it or lament how old I must be by now.
Anyway, we threw together a last minute party for her on Sunday and she invited three friends.
With the kid's Birthdays being just ten day apart, we usually celebrate them together with a family party but this year they wanted their own parties and I was happy to oblige.
Months earlier we saw this the tiny mushroom pinata along with Woodland-themed napkins, plates and garland at Target and snatched them up.

We saw so many cute ideas online and ooohed and ahhhed over all the cute things we saw on Pinterest that we didn't have time for(luckily). Charlotte she definitely wanted to make the acorns above and she wanted a bowl of chocolate covered raisins that she saw someone had labeled "bear poop"... I didn't think it was funny, she did, and I have long since learned to pick my battles.

Just the day before we were at my parent's and my mom came up with that little tiny deer sitting on her cake, it used to sit on a dresser in my bedroom when I was a kid. The little banner that says "Happy" on the cake I made in 5 minutes, using tiny tags, string and chopsticks. We scrounged up found real acorns outside and cut some leaves off of our tree in the backyard for a few jars and we were ready for a party.

One idea that did not come from Pinterest but I thought up all by my big-girl self, was for them to make terrariums to take home.
This was fun and took the place of sending them home with little bags full of candy or junk-and also, they look so cute. They are super easy and not expensive and I love how they all turned out.

Had I planned ahead, I would have been watching for these little things that we used to put in the terrariums on sale at Hobby Lobby, Michael's or wherever. I hate paying full price for things that regularly go on sale but this time I had no choice.
I got the dinosaurs at the dollar store and Wyatt hand over some army men of his own, there were two boys there(Wyatt included and I wanted some fun "Boyish" options, too)so I wanted more than just the mushrooms and deer. The tiny deer were found at Hobby Lobby near the dollhouse accessories and the mushrooms near the floral/garden/fairy garden area.
If you were one to plan ahead, I think after Christmas time you could stock up on deer, little trees, fences, houses, etc. at some seriously bargain prices.

I didn't get ant good pictures of the table- and I know you can see baskets of shoes and all of our every day junk in the background but this is real life. And it's messy and filled with dust, dog hair and baskets of shoes.
The napkins and plates were my favorite, along with the pinata, so sweet.
This little girl had a great time, she loved having her "very own Birthday party" and it was a special little day for her indeed.

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It's Friday again and another busy weekend ahead....Hoping for some more beautiful Fall weather like we have had lately here in the Midwest. Fingers crossed.
Have a great weekend!

This Week In Pictures

A crazy, busy week.
That is what happens when there is something going on most weeknights(at least this week)and in the span of 8 days we have four family Birthdays- Wyatt, my mom, my dad and Charlotte.
Whew.
Just this weekend we squeezed in- five boys camping out in the backyard Friday night, my niece's homecoming Saturday, a soccer game, and dinner out to celebrate Wyatt's Birthday Saturday night.
The week was lots of running around + Birthday shopping, grocery shopping, soccer practice, a school celebration one afternoon, swimming lessons, present wrapping and a few early mornings of walking before work.
That is just way too much for me if you want the truth- But it's a busy season and all days and weeks are not like this one, thankfully.

One of my favorite things from this past week was deciding at the last minute to drive out to the country with the kids to see the eclipse.

We left at the last minute to be able to drive about 10-15 minutes and get a really good view of it away from a lot of lights/town...We made it.
We were already in our pajamas and all I really wanted to do was get in bed and read my book- But I am glad we went. Such a cool thing to see and I hope the kids remember these things when they are older, these simple, last minute things, the memories we are making and just spending time together.

In the midst of all the chaos I try to constantly remember to slow down, take a breath and appreciate where I am right now in the moment. Just breathe.
A lot of time it's not easy and it takes effort to push things out of my mind-the worry, the thoughts, anxieties and ugly stuff. A great reminder for me is taking pictures... Every single day.
Even if right now the pictures are just with my phone, it is a great way for me to appreciate the little things, to capture them and to remember what is really important to me amidst all the craziness and stress of daily life.

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Happy Sunday!

Soaking In These Early Fall Days

It's Fall...officially and it is even starting to feel like it now.
I do love Summer and I am always a little sad to see it go but then there is Fall.
Every Fall I think maybe it is my MOST favorite time of year... it just might be. Today it is.
Today it most definitely is.
Fall soccer, cool mornings, pumpkins, mums, all the pumpkin spice ridiculousness...I love it all.

This week I am thankful for flowers from the Farmer's Market, a coffee date + afternoon with my sister
and the leaves changing colors on the trees.
We are enjoying the days of still going barefoot but maybe needing a long sleeve shirt and dreaming of apple orchards and pumpkin patches.

Welcome Back, Fall...so glad you are here.

{Virtual Coffee}

Good Morning!
Happy Tuesday morning to you from my front porch.
It's coffee on the front porch weather, you guys! This makes me so happy. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!
This morning my coffee isn't quite as pretty as it is in this picture, this was actually last week's coffee at
my favorite little coffee shop, with two of my best girlfriends.
So today I'm having my coffee on the front porch and that's a pretty good place to be this morning, if you ask me- even though I would really love to rewind to last week!

So - it feels like I have not been around here for morning coffee for a long time, and a little scarce around here lately anyway. The days and weeks have felt so busy lately and I end up running out of time for more than half of the things I intend to do every day it seems like.
And speaking of busy... It's May? Say what?
The last month of school is so busy with field trips and teacher gifts, concerts and just extra things to remember to buy and do. Ughhhhhh.

Last week Charlotte and I made May Day baskets for their teachers, this was my idea because it
was one of my favorite things growing up.
I remember cutting lilacs from the bush in our backyard and wrapping the bottom in a wet paper towel and then somehow making something(?) out of paper to hold them... I can't remember that part?
Then we would leave them on our neighbor's doors on May 1.
Charlotte loved making them and even made an extra one for "someone at school" but it was really for me and she surprised me with them the next morning.

Speaking of lilacs...
On Sunday I cut the last of the lilacs from my bush so I could smell them in the house just one.more.time. this Spring.
The rest were dying so this was the last salvageable bunch.
I love this smell so very much, it instantly reminds me of Spring and home and my mom and my childhood backyard.

If we were really meeting for coffee this morning....
I would have to tell you about my latest obsession- I got the first season of Girls from the library and was immediately hooked. I know people have all kinds of stuff to say about Lena Dunham and I don't know the story on her personal life and don't really care because- the show, I LOVE that show.
Now I am on the 3rd season and I can't get enough.
We signed up for HBO free for three months so now I can watch it on HBO instead of getting it form the library, and then I got the HBO Go app on my ipad so I can watch Girls/HBO wherever I want.
I am not gonna lie, sometimes I just LOVE modern technology.

Lastly, this weekend I am hoping(I said hoping, it's not super likely) to do a little work on my front porch-- the underneath part of it needs paintedr, the steps and porch itself need to be scraped so they can be repainted.... and I really want to paint my front door this yellow color.e
What do you think? Our house is a bluish-gray so I think it will look good.
I also need to finally spray paint my wicker chairs, get new pillows and plant some flowers.
Geez. Check back with me in a month or two maybe, it's gonna take a while.

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On that note, I am going to finish my coffee and sit here in silence for just a little longer(I hope) before the craziness of another school/work morning gets going around here.
Tell me,what's going on in your little corner of the world? What's new?
Have you been enjoying your Spring... Any exciting Mother's Day plans?
Are you counting down the days until school gets out yet? I'd love to hear what you are up to!


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Have a great day & Happy Cimco de Mayo.... I will be celebrating with a fat margarita tonight!

This Week Looked like...

This week looked like trees finally blooming and smelling of Spring
It looked like blue skies + sunshine
It looked like a cup of morning coffee on the front porch while the kids walk to school
It looked like after-school trips to the park
filled with
Roller skating, bike riding and walking on the bike trail

This week looked like playing with Stanley a lot in the backyard and open windows

This week looked like a really fun night at the Titanic Dinner(at my brother's restaurant)
with my mom, dad + sister

This week looked like coffee on the front porch kinda weather, like officially
Woooooohoooooooo!

This week looked like...
Playing baseball at the park and lots of games of catch in the backyard this week
This week also looked like both of the kids thinking maybe they wanted to really try to play baseball on a team this year and then realizing it's too late for that...
But there's always next year

This week looked like Frida Kahlo +  grocery store flowers

This week looked like swinging as high as he could...
It also looked like mommy still being needed for a little pushing still...
Which makes me really kinda happy

It was a good week and a beautiful week, too.
Hoping this awesome weather sticks around all weekend!

How was your week?
What are you up to this weekend? Hope it's a good one.

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My Week In Instagrams

Just a peek into my week through Instagram...

What a full + busy but good week.
I have admittedly struggled during this Holiday season but I am finished with everything
and not stressed out and
 there are so many little things that have filled me right up and brought me peace and happiness.
I am definitely counting my blessings this today.

Making my lists and checking them twice.

I did much better shopping ahead of time than I have in along time.... Maybe ever.

Less holiday stress is what I need and this year was much better for me in that way for sure.

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Surrounded.

Yes I copied this and I am totally okay with that.

The kids thought it was pretty funny.

It's so, so hard to drag myself out of bed on these super dreary no-sunshine days.

So hard. 

I am so very proud of this girl these last couple of weeks.

She took it upon herself to make presents for everyone and wrap them all herself, without any help.

Last count I think she had made and wrapped 16 presents.

THIS makes my heart so happy.

I found Boggle at the thrift store for a dollar last week and snatched it up fast.

I am all for playing games with the kids that do NOT take an hour. Yes, please.

We had a lot of fun with this.

The Christmas school program is my favorite.

See my girl?

{In the middle, next to the boy with the red tie}

I loved getting to see Wyatt play his violin on stage for the first time.

Wrapping and packaging presents with cute supplies makes it just a little bit more fun I think.

Last minute shopping with my boy.

I got to do this with each of them this week and it was fun.

One-on-one time with the kids is fun and is important to me, I try to make it a priority.

Busy week at work... but I have a few days off and couldn't be 

h  a  p  p  i  e  r.

Plus I got the best Christmas present from my boss... I will share that next week.

I'm so excited about it! 

Stuffed paper animals Charlotte made for my cousin's baby she is due to have in March.

How cute are these?

I tried to suggest sewing them instead of using staples but this girl wants to do everything herself...

 and...

Let's just say she doesn't always love my suggestions.

Oh I do love the lights and sitting in the dark with the tree all lit up.

It's one of my most favorite things about this time of year.

Making homemade snow globes.

They didn't turn out great but we are still working on them...

I don't think Martha Stewart's look like these.

I wish I could walk around with this lighting and my face/skin looked like it does through 

my phone lens... :)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.
Thank you for stopping by here, for reading and sharing and for your encouragement.
It really means so much to me.
XO

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