Unfinished me

I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist. Ok, not somewhat, but 100% perfectionist. I strive for flawlessness and always set extremely high, sometimes unattainable standards. Some would even describe me as a little bit neurotic.

It's not always a good thing to want to strive for perfection. It has come back at me several times. Ok, several times one-thousand times...

As of late, I've battled with my inner perfectionism demons. I have unfinished projects, unorganized closets and stacks of paper in my office. These are all things that I never used to have and if I did, I was a major stress case and wouldn't go to bed at night until everything was, perfect.

I blame a couple things for my leniency. Children and my new found love for the the universe and what it has to offer. When I am busy cleaning away or wanting to finish painting bathroom trim that I started three months ago, it is then that I realize my toddler is busy playing in this room talking away to his stuffed animals. Yes, that is a good thing but I also want to be the one he's talking to...

While my teenager is busy being, well, a teenager and wanting his space from mom, my toddler is at such a prime learning age. He is two and at two he is like a little sponge. I can really teach him anything I want right now from how to count to ten in Spanish or the difference between an ant and a spider. I don't want to miss these moments because I was too busy cleaning closets or organizing silverware drawers. The unfinished paint project in the boys' bathroom drives me nuts - Every. Single. Day- but I have taught myself not to care anymore; because honestly, who is judging me for not finishing the job? If they are, then they don't know me and don't really need to be a part of my life.

I am still high strung, and still a perfectionist, but I have learned to control it quite a bit. Analyzing everything I do and how I do it was getting me nowhere.  If something isn't worth stressing over or isn't attainable then, meh, I move on and worry about the bigger, more important things. The things that breathe and giggle and make me smile. My children. My perfect children who think I am the perfect mom.

Public Pool Adventure

Summer has arrived. The heat, more heat, and even more heat. I find that if I don't look at the weather reports, it doesn't seem as bad. To me, anything over 100 degrees feels the same. Hot.

I have been so busy over the past few weeks and really haven't made the time to sit down and write. I've been handwriting, just haven't made it a point to type it up. Between my toddler, my teenager, my husband, workouts, cooking, cleaning, Monavie, swimming and whatever else we might be doing I've been busy.

Today, the toddler and I ventured out the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center. I had been looking forward to it for a few weeks now, tagging along with my "bff's" for one of their children's birthday.

We lathered up before we left the house, since I knew it'd already be 100 degrees by the time we got there at 10am, loaded up the car and headed out on our new adventure to the "water park".

Travis isn't always the easiest traveler. He's impatient, stubborn, strong willed and TWO. Grocery store trips aren't even fun most days. I was feeling very optimistic about his mood for today's excursion since he loves water. We've been swimming every day, going to the splash pads often and the kid would be happy with a hose if I let him play with it all day. So, yes, I was feeling optimistic.

As we started playing in the water, Travis was very timid. Not like he is at home. He was very overwhelmed by the loud music, screaming, laughing and chattering children and the very large bucket of water that dumps from atop the play structure. He's used to swimming with his arm floaties and they are not allowed at the pool so we had to get a life-vest for him. He wasn't so sure about that...

Needless to say, it wasn't a fun trip for me.

Travis was overstimulated, I was moody because he wasn't having fun and I wasn't able to talk with my friends. Travis didn't want to share the small water spout in the splash pad area and I was getting the evil eye from two different parents. Really? Can't we all just get along? He's TWO! He's just learning to share, and he's finally happy and now you are going to make me piss him off? That's when I knew it was best if we just left.

Moral of my story is... always leave the house with a smile and a positive attitude. You never know when you'll need that extra happiness and positivity to get you through a very minor tough time. Had I left the house grumpy today, expecting it to go bad, it would have been a lot worse. I keep my chin up and at least now I know he prefers the private pool in our backyard, for now.

Five More Days.

It is so hard for me to believe that my little type-A personality baby is going to be two years old in just five days.

Exactly two years ago today, I was scheduling a pedicure for the following day, packing my bags and walking, walking, walking. I remember it all clearly, and can't believe that it was so long ago. Seems like it was just yesterday.

He is amazing, just like his brother. Smart, funny, active and sociable! Everywhere we go, he's raising his hand waving and saying, "hi!" to everyone in his sight. He gets quite confused when the occasional passerby doesn't say "hi" back. I guess I've just learned that some people just don't get kids, like kids or want to be around kids. Others get so ecstatic when he waves, complimenting me on my friendly little boy and proceed to carry on a conversation with him. It's quite refreshing.

He's come around so well... he's sleeping better, eating better and is just, well, happy. No complaints from me. If he's grumpy, it usually means it is because he's tired, hungry or thirsty! Such a difference from the first year of his little life.

On the other branch of the tree... Joey has five days of school left. It's silly that he has to go back for two days AFTER the Memorial Weekend Holiday, but whatever. Once he's done he'll be an official Freshman. Crazy. I remember him turning two and running around with his "gee-kee" (pacifier). Time flies... and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Blessed, thankful and overcoming life's obstacles.

The boys are healthy, Paul and I are healthy and we are enjoying life. That is how it should be. For everyone.

I hear so many people complain daily about this or that, and don't get me wrong, I was there. I get it. But... there is happier, healthier life. Why wouldn't you want to live that way? Things I ponder... Hoping I can help inspire others to want to live happier and healthier!!

Was feeling a little crafty

Friends and family that know me well, know that I don't do a lot of crafts. I wish I did, but I don't. I don't have that creative eye or mind for making gifts, doing projects or making art to hang around my house.

While browsing Pinterest one day, I came across a pin that I thought would be fun to make for an upcoming graduation party we planned on attending. THAT is my kind of crafting. Seeing someone else's project and adding my own touch to it, making it my own. I guess you could say they inspire me!! 

Here is the pin that I saw on Pinterest 

Here is what I managed to put together, using the basic idea of a "Liquor Bouquet". 

After searching my whole house for my hot glue gun, I ran out to Target to purchase this one for $3.99. It worked perfectly! 

The bouquet can be easily customized, with mini wine bottles, more alcohol or even some little tasty treats too! Candy, cookies... 

I chose to only do a few different liquors, as we had gotten the graduate another gift as well. It seemed to be the perfect amount! 

I had a great helper who was supervising me from the couch. I was quite impressed that he didn't want to play with the hot glue gun! 

Once I got all of the liquor attached to the wooden dowels, I just placed them into the foam and arranged them like I would flowers. 

I used paper strips to cover the foam, it worked perfectly! I pressed them down in to the foam so they wouldn't just flop out.

I was quite pleased with how it turned out! The graduate and his parents both loved it as well! I could have easily added some little graduation caps or diploma scrolls, but I honestly ran out of time. (Yes, I was procrastinating)

Let me know what you think! 

Mom's Lemonade

When my mom was visiting last month, she brought so many lemons I didn't know what to do with them!

My oldest son is always asking for Lemonade and since I won't buy that Countrytime crap (even though it tastes amazing) I opted to make our own lemonade with fresh home grown lemons.

Since it is already well into the ninety degree range here, it is a perfectly refreshing drink to have in the afternoon, after working or playing outside. Poured over ice, it quenches thirst and gives you the satisfaction of a sweet dessert. 

It is SO simple and easy to make and can be modified if you like it a little more sour or sweet.  The first time I made it, I followed my mom's recipe and used sugar. Of course it tasted great but I wanted to change it up a bit and use Agave nectar to keep it on the healthier side. It really depends on your taste for sugary drinks.*  

You can also juice all of the lemons and portion them out into freezer bags so you always have the lemon juice ready to go for mixing! Just take the bag out, let it thaw and mix up a new batch of lemonade! So simple and takes less than five minutes to mix it up. 

There is really so much you can do with the lemonade; another thing I was going to do was pour the lemonade into popsicle molds so we have homemade lemonade pops! It's so simple and tastes great!

Ingredients:

1 C Fresh Lemon Juice, 5-6 lemons 

5-6 C Water

2/3 C Agave Nectar (or  1 C white granulated sugar~ which ever you prefer)

Directions:

For me, I cut all of the lemons in half, they fit in to my hand juicer easier that way. They can be juiced which ever way you want, and whatever works easiest for you. Mix lemon juice and water and stir in agave nectar. I started with a small amount of agave until it was sweet enough for my boys to drink. (You can always substitute part granulated sugar part agave as well). I like to slice another lemon to throw into the juice, it not only looks nice but still adds a little more lemon flavor to the drink. 

*The conversion for sugar to agave is 1 C sugar = 2/3 C Agave.