Loving Yourself, Realization, and Taking Responsibility

**This is somewhat of a rant, vent, blur of words...don't judge**

My goals for the month of September shifted. Dramatically. The more I started reading again and running {which is another topic} I started to self reflect more. I went back to my counselor a couple of weeks ago after not seeing her for almost a year and a half. During that hour talking with her, I came to a lot of realizations, without even knowing it. 

Self reflection is important, almost as important as meditation. Who we are and who we see ourselves as is what keeps us going, gets us through happy moments and sad. The more I dove into myself, I was finding that I've gotten a little lost over the past two years, since tiny human was born. I've been taking time for myself, but was I loving myself? Am I able to get up in the morning, as happy as I may be and say, "I love who I am and who I am growing to be"? 

No, I could not. 

I realized that at some point I had gotten wrapped up in materialistic things again and wasn't focusing on the more important virtues. Yes, I eat healthy and I exercise but I also splurge and sometimes over-exercise {which really does NO good whatsoever}. I was worried about what we had planned for the upcoming weekend, what my hair looked like and if my outfit was cute enough. 

I realized that I don't know people as well as I thought I did. 

I realized that I am surrounded by a lot of negative people who don't love themselves enough to live a healthy lifestyle. They are so wrapped up in cosmetic and materialistic properties that their health isn't even a priority. With this realization, I have learned that I don't really want to be surrounded by people who don't treat their health as a priority. I want to be around people who are going to be dancing with me when I'm eighty years old, and traveling to Maui when we're 85. 

I realized I have a huge love for kale {random} and that making it a daily discipline to eat it at least once a day isn't that hard. 

Each day in September I am loving myself more and more. I am feeling free and happy and more in love with my husband than ever. I like to blame the fact that I am taking responsibility for my actions, thoughts, priorities and am moving forward instead of standing still. Despite my small hip injury {i hate that word} I am still getting exercise. I am changing my diet and I have new daily practices. I'm hoping that once I get everything more organized I can start blogging about it in a better fashion. 

I am remembering every day that health is wealth and you can't be healthy until you start with loving yourself and taking the responsibility that only YOU are capable of. 

Stay Healthy, 

Rene

Must have iPhone Apps for Moms

By now, I’m sure you all know that I think very highly of my iPhone. Last week I shared some Cool iPhone Apps For Kids that I absolutely love and approve of my kids playing with on occasion. While our kids are important and all, what about us? We need a break too sometimes, or something to help us stay organized, edit photos, track health and fitness, and once in a while, some mindless entertainment. There are thousands of apps available for free and to purchase, and these are at the top of my list on my phone.

Instagram & A Beautiful Mess, Free/ $0.99 

I love taking photos with my iPhone, and fellow contributor Erin would agree that Taking Great Photos with your Smartphone is the way to go. I always use the camera app that comes standard on my phone, since it takes really great photos but my favorite app for sharing them is definitely Instagram. You can customize photos, and now videos, with several different filter effects and share them with your friends and family right from the app, post to Facebook, Twitter or even email the finished product. If you wanted to get even more creative, you could use another favorite of mine, A Beautiful Mess to decorate the photos with text or doodles before uploading to Instagram.  Don’t forget you can follow EVMB on Instagram-just look for us under eastvalleymomsblog!

Cozi Family Organizer, Free

Have you ever made plans with your friends only to find out your husband has also made plans with his friends on the same day? This was a frequent problem in my house until I found Cozi Family Organizer. A calendar, shopping and to-do lists are just a few of the great features this app has to offer. Each family member can download the app and since it is shared everyone uses the same log in. You can add or edit appointments and grocery lists and everyone in the family can see it! I still love to have my calendar hanging on the wall, but this is a sure way that I know my husband will see my appointments and weekend plans. Now, if it’s not entered in the app? It’s not happening!

LIVESTRONG.com-A Calorie Tracker, $2.99

Looking to shed weight? Track what you are eating or track your daily exercise? I have downloaded several health and fitness apps over the past few years and while My Fitness Pal used to be my favorite, LIVESTRONG.com – Calorie Tracker has taken over the #1 spot on my iPhone. I love the ease of being able to track my water intake each day and keep my food journal up-to-date right on my phone. It’s always fun to get little daily reminders to help keep me on track too. While I usually don’t like to spend money on apps, keeping a food and water journal is important to me so spending the $2.99 to get this app didn’t bother me.

Lift, Free

My most recent app find is this amazing little personal trainer called Lift. Several of us use sticker charts for our kids to keep them doing their chores and developing habits, right? So, how about a sticker chart for your iPhone? For YOU to maintain consistency and help keep accountability for activities you might often ignore. You can add habits like brushing your teeth or set reminders to stop and enjoy life for a few minutes. I have been using this app for a couple of weeks and I’ve already noticed more of a consistency with things such as flossing my teeth and reading more. I like having to “check-in” and jot down a little note each time I complete a goal I’ve set and it’s always fun getting “props” from other users when you have marked something off for the day.

Those are the top five apps on my list. Of course I love the Notes app that comes standard on the phone, Facebook, Nike+ Running to track my runs and set challenges with friends,Pandora, and of course ESPN Fantasy Football to watch the scoreboard each week to see how I’m doing in the East Valley Moms Blog Fantasy Football League. What are YOURfavorite apps to stay organized and take a break from mommyhood?

***Originally Posted on East Valley Moms Blog as a contributor post***

{Wordless Wednesday}

Cool iPhone Apps For Kids

Entertaining our children today has become so different from just ten years ago. It’s no question that some two-year olds can maneuver their way through an iPhone much better than an adult and I have often found myself turning to my fourteen year old for help with changing a setting on my iPad. Smartphones can be a helpful tool for parents when we just need those few minutes to fold some laundry or mop the floors. Little eyes are so mesmerized by videos of their favorite cartoon characters, learning apps that can teach them letters, or even just scrolling through a photo album of family members. My iPhone has come in handy more than once while strolling the aisles at Target or doing my weekly grocery shopping and I want to share some of my favorite children’s iPhone apps with you, because yes, I am THAT mom.

Endless Alphabet, $5.99 

This one is my absolute favorite for toddlers. Children can interact at their own pace, there is no score or level to complete. It helps with vocabulary and learning the ABC’s while engaging the child with interactive puzzles of moving the letters to their missing places. It’s so simple for little fingers to use and the animations are fun and exciting for them! It’s definitely worth the $$ for this one! Endless Alphabet is available from the iOS App Store.

Angry Birds, $0.99 (or there is also a FREE version)

Any time that I have had a conversation about kids and iPhones with another parent, the mention of Angry Birds almost always comes up. It has been one of the top apps since 2009 and with more and more levels always being added, kids will never get bored! While this app is geared more toward older pre-school and school aged children, there are plenty of teenagers and parents playing as well! Angry Birds is available from iOS App Store andGoogle Play Store.

Color Drops, FREE 

Of course children love to color with markers, pens, crayons and paint but this is a mess free way for them to create beautiful artwork! My favorite animated coloring book with so many different categories of drawing fun. Toddlers and older children can create artwork starting with a blank page or choose a coloring page such as princesses, dinosaurs, numbers and letters. The sound effects are super fun for the little ones but might be get a little annoying for the older kids. While the app is free it only includes one coloring page for each category, additional pages are available for purchase in the app. Color Drops is available from iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

Toy Story Read-Along, FREE

Everyone loves the Toy Story crew, right? This app is an interactive reading experience that my son just absolutely loves! You have the choice of listening to the story being read or you can cuddle up with your child and read it to them. There are also games, a few pages that you can draw and color, and a music feature that plays everyone’s favorite “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”.  The app is rated for four and up, but my son is two and absolutely loves this one. Toy Story Read-Along is available from iOS App Store.

Some other great children’s apps are Toddler Stamps, My PlayHome, Dora’s Dress-Up Adventures, Nick Jr Draw & Play, WATCH Disney Junior, and a great app for all ages,Candy Crush Saga. There are SO many great apps out there and more are always being added. I feel that smartphone use should be limited and parents should always monitor usage and apps, so make sure you are consistently checking that they are age appropriate. What are YOUR favorite children’s apps?

***Originally Posted on East Valley Moms Blog as a contributor post***

{Wordless Wednesday}

"Train yourself to listen to that small voice that tells us what's important and what's not." -Sue Grafton