#10dayshred: What I learned

Alright. What the heck is this #10dayshred I keep talking about, and why the heck do I refer to it only in hashtag?! Honestly, I am not sure why I hashtag it, other than I think hashtagging is fun. To me it is my humor, my version of Christian and Anastasia’s ever changing, clever closing remarks -but mostly because it makes me smile. I often don’t smile enough. It’s something I’ve been working on, along with getting healthier.

Odly, the two actually go hand-in-hand. Who’da thunk?

Since my recent journey with joining the Juice Plus+ team, I have been noticeably happier. Just ask any one (okay, maybe not my hubby on a Friday)? It might be the 30 plus plants flooding my body daily, or the increase in social events, or putting myself and my story out there and having clients tell me their successes. Whatever it is, it feels good!

About as good as I feel after completing the said #10dayshred. So what the heck is it?In case you were wondering. That is not my body. Though lovely and desired, it is not mine. Maybe one day, in another life, but for now, I am getting to love the one I was given.

Let’s be real. We all want what we don’t have. All you flat chested women out there want some of my “E” boobs. Yes, E, not D. Recently, I had a couple of girl friends tell me they were amazing too (not bad after nursing 2 kiddos)! Yes, girlfriends see each others boobs from time-to-time. No, we do not have pillow fights.

No, but really. I want some of that big booty you have, or those flat abs like your friend, or that naturally bronze skin you constantly show off. Yeah, you.

You get the point. We all want things that others have.

I say, love what you got, or learn to.

That’s where operation bikini, boating, going on a cruise (with a bunch of skinny biotches) season came in to play (aka #10dayshred).

What I love about the Juice Plus company, is that they care about health. They care about whole food nutrition and getting it in your body. The healthy way. They also offer various challenges throughout the year, to jump start, or cleanse your system to give it that baseline you may need.

So, what did I learn during my 10 day shred journey?

-that I can do it!
-that loosing 5 lbs in one week is totally doable (and even 10 if you are my hubby)
-that belly bloat is no joke, and it can disappear fast
-that clean eating is good, really good!
-that I really do love my morning coffee and missed it dearly
-that taking before and after pictures was a good idea though highly out of my comfort zone
-that not eating past 6 pm is the best thing you can do. JUST SAY NO
-i love avocados and I used to not be able to eat them other than in guacamole
-the scale is not your enemy (even on the 3 days IN A ROW that I had zero change)
-weight loss adventures are more successful when you have a team doing it with you (thank you FB shredders and my husband!)
– the JP+ chocolate complete shake mixed with almond milk, peanut butter and ice tastes better than chocolate ice cream
-that wine is not needed, but still preferred
-you don’t need to go to a gym to workout- a park bench will do
-fresh squeezed lemon and a drizzle of olive oil makes for the best salad dressing. You actually get to taste the toppings!
-sweet potatoes are worth buying, even more so, making
-i am way more creative in the kitchen than I give myself credit for
-i like (unsalted) nuts and they are filing
-if you smell a quesadilla it is almost the same as eating it
-the only food I really miss is pizza
-that I am going to continue a modified version of this through the summer (come to be coffee and wine, come to mamma) and hopefully continue to shred lbs
-that i can love the skin i am in
-i have amazing self-control (when I want apparently)
-everyone should give it a try

Really.

I haven’t been this proud of myself in a long time!

Remember those other posts I said I was going to loose weight. Well, I never did. Until now.

I needed this confidence booster.

We all do.

Maybe, next time you will join me.

If not, at least cheer me on like my bff’s did

XOXO,
Magazine Mom

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Freebie Printables

Why, Hellooo! Don’t get too excited. Though I have some tantalizing topics written down on my “blog to-do list” this is just a simple freebie printable post. I simply just didn’t want to forget to share it. Lately, I have been forgetting everything! Really.

My daughter’s birthday party was last weekend, so naturally today, I had her sit down and write her thank you cards. My niece sent us one after her birthday from Tinyprints that was so cute and when I opened it, I said, “ooh, I can make that.” So I did.

The Tinyprints version

and my version

It is a 5×7 file, and if you wish to use it for your own little’s thank you’s, feel free.

I love how they get to add their personality to each one, without frustrating the heck out of them from having too much to write. We have very large birthdays so this fill-in style works great for my family. Hopefully for your kiddos too.

Here is the printable file – thank you card

I just had my local print shop print them, because I do not have a working color printer, but even that only cost $6.

Mere pennies to it its Tinyprints counterpart.

Well, at least I can check one thing off my “blog to do list” and hope to get better organized with my recent  “Passion Planner” purchase. It is my hope that this slightly expensive leather life planner will help me follow through with my thoughts, tasks, goals, business plans, and to-do’s. It is formatted exactly how brain works, so how can it not!?

I have only been searching for something like this my whole adult life! A shout out to my bestie Lauren for telling me about it! Yay!

They too offer free downloads if you wish to try out the layout.

If you order one, let me know. Maybe our brains are more alike then I thought? I even saw Pinterst boards dedicated to Passion Planners and how to make them adorable and functional.

Right up my alley!

Enjoy my friends.

XOXO,
Magazine Mom

One Simple Change

I have had a revelation. Yes, it is true I have these often and sometimes they do not amount to much or are never completed like my master bathroom (ahem) or my forever incomplete weight loss goals. This time, during my hot vinyasa flow yoga class, the perky and flexible instructor told us to think about something we were grateful for during shavasana.

I am sure many of you would have chosen your children. Not me. They are driving me insane, which is why I actually got my butt to yoga last Friday in the first place.

Instead, I chose ‘health.’

I am grateful for health.

I have been doing a lot to better myself. Working out, TRYING to eat right (dang those potato chips), actually responding to peoples texts (no, it is not just your texts I ignore) and improving my mental health all the while.

Just the other day, I realized that the ‘ding sound’ my phone made when I received a text was causing me anxiety. True that it is not hard to do (cause me anxiety) but now I changed it to ‘chord sound’ and it is so soothing and inviting that I no longer mentally shut down.

Try it.

It’s amazing.

One simple change, makes such a difference.

That is why I finally said yes, to Juice Plus+, and making that one simple change towards healthy living.

What is it (Juice Plus+) you ask? It is fruits and vegetables in a capsule. Despite its name, it is not juicing (it is way cheaper than that), nor is it a vitamin (it is bioavaible unlike vitamins). It is simply vine-ripened NSF certified whole food, in a convenient capsule or chewable.

I am not going to get all technical with you, I just want you to think about it if you are getting 9-13 servings of fruits and vegetables, as recommended for a healthy diet and healthy living. I am talking fist full servings size?

I know, I was not. Even my vegan, clean-eating friends are not.

Now, I am. I have made this one simple change for my family, and now we are all benefiting from the healthy nutrition it offers. Even my super skeptical husband.

 

Instantly we saw the benefits. We feel less hungry, have been able to ward off sickness, we have more energy, crave healthier foods, and heal at an accelerated rate. Just ask my mom. She has an amazing story to tell.

As do I. We recently went on an amazing family vacation, courtesy of my mom, to Disney World. It started off great, until 7 of the 11 of us came down with the stomach bug. Let’s just say the hotel cleaning staff were very busy in our rooms.

But guess what? The 4 of us who consume Juice Plus did not get the bug.  Everyone was dropping like flies but us four. There is no other explanation and no better proof for me. Or my husband. He was one of the 4 thriving.

That is what is great. All the amazing stories being told by people, like me and you, who take Juice Plus.

I feel selfish if I do not share. Besides, since when do I hold anything in?

Never.

Don’t just take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. It took me a year to listen to my dear friend, Lauren telling the the benefits of this amazing whole food product. Now, I just feel silly that I didn’t listen sooner.

Bridge the gap of what we eat everyday, with what we should be eating.

It’s that simple.

XOXO,
Magazine Mom on a mission

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Part of the Herd?

Hi. Remember me? The crazy overparenting self proclaimed Magazine Mom who tells you all way too much about life. Well….I’m baack!

Because I live in an affluent, helicopter parent, scholarly town, it is no wonder I am an overparent-er (new comers feel free to look back at some past blog posts to understand my craziness to its fullest).

I really try not to care about the fact that my daughter writes her 3’s backwards more often than not, or that she scored a “2” in the ‘fine-motor skills category’ on her report card, but I do. Why is that? She is only 6 years old!

Well, Julie Lythcott-Haims, the New York Times best selling author of “How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success” says it is a trap that many of us fall into. Are we keeping up the Jones’s and creating ‘stepford’ children in the process?

What happened to the days of playing outside until dinner with no parent supervision and kids ‘actually’ doing their own homework?

I had the pleasure to hear her lecture this evening, because we live in an overparenting community that brings in brilliant parenting speakers for us  overparenting parents. My mom is always telling me that she never read a parenting book, let alone attend parenting lectures like I do at least 7 times a school year because I am contractually obligated to do so being a part of a cooperative preschool. Confession: I will still likely attend parenting lecturers even once I am not obliged to do so because that is just who I am.

Now, I am no book reviewer ( I would have to read to do that), so I will just tell you all to go out and read her book if you are interested. I will, however, give you my take away bullet points.

~She believes in humans
~Have the courage to be who you actually are (and allow your children to do the same)
~The overparenting trend started in the late 90s and she fears for the children of these parents.
~Stop creating a ‘check-listed childhood’ – praising everything, carefully handling your child, orchestrating their lives and activities, etc.
~Foster self efficacy – “I do therefore I am”
~Don’t join the overparenting herd, instead create a community with like-minded people, neighbors, friends, etc, and vow to stop following.
~ Allow for ‘free play’ with no parents – like we all used to do.
~Children need to develop a true sense of purpose and they cannot if we do everything for them.
Stop cutting your 10 year-old’s meat for crying out-loud!
~Read “The Gift of Failure”
~Trust the authorities in your child’s life (teachers, principles, coaches, etc.)
~Insist that children do their own work! Put the glue gun down! Confession: this one will be hard for me.
~Have your children do chores. Lots of them. It is a measure of success later in life.
~ Stop thinking your child is a perfectly shaped bonsai tree that you have to constantly prune and shape. Instead think of them as the wildflowers of unknown genes and species that they are.

Heather Havrilesky summed it up nicely in her book review for the New York Times,

Although loosening that grip on getting kids into the “perfect” school does seem important, it’s somewhat unlikely to end the current plague of controlling, stressed-out parents and helpless, insecure children. In this anxious age, the future will always trump the present. But even if “How to Raise an Adult” gets thrown onto a growing pile of books for worried, upper-­middle-class parents and is summarily forgotten, Lythcott-Haims’s central message remains worthwhile: When parents laugh and enjoy the moment but also teach the satisfaction of hard work, when they listen closely but also give their children space to become who they are, they wind up with kids who know how to work hard, solve problems and savor the moment, too. In other words, get a life, and your child just might do the same someday.

I admit, I am in the front row of the herd. It is hard not to be. Those damn Jones’s! I would like to meet them and their children.

Anyone willing to break free of the herd and join me? If nothing else, have a drink with me to lessen the anxiety of constantly thinking I am doing what’s right for my children but really causing them deep psychological trauma.

You with me?

Bottoms up!

XOXO,
Magazine Mom

 

 

Believe

After becoming a parent of a “first grader” last week, and watching my kiddos grow exponentially before my eyes, I find myself cherishing the ‘kid’ in them.

I relish the innocence,
the care-free lifestyle,
being able to poop in a public restroom without worry, and even sing while doing it (witnessed this last weekend),
saving water bottle caps to use them as tables for trinkets you treasure,
playing dress-up and shooting toy guns out the window while driving down the liberal streets of Davis (and not get arrested),
becoming instant friends with fellow people your size,
having sandwiches in the shape of hearts and love notes in your lunchbox,
and believing in the impossible.

I am blessed with two creative children who’s imaginations are infectious.

I can’t help but foster their beliefs of mythical creatures like unicorns, fairies, dragons, the tooth fairy, elves, mermaids, and vampires.

Isn’t it wonderful to be a kid?

I honestly still think of myself as one. I am waiting for the day, when I don’t.

Really.

My daughter offers me many challenges, with her ever-so-unpredictable moods and rude behaviors, but what I appreciate so much about her and her “kookiness”, is her creativity and her passion for her beliefs. Rational or not.

Awhile back, she asked for a fairy garden, which I was happy to appease. I like mythical creatures just like the rest of us. So we made one. This one.

Since then, we have moved it into the backyard and the size has significantly increased.

getting started

and now, after several attempts to plant fresh flowers (and watch them die), we took a trip to the Dollar Store to plant “fake” flowers (her genius idea).

taking pride in her work

You may have noticed, the previous fence, like its dying flower cohorts, did not withstand the test of time. So, it has now been replaced with a Popsicle stick masterpiece.

Again, her idea.

It turned out pretty cute.

I think my favorite is her sign that reads, ” Welcome Fairies to the Fairy Garden.”

Because her beliefs and creativity are so infectious, my mom’s boyfriend, jumped on the “fairy” bandwagon, so to speak, and found a website that caters to it.

He bought her the travel trailer and a lot of other adorable pieces to complete the “trailer lifestyle.” It created the story of the traveling fairy, “Nettle” that was trying to find her permanent home.

Last night, Nettle decided to make our garden, her permanent residence, with another generous and adorable purchase from Gene (my mom’s boyfriend).

This morning when my daughter woke up, it was the first thing she noticed.

She was beaming!

She immediately began constructing a bed for Nettle out of Popsicle sticks, a scrap piece of wood, and cotton balls.

Who wouldn’t want a cozy bed under the stars among the flowers?

Last night, after some typical night time routine arguing, and parental yelling, I put the house out in the garden. My hubby said, “Why are you rewarding her behavior?”

My reply, “It is not about rewarding, it is about believing!”

He couldn’t argue with that.

All the chaos, crappy things that happen during the day, yelling, defiance, and stress, all goes away with believing.

She believes in Nettle.
She believes in magic.
She believes that her sign made it happen,
and she believes in herself.

I believe in letting my kids be kids, for as long as they’ll let me.

What more can you ask for?

XOXO,
Magazine Mom

HIT-n-it!

Well friends, it is about that time to let y’all know how things are going, since my last post, when I shared with all of you my fitness goals. What the hell was I thinking?!

Unbeknownst to my overworked sports bra, I am no where near my weight loss goal of 12.5 lbs.  Try like 2.5.

But, I am not sad or disappointed.

Okay, maybe slightly.

Only, because the scale does not reflect the changes in my mind and body. Inches are lost and my arms and the rest of my body shakes significant less than it used.

All you arm flappers out there know what I am talking about.

In fact, I have had several comments about my newly, “toned arms” and legs.
Thank you, very much!

In all seriousness, I have been HIT-n the gym hard. Loving my cross fit “HIT” classes, and loving the people and the team feeling even more.

Not to mention the hour I get to spend during the daylight hours with JUST me. Well, and 13 other sweaty women and a few token men. Who wouldn’t trade that for temper tantrums and dirty diapers!?

Even for workouts like the dreaded “Murph” workout. You crossfitters out there know what I am talking about. The crazy insane workout that takes 5 whole days for your body to recover from!

I honestly have never felt more proud.

Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and the occasional Tuesday and Saturday I feel proud. The best part is I am having fun doing it.

The hubby even sees the positive changes in me. He even bought me one of these (Fitbit Charge HR), to show me how proud he is and is happy to see me enjoy something so much.

It is currently displaying my steps for the day.

Oh! Great news for anyone who tries to call me but fails to connect with me because I never pick up (or hear) the phone. My Fitbit vibrates and displays your name when you call me.  That’s right – as long as I am wearing this rather masculine looking watch (the flex has all the cute bands), I will most likely answer your call.

Amazing, right?!

Well, unless I am completing my WOD or perfecting my snatch (which is not easy to do).

Anyway, I am happily HIT-n-it and enjoying my bodies progress, one wall ball and AMRAP at a time.

Next step, a clean eating (Whole 30) challenge. Maybe the pounds will magically disappear then. Bring it on, July!

For now, I will go with the old adage that muscle weighs more than fat 🙂

Xoxo,
Magazine Mom

I got this!?

Yesterday, something extraordinary happened. I signed up to the gym, actually went, and my son liked the daycare! Granted, he did hit a child (what else is new), but for the first time since having children, I did an entire class (H.I.T -high intensity/interval training class, nonetheless) and never once ran out to peer through the child care room window to ‘check in.’

Instead, I busted my chubby butt, squatting, throwing weighted balls in the air, dips (with my feet on the floor), rowed on a rowing machine, did sit-ups against the wall, and other grueling but exuberating intervals with a group of 12 random women (some I happened to know).

I have never been more sore, and have never been more motivated.

Really.

I can barely walk.

Fortunately for all of you, it has not impeded my ability to speak. Or type.

I am not really sure how it all happened and when, but somehow over the course of a year and half, I have managed to pack on 10+ pounds and 25 since I have been married (almost 8 years ago).

Now of course this does not include me tipping the scales during my 40 and 50 lb. pregnancy weight gains (dang those cupcakes) but even since having my second child, and loosing said weight, I am back up.

Unfortunetly for me, I carry my weight well. I am tall {relatively}, so it (the fat) takes a while to travel through my entire body. It is not until it reaches my head that I realize what the heck just happened.

Hindsight – I guess the fact that I just can’t seem to find jeans high-waisted enough to hide {tuck-in} the growing ‘front ass’ I have developed should have been a red flag.

Ya, think!?

It really wasn’t until I was with my besties this last weekend in Murphy’s, CA sipping wine obsessively trying to take selfies at an angle that made my face and head look slimmer that it really hit me. Much to my dismay, the magicial shot never happened. Well unless you count this blooper, Lauren managed to capture…

Lauren is inspiring. Despite all the wine consumed, she managed to give me the nudge I needed to make some personal changes. She has always found ways to make me feel better about myself since the day I met her 29 years ago.

All my friends do, in different ways. It is funny interesting how that is.

words of wisdom posted to Facebook by Lauren

So….

I am going to do something about my expanding waistline, and better my mental health (physical too, of course).

Today, I teamed up with a few like-minded “enough is enough” friends to make our own weight loss support group. We are hoping that the three of us, can hold each other accountable and lend our valuable support along the way without having to pay someone for our successes.

Win/Win.

No offense, Weight Watchers. I actually really like you, but I just don’t want to pay for you is all.

We started off by introducing ourselves as the addicts that we are.  My text read,
“Hi, I’m Ashley. I am the quintessential stressed out eater who loves all things crunchy, processed    and or fried. I currently weigh my all time high. My goal is to loose 12.5 lbs by June 27th (I am in a wedding on this day – Congrats Jake and Lily!) and to ultimately loose 20.”

By saying this all out loud to friends (actual weight was included in the text but omitted here for the purposes of sheer embarrassment), it made it real.

Beginning today, every week we are going to log-in to a shared google doc, and document our weight, exercise for the week (my goal is 3-4 times) water consumption, etc.

As one of us said, “We are at our highest and ready to be done with it!”

I believe in accountability as a key to success.

This post (and our weekly check-ins) will do just that. Fingers-crossed.

I promise I will keep you posted as time progresses.

Wish me luck!

Swimsuit and “hot boat” season is just around the bend!

XOXO,
Magazine Mom

Life as I know {knew} it.

For me, life has changed dramatically. Not just because of the time change either, though I swear I am still feeling its wrath.

brace yourselves.

Since I have wrote last {ahem}, my son, who has had FPIES, has ate and passed with no issues, yogurt, pizza, mac n cheese, rice, beans, corn, wheat, ice cream, baked egg,  even donuts. I have husband to thank for the last one.

I am not quite ready to say he has outgrown FPIES like the statics said (67% by age 3) he would. There are still lots of things I have not trialed with him. I simply live day to day. If he asks to try something, which is amazing in and of itself, I let him. If his belly doesn’t hurt him, or have any other reactions, I move on, and continue to let his palate explore.

eating a bun for the first time

It is so fun to see his face light up when he asks to try something and I say, yes! I always said I would cry the first time he could eat cake {which I am doing now as I type} and fortunately for him, his sisters birthday party is this weekend, and I am going to give him a great big heaping slice. My tears are not only happiness but the relinquish of pain I have felt for him, me and our family as we bared this trialing part of our lives for the past 3 years.

life is good.

We got ourselves some amazing new neighbors, and with that, he even got his first real friend. Best. I got new friends too! A total bonus, they love the spirits (especially the sparkly and fermented kind) as much as I do.

Now I know what I have been missing for all these years!

Would you believe, I actually let my children stay up till its dark!? Shocking, right!?

My mom is so proud!

I am proud.

Life has come along way. So it seems.

Tomorrow (or today depending on when you read this), I have a 6-year old! I couldn’t be more proud of her. She has made some amazing strides and “has become, as I quote my mom after her visit this week,  a really sweet and caring little girl.” She is thriving in school, and her creativity is infectious.

I am proud.

Life as I know it, is changing.

For the better.

XOXO,
Magazine Mom

PS. I even have a working shower and toilet in my master bath! Glorious.

What ’tis season has taught me…

1. Shopping early can really bite you in the butt. I forgot where I put half my stuff I was “hiding” and ended up over buying for some, and under buying for others. Let’s just say, for the first time ever, I shopped Christmas Eve.

2. Children 8 and under really do not notice if Santa wrapped their gifts in different paper than their parents did, despite having made a frantic last minute trip to the dollar store to buy 6 rolls of paper that I only used half of one.
I even went as far as printing these adorable tags from The Idea Room blog

image from theidearoom.net

I must say, everyone got a kick out of my hubby’s tag with “naughty” checked on his label attached to a bottle of booze.

“That Santa, sure knows what everyone likes,” says my daughter upon discovering the gift to “Brandon.”

3. The dreaded words “some assembly required” are really dreadful. Especially, when it is in such small print you don’t notice, but your almost three-year-old insists on opening it up and playing with it immediately. Frantically, I do my best ‘assembly’ before having to bring out the big guns. Brandon.

4. You can never have too much champagne. I mean available bottles.  I definitely have had too many glasses in one occasion a time or two. In fact, this holiday season I may have needed to be carried through the house threshold and not by my husband in a romantic gesture. Let’s just say their was some praying the next day to the “Kohler God.”

5. Whole Foods really puts on a delicious spread. Due to some last minute unforeseen circumstances, we ended up ordering our Christmas Eve meal from Whole Foods. I didn’t know what to expect, but for the price and the convenience of it, I might consider it to be a new family tradition. For once, I got to sit with my family and have a whole conversion prior to the meal being served. Who knew life could be so simple.

6. My favorite part of presents, is watching peoples faces when they open them up. Most of the time because I love seeing the joy  that it brings to them. This year, watching my son rip open half a gift upon being utterly repulsed by what lay beneath the paper, and throwing it, was pretty classic too. I am sure, I missed some amazing parent teaching moment about manners, blah, blah, blah, but it was too entertaining to think about that in the moment. Next year, I will give him the “smile and say thank you no matter what you think” speech.

7. You can’t judge a present by its ‘wrap job.’ I say this because I recently discovered using a brown lunch bag folded over with two punch holes and an adorable ribbon through it, is a pretty fantastically clever way to wrap odd size/shaped gifts. I can say, they were not the first to be grabbed by their recipeints, but what was inside them all but made up for it 🙂

I got a dose of my own medicine, when hubby brought out my gift wrapped in a bargain ad from that days newspaper. It was heavy as heck, so I figured he wrapped up some old bricks we have laying around as a joke. Boy, was I surprised to find my very own tool box, filled with all the ‘necessary’ tools inside the bargain meat section. To clarify, by necessary, I mean picture hanging supplies, screw drivers, etc.

I guess all my annoyed voice phone calls asking him where the screw driver is, the nails, hammer etc., finally made this contractor realize his wife needs some to call her own.

It’s about time!

But really, it was probably my favorite gift this year. This says a lot considering I got a new refrigerator and a Dyson vacuum.

8. Family really does come first. Friends being a very close second, of course. I miss my friends this holiday season, but I have really enjoyed the added family time, especially the nightly driving around looking at Christmas lights, seeing Elf the musical in San Francisco, attending 3 family Christmas parties, and lots of singing Christmas music. My daughter loves holiday music so much, I think we might be in detox mode right now.

9. I really shouldn’t have eat that second plate of food {every time}. Wow, my pants are tight. I have been on a binge. Truly. I will not be cliché and say I am starting a new years resolution, but I will say I am going to give the “clean eating” phenomenon a try come 2015. I will keep you posted on that {inset eye roll here}. Unfortunately my favorite food on the planet is potato chips and all things processed really. Damn you sister for inheriting the “I like to eat healthy foods” gene and the metabolism of a small child!

10. Checking the mail everyday is as exciting as Christmas morning. I can’t wait to see the Christmas cards! If you do not currently send me your families card, you should. It is a ray of sun shine in my day, and even more so for my hubby. Truth be told, I open them up in pure excitement and put them back in the mailbox, because Hubby looks forward to it even more than me. I wouldn’t dare rob him of that.

P.S.  I do keep a list. You will receive one from my family as long as I do yours.

P.P.S.  I am only slightly joking.

Here’s to the season! Happy New year, everyone!

Xoxo,
Magazine Mom

 

 

Things I’ve learned {lately}

I’ve pretty much waved the white flag in defeat when it comes to finding the time to blog. I have, however, found the time to redecorate my kitchen nook {again}, repaint and restyle my hall bathroom {again}, get my Christmas cards out {relatively on time} and I even went with an unconventional selfie shot,

finished getting albeit one Christmas gift, and host “Christmas” a bit early with my family this last weekend. I even managed to get my hair done beforehand. Shocker. So this weekend when my family asked me if I have blogged lately, wondering if they somehow missed it in their newsfeed, {ahem}, I realized it is time to step up my game, and get into a routine.

Lord knows I LOVE routine.

My friend, Nicole blogs every Friday with 5 things that inspired her, or noteworthy throughout her week. She has inspired me to do weekly “isms” of things I’ve have learned {lately} about myself, décor, parenting, etc. Seems manageable enough. Heck, I might even go as far as saying, every Monday.

Crazy talk, I know.

I have a few months of things I’ve learned {lately} so here it goes,

1. Head lice is like child leprosy. It could honestly have a post in and of itself, but I think you will all need manicures from the starching you will do on your head with its mere mention. Really. In fact, you have probably already scratched your head, and are one itch away from getting in your car and driving to buy lice treatment shampoo at your local pharmacy. Seriously. Luckily, only one member of my family got it, and it was in the early stages (in case you are googling it now.) DON’T worry friends and family who I just saw and are about too, this was months ago. Although, I am still in remission. I am waiting for the day, I am not paranoid about it. I can spot a ‘head scratch’ from miles away, and no matter what, I am going to think you have lice. Sorry. I totally understand if you want to cancel our playdate we have scheduled.

2. My children {and myself} can survive staying up past their 7:00 pm bedtime. I am happy to report we have let the kiddos stay up until 9 pm 3 times in the past month. Wowza. Living on the edge.

3. I am a cross between the “Constantly Volunteering Mom” and ” The Perfectionist Mom.”  I have a hard time not ‘offering my knowledge’ when I can, and saying no to the desperate email cries for volunteer help. Its a sickness. I have not officially joined the PTA {yet} but in 3 years, I will probably be the President. I am only slightly joking.
I do wear makeup everyday {despite living in Davis}, my nails are mostly painted,  and my kids most certainly have the monogrammed Pottery Barn backpack with matching lunchbox. My daughter is even getting a bigger and cuter one from Santa this year. Shh, don’t tell her. My car on the otherhand, is anything but sparkling clean.  I am just thankful that I am not the “Pajama Mom.” Though, I definitely see one everyday at drop-off.

4. Hiring a “handyman” despite having a licensed contractor for a husband is totally worth every penny. Hubby completely agrees. Things have actually been getting done around here. I might even get to do that master bathroom reveal blog soon. 5 years in the making.

5. Electronics in church is a God sent. Last night my daughter had her singing debut with the children’s choir at our local church. It was adorable and painful to watch, as my daughter nervously moved uncontrollably until find her inner diva and striking a pose on stage with the other k-6 children. My son had an even harder time sitting still during the late night production, until hubby turned Frozen on his phone. Thank you, YouTube. Jesus understands.

6. Oh, and as my friend Molly said to me last night, “I am that mom.” She was referring to the fact that I kept annoying waving at my daughter on stage, and If I actually knew the words to the songs she was singing I probably would have been in the front row enthusiastically lipping them to my daughter. I discovered, I am a bit of a stage mom. Just a bit. Good thing my daughter has expressed interest in pageants or ballet.

7. Kids actually like having a babysitter. It has been 5 1/2 years since I became a mom, and it wasn’t until VERY recently that we had anyone other than family to watch our kiddos. Shocking, right!? I guess we really are neurotic parents. Yes, mom, you were right. Now that we have crossed over to the child-free side, there is no turning back. In fact, I think I will text the sitter now to set something up.

Hallelujah.

Till next time, friends.

Xoxo,
Magazine Mom