A Moveable Mom

I love Pema Chodron-have you read her? She's wonderful. Whatever you are feeling, especially those negative, funky feelings; she's gotta good book for you! So, I picked up 'How To Meditate.' I've shared in past posts, how I am similar to Julia Roberts in 'Eat, Pray, Love'...translation= I struggle. Sure, I know that meditaton is the best thing for my skin, stress, relationships, existence...I get it-I'm just no good. One of my strengths, though? I'm no quitter! So-here I am reading...but, it's kinda the same thing that I've heard before-"try 20 minutes to start with" it begins(try 2?) So, I have spent the day trying to translate what the experts and gurus are telling me and like everything else I TRY to do (emphasis on "TRY.") I reflect on what that may look like in my life; when have I felt full, ZEN, relaxed, enlightened...? I was drinking coffee before work this week-my boys were at the LEGO table; mass destruction was ...

I am a believer in music therapy. It takes time and it is NOT easy to find the right tunes to turn around or to improve some interesting moods! I have different types of tunes for different parts of the house; calming for the bath, Buffett and Reggae for the backyard, a variety of genres in our family areas...for the variety of moods and personalities that arise from the 4 of us! I like to have music playing all the time-keeps my spirit and body moving! There are only a few weeks out of the year where, however, I DEPEND on music-beginnings and ends of school years. (Just so you know, Christmas music at the end of the school year. You heard it right, I can't explain it. It just works.) So, being an educator-with children in school-you can imagine the importance of finding the right music to keep our hearts happy when there is so much new-ness and unknown during the beginning of the school year. My family and I survived the first week of school (there should be a shirt for that...and...

My purse! (Handbag, satchel, pocketbook...whichever noun applies to you and your region of the country!) I spent two weeks carrying around an absolutely ADORABLE, weaved, red & blue...too small purse. My "stuff" (i.e. my life blood, security "blanket",etc...) was just busting out all over the place! I would reach in for my singing phone and had keys-money and all sorts of embarrassing goodies falling down around me. I have had a lot of missed calls these past few weeks. So, today, it was just me and the boys-translation: I needed to have my "stuff" together! Who was I kidding-"absolutely ADORABLE" + ME = disaster, disorganization, the list goes on and on. Old Faithful got pulled out-the one that I can fit a water bottle, kindle, 'Daring Greatly' book by Brene Brown (upcoming blog-I SWEAR, she and I would make the best of friends!!), epi-pen (I am a HOT mess sometimes!),...the list goes on and on. You're picking up on some patterns...

I love my job-don't get me wrong. It is the greatest, most stimulating, challenging and oh, so rewarding profession! As a mom of super silly boys, though-my summers "off" (fellow educators know why "off" is used very loosely!) have been the best (and most tiring)payment for a job well done during the school year. I got up early today for my first day back to work and just thought about these precious summer months that I spent with my boys. Time that I was able to fill with simple and humbling (humiliating?) experiences. Our bathrooms, filled with bathing suits-where you just felt around in the morning for the least damp one, threw it on, and topped it with shorts and a shirt. There-you're dressed...SUCCESS! My husband, the cook in our family-it's obvious why-especially on these weekday mornings when he abandons me...without frozen waffles! Nothing warms a momma's heart like the whiny tones of "daddy makes food we like" or my new personal f...

Hand, full of tissues *Eyes closing slowly *Boys home all summer scream "I'm bored"...

My husband, bless him (SEE,I have lived in the South for quite some time now), was recently persuaded by yours truly to take on a Pinterest project. Some creative DIYer painted and organized an adorable laundry room/closet. Hubby and I both know how much time we spend in that small area-why not make a soothing, therapeutic spot for a...blech job (has Webster's recognized 'blech' yet?) We found ourselves venting and discussing the project at our neighborhood pool and one of the EXACT conversations sounded like "my ironing pile was once THIS BIG! " What followed were a few laughs, more knowing nods and even more sharing and one-upping about similar or larger piles of ironing, piles of laundry...just PILES! How great and refreshing is that?! Plenty great and refreshing, I say. My mind made a sighing sound when I stopped and took in this modern mommy moment. No comparing how much work that was done while making a 5 course meal and hodge-podging a Martha Stewart-esque ...

One thing that gets me energized is a GREAT recommendation from a friend or friendly stranger for a new book, movie, song,etc...I decided to share what is working for me these days and would LOVE for you to add to my list (that's the best part of this village-besides, I have enough one sided conversations :) MUSIC I like to "Run It Off"; whatever it may be that I need to run FROM-a bummer exchange with someone, several hours of kid tantrums, the not so nice self-talk, whatever! My go to songs are 'Dare You to Move' by Switchfoot and 'F@*kin Perfect' by PINK. Try these for your warmup-and it won't matter what songs follow, you'll RUN all of your worries away! APPS songza.com (THE BEST-trust me on this one...music for every mood and activity), stickynotes (paperless POST-ITS on your phone or ipad, how cool is that?) WEBSITES kidpresident.com (this youngster is the genius behind this entry's title) and momastery.com are my top two blues beating...

I read something this morning...I read two things, actually. (If we're really being honest here, I have read A TON this morning-I get up at like 3am,often, and have a racing mind ready to take on the world and learn new things. Then I crash from exhaustion when it's time to follow through!! It's a joke the universe plays on me that I haven't quite figured out.) One of those memorable readings included, "if you have one smile to give, give it to those you love"-Maya Angelou. Then, I read a wise, relaxed sounding blogger describe how to take in each day with your children;to watch them, observe them-breathe them in and take in every moment of their fleeting childhood and growth. Now, I have been studying Buddhism, meditation, yoga-all things glorious and mindful and positive for years but being in the PRESENT is just one thing that this American born, city girl has never managed. I AM Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love watching the clock in the meditation room.......

No, really-I need a bit of help and I can't figure out if it's the Mom guilt, the work guilt, the Catholic guilt...phew! There's gotta be a few more guilty factors batting their wings around me but I'll start with these. Tried to go home early and "rest"-which I think in MOM world means you do everything that you normally do but you're in sweats with your hair pulled up and half of your makeup removed because your head hurt too much to finish the job! So-I did it today; had a monumental moment and took off for ME-just me and my illness. Sure,I had to close my eyes and breathe when I sent the boys to school this morning; even when they sweetly told me that they would be happy to have a "stay at home" day with me and help out. So, that's a bit liberating, right? (Acknowledge moments of growth wherever you can find them) Husband has called every 20 minutes to make sure I'm still in bed because "doing laundry slower and shopping for heal...

So, I'm not claiming to have all the answers but I am "Still Standing" (insert Elton John song to play in the background to keep up this encouraging momentum.) When I thought of the little things that I need to turn to when times get too stressful or tough and thought of my sweet sister about to begin her own parenting adventure....I had an easy list (and I work in an Elementary School, so that's how we roll!) A -Amazon Yes, the website! You shop for what you need or want(let's be real) and you never leave home! B -Baths...nuff said! C -Cupcakes Just the frosting for me, but whatever floats your boat-you're saying to yourself "good job" and NO you don't have to share this decadence! D -Drive Go-getitness, motivation, goals! The world may see you as a grown up...but what do YOU still want to be when you grow up?! E -Exercise...I found that one out the hard way F -Friends Don't put it off, you need to carve this area out in your schedule G -Gil...

I noticed (pondered for a sec, grabbed a handful of flaxseed chips from Trader Joe's-what, they're good for you?) that I rarely mention my precious partner or my other co-adventurers in this life when I write or reflect. I work hard to inhale-exhale-breathe daily, I work hard at my work, I work hard to be a better mom, I work hard to improve myself-I work hard, you get the point. But, I am most certainly not working hard all by my loneseome. We all have this most amazing circle of spirits that we rely on (they may not always look or sound like your ideal/dream backup team-but they're there and they are giving you the VERY best that they have! Really, they are-no seriously, you gotta believe me on this one or you'll get in Child Pose and sob and that gets old...trust me!)The folks that have my back have gotta get props every now and then-between the pity parties and flaxseed chip eating sessions, of course. I have this amazing group of backup singers that I don't shi...

I love the holidays-all holidays. I love traditions too! Following traditions, creating traditions...recreating traditions. Yet, when I tried to think of any New Year traditions that I had, my mind went blank-couldn't think of one. Does hectic activity and elaborate and inappropriate expectations count? If so, then, yes-yes I have New Year traditions. So,on December 31,I again joined the ranks of all others to resolve to do something more,less,differently....But, first I had to squeeze in "one" last thing for the year 2012: one last yoga class (YES-I proved that I practiced...once!), one bit of talk/tea time with a friend and then rapidly reading tips/hints/favorite blogs and trying to recall last year's results to effectively plan and "OWN" 2013. The boys squeezed in one last viewing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the husband felt strongly that he needed to make and eat bread (thoughtful guy-that one's fun for the whole family) and I...? I followed wh...