Happy Homes do exist!

I'm going to take a break from social media. Again.  It's good for me. I really like the interaction, but it's not real interaction. And I overthink it. And I over use it.  When I comment on somebody's post I worry that maybe I said something that might offend someone else. Or maybe I came across too self-promoting. Or maybe I don't actually know what I'm talking about.  Let's just say I'm kind of glad social media didn't exist when I was a teenager... And I'm not usually an overthinker. If you've read my blog at all, you've probably read how much I wish I could limit the negative effects of the internet in my life.  And days like yesterday, spent in the great outdoors fishing with my family (nothing was caught!), remind me that my immediate interactions are the most important.  But, before I go, I wanted to share some bits and pieces of my recent Facebook interactions (that offer insight into my thoughts and feelings during t...

I did the dishes today. With my earbuds in. It was quite nice actually.  Kind of like a mini vacation.  The picture is from my Instagram stories. It says "more alone time" because I also went on a jog this morning. By myself! I had plenty of high quality kid time too: running from kid to kid helping set up the computers for school work; nagging at them to finish said school work; managing requests for- snacks, electronic playtime, and sleeping on the tramp. (Really guys, it's April! We still have snow!)  We also enjoyed a little outing (I called it an Earth Day field trip) to the river. We threw rocks in the mud, and yelled loudly into the wind.  Picking up Little Caesars pizza was a great finish to the day, because it meant I didn't have to cook and dirty up my clean kitchen (which I also did along with the dishes; wearing my earbuds; by myself!)  It's been a really good day.  Also, I will be watching Little Women tonight with my husband. It wa...

Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten.  This was the central message for our family Luauu tonight. I had the lesson for family home evening, and decided we needed something fun.  It was pretty simple- a "Hawaiian style" meal, limbo, a hula hoop contest and game, and e watched some fire dancing on YouTube.  It doesn't take much though to make for a good time together.  My own personal lesson on what Ohana means came, after all the fun was over.  I am NOT a fan of bedtime. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE bedtime for the fact that the kids are now going to bed!) But it's a hard process when you have young children. Tonight, after all the festivities (and a long, fun day enjoying the newly returned sunshine!) Anna and Reagan were quite worn out. But of course, that makes for an even more difficult time calming down for bed! I usually read a story out of the Friend magazine, or sing a few songs. Tonight, I couldn't even ...

When I was young my mom gave me a ukulele for Christmas (or was it my birthday?) I loved it. It had a rainbow on it and said Hawaii (which was my dream vacation for so so so long!)  I finally made it to Hawaii this last summer, and my ukulele finally bit the dust after being abused by several children.  So I bought a new one when it was on sale on Amazon. It was fairly inexpensive and I took the risk. It's decent quality and certainly works well enough to fill some time during this Coronavirus quarantine.  I've enjoyed plucking at it and relearning a few chords in order to play a few songs.  I must've hit a new stage of this quarantine because last night I started thinking about some of my life goals and how I could (should) be using some of this time to get a little closer to them.  Don't get my wrong, I'm still pulling my hair out, crying every day, and barely surviving monitoring homeschool.  I read a blog written by a friend of mine who IS a...

Today I've been thinking about the contrast in my week.  Tuesday was such a hard, frustrating day. I already wrote about it. I'm certain you don't want to great about it again.  Today? Awesome. Thursday and Friday? Great days.  It's interesting to me that after such an intimidating day, I've been able to recognize small things that I can change.  Or more rightly- small things that I can't change, but can ignore As I was sitting down this evening, frustrated and worn out of course (from fighting with a 3-year-old about getting out of the tub, after she had an accident), I watched the snowflakes swirling outside our gigantic living room window.  And as I watched, I could almost sense life flying by all around me. Toddlers turning into kids, turning into teenagers. Coming and going. Laughter and fighting.  So much movement.  And as I imagined this, my heart wanted to yell, "STOP!!!"  I can't let this life pass by. I won't let that happ...

I pulled myself together enough this morning to let my kids dye some Easter eggs.  Don't worry. This blog post isn't about ideas for activities or things to do with your kids during quarantine.  Nor is it about enjoying this time we have at home with our families (though I don't disagree with that sentiment).  This post is to tell you that you are not alone.  I saw something on Instagram a bit ago that talked about the storm. For some people, this whole thing is just a sprinkling. For others, it's more of a storm. And for others still, it's a freaking hurricane. The idea was that we can still enjoy our sprinkling, while not downplaying the devastating effects of the hurricane in other's lives.  At my house, it's a sprinkling. With a bit of thunder and lightening. And some wind.  I've mentioned before- that we're okay. We're safe at home, we have an income. We have food, toilet paper and the internet.  But, let m...