A quick trip back to Facebook Land

I deactivated my personal Facebook page about a week ago for lots of different reasons and I haven't missed it one bit.  Until today. It may be because my husband left this morning to go out of town and I am already feeling a little lonely or it may be because that is my only source of adult contact throughout the day and those "likes" or comments, sad as it may be, make me feel connected.  So today, against my better judgment, I entered my email and password and ventured back to Facebook Land.

I instantly found myself scrolling through my newsfeed and felt my heart sink at some of the posts.  In the span of about ten minutes I was angry, hurt, happy, and annoyed.  Some of the posts made me laugh and some had me "sssh-ing" my three year old so I could read a political rant that I knew would lead me to factcheck.org.  What was I doing??? This was a mistake.  I should not have made the trip back to Facebook Land.  I can honestly say that not having a personal Facebook has made a world of difference in my life.  While I do feel less connected and do miss my "friends" and their posts, it has me asking (in my best Carrie Bradshaw voice), does Facebook keep us connected or keep us from connecting?

Being without Facebook has made me aware of a lot of things.  One of the most important things I have learned about myself is how much I used it to reinforce beliefs about myself.  A few weeks ago my son turned one and I threw his party together at the last minute.  I had some Mommy guilt about that but when I saw just how cute it turned out, the Mommy guilt went away and I gave myself a pat on the back as I uploaded pictures of the super cute table and decorations to Facebook.  I waited and waited for my "friends" to hit the like button and tell me just how cute it turned out.  When I didn't get the comments I was expecting I actually said to my husband, "Maybe it's not really cute because nobody commented on it on Facebook."  That's when I knew that I was relying too heavily on the approval of my Facebook friends.  This is just one example.  I could give you a whole list but this was my Ah-Ha! Moment. 

I wish I could say that I am a confident mom who doesn't care what anyone thinks about me, my children, my life, or my parenting.  It's just simply not true at this point.  I hope that as I get older and gain confidence as a woman and mother I will not need the approval of others as much.  I believe I am on the road to that and deleting Facebook was just the first step.  I am making it a personal goal for myself to reach out more to people and develop real relationships rather than simply Facebook friendships. 

Join me in my goal! I challenge you to personally reach out to someone today.

Walker's Valentines 2013

Last year was Walker's first year in preschool and I was so excited when Valentine's Day rolled around and I was able to flex my creative muscles and come up with an unique idea his two year old peers would surely remember forever! :)  Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find lots of great ideas and ended up settling on these cute little glow sticks. 

This year I knew I had to step it up.  I had set the bar for myself! I knew early on exactly what I wanted to do - another great Pinterest find! I decided to create these fun little pails filled with sour gummy worms.  I looked everywhere for these little pails.  I visited all the local craft stores and finally found ONE pail at Michael's.  When I saw that it was almost $3 for ONE pail, I realized I needed a backup plan! Back to Pinterest I went but unfortunately I did not find anything that I liked as much as the Hooked on You pails.  That's when I remembered my trip to Target a couple of weeks prior.  I had seen the cutest little wooden instruments in the dollar section and thought to myself that they sure would make a cute present.  It just so happened that we had gotten the boys pictures taken for Valentine's Day and Walker's valentines cards had his picture along with the quote, "All you need is LOVE". Ding, ding, ding!!! All you need is Love by The Beatles! It was a light bulb moment I tell ya!

I went to Target the next day and the instruments were all gone.  I called my husband who was working out of town and asked him to find the nearest Target and make his way there after work.  I was a Momma on a mission! I drove 30 minutes to another Target and hit the jackpot! They had TONS of the instruments.  I was so excited that I ended up buying 15 for Walker's class valentines and 15 for his teachers to use in the classroom. 

The instruments came in clear bags and were labeled, which I really liked, and I considered leaving them like that and tying his valentine onto them that way but then they would not all be uniform in size.  I decided to take them all out of their original bag, put them in cellophane bags and tie his valentine onto them that way.  Here is the final product...

 

I LOVE them! I thought they turned out so stinkin' cute and I was so proud that this was an idea that I thought of myself - no Pinterest required ;)  Now that's not to say that Pinterest will not be consulted next Valentine's Day and the next and the next.  :)  

 

What do YOU think about these musical Valentines? 

28 Days of Kindness: An Update

The daily updates have stopped for now but the 28 Days of Kindness is still in full force.  I am not blogging about every single day or act of kindness because there are some that seem too small for an entire blog post and there are some that I would rather do anonymously.  Just know that I am having fun with this and I hope it inspires at least one person to do something kind for someone else. 

And my act of kindness for today is sharing this awesome giveaway with you.  Emily from All You Need is Love is giving away a $50 Erin Condren gift card.  To enter to win, visit her page here.

28 Days of Kindness: Day 2

28 Days of Kindness: Day 1

On Friday my little family and I ventured to our local mall, the Riverchase Galleria.  I love our mall because there is so much for the kids to do.  Usually there is a carousel in the middle of the food court but it was under construction so my boys enjoyed a train ride around the mall instead.  We went to the mall to have some family time and to shop for outfits for my little ones Valentine's Day pictures on Saturday.  We planned to eat dinner at the mall and soon after the train ride we headed towards the food court.  We found a table big enough for our family of four and our double stroller and Daddy went to get Happy Meals for two hungry boys.  Usually Mr. Independent Walker wants to sit like a big boy but this day he wanted to be like his baby brother and sit in a high chair.  I snagged two high chairs and brought them to our table.  I put Wyatt in his high chair and as I made my way across the table I caught the eye of a young father carrying his son who looked just a little younger than Wyatt. He smiled at me and I politely smiled back. It was one of those comforting parent to parent smiles that seem to say, "I feel ya, kid."

 I put Walker in his high chair and sat between my two boys listening to them giggle back and forth and began to people watch - my favorite pastime at the mall.  I saw the man's wife walk back to their table, Happy Meals in hand, and I saw them both looking around for something.  I realized they were looking for a high chair.  I also realized they had another son that looked to be about the same age as Walker.  I looked around the food court hoping I could spot a high chair they had missed.  There were none.  It looks like I had the only two high chairs in the entire food court.  I whispered to Walker, "See that little boy over there? He is a little boy just like brother.  He needs a high chair.  Can we give him yours?" Walker refused.  I tried another tactic, "Walker you are SUCH a big boy.  Don't you want to sit in a BIG boy chair like a BIG boy?!" Walker is too smart for this momma and he saw through my flattery.  "Okay, mommy. We can give him my chair." I told Walker how nice he was for giving his chair to the little boy and how that made me very happy.  I moved him to his big boy chair and I took them his high chair. 

I realize this is a small act of kindness but that's what it's about, right? Kindness does not always have to be a grand gesture.  Sometimes the best way to show kindness is in every day life.  Daddy returned with Happy Meals and my boys went to work eating.  About ten minutes later Walker says, "Mommy, is Jesus watching me?" I told him that Jesus is watching him, and me, and everyone and how happy he made Jesus by sharing his seat with the little boy.  This act of kindness became a teachable moment and for that I am thankful. 

28 Days of Kindness

A couple of weeks ago my mother lost her best friend of thirty years.  Lisa was such a close part of my family that I considered her my aunt and even called her Aunt EC.  She was there when I spoke my first word, she was there when I got married, and she had been there for my mom to brag to at all the moments in between.  She wasn't someone I saw often but she was someone who had been a part of my life since I was born.  It is such a different feeling of sadness when someone chooses to leave.  In the days following her death I would find myself reading her Facebook page and I kept seeing the same types of posts.  People wrote on her page how she brightened their day when they saw her, how much they enjoyed their conversations with her, how much her smile meant to them.  This got me thinking about how quickly I, and others, voice our opinions when they are negative but yet we choose to keep positive words and comments to ourselves.  Most people do not going around saying, "Thank you for being my friend." Perhaps we should.  Perhaps if we were as quick to lift people up as we are to bring them down more people would know just how loved they are.  I don't know if these posts would have changed Lisa's life but I hope she is able to read them from Heaven.

After Lisa's death, I made it a point to choose my words a little more carefully.  I began to see the word kindness daily in the devotions and quotes I read.  I began to think about what it really means to be kind and I decided to do something to spread a little bit of kindness in the world.  That's when I came up with the idea to do 28 Days of Kindness in the month of February.  I had a lot of ideas for the month but I ended up doing something that scares me - just going with the flow.  I am embracing each day without a planned act of kindness and I am looking for ordinary chances to spread kindness.

The great thing about life is that it is never too late to learn and grow.  I can't change anything I have done in the past but I am learning and growing everyday and can only hope to leave behind people who love me when it is my time to go home.  I hope I have influenced people and left my mark in a positive light.  And if I have yet to leave a positive mark, perhaps I will do so in the next 28 days and all the days following. 

I want to challenge you to take on your own 28 Days of Kindness. 

Let's Blog - Round 3

Well, I'm back for round three of blogging.  :)  I started this blog to keep track of milestones and fun events in our lives but eventually it became more about comparing myself as a mother and feeling inadequate.  I would read posts written so beautifully by mothers about savoring the little moments with their children and details about their day and I would begin to question myself as a mother.  I now know that those feelings did not come from other people and their blogs but from feelings and doubts within myself.  Those feelings have diminished some since I have become more comfortable in my own skin as a mother and embraced the chaos.  I realize that there is beauty in my imperfections - imperfections as a mother and a woman.  I decided to brush off this old blog and start anew in an effort to show those imperfections.  Today I have 18 followers.  I doubt half of them will read this post but this time I am writing for myself, not for them, and that is today's success.