Connection. From Miles Away.

Starting this blog several months ago, my initial intention was to reach women and mothers and share stories. I wasn't sure who it would reach or when. I sent out my best intentions and just hoped to inspire another mom in the same position as I. 

I have not written in quite a while.  So imagine my surprise when I received a comment on my blog from a mother named Heather. She wrote me and asked if I could share her incredible story. At just 36, and a brand new mom, she was diagnosed with Pleural Mesothelioma cancer. Fighting for her life with a brand new baby girl is a diagnosis that seems almost impossible for most.

I am happy to report that Heather is cancer-free, and that beautiful baby girl is growing up with her mom by her side. What an incredible story. 

I share with you Heather's story so that you may become aware of not only her plight for her life, but so you are educated on this form of cancer and you, too, can spread the word. I am humbled to be able to share her story, and give light to not only her form of cancer...but her incredible journey and spirit that rose above all else. 

We applaud you, Heather, for your light and your love that you obviously radiate to not just your family but everyone in your grasp.

My Mesothelioma Story: How I Hope to Help Others

Hearing these three words, “You have cancer” are the most numbing words when you think life is going well.  Unfortunately, I heard these words at a time in my life when I thought nothing could possibly happen. Three and a half months prior to this announcement, I had a baby. Now, I am being told I have cancer. Pleural mesothelioma as a matter of fact. Pleural mesothelioma cancer is caused by asbestos exposure.

Most people ask, “Isn’t asbestos banned?” The answer to that question is, “No, asbestos is not banned.” The second question people ask me is, “Where were you exposed?” The answer to this question is, “My father.” I was exposed to asbestos through my father who worked in construction. He primarily sanded, taped drywall and was involved in mudding. The dust in these materials contained asbestos. He brought it home on his clothes, in his car and on his jacket. The white dust seemed harmless, but it was filled with asbestos fibers.

As for me, it was rare for a 36-year old female to be diagnosed with mesothelioma since the disease tends to affect older males who work in trades. Most often the trades include plumbing or heating. Military personnel, electricians and mechanics are also commonly affected by mesothelioma.

I am not the only woman affected by mesothelioma. The wives of the men who worked in these trades also began to get sick from doing their husband’s laundry. The asbestos-laden clothes were shaken before being loaded into the washer. Women were also exposed at schools while working as secretaries.

Unfortunately, the next generation of mesothelioma patients is being diagnosed. It seemed that I was the beginning of an alarming trend that young people who developed mesothelioma, but how were these young people exposed?

They were children. These children were happy to see their fathers and would jump into their arms after the father had been working all day with asbestos. These children would hug their dads to welcome them home after their dads were exposed. These children hung out with their dads after working around asbestos-laden insulation all day. These children wore their dad’s jacket to feed the rabbits to avoid getting their jacket dirty and were exposed.

The more people I meet in the mesothelioma community, the more I realize that this disease affects young people in their late twenties and early thirties. Young men and women should be starting their lives with new babies; marriages and jobs are, instead, dealing with mesothelioma. The great news is that these young people are more likely to survive, now, with new treatments for mesothelioma.

Why do I continue to do be an advocate for mesothelioma and share my story? I do it to create awareness. Without creating awareness, nothing will change. I share my story so that a person who is newly diagnosed will have hope of survival. I hope to give someone living in fear of mesothelioma a reason to continue living and save a life through my stories.  I hope that by doing this that I am doing what is right. 

Follow Heather's blog here: 

www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather

Why Women Everywhere are Coming Together for "Fifty Shades of Grey" (Pun somewhat intended)

 I read all three books in about 9 days. I work over 40 hours a week, have a 2 and a half year old and I'm in the process of moving. My spare time is limited. So let me paint a picture for you on how this was accomplished: I was reading before I got up for work at 5:30am, I read at stop lights on the way to (and from) work, I read at lunch, I read while watching Dancing with the Stars, I stayed up way past my bedtime and continued to read.  I couldn't put it down.

I recruited about 8 other women at work to also start reading. It took off like a wildfire. We'd pass eachother in the hall and give that smile like, yeah I know you were reading it till 2 am too. What is it about this book?? Ten million copies have been sold since March. Which means lots of women are feeling just as excited as I am about Christian Grey and Ana Steele.

While the books are an easy read, I don't think this is why its so easy to read them. Let me also preface this by saying I've never read any kind of erotica before. I was an erotica virgin if you will, so I have nothing to compare these books to. All I know is that it didn't have a Fabio look alike with some woman's boobs almost hanging out on the cover, and that right there is enough for me to dive further into what these books are all about.

The first book gave me butterflies. I was nervous and excited and I felt like I was feeling all the same things that Ana must be "feeling" as she meets with Christian in the first few chapters. What the hell? No book had done that to me before. I was immediately forming my "Christian" in my mind...Christian Bale? Ian Somerhalder? That guy from White Collar....Matt Bomer? Yeah, any of those will do.

This became my fantasy. I got to escape for minutes or hours throughout the day to this story. Like I could open the book, step in to the pages, and I was lost in this delicious "this will never happen to me but I get to pretend it will" fantasy all throughout the day. But the best part was that I knew all those girls reading it with me felt the same way. We all giggled and became thirteen year old teenagers again. It's like Christian was real and we just waiting for him to step out of the page.

We cheered for Ana and cursed her at the same time. We wanted the story to be a little more raunchy at times, and we definitely wanted Christian to speak up more during sex. We thought he would be a little more vocal than what he was (just our opinion...). We talked about the fantasy of it all: Ana gets to orgasm EVERY time?? And that quickly?? Lucky bitch. But in my fantasy that would be an important detail...so I'll go with it. We wanted the sex to last longer in some places, and we all could not WAIT until they got into the Red Room. Oh the Red Room...wait what?

Does this mean that I (er, we) as a collective group of women around the world are excited with the fact that this man has a room dedicated to all sorts of kinkey ______ ? Hell yes we are. And let me give you the reason why: We are tired of making all the decisions. We have the power 98.9% of our day. Whether you are a working mother, stay at home mom, work with no kids, whatever. We as women control most of our days and our daily lives with constant decisions. What a lovely idea to step into a room, situation, or relationship where you have the trust in the other to just surrender. Where he knows what feels good and what doesn't and you just have to let him. Give up the power girls. That can be a scary thought. But how freeing at the same time.

Oh yeah...Ana gets to fix Fifty. That's the other piece of the puzzle. Whether you admit it or not, we women like to do those things. Here's this beautiful scarred man that desperately needs her love to heal him. Hallelujah! Sign me up!

We feel sexy again. I don't feel sexy when I'm constantly lost in thought of what needs to get done, what I need to cook or clean, who needs to go where and what other responsibilities are flooding my brain. Sexiness is not a top priority. But this book made me feel sexy. It turned me on and got me thinking about ideas and situations that normally, I would never think about turning  me on. We as a collective female force around the world are feeling sexy again. We feel good about sex and maybe want to have alot more because of this book. Husbands and boyfriends everywhere are letting us read at dinner and while we watch tv with them on the sofa because they know what this book is doing to us. And well, they like what its doing to them too.

These books brings us together. We get to laugh and talk about a topic that we typically don't discuss because, quite frankly, none of our lives are quite this exciting. We all interpret the books differently, and discuss how it makes us feel. We join together at book clubs and laugh until we cry discussing various parts of the story and share our own personal stories.

Fifty Shades, in my opinion, is allowing us to discover the kinky fuckery in us all. And we can't wait for the movie.  Since most of us have been busy casting the actors in our heads for weeks now anyway.

A big thanks to E L James who felt inspired to bring such an amazing fantasy to all of us. Even though she thought no one would read it...

...Turns out she's not the only one that's into the Red Room...

Granola Mom #2...Vegetarian overnight

I made the choice to give up meat rather easily. But let me be honest-I thought I was going to have a really hard time making the switch. What was I going to eat??? Turns out, its nothing more than better planning and turning on the will power switch.

Let's get another thing straight-I am a lover of animals. I did not give up meat for them, however. I gave up meat for me...and my health. When I couldn't tell you where my meat was coming from, who knows what was being fed to them (and then passed on to me and my family), that's when I decided I need to make a change. I was only down to turkey and chicken, I had cut out everything else.

My first step was to meal plan for my next trip to the grocery store. That was when I literally planned every meal to be meat free. With my trusty big ass vegetarian cook book in hand, I went to work. Low and behold-you can put a lot of shit together and make it taste good. And you don't have to put in meat. Plus it cut out an extra dollar or two (or three or four) out of my grocery bill.

I made all my meals that I had planned, and I went meat free for two weeks. I did it.

So there I was after two weeks, and then another two weeks. Pretty soon it was a month and a half later, and the boy says to me, "Babe have you eaten  meat at all these last few weeks?" And there it was, I couldn't remember the last time I ate a meal with an animal as the main course. It was truly a freeing feeling. Because I did it. I stuck to it and kept with it and I didn't give in.

Making this decision was a very important one for me and my family. I am choosing to raise my son meat free. And the best part about this decision? My IBS has all but disappeared, I have more energy, I'm not wanting to nap on my desk every day at 2pm, and I just feel good. I know where my food is coming from, I know what it is made out of, and that my friends, feels damn good. I think that's called peace of mind.

So if you were looking for a miraculous answer to whether or not you should also choose to go meat free...I'm sorry I can't give you one. It was literally better planning, and a little bit of will power. It was one of the best decisions I've made in a very long time, and I urge you to try it. But do it for yourself and your own personal reasons. Because that is what I found gives you the greatest will power of all...you're taking care of yourself. And that... is a damn good thing.

Being a mom is hard. Its one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It's not something I like to say out loud, but its the truth. There are days when I reminisce about the times I could up and leave to have dinner with my girlfriends, grab a drink, read a book all day or just lie in bed to whatever time I damned well pleased.

I have to plan a lot to do those things now. Sometimes weeks in advance. And I may not be able to do the things I used to "enjoy" doing quite as often. But then I think...get your head out of your ass.

You have a beautiful, healthy son that lights up when you walk into a room. He has the ability to throw his arms around you, grab your face and plant a sloppy kiss on your mouth. Run to you when he's sad and upset and you can console every last tear. You get to see him every day and smell his skin, feel his breath on your face when he sits to close to you when you read books, and listen to every first word he'll ever mutter.

You get to see him run and jump, get overly excited about swings at the park, and watch as he continues to grow even though you want so desperately for time to just slow down. You get to love him. Every minute of every day.

I have had the unfortunate experience this year of being witness to friends and acquaintances lose a child. I have cried gut wrenching tears for mothers that have had to say goodbye to their children.

Being a mother is hard. But it is not difficult in the sense that I can sometimes conjure it up to be. I have my son. You have your son and daughters. And for all the mothers that can not hug their babies today, I stand and applaud your strength. Because it is not about not being able to have dinner on a whim, or spend the day shopping. Its the precious time we have with our babies, and what we do with all of that time that is not always guaranteed.

So when my little boy climbed into bed with me very early this morning, snuggled up against me and fell back asleep, I was reminded once again what this life is all about: magical, unrelenting, passionate unconditional love.

To all my mother friends who put themselves second, or third or fourth...who sometimes forget about the amazing women they are because they are too busy cleaning up diapers, making dinners and washing clothes...balancing a career and a family, and those who just strive every day to be the most amazing mother to their family...I applaud you. You make me strong.

Because its in that one precious moment that we realize they are the reason we are here. They are our purpose.

Happy Mothers Day...

Granola Mom #1

Okay so I'm pretty sure this is going to be the start of a series...I realized the other day I have changed alot of habits in my life, trying to get to my goal of an overall health filled life. The funniest part being I changed these habits not out of want, but out of necessity. Which is the story of my life, really.

I never had any intention of becoming a crunchy granola kind of person, let alone mother. I thought it was expensive to keep up a healthy lifestyle, and if I ate organic, no meat and very few sugar/processed foods, I would instantly start braiding my hair down my back, wear no makeup and have an arsenal of long flow-y skirts in my closet. Turns out all that was just a myth. So here is my way of slowly becoming that crunchy granola kind of mom/wife/woman. Really its just about becoming educated about what I put into my family's body. And finally confirming that I just want to feel good. Let's start with how I grocery shop and meal plan...and how I can get it all under $100.
(Keep in mind its my small family of 3 that I'm shopping for)

I DID IT!!! 

I finally had my first grocery trip with everything in my cart consisting of either organic or all natural foods: no processed crap, nothing filled with high fructose corn syrup or some other weird sugar substitute, no meat, no dairy, no ingredient I couldn't pronounce...2 weeks worth of groceries and meals for literally $104 (20$ at the Farmer's Market, about $80 at the store)

Here's what was in my cart from Kroger:

1 lb of raw almonds
bag of dried cranberries (to make my own trail mix)
Almond milk (we no longer drink cow's milk)
Almond creamer
Bananas
All natural peanut butter
Grape jelly (no sugar added, no HFCS)
Mom's Best All Natural cereals (LOVE these cereals...)
Diya vegan mozzerella cheese
Prego veggie spaghetti sauce
Veggie frozen lunches (3 of them)
2 boxes of quinoa
2 cans of organic black beans
2 cans of organic diced tomatoes


There were a few other things on my list..like mascara, toothpaste and hydrogen peroxide, etc that also added the bill up a little more. I also buy in bulk when I can, and I have alot of things that carry over from week to week. Hence my list not being very long. I also ONLY buy what I need. Rarely do I get desserts...and since we have cut out anything processed for the most part...there isn't too much crap mixed in there.

The other important new habit I have: buying almost ALL of my fruits/veggies from a farmers market. I bought just $20 worth of fruits and veggies today and I filled two brown paper grocery bags.

Here is my menu plan for the next two weeks...keep in mind I plan enough food for leftovers. Meaning I make sure I make enough dinner to last our family dinner the first night, and then either lunch the next day or dinner the next day. Rarely ever do I make dinner to be for just one night. Unless its a special occasion or something.

Dinner menu for two weeks (I grocery shop every two weeks so food doesn't spoil):
(everything is vegetarian by the way..another way to save money at the store)

Veggie pizza

Spinach/tomato/pasta casserole

Couscous and roasted veggies

Mexican lasagna

Sweet potato veggie medley on top of spinach

Spaghetti (because there are nights I just need something quick)

Quinoa and veggies/pasta

Brown rice stir fry

Nothing overly complicated or fancy...I work full time and don't have a lot of time to cook by the time I get home. Click here to go to my Pinterest "Fav Recipes" page. Some of the dinners above are included there.

So that's it folks! That's just the beginning of how I grocery shop and how that leads to myself and my family making better choices...not just for food but all the other areas of our lives as well. I'll post soon about how and why these choices started to creep into my life...but I would love your comments and questions as well!!

Not so proud Mommy Moment.

Yeah yeah. You didn't call you didn't write. I know its been quite a while since I've last posted..which isn't the best way to keep a blog up and running. But its always when I think I'm going to start a grand new adventure in my life that fifty other things start popping up around me. Plus I just haven't found the motivation to write. Except for when this happened to me a few weeks ago, and I felt like I needed to share.

My two year old has been so good to me. He isn't the typical "terrible two's" kind of child, so when he is...my whole world shifts and I quickly find myself at a loss as to what to do. Distract him, ignore him, leave him by himself, wait for it to be over with...I feel like I've heard it all on what to do. But when I was home in Dallas a few weeks ago, and my sweet little boy turned into what I thought was a little monster in front of most of my family and strangers...my non-composed mommy self reared its ugly head. I had little to no patience left in me...and after he hit his one year old nephew in the back and caused him to fall over-in a fit of anger I scooped him up, grabbed all my stuff and yelled, "we're leaving!" to the all the people left at my nephew's one year birthday party.

I stormed out to my car, continually telling my son, "we do NOT act like that!" as if he knew what the hell I was even referring to. We got back to my mom's house, where he proceeded to act like the angel he is...and left me reeling, feeling anger and embarrassment. What the hell just happened? Who was that girl that just left like the whole world was going to end and I couldn't take anymore?? We went outside to play with our new sidewalk chalk, and he came over while I was sitting indian style on the pavement, wrapped his little arms around my neck, and just hugged me. And that's where I lost it.

There were no words between us, but I instantly knew he was forgiving me. That he knows I'm always doing what I think is best for us, and in that moment maybe it wasn't the best decision, but he knew it was okay. I felt ashamed and stupid. I don't have those moments very often. But I wasn't proud of myself. How could I allow myself to get so frustrated with this little person that I am hopelessly in love with?

I know we all have moments like this. I believe I called it my "breaking point." There is only so much patience I can have on a daily basis, where constantly saying "Yes I know you're tired, come play with this instead, no don't touch that that's not yours, I know you want the cookie but you can't have that right now, no Jacob we don't play with those presents, no let's go outside-oh okay we can go back inside, do you want to eat? no, okay let's go sit down, no I told you we can't run up and down the stairs" just doesn't cut it anymore.

So no, I'm not particularly proud of that moment. But what I can tell you is that I learned a hell of alot from that moment. One, let the child sleep and don't wake him from his nap, even if you're going to be late. Two, its okay if he isn't acting like an angel..I'm probably the only one who's noticing, and finally...in the grand scheme of things, he's never going to remember this and neither will I.

He will still love me.

Getting my (eh hem) stuff together...

                                                        Organizing Made Fun


I really hate cleaning everything in one day. I'm pretty sure we all do. (Well, we all would if we were forced to wear that outfit in that picture...) Its really not the best taking one of my days off to clean like a crazy person so I can get it done, wear myself out, then not have any energy for the rest of the day (or next day).

So I was thrilled when I came across this blog that goes into how putting a little extra each day will take care of having to save everything for one day. Granted it doesn't take care of deep cleaning, but it does take care of the awesome task of cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming everyone's hair off the floor, and all those other fun jobs we moms do.

Okay so here's the hard part: actually doing it. You know, not listening to that little voice that says, "Come on man-you've been busting your butt since 5:30am...(because now its 8pm and you just got done with dinner, cleaning the kitchen, getting baths done and reading books before bed)...just sit and watch another episode of Modern Family. It's so relaxing."

My new routine will start next week. Because I only start things on Mondays. Its a quirk. Whatever. I'm going to follow the chart and see where it gets me. What do you guys do that gets your house clean and kept clean, without putting on your sexy cleaning sweat pants/capris/cut off things with your hair in a scrunchie (I didn't stutter), and your tank top with no bra...??? Please don't tell me I'm the only that wears that.

I'll report back on what my findings are. Hopefully it means I get to spend an entire day off with my family and not feeling guilty because I'm not cleaning. Because its already clean. Ha! The blog I found is actually really cool, so I suggest checking it out, along with the cleaning schedule.

Why Pinterest Rock My Socks Off...

Like most of you, I got sucked into Pinterest a few months ago because someone cool that I know posted something cool from their board on Facebook and I clicked on it. And then angels started to sing, and there were rainbows and kittens with yarn. Whatev, it was pretty much a magical moment and it really has changed my life for the better...so I'd thought I would share with you my thoughts on the whole "Pin it" extravaganza.

I genuinly feel more creative as I look through hundreds of pictures that other people have found and posted. I know this sounds borderline dumb ass, but really. I find one amazing pic that has this great idea about turning your Ikea bookshelves into what looks like built-ins. Hell-er! I never would have thought of that. But I have accepted the fact that other people are much more creative than me, and I'm fine with that. Don't know what to do this weekend with your boy-toy for date night? Never fear bitches! There's a pin for that!  

I like to tear up at sappy pictures. It makes me feel good. Moving on. 

 There is some seriously funny shit on Pinterest. I don't know where half this stuff comes from (even though there's a website attached to each pic, but you know what I mean), but it will make snot fly out of your nose. If you ever need a good laugh, or feel like your not the only mom that does some weird stuff...just type in "funny" to the search engine and you'll be blowin snot for hours.
p.s. if you don't find the below pic funny...there's something wrong with you. 

You will have every holiday covered for decorating and gift ideas from now through eternity. Seriously. Don't ever let me go to your house for Presidents Day and not have some paper mache` George Washington as a centerpiece. You will find it on Pinterest.

I'm really into vision boards and now I get to create as many as I want. I like vision boards..and they work for me. I got some really good stuff that I wanted doing vision boards. Money, clothes, purses...you know the really good spiritual stuff. But now I can create any board I want: new clothes, money, vacations...I guess some things don't change.


I like to pin things that I am for sure I will go back, look at and actually implement. But I never do. Well I take that back, I've found some really good recipes on there that I have tried. But that's really it. But I pin it damn it! And I have every intention to go and spend more time I don't have on looking at the things I want to do. Yeah right like this cake will ever happen:

I have found some really cool blogs that I follow now. I never did the whole blog thing until recently, and I didn't have a clue as to who did what or who to follow. You can find everything on pinterest...blogs, websites about blogs, blogs about websites. See what I mean below:

www.mamalaughlin.com

 I can't remember shit any more, so this helps me organize my super terrific thoughts and ideas into one place. For the time that I will eventually have to do all this super terrific stuff. It's pretty super terrific.


I'm kind of a fashion "mom jeans" kind of person. As in, I don't have a great sense of fashion, so I stick on one style because I think it looks good on me. I need others to tell me what to wear.  Pinterest helps me stay on top of my game with the rest of the cool girls.

Anyway, so as you can plainly see-this is the coolest shit you'll ever stumble upon. Tell your girlfriends. Tell your mom. And follow me on Pinterest so you can see all the cool crap I will stumble upon and share with all of you! Happy Pinning!

Bring it on Target!!

As you may have guessed, I was blessed yesterday with an opportunity to go to Target sans toddler. This is a rare experience for me, as it is for most of you.  I knew I had to write about it because I know I'm not the only one that skips down the aisles twirling my basket around me with my hands in the air when this opportunity arises. At least I hope I'm not. I'm pretty sure that other woman down the bath aisle was doing the same thing.


 Top Reasons why going to Target alone = a mini vacation

1. You get to see all the new stuff that new designer guy has out for summer.

2. You realize you have no idea who that new designer guy is so you're inspired to make time to get on the computer.

3. You can look at a piece of clothing for more than 10 seconds without saying, "What? What do you want? I just gave you your snack."

4. You can actually try on that piece of clothing. In a normal sized dressing room.

5. You realize half way through your trip you can actually walk the entire store this time. And you don't have to go down the toy aisle.

6. There is no small person grabbing every bottle of shampoo off the shelf and throwing it in your cart because you accidently parked them too close to the shelves.

7. What? I can try on shoes? By myself!

8. You can read labels. On anything. Anything you want.

9. You laugh at the mothers with the screaming children. Because for once it isn't you.

10. You feel like yourself again...just for a brief moment.

$30

There's typically not a lot $30 can get you nowadays. It barely gets you a decent pedicure. It may get you a nice lunch with a girlfriend, maybe an amazing deal on a new pair of jeans (if you shop where I shop)... or it could be just enough to start your whole life.

In one part of the world, $30 provides a woman with an education on women's rights, business skills, and technical skills that will enable her to build a life she once had only dreamed of. She is probably living in a war zone, and has no running water or electricity. She works from the moment the sun rises until the long after the sun sets. She has children, typically more than 5, and is the primary caregiver.  Sometimes she is married, other times she has already lost her spouse, and is caring for everyone on her own. She dreams of being able to just feed her family. She wants to learn how to read and write, and develop skills so she can support her children and make a life for herself.

$30 isn't much to me. I provide that small amount, just once a month, to a woman in Rwanda. Her name is Constance. She has 8 children, a husband, and has feared several times in the last several months that she will be unable to feed her family. There is a life for her that is meant for more. I am humbled by the fact that I am able to help her achieve that life with just $30.

I made a commitment almost two years ago that I would support another woman in this world because I have been blessed with the opportunities that allow me to have a life I am comfortable with. I never have to worry about feeding my family, finding running water, or living with out electricity. I can't put myself in her shoes, but I pray that by helping her with this education, she could perhaps start to envision herself in my shoes.

For a woman to recognize her own worth is like shooting a canon ball from a canon...once you start, there is no stopping it. Constance has the opportunity to find herself and what she is truly capable of. She is my Rwandan sister, and I am so proud to be a part of her life. I encourage you to visit Women for Women International, and be connected with a woman in this world that needs your help. Thousands line up to have access to the education they provide. Most are on a waiting list for months, praying that a sponsor will come into their life.

Because while $30 doesn't seem like much to most of us, it is everything to Constance. Go find out what your $30 is worth.

 

Click here for more information on how to sponsor 

Lessons from my 2 year old:

1. Always wake up in a good mood. It sets the tone for the rest of your day. 

2. Give hugs whenever you can. It makes the other person feel so much better. 

3. Get excited about anything new. It opens up your whole world to new possibilities. 

4. Throw a tantrum and then get over it. It's probably not worth it anyway. 

5. Go to bed early. 

6. Take naps. You wake up in a much better mood. 

7. Dance in the car. It makes for a really fun ride to where ever you're going. 

8. Just dance. Whenever. Wherever. 

9. Laugh at the silliest thing. Over and over again. Laughing never really gets old anyway. 

10. Learn a new word every week. Surprise your friends with your new vocabulary. 

11. Find something you are passionate about and stick to it. Make it your new routine. 

12. Say no. And don't feel guilty about it. 

13. Cuddle in bed. 

14. Make new friends where ever you go. It's amazing what just saying "hi" can do. 

15. Love. Unconditionally.

Love you J-

Mom

Finding the Time...

Since I've had three days off in a row now, and forced to do nothing (thank you wisdom teeth), its made me think of all the stuff I could be doing right now that I'm not. And how I have to be totally fine with that. Here's my current to do list:

1. Do my taxes
2. Drop off bags of clothes/shoes, etc to Goodwill
3. Make a dr.'s appointment for Jacob
4. Buy a dress for my brother's wedding
5. Menu plan and grocery shop
6. Clean the bathrooms
7. Empty the litterbox
8. Do my laundry
9. Clean my room
10. Sleep at some point

Like most, well all, of you..I have a lot to do. Everyday. Everyday I look at the ever growing list of things I need to do so I can just go to work in clean clothes, my son can go to daycare in pants that are crusted over with spaghetti sauce, and my electricity stays on. There's nothing earth shattering on that list. I'm not performing brain surgery or saving a dying kitten. But why is it that it all seems like too much-that time seems to be speeding up and I'm on this treadmill of crap and all I can do is hold on to the rails so I don't slip off the back and go hurdling towards the wall?

Did you notice there's not one thing on that list that puts myself as a "to do"? Yeah I didn't think so. Probably because you don't make time for yourself either. And you can't count going to the bathroom alone as time for yourself. I have to start making time for me. At this point I crash around 8:30-9pm after going non stop since 5 am. I'm desperately trying to fit in a yoga routine at home...this is currently what I look like:

Crap everywhere...maybe grab the yoga mat, maybe not. I'm fine with cat hair in my mouth.  Why is it that we as mothers don't list ourselves anywhere? Because everything else seems far more important than taking time for ourselves. Well I call bullshit.

Every week when I make my to do list..I'm putting myself on there. I may even put myself as number one. (GASP!) And I suggest you do the same.

Don't roll your eyes at me. It's totally possible. Just put on there that you're reading a book for 15 minutes before bed. Or your going to take a hot shower for as long as you want. What ever it is that recharges your batteries...just do it. And no feeling guilty allowed. Because we all know when mom is happy...everyone is happy. It might be hard as balls, but who cares. So is trying to figure out when you're going to fit everything else in. But you do it. Because you're the mom and you're awesome.

There isn't a  Mom Police that will show up at your house the next morning if the dishes don't get done because you decided to read instead. YOU ARE WORTH IT. Just repeat it. Over and over until you believe it. It's time we start putting ourselves first. Whether it is on a list or in your head. 

And as I've been writing this I've thought of twenty five other things I need to be doing right now. But I'm not going to worry about that right now. I'm going to be fine with the dishes in the sink, the clothes on my dresser, and the litter box smell that's taking over my hallway. Okay maybe not that one. That one I'll do cause that's just gross.

But the others can wait.

Wisdom Teeth Removal=v.a.c.a.t.i.o.n.

So I'm 31 and just now having my wisdom teeth removed. Don't judge. I'm also a huge procrastinator. If you didn't get that by the first sentence I wrote.

Anyway, here I am...about six hours post op and feeling pretty good. But here's why I'm so damn excited about having my gums split open: three days of no housework (cause it says I can't), soft foods (which means ice cream and pudding without feeling guilty), and three days off work. And don't forget about the hydrocodone. Cause that stuff rocks my socks off. And my wonderful boyfriend is taking care of me and the baby...which he does already...so that's not anything new. He's so damn good.

So yeah peeps...three days of relaxation because the post op paperwork says I have to. Hell yeah.

Let's talk about poop

Okay my poop. Well really yours too, so don't get too grossed out. Geez. See that's the problem...we women (well, there's some that are WAY too comfortable talking about their shit), we women for the most part don't discuss what we do, or don't do-do...hahahaha..sorry. But really, its an issue for most of us, and that's why we need to talk about it. So for those of you that never have any stomach issues...this isn't for you. Lucky bitch.

So for as long as I can remember I've had the worst stomach. I wouldn't go to the bathroom for days, or I would be in the middle of Target and have to hurdle babies in strollers and stay at home moms in tennis outfits just to get to the bathroom in the nick of time. It was painful, and nauseating and uncomfortable. And I got tired of it. I hated not knowing when one of those episodes would come, or if please God Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints just let me poop! But of course I never saw a doctor, and never really changed my diet. So go figure.

Fast forward 3 years later, and post baby-and here I am still fighting my stomach issues. So after a very painful Christmas/New Years week just a few months ago, I got on the web to see if what I had was in fact IBS. And, yes, if I was a self diagnosing expert, I would say that's exactly what I have. Fan-friggin-tastic. But when I traveled home to Dallas to see my family, my mom dropped this book in my hot little hands and my world changed forever. Thank you sweet baby Jesus.

 Great Taste No Pain website

So what I learned ladies is this....its all about how you combine your foods together when you eat. Some foods are highly acidic and cause more acid in your stomach, and others decrease the acid. So when you have a healthy balance happening in your stomach, the acids work together properly to make sure digestion is happening the way it should....NOT PAINFUL. Food combining is not anything new, but its new to me and its new to most of the women I bring this up to, which is why its so important to get the word out.

This isn't about you eliminating anything from your diet (well, I eliminated fast food and anything else greasy and fattening...I was a real bitch for a good week or so). Its just about what you put together. The minute I got home from being away I tried this for a week and everything well really well. If you get my drift. And then the second week came and the same thing. And then I ate brisket, with potato salad and macaroni and cheese...and at 1:30 in the morning I woke up with the worst gas pains ever. Damn. Check the book the next morning, and sure as hell...don't combine protein with carbs. Its been almost 8 weeks and things have been working swimmingly! Hell yeah bitches this thing works and its saved my life! I've told so many other women about this and I have others trying it out as well.

Let me give you some examples:

1. No protein with carb/starches (no steak and potatoes)
          -Instead do your protein with veggies (chicken and sauteed spinach,etc)
2. Eat fruit by itself. And give yourself an hour or two to digest before eating another food.
3. Cut out caffeine and DON'T drink it with food (as much as you can)
4. If you need to eat dessert, wait at least two hours after your meal to eat it. It doesn't digest properly mixed with other foods (especially protein) so it creates uncomfortable gas pains
5. Drink lots of water!! And no tea doesn't count. duh.

Here's a chart for further explanation:

Food Combo Chart 

TRY IT. Try it and just see..what do you have to lose? You may even drop a few pounds and that's a-mah-zing just by itself.  Increase your fiber to 30 grams a day, and drink lots of water. Follow the steps and watch how your body reacts. Its pretty friggin incredible, I'm not gonna lie. The hardest part is waiting a few hours after dinner to have dessert. But if that means that I'm not on the toilet while having a romantic night with my boyfriend, well then the dessert can kick it!

All of my IBS symptoms have been eliminated since starting this new way of eating. And if I don't follow it, my body reacts almost instantly. So I know its working. I can't tell you the stress that's been eliminated now that I know my body is functioning normally. 

Email me with any and all questions please!! You can find the food manual on abebooks.com for around $30, and she has a great recipe book for super cheap on abe books as well. I hope this helps...!

I Don't Have Time for Fancy...

Okay, so let's be real about something...unless you have a whole lot of time on your hands, or extra people that just stand around in your kitchen waiting to help you with dinner-we mom's, whether you are working or not, don't have a lot of time to cook an extra fancy meal a few times a week. BUT-you can cook a healthy meal that doesn't take a whole lot of time and still tastes great. That was my challenge about 6 months ago when I knew I had to change my diet because fast food was eating away my bank account, and my grocery shopping spending had to change as well.

So here are a few of my favorite things: well, favorite meals. These are my go-to meals when I do my meal planning twice a month. Keep in mind I'm not using meat in these meals because I'm trying to eliminate meat from my diet...but you can add chicken or turkey into any of these dinners no problem.  And these also make fantastic left overs-another way to stretch your dollar!! I'm all about saving money people...

Couscous and Roasted Veggie

This one is super easy to make! I stock up on couscous because its a fantastic pasta that you can almost add anything to and it tastes great. It's also a great price at the grocery store, and it comes in different flavors (roasted pecan/garlic, olive oil/basil, etc). Nutritional value is good too: in 1 cup/serving can get up to 6 g of protein and 4 g of fiber. 

Just simply prepare the pasta as directed on the box, and while that's cooking, chop your veggies of choice ( I choose squash, zuchinni, mushrooms, broccoli,etc) and put on a cookie sheet to roast for only 10-15 minutes. Season your veggies with salt/pepper, little parmasean cheese, etc. and when they are done combine together on a plate! That's it..super simple and tastes great. 

Lasagna Rolls

I made these just the other night and they turned out friggin fantastic. The longest part is the cooking time, which is about 40 minutes...so save yourself a little extra time when making this one.  

Lasagna noodles cooked (cook as many noodles as you want rolls, I did 10)

Ricotta cheese (small tub)

Mozzarella cheese

about 4 cups of spaghetti sauce

Frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

I used eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini for the filling as well

(btw..I left the veggies raw, they cook nicely in the oven)

Meat of your choice (chicken, turkey, etc)

Italian seasoning/salt and pepper

1 egg 

Combine your ricotta cheese, egg, spinach (after thawing and draining), chopped veggies and cooked meat (if you add meat) into a mixing bowl. Season with Italian seasoning (or just basil/oregano if you don't have Italian seasoning) and salt/pepper.

Take your cooked lasagna noodles, drain them, and pat them dry with a towel once they're out of the strainer. Lay a sheet of wax paper down on the counter and lay your noodles down on the wax paper. Spread your mixture onto the noodle, leaving a little room at the end to roll the noodle and have it stick. Once your mixture is spread, roll the noodle and place it seam side down in your baking dish. Once all your noodles are placed in your dish, ladle your sauce across the rolls, covering them completely. (I used more than the picture shows) Sprinkle your mozzarella and parm cheese across with a little extra salt/pepper. Place foil on top of the dish and bake for 40 minutes on 350 degrees, or until the cheese is golden brown.

Breaded Veggie Bites

Okay I know you're thinking, "only veggies for dinner?" But when I was feeling extra lazy one day, I chopped up the veggies in my fridge, threw some bread crumbs and parm cheese on top and baked them for 15 minutes...they were so damn tasty and filled me up so quickly, I thought to myself...Damn I should have been doing this a long time ago. Plus it makes veggies extra tasty to my 2 year old, who is becoming a pickier eater by the day. 

So obviously this one is super stupid easy...pick whatever veggie you like or have in your fridge. I haven't found a veggie yet that this doesn't taste bad with. You can use bread crumbs, or use planko bread crumbs (they just come out crunchier). Chop and spread them out on your baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle your crumbs on top...add salt/pepper, I used shredded parm cheese on top, but you can add another form of cheese if you wish. Bake at 350 for a short 10-15 minutes. Ta da! 

Okay so if you're still not convinced your family can do just veggies for dinner...add brown rice, couscous or mashed potatoes...just as tasty. 

Black Bean/Veggie Quesadillas

Quesadilla recipe 

I included the link on this one, because this blog is great and she includes fancy pictures of the step by step process, which, bless her heart I just don't have time to do. The best thing about this meal is you can add/delete whatever you want...so have fun with it! It's becoming a new staple in my house.

Here's some links for you to check out some other meals and websites that may be super helpful in your meal planning...

One Pot Meals 

Veggie Dinners 

Happy Dinner Everyone!!
(oh and Happy Valentines Day!)

Unconditional Love

There are times in your life when you are forced to a dead stop. Emotionally. Tonight I came across a blog while browsing Pinterest, and it did exactly that. Its difficult to even put into words what just happened...but as I saw this picture of a mother with her little boy...her beautiful little boy that was covered in blisters and scabs, I knew I had to go further and find out what this picture meant.
Courtney and Tripp Roth live in Louisiana, and Tripp has been battling "EB" a genetic skin disease that causes him to blister and bleed with any kind of touch.

Just imagine not ever getting to truly hold your baby, or play with him, squeeze and kiss him, cuddle with him and feel his warmth against your body. This incredible, courageous young mother fought with her son for 2 years and 8 months before Tripp's little body finally decided to let go. Reading this story, and looking at the pictures of his short 2 years on this earth, brought me to sobs of tears. As a mother, to watch your child go through such pain is unthinkable. But you connect with her on a level you never knew before, because of their struggle, but also because of their unyielding unconditional love for one another.

I urge you to visit Courtney's blog, see her incredible journey that she still is just starting on, since her son's death just 3 weeks ago. This has been a wake up call for me to stop...just slow down. Put all my bullshit into perspective, and hug my son harder and longer than I ever have before. There are magnificent women and mothers in this world. Let's celebrate Courtney and her son's life.

Courtney and Tripp Roth

First Foot Forward...

My first post! I can't tell you how excited I am to be a blogger...! As if I need one more thing on my plate, this blog has become my newest baby and I'm thrilled to introduce it to everyone.  I was inspired several weeks (or months) ago by some of my family and friends to start this blog, and hopefully connect more women together through all of our similarities and differences. Many things in my life have brought me to this moment, and I am humbled to be able to share it with you, in hopes that I can share, connect and inspire.

I am a mother first and most everything else comes second. I, like most of you, have many balls to juggle and keep in the air and that can be very difficult and yet very rewarding.  I know that I am not the only one that feels that time slips away so quickly that you're left with a year behind you, and you're left wondering what you did with your time. Slowing things down is easier said than done, but my hope is that together, we can start to put ourselves first every once and a while, and start living a life that is meant to be joyful and abundant. Whether you are a mother of one or six, step mom or grandmother, I hope that this blog will be a spot for you to reflect, to be inspired, and to connect with others that are wanting and willing to have the same joy that you seek.

I am so excited to share my tips, advice, and inspirations with YOU! But most of all I am honored to be able to connect with you so that we all can learn and grow from one another. Meditating while multi-tasking...its something we do on a daily basis and I am ready to share my not-so-perfect self with all of you.