Category: Laverne

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Amy and Her #Sixthings

I continue to be in awe of the amazing people I meet through Twitter and blogging.  Shirley and I started out as the original Kindred Adventurers, just the two of us.  Today we find our lives enriched and our adventures more exciting because of the people that join us everyday. 
…

When Shirley and I started this adventure she was instantly friendly, out going, honest and spoke her mind.   Most of all Amy was kind, completely accepting, tolerated an unending amount of technology questions and was just really fun to tweet with. I enjoyed tweeting with Amy and getting to know her. I began to follow her on Accidential Musings and I even took a peek at Social Pollen when she started it all (I’ve loved watching it grow).  I learned that she is a strong women who is not ashamed of her weaknesses.  She passionately shares her points of views and will proudly and intellectually defend them.  She loves and embraces her children for exactly who they are even when they drive her crazy ….and she is  a romantic.  

This brings me to my latest adventures with Amy…

2,000 tweets ago when Amy (@amydpp) was approaching 22,000 tweets she put a shout out asking for others to list #sixthings.  Amy, just wanted to reach her 22,000 mark…at least that is what she thought.

I remember seeing her tweet.
 
I instantly thought, “Oh, I am going impress Amy with my knowledge of everything that is Amy.”

I instantly began sharing everything I knew about her.  After letting me get up to at least number four Amy so kindly let me know that #sixthings was not about her.  She wanted share #sixthings about herself and we could share #sixthings about ourselves too.  Lets just say thank goodness no one can see you when you are on twitter.  I wanted crawled in a hole and could have blinded someone with the shade of red on my face.  

Four rounds of #sixthings later I find myself looking forward to Sunday nights on Twitter.  I look forward to joining up with Amy. I love sharing about myself, learning about others and connecting with new and interesting people.
 
I hope that you will join 
…. and yes of coarse Shirley @yourgirlshirley  has joined in too 
for #sixthings
Want to see #sixthings in action give this a  
Amy has some each adventure there for you to see: www.accidentalmusings.com/six-things/
 
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Her First

Today I am joining up with the Write On Edge Community: Red writing Hood
Today’s prompt…challenge:
  • The conversation should be between two people/characters. 
  • Using surroundings, body language, visual cues and blocking, in addition to the spoken words, show us who they are and what their relationship is without coming out and telling us!
……

A pea sized dollop of sparkly blue toothpaste sat on the light pink Little Mermaid tooth brush. Her tired body leaned on the bathroom counter as she looked at it.  Her gaze began to gloss over as seconds passed.

“Coooooommmmmeeeeee on “ she shouted to her. “We do this every night.  Lets go!”

“I’m coming,” she sassed back like she was practicing to be a teenager.

“We do this every night!  Let’s go,” she pointed to the waiting toothbrush. “Do you want me to brush or you?”

“I’ll do it,” she confidently responded. Like there was every really any question about who would do it.

“Wait! How is that tooth doing?”

Her tongue wiggled through her smile pushing the baby tooth forward. “Still loose,” she giggled proudly.

“Think it might be ready? Let me see.” She bent down to reach her mouth.  Pinching the baby tooth in her finger tips she wiggled it forward and backwards. 
 “Open your mouth a little bit more for me.”
 
Her movements loosened the tooth with each movement forward and back.  “Does it hurt?”

Her forehead wrinkled and her eyes squinted, “A little.”

“You try,” she requested letting go of the tooth.

Forward, back, forward back, tiny, gentle movements side to side, her little hand wiggled the tooth. “I don’t think it is ready,” she answered looking up to her.

“Let me give it one more wiggle…. Is that OK?  Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s OK.  You can try,” she said to her with trusting eyes
 
Forward and back, forward and back … 
her finger tips felt the pop of a roots last effort to hang on. 
The baby tooth dangled from the gum, barely hanging on.  Still not letting go.
Forward, back, forward, back…

“OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

DON’T SWALLOW IT!

QUICK SPIT IT OUT!

AAAAHHHHHHHHH!

YOU LOST YOUR FIRST TOOTH!!!” 

                                                                                                                                                                   

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Go Multiply

We had gotten all the tests done. All our paper work was in order and complete. The tile floor looked like all other gray flaked linoleum floors of all the other doctors offices we had been in.

“I wonder what she is going to tell us?”

I moved close to him. My arm rested snugly on his thigh. He softly held my hand channeling support and love. He didn’t know what the doctor would say either.

Getting pregnant was not our problem. Keeping the pregnancies was. Four years of hopeful positive pregnancy tests intertwined with heart wrenching miscarriages had taken away all the happily ever after of this fairytale. The reality of pregnancy was depressingly painful.

“I gave her all the papers, right? She has copies of all the tests. I made sure our doctors office sent it all to them.” I said to him.

My eyes told him he had to say yes, even if he wasn’t really sure.


“Yes. I’m sure she is just looking through them and then she will have an answer for us.” He replied.

The doctor walked into the room. Our attention was hers.


“You need to go multiple,” the doctor said.

Those were her words.


“I can not say you will not have another miscarriage, but there is nothing keeping you to from having kids.”

“Go multiply?” I respond with a questioned smile.

“That’s right,” the doctor said with a smile.

The muted brown carpet showed us the way out of the office. His hand surrounded mine as we walked to our car.

“She said everything was OK with us.” I said with another need reassurance look.

“Yes! Everything is OK with us.”

“She said it could happen again.” I said desperately needing to know what he thought.
“I do not know how much more I can take.” He replied.

My heart sank. His pain became mine too. His eyes said it all. Years of watching me, being there for me and holding me were taking its toll on him. It pained him to go through this, to see me go though it. All I wanted was to be a mother. How much more could I endure? How much more could we endure?
“So what should we do?” I said.

“Well… lets go practice.” He answered with a smirk and a one shoulder shrug.

…and that is just what we did!

Note:We now have two beautiful girls ages 6 and 4.

This Post was inspired bythis weeks Just.Be.Enough theme:
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
I am doing my part to carry the weight of
confidence and empowerment.
I am sharing the mission of empower and inspire
to remind women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate
themselves…ourselves… myself!
It’s your turn now…
*Next Weeks Theme:
“One image or symbol that reminds me to Be Enough“
(Remember you can also write on a topic of your choice.)


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The Freaking Truth

It is dark.  Deep breathing from the king sized bed and the end of one of his favorite crime drama movies shouting from the TV tell me it is very late.  The glow of the TV dances as its reflects off the surface of my smart phone. Where do I begin?  All I can do is stand there.  Stand there in the middle of the room…in the dark… by myself.  My hand drops to my side. The slow lose of normal breathing is partnered with a rapid heart beat.  My breathing gets faster.  Slowly it starts to feel as if I am blow up a balloon that do not exist.
Report due Tuesday. Still need to finish typing it.
Don’t forget to make sure the check is in Olivia’s back pack.
Report due Thursday too. Another two hours of work.
Don’t forget to make sure everyone is there.
Don’t forget to call Olivia’s teacher to touch base.
Post due Wednesday.
What was I thinking.
Don’t forget to make sure everything is in place for Tuesday’s lesson.
Don’t forget to tell hubby about window guy.
Post due Wednesday.
Try to watch a movie on night this week with husband.
Tomorrow is bath night for the girls.
Have to remember so make lunches for them on Turesday night.
Post due Wednesday…Post due Wednesday…Post due Wednesday…
My breathing is no longer my own as my heart beat thumps even faster in my chest.
My thoughts begin to loop.
When will I have time to do it all?  I can make a list. I’ll write it all down. If I can see the due dates maybe I’ll feel better.  I can write the report on Monday night.  Maybe if I work through lunch all week I’ll stay caught up.  I could trade post dates with someone.  How many nights could I stay up late and still be able to get through the week? How am I going to do it all?  I can’t do it all?  I won’t be able to do it all?  There is no way.  Who can do this?
Everything starts to pile on me.  Its weight continues to take the air from my breath. The thought of each unchecked item starts to surround me. What will I do?
STOOOOOPPPPPPPPP!
Wait just a second… Wait! When is my post due?
Oh it’s not for two weeks!
It certainly does not happen often, but it has been lately.  The cool, calm, positive, I can handle just about anything… has been freaking out!  In my world I am surrounded by strong, amazing women who navigate motherhood without breaking a sweat and work a forty hour week somewhere in between.  We all think that everyone is so good at it.  Everyone has it all together.  Well we do not and I am pretty certain none of us do at one point or another.  Sometimes we freak out because most of the time we are all just barely keeping it together.

Take time to talk to your girls friends.  Check in with them.  Talk about your days and share your lives.  You’ll be surprised at how hard it is for all of us.  None of us are alone!

                                                                                  
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
I am doing my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and sharing the mission of empower, inspire and remind women, parents and children that the time has come to celebrate themselves…ourselves… myself!
This Just.Be.Enough Post was inspired by
This weeks theme: The Truth*
It’s your turn now…
 *Next Weeks Theme: 
“Something I do not regret…“
 (Remember you can also write on a topic of your choice.)
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Grandma’s Basement

Darkness at my feet. Heart pounding. Shadows tease me. I’m frozen. My mind Whisper lies. Holding my breath. Dare I? The Light switch is in there. Ruunn for it…

This week Write On Edge invited writers to compose a text–160 
characters–that would either elicit or express fear.

                                            
Note to reader: I do not know what terrified me more this moment or writing this post.  Yes I said writing this post.  You would think being the texting, tweeting mad woman I am that 160 characters would be a simple…aheemmm I did. HaHa I was wrong!…I suppose I could have written a fear prompt on writing this prompt!  I can not wait to read the others posts and learn from there writing…I’m taking notes!  
                                                                                                             
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Passionately Optimistic

Its warmth starts in my belly and it rises to make chest. It grabs on tight. My breath is taken away just a bit. The energy inside me streams from my chest, through my shoulders prickles my elbows and tingle out my fingers.
I am passionate about life.

I love my life.

I embrace all the good it brings me.
There is good in everything.  Pain that life delivers can be survived. A bad day… there is always tomorrow to change it. Pain in your heart and anger fueled by jealousy for what I do not have, is healed by time. Money is tight, we will find a way. It will all work out. Not  happy with how something went, look deep, make a decision and use the strength you have to change it.

I am an optimist.

Time will always show you the good, even in the bad.
It will all work out.

My life infuse my days with passion and insist that I see all fantastic things that are in it.  I see life for all the good it has in it. It gives me hope, endless possibilities.  I grab onto life with passion. It gives me energy, zest.

I am fueled by my passion and by my optimism.

                                                                                                          
This Just.Be.Enough Post was inspired by the
new Just.Be.Enough Weekly Theme
This weeks theme: What Fuels You*
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and sharing the mission of empower, inspire and
remind women, parents and children that
the time has come to celebrate ourselves… myself!
It’s your turn now…
 *Next Weeks Theme: 
“5 Reasons to Smile” 
 (Remember you can also write on a topic of your choice.)
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A Letter to My Girls

To My Girls…
Life is an adventure. 
Many of your adventures will be well planned.   You’ll set goals, have clear directions, know what you want and what to expect.  Reaching your destination will bring you great pride and a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

Other adventures will be unwanted.  They will be adventures you cannot plan for.  These may cause you pain, heartbreak, sadness and even delay your trip or stop you in your path.Some of your adventures will be impulsive.  You will take them without thinking or thought.  You destination unknown. They will be unplanned, mysterious and exciting.  

Many of your adventures will be unexpected.  They will be an unplanned moment in your life.  They will not be forced or planned.  They will come to you when you are not expecting them.  They will surprise you, enrich your life and fill your heart in unknown places.

Never be afraid of life’s adventures.

Your strength will drive you towards your destination and get you there when you think you can’t.  Your imagination will take you places others couldn’t see existed and find your way when others are stuck.  Your love of life will allow you to embrace any road you come to and enable you to jump right in to it.  Your attention to detail will help you connect with others, enrich your relationships and help you show others you care about them.   Your helpfulness will allow you connect with others, while your stubbornness will get you through roadblocks others would have given up on.   Your  love of language and easy understanding of words will soar you to places and amazing opportunities.   Your love for your family will ensure that we will always be there to celebrate your good times or hold you when things get rough.

The adventures you planned may not always go exactly the way you want them to. The unwanted adventures will always teach you something unexpected and remind you of your strength.  The impulsive adventures might be the scariest ones but they will also be rewarding and the most fun.  And the unexpected adventures will change your life forever.

This is your unwritten, wonderful, incredible life.  

Grab on tight and jump right in…because the adventure is all yours!

                                                                                                                
 Pictures were taken from  Kindred Adventures on Pinterest.  
 Their original source: moredesignplease.com and speeding-cars-x.xanga.com
This Just.Be.Enough Post was inspired by the
new Just.Be.Enough Weekly Theme
This weeks theme: A Letter to My Child*
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and sharing the mission of empower, inspire and
remind women, parents and children that
the time has come to celebrate ourselves… myself!
It’s your turn now…
 *Next Weeks Theme: 
“What Fuels You?” 
 (Remember you can also write on a topic of your choice.)
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The ‘Eyes’ Have It

It was Monday.  Elena did her usual link up motivational post.  This time she added something… a new something… a special something… an inspiring something.  She added an optional writing prompt for this Monday’s link up: Standing Taller.  It was more than a prompt to me.  I was inspired, I was all in and then it was my mission.  Wait… What does standing taller even mean to me?  How do I stand taller?  What makes me stand taller?  Do I even stand tall?  Do I need to work on standing taller?

It was my favorite day of the work week… The night of the week I get to stop and buy dinner.  The night I don’t have to cook.  I walked into Jimmy John’s to order sandwiches. “Hi welcome to do a Jimmy John’s. What can we get you?”

The girls were fantastic. Olivia crossed off the list and Francine pick things off the shelf.  No fighting, no whining… a small mommy victory, my own personal moment. Walking to the checkout line at the grocery store the cashier warmly says hello to Olivia and Francine. Olivia shies away at first. “You’re with me sweetie. It’s okay to say hi,” I say to Olivia.

I was busy answering e-mails and getting things done on the computer.  I was a machine and my To Do list was quickly dwindling… yeah me!  A colleague at work walked into my room.  She wanted to run some ideas by me and share an exciting new program she was using.  I looked up to say Hi and welcome her in.  I was on a roll… I was getting things done!  I kept working as she started talking.  I nodded, uh-huh uh-huh and I briefly looked up.

Then it all made sense to me.

I started to place my order. My eyes instantly looked to the floor as I talked. Why was I you looking down?  I’m a confident, strong woman with nothing to prove or be intimidated by.  It was the freckin’ Jimmy John’s order guy for goodness sakes. I looked up from the floor and looked him in the eyes. I continued with my order.  My shoulders instantly went back,  my face lit up a bit and my 5’11 frame stood taller.

Olivia shied away.  A mom look and a friendly mom nudge was all it took.  She instantly stood taller, confidently looked the woman in the eyes and said, “Hi”.   A smile quickly came to her face and a hands over her head, 1 foot, spinning ballet twirl showed me how happy she was with herself.

My collegue continues to share.  My head was still in the computer, but I was listening. I stopped. I looked up, closed the computer and looked her straight in the eyes.  A smile came over her face.  Her shoulders went back a little.  My attention was fully hers.

Eye contact can mean so many different things.  Some cultures value it, while some are intimidated or even offended by it.  Families put varying levels of importance on it. To me, this prompt, this challenge, this mission reminded me…My eyes.
The simple act of looking someone in the eyes…
It requires confidence in me, confidence in who am and confidence in what I am saying.  Making good eye contact makes me stand taller.  Most importantly,  eye contact shows people I am confident in myself.  Eye contact shows people we are confident ourselves.   Eye contact shows others they they are important to us.    Eye contact gives us all a little more height.
                                                                                                            
This Just.Be.Enough Post was inspired by the
new Just.Be.Enough Weekly Theme
This weeks theme: Standing Taller*
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and sharing the mission of empower, inspire and
remind women, parents and children that
the time has come to celebrate ourselves… myself!
It’s your turn now…
Come Share Your Story!!

 *Next Weeks Theme: “I knew I had to…” or your choice

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I am. I can. I will.

It is MONDAY and time for MY Story…
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and
sharing the mission of empower, inspire and
remind women, parents and children that
the time has come to celebrate ourselves… myself!

It was all Shirley’s idea really… this blogging stuff.  I only wanted to try out Twitter. And what are best friends for if you can ask them (sucker them into) trying something new with you.

Elena from www.ciaomom.com sent out a challenge:
“Fast forward to today. Today is all about celebrating who we are and what we like about ourselves. It is about sending a message to ourselves, to society, and even to our children, that finding the positives in yourself is an important and essential endeavor.  Maybe just maybe, thinking about what we like instead of what we would want to change, will increase our self confidence. Maybe it will help us see things that we have not noticed before. And
maybe it will send the message that we are ENOUGH just the way we are.”
I was instantly hooked.  I wasted no time skyping Shirley and told her Elena’s idea.  The post was written. Elena’s new movement was just beginning.  I was certain I wanted to be part of it.
One month after joining Twitter with Shirley it happened.
Shirley excitedly exclaimed,

“We should start a blog!”
We had a blast as hours of our day were instantly sucked away as we worked on and made our blog our own.
As I wrote my Just.Be.Enough Kids piece for last Thursdays post, my writing seemed to come together. My words really felt like they were flowing.  And with the help of an editor (I have an editor… I have an EDITOR now! Can you believe that!)   The last minute tweaks made it a post that I was truly proud of (thank you Robin www.justbeenough.com editor also at www.farewellstranger.com).
I read blogs, commented, and absorb which pieces I liked and didn’t like.   I started to follow writer’s blog.  I read their  tips and started trying to apply them.  A smile would come over my face as I clicked the publish button, happy with another story of a Kindred Adventure.
Last week’s comments on my post: I am. I can. I will  were some of the most moving and meaningful I had received on the post so far.   It was also a new experience to have so many people read and comment on my post.  It was at that moment I decided to believe I AM a WRITER.  I have found my writing style… I have a writing style!  I love writing!
Lavern’e Journal
Sitting at the table with my journal and pen my energy rises as my ideas become words on paper.  It all started with,  “We should start a blog” and a simple request for Elena.
I am a Writer.  I can be a Writer.
I will forever believe this!

                                                                                                                         

Every MONDAY join us… 
Write, Post, Link-Up, share your story and your voice.  
Be part of carrying the weight of confidence, empowerment and share our mission to empower, inspire, and remind 
 women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate ourselves! 

Bellflower Books will be sponsoring the Be Enough Me Monday link ups for ONE month, starting on August 22nd. For every 20 people that link up with a story of how they lived the Be Enough Me “feeling” that week, Bellflower will donate ONE $75 gift certificate to a family identified by Crickett’s Answer for the creation of a 20-page memory book. We will keep a running total of links over the four Mondays and hope to reach our goal of 120 links,

which would provide TEN Bellflower memory books.

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Just.Be.Enough: Happiness

It is MONDAY and time for MY Story…
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.
my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and
sharing the mission of empower, inspire and
remind women, parents and children that
the time has come to celebrate ourselves… myself!
Since I joined the Just.Be.Enough team I have come to look forward to Mondays.  Mondays have become a chance for me to intentionally look forward and make certain I recognize that I Am Enough.  Shirley and I are never short of celebrations.  When it comes to our friendship we just click. It is an unconditional, thoughtful friendship, with a side of  I can read your mind.  Our families keep us busy and motherhood keeps us on our toes,  makes us want to pull out our hair sometimes and keeps life interesting.
This week Olivia started kindergarten. My husband proudly played stay at home dad for the day. I called home during lunch, fighting the tears of pride and terror,  hoping her first day of school  was everything I wanted it to be.  My tears ran down my check as she told me about her great first day of school.

As I entered school, on my first day of school,  new thoughts, unexperienced thoughts, entered my head. Will I connect with this years students like I had so easily in the past?  Would I be able to see their potential and then be able to take them to a version of their future they thought unachievable?   Would this be the year I finally felt teacher burn out?  This would be my 13th year. Wasn’t I supposed to start being done, start not loving my job.

Friday came quickly this week.  I was exhausted.  Lying in bed to watch a movie I was too tired for the #wineparty (yet again).  I fell asleep before the movie title ever made it to the TV screen.

Saturday meant time with my family.  My mom energy was  renewed and my mom game was at its best! I waited for a moment, something, that would spark my Just.Be.Enough feeling.  Nothing!  Then from my unlikely source “Twitter” came Elena.

 
My week was Enough! Enough doesn’t have to come from hardship, trial, hurt or struggle (it most certainly can though). Enough can be life being wonderful.

I locked the door to my classroom on Friday.   A huge smile came over to my face.  I still have it!  I am going to do amazing things this year!  I am in no way near done with this life’s journey.  I am so very happy!  It was a wonderful week!

                                                                                                                        
                                   
Every MONDAY join us… 
Write, Post, Link-Up, share your story and your voice.  
Be part of carrying the weight of confidence, empowerment and share our mission to empower, inspire, and remind 
 women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate ourselves! 
 
Bellflower Books will be sponsoring the Be Enough Me Monday link ups for ONE month, starting on August 22nd. For every 20 people that link up with a story of how they lived the Be Enough Me “feeling” that week, Bellflower will donate ONE $75 gift certificate to a family identified by Crickett’s Answer for the creation of a 20-page memory book. We will keep a running total of links over the four Mondays and hope to reach our goal of 120 links,

which would provide TEN Bellflower memory books.

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Just.Be.Enough: Usually Unusual Enough

It is MONDAY and time for MY Story…
I am writing, posting and linking up to share my voice.  
As a contributor at JustBeEnough.com I am doing 
my part to carry the weight of confidence, empowerment and 
sharing the mission of empower, inspire and 
remind women, parents and children that 
the time has come to celebrate ourselves… myself!
I have wonderful memories of the outings my dad meaningfully planned with each of us, every year.  He has always taken great pleasure in planning just the right one for each of his daughters and each one meant so much to him.  To spend time with each of us, individually, was done with great effort and purpose!  This summer he decided to give new life to this tradition.  At 36, 34 and 30, my dad decided it was time to start having Daddy Daughter Days with us again.

Friday afternoon, the girls were with Grandma for afternoon.  My Dad and I were on the Blue Line, riding to the Cubs game.  It as standing room only and the “L” car (Elevated Train… for non-Chicagoans) was sprinkled with red and blue.  The Cardinals were in town.  One transfer later we were standing shoulder to shoulder riding the Addison bus on our way to Wrigley.  My Dad was full of conversation, reminiscing and sharing stories.  There was the Veterinary Hospital I worked at in his teens (I’d heard all the stories before, but who was I to stop him! Besides each time he tells the story something new comes out). Next was the story of the man who claimed he could out ride (on a bicycle) a city bus. 
“Some claim to fame!”, I say.  
“Weren’t so many stops and the road wasn’t as busy back then.  He had to have been fast!” Dad says. 
His memory continues to flow as he shows off reciting the buildings on the corners with his back turned to the intersection.  We were in no rush, we had no set plans… I was me and my Day.  Daddy and daughter.
Way, way up to our upper deck seats,  Nose bleed seats we call them.  I was flooded with memories of why I love Wrigley Field.  A couple of beers and a hot dog later, my dad and I spent inning after inning remembering other Cubs games and displayed giddy smiles as the Thunder Birds do fly-bys over the stadium, practicing for the Air and Water Show the next day. 
Bottom of the 8th, the Cubs are down one.  It is my usual Wrigley experience… the Cubs losing.  A base running error in a clutch situation… usual Cubs game experience.  One hit and then another, they were back in the game.  Fifteen games out of first place, tie game in the top of the 10th inning… a less likely Cubs game experience.  Bottom of the 10th, a hit, a sacrifice bunt and a game winning RBI…. CUBS WIN!  
We left the confines singing, “Go Cubs, Go… Go Cubs, Go….” and smiling from ear to ear (can’t say I ever saw my dad sing).  We were relishing in the display of baseball we had seen and basking in the joy that our team had won! (an unusual Cubs game experience for me)

We oozed happiness.  The day could not have ended better.  This day, like most days spent with my dad, was Just.Enough The game, for the Cubs, proved what we long time Cubs fans always know… they are Just.Enough… they just need to start believing it too! 

                                                                                                       
Every MONDAY join us… 
Write, Post, Link-Up, share your story and your voice.  
Be part of carrying the weight of confidence, empowerment and share our mission to empower, inspire, and remind 
 women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate ourselves! 

How you have lived the Be Enough Me feeling this week?


Be more the Just.Enough for someone else…

Bellflower Books will be sponsoring the Be Enough Me Monday link ups for ONE month, starting on August 22nd. For every 20 people that link up with a story of how they lived the Be Enough Me “feeling” that week, Bellflower will donate ONE $75 gift certificate to a family identified by Crickett’s Answer for the creation of a 20-page memory book. We will keep a running total of links over the four Mondays and hope to reach our goal of 120 links, 
which would provide TEN Bellflower memory books.

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Just.Be.Enough: 8 Miles

I am starting a brand new adventure.  It is an adventure that is so close to my heart,  that I am so passion about and that I am so overwhelmingly terrified and excited about….

“Just.Be.Enough… was founded in July of 2011 by Elena Sonnino. The idea for the site came to her as she was swimming laps, training for a triathlon, thinking about the importance of feeling confident and empowered. 

 

 It all started when she was reading a blog post about accepting ourselves even with our imperfections which led to a link up on her own blog C.Mom asking women to create a Things I Like About Me list. The struggle that followed for many was eye opening. The focus on imperfections and flaws had taken seed and had deep roots that were hard to change. But so many women did. And as a result, they walked taller, felt empowered, and took the Internet by storm. 

 

Just.Be.Enough. will share the stories, the voices, the truths of many. Its mission is to empower, inspire, and remind women, parents, and children that that the time has come to celebrate ourselves. We must. We must carry the weight of confidence and empowerment on our shoulders instead of allowing the burden of our flaws and imperfections to push us down.” About Us www.justbeenough.com 

 

Myself and eight others indescribably Just.Enough women have been overwhelmingly lucky to have the opportunity to share this adventure with Elena.  Every Monday, we will all be joining Elena at www.justbeenough.com to link up and share our story of the week about how you have lived the Be Enough Me feeling this week.  


This week Olivia drove me nuts. 

 
Crying, screaming, yelling, mad, more crying… tantrums. 
 
Olivia is five years old.  

More crying, more tantrums, hitting her sister.
       
I usually don’t go to Twitter vent about moments like this, but I just needed to lay it all out there. Suddenly,  I had two warm, responsive women asking me how old she was and happy to share with me what worked for them and their children.  They kindly shared. Their empathy for my moment reminded me that I was not alone.  

She made me crazy.

The girl made me crazy.

Wednesday came.  The girls and I packed up the backpack with snacks and water, put the jogging stroller in the back of the car and we were on our way to our favorite path by the river for a long walk.  It was a great eight mile walk with the girls in the stroller, the iPod playing our favorite tracks  and me pushing them along.  Two hours later (with a snack in between) and a new quarter sized blisters on my heal,  I smiled as I watch them play at the park.  

Today there was no whining, there was no crying, there was not a single hit,  there were no, “I’m MAD at you! “ or “You’re a MEAN mommy”,  there were no tantrums on the floor. 

There were pleases, there were thank yous,  there were smiles, there was, “Olivia can you help Mommy with this ?” and the response was, “Sure Mommy!”  

This week’s experiences reminded me that I am enough.  I am doing the right things with Olivia.   I do know what I am doing.  It reminded me that Olivia is her own person.  She has her own mind and her own will.  This reminded me that it is her job to grow up.  It’s her job to push me away.  It’s her job to test me and my limits.  It is my job to make her feel safe, give her structure and give her limits.  It is my job to teach her how to deal with these new things, new feelings, new situations, and new experiences.

So, with a little help from some new found friends on an unlikely source I realized that I was going to be enough.  My child, like all children, has her moments.  Sometimes the moment is an hour, sometimes a day and in my case sometimes it is three days, but it just means that they are growing up. So, even if it does make me want to lay on the floor, makes me want to pound my fists and makes me want to cry… I am Just.Enough! 

                                                                    


Every MONDAY join us… 
Write, Post, Link-Up, share your story and your voice.  
Be part of carrying the weight of confidence, empowerment and share our mission to empower, inspire, and remind 
 women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate ourselves! 

How you have lived the Be Enough Me feeling this week? 



We can not wait to hear about it!


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I Relaxed!! No I Relaxed!!… It’s All in the Perspective

The garage door motor grinds as it opens.  The clock tells me it is my husband coming home from work.  Sitting at the kitchen table clicking away on the keyboard of my lap top I briefly consider that I probably should get off my a** and start dinner.  It is after all a swimming lesson night and that means less time to make dinner and eat it.  The girls are sprawled out on the couch, arms dangling off the side, eyes glazed over, still in their PJs.  The door opens and my husband’s “ I’m so happy to be home and see all my girls, I’ve missed you face” turns to a scowl of anger.

I had done NOTHING ALL DAY!!!!  WE had done NOTHING ALL DAY!

Sunday afternoon we arrived home from a weekend of camping.  It was Francine and Olivia’s first camping experience.  My dad was so happy and so excited to introduce another generation of our family to camping and to Point Beach State Park (our most favorite camping place… lost of family history. More to come on that later).  The girls had a wonderful weekend full of new experiences, adventure and unplugged family time.  It was wonderful.  I WAS EXHAUSTED… drag me to the door, take me out of the oven, sucked the life out of me… DONE!
The hubs had not gone camping with us.  It just isn’t his thing (although we are working on him).  While I am sooo happy that the girls had a fantastic time, I did not get a break.  Being four and five years old they still are not completely independent.  Camping with them (though my fantastic, fabulous, kiss your feet sister and her hubs were with us and helped a lot) means: we go to the bathroom together, we shower together, we slept on the same blow up matress together, we sat by the fire together, we read together (they can’t just sit around the fire and read… they can’t read), we played board games together.  It was 24/7 me and Francine and Olivia!

I WAS EXHAUSTED!!!

My husband was furious.  Furious that nothing was put away from our trip.  Furious that the kitchen he had cleaned while we were gone was messy again.  Furious that dinner was not made.  Furious that I had done NOTHING!!!  In between the whirl wind of trying to get my a** in gear, trying to make dinner before swimming (did not happen… another thing for him to be furious about) and getting girls ready for swimming I tried to defend myself and explain that I just needed a day to do nothing.  I’M EXHAUSTED.
“You had the entire weekend to yourself.”, I said.
Daggers came shooting from his eyes.
“I don’t consider a whole weekend by myself fun!”
“Sh*t I would.  I would pay for that”, I think.
“Are you mad because we just got back from a vacation and I did nothing today?” I say to him.
Walking up the stairs he turns, looks at me and gives me the smile, head nod, shoulder shrug that means, “ Well yeah!”
While he thought I was on vacation, spending time with family, sitting around the camp fire and doing hardly anything, relaxing … I thought he was sitting at home doing nothing, spending time alone in a quiet house, doing, eating, watching whatever he wanted, relaxing all by himself.

Perspective is such an interesting thing.

                                                                                             
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” 
                                                                                John Lubbock
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Family Vacation

Last Friday marked our first family get away, just us four, in four years.
We were off to Michigan.
Now I don’t know if it was the GPS, Indiana roads, construction of my lack of skills as a navigator using a GPS (deep, growling sigh to admit it might have been my fault)…
We got lost!
I’m talking terribly lost.
We got lost straight to beautiful Gary, Indiana… The “roll your windows up, lock your doors kids” nice part of Gary, Indiana.
After an hour of driving around and my hubs homing pigeon (I think a few lucky turns) like direction skills and we were back on the same ten minutes to go one mile (moving so slow someone at a slow jog could have gone faster then us), thirteen miles stretch of construction consumed road for the second time!
{Cue angelic music} We were finally back on our way to Michigan!
So…
8 Twizzlers
1 Large Gatorade
2 Handfuls of Peanut M & Ms (ok large handfuls)
1 Watchamacall it
2 Ho Ho’s
3 Handfuls of Fruit Loops
2 Cans of Coke
1 Lost Zoople (and Zoople found and Zoople broke)
1 Stretch of 13 mile, move 1 mile every 10 minutes construction heavy strip of highway
Multiple moments of found, lost and found again sanity
45 minute nap
2 States
6 hours (of a what should have been 3 hours)
We arrived at the hotel!
and the pound on the seat, laugh until you tear moment of the trip…
Hubs says :”Hey kids we are in Michigan.” 
Francine: “Daaaadddy!… We’re not in Michigan we’re still in our car!”

*Note to any concerned person regarding the quantity of unhealthy food consumed during this trip:  It was not all consumed by me!  We were on vacation people! We all had a nice healthy breakfast before we started this trip!
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