Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Embracing Joy

I watched a Brene Brown video where she shared that joy is the emotion that scares us the most because we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop. When things seem good, it can feel too good to be true.

Today I took her challenge and really tried to intentionally practice gratitude. I was grateful for teaching GCF today, a skill I think is fun, I even verbalized that to my students and they said, "yeah! It is fun." Gratitude and joy are contagious. 

Today, I was grateful many times for moments I had with the girls. Funny things they said.

Like Madeline said she was going to wear her toes to dinner tonight, not her socks. And earlier when I bought her a treat for good behavior, she said, " Mommy I got this because I was a good girl but I did sit on the table top at the Red Barn today." I was grateful for her sweet heart to be honest with me about that. She also just randomly looked atme tonight and said, " I love sitting with you." 

Anna Claire brought me great joy too. She was so excited to tell me that she and her Daddy made a deal that if she did all 16 of her homeworks this week she could finally try snails just like she saw on the Cooking Channel. If you polled 100 7-year-old's, I'm just guessing you'd be hard pressed to find one who has a snail dinner as an incentive to do well. 

The little things. I was intentional in trying to notice the typically mundane and ordinary things in my life that actually bring me joy, and there are a bunch: getting to campus before the traffic hits, the sound of my kids running downstairs. Walking into a nice cool building after being in the hot sun. The way the table looks when it's set for dinner. 

I feel like we do get so busy and caught up in our routines that we forget to just take in joy. And the key to it all is gratitude.

Here's the link to Brene's video (5 min.):


Sunday, February 7, 2016

Cartwheels and Casts


Anna Claire was running and cartwheeling in the family room as usual, and I was in the bathroom when I heard a loud snap, then a scream and immediately knew what had happened. 

I ran into the room and saw AC holding her arm and crying and comforted her. Then I comforted Madeline who started crying too, worried about her Sissy. I left Madeline stroking ACs hair and ran to find Larry. I looked in the driveway and the car was gone. He had already left to get barbecue. I was gonna do this solo. 

But my phone was dead. Man. I plugged it into the wall and called Premier Peds, on hold for what seemed like an eternity. 

I wasn't sure whether to take her to the ER or to Premier. I have never had a broken bone or a child with one. So I was standing there totally ignorant shouting encouragement into the other room, chained to my phone. I kept hearing Madeline say, "it's ok Sissy!" And "Oh no!!"

I got a nurse within five minutes who confirmed my gut intuition to take her to Premier, and I'm glad I called because I didn't realize they had changed locations. 

Then Larry walked in and we both agreed Madeline did not need to go to the doctor. So I would take AC and he would keep the baby.

The next two hours went slowly. 

We got checked in, and the sweet nurse turned on Monsters Inc, special for AC. She loves that movie and it totally distracted her from her arm, plus I had applied diluted Panaway to her arm so she was pretty comfortable. 

I did start realizing as we were waiting and as I was helping her do basic things that the next few weeks was going to mean us giving her lots of assistance and a temporary new normal. 

We got called back by a nurse that I will refer to as Sarge for the rest of the post. 

She said, "Go that way. Get on this scale. Stand over here. No, not like that, like this. No. All the way back." 

I said to Sarge, looking her right in the eye and trying to keep it together, "She just broke her arm." 

Sarge was nice to us after that, but I seriously thought I was going to lose my religion watching my child's sweet eyes tear up as someone was barking orders at her.

We didn't wait very long before I swear I heard a faint choir of angels singing and saw a glow as sweet nurse Melanie walked in. We adore her and I knew things were about to take a turn for the better.

Her daughter loves gymnastics just like AC so they talked gymnastics and gymnastics movies and I explained that AC had been watching too much "Gabby Douglas Story" and had gotten overly inspired.

She explained that AC would get X-rays and then a little splint or cast and that she would be ok. She also said she could have Tylenol or Motrin to which AC quickly replied, "No, My Mom uses oils." 

Melanie smiled and seemed great with that. 

The gentleman that did her X-ray was also very sweet and gentle. That process didn't take long at all. 

Turned out she broke the lower bone in the forearm (ulna?) It was not a growth plate bone so it would heal more quickly.

Another sweet lady came in and wrapped her arm up in a temporary cast and ACE bandage and we go back in a week to an orthopedic doctor to get a more permanent one. 

Dr. Darke came in and gave his final
Ok and then we were on our way.

When we got home Madeline kept asking for a cast too, just like Sissy so I fashioned one out of some ACE bandage I found. 

I researched vita flex foot maps and made oily concoctions to help speed along her body's natural healing process. I look forward to seeing everyone's befuddled facial expressions in a week when they all gape at how quickly her bone has already healed. 






Saturday, January 30, 2016

My Oil Droplet

Anna Claire told me she saw her teacher taking Excedrin at school and told her she should use Panaway essential oil instead, that medicine had harmful chemicals.

I said, "No, you didn't!" 

She said, "I love her. I don't want her to use harmful chemicals." 💕

Monday, January 25, 2016

Attitude of Gratitude

Every night I have AC tell me 5 things she was thankful for about her day so that she will not only develop the habit of looking for good, but so that when she closes her eyes, her thoughts are already on the very best parts of her day.

We've been doing it every single night for the past two years and if I forget, she make sure to remind me! 

 Tonight she was thankful for going back to school tomorrow, a bed, Netflix, fettuccine Alfredo and a house. ☺️ 💕 #gratitudeattitude

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Working for a Day Off

This girl has her mama's work ethic: full throttle when she believes in something and sees the big picture outcome. 

Anna Claire has given us absolutely no, nada, zippo struggle when it comes to homework. Totally self-motivated. And recently she has taken it a step further and decided she would get all her homework for the week done two days in advance so she could have a night off and not have to do homework on gymnastics night. What an awesome kid! We are so blessed to have such a responsible little girl!


Saturday, January 2, 2016

Summer fun with AC: Memories Made

Sneaking to the blackberry patch while Madeline napped
Cassidy's birthday at Frist Museum
Bowling with Cassidy 
Learning to ride bike at Greenway
Swim lessons at the ymca
Nashville zoo
Back to school shopping at Opry Mills
Inside Out and Minions movie
Dinner at Hananoki with grandma and fam
Going to Mommys classroom
Playing with Izzy during Bible Study Tuesday's
Yoga with Mommy MWF
Swim at Miss Dawns house 

Chocolate Pen Fun and Journaling

Today during Madeline's nap, Larry helped AC break in her chocolate pen that she got for Christmas. The chocolate was more like different colored white chocolate. And there wasn't much in the box, but she had fun.

She also is doing great keeping her new journal! I thought I'd need to remind her everyday, or that she'd use it to doodle in (which would be fine if she did). But she is taking her own initiative and loves the idea that by the end of the year she'll have a whole book. Love her love of writing!

Friday, January 1, 2016

New Year's Journal for AC

I took the girls to the bookstore this morning so I could buy a journal for the new year.

Anna Claire begged me to please get her one too. So we stopped in the middle of Books-a-Million and talked for a bit about  why I was getting the journal, what a personal journal was, and now it's different than journals she keeps at school. 

She found one she loves and as I am typing this she is writing away, working on her first entry. Day one of 365. 😍👍🏻

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Here's my Instagram post explaining why I NEED this journal!
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Jim Rohn, an amazing motivational speaker, recommends getting a journal each year and filling it so that the value of its contents are greater than the amount you spent on the empty book. AC and I just got ours. Here's hoping 2016 will be a year that we can fill the pages with greater value than the $12.05 we spent! #journaling #dayoneofthreesixtyfive #goodthings #journalsaregood #goodismyword