Makeover Magic - Going Farmhouse Chic

Ready, set, go- I'm diving into the farmhouse chic craze, folks! My kitchen has needed a little makeover magic for awhile now and I decided there's no time like the present.

Grabbed some knick knacks off the bookshelves,
painted a chalkboard label on the pitcher, and
I'm in love with my new centerpiece!

This is the before shot of the
centerpiece tray I "borrowed"
from the mancave. It's definitely been upgraded!

Summer is the season I put a little more TLC into my house because it does have a tendency to die a painful death suffer some neglect during the school year. (Can any fellow teachers relate?) Besides working on extra cleaning, purging, and organizing, I am also turning my creative self loose to rejuvenate my kitchen via upcycling. My PCM (Partner in Chaos Management = husband Mike) is a master at this, so I've enlisted his help and advice as I tackle these projects. We've only just started, but I'm pretty pleased with the direction we're headed. Watch out, Pinterest!

I feel like using canning jars as planters
is kind of a given in farmhouse chic, right?
But how cute are these succulents on a
suspended shelf in my kitchen window!

My PCM taught me how to use
the table saw to cut scrap wood
to the perfect shelf size. Girl power!

These succulents were a great buy at Lowe's and you
can't go wrong using clear jars for containers. Upcycling
glass as planters is really going green! 

How adorbs is this guy?!
Although I do not possess a green
 thumb, succulents don't need
much attention to stay
alive, so there's that. 

Haven't posted YouTube tutorials, but I can 'before' and 'after' picture with the best of them, you know! I am a big fan of using photos to document the transformation process. Know what else I'm a fan of? Saving bank! That's another big advantage of upcycling. Plus, incorporating pieces from our own pile of stuff is helping us be able to make our way through the garage once again. (See above comment regarding purging!) Stay tuned to my blog for more on makeover magic projects throughout the summer. :)

These metal letters are fun,
but small for the space. So I
just hot glued them to wood
blocks. Easy peasy!

Step two involved nailing
a picture hanger on the back.

Voila'! Fun sign on the soffit above cabinets!

As it is with every time I get creative, I experience the joy unique to being able to just "make" something. My favorite analogy about creativity is this: what play is to a child, creating is to adults. When kids are totally wrapped up in their play, time means nothing. Same...I get so caught up in creating that I lose track of time! It's called flow. And that kind of flow is very energizing. The burst of fulfillment that happens when I adapt and execute allows me to fully enjoy my surroundings as I engage with family and friends in my home. Remember, YOU CREATE THE JOY that makes your life better!

Have any makeover magic of your own to share? Feel free to comment below!

Embrace the Becoming

You know what they say..."Never say never".

It's that time in the spring when people post pictures galore of their kids graduating, or getting married, or entering the next phase of life.  Mamas are busy posting pics of their adorable offspring cuddled in their arms from Mother's Day past. They generally wax nostalgic about how they want to just stop the hands of time or what they wouldn't give if they could hold their babies in their arms like the good old days. I guess their past experience of living through newborn baby boy and toddlerhood × 4 is vastly different than mine. Because quite honestly, you'll never hear me say, "I wish time would slow down", or "I wish my kids were little again".

Now, I adored my baby boys. Seriously, they were all dead ringers for first place in the Cutest Baby in the Universe contest if there ever was one. And talk about capturing my heart? Only completely. I fondly remember rocking and singing and reading with those sweet little bundles in my lap.  I can post naked baby pictures with the best of them.

But I'm not so far removed from those days that I don't remember being stressed out, exhausted, frustrated, depressed, or all of the above.  I used to feel guilty when I heard other moms bemoaning the fact that their kids were already a year older when planning the next birthday party. I felt awkward that I wasn't all,  "Why do they have to change so fast?" like everyone else seemed prone to ask. I started wondering why I don't feel that way. So I began analyzing and discovered this: I'm not a totally horrible mom for being glad my kids are growing up and neither are you.

I wouldn't be an inspirational blogger worth my salt if I had you thinking the best days as a mom were behind you. I draw the line at wishing to experience the past all over again. The truth is that little kids are needy. And messy. And draining. And can't do much on their own. And needy. (Did I mention that already?)

I mean, do people even think about what they are saying when they make those statements about going back in time?! Do they want to go back to changing poopy pants every day? Um, no thanks. They really would like to clean up pukey sheets and bathe a sick child in the middle of the night for old times sake? I'm going to pass on that one. Do they sincerely miss answering the question, "But why?" twenty thousand times a day when it has already been asked and answered? Kill me now.

Call me crazy, but I sure as heck will never wish those days back into my life. I paid my dues. This is the time for cashing in on the benefits of kids growing up. No packing a survival bag in preparation for any contingency just to go on a shopping trip. No cleaning up a blowout and continuously treating for a diaper rash. Kids eventually do make it to the toilet in time to flush their own pukey. They accept the answer they are given without the endless questioning... wait a minute. I guess we are still working on that one, but you get the picture!

And that's not even the best part of kids growing up. I can't possibly entertain the notion of turning back time when I see the wonderful people they are becoming. Babies don't go out of their way to fix their mom a carb-laden breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. Toddlers don't wash their own ball uniforms or build their own computer. Infants don't offer to shop for Christmas presents to donate to others less fortunate than they are at the holidays. But my boys now do all those things.

And it's awesome.

Have I always loved my boys? Of course! But as they grow, I find I LIKE them more every day. We share jokes. We discuss deep thoughts. We tease each other. We debate. We rise to the occasion.

You know what's better than having your young kids obey you just because you say so and they feel they don't have a choice? It's having them come to you because you have their respect and they ask you for advice. (It doesn’t happen every day, mind you, but it DOES happen).  It's having them answer your questions to get them to think and learn to problem solve independently. You know what's better than being able to teach them a new skill? When they teach you one instead!

My parenting philosophy is to guide my sons in such a way that each day they need me a little less than the day before. That I "prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child" (Jen Hatmaker). I hope that by my joyful attitude of embracing who they are becoming rather than wishing for the bitty babies of days gone by, my boys feel an unconditional love that will be characteristic of their way of life. That their mindset will always be one that values living in the present moment and looking excitedly toward the future without being mired in the past. I want them to get my message loud and clear- "I am so happy with you as a young man and how you are changing the world for good, that I would never wish you to be anything less than what you are becoming right now."

Moms, how about if we give ourselves permission to celebrate bringing our children one step closer to adulthood this weekend rather than mourn their maturity as if it is a tragedy to be avoided? Embrace the becoming. They will LIKE you even more for the positive message that you believe in them and the best is yet to come. Happy Mother's Day!

Are We There Yet? - Living the Dream Update

I love watching Shark Tank. It's the creative in me, I guess. I'm fascinated by seeing how regular people take their original ideas and passion for their inventions from dream to reality. And then they have those follow-up segments several months later where you get updates on how their new businesses are succeeding in the real world. It helps answer that question I have often wondered, "Are they really going to make it?" It's just kind of cool to see someone who took a chance on their vision find a reward for the risk-taking and hard work. So, in the same vein, I'm blogging my own little update in seeing dreams become reality with the help of my vision board venture.

 

Back in January, I decided it was time to get inspired about making some dreams reality. I call it my 'desire to aspire' process. I created a visual of what I hope to feel/achieve as it relates to my purpose. I can't even describe how excited I am when I seize opportunities that are simple, yet profound, in how they are affecting the life I seek for myself and my family. I purposely left some open spots on my vision board. They worked out great to post 'evidence' of the positive aspects surrounding me on my journey in 2017!  Here are just a few of the ways I'm reaping from investing in my vision: 



One huge blessing of being more vulnerable with people
is experiencing overwhelming support when faced with
challenges. This is generating more joy in my journey.

 

Didn't expect to do a weight loss thing this year, but I realized
the way I was treating my body was not good for my soul, so
I got my courage up and lost 20 pounds...20 more to go!

I am passionate about the Makerspace
Movement and have embraced it in
my classroom.  I realized I didn't have
to be an expert to take a risk and it's
been awesome for my students!

Not gonna lie. This one brings tears to my
eyes.  It's been my dream to launch a
successful educational consulting career
in my passion to uplift and encourage
my fellow educators- and
THIS WAS THE TIME!!!

My ultimate wish in sharing this update was to help empower anyone that is on this journey with me to make dreams a reality and achieve aspirations. YOU CAN DO IT. YOU ARE DOING IT. Take some time and reflect and appreciate what is happening in the present. Now, in the spirit of authenticity, I do notice that most of these vision/goals that are now my reality/achievements have to do with my profession and mindset. I have made peace with deciding that it is okay to reserve energy for some of the family/home hopes to attain to until summer. Hmm...I do believe that is holding myself to a standard of grace, not perfection! Boom. With that said, I'm going to be honest and say that I could be doing WAY better at my goal of "Always striving to give my spouse the very best of myself; not what's leftover after I've given my best to everyone else" (Dave Willis).  Fortunately, I am blessed with a very supportive husband that has lots of grace for me when I fall short.  That actually makes me even more determined to be the spouse that will help him the most. For me, summer is the prime time for creating margins to focus on the action of SIMPLIFYING. I am sure that will involve pruning some of the superfluous branches of my life that aren't yielding the fruit I desire to produce in my family. And although pruning isn't extremely fun and can even be painful, it's that same pruning that will allow me to grow to be a more fully present and engaged wife and mom- which is always a good thing.

One of my favorite mantras these days.

This one has been more challenging
than I would have thought.  I have lots
of work to do, but I am determined.

I keep coming back to the quote that kind of started this whole vision boarding thing in the first place: "Where your attention goes, your energy flows" (Christine Kane). While there are plenty of areas that still need my attention, I can say that my spiritual eyes have a sharper focus as I walk the daily path of desiring a joy-filled journey.  The results of these intentions and the awareness of embracing the progress I have made are sources of peace, happiness, and fulfillment in my purpose.  Creating a vision board has helped me ADAPT my habits to reflect the life I desire, have the courage to EXECUTE new experiences to deepen my calling, and ENJOY a life with richer meaning than I've ever known. I hope that you also have a way to measure your progress and fulfillment. Remember, you create the joy that makes your life better!