My Happiness Project

I've been making it a point to vary what I've been reading. On one of my regular trips to Target I was attracted by this book.

With all of the change and everything going on recently it seemed like a good read. The author goes through a 12 month process where she 1 or 2 goals each month, and she rates herself everyday for the month. She is currently continuing her happiness project, and you can read her blog here. While I appreciated the concept I think she got a little too wrapped up where she only focused on herself. 

One of the things that she did was create her list of commandments to help promote happiness.

I decided that I would work on this myself, without becoming so in depth that it rules my day to day. The first thing is to create a list of commandments for myself.

1. Enjoy The Simple.

This is about finding happiness and joy in the small things. Enjoy an exceptional cup of tea. Admire the peaceful snow storms. Wear a funky scarf and tie it in a new way.

2.Step away from social networks. 

I've already begun towork on this, the Facebook App has been deleted from my phone. While I plan to regularly check my facebook, I'm not going to depend on it for entertainment or communication. Unfortunately I cannot completely get rid of it, the painting business that I'm working with depends upon facebook for advertising, communication, etc.

3.Play with Evie

I spend a lot of time watching movies and reading with Evie, but I should take some time to play with her. I want to come up with at least one creative activity per week to do together. To hold myself accountable I'm going to post about it here! :)

4.Exercise More

No more excuses about John's schedule. I'm going to squeeze in workouts whether I can make it to the gym or not (being out of town is the only exception in the colder months, because I can at least run when it's warmer). Since I started working out again my whole attitude and energy level have both changed.

5.Eat more veggies

John and I have decided to make 1-2 veggie centric meals per week. This is mainly for health reasons, we tend to eat some pretty heavy meals because we both really love experimenting. We need to get more green goodness in there! 

6.Remind yourself that being a SAHM is a job.

Since moving to CT I've been kind of obsessing over finding a job. Taking care of Evie is important, being a stay at home mom is a lot of work. A Forbes Article detailed why stay at home moms should make about $115,000 per year (just imagine how much a friend of mine that has 4 children under the age of 3 would make!!). This blog Matt Walsh wrote about his wife helped to remind me that  I am doing important work. Recently, I had someone close to me call what I did into question, telling me that I don't do anything and that I'm worthless (clearly out of anger). That blog article reminded me that I am worth a lot to my daughter and husband.

7.Go Natural

This covers a lot of things. First off, I want to go more natural with the types of food we're eating. This week I'm going to begin making our wheat bread. Small changes make for an easy transition. I also want to use more natural hair care, skin care, and beauty products.

8.Learn

I want to learn more about a number of topics. I want to learn how to have my own garden. I want to learn how to do different activities. Trying new things is fun!

9.Let it Roll Off

Let the unnecessary drama go. If it doesn't directly involve me, I'm gonna ignore it. Try not to control every situation, let others handle it.

10.Have more conversations with my husband while he makes dinner

I used to hate standing around our kitchen in Hawaii while my husband cooked. My back would hurt and I would get restless. We now have this wonderful breakfast bar where I can sit and talk to him while he cooks. 

Those are the 10 things I'm going to continually work on for 2014. It's ok if I falter in some areas at times, but I want to be better overall when 2015 comes along. Especially if we're planning on adding another member to our family. What would your 10 commandments be?

-Lindsey

I Crave Routine

If you guys follow you know that I have had a whirlwind couple of months (Honestly, most people have, the holidays do that). I was giving myself headaches over trying to plan out my days because new things that needed to be done kept cropping up.
I've been dying just to be able to have a regular workout schedule, regular activities for Evie, and regular dinners for the whole family. Alas, that has been a bit of a tall order for us lately. All the family visits and holiday junk really got in the way.
Now that we're back in CT with no road trips planned in the too near future I'm working out my schedule. Hallelujah!
I've finally forced myself to get around to hiring a babysitter. This is a big thing since I can't really depend on John's schedule to stay the same. He'll get out of work early, he'll get out on time, he'll get out late, or he'll be off in a European country randomly. (Oh hey Norway, he'll be there soon!) I NEED my workouts, like I need them to function. The first time I worked out a couple weeks ago I slept amazingly for the first time and I started feeling human! Whoa!

Can we talk about guest beds? Oh my gosh, do I ever dislike sleeping in a bed that's not my own. My parents guest bed is as comfortable as a medieval torture device.

(Is it a Sealy???)

I'm so happy to be home, and I love my not overly exciting routine. Excuse me while I go numb my brain with The Sims until my workout class. :)

Vow Renewal Planning Update

Wedding planning is not for procrastinators or people who do not work well under pressure.
Thankfully for me, my planning process has been pretty stress free thus far. I've managed to nail down my venue, photographer, makeup artist, and hair stylist. Husband and I also have a cake tasting scheduled in a couple weeks! In the same day we are hoping to speak with a restaurant about catering our little shindig.
I'm pretty happy that I've had a lot of friends and family to help recommend vendors. I honestly would not know where to begin. I'm also extremely thankful that one of my close friends is a travel agent and she's helping to find details on our Caribbean Cruise honeymoon.
Now the fun of it, I've decided to be a crazy person and create my own centerpieces, footwear, and favors. I'm making flowers in the interest of saving money on real ones (except for my bouquet). I will bedazzling up some shoes with Swarovski crystals, because let's be honest, these feet don't agree with high heels. Evie will also have a matching pair of sneakers to sport down the aisle. I'm also planning little surprise bursts of color, because if you know me you know that I can't just wear white.
Last night I joined a fitness club to start "shedding for the wedding". Also, I really just need to improve my overall quality of life and de-stress. I refuse to be a bridezilla at my vow renewal! :)

Terrible Two's

I need to take a deep cleansing breath. This whole raising a toddler thing is no joke. Every single task has become a fight that leads to a temper tantrum. Putting on clothes because she constantly wants to wear her Cinderella night gown. Putting on shoes because she constantly wants to wear her tacky plastic Minnie Mouse heels.

(F you Minnie Mouse shoes!)

I'm sorry kid, but this is not appropriate footwear for 12 degree New England winter weather. From that point it was actually getting her in the car seat. Have you ever tried to put a toddler into their car seat. It is easily one of the most frustrating tasks.

Evie would be "The Rod" but combined with excessive crying, because getting in a car seat is equal to Chinese water torture around here. feh! 

On to the main point of my post. The other moms who say "It only gets worse when they turn 3" (often said with a douchey grin). To those moms I say, shut the heck up! When our children are 2.5 or older and you're stealing the light at the end of our tunnel you're just a giant troll in lipstick and yoga pants.

This is what you look like. Jerk.

So do us moms of two year olds a favor. Keep your troll-y trap shut and let us live in our naive land of "it get's better after 2".