Singing and dancing... those are two things that I used to LOVE to do all the time.  Doing either or even both at the same time would make my soul feel like this picture... FREE! I realized I don't sing and dance like I used to... not at all actually.  Now I'm not talking recital type singing and dancing... I'm talking about in the shower belting out tunes along with the music, holding the hairbrush up to your mouth as your microphone, and dancing like crazy knowing not a soul was watching throughout your house.  That is what I used to love to do... and I'm not talking as a kid either! LOL!

As I sat down to think about why I don't do this anymore I couldn't come up with any good answers.  Okay so since the last time I've done this I've gotten married, became a homemaker, became a mother... None of which were good enough reasons.  If anything... those things give me MORE of a reason to do what makes me feel good.  Another way to describe what I'm trying to explain is... What brings out the kid in you?  I've known far too many people who have suppressed the child in them far too early.  I think the reason they do this is they possibly confuse the child within them with immaturity.  I personally don't think there is anything immature about shining your inner light.

So... do you remember what your passions are?  No matter how silly?  Do you remember what ignites your inner light?  Even if it's something that makes you feel silly or even if it's something as simple as a hobby.  Prioritize those things into your life again if you've let them go.  Dance, sing, draw, paint, read... whatever frees your soul...  ESPECIALLY if you have children!  Teach them there's nothing wrong with keeping your inner child alive... there's nothing wrong with shining bright!

Well folks... we just found out yesterday that we will be going back home to Arizona! This is going to be great for my little family but I still find it bittersweet! I mean... my son wasn't born here in Kansas but he had most of his firsts here!! I'm having a very hard time letting that go!  He took his first steps here, he started talking here... he became a little boy here!  I'm tearing up just thinking about it!!  I have a million pictures and videos so I know I'll be bringing all those memories with me but still!!  What I have to do is take a moment to realize he is still my baby boy and that he has plenty more "firsts" to experience.  It's hard to remember that sometimes... but I've come up with a mini list of firsts to look forward to in Arizona... more words and conversation, first day of school, t-ball, first Karate lesson, etc.  We have a million more memories to make and maybe... just maybe if I'm having baby fever so bad it might be time to put another bun in the oven if you know what I mean ;). 

I'm going to love showing y'all around my home of the desert.  The thing I find most entertaining is when I was younger I used to think you couldn't grow anything in the desert and if I ever wanted a veggie garden, I'd have to live somewhere else.  Well I was way wrong and I can't wait to get back and experience a much earlier Spring harvest next year!!  There are HUGE benefits to being in the desert!!  My father in law actually has the best garden ever!! And I've personally grown some awesome zucchini!!  This past weekend we went blueberry picking and I got a bit sad thinking about how we may not have awesome things like that to do back home but I was wrong! I got on the u-pick website and saw that there are TONS of u-pick farms near and around where we'll live... from peaches to pumpkins!  So exciting!!!! 

Now I wasn't born in Arizona but I lived there since I was 5 years old till we moved here to Kansas.  There is something about being in the place where you're from.  There's an energy to it.... the smells in the air and even in the dirt.  It might sound strange but when you're from the desert... you love all the desert encompasses... from the heat, to the dirt... I love it all.  The same I'm sure goes for everyone and where they are from.  So that's our little family update... we are headed home!  Nothing will change as far as my passions go though... in fact... there's no problem owning chickens where we're going!! YAY!!  However it might still be a while before we own them because we'll still be renting for a bit.  Also... I have to admit... I'm going to LOVE being closer to the coast!!! I mean yeah sure... it's still about 10 or so hours away but pffttt!  That's nothing next to being half way across the country!!!!  I never knew how much I'd miss the ocean even though I never lived anywhere near it!!! LOL!!!  Just knowing that it's a days drive away is comforting... and OH!!! ANOTHER FIRST!!! My son's never been to the ocean!! WAHOOOO!!!!  You better believe you'll eventually be seeing ocean pics on Wordless Wednesdays and our beautiful Arizona mountains of course!!

Since we won't be here much longer... tomorrow we are headed to a Swedish town a few hours away from where we live!  My husband is Swedish so it's going to be SO exciting!!  Back when we were in Arizona I used to subscribe to a Swedish catalog where I'd get holiday trinkets from and come to find out the catalog's store was in Kansas!!!  How ironic is that?!  So look out for some neat pics on my Facebook page tomorrow!! Have a blessed weekend everyone!  MWAH!

Happy Summer Solstice!!

Hello lovelies! I hope everyone had a FABULOUS week... Wasn't the picture of my cat Basil I posted on Wednesday the cutest thing EVER?!  We have a group of characters here in our household... both the two and the four legged kind!  I really think I'm going to like my new "schedule" of posting... I get a chance to post quick notes, tips, thoughts and ideas to you throughout the week on Facebook... On Mindful Mondays I get a chance to explore awesome inspirational quotes and share them with you... Wordless Wednesdays are just plain fun and on Friday nights I can go into detail about anything I've been wanting to share with you all week! 

This week I've been thinking about how blessed I am to be a homemaker and a stay at home mom.  When I was in Arizona this past month someone said something to me that really put things in perspective for me.  What they said reminded me that this job that I have of keeping our home and raising our son is something a lot of women dream about and may never have.  Now if you've been with me for a while now you know that I'm always putting my gratitude out there... especially towards my husband for giving our little family this wonderful life and making it possible for me to stay home.  In fact I think I thank him almost every day.  However... even though I'm grateful... coming to the realization that there are hundreds to thousands of moms out there who every day say to themselves or to their best friends, sisters or moms... "If only I had the chance to be a stay at home mom I would......" has stopped me in my tracks. 

When I thought of that simple phrase, I have to be honest... I somewhat panicked!  Sure I've been appreciative and grateful that I've been a stay at home mom, but have I been doing "what every mom dreams of"?  My son is two and a half now and knowing that my only responsibility these past two years has been just HIM... I have to say I don't think I've made the most out of our days.  I don't think I've filled in the blank to "If only I had the chance to be a stay at home mom I would _______".  Don't get me wrong... this isn't a post about not living up to expectations or not being a good enough mom.  It's not about that at all... I've taken a million pictures, we've laughed, cuddled, played, made millions of memories and I've recorded as much of them as I can... I've done my best as a mother. 

What I'm talking about is taking advantage of this amazing and beautiful opportunity that we have as stay at home moms... Living out our dreams... Making one or two days a week all about enjoyment and fulfillment instead of chores and schedules.  We needs to sit back and meditate on what it was we once dreamed way back when... During the time when we were waiting to meet "the one", or when we were trying to conceive, or even as we were watching our bellies grow. 

If I'm able to stay home with my children one day I'm going to play them all my favorite songs and dance with them all day long!

If I'm a stay at home mom my baby and I are going to have lunch at the park every day!

Wouldn't it be awesome if I was a stay at home mom and could meet my girlfriend for lunch with our babies all the time?!

What were your dreams?  Why not get out and do them!  No not every day... I know that's not possible... but maybe we should dedicate once a week or even once or twice a month to making the most of those days.  Schedule it if you have to... schedule a day of "nothing" so you can spend every moment with your child(ren) filling the day with awesome memories as though you had a full time job and that was your one day off for a while.  That's it!!  Schedule a "day off" and do something MAGICKAL!  Take pictures and collect keepsakes.  Now if this is something you're already doing... GREAT!!  If not... take a few moments... sit quietly or grab your journal and pretend you work full time away from home.  What would you do with your kiddos on your day off to make the most of your day together? 

So since my last post I've realized that maybe I jumped the gun in my decision to stop posting all together.  After receiving a few messages from my readers... I spoke with my husband and I discovered that the reasons I started this blog aren't quite where I ended up in the here and now... where I've ended up is even better.  Yes... I started this blog to share all things regarding homemaking with a little touch of sustainability and that is still what I am very passionate about and will continue to write about.  However... what I didn't realize was happening was that this blog... I... was becoming a friend... a best friend... a sister, a helping hand, a mentor and in some cases... maybe even a mother.  I didn't realize how much my thoughts and words might be helping someone else.  Believe me I'm not saying I'm the great and powerful Oz... I'm saying... I just didn't know.  I didn't know that I was helping. 

So... here's the plan.  I've found a happy medium that I think will work perfectly.  I will be posting on Saturdays... maybe Friday night's... Either way the weekends will be my time to post all my reflections, my favorite things, projects and recipes.  Wordless Wednesdays will stay because I love photography and although I'm an extreme novice... I'd like that to change so the more photos I take the better.  Words to Ponder will now become Mindful Mondays (which I'll go ahead and start in this post since it is technically Monday as I type)... who doesn't need an inspirational quote every now and then right?  Something to make you think long and hard and appreciate everything around you.  So three times a week there will be new content on this blog. 

I think this is a perfect plan... I felt a little piece to the puzzle missing when I made my previous decision... so when I realized that some of you might need me, I guess I realized... that I need you too.