Is Summer Over?

How did it get to be September 7th?  Does this mean that Fall is around the corner and Summer is tip toeing out of the picture?  I'm craving crisp air and a slight breeze.  I have confidence that September will deliver...even if it's 9:00 at night {I'm a night owl anyway}.

Anyway, this video makes me happy.  Sometimes I love my cute little sidekick, and other times, I miss solitude and quiet.

Healthy Deodorant.

Here is my new favorite thing.  I live in Phoenix, Arizona where right now it's about 106 degrees {give or take} during the day with around 40-50% humidity.  Clearly it's Dante's Inferno.  Luckily I found this incredible all natural deodorant by Lavanila.  It comes in a few different vanilla scents, but I've been using the plain vanilla {kind of smells like a clean baby} and am loving it!  It really is amazing and I love that I don't have to think twice about what's inside. 

Can only be purchased on the website or Sephora.  It's a little pricey for deodorant, but totally worth it... I have a nose like a bloodhound and become crazy over unpleasant smells.

Ending My Sabbatical.

I'm back from my spontaneous sabbatical where I gave myself time to regroup and recharge.  I've been feeling quite down the past few months, and just had enough in me to care for the important things.  I've been sad and very reflective lately.  I truly do trust God's plan, but faith is never without doubt and worry.  I've been blindsided a few times now, and the ground is feeling quite shaky.  However, I march on believing...

Luckily, God gave me a gem of a first born to get me through the heartache.  Harrison is so full of personality, fun and character that he keeps me on my toes and full of smiles. He is not without his challenges, but I'm so grateful he is mine, and know his strong personality will show up as something incredible someday. 

We just returned from an amazing vacation in Laguna Beach where my soul was refreshed by the ocean air and change of scenery.  It's a little unfair to come home to Phoenix in August, but I'll make the best of it.

                      

In the Trenches and Dreaming of Picnic Baskets...

The past few weeks have consisted of a sick baby, a sick me, broken television, broken refrigerator, mom and dad both out of town, a husband obsessed with fantasy baseball and endless hours of thomas the train playing on the dvd player.   

Sometimes I see a bicycle picnic basket like this one, and I dream of living in a big urban city and getting away from it all.  I'd fill my basket with duck and decanter type sandwiches, gourmet chips and perfectly cold diet coke.  I'd peddle to a nearby park, sit under a big tree and read magazines till my heart's content.

Don't get me wrong...my little one owns my heart, but a little peace and quiet is attractive.  Some days while I'm running around "in the trenches", as I like to call it, I get a glimpse of who I was before I became a mother and I miss that creative, funny, carefree girl.  I know she'll be back one day and until then...I'll eat sandwiches with my miniature sidekick and treasure the days with him...quiet or not.

If anyone really wants this bicycle basket, it and many other goodies, are at kate spade's sample sale

Gratitude.

Oh...what a week it's been.  J. has been out of town which means I've been a one man show with a crazy 18 month old.  It's been tantrum after tantrum, he threw a toy at our television {it's broke}, and today he froze all the registers at Safeway by hitting every button imaginable on the credit card machine.  It's time to be grateful....

1.  The way Harrison's eyelashes look in the bath...clumped together and beautiful.

2.  A husband who is involved and gives me a daily break {I've really noticed in his absence}.

3.  Sex and the City 2

4.  School is out...which means I have more friends to play with this summer.

5.  The swing that hangs from a tree in our backyard.  It's one of the only things that endlessly entertains Harrison.

My husband is home....happy weekend.

Time to Write...

I haven't been here for a while...

Mothers Day was lovely and I felt blessed from head to toe.  Then life handed me an unexpected curve ball and since then I've been processing, healing and looking ahead.  Too often I forget that I have much less control than I realize.  I try to plan, orchestrate and dictate how things will be.  Then a Higher Power steps in and reminds me that it's really not up to me at all.

I was pregnant...and now I'm not.  I didn't see it coming and was sad and confused.  I was so grateful that it happened early and that I already have Harrison.  I'm trusting the process and know there was a reason unbeknownst to me.  Now I'm finding the positive and opening myself up for the divine plan and not my own.  God brought me amazing Harrison and I know His plan will amaze me again...

My Version of Motherhood.

Happiness in the backseat with sunglasses and sippy cup.

God has blessed me with the most happy, jovial, outgoing, fun and energetic first child. It's no surprise, really. I often need the lesson that he is here to teach me. He made me a mother and I never take this job for granted. I'm honored every day to be his side kick, and thank God every night that I get to be Harrison's mom.

I think every mother out there has her own style of raising her children. It's interesting to see how my friends do things differently than I would, and what their styles teach me. For me motherhood means....

• Caring less about a messy house and more about a happy child {I wish I could be better about cleaning up...but I'm just not}.
• Affection, affection, affection.
• Figuring out what makes them tick and nurturing their strengths.
• Modeling behavior that I want them to emulate someday.
• Letting them know that, above all else, they are the greatest miracle of my life.
• Constant "I love yous" and "I'm proud of yous" go a long way....every child wants their parent's approval.
• Taking comfort in knowing that "you reap what you sow" and that one day all this hard work will come back to you in the form of a loving, good, happy adult.

Here is a little clip of a typical afternoon moment.  The best laugh in the world happening over dropping a little wooden pig on the ground while standing on a step stool...

Happy Mothers Day.