Friday, August 31, 2012

Weekend Blog Walk Cohosting!

Thank you for joining us for Week # 17 of the Weekend Blog Walk. We continue to grow every week, thanks to wonderful word of mouth and the promoting you do.

Link up your blog on the first Linky, Social Media accounts on the second, and if you have a Giveaway (or want to win one!)- link up all your awesome giveaways here.  Looking for ideas for your About Me page?  Check out all the great bloggers sharing their ideas here.  Weekend Blog Walk is the place to see and be seen. and for all things Linky!

As always, please be sure to follow EACH of the Hosts and Guest Hosts via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment on their blog letting them know you are a new follower with a link to your blog to make it easy for them to follow you back!

Interested in being a Guest-Host. send an email to athometake2 at gmail dot com (athometake2@gmail.com) and be sure to put Guest Host in the subject line.

Rules for the Weekend Blog Walk are simple:
1) Follow your Co-Hosts and Guest Hosts (1-6 on the Linky) via GFC, and Facebook, Twitter or Email. Please leave a comment if you are a new follower.
Jessica from At Home Take 2 
Jillian from Hi! It's Jilly.
Jenna from Call Her Happy
Hayley from Hayley's World


Tami Marie from The Things We Find Inside (Guest Host) 
Misty from Monkeys and Tutus (Guest Host)
3) Visit at least 4 blogs and show some comment luv. Don't just link up and hope for follows with no return.

4) NEW-  Please post our button on your sidebar or on your Weekend Blog post.  It is a great way to spread the word and helps to make sure we have new bloggers linking up every week. This is a win, win for you because we know you want new followers.  Thanks!

At Home Take 2

  
 Here's to a fun and fabulous weekend!
Link Up- Twitter, FB, and Pinterest:


Postpartum, Depression and a need for Me Time


While browsing twitter this morning I came across this awesome post 
http://blogs.babble.com/babys-first-year-blog/2012/08/30/mommy-needs-a-break-not-a-guilt-trip/ 
 Every once in a while you come across a post that you feel you could have written yourself, one that you so identify with that you wonder how someone got in your mind and put your own words into a post.  I have found several of those lately but this one even more so. 
This post has nothing to do with the background I want to share with you but it has everything to do with what we as mothers go through on a daily basis!
  I have never shared this because I know that family reads my posts, I know that friends read it etc.  But along the blogging realm I have realized that I learn so much from other mommies who bear their hearts and tell real life experiences and maybe if I share this lil background tidbit it will help some other mommies in the process.
When I had our last baby 10 months ago, Benjamin wasn't even 2 and Cloee wasn't even 1 and my husband was in the middle of a 13 month long deployment tour in Afghanistan.  Thankfully he got to be home for the birth but left very soon after.  Once he was gone all the wacko post pregnancy emotions started taking a heavy toll.  With the severity of my emotions and mood swings I thought for sure I must have postpartum.  I talked to a few other people I trusted and all passed it off as the stress of having 3 under 2 and a hubs in a war zone, it also got passed off as I need to pray more, I need to spend more time with Jesus etc.  I totally believe that 3 under 2 was a stresser and spending  more time with jesus would surely help but at the same time I knew there was much more going on with me that was not within my control.  
 For the next 5 months I tried to pass off my irrationality just as my friends told me to, it would get easier once the hubs was home from deployment, hopefully!  In that 5 months I spent most of my days totally a stress ball, yelling at my kids over every little thing, crying for no reason at all, feeling like I could put my fist through a wall were just a few of the overbearing things I was dealing with.  Of course adding a lack of sleep, waking up at least 3 times a night with the baby and at least 3 more with a fussy teething 1 year old didnt help at all. 
I had crazy anxiety about the deployment, more so than ever before.  I began freaking out, having nightmares, spending every waking moment in fear that the Chaplin would be at my door with horrid news.  Every time I heard a car door or a noise I would rush to the door, brace myself for the worst and peek out the peep hole, or through the blinds in the bathroom.  It would often take me 20 mins or more to calm down afterwards knowing that it was ok.  Waiting for my hubs to call was like living on pins in and needles.  I know all women go through these types of things during deployment but this was beyond irrational and would literally cripple me with fear. 
When my hubs returned from deployment Jax was 5 months old, I hoped that once he was settled all the emotions would subside.  After all I wasn't alone anymore, I didn't have to do it all by myself,  my hubs was safe etc.
A month passed and I was still the exact same, extreme mood swings, irrationality & anxiety still prevalent.  Though this time my anxiety wasn't about war it was about expecting the car to crash, thinking the kids were lost, etc.  My poor hubs got the brunt of it.  One min I was happy lets get it on and the next min I was crying for no reason and freaking out about nothing.  After a few more months I told another friend what I was going through and she told me that another friend of hers was going through the same thing and I should talk to my doctor.  WHAT? Talk to my doc? I had always been one of those people who was skeptical about depression, pills for it etc.  My mom was always negative about people taking depression pills etc.  
After talking to my hubs we decided that a trip to the doc wouldn't hurt.  Sitting in the room with my doc I talked about my crying fits, my crazy mood swings etc and he agreed that I was likely suffering through some serious postpartum or just a bat of major depression and anxiety.  We decided to give a few things a try.  Only my hubs and 1 other friend even knew that I was taking something for depression.  I was fearful for my mom to know, knowing that I might get the talk of people being over medicated, didn't tell another friend for fear of the gripe of needing to spend more time praying etc.  I just didn't want other people to know i was taking a depression med.  We tried lexapro... it was awful, it made me crazy tired among a few other things.  Moved to Effexor which after upping the dosage seemed to help a lot except it had some bad side effects which after my appt 2 days ago my doc decided to change me to a diff med. I  was fearful about changing because I was finally starting to feel normal again.  Of course I had days that were bad but for the most part I was doing great except for the side effects.  Well the new med he changed me to was supposed to be most like the effexor and have less side effects.  Well 24 hours after my first pill I feel like a total whack job again!  The kids had been awful allllll day, the hubs came home and had to go lock himself up to do homework.  I finally had had enough and text him saying please come give me a break.  By the time he came out I was crying uncontrollably.   Ugh I hate the adjustment period.  But the plans are to hopefully be off everything with in 4-6 months.  
Really what I want other mommies, especially new mommies, to know is not to ignore the signs.  If I had talked to my doc when i first started going through this I would probably be all better by now but instead I passed it off.  If you are feeling depressed, having crying spells for no reason, irrational mood swings etc it wouldn't hurt to talk to the doc.  I don't think medicating yourself is always the answer but if you have postpartum or even just depression in general its good to seek help.  Be it counseling or whatever.
Thats the background that I wanted to share but beyond the effects of postpartum every mom has days.  Whether she is in perfect health or dealing with whacked out emotions, has been a mom for years and years or is a brand new mom, bad days happen!  And its okay to vent and its okay to ask for help.  What is not okay is bashing or being negative to moms that do so.  I often have people trying to dull out advice and instead of being helpful all they do is royally tick me off.  
If you know a military wife whose husband is gone or even a single mommy, instead of telling her how to do something how about offering to help, giving her an hour to run to the store alone, or an hour just to sleep?  When my hubs was gone I had several people say oh were gonna do this and that and while the hubs was gone I never heard from them.  I had several people say oh I know how you feel my hubs had a business trip this weekend.  Shut the crap up! haha my hubs is in a freaking war zone not vegas for a 'business trip' 
Sorry for that little side tangent hahaha!  Any way as moms we love our kids unconditionally and we cherish every season but there are always going to be times where we are just stressed, aggravated and need a break where we just want to pee alone or take a pooh with out the kids tearing the house up, where we just want to soak in a bath or go for a walk to relax.  It doesn't mean we love our families any less, it doesn't mean we don't cherish the moments it just means we are human and unlike people who work outside the home, we don't get 2 15 min breaks and an hour lunch break to ourselves.  We don't get the quiet drive to and from work alone.   A mom works 24/7, she doesn't get sick days, she doesn't get paid time off or holidays.  Lets be moms helping and encouraging moms and not pointing out what other moms are doing wrong? Sounds good to me?! 
This is an average day in my house...  go to the bathroom for 2 mins and come out to this... hahah 
Have a happy day mommy friends!  Hope this helped someone!
PS check out the post before this for a super fun Friday Blog Hop!!! Lots of awesome Mommies and bloggers linking up!!!   http://monkeysandtutus.blogspot.com/2012/08/friday-chaos-blog-hop.html

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Friday Chaos Blog Hop


Lotte & myself decided to create this blog hop as we love linking up to different parties every week but have found it's much easier if it's all under one roof. So we put our minds together and came up with a Friday Social Networking hop called the FRIDAY CHAOS!

This week we have 4 co-hosters! Be sure the check them all out, follow via GFC and leave a comment! 


This is a link up for bloggers who want to increase traffic to their blogs and meet new friends!

1. Follow both hosts (The first two links below) via GFC, Facebook & Twitter and any other one's you fancy.
2. Follow all of the co-hosts(the next 4 links) 
3. Grab the button and put it on your blog somewhere to be seen.
BericeBaby
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.ohsoamelia.com" title="ohsoamelia"><img src="http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj578/BericeBaby/Untitled7.jpg" alt="Ohsoamelia" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
4. Don't just add your blog hoping to get followers, join in the fun and visit a few blogs.
4. Tweet about this hop


 If you would like to co-host one of the weeks let either Charlotte or myself know.

Okay, Lets get this chaos started!
BLOG

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM

YOUTUBE



Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mommy to Mommy Q A Potty Training

I am so excited to bring you our first week of Mommy to Mommy Q&A!
This weeks topic is:
Potty Training


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Potty training can be a source of frustration for many of us!  Up to 3 months ago I had 3 in diapers! Can you say expensive?  To say the least!  For me it is very helpful to see how other mommies do things and from their experiences I usually end up compiling them all up into so random theory of my own.  I hope this series helps you and I hope that we all can make some new friends in the process.  Let me introduce you to this weeks lovely Mommies! Be sure to check out their beautiful blogs and feel free to follow any way you can! Facebook and Twitter links are also included.

Jamie writes about about daily giggles with her daughter, military life, renovating their new home, grief, and most recently pregnancy!  


Kara is a mommy blogger writing about family, faith and raising tiny ones while still attempting to keep it together. But mostly being a bit crazy. Her sweet babies are Jessi  who is 2.5 and Zoey is 1 and Baby #3 is 14 weeks growing in her belly! 




Just a little blog about her life as an adopted daughter, mother and birth mother with an open adoption.  She has 3.5 kiddos, ranging from 5 months - 11 years.  At home, they’re currently experiencing the Big One's first day of school (Kindergarten on 9/5/12) while potty training Ms. Middle and Ms. Little is teething!  




Myranda is a mommy to 3 and a wife of 1 who blogs about her families journey to a healthier life and her weight loss. She has 3 little girls, Sophia- 4, Leila-2 and Charlotte- 11 months, she says, they are good little girls, but they certainly do know how to be a handful! Sophia and Leila are all potty trained and Charlotte still has some time to go ;)


Sara started blogging because she just needed an outlet for her thoughts.  She mainly blogs about her every day life and include some of her favorite recipes and random thoughts on reality tv etc. 

Here is this weeks Q&A on Potty Training!

Q - When did you start potty training?
Jamie:  I started really working on potty training when my daughter was 20 months. 
Kara-Kae:  Jessi was 22 months when we started. She had been interested in using the potty since she was about 14 months old. She would go #2 on the potty a lot, and finally I decided we had waited long enough, she was more than ready! 
Dawn:  We started potty training at 2.5, because Ms. Middle showed interest (this is also what we did with the Big One).  Then, Ms. Little was born and Ms. Middle went backwards.  We are doing alright now, and Ms. Middle just turned 3 last Friday.  She wants to be a 'big girl' now that she is 3, so that has really helped.  She has done a few days GREAT, but then will have a bad day.  Her nights are really good, as long as we can get her to a toilet right when she wakes up. 
Myranda:  I started potty training my girls at age 2, I think at this point they are ready to really understand and comprehend it.  
Sara:  We started talking about it right when my little guy turned 2.    We put out the potty and just had him sit on it whenever he wanted.  As he got more comfortable sitting on it and occasionally doing pee pee’s I stepped up the training process.
Misty: I started potty training Benjamin at 2 1/2.  He started sitting on it around 2 but would not use it for anything till then.

Q - What kind of potty did/do you use - Did you pick it out or did they? 
Jamie:  I bought a pink plastic potty.  If I could do it over, I would have bought one of the ones with the removable big potty toilet seat to make the transition easier from using the little potty to the big potty.
Kara-Kae: We always gave her the option of using a little potty or the big potty. We let her pick out a princess seat that goes on the big potty and she loved that for a while. I found it was best to let her choose which potty to use, gave her plenty of freedom. 
Dawn:  With the Big One, we bought that musical toilet (she picked out) and a seat for my parents house (I picked out).  She didn't like either.  With Ms. Middle, we are just using the regular toilet with a step stool and lifting her up (she picked out, had no interest in the little toilet or seat).
Myranda:  Did you pick it out or did they? I let my daughter chose her potty. We went to Target and chose the Fisher Price foggy potty, it is a simple one that just sits on the floor and the "toilet" part is easily removed for cleaning. 
Sara: The first potty I used was a hand me down from my sister who had two girls.  There was no potty shield included in the box she gave me.  The first time Little Bear did pee pee’s on the potty I got soaked.    I quickly ran to Babies R Us and bought a Summer Infant 3 Stage Reward potty with potty shield included!
Misty: We started with a Cars potty and he wouldnt use it at all.  Ended up with an elmo seat that we sit on the big potty that he picked out and he loves it and uses the cars one as a step ha!


Q - What was your technique?  Supplies, timers, shopping trip with kids, charts etc?
 Jamie:  I did the “pull the diaper and pee all over the floor” method.  Needless to say, she had MANY pee accidents on the floor for about a week.  After a week, she had the basic idea and accidents from there out were just that- accidents.  I gave her candies for peeing in the potty for the first couple weeks and then weaned her off. 
Kara-Kae:  We did potty treats (chocolate teddy grahams) and used a potty chart. We filled up 3 potty charts, and she got a prize each time and then she had it down! She soon stopped asking for treats too!  
Dawn:  First, we bribed Ms. Middle with Gummy Bears, now we just keep asking her every time anyone else in the house needs to go.  She does REALLY well with poop.  I can tell when she needs to do that, she demands a toilet right then! 
Myranda:  My technique is to go all the way, so no Pull-Ups. I took the girls to the store and let them choose big girl panties, the whole time we are choosing panties and talking about potty training I emphasize that they are big girls so they are going to wear panties, diapers are for babies, etc. We put on panties, and I set my cell phone alarm for every 30 minutes, and every 30 minutes we go sit on the potty for a few minutes (3-5). I also give them lots of water to drink, so they can learn what it feels like to have the full bladder then to empty it. I slowly increase the time to longer and longer times in between potty trips, and I always put a towel under them when they are sitting, just so I don't have to clean a couch or carseat.  
Sara:  I feel like I tried them all.  We started with sticker charts and M&M candy.  I had the “Potty Fairy” come and visit and bring him a little toy.   Sometimes to bribe him to sit and wait for the pee pee’s I would let Little Bear sit and watch movies on my Ipad.  I bought a potty watch from Babies R Us (don’t waste your money) that played music to remind you to use the potty.  We had some successes with each method, but nothing really clicked.  Finally, I just sucked it up and committed to keeping Little Bear naked for a week.  It was like a light bulb went off and he got what he needed to do.   I also, think that through this whole process we spent 6 months on and off and he was a bit more mature (i.e. I started way too early)
Misty: We tried a lot of things and he refused to try until I read about Chelsea on Sunny with A Chance of Sprinkles using the Pull Ups iGo potty app.  It worked wonders for us!  He started using it immediately and after he started to reinforce we did M&Ms for pee pee and a sticker chart and suckers or hot wheels or poo.  He used the app for about a week then had it all figured out on his own.

Q - How did you transition to going out in public without a pull up? 
Jamie:  I put diapers on her when we went out in public for weeks after she was potty trained at home- until I felt very safe.  She never had any accidents with me, however, she did pee all over the floor when my husband took her to Toys R Us one day.  He was mortified.
Kara-Kae:  We used pullups every time we left the house for a while, but I kept a little potty in my van and made sure we made plenty of trips to the potty. Once she got better, we allowed her to leave the house for little things or to go visit friends where I knew she could easily get to a potty. After about 4 months, we didn't even need pull ups anymore!  
Dawn:  With the Big One, I literally told her one day that she was a big girl and no longer needed pull ups or diapers, she would now wear undies and would go to the bathroom on the toilet.  She had one accident.  For Ms. Middle, she is still in pull ups during the day and if it is dry at night, otherwise if she uses it right before bed, we put a diaper on her (since they're cheaper).  I hope to get her into undies in the next month or so.  She will be 37 or 38 months by then. 
Myranda:  For the 1st week, we stay close to home, so I can cut down on accidents. After the 1st week when we go out, I bring extra clothes and sit them on a towel in the car. I also make sure they go potty before we leave the house and as soon as we get to the store. 
Sara:  I still am struggling with this.  He is having a hard time letting me know in public.  I.e. he will tell me right before he goes.  I have ventured to a couple of stores and the library with Little Bear wearing underwear, but I still like the convenience of the pull-up when I have lots of errands.
Misty: I have been petrified to try the out in public thing but after reading Dawns message above we tried it and it worked.  He had one accident and he hates being wet so that was all it took! Thanks dawn!


Q - What about night time potty training? 
Jaime:  She still wears a diaper at night even though she has been day trained for 8 months.  She drinks a lot of milk and usually pees at night.  To me, it isn’t worth risking her peeing and waking up at night.
Kara-Kae:   Since she potty trained so early, and is only 2.5 now we aren't going to attempt that for a while.  She still wears a diaper when she goes to bed. I'm not brave enough to attempt that yet!  
Dawn:  Again, with the Big One, I sat her down and told her that if she needed to go to the bathroom at night, she would have to get out of bed and go on the toilet.  She has only had one accident.  Ms. Middle stays dry at night, we just have to get her to a toilet ASAP when she wakes up or she will go in whatever she is wearing.  I have thought about having her wear undies at night, but then the thought of cleaning up pee first thing turned me off to that idea for now. 
Myranda:  At night time I don't do a diaper or a pull-up we just go with panties. Make sure and buy a plastic mattress cover and cut out drinks for an hour (or longer) before bedtime. With my Leila (age 2) she has to have water before bedtime, so we let her have water but just a few sips, not an entire glass. We put our girls to bed at 8 PM, then to cut down on accidents, I wake them up at 8 AM to go potty, this way they do not wet the bed (as often). 
Sara:  We go right before bed and he still wears a night diaper.  In a couple of weeks I would like to transition this and see how we do.
Misty: Benjamin is always drinking something so we havent tried it either! Good to know It takes a while!

Q – Share a funny potty training story with us J 
Jamie:  Potty training is funny, in general.  You have to laugh or else it is really easy to get frustrated.  When she was first learning about controlling her pee, she would sit on her potty, start to pee and then lean back so she could try to watch the pee come out but by doing that, the pee stream would fall out of the potty.  Every time.  Now, she is every part an independent two year old who does not want any help from Mommy.  She screeches, “No, me Mommy! I get myself on potty!” if I try to help her climb up.  She uses the wall at home to brace herself.  When she goes into a bathroom without a wall or vanity to hold on to, she usually falls into the toilet.  Can’t help but giggle J
Kara-Kae:  We trained in the spring, and didn't have the ac on in our house. TWICE she stood over our floor air vents and peed into them. Twice. I was so terrified that when we turned on the ac our house would smell so bad! Thankfully it didn't :)  
DawnIt actually happened today!  We were at a small horticulture store and Ms. Middle had to go to the bathroom (poop, of course).  Oddly enough, the NP that worked with my throughout two of my pregnancies was there.  She spotted us and said hi.  While we were talking, Ms. Middle came up to me, frantic, "Mommy, need toilet".  So, my NP knew where it was and showed us.  She pooped and said, "Mommy, I need tell Daddy".  We went to find my husband and we saw my NP and she says, "Addie, my went poopy on toilet!  {Yelling now} My went poopy on toilet!"  She laughed and said, "good job" and so did the rest of the store.  All eight or so people gave her a high-five! 
Myranda:  My daughter Leila was taking a nap and I heard her in there moving around and yelling that she had to go potty, so I told her to come out. When I reached the bathroom, she had pooped her panties and had then proceeded to get on the toilet and finish going potty, needless to say I had a large mess on my hands. She has the habit of saying she has to go potty when she has in fact already gone :) The most important thing to remember is that it is frustrating, and difficult to potty train, but remember consistency is key. It does not just take the child to be ready, the parents have to be ready too, so if you are not ready just wait. Children shouldn't be punished for accidents, or potty mess ups, because then they may be scared to go.  
Sara: My male boss has two sons both of whom are potty trained.   He asked me how Little Bear was doing and I told him about the issue of not having a potty shield (from my sister’s hand me down potty).  He just kept looking at me like I was totally strange.  Finally he was like why is he sitting to pee?  Umm, I don’t know because that it was logically makes sense to me.  I never really thought to introduce Little  Bear to potty training standing up.  I know he is a boy and that is how they go, but let’s just say he doesn’t have good aim.  In fact now that he gets the sensation of doing pee pees we have started standing up and I have had to mop the wall tiles on more than one occasion.
Misty: My fav so far is the first time Benjamin took a big pooh in the potty.  He got up and said MOMMY THERES A SNAKE!!!! Flush it flush it!  then told everyone about the snake in the potty! 

Thank you girls SOOOOOO much for participating! I know this helped me a ton! We are ready to start working on our lil Princess!
Next week we are going to be discussing finding Mommy Me Time! I am still looking for 2 more mommies to participate so please email me at monkeysandtutus@gmail.com if you are interested
Also here are the rest of the September topics: Please email or comment with any more topic ideas/questions etc!
Sept 13 - Playing with Kidos - need 1 more mommy
Sept 20 - Eating with Kidos - need 1-2 more mommies
Sept 27 - Juggling kids and chores etc - need 1 more mommy

Also feel free to give me any advice that would make this easier for you? Was it an ok format? Know a better way? Send me more questions, topics, your answers to these questions, make some friends!

Hair Emergency and a Starbucks Giveaway

I am having a total hair crisis.  I need help!  Im gonna show you some of my recent styles let you help me make the decision on where to go next! As a reward for helping me you can enter to win a Starbucks Gift Card! Haha! 
I was born blonde, really really blonde, grew up blonde when I hit puberty my hair slowly started getting darker and darker.  I have been coloring it since I was at least 18 and I have NO idea what my natural color is any more.  I kept it blonde for a long time and about 5 years ago I went to the dark side. 
 Ive been red (awful on me), black, brown, I even had a skunk do at one point EEK
Here is my current color and I totally hate it.  I tried to go back blonde a few months ago and had a horrid experience that included over 4 hours at the salon and coming out with horrid chemical burns after that went back to a different stylist and she is having to take getting my hair fixed in two steps.  We havnt finished fixing the giant mess up but when we do it will just be blonder.  So I can go even a little blonder or somewhere else?
While this may look ok this was the day i got it done.. now it looks more like this

This is more the every day awfulness 
I have been trying to grow out my hair for over a year and the longer it gets the more I wanna cut it.  With kids constantly pulling on it I end up pulling it up all the time and my hubs doesnt like it when I wear my 'mommy hair'
Here are some looks over the past few years
1. When we were dating LOVED this

2 after I had my monkey
-
3 right before we had the princess

4 right after we had teh princess

5 right before deployment

6 actually this was right before deployment

7 valentines 10

8 right after i had jax

9 right after deployment

9 same as above just from the back loved this but hubs really didnt

10 this is my fav ever but when we tried to recreate it we got this mess below

11 ugh vacation with the hubs

12 short brown with highlight love this too

Ok so what do you think?  You can vote in the giveaway and enter to win a Starbucks Gift Card!
OH and here are a few ideas i have that I like haha
Im kinda thinking brown with highlights and a chunk of blue? haha IDK
These are all on my Pinterest Hair Board
13

14

15 love her  random hair

Ok Vote away and Good Luck!!!
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Along my quest for health

Yesterday I had the exciting opportunity to swap guest posts with Dalayna from Pointing Up If you haven't checked out her blog its a must its super fun and one of my favs!
I wanted to share my post with my readers that might have missed it.

  Confession – This is my first guest post ever and I have been totally nervous about what to write.  At Monkeys & Tutus I generally blog about a lot of mommy and toddler stuff because I have 3 kids under age 3, yes I know what causes that!  I also blog a lot about my quest for health and weight loss, which is partly what I wanted to talk to you about today. 
It is so easy for us as women to get caught up in the constant need to diet.  I know women of all shapes and sizes that are on the quest.  It doesn’t seem to matter if you are a size 2 or a size 12 or a size 22, most women struggle at some point with their want to lose weight for one reason or another.  You really can’t go anywhere without being bombarded with the latest diet fad, the newest work out, the newest gym etc.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best you that you can be but lately I have been challenged and even convicted to quit being so hard on myself and love who I am and to not put my want for physical health over my need for spiritual health.  I don’t know about you but for me it is so easy to get caught up in trying to eat healthy, trying to find time to exercise, beating myself up for doing really bad one day and not spend any time working on spiritual health.  I love this verse: Proverbs 31:30 in the message says ‘Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.   The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God’
My husband is sexy but you know when he seems even sexier to me than just looking at the physical aspect?  When he prays, when I see him reading the Bible, when we are in church and he is praising Jesus.  I cant tell you how many days I get caught up in everything around me and don’t spend one minute praying, reading my Bible or seeking Gods help with the challenges I face. 
If you read Dalaynas guest post for All Things Blogs last Friday it really sums it all up for me! It’s so simple to lose track of time without setting out some priorities.  Lately my priority has been everything else above spiritual health.  When that happens nothing works, I fail miserably on just about every level; I have no discipline & no self-control.  I know when I start my day right, talk to God about things, seek his help, his guidance and his wisdom things fall into place. 
Matthew 6:30-33 MSG
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met”

It’s funny how we make things so hard when they really are so simple.  Seek God first and every other every day thing you need will fall into place.  Whatever your struggle is, be it losing weight, getting healthy, finding a job, making a big decision, whatever it is if we seek God he promises to show us the way.  My ‘health’ challenge for last week was to not have any soda, sugar or chips of course I didn’t pray about it once, I didn’t ask for strength etc and I failed.  My challenge for this week is to seek God first!  Ask for his help in managing my health and asking him to guide my journey.
Hope you found some encouragement and know that God loves us regardless of where we are and where we have been.  He is always there waiting for us to rely on him and ask for his help.  He promises to never leave us and never forsake us.  How amazing is that?! 

Thank you Dalayna for letting me share my heart and challenges!  You are an amazing influence to other bloggers and I am very excited to see what your post will bring to my readers!!!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Guest Post from Pointing Up




Hello all you Monkeys And Tutus lovelies. I am Dalayna and I blog over at Pointing Up which is a whatever-I-want-to-write-about blog... ummm, lifestyle blog? I don't know, I am not one for labels. Ha!
So today I am going to share something you may find a little silly and pointless, but I am determined to prove you wrong about those two adjectives by the end of this! Ok, so my wonderful bestie from college introduced me to the concept of having a favorite day. No, not date... "My favorite date would be April 25th, because it's not too hot and its not too cold. All you need is a light jacket." That is from Miss Congeniality if you are not familiar with that quote. Speaking of stupid things said in beauty pageants, this one gets me every time:
Hahaha!!! Sorry I had to share that! Back on topic... 
(rewinding sound)
Ok, so my wonderful bestie from college introduced me to the concept of having a favorite day. This is just a day to take off and celebrate all that life is. I picked mine... easy. First of all I knew it HAD to be in the month of November, because I LOVE November. November brings beautiful weather, lush colors, and lots and lots of crunchy leaves. Then I knew it needed to be a good, solid number, hence came 18. November 18th, that's it! That is my day.
Now I know this is where those adjectives are coming to mind... silly, pointless, etc. But let me explain! This is not a day to get more gifts, which is what my brother thought last year when I tried to explain it to him. haha But it is a day that is set aside to celebrate life, the simple things, the little things, the everyday things. I have realized how easy it is to get so focused on all that is going on in life and miss out on enjoying all that life is. The joy, the beauty, the simple things that make you smile when you take time to think about them. 
In times of reflection there are certain memories that I always go back to that make me wish time would stop. Those memories are always of the simplest pleasures, the things that at the moment were so insignificant. But when I think of them all the sensory memories come into play. I remember the warmth, the comfort, the joy, the laughter. All the things that make life worth celebrating. And that my friends is why we all should have our own day. A day to celebrate life, a day to treasure our memories, a day to step out of the whirlpool of life and just be in the moment.
I hope I was successful in combating those adjectives and convincing you to celebrate life. Seriously, you don't have to pick "your day," but find a way to treasure the moments that make life so sweet that works for you. Just think of me on November 18th, because I will be taking it all in! Let me know if you do pick a day, and I will be sure to send you thoughts of happiness and sunshine.
 
Here are a few exciting things that I would love all of Monkeys and Tutus readers to be a part of. First of all, my lovely sponsors are giving away LOTS of ad space. You can get in on this giveaway here!
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If you would like to join in on a coffee mug swap here is your chance! This is a mug swap unlike any other! Get all the details and submit your information here. 
Coffee Mug Swap
Thanks so much for reading! 
And a BIG thank you to Misty for allowing me to write today :)
Dalayna

Thank you so much Dalayna! I am going to have to think hard to pick a special day now! Love this fun idea!