Our Elf Introduction

Santa came through.  Yesterday afternoon the doorbell rang and there was a special delivery from the North Pole.  A boy elf with blue eyes had arrived!  We read the book and brainstormed names for far too long.  Meet Emperor Moriarty....  Emperor was Owen's pick from Star Wars, Moriarty was Kam's pick from the Sherlock Holmes series. 

I told Owen that he looks like a delightful elf who will report to Santa each night.  Then he'll come back and do a good deed!  I'm hoping he'll fold a load of laundry or surprise me with an empty dishwasher in the morning.  Maybe he'll pick up Owen's legos when left out, or download a new app on Kam's iPad.  Santa knew what he was doing when he sent this special little elf.  No naughty little elves for us! 

On his first morning in our house we woke up to see that he had made s'mores for breakfast... good elf!!

As a special surprise.. Santa included this soft plushee elf.  He loves to be thrown around, snuggled and lugged around on our errands.  Owen loves his little friend and calls him Goldee. 

Now I need to get online and Elf Ourselves... I love it!

Holiday Craziness

December is my favorite month of the year... and it's also the busiest!  Each year I have big plans to prepare better and relax more.  It never works out quite like I plan it.  I haven't even finished half of my Christmas shopping and no pictures have been taken for our Christmas cards.  Let me focus on what I have done... the tree is up and the house is lit.

 There has been a chill in the desert and it's been a welcome change.  I even purchased my first pair of boots ever... for a girl that only wears flip flops, wearing boots is a pretty big deal!  This week is full of Holiday parties and we are all excited... I'm probably more excited than everyone else. I love taking my kids out shopping so they can pick out special gifts for their cousins, grandparents and friends.  

On Sunday we had a Daddy Birthday Re-Do.  His birthday was a little crummy last week since Owen and I had to fly to Palo Alto, so we made it up to him.  I made the best chocolate cake, but it was also the ugliest cake ever.  A cake decorator I am not! 

 

Kam has been SO busy with dance and preparing for finals.  She learned a thing or two about procrastination last night when we were up until 11pm researching closing stock prices for 10 companies and creating line graphs in Excel.  I'm glad that's over with! Oh wait.. it wasn't my assignment?  I sure thought it was.  Dance has been crazy as they clean up and perfect all their dances for competition season.  They have also been having costume fittings and hair/makeup check-offs.  It's going to be a great season!

 

Mr Owen had his academic evaluation with the school psychologist from the district.  Tomorrow we will work on his behavioral and cognitive assessments.  I am pretty sure he'll qualify for all the services offered... including extra home bound teaching hours.  With that.. I think the district finally found us a home bound teacher and he's a special ed teacher so he must have patience.  I hope. ;)  Owen can be challenging.  Like today when he was doing his eval...  "If you have 3 cars and someone gives you 6 more how many do you have?" Owen: "Oh.. probably a thousand!"

"How much money is in this picture?" Owen: "You tell me.. how much!?"  He is a smart boy, sometimes smarter than his own good.

Photobomb....

I hope your holiday is ramping up to be a good one!  Owen keeps asking that Santa send him an Elf (Elf on the Shelf), but I'm not sure that Santa feels like this mama can find an extra hour in the day.  I think Santa will deliver because he's magical like that.  I'll have an update on that delivery this week.

 

Happy Monday.  Only 16 days until Christmas!!

Finding Balance and Happiness

 I was married at nineteen and became a mom just shortly after my 20th birthday.  I was working full time, going to school, and spending every waking moment trying to make memories with my family.  I was so busy taking care of everyone else that I forgot to take care of me.  Sound familiar??  I had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), battled infertility, gained weight and didn't take time out for myself.

The best part of growing older is finding out who we are and what our purpose in life is.  Owen came along when I was 28 and my whole perspective on life changed.  The best lesson I have learned is to live each day like it's the last.  I have learned that if I want to be the best wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend, then I need to make myself a priority. 

Every morning I wake up and ask myself what I can do today to prepare for a happier, healthier future.  The older I get, the quicker time passes, and I feel like I can't keep up at times.  I'm always on the go, but it's important to stop and focus on what truly matters.  My favorite time with my family is taking vacations!  I love planning, getting excited, packing and just having uninterrupted time with my family.  My favorite trips are at the beach where we just lay in the sand and play for hours in the sunshine.  Nothing is more relaxing and great memories are always made.

I have been so fortunate to have a great group of friends.  I'm not talking about my FB friends list, you are all fantastic and I love you, but I'm talking about real face to face interactions with friends.  Remember that?  Friends to call up and go to a movie with.  Friends that you can meet for dinner when you just had a rough day.  Friends that really, truly understand what you are going through.  This was our first mom's night out two years ago and we have kept our tradition of dinner, advocating together, and our friendships have grown so much.  I think it is so important as mothers and wives to remember that we still need to maintain and create friendships with others.

I am not high maintenance.  I like flip-flops and shorts, my hair is a wild mess of curly, and mascara is my make-up staple.  Sometimes, when I just need some alone time, I'll grab a diet coke and run to the salon for a quick pedicure.  Nothing feels better than reading a tabloid magazine, getting a back massage and having someone rub salt on my feet.  It's inexpensive and an easy way to sneak away for some downtime.  Take care of your feet... they do a lot for you.

My family time is also really important, the most important!  My husband and I are guilty of sacrificing time together to make sure the kids are happy.  We cuddle in bed at night for maybe 45 seconds before we have Owen in between us wrestling or Kam coming in to chat about her day at school.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love those moments, but it is also so important to find time for US.  We fell in love 15 years ago and it hasn't always been easy.  Just recently we have been scheduling date nights and carving out uninterrupted time for US.  Someday these kids are going to grow up and do amazing things... then it will just be the two of us.  We need to take the time now to make our marriage work!  This is so important and so easy to forget to do. 

My physical health is also so very important!  I am so guilty of letting myself go, making unhealthy eating choices because it's "easier" or making excuses of why I can't make it to the gym.  It's a daily struggle for me, and one that I consciously work on every single day.  Finding balance is key for me.  Taking time for me, making time for my family, planning family vacations to get away... all of these things help me feel balanced.  The decisions I make today are going to greatly impact my future, and I have big dreams!  Staying positive, keeping myself motivated and surrounding myself with good people is the secret to my future success!

 

• Get Old is an initiative developed by Pfizer  to challenge people of all ages to rethink what it means to Get Old and take a more active role in their health and quality of life at every age.  Whether it’s through watching what you eat, physical exercise, spending time with family and friends or participating in an activity you’re passionate about -- each of us has the power to decide for ourselves how we want to Get Old. It’s not just about living longer, but living better.

 

• What are you doing to Get Old well? Tells us at GetOld.com and join the conversation on Twitter.com/GetOld and Facebook.com/GetOld.  

 

I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by Pfizer and Get Old. I received compensation for this post. All opinions stated are my own.