Right Now.

Right now, I am sitting in bed, laptop before me pecking away at the keyboard. The kids are all in the dining room, toys sprawled out across the table. Jack is reading a book on my Kindle. Joey is playing a game on the iPad. And Bella, Johnny, and Grayson are playing nicely together with toys. My husband, Bobby, is watching a new movie in the living room. And while a small part of me feels bad that we are not all together doing some Pinterest-inspired activity, another part of me is thoroughly enjoying the peace in the house.

 I love when they are loving on each other.

Sometimes I feel like I go and go and go, and I'm so busy filling our minutes with things to do that I don't actually get to sit and enjoy the time. So tonight, I am just sitting here listening to my children interact with one another. Listening to the sound of their voices filling the air. Some people do not have this luxury. Every single night before I fall to sleep I say a silent prayer to God thanking him for another day as a mother of five sweet children. I am absolutely terrified that something could happen to any of them, but I cannot allow that fear to paralyze me. Instead, I use it as a reminder that every day is a gift. I will never allow a disagreement to come between my relationship with my children. I will not. Each day that I can, I will be their mother and love them unconditionally.

 Every single day with them is a gift, that's why they call it the present right?

I think sometimes we allow our ideas of how life should be to fill all the space in our heads, and then we forget about the things that matter. The minute little things. The things that fill our lives up each day, but without them we are left with all these little crevices, tearing away at the foundation of our being.

Happy New Year

There's more than one type of good mother. What type of good mother are you?

I am not known for making New Year's Resolutions, but this year I resolved to not make an resolutions but instead to make promises to myself.

1. I promise to be a more patient mother.

2. I promise to enjoy making memories instead of making memories to share.

3. I promise to be more kind.

4. I promise to laugh more.

5. I promise to listen more.

6. I promise to run more.

7. I promise to write more.

8. I promise to live more, and worry less.

9. I promise to photograph more.

10. I promise to be more.

What types of resolutions or promises have you made to yourself in the new year?

Halloweenies!

So this Halloween I really wanted to try and pick a theme for our kids to dress up and they wanted 5 different things, so I had to think hard about what we could choose that would appease everyone. Duh, Star Wars! My kids are Star Wars junkies, so it was the best idea EVER! These costumes were not terribly hard to make, and I will post again later in more detail about how we made them. But for now, I present to you, my galactic gang.

I meant to share these a while ago...

I meant to share these a while ago, but I held off due to the fact that I was gifting them to family members. And now here they are!

The Kindness of Strangers

Throughout my life I have been afforded a few opportunities to be shown the kindness of strangers. I've often wondered if I have returned the favor, if I have paid my dues. Have I done something out of the goodness of my heart for a stranger, and changed the course of their day, week, life? I'm not sure if I have, or if I would really know. I know I try to help anyone that I can, is that enough?

The first time I recall really being shown a truly random act of kindness was when I was 10. My sisters and I were flying solo from Maine to Florida on what was supposed to be a non stop flight. Our plane had to land for some reason or another and we were left to fend for ourselves. We had a layover and no idea how to get from one gate to another. Then, a man approached us and asked if he could help us. For whatever reason, we felt we could trust him, and he helped us. He bought us dinner and then made sure we got to the right gate and boarded our plane. I always wondered what happened to him after that. Did he go home and tell his wife or kids? Did he have a wife or kids? Does he even remember doing it?

Recently I shared that we were participating in a contest via Facebook for a new roof. Just typing that sentence seems surreal.  This amazing company, Total Home Roofing and Construction, decided the other day to end the contest a few days early. On Tuesday they made the announcement that they had decided to give both families featured in the contest a new roof! I couldn't believe it. I still feel like at any moment someone might come pinch me and I will wake up. The  weight that has been lifted off my shoulders is so tremendous. Words cannot possibly describe the emotions I have felt since they told us. I could try to with a few words: relief, gratitude, faith, amazement, RELIEF, thankfulness, and did I mention relief? I just feel so overwhelmed by the generosity of a company, not only willing to help out their community, but to help two families. Two!

I do not know how I can possibly show my gratitude to this company, other than to talk about the wonderful thing they are doing for us. So be prepared to hear more about them! Oh and by the way, if anyone out there in the Central Florida area needs their roof worked on, or other home construction done, I know this great company...

Mamavation Monday: This and That

It's hard to believe another Mamavation campaign is coming to a close! It went by so quickly! I am so proud of the hard work the Mamavation Moms put in, both in making their lives healthier as well as their homes!  We are all so lucky to have such a fearless leader in Leah, giving us all these opportunities to learn more about fitness, GMOs, detoxing our lives, and healthy eating! Leah Rocks!

I have just started preparing myself for the half marathon I am doing in December. I am so excited! This will be my first half marathon ever! If you have trained for a half before, what plan did you follow, and how did you like it? Do you have any advice for me to make this experience better?

As people everywhere prepare to send their children off to school (or if like me you've already done this) there is no denying that summer is swiftly coming to an end. Unlike so many of you however, the end of summer does not quite usher in the ideas of crisp fall air, warm apple cider, pumpkin patches, and the crunch of dry leaves underfoot. Here in Florida one thing I do look forward to in the fall, is the end of the rainy hurricane season. The rain is wonderful for our yard, but this past year or so it has been nothing more than a headache! You see our roof began leaking a while ago, and as time has gone on, the damage it has done to our home has gotten even worse. It's gotten to the point that I actually found mushrooms growing in one of our windowsills! It was horrible! I have done my best to keep everything dry, and clean, but we really need a  professional to come out and repair our roof. My husband has been up there repeatedly patching and trying to find the source of the leak, but without much success. Recently our family was nominated by friends to take part in a contest for a new roof! A local and very generous company is giving away a new roof to a deserving family here in our county. In order to win, we just have to garner as many Facebook likes as possible on the post right here . You have to first like the page, and then like our picture. If you could do this, or share that link with friends I would be eternally grateful! Thus far the outpouring of support, and people's kind words have been very uplifting.

Upended

I've been home for a couple weeks now and I am STILL struggling to get back into our routine. Still struggling with food, working out, cleaning, and especially with making time to get online. I feel like I am getting there, but it will probably be better once I have the kids back in school. My oldest three begin school Wednesday, and then next Wednesday, my 4 y/o begins pre-K. So that's probably when life will begin to truly return to normal!

Today I still have to load the kid's backpacks up with their school supplies and let them plan their outfits for the first day of school. Then this coming weekend we will be celebrating my son Joey's 7th birthday! I have a bridal shower and bachelorette party to throw n the next couple weeks, and a 5k to run, and a wedding to attend/be a member of the bridal party. So LOTS going on in the next month...but after that?? Smooth sailing as I train for my first half-marathon in early December! Crazy to think how close it is already!

How do you get back into a routine after a long vacation?