Color Me Happy

I was reading a blog by Laura Doyle and she said that women should do 3 things that bring them enjoyment. Her reasoning is that it makes the rest of married life, and I add life in general more tolerable.

My challenge to you today is to Make Yourself Happy.

Make a pact with yourself today to take time to make yourself happy.

Women are so conditioned to take care of others and focus on making others happy that we often overlook our own happiness. 

 Do 3 things this week that just make you happy. Maybe you’ve been putting off getting together with your girls, or purchasing that beautiful handbag you keep eyeing. Maybe you just want to have a little time to read that book on your nightstand. Whatever your pleasure, indulge yourself!
Have a Happy and Wonderful day 🙂

Affirmations

The Motivated Mom

Affirmation: A positive assertion (Merriam Webster Online)

We all remember the scene in “The Help” where Viola Davis, playing the housekeeper, knelt down to button the little girl’s coat and had her repeat the following:  “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” We laughed at the accent and the mispronunciation of the words, but that housekeeper was doing the ingenious. She gave that little girl a sense of herself that no one could ever take away.  In this “dog eat dog” world, full of bullies and people that just want to trample all over our children, what can we do to give our babies that same sense of themselves? Affirmations!
It goes without saying that your child needs daily affirmation of your love for them. It helps them feel secure, cared about and gives them a sense of pride.

There are other reasons for affirmations as well, it gives…

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Oh, Baby!

Summertime is baby boom time. I work in a hospital and I love seeing all the new babies going home. Whenever I see the new mothers, I can’t help but think of how much help they will need when they get home.

I was blessed with so much help after my baby was born, I can’t even imagine how I would’ve functioned without it. Here are some suggestions for ways to help a new mom.

• Make a meal for the family
• Bring over some healthy snacks for the nursing mom
• Offer to babysit any older children
• Offer to sit in the home with the new baby so the mother can get some sleep, take a shower, eat a meal peacefully
• Offer to do the grocery shopping
• Offer to take her to the grocery store, post office, mall or anywhere she wants
• Offer to do laundry
• Load or unload the dishwasher
• Offer to run any errands for her
• Take the dog for a walk
• Offer to help write the Thank You notes for all the gifts she’s received
• Organize your mutual friends to take turns helping out

There are so many ways to help out a new mother, whatever way you come up with to help out, the important thing is to just reach out and offer the help.

 

Meatless Monday :)

My daughter and I recently decided to start a Meatless Monday for the summer. We go the whole day without eating any meat. While the thought of having a meal with no meat is horrifying to some, what better time than the summer than to drop those heavy meat meals and try a lighter meal that won’t lay so heavy on your stomach.

Below are some meatless recipes that I hope will entice you to give Meatless Monday a second thought and perhaps a try out.

Breakfast Options

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/green-eggs-no-ham/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/sweet-potato-frittata/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/strawberry-shortcake-oatmeal-pancakes/
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1893-everyday-pancakes

Lunch/Dinner Suggestions

https://www.sangiorgio.com/en-us/recipes/22238/MeatlessBakedZiti.aspx
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/vegan-pasta-primavera/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/corn-black-bean-burritos/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/rasta-rice-and-peas/

Snacks

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/grilled-pineapple-watermelon-salad/
http://www.julieseatsandtreats.com/cauliflower-bites-honey-sriracha-sauce/

Drop me a note and let me know which recipe you tried and how you liked it.  Till next time… Have a Happy & Healthy Week.

 

 

Lip Smackin Month of May…

The month of May has some really wacky & fun holidays, like May 1st is Mother Goose Day. May 3rd is Lumpy Rug Day. May 8th is No Socks Day but I think my favorite Wacky May Holiday is May 15th… National Chocolate Chip Day 🙂

In honor of this very important yet overlooked holiday, I found some fun recipes and ideas that you can do with the family to celebrate. So grab the chocolate chips and the family because some of the cutest pictures contain chocolate covered fingers and chocolate smudged faces, and let the celebration begin.
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chocolate-butter
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chocolate-dipped-marshmallow-pops
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/ginas-chocolate-chip-cookie-surprise-recipe.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/rocky-road-brownies-recipe.html
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/fruit-nut-candy-bars
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/mint-chocolate-chip-ice-cream-recipe.html
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/quick-mole-sauce
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-peanut-butter-banana-split-sandwich
http://www.cupcakediariesblog.com/2015/05/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-cupcakes.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-sundaes-recipe.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/triple-threat-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe.html
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-pancakes/caf9c068-bdf1-4738-bdf8-9ac44be62e94

Try these on Date Night:
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/drink-cocktail-recipes/chocolate-chip-martinis
This doesn’t really use chocolate chips to make it but you can certainly garnish it with some
http://mixthatdrink.com/chocolate-chip and who doesn’t love smores? http://www.dessertfortwo.com/indoor-

All this talk has made me hungry. I’m off to buy some chocolate chips and try a few of these recipes.  I hope you get to try out some of these recipes and if you have one that you would like to share, please do.

OH, and if you use dark chocolate… it’s Heart Healthy 🙂

 

 

 

Monday Random Acts of Kindness

Mondays are usually the most difficult day of the week, you’re still trying to come down off your weekend and you gotta get back to the grindstone. I thought this was the PERFECT day for a Random Act of Kindness. An RAK will help your day get off to a great start and give the recipient an awesome start to their week.  Sounds like a WIN-WIN, right?

Today’s RAK is… Post A Note

Put a love note in your honey’s lunch.
Put a love note in your child’s lunch.
Post a love note on your honey’s steering wheel.
Post a love note on the bathroom mirror at home with an encouraging or loving message.
Post a note in a grocery store aisle with an encouraging message on the back of a bottle or bag of something, you never know who might need that. You can put something short & sweet like You are Amazing. You are Awesome.
Post a note in a public bathroom with an encouraging message.

Many options… Find yours and just do it.

Go ahead make someone’s day… I double dare ya!

Ten Awesome Things About Being A Mom

 

The Superhero Cape (Every new mom gets one)

The unexpected and unsolicited hugs & kisses

Bragging rights 🙂

Dress up & Tea Parties

Mom Jeans (Who knew?)

That feeling when you get potty training AND
dinner right in the same day

The Frozen song on the 100th repeat 😮

Wall Art

The moment you realize your child is LITERALLY your mini-me

 

When you’ve been gone all day and your little one comes happily running to the door screaming Mommy with outstretched arms 🙂

 

The Joy of Motherhood

There is nothing better than the arms of your little one wrapped around your neck. Definitely one of the joys of my motherhood.

As Mother’s Day rounds the corner, I found myself reminiscing on all the wonderful mommy moments that I have had. Watching my baby girl learn to crawl & walk is at the top of my list, but as I sat thinking I started wondering what joyful moments other mothers reminisced about, so I invited them to share their joy of motherhood moments.

“I will have someone who will ALWAYS love me. No matter what.” Sharay

“The unconditional love between you and your children, it is a special bond that is just natural. That feeling of love is awesome.” Jamila

“Seeing my children thrive and happy.” Krystal

“The bond you have between you and your children.” Tiffani

“The little hugs and sweet kisses everyday.” Tracey

“Unconditional love.” Starkeisha

“Unbelievable strength” Lori

“Morning kisses, no matter how old they are.” Claudia

“The smile that your kids give when you walk in the door.” Shanelle

“I enjoy watching the fruit of my labor as they blossom before my eyes. I’m so humbled and filled with awe.” Basheen

“Hearing “Mommy” Shakira

“Watching the lights of discovery shine in your child’s eyes as they see or understand something for the first time.” Bishop Juanita

“The learning experience; knowing that you have a little person that loves you unconditionally no matter what you do.” Kaliesha

“Seeing Karen grow up and develop into her own young lady. Seeing her personality from when she was a baby to now is just amazing.” Tawana

“Unconditional love” Shani

“Grandkids” Leann

Me & Mini Me

“Hearing your child repeat advice to a friend that you gave to her.” Joyce

“Being able to love what you and God made and guiding your child to a better future for their life.” Sharon

“Unconditional love” Barri

“Celebrating their victories, big or small.” Daphne

“When you’ve had one of the most trying days you have had in a while and you’re so tired you don’t know which way is up and you walk into your child’s room to say goodnight and through their sleepy eyes they reach up to pull you close with a warm hug and say I Love You Mommy.” Robin

So many awesome reasons to be a mom and so many different joys to experience.

What are the joys of your motherhood?

 

Dear Mommy…

Dear Mommy,
I really like the Jordans and the Hoverboard you bought me, but I’m also kind of sad. I’m sad because you didn’t show up for Parent/Teacher Night to meet my teacher.

Mommy I really like all the nice things you buy me but I really need you to help stimulate my mind. Mommy maybe you can help me with my homework? Even if I start crying I can say “she did that.” Mommy can you help me with my science fair project? Even if I don’t win anything I can say “We did that.” Mom can you encourage me to try new things and explore my surroundings? Mom can we go to the museum, or the zoo together? How about an art gallery?

Mommy, while I have your ear, can I ask you a favor? Can you please stop calling me out of my name? I’m not dumb or stupid, I’m not the “B” word or any of those other bad words you use. Maybe we can try encouragement? Tell me how once I learn this Math, I can grow up to be an Engineer, astronaut or an airplane pilot. Tell me how learning English would help me to be a Professor or a Motivational Speaker when I grow up. Tell me that by excelling in school I could one day be President of the United States, CEO of a major company or how I could own my own business. Tell me how proud you are of me and believe that I can be anything I want to be because I am smart. Just one little question, can you tell me when it’s just you and me and not a room full of people, it’s easier to believe that way?

Mother, You are the most important person in my life and I want to make you proud.
I am a reflection of you. I think you are pretty and smart and I love you a lot, and yes Mama, I DO want to go to the moon, or be President, or own my own company, but I’ll only realize these dreams if you can realize them with me.
Thank you Mommy.

Love Always,
Your Child

Happy New Year!

Today starts a brand spankin new book with 365 blank pages… How will you fill yours?

So often folks worry about becoming a New person… That’s too much pressure. Just focus on YOU! What about YOU works for your dreams? What doesn’t work? What can you do to improve upon the YOU that you already are? No need to transform into a NEW YOU, just expound on the old you and watch your life soar.

I guess you’re wondering how you might do that? Well, you can start by increasing your knowledge. Read books, Google it (whatever IT is), watch YouTube videos, take a class.  Start a vision board. That’s a great way to visualize what you want to achieve in the future. You can do a virtual vision board, you can do a vision board on Poster board by gluing magazine clippings showing exactly what you are working towards, or you can make it decoration and print or cut out pictures and put them on pretty background paper, frame them and hang then around the house. However you choose to do it, it’s a great start and an even better reminder of all the things you want to put on the pages of your brand new book. Encourage your children to do one also, it will help them to stay focused throughout the year. Make it a family tradition, what an awesome way to see what your children want out of life and how they plan to achieve it.  Do it alone, do it as a family or have a Vision Board Party. Gather your friends and family and visualize together.

Brand new year with a brand new book, how will you fill the pages?  Will you fill it with hopes & dreams? Accomplishments & visions? Regrets? You are the author of this brand new book. Which will it be?

Thank you for subscribing, following, stumbling upon my blog. I appreciate every single one of you and wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Productive New Year from my family to yours.