I wanted to jump into a new fresh start on the blog this week, and not even take the time to look over and evaluate the past year. I realized, however, that I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the highs and lows of the year in order to move forward in the right direction. Each of you readers that visit IHOD are the reason I am able to keep going this year, and it is important to me that I keep an honest dialogue with you because if you are going to invest time in IHOD, I want that time to be an uplifting part of your day. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post, but these things need to be addressed!
I ended the year pretty burnt out as I do almost every year, and welcomed the extra time with my children and husband at home. I could have used two more weeks, but I decided the number one rule/resolution/goal whatever you want to call it, is not to force anything. This will apply in all areas of my life. Regret, bad moods, stressed relationships, missed moments….all of those things are a result of forcing good to happen. I just want to BE this year, and allow myself the ability to experience each day as it comes without self imposed expectations. Still with me? Okay good.
Let’s start with a look back on your favorite posts from last year shall we? Some of these surprised me, but others I quite agree with you on ;)….
My sister Maria flew in for the New Year to surprise my family, and so a New Year party was in order. We all dressed up, danced, and toasted champagne in gratitude for each other. Every new year brings with it a well of gratitude for my family as I realize more and more how valuable of an imprint they have left on my life. These are just a few snaps from the iphone roll of the evening. How was your New Year? Did you stay in pjs? Celebrate with your friends? What part of the world were you in? We had one sister celebrating across the globe in Hungary!
I have so much to process from 2016….one of the tougher years in motherhood, but one in which I could feel so much inner change for the better. I wouldn’t go as far to say I welcome the tough days, but I am thankful for what they have brought to my perspective on life. I want more of that this year….
More one on one dates with my kids.
Less expectations.
More organization.
Less clutter.
More reading.
Less Netflix.
More phone calls.
Less text messages.
More fearless action.
Less self-doubt.
More honesty.
Less pretending.
More dancing just for the fun of it.
Less time wasters.
More service.
Less fear.
More spontaneous travel.
Less to do lists.
Your turn! What do you want more or less of in 2017?
You readers are what keep this blog going, and so I like to update you from time to time on how we make a business work for our family. Since Gabe is working full time at a school, and I am at home with three little ones (I have two in school), it would seem nearly impossible to keep things afloat here! So we re-grouped before the baby came to determine how to make things flow. It took a good few months to find some sort of pace, and we are still seeking a steady rhythm. However, there are a few things that are helping us out.
I was having a particularly rough week recently and needed some balanced ground to the emotional roller coaster I felt I couldn’t get off. So of course, I called my mother. We were talking about how hard it is to overcome our perception of what we think we should be versus just living out what we are able. We carry with us perceptions of what a good friend/wife/mother/sister should be, and it can often trap us into a fear of failure. Some examples:
The truth: Since my mother was able to make us dinner each night as children, I want to do that for my own family as a way to show love and bring us together. The reality: Some days I am able to make this happen, and on many days, I burn dinner or need to order pizza to make the day work. It’s a part of life where we are at now having little ones and working part time from home. The lie: I am failing my family because I can’t make them a hot meal.
The truth: I have always been a pretty strong and independent girl from the time I was very young. I was rarely emotional about things before marriage and children. The reality: I feel things very deeply, and am sensitive by nature. I now tear up all the time, and cry often. When I am happy I tear up (I totally feel you Kristen Bell), I cry when I am hurt or upset, and I angry cry when things get really tough. The lie: Showing emotion is a weakness. I am not being strong enough or tough enough if I let the sad or angry emotion show through.
The truth: I love order and organization despite my messy art mind. I thrive in a clean environment, so I resolved to have my home clean when Gabe comes home from work so he can relax and enjoy the kids….and maybe have some food on the table (because you know, my love language.) The reality: I have four little ones. Repeat: I have four little ones. Despite my attempts to pick up after mini tornadoes all day long, it is rare the house is clean when he walks in the door. Sometimes I haven’t opened the fridge to decide what is for dinner either because I just turned in a post deadline while helping my son with his homework also while potty training a two year old. The lie: I am failing as a wife. (Even though Gabe doesn’t care about a clean house!) I don’t have things under control.
I don’t think we know when exactly these lies form and why we cling to them so tightly, but I can tell you facing them and breaking through those lies are worth the fight. Sometimes I feel like my two year old son making the same mistakes over and over and not quite learning the lesson, but I know the practice of saying the real truth out loud and resolving to practice a positive frame of mind will someday break the habit of giving into it. Just talking it through with my own mother who knows me so well, and who has been through the same battles was so healing for me.
Have you had a similar experience breaking a habit or thought process that is so deeply engrained?
I think it’s important to discuss that as women we cannot be superheroes. It’s actually a beautiful truth that we have both strengths and weaknesses that are different from the person next to us. We can ask for help. We can lean on each other. We can overcome negative perceptions of ourself. We can dig deep and find the root of our struggles and fight to overcome them. I think it can drastically change our happiness in our day to day lives and the way we interact with those around us.
I have been a freelance graphic designer since college, and I really miss diving into a design project and coming up with something I worked hard to reach. It felt so good to get back in the seat after a long baby break to create something personal. I teamed up with HP to try their Sprout HP technology. I wasn’t quite expecting to discover all of the options it holds! I was more than impressed. Here’s a re-cap….
Some of my favorite features:
Touchscreen – I thought it was brilliant that you could use the all in one desktop as a touchscreen. You can swipe images from the desktop to the touchscreen pad and vice versa. It is a very intuitive and interactive. It also has a bluetooth mouse you can use as well.
A 3D scanner touchpad – The touchpad that you place in front of the computer can scan objects and documents, and instantly store them on the screen for you to re-size and manipulate. A breakthrough technology that allows you to capture any physical object and reimagine it digitally.Way too much fun!
Draw tool – you can hand write text right onto the touchpad. You can add it to your work or even color and shade in certain programs. Fascinating!
3D turntable – I was always trying to find affordable or free graphics as a designer to use in my projects. This turntable allows you to scan objects which re-creates 3D digital shapes to use however you like. (Rotate, shrink, stretch, combine, etc.)
All-in-one PC – This whole device works like a desktop computer which includes a bluetooth keyboard or touchscreen keyboard option. Internet explorer, educational kids programs (that Gabe and I may or may not have spent two hours playing the other night…), organizational tools, etc.
Favorite programs – Illustrator and Sketchbook
So after getting to know the Sprout, I decided on my first project. I had been really wanting to come up with a more personal Birth Announcement for Rocco so I decided to scan some things that were significant to me to include. Loved being able to create it all quickly and hands on. Once I had all the items scanned, it only took about 15 minutes to assemble. We are looking forward to mailing this to some family members and friends who live afar.
You can check out more ideas in the gallery. There are many of them!
This post is in partnership with Sprout, and all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!
Melyssa of The Nectar Collective is back today! We thought it would be helpful to share how we stay organized in the online social media world. You could easily spend your days glued to a phone or computer, especially if social media is part of your blog or business. These tips will hopefully free up your minds and time. It just takes a little organization to get your content out there for the week, without you having to spend hours on social media. So here are our tips for organizing an effective social media calendar… VIEW FULL POST
I usually chuckle when I get an email asking how I manage and balance everything so well. I make sure to assure them, I don’t know what those words mean most of the time.
Now I may have editorial content for the blog lined up a month ahead of time, as well as perfectly prioritized to-do list. I am an expert at planning a trip itinerary in advance. I can plan a party down to the detail. I can even have all of the families work, school, or just for fun events entered as alarms in my phone two or three times to ensure we don’t forget.
However, unless organization is required, I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.
Most of the time, I couldn’t tell you what we are having for dinner the next day, more or less what we are having that night.
We don’t make weekend plans till Friday at 4pm.
In fact, we have our friends sign a flexibility disclosure that we may not be able to secure hang out plans till the day or hour before. (wink)
And don’t even bother asking me where each child will go to school and when. We don’t know these complex things till forms are due, and decisions MUST be made.
However, there are some things that require advance notice and a little more thought out organization than hour by hour…
For instance, a birth plan. Or lack thereof…
Did you have a birth plan for your first child? What about the second or third?
I realize that you are either a planner or you are…………….not.
Now after reading the before mentioned, can you guess which category I fall under?
If you guessed that I never have a birth plan, you are just about right. He knew!
My theory tends to be that if you make a plan for the birth of a child, that child likes to spite you, and prove you they have more of a personality than predictability. I decided to go into my first two births with an open mind, and let these babies come when they were ready, in the way they wanted to. This was probably a good thing considering the way each birth happened.
Even though all three of mine came on their due dates, they came in very different ways. My labor with Gabriel started off in a crazy way, but ended up in a paced and peaceful delivery post epidural. Veronica came quicker than expected and without the ability to choose medication. If I had any sort of plan in place, it never would have happened because of the nature of both deliveries. However, I decided maybe I would try out some sort of a birth plan for my third pregnancy and hope this would give me a little bit more control over the result this time. Ha! Max the moose surely laughed. My planned water birth never happened.
You can imagine why a making any sort of plan for the birth of my fourth is probably unnecessary. However, I do have a goal. GET TO THE HOSPITAL ON TIME. With how fast Max came, I am afraid I might have to pitch a tent in the hospital parking lot the week before my due date to ensure Gabe isn’t delivering the baby on the side of the road. Which apparantly, Gabe is perfectly fine with (can I have some of that ease of mind please?).
So there you have it my friends. No birth plan, but to call my midwife with the first contraction, and get myself to the hospital in a timely manner. I may just opt for that epidural too if I was so lucky as to have the option this time;)
Speaking of birth stories, I LOVE to read them. Especially right before giving birth myself which makes no sense whatsoever. I am a glutton for self – antagonization I guess, as I am also busting through seasons of Call the Midwife.Leave me some links if you have some good ones!
*Dress (non-maternity) by Free People c/o Shopbop, a fun similar one here.
