Easter is Almost Here

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Today we colored eggs. The End.

Just kidding.

It was a new experience as the oldest wasn’t that into it and the youngest did all the prep work his way!!

We talked about the meaning of Easter. The biggest lesson I shared with them is that life is like a roller coaster. Sometimes we are up and sometimes we are down and we will rise again.There will be pain and suffering and our friends may betray us. We have to be patient and wait to move through our struggles, whatever they may be. It’s a long journey and we need to hold on to faith, hope, and love.

Okay, now The End!

nAMaste BeLoveRs!!

2Apr2015

Yoga Girl

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Juliana and Jessica and I met her tonight and I am in love! She’s kind of like a big deal and has written a New York Times Bestseller. Rachel Brathen, you’re my girl crush!!

I don’t remember when we first met, or why – I’m guessing someone shared a photo or something on Facebook and then I started following her years ago on Instagram. She has a BOGA Yoga board just like me, so she’s really RAD!

She has used social media to build a huge following and now has a best seller book. How cool is that?

She reminds me of Jessica Herrin, from Stella & Dot, using social media to build her empire. She could totally build one if she wanted to and I have a feeing she just might. I’m loving watching her journey and seeing where she goes and what she builds.

She was in Mountain View tonight for a book signing and we had front row seats where I could see her eyes sparkle.

She speaks from the heart and is authentic and real and patient and kind. I loved how she lovingly answered questions from the sold out crowd and how she made people happy.

I asked her how she took care of herself, after sharing so much of herself freely with the world and traveling everywhere. She said she makes appointments for herself to do her own yoga practice, meditations, acupuncture, dates with her husband, etc, and drinks a lot of wine. She is my twin!! Can you see why I love her?

If you haven’t discovered her yet, check her out for inspiration!

Instagram: @yoga_girl

Website: http://rachelbrathen.com

Thank you Rachel for signing my book and for the hug and photo together. I love that you brought along your husband and Ringo and your friends and photographer. They all seem so proud and supportive of you too. You are beautiful inside and out.

You made my day and I wish you well!

nAMaste

31Mar2015

My Boring Life

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I was told that my life is boring.

I think that was meant to be a compliment.

By boring, I think she meant that my struggles are less than most others right now, and because of that, my life is boring?!?

Hmm. Maybe.

Probably true.

She wished for my boring life of comfort and stability, where she thinks I only have to worry about what to make for dinner.

She’s partially right, and if this life is boring, I am content.

I like boring. Sometimes.

It makes me a good listener because I am curious about others and prefer to listen to their exciting stories than share my boring ones.

I like the comfort that my boring life presents. I love that I am able to stay home with my kids and I like taking them to the doctor in the middle of the day, without having to cancel work.

I like that I can choose to volunteer on strategic projects and to give back to my community without having standard work hours or expectations.

I like that I get to drive my kids to and from appointments and that they talk to me in the car about real life when they’re not too tired and are captive participants.

I love that I get to choose when to exercise and shop and to do it at off peak hours.

I love that I can socialize in the middle of the day, when my kids are at school and no one needs me.

Boredom and simplicity have a certain excitement about them. I love my boring life. Just the way it IS.

nAMaste.

25Mar2015

Childlike Wonder

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Do you still have it? I hope I never, ever lose it.

I am still fascinated by ladybugs and wishing flowers. The simple things in life. And the clouds and the fog. And babies. All forms of babies.

Today I was fascinated by the baby farm animals and am thankful that in this crazy, busy Silicon Valley world we live in, that we still have open spaces preserved for us BIG kids at heart to get away from it all and to remember the simple life.

Life is good. Don’t forget your childlike wonder and go outside and play and breathe. Namaste.

This mama had triplets! Bless her.

23Mar2015

The Old Mom

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I am now the old mom with BIG kids.

When did this happen? I see it. I know it. But it’s still hard to believe and I love this stage and I love my kids and danced around the kitchen in my jammies this morning, singing to them, “All you need is love.” I know they think I’m crazy yet luckily they laughed and thought I was funny and little do they know how much I adore them. I am so in love with my teens and almost tween and love this stage of life. I know they’ll be leaving soon and I am enjoying every minute with them, so be it.

I read the BEST parenting article today by one of my favorite authors, Jen Hatmaker, that made me cry. Check her out here:

http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/i-wish-someone-wouldve-warned-me-about-these-big-feelings

You’ll cry too, because she’s funny, real, authentic, and totally gets this parenting thing like no one else. And she loves women too, just like me and wants to lift each other up and support one another and buy each other wine and high five each other at Target when the littles are throwing temper tantrums.I love her and so does everyone else. She gets life and is really funny.

I love being a mom. It’s what I always wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be financially independent, knowing I could take care of myself and my family if I had to, and then I wanted to stay at home and raise our babies. Here I am. Living the dream. I love what I do, despite the stress and chaos and craziness that surrounds me some days.

I love being in the car with them and their friends and taking them to and from – most days! Last week, was another story, but today I was good. I took Juliana to her ortho appointment and then we went to get a bubble tea and fried snacks because that sounded like fun to them after school. I didn’t want to be busy. I wanted to soak them in and spoil them while I can. I always struggle with that – not wanting to spoil them and wanting to spoil them at the same time. They were thankful and we had fun together.

When we came home, Juliana was busy tutoring a little girl so Charlie and I went to hide away in his “apartment.” We sat on his couch and ate our snacks and played Mastermind together, which brought back memories for me when my dad and I used to play together. We are usually running around with way too much to do, and yet today we slowed down and just played. Can I even tell you how sweet this was? I am so thankful that Juliana needed a quiet house and that Charlie and I got to hide away together for an hour.

I know I’m writing a lot – but seriously, I really do like and enjoy my kids and today was one of those BIG FEELINGS days. We were at a funeral on Friday, and at a Special Needs Brunch on Sunday and I am still missing Chase every day and am fully aware that life is fleeting and messy so while it’s good, I plan to love on them and live it up every day while I can.

Charlie made me cry tonight when he decided to make dinner for himself and Christian. He wanted special plates to make the meal look fancy. We cooked tempura shrimp and he molded rice in little cups to neatly place on the special plates. He placed the shrimp in a star pattern and used a brush to place the sauce decoratively on the plate. He was so proud of himself and served his brother in his room, while he studied. He was like a little, proud, Master Chef, Jr. I loved this connection and loved that they share this bond together.

This old mom is content. Life is good and IS what you make it to be and I’m okay with things changing and aging. I am living it up today and everyday and loving this one life right now. And you? Are you living it up and loving it out wherever you are right now?

Namaste.

16Mar2015

What Do You Notice?

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What we pay attention to, we create.

If we’re in a good mood, we tend to notice good things and over look things that stand in the way of our happiness.

If we say we’re tired, we’re tired.

But what happens when we’re tired, and instead we say to ourselves that we’re not tired? What happens? Maybe we don’t pay attention to the feelings of being tired and keep on going anyway. That’s what I do. I’m not tired. Until my body shuts down and tells me I’m tired, then I believe it. Then I notice. But most of the time I refuse to give in to tiredness and keep going, enjoying all that life has to share. It’s a state of mind.

I believe in the power of the mind to create our reality, which is why I focus on sharing positive thoughts and happiness every day. I want to be happy and I want to create it for myself, for my family, my friends and my community.

Usually, I can stay in a positive state of mind, but sometimes I lose it. I don’t like myself very much when I give up and succumb to the negative feelings and let them take over. But that’s reality too. I know. I just don’t like it.

Tonight I was tired. I was also sick and up 4 times last night, so I know I was really tired. My body told me so. But I wasn’t paying attention and was very snappish tonight. I didn’t like that I lost my patience and got angry with one of my kids. It’s normal and real, I know, but I prefer the other side of me, much more when I can stay present and focused on the bigger picture of raising great, independent kids, patiently, and not overreacting to their childish behavior. Duh. They’re kids. I know. But I was tired. I noticed how much they were bugging me and paid attention there and reacted accordingly. *big sigh*

Some days are just like that. Even in Australia.

Luckily feelings are fleeting and we noticed we were both tired and snappish and said our sorries so that we could go on living and loving and laughing again. Ahhh… luckily that didn’t take too long.

And so it was. And so it is. Perfectly imperfect.

Hope you noticed more good than bad today and lived your happily ever after. Today. Namaste and good night.

26Feb2015

Outside the Comfort Zone

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Today I walked home.

Not that it’s weird to walk home. I’ve just never walked home from the car dealer that seems so far away on the other side of town. I plugged in our address and it was a 2.6 mile walk. I had my fitbit and thought it would be great to actually walk instead of sitting and waiting for a ride or inconveniencing a friend to come and pick me up. And it was so sunny and beautiful out; a perfect day for a stroll.

So I walked up the El Camino.

If I was in Amsterdam, I wouldn’t think twice about walking this distance. But for some reason, it felt so far away and people just don’t walk up this street. Isn’t that weird? I walk through my neighborhood and walk with friends and hike more than double that distance, but this just felt different.

At first I felt weird, walking by myself. But then I started to have fun.

I noticed the lady sitting in the grass, reading the paper waiting for her car to be repaired. There was a young mama pushing her toddler on a push bike through the intersection and another young boy casually taking his time, walking slowly as the light turned red and stopping traffic. A bus had to slow to pass a bicyclist who had no idea there was a bus right behind him.

And then I noticed the wishing flowers and made wishes. This made me giggle.

There is an old cherry stand that I’ve always wanted to visit, but never have in the 15 years I’ve lived in Silicon Valley. As I walked past, I turned around and went in.

It was so cute and filled with great items to fill gift baskets and wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables.i bought fresh produce to make a salad for lunch and put it in my backpack.

I talked on the phone with my sister, and enjoyed the journey from a different perspective.

On the last part of my walk, I even heard chickens clucking in someone’s yard, that I would have never noticed from the car. I also noticed the cherry blossoms blooming and little petals falling.

Walking along the El Camino was definitely outside my comfort zone, yet provided several levels of comfort, and even some exercise.

Hope you had an interesting day!

Namaste.

25Feb2015

The Lonely Years

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When kids are little, we love (over)sharing stories and pictures of our pride and joy. It’s easy to share the cute and good stuff.

Have you noticed when kids start to grow up, we share less and less? Part of that is because of their privacy and they have a say about what they want others to know about them and we respect their wishes. Part of it is because it’s not as easy any more. Some stuff is embarrassing and challenging for us and for them. We don’t want people to know we are struggling and are vulnerable. And our kids don’t want others to know either.

But we do struggle and we are vulnerable and that’s ok and totally normal too. Our kids are still cute and our pride and joy, we just have to be a little quieter for awhile. Know what I mean?

Here’s what we’re focusing on at our house this week:

The top three words – consistency, discipline and do-the-work are important reminders for all of us, and especially for me and my parenting and weight management skills. Thank you to my tribe of sisters for their reminders and encouragement. You are loved!

The bottom word, togetherness, is my word of the year. So far, so good.

Love this life. Trials and all.

Namaste and goodnight.

15Jan2015

Sticky Resolution?

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Did you make a New Year’s Resolution or two or choose One Word to focus your life? If so, it’s been 2 weeks and a day since the turn of the year and I was curious how you’re doing so far.

Here are a few things that help us keep our resolve, thanks to Karen and her wonderful program this week about this topic:

1. Make them actionable. It’s great to have a big goal and then break it down into the “how to” parts to make it actually work.

2. Set up reminders in your calendar so that you practice the things that are important to you.

3. Find supportive friends and hang out with them and share stories related to your goals.

4. Read about the topics you are interested in and become knowledgable.

5. Immerse yourself. Make sure you’re choosing to change for you and not for someone else. Dive in.

6. Write down your thoughts and resolutions. Seeing them in writing makes them real and more sticky.

7. Spend money to achieve your goal. It feels like you’re paying for your success when you put money out.

8. Does your resolution make you happy? Do the work it takes if it does.

9. What steps do you need to take to meet your goal? Are you setting up an action plan that is doable?

10. What’s your path to success?

11. Focus on the process and not just the end goal. Start over again and again even if you mess up.

12. Know how to handle pitfalls and distractions. Have an action plan for recovery.

13. Be gentle with yourself.

14. Be specific.

15. Plan.

16. Want it.

17. Commit to it.

18. Take action.

19. Reevaluate.

20. If you fall, get back on track.

21. Enjoy the journey.

My resolutions were to stop swearing and to accept people as they are without judgment. I’ve cleaned my potty mouth probably by 50% or more and it feels really good. When I slip up, it feels really weird and I don’t like it. It makes me want to start over and try again, so that’s working for me.

As for the accepting people where they are at, this is awesome. I’ve changed the way I react to changes and unexpected surprises and this is so liberating. I love this feeling and it makes me happy so I will continue practicing this.

And finally for my one word, togetherness, I’m loving this choice. I’ve written it down on our kitchen chalkboard and I think about it every time I walk by.

I notice the moments of togetherness and feel fulfilled.

I am enjoying this new year’s journey and hope you are too, wherever you are and with whatever you’re choosing to be.

Namaste.

14Jan2015

Our Gifts

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We all have so many gifts and the best part is when we know what they actually are.

If I asked you off the top of your head without much filtering and overthinking, what are the 5 gifts you bring to this world, what would your response be?

What are you good at? And not just your work, but what makes you smile and others around you happy?

Hmm… what would mine be? I’ll try…

1. I’m loving. I love who I am and I love who I am with and I have lots of love to give.

2. I’m funny. I don’t take life too seriously, not that it isn’t serious but I love to laugh and to be silly.

3. I have a childlike sense of curiosity and wonder and love to play.

4. I love people and want to know their story. I’m genuinely curious about everyone and want to know why you think the way you do and what makes you, you.

5. I am quick to forgive. I don’t hold grudges because I’d rather have a connection than a conflict any day.

Your turn.

This morning I received a gift from my friend Jen. She reads my blog and sometimes sends me emails when something resonates with her. I love when you guys do that. She invited me to attend a conference with her and sent me an image she thought I would like. I loved it so much that I want to share it with you too. Thank you Jen! You made my day.

In case you can’t read it, it says:

“I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you, I am in that place in me. We are one.”

Namaste BeLoveRs. Now go think about your gifts and celebrate wonderful you! xo