To write again

I've had this pull to write again.  

And that sentence has sat open for weeks.  There is something I love about writing and there is something inside that equally holds me back.  It's the same hold that made me stop writing years ago.  I'm still working to unearth that hold...is it simply fear?  is it pride?  is it insecurity?  or a messy mix of them all?

I started this blog 11 years ago; a whole different life ago.  I started it as a place to write for myself but I floundered knowing who my audience was and my purpose in writing.  There are so many things I wish I could say to that girl.  First one would be: don't stop.  Just write.  Let yourself fail and grow and learn.  Let yourself change over the years and be okay with passing seasons.

I've challenged myself to write again and let it be messy and completely imperfect and written to absolutely nobody.  I've challenged myself to write things that I look back on and think "why did I write that?" or maybe even to write something that offends someone.   I might even just put random pictures on every post.

Life has changed so much that my recent pictures are taken in Grand Central Station.  I'm not even sure what my life is.

Parenthood

Thanks to a wonderful gift, I have been enjoying some shows on Netflix for my "me time".  I started watching 'Parenthood' last weekend and it gripped me from the first show.  It is so realistic and brings up some hard issues that everyone has to deal with, but maybe don't want to admit that they do.  I'll admit that it's easy to shelter my kids and pretend that hard things will never happen, but they do.

So, above all, this show scares me to pieces to have teenagers.  Definitely makes me cherish small children who don't have smarty attitudes, boyfriends or ACT preparations.  Seriously, changing diapers may not be so bad after all :)

As I've thought about the issues that will be coming in about 6 years, it's made me wonder what I could do now to make the coming years easier.  I wonder what parents of teenagers are thinking they wish they did when they were in my shoes.

Any thoughts?  Advice?

 

love my entourage

Yoga for kids

Pinterest win!  I am not a huge yoga person (mostly because I am the least flexible person that exists), but I do think it has some great health and mental benefits.  I pulled out this Pin tonight, as we were getting ready for bed.  Today was a snow day and our routine was all off.  Yes, it had it's blessings, but we were all feeling a little bit of the "snowed in stir crazies".  We put pj's on, went through these stretches and were all feeling refreshed and relaxed.  Princess P even asked if we could do it again...which I definitely plan on doing.  If you too are feeling a little bit of the winter crazies, try some of these stretches.

1.  Jumping Tree
2. Flying heart
3. Falling star
4. Kissy knee
5. Star

Yoga for kids...source here

Grilled Sandwiches

I decided to cut myself some slack and planned an "easy" dinner; grilled sandwiches and salad.

There are a few key ingredients to a great grilled sandwich;
1. Good bread...I used a home made french loaf
2. Grilled onions...slice an onion and saute in olive oil over medium heat for about 20 minutes (totally worth the time, I promise!)
3. Aioli...I mix together mayonnaise, stone ground mustard and horse radish sauce
4. Garlic salt...sprinkle on top of the bread while grilling

Pretty much any meat and cheese combination with these components is going to be awesome.

As for our salad, a go to for us is:
spinach or spring mix
sliced almonds
sliced strawberries
poppy seed dressing


Remember my "hard thing about cooking"?  I thought a quick, easy meal would solve this problem, but I was wrong.  A certain little stinker kept unplugging my grill without me knowing it!  My easy meal was still messy and complicated...

Letter N

Snack: nests (green rice crispy treats with chocolate candies as eggs)

Craft: Noah's ark

Nativity picture

noodle necklaces

Game: put your nose on a number

I called out a number and the first person to put their nose on that number won a point...great for number recognition.

N came at Christmas time, so we celebrated with our own little Christmas party!

Making silly faces while drinking "warm chocolate" and eating popcorn and cookies:

We made reindeer hats and played reindeer games (Santa says and relay races).

We ended our day with a Christmas movie.  I had to document this moment because it's a big deal that Bubby is sharing his blankie...oh, the blessing of friends.

..

Letter M

If you give a moose a muffin
made muffins
ate muffins and milk

counted marshmallows
ate marshmallows!




traced m's
traced mouse trail



made M mountain

read: mary and martha
mount sinai...10 commandments,  Moses
Jesus going up the mountain to teach

Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine

made rice crispy treat M's
march to music
memory game
monkey say, monkey do

Books:
Good night moon
Mittens
Are you my mother?

Letter L

Crafts:
L with leaves on it
Lion face
fingerpainted a tree with leaves on it...pinterest fail!

Books:
Lambs, see how they grow
Little Miss Midge
The leaves are falling one by one
I love you so...
When the leaf blew in


Bible Verse:
Love is patient, love is kind.

Collect different kinds of leaves...leaf rubbing
Wrote "I Love you" to grandparents and mailed the letter
Went on a Lion hunt with flashlights
folded laundry
watched 'The Lorax' a million times

Game:
London Brides

Music:
This little light of mine
Jesus loves me

Snack:
Licorice, lemon bread and lemonade