Author: admin

May is Here:: Free Mother’s Day Printable and More!

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Hello May!

How are we in May already? School is over in just a few short weeks and I can literally smell summer.

May is jam packed with all sorts of fun things for our family: End of the year swim party, awards ceremonies (okay, those aren’t so much fun….), baseball, lots of family birthdays and of course, Mother’s Day.

Here are some fun printables you can use to brighten up your home and put a smile on your face. Enjoy.

Download here (Hello May Floral)

Download here (Hello May Star)

Download here (Mother’s Day)

Smelly Cars and Dust Bunny Tumbleweeds:: A Lived In Life

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The other night my sister and I went to the movies and afterwards she drove me home. For a fleeting moment I felt a twinge of jealousy. I was jealous of her clean car.

Her car shined. I mean, it literally gleamed.

As I slid into the front seat I noticed how good it smelled. There was not a trace of dust, the odd shoe or run away basketball to be seen.

My van on the other hand is….. what’s the word I’m looking for? Well, let’s just say it looks “lived in”. I guess that’s two words.

Of course, I realize we are in two very different stages of life.

My sister’s kids are grown and no longer living at home. She’s the only one who drives her car. She has a little bit more time than I do to do things, like clean her car.

My van takes kids to soccer games and dogs to the vet. It makes beach trips and serves as a truck for our frequent trips to home depot as we are (forever) working on our house. It carries other kids. It takes our own hungry kids through the drive-thru. It carts around groceries, muddy hiking boots and library books. Lots of library books.

We drove home from the beach not that long ago and our van stunk! It reeked of wet dogs, and sea shells. Trust me on this one. Those two smells are not a pleasant combination.

I’m sure my sister’s car did the same thing back in the day.

Lately, I’ve realized that no matter how much planning, picking up, or new housework routine I employ, my house and life (and van) continues to look “lived in”. There are brief moments when my living room looks like the ones I pin on Pinterest. These moments are fleeting, though, and only last if no one is actually at home. And while I keep trying to fix that “lived in” look of my life, I think I’ve finally realized that a life lived is going to look lived in.

So, I’ve really been trying to change my perspective. Because while there is not much in life I can control; my perspective is one thing I can.

Here we go then. Let’s give this a try.

The van full of sand and dog hair = Fun trips to the beach, priceless memories made, and happy pups.

Basketballs rolling around the back of the van = Watching my kids play basketball on Saturday mornings and enjoying the fact that they are healthy and happy.

The colossal tumbleweeds of dust bunnies under my couch = I haven’t spent all my time cleaning and have spent some time snuggling on that couch instead of cleaning underneath it.

Shoes in a pile by the front door= All those shoes belong to my loud and energetic kids. One day the pile will be very small and the house will be much quieter. I will miss those fun and chaotic days. (Ok, I’m crying now. Happy?)

Smudges on the sliding glass door= We have a back yard that we enjoy relaxing in and the kids love playing in. Those hand prints and puppy nose smudges mean we use the back yard a lot.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for keeping a tidy home. I’m an avid believer of having a clean sink before I go to bed. A clean house is good, most days. A perfectly clean house at all times, well that’s just a lot of work and quite frankly, exhausting.

Nobody’s last words as they lay on their death bed were, “I wish I had mopped my floor more.”

If my house looks lived in that means I’ve been out enjoying my life. (It could also mean I’ve been binge watching Netflix; but you get the point.)

Be A Friend; Lend a Skate

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Sometimes You Just Need To Lend A Roller Skate.

Have you ever tried to skate with just one roller skate?

Ok, are you old enough to even know what roller skate are? If not imagine a roller blade or perhaps an ice skate.

Skating with one roller skate is not ideal. And technically you can’t skate on just one roller skate. But you can get by,  get around, and get from point A to point B.

I grew up going to school in The City. We called it “The City”. You probably know it better as San Francisco. My childhood school experience is much, much different than what my kids know today.

We didn’t have grass and  fancy playground equipment. Both of the elementary schools I attended were on busy city streets. At one of the campuses, we had to walk around the block each day to the neighborhood park to have recess.

From Kindergarten to Second Grade, I went to a school that stood three floors high with a garage on the bottom floor and a concrete playground. There was just concrete, a tether ball and foursquare. (And guess what? We were all perfectly happy with that.) During lunch and recess the garage would be closed off and anyone who brought their roller skates from home, could skate in the garage, with it’s nice smooth floors, during lunch recess.

At the time I thought nothing of it. Looking back at it now, I find it pretty comical. If a friend forgot their skates or didn’t have a pair, there was always a friend ready to lend them one of their skates. Each friend would kind of limp around on their one skate while everyone else rolled past them. Everyone had fun, even the one-skaters. It was not a big deal to give up one of your skates so everyone could join in. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t ideal, but it got the job done. I wouldn’t have to give up one of my skates every time we roller skated. But there always seemed to be someone who was willing to help out their skateless friend.

What a perfect picture of friendship.

Our friends are moving to Michigan and everyone is helping out. Some people are coming to help them get their house ready to sell by painting, packing and making repairs, etc. Some of the help being offered is physical; but help is coming in other ways, too. Help is coming in the form of phone calls and hugs encouraging them as they do this huge, brave thing. While some friends are giving gift cards to help with expenses. Leaving your friends and family to move across the country is hard and everyone is doing their small part to help in the transition.

Sometimes friends need you to drop everything and give everything they have to help. These are emergency situations. And let me tell you, these dear friends are the first ones to drop everything and help others. I’ve felt so blessed to help them in any small way. They’ve blessed our family many times over.

But usually what we need, in the day to day of life, is just to have friends come along and do life with us.

To give that afternoon to help you pack. To bring the kids over to a friend’s house, even if you have just an hour, to have a mom chat and let them play. To send a text asking for prayer and having a small group of your prayer warrior friends text you back saying they will pray. It doesn’t take long to text back, just a few minutes.

Sometimes, you just need to lend one of your skates.

It’s not about friends coming to rescue you, solve all your problems or be your emotional security blanket (though there are some times that call for this). Sometimes, well, really most of the time, it’s about friends coming alongside another friend and saying, “Let’s do this stuff together.” Because let’s face it; we all have “stuff”.

“Let’s pray about this together.”

“Let’s vent for a bit and just get it off our chest.” Just having a friend listen is what we need a lot of the time.

“Let’s have a girl’s night, eat nachos and laugh, really hard.” This may not happen very often; but it does need to happen.

“Let’s sign up our kids for swim lessons together.” It’s just  for a half hour twice a week; but we can connect for half an hour.

You know how I know who my tribe is? They are the ones I feel comfortable with texting as I wait in my hospital robe for my turn at the old boob smasher machine. Getting a mammogram is at the bottom of any list of “things I’d like to do today”.

I just need a few gals to get that and laugh through it with me.

This was the actual text conversation I had not long ago as I waited for my mammo.

Me: Getting ready to get my boobs smashed. “Fun times for me!” (code for:” I hate this. So tell me it’s going to fine.”)

Friend:” Ha! Are you texting us while you are doing it?” (code for:” I’ve been there. It’s no fun; but you’ve got this.”)

I’ve always thought of friendship as a two way street; but it’s not a 50/50 deal. Some times it 30/70 (or 40/60, you get the point). Sometimes I’m on the 30% side and sometimes I’m on the 70% side. It’s always fluctuating because life is always fluctuating.

It can be challenging to nurture relationships when you have your family and work that get your attention first. But, you don’t have to give every ounce of yourself! You don’t have to exhaust yourself just to be a good friend.  Just be willing to let people in and then walk through the messy stuff together.

Just give them one of your skates.

Some days, they’ll be giving you one of theirs.

My Word For 2018

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So, 2018 is already a quarter of the way done. What????? How did that happen?

Normally, I would publish this sort of post in January; but the “new” blog was still under construction. So here I am, 3 months plus into the new year, really thinking about and processing through the word I chose 3 months ago.

The word I chose for 2018 is FOCUSED.

In a way, this coming back and reevaluating my word 3 months later has actually been the best thing. Have I kept my word in mind as I plan out my days and weeks? Did I pick the right word?

My answer is: Yes! I’m so glad I picked this word and I think it’s the best word for me right now.

I’m a big fan of lists and setting goals and making plans. I don’t always follow through with said lists and plans. I don’t always accomplish said goals. But I try.

At the end of 2017 I went over all the things I had wanted to accomplish over that previous year, personal goals, house project goals, etc. And though my year was very busy and I felt like I had done a lot of things, I had not marked many things off my list. It was rather disheartening. Why? Why had I felt like I had been doing, doing, but not accomplishing anything?

I think it’s because I’m like Buddy the Elf, “Ooh shiny bins!”

I like shiny bins. I get distracted by things that at the moment seem good to do and often times “seem” important. It’s not that I don’t work hard. Being idle is not a problem for me (or most moms for that matter). Doing what is most important and not getting caught up in the urgent is where I struggle. Can anyone else relate?

So I’m FOCUSING this year. I’m not focusing so I can get more done. It’s the not amount of things I do that is the goal. I’m FOCUSING on fewer things and trying to DO THOSE THINGS WELL. And those fewer things are things that I’ve thought about and have prayed over and feel are most important right now.

So, what am I focusing on?

In keeping with my word and my goal, I’m keeping it simple.

I’m focusing on 3 main things this year: My Home, My Homeschool and My Heart.

I’ll go into these 3 categories in depth in future blog posts; but for this post I’ll keep it brief.

HOME:: A stay at home mom is part of my job title; but the day to day realities of being at home and taking care of my home can be a struggle for me. Cooking. Keeping up with laundry (Bleh!) Cleaning toilets. I know some people enjoy those things. In all honesty, I don’t. I’m sure I’m not the only one. I love keeping my house tidy, decorating and gardening. I love being home. But, I knew that I was letting areas and responsibilities slide because I just don’t enjoy them and I wasn’t physically home enough to actually do them. So, I’m focusing on what it means to really take care of my home. Note that I didn’t say have a “sparkling clean, looks like no one lives here, iron my sheets” kind of home. Ummm……no. Not eating out as much and making sure Andy always has clean underwear is where this mama is starting.

HOMESCHOOL:: I love homeschooling. I’m so glad God called me to do it because that was definitely not the road I was heading down. I really enjoy having my kids home with me, choosing what they will learn and how it is best for them to learn. I absolutely love the flexibility of our schedule. Homeschooling takes a lot dedication and discipline, though. It takes me, the mom and teacher, being focused. It takes priority over a lot of other things in our family life because it is my kid’s education. And while I know my kids are learning, progressing and are happy, I feel that in the past year our homeschool wasn’t taking as high a priority as it should have been. Some of the reasons for this were out of my control; but some were just me getting distracted by the urgent. So, I’ve reprioritized.

HEART:: Honestly, I was trying to keep with the “H” theme here. This just means taking time to do things that make my heart happy and fill my bucket. As moms, we get so caught up in everyone else’s needs and sometimes forget what reenergizes us, what inspires us, what gets our creative juices flowing. For me it’s writing and working on this blog. That is my creative outlet and I wasn’t giving it any time at all. It made me sad. So I decided to make time for it. This means saying no to other things sometimes; but it’s worth it to me.

Can I add a bonus H here? My HEALTH. I think moms can be the number one culprits of ignoring health problems and not taking care of themselves because we don’t have time. The truth is we don’t have a lot of time. The truth is we need to make the time. I have things I need to take care of to feel better and this is my year to do it.

Now, I know there are times when we all need to reevaluate and even change our goals.They don’t have to be set in stone. Life has a way of throwing your plans out the window sometimes. I realize I need to be flexible.

While I’m focusing this year on my family and home, my homeschool and my personal goals of blogging and getting healthy, I know how much I tend to doubt myself that I can actually make these positive changes in my life. I’m excited and motivated (at the moment); but can I actually accomplish them? Am I brave enough to make big changes? Can I not get distracted by the shiny and urgent in order to do the most important?

With God’s help, ABSOLUTELY!

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Psalm 46:5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  – This is my personal favorite and verse for this year.

I’ve also claimed this quote as my personal mantra for the year. If I go into a situation thinking I cannot succeed, I won’t. Positive thinking goes a long way.

Would you like this printable? Click here for the below version and……………………………………….

 

and click here for this version or……………………………………………………………….

here for this final version.

What are your goals for 2018? Small or big. Simple or completely daring. I’d love for you to share it in the comments below.

Hello April:: Free Printables

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How is April tomorrow already?? The days are flying by and spring is in full swing. Easter is tomorrow and I really enjoyed using our Resurrection Eggs and reading Easter books yesterday with Lily and Henry. I also tried making these Resurrection Rolls for the first time yesterday with the kiddos. I used this recipe here. It was a hit. My kids enjoyed them and it’s a neat way to reinforce the fact that the tomb was empty that Easter morning.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Not only is tomorrow Easter it is also April 1st. Here are some cute printables I designed and want to share with you. Enjoy! Download here and here.

 

Happy Easter and Happy April!

What’s On Our Bookshelf:: Winter Edition

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what's on our bookshelf winter

This posts contains affiliate links.

 

Isn’t winter the best time to cozy up with a good book? Our winter weather’s been a little cooky this season. February felt like spring burgeoning on summer. I was wearing flip flops and getting ready to break out my shorts. Thankfully things never went that far. (These legs are no where ready for shorts!)

The end of February and March got much colder and rainier and we’ve been spending more time curled up under blankets, reading on the couch, and listening to rain patter on the roof. So, even though spring is here, I feel like winter is just hanging on.

Here’s what we read this winter:

Jen’s Bookshelf:

Hello Mornings  by Kat Lee

Three little habits everyday to transform your mornings? Yes please! This book was the perfect book to start off the New Year for me. It’s all about making small but consistent changes, forming small but powerful routines that will change your morning first, then change your whole day.  Kat Lee’s writing feels like you are chatting on your couch with your girlfriend over coffee. It’s an easy read but there is so much goodness packed into this book. I highly, highly recommend reading this book.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

First of all, I love Golding’s style of writing. I enjoyed the book as a really good piece of literature. My husband really liked it.  But the book is about a group of young boys, left to govern themselves alone on an island. It didn’t end well and most of the boys turned into little savages. I guess it just wasn’t enjoyable for me to read. Reading about small children acting in such horrible ways (though not all of them turned “savage”) was just disturbing for me. It was a book club book and it lent to really good discussion. Just not my favorite book.

The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

This was our last book club book and one we all enjoyed.

Humble Roots by Hanna Anderson (still reading this one)

Like the Hello Mornings book, this book is changing me. I’m reading a little bit most mornings during my quiet time. This is a short book and an easy read; but it is powerful and deep.

Lily’s Bookshelf (10 years):

Harry Potter The Sorcerer’s Stone (Book 1) by J.K. Rowling

The girl is hooked! We’ve got a serious Harry Potter fan on our hands. She just devoured the first two books. I’m on book 4 myself, The Goblet of Fire. She can’t read beyond what I’ve read and feel comfortable with because I know the end of the series gets pretty dark.

Harry Potter The Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling

I really enjoy the movies. Now that she’s finished book 2, we will watch the movie together. I may look up the recipe for Butter Beer and have that while we watch.

Grandma’s Attic Series  by Arleta Richardson

These are great, godly, character building chapter books for young girls.

Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye  and other books from The Geronimo Stilton Book Series

Henry’s Bookshelf (6 1/2 years):

Bob Books Set 1   

I’ve got a beginning reader!!! (Insert Mama squeal here!!!) The Bob Books are just wonderful to teach reading with.

Scat Cat    by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

I read this book aloud to Henry; but this is a good type of book for those beginning readers.

Octopuses Count to Ten by Ellen Jackson

Jesus Calling Storybook Bible by Sarah Young

Read Alouds

Ramona the Pest  by Beverly Cleary (We are currently reading this one.)

So, number one, I love Beverly Cleary. Number two, my Little H is the boy version of Ramona. The first time I read this I did not have kids. Now, that I have a little “Ramona” and actually a Beezus (that would be my daughter, Lily) this book just means so much more to me. When I read it aloud to my two kiddos during school, it’s like I’m reading about what has happened in our house this week. I just love it. It also helps me to appreciate the workings of the mind of a sweet but strong willed little kindergarten boy.

The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

This is one we are currently reading as well for our California History cirriculum this year.

Maps  by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinska

This might be my favorite book I’m sharing today. Not only do my kids love this book, I love this book. It doesn’t feature every country; but it features several countries, each country spread out over two oversized pages. There is so much fun details and interesting facts about each country. The illustrations are excellent. I can’t recommend this book enough.

 

 

Hello March! Hello Spring!:: Two Free Printables

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I know we are already well into March; but I wanted to offer this free printable to welcome in the new month.

Our March came in windy and wet! How about yours? Before we know it spring will be here with it’s bunnies and pastel peeps.

This sign just makes me happy. Isn’t green a happy color? Whether you put in on your mantel or slip it in a frame, I hope you enjoy it. You can download the Hello March printable here.

I also have a Hello Spring version of the printable that you can download here.

Before I go, I wanted to say Thank You to my readers old and new who subscribed to my “old” blog in it’s “new” place. I appreciate it. Remember, if you subscribe you can download my free “Powerful Verses To Pray Over Your Children” printable.

More posts are coming your way so, stay tuned.

 

Hello March.jpg

The Accidental Domestic Gets a Facelift

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Happy 2018! If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time you may have thought I had quit blogging. It’s been quite some time since I last posted. My only reason for being MIA is…life. It’s been busy and blogging had to take a back seat for awhile. Priorities have to shift sometimes and things we really love to do have to sit on the back burner……..for awhile. I was still blogging in my brain. In fact, I wrote many stellar posts in my head. Trust me, they were amazing.

We had horrific fires here in my hometown. If you are a reader who doesn’t live in California, I’m sure you watched (or least heard about) the wildfires in Northern California last October. Many friends and even family lost their homes. Entire neighborhoods and historic landmarks burnt to the ground.

October was a hard month.

When your life gets turned upside down, it’s hard to get back into any kind of normal routine. We didn’t lose our home but our city has literally been through hell and it took all of us to rally around and help each other.

You may also notice that the blog looks different. I was really wanting to change things up. You may also notice (or maybe not) that parts of the new blog are not quite working. I switched to a different hosting platform and I haven’t brought all my old posts over yet. I’m working on it. But honestly, I’m really, really bad at technology in general. Please bear with me.

I’m still working on setting things up the way I want them. I kept waiting until I could get everything perfect to begin posting again. I realized if I waited for that I would never start blogging again and all these ideas in my head would remain just that- ideas. So I decided, with the constant prodding from my husband, to just go for it. Jump back in with both feet. And so, I’ve jumped.

I have posts lined up to publish. I have a million other ideas in my head just waiting for me to stop rewatching episodes of The Office, sit down and get to writing. I have a vision of where I want The Accidental Domestic to go and I hope you come along on the  journey with me.

 

If you subscribed to The Accidental Domestic when I was on my previous platform, I would love it (really, love it) if you would subscribe to this blog. You can subscribe in the box right up there in the right hand corner. You won’t be getting any other notifications from that blog anymore as I will be posting here from now on. If this is your first time visiting me ever, I would love you to subscribe, too. You’ll get a  notification in your email when a new post is published.

To say Thank You! for subscribing I have a free printable to download. They are verse cards of powerful verses to pray over our kids. These can be for your own kids, your grand kids or given to someone who you know needs them. (That would be every parent who has ever lived!)

 

 

It feels good to get that first blog post under my belt. Until the next post………

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Summer That Never Was, Turning Six and Too Much Squash

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Every day Facebook pops up these reminders, “Six years ago today…….” Pictures and memories flood back. I see my kids with their tiny round faces or a memory with friends I hadn’t thought about well, since last year when Facebook reminded me.

Some of the things I’ve posted on Facebook (especially in the early years) were kind of dumb. “I’m eating chicken and green beans tonight.” “I went to Target. It was fun.” Who cares what I ate on April 12th, 2010 and duh, Target is always fun. Why did I post about it?

I’ve honed my Facebooking status craft since then.

Then I get some reminders, like the one I got last week:

June 20, 2011

Had a great visit w/ Lil last nite. She thinks were at a hotelLOL They took out all my IV ports and put in a pick line; but its giving me tachycardia. Had 2 xrays and ekg & they may try to move it a little. Not painful, just uncomfortable. But its all good cuz we get to see Lil soon:)

 

I get these memory reminders every June and July. It was our crazy summer from 6 years ago, when Henry was born. I sometimes call it The Summer That Never Was.

He was supposed to be born in September. He was born in June.

I was supposed to be in my home town hospital with my family waiting in the next room while Andy and I welcomed baby number 2 into the world. Instead I was 2 hours away confined to a hospital room and spending most of my time in bed.  When I gave birth to Henry, none of my family was there, not even Andy.

 

I was supposed to hold him in my arms when he saw the world for the first time. Instead I was still asleep from the anesthesia when he was born and wouldn’t see him for hours. I would see him later that day but would only be able to touch him gently with my fingers through a hole in his isolet. I wouldn’t hold him for days.

It was like God hit pause on the movie of our life that June. Everything that was normal, routine or familiar just stopped. Everything changed in an instant.

Getting a pic-line put in (which was actually very scary for me) was the new normal. Going two floors down to the NICU each day to see my son and hold him while he was being fed through a tube was now the new normal.

In August, the pause button was pushed again and life resumed. We brought Henry home. The movie of our life began to play again. I left my home at the beginning of that summer not being able to possibly fathom or imagine what our family would go through and learn. At the end of the summer we came home; but now everything was different. I was different.

 

Now he’s turning six. How does this happen? How does time slip by so quickly?

This kid, he’s a force. He’s brought me before the Lord on my knees countless times. I don’t think he’s going to live a quiet or subdued life. He’s sweet and compassionate. He has an over abundance of energy. He’s awfully stubborn. He’s loud and can be overly sensitive. He’s smart and inquisitive. He’s the best cuddler. Did I mention he’s stubborn? I want to laugh and cry as I type this.

I love this little wisp of a boy so much. It literally hurts.

He’s gotten really good at telling jokes lately and he likes to tell us really long versions of his dreams. I’m sure he’s making most of it up. I don’t care, I just like to hear him talk in that sweet high voice of his. He knows every name of every sea creature that ever was. I’m not exaggerating about this.

He gives the best hugs. He still needs naps. He’s want to do EVERYTHING on his own. (I think I’ve already mentioned that he’s stubborn.)

He’s been stubborn since day one at 3 1/2 pounds.

 

 

He tells me I’m his best friend. My heart melts. He’s sentimental, like me.

He loves to go on errands with his dad. One of my favorite things he does is watch Andy through the window when he goes to work at night. He yells, “Bye, dad. I will miss you.” He says that when he grows up he wants to be a cop like his daddy. Heart melts again.

 

This summer my biggest concern has been that I planted my squash plants too close together and my garden is being overrun by beautiful yellow summer squash.

What a far cry from our summer six years ago. That summer seems like yesterday and forever ago all at the same time.

I’m thankful for that summer, though. I’m thankful for the way it changed our family. I’m thankful for the way it made me see my Heavenly Father. I see Him as such a good Father. So good and giving us good things. Not always easy things; but good things. I saw Him time and again bring good from bad. Bring blessings from hard places. Bring peace from the scariest of places. Bring joy from despair.

It changed my perspective greatly. It changed me deeply.

 

What’s your summer been like? Good, bad? Hard, amazing? Wherever you’re at, it’s where God wants you to be at this moment. Lean into Him for strength. Praise him for the blessings.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, H. We are so blessed to have you be a part of our family. This mama loves you more than you know.