SUPERMOM

what is a super mom?

 my first thought is a mom who wakes up at 5 am to go work out, then comes home to shower, does her make-up, makes her bed, and then starts to wake up her kids with the fresh aroma of cinnamon rolls in the oven...can't forget about something healthy...maybe some fresh juiced oranges, apples, carrots and kale. she then dresses her kids in the cutest clothes, perfectly matching, and gets in her spotless SUV to drive them to school 5 minutes early each day..... when she gets home she scrubs the floor while the younger kids entertain themselves and she throws in loads of laundry through the day so that her pile of laundry is never more than a tiny bit...... i could go on and on but who really wants to hear about all that?!? not me...because it's not a reality for me.

i hear the word supermom so much and find myself calling other moms that often! i think every mom is supermom in her own way....maybe you can accomplish the above paragraph, and kudos to you! but not every mom can be like that. maybe this whole post is just about making me feel better {wink}

this is my reality...

 i sleep until 5 minutes before i have to wake up the kids {most times because i am up in the night with a kid}, i drag my booty outta bed and glance in the mirror at my crazy bedhead and think, i'll do my hair later....i throw on whatever fits and what is comfy {esp being 9 months preggo right now} then i go into the boys room and say good morning guys, let's get up on time so we have time for breakfast, i pick out carter's clothes, and let hunter pick out his own most days, we head down stairs to watch some toons and the babe soon wakes up, i get her outta the crib, change her, get her a bottle, pack a lunch {which i know could be way more healthy some days} look at the clock and start the count down.... we have to leave in 5 minutes, get your shoes guys...oh ya...breakfast,  here is some dry cereal in a bag or a granola bar kids, lol, come on guys, get in the car so we aren't late...wait...where is your coat? you cant find it? ugh...i run through the house looking like a mad woman {BTW, i do have to say i have never dropped hunter off late at school, yay me}i drop hunt off at school, come home and play with the kids, catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and remember i forgot to do my hair...i end up fluffing it a bit or throwing it a bun , i get the kids a snack and plop down on the floor with my cold cup of coffee thinking about how my laundry is a mile hilgh in the basement, we might play a game in between changing Capri's diapers, and making lunch....my lunch dishes may sit until the babe goes down for a nap....i might get them done, and get to pee in peace, read a book to carter then capri is up again. we play and play some more while i think of my long to do list...some days i will get it all done in an hour but some days i will just play with the kids all day....  and think "why cant i be super mom and do it all?"

ok, so that isn't all days! but that is half of them !!! some days i feel like i have my supermom moments,when i get up an hour early to shower and make the kids cute mickey mouse pancakes..... start dinner in the crock pot and pack the perfectly balanced lunch! when i have those days...i usually share it with the world...because it rarely happens! as much as id like my days to go "perfect," they don't! but that's the mom-life! 

i remember building this snowman with the boys and thinking "this is the worst snowman ever" but now i look back and think "the boys loved it! and although it was hideous, at least their mama was outside building it with them"

as i look at this pic, i could see two things....

one of those days i didn't do my make-up and stayed in my robe, or as a whole day i loved on my sweet kids

this day i felt like a huge preggo in a bathing suit. it pretty much gave me wedgie because it was so small, {haha, that's the truth} but i got in my bathing suit and took my babes swimming,with my "not so perfect gym body"

the irresponsible mom that didn't get my kid in bed on a timely manner for school the next day

 or

 the mom that "broke the rules" for a fun memory?

the mom that lets her "kids take over the house" and shouldn't 

 or 

the mom that teaches her kids, {who now will probably tell their kids} how to tell if pasta is really done.....only one way, to throw it on the wall and see if it sticks :)

the mom who was up all night with a babe and who "let herself go" and went in public like this

 or

 the mom who didn't let her not having make-up on stop her from taking her kids somewhere fun {disclaimer...dear Lord, i sure hope i did something with my hair that day}

the mom who is making excuses why her house is a mess

 or 

a mom who didn't feel like getting a thing done that day?

...ok, that would be both.

ok, give me credit, my preggo self took all the kids to the grocery store...haha....supermom status! :)

the mom who held it together on vacation, while she had no time to do her hair, her babe wouldn't keep a bow on, and i was too rushed to pick her out a cute outfit, hunter was not happy
{no nap that day} and carter literally pee'd all over his pants at the restaurant and had to sit in his undies and socks because he soaked his shoes too! whew! at least my hubby looks cute and i'm still smiling! :)

its all about perspective!

just remember the days you feel like nothing has gotten done...at the end of the day if you love your kids the best you can, that's what makes you supermom....well, and a shower at least 3 times a week! {wink}

SIMPLY GIVE: Toasty Tuesday with a Twist

this past saturday, hunter and i went to big lots and on the way out, the sweetest bell ringer came over and gave hunter a candy cane. we told him thank you and that we were just about to go out to put some money in his bucket. he said he was on a break so he could warm up! i asked him how often he is out there and if we could bring him a coffee or hot chocolate to make him nice and toasty. he told me "no thank you" but that was really nice and he works monday - thursday from 9- 8. 

my friend katie said that one year she and her kids delivered hot chocolate to bell ringers and i loved that idea. she would make it like a game with her kids, when they would spot a bell ringer, they would all be so excited and run a hot chocolate up to them. i have to say the past 2 years i have been kinda bummed because every time i offer, they just say no thank you. but i never had had it in my hand when i ask, i usually have to go get it and drop it back off. i think most of them said no because they didn't want to inconvenience me, or so they thought.

so today, carter and i went thru dunkin' for our tuesday donut run and instead of paying for the person's coffee behind us like we usually do on tuesdays, we decided to take hot chocolate to someone else. and that so happened to be the sweet bell ringer at big lots. it is so cold today and i thought about him standing outside all day. so we got a hot chocolate (only cost $2.29) and were on our way. carter kept asking me where we were going, if we were delivering it to one of my friends, what his name was and so on.

 i pulled up to big lots, got out some change to put in his bucket, grabbed the hot chocolate and made my way up to him. it always make me kinda nervous when i'm giving to someone i don't know, even when i am paying for the person's coffee behind me in the drive thru and they don't see me! i don't know why, maybe because i don't want them to think i'm a weirdo! haha! 

anyway, i just walked up and said "hi! i wanted to drop this off to you! it's so cold outside today! i don't know if you remember me from saturday, i offered you a hot chocolate"

he said "yes, i do! you had your son with you! is he with you today? thank you so much baby!" 

i told him i had carter with me instead and carter wanted to know what his name was. he told me his name was Vince and walked over to the car window and handed carter a candy cane. he was super sweet and thanked me several times. i told him i was thinking about him on this cold day and hope it warmed him up! i also asked if i could snap a quick pic so he got his bell, and stood by the sign and posed, haha! too cute!

just little things like that make my day! and probably his too. and it only cost me $2.29!!! giving doesn't have to be expensive!

sometime this week or next tuesday, make sure you make someone's hands and heart nice and toasty and buy them a hot bevie! {corny... i know, wink}

p.s. if someone could of left a quarter in their shopping cart at Aldi today, that would of been great! i was freezing my booty off trying to find one in my purse! i left mine for the next person! :)

CHRISTmas Traditions

this year has been so fun starting new Christmas traditions. i never knew how time consuming this stinkin' little elf on the shelf would become! ha. i'm thinking next year she will just spill something on the floor everyday. the boys would probably enjoy that anyway.

besides elf on the shelf, we started The Sparkle Box. my mom went to a church and the author was there speaking about what "sparked" her to write the book and got the book for the kids. this year i wanted the to combine the two traditions. this book is so awesome to teach kids about giving to others. it talks about the true meaning of Christmas which is Christ's birth and since he is a gift to us on Christmas day, we should do things to be a "gift" to others. whenever you  start the tradition, you have the kids do random acts of kindness for people, each time you do you write it on a piece of paper and put it in the sparkle box (which comes with the book.) On Christmas morning you open the box and read it to Jesus as a gift to him. i thought that was such an adorable idea! 

i got to meet the author one morning and she is such a sweetheart.

for more info you can go to

www.thesparklebox.com

you can find the book at some local stores but the best deal is on amazon.com

jojo left the boys a note and some gloves to leave at a bus stop for someone

the note said that it is fun to receive but that we should always be looking for a way to give to others.

love this cute little book.

MAMA ELF

ok, so people are asking me a bunch of questions about mama elf MOMO HOLLIS! 

i wanted to do something fun for the kids with this whole "Elf on the shelf" tradition and remembered seeing a picture of a dad on Pinterest last year that was dressed up like an elf, so i can't take credit for all of the creativity. 

i let the kids each pick a name for the elf, hunter choose JOJO and Carter choose Woody girl because he likes Woody in the movie Toy Story,and she is a girl, makes sense to me! when choosing a name for mama elf i wanted something that sounded similar to JOJO. Hollis was the second name that hunter came up with so i just needed a first name. i was going to be HoHo Hollis and then thought it wasn't appropriate for a pregnant elf, so then i picked MOMO because it sounds kinda like mom and rhymes with JOJO.

where did i get an elf on the shelf coustume?

i got the red leggings and red shirt from walmart for $11 total, the hat at big lots for $2.50 and i had red flats in my closet from Target for $2.99! for the white part i cut an old white pillow case to resemble the collar that JOJO has on.

how did i get up there?

shawn was putting the kids to bed and i decided to surprise him and be sitting on the mantel like this. i was laughing so hard trying to get up there. i had to use a chair from the dining room table and then stepped on the recliner too. i barely fit. when shawn came down the stairs he was speechless. we were laughing so hard we were crying. i had him snap a few pics before i almost fell off! haha! he then helped me get down! this morning my sis and niece came over to help me get up and get down off of the "shelf" and to tape the kid's reactions. today i also had the baby's kitchen set to rest my feet on to help support me when i was sitting!

 

how did the kids react? 

the baby just stared at me! she was like "what is going on?" and was looking all around so serious!

hunter was the second one up, he came down the stairs and looked at me then sat down and just stared for seriously 5 minutes! i was trying to talk to him but he looked freaked out more than anything! i would be freaked out too! shawn just got home and as soon as he walked in the door hunter said "guess what daddy? mommy was sitting on the mantel when i woke up this morning and i was scared. 

i thought she was a real elf!"

carter came down next and he was so serious. all he said was, "mom, you don't look cool! you so weird!" 

let's just say that the adults might of thought it was way cooler than the kids!!! :)

how did LIVE with Kelly and Michael get my pic?

it was about 20 minutes till 10:00 this morning, and i always tivo the show and watch it later because the kids are watching cartoons. i thought i'll send this in to the show quick, it would be fun if they put it on, but they have never put anything on that i have ever sent in and its so late in the show! so about 9:53 my friend megan called and left me a message and said, "i hope you are watching Kelly and Michael because your on it!" i called her back right away, went to my tivo and turned it on and started screaming!!!! it was so crazy seeing myself on there! so fun!

i was holding tic tacs we planted in sugar that grew into candy canes overnight.

fun times! MOMO will probably be back next year...minus the baby bump!

here is the clip of Kelly and Michael:

simply give: the glove give

i thought this quote was really awesome for this upcoming week:

Let's not only give thanks, but give others a reason to be thankful.

it is stinkin' freezing outside in ohio. i always feel so bad for the people  i see walking up and down the streets and sitting at bus stops.

so, hunter and i decided to do something about it today! 

carter wanted to stay warm in his jammies so he didn't come with us. {and this busy mama had no time for make-up, so no judging people,wink}

we took an hour to go to the store and pick out 6 pairs of gloves (we already had two), we made a note and enclosed it with the gloves in a Ziploc baggie. we then looked for bus stops and benches that we see people waiting at for the bus and dropped off our gloves.  it became almost a "game" for Hunter....he loved scoping out the streets and would yell "look mom" when he found a bench. 

our note said:

 here are some gloves to keep you nice and warm, 

through this cold weather and winter storm.

may God bless you and fill your heart with cheer,

to pass onto others all through the year.

{yes, that was made up by yours truly, haha. that was the best i could do}

we left 6 pairs at the first bus stop, and took the other two to other benches we found.

this was so much fun to do. Hunter would run up to a bench, put the gloves down and would run back to the car with the biggest smile on his face. 

in between the stops i would talk to him on why we were doing this. i was telling him that he is so blessed to have a warm house and a warm car to drive in, and some people don't have either or even a pair of gloves to keep them warm. 

i encourage you to involve your kids in giving this holiday season{and all through the year}. not only does it teach them the importance of giving but it also makes them realize how blessed they are.

make sure and make time to make somoene's day through this busy week. whether it's dropping off some gloves to a bus stop on thanksgiving day, giving up a front row parking spot on black Friday {ahhh, don't know if i could really do that, haha}, buying someone's coffee behind you, or as corney as it sounds, just be extra nice and smile at people. 

i had to share this pic with you, these sweet boys took time to rake their aunt's leaves a few weeks ago. at the time the pic was taken, they were going on 3 hours of raking and without complaining! such sweethearts and what a great way to involve your kids in showing kindness to others. thanks for letting me share this christy! p.s. since the snow started falling the past week, look for an opportunity to send your kids to the neighbors to start shoveling! 

pillow talk.....

there isn't a better feeling then waking up to my hubby and actually being able to have a conversation in bed. this is one of the reasons why i love getting away with just him. how often do you really get to talk to your spouse without the kids busting in the room.  i can not tell you how many people have said  "you are leaving your kids for a week?"

yes. we left our kids for a week...to spend time together, uninterrupted. there is no sharing our food, no schedule around nap time, no wiping butts in the middle of dinner {which is oh so appetizing}, it's just he and i doing whatever we want.

i get that it's not everyone's cup of tea to leave their kids for a week, but i think having some alone time is essential in having a successful marriage. i know as a mom its easy to get wrapped up in our kids. we build our life around them, which is a good thing...as long as you are building it around your hubby too. when i hear people talk about not wanting to leave their kids or "its been 4 years since we have been overnight together, i could never leave my kid"  i am thinking to myself  "do you forget the reason you have your sweet babe? your husband."

i do have to say we have been blessed with wonderful parents that encourage us to get away, and if you have the same take them up on their offer. your kids will literally be spoiled by them and might not even notice you are gone!!! our parents are both doing so many fun things with them that it totally eases my mind and lets me relax.

i encourage you to get away , even if it's for one night. and really "getting away" might be shipping the kids off to mimi and papa's for the night and relaxing in your own home "away" from the kids. it is so good for your marriage. it shows your husband he is a priority, and your kids that mommy/daddy time is important.

it's so nice being together

just a little marriage humor for you :)

SIMPLY GIVE: THE $20 GIVE

a few years back i did a thirty day give, which was a ton of fun but i wanted to make things simple this november
 {mainly because i don't have time to blog every night with 3 crazy kids running around}

if you are looking for a way to be a blessing this november, set a budget on how much you can give and see how people you can bless, spending only that amount.  i picked the amount of $20 and would like to show you how many ways you can give with it, even if you literally only have 25 cents to give.

i know that people are in so many different financial situations and may see different things about giving to others and think "i have no extra money to give. things are so tight." i was delighted to see a friends post on Facebook the other night, about how things are tough for her and she literally didn't have the money in her budget to help someone but she did anyway. she was at the grocery store and the lady in front of her didn't have enough money for her groceries, she herself had just enough money for her own. without even thinking she took out her debit card and paid for the lady's groceries. 
after the fact, i had messaged her to see if i could share her story, she told me the money she used was allotted for their cable bill, but they would go without it  this month. she walked away.... on top of the world and had commented that the  "high" you get from helping someone is the best feeling ever. 

more people need to be like this. that's why i am encouraging you to do whatever you can this month to put a smile on someones face or really be a blessing to someone in need. and even though we don't give to get, i really believe you always get blessed back!

i am going to continue to spend my $20 through the month, but here are some examples of what the kids and i have done so far.....

donated a $1 to st jude's

the boys each left 25 cents in a candy machine for the next kid that came thru

i always let the kids get one thing for themselves. i think it's important to let them know its ok to want things for yourself but you should always want to bless others too.

{spent 50 cents}

i left a quarter in my shopping cart at aldi. i have been doing this since i started shopping there. i am always digging in the bottom of my purse when i get there to find one! it drives me crazy, haha!

{spent 25 cents}

don't mind my kids cheesy smiles and the clothes they picked out themselves.... we took flowers and a sympathy card to our  neighbors who just lost an uncle that they were really close to.

{spent $5}

today, i paid for the person behind me at dunkin! 

if you do this and don't want to risk the person's order behind you being over  a certain amount, you could just purchase a $5 gift card for the cashier to give them towards their order! i did that one time last year because there was no one behind me and it turns out a high school friend's friend got it and posted about it on facebook! such a small world!

{spent $4}

we bought gloves at marc's to leave at a sarta bus stop to keep someone's hands nice and toasty. i got the adult pair for $2 and the child's pair for $1. i always see people walking down the road or huddled in a bus stop when it's cold. some of them with out hats and gloves. the boys and i may go back and buy some more pairs and take a weekend to deliver these to any bus top we see sometime in december.

 {spent $3}

ok, so total, i spent about $13.75

and gave in 7 different ways. 

see how far you can stretch your giving budget to bless people over the holiday season and get your kids involved!! this goes to show you no amount is too small. the next few weeks, the kids and i will see how far our remaining $6.25 can go!