Relieving Stress

When it rains, it pours.

This little saying has been ringing truefor me lately. Lots of things are happening, I'm needed in multiple places at once, and a lot of people need my attention right now. I used to boast that I was a "multi-tasking queen"- that is not the case any more. If I am concentrating on more than one person/project/situation I'm lucky if I don't start crying. It's taking every fiber of my being (and then some) to keep it together.

My body is trying to tell me something.

What exactly it's saying, I have no clue, I'm hoping my doctor will tell me in a few weeks when I go see her. In the mean time, I need to do something different than what I've previously been doing to alleviate some of the stress. So I started coloring.

I'd rather be coloring. - This is basically my motto or mantra right now. It is kind of silly how well coloring is relieving my stress. I have a coloring book and pencils at the store so I can whip it out and spend a few minutes unwinding after a rough customer. (This last week has seen some horrendous customers.)

It's something my son and I can do together. I have found when we're having a little rough patch, if we both sit down next to each other and color, after 20 minutes we're both feeling rejuvenated and ready to do, and be, better.

Who would have figured this simple activity would be so effective. I guess a lot of people have, and I'm late to board the train. That's ok though. I'm on now, and I'm ready for a nice relaxing ride.

My Summer Look

I have a summer uniform:
Layered tanks + jean shorts + flats + iced coffee = my typical summer look.

(Oh, and cardi or button up because the AC at my work is chilly.)

This summer I am making a point to expand out from this wardrobe a bit and get out of my comfort zone as much as possible. Wearing white more often. Wearing striped shirts more often as well. Wearing dresses even! These are some things that I feel completely uncomfortable doing, but am pushing myself to do.

This outfit for instance, I really wanted to wear but was nervous once I put it on. My pear shaped body doesn't really like stripes because the stripes plus shadows bring into focus my... well... my middle area. Other than the shadows I had no reason to not wear this outfit so I left the house owning it. "Fake it 'til you make it" or some other jazz like that.

One of my favorite parts of this outfit (and other little thing that nudged me out of my comfort zone) was this AMAZING Cover Girl Star Wars lipstick I found at Big Lots for $1. I passed on all the Star Wars make up while it was new in stores because I wasn't in love with any of the colors or shades. This lipstick, while definitely darker than anything I ever wear and not nearly as dark as the picture shows, and wasn't too far off from my favorite lip gloss from StarLooks. I figured for $1 it couldn't hurt to try it out.

I love it! The color is fairly sheer and I think it's a great look for a golden, shimmery, summery look. The lipstick and the stripes are definitely going to stay throughout the summer- maybe longer. Do you have a particular summer look? Also, have you ever done a capsule wardrobe? (It's something I've been thinking about doing).

Lesson's from the Garden!!!

Gardening is something that I have always loved. Though I haven’t always been very good at it. I have made several attempts over the past 7 years or so and none have every really panned out due to lack of knowledge, summer heat, moving or being unmotivated. One of the reasons that I love gardening is that I believe that it teaches you patience, which is something that I need a lot of.

Another reason that I love gardening is using ingredients that you’ve grown in dishes you’ve made. And to be able to provide for yourself, to get just what you need from your own backyard or front patio. My oldest, A, also agrees with me. She came home from school one day and said that it would be awesome if we were able to grow all that we need. It put such a smile on my face that after lunch that very day I loaded her and E, my youngest, up in the car and we headed to Lowe's to buy stuff for a mini garden. It was also kind of an early Mother's Day gift to myself.

    

Since we are renting a house I decided that doing a planter garden would be best. We bought some colorful planters and some yummy plants. In the purple planter we put straw berries, in the orange we put banana peppers, in the blue we put raspberries, in the teal planter we put cherry tomatoes and in the smaller teal we planted lavender. The girls have been helping me water then everyday. They fight over who gets to do it. Here are some pictures of the progress of our planter garden about 4 weeks in. Lavender, peppers and tomatoes.

Our first harvest was two cherry tomatoes that were delicious.

Here are some pictures of the tomatoes, peppers and lavender from about 6 weeks in.

These are some pictures that I took this morning, about 7 weeks in.

      

The peppers are about 3 inches long and we have about 15 cherry tomatoes waiting to turn red. Nothing from the strawberries yet and sadly the raspberry didn't make it. I guess the hot heat from the valley was just too much for it. I am so very happy with our little garden. Maybe one day I'll have a permanent garden that I can grow tons of fresh fruits and veggies for us. I will keep you all up to date with our garden and how delicious the crop is. Well, TTFN!!!

Shared Toddler and Mama Meals - Breakfast Burritos

Happy Saturday friends!  Let's start this weekend off right with a healthy, hearty, and yummy breakfast to keep everyone full and energized. On my personal blog I've written a few posts about easy meals to make and share with your little one. Today seemed like a great day to share one of these meals here!

This is a variation of the normal egg breakfast we have.  I scrambled up a bunch of eggs with spinach, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, and turmeric.  Topped with some cheese, chopped sausages & avocado, and wrapped in a tortilla.  For my son I skipped the tortilla and plated his for easy finger grabbing.