Supermom - No Thank You

Yesterday and today I have been hearing about an article about how trying to be a supermom can lead to all sorts of health problems, one of which is depression. And while I was watching the Today show listening to some supermom's talk about how content they are with working and  being a mom, I, myself, am having a harder time with this. Although I do not have a 9-5 job anymore (really teaching is more like a 24 / 7 / 365 days a year kind of job) I still have a job here at home. I am striving to be that supermom. Not for the title or the glory, but just because I seem to be wired that way. I do feel the need to work even harder now that I am "at home" all day. Why is this? Why can't I just be happy with enjoying my kiddos while they are at home and work on keeping my house in order? Why do we, as women, always feel the need to do it all?

Over the past two weeks alot of stress has been bestowed upon my mind. I worry that I am missing those few opportunities that I have left with the girls. So I decided to start teaching preschool to Ella and hoping Kyndall would kind of tag along with the lessons. I did this strictly for me. Ella isn't in need of any help with school and is ready for Kindergarten right now. She doens't need structure, we live in structure. She doesn't need learning opportunities throughout the year, I already provide that. I did it for me. I did it to force me to sit down for the morning and "be" with her and Kyndall. How sad is that? I had to force and put a label on it, in order for  me to feel like it was ok. I have to justify sitting down to read a book or justify why the laundry isn't done. Not to my husband...not even close...to myself. Why?

 Here is where that supermom comes in...I knew I was being too much of a supermom and wanting to much personally, I was neglecting to see the three kiddos that were right in front of me "wanting" more of me.  I have struggled with this over these past two weeks. I have struggled to put the computer away to do fabric research or craft research. I have struggled with being patient with all of them because I am stressed about getting an order done. I have struggled with a lot. Where did I stop being a mom and start being crazy?

I am learning that my life and my time here at home is limited. I am learning that my business is going to have to take a back seat right now. I am learning that I am a good mom, when I am not thinking about 50 other things. I am learning that this is going to be much easier if I just let go. So I thought today when I heard women talk about how they love doing it all and being so busy they don't have time to breathe, I don't want that. That is not for me. What I want is more days like today.



Where work and business take a backseat to my girls and my sanity.





Where my desire to go have a picnic and eat ice cream are not dictated by what housework needs to be done or how many orders I have stuck to my pin board.




 We had a great girls morning out. And although I obviously am still working on that lovely word BALANCE, I was one step closer today. My heart is happy today and my supermom cape is hung in the closet.



With me balance also means crafting. Whether that is sewing, painting, or refinishing. I have been on a mission to make our home look more like us...or more my style....it looks so plain. I hate it. It has no spunk, no personality. It is just boring. So I have been reading blogs and looking at others style to find my own. I have seen some amazing things and I am going to try them all. From the littlest chore charts for the kids (I can actually hear the quiet when I don't have to remind them 20 times about what they should be doing) to furniture refinishing. I am on the hunt for a couch table. A long , skinny, and tall table to put by the front door. I am excited for the hunt to begin.

Here are some of the crafts I did this week in short spurts at night.


Decoupage letters for living room and the girls' room (which is first on my decorating list)



Ruffle treese for fall. I used wired ribbon and won't use it again. I will do what I read to do, ruffle fabric. Can't wait to make more for Christmas time.



Ribbon Wreath. I had this old picture frame that was broken. I saw an idea of a wreath made out of ribbon and knew I wouldn't have to buy a thing!! It turned out cute and a great way to show support for C's team. I am thinking I need a big red and black one!!!

Happy Thursday!!


I hope everyone has a great weekend. I know I will be :)

Date Night Menu

You can find me, on Saturday night, in the kitchen at 10pm cooking dinner for or with my hubby. This was a tradition we started over a year ago and have continued it with as much enthusiasum as we had before. We usually plan it on Saturday morning so that we can get all of the goodies for this night when we are out running errands. This weekend we thought about it around 5pm, oops. So I quickly took inventory of any foods we had that maybe the kids didn't like that we could enjoy. Here is what we had:


Lemon Drop Martini, Cheese,Fruit, and Nut Tray, Scallop Scampi, and Brownie Shortcake

Ryan had to go out and get some cheeses for our appetizer tray but he had to anyway for some coke deals at our local grocery store. Here are the recipes for our date night.


Lemon Drop Martini - I wanted to get rid of some lemons in my fruit bowl so this fun drink came to mind. It was also a drink that Ryan and I had when we first met at a
dance club we went to.  I just googled Lemon Drop Martini. Here is the one I used.


Cheese, fruit, and nut tray. I am a sucker for fruit and cheese...I think I was meant to be born in Napa or Italy. Again, I had some grapes that needed to be eaten and a pear that was about to be thrown away...so what goes better with grapes and pears than cheese. I am not a professional pairer when it comes to these two things so again, I googled cheese and fruit pairings. Within a few minutes I had a list of 3 cheese we needed. You really only need one, we just like cheese! We went with a Smoky Gouda, Swiss/Cheddar Mix, and a Danish Blue. We added grapes, peach, pear, and some walnuts. I have to say my favorite combo of the night...walnuts and blue cheese. Yummy delish!!

For our main course, we had some scallop scampi. This is a totally made up dish from me. There are no exact measurements, sorry.


I started with some whole wheat pasta...thin spaghetti is our favorite with any scampi. I always cook the pasta first and get it draining when I start the sauce. This dish is super fast so you don't want the scallops to get chewy.


Put a couple tablespoons of butter with a about the same olive oil. Throw in some garlic....oh probably one or two cloves diced up really small. Let that cook on medium until it gets nice and golden. Throw in some diced fresh tomatoes. I also threw in some seasonings here. Salt, pepper, steak seasonings, lemon pepper, whatever you have in your spice cabinet that you like.  Then throw in about 1 - 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Let that all cook for about 2 minutes.


Add a little love. You don't need a whole lot maybe 1/4 cup. At this point I also threw in a little more butter to get the creamy-ness back.


Now its time for your scallops. Always make sure that you wash your scallops and pull off their side muscle. Pat them dry or lay them on a napkin covered plate...just be sure not to add any napkin to your recipe :). I cooked this for about 4 minutes...I think. I have learned over the past year or two cooking with scallops...longer cooking does HORRIBLE things to these fantastic little gems. You want them to melt in your mouth. Plus they will continue to cook even after you take them off the burner.


Throw the spaghetti in with the sauce and turn a few times. Then plate it or bowl it like we did!! You can throw some parsley as a nice green garnish, I just didn't have any.  You can also substitute shrimp for the scallops.


For desert we had a brownie strawberry shortcake that I found on Duncan Hines website. Here is the recipe . You will notice I did mine a little different. I just crumbled up the brownies and made a little trifle in a wine glass. It was delish!!

Our date nights are a great way to spoil each other with good food and reconnect with each other after a busy week. We try to keep the cost of this night down but we always end up spending less than we would if we went out at an actual restaurant. Consider giving date nights a try around your house, it is worth it.

Photography Practice

I have started reading Mammarazzi to help me take better pics of my family. I have only read 3 chapters but already have learned a lot that I knew about photography but didn't know how to "apply" it to my pictures. Here is a photo shoot I have been wanting to do with the girls. Both of the girls love to read and books are one way they both seem to share happily. Ella loves showing Kyndall her books and vice versa. Here are my pics with some editing done to them. What do you think?


Love these two!!
















one of my favorite things about my little cuddlebug..her whipsy curls




My favorite picture of the whole shoot...love this little non smiling face :)

Freezer Post #1: Get Ready!

Our lives afterschool until bed time are crazy in the fall. Football practices and scrimmages, as well as, kids still playing outside because it is still so light outside make for a very rushed dinner time. I noticed last year that we ate out almost every night the month of August...way too much for our budget and our waistlines. I decided to try a freezer day. If you have never heard of this, it is exactly what it says. I took last Sunday to make as many meals as I could and threw them all in the freezer. That way I am able to pull out one everyday for that nights meal. This did a few things for us:


1. it forces me to eat what we already have in the house. There is NO EXCUSE for us not to eat at home because there are several different meals to chose from.

2. it forces me to prepare meals with the food I have in the house, only having to buy a few things to complete the meal

3. it forces me to step out of my cooking box. I tend to start making the same meals and we all get tired of that! It also forces me to try different things in the recipes to try and make them better or healthier

4. I get to control the portion sizes that I freeze or make at a time. For example, one of the casseroles I made on Sunday was a 12 portion cassarole. If I had made that one afternoon, I would have more than likely made the whole casserole and we would have ended up with tons of leftovers. Which more than likely would have gotten eaten but sometimes they go down the sink. It also probably meant that we would have had more than a portion at dinner that night, which is what we are working on as mommy and daddy


So here was my method to this madness called Freezer Sunday. I hope it helps those of you get started on the homemade meals path. I am going to do this a little bit at a time to give you time to think about your own path.

Prepare and gather ideas for your freezer day:

*My first step was to go through my freezer, deep freeze, pantry, and even fridge to see what we had to work with already. I had quite a bit of little things here and there. I wrote down what I thought would help me with finding recipes. Here is what I found on a handy chart:




* After I compiled this list I went through and wrote down meals I could make out of the stuff I have without having to buy anything on my calendar:




* Then I pulled out my crock pot cook book. I pulled this one out for obvious reasons but I also haven't cooked alot with this one so I wanted to try some of the recipes in it. I went through the cookbook at least twice writing down all the recipes I thought sounded good and had some of the stuff I already had on hand.








* I then wrote down any meals that I could think of or wanted to make with some of the things I already had.

* Then I took both lists and compiled it onto my calendar. This doesn't mean you HAVE to eat it on that day, it is just a planning tool for me to help visualize what meals I need to make. I also added on this calendar what sides I would put with these, if they needed it.






Right here is a good stopping point. And I wanted to add a few little things:

-right now I am not so worried of how much I spent....of course wanting to save as much money as I can but I won't know for a couple days how much I truely spent. This is my path. I want to start with this to see how efficient I can be. I found that many of these meals made two pans of stuff for us so that will play into how next months budget goes.

- I am all new to this so please be aware that this is how I am doing it and starting this journey of being a more organized and effective mom.


I hope that this has helped get you started. Tomorrow I will be posting my grocery list and what stores I went to along with prices. Happy Tuesday!!

Creative Overdrive....

I have often complained to many a friends and family about my creative overdrive. I can not simply be happy with creating a pretty balero jacket today or creating a great lesson today about tractors or farming...nope just isn't happening. I made the mistake of cracking open a catalog I received in the mail today to find this:


Oh hello lovely Halloween decorations for my house!! I must have!!


More importantly I must have this and after seeing the price tag, I knew I must MAKE this...after all felt can't possibly cost $60, right?

So I am on a mission to make this cute calendar so that I can have one because I want one and I know I can do it. Why am I like this? Why can't I just say "oh that's so cute but oh my goodness where would I find the time?". Creative overdrive.

The same reason I was creating this:


when I should have been cleaning my house or getting dinner ready or maybe just maybe sitting and relaxing. Nope, I was in trying to figure out how to make a pattern that I bought better because it just isn't up to my standards. I did it, but was it really necessary....nope. It was my creative overdrive.

Same reason I am up right now..creative overdrive. Our first football scrimmage was tonight and you know who had her camera ready to snap a few...hundred...photos. I read up on Mammarazzi during reading time because I knew I would have some "practice" time at the scrimmage. Man, did I. Rule of thirds baby....getting that law down!! Here are just a few of my favs from tonight:


Wait a minute...whipsy hair is not a football picture...it is with me :)



Take that!!



And that!!



I heard what you said about me...



You can't catch me



Boys of Fall



My fav of the night...not my kiddo or hubby but love the way the sun was perfection for this moment


My creative overdrive gets the best of me every day. There isn't a time that goes by where I am not trying to suck every last creative juice out of it. There are times I curse this and there are more times  now that I just let it flow. So for right now, it is just flowin'. I am seeing some cute things for those I love for Christmas and even picking up a new talent in the meantime...embroidery....like hand embroidery in a hoop and such. I guess I better start reading how to do that. I figured it would be a good hobby to be doing when I am just sitting and relaxing. Happy Monday!!

PS: I know I was supposed to do something about Freezer Sunday, but I am not quite ready for that post. Soon I promise!!

It still has that new blog smell

Welcome to my new adventure in blogging!! I started blogging about 2 years ago about my kiddos. I wanted a way to  write about their lives and their impact on my life. I wanted to have some concrete way to share stories with our families a couple counties away and have a way to show off pictures of my beautiful (but very awnry) kids. From that I have been craving to start another blog. One that will be just for me to vent, celebrate, share, and hopefully inspire other mom's to laugh, smile, cry, cook, and create their way through this thing we call being a women. Here are a few things that I will be talking about:

My kids:
Although they have their very own blog, dedicated completely to what they do weekly, I know that I will be talking about them from time to time. The stories on this blog will differ in a few ways....I will be honest about challenges I am having with being a mom because lets face it, being a mom is hard. And not just hard when they are throwing themselves onto the floor at Target because they can't have the big bouncy ball. It is hard every minute of the day. From discipline to dinner to playtimes and school, it is hard. So let me introduce you to them while I am on the subject:


This is my oldest. Isn't he just handsome!! I just love watching him play any sport! But don't let that handsome face fool you....he is trouble with a capital T. Surely I'm not the only one with a son like this. You will hear more about him on this blog, that is for sure.


These are my girls, my loves, my heart that is beating outside of my body, my eye makeup ruining and best temper tantrum throwers! They are beautiful little souls that have the attitude to go with it. I mean really:

Yep, we know we're in trouble with her.

So those are my kids and my original reason for starting my blog Helmets and Tiaras....thought about naming it Jock Straps and Panties but thought that might be a little much. Have to give my hubby credit for the second name...quite creative for him.

My Jobby
No I didn't spell hobby wrong...this is my hobby that has turned into a job...hence jobby

 I am the proud owner of my own clothing line for little girls. I have been making great quality kids clothing for about 3 years. My little dream called Charmed Fig can be the most rewarding and the most stressful job I have. I know this is no different than any other profession.  This is my creative outlet and I just adore it!! I sure hope I can find someone when my girls are older to make clothes for?!



My Cooking


I am a Betty Crocker wanna be. I am in love with cookbooks and adore trying new eats at any restaurant I can step foot in. I want to share recipes and menus with you from everyday to fancy! I want to inspire you to create good, homemade, food for your families or even better just for yourself!! My newest favorite thing to do: makin' some good ole' jelly and jams from the goodies of summer


YUMMY!!


I also love to bake but have had to cut back on this area since my waistline continues to grow and my age continues to go higher....not a good combo!!


Mmmm Pumpkin Chiffon Cake...very light and airy and fab with a cup of coffee!! RECIPE


Photography
 I love taking pictures and am hardly anywhere without my camera. My family has just come to understand this fact. I am hoping someday to turn this into a jobby. I love creating beautiful memories for my family and would like to do the same for others. For right now, I am still a student in the world of photography. I am still honing my craft and man do I love it!!


Ugh....look at that smile!! I now have that smile forever. LOVE IT!!

Ways to destress

My main purpose behind this blog, for this moment in time, is to learn and maybe teach how to destress our lives. I want to show how to make monthly meal lists with recipe ideas. I want to share freezer days where I share how to create 10+ meals that you can freeze for the upcoming week. I want to share ways to connect with my kids. I want to share how to connect with our husbands and our friends. I want to share how to connect with our selves. How am I going to share that because I don't do those things all the time....I'm going to blog about it. I'm going to talk about what I want to do, do it, then reflect.

I think I'll start tonight with this concept....why not....lets just lay it all out on the table....or maybe the counter. The following picture may scare some and I might lose some friends over this but it has to be shown...I need help!! No judgements please, just help. Please tell me I am not the only one with a bathroom counter that looks like this:



I mean really I have a clean house.
I vacuum twice a week..
I pick up every night and make sure my kitchen is clean before I go to bed.....
I change my bunnies litter box every day so that it doesn't ever stink in her cage....
yes I said I have a bunny, remember, don't judge, just help.....
I make sure the kids clean their rooms....
then I come into my bathroom and that is what I see....
what do I do about it...
NOTHING!
I have determined that I am on a mission to see just how much crap I can put on the counter! But this is a game I don't think I want to play anymore. So how do you keep your bathroom clean? How do you keep all of the hairsprays, makeup, combs, bows (no I don't wear them), lotions, and glasses of wine organized? Oops...toothbrushes I meant to say toothbrushes :). I am going to try my best this week to keep this area clean. Here is my plan of attack: as soon as I lay my oldest down for "rest" time I am going to go clean up my bathroom. I am hoping if I get into this routine maybe it will stay clean!! So here is my question what areas of your house are you struggling to keep clean or organized?

I hope I made you laugh and I hope I inspired you to come check me out again.

 Next blog topic: My First Freezer Day...Success!!