Little Things: I Love You Pancakes

 

Little Things like breakfast made with love are important.  This year I made little heart pancakes for the kids, served as always with my homemade pancake syrup (corn syrup is okay if you put it in your own recipe, right?).

It turns out, this was the highlight of the day.  The hours that followed were a mixture of chaos, unprecidented application of Murphy’s Law and downright bad luck.  I’m so glad that I even though I was exhausted and the kids were crabby and bickering…. I stuck to my guns and got this breakfast on the table.

We called it quits on V-Day by noon….so I’m glad the kids will remember a Little Thing like heart shaped pancakes filled with love on their breakfast table this Valentine’s Day.

Little Things: Happy Valentine

Little Things like a snuggle from a warm little body can add perspective to the worst of days.

Today is one of those: a lousy, no good, rotten, very bad day. SuperDad and I were on the couch, staring at the walls (okay, the television…whatever)….when SuperBaby wandered in, groggy from his nap and climbed into my lap. His warmth and his smell flooded over me bringing calm and gratitude for all little things.

My Littlest Valentine.

Little Things: Monumental

 

A Little Thing like new clothes can make a girl feel fantastic.  If those new clothes come from your favorite store, the one you have avoided shopping at for FIVE YEARS because you wanted desperately  to enjoy the shopping experience; to have the clothes fit and look good, to not cry in the dressing room and  more than anything, to look in the mirror and see YOU looking back …. it becomes monumental.

After five years, I am comfortable with my body again.  I’m not perfect, but I’m good.  Many thanks to SuperDad who took me shopping this weekend because “it is time”.

Little Things: He Made the Bed

 

Turning down the sheets when its time to get in bed is something that gives me great pleasure.  I also thoroughly enjoy seeing my nicely made bed every morning.

There in lies the rub:  I almost never make my bed.

My bedroom is the single most neglected room in the house: always at the bottom of a never ending to-do list.

Last weekend I went kamikaze on our bedroom….it isn’t completely done but it is 8,ooo times better than it was.

Today when I got done feeding the kids breakfast and stumbled back into my room to get dressed (ok…to brush my teeth…I’m still in my pjs).. this is what I saw.  My husband had taken a minute to make up the bed before he left for work.

I’m such a perfectionist about things like this:  I like the tops of the sheets ironed so they lay flat, I like the pillow cases and the duvet to be wrinkle free, I want it made “just so”.  When I can’t accomplish all of these things (which takes a monumental alignment in the heavens) I always opt to not do it all:  If you can’t do it right…don’t do it.

What a DUMB thing to do to myself!

In the spirit of full disclosure:  My ridiculously over-the-top control freak self couldn’t even “snap” this picture without messing with the bed a bunch of times to make it look “just a little better” …because all of those things I listed above weren’t done.  I could KICK myself.

Today I’m grateful that my husband took the time to do this one little thing to brighten my day….and remind me of what is important and what is not.

Little Things: February Float

 

Sitting in my living room with the windows wide open this February First I decided that a Root Beer Float would make a mighty fine treat.  Did I wait for the kids to wake up from their naps?

No.

Did I selfishly indulge all by myself?

Yes.

Sometimes a little thing like an afternoon treat, enjoyed in silence, can change the tone of the rest of your day.

 

It appears that the idea of posting little things I have accomplished each day has turned into more of a gratitude journal….I think I’m okay with that.  Taking the time to capture the moment in a photo…and then share it…makes its impact on my day more significant.  Besides, taking a picture of a root beer float is much more interesting than the 5 loads of laundry I did….. and if I waited to take a picture of ALL five loads…they probably wouldn’t all get put away, anyway…

Little Things: Paid In Full

 

The second of our three vehicles is now paid in full….and ahead of schedule!  We now have our Honda Odyssey and our Toyota Tacoma paid in full.  We have had the van for 2 ½ years (we paid cash) and the truck for almost 2 years.  The only thing left is the motorcycle…which we’ve owned longer than any of them.  Guess what?  I’m paying that one off THIS WEEK!

Okay…this isn’t really a LITTLE thing…it is a HUGE accomplishment….but it was the little things that got us here: buying used cars, following a budget, skipping a lot of “extras” and committing to the goal of not having debt.

My husband, in particular, often struggles with “the big picture”:  “How do I work so hard and I can’t have X”   This escapes my realm of reality.  I think we are doing FANTASTIC!  Our home and student loans are our only debt.

The little things can literally add up faster than you think.  One penny at a time.

 

Little Things: Smile

 

A smile is not always a little thing;  sometimes its the hardest thing to conjure….but it is always the easiest thing to give away.

When I drop my son off at Kindergarten each morning, I park in the parking lot and walk him across the drive.  I could wait in line and throw him let him jump from the car as I glide past the entryway….but this little bit of extra effort makes him happy.  It is less stressful to him (and, frankly, to me) to hold his hand and walk up to the classroom door where I can hug him goodbye and plant one large, embarrassing Mom Kiss on his face as I send him off into the world.

This morning when I was returning to my car, one of the women who very faithfully directs traffic and monitors the parental drop off craziness each and every morning said to me:  “I just love seeing you every morning, you always wear such a great smile”.

Happiness.

Despite my harried mornings, despite my often dragging spirit and the bags under my eyes… I’ve been smiling…and apparently it makes someone else’s day.  THAT is something to smile about.

It’s the little things in life that make the difference….and not always just to ourselves.

 

This photo was taken by my friend Kristen from Dine and Dish during a photo shoot that my other fabulous friend Sandra from Sandra Hale Photography was doing during our (not so) recent get away in November.

Little Things: Planning

 

A little thing like making a list can make a huge difference.  Just breaking it down and facing what most needs to be done, a place to ground yourself and refer to when life starts to spin out of control.

I fell under the bus last week.  Well, really at the end of the week.  Making cookies for SuperBoy’s birthday treats at school….then putting his party together on Saturday….

I’m back on track for this week. The next two weeks are relatively event free so I want to make the most of them to get caught up around the house and with my work…really get back on track from the holidays…FINALLY.

I started with this list…not for the day, but for the week.  Tomorrow I might try to break it down into a daily thing but today is already rolling.

Little Things: Empty Suitcase

 

I have a baaad habit of dumping my suitcase on the floor when I arrive home after a trip.  I’m always exhausted and I just don’t want to deal with it.  Inevitably I live out of the suitcase, as least in part, for days on end.

I’m trying to change some of these bad habits.

Last night SuperBaby and I returned home from our whirlwind trip to Nebraska at 11:15pm.  I managed to unload everything from the car…and I put it all away…including emptying the suitcase and sticking it back in its storage space.

Ridiculous, I know.  But it’s the little things that add up, right?

Shine Your Sink! It’s a Little Thing…

 

A shiny sink….go FlyLady!

When I first got pregnant with SuperBoy six and a half years ago I became infatuated with FlyLady.  A small group of women who I met on BabyCenter and I put on our purple wings together and started down the rabbit hole that is, the FlyLady.  We took pictures of our projects; before and after and shared them with each other.  We would post out our “To Do” lists every morning and check back in at the end of the day.

Ahhhh, life before kids.  So much follow through.  So many accomplishments.

One thing I’ve held on to is that when I am drowning….. I need to have a shiny sink.  The very first step according to FlyLady is to shine your sink.  She’s right.  It is FANTASTIC to wake up to a clean, shiny sink.

Today was one of those days…. three kids to appointments in Kansas City, home late…dishes from last night never quite got finished…..BAH.

I’m back on track for tomorrow!

Next Page »