Children Are The Best Teachers

Kids are the absolute best at this age.

They are the essence of gratitude.

Simply because they live in the moment.

They enjoy simple pleasures, and find joy in everything.

This was Livi after dinner.

She loved the Asian Noodle Bowl I made for her.

This is my variation on a recipe I picked up from my buddy Jen.

It has baby bock choy, carrots, snow peas, chicken, and mushrooms.

The chicken is slow cooked in the crock pot with star anise, soy sauce and water for most of the day. Really I just put it in and forget about it.

You can't mess it up in the Crock Pot.

The chicken has a very fragrant sweet, smokey, fruity licorice flavor. The meat falls from the bone and is succulent and tender.

About an hour before I'm ready to serve dinner I throw in the Asian wheat noodles, they soften very quickly but hold their bite.

Then I add my veggies which are ready almost immediately. They only need moments to steam and gently green.

Then I just set the table and call in the family.

I strip Livi down to eat this dish because I know how messy those little noodles can get.

She eats with a fork for a while then dives in with her fingers.

What a great feeling it must be skinny soft noodles between her fingers.

She gets so involved, examining each noodle then tasting it and eyeing it some more.

What must she think about those little noodles?

She eyes a handful of noodles and laughs as they fall into her mouth and onto her lap.

Mostly on her lap.

I just watch her. She finishes her bowl.
Can you see the love?

She's so present for the experience, and I just observe my little teacher.

I need to be more like her, her ways have wisdom, simplicity.

She doesn't know about germs, or food borne illnesses, or nutritional value, or portion size.

No. All she knows is how the noodles look, feel, smell and taste. She knows how they fall on her lap and stick to her belly and legs. She has just the right amount of information for the present moment.

Us adults are too smart for our own good. We know things that don't help us a bit, in fact they hold us hostage in the past or scare us about the future.

We need to be more like our children.

Throw our educations to the wind once in a while,

and just be grateful,

in the moment

with a bowl full of Asian Noodles.

(Click for the recipe)

Good Day!

Today is/was national Coffee Day. 

Thank goodness for coffee because today I really needed some! 

My new bed time has become 2:00am. 

I get so much accomplished around that time. 

It's my most productive time of the day. 

Trust me, I know this routine can't last. 

Honestly, I have no idea how I'm making it through the day with so little sleep. 

Especially around 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock my body just starts to shut down. 

I run for the coffee machine in desperation. 

So here's my moment of gratitude for you coffee.

Thank you for helping me keep my eye open. 

Yes, I promise, I'll get some sleep soon!

Have you had your coffee today?

I take mine with soy milk and 2 Splenda. 

I like it light and sweet just like me. 

How do you take your coffee?

Will you please leave me one?

Imagine Carseat Flying

Livi showed me a new trick today. 

With the windows rolled down, and the wind in your hair, stretch your arms and feet in the air. 

You can fly.  

That's the beauty of your imagination. 

Imagination is Hope. 

Imagine big things for yourself.

Thank You Livi,
Mommy Loves You!

What do you imagine for yourself?

One of those Days

Today was one of those days!

When you feel like you just can't catch up.

I made a list of things TO DO.

Even after I did all my To Do's there were still things I'd forgotten.

I'm feeling a little "in the weeds," as us culinary folks would say.

Last week was a busy week.

I devoted myself to helping friends and family.

I let go of my routine, and lost my flow.

Which I wasn't bothered by; I was glad to do it.

Except now I gotta get it back together again.

So this week is a catchup week.

I hate ketchup weeks. :-)

I have yet another list of things I really wanna get done. Ideas I need to iron out.

Like this Halloween Party we're having.

Well, if and when I can get the invitations out, uugghhh!

Or,

My blog.

I have so much to say to all of you, well whoever's out there reading this (Hi Dad!).  I'd would like to say something about gratitude everyday. I just need to get organized.

Bare with me, it will happen.

And then there is the rest of my life. I've decided to dive back into my passion:

Lehigh Valley Cupcakes is back up and running. But, that too needs some organization.

Can you see a pattern here?

It's definitely going to be one of those weeks!

So now as I type this its a quarter to eleven. The day has passed me by. I've managed to get one child to and from school, -well not from. Thank you Katy for getting Ane off the bus!

I managed to make dinner, and cut the grass, (cutting the grass wasn't even on my TO DO list.)

I washed 4 loads of cloths.

Washed, not fold them and put them away.

Just washed.

Oh! And I did get a shower, personal score for me, but brush my teeth I have not.

Toothbrush come find me!

So if I sound a little off center, frazzled, tired, melancholy, well maybe that's okay.

You can't be on top all the time.

Sometimes you need to fall apart or get behind schedule to appreciate order and function.

I would have told you that today was a long day and I'm grateful its over.

Except I'm realizing "talking" with you, that even a long day like today has purpose.

I'm grateful for the silver lining.

And even on a day like today, I still got to squeeze this little munchkin.

Now that's two things to be grateful for.

It's getting better by the minute.

Tell me what's going on with you?

Do schedules help you organize your life?

Are you lost without a schedule?

How do you get things done?

Do "TO DO" lists really work?


Thank You!

The Goddess Life, My Philosophy

The Goddess Life, My Philosophy 

"Mommy Gratitude" has become such an inspirational force to me. 

Writing on this subject has given me new clarity in my life. 

So after a lot of thought I've come to a revelation. 

I should say I will not stop talking about my mommy gratitude. I just have even more to talk about.


I've wanted to talk more about my life from the unique perspective of being a strong, confident, evolving woman. 

I've wanted to find a way to share with you more about ME. 

The woman that I am, and the woman I so desperately want to be. 

I'm a wife, and a mother, and that is the most I have time for most days.

But there's another part of me still alive and well. 

A part of me that I don't always have time to nurture and groom, but I want to set her on fire.

I call that part of me the   Goddess.

I was born a Goddess before everything else. 

Being a Goddess means you recognize your potential to be God like. 


This is my personal philosophy:

I believe that women more then men (sorry guys) have the greatest potential to experience life through the full human experience. 
Women align their lives and the lives of their children, husbands, friends and families with our inner sense of human perfection.  


If we ourselves are on the path to becoming fully our lives potential then we touch others with our vibrations. Enriching our family and friends.  

A good woman, a Goddess, improves all she touches.

This is our POWER, this is our GIFT, this is what makes us Goddesses. 

Yes, I have used my womanly body to bear children and caring and loving those children makes me a mother. I believe the more I teach my children the better mother I am.

Yes, I have found love and joined my life with another person and that has made me a wife. I believe the more I share my life with my husband the better wife I am.

Understanding all that, I also recognize that being a wife and a mother is only posibble because I am a Goddess. 
If I don't acknowledge and nurture my own dreams and aspirations I will never fully come into my power or realize 
my true potential. 


There are many things that I must learn to live The Goddess Life. 

As women we must use our full range of senses. Not just our bodily senses, sight, smell, vision and taste. 
We must use our sense of INTUITION we must trust our inner voice.
We must CENTER our EMOTIONS, and live with clarity.
We must find CONFIDENCE in our own bodies and embrace our femininity. 


Okay, so that's enough of my personal philosophy. 


I challenge you to step out of your box and embrace all the things about you that make you unhappy. 
I challenge you to try something new and be conscious of the way you carry yourself. 
 I will be bold, and brutally honest with myself and I'd like you to share in the same way with me.


The Goddess Life is about, 

Knowledge of Self

 Knowledge of Body

Strength of Mind 

Unwavering Self love.

Welcome Goddesses! Feel free to visit there


The Goddess Life is a new segment of Mommy Gratitude that will live a separate but equal life at 
http://goddessgratitude.blogspot.com/ .  Feel free to visit there.






Tell me what you think!

Thank You!

 


Hi everyone!
 I'm guest posting over at "It's a Turtle's Life for Me."
So come visit me there. Just click here or the picture.
A huge thank you to Natalie for letting me hang out over on her blog!
Thank you Natalie!

Aneley's Faith and Love, finding Gratitude.

Sometimes at the end of a long day, after you've given your all and you have nothing left. It's hard to find something to be grateful for.

That's when I look to others for gratitude. 

Today Aneley found this. 

She remembered one of my childhood stories.  

I told her about  being a kid and having fun searching through the grass looking for 4 leaf clovers. 

One day I found one, and it was so wonderful and exciting. 

Aneley remembered my story and went out and found her own lucky clover.

Her faith in my story, her love of me in remembering my words, well that's gratitude.

There' s always Gratitude in there some where.

This week is almost over, hang in there. 

Who do you look to for gratitude?

Mompact, Get Good Carma and Giveaway

Hi Friends, this post is part of the MomPact blog hop. Follow the links and enter to win 120 different prizes.


Do you believe in Karma? I do. Kind of. I'm either superstitious or a little OCD.

Really, I'm just a product of my environment.

I have a few quirky great aunts that think slices of raw potato in a pantyhose placed on bruises will take the bruise away. Crazy right? Well it actually works. These same aunts believe a piece of brown bag stuck to a babies forehead with spit will make hiccups stop. I have no experience with that. They're "voodoo" must make them feel useful. They will offer any one of their cures and swear by it.

Then there's my mom. She's kind of a collector. Nothing too crazy, she has a rock collection, an owl collection, sand, shells, beenie babies, she's not a hoarder or anything like that. She just holds onto little things that make her feel good. Happy things. Her collections seem to emanate good vibes for her.

Then there's me. I think I got this from a crazy friend in high school. I knock on wood when the time is all the same number, like 11:11 or 4:44, or 2:22. Do you do that?  Am I the only one? The knocking, only on wooden objects or surfaces, feels like a nod to the universe. "Hey Universe! I see your symmetry and I love the order!"

If I lose an eyelash, I put it on the tip of my finger and blow it away while making a wish. No idea where I got that from but I love that! 

It's not often that I loose an eyelash so it feels like such a gift to make a wish once in a while.

Also,  I feel a little bothered inside if I "split the pole" or let a pole or parking meter come between the person or people I'm walking with. It just feels bad! Splitting the pole makes me feel separate from whoever I'm walking with. Almost like I'm telling the universe "I'm not with them." It just feels like bad Karma to " split the pole."

My new thing is this bag of gemstones I got from Get Good Carma.

 Basically, you get 7 precious stones.  Agate, Amyethyst, Hematite, Amazonite, and Tiger's  Eye. The stones together are supposed to "radiate positive thoughts and inner peace."
"A complete unison of mind, body, soul."

 Hello,sign me up, I need that in my life.

So the instructions say to place the bag of hand-picked gemstone in your car to bring you inner peace and a safe journey. I'll gladly take that, especially riding in the car with my bunch of chatterboxes. I drive around listening to them arguing about which DVD movie to watch in the car, which is ridiculous because the only movie my sister and I ever watched in the car was the one happening outside our windows. Nothing to argue about there.
What I do like about Get Good Carma is that it serves as a reminder that god thing are coming my way.  Good Karma, safe journey's, and thus gratitude. 
Get Good Carma.

Like I said, I'm weird. But all my quirks are my acknowledgment of my connection to the universe.

Small things have power, for that I am thankful.

Now here's your chance,
As part of  Mompact Get Good Carma is giving away (1) of their
"Get God Carma Pouches."

Enter to win below and don't forget to visit all the blogs and maybe win even more prizes,120+! After you enter this giveaway Click here to visit the next blog.   


Giveaway disclaimer: I received product but no monetary compensation for posting this giveaway. This post contains affiliate links from Mompact.com and Get Good Carma.com. This giveaway is not associated with or related to Facebook.

Cupcake Gratitude

Here's a little unknown fact about me. Well you may know this about me if we're friends. 

If we're not friends, this will make you want to be my friend.

I love cupcakes! 

I type silly <3 hearts about cupcakes. 

They are my happy thing. 

Cupcakes make me excited, they make me feel creative, they make me feel adventurous. 

 Whenever I see one they always make me smile. When I'm grumpy or feeling anxious they remind me to have fun. Cupcakes even make me laugh.

Like these from Cupcakes Occasions UK.

 

or these from our very own Natalie over at A Turtles Life for Me

Cupcakes spark my creative energy. 

So I MAKE cupcakes. I'm a chef. We can do stuff like that.

Just after my second daughter Amaya was born, I decide to bake up some cupcakes. I thought, this would be a great business. And it was.

 Up until I found out I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Alivia.

Pregnancies can be tough. Especially when you have two other children to care for.
Baking cupcakes lost its luster.


I was tired all the time, and stressed whenever I had a cupcake order or an event to bake for.

I wasn't in love with cupcakes anymore.
So I let it go.
I told all my cupcake fans, "I'm done."

Well a funny thing happened when I gave it up.
 I felt relief. I felt gratitude.
I was sad YES! But I had a clarity. My cupcake business wasn't a failure. Everyone gave me such outstanding, really positive, a little adoring, feedback about my cupcakes.

So I couldn't stay sad, I was a success.
 As a baker and as a wife and a mother. I was just putting my family first.

I now had time to focus on the "new bun in the oven."
Just look how she cooked up. There's a lot of time and attention there.

When I look back at my experience baking and selling cupcakes I feel really grateful.
I was given a glimpse of what my life could be like sometime in the future. I was given a preview of good things to come. And ya know what! We should all be able to say, I have this great opportunity waiting for me when I'm ready. That's FAITH. And faith is gratitude.
To find faith practice gratitude.

We all have regrets.
Maybe you should rethink a regret.
Regrets are negative emotions. Regrets kill faith.

What if your regret is a preview of something better to come?
What if regrets are what keep you from moving forward in your life?
Tell me, is there something you regret?

Please leave me a comment. I would love to hear about your regrets. Sounds funny right.
But, maybe you can cultivate some gratitude from a regret.

Doin' Hair, and Mommy Gratitude

When I was in second grade my Mom cut all my hair off.  I went from hair past my shoulders to about an inch, inch and a half of hair. Maybe she thought it would make both our lives easier? Maybe she was frustrated with the unmanageable quality of my hair, and my inability to keep "still" while getting my "hair done." Who knows?
Now, for any woman of African decent getting your "hair done" is no joke.

As children we've been conditioned to sit for long (very long) periods of time while our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and who ever else put in work on our heads. We not only had to sit we also had to keep still, very still. Holding our heads cocked to the side or straight down with our chin to our chest, but always still. Frozen in uncomfortable positions while simple or elaborate parts were made with the tip of a sharp comb. Then tense fingers twisting and braiding hair into masterpieces that hopefully lasted a day or two before being picked apart and repeated. Sometime just a simple French braid or two pony tails, but always the hair had to be brushed, smoothed and parted.

Now that I have three daughters I too am "doin hair." Aneley and Amaya have completely different textures and lengths, Alivia my youngest was born with a little peach fuzz which I saw as a blessing.

So that's two heads to manage, not including my own. I'm trying to perfect my techniques and learn which styles look best in my children's hair. But let me just say the kids don't jump for joy when it's "hair time." They say NO, they yell at me, they cry, they get up and run away, I chase them, they cry some more, they make excuses like, "I have to pee." I give them snacks, I let them watch long hours of TV.

My poor children hate sitting to get their hair done, but unless they want me to cut it all off like my mother did they will just have to suffer through. Honestly I wouldn't cut it off, I just like thinking about it.

But "doin hair" is a lot of work for all parties involved! There really is no way to make it fun! Except to get crazy with the comb and braid up a masterpiece!

This pictures is my latest discovery in the world of braiding.

My experience with my girls has made me reflect on my own mother's  experience. Although it wasn't a pleasant experience having my hair done, and most of the time I thought my Mom a little rough with the brush. I now know its one of those things that had to be done.

I'm sure my Mom wanted nothing to do with combing someone's hair. Growing up with 5 brothers she was a tom boy. She loved us dearly but she couldn't have enjoyed putting us through uncomfortable painful sessions of  "doin hair." She suffered through because she knew when we were older we would thank her. Thank you mom! Because seriosly who wants an album full of childhood pictures looking like a crazed frizz head? Not me! And truthfully if she had not cared for our hair it really wouldn't have grown and looked as good as it does now. My head of hair needed to be managed.

When I do my own hair I know without a doubt, I have ALOT of hair. Half the time I just put it in a ponytail. My Mom used to braid it, and set it, and blow dry it, and curl it, and pin it. Into all kinds of really pretty styles, and she changed those styles almost every day. I don't even do that! When I was a kid I always got complements on my hair. Now all I ever hear is, "you've got ALOT of hair." Which I don't take as a complement. One, because I've heard nicer things, two, because having "ALOT of hair" is the obvious. (I'm laughing out loud.)

How tough it must have been for my mom. How frustrated she must have felt managing my hair.  How uncooperative I was.
Being in this moment, caring for my daughter's and their FULL heads of hair,  has really given me a lot of understanding, gratefulness and compassion for the love, time and attention my Mom gave me and my curls.

I know hair grooming shared between mother and daughter can be very special, but
my unique experience has given me room to grow, and now find gratitude.

Mom's and their daughters share lots of experiences, which "make up the fabric of our lives." Not cotton.

Are there times in your life that you disagreed with your mother's choice of actions, only to later feel understanding, compassion, and gratitude to her for making the hard choice?

Our Mother's hold the keys to our futures. We will either we like them or we will be more, hopefully never less.
Please leave a comment and share your story.

Read My Journal

Gratitude Journal

                          Here I will share with you personal entries from my gratitude journal! 

I'm Grateful for....

8/23/11

The gorgeous weather not hot not cold just perfect.

For Abbie the little dog who did not poop in the house today.

My daughters who didn't ask for peanut and jelly for lunch today. Challenging me to use my culinary degree and make deli sandwiches.

My new work space. It's just a desk and a chair, but I carved out a space all my own.

My husband who cut the grass and heated up his own dinner.

8/24/11

A really great morning at the park, no one was injured or lost.

Alivia's full 1 1/2 hour nap that allowed me a little quiet time.

No earthquake today~

The accidental lock out of my poor friend that allowed me a quick Target run and the accomplishment of completing my one and only errand today, more diapers, check. Sorry KT, Thank you!

Another chance to wear my favorite yellow and grey striped pants.

The patients of my children after I've lost my own. Me: "Mommy's sorry for yelling," Them: "that's okay Mommy." Thank you baby girls.

For my husband who called me ( I'm downstairs on the computer) on his cellphone from upstairs in our bedroom to say,"Good night babe." I love that man.

8/25/11

For the fabulous friends I have found since moving to the Lehigh Valley. They are coming out tonight to celebrate my bday with me.

For Aneley who is becoming a pro at working the toaster and made her sisters and herself  bagels for breakfast. Sweety!

For the rain, because the grass is always thirsty.

For the encouragement and excitement of a friend that really believes in me.

A husband that tackled putting three kids to bed including a 16 month old who only nurses to sleep; just so Mom could have a night out.

To myself for taking the opportunity to create just a small space from being a wife and mom in order to remember what it was like to still be an individual. I got dressed up nice just for me, and went out just for me, I remembered what its like to just focus on me. Having and thoroughly enjoying that small space gave me fuel to be a better wife, mother and goddess.

8/26/11

This body that is strong and purposeful, and tolerant of the alcohol I put in it last night! Drinking water really helps!

The weather, despite it's many states. It gives me strength and something to talk about. A day like this full of sunshine is icing in the cake and a full day of conversation.

The new babysitter/nanny Stephanie, who seems to sincerely love playing with children which unless they are your own is a talent. So for me, this now creates the luxury of leaving my children with someone that I don't worry about. The girls called her "Super Namny!"

For moments like.... when Mommy and Daddy get back to husband and wife or Rick and Yelena who are still completely crazy about each other. And get to take off into the sunshine with the wind blowing my hair and have a romantic lunch together. Then a quick stop at the grocery store which is heaven with only your spouse, without your 3 children who like to embarrass you in the grocery store.

The chance to step back and see my own life with clarity and feel really proud of the things I've accomplished. 

Great neighbors to enjoy backyard fires and s'mores with.

For all the sheer JOY that was squeezed into this one day.

8/27/11

For the sweet little voices that woke me this morning with Happy Birthday wishes.

For the 34 years I've been around to see the world.

For hurricane Irene that has added an extra layer of excitement to this day as well as created enough solitude that my house feels like the whole world. 

The bday cake from Wegmans with the new Wegmans icing, which I didn't like, but at least you won't have to worry about me keeping a fork in the box so I can eat forkfuls of cake all day long. I've already admitted I have a problem with cake, this new icing is the cure.

The little dog who managed to poop three times in the house, proving to me that I still need alot more work with her.

8/28/11

The hurricane that may have destroyed alot of other people's homes, but only leaked a little water through my sunroom windows.

My patience which despite the numerous challenges by my children has been unwavering way more so than usual! Amazing what a little Mommy "time out" can do.

Helpful fellow bloggers who are guiding me and mentoring me along this journey.

The blue skies which were still there after Hurricane Irene moved on through. 

Valerie who is unknowingly encouraging me to hit the stores and hunt down an inflatable boat so we (I'm gonna make her come with me) can paddle around in the roadside flood down the street, along with the migrating geese.
 

Start your own journal.  
Write down at least 5 things everyday that you are grateful for. Start your journal, "I'm grateful for...." or, you can pick one thing each day that your grateful for and write about that. You don't have to always talk about good things. 

Sometimes the worst part of your day is the reason you notice the sunshine. 

Tip: I have found using a notebook to record my journal to be a little tricky. I don't always have the time to sit and write in a notepad. So I found a really simple and convenient FREE app for my Iphone. It allows me to enter my daily entries where ever I may be.

I will post more of my Gratitude Journal entries so stay tuned.


Have you ever done a Gratitude Journal? 
What were your experiences?
How long did you journal?
Leave me a comment let me know what you think about my journal?

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Thank you to everyone that entered the contest.  Entering the contest whether you won or not was an  exercise in seeing gratitude in your own life.  Having to think of a person to give this gift to, required you to look at your life and find something good in it. Despite all the day to day struggles there will always be good in your life. 
We just have to look for it. 

Congratulations! 
with the help of Random.org
Kim and Jason 

You are the McDonald's Coupons Giveaway Winners!

You have each won 2 coupons for

A Free Bowl of McDonald's New Fruit and Maple Oatmeal,

A Free Premium Chicken Sandwich, and

A Free Small Real Fruit Smoothie.

Total that's about an $18.00 value. 

When asked who they would give their coupons to Kim said:

I would give mine to my mother in law who loves going to mcdonalds.  She always goes to buy the happy meals so she can give the toy to my kids,  i think this would be good for her to get a grown up meal..lol. By Kim C. on My First Giveaway! on 8/29/11

I will make sure to share this with my alter ego. I am a Gemini after all! By Jason on My First Giveaway! on 8/31/11

Hope to find it, have Faith it is there, and be present for Love.

Practice Gratitude.

Please allow me a few days to get your coupons in the mail!