Mommyinthemountains | Living, Loving and Creating a Home

Giving Love

Posted on January 30, 2013 by admin

Welcome BACK!

If you missed any of the other project be more positive posts you can check them out HERE.

Onward!

I believe on of the most important things about being a happy person is giving of yourself.

Give of your time, give of your ear, give of your friendship, give a helping hand, give a hug, give a smile, give give give.

Here is the most important part. Give without expecting to recieve. Give without an alternative motive.

If you give thinking : “This is it, this will make me happy.” Or “If I give them x, then they will be prompted to give me y”. That doesn’t do anything for your psyche than create an inner score board.

If you are going to give, it is best to give wholeheartedly without expectation.

If you allow your husband to sleep in an extra hour on Sunday morning, don’t do it under the thought that he will clean the brunch dishes to make up for it.

If you give a girlfriend a ride to the airport, don’t do it thinking that she will do some favor for you down the road.

Don’t send your sister in law a birthday gift because you feel you must because she always does.

If you give to a friend, don’t do it thinking that they will send you something back.

Give, and give because you want to. If you don’t want to, but are giving just to recieve something (whether that thing be a physical or emotional) then please don’t give. It will most likely lead to resentment, dissappointment or frustration. Is that what we are going for in our positivity project?

No way!

We want good happy light hearted feelings.

I have learned to examine my giving nature. I have learned to really think before I am prompted to give. I think whether I am giving out of obligation or because I really want to. I think whether or not I have an expectation attached to my action. I think whether or not this act of giving will feel good or not.

Here is the truth.

If you give with out expectation, I think you will feel wonderful. The feeling of making someone smile, especially when it is unexpected is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world.

I love finding the opportunity to pay it forward. I especially love when there is a situation that speaks to me out of the blue and I can lend something toward it.

It feels like the universe making sense in those moments. It feels like God, making connections here on Earth. I LOVE IT!

During the month of February our city is promoting a month of generosity. We will be participating in it with our kids here and there. I am so happy to spread the love of giving to my children.

You can find the calendar HERE if you are interested in ideas for giving with your family.

xoxo

Karate Kid

Posted on January 29, 2013 by admin

My sweet Ezra has been taking Karate since October.

I am so happy to report that he is still going strong. He loves it!

He seems to be a little natural. He loves the discipline involved… the bowing, the ettiquette involved. He practices EVERY day!

I am so very proud of him.

Here he is a couple weeks ago the night he earned his yellow belt.

I also am proud to admit that I too am now a yellow belt!

After Ezra was taking the class (where a few other parents were participating), I decided since I was going to have to take him to the class anyway, I might as well jump in and participate. It is so much fun. It is also quite a workout.

I am loving that this is something we can do together. We practice together every night.

Here is hoping we make it all the way to black!

xoxo

Bye Bye Acne

Posted on January 28, 2013 by admin

I stumbled upon this picture of my husband and I that was taken in the fall of 2011. I was taken back by the blemishes on my face. (Aren’t we always the first to notice these things?)

It made me realize how much I was struggling at the time with acne in 2011.

After having my youngest, my preganancy acne didn’t seem to go away. It was so frustrating. I didn’t know how to handle it. I had never had acne before!

I didn’t know how to make it go away either.

I tried a lot of products, creams, devices, proactive, vitamins, natural things like tea trea oil and witch hazel, teas, and finally even made an appointment with a dermatologist for some prescription cream. It was frustrating. None of it worked. I felt like I was throwing money away for nothing!

I finally found my perfect cocktail of products that seem to help my acne.

I was not paid or endorsed to promote these products. I just really have seemed to have some long term benefit from them and thought someone out there might find the same benefit.

Norwex face cleaning cloths- I use this EVERY night! If I miss a night, I will probably break out. I swear by them. They are not very expensive and worth every single penny and then some. They have Silver fibers woven in to the fabric which has natural anti bacterial agents. Get them on the NORWEX site.

Clean and Clear acne cream with Salicylic Acid- Again, use it every night on my trouble spots even if I don’t have a blemish… it seems to keep them at bay. I use it right after I wash. It is super affordable too, I am pretty sure it is under $10 and a tube lasts a few months.

Philosophy Micro Delivery Peel- I use this once per week and it really seems to keep my skin exfoliated which seems to help keep breakouts away. I love the way my skin feels after washing with this. Find it on Sephoras site HERE.

Biotin- This is a supplement that is good for your skin and nails. I buy mine at Target, it is nothing fancy. It is also pretty affordable.

Probiotics- They say the health of all of your organs begins in your gut. If your digestive tract is not in balance (as in good bacterias and flora living in there) it will ultimately come out in your skin.

Makeup made for acne prone skin- I use neutrogena make up that is made for acne prone skin on my face for foundation. Every high end brand that I used before seems to only clog my pores and make me break out. So, I thought I would give this one (found at Target) a try and it seemed to help balance out my skin. I love it when I find a product that is really affordable that really works. I still use my favorite high end brands for blushes, lips, and eyes, but keeping it off of the main part of my face and chin seems to help.

Pillow Cases- I bought a few extra sets of pillow cases and I change them out more often than I used to. I used to change them once every week to week and a half when I would change our sheets, but now I change the pillow cases every three to four days.

Cleaning my phone- I make sure I wipe down my phone on a regular basis. I breakout around my chin and mouth area, so it seems to help to keep the part of my phone that is near my face clean.

Here is how I look these days. I still get a little pimple once in a while, but it is not a regular occurance. This picture was not touched up or doctored. It is just me, without acne!

Somehow, keeping up with using these products and NOTHING ELSE has greatly helped. Don’t get me wrong, I still get a pimple here or there, but it is not a constant occurance like it was before. If you are having a hard time with adult acne, I know how annoying it can be. Try these products and techniques. I hope they help!

Things on Thursday: Feeling Foxy

Posted on January 24, 2013 by admin

For some reason I have been taken with foxes lately. I have seen them all over the place and I think they are so fun and adorable.

1. This print on Etsy is so sweet. Would be a great addition to a cozy bedroom with rustic touches. Find it HERE.

2. You know I love a good coffee mug! This one has a great foxy bold pattern! HERE.

3. This pattern could be from none other than the great Dwell Studio. It is actually a children’s blankie. I would love this in my little Lucas’ room! HERE.

4. This sweater is looking FOXY! Find it at ASOS HERE.

5. Foxy gold pendant. I love that it is dainty and feminine. HERE.

6. This dishtowel is adorbs! What is my obsession with dishtowels!!? You can see this one HERE.

7. These ties are super cool! I love that there is some fun for the fellas too! Find these HERE.

Are you feeling foxy?

Master Bathroom Finished!

Posted on January 23, 2013 by admin

Geesh, it has taken us FOREVER to finally finish the master bathroom. For some reason we were procrastinating putting up the new trim. Probably because it is a tedious cutting and measuring process.

In any case, it is done!

Here are the after pictures.

The final touch was this pretty girl. I fell in love with it in September and ordered it just after my birthday with my birthday money. I ordered it from ZGallerie {HERE}. I can’t believe how affordable thier artwork for the home is! This pretty print finally found its home when our bathroom was finished. She is perfect.

Project Be More Positive #5: You Deserve It! A Mommy Challenge!

Posted on January 22, 2013 by admin

Welcome back to Project be more positive! Go HERE if you need to catch up on the rest of the posts!

OK Moms this one is for you! Lets talk about being a mommy! Don’t worry, I am not going to go into some judgemental diatribe here over some controversial issue like breast feeding or discipline. I do not claim to be some parenting expert who knows how everyone should raise thier children.

However, I do see a trend in Mommy behavior that I believe MUST stop. I will give you a hint. It has to do with pedicures.

Ok. Not really pedicures, but anything that a woman does to take care of herself.

I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.- Andre Lorde

I think every mommy out there needs to stand in front of a mirror and recite that every morning.

So many of us are exhausted and grumpy and overwhelmed and resentful. We work all day and all night, EVERY day. Yet, we never question this job. We never question whether it is one we still want. Of course we love being a mom, of course we would never quit this job.

Somehow we have convinced ourselves that in order to really be a mommy and really do it right, we have to give up all the things we did for ourselves before we became a mom. If we want to be a “good” mom we have to lose ourselves completely and let this job define us.

This, ladies, is ridiculous.

So, I challenge you. This week. Go do something for yourself, that you have been wanting to do. Even if it is something simple, take the time. Talk to your spouse and help them understand that your needs are important and that you need half an hour to do said activity.

Go get a pedicure, go for a run, take a long bath with a glass of wine, go try on skinny jeans at a department store, go to Sephora and buy a new lipstick. Even if you don’t have anything in mind. Figure something out, and get away from your kids and your husband for that time.

Go walk around Target and look at only things for yourself (do not go look at clearance clothes for your kids!).

Here is what I think you will find, and please let me know if I am wrong. You will feel rejuvinated.

You will want to make out with your husband.

You will want to read Brown Bear Brown Bear five times in a row like your toddler wants you to do.

If you do this on a regular basis, your sex life will improve, your self esteem will improve, your parenting will improve!

Once I made the connection between the things that I allowed myself to do for ME and the quality of my life in general, there was no turning back. I need time for me. I need to take care of myself. I no longer feel guilty for my occasional pedicures, getting my hair done, shopping for clothes, going for a jog, or going to a movie with a girlfriend.

You know why? My boys scream with cheer when I return home “Yay! Mommy is home!” They had the opportunity to miss me and you know what…. I missed them! We are all eager to be together again.

It is balance. It is healthy.

So there is my challange for all you mommies out there. Let me know how it goes.

Lots of Laundry Room Storage

Posted on January 21, 2013 by admin

We have been finished with the shelving in our laundry room for weeks. I just haven’t gotten around to taking pictures and getting them up!

Finally, finally, here we go.

Our lovely laundry room shelving.

We purchased premade shelving pieces for the project for two reasons, cleanlines and ease of installation. I wanted a surface that would wipe down easily. The reclaimed barnwood shelves that I had originally daydreamed about just weren’t very practical when it came to a laundry room. These boards were super easy to install. Just buy them, cut them and hang them up. No staining or painting needed. That was a bonus in my book since we were right in the middle of holiday madness when these were going up.

Look, I even have a big empty section! Can you believe that? Stacking the washer and dryer was the best idea EVER!

My laundry room is so functional now. There is a place for everything and I feel like I can move around in there sorting, folding and treating with ease.

xoxo

Chaise Lounge from My Love

Posted on January 18, 2013 by admin

I am finally getting around to sharing the sweet thing my hubby gave to me at Christmastime.

First, the story of how cute he is.

We always put the majority of eachothers gifts in our stockings. We sat there opening our gifts. I had filled his stocking with sweet tokens and thoughtful little gifts, and he had a few nice gifts wrapped under the tree from me as well. He had filled my stocking with mostly chocolate and k-cups for our coffee machine. I didn’t think anything of the fact that there wasn’t much for me really. I was having so much fun watching the kids open thier gifts and enjoying our family time together.

When we were finished unloading our stockings he said “Geesh, I feel bad. You gave me a lot nicer gifts this year.” He then looked at my stocking with a wrinkled brow and said, “Wait thier should have been one more thing. I must’ve left the bag in my truck last night. Hold on.” He zipped out into the snow and next thing I knew he was lugging a lovely piece of furniture in through the doorway.

I couldn’t believe it! My jaw hit the floor. This was NOT something I had expected!

I looooove it! And I love that it was a TOTAL surprise!

It is a lovely reading spot, or blogging spot. It is just perfect really.

I have always wanted a chaise lounge to lounge on in a long red nightgown, sipping a cocktail with a big feather hairpiece on my head. Can’t you see it now?

Project Be More Positive #4 :Think Happy Thoughts

Posted on January 16, 2013 by admin

Here we go again on my project. If you missed any of the other installments go HERE.

On my journey to be a more positive and happy person I realized, I had many a self depricating thought wander through my head.

Things like: I should lose 10 lbs, I hate my hair, I wish I looked like I did ten years ago, I should be doing more, I should be doing less, I must do more sit ups, I should be eating less chocolate, My clothes all suck, I need more {insert expensive product} to be beautiful/happy, etc etc etc.

This is not something that helps one be a positive and happy person.

I needed to address my self talk.

Thoughts are things. I truly believe that.

One can look at any situation and have two very different set of thoughts that go through their head.

Example:

A friend comes by your house with a lovely plate of chocolate chip cookies for your family.

1st internal thought process: “Ugh great, just what I need more sweets. I already am having a rough time fitting into my clothes after the holidays. I don’t need these cookies staring at me all day.” And then angrily you eat ten cookies and be frustrated that your friend made a sweet gesture.

2nd internal thought process: “How nice. She must really care about me and my family to go out of her way to drop these by. That was really sweet and makes me feel very loved and special. We are going to enjoy these, they look yummy” Then have a cookie or two and hold no grudge against your sweet friend.

I think you all know which thought process makes for a happier person.

Here is another example.

You run into an old friend at Target who you haven’t seen in a very long time. They are very successful and thin and beautiful and don’t have children pawing all over them like you do.

1st internal thought process: “Ugh, why must I run into someone like that when I didn’t curl my hair? I bet they felt sorry for me that I am a stay at home mom, they have a big career and I change diapers all day. I have totally let myself go! How could I be ok with being home with children all day… I had goals, dreams too! I wish I was thin, pretty successful like her”

2nd internal thought process: “Wow, well she looks great because she doesn’t have kids. If she had kids her life would be different. I feel sorry for her that she doesn’t have kids. I have much more important things to take care of than a career. I am raising human beings. She must be shallow/selfish/evil. My life is soooo much better than hers. Maybe I am not beautiful and thin, but my life matters!”

3rd internal thought process: “It is so good too see a great old friend. Wow, she looks great! I love her outfit, I should ask her where she got those boots! I am so impressed with her success in her career. I bet she worked really hard for that and sacrificed a lot. I should really try to keep in touch with her or set a date to meet for a drink sometime.”

As you sensed, the first two internal thought processes are severly toxic and don’t do anything for your self esteem. It may seem like the second one would be building yourself up, and it may for a minute, however anything negative like that only perpetuates more negative feelings.

You can’t trick yourself. Negative energy is negative energy, no matter who it is aimed at. It will fester and boil in you and spew out of you in the form of toxic stress, poor self esteem and icky feelings toward others.

Don’t let that live in your head.

Source

When you catch yourself having a negative dialogue in your head stop yourself. Acknowledge in your head that you are aware of those thoughts and that YOU are creating them.

Then, make yourself think some nicer ones. Even if it feels forced, DO IT. If you do it enough, it will come naturally. Just like a new excercise program, it will get easier and your muscles grow and you can do it naturally. Work out those positivity muscles as often as you can!

I did this on every single occasion I could. When I would feel myself thinking bad thoughts about myself I would change them PRONTO. I mean, the world is hard enough on us ladies, we don’t need to do this to ourselves!

It may sound cliche affirming yourself in your worth, beauty, intellegence or greatness can really help! I learned that I didn’t need this from other people, I needed to hear it from myself. I needed to tell myself that I was enough. I need to tell myself that I loved my body/hair/face. I needed to tell myself that my life choices were the greatest thing I have done for myself. I needed to tell myself that it didn’t matter what others did in thier lives, how they looked, what type of clothes they wear, but that most important was the love of my own decisions, my own hips, my own boots!

Give it a shot!

xoxo

Caprese Sandwich

Posted on January 15, 2013 by admin

Sometimes this time of year I just get the craving for something that tastes light and fresh. After the holidays with the sweets and the heavy rich meals, I feel like my mouth just needs something simple.

This Caprese Sandwich does just that for me.

Here is what you do.

Buy a baguette any flavor, I prefer a yummy sourdough.

Slice it lengthwise.

Lay out sliced tomatoes and sliced mozzerella on it.

Place it under the broiler for a few minutes until it gets gooey and toasted.

Drizzle with Balsamic Glaze and cut and serve. (This is my favorite)

Mmmmm.

You can also slather the bread with a spread before putting on the other toppings. One I love is pesto.

Hope you enjoy.

xoxo

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