Making everyone else happy doesn't always make you happy.

I am getting closer and closer to age 40 everyday, and yet I still struggle with the same problem I did when I was in elementary school. From a young age I have always wanted to make everyone happy. Every family needs a peacekeeper, and for ours..well it was me. My father and sister were a volatile combination...so I always felt like I had to put out fires. I always wanted everyone to like me, I always felt like I avoided conflict at all risks, and in turn I thought I was doing what I had to do...what was best for everyone.

I can be a people pleaser. I don't like this about myself, I admit. I always want to make everyone happy, but in doing so..well sometimes I don't know what makes me happy. I feel like I should have this all figured out by now. I am a work in progress. I am not ashamed to admit that I am perfectly imperfect.

I am my own worst enemy, my biggest critic, the expectations that I feel like the world has for me...well they are actually all workings of my won.

Wisdom is telling me that trying to make everyone else happy will never make me happy. I don't have to have to be selfless or selfish but can be true to myself, and love myself, and do what I think is right without having to look to others for affirmation. This is something that I want to pass on to my own girls, but it may be something that they too have to learn on their own.

Time Well Spent

When I say I am going to do something, I try my best to always follow through. This is something that my parents have ingrained into me from the beginning, and I am thankful for that. You see words without actions are meaningless, and it's impossible to be credible without backing up what we say. This is why it's been so hard for me to admit that I don't seem to be doing too well with keeping up with my blog.

A few months ago I was determined to use my free time to write, something I really enjoy doing. More than anything though it is a great outlet for me. These past months have not gone as planned, but then I realize life seldom does, and sometimes the best things are the ones that were not in our "original plan".

March was a difficult month, but one that brought about positive change. In a previous post I had mentioned about some things going on with my husband's job that were causing us to question some things. I am pleased to say that this is no longer the situation. My husband was able to return to a prior position with a much better work/life balance. The sacrifice of course is less pay. We trust that this was the right decision for our family, and my faith allows me to believe that God will always take care of us.

Also last month an opportunity presented itself  for me to return to my field on a part time basis. I have to be honest and say that this is something that I really struggled with because as much as I miss the professional world, the issue for me has always been the childcare situation. The cost of part time childcare in this area would pretty much wipe out my part time paycheck, and I am not sure that we would come out ahead in the end. I love being home with my son, and being able to take my girls too and from school, and be involved in their schools. I am so grateful for the time I have with my kids as I know it is limited. For the time being I have passed up this opportunity, and continued to evaluate my time.

I appreciate the people that have asked me why my social media presence has dwindled and if I am okay. I am pleased to say that I am more than okay. Something I have been struggling with lately is time. Life is so busy whether we are working parents, stay at home parents, work at home parents, or honestly just any parent.  I am an " all or nothing personality", so I admit it is hard for me to wear many hats and believe that I am doing a great job with all of them.

My birthday is rapidly approaching and although I like to believe that I will always be young at heart, I know that my days are numbered as they are for all of us. We make the assumption daily  that we will have always have "tomorrow" to do something, but in actuality we are never promised tomorrow and all we have for now is the present moment. Time is precious, especially the time we have with our children. It is our job to raise them to be the people we want to see more of in the world. It is our duty to society, God, and our family to lead and guide them.  It is not an easy task, and not for the faint of heart.

My kids were home last week from school, and what they wanted more than anything was my time. I am thankful they still feel this way because I have a strong feeling that they may not share the same sentiments during the tween/teen years. Some days I just want to freeze time.  Right now the best gift I can give my children is my presence and undivided attention. Undivided attention seems impossible in a day where we are always multitasking, but I have come to the realization that even though I am capable of doing many things at the same time, only a few of these will be done with the quality I desire.

That being said this is where I have been....spending more time living in the moment with as little distractions as I can. Time is a limited currency, and nothing is really free. I want to make sure that the things I am spending my time on count.

I hope that I will be able to devote more time to a blog in the future, but right now it is not at the top of my list. I want to enjoy being silly with my kids, spend time drinking coffee with my friends, taking walks around the neighborhood, being involved in my church and community, and less time in a virtual presence. More real "face time" and less "screen time". I have enjoyed all of the connections I have made via the "virtual world" but life is short, and I just want to live more simply. My girls are out of school the end of June, and my goal is so unplug for the summer. Hoping I will be able to achieve this. Nothing is free that costs my time, and my time has to be spend on things that coincide with what I truly value in life.

There is a great quote by Barbara Bush that I shared last week via twitter but it says "At the end of your life you will never regret not having passed more more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spend with your husband, a friend, a child, or a parent".  I love this.

There is nothing like the value of faith, family, and friends. At least this is what is right for me, and I do realize that my opinions are my own, and not for everyone. As always thank you for taking time out of your day to read my random ramblings.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Remember this question? When I was a kid I could have given you the answer in 5 seconds flat. The 10 year old version of me would have told you that I wanted to be a teacher and a mom. I am happy to say that I was able to achieve both of these by becoming a teacher at 23, and then a mom at 27. I was so sure of myself. I thought being a teacher would be the perfect career to coincide with being a mom. I had a hard time balancing the two the way I wanted, and became a full time mom after the birth of my second child. So many people make being a working mom look like a cake walk. I sure wish I could have been like that. My oldest has asthma and allergies and was sick so much that it was impossible to be able to miss that many days, and a daycare environment had never been the best setting for her. I never thought I would enjoy being a full time mom, but surprisingly I really have. Of course I miss the social interaction, doing something of my own, and getting a paycheck (other than the hugs and kisses I know receive as pay).

Fast forward to the birth of my third child. Seems like yesterday he was born, and now he was just 10 months yesterday. In a way it is like having a first child again because both of my older ones are now in school all day. It is wonderful having this time with my "little man" as I like to call him. My oldest and I were just talking the other day about what she would like to be when she grows up. She has so many ideas, and I love to hear her dreams. She then turned the question around on me, and I found myself without a quick answer. I told her that I wanted to be a mom, and she said " you are silly...but what about when us kids are grown?". The crazy thing is that I know this day will come long before I am ready.

My husband turns 36 in a few weeks, and I always love to joke after his birthday that I am his much younger wife. In reality I am only 2 1/2 months younger. I remember the year we turned 30. It was a bit overwhelming. We have been together since we were 19. I am so fortunate to have spent my 20's and now my 30's with this wonderful man. Of course it hasn't always been easy, but whose life has. Even when you look from the outside of someone's life and think it's easy you just never know what they keep hidden. Anyway we are both finding that we are enjoying the 30's even more than the 20's. My oldest pointed out the other day that we will be 36 which is closer to 40 than 30. Glad she is getting a good education. 

I remember when my parents turned 40 and we had a big "over the hill" party for them. That was almost 24 years ago. I do not fear growing old. My faith assures me of my fate which is a comfort. I do seek God's will in my life, but sometimes I am not so sure of all of the answers. Some days I think I would love to return to the classroom. The jobs are not as prevalent as they were when I left the field. Some days I think I would just like to start taking classes so that I am ready for a new career when my son enters school. I guess I do not need to have all of the answers now. Maybe someday I will find the answer to what I want to be when I am grown up.

When did you know what you wanted to do with your life or are you still struggling to find the answers?

My very first review and it happens to be one of our absolute favorites, Happy Family Organic Superfoods!

     I have been using the Happy Baby Organic Baby Food products since my son was able to start solids. The first product we had tried was the Happy Bellies Oatmeal Baby Cereal and I have to say that this is my son's favorite cereal. My husband even had to drive out in a snow storm to get this product when we had unexpectedly run out.
   
     I was delighted when through engaging with the Happy Family Organic Superfoods company via their twitter page I was given the opportunity to review a few of their products.
*In exchange for my review I received the following products:

Happiest Baby Package (6months-18m)

1 Take Ones

1 Bellies BOGO

Free Trial coupons:

1 Munchies (canister & rice cakes)

1 Puff

1 Yogis

2 Happy Baby Pouches (your choice of Stage 1,2,3, Tot & Tot Plus)

*The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

     So as I mentioned above we had already been fans of the Happy Bellies cereals. My son loves the taste, and I love that they offer the benefits of both pre and pro-biotics for immune support and choline for brain development. RJ is my third baby so this time I am even more aware of all of the scary GMO's in so many products, and love that Happy Family Superfoods are all USDA organic certified, which gives me peace of mind.

     My son loves the happy munchies and yogis. They are a great snack while at home or when we are out. This was our first time trying the Happy Munchies carrot rice cakes (as seen in picture above). These are made from whole grain brown rice, are lightly sweetened with vegetable &fruit juices, and have no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. They taste great (yes I even tried one before giving them to him).  The Happy Yogis have been a favorite snack and I love that they are even gluten free as well as containing probiotics to promote digestive health. They are made from organic fruit and yogurt.

     We love the Happy Baby Pouches as well because they come in a wide variety of flavors and stages, and are the perfect on the go snack/meal for the older baby/toddler as well.

     I trust Happy Family Organic Food products for my family, and would encourage you to try them as well.  The prices are very reasonable for the organic food market, and you know that you are feeding your child something good for them that actually tastes good.

     I love that Happy Family Organic Superfoods products are made by REAL moms. Connect with Happy Family Ogranic Superfoods Facebook page or via twitter @happysuperfoods for coupons, product updates, or just to say hello. Great company with great PR.

Social media overload and does it really make us more social?

This post has been one that I have wanted to write for quite some time, and today I am finally sitting down to do so. We live in a very digital age. In some ways, this is a good thing I admit. In other ways I do question how much better it makes our quality of life overall.

A few weeks ago I was at the mall, and I was doing one of my favorite things other than shopping. I was people watching while I sat on the bench feeding my son. I couldn't help but to notice how many people walked by staring into the abyss of their smart phones. These people weren't just teenagers, but encompassed all age ranges, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. I wondered how many were working. I do understand that there are certain professions that require more "connectivity" if that is even a word.

We went to the diner the other night for character night. This is always one of our family's favorite nights because kids also eat free. I looked around at all the families, and saw that many again were typing away on those phones.

The worse though was the other day in the school parking lot when I saw a parent steering her mini van with her knees while typing away on her phone. What was so important to put the safety of no only her children but of all the parents/children in the parking lot at risk?

I am writing because this is something that I have struggled with in the past. I didn't have a smart phone until 2012. I didn't really need one sooner because I have not been a working mom for quite some years. I do understand that being a mom is tough no matter working, staying at home, working from home, and as a side note I know we all need to support one another (future blog post). However, I chose to leave my career to be home with my children. This is a decision that has worked well for my family, and is not forever but as long as finances allow.

Moms today no matter working situations have to be multitaskers. There are so many things that require our attention. It is hard when our children are infants, but I find that mine still need a lot of attention regardless of age due to homework, sports/activities, etc and this is one of the things I love most. Being needed by my children, but I know the ultimate goal someday is for them to not need me as much. They are 8, 5, and 9 months though now so they really need me A LOT.

Anyway, when I got my smart phone I downloaded all of my favorite apps, including social media ones. I thought it would be neat to be able to use my time at drop off/pickup/etc keeping up with these things and being more social (insert laugh). I laugh because I wonder does social media make us more social? Instead of getting out and conversing with the other moms and dads, I spent every last minute possible reading Facebook statuses of my friends or entering a few contests via twitter. It seemed okay. Who was it hurting?

My son was born in May 2013. I wanted to keep up with the social media, especially with Twitter because it has been so helpful to our family to be able to "win" items that we needed. It was worth my time I thought. I continued to do this during naptimes/feedings/when the kids were in bed.
I felt stressed all the time/like I never had any downtime. I thought I was more "social" because I was commenting on my friend's Facebook status updates and I was tweeting with people.

When 2014 came around I started to question all the multitasking I was doing and how stressed I was feeling. I was trying to keep up with my contesting while being a  mom of three, being involved in the school, keeping up with the house, volunteering at church, etc. I thought there was really no "me" time. I had been feeling for months that I needed to find that perfect balance in my life. I cannot imagine how hard this must be if you have a paid job on top of everything else.

I challenged myself to take a week away form social media. At first it was really hard, but after the next few days, it really wasn't anymore. I also found that by not multitasking all the time, I enjoyed each minute more. I enjoyed all the things that at times had felt like burdens everyday. My house has been cleaner. My kids are happier, and the reason is that I have been happier. I have gotten everything done each day, have planned more playdates, have read more books, and have completed tasks I didn't think I had time for in the past. A life of balance is something I think we all seek.

I value technology, but think it needs it's place. I was just talking with a friend the other day who was mentioning having a problem with her kids/hubby all being on their devices during dinner and that she has to turn off the wi-fi to call family meetings. I do not want to end up like this. I do not want to set this example to my children.

All of those looking for me on twitter, I am okay. Again, just trying to find that balance. How do you find balance in your life? Do you think technology has changed the way we parent our children today? Curious to hear thoughts, and again please keep in mind that everything above is my opinion and in no way a judgement of anyone else who does not make the same choices.

Coming to peace with worry.

I admit it, I am a worrier by nature. I have been this way ever since I can remember. When I was a kid it was about things that seemed so big to me, that I realize now weren't really that big of issues. Today I worry about my husband, my kids, a sick friend, you name it. Usually during the day when I am busy I can push the problems/issues I worry about to the back of my head, but they usually hit me right around the time my head hits the pillow at night and the house is quiet. Who doesn't worry?

I know that when problems arise my immediate response needs to be prayer over worry. Prayer is a very powerful resource. Right now my husband is in a very difficult situation with his career, and I keep praying for an answer. I pray as much as I can about it, and then I ask "God are you hearing me ?" . It's like I expect an immediate result. I know that this is where faith comes in. It can be so difficult to wait.

Sometimes God's answers are not the answers we want or are not as quickly as we expect. I do know that He works everything together for good, even though we may never see the bigger picture. (Romans 8:28)  When my husband first graduated from college he started interviewing in New York City. He had interviewed for several jobs including one he really wanted. He didn't hear back from the one he wanted until he had started another position. He was very disappointed. A few months later 911 happened, and 658 employees from that company (Cantor Fitzgerald) perished in the World Trade Center attacks. This is where my husband would have been on that day, and life as I know it would be completely different. God had a plan. We didn't see it until then. No matter how many years pass, my heart still aches for all the families in our area/and across the country whose lives were forever changed that day.

Where you are today is exactly where you are supposed to be. Everything happens for a reason. Not getting a job, being late for an appointment....it is all part of a better plan. There is great peace in this, and knowing this I helps me with my daily worry and with my faith.

How do you come to peace with the things you worry about?

Even positive people have bad days& coming to peace with mom guilt.

When I was younger, I remembered pretty much anything and everything. My mind was a sponge. I could remember friend's birthdays without writing them down. There wasn't as much "clutter" in my mind or for that matter in my house.

Since becoming a mom 8 years ago, I have to say this is no longer the case. Like any mother, I keep a big master calendar with everything I need to know for the week/month. Our calendar is full of all the typical things from appointments/playdates/school events/birthdays/parties you name it. If it isn't listed on the calendar, I probably will not remember.

We are coming into another "birthday party season" as I like to call it. Always seems that no matter what  birthdays always seem to come in clusters throughout the year. This past Saturday my friend's son was turning 2, and the party was to be held in one of the big local gym/play areas. My kids were so excited. I got up Saturday morning full of energy. I ran my errands, I started my laundry, I did my daily chores, all the while looking at the clock for it to be 3. I just happened to double check my calendar only to realize that I had looked at the time of the following Saturday's birthday party and this particular party was at 1:30. It was 2:15. I texted my friend, we all piled into the car, and arrived an entire hour late. 

I beat myself up over this for the rest of the day. My husband told me not to be so hard on myself. He said, "People make mistakes, Martina, it's not a big deal." Why was it such a big deal to me?

From the time I was a little girl, I have always been a people pleaser, a perfectionist, my own worse enemy essentially. Even at the age of 5 my mom would tell you that I was upset with myself because I didn't have addition/subtraction down perfectly. I remember always being upset if I didn't have all the A's. Upset if my parents weren't happy with me. Upset if things weren't perfect. If I wasn't perfect.  Now that I am quickly approaching 40, this is something I am doing a little bit better about, but it is still a struggle.

When I have these days that I feel this way I say to myself "how can a typically positive person feel so negative". I am realizing though that even positive people have bad days, and that it doesn't mean tomorrow will be bad too or that my life is bad. Everyone makes mistakes.

As moms though (whether we are at home, work full time, work part time, etc) I feel like we are the ones who have to hold it all together. That is so hard to do no matter what your working situation is. There is so much pressure to be the perfect mom. I think this is pressure we all put on ourselves. I find myself feeling guilty sometimes if I didn't get all of my laundry done, if the kids' bedrooms don't look perfect when friends visit,  if the cupcakes I made for the bake sale weren't made from scratch... You get the idea. I think we all can come together and relate to the guilt. How do we give it up? 

I always thought of my mom as the perfect mom. She was a nurse, and she managed to keep her career (part time) but be available to my sister and I anytime we needed her. She made us clothes, cooked us "from scratch" dinners, etc. I never appreciated it all as much as I do now that I am a mom and I try to remember to tell her as often as I can how thankful I am for her and for influence. I mentioned once thinking she was the perfect mom, and she just laughed. She definitely didn't think this of herself. It was then that I realized that the most important thing is to just do the best we can, and if we do it out of love, those are the memories the kids will have. At least that's all I can hope. Also everyday it is part of my daily prayer for wisdom& patience. I have to hang up my "perfect" ideas, let go of the guilt, and remember again that bad days are just bad days not a bad life or an excuse to throw in the towel.

Do you struggle with mom guilt? How do you balance it all? Would love to read your comments.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is less than a week away. For some this is a holiday that fills them with delight, while for others it's a day they dread.

Funny, my husband and I actually had our very first date on Valentine's day. I had known my husband 2 years prior to our first date. He had been one of my good friends. I used to hang out with him and vent about the guys I was dating, and he would listen (like a good friend does) and just tell me that I was choosing the wrong ones. I think I am like any girl when I tell you that I had that "bad boy" phase of my life. I always thought that I could "fix" someone. That was only fun for so long, and I started to see something different in my friend Jason.

One night he challenged me to go on a date with him. I kind of laughed about it at first, but then before I knew it there we were in the Applebee's in Bloomsburg, PA (our college town) on our first date. The surprising thing was that it wasn't awkward at all.

I remember the first time I went "home" with him to meet his mother, and I was amazed at the way he treated her. It was different than what I had seen before, and I have to say he was "different" than anyone else I had ever met. We were together through the rest of college. Then graduation came in 2000, and I stayed on to go to graduate school while he moved back home to work in the city. I didn't know how we would do it, but we did. It definitely wasn't always easy. In 2002 we were married. So hard to believe that we will be celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary.

I am no expert on marriage. I only can tell you what I know from my own experience.
I love Valentine's day, but its one day a year. I never expect anything amazing. What amazes me is the way that I am treated everyday. It's easy to "feel in love" when you are dating. You don't have the demands of finances, kids, real world stress (at least we didn't when we dated, I do realize everyone's situation is a little different).

There are so many different forms of love.
My girls love the Disney Fairy Tale movies. Their favorites right now are "Tangled" and of course "Frozen". I always loved the princesses and these stories as well. What little girl doesn't? Life certainly isn't a fairy tale.

Love is easy some days, and some days it is work. I am happy that I am married to my friend and that we had that basis first, because it's helped us through some rough times. Also, what has mattered is our faith. God can certainly do anything. The pastor that married us said that if both partners were moving toward God they would be moving towards one another. I know not everyone has faith, or finds this helpful, but it's something that has always helped us.

Love is not a fairy tale, life is hard.
I think other helpful advise we received when we got married was to be a team daily. It's not a competition about who had the worst day, who slept less, who is the most stressed...but about how we can handle it all together. I do hope that everyone has a very Happy Valentine's day, but just remember...its one day.

To those of you who are married, what is the best marriage advise you ever received? Please feel free to share in comments section! Would love to hear from you.

The journey to this blog, and thank you for reading!

The world is full of blogs and bloggers. There are even tv shows about blogs. One of my children's favorite ones is "Dog with a blog" on the Disney Channel. So if a dog has a blog, why can't I? Thanks for joining me on my journey to "blog". I do not claim to be an expert writer. My posts will not be perfect. So that bubble is now burst! ;)

In August 2008 I became a mom for the second time. Up until that time I had continued to work, but after much talk and prayer, I felt that I was meant to be a full time mom. I had no idea how this could possibly work. It was both exciting and scary. We live in New Jersey where the cost of living is very high. 

In 2009, I was introduced to the first blog I ever read. It was a "freebie" blog. It was wonderful because it helped me become a little more savvy with my money. I started to coupon, and to take advantage of any freebies that companies would offer. This was especially helpful on baby products/food items. One day when I logged on to the site I saw something about entering sweepstakes. I knew nothing about sweepstakes. I had never won anything, and really thought it was something that happened for other people. 

I tried my hand at my first sweepstakes or "sweeps" as the "professionals" call it, and was surprised to win my first prize (a candy bar). I was jumping up and down. I told my husband, and he said "that's nice...a candy bar". It was nothing big for sure, but my philosophy has always been that "every little bit helps".

In late 2010, I started seeing posts about people entering twitter contests. I had no idea what twitter was. I logged on, and had an intense headache. It was so overwhelming. I ended up connecting with some other moms there and they were all talking about twitter parties. I had no idea what a twitter party was, but heard that the odds here were better than in other "sweeps". I was terrible at first, but eventually started winning. I won some nice things from gift cards, to coupons, to toys, to clothing items, and all kinds of little things. At first it was exciting to win anything. After doing it for a while though, I limited my time to the things we truly needed. I am so grateful for the items that I won. It really helped us through some otherwise difficult times.

By early 2012 I was thinking about my return to the work force. And of course it was then that we found out we were expecting. It threw us for a loop, but we were so excited to become parents again. That pregnancy was not meant to be. I was crushed when we went in for the ultrasound and there was no longer a heartbeat. I had some very down times, and it was amazing to have so much encouragement from both "real" and "virtual" friends. It was a miracle when just 3 months later we found out we were expecting again. I was excited and nervous, and that baby is now 9 months old. 

So it is now 2014, and I am still blessed to be home with my children (even though my older two are now in elementary school full time). I still enter contests on twitter when I can and try my hand at a few "sweeps". I still coupon, but now my goal is to break into the blogging community.

I am so excited for the connections and I have made and for those of you have already jumped on board. I appreciate every word of encouragement. This is something that I really have to do for myself. 

That brings me back to the question though of how did you get to the point where you are reading my blog? How do you save money? I look forward to exchanging tips together. I would love to see your comments.

Gratitude is a daily choice.

Throughout time, all kinds of books have been written on finding happiness. Everyone wants to be happy. What is happiness anyway? Happiness is temporary. Life is a roller coaster. No one can feel happy every minute of everyday, and if you do then you need to share your secrets with me! ;)

People look at me as a generally happy person though, and I am. Some people love that, and some people are annoyed by that I think. Misery loves company, and I refuse to let myself go down that path. Is it because I have nothing to be miserable about? The same things have come into my life as have in most of your cases. I once was told by someone on social media that I "live the good life". That made me laugh because it goes again to show that through social media we are often perceived in a different way than we might be in person. I am the same person behind this computer as you would find if you came to visit me here in New Jersey. What you get is what you see. I do live the good life, but it may be a different "good life" than what you think. I don't live in a fancy house, drive a fancy car, have tons of money in the bank, or live a life of luxury, but the things that I have and hold most precious are things money could never buy.

I believe it is imperative to keep life in perspective daily. I say daily, because as humans we are emotional beings, and things happen in our lives that could steal our joy. When I wake up each day, I do thank God for another day. I am here for some reason. At times I am not exactly sure what that reason is. For me right now though, my biggest reason is my three special blessings...my children. I have to be who I want to be and even more so, who I want them to be. They are ALWAYS watching me every minute of the day. I am one of the biggest influencers in their lives. It can be a lot of pressure when you think about it like that, but I look to God to give me daily wisdom and strength.

Okay now getting to gratitude..a few years ago a good friend told me to start each day by saying "thank you" when your feet hit the ground in the morning as you get out of bed. Sounds pretty corny to some, but I do this daily and it centers me.

We have had a really rough winter here in New Jersey as have had most of you in the United States. There has been so much snow. The kids have missed too many days of school that I honestly feel they will be going until July to make up for it. All my kids have been sick, and I feel like we continue to pass around the same gunk. We have visited our pediatrician more times this year than probably ever. My husband took a new position which has proved to be very challenging for our family. My husband's grandfather recently passed away almost exactly on the two year anniversary of my father in law's passing. Bad things have happened. Some days it would be easy to focus on this and get depressed. We all have things in our lives that are not ideal, and I get that. I was feeling pretty badly about some of this stuff the other day when I learned from a friend that one of the other moms in my daughter's class was just diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma which has spread to other organs, and it sure knocked me for a loop. At that point it was crystal clear to me that 1) I better start praying for this woman and her family and 2) I better stop feeling sorry about my own life. No matter how bad of a day I was having, it was NOTHING compared to thinking of not being here to see my children grow up (every mother's worst nightmare).

Perspective is everything isn't it? Most of the way we "feel" about the world is because of our own "view". How do we change that? For me, my faith of course is a huge part of it, but also....I think it's about counting our blessings DAILY! This is something I have tried to instill into my own children. Every Thursday morning at breakfast we do Thankful Thursday. I would love to be able to do this daily with them, but honestly some mornings are so crazy I just celebrate getting the girls to school on time and myself and the baby dressed and ready to see people at that time of day.

Take time to count your blessings, and you may realize that you also live "the good life" but maybe not in the same way that you had always wanted to. It's an instant mood booster I promise.

Here are a few quotes that I absolutely love:

1) It's not happiness that brings us gratitude. It's gratitude that brings us happiness. ANON.

2) Be thankful for what you have and you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have,  you will never, have enough. Oprah Winfrey.

3) Being happy doesn't mean you have it all, but that you are thankful for all you have!

There are so many more. I love positive life quotes, and usually share the ones that inspire me.
What are you grateful for today?

Welcome

Hello everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read my first post. I am so excited about this new adventure. If you are a twitter follower, I am the tweep formerly known as @martiferg. Why did I change my name? Several reasons, first because I wanted something linked to a blog. Second, because I wanted something meaningful. Third, kind of creepy having something so closely tied to my name.

I am a 30 something mom of 3 children. E who is 8, Ry who is 5, and baby RJ who is presently 8 1/2 months old. I used to teach special education, more specifically children on the spectrum. I did in-class support, self contained k-2 autism, and then early intervention for children under the age of 3 on the spectrum. I miss teaching, but I love being home with my children more than anything. The days are so long, but I am finding that the quote rings true about the years being short. Time is already flying by so quickly.

People ask me all the time what the next step is in my career, and frankly to be honest, I am not sure. I loved being a teacher, but I am not sure what I will do when RJ is a little older. In the meantime, I am hoping to blog and to continue being very involved in the schools but this time as a parent.

Each day is a gift. No day is perfect, but I do find that there is something perfect or good in every day, and I have peace knowing that I am right where I need to be. I would like to use this blog to share everything from positive quotes, MOMents that I am grateful for daily, and even money saving tips. Thank you for coming along on my journey and wishing you a great day.