New blog over at Exceptionalistic.com!!!

Excitement....chaos....remorse oh my!

Hmmm...where to begin.  It all began last week, four days ago to be exact.  It was a complete spur of the moment decision. During my blog travels to find some new blogger friends I stumbled onto a blog named Finding Hope. YES, YES, YES!!  I immediately connected with the author. We seemed to have a lot in common.  Would this truly be where I found my hope?



Things have been crazy here lately. Companies closing down, other companies on the downturn, my husband going back to school full time, wilder than normal kids and no time for really anything other than the day to day.  I felt as if I was drowning. It's up to me to keep this family running during this next year and I'm feeling more than overwhelmed (can we say triple overwhelmed?!) about what I need to do. I wanted to do something I wanted to do instead off always what I must do. Not necessarily in a selfish way but I needed some quiet time alone with Him. I've known for a while. This is my chance to rekindle.

The most current post on this blog was about an upcoming bible study about the Proverbs 31 woman through Good Morning Girls. A woman I so desperately would love to be but is it at all possible? I decided in all about 15 seconds that I was going to do this. I email the author of the blog to join the group.  A three month, five day a week study about this 'perfect' woman.  Two to three verses per day - how hard can that be? I can surely find 5-10 minutes of quiet time to myself to study and meditate on these verses so I can be an integral part of this group.

I'm all set...printed my study guide, printed the e-book, joined the Facebook discussion group.  I am ready to go.
 




Day one. Monday May 14th. I struggled with finding my quiet time. I really wanted to get up early so I could grab an iced coffee and enjoy this quiet time. I set my alarm and of course the children that never get up early get up 10 minutes before my alarm is due to go off. Failure. Fast forward through the day. I find my 15 minutes at the very end of the day. 11:45pm. I'm wondering what I've gotten myself into. Was this a mistake? Was this not the right time? Everyone else in the group seems so put together. Great...now I'm intimidated but determined.

Day two. Same story. I'm now wondering if day three will pick up. I'll be sure to let you know!

Overwhelmed? Disorganized?

Does your to-do list look a lot like this? Is the feeling overwhelming that crossing off one chore causes three more to find their way on the list? Do you need to get organized or reorganized?













Finally!!! I pulled out my new binder! I found these at Target about 4 months ago. I think they were 60% off at the time. They are just gorgeous. So lately I've been so busy I can't seem to keep track of what I have going on or what I need to do. Today I woke up with determination to get re-organized!



















Dividers that are colorful and coordinated!




It begins here. Ten sections. One for the to-do list, one for my current bible study, one for my blog info etc. etc. etc.

Mozaik Monday!

On my porch this morning was my new BzzAgent package full of Mozaik party supplies!  This picture doesn't do these justice. The 'realness' of how these look is astounding. Can you believe these are plastic? They look like real china and real utensils.  I can't wait to plan a party to try these out.  I am amazed so far without opening the packages. I hope to be even more impressed when I try them out. 
 

Attention all mommies!

A gift to all my mommy friends!

I hope you have a fabulous Mother's Day. Remember to find time to yourself! I'd love to hear about your 'me' time!

 

 

 

 

 

~If you'd like copies of any photos without words please let me know. I took all these photos myself and am happy to share them.

Creating something new!

So my oldest had questioned why the cloud dough couldn't be any other than color than off-white. What a great question. I hadn't thought anything about it until he mentioned it.

We gave it a try! Why not right?!? At first it didn't go as planned. He wanted to add food coloring. So we did. It didn't do anything to the cloud dough we already had.

So we added the food coloring to the baby oil and started over with fresh flour. That did work! We made several different colors but of course they got all mixed together which made it one dull brownish color. Overall the boys had fun doing something they thought of themselves.

I always try to encourage any hypothesis and problem solving!!

 

Fantastic Friday!

It's time for the first installment of 'Fantastic Friday' where I'll clue you in about another great contest, giveaway or freebie. TGIFF!

This an amazing offer! Any blogger would love to win this.

Enter to win a blog makeover at the 'A Complete Waste of Makeup' below.

Day in the 'clouds'

What a beautiful day it was today!
 

In honor of this gorgeous weather we made cloud dough. Yet another idea I found on Pinterest. It was exceptionally simplistic.

Ingredients:
8 cups of flour
1 cup of baby oil

It worked fairly well but didn't quite pack together as well had hoped. We continued to add more baby oil until it was a more malleable consistency. It worked out great! My kids LOVED it to put it mildly.
 

We had an old kiddie table that stored blocks sitting around completely 'outgrown' so we emptied it and used it for cloud dough. We put the lid on the table for naps and went back to it a few hours later. It was still useable! With it being a moist mixture I wasn't sure if it would dry out but it didn't. Just a tip for those of you that don't want to use 8 cups of flour each time the kids want to play in the clouds!

Quickest way to relax

Have you ever colored just to color? Have you ever wished life were as simple as it seems in a movie or television show? I LOVE coloring with my kids. It's calming, relaxing and just plain fun! Here's a picture my boys wanted me to color because I'm a girl and Jessie is a girl. Such a cute reason. I had a lot of fun.

Take 10 minutes out for yourself today to and be sure to comment to let me know what you chose to do!
 

First Sunday

International Bereaved Mother's Day. A day I wish I didn't have to celebrate. A day I wish I had never learned. We celebrate Mother's Day for those that have children. What about those that lost their children and have none here? What about those of us that have children on earth and also in heaven?

What a beautiful photo to commemorate this first Sunday in May. I think of my babies often. I think any mother that has lost a child does. I would love to hear your story about your beautiful little angels if you are willing to share. I don't think the grieving process ever really ends but I do believe talking about our experiences helps us make it a little more bearable.

I plan to always be there for any mother that has lost a child. I feel it's my duty to be a sturdy rock, a listening ear, a loving friend to anyone that has experienced the ultimate loss.

*Image from from Project Heal

Exceptional

Some days can be gloomy, some can be busy, some can be looooong , some can be rainy.......   Yesterday was one of these rough days. It felt like it may never end! Kids, pets, husband, cleaning, working....by the end of the night I was exhausted. Even relaxing didn't even sound comforting. 

I've decided today is an exceptional day! None of those other things will matter today.  Life is on hold today. Today we make cookies, color, run, play, act silly, snuggle, build a fort and do anything else that makes our hearts happy. Have you done anything amazing on one of these exceptional days?


 

Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.