What Will We Accomplish Today!?

When I get the kids up some days… I ask them this….

— What are we going to accomplish today? What are we going to get done (together…. as a team)?

Some days my list of “To-Do” — is as simple as #1 – Relax, Breathe, Be Grateful, Laugh

I’m hoping that when they face adversity they can look at it and consider it something positive that has been laid in front of them. Trusting that it will all work out (whatever it may be) and continue to do the right thing (whatever that may be) at the time….

We do a lot of “HAPPY THOUGHTS” here….
We do a lot of praise.
We do a lot of “I’m sorry because I did _______ and Will you forgive me?”

I’m hoping when life knocks them down… they can get back up with a smile on their face and determination in their hearts/souls and keep on trucking with the best during the worst….

I think your attitude has a lot to do with what happens to you in your life.
If you are thrown a whole bunch of horrible things one after another and think woe is me…. then chances are likely you will not see the light that can come out of that experience…
If you look at it as a new challenge or learning opportunity then even in the worst of times you can power through to another day.

Travelling with kids. Travelling at all… Trying something new… Not having a clue about the future…. Putting everything on the line…. hoping for the best…..

No job lined up. No place to live figured out. No real PLAN for the future.. BAHAHAHAAA It’s Hilariously SCARY!

Some may say I’m crazy. I think I just put my trust in something and think no matter what everything will turn out okay in the end (or so I hope).

I know I have today though… and I know today counts… today is what matters.. and the next few weeks… the mornings… that turn into afternoons… which will inevitably become evenings leading into nights…. The sun will rise tomorrow… and to that I am grateful. Today is awesome. I just hope tomorrow is too!

I hope my children can take away some sort of road schooling education from this trip… something worth more than what textbooks can offer them…. A year ago they didn’t know desert, mountains, jet skis, pontoons, boathouses, etc…. But now…. They’ve seen the desert… They KNOW different animals, weather patterns, culture, plants like a cactus (And the girly girl knows it all too well as she had a needle in her rump a few months ago after leaning a little too close to a pretty one)…

They are so young still.. but I hope they learn how to speak their mind.. hope they learn how to face adversity as well as RESPECTFULLY face the education system (educators/administrators) that they are a part of….. I do not know how to INSTILL a desire to learn in them… TO INSTILL the mentality to readily use and take what you can from teachers, mentors, people at the market, or whoever you can (knowledge is so limitless)… Time. Time. Time….

********************* What will YOU accomplish today ?! **************************

Spotify. Yes. Please.

Without spotify I would go insane.  Seriously. True statement.   When I put it on “shuffle” and it has well over 10,000 songs of wonderful sounds to my ears.  I have EVERY type of music in there (almost)…..   and I just have to skip if I don’t want that exact song right now.

 

 

It’s so much better than Pandora because it has ONLY the songs that I myself have picked.  I have a story to go with each song on there.   THE SONGS bring me back to a place in my mind/heart that usually makes me dance a little dance… and smile a happy smile….

We need to dance.

The kids and I.

Dancing is critical to our survival.  To our sanity (or just my own sanity) —

It gets “OUT” their extra energy very quickly with a dance session… and it eases all stress if there’s something happening that is a tad bit not enjoyable…

Oh yes, music.  Thank you for always helping….

When there is no internet connection and all I have is the radio… I get quite sad.  I love the radio but I’m done with it.    I live in a world of spotify.  I love it.  *Sigh*  Thank you Spotify for being so AWESOME.

 

The most difficult part of travel is not having GOOD music when we want good music….  Spotify rectifies that for me but only if I can get us near WiFi 🙂 😀

Here’s a throw back Thursday for the blogging world…. —  Back at the duplex in Lake Havasu City… we were having a dance party to “I hope you dance” — and it makes my heart happy just to see this and recall that day. 😀

 

*Blessed*

 

My Mother was Insane… :)

I think about the past 10 years of my life and consider it a complete turn around.

My mother passing away…. Getting married….. Having three AWESOME HAPPY HOOLIGAN CHILDREN…  Buying, fixing up, having a house fire, and selling a handful of houses…. Living in a 5th wheel for a y ear……   Getting divorced (filing for it.. trying to get divorced)……..   Going back to College full time while working full time while doing the SINGLE MOM thing full time……   Living in a travel trailer for a few months…….   Taking a job 3000 miles away and then moving with said 3 happy hooligans across the country to a city where I know no one……..  AND NOW… the trip back —–

WOW.  I am SO HAPPY to be where we are today.  Life is hectic and planning this trip BACK EAST is a bit stressful considering the chaos behind it all but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  The kids are excited about living in a motor home… the kids are excited about seeing a couple new fun things along the way on the venture back east… and they are good.  Very GOOD…. compared to where they were only one year ago.  Educational experience overload. Yes.

What I hope to share with them someday is the foolishness that my mother instilled in me as a young woman.  My mother would embarrass me and poke fun at me in public all the time.  I realize now that it was her GOD GIVEN RIGHT as a MOTHER to do those things but at the time I completely (almost) hated her for doing those things to me.   She got a kick out of it and now I honestly can not wait to play fun games with my kids and be all sorts of insane in public in front of my own children just to embarrass them so they can remember me as the crazy lady just as I remember my mother as that same woman (unfortunately she passed away when I was 21 so she never got the opportunity to meet my children)… but oh man.. she would have LOVED to had known them and been a grandmother.

Basically I saw this other picture (below) and thought of my mother.. and a slight twinge of pain shot through me as I had felt sad because I will never know that feeling of being FOOLISH with my mother because I still had so many embarrassing moments with her (towards the end of her life I was just coming out of my shell of not wanting to be embarrassed and I too would act a fool in public with her around.. together we were insane.. they should have locked us up .. LOL)

Basically I know her personality was a bit off the path as most and I love that about what she was and who she helped me become….   I wish I could get on these little motorized carts now with her and just run amuck in public… terrorizing the “normal” people out and about… all the while LAUGHING at ourselves and our insanity….

I day remembering the good times brings back so many happy thoughts/memories.  🙂 Keep those who you love CLOSE to you and ALWAYS make sure you tell those who you love… that you LOVE THEM…  time is fleeting…  it really is…  and you never know when someone else’s or your time is going to run out.

STEP 3 — Packing STUFF in …..

When I stand and look at our house….. and spin around… looking at our new motorhome…. then back again at the house…. I once again have the surmounting feeling of having too much STUFF (how did we collect this much STUFF after coming 3000 miles across the country with hardly anything?!) *answer: almost everything was from donations and the rest of the things were on sale..

I need to fit all their “STUFF” into a teeny tiny space again…..

So basically have spent copious amounts of hours pawing through everything (again) to figure out what we are taking with us and what we will donate or sell back out to try and get some more spending money/gas money for the trip….

I took pictures along the way so I’ll share them as the changes unfold…. (basically I would put something in one spot and then realize NO… I need THAT spot for this other thing…) or I would pack something in and a day later, go and take it out because my gut says “DO YOU REALLY NEED THAT?!” The cabinets were full of the last guy’s stuff (who I bought it from) because he was so kind to leave all his things in it for me to handle (keep and use)…. I took everything out.. thought about what I wanted and what could be given away/sold and then put half of it back in…..

Making sure things don’t fall down/fall over/clink and clank/break/come loose while driving is another part of this adventure…. When I packed the crock pot… I stuck all the extra napkins I have inside it so it would keep the lid from banging…. likewise with my other ceramic dishes….

I have sleeping bags for all of us which have been moved around more times than I can count…… I have extra towels for all of us (and extra kitchen/wipe towels/cloth napkins) for all of us because when they get super dirty I can just toss them along the way and not have to worry about a mounting pile of dirty clothes every single day….. To follow up with that idea I am probably going to “let” the happy hooligans wear all of their FINEST PLAY CLOTHES (stains, holes, etc) and when they get messy this time… INTO THE TRASH they go (they’re not worthy of donating at this point but will serve an EXCELLENT purpose of clothing along a camping road trip across America… 🙂 🙂

I have packed in some of their good clothes too but unless we’re going out to a fancy park/dinner/event….. they’ll stay packed away……………

Selling or Giving Away EVERYTHING Again

We did this last year when we were leaving New York….

I had a yard sale. and another yard sale. And then got to the point where I wanted STUFF gone.

 

So GONE it went.

 

 

This year it is very different.  I did not actually buy most of the things around us….  I had so many things donated that I have tried to donate things back out and really am not asking for much when it comes to selling things….  Every single dollar counts but I don’t want to “make something” from nothing.   I appreciate all the generosity from this city…. the people here really helped us with the transition into the city.   I have one of the best landlords I have ever met and couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to surround myself with in the past 11 months…..    I am truly sad and have cried my fair share of tears about leaving a place where we can live in peace, feel safe, and comfortable.   Without a select few helping hands to reach out and say “What can I do to help?” — this year would have been VERY difficult.   The stress of trying to “make it” and be able to just get by would have overwhelmed me…..  But it didn’t…… The people in this city are willing to help when they see someone who needs a little lift up.   They have services here for families in need.  We fell into that category but I made too much money to qualify for any ‘assistance’.   We were blessed with help in more ways than I can count and no amount of THANK YOU will cover my gratitude.

The commute every single day was exhausting and I’m mostly GLAD that it is over….     WHO would have thought?!!!??  A school district without a school bus system….. (It wasn’t on my list of questions to ask when I started researching the area/schools).  I learned.  Oh, how I learned.  AND — I love learning… so all is well.

I look around our house right now and sigh a bit of relief.   More than half of our “STUFF” is gone….   I have packed up some brand new clothes (donated to us) and am sending them to New York so they’re there for us when we arrive……   I have packed up the motor home….  decorated it slightly with some dollar store stickers and homemade curtains from my Nana who wished me well on my way 11 months ago. She helped me ‘decorate’ the travel trailer that we drove all the way here… and put her heart and soul into the curtains we now have….. (I’m a “THROW IT TOGETHER AND JUST PUT IT UP” kind of person and she’s the “Let me measure this 10 times, cut it once, sew it… ooops the stitch is crooked… take stitch out… re-sew it…. and it’s PERFECTLY MADE” kind of person)

I look around and we no longer have chairs to sit at to eat dinner… (we’ve been having “picnics” on a blanket in the living room — or just going outside to eat — or going in the camper to giggle at our upcoming adventure)

I look around the bedrooms and only my bed is left (I have someone coming to take it the day we leave) — My kids have had BRAND NEW BEDS the entire time we were here… and it was WONDERFUL… but they usually didn’t sleep in their beds anyway… I’d put them to sleep in the beds but they’d end up on the floor in front of the fan or in the hallway or in the bathtub or in the closet or at the foot of my bed or in bed with me… etc….. I would find them all over in different places… OTHER THAN in their nice new beds. 🙂

I look around and see only a few toys lingering around. I see only a couple outfits. I no longer see decorations on the walls. I no longer see papers of artwork all over the place. I miss my pictures (obsessed with pictures only SLIGHTLY)……. I have to go out to the motor home to get my ‘picture fix’.

The garage is empty…. The back yard is empty….
The bathrooms are pretty much empty….. The cupboards are almost empty….

Living “Less Is More” — is my favorite way to live.

Cheers ~

STEP 2 — Getting used to the rig… Checking out everything….

3 Happy Hooligans —- Incredibly happy to call this rig their new home….

We went to get our propane tank checked out and the nice gentleman there informed me that the gauge on my tank doesn’t actually WORK in the heat of Arizona… so I have a FULL TANK (blessing in disguise because propane is not cheap)….  He gave me a TON of pointers and offered to help me in any way in order to “get to know” my rig and make sure everything was working right…..  I thanked him for his time… and after chatting with him about our trip to Arizona… then our year in Havasu… and our new adventure ahead of us we were on our way… So off we go.

The motor home is now just a background figment in our lives.  We see it all the time and the kids are excited about naming the rig….  They had been throwing out all sorts of crazy names when they finally settled upon the name of “Stella Luna” based on a book that I read to them all the time… “Stella” for short.

The kids have been helpful at selling things and one day I caught the oldest happy hooligan by the road (he’s not ALLOWED near the road because it’s a busy street) — but there he was when I looked over… with his “FOR SALE” sign (and price tags on his hats because he wanted to help sell things for our trip to New York (bless his heart… he makes me happy). He did pitch his sale to a few people who came to buy other things ($90 for one hat and $100 for the other) but he had no buyers… I tried to suggest that those prices were a little high for the items he was selling but he said the right buyer will pay him.

We’ve just spent a lot of time looking in cabinets, under the hood, under the rig… and trying to sell things that we KNOW for sure we wouldn’t be taking with us on this trip…..

The MAP ——

(Mental side note – insert annoying “I’m the map” song from Dora now)

“I’m the Map.. I’m the map… I’m the MAPPPP” YAYYYYYY (no)

SO here is a Map — OUR MAP

The map that is hanging in our wall…. shows the route we took here (from NY to AZ) 11 months ago.

It shows the stops we took and it tells a story of where the oldest lost his teeth (he lost 3 teeth along that journey).  It explains where we got to watch the 4th of July fireworks after we conveniently broke down in a random town NOT IN THE PLAN.

It shows where we are going to be going and we discuss possible routes (the kids and I).  They are unaware of topography or distance/time when they look at the map but they understand that it took them a VERY LONG TIME to get from NY to AZ so the trip back (which is quite different) will indeed be vastly longer.

 

They see the map every time they walk down the hallway.  It is hanging on the wall just as they walk out of the main bathroom in our house.   They stop and talk about the different states frequently.  They ask about the oceans.  They ask about Alaska (NO… I take that back.. my OLDEST asks about Alaska… for some reason he’s obsessed with it lately — not that it might have something to do with the “Alaska” shows that play on Netflix that we watched on a “movie marathon day” over Christmas vacation) —

 

They had to dress up for “twin day” at school so I threw some matching shirts on them and told them to stand in front of the map.  What it means more to me though is that I have frozen time for a split second *

captured their faces. Their hair styles. Their child-like demeanors.  In a photograph.

WITH the map behind them… which marks clearly half of the adventure that we’ve taken and the other half is yet to be had.

 

I can not wait to add our new “STOPS” on the map along the way and have already found a PERFECT spot in the camper for the map ***** THANK GOODNESS BECAUSE THE MAP IS A CRUCIAL part to this entire thing*****

 

On the way here.. every night.. we would trace our steps along the day… show where we went (or didn’t go – when we broke down and stayed almost in the exact same spot a few days more than we’d like) —- and we put a star on the map. Circled the towns name…. and counted it as another state that we’ve been to.

 

This whole Roadschooling/travelling/summer vacation/have to go back to NY thing is a blessing and I’m so happy to have these three happy hooligans to share the adventure with….. Let the Adventure of 2014 BEGIN —  (not quite ready for DEPARTURE DATE though)

Stay At Home Mom….. and more

I love every minute of the chaos.
The chaos of 3 happy hooligans.

I love being a stay at home mom when I can…

I wish life would provide something so I could do this all the time….
But I’m going to wallow in it… flop around in it…. throw it up in the air and wave it around for everyone to see..

The joy I have from simply being able to stay at home with my children and spend every day with them —- DOING whatever it is that we decide to do for the day….

We have 3 full months of uncertainty and big things head of us.
Moving across the country is no small feat with 3 small children….
(I KNOW – I did it only 11 months ago just in the opposite direction).

This time there is more up in the air and not so much planned…..

AND

The kids are OLDER. WISER. Changed. Different. Bubbling happy personalities. Developing into their own.
I love watching it happen. Watching them unfold as older children – with new vocabulary – new ideas – new dreams.

I just love being at home with them… watching them play. LISTENING to the giggles — (and the bickering)
I love helping them create things. I love reading to them. I love doing NOTHING with them and spending a few hours watching a movie during movie time. I LOVE morning hugs. I can’t ever get enough “let’s make a big pancake/egg/sausage/bagels breakfast” mornings….. I love bubble bath time.

Being a stay at home mom is the best job in the world.
I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Some days I wonder how we’re going to get through. Some days I want to scream. Some days I yell. Some days I have to remind myself to breathe.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed and go to bed at 8 PM just to try and ‘catch up’ on sleep.
Sometimes I have called in to work just to have a day where it is QUIET.
Some days I am overwhelmed and wish there was a break…. When we’re all running on empty and haven’t had enough sleep…. or we’re hungry…. lonely …. tired…. 😉 — I talk myself through it.

I stay positive and that’s how I get to tomorrow.
I remind myself they’re only this small once.
I remind myself that these are the moments that I’m going to want back….

I usually then melt at my own defenses and cry out of gratitude — and am so overjoyed with what’s right in front of me.

They’re happy. They’re healthy. They’re learning every day…. and I love EVERY SINGLE SECOND….

People I run into all the time tell me “you must be busy with those three”

They have no idea. Was it my disheveled hair… my raccoon tired eyes… my hair flopped up in a ponytail…. 🙂

No one has any clue… how busy I am — but I love it and wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

At the end of the day. Every day. No matter how exhausted I am or uncertain tomorrow may be —  I stay positive… and I remind myself to keep going — to just put one foot in front of the other and continue to do the ‘right things’ and have patience and help them learn the basics…  remind them how to be ‘good people’ and raise them up the best way I can with what I have.

DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE — one of my favorite quotes that get’s me through.

You don’t know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. — another favorite too good not to throw in here again….

Appreciate today and what you have… no matter how big or small it is.
It’s more than someone else somewhere else….
~ Cheers

Find YOUR authentic voice

Thank God For Kids

My Life.

My Joy.

My Peace.

My Purpose.

I
love
every
single
opportunity
I
have
been
given
to
be
their
Mother.

🙂