when your bedroom is your haven

When your kid's collection becomes... a lot, you just roll with it. The pillows, the squishamallows, the decor. It just keeps multiplying! It's a girl thing. A teen thing. A my kid thing 🤣

She keeps it neat and organized, which I love. She loves painting again and it is apparent with her new decor trends. New paintings pop up here and there as time goes on. She actually enjoys making her bed and "decorating" it with all the cute things. Her room is her space, for sure.

We finally finished the squishamallow collection. We found the frog, the pig, and even the cow she wanted. She loved these ginormous squishamallows and then she didn't. Then she did. And now we have completed the collection! 

New bedding and yet another pillow means the bed is set. She even used her own money to buy the vines. Apparently vines are in! We just couldn't go without the vines 😂 

All I asked of her was no new paint any time soon. She's on her third bed in 7 years. The poor bunkbed just didn't fit and then we found a better frame for more storage. We are on our third paint color and I intentionally chose a pretty gray to grow with her tastes as she got older. 

I love what we have done here. I love what SHE has done here. There are so many unique little features and decor that she has saved up for or hand created. I love seeing her hand paint a new frame or pot a new plant and smile. It's all the little things that count!!!

you can learn a lot from flower gardens

We are expanding our flower garden to be a little longer. Now don't confuse me with someone who actually gardens or does it well! I just figured it would look better going the entire length of the garage instead of stopping half way. Insert mini me. She obviously wants to help.

We dug out the existing border edge and yanked up the grass in the new garden spot. We went and picked out a few new plants to start. She helped me transplant and water. We plan to pick up more plants at the new store that just opened in Rockton for all our flower needs! I am hoping that it will be a constant rotation of colors, flowers and plants in bloom throughout the year.

I need more garden pavers and a few more filler plants and voila. We will be done. I honestly got the plant Hen&Chicks because that is just adorable. No idea what it will look like. Don't even care. The name sold me!

Now we can weed the vegetable and the flower garden together. Do I hear bonding time? Yep. Do I hear less work for me? Yep. Do I hear instilling a sense of pride and accomplishment? Yep. Did I take it too far? Yep. Don't even care! We will have pretty flowers to look at while we chill on the deck. 

rad American women

Our girl scout troop is looking at strong female leaders right now. I borrowed this book from a friend to share with them. It was awesome to see all their little eyes light up as we read about athletes, politicians, authors, and so on. My little one loved this book so much that she asked to read it INSTEAD OF WATCHING TV! She kept asking me who some of these great women are and was shocked that I hadn't heard of all of them.

When we promote great women, hopefully we are helping create great women. This book sparked so many conversations and opened so many curiosities. We now have it on our Christmas wishlist! It is an alphabetical list of women to know from all possible fields and walks of life. A short, easy read with bright colors and pictures.

I am trying to raise a rad American woman. I want her to see no limits and want to explore all her potential, just like the ladies in this book. I want her to question things and find her own solutions. I want her to be a leader, a friend, and kind. I want her to make a difference. I want her to be polite, but not get walked on. I want her to be unique and dress as crazy as she wants knowing other women will lift her up if anyone tries to scuff up her crown. 

This post is for all the rad lady hustlers making their way through and for all the mini hustlers who are kicking butt at remote learning, smiling through constant changes, and learning new ways to be awesome. 

it's time to get ignorant

Let me start by saying that Becoming Minimalist is one of the best sites I follow. It's most definitely not about getting rid of all your things and living some indie existence. It is about getting rid of mental clutter and stress as well. As we approach the holiday seasons in the year of the Covid, and it also happens be a voting year, I am constantly trying to avoid news, conversations, or situations that are stress inducing. Some days this is easier than others. At home I have the ability to turn off the news or turn down the radio. It's not like that everywhere else.

I have confirmed plans for the holidays that are reasonable and safe with only family, yet lots of fun and love. You do you, but I will be home with a small group of close family. I am okay with that. My child is okay with that. We want to stay safe and celebrate. That is manageable. It will definitely look different: no parade, no hot chocolate walk, no packing the house full of extended family. That is okay, though. For this year, it will have to be.

I do not plan to keep up with it all. I just can't. Even in an normal year, there are things we avoid and places we don't go. Why trudge through the mall when it's always packed and stressful when there's breakfast with Santa and Santa at the Christmas party? Even as I think about this, there will be a drive through breakfast with Santa and most definitely no Christmas party. We will make that work. It will be okay.

The focus this year is on love and togetherness. We choose safety and reason. I have to focus on myself, my family, and our needs. I don't need the biggest, fastest, bestest whatever is happening or whatever item is the hottest. I just want to sip hot chocolate in front of my fireplace and binge Netflix, play games, have a laugh, and avoid stress by realizing I don't need to be a part of it.

Fingers crossed! Let's all get ignorant ;)