Always look on the bright side

 We look on the bright side of life a lot! Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and find the bright spot. Today I doubled over in laughter over a conversation about glow sticks. I was dying of laughter over glow sticks. BUT, it was a bright and sunny side of my day. 

 My daughter was in charge of dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD. She did a great job. It was fun being her sous chef in the kitchen and watching her do her thing in the kitchen. It was a great meal and a great bonding experience. BOOM. Bright side :) 

 We went to a garage sale and bought a new card game for the camper last weekend. It is Sorry Revenge. After playing for a few rounds, we picked it up and really enjoyed it. Without even trying, we found the bright side. I am trying to find something bright every day to enjoy and embrace. 

 Trying to find the bright side can get tough when you've been looking through the darkened glasses of shame, doom, stress, or whatever it is you have in your soul. I realize now that the more I smile, the more the little people in my life do. The more the dog enjoys life. The more my husband enjoys life. 

There is a really annoying song from back when I taught preschool, "Stay on the sunny side, always on the sunny side. Stay on the sunny side of life. Lalalalalalala. You'll never feel ashamed. You'll never feel the same. Stay on the sunny side of LIFE!"

what's YOUR superpower?!

We had a discussion a few weeks back about super powers. What would YOUR super power be? Everyone had different responses. Most people said they wanted the ability to fly. Some wanted to have super strength. 

I thought it would be cool to go invisible. Can you imagine sneaking up on a robber or a crook and whispering BOO in their ear? Remember that scene in Ghost where Patrick Swayze messes with the bad guy? That was the best! You could do so many fun things. 

My kid has decided she wants to fly. We talked about all the cool places she could go. Or all the cool places she would see. She wants to sit on top of tall buildings and look down. She wants to fly around with our dog on her back. She definitely had some good talking points!

I may demand a new vote. Is there a way a parent can take away their kid's pain or sorrow? Is that a superpower? As we get older and find more emotion and empathy in certain situations, there are more hugs, more tears, more snuggles. She needs to experience some sadness, but it's heartbreaking to watch your little munchkin be sad knowing there's nothing to do to fix it besides hugs and loves.

So... superpower! What would you choose? Would you use your powers for good or for evil? So many options! All I know is that we will be getting capes and maybe tiaras if this ever truly happens :)

new snack spots are the best!

Not sure how we have totally missed out on this delectable little snack spot. We had dinner at a Mexican place and then walked over to check out the confectionary. I was like a kid in a candy shop in there! Forgive the pun ;) We have been broadening our horizons and trying new spots for food, gifts, and fun.

We got "exhausted parent" flavored ice cream. That consisted of boozy flavored ice cream with large chocolate chunks. They let us mix another fun flavor with chunks of candy in it into the pint. And, of course, the Beloit Mix puffcorn. It was ALL so good! 

The popcorn, ice cream, and fudge treats are all made on site daily. If we must continue to eat tasty treats to help our community, we will. Someone has to help make sure that all the fun stores stay open and thriving. And notice the empty bag. Time for a new flavor!

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. 

remembering to enjoy every moment

This expression is currently my self motto. Things are good. We have our health, we have each other, we have the love of our family, jobs, spring time. However, we hit a rough patch and had some bad days. Good days are good. Bad days are not as good. 

We embrace what we have because that's the best way to get through! Smile, enjoy the little moments, and just be grateful. My little one went from 10 years old to practically 30 overnight. We discuss everything. She has big questions that are in depth, insightful and real. She keeps me on my toes with her big plans, big dreams, and big thoughts. 

She has planned her own wedding, her future career choices, and her first job, but she's still at an age where she wants to snuggle at night. I will take it! No matter what happens each day, I know I will come home to a family that loves me, food on the table, and snuggles. I will take that over some other options any day. We will continue to stop and enjoy each moment. We will be thankful, grateful, and gracious despite the laughter or any potential tears. We WILL enjoy every moment!

a little paint makes a big difference

We needed a change up. The dark blue room came with the house, so we got dark beige curtains to match. And now... it needs lightened and brightened. What a better way to get a clean slate and teach your kid a life skill? One can of paint and 2 paintbrushes. Two days, big messes, laughter, conversations. So worth it!

I painted the aqua and my little one helped paint all the trim white, the shelves and the closet. They're finally white again! It looks so fresh and clean in there. Now when she takes friends in there to play or has a sleepover or does a movie night, it will look nice and fresh. She can take ownership for the work she has done.

I got more work done with my buddy than I would have done alone. I got to show her some useful skills. She got to feel useful and grown because she got to help. Painting isn't my favorite thing, but the results make it so worth it! It was a fun little project that kept us busy and it doesn't take much money to get a clean, new look. 

We just love it. It's a bit bright and a bit girly, but oh well. The room looks bigger and cleaner. The little one feels good about herself because she got to help me. And now her beanie boos will have a clean, fun room to live in :)

we DID find it here!

This blue arch make us so happy! It means grandma time. Time to unwind, bake, eat ice cream, thrift shop and movie watch. Is it quite the drive? Yep! Have we done it enough that it's no big deal? Yep! 

We spent an entire afternoon binge watching children's movies and playing Uno. Then we moved to the front steps to watch my daughter ride her bike all over the neighborhood. There were naps and honey do lists. There was a day of reminiscing. An afternoon of hiking. A morning at the library. In my mind, this roadtrip always means SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY IT. 

The beauty of taking an 86 year old (but 68 at heart) and a 10 year old anywhere means you can go at your own pace and you aren't going far. Our big outings are always Goodwill, Dollar General and picking up Popeye's for dinner one night. I mean, we are party animals! These places are purely tradition. Even my ten year old looks forward to hearing, "I will give you this twenty dollars and you can buy whatever you want!" 

Spring has arrived. April has arrived. We got grandma time in. Things are looking okay! Heads up because the next stop is Easter!

it's butterfly time!

The butterflies are back in town! We headed over to Nicholas Conservatory to see the new butterflies exhibit. They had quite the set up. It was organized and easy to get in. I am shocked we haven't seen the display sooner. So fun!

They had a slideshow to start in one room and then you walked into another room to meet with another expert. He showed us cocoons and explained the whole process of caterpillar to butterfly. There were lots of questions for the kids. Lots of fun things to see. They had fish, cocoons, and pupae to observe in the second room.

Then you go into the arboretum to view the plants and butterflies. We enjoyed all the pretty flowers and displays. The koi were a big hit with the little ones. I love all the waterways that flow through the room. They had statues and benches hidden around the room to enjoy. 

In the butterfly room you get a sponge on a stick soaked in Gatorade. Apparently butterflies like Gatorade! It took a minute, but the butterflies eventually came over to us. Then they were everywhere! It was so fun to watch the joy in my kid's eyes. It was a nice relaxing hour where we got to slow down and enjoy nature and (literally) all the little things :)

an ode to Orbeez

We got a gallon bag full of Orbeez (aka water beads, aka squish balls) last night. I don't know why these things are so entrancing! They're squishy, they're colorful, they're calming fun. You can buy them anywhere. All you do is pour water over them and voila!

Whoever created these is a pure genius. Seriously. For $2 you have an afternoon of fun. It's so simple, yet so genius. Keep them in a bowl and squish, scoop and play. Leave them in the gallon baggie and you have a pillow-like product to play with.

We decided to make stress balls since we had so many Orbeez. Sounded easy enough. We figured we use a funnel to pour them into a balloon. But... that didn't work. Cutting a water bottle in half and using THAT as a funnel worked better. But not really. 

Google check! Pour them into an empty water bottle, blow up a ballon and put it over the mouth of the water bottle, then turn it upside down and squeeze the water bottle. All the Orbeez pour into the balloon and then you knot the balloon shut. So easy.

I am telling you... $4. $2 for Orbeez and $2 for balloons. There are so many happy people in this house tonight! Stress relief, craft time, mother-daughter bonding, and we still have a huge bag of Orbeez left to play with. I win!

enjoying the little things

Making time to sit down... I have been doing a much better job at this! This time of year is when things calm down a bit. No more holidays, birthday bustle is over, sports seasons end. I can enjoy spring unfolding and relax.

I picked up my bullet journal from the library last month. The month before we made our dip dyed coffee cups. This week I figured I should probably put all my good stuff to good use. I got all set up and realized my 10 year old mini-me had set up shop right next to me. 1 coffee, 1 hot chocolate, and 2 bullet journals waiting to be filled with all the fun.

We now have bullet journals started. Mine is a big book of lists: favorite memories, favorite vacations, future plans, etc. Her book is filled with sleepover plans, party ideas, and lists of beanie boos. We are so much fun! Crazy, I know...

Our new plan is to write in our journals once a week. Or just read through them and reflect. This requires sitting down! This requires us to find time to chat, read, reflect and enjoy each other. So far, so good.

Note to self: reflect, relax, and sit down every once in a while!

sidewalk chalk is an underappreciated item!

Remember the good ol' days when you just went outside and played? No agendas, no phones, no plans. Just you and fresh air and fun. It is so nice to head outside and just know that regardless of the season or weather, there's always backyard fun to be had. Even though we don't have a country yard any more, there is still plenty of townie yard fun to be had! 

My kid still plays like that when the snow piles up. She will spend hours digging tunnels and building snowmen. This year she learned how to make snow ice cream. We went sledding and snow boarding on the biggest local hill we could find. I spent the winter freezing and she had to be dragged in each time.

In the summer we ride bikes and walk constantly. There are hammock reading sessions, coloring in the fort, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, swings. And you can't forget about gardening, picking raspberries, and wading in the creek. Kites, cloud gazing, backyard yoga... Man, I love summer! 

Today we were waiting for the bus and we noticed the driveway was cleared off of all the excess ice and snow. I grabbed the sidewalk chalk and we colored while we waited for the bus. We sat there in puffy coats and knit hats with huge puff balls on top. For 6 or 7 minutes, we drew. We chatted. We created. We made it colorful and fun. 

It felt like spring. It was nostalgic. It was fun. Sidewalk chalk is a dollar a box. We pick up boxes here and there from spring to fall. It's so easy. It encourages smiles and creativity. Have you ever turned your driveway into a huge game of Chutes and Ladders? Or hopscotch? Or traced your bodies and colored them in? Or played the alphabet game? Options are endless.

I am here to say that everyone should own sidewalk chalk. I was smiling and happy after our mini drawing session. There was no mess and no cleanup. It is cheap and easy and so underrated! When bike season rolls around, we will be drawing pictures in the roads, on the sidewalks and around town just to spread the smiles. I would say that's a dollar well spent :)