Blogs are my Water Cooler

Today is Marvelous Monday.

Not the dreaded first day of the week, but a new day with a chance to welcome the good things in life. The Marvelous things.

I have a lot to be thankful for right now. Friends. Family. My Husband. Our Home. I could go on and on and on. But today I'm going to take a lighter note and talk about one thing that has been on my mind a lot lately. Blogs.

Blogs are Marvelous! A few years ago when I started my first blog, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I didn't know about the many many wonderful and creative women that I would get a chance to "virtually" meet and share my thoughts with.

I didn't know I'd be getting money saving tips, gluten free recipes, and kids craft ideas. I didn't know I'd be keeping up with friends and family via blogger and wordpress rather than email. I didn't know a lot of things, but I am so thankful I stumbled into it when I did.

The thing about being a stay at home mom is that your adult world disappears the second your baby takes his first breath, and suddenly all you do all day is deal with diapers, drool, a playdate or two, and lots of whining and crying. There is no water cooler conversation, there is no lunch break, and the day doesn't end at Five O'clock. It is a never ending, all encompassing, heavy duty, hard working job. And, I'm not complaining at all, I absolutely love it. My point is, blogs are my water cooler. They are my outlet, my window to the outside adult world where people actually get to spend time doing the things I long to do. They teach me ways to manage my home life, learn to be a better mom, and help me remember and reconnect with who I am.

I have been so inspired lately by project after project. I want to cook, sew, knit, take photographs, and write. I've found at least 15 new blogs that I LOVE just in the last week, and they have lifted my mood, mind, and spirit immensely. For this I am grateful.

Here are a few of my current favorites. Maybe you'll be inspired too.
Puddle Jumping Designs
made by rae
MADE

Blogs are my water cooler. What about you?


Enjoy Monday everyone, and thanks Rachel for letting me be a part of Marvelous Mondays!

I can SO pull off these legs...

Trashy Family Seeks Forgiveness, UP-cycling anyone?

Lately I've fallen by the wayside as far as my carbon footprint goes.

Going green has gotten so trendy, marketing campaigns everywhere are trying to hook people with their more environmentally friendly this or that. It's all kind of hokey to me. I care about the planet, and I want to keep it clean and safe for my kids and their kids, but I don't' want to buy saran wrap that's twice as expensive just because it's "eco-friendly". I'd rather just not buy any in the first place.

I am wasteful. We are a trashy family (or maybe I should say garbage-y, huh?). We use paper plates, paper napkins, paper towels, Styrofoam cups, and plastic utensils like crazy. My kitchen drawers have four sizes of plastic baggies, parchment paper, wax paper, aluminum foil, glad press 'n seal, and more. Baby wipes, antibacterial wipes, glass cleaning wipes, disposable "swiffer" cloths for dusting and mopping. I even have special pacifier wipes for Nathan, and "Boogie Wipes" for the boys when they are sick. As I'm writing this I am getting really disgusted. That is a lot of trash.
I need to do something about it. But, more on that later.

Right now, I'm excited about a few Eco-Friendly projects of my own.
I just learned the term Up-Cycling, and I love it! Instead of recycling, it is a way of reusing something old, and turning it into something better. For example, turning an t00 small t-shirt of yours into a shirt or pants for you kid. And that is exactly what I am going to do!

First, I am on a hunt through the house for old clothes, blankets, towels, and anything I might be able to upcycle.

Hmmnn...
old maternity corduroys = cute new pants for lucas and a hat for nathan
too small striped long sleeve shirt = fun shirt for nathan
thermal baby blanket = pj shirts for lucas and nathan.

I've got more and more ideas to come, I hope I have time to make them all!

Just Call Me the POO Queen

Ladies and Gentlemen............

Drum Roll Please!


We have converted to cloth diapers!

Yes, I will be getting down and dirty with lots of poo from now on. Up close and personal people. Just me, the poo, and our very old washer and dryer.

My instructions to Ryan were: This is how you fold them, this is how you snap them, when you change him, take these apart and put them here. If it's POO, yell for ME. Yep, just call me the POO Master. The POO Queen. POO Mama. There's no POO I can't handle. You POO, I clean. Oooh yeah, I'm ready for this!

The New Creative Hat = SHORT HAIR!

I'm heading to the salon for the first time in a year and a half.

This is a BIG deal folks. Around here, I barely get a shower, nonetheless a haircut.

We've been running around all day, I just left Ryan and with the kids dealing with an issue in the middle of the AT&T store, and I can't wait to relax. It's been really wintry weather (So Cal Winter) and I feel so thirsty, my skin is dry, and my lips are chapped.

I can't go to the salon like this. They will think I don't care about myself and I'll probably end up with a tawdry old mom haircut.

I look in my purse, I've got some lotion for my hands (thank goodness) but no chapstick. Seriously? What has my life come to? Forget lipstick or mascara, I don't even have any chapstick?

In the back of the car I have Rubbermaid bins with wipes, diaper cream, sunscreen, owie cream, spare clothes, hats, socks, and more. But I don't have chapstick.

Seriously Suzanne, take a minute and think about this. You need to start taking care of yourself!
I know this. I know I should spend more time on myself. But, well, it's just that, um, I have, well... TWO kids and a husband. They need me to take care of them. To make their lunches and snacks, to keep spares and extras of everything in the back of the car so they never go without what they need. But maybe, just maybe I could try and figure out how to bring a few things for myself as well? We'll see how it goes.

Next time I go to CVS I'll pick up some chapstick, maybe even some lip gloss. And this goes for all you girls out there. Buy yourselves a two dollar chapstick, it's okay, really!

If you're wondering what I did at the salon....... well, I went a bit crazy. After a 3 minute conversation with the stylist where certain words out of her mouth were "matronly" and "tired" I said GO FOR IT. Chop it off!

So, Josselyn chopped off my 18 month old frazzled mom hair and replaced it with something stylish, easy, and fun.

And it feels GLORIOUS!

The NEW look... with my creative hat on... :)

replaces the old pony tail. Yahoo!

My New Love

Oh Baby, where have you been all my life?

When I pair you with three delicious ingredients...

Sugary Deliciousness...
Instant Caffeine... a la Trader Joes

Rich Vanilla Almond Milk....

Frothy, foamy, better than Starbucks...... I am in LOVE!

I Write To Be Happy

Writing, for me, is as much a necessity as chocolate. or lip gloss.

it's just one of those things that I have to do. to stay alive. to stay sane.

to understand myself and my own emotions.

it is how I get through difficult times, and it is how I celebrate joyous times.

I am more me when I write than any other time.

I'm not a speaker, I'm never the life of the party. I'm the quiet observer.

I take it all in, I process, and I write. I go through my daily life as mom and wife, and at the end of the day I can't rest until I've released a little bit of that energy through writing.

I am Suzanne Jeanette. I just turned 30 years old. I'm a stay at home mom to two wonderful little boys, and a wife to my tech-geek husband. I love my family. They keep me laughing every day, and they are my reason for being.

I have three goals for this blog:

1. To share my thoughts and ideas with anyone who will listen.

2. To meet and inspire other writers and moms who can relate to my thoughts.

3. To help other moms like me understand that we can find ways to do things for ourselves every day - caring both for our bodies by giving them what they need, and our minds by doing the things we love to do, and involving our children throughout the process.

I stumbled upon a quote about a year ago:

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. - Max Ehrmann

It really sums up what I am trying to get at. We need to be gentle with ourselves. We need to realize that we too are delicate beings that deserve to be cared for. We need to make the time we need to care for ourselves. Find an outlet, and show our families what we love to do. Get them involved. Make the time we need every day to do the things that keep us happy and inspired. That is why I started this blog. Because I need to write to be happy.

What do you need to do to be happy?

I used to have a pile of notebooks next to my bed. I wrote poetry, stories, and free writes about whatever was on my mind at the time. These notebooks got me through high school and college, through my journey from adolescence to adulthood, through a period of depression and anxiety, and through my early dating years. They helped me realize who I was and who I wanted to be. Now, those notebooks are in a nice little box in the attic. Now, I blog. All my thoughts, ideas, and emotions are here for you to see. I hope you like what you see.