Being Charitable Warms the Heart

So first let me say Holy Cow...has it really been over a month since I wrote anything?  Truth be told, it's not cause I can't come up with ideas (I tend to have great ideas at 11:00 pm when I can't sleep) - it's really just because summer snuck up on us and I've been enjoying the down time with family.  8 sleeps until we leave on vacation, and I can't wait!

I've been meaning to write this post for over a week, and have finally gotten to it.  As most parents do, I try to impart the importance of giving back to my kids.  I truly believe that we have to teach the value of charity and being charitable to our children - and that this lesson is just as important as anything else they will learn.  I want them to appreciate how fortunate we are, and understand the concept of paying it forward and random acts of kindness.  And there have been moments when I see that they understand, and another one popped up this week.

At Easter, Marianna got a kit to make potholders.  She pulled it out this week and started creating these beautiful, colourful weaved potholders.  She is a bit of a perfectionist (no idea where she gets that LOL) so they turned out really pretty.  She made one for all the women in our family, and had some left over.  So I quipped up and said "Maybe you should sell them".  I fully expected her to come back with a response that centred around her using the money for our vacation, or for getting stuff for back to school.  Instead, her answer was "Great idea Mom - and I can give the money to CHEO".

I don't know why I was surprised - I know my kids have big hearts and like to help out - but it still stopped me in my tracks.  It really warmed my heart that the instinct was to donate the proceeds.

Well it became her mission - and Ally joined in.  Ally decided she would make friendship bracelets, and they would combine their proceeds to be able to make an even bigger donation.  We talked about how we would get the word out (being from the technology generation they wanted to set up a website - a little too sophisticated for me!!).  I told them when they were ready, I would put it out to all our friends and family, post it on Facebook, whatever we could do to get people on board.

She is still in the process of making them, and when we get back from holidays the plan is to put the wheels in motion to start selling them (27 hours in a car will give her lots of creative time!!).  When they are done, I'll post pictures for sure.

I truly am excited for the day when we can walk into CHEO and they hand over the donation.  It won't be the biggest amount, but it will have been their idea and of their own making.  And they will have one proud mama there with her camera to capture it all.

Father's Day

OK...so I'm a little late with this post, but I figured better late than never.  Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads that I know - especially my Dad and my husband.

Let's start with the first man in my life, my Dad.  So I'm told I take after my dad in alot of ways - when I was growing up and people would meet me for the first time, they would always know "who I belonged to" because I was a Murphy through and through (for some reason I now look more like my mom so maybe my girls will end up looking like me at some point - I can dream!!).  Probably the biggest way I take after him is that I internalize my feelings...this means that I don't tell my dad how much I love and appreciate him nearly enough.  I know he knows how I feel, but I promise to be more vocal about it - even if it freaks him out a bit LOL.

If I created a list of all the reasons my Dad was the best, this post would never end.  I will just say that he is the reason my standards were so high when I went looking for a husband, and I love him more than I could ever express in words.  Thank you Dad for always being there, and for letting me make my own decisions (good or bad) growing up.  Made me who I am today :-)

Now for my husband - and I'm pretty sure I won't get through this paragraph without crying.  My dear, you are an amazing Daddy.  I loved you before we had kids, but that love has grown exponentially since we've become parents.  Watching you with the girls (especially when you don't know I'm watching) is a true pleasure for me.  I love how you can make them giggle with a sentence, how you can make them smile with a look and how you make the world a better place with a hug.  Our daughters are truly lucky little girls to have you as a Dad - but they know all bets are off when they start to date...then I expect you to turn into the overprotective Dad that I need you to be!

I wish I had started this earlier, but this year for Father's Day, I had the girls make signs that say the reason they love their Daddy...and I put them on display.  Here is what they came up with.  Interesting how he is supposed to be the strict one, and still ends up getting all the kudos for being the most fun!!

Love you loads and loads!

Happy Birthday Ally!!

Being a mom was always high on my list of things I wanted to experience, and 8 years ago I became a mom for the second time to a beautiful baby girl.  She chose to make her appearance at 1:00 in the afternoon, and she let us know the minute she had arrived...man that girl had lungs.

From the time I found out I was pregnant with a little girl, we had decided on the Alexandra - and I immediately started calling her Lexi.  But the minute she looked up at me with her big brown eyes, I knew without a doubt that she was an "Ally".  And thanks to my dad, her full name ended up being Alexandria - and the name became as unique as my little girl has turned out to be.

I'm having a hard time believing that my baby is turning 8.  It really does not seem like 8 years since she joined us.  Time is truly flying by, and I try everything I can to slow it down...but the birthdays keep coming.

Ally,
You are truly an amazing little girl.  Your smile lights up every room you walk into - and I love that you always have a smile for anyone who needs it.  You amaze me everyday with how big your heart is, and how you always try to see the best in everyone.  I love that you love school and love to read - and the fact that you love to shop means that you didn't fall far from the tree :-)  While I am in no hurry to have you grow up, I truly look forward to having a spa partner and someone to take on shopping sprees.

Don't ever change who you are my love.  It can be hard to be "everything to everyone", but your tenacity, confidence and independence will get you through anything and everything life has to throw at you.  Just remember that Mommy, Daddy and Marianna are always here when you need us - and know that we will come to you for hugs and a smile when we need cheering up.

Happy 8th Birthday my munchkin.  I love you more than you could ever imagine - and I am truly grateful that we were blessed with you 8 years ago.  I look forward to living every moment with you.

Love,
Mommy

My pretty reminder

So I have truly trying to live by my "let it go" mantra.  And my kids have embraced this new outlook wholeheartedly.  I've even caught my oldest taking a deep breath while muttering "let it go".  It sounds kind of hokey, but it really does seem to snap things back into perspective pretty quickly.

While browsing Pinterest (yes I'm a pinner), I came across this idea for a tattoo that I fell in love with - it is an image of a balloon floating up with the words "Let it go" inscribed under it.  While I'm not quite ready to get my tattoo (still working up the courage), I really wanted a piece of jewellery with this charm on it.  Problem was, I couldn't find anything that was just right.  Most balloon pieces had hot air balloons on them, and that wasn't really what I wanted.

After putting the word out on Facebook that I was looking for someone to do custom made stamped jewellery, I was given contact info for Teri at Swirlicious (http://swirlicious.myshopify.com/).  I sent her my idea (essentially I said a birthday balloon with the words under it)...my heart broke just a little when she said she didn't have a stamp of a birthday balloon.  She did tell me she would see what she could do, so I left it in her capable hands.

A few days later, she sent me this picture and asked what I thought of it:

I think I literally squealed...it looked EXACTLY like the picture I had in my head!!  I was over the moon excited and told her to go for it.  I should clarify that I was getting one for each of my girls and one for me.

Well today I picked them up - and they did not disappoint.  I LOVE them, and I can't wait to give them to my girls tomorrow.  I'm thinking this piece will get alot of wear from all of us.

I would like to officially thank Teri for using her creativity to make what I wanted a reality.  If anyone needs any awesome pieces made, make sure to check out her FB page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Swirlicious/50893132379)!

So I've got this other blog...

When I started writing this blog, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to keep it up.  Turns out, I really missed writing - and this space is a perfect one for jotting down everything that is running through my mind.  Whether its related to my family, my kids, my friends, or just rants about stuff in general...I find it very therapeutic and love getting feedback from everyone about my posts.

So a few months ago, I started a separate space where I wanted to chronicle my journey this year.  For those who know me, its a journey that I've been on for most of my adult life - one of weight loss.

My reasons for wanting to lose weight have changed over the years; I wanted to look better, I wanted to buy cute clothes, then I wanted to get healthy so I could keep up with my kids.  Whatever the reason, I've always wanted the number of the scale to be smaller.  Just to be clear...I've always been pretty comfortable in my skin - I just always wanted to be a few sizes smaller.

I got the idea to chronicle this journey from a fellow blogger - the philosophy is that writing it down and seeing the progression helps to keep you on track.  I decided that I didn't want this space to center around my weight (and let's be honest I have way too much other stuff to say!), so I created a new blog where the focus would be my ups and downs.

Here's the thing - initially the plan was not to share this other blog.  It was just for me.  But I realized that I was using it to give kuddos to the buddies who are doing this with me - and I needed to give credit where credit is due.  So chances are I won't actively share these posts often...but sure will when one of my buddies keeps me focussed or when I hit a milestone.

For anyone who is starting (or continuing) down the road to weight loss, feel free to share your blog with people. Celebrating successes are a must!!

If you want to check out my ups and downs, here you go:  http://my2013goal.blogspot.ca/

Happy reading...

Mantra Shmantra!

K so I was really gung ho after my last post.  I was changing the way I thought, and I was really big on the "Do it, do your best and just let it go".  Then life threw some stuff at me and my new-found mantra went (momentarily) out the window.

It seems like for the last week or so I've been living in the twilight zone.  Lots of "what the heck is going on" moments...and not the good kind.  In one of the moments, I found myself sitting at my desk grumbling under my breath.  I was complaining to no one in particular how ridiculous the situation was, how it was unfair, how everyone involved was stupid.  As I brooded, I caught myself getting more and more worked up.

I ended up posting a cryptic status on Facebook about my day taking a nose-dive (yep...I'm one of "those" people on FB).  I had a friend ask me if everything was ok.  I continued my grumbling to her, to which she promptly replied:

"Remember your mantra.  Do it, do the best you can, then let it go."

Hmph.  But an amazing thing happened.  I immediately felt better.  Was I really helping the situation by getting myself worked up?  It was not in my power to change the outcome, so who was I hurting by brooding?

Once I was out of the dumps, I also started to see that what I was doing was exactly what I was preaching to my daughter to stop doing.  I had been encouraging her to let things go...was about time that I followed my own advice.

Truth be told, I was able to get together with a few friends that night...they all listened to me be upset and  vent.  It felt really good to get it all off my chest...then I went home and peeked in on my sleeping daughters and realized that in all the ways that count, life is pretty blessed these days.  All I needed was to shift my perspective. 

Well that, and have some dear friends to remind me of the importance of letting it go.  And a glass of wine to simmer my nerves didn't hurt :-)

Words of wisdom from "Lady O"

So I have a pretty great group of friends.  A few weeks ago, one of them asked if I'd be interested in a ticket to see Oprah Winfrey in Ottawa.  Truth be told, I was never truly hooked on her show, but when I did watch I was always mesmerized at her ability to captivate an audience, and to ask questions that everyone else was thinking.  Because I wanted to witness that magnetism in person, I jumped at the chance for the tickets (plus it meant a night out with some awesome ladies - win-win!!).

So this past week was the show.  And it was incredible.  Here is this woman standing in front of 15,000 people, and at moments you could hear a pin drop.  You could feel her pull from wherever you were sitting in the audience.  She was as captivating as I thought she would be.  And she was funny.  I'm not sure why I thought she so serious, but she had us in stitches with stories of her childhood, and lots of her experiences.  And even though we were in this massive arena, I felt like we were at a dinner party.  That is her draw - she makes you feel like you are part of the conversation.

While her talk (which lasted over 2 hours with the Q&A session!) centred around her life, it was not an autobiography.  I was awed at her ability to give us snippets of her life story, and translate them into life lessons that could apply to anyone.  I wish I could get a transcript of her talk - there were so many a-ha moments and I'd love to add them to my mantra wall.  Here are a few that stuck:

"If I could believe that a woman could only go so far, I would not be where I am today." - this is a lesson for all our kids. Believe you can be anything you want.

"The energy you give out, is the energy you get back." Should be in the back of everyone's mind for every decision you make or action you take.

"I am the master of my fate."  True.

Finally, the new mantra that is at the top of my wall:

"Do it; do the best you can, then let it go". 

For those who know me, I tend to hang on to things - and my daughter emulates this behaviour to the nth degree.  So I've decided that this is what we will recite in the mornings on our way out - and how we should learn to live our lives.  It will be a work in progress, but in the long run will be an amazing way to live every day. 

So my thanks to Lady O for inspiring me to remember these lessons in daily life.  And for reminding me that these will be the best gifts I can give my kids...a few key words that will guide them through anything that gets thrown at them.

Now if only I could have been the recipient of her Manolo Blahniks :-)