Home Maid Simple

Tag: quotes

  • When you feel like you are Drowning

    When you feel like you are Drowning

    I was drowning this week. I felt like nothing I could do was ever going to get me out of the mess of home, the unorganized meals, the crazy try and get everyone where they need to be, the blog work that I love doing but has been difficult to find time for lately, and then my school work. It all piled up.

    Are you drowning?

    When you’re drowning, you don’t want to keep going down. You struggle and push and fight your way to breach the surface and take a breath. It’s difficult, it’s hard, it’s not easy as the pressure keeps pushing all around you.

    You must know which way is up and which way is down. Find the path of least resistance. Do not panic!

    I thought to myself, maybe I need to let go of something. Maybe I need to quit blogging. It’s tough, it takes a lot of time, and I’m just not as good as those other awesome bloggers out there (comparison…another pressure that will drown you quickly!)

    In the midst of my “I’m drowning, and I don’t think I’ll ever make it to air” feeling this week, two friends posted on Facebook within seconds of each other, exactly what I needed.

    Don't Quit! Keep Trying! You will Succeed!


    And then there was this. And you know, I’m not going to quit blogging. Because I actually love it. I love coming here and writing. And maybe I haven’t been as true to myself lately in my writing. I have a lot of readers, and I want to write about things you care about. In the end though, I blog for me. It’s my grounding point of feeling like there is more to me than cook and maid. Blogging helps remind me of that. So I’m going to keep on being me. Here. Real life. My thoughts.

    I took a breath. I felt the top of the water. I could succeed at this. I don’t need to quit. I can do it. And then seconds later there was this. 
    If that didn’t just completely sum up how I was feeling! I was drowning, but there was a hand reaching down to pull me up. One who knows I can do this; who wants me to breathe freely.
    It made me cry. Because in my time of emotional drowning, quite literally a hand was offered to me to pull me out of the sea. And I feel better. It’s not even lunch and half my house is clean again. I chatted with my sister through text. I reminisced about going to elementary school again – how I miss being an innocent child.  And now. Now I am breathing again. I am loving life, because I know it really doesn’t matter what happens, as long as I grab onto that hand and never let go. 
    Are you drowning? Will you let me help you up? Feel free to send me an email, or leave a comment, and I’ll do what I can to help.
  • Rethinking Bath Time

    Rethinking Bath Time

    *I received free product to review. All thoughts are 100% my own.*

    We are all making new years resolutions. We want to lose weight. Eat more healthy. Organize our home. Be more kind. Be a better Parent.

    The last one, be a better parent, is always on my new years resolution it seems. I always want and need to be better with my kids. During the year I tend to lose sight of what’s really important. Oh I have my core parenting values and ideas, but sometimes it’s the simplest of things that get lost in the hustle and bustle.

    For a long time now I’ve viewed bath time for the kids as a chore. It’s something that has to be done, but can take a lot of time out from anything else I need or just plain want to do.  I started scheduling baths out like a chore – everyone bathes on Saturday to be clean for church on Sunday, then we’ll switch out days during the week, but if someone is especially dirty it will be their night to bathe, and we’ll reschedule the week.

    The problem with that scheduling and thinking, was it never worked like I wanted. I still didn’t look forward to getting the kids bathed.  It really hit me when Tickle Toes sent me a soft hooded bath towel to review and sounded so pumped in their emails – I was thinking about bath time all wrong. When did I forget that this was time to reconnect with my kids each day? The dirty kitchen could wait, but my kids were growing every day. At the end of this year I will have an 8 year old – I can’t hardly believe she’s even 7 right now. It’s true what they say – you blink and suddenly your kids are all grown.

    I have spent the last month rethinking our bath time routine. How could I use this time to relax and just spend some time with my kids, as kids?  
     I was hoping I’d have this awesome list of ideas for you to retake bath time, but I don’t. It’s as simple as 
    • Putting down the phone or book
    • Ignoring the clock
    • Grabbing a toy
    • and making believe. 
    Instead of rushing through soap, shampoo, rinse, get out. I let them enjoy having fun in the water again. Instead of sitting idly by, lost on my phone in facebook and begging them not to splash water, I grabbed some toys myself. 
    When you spend time interacting with kids on their level, following their lead – you may just find your inner child again. 

    After bath time is fun too, especially with the Tickle Toes hooded towel. It is a nice soft towel, with bright colors, and a plush hood. After having so much fun together in the tub, she loved getting wrapped up in her new towel and refused to get dressed. Instead of becoming impatient, I let her still be a kid, and just relax in the comfort of a warm soft towel.

    Princess R loves it so much, she has started wearing it all the time including wrapping up in it in her bed for a little extra warmth every night.

    Discount for Home Maid Simple readers
    Tickle Toes is offering my readers 10% off their order through the end of January.
    use code SIMPLE at  checkout

  • LDS General Conference Sunday Morning Recap #LDSconf

    LDS General Conference Sunday Morning Recap #LDSconf

    President Henry B. Eyring spoke of unconditional love, and the choices that will lead us to happiness, and choices that will lead to unhappiness. What I took to heart personally was near the end of his talk when he said

    “We cannot force God’s children to choose the way to happiness….but we can let them see it in our lives”

    Isn’t that powerful?  Many people struggle with finding happiness in their lives, some have depression that makes that choice even harder – so let’s try to show more happiness in our lives, and share it with those who struggle.

    Dallin H. Oaks gave a powerful talk on the 10 Commandments, and specifically the first commandment to love God. He questioned what we might be putting priority on in our lives above serving God. Perhaps it’s a career, education, recreations, political correctness, or material possessions. I came away with ways I put God first, and ways that I can and should do better –sharing my religion here for example will become more a priority.  


    Near the end of his talk, Elder Oaks quoted the following from President Monson –

    Bonnie L Oscarson serves as the General Young Women President. This is a program for young girls in our church age 12-18. I’ll just quote a portion of her talk here, because I really liked it. 

    True Conversion is more than merely having a knowledge of gospel principles and implies even more than just having a testimony of those principles…Being truly converted means we are acting upon what we believe and allowing it to create a “mighty change in us, or in our hearts.”

    This can be applicable to many different areas of your life. It is one thing to have knowledge of something, it is completely different to act upon it.

    Richard J. Maynes followed Sister Oscarson beautifully as he spoke of enduring to the end, and the relation our testimony and conversion have with our ability to endure trials along the way. When we have a strong testimony and are converted, we will be able to more fully reach the end of our trials.

     Richard G Scott bore a beautiful testimony when he told us about the personal strength we can receive through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He spoke to all of us and warned us to be on guard at all times, because Satan will be looking to lure us back into past sins.

    “We must be ever vigilant to avoid his enticements. Such was the case of the the faithful Ammonite fathers. Even after their years of faithful living, it was imperative for them to protect themselves spiritually from any attraction to the memory of past sins.”

    I encourage you to read the story of the Ammonites in the Book Of Mormon: Alma chapters 23-56.

    President Thomas S. Monson said “Only the Master knows the depths of our trials, our pain, and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity. He alone touches our tortured souls with His comforting words.

    You can watch Sunday morning’s session of conference at this link.
  • Look for the Helpers {Think About It}

    Look for the Helpers {Think About It}

    Look for the Helpers

    I’m sure you have all seen this quote spreading around the Internet this week. I really fell in love with this sage advice.  It mostly reminded me of my mother and wisdom she would have imparted to me.

    Actually it’s very similar to the one piece of advice I’m always holding on to from my mom

    When you’re having a bad day – go serve. Find someone in need or pick a neighbor, and serve them.  Take them cookies, give a smile, but lose yourself in serving others.

    I would consider my mom to be one of the helpers Mrs. Rogers talks about. She was always helping. Always giving back, and always always teaching us to do the same.

    Think About It!

     
    When we are having a bad day, what are we focusing on? Ourselves, right?
    So what would be a sure way to get out of that bad day? Focus on someone else.
    I think that’s pretty self explanatory right there, on why serving others works.
     

    Think About It!

     
    This week has been an especially bad week for our nation. Beginning with the Boston Bombing Monday, followed by a fire at the JFK library, and then the explosion at the fertilizer plant yesterday. Not much seems to be happy right now. In fact, it’s down right depressing and soul wrenching bad.
     
    This weeks events effected me in a way I’ve never felt quite so deeply about. I was getting easily depressed, but I didn’t have that label for it at first. All I knew was I felt bad. I felt anxious, and I was getting the beginning feelings of nothing matters. Have you ever felt that way?
     
    Before going to bed, Mark had it figured out for me. I had told him I wasn’t feeling good. I even fell asleep in his lap way before we normally go to bed.  When he got me up to bed, he said “I think it’s just this week, and all the events. They’ve drained you emotionally” (ok maybe not those exact words, but something similar).  He was right. I hadn’t figured it out yet, but he did for me. I was drained emotionally, and when we have no emotions left to feel, it starts draining us physically.
     
    Think About It!
    I’m a girl of action. Once I know what’s wrong, I do what I can to fix/change it. Since I had a clear answer of why I was feeling the way I was, it was time to take action. I started with sleep. I got a good nights sleep before doing anything else (this obviously I don’t have much control over, it just worked out in my favor last night!) 
     
    Once I was up and going this morning, I made a decision. I was going to look for the helpers, and I was going to be a helper. Besides donating to different funds in Boston (read more about those and get links here), there’s not much I can do to help those effected by this weeks tragedies. There is however, things I can do right here in my own home and community to be a helper.
     
    1 – I can take some treats to a new friend who is feeling overwhelmed.
    2 – I can take dinner to my friend who is sick and pregnant.
    3 – I can stop yelling at my kids, and try to understand them better
    4 – I can turn off electronics and get on the floor, or outside for some quality playtime with my kids
    5 – I can support different causes monetarily, or just by word of mouth awareness
    6 – I can send a hand written letter to a friend -just because.
     
     
    Think About It!
    I must not be the only one inspired by this quote, because just this morning I saw a few posts looking at the good.  The first came in my email from one of my favorite home bloggers – Lisa at Shine Your Light. Her post “Boston You’re My Home” includes links to photos of helpers throughout the Boston Bombing, and other reasons to love Boston.
     
    A friend then posted as her facebook status “Wouldn’t it be nice if the headlines in the newspaper and on the TV featured people doing good things? Show the good first I say!”
     
    That would be nice wouldn’t it?  Actually the first I heard about the Waco explosion was from a friend who’s husband was called in as an emergency responder. I didn’t know what happened exactly just that I knew someone was helping with some kind of explosion in Texas.
     
    Will you look for the helpers? Will you be a helper today?
    Share your story with us!
     
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Are you struggling to find Happiness?  Come join the community at Happify.com  If you leave me a comment with your email I will send you a personal invite (limited to the first 4 requests).  Happify is a community based on spreading happiness, and sharing in the joys of each others lives.