Today I’m grateful that my youngest son turned 2 years old.  I’m grateful that we had an “intimate” party for him that was SO much fun.  I’m grateful that we were able to buy him lots of gifts, had a fabulous dinner (I made chicken with spinach, pears & feta – yum!), that my mom-in-law joined us, and that we were all together.  I’m grateful that we’re all healthy, happy & enjoying each other.

I’m so grateful to have my children in my life.  They have brought me so much joy.  They mean the world to me, and I’m so grateful that I’m responsible for them.  They have taught me patience, compassion, how to let go and how to be more present.  They show me what’s truly important.  And, they have taught me that love is infinite!!

I can’t thank you enough!  I love you, Max & Miles

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So I didn’t skip out on day 6 of this 21 day gratitude challenge.  The assignment was to call someone and tell them how much you appreciate them.  I did.  I called my mom.  Made me feel good and I know I made her day!  Thanks again, Mom.  I truly appreciate you.

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I was listening to 1310am The Ticket this morning (sorry, Honey!).  It’s sports talk with lots of guy talk mixed in.  They had a segment about men going through mid life crisis, but then the segment turned more into how they are so unhappy in their marriages.  There were tons of emails coming in about how these guys hate going home because all their wives do is bitch, yell, and complain.  I would hate to come home too if I had to come home to that, so I don’t blame them at all!

It reminded me of what a lot of my female yoga students have told me.  They’ve told me that their husbands really encourage them to come to yoga class.  Their husbands say they’re a lot more relaxed and just better after taking a class.  I can totally see why!

As women we’re expected to basically do everything, especially if you’re a working mom…that’s a lot of work!  There’s so much that goes on from the time “work” is over until the time we lay our head down at night.  Where is “me” time??

So there’s work stress and then all the stuff that needs to be done once you get home but don’t have time to do it.  You’re just happy with getting dinner on the table, kids homework done, and baths!  Not only does stuff pile up in the house, but “stuff” piles up on your shoulders, in your hips, on your back & neck, and in your head!

Stuff piling up for a little while is pretty manageable, but eventually you bust.  You bust out yelling.  You bust out bitching, you bust out your back, you bust out headaches, and possibly even bust out a heart attack.

Ladies, we need “me” time.  Seriously.  You have to make time for yourself.  If you’re not good, how can you expect to be good for your kids, your family, or anyone else that needs you?  I understand it may sound selfish, but it’s not!

I obviously think yoga is one of the best things you can do for your “me” time.  It not only gets you moving and exercising, but it is so unbelievably awesome for your head…your mind.  It’s basically a moving meditation.  It takes you away from your worries, your to do lists, your responsibilities, and your stress.  It gives your thinking mind a break, and in doing so, you’re more productive and you can creatively come up with solutions to your problems.  It may give you a different perspective and you may even realize that everything is okay.  It’s okay to not be perfect.  It’s okay to just let go and not be so uptight.  It gets you connected to your true self and makes you feel more confident.

It gets all that “stuff” out of your body and out of your mind.  At first it may just be temporary, which is great…a little relief before you go home to your kids and hubby, but the more you practice yoga the more the “stuff” stays away.

I can’t stress (no punn intended!) enough how great yoga &/or meditation is for your “me” time, but it can be anything from a pedicure, to a massage, to just taking a long, hot bath.  I know it can be hard to find time, especially if you’re a working mom, but this is a must.  I promise you…you will be more productive (mentally & physically)!

I would love to hear your feedback.  Do you currently do yoga &/or meditate and if so, how has it made you better?  Are you one of those people whose husbands (or wives) encourage you to go take a class?  What else do you do for “me” time?  Has your marriage or relationships improved once you started doing yoga?  Let’s talk!!

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So I want to follow up to a blog post I did a little over a month ago.  I, along with some other lovely internet people that I don’t really know, committed to a 30 day giving challenge.  Basically the idea was to give for 30 days…give a smile, kind words, a helping hand, just whatever you can give at any moment.  Here’s the actual post if you’d like to read it: CLICK HERE FOR 30 DAY CHALLENGE POST

I’m a pretty nice person in general (anyone that knows me can attest to that, but don’t ask the following 76 people…  j/k) so giving a smile or kind words wasn’t much of a stretch for me.  But I wanted to do the challenge because I wanted to see what it would be like to be aware of the giving rather than just going about my day.  And, I wanted to see if I could give more than I usually do.  Here’s what happened:

The first day was really good.  I smiled more at people and was kinder on the roads.  The second day was more interesting.  There was a guy in his car that was pulled way out from where he was suppose to be.  As I drove by him I gave him a dirty look and threw a hand up in the air meaning WTF!  As soon as I drove past him I realized what I had done.  I felt awful.  Did he really deserve a nasty look & a WTF sign (I didn’t flip him off if that’s what you’re thinking…just you know, a WTF)?  I mean, we all make mistakes, right?  I’m sure there’s been a handful of times that I’ve done that exact thing.  I wanted to turn around and give him a big smile and a “I’m so sorry” wave but I didn’t.  I thought that might be a little weird…he might have even given me a WTF sign then!  HA  I did, however, apologize to him and wish him well in my mind.

A few days later I was taking my little Max to school.  We were driving down the alley and there was a huge trash can in the way.  I decided to drive around it…after all we were running a bit late.  But, as I’m driving around it I’m thinking to myself “I know what I need to do.  I need to move it out of the way.”  I didn’t!  Again, I felt awful.  Luckily, it was still in the middle of the road on my way home from taking him to school so I was able to redeem myself!  (It’s an even better feeling when you give without someone looking.)

I loved doing this.  It’s such a good feeling to make someone’s day and to just be more polite in general.  I gave several spirit jumps (sending a small gift to a cancer patient to lift their spirits), and I always did my best to make the cashier, at Target, Walmart, or wherever I was, to feel better about their jobs (especially if I could tell they were just totally beaten down).  Being aware of what I was giving made me feel a sense of lightness, like everything is good and I’m not weighed down by negativity.  I just felt happier!

On the other side of the giving coin is receiving!  Here’s what I received out of this challenge:

–People were so nice to me on the roads.  I was going first at stop signs, people were waving me in to get in front of them, & I was even given a parking space when we both got to it at the same time!

–My husband took me on a surprise date because he wanted to let me know how much he appreciates me!

–On our date we went to an awesome sushi restaurant (Kenichi) and our entire bill was comped!

But…most importantly,

–I felt good.  I felt happier.  Period.

If you have stories on giving & receiving I’d love to hear them.  If you took the challenge with me, what did you experience?  Make a comment.

Now, let’s go out and keep giving…what have you to lose?

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I love it because little kids are absolutely living in the present moment, you can learn so much from them, and them from you (be careful of this one!!).

Since little ones don’t understand time, they have no stress and are always happy (as long as all their needs are met!).  They are totally playing in the moment – living in the moment.  My kids play well by themselves (fortunately!), but I’ve noticed that if they need my attention I can either completely give it to them or I can be there but have my mind elsewhere.  If my mind is on something else I’ve noticed that they need me longer.  If I am there for them completely, in the present moment with them, then the amount of time they “need” me is less.  If I’ve got things to do around the house, jewelry to make, or a blog to write I am able to get those things done if I just spend a little quality time with them.  It makes them happy, I feel great, and in turn I’m more productive.  It’s such a relief for me too because in that moment there’s absolutely nothing lacking…I have no stress and life is perfect!

Lately, my sweet Max (he’s 3) has been teaching me to let go.  His new saying is “but it’s okay”.

“Max, you’ve got food all over your face.” – “yeah, but it’s okay!”

As he’s hitting his brother with a stuffed animal (Miles is mildly laughing) – “Mommy, it’s okay”.

We’re running late for school – “but it’s okay!”

And what’s really cool is that as soon as he says that, I relax and say you’re right IT IS OKAY.  Sometimes we get so caught up in looking perfect, always doing things right, and everything being a certain way but does it really matter?  Can we just let go and have fun?  Because ultimately, it is okay!

Kids watch, learn, and sense our energy too.  The more rushed I am to get out of the house, the more uncooperative they are.  If I’m relaxed and calmly explain how we need to leave immediately, they listen and work with me.  The way I do something, they do too.  For example, I always rinse off the tooth brush and tap the brush on the counter before putting it up.  Max does this too, and can point out that his Daddy doesn’t.

I also came to the realization that Max got his new expression (it’s okay) from me.  I say it quite a bit – like if he drops his food, or can’t find a toy.  So it comes full circle!  I’m teaching him that it’s okay and he’s teaching me the same.  How awesome is that?

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