Day 15: mom, wife, .... babysitter =)

Day 15: Today was my second Saturday off in a row!  It started out a bit rough because I woke up not feeling the greatest.  I was able to pull myself out of my funk after getting a mani and pedi. Yep, you read this right.. I got a manicure AND pedicure.  I have no idea what posessed me to do it or how I actually went through with paying the money for it.  But I did it and I am glad. It helped that TruElegance had a special, both for $30.
After cleaning up a little, and spending some time with the hubby before he went out, it was time to babysit!  I have not taken care of someone elses child in quite a while so I was a bit nervous about how it would go... esp since my girls were extra competetive and crabby today. 
It ended up going great! Little Sebastian was soo easy! He got along great with my girls and was such a lover.  He also went right to sleep.  I miss the little booger and I'm glad I got to spend some time with him.

Days 12-14: PMS

Days 12-14: PMS. Nuff said =) I did not even realize I was this behind! wow!  Well, without this entry turning into TMI.. this week was a very difficult one for me.  By the time I sat down after doing the necessary wife/mom duties I had negative amounts of energy left.. I absolutely hate it when women complain about their "visitors" because its a fact of life that every woman needs to deal with, but damn.  She was a bitch this time =)

Day 11: I have been blessed

"I get kissed by the sun
Each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the
Bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my
Front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed
And I feel like I’ve found my way
I thank God for all I’ve been given

At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones
That love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed" ~Martina McBride

I can't help but count my blessings these last couple days.  Since I have made an attempt to realize what I have and not dwell on what I do not have or can not control I have felt so fresh and light.

Day 11: Before I go any further, let's remember who the author of this blog is.  I have been known to be a bit dramatic, and to wear my heart on my sleeve.. having that on the table I can be myself and you can take my words for what they are worth.

Necessities vs. $Money$- All to often we spend time worrying about money.  For some reason the word "money" hits an automatic panic button for me even when it is not a problem.  Big picture- Look at the homeless man: who panhandled on the streets for a living and had an amazing radio voice that was a talent that nobody knew about because in today's society without money you are invisible.  Now look at most of us: Roof over our heads, vehicles to take us from place to place, never go to bed at night hungry because we have no food to eat, money to gamble with or eat out or take nice vacations etc... now do any of those arguments/stresses about money seem justified? Not to me. Yes things may be hard at times, or we may not feel like we have enough even when we do, but there is always someone who is worse off so it is always imperative that we are thankful for what we have, because it could all be gone in the blink of an eye.  At the end of the day all the money in the world couldn't replace the i love you mommy's and the little hugs.

Friends- I could go on forever but bottom line is a real friend is someone you can go days, weeks, maybe even months without talking to and pick up right where you left off.  You can know that if you called that person she would be right there to listen and lend a helping hand.  Someone you can be happy for when they achieve something or get to experience something new and someone that you know with all your heart is genuine in all that they do.  I am especially blessed to have Sarah and Amanda in my life.

Family- Of course. With all of these senseless acts of violence going on around us it is so important to cherish every minute with family.  Lets stop letting petty things complicate our relationships with spouses/significant others.  Lets soak in all of the little baby giggles and cries even when we are a whits end when the kiddos wont sleep or pick up their toys.. 

These are just some things that I have been thinking about lately that have made me feel so much better about my self, situations and surroundings.  I hope this can help others think about their blessings as well. <3

Day 10: Snow Day!

Today was ANOTHER great day!  This working on my attitude business has really had an effect on my overall outlook on life.  I am noticing that I'm able to avoid situations where I would normally get bent out of shape.. and also bounce back from conflicts a little quicker than usual.
Day 10: Jessi woke up early again today. I'm not sure why she has been having trouble sleeping sound lately.  Luckily I was able to keep Addy asleep and just bring Jess to bed with us so I got an extra hour of sleep. 
After watching a few episodes of "Run's House" with the girls we all bundled up and went to play outside!  It was a blast.  This was the first chance we have had this year to play in the snow together... to make it even better Jessi wanted to cuddle when we came back in. <3 In an ideal world I would get to spend every snow day with my girls.. at home nice and warm... but its time to get back to reality tomorrow.
I'm really working on being positive tonight but on top of wishing I could be home with my girls I'm also worrying about driving in the snow tomorrow... its getting very difficult.  Its neat that I've lived here for 25 out of my 28 years and I still get anxious to no end at the possibility of having to drive in snow! eek!

Day 9: Sleepy Day

January 9, 2011
Day 9: Today my girls woke up super early! I only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night and it really threw off my day.  I usually try to stay away from naps because they make me feel lazy but today I just embraced the sleep =) I fell asleep off and on while the girls were playing.. then ended up taking an hour nap with Addy because she wouldn't go to sleep on her own. 
I didn't get much accomplished today.. but I was super excited to find out that hubby has a snow day tomorrow .. giving us a 4 day weekend!

Day 8: One of the best

January 8, 2011

Day 8: I had a couple firsts today.. First time going to Kobe Steakhouse with the hubby, First time going to the casino and winning as much as we did without stressing about it aaannd saving the best for last.. first time (in a long time) going on a date without complaining about my outfit or making things more difficult than they needed to be.
It was a great day!  I usually work Saturdays so this was a nice treat! Makes me wish even more I could find a job with a 'normal' schedule!

Day 7: Lullabye Blog

Day 7: I just spent the last 1 1/2  hours off and on catching up on my blog entries from the last two days.. and noooooow I can not keep my eyes open! Ive found myself asleep a few times since I opened this new entry.
Since we need to embrace the technology maybe I'll start bringing my computer to bed with me instead of my book. It has the same effect =)
Ok here is my first for the day: falling asleep while blogging. And now its time for bed. <3

Day 6: Happy Birthday to me...the technology way.

January 6, 2011
Day 6: Today I turn 28. I woke up this morning vowing to myself not to make a big deal about it because chances are either I'll get disappointed because I counted on certain things to happen or it will get blown out of proportion and make me uncomfortable.
By about 6:30 I realized I should have played the birthday card a few times already, because the girls were being very naughty and just everything that could go wrong on the way out of the house went wrong.
To start off the day, my best friend.. of 15 (or so) years called to sing me happy birthday and my step mom sent me a text message.  After that I got a handful of other text messages along with somewhere around 50 birthday wishes on facebook.
The extreme imbalance between electronic birthday wishes and vocal or personal contact birthday wishes made me realize how much we depend on technology, that is really putting interpersonal interactions in jeopardy!
While I appreciate all messages equally I just found myself really thinking about how much I use my cell phone/computer and what that birthday would have looked/sounded like if nobody had access to these tools.  For example: Even my own mother sent me a text message to wish me happy birthday instead of calling. ( in her defense we had just celebrated it the night before.. but still..)
Let me stress that this was just an enlightening thought, not a judging one, because I myself wished 3 other people happy birthday electronically today.
Ps. i felt pretty cute today in my birthday sweater from mom and my lia sophia bling =) Oh and my wavy hair from the french braid my sis did last night.

Day 5: Believe it or not... It's not all about me.

January 5, 2011
Day 5: We went over to my mom and step dads house today for birthday celebration 1 of 3.  It was very nice.  She made teriyaki pork loin, fried potatoes, beans and apple crisp... the girls behaved and everyone got along!  My step brother also brought his baby ball python. So cute!

this is my sister and Addy (my 3 year old) holding Junior.

By the end of the night I realized that I only like the "all about me" kind of attention when its my idea.  I felt a bit uncomfortable that a whole dinner was cooked for me, my grandparents came over and people bought me gifts.. at 28.  I have always enjoyed being in the spot light and have never shyed away from attention.. but for some reason since I had children I'm not a fan of it in large amounts.

Fast forward about an hour to a "discussion" my husband and I had and you would think that I am the most selfish person in the world.  This is how I came to the conclusion I only like things to be "all about me" when it is my idea.

Basically he wanted to learn more about something and i argued "No because its a waste of your time... it wont work out... etc." instead of just letting him figure things out for himself.  Although it kills me to admit it, I do not have all the answers and life is not all about me.

Day 4: Average =/

I knew doing something daily would be difficult for me... because, lets be honest, I have a difficult time sticking to anything that doesn't involve taking care of my family. But I did not know it would be this difficult!
I have no problem writing this entry but my problem is that I do not have much to write about.  I feel like every day I should do something noteworthy.. but I guess maybe that is a little unreasonable? and maybe artificial.
Day 4: Today was a pretty normal day.  I guess you could say uneventful.  The only thing that stands out is that my attitude at work is changing a little.   I am making an honest effort to stay positive and be thankful that I am employed.. instead of bitching about every little thing.  My co-workers noticed that I was in a good mood today which I hear is uncharacteristic of me for a Tuesday.
Lets shoot for a happy Wednesday as well.

Day 3: Not so typical Monday

Day 3: My typical Monday usually consists of... ugh ok I admit it... McDonalds breakfast ( since Cameron already ratted me out in his blog) followed by some time playing with the girls, nick jr., lunch, nap, lounge time for mommy for about two hours/or napping with the girls, then dinner, family time and bed. 

For some reason I have a terrible time getting motivated on Mondays.  Possibly because its day 2 of my weekend and I dread going back to work the next day.  It has become routine for me to say "ill do it later" or "maybe tomorrow" numerous times from about 7am-11pm on Mondays.  Not today!

After our breakfast we took a shower and got ready to go the mall with my mom.  After returning home about 3 hours later we ate lunch and the girls went down for a nap with no problems.  This is usually prime lazy mommy time but I made myself keep going.  I knew that if i sat down it was over.  I ended up shaking out the rugs and dog bed, sweeping/cleaning the entry way and kitchen floors, straightening the living room, paying bills, and lighting candles within an hour.  After cooking some shrimp and broccoli stir fry and spending some time as a family, I washed my youngest (Jessi's) bedding, went to the grocery store, did another load of laundry, and made Cameron's lunch for tomorrow.

While this may sound like listing all the little things I got accomplished today that I should be doing anyway.. I am really highlighting the bigger accomplishment of not letting myself say "ill do it later"!  I notice, as I'm sitting down writing this at 10pm having everything done for the day, I feel great about my attitude and what I got done.  Now if I could only keep that attitude every day!

*I have to give some credit to my children who behaved very well today (for the most part). My productivity partially depends on their moods too.*

Day 2: Quirky

Welcome back.  Funny now that I am blogging I found myself thinking, at different points in the day, about how I would put what I was doing in writing.  I also noticed that just before putting the girls to bed I thought to myself, "Did I do anything today that is blog worthy?" 
Day 2: This morning we went to mass, as we do every Sunday, and then the four of us went to run some errands at the mall.  While this sounds like no big deal to some, it can be to the Gales family.
You see, I tend to WAY overthink things,just one of my quirks, and to assume people are feeling/thinking a certain way based on my insecurities or wanting to please others. This tendency ends up making things much more complicated and difficult than they need to be.
My husband (Cameron from now on) offered to take the girls and I to the mall after church, which is, sorry to say, a rare occurance.  So before we left I went around and around with him about if this was really what he wanted to do.  I am sometimes worried that he is doing things just to please me and not because he wants to.  He assured me time and again that it was no big deal and to stop making things so complicated. 
Brandi in 2010 would have said, " No no its ok, I'll take the girls on my own and you go to the gym, or do what you want to do."  But today I said "well ok then", and we all went.  It was smooth.  The girls were great and I got everything exchanged that I needed to.  I even ended up walking away with an extra $7.49!
All too often I take the burden on myself so that others will be comfortable and not have to go out of their way.  I experienced today what it was like to share the load and it ended up being kind of fun in the process!  I think I'll take peoples words at face value and go with the flow more often =)

Day 1: Someday is not a day of the week

Happy 2011!  Being a working mother of two toddlers, married to a very active/motivated husband it has been easy for me to fall back on sayings like, "I'll do that later", "Maybe someday" or "Not right now". And if you ask me how many of the things that those sayings were applied to ever got finished or even started... I can emphatically reply None! 
It has taken me 28 years to realize that if I do not do, buy, plan or make something when I think about it the first time, it will never get accomplished.  So, here begins my conscious effort to try not to put things off, to experience new things today instead of saying I will do it tomorrow, and to take an active role in making 2011 a year of growth and happiness.
Day 1: start a blog.  I can not count how many times I have said I wanted to start a blog. However, somehow everything else always became more important.  Well I am not putting it off anymore.  Sorry facebook, I'll have to take time away from you at night for blogging. <3