A couple interesting things I learned this week.

1. Turns out an old disconnected phone with no SIM card can dial 911. And your 5-year-old who will barely stay on the phone with your mother for a “Hi Grandma, I love you” will indeed chat with the sheriff’s department for a good two and a half minutes. And they will come visit you just to make sure your line of “I’m so sorry, that was my kid” is true. Which I like. But still. Not the kind of Cops & Robbers I like to play. And do kids still play that?

2. I saw Jesus! In lizard form! It’s a real thing. A Jesus Christ lizard. Google it. He was running on the beach on his hind legs. Back straight, arms a swingin’, healing people and preaching the gospel. The kids thought it was the funniest thing they ever did see, and it was! What is it about animals that act like humans? To this day, funniest thing on You Tube are cats in clothes and dogs who dance.

He would not turn the gulf into wine though. I asked.

And with that very important information out of the way, we are enjoying the last drops of things we love about home-from-school days. Impromptu day adventures, morning swims, play dates, picnic lunches and morning snuggles that aren’t interrupted by the hustle to get out the door.

Enjoying…

His “Look at that hilarious Jesus lizard” face.

His mullet’s last day to blow in the wind.

Curls that stayed after his new trim.

Her Karate Kid dance.

Mom duties. Took care of the stuffed squirrel in this stroller like a boss.

The third grader who reports she’s anxious about “absolutely nothing” for back-to-school. 

The temperature of the gulf right now. Spa waters. 

The evening family swim.

Putting away our summer adventures kind of like how we put away our suitcases after a long trip. We leave them out for a while, pull things as we need them, put things away gradually

(Several people asked about Nella’s boots on Instagram. They’re Zara Kids.)

There are three lunch boxes stashed above our washer and dryer, waiting for the first day of school. Three. Given my past record of sentimentality, I should be in a fetal position somewhere with a bag of Cheetos, a stack of tear-stained baby books and Slipping Through My Fingers on repeat. But alas, I am not. How should I explain this? Maybe this will do:

For the record, that lipstick cost $14. Thankfully, I was over Lady Danger–moving on to bluer hues. But still. I’m a little tired, and I know that new routines, new places and a world of new things to learn is the best thing for all of us right now.

I wasn’t ready for any new resolutions in January, but I had 7 months to think about it, and I’m ready now. Pack your backpacks, put on your gym shoes. Let’s light the world on fire.

These pencil socks though, right? We’re going to do big important things in these socks.

 

New Year’s Resolutions, 2015

10. More Snail Mail. I’m on a roll right now–two packages out last week to little ones we love, and it felt so good to put them together. I dedicated an entire drawer of my desk to snail mail and organized it over the weekend–new stamps, stickers, good stationery, fun stuff to include in packages like bookmarks and temporary tattoos. I tucked in some good gel pens and a few fun pictures I cut out of magazines. We are going to earn our care package badge this year and make friends’ days special as often as we can.

9. Show up in Classrooms. Without overcommitting (the letdown–more like guilt, less like milk coming in–feels awful), I’m excited to show up in my kids’ classrooms more. Maybe the teacher will even let me read Miss Nelson is Missing to the class.

8. More Post School Drop-off Breakfast with Friends. Even if it’s a quick coffee chat in the parking lot. Besides, fall’s around the bend, and we are going to need to discuss important things like where to hang the leaf garland and how to arrange the pumpkins around the front door.

7. Continue Simplifying.
After reading the Tidying Up book that rocked everyone’s world early in the summer, I must have halved all of our closets and toys and it felt incredible. More, more, more. I love using the filter “Does it bring you great joy?” for deciding what goes and stays in our home, closet, etc.

6. Use my Gym Membership.
As Elle Woods would say, endorphins make you happy.

5. Draw More.
It makes me happy. Early morning doodles with coffee, afternoon stress relief with the kids and some colored pencils. I’ve been pulling lots of inspiration from the 20 Ways to Draw series. We have a few of these books, and there’s a new one coming in September–how to draw house stuff! 
20 Ways to Draw a Dress, Draw 500 Things from Nature, 20 Ways to Draw a Chair (comes out Sept 1)

 

4. Wear Real Pajamas. My favorite thing to buy for my kids is pajamas, and I’m obsessed with getting them as cozy and comfortable before bed as possible and yet I’m constantly wearing exercise shorts and t-shirts. Comfy, yes, but I like the idea of real made-for-bed pajamas. I’m going to step up my grown-up lady game and work on my pajama drawer (anyone have any favorite brands? Something a grown-up lady would wear? Or, okay, a kid-who-still-likes-cartoons-trapped-in-a-grown-up-lady’s body would wear?)

3. Meditation Baths. We just started these, but my kids have been loving them. Candles, essential oils, lights off, bubbles and some guided meditation (“Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in…now relax your shoulders…now your elbows…your wrists…your fingertips.”). You can find several guided relaxation scripts online that are helpful. A great way to wind down on school nights!

2. Entertain. Lower standards for having people over (what’s that verse? “Candles cover a multitude of paper plates.”) means more opportunities to connect with our neighbors and friends. I love people in our home. I love sitting around the table long after dinner’s over. I love that last goodbye as Brett and I wave from the driveway and finally close the door. “That was fun” always follows.

1. Invest in Us. We’ve been talking a lot about this one lately. We are good at Family. United front, group hugs, family outings–we got this. But US, the two-letter word? We need more of it. We’ve been trying to line up more babysitters (dinner and a movie last weekend–look at us! we’re flying!), watch each other’s shows and talk about things other than kids, kids, kids. It’s not easy when kids take up so much of our lives and time. Also, holding hands in the car across the middle console is my favorite. Just a little way to say, “Hi! It’s you and me.” That is until someone asks for a cup from the back seat.

These little moments? Slipping through my fingers all the time.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m totally going to cry pulling away from school next week.

 

This is a sponsored follow-up post to last week’s #WeighThis post, part of Lean Cuisine’s campaign encouraging women to weigh the things that matter most in life.

When it comes to issues of worth and beauty, weight and body image, shielding my kids from inappropriate messages in the media simply isn’t possible. Skewed messages about body image echo from everything from magazine covers to popular music, inviting conversation to reset the tone and change the way we think about ourselves.

Caring about the way we look and feel is a natural behavior, and we entertain those feelings in a number of ways in our home, particularly with healthy discussion.

The best way I’ve found in my own life to deal with it—to balance wishing my skin was tauter with recognizing truer measures of beauty—is to water what I want to grow. Feed the good wolf. Making sure our input—what we see, what we read, who we spend time with, what we talk about and what we listen to—celebrates the many different ways we can be beautiful.

Many of you contributed some of these measures in your own life—how you want your weight measured.

Debbie:
I’ve survived!…cancer, divorce, & financial ruin. I started working on a college degree after being out of high school for 37 years & only have 4 more classes to go! I can’t wait to weigh that diploma!!! In the meantime, I’m weighing my 4.0 GPA!

Erica:
So today and all the days ahead I want to measure myself by….the number of babies I have given life to-4. The number of months I nursed-approximately 56. The number of friends, true friends, the kind of friends you know will truly be there when you need them- 5. The number of half marathons I have run and each time have beat my previous time–5.My body and strength fuels that. And finally–10 is the years I have been married this year. Marriage is hard, but I wouldn’t change a thing!

Lauren:
I am proud that I don’t let a diagnosis define me and that I will fight like hell for my health and the sanctity of my relationships. I am proud of my spunk and my kindness. I am happy that I’ve never let my thirst for learning and bettering myself through knowledge cease.

Sarah:
I am proud of the fact that I am coming into my own beliefs and own way of parenting. I always tried to fit a mold: Baptist, SAHM, Attachment Parent…. But I am me. I believe in things from all schools of thought, especially my own. And I am trying to instill this value of self into my 4 children.

Summer:
I’m proud of being a bad-Ass biological, adoptive and foster super mom. I’ve got 6 amazing kids in my house now, only 2 of which are born from my body. It’s crazy and many days I feel like I’m going insane. But I can lay my head down, at the end of the day, and know I’ve done SOMETHING that matters.

Shari:
I just had my third child. Thanks for the reminder that the only weight that matters right now is 7lbs, 8oz of amazing baby boy!

Beth:
I want to “step away from the scale” so that I can be measured in the way my son’s DS diagnosis has opened my own eyes to the real meaning of beauty. Instead let me be weighed by the laughter I share with others and the humor I bring to my own life. Please, let the scale show how I am weaving together words to: advocate, give loved ones a glimpse into my inside and letting go of the fear to speak my mind. Let my weight reflect the weight that has been lifted off of my shoulders when I really choose to be the real me…. 

Let the conversation continue!

If you didn’t see the first #WeighThis post, check out this video:

Thank you again, Lean Cuisine, for initiating conversations about weight and worth.