Last week, Shawn from Awesomely Awake posted an A to Z Now list and when I read it, I thought it was a pretty good idea.  She borrowed the idea and then encouraged all of her reader's to make their own list.  I think it is a good way to center ourselves in our busy, day-to-day lives.  So, without further adieu, here is my  A to Z Now list:

April. Next month is going to be a lovely, exciting month on the blog and in our home.  I am really looking forward to all that next month holds.

Balancing. Even though I am a SAHM, there is a lot to do in a day around here.  One child, three cat's, a husband, and me.  It can get a little crazy sometimes.  I am really trying to work on balancing everything in this house with my own needs.  It is a struggle, but I am getting there.

Coloring. L has found a new love for coloring and that makes this Mommy's heart super happy.

Diet. I am holding on very tightly to my "No snacking at night" rule.  I have failed a few times, but I keep trying!

Energy.  I have felt so depleted lately.

February.  Thank goodness that month is over.  That was a trying month with all the sickness that went through this house.

Grace. I am learning how to express it and be a pillar of it.  Grace is hard sometimes.

Hair.  I miss my long hair.  I wish it would hurry up and grow back.

Inspired. This was also what Shawn had listed on her list.  However, I am started to feel more inspired daily now that I am writing more.  I have started to really see things again, which is always lovely.

Junk.  Our garage is ridiculous, seriously.  It needs an overhaul.  Soon.

Keys.  Okay, so, we have a car that doesn't require the key be placed in the ignition to start the car.  The key just has to be present in the vehicle.  I know this.  I have known this for months.  I do it all the time.  Except for today, when I had a frantic search in my pockets for the car keys to start the car.  (As in, put the key in the ignition and start the car.) I was freaking out thinking I was going to have to take L back out of the car, go back into Target, report lost keys, and then call my husband to come get L and her dumb Mom for loosing the keys to the car.  Until I saw the ignition button and those nice words, "Push to Start."  *sigh*  Thank you, Nissan.  How many heart attacks have you given people this year?

Losing it.  Yup, Mommy loses her mind daily.  It's okay.  We just go on about our business like nothing ever happened.

March.  I love March.  It is the start of a new season, new growth, new projects, new fashion, new....everything.  I love March.

No.  I am learning to say this more.  I am also dealing with L doing it.  She has mastered the head nod and the head shake, ladies and gentlemen.  It's all downhill from here. LOL!

Optometrist.  Mommy needs an eye exam and new glasses.

Peace.  Yea, stole this one too, but we all need peace.  Peace within, peace from the outside world, peace at night when the baby is sleeping.....Peace.  Good word.  Good idea.

Quiet.  It is true what they say:  If your toddler is quiet, you better go check on them.  You may find a whole box of wipes in the toilet like I did! Or, hey, you may even find a stuffed Simon from The Chipmunks head first in the toilet with the lid closed like Daddy did!

Restore.  Restore myself, restore order in our home.

Silly.  L is silly.  She encourages Mommy and Daddy to be silly, too.  Everyone wins!  We all need to be silly once in a while, don't you agree?

Tea.  I love my herbal tea.  Oh, how I love it.

Up.  I think one day, when the weather is warmer, L and I are going to go outside in the backyard, lay on a blanket, and look at the sky.  It has been a long time since I have viewed the world from the ground.

View.  I need to pick up a camera again and start changing my view of the world.

Writing.  I love that I am doing this more.  I am feeling myself start to center again after taking a really long hiatus.  I missed writing.  I missed being able to understand what I am thinking through my writing.  I have a disconnect between my thoughts and my mouth sometimes.  It is better for me to write them down.  Always has been, always will be.

Xylophone.  L has a toy one that she bangs on a lot during the day.  She get's very excited that it makes noise.  She also loves her drum. LOL!

Year.  The husband and I will have been married for a year next month!

Zoo. I can't wait to take L to the zoo soon! It will be her first trip!  

And there you have it!  I encourage you all to write your own list, too.  I feel better after doing this.  It helps me to be present in the here and now and not think about all the other things that need to be done around here.

Until next time,

Hello lovelies!  Now that L is feeling better (and she has displayed that by ransacking our DVD and Xbox game collections...HA!) I can get back into the writing business.

There is so much to be said today, so much in fact, that I don't know where to start.  Much like the snow outside my kitchen window, thoughts and words are piling up.

Words.

Have you ever thought about actual words?  Have you ever thought about the effect they have on those around you when they come out of your mouth or through your fingers?  Have you ever thought about the damage they can do?

Yesterday I saw damaging words attached to a photo.  I was enraged, heart broken, and sick.  Those five or six words attached to the photo were deafening as they reverberated through my soul.  I heard my daughter waking up in the next room and I thought to myself, "How does this happen?  How do people become so cruel and vicious?"

The photo, those words...they followed me around all morning.  Every time I would look at my daughter, flashing back to my hand holding my phone and seeing that photo, reading those words.....I couldn't take it anymore.  I had to set an example.  "I have to do something," I thought.

I knew what I would do.

I took a stand.

I stood up with a handful of other's and declared that we would not tolerate the kind of behavior that the user displayed.  You do not treat people like trash!

I took it upon myself to notify the person that the photo and the hurtful words were against.  It was hard.  I sat at my computer for what seemed like forever, trying to find the words. Once I did, it all came pouring out of me in a flood.  I couldn't stop.  I had to make myself stop or it would have turned into a novel about the injustice that had been raised upon this person without. them. even. knowing.

That's right.

They didn't even know what had been done to them.

Sickening.

After it was all said and done, the doer of the deed was confronted and the photo (magically) disappeared.

However, what has been seen, cannot be unseen.

I, and a handful of other's, know what happened, and that is enough for me.  There are people who joined with me yesterday in a show of fellowship to another human being.  That warmed my heart on so many levels.

We are all in this together in this great big world.  While the world spins out of control around us, we have to take it back.  We have to take our world  back.  How, you ask? You start by being kind.  I don't care how broke you are, how wrong  you think your life is going, you can still be kind.

Being kind is free.

Being kind is freeing.

When you smile at a stranger, hold a door open for someone, or offer a few dollars to the person in front of you in line at the grocery store who has come up short; that's being kind.

That's how humanity comes back.

What you put out into the world, comes back to you.

Until next time,