Yep. That's really what I titled this post. 

So I just wanted to say, if you were one of the 50+ people who came through my house today, I did not dye my toilet water to match the theme of the baby shower. I know it may have appeared that way. 

Let me explain. We live in an older house with original toilets. Since we moved in, we have had rings in our toilet, and that drives me crazy. So I bought these bleach things that you put in the toilet....you know the ones that you drop in the back part, and they stay there and supposedly magically clean the toilet for you? I accidentally bought the ones that turn your toilet blue. I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to clear the air. My toilet water is not usually blue. And I'm not okay with blue toilet water, but what was I supposed to do? I didn't want to dig the thing out. 

I just thought I should tell everyone that. The baby shower colors were blue, green and grey, but I was not trying to theme my toilet water. 

Okay now, that that is clear.

We obviously had a lot of people here today. Jacquelyn's baby shower was a huge hit! There were so many friends and family members who came out to show Jacquelyn and baby Lincoln some love. I'll do a full post on the baby shower later this week. For now, here is a quick pic. 

Tonight, my mom, aunt, uncle and cousin from Hawaii, my other cousins, my sister and brother in law, and our friends from Colorado were all here for dinner. 

It was a busy, exciting, and love filled day. And now, we're up late watching Food Inc. I mean seriously, what is this going to do to me? I pretty much don't want to buy meat anymore. That's for sure. At least not corn fed beef.....and chickens? Are you kidding me? 

People aren't joking when they say this movie is life changing. And maybe it's the best kind of change. 

So that's all. Blue toilet water, a full house, and Food Inc......more on all that later. 

A nap and a better 2nd day

I'm going to need a nap tomorrow. Done deal. But my kitchen looks so cute, and is ready for a baby shower tomorrow. Hooray! 

On another note, Addison had a wonderful second day of 1st grade. She loved it, and says she loves her new school. I have no clue what the difference was, but she came home happy today. Thank you to all of you who prayed and sent me sweet messages. Thank you for thinking of and praying for us. Today was definitely the day I had been hoping for. 

I'm super excited about tomorrow. My sister-in-law's baby shower is going to be a ball. Plus we have homemade cinnamon rolls! Oh, how I wish you could be here! 

I can't wait to share all the pictures with you. Thanks again for praying for our sweet girl. 

When you just want to cry

I really just want to cry. 

I tried to think of a million other ways to start this post and a million other things to write about, but it's all I can think about. 

My daughter started 1st grade today at a new school with a new teacher and new friends. I expected to pick her up and for her to be giddy and anxious to tell me about the day, but she was visibly not happy. 

What's a mama to do? It was only the 1st day, and I know there is a lot to cover on the 1st day, but she's 6. She just kept saying that all they did all day was sit and have to listen to the teacher. 

I'm pretty sure we would have a hard time adjusting to anyone after the amazing kindergarten teacher we had last year. She was seriously amazing. Loves kids, incredibly patient, visibly made to teach. I was always in shock and awe when I went to work in her classroom, she was just an incredibly talented and passionate teacher. And after all the crazy school tragedies that went on last year, I never once hesitated to send Addy back to school. I trusted her completely. 

And isn't that what you want? How do you leave your child all day long with someone you don't know? I mean, we met her yesterday at the teacher Meet and Greet. She seemed nice enough. It's hard to get a grasp of someone in 20 minutes ya know? She's been teaching for 20 years, and there is going to be a sweet young student teacher in the classroom this semester. And I'm sure it'll be fine. 

But after today, I dunno. Maybe it won't be. 

Addison is laid back and loves school. Absolutely loves it. But her only school experience has involved 2 incredible teachers (for pre-k and kindergarten). And I'm sure this teacher is great. I mean, it's only been one day. I just never expected her to come home feeling the way she did, and it makes this mama's heart sad. 

I mean, we want the absolute best for our children. What if she continues to come home this way? What do i do? I can't let her experience 1st grade unhappy. 

I knew this was going to happen eventually. I just didn't think it would be this soon. 

I know that you can't tell anything after one day. We'll give it some time and see what transpires. Has anyone else ever had a normally happy to go to school kiddo come home unhappy? And what did you do? 

Being a momma is hard. 

All kinds of baby awesome

If I've never invited you to my house, I'm sorry. I am one of those weird people who actually like to have people over. Yes, hosting can be stressful, but once we started having Bible study at my house once a week, I sort of quit caring so much about what people thought and simply started enjoying opening up my home. 

So I'm hosting my sister-in-law's baby shower on Saturday, and I'm super excited. I mean, I really don't even want to tell you about it because I want to go cut things out and put things together. I'm so technical, I know. 

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of the all kinds of baby shower awesome I'm planning. If you've missed some of my other over the top posts, I sort of like to do parties over the top. You could call it my spiritual gift or you could call it a problem. You be the judge. 

I threw one heck of a 30th surprise/murder mystery party for my hot hubby. You can see more here. 

I threw my kids a pretty cool Princess and Pirate party for their 4th and 6th birthdays.   

I threw Jacquelyn's 1st baby shower themed Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog tails. 

Then there was the pony and bounce house party from their 2nd and 4th birthdays. Here and here....I never should have posted all those pictures....but this is probably when the crazy party planning began. I'm just saying. 

I also hosted my sister's bridal shower that was so much fun. We had an omelet bar! 

And there have been more. I recently hosted my friend's baby shower and I don't think I have a single picture. Boo : ( 

But here is a sneak peek of what I'm working on for Saturday. 

I have to give a huge shout out to Erin Dausmann over at EThree Design Studio for all the cute printables. I'll definitely be using her again for Wyatt's 1st birthday. I used the 5x7 picture file she created for me to send out Sincerely Scent cards as invitations. It was so easy. 

Anyways, that's what I'm doing tonight. It's all kinds of baby shower awesome around here tonight. 

A little braver today.....a story of a girl and a horse and fear....again

My heart fell into the pit of my stomach today. I knew she was falling before it happened. She knew she was falling, but she couldn't stop it. 

My 6 year old daughter fell off this horse today. It's her second fall since she's been riding, and I know it won't be her last. Falling off a horse is part of riding a horse. 

What is amazing to me is that she got right back up and rode again. 

I know she was scared when she fell. I know she was a little scared when she got back on, but I'm learning that each of a us have a few things in life that we view as scary but that we're willing to pursue anyways. 

My sweet little girl tried dance and feared the crowd. It wasn't worth the fear to her. She tried piano, and once again, feared the crowd when it came to be recital time. It just wasn't worth the fear. 

But riding is different. She loves riding. I mean, really, really loves riding. It's all she talks about. It's all she wants to do. 

And it's scary, and really scary when she falls, but there are some great things in life that are worth being scared over. 

I was thinking tonight about how courageous she is and about what it means to be courageous. 

Do you have that something in your life? Something that is more important than fear? 

My kids are that to me. They make me be courageous. They scare the crap out of me, but they are worth the fear. When you love someone that much, fear becomes a part of that love. But my babies....they are far more important than the fear. They make me be courageous. 

My business is the same way. I was thinking about how scared I was when I started.

What would people think? 

What if I failed? 

What if no one wanted to buy anything from me? 

What if......

But I had that 20 seconds of insane courage, and I did it, and I never looked back. It seemed worth the fear to me. 

Marriage is the same. What if he leaves? What if he stops loving me? What if it doesn't work out? What if? 

Worth it. Worth every second of the fear. 

Starting a bible study? Same story. What if no one shows up? What if they think I'm crazy? I don't know enough about the Bible....What will I say? Still....worth it. 

Everything that I have ever done that was actually worth doing was surround by a dark cloud of fear. And very slowly, day by day, that fear fades. I don't know that it ever really goes away. I think we just become braver. 

But there are things in my life that I stray away from because I'm afraid. Big things. Real things. 

Like writing a book. Or speaking about something other than Scentsy. I've gotten to a pretty comfortable place where things generally tend to work. I see other things, but I don't go there, because what if I were to fail? 

Today I watched my daughter fall off a horse, be visibly afraid, and then choose to get back up and ride again. And today I decided that I want to be more like her. I want to be brave like she has chosen to be brave. 

And I wonder if there is something in your life that is scary that you stray away from because of the "what ifs." I think we all have something in our lives that would be worth the fear if we would only step out and take a chance. 

My daughter reminded me today that it's worth it to fall sometimes. It's a reminder that great things aren't easy and sometimes we fail while pursuing them. But there are great things that each of us are called to that require us to step outside our fear and be brave. 

Maybe Brene Brown says it best when she says, "The willingness to show up changes us. It makes us a little braver each time." 

Here's to all of us showing up and becoming a little braver. 

Fresh Eggs

So we got chickens today. 3 of them. There is a chance that one of them is a rooster, and we do not want a rooster. So we might be selling a rooster in the near future. 

Meet our chicks. They are Buff Orpingtons, and they're almost 6 weeks old. 

There is still a debate as to whether or not we're going to name them. The kids have already handled and taken care of them. Addison is thrilled. She loves taking care of them (at least she did for today....we'll see if the excitement wears off). 

Brian is busy building a coop. These will be some pretty spoiled chickens. They'll have more than enough room to roam and peck. (This is obviously a temporary, redneck pen.)

Brian has also promised our kiddos that he is going to build them a treehouse. He stole some telephone poles to help him get started. (He didn't really steal them, just almost).

With a backyard like this, you've got to have a treehouse.

So that's pretty much it. We're chicken owners now. I guess that means free eggs (and as I typed it Brian reminded me that they're not free since you have to feed the little buggers.) Close enough. At least we'll have happy chickens and good organic eggs.

And if you want any, I'm going to charge you an arm and a leg for them. I'm just saying. If I'm cleaning up poop, you're paying me for it.

Until tomorrow, we'll be here, staring at our chicks.

When you can do anything....

I have often been criticized for being too much of a planner. People say things to me like "you're so busy" and "I know you probably don't have time, but would you...." and those kind of comments make me crazy. It's like verbal punishment for being organized and intentional with my time. 

Let's face it, we're all busy. But when I look at the way my work life and my family life has evolved, I know I have to be intentional with my time and resources. 

I think the reason people say that I'm so busy is because I guard the time I have with my family. It is so hard to work for yourself and be able to set your own schedule and then have people think that you must be free anytime to do anything since you work from home. When you can do anything.....it doesn't mean you should. I'm learning that I absolutely can't do everything just because I work from home. I have to pick and choose and do the things that I know will make the biggest impact and be the most effective in my personal life, in my business life, and in the spiritual realm. 

This is something I've struggled with ever since I started "working from home." It's why I had to put boundaries in place. I don't answer my phone all the time. I don't respond to facebook messages and texts when I get them. I simply can't. If I did that, I would be working all the waking hours of the day and then some, and that's not why I quit my teaching job. 

So I try to have solid boundaries in place, but even that becomes hard. Because I try to spend the majority of my time working directly with the consultants that I've signed up and the directors underneath me, I have to be somewhat flexible to allow for our schedules to line up. 

And then I have to guard the time I have with my family. With evening parties and online training (which we always do in the evening), I'm left with very little time in the evenings to help team members. We do our very best to make the nights about our family. It's extremely important to us that we have margin, but it's often hard to make those boundaries stick. 

I'm the 1st to cave when someone wants to meet and it doesn't align with the boundaries I've put in place. But there are also other times when a friend wants to meet or there is a special event happening, and I want to be able to do all those things while being home a minimum of 5-6 nights a week with my family. 

Lately I've been thinking that to accommodate all my Scentsy peeps that work and can't meet during the day, I'm going to have to set up one night a month where I try to fit all of them in. I realize this won't work perfectly, but it's what I'm comfortable doing. I know that the one-on-one time I devote to my frontline and my leaders is one of the best uses of my time. That's why I have an assistant who does a lot of my computer work for me. It frees me up to be more intentional about building relationships. 

But just because I have the freedom to set my own schedule doesn't mean that I can do everything. I realize that I could do anything, but that I can't do everything. I really believe part of our maturity into adulthood is learning how to say no. I simply can't do everything that's placed before me. Nor should I. 

I want to have margin in my personal and family life, and when you're a direct sales consultant of any kind, that can be a tricky task. You could work all the time if you chose to. But that's how people get burnt out. Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you should. 

So I'm curious if you ever get overwhelmed with all the responsibilities you have on your plate, and if you do, what do you do when that happens? Do you step back and reevaluate how you're spending your time? Or do you shut down? Sometimes when we have done everything for so long, we simply shut down. I've seen a lot of businesses fail because someone was trying to do it all. 

Part of our responsibility as business owners and moms and wives is to put boundaries in place. Know what's important to you and guard it with your life. At the end of the day, your values shouldn't be compromised. It's the reason that I plan my week out the way I do, and the reason that I'm such a stickler for intentional planning and preparation. How do you guard your time?