I love family art days. When our family gets together at the dining room table to do art together, my heart swells with pride. It’s perhaps one of my Top 10 family moments each year.

Fortunately and unfortunately we had time to throw together Family Art this past weekend.

To say that one of my girls was under the weather would be an understatement. It was the kind of illness that leaves you worried around the clock. The result was not only the cancelling of a very big trip but the inability to really do anything at all but sit and soothe.

In the middle of it all, I really wanted to do something fun and special to cheer us all up, especially the sick girl. First we wrote her little notes, which were fine but not enough. By the third day, notes just weren’t going to cut it.

And then I remembered a project I had been planning to do: A Family Banner. You can take this project in many directions, but we wanted it to be so simple that everyone could do it, even a very sick little girl. My amazing friend Jena sparked the concept of this project in me when she commented on my Wonder Board post about how she has conversations with her daughters about how to describe their family.

I love how this project requires a little thought, conversation and planning. I love how it gets us all thinking about what family means. I love that it’s artistic but also very meaningful to us. I love that it hangs just so under our family photos that mean so much to us as well.

Again, I emphasize that I love creative projects that are easy, accessible and practical. I feel this falls into that category perfectly. Anyone can do this with very simple materials and effort.

All you need to do this project is the following:

• Colored Paper of your choice
• White or lighter color paper of your choice
• Yarn, string or some other hanging material
• Hole punch
• Art supplies — whatever you have on hand.

First I cut the papers to fit to a nice rectangle size. I actually used two colors of the background paper and a nice light gray.

And then, while everyone was sitting around — well, that’s all we did — I asked questions about what it means to be family such as what does family mean, family stands for ___ ? or what is our family like? For our girls, who are 6, it took a little effort to get this conversation started but once it did, their ideas were overflowing. These were some of their answers:

Family is cool

Family is sweet

Family is caring

Family takes care of each other

I added a few of my own as well …

Our family is beautiful

Family is forever.

We took turns writing those saying on each flag and then decorating those flags.

And then, the magical part, came when we each created our own Name flag for the banner. We wrote our names — I wrote my many names such as Mama, Mommy, Shawn, Writer, etc. — and then we gave them flair with collage!

We had a ton of fun with this part of the banner.

Our banner now hangs lovingly in our family room where we can all see it every day. It’s a nice happy reminder of what really matters each day — even when things really don’t go our way. A wonderful reminder that the four of us are always here for each other when the going gets tough.

A New Day

When you wake today, May You Notice.

May you Pay attention.

May you see and honor the tiny, yet beautiful details of life unfolding before your very eyes. May you feel how the earth holds you up, grounds you and gives you something to stand on, something to stand for each day. May you smell the coffee as it gradually drifts from room to room. May you Breathe in the morning air, the smells of new beginnings, of starting overs, of delicious conspiracies you can turn into your reality.

May you see your partner. How he or she follows the same routine. How he or she takes time to notice the little things. May You hear what is not only said but meant. May You be open to that love between you.

Poster on Etsy. Click image for more details.

And when the children wake early, long before the sun rises, may you Notice.

May you Pay attention. May you realize this, too, will most definitely pass.

May you laugh as their bed head makes their hair do twisty, weird things. May you feel how their warmth radiates from their hearts, filling yours. Smell their sweetness and innocence before everyone gets too busy to gather close again. Notice what their eyes are drawn to out of curiosity and wonder. May You Notice what inspires them to smile. May you smile with them at the beauty of everything.

May You See Beauty by Lori Portka. Click image for details.

As you go about your day, and your family goes about theirs, May You Pay attention to the birds singing outside your windows. May you notice the way the green stems are peeking up through the ground. May you notice how the clouds are billowing away their time in the sky, traveling, floating. May You Notice the way all the human beings you pass are just human beings, fighting to survive another day themselves. May you notice how they warm your heart even if they are strangers, even if they are not like you.

And when you come back together as a family, May You Pay Attention to what isn’t said at all. May you look into each others eyes and notice how bright they are, or tired they are, or excited they are. May you cook slowly, eat slowly and linger long together, just relishing this meal for what it us — sustenance, soul food, nourishment. May you savor that food and the memories of eating together. May You Notice that this moment is what matters.

May You Pay Attention to the joy that crosses their faces as you say YES, finally, again, once more. May You Notice how that makes you feel, to make people happy because you can, because you wanted to and because you could.

As your day comes to an end, May You Notice how the light fades in each of your rooms. How the energy rises …. rises …. rises and then watch it as it falls, comes to a sleepy end. May You Notice how little bodies shiver and lips turn blue as they dry off from their bath. May You Notice how the knots have gotten more tangled as their hair has grown, as they have grown. May you notice that the line on the bathroom wall where you last measured is now far below where their head would be now.

May You Notice that life is right here, this moment and no other. May You Notice that you just survived a day without tackling your to-do list. May You Notice that you, too, have needs. A bath. A good book. A sweet wine. A massage. A long night’s sleep. To talk to a friend. To write long and full of run-on sentences because you have so much to express, so much to say and there aren’t enough hours to remember it all even though you really wish you could so you just have to write them down before you forget the beauty.

May You Pay Attention to all that matters today. And nothing more.

For more mindful living inspiration, check out Amaze Yourself & Say Yes More, Amaze Yourself & Do Less and Amaze Yourself & Act Silly.

Image found on Google Images

Part of living in the moment for me is allowing for more yeses and for following my heart without too much questioning or doubts. It’s about charging out into the world with less restraint and, most certainly, less worries. It’s also about making very intentional decisions about how we parent and raise our children.

By nature, I am a questioner. I’m also a bit of a control freak. Let’s just say that I like things the way I like them. I’m working on it — hence this Awesomely Awake project. {You didn’t think I was writing just for you, did you?}

I’d venture to say that one reason parenting is so hard for people is because they feel like they cannot get their children to do what they want them to do.

Just a guess.

I strongly follow the philosophy that if we want our children to listen to us, they must feel important. And, if we want them to feel important, they need to have responsibilities beyond the chores we give them, beyond making their beds and doing their homework and getting out the door on time. They need responsibilities and fun activities that leave them feeling valued as a member of the family and as a person.

We The Parents need to give up our My Way or the Highway type of control just a wee bit and by doing so we empower our children and watch them grow up more confidently and passionately — and likely more compliant in the long run. {At least that is my hope.}

We need to Trust our children to be able to make the right decisions. We need to allow them to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. We need to not get mad when that happens. We need to show them that we aren’t their bosses at the ready to reprimand but rather their coaches who are here to gently, and ever-so-carefully, show them the way.

I love this part of parenting where we get to witness how their little brains work, what they choose as important and the excitement they bring to a simple and very basic task. I learn something new from them every single time.

Below I will share some of our family’s favorite activities we use to incorporate and implement our daughters’ ideas so they will always know that their thoughts, feelings and ideas are valued in our family.

LET THEM MAKE THE RULES: At our house, we call it Rules. As in, “Mommy, I have a new Rule.” Oh, OK. What is it? {This is when you cringe because you just never, ever know what the rules will be}. “My Rule is that every time someone is sick, we get to watch TV all day.” Oh, OK. Sure, why not? Because, really, when you’re sick that’s all you want to do anyway. We get a lot of these kinds of Kid Rules in our house and while we almost alway agree to them, there have been a few that we just had to say sorry that won’t work like when it has to do with eating a ton of sugar every single day for, like, a year. I have my limits. I’m sure you have yours. It’s a gentle dance. So, let the kids make their own rules for a change this weekend. Encourage it. I find that at our house if we honor their rules, they tend to have more respect for ours.

PUT THEM IN CHARGE OF THE TO-DO LIST: Ah, the To-Do list. I can’t be the only one with a couple of those lying around at all times. Put the kids in charge of what you’ll do one day this weekend. Let them ensure that this weekend will be fun — their kind of fun, not our kind of fun. But make sure you put your fun on that list as well. Let it be true family-effort to write the list and to make sure it all happens {within reason}. We did this a few weeks ago. All four of us listed something we wanted to do — again, beyond the chores and errands that we always have to do. I loved that day. I loved that list. We did everything on that list from taking a walk, to playing charades, to putting together a new World map puzzle and, of course, resting. The above picture is a re-created list that one of my girls wrote because that list meant so much to her that she incorporated the list into playtime with her dolls.

LET THEM SOLVE A PROBLEM: Much like asking children how to do something, children like to solve problems. Well, some more than others, I guess. We have a toilet that runs now and then. We’ve been too lazy and too cheap to call a plumber or figure it out ourselves. Sometimes, I’ve stood over that darn thing for 10 minutes jiggling every little gadget inside. Nothing works. I asked one of our girls to look at it and she figured out that the handle isn’t popping up all the way. “All you have to do is push it up,” she said. “I stand here and wait and see if it goes up or not.” Huh. News to me. My 6-year-old taught me something. She’s quite the problem solver, actually. I try to tell her that often.

Basket image from I Heart Organizing. Click image for details.

LET THEM CHOOSE: The best gift I ever gave myself was creating a snack basket about one week into the school year. Each Sunday, I fill it to the brim with healthy snacks and then each morning the girls pick their own snack to take to school. There are several options and they feel empowered by this simple decision. The basket has boosted their confidence in making healthy decisions as well. Of course, they also get to choose how they want their hair styled each day, what clothes they will wear and, sometimes, whether they will pack or buy their lunch. I don’t mind giving up this kind of control. Again, by letting them make more choices about their day, they are more inclined to listen to my ideas when it’s important and crucial.

My children are still young so I’m sure there are many other ideas to share for older children, especially teenagers. How about you? How do you spark confidence in your children? How do you let them be active participants in the family beyond chores? Do you let them set any rules or set any agendas? I’d love to hear about it.

Lovely image by Vivienne McMaster. Click image to learn more about Vivienne.

You’re at a restaurant. The wait appears neverending. Of course, naturally, your whole family takes out their gadgets — not to find the menu, or the reviews, or how to get to the next destination — but to surf or play games.

You know, anything but talk to each other. Anything but wait. Anything but do nothing. Anything but sit in silence. Anything but …

Or, you’re at home and everyone is bored to tears so you grab your iPhone and your son grabs his Nintendo DS and your daughter grabs her LeapPad and your husband grabs his iPad.

Now everyone feels better. Now no one has to look at each other. Now no one has to try and get along.

{I’m not really talking about YOU by the way.}

I’d love to remember just how I “met” Rachel Stafford. One thing led to another and I ended up on her blog, Hands Free Mama. Immediately, I fired off a comment or an email to her saying that I thought we might have a few things in common. She agreed. We’ve become fast Virtual friends.

Rachel and I take slightly different approaches to saying basically the same thing: We only get one precious life to be with our family so let’s not waste it. Rachel’s mission is to provide people with the inspiration, motivation, and tools to let go of daily distraction so they can grasp the moments in life that matter and live more meaningfully.

In this Awesomely Awake world, we appreciate that we will be distracted with life’s many amazing, wonderful things but that we must make a very clear intention every single day to put the Live in Living first and foremost so that we can teach our children how to really, really live fully during their one, wild precious life. It’s about moderation, really. But isn’t everything?

Another fab image from Vivienne McMaster. Click image to find her!

Rachel agreed to an interview here and I’d like to highlight what I learned from her interview by using her words to create a list of how to TRY to lead a distraction-free life:

DESIGNATE MEDIA TIME: Rachel says, “I have approximately seven hours each day when my family is not home. Those are the hours I write and work online. I also utilize time in the evening to work once my family goes to bed. I will be honest, I seldom “get done” everything I want to do in a day, but that is a pressure I have learned to let go of – the pressure to “do it all,” which almost cost me everything I hold dear.”

BAKE TOGETHER: This tradition started when my oldest child was two-years-old and she helped make her own birthday cake. I was amazed at how much she could do to help, and before we knew it, she was even cracking eggs! Our baking tradition has evolved into our family’s favorite way to express kindness and appreciation to people in our lives. Every holiday, we make goodies to package up and give to others as a way of saying “thank you.” We include people inside our inner circle of family and friends, but we also strive to include people who provide services in our lives like the trash collectors and mail carrier.

GET OFF THE SIDELINES: I have gone from watching my children play to being part of the action. In the past eighteen months, I have done things that I haven’t done in decades. My kids delight in seeing me ride a scooter, slide down a grassy hill on a cardboard box, do a cannon ball into the pool with goggles on, climb a mountain of dirt, and pet a snake. I have never seen my kids laugh and smile as much as they do when I step into their world.

JUST TALK: When my oldest daughter was three, she asked for “talk time” at the conclusion of her bedtime routine one night.  We have continued “talk time” nightly for the last five years. During this sacred ten-minute period, I get to hear what is on my child’s heart and mind. She shares everything from what happened at school to what she wants to be when she grows up. She asks questions about everything from what she was like as a baby to what would happen if I die.

PLAY TOGETHER: One summer we did a simple science experiments together. We ended up inviting a few neighbors over for the weekly science lesson, and it became quickly became the highlight of each week. I used a book I discovered on clearance in the back of a craft store entitled, The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions. The ingredients were often things I had around the house and the steps were easy.  What I most enjoyed was hearing the children “hypothesize” about the expected outcome of the experiment and then watching their faces as the results unfolded – pure excitement, wonder, and delight! Who knew creating foamy paint, peanutty play dough, fruity lip gloss, and a crystal rock garden would lead to laughter, connection, memory making, and learning?

GIVE BACK: Our family is passionate about helping children in poverty situations. For the past four years, my family has helped me conduct a community-wide event where children in our neighborhood learn about what it means to live in poverty and fill empty shoeboxes with needed items. The shoeboxes are sent to children in impoverished countries through an organization called Operation Christmas Child. Each year my family seeks to educate more children in our community and touch more children with a shoebox gift than the year before. My daughters hope to surpass last year’s community total with a new goal of 500 lovingly filled shoeboxes for children in poverty. Luckily, my daughters are “planners extraordinaire” just like their mama and have already begun brainstorming ways to create more filled boxes.

Learn more about Rachel’s journey to grasp what matters on her blog www.handsfreemama.com or through “The Hands Free Revolution” on Facebook.

Learn more about Vivienne McMaster and the photography courses she teaches online here.

Rachel with her two lovelies

Image found via Pinterest via Tumbler. Click for details.

I could be sillier.

I could.

But, compared to so many people I encounter in real life, the world seems like it could use a big dose of big belly laughs.

You know, like the ones our children encounter daily?

We can all stand to stop taking ourselves too seriously, at least some of the time. Yes, things in life are serious. At times, maybe a little too serious. But, part of being awake — being 100 percent mindful — is focusing on one thing. Let  this week’s one thing be on being able to laugh at ourselves,  laugh at our mistakes, laugh at our kids putting ridiculous amounts of chocolate icing all over their faces {and shirts}.

Photo courtesy of Haley-Elise on Flickr

One of my favorite movies is The Holiday. Every single scene is amazing but I think every parent loves when Jude Law plays Mr. Napkin Head for his children. It’s such a refreshing thing to see a serious man, a serious Dad not being afraid to be silly.

Go ahead, amaze yourself this week and just act silly. Do a silly experiment. Leap into life with a let’s-be-goofy-and-ridiculous kind of swagger this week.

Let’s bring silly back.

Here are 16 Ways to Put A little Silly into Your Life

1. Put on a silly hat.
2. Break out into a silly dance.
3. Tell a silly joke — you know, one that is normally above you.
4. Walk a silly walk.
5. Tell a silly story.
6. Make a silly breakfast.
7. Wear a silly outfit.
8. Play a silly game.
9. Make silly things.
10. Draw silly monsters.
11. Make a silly face.
12. Talk in a silly voice.
13. Conduct a messy but silly experiment.
14. Think silly thoughts.
15. Paint a silly face.
16. Write a silly poem.

And, better than all of this — if it’s even possible to get better than this — let your kids be silly. Let them be kids. Let them do the silly dances — in public. Let them wear that chocolate ice cream on their face — all day long. Let them dress in a dress-up Princess dress in public.

Just be silly.

Relax. Do less Adult agenda and more kid agenda.

Even — ESPECIALLY — if you do not have any children at all.

Who’s with me? Who wants to bring silly back?

What kinds of silly brings laughter to your days? To inspire you a bit more, here’s the clip of Mr. Napkin Head from “The Holiday.” Happy Monday!

Bubble Heart via Worth1000. Click image for details.

If your family is at all like ours than this Tuesday — Valentine’s Day — will be just another crazy-busy day for you. You know, like all Tuesdays. The kids will be in school. There is work for Awesomely Awake Dad and myself. And, to make the day even more exciting, I have a PTO meeting and AA Dad has a board meeting that evening. Very romantic and chic!

And, we didn’t line up a babysitter for this weekend, either.

But this doesn’t upset me. We’ve already started writing our Secret Love Notes. And, truly, I’m happy at home with my family {as long as there’s a bag of Lindt’s truffles and two episodes of Parenthood waiting for me on the couch after the kids are in bed.} Plus, every day is the day to show your love to the people in your life. One day just isn’t enough!

Love is such an important value to teach our children and I love to make holidays special. This one is particularly appealing since it gives us a chance to promote all kinds of love. Love of humanity. Love of family. Love of the life we live.

Here are some creative, fun and special ways to celebrate the love you have for your WHOLE  family this weekend or Monday night, or Tuesday morning – even if you are super busy like we are.

CHALK ART: Tell them you love them with artistic words and hearts in your driveway, on your sidewalk or even on the side of your brick house. The one above is an adorable heart walk that I found on a blog that is new to me, Frugal Family Fun. Don’t forget to write I LOVE YOU.

DINE TOGETHER: Have a candlit dinner as a family the night before or the night after — or whenever you can fit it in. You can go out, but it might be more fun at home. Light candles. Put out a fancy table cloth. Perhaps some soft music. Conspire with the kids by telling them to keep it a secret, which may inspire them to get into the spirit as well! Then, make it a tradition! There’s been a lot of ideas going around for heart-shaped pizzas, pizzas with heart-shaped pepperoni but I think this Taste of Home Chocolate Heart Pizza would be a hit at our house. Well, any pizza is a hit at our house.

MAKE A FAVORITE DISH: For us, it’s creme brulee. Maybe it is cupcakes at your house. Or cookies. Something you all enjoy but maybe do not eat a lot of the rest of the year. This weekend, make it. Enjoy it. Love on it a bit. We all love creme brulee, and it happens to be my absolute favorite dessert. Win. Win. Does this Lavender Creme Brulee just make you want to crawl into that little ramekin? Oh, yum.

JAM TOGETHER: Make a family playlist and dance together. Sneak a dance with your partner, too. And, hello, my good interwebs pal Jean at Artful Parent mentioned Bubble Dancing a while back and, well, I think it’s a lovely idea to try in the winter — just so we can watch the bubbles freeze!

SPRINKLE WITH LOVE: I kind of adore sprinkles. The more colorful the better. Splash them on everything, even cereal, pancakes or yogurt — or just on your tongues! Don’t forget to add the whipped cream. I like this cake batter pancake idea so. very. much. I mean it’s a combo of pancakes and cake. Together. Unreal.

DATE ON THE COUCH: Finally, like I said, I’m extremely happy these days just sitting and watching Parenthood with The Hubs. We enjoy this show so much that it’s a treat every single time {I’m anti-tv the rest of the week!}. So, my hope is that on Valentine’s Day we will return to the couch and be together. Yes, we will be tired but we will can still indulge with a treat or two like … {shh, he reads these posts} … maybe a little surprise like this from Eat Drink Chic.

How do you plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day and show your love this week? Have you already started? Do you have any special traditions either as a couple or as a family? Please share ideas!

This is my first Awesomely Awake interview and I’m happy to introduce you to Zina Harrington. Anyone who knows Zina knows that she is all about building community on Pinterest and other social media platforms. I have been honored to connect with her on these amazing interwebs. I chose Zina simply because she just is a great example of the Awesomely Awake mindset that this blog promotes: Putting creativity and intentional living first and foremost in life.

Zina was kind enough to interview me in return. You can read my tips on Staying Present HERE.

Thanks for playing along, Zina! Here’s the interview:

AA: I admire your work on your blog, Let’s Lasso the Moon, and on Pinterest. So much of what you write about revolves around family time and being with your daughters in terms of making sure they remain creative and imaginative throughout their entire lives. You work full-time and blog as well. How do you stay awake as a parent?

Zina: There are three main activities that keep me awake as a parent:

1. Yoga slows my mind down. It helps me let go of work chaos & all the other stressors of the day. I use this wonderful yoga video by Allison Nolan. I tell the girls, “You’re welcome to join me for yoga, if you let mom do it without interruptions for twenty minutes first.” The first half of this particular video is a fairly paced sun series, but the second half is very kid friendly! My ladies both got their own personal yoga mats for Christmas this year. I also highly recommend the book My Daddy’s a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids. It is a wonderful intro book which integrates postures with a story.
2. Meditation allows me to be more present at home. I do still need to follow an audio guide to stay on track. My goal is two twenty-minute meditations a day. Ok, I said goal. It is challenging for me to fit in. I’ve come to love this 5 minutes breathing meditation by Diana Winston. It is simple and there is really no excuse for me not fitting it in multiple times in the day. If you are interested in having your children join you in meditation I also recommend the cute book Peaceful Piggy Meditation By Kerry Lee Maclean.
3. Practicing a Love & Logic parenting style allows me to remain in control of my mood at the end of a long day. The simple approach often keeps my frustrations at bay allowing me to be an empathetic vs completely crabby parent when I have completely run out of energy.

AA: Can you share your experiences with your own family traditions and rituals? And why they are important to you?

Zina: We have a couple of fun family traditions including: Popcorn for Dinner Fridays, Game Night Saturdays, and Sunday Summer Picnics. This consistent schedule allows us to keep our weekends free unless we run into a “Hell Yeah” activity. One daily family ritual is having dinner together, everyday, no matter what. We start out with this interesting Native American prayer and then talk about our favorite and least favorite thing that occurred on that day. It is a lovely chance to catch up & reconnect.  As a child my father worked two jobs, but no matter how busy his schedule became he was always home for dinner at 6pm. This made me realize how important the daily ritual was!

AA: I feel that making parenting fun is my No. 1 job  for many reasons not just in order to maintain sanity and good mind-body-soul connections. Tell us a little about eating popcorn for dinner!?

Zina: We love Popcorn for Dinner Fridays. The idea came from a friend who told me it was a “highlight of her childhood.” I know people think we are crazy, but it is a wonderful weekly tradition. We pick the girls from school and immediately start offering them healthy snacks: apples, carrots, celery with peanut butter, broccoli and ranch. Our girls are veggie lovers. We prep a movie, sit down to snuggle, and enjoy an evening of mindless relaxation. In all honest, by the time we actually get to “dinner” our girls are nearly full. We don’t watch much television during the week so the whole experience is just a blast. Want to know what else we do? Candy for dinner on Halloween. Trust me; it saves us a lot of daily hassle and money at the dentist!

AA: What do you find to be the most valuable way to stay connected and engaged with your children, even after a busy day?

Zina: Reading is priceless. Every night we read with our girls. My husband and I have been working very hard behind the scenes to ensure our girls are book lovers. I even went as far as asking readers if they would pay their child to read. Last month I came across this amazing video. The author, a mother of two teen boys, discusses the importance of recognizing the gift of an ordinary day. She mentioned that slowly she was no longer needed for bedtime reading. This broke my heart.

I intend to read to my girls as long as possible. I have a friend whose daughters (8 & 10) are excellent readers, but they still read together at night. Pages of Little Bear over a long period of time turned into pages of Harry Potter. We recently started reading Stewart Little and are enjoying it!

AA: What has been your favorite activity to do with your girls?

Zina: I love to hike solo with my girls. I highly recommend the book The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson. I found it to be inspiring! There is nothing better than an open afternoon, nice weather, and a beautiful forest. I try to give the girls plenty of space. I vow to let them control the pace and promise myself I won’t say, “Let’s keep moving.” I am lucky to live in an area with a lot of beautiful county and state parks. However, I think a child will explore any natural space. My only suggestion would be to avoid a park with a playground.

AA: What is your family up to in 2012? Any goals, dreams, big things planned?

Zina: Our family has two big goals in 2012. First, it is my intention to complete a Project 366. This allows me to appreciate the gift of an ordinary day and to notice the beauty in every day life. Second, we hope to continue to simplify in 2012. We keep repeating 100 Things Weekends to flush the house of clutter. Third, this summer we are excited to continue our camping adventures and do a bit of traveling.

If there’s anything we love at our house, it’s writing notes. Even The Hubs leaves me cute little reminder notes on my car door in the mornings like “Don’t forget your coffee. : )”

I can’t imagine a day without a written note.

My girls and I write notes all the time. I love that this gets them practicing their writing skills. I want nothing more than to give them the love of writing so they can carry that with them everywhere they go in life. We even have our own family mailboxes, an idea we got from the truly inspirational Amy at Let’s Explore.

But the secret family love notes tops all. We spent an hour — an hour! — doing these on Sunday {once little one was feeling better.} It was truly a magical experience. I love being creative alongside my children — it’s truly the Wake Up call that I need on any given day.

This is a simple writing project and art project combined.

Secret Family Love Notes

All you need are white crayons, white construction paper and watercolors. We cut our paper into quarters so they were perfect love note size.

1. Write your love note in the white crayon on the white paper.
2. {You will be able to read it so it’s not entirely secret!!}
3. Then paint over it with swirly, colorful watercolors.
4. Let them dry.
5. Repeat, repeat, repeat

I can tell already that this going to be a family favorite activity that we will do all year — not just for February, the month of Love. After all, we should be showing love all year long and this is just one of the great ways to do that. Well, and just read that note above … it was completely unprompted by me! I’m totally addicted.

Family Love Note Box

Now that you have piles and piles of love notes … what do you do with them?

Stick them in a love note box!

This is an idea that we found by the super lovely Katherine Marie. Our plan is to read the ones we write this month on Valentine’s Day. But, I have a bigger plan for the ones that are written the rest of the year — because, yes, I plan to keep this love note box thing going year round.

365, baby.

Because there just cannot be enough love notes in this life.

I’m convinced of it.

Do Less magnet by Artfrombeing on Etsy. Click image for more.

We had the unfortunate event of a very sick child this past weekend. At least a few to-dos on my to do-lists had to be scrapped. We were left with the very basic, very simple of days.

In other words, relaxing.

No one I know has more t0-do lists than I do. At least, my husband seems to think this is the case. I always have lofty goals. I always have running lists. Crafts, writing projects, do-it-yourself goodies … the lists are constantly updated {thanks, Pinterest!} and always a work-in-progress.

And yet I know more than anyone that the pressure to do those fun, creative, awesome, amazing, wonderful, can’t-live-without-them things is 100 percent on me, myself and I.

I feel this unrealistic desire to do things, all the time and constantly. And, I’m sure I’m not alone, I often put that same pressure on my children.

And now they are obssessed with doing things, too.

So when Sick Girl slept all day, I realized that my other daughter felt a bit lost without her. She could entertain herself but that wasn’t what she was used to doing and so she was constantly saying that she’s bored. She was used to either myself, her dad or her sister filling her days.

Boredom just isn’t our style. Well, not mine anyway.

I let her be bored anyway.

I’m learning to appreciate boredom. First encounter with appreciating boredom happened when I took two different weeks off work just to be home with our daughters during their school breaks last year. Mid-way through that first week off of work and just being at home, not doing much of anything, and I came up with this blog idea. Mid-way through the second week, I came up with a really GREAT non-fiction book idea.

Tell me boredom doesn’t lead to great things. Tell me.

Not just that. Boredom helps children problem-solve and be more creative. I was bored A LOT as an only child. Some could argue that that boredom did wonders for me, my creativity and imagination!

Parents who don’t or can’t do all these fancy learning projects that cost a lot of money and time do not need to worry — letting children be bored is perfectly OK.

Parents who don’t or can’t do all these fancy learning projects that cost a lot of money and time do not need to worry — letting children be bored is perfectly OK.

So, I’m trying to “entertain” less for my children and, rather, be simply entertained by them, their imaginations and free spirits. This child-centered approach will take some getting used to but they are old enough now to take more control over how they fill their free time. {So long as it’s not TV!}

It’s also all part of being mindful and not worrying if we’re doing enough or being enough or teaching enough. It’s all enough. Just showing up is enough. Just sitting there, paying attention is enough. Looking them in their eyes, is enough. Laughing at their silly jokes? Enough. Playing that game that they made up and you’re destined to lose? Enough.

Will it be hard not to fill our every free moment with stuff to do? Absolutely. Will we survive? Fairly certain we will. This doesn’t mean I will not play with them because I will always stop what I’m doing for that. I will also still offer suggestions if they ask me.

But I’m not going to force my adult agenda on them, at least not all the time.

I’ll also do less of other things that fill that void for myself, too. Maybe I’ll read more and clean less.

Or, maybe less Pinning in the middle of the day …

Eh, nevermind on that.

Breathe doormat by ggoetz on Etsy. Click image for details.

I am by no means a parenting expert. I do, however, feel pretty sure that I understand the human condition fairly well.

And, well, humans have emotions.

Now, I have always been extremely passionate. But, never in my life until I had kids did I truly understand emotions. I was an only child until I was 17 years old. I never had any enemies {that I know of!}. I was just always balanced. Happy and balanced.

Then I became a mother. Of crying babies. Of two screaming, crying babies.

It was, to say the least, emotionally exhausting. {Oh, and it’s wonderful, amazing and life-changing and all that, too!}

But, in those early days, it was, at times, depressing.

And when those babies grew into toddlers …

Frustrating. Overwhelming.

And when those toddlers grew into big kids …

Easier. Much, much easier. And yet there are still many moments where I have to bite my tongue, breathe one of those deep, through-the-ribs-kinds of breaths …

and. walk. away.

Walk Away

I believe whole-heartedly in self-talk. Some might call them mantras. I call it nurturing myself. And, while, yes, this, too shall pass … there’s a whole lot more to say to ourselves when times are emotionally challenging. These sayings help me reframe a complicated situation so that I can react in a more balanced, calm way — all necessary when trying to live mindfully.

Whatever you call them — here are the phrases that I chant in my head when things are difficult in my life {and I am not just talking about raising children right now either. I use them at work ALL THE TIME.}

10 Real Mantras for Real Parents

{Trust} I used this a lot when things in our life were uncertain. I’m using it right now as I try and build this Awake community on this blog. I use it every single day when I send my girls off to school. We used it a lot when my husband took a great job pretty far away in order to get off unemployment. I Trust that this is all bigger than me. I trust the Universe is in charge here.

{Walk Away} Yeah, I’ve found myself knee-deep in an endless argument with a 5 year old. Uh-huh. Walk away. Really. Works like a charm.

{I choose peace} It’s really very simple. I choose peace. In everything that I do. Except when I’m on the phone with Verizon. I draw the line there.

{It is what it is} If I had to pick just one, this is it. I say it all day, throughout my day and rarely for anything related to raising children. This one is almost always used at work, in my role in our community and trying to make the world a better place. It’s also the most zen saying we can utter. It’s just … well, it is what it is.

{Just be kind} When the kids are having a rough day. When they’ve been less than. Just be kind. I say it to myself. I say it to them. Just be kind. It’s really that simple. And, remarkably, when I say it to them, it churns through my being as well. I am suddenly much more patient. So, just be kind.

{And this} When things are big — very big I say this to myself. And this. Another zen saying that just allows you to soak all of the feelings and emotions and chaos into one moment.

{What am I feeling?} I tend to gloss over my own emotions, walking around just doing, doing, doing and not feeling, feeling, feeling. Ever since I started doing these emotional check-ins, I have learned how my body responds to stress. So, if the kids are acting up and I do a check in, I know what I’m feeling and what I need to do for me BEFORE I respond to them. This is also great for recognizing when you know you just need to take a break from everything. It also tells me when I need to hole myself up and write a few thousand words — to get the crankies out.

{I got this} I’m not sure but lately this has been my mantra. Truly a mantra, too. I juggle a lot of things and yet … I’ve got this. Oddly enough, I just heard the Jennifer Hudson song with these same lyrics today on my Pandora station. It was hard not to crank it up at work.

{I am enough} By now this is pretty well known thanks to Tracey Clark. Still, it’s beautiful enough to repeat here because it’s so moving. So often we beat ourselves up for not doing enough, not being enough, not feeling enough, etc. This mantra is just organically soul-nourishing. Gosh, to think … I am enough. That is a wonderful state of mind for any person, any parent.

{Breathe} In. Out. One. Two. Three. Deeply. Often. Over and Over. All the time. When things are rough. When they are not. Just take deep breaths. This really make me pause and think — again, before I respond or act.

{I am thankful} Last but not least, in this past year, I am saying this more and more. I am thankful. I am thankful to have you in my life. I am thankful for this learning moment. I am thankful for this day, this breath, this sunrise.

There you have them – 10 real mantras for real parents. They are the hug you need at the moment when no one else is aorund. They are ways to heal in the moment when any other kind of stress release isn’t possible. We cannot always control our situations, but we most absolutely can control our thinking.

I would love to know the mantras that you chant in your head each day. I am sure I will need *new ones* very soon.