What is "Balance" anyways??? and why don't I have it? Maybe a little bird can tell me... or 4...

What is "Balance" anyways??? and why don't I have it?  Maybe a little bird can tell me...

Is it that place where you get it all done and still have time to get your eyebrows done?
Or where you have time to shave BOTH legs in the morning?
Where you aren't yelling at your kids to get in the car?
Where you are fulfilled in work but are not owned by it?
Where you feel on your game because you got veggies into your kids?
Where you got your holiday cards done and you can still get 8 hours of sleep?

It has been YEARS. I've tried to find balance, be balanced, have work/life balance. It's exhausting! In this unending hunt to find this nebulous concept of "balance", something hit me recently - maybe I'm looking outside for the answer (the organizational tool, the notebook, the lists, the tips, the app). Maybe I need to look on the inside... MAYBE, just MAYBE it means striking harmony between Body, Mind, Soul and Heart...

And like that, this weekend, I told my husband he needed to make dinner because I was running to a craft store. (Thanks sweetie, that was mean Chicken/Broc/Ziti!!)

I created my balance birds!!! 4 birds and a bird bath.

My Balance Birds

My Body Bird - (Blue) Have I been good to my body? Have I eaten well? Exercised? Slept enough?
My Mind Bird - ( Brown) Did I do a great job on a project? Help a colleague? Feel good about accomplishments? Going in a direction I want?
My Heart Bird - (Red) My relationships... With my kids, my spouse, my family, and friends. Am  I cultivating relationships? Am I telling people I love them? Am I present to my children and handling those stressful situations with grace?

My Heart Bird

My Soul Bird - (Yellow) Am I doing things that feed my soul? Blogging, taking a road trip with my kids, supporting a cause that is dear to me, checking in with an old friend...

I will see how I do. Every night, before I go to bed, I take a minute to reflect on each area of my life. I look at my birds and feed those that I feel I nourished throughout the day.

Let's see which bird takes flight. Hopefully balance means they take flight together.

If you think balance birds might help you, let your creative juices flow and go with it - and report back!! I'm happy to help as well!

In the mean time, be well Super Mamas!
xo

Tip #2: Grab this at bedtime - you won't be sorry!

YES. They are already wayyy behind bed time and I want to say "GO.TO.BED!!!" but in that last minute, once they are snuggled and finally ready to rest, I realize that something happens...  A moment presents itself, my kids open up. They are ready to share, chat, and be in the moment with me. And I have a choice. I can rush and run out and go tend to my list of things to do, or I can stop.

Stop rushing. Stop going. Stop thinking.

Be still.

It's right there in front of me - one of life's sweetest gifts - a heart to heart with my kiddo.

No matter how small the moment - grab it.  

"I wish I was 6..."
"Why isn't 5 pretty cool?"
"Yeah... I get to be the boss of my little brother..."
 "Yes, I'm not sure how long that will last... "

Because maybe in those little moments, we are planting seeds... Maybe those little moments grow into bigger moments when our kids are in their teens.  Maybe this is one way of telling our kids they can say whatever they need to say even if it's not on our schedule...

Maybe these few minutes are in fact some of the most important in my whole day...

Let me know what sweet moments you stumble on right before your kiddos go to sleep.

In the mean time, be well super mamas! And please send me your parenting epiphanies!!!
xoL

Parenting tip #1: Leave it to Mr. Frog

Please Note: I am NO parenting expert. I'm just trying to shape my little munchkins into healthy, happy, good human beings without losing my noodles... 
I am going to share three tips that help me each day!

These work for my kids aged 3 and 5... Not sure how long they will work for, but I'm going to milk them for as long as I can!! 

Tip #1: Leave it to Mr. Frog

Ex: I want my son to brush his teeth. He won't. I repeat it, I get kind of hung up on the fact that he isn't listening. I start talking louder. The quantity and volume of words are increasing by the second, and the results? ZERO. ZIPPO. NADA.

At that point, I look at his bed and see Mr. Frog. He's giving me this pitying look saying "You poor thing.. Let me show you how this is done."

So I do.

I pick up Mr. Frog and let him take over.  "Greg, don't you want to have pearly white teeth?" Suddenly, Greg is in a trance!  "Yes" he says. "So why are you giving your mom a hard time? Come on, let's go brush together" and off they go, Mr. Frog and Greg getting those teeth pearly white!! 

Mr. Frog did it again. He rocks. And I'm ok with that.

Give it a try - I'd LOVE to hear about how this works for you!!!
And pls share your tips!

I'll be back soon with Tip #2!

In the mean time, be well super mamas!