Why I miss being a wife

My life has been pretty crazy over the last few years since my divorce but I'm finally getting back on the right track.  Being a single parent has taught me a lot of things that have made me a better person overall.  Not only have I learned some hard knock lessons along the way but I've also had some great experiences as well... 

I've invented a new contraption that allows me to catch dead mice...

I've made a new car purchase all by myself...

I've learned to ask for help. 

I've learned to not take life so seriously.  

I've learned to not judge other parents. 

 I'm so thankful for these experiences but I'm ready to move on.

 I miss marriage.  
I miss having the traditional family unit.  
I miss asking my husband to slow dance in the kitchen and listening to him tell me about his day after work.

I miss swinging my toddler between the 2 of us as she holds both our hands when we're walking.
  
I miss giving him the "special plate" because he had a tough day or got a promotion.  

I miss waking up next to someone I love.

I miss wearing my wedding ring.  

I miss that annoying sports center jingle on ESPN (I never thought I'd say that)

I miss acting stupid about house repairs..

I miss doing rock, paper, scissors when I don't want to take my daughter back to her room for the 15th time.

I miss sharing in dreams about vacations to Greece or retirement homes.

I miss folding down the covers on his side of the bed.

(my daughter's unicorn doesn't appreciate my attentiveness)

I miss celebrating anniversaries and finding clever ways to say I love you.

I miss putting out his coffee cup in the morning. 

I miss holding hands.

I miss waiting for someone to get home on those long days when the house seems dark and quiet.

I miss someone telling me that I'm being over-dramatic when my emotions are out of control.

I miss folding his laundry. (I know, what am I saying?!?!)

I miss being in the passenger's seat and not being in charge every single minute.

 I miss going to church and having someone by my side when I pray.

I miss having someone tell me I'm doing the right thing when life hands you those REALLY tough decisions.

I miss someone knowing my crazy family and loving them anyway.

I miss the comfort of knowing someone so well and having them know everything about me (the good the bad and the ugly) and still they enjoy life by my side.

I miss knowing that someone is thinking of me even when we can't see each other.

I miss watching my wedding video and looking at my wedding pictures with pride.

I miss hearing him 'sigh' because I'm talking to much while he's trying to focus on something.

I miss having history with someone and saying "Remember when..."

Life is crazy sometimes and we all experience loneliness in different capacities throughout our lives.  I know that someday I will meet Mr. Right (hopefully soon!) but until then 

I will hold onto my sense of humor and enjoy learning about the only person that can truly make me happy...me.

Does this make you laugh, cry or inspire you? 

Join the gratitude challenge email list today! 

Motivational Monday

Welcome to a new week of Motivation Monday! Last week, 187 links! were shared at Motivation Monday. That’s pretty amazing.

We’ve got all kinds of ideas for you this week including:

• seasonal fruit recipes
• 10 bad habits that cost you money
• school lunch ideas
• and 20 years is never too late to finish a dream.

Motivation Monday is all about inspirational posts, healthy recipes, crafts, organizing tips, and home decorating ideas. Each category has its own linky to make it easy for readers to find your fabulous posts. Be sure to check out all the great tips and share your favorites.

Thanks to 8 hosts, your links will be shown to thousands of readers looking for recipes for summer, ways to be a better mom, and fun crafts to do with their kids.

Features

Barb – A Life in Balance

1. Dealing with Delay | Mom’s Morning Coffee

2. The Beginnings of Community | Uncommon Grace

Mitzi – Written Reality

3. 20 Back to School Lunch Ideas | Woman of Many Role

4. Triple Treat Berry Dessert | Wheel and Deal Mama

Lauryn of The Vintage Mom

5. How to Cook Dried Beans in the Slow Cooker | Slow Cooking Gal

6. Strawberry Picking Math | The Giles Frontier

Toni of Tickles and Time Outs

7. 10 Bad Habits that Waste Money | Letters from Sunnybrook

8. Me Over Weight At 41 | Simply Experienced Life

Katie – Mom Favorites

9. Super Orange Smoothie | Calm Sexy Healthy

10. Tomato Basil Cheese Pie | Intoxicated on Life

Marie – Normal Everyday Life

11. Mom Code: Social Media | Wirl Mamas

12. Finishing a Dream–20 years later | Living in Green Grass

Carnival business

1. Please link directly back to this post for your readers' benefit.

2. Link to your post, not your homepage.

3. No giveaways, please. Giveaways will be deleted.

4. Posts need to be family-friendly.

By submitting a link to this party, you are giving A Life in Balance, Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom, Chockababy, Written Reality, Mom Favorites, Tickles and Time Outs, The Vintage Mom, and Normal Everyday Life permission to feature your post on their blogs and/or social media platforms and utilize your post images in order to facilitate this feature.

Why every parent needs to make a video with their kid on vacation

Vacations are such a special time in a child's life.  If you are like me, some of my fondest memories are from family vacations when I was a kid.  But we all know that those amazing trips come and go and we're only left with a few fleeting memories. How cool would it be if you had a YouTube channel from your childhood that would allow you to remember all those great times?  If your worried about privacy, have no fear..you can easily mark your videos private on YouTube.  Simply create a YouTube channel, upload your videos to YouTube (easy option from Iphones and Androids) then erase from your phone so you have more storage for recording more awesome memories!
Do I have you convinced?

Here are some ideas to make your videos awesome...

1.  Create a "How to" video with your child.  Children love to teach others something that they know.  Why not allow them to create a how to video about fishing, gymnastics, catching crabs, or building a sandcastle?
2.  Interview your child.  Children LOVE interviews....here's an interview I recently made with my 5 year old CLICK HERE.  Make sure you ask unique questions like, "what do you think is on the other side of the ocean", "how many crabs do you think you can eat?", "how much money do you think an ice cream cone costs?" or "what's the worst/best part about vacation"  You may be surprised at the hilarious answers!
3.  Play around with editing features.  If you have a newer Iphone, you can play around with the slo-mo feature ( a mode next to the camera and video options) Here's a clip of a video I made with the girls at our local fair a few weeks ago.  I love how it captures their excitement! Good Neighbor Day Fair.

Making videos are not only fun to create on vacation but they will be a special treasure you can keep for years to come!

What my kids are lovin'

I don't know why kids love this so much but they do!! ENJOY!

Fashion Friday! Inspiration from Buckingham Palace

Leaving a legacy of kindness

What kind of legacy do you want to leave on this world?

If I were to pick my legacy, I would want others to say that I was kind, loving, and passionate person.  I don't need to save lives or be a Mother Teresa, but I want to be known by my little gestures.  I want to be someone that touches people's hearts and is a good listener.
How often do you have the opportunity to help other people?  We go on living our busy lives forgetting that so many people are hurting-the person in the check out line in front of you, the mother that didn't hold the door for you while she was rushing into preschool, maybe even the Pastor of your church the seems to have it all together.  What can we do to help those people? How can you make a difference in this world?  When will we realize that this life is bigger than just ourselves.  There are times when I become so self centered that I don't even take the time to ask someone what's on their mind, if they are OK, or how I can help them.  We think people are out to get us and take everything personally.  We get so wrapped up in our own lives and problems that we don't simply take a moment to question what's going on in someone else's life.  We worry about the legacy we leave on Facebook or how we look on Linked In but what about the legacy on

When someone in your life gets angry, why not take a moment to ask them if they are OK?  Why not ask someone if they need anything from the grocery store to church or drop off a meal to someone who is struggling?  It doesn't take much time to make someone smile and make this world a better place.  What legacy are you leaving behind?

Best Tips For Family Workouts

1.  Present with enthusiasm
2. Make it fun and engage
3.  Let your child be the leader

Sienna Cleaning her room

Fashion Friday

The color run-Philly

The Color Run is this Saturday, June 18th in Philly.  It looks so fun! I'm REALLY bummed I'm not going to be able to make it!  Here's all the cool things they sent me!!

Tasty Tuesday

Goodbye Terrible 2's

I am so happy these two girls have each other!!

Need a little motivation? Check out some of these great ideas!!

Motivation Monday Linky Party 99

Features

Barb of A Life in Balance’s Picks

1. Get Paid To DIY | Army Wife to Suburban Life

2. Why I Don’t Teach My Kids Not to Talk to Strangers | From High Heels to Hotwheels

Mitzi of Written Reality

3. 4th of July Marshmallow Pinwheels from Home Cooking Memories

4. IKEA Stool Makeover from My Pinterventures

Lauryn of The Vintage Mom’s Picks

5. Growing Organic Garlic | Back 2 Basic Health

6. What I Learned from The Family Portrait | Some of the Best Things in Life are Mistakes

Toni of Tickles and Time Outs

7. Kale & Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe #PGeveryday | Upstate Ramblings

8. Growing to Love My Mismatched Furniture | Of the Hearth

Marie of Normal Everyday Life

9. Parenting Can Be Like a Bullet to the Heart | The Giles Frontier

10. how to talk with your girl about being a girl | Thee Angel Project

Kate of Mom Favorites

11. GARDEN FRESH GUACAMOLE | A Girl in Paradise

12. #iPhoneography ~ Tips and Tricks for taking Better Smartphone Pictures | Natasha in OZ

Carnival business

1. Please link directly back to this post for your readers' benefit.

2. Link to your post, not your homepage.

3. No giveaways, please. Giveaways will be deleted.

4. Posts need to be family-friendly.

By submitting a link to this party, you are giving A Life in Balance, Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom, Chockababy, Written Reality, Mom Favorites, Tickles and Time Outs, The Vintage Mom, and Normal Everyday Life permission to feature your post on their blogs and/or social media platforms and utilize your post images in order to facilitate this feature.

Fashion Friday!! #Recycled Fashion

What to do this weekend in Philly suburbs

Looking for some fun things to do in the Philly suburbs this weekend?
I got you covered!

1.  Blueberry FESTIVAL

For more information, visit the website link here Peddlers Village

2.  Uwchlan Community Day

Looking for some affordable fun this weekend? Check out this great event!!  The Uwchlan Community Day will be held on Saturday July 12th at 4 p.m. in the Lionville Park in Lionville, PA. It will feature a variety of free activities for children, music by Coast 2 Coast and several food vendors. The night will end with a fireworks display from 9 to 9:30 p.m.

Food available to attendees will include barbecue, falafel, gyros, French fries, water ice, pretzels, pizza and hot dogs, the committee said.  

A fireworks display will conclude the day, with free glow-in-the-dark necklaces for children.  

3.  BLOB FEST
Free family fun in Phoenixville on Saturday, July 12th from 11am-4pm.  Click here for more info.

4.  BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATION
Family friendly celebration in Media, PA on Saturday, July 12th from 6-10:30 on Main Street.  For more info. click here.  

5.  Movie under the STARS
Come out to Media, PA for a family friendly movie under the stars on Saturday, July 9th at dusk.  Pack some snacks and enjoy some free family fun under the stars Click here for more info.

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: My perfectly imperfect life

SO, about my life...

My life is perfectly imperfect.

There are moments when I look on Facebook and get jealous when someone posts pics of their family...

They wake up every morning and cuddle with their kids...

They have romantic dates with their spouses every week.  

AND of course their sex life is amazing (I'm sure!!!)

They take trips to Disney

and their parents have shore houses.

You know who I'm talking about, right?

I may not have all the picture perfect things that many people have right now.  I would have NEVER have thought that I would be a single mom raising 2 kids in what I thought would be a "broken home".  There are many times when I think "this isn't how it's supposed to be."  But on most days, we are happy.  We have fun.  We enjoy life.

I don't get jealous when I see pictures of 'happy families' because I know everyone's life offers challenges.  People go on Facebook because it's fun-they want to see things that make them smile.  No one posts what's really happening behind closed doors because it's depressing....and that's o.k.

But we all have problems.

We get frustrated with our computers... 

We get frazzled often when our kids don't listen....

We all fight with our family members on occasion. 

BUT THE TRUTH IS...

I may not have the things that I dream of having one day but I will enjoy today...

We will swing on the railings...

Takes baths in the sink....

Lay in the grass...

Play in the mud....

Take too many selfies...

eat yummy treats for dinner...

But what I do know is that we have an ENORMOUS amount of love and a sense of humor.  We eat lemons..

We wear costumes to the dinner table... 

and we stop to smell the roses..

Finally, instead of feeling jealous when I see people with things that I want on Facebook, why not use that as motivation to have those things in MY life?  I'm fully aware that my life is what I make it so I'm going to make today awesome and create the life that I want! It all starts with me!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog! 

I hope you have a great day!!