What if..

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 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 folding down the covers on his side of the bed 

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

I miss putting out his coffee cup in the morning. 

I miss holding hands.

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

I miss the comfort of knowing someone so well and having them know everything about you...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 making him sigh because I'm talking to much while he's trying to focus on something.

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

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

I miss  

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, make you cry or inspire you? 
Join my gratitude challenge email list.

FASHION FRIDAY!

YEAH, I'm so excited to bring you the latest and greatest Stella and Dot jewels which I REALLY am loving this season!

Check out a few of my favs below and comment below if you are interested in any of these gorgeous accessories or visit my online store (click here)

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!