November, 2019 - A Flourishing Rose

Month: November 2019

19 Things to Be Thankful for in 2019

November 28, 2019

First, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. If you are not in the US or don’t celebrate, that’s okay because any day is a good day to be thankful. It’s always good to show gratitude for the wonderful things in our lives. This has been a hard year for me and too often I focus on the areas of my life that I’m not satisfied with. Today reminds me that I need to stop and share what I am truly grateful for.

1. I want to start off with the amazing people in my life.

Rosebud is at the top of my list. Parenting is the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever done. I’ll admit there are things I don’t like about being a parent, but I love Rosebud with all my heart. I love when we laugh together. I love weekend mornings when we can sleep in or snuggle. I love how excited she gets to see me after work. It really brightens my day. I love teaching her things, but she has taught me so much. She tests my patience for sure, but she has shown me how strong I am. She’s my reason for getting out of bed every day.

2. I’m thankful for my family. Especially my mom. We don’t always agree, but she’s been a huge source of support when I’ve really needed it. She’s also my main source of transportation which is not always easy. She takes care of Rosebud when I’m at work and makes sure she gets to and from preschool. I don’t have to pay extraordinary amounts of money for childcare because of her. Not to mention the fact that she loves Rosebud no matter what.

3. I’m thankful for my new niece that I haven’t met yet. She was born premature a couple weeks ago and since she’s been in the hospital, I haven’t been able to meet her. Rosebud and I were sick last week, so we didn’t want to pass our germs on to the baby. Fortunately, she came home a few days ago and we will be meeting her for the first time today. She’ll probably give me baby fever, but that’s a topic for another post.

4. I’m thankful for my friends. I have a couple of good friends in my life. To protect everyone’s privacy, I won’t mention anyone’s names, but just know that I appreciate all of you whether we’ve met in person or not. One friend, I’ve been writing to for over two years now. Although we’ve never met in person, I consider her one of my best friends and maybe one day one of us will take the trip. There’s Little Guy’s mom who texts me often to check in, has been extremely supportive and helpful with my work and of course brings Little Guy for playdates. Then there are all the others who I talk to less often, but I’m grateful to know them. Recently, someone else has come into my life. While our friendship is brand new and I’m not sure how things will turn out, I appreciate him very much.

5. I’m thankful for my home. Of course I’m grateful that I have a roof over my head, but it is more than that. Rarely have I ever truly felt at home as an adult. I love having my own safe space that I can come to at the end of the day. I can invite people if I want. I can decorate it how I choose to. My home has been a great place for Rosebud as well. She loves it and I can tell it feels like home to her. While there are lots of things I don’t like about the area where I live, I’m thankful to have a wonderful home.

6. I’m grateful for my job as much as I hate to say it. While I’m extremely dissatisfied and that is putting it mildly, it allows me to buy the things I need. There are some wonderful children and coworkers I’ve met over the years and that’s what I have to remember.

7. There is a special baby I met this year. Unfortunately, I only got to spend a couple of months working with him. He is a happy and sweet little boy who I’ll always remember.

8. I’m thankful for Diamond. Thank you for snuggling with me every day and for always being there.

9. I’m thankful for Mellow. I lost him this year which has been hard. I miss your loud purr, your crazy meows, your snuggles and watching your friendship with Rosebud. I’m so grateful that you were my cat.

10. I’m thankful for books. While I haven’t read as many books this year. I’m grateful for the things that books can teach us or the escape when I want to be somewhere else.

11. I’m thankful for music. I don’t listen to music as much as I used to, but lately I’ve been enjoying finding new songs on Spotify. Music was so important to me when I was a kid. I spent most of the 90’s listening to music. It was always there no matter what. Music was a source of joy and comfort to me during some difficult times.

12. I’m grateful for nature. The beach is my happy place. I love rainy/cloudy days, but enjoy the warm sun as well. Just sitting outside hearing the birds and feeling the breeze is so peaceful. I am fortunate to live in a place where there is always nature around me.

13. I’m grateful for delicious food. I love to cook, bake and try new recipes. I’m especially for food that others cook for me. It’s a bonus!

14. I’m extremely thankful for technology. When I was going to school in the 90’s, there was some technology, but it wasn’t as advanced as it is today. Back then I would’ve never thought that I’d be able to use the exact same technology as my peers. By the time I started college, I was fortunate to have a laptop with a screen reader and was so grateful that I could blend in. My computer looked the same as everyone else’s. Then when the iPhones started coming out, I couldn’t imagine how I’d ever use a phone with a touch screen. Apple products are amazing and they have accessibility built into them. I didn’t have to spend crazy amounts of money on extra software to get my phone, tablet or pc to work for me. For someone who has had to stand out, it’s wonderful to be on the same playing field with everyone else when it comes to technology.

15. I’m thankful for writing. I love journaling to gain clarity and to preserve memories. I love blogging and the potential to reach so many people. Writing has always been one of my favorite things.

16. I’m grateful for things that smell good. People find my strong sense of smell to be a pain in the ass. I’ll ask if they can smell something and of course, they never can. I love candles, perfumes and lotions. I have a drawer full of wax melts, but that’s my secret.

17. I’m grateful for soft things. As I sit here, I’m covered with a soft cozy blanket. Diamond and Mellow are soft and cuddly. I have a collection of stuffed animals. I’m really picky about textures, so clothes, blankets and sheets have to have a soft texture that is just right.

18. This is really important. I am thankful for my health. Too often I take it for granted, but I’ve been pretty healthy so far in my life. I’m grateful that I can get up in the morning and exercise. I can work. I can play with Rosebud. Not everyone can easily do these things and that is definitely something I need to be mindful of.

19. Lastly, I’m grateful for you, my readers. Thank you for reading my blog. While I haven’t found great success, I get a small amount of views each day. My persistence and love of writing keep my blog going, but it’s the comments from readers that I find the most meaningful. Thank you so much. What are you thankful for this year? Tell me in the comments.

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Gift Giving, Parenting

Toy Recommendations for Christmas 2019

November 19, 2019

When I asked Rosebud what she wanted for Christmas this year, she didn’t have an answer. Luckily for her, I have found some cool toys that she will be excited to find under the tree on Christmas morning.

When I’m looking for toys for her, I try to choose things that are open ended to encourage creative play. I also look for toys that will grow with her over time. I like it when toys are educational, but not in a traditional sense. More importantly, I want to get her toys she’ll have lots of fun playing with, so I’m looking forward to seeing what she will do with these new toys. Everything on this list is great for preschoolers ages three to five.

Building

Rosebud loves to build and she loves these Picasso magnet tiles. I bought them for Christmas last year and highly recommend them. She’s played with them almost every day since. We’ve made houses for animals, castles for Barbie, trees, divider boxes for sorting items etc. She comes up with new buildings every time she uses these. I was thinking of getting her a second set, but I wanted something different for to add to her creations. Magna Tiles are a great brand and admittedly, they are on the expensive side, but I caved and got her this Stardust set. These tiles are either glittery or have mirrors. I think she’ll love pairing these with the PicassoTiles.

I also saw these magnetic people that work with this kind of blocks. She loves playing with toy people and these community helpers will be great to add to her buildings.

Science

Kinetic sand

This stuff is amazing! It’s popular with my preschool class, so I just had to get some of this for Rosebud. I love how it sticks together like real sand. It’s not too messy and I even like to sit and play with it. I was torn between the beach set and the bakery set, so I bought both. Rosebud is loving the color purple right now, so I’d like to get her the purple shimmer too. The beach set has the most sand out of all of them and it’s actually a good buy. If you want a quiet sensory activity, I highly recommend this sand.

Toy Sink

I originally wasn’t going to get her this, but I got one for a friend of Rosebud’s for his birthday. Since Rosebud saw it, she has asked why she can’t have one. I think I’ll give this to her on her birthday. You put water in the bottom of the sink and when you turn on the fossit, the water comes out like a regular sink. It comes with dishes to wash, pretend dish soap and a sponge. Why not teach kids to wash dishes along side you?
 
Dramatic Play

Rosebud loves to play in her pretend kitchen, so I wanted to get her some new play foods to experiment with.

She loves pancakes, so I got her this pancake making set by Melissa & Doug. It has everything you need to make perfect pretend pancakes.
 
She loves to bake with me, so I got her a spice rack. This way, she can addd spices to her baking or cooking up a nice meal.
 
She has a lot of fruits and vegetables, breakfast foods and sweets, but I wanted her to have some food to make pretend meals. She loves pasta and I found this cool Melissa & Doug pasta making set. It has a variety of pastas with all the toppings. I know she’ll have fun with this.
 
To wrap up the dramatic play category, I got her this Baby Alive doll with cupcakes. Her birthday is right around Christmas and I thought this would be a great gift. She has started to really enjoy playing dolls in the past few months and she loves to set up pretend birthday parties.

Games

Rosebud is starting to have a better understanding of games and I found a couple simple games to start off with.

First, there’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. She loves the book, so I thought the game would be fun and easy for her to play. Next, there’s Pete The Cat buttons game. She loves all the Pete the Cat books, so she’ll definitely love this game. The Pete the Cat cupcakes game would be fun too and I may still get that one for her as well.

I am also getting her some books, but I will save our winter book list for another post. What will be under your tree this year? Tell me in the comments.

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Blogging, Personal Development

How To Know When You Need A Break

November 4, 2019

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting regularly in the past couple of weeks. For the past several months, I’ve had posts scheduled for Mondays and Thursdays, but lately I can’t keep up. The ideas haven’t been flowing and I’ve been frustrated with the lack of traffic along with the amount of time I’ve had to devote to my blog. As much as I love writing, I feel like this has been an uphill battle. I still love blogging, but I really need a break. My life is also changing in a lot of ways and I need time to adjust and find a new routine. That being said, I will still post here on the blog. Maybe once a week. Maybe more depending on my mood and how much time I have for creating new content.

I wanted to share how I came to this decision. Maybe there’s something in your life that you need a break from, but you are still unsure. Maybe you need a break altogether or just need to cut back. Here are just a few ways to know when you need a break.

Stress Level

Are you overwhelmed and or stressed? If something is completely stressing you out, then maybe you need a break. If it’s not absolutely necessary, don’t be afraid to stop whatever it is. Maybe you took on too many projects. Maybe you want to declutter your whole home, but have no idea where to start. Maybe you are saying yes to too many people. Whatever it is, step back and ask yourself, is this essential to my everyday life?

If cutting it out altogether isn’t an option or if you start to feel guilt, the nest step is figuring out how to make the task more manageable. If you need to declutter your home, start with one room. If that is too much, do one shelf or drawer. Then keep working at it a little each day. If it’s blogging related, can you outsource some of these tasks? Can you hire a virtual assistant to handle your Pinterest or other social media? How about getting some guest posts if writing content isn’t your strong suit? In my case, I am not able to hire out any of these tasks, so my only option is to change my posting schedule for the time being, but I’m okay with that.

Relationships

The next question to ask is how is this thing impacting others in your life? I know I haven’t had much extra time since I started blogging almost two years ago. I work on the blog each night and constantly throughout the day. I’m always participating in blogging threads on social media, trying to keep up with Pinterest, coming up with blog topics, finding images etc. If I don’t get my posts done on time, I will work on the blog early in the morning as well. Sometimes, it’s way too much. It doesn’t leave much time for myself or my daughter. On the weekends, I write my posts for the week, but I can’t get it all done in the evenings, so that only leaves the day time when I should be playing with Rosebud. It makes me feel guilty because I want to be successful with this blog, but I want to spend time with Rosebud as well. What is more important? Obviously, it’s Rosebud. She’s only little once and I don’t want to regret not spending enough time with her. I may not even have this blog in the future, so while it’s important to me right now, it might not always be. While my blog is tied in with my long-term goals, it’s not essential in this moment. When you are thinking of changing something in your life, ask yourself if it will get you closer to achieving your long-term goals. If not, then you have your answer.

Self Care

There’s that all too common phrase, self-care. It gets thrown around a lot, but it is important. you definitely need a break if whatever it is you are doing stops you from taking care of yourself. Even if you are busy, you need at least a few minutes each day to recharge. When I stopped to think about it, working on the blog has taken up so much of my free time. For the past two years, I’ve barely written in my journal, stopped doing most of my other hobbies and don’t get enough sleep. It has felt good to do other things again. I’ve actually been able to write in my journal, watch some new tv shows and have started a new friendship. It’s been nice to do something different. I’ve also needed to focus energy on my future home business which has been a huge factor in my break from the blog.

How does it feel?

Do you feel energized? Do you love what you are doing? Are you excited about it? Does it bring you joy? If your answer is yes to these questions, keep doing what you are doing. Does it make you feel depleted, overwhelmed, tired, down or just plain bored? If you answered yes to those questions, it’s time to change it up. If you are blogging, maybe you need to find a new topic that you are passionate about. If you are still passionate about your topic, but just need some new inspiration, a break out in the real world can do that. If you are doing something other than blogging, you can ask yourself these same questions to figure out what you need to do.

It’s often overlooked, but really take the time to notice how your body is feeling. I’ve been feeling drained and practicing some self-care has helped. What does self-care look like for you? Does it consist of a warm bubble bath or an early morning run? Self-care is different for everyone, so try a variety of things to see what works best for you.

Now that I have some of my struggles with blogging out in the open, I feel less guilt about not posting. It’s okay to step back. It’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to drop something altogether. Most things are not permanent decisions. To summarize, here are some questions to ask yourself before taking that much needed break. Is it causing too much stress in your life? Is it negatively impacting your relationships? Do you have time for self-care? Is it essential for achieving your long-term goals? Finally, how does it make you feel in your body? The answers to those questions can help you take the next steps and make the decision that is right for you. Are you struggling with burnout or knowing when to take a break? Tell me in the comments.

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