Month: August 2012

Too Much and Not Enough

Last week was an exhausting week for me. I had a big project due at school on top of other work for another class. We registered Brooke for gymnastics and stayed afterwards to take advantage of open gym on Monday. Tuesday we had long standing dinner plans to be there for opening night of Chuy’s. The 45 minutes we waited outside was worth it…the food was a amazeballs. I also went to the gym two of those nights and met a blog deadline.

By the time 11:55 Friday night, the moment my assignments and homework were due, rolled around I was exhausted.

And I missed my family. Yeah, I saw them every night…for awhile. But no sooner had the dinner dishes been taken to the kitchen, to be cleaned by my saint of a husband, I’d be off. On the nights I wasn’t stationed at the dining room table with a textbook, I was at the gym working on my Couch to 5K training. I felt like I was constantly rushing Brooke around and pushing her away and by the end of the week, her behavior reflected it.

I began to wonder if it was worth it. Yes, getting this degree in Early Ed is the first step to working in a field I am actually passionate about. Yes, for my health and sanity, I needed to get physically active.

Everyone says to moms, “You have to do something for yourself”.

“Make sure you get Me Time.”

“Get out of the house once in awhile”

I always thought that maybe I was doing it wrong by not spending more time doing things like girl’s night outs and days at the spa. But one week of doing things for me and I’m exhausted.

I’m hoping it will get easier. I think it will. My class load this fall will be smaller so there won’t be as much schoolwork to juggle. I’ve recommitted myself to menu planning so the period between me walking in the door after work and out the door to the gym doesn’t have to so hectic. Brooke will get used to Daddy putting her to bed by himself sometimes and I’ll get used to missing a bedtime here and there.

And I’ll have to remember in the long run…it will be worth it.

{Menu Plan Monday} Taming the Chaos

Menu Plan Monday
Last week was pretty insane for me and I have vowed to do what I can to make nights a little easier for me. So I’m back to menu planning!! I’m hopeful that having a menu in mind and knowing that I have all the ingredients I need in the kitchen will bring the stress level down at 5:00 when I have schoolwork, Brooke’s new gymnastics class (!) and the gym on the agenda after dinner.

This week:

Monday: Crack Burgers (via Plain Chicken)
Tuesday: First Gymnastics Class – thinking a little snacky dinner before and another snack after
Wednesday: Meatballs over Noodles (via allrecipes)
Thursday: Taco Night!!!
Friday: Crockpot Lemon Chicken (again Plain Chicken)

Hopefully a little prior planning and prep will lead to a smoother week!!

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

If you’re taming the chaos that comes at back to school time, be sure to get your Back to School Boost for Moms eBook bundle. It’s only available until 8/8!!!

Tired Mommy Approved – Pony Royale

This post is sponsored by Pony Royale. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Excited to start playing!!

The weekend before the Princess Ponies arrived at our house, Brooke had been taken on her very first horseback ride by her Grandpa & Grandma Marshall. Suffice it to say, she had horses on the brain. So when I let her open up the box without giving her any idea what was inside, she was stoked to see that inside were TWO pretty ponies to play with.

Brooke loves her Princess Ponies!

Once we got the horses out of the packages (oh the packaging!), Brooke was totally in love with them. There were so many different ways to dress them up! Each pony comes with two manes and two tails and their saddles, tiaras & mane decoration (there is probably a technical term for that) that you can mix and match. When you add in more ponies, the options grow.

There are 12 Princess Ponies in the collection and each has its own birthstone and comes from a different Kingdom in the land of Pony Royale: Air, Earth, Fire or Water. The ponies we were sent were Harmony, an Earth pony and Sky, and Air pony. Brooke thought it was really cool that one of the ponies from the Water Kingdom was named Brooke too!

For more of the story behind the Princess Ponies of the Land of Pony Royale, check out this video.

At first, Brooke had a little trouble getting the manes on but after she took her time and let me show her, she was having no problem at all. She and I sat for a long time swapping pieces back and forth and seeing the different combinations we could make.

For as independent as Brooke is, playing alone is not one of her strong suits. But if I suggested playing with her new ponies, she’d be off and running and soon I could hear her hilarious dialogue and pretend play between the two ponies. She even had a dance party with them one afternoon!

Which Princess Pony would you like to play with? I think Rosie is my favorite!

Visit the Pony Royale website for more information. The Pony Royale collection will be available at Toys R Us in late July and in select Target stores in August. Meanwhile, be sure to check out Pony Royale’s Facebook page and follow them on Twitter!