Here are some of our favorite quotes in life:

I can not live without my books. (Thomas Jefferson)

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. (Abraham Lincoln)

If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent. (Bette Davis)

If you get up one more time than you fall down, you will make it through. (Chinese Proverb)

Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other. (Carol Saline)

Needed: A strong, deep person wise enough to allow me to grieve in the depth of who I am, and strong enough to hear my pain without turning away. … I need someone who believes that the sun will rise again, but who does not fear my darkness. (Fr. Joe Mahoney)

When choosing a name for your baby, go to the back door and shout it out a few times. (Unknown)

When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities. (William James)

Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life. (John F. Kennedy)

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth. (William W. Purkey)

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (Maya Angelou)

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. (Douglas Adams)

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. (Mark Twain)

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. (J.K. Rowling)

Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can’t get any better, it can. (Nicholas Sparks)

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. (Unknown)

There is only one perfect child in the world and every mother has it. (Unknown)

Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve. (Mary Kay Ash)

You can have anything in this world you want, if you want it badly enough and you’re willing to pay the price. (Mary Kay Ash)

All of dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES?

What Next?

image source: http://musicmonster-js.blogspot.com/

Songs have always been a major part of my life as well as my sister’s. Our dad was in a band as a teen and infused the love of music throughout the house. I personally grew up with piano and voice lessons since I was 5. “Recording” music on my own as a kid and even have plans to record an album of songs I sang to my children when they were babies. Something they can hold onto of me. Like my dad’s love of music, I share that love with my children. We even have the drums, piano, and guitar for them so they can express the inner musician in them. Shoot, I want to play the guitar and drums too! Can we say GARAGE BAND?! Heck yeah!

Anyhoo…today’s “30 Days of Me” is about our favorite song. While I don’t really have ONE favorite, I’ll list the songs that have meaning to me:

Friday I’m In Love by The Cure - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song! It’s my husband and my favorite song from when we were in high school and it STILL makes me smile when it comes on.

Whiter Shade of Pale by Procal Harum - When I was younger, my dad made me practice this song OVER and OVER and OVER on the piano because it was his favorite song. When he passed away when I was 15, an old sport car with it’s top down was playing it as we were walking out of the church after his memorial service.

Itsy Bitsy Spider – Carly Simon version -I remember Carly since my dad loved her growing up. This particular song version I used to sing to my own children when they were little before bed. Ahh the memories. And today I dropped of LittleOne (#3) to her 1st day of school while her older sister (#1) started middle school earlier this month.

- Farrah

What about you? Do you have a favorite song or multiple songs with a special meaning to you?

What Next?

Notes from Farrah will be changing slightly.

After some thinking and spending time with my sister, a recent widow and mom of 3 (soon to be 4), I decided I wanted to do more with her. Not only that but I definitely needed to wake up this space some more. I’ve been feeling a bit stagnant in life and realized it was time to get myself back in gear. I recognized the fact that I’ve been in this winter season and just dragging by lately- a tad unmotivated. Time for a spring, a new beginning for both my sister and I. A time for revival of the mind and body.

We both love products and life, therefore, together we’re changing Notes from Farrah to  something that reflects the two of us. We’re eclectic, we’re warm, we’re us. Together we giggle insanely no matter if others on the outside don’t understand. We have a relationship unlike any other one we have because we are sisters.

You’ll see some changes around here as we redecorate. Soon the name will change. As we work on her upcoming move into her new place next weekend, I’ll be doing some interior work around here. Soon we’ll share more about our lives and various products that make things easier for us. As a mom to 3 & 4, we’re quite busy as you can imagine.

What Next?

Demon: Your mother’s in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it.

My sister lost her husband unexpectedly, my work did a fundraiser to help her and the kids, she’s in her last weeks of pregnancy (she’s expecting baby #4), she’s moving the end of this month to a bigger home closer to her work and sitter, I picked up new freelance work in the form of graphic design to compliment book tours, work’s been busy wrapping up the fiscal year in hopes that we’ve hit our goal, summer vacation for my 3 kids…oh the list just goes on and on!

And the latest? My oldest daughter is starting middle school tomorrow! Can I scream FREAK OUT?! My goodness! I feel that time is flying too fast. There were days I couldn’t wait for her to walk, talk, start school, and now? I’m crying and wanting her to slow down and remain innocent for as long as possible. The middle school years are the years when things soak in or not. She’ll be influenced by things she’s never been influenced by, there will be boys, there will be boys (yeah PURPOSELY typed that twice), and a heavier school load she’s never experienced before.

Her school day will start earlier  (bus at 6:30am…INSANE!) but that also means her day ends earlier than before. I wonder how it will work out now and when her younger siblings start school in a couple of weeks. Will I be able to manage 3 kids in school, their after school activities, their social schedule, my work, my other work, my reading, my writing, myself, and of course we can’t forget my marriage and the house! Ugh…so much, so much! (STILL trying to convince my husband to let me hire a maid 2x a month for heavy cleaning…)

But then the other side of me, the young girly side of me, is looking forward to chick-flick nights in front of the tube doing manis & pedis while munching on yummy snack foods. The fun shopping trips I look forward to (well the expenses for that I’m NOT looking forward to) and of course the clothes sharing (yes, she’s taller than me and minus the chest, pretty close to my size already).

Right now I need to breathe…we’re starting a new adventure. She is and we are. Together I’m hoping for the best.

BTW…I’ll be getting active again soon. So much will be happening around here, I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say. Now off to my next post writing! Organization & planning!

This guest post was written by Gail P., who is interested in obtaining a forensic science education through online classes.

The after school activity has its benefits: it gives kids something to do with their downtime and often yields opportunities that schooling alone doesn’t, it provides parents (and especially parents of younger children) with less daily stress, and it can help reduce the strain on family relations. It can also do the near-opposite of all of these things, leaving children overstimulated between school and homework, requiring parents to shuffle their children from activity to activity, and putting a strain on what would otherwise be family time. Here are a handful of things to take into consideration.

1. Don’t east fast food for every meal.

While it’s tempting, given that it’s fast and it is filling, choosing fast food over, well, just about anything else is a bad idea. Eating preservative-laden, high-fat food on a regular basis has a detrimental effect on both your health and the health of your children. It conditions everyone to want more food full of salt, fat and preservatives, isn’t sustainable as a long-term form of sustenance, and will likely get boring after a while for both you and your children (who may also become obsessed with the toys and other incentives to continue eating there). Instead, when you can’t cook a meal, prep dishes in advance; you can set aside an hour or two to do several days’ worth of cooking, producing better and less expensive food in the process.

2. Set aside specific times for getting homework done.

Some children will come home, knock out their work, and make it easy for you. Others are going to be procrastinators. A schedule full of activities can make this considerably more difficult, as kids who’ve played sports or worked on projects after being in classes all morning and afternoon may finally start to feel a day’s busyness catch up with them. By making homework part of a specific routine, you ensure that it gets done.

3. Don’t let family time fall by the wayside.

Between work and school (and homework for both kids and parents), it’s easy for families to fall into hectic, fractured schedules and see each other more infrequently than is ideal. Setting a date each week (or several times a week, depending on just what, exactly, it is that you need) in which you do something as a family — what that is up to you and should probably vary — and holding everyone to it may be one way to address this.

Compensation has been provided for this guest post.

When I begin to lose the inches, my skin gets softer and of course jigglier in some areas (inner thighs & the dreaded post pregnancy belly, which I’ve had for at least 10 years…ugh…). Other areas happily get firmer (arms, butt, and calves) but the 2 areas that I’m the MOST self-conscious about seem to “go south”.

I freak out and it seems I almost instantly want to “fill in” the space so it appears firmer, even if it’s just a layer of fat. But at least then it doesn’t jiggle nearly as much.

I know…I know…

I’ve got to be patient, I’ve got to keep going…it will (hopefully) all eventually even out with the rest of my body.

It will get firmer in time.

There’s no need to freak out so soon.

It’s just so hard when you already have mental weight issues…Am I the only one?

This past week I did manage to get back to the gym after 2 weeks of healthy lifestyle hell. I was more food conscious and made some healthier eating choices. I walked the 3 flights up and down at the office more.

This week will be better. I know it will. I’m feeling more conscious of things. I will keep the above freak out in check.

The two most powerful warriors are
patience and time. – Leo Tolstoy

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BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Mamavation.  Two blogging carnival participants will receive a Hydracoach.  Join in on the carnival by answering the following question in your blog post and link back to the Mamavation website.  Link up your post here to share with others.

How do you encourage your children to contribute to your family’s healthy lifestyle?

For my house, I encourage my children to contribute to the family’s healthy lifestyle by:

• having healthier yet enticing family meals, this is also great for time of family bonding
• teaching them to choose healthier foods & always having on hand healthier snacks
• incorporating daily exercise whether it’s participating in a sport or being active at home and play

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV

This post is sponsored by Mamavation and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

What Next?

You wake up early, you rush through the morning, rush through the day whether it’s as a working parent or stay at home parent, chauffeur kids around to extracurricular activities, do homework, cook dinner, clean up, and fall into bed to just do it all over the next day.

Wondering why you’re cranky, tired, and lost feeling? I bet I know what’s going on. Let me ask you something, when did you last do something just fo you? When was the last time you exercised your body, mind, and/or spirit? What? There’s not enough hours in a day you say? I bet there is. I bet you could find 10-30min slots throughout the day to do something just for you.

5 Ways to find & fit 15-30mins during the day…

• Wake up 15-30 minutes earlier and spend that time on you and only you. No emails, no chores, no cooking, do NOTHING that’s work, house, or family related. This is your time.
• Use your breaktime wisely. If you work a full day, you should get at least 15 minutes before lunch and another in the afternoon. Go walk up and down the stairs or get some fresh air and walk around the parking lot.
• Don’t have the 15 minute break times? Bring your lunch in on some days and head to the gym during your lunch hour. If your lunch hour is flexible, head to the gym avoiding the typical “lunch rush hour”. This is a great way to re-energize you in the middle of the day.
• Schedule time in your calendar for ME time. You really do have 15-30minutes to spare multiple times during the day. You think you don’t but if you schedule that time into your daily routine, you’ll be amazed.
• Get the family involved with helping around the house with meals and chores. Think your kids are too young to help? Think again. There are many things a toddler is capable of doing to help you out. My 4 year old has been taking clothes out of the dryer since she was 3 and folds washcloths while I fold the bigger towels. My 11 year old helps make lunches for everyone and my 10 year takes care of our cats needs. The more others chip in, the more time you get to do something else.

Things you can do in 15-30mins…

• Exercise your mind...Read a chapter or two or three of your latest book selection. Play a quick electronic game of puzzle.
• Exercise your body…Walk around the block, parking lot, or climb up and down the stairs. Stretch your body with simple yoga moves when you first wake or before you lay down.
• Exercise your spirit…Crank up the MP3 player or stereo and just let yourself be moved by the music. Feeling down? Find something lively to listen to. Need calmness? Listen to something soothing. Meditate in quiet even if you have to do it in your walk in closet.
• Rejuvenate yourself…Refresh your locks with home hair color kit, put on a facial mask, AND tweeze/wax your brows with 30 minutes.

NOW…tell me again there’s not enough time in the day to spend on ME time. I dare you!

Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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