Content With The Now

I love me some goal planning. Planning my future and mapping out all the could be's. Lists on lists. I know this about myself. This part of me has been the driving force that has resulted in some big positive decisions in my life, marriage and even parenting. But I also know sometimes I can get carried away, idea after idea. Before I have even completed one thing, I'm already dreaming and plotting the next and the cycle goes on and on. I sometimes don't give things enough time to settle before I'm jumping on another band wagon.

I crave the ability to be content. To live in the now. To embrace the everyday moment of today. I'll be honest, this does not come naturally to me. Am I the only one who struggles with this? This week it has come to my attention that I might need to learn how. To take conscious bits of time out of my day until it does become natural. Because life is zooming by. When my attention is constantly on the future, I miss out on the joys of today.

This week I suddenly became more aware. Turns out Maeve only knows one line out of the 12 Days of Christmas and she really gives it all she's got. "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS!" Olive has been showing me all the ballet moves she has been practicing so that we will put her in lessons. Her determination is pretty cute, so I'll definitely will be looking into that this week. The moment I watched Maeve fall so hard and Olive ran to her side to comfort her. Watching Maeve play with the bathroom door every time Olive has to go and hear them bicker back and forth over it is hilarious. I took a night off the usual bath or TV routine and just talked with Rob. Realizing we both had so much to say. Seeing his face go from exhaustion to happiness as he walks in from a long day of work to see us.

This week I am learning that as much as I can be a dreamer and a planner it is also possible to be present and content with the now. I think of these little moments this past week and feel so much joy for where I am at right now. Although there is always room to grow and improve, this place feels so perfectly un-perfect.

Science & Tech Museum

Canada Science & Technology Museum

Right before Christmas one weekend, we decided to get out of the house and go do something. Why we did this I will never know. We were exhausted and had a million things to do by Christmas. Probably to get out of doing these million things would be my guess. I remember being completely shocked when Rob announced that we were going out. So on a whim we decided to check out the Canada Science and Technology museum in Ottawa.

I remember as a kid through school we slept over at the museum one time. Lined up beside the massive trains with our sleeping bags. The museum has changed so much since then. They have renovated from top to bottom. I hardly recognized it. They still have some of the favorite classic exhibits like the trains and crazy kitchen. The girls favorite was, by far, the Zooom room. There was so many interactive stations in that one which is why I think they loved it the most. Rob probably could have spent an hour in Artifact Alley if we let him. Checking out all the old electrical stuff. His one true love! We definitely could have spent way more time at each exhibit.

Olive is at this really fun age right now (Four). She is so curious and willing to interact with each activity and station. It was neat to see her explore and try to figure out each station. Maeve however (Two) liked to play this game where she ran as fast and as far and as frequent as possible. Kept bolting what felt like every five minutes. On the plus side she loves to copy her older sister. So anything Olive was doing that Maeve thought looked like fun, it was a wrestling match over who was doing it. Next time we go, we will probably aim for a morning visit. That way Maeve will be at her best time of day. The later in the day we go the bigger the gamble on how it will all play out. But I have to say she was such a trooper only having a small half hour nap which is not the norm.

I can't wait to have more experiences like these. It is so nice to have Ottawa right there in our back pocket. If you ever get the chance to try it, this is a fun museum that has a little something for everyone. We are looking for more spots to explore in Ottawa and surrounding area. Any suggestions? I would love to hear your favorites.

First Year Of Blogging

I started this blog August of 2016. We had just gone on our first camping trip ever and I wanted to share everything that had happened with everyone. Summers are busy and I couldn't get a hold of everyone to tell them all about it. As time goes on the details of your story get fuzzy and you start to forget some of the memories or key details that would have fully captured that moment. It was then that made me want to start a blog. Somewhere to put all the memories and have family and friends look at it like an online scrapbook. After my posts on the camping trip, which was 3 posts long, I decided to go back to school part time and that consumed all my free time. So of course the blog was put on the back burner. At the beginning of 2017, a year ago from today, I had decided I was really going to take a go at blogging; aim to write more and commit more time to my blog.

In order to truly commit to something you need some accountability and that is when I decided to make it public knowledge about my blog. This was absolutely terrifying for me. You don't have any control over who is reading your words anymore. Not knowing what is being said about you behind closed doors. Being someone who barely passed English every year in high school, I have been a little insecure when it comes to my writing. There are so many blogs out there and I have been so inspired joining this community of people. I haven't quite figured out if I have a niche yet. I am a storyteller and this blog is like my diary in some ways. Can I just say lifestyle? I'm not sure.

I am so glad I let everyone in. This space, that was meant to be a family scrapbook, has turned into this raw truth of all my dreams and drowning moments. I'm so happy I have been able to encourage some of you with my words or gave you a minute escape. Maybe a little laugh here and there at my expense. Whatever it is that you come to my blog for, just know I will always be honest with you. The things that I have found the hardest about being a blogger are my own insecurities and being consistent. Both are still a constant work in progress. I have to applaud all the bloggers out there that have been doing this for years without skipping a beat. This experience has been so rewarding but has also challenged me in ways I never saw coming. It has forced me to do things that I wouldn't normally do and take pictures when I normally wouldn't. Writing has also been therapeutic for me as well. There is something about writing something down that makes me feel like I'm letting go. I highly suggest giving blogging or writing a try if it has been something on your mind to do. In my experience the pros definitely out weigh the cons.

If you have been reading along and ever have questions that you are dying to know the answer to I am an open book, ask away! Comment, email, private message, whatever works best for you. I love when you share with me too!