Nature-walk dreamcatcher

As babies, my kids were hopeless sleepers. Annika is just two and maybe not officially a baby (when ARE you officially not a baby?!) but she still is a hopeless sleeper. As in wakes-up-every-hour kinda hopeless. And only-sleeps-while-being-breastfed-to-sleep kinda hopeless. It's exhausting. When they reach three-ish and finally get how bedtime and sleep works, I do anything in my power to keep it that way. So when the bad dreams start or the night-waking becomes a regular occurrence, we jump on it - with cuddles, bribes to go back to bed... and dreamcatchers. New ones every now and then seem to do the trick - it must be a mental thing?! The kids like to help make them, so we have made a few different ones with various bits and pieces such as fluoro string, beads, buttons, shells, crystals etc. Zak asked for one the other day after having a bad dream, so I told him we'd try and make it just from things we find on a nature walk. So we grabbed a long vine-like length from a plant down the road for the hoop, chose a few feathers from the waterfront and a shell with a natural hole in it for the centrepiece. The only thing we didn't find was the twine (though I did find it in the cupboard; let's go with that!). The actual weave part is pretty easy once you work it out: a few years ago I photographed the steps (below) and there is a little more instruction on how to do it here. 

There are a gazillion and one ways you can make dreamcatchers, I'm sure, but I think my favourite is this one with found natural materials. I love that it's not perfect, which highlights the organic and handmade nature of it. It's now hanging above Zak's bed (dreamcatchers, dinosaurs and Darth Vader go well together apparently!) and Layla has put in an order for a new one after the shell and feathers fell off hers. I told her it was because it's worked so well filtering out the good dreams to send to her in Dreamland and storing the bad, that it burst at the seams. But really it's because Annika thought it looked like it would hold her weight and decided to swing on it! Shhhh!

How I'm Finding Time to Work Out Multiple Times Each Week

For a number of years, exercise was a priority in my life. I grew up in a home where physical fitness was always encouraged and I went into marriage with the goal that I wanted to continue to make physical fitness a priority.

While I had periods of time where I didn't prioritize it as much as I should have, but for the most part, I was always doing some sort of exercise plan - whether it was P90X, The 30-Day Shred, Pilates, running, using the elliptical, or even just walking on the treadmill.

But last year, after reading The Adrenal Reset Diet and Trim Healthy Mama, I realized that I needed to give my body a lot more grace and not push myself so hard. This meant not only what I was nourishing my body with, but also in getting more sleep, not packing my schedule so full, allowing a lot more margin in my life, and not setting such ambitious goals at the expense of my health.

These books plus many other things inspired my Year of Rest this year… which has been such a good thing. But while I told myself that not pushing myself with exercise was to “take care of myself”, it actually was having the opposite affect.

Even though I had cut way back on my outside commitments, even though I was getting a lot more sleep, and even though I was doing a much better job of taking care of myself, I wasn't feeling energetic. Instead, I realized I was feeling lethargic and tired. And I knew it was because I wasn't making exercise enough of a priority. 

But I was really hesitant to consider doing anything about it because I wanted to honor my commitment to a Year of Rest and, in looking at my schedule, it felt like if I were to add time in for more exercise, it was going to eat into my margin time.

So how did I end up making exercise a priority and find the time to work out for an hour and a half multiple times per week? Well, here's what I did:

1. I Recognized I Needed to Make it a Priority

Jesse had been worried about the lack of exercise in my life. For those of you who know him well, you know he is really into fitness and healthful living.

He works out faithfully almost every single day and we have an amazing gym in the garage with all sorts of equipment that he has slowly gotten - after lots of research and study on what the best equipment and workout training programs are. He loves to read articles, books, and magazines on fitness. He loves to study the best diets and workout plans and supplements to take. He is always investigating new fitness theories and listening to the latest weight-lifting podcasts. And he loves nothing more than to find someone else who is passionate about fitness to discuss all of his findings and research with.

As such, you can imagine that he has gently encouraged me to make fitness more of a priority. He never pushed me. He never shamed me. He just quietly suggested I consider making it more of a priority… because he knew it would make me feel better.

I wasn't ready to hear what he had to say for the first few months after I stopped regularly working out. I came up with excuses. I told him I needed to be kind to my body and give it a break.

But finally, after I had mentioned multiple times how I felt lethargic and tired, he knew he needed to motivate me. So one day in February, he and our good friend, Brian (who works for us full-time and works out with Jesse every day), came and told me that they really wanted me to start feeling more energetic. They saw how I was making self-care a priority in so many other areas and they felt like this was an important area, too.

Because they were both so kind and gracious about it and because they've both earned the right to speak into my life - even when it means saying the hard things - I listened. I told them that I really did want to start working out, but I was struggling to figure out when and how to make it happen.

2. I Asked For Help

It wasn't enough for me to recognize that I needed to make exercise a priority; I also needed to make a plan of action for how I was actually going to make it a priority.

In order to do that, I needed help. 

I went to Jesse and asked him to help me put together a workout routine. He was thrilled to do so! In fact, I realized that I kind of made his month by doing so. I was not only stating my needs and asking for his help in an area that he's really good at, but I was asking him to do something for me that he's crazy passionate about.

Almost immediately, I could tell that it meant so much to him that I would come to him and ask for his expertise in area that he's spent years of his life researching. I realized that I'd never really shown much of an interest in this topic that he is SO into and it helped me get a better peek into his world by me wanting to have him help me come up with a workout plan.

Jesse's never one to do things halfheartedly, so he spent quite a bit of time researching options, asking me what areas I wanted to work on, taking body measurements, analyzing my current activity and strength level, and then devising a detailed plan.

I was so touched by how much effort he poured into this project and how much he wanted to set me up for success. In all honesty, I never realized that one of the side benefits would be getting to see my husband show so much love and care for me in this way.

Note: Jesse used a lot of the ideas for the workout plan he put together for me from the book, Thinner, Leaner, Stronger. I haven't read it yet, but I've looked through it and am hoping to read it soon. He has found a lot of the ideas and suggestions from this author to be very helpful.

3. I Committed to Be Accountable to Others

Asking for help is a great first step to get started, but I knew I needed to do more if I was actually going to do this for the longterm. So, I took a big leap out of my comfort zone and ask the guys if I could start working out with them every day.

Now, that might not seem like a big leap to you (especially if you're not an introvert who would much prefer to do an exercise DVD by yourself with the door shut), but for me, it was putting myself out there in a very vulnerable way. I knew both of them were lifting a lot of weight at this point and I was going to be coming in as a complete newbie. I knew I'd feel embarrassed that I couldn't lift much and didn't know correct form. I knew they were going to have to spend a lot of time helping and teaching and coaching me.

But I also knew I couldn't do this on my own. If I was actually going to follow through with the plan Jesse created for me, I needed to be accountable to other people.

So every day, at around 10:30 a.m., the kids start in on their independent homeschool work, we go out to our “garage gym”, we turn up the music, and we work out for the next hour and a half.

Have I had moments when I've felt uncomfortable and conspicuous? Absolutely! Especially in the beginning, I'd get frustrated that I couldn't seem to get my form correct and I was embarrassed at how hard I had to work to lift what seemed like a small amount.

Little bit by little bit, though, I am loving it more and more. I'm realizing that I'm so much stronger than I think I am and I'm actually really started to look forward to the workouts. I feel jazzed when I push myself hard. I feel excited when I surpass last week's personal best. And the guys have been SO encouraging to me along the way - cheering me on, pushing me to do my best, and not letting me give up. 

Note: Jesse set up my whole workout program in the Strong App. This app is so great as it allows you to track the exercises, the weights, and the reps. It gives you rest time in between sets, tells you when you beat your personal best, and makes it so much easier to stay organized and know what you're supposed to do each workout. I'd highly recommend it!

4. I Re-Arranged My Schedule

It's often been said that when there's a will, you can usually find time to make a way. And that's what happened here.

I had told myself I didn't have time for a long workout each day, but I realized that it wasn't that I didn't have time, it was that I was choosing to spend my time on other things.

Making working out a priority meant that I had to rearrange my schedule and our family's schedule. Jesse and I talked about it and knew that it was worth it. I cut back on some of my business commitments, we moved some things around in the morning and afternoon, and I just committed to make it a priority for this season of my life.

Here's what I discovered: I'm pretty much getting just as much done and it's not hurting our daily schedule at all because now that my work time is shortened, I'm more focused and productive during it! Isn't it amazing how that happens? It's like the work expands to the time we have allotted for it!

I also have a lot more energy as a result of working out, I'm sleeping better, I'm motivated to eat better, and feel like I have more balance in my day. Instead of spending most of my day sitting and working on the computer and sitting and homeschooling, I have an hour and a half in the middle of the day devoted to physical fitness - which makes me feel so much better!

Best of all, I'm doing this with my husband. So it's something fun and different we're doing together - and we both love the camaraderie we feel in doing this together!

All of this contributes to me feeling happier, healthier, and more confident. This, in turn, gives me more energy, which makes me more productive. So you see, while it might seem like a lot to be “giving up” an hour and a half of my day to working out, the truth is that I feel like I am gaining so much more in my life (and not just when it comes to muscles!) than I'm giving up. And it's been totally worth the time and effort invested!

What are YOUR favorite ways to exercise? How do you find time to fit it into your day? I'd love to hear!

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

10 Things I Always Bring When I Travel

As many of you know, I've spent a considerable amount of time on planes, in airports, in cars, and in hotels the past few years of my life. As a result, I've gotten pretty good at packing for trips and being prepared for the unexpected… because you just never know what you might need when you're on the road.

People often ask me questions about traveling and packing and prepping for trips, so I thought it would be fun for me to put together a list of 10 things I never travel without (a few of these are also included on my post on 10 Things You Should Bring on Long Flights With Young Kids):

1. Wet Wipes

These come in handy for so many different things: quickly washing a stain off an outfit, wiping down the airplane seat or tray, washing your hands, wiping up a spill, and so on.

I can't tell you how many times they've rescued me or my kids or someone I was traveling with from a sticky situation (see what I did there?). You can get travel packs of Wet Wipes from Target (look in the dollar section) or the dollar store.

2. An Extra Outfit

If I'm going to a speaking event, I always pack a complete extra outfit that I could wear on stage. You never know when something might rip or a something will get spilled or you just will end up needing another option for some reason. Knowing that I have a backup outfit lets me breathe easy and not have to worry when something happens to what I'm wearing.

And it's not just a great idea for speaking events! The other day, the guy next to me on a plane got up from his seat to go to the bathroom and knocked my entire cup of ice cold orange juice all over me. I was SO glad I had an extra pair of pants because otherwise, I would have had to be on two more flights in completely soaked jeans!

3. Comfortable Shoes

I'm such a fan of comfortable shoes! Not only are they better for your feet and back, but you will be so grateful for them on days when you need to walk for miles through airports or when you're at an event that requires you to be on your feet for hours.

These Sketchers (see me wearing them in the photo below) are my very favorite shoes for traveling right now. I just adore them! Plus, they slip on and off which is really nice for when you want to slip your shoes off on a long flight plane or car ride.

For speaking/dressier events, I love the Aerosoles brand. They are durable, they offer so many different cute options, and they are comfortable - even when you're on your feet for hours and hours on end.

Want to know what I brought on a 10-Day International Trip this year? Find my packing list here.

4. Headphones

I find that blasting music I love in my ears is so energizing on trips where I'm feeling a lack of energy or confidence. This year, at the encouragement of a friend, I got a pair of Bose in-ear headphones. I am hooked!

They are far better than any pair of headphones I've ever had before. They are comfortable (even when wearing them for long periods of time), they stay in your ears well, and they have such great sound quality. Plus, they really are far more noise-cancelling than any other earbud I've ever tried.

I use mine for listening to music while working at home, for business phone calls and Zoom meetings, for interviews via Google Hangout, and, of course, while on planes and at the airports.

5. Books

I never, ever travel without bringing at least 1-2 books… sometimes more like 4-6! I just can't help myself!

People always tell me I should use a Kindle, but I'm such a lover of real books that I'm willing to lug around the extra weight in my backpack in order to get to experience the thrill of reading a real book.

Flying is one of my favorite opportunities to get in some good reading. Even if I plan to work on my computer during the flight, I always have at least 30 minutes on the take off and touch down to get in some reading. It's amazing how that can add up to a lot of reading if you fly regularly!

Tip: Need some reading inspiration or ideas? Check out my list of my 10 favorite books I read in 2015.

6. Listerine Strips

These are the best things ever invented for speakers or anyone who spends time on the road! When I'm in a book-signing line or at a meet and greet, the last thing I want is to have bad breath! However, at many events, I can't easily make it through the crowds of people to brush my teeth in the nearest bathroom. So Listerine Strips come to the rescue!

They are also nice for when you are feeling grungy from a day of traveling and just need to quickly freshen up. I keep a few packs of these in my purse at all times… and then use them multiple times a day on every single trip!

7. Extra Medicine & Essential Oils

Traveling takes its toll on your body. You not only often get less sleep, but your sleep usually isn't as good since you're sleeping in a strange bed in a new place.

Plus, add in time zone differences, schedule differences, and exposure to all sorts of germs on flights and in public places and it's a recipe for getting sick a lot more easily.

This is why I always bring extra medicine and essential oils. I usually always bring Advil, Benadryl, and DayQuil/NyQuil + OnGuard, Thieves, and Tummy Rub oils. At the first sign of sickness, I use lots of OnGuard and Thieves and then Tummy Rub oil works amazing if my stomach or digestive system is a little off (as often can happen while traveling).

On long flights/international flights, I'm a big believer in Dramamine. In fact, I think it was pretty much the best thing created for motion sickness! BlogThis!

Sea shell turtle craft

We've been spending A LOT of time at the beach lately - this endless summer has us beach combing most weekends and some weekdays too! I think I prefer the beach more when the water is too cold to swim - the supervision is less strict when the kids aren't in the water and it actually allows us adults time to chill too. And chill we do - sifting through tiny shell remnants for cool shapes and colours, searching for sea glass (we're obsessed!), picking up fancy shells and little curios and just enjoying being by the sea.

So when the school was invited to create a turtle artwork or sculpture as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the sea turtles and how litter in our oceans is impacting the health of marine life, we had plenty of bits and pieces at the ready to get creative with. We decided little turtles made from shells would be cute so we played around with what we had at home (and made a special trip to the beach for fresh sand!)

We used a range of blue paints to cover MDF coasters for an "ocean" and sprinkled sand from Umina Beach over the bottom - and some glitter on the top! The girls chose a big shell each for the turtle shell and a smaller one as the head - the legs (flippers?) were broken shells and the tails were a bit of seaglass or another piece of shell. Immy drew a face on her little guy, added a tile we found at Patonga (I'm still not sure why!) and a starfish, while Layla added a tiny piece of coral and painted on bubbles.

Layla's turtle - how cool is the ikat-like pattern on this shell?

Immy's guy with a back-to-front head!

It was a simple afternoon craft and the girls loved it (I did too!), so I thought I'd share just in case you have a million beach finds sitting in a jar somewhere too! I've been getting creative with all of our finds lately - I'll share some more soon.

Choosing Gratitude in the Midst of Grief

Guest post from Laura of LauraSueShaw.com

Last year I learned that the simple act of recording blessings from the day is truly life-changing.

My journey of learning to choose gratitude started the Christmas of 2014. I received Crystal's Blessings Journal as a gift from my parents. I was so excited to get started! I loved the idea of this quick and practical way to practice gratitude every day.

Little did I know that what I found inside would change my life and help me through the most difficult season I've ever been through.

I was pretty good about writing a line or two each day, and was particularly excited to write a HUGE blessing in my journal mid-June of 2015… I was pregnant! We were thrilled to be expecting our first child.

Even as nausea and exhaustion took over most of the summer, we were so thankful for the little life growing inside me. I recorded many blessings throughout the summer months.

“We got to see baby and the heartbeat! Everything looks good!”

“So thankful for our sweet little baby.”

As summer turned to fall, we scheduled an extra appointment when they saw something a little off at 13 weeks. We were told not to worry and sent to a specialist in mid-September.

At that appointment, we were given devastating news that would test this new-found gratitude habit: Our precious baby had a fatal birth defect.

The pages of my journal stayed empty for a week or two as I processed this news, grieved the fact that our child's life would be short, and tried to figure out how to fill our baby's life with as much love as possible for as long as we had.

A week or two after we got the news I finally opened my journal again and wrote a blessing:

“The doctor that had to break the news to us was really nice.”

I couldn't imagine having to tell anyone what she told us. I was truly thankful she was so kind and compassionate.

It wasn't every day, but thanks to the habit I had already established that year I was able to still fill my journal with blessings over the next few months:

“I'm thankful for all the love, support, and prayers we have received.”

“I'm grateful work is allowing me to be flexible with my hours.”

“I'm grateful that we were able to record baby's heartbeat.”

Just as the weather started turning cold enough for me to dig out my winter coat, I went into pre-term labor at 30 weeks on December 15th. Our beautiful little girl Taylor was born the next day and lived for just under 3 hours.

“I'm thankful I got to hold her in my arms.”

“I'm thankful we were blessed with incredible doctors and nurses.”

“I'm thankful that we got some wonderful photos and keepsakes.”

“I'm thankful the funeral home staff took such good care of us.”

“And most of all, I'm thankful for the child that made me a mama.”

I learned to recognize all the ways God continued to bless us throughout a difficult journey. I don't know that I would have been able to really recognize all those blessings if I hadn't started documenting them at the beginning of the year.

So I'm especially grateful for the Blessings Journal.

Learning to look for the little blessings has pulled me through the most difficult of times. It's something I'll carry with me through my entire life as I face good times and bad.

Now don't get me wrong - I'd still trade it all in an instant to have my baby alive and in my arms. But I know that no matter what we are facing, God's blessings still surround us.

There is always hope.

I've learned to always look for the blessings, no matter the circumstance and it is my prayer that you can do the same.

Laura Shaw loves to share practical resources for organized and purposeful living on her website, LauraSueShaw.com. She lives in central IL with her husband and dog. Some of her favorite things include spending time with family, cute planners, and coffee!

Bunk Beds!

Well we did it - we finally split the living room in at our NJ shore apartment to make an extra bedroom. We had been thinking about it for ages but were loathe to give up the spacious feel of the living room. But with another baby on the way, we knew our days of sharing one bedroom were numbered so it was time to make the call.

Now the wall is up, it's time to furnish this little space. Perhaps its the 1980s child in me but there was nothing cooler than bunk beds when I was growing up so it seemed like the perfect solution to a small space. Of course I love the really fancy built in bunk beds with all the bells and whistles but that wasn't practical for lots of reasons here so I went all the way to the other side of the scale and headed straight to Ikea.

Simple and cheap, this seemed like a good solution.  And it looks like I'm in some amazing company as some of my very favorite bloggers have used this very same bed in their designs. Amazing how a coat of paint can transform this knotty pine look.


sources: Lauren Leonard | Holly Matthis | Oh Joy

Anyone have this bed and want to share their thoughts on it? I'm a little bit lost on the rules of bunk bed bedding - I don't want to create a big nightmare of having to lift the mattress every time I make the bed but I'm not sure if there is an alternative. 

Can I add artwork on the wall next to the bed or am I sure to have it come crashing down on the littles?

As for the living room, that is also a work in progress. (to refresh your memory, click here to see what it looked like before)  This is what it looks like now. While not 100% ideal, my existing furniture works well enough so I'm super happy about that. I need to get some new window treatments and artwork before I can call it done but more about that in another post.

It's still a bit of a mess down there so pardon the dust.

Want a sneak peek at my latest project? Follow Brooklyn Limestone on instagram, facebook and twitter for lots more.

Are you overwhelmed with your kids' stuff? Try this!

I've long loved The Nester! She has inspired me as a blogger, as a writer, as a business owner, as a friend, and she's even motivated me to get brave and try decorating my house a little bit.

I've been eyeing her Cozy Minimalist course for a long time, so I was thrilled to discover that her Cozy Minimalist Mom course is part of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle! 

I don't know what it is about The Nester, but she just speaks my language. I love the pictures she posts of her home - even if I don't ever see myself hanging up antlers on any of my walls!

She makes even a complete non-decorator like me feel like I can rock a can of paint. (Okay, so I've never really tried, but she still inspires me that one day I'll be brave enough to actually paint something other than my nails!)

I went through her Cozy Minimalist Mom course today and, I have to say, I love her even more now. In fact, I think I want to invite her to come live next door to me. {Maybe she'd even convince me to hang some antlers on my wall? ;)}

This course is so simple, but it's packed with helpful advice and wise encouragement. I especially love that it's coming from a mom who has three boys and who has survived and lived to tell about it.

This course has 10 videos that teach her Core Concepts (and I promise, so much of it will be stuff that you've not read in other Organized Home type books!) + 10 videos with a young mom. It's a very balanced course that offers practical perspective no matter what ages or stages your children are at.

Through Monday at midnight only, you can get her course, plus 93 different ebooks, courses, and printables + some cool bonuses for just $29.97 total! This huge library of resources has something for pretty much everyone! It covers homemaking, mothering, DIY-ing, your marriage, organizing, budgeting, making money from home, plus much more!

Ready to purchase? Just click below…

Want to learn more? Read more about this amazing bundle here. Note: This bundle is only available until midnight on Monday, May 2, 2016.

P.S. I've also been eyeing Tsh Oxenreider's Upstream Field Guide course for a long time. It's regularly $59, but it's also part of the bundle. So it's like getting her course & 90+ other resources for half the price of her course!! Grab this amazing price here while you can - it's only good through Monday!