Yoga Retreat

As part of my training I went to a 5 day yoga retreat with my yoga family. It was lead by D'ana and it was perhaps one of the most life changing experiences ever. I gained such a firm belief in my own strength to deal with trials. I also came away with a more narrow view of what I want to do with this yoga certification. I've decided that not only do I look forward to owning a studio, it would be an amazing thing to work towards leading retreats as well.

The food was amazing, it was made by a holistic chef, Patti, who had a firm grip on my eating needs and make food I could eat every day! It was so delicious I just wanted to never stop eating!

I roomed with Summer, Jules, Emily, and Allison, we had a blast! It was the perfect group of friends to spend the week with.

Here are some photos of some of the yoga...

Another year older, and a whole lot taller!

Yes, those are Wii remotes! They are about 13x5. My first experience with fondant and it went really well I thought. I had a little trouble with the corners, but otherwise they looked great.

This year Tyler just wanted to have friends over for cake, no big party because we went to see African cats with his two buddies Eric and Phoenix (Brian, Jake and I came too). We thought cake for a few kids on the block no big deal. He invited 9 kids over. Then two of the parents sent younger siblings, although I'm not sure why and it was wild crazy chaos for about an hour and a half. They all agreed that the cakes looked cool but the fondant was gross.

For African cats we splurged and let the kids get those giant pixi sticks they sell at the movie theater that you fill yourself. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as we were forking out $20 for Pixi sticks, it was bittersweet ;) The movie was awesome and we loved every minute of those cute little Cheetah cats.

April fools!

So this year april fools wasn't as fooling as the others years I've done. The "spaghetti sauce" looked a little too much like strawberry jam, the "meatballs" a little too much like truffles...but oh well! It looked cool anyways!

Another trouble spot was that this was one of those meals you could smell that something was amiss "in the yummy way" before the prayer was said, so they were not fooled one bit. Next year I'm going to start planning in January!

Is February almost over?!

The month of February has found me looking at myself in the mirror and thinking the words..."What were you thinking?!" way too often. To give you a little hint of why this is, let me list off what I've foolishly put on my plate this month:

I am the room mom for both my kids classes. No I don't think I'm amazing, but no one else would do it and I didn't want their year to be awful because no one wanted to plan their parties.

Both of these classes have a Valentines celebration that I am in charge of. Tyler's in done and it went fabulous, I'm hoping Jake's will be the same, it's tomorrow.

I am 1 month into my 500 hour yoga certification and in order to be done before we move, I've had to hit the ground running. I take 4 hours of classes a week. This doesn't sound like much until....

I also attend one class per week to "audit" the teacher and see how they do things, and I assist one INTRO to yoga class on Saturdays, which starting in two weeks, I will then be teaching.

Continuing on the crazy yoga life line, I've started my volunteer yoga hours out with a bang by teaching 6 PE classes every week during February at Daybreak Elementary. This wouldn't be too crazy but some of the teachers doubled up their PE time so any given Monday finds me teaching yoga to 47 3rd graders in the gym. While I have grown to love it, I was mentally un-glued when I first started this.

I have also started a "ward Yoga" group on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings for the ladies in my ward and this I'm looking forward to like nobody's business! I taught these lovely girls once before and it was probably the coolest thing I've done, so I'm excited for that experience.

Jake's sick, again. I just don't know what is up with that kid!

It's all just crazy-ness and after tomorrow with the last class party, and after I'm done with the kid yoga in 2 weeks, things will be much easier. It has all led to speculation by yours truly if it's worth it. And here's what I've come up with:

My time is truly the most valuable thing I own. I get very territorial over my time and feel very put out if I don't get to use it as I see fit. This usually includes a fair amount of time to read a good book (Currently working on "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, if you haven't read it, oh man are you missing out!), plenty of time for lunch, breakfast, and dinner dates with Brian, lots of time with the kids playing Monopoly and reading together (we are currently on book 5 of The Chronicles of Narnia), and time for things I love like sewing, yoga, shopping....basically I like my time and I use for mostly pleasurable purposes. This month I have learned the "joy" of sacrifice and it hasn't been easy but I can say that it has been rewarding in a way that nothing else is.

I can honestly say I will never after this month, teach children yoga again. They love doing it, and it's good for them, but their level of energy is one I have yet to keep up with. I also love the quiet, Yin side of yoga, not the crazy, wobbly, laughing side of kid yoga. I can also honestly say that I will never find an experience to equal what teaching children has taught me. The honestly on a child's face while lying in Savasana and picturing "feeling loved, feeling happy, and feeling safe" was humbling. The energy that swirls around them when you ask them to picture any color they love covering them like a blanket was stunning to the point of knocking me off my feet figuratively. They have their own little sets of worries that seem like the world to them, but when I ask them to visualize letting go of their trouble as they breathe out while lying on their backs with their little eyes closed, you can see them visibly relax. When they come up and hug me after class and tell me that was the best class they've ever had. When a little kid waits until his class in walking out the door to come over and cry on my shoulder as he says thank you, yes, it's worth it.

If I'm going to be completely honest here, I do like class parties. I love the noise and the organized chaos. I dig hearing that chorus of "Thank you Mrs. Gough" at the end of the day. I like the bright colors and smell of frosting, combined with the sounds of kid music and shouts of BINGO! It's just fun. It's the planning I hate!

So while this month is one I would hope never to repeat, it's been a learning experience, a lesson in sacrifice, and time management. I wore my pj's to pick up my Bountiful Basket and go to the grocery store yesterday and I didn't for one minute feel bad about it! (not that I would normally) I don't usually head out in fuzzy socks and crazy looks but I seriously didn't have time to do otherwise. It was liberating! So I suppose I've also learned that some things are more important to spend you time on than others. And if you're wondering, yes I skipped Valentines wall paper on the blog because:

1. We all know I don't change the paper enough to hit every holiday, so I got a head start!

2. I have learned a lot, but it's time for February to be over!

Happy Valentines day everyone!

Christmas Morning

This year was just fun, and nice, and relaxing! I love Christmas more and more as the kids get older, they are so laid back about the whole thing. We got up at 5 ish and opened stockings and Santa stuff. Then we went back to bed and they played with that stuff. We got back up around 7:30 and opened their presents from us and Brian's parents while we opened our presents. Then we made breakfast and ate and after that opened presents from my parents.

It was really nice spreading things out. I think it made the kids feel more grateful for what they got since they weren't bored of opening presents by the last few gifts. Everyone got pretty much what they wanted and I got...wait for it.....tickets to Sarah Mclachlan!!!! My sneaky Brian got the very things I would have wanted the most in the whole world without me even telling him I wanted them!!! (I really don't have enough space for all the exclamation points I would like to add there so three should help you get the drift).

Not leaving out of course my second most wanted/least asked for thing in the whole world, my boy chipped in their spending money(since they had already both chosen a gift for me with their allotted Christmas budget) and bought their mommy an electric blanket. I use this blanket at LEAST once a day, usually twice since I have started to bring it out to the couch for movies and reading. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift two little kids could have gotten me, and with their hard earned spending money! I cried over that one.

Brian's gift of the year was a beautiful pair of snowshoes, made by his dad. I think he knew I was giving him a watch, but our given budget wouldn't allow for both and I could tell he was a little disappointed I had chosen the watch instead of a pair of snowshoes. Well my wonderful father-in-law makes snowshoes and when I called to ask for advice on how to pick Brian a pair, he offered to send a pair he had made. I was thrilled! I had a devil of a time hiding them from Brian, but on Christmas morning when he was opening a Thermos and little hand warmer packets, I think he started to suspect. It was a great surprise for him so I felt like we were even on the cool gifts list this year!

Christmas Eve disaster...averted!

It was really a wonderful Christmas. My brother and his kids came and it was just nice. We prepared a really great spread of food and just as the conversation started to get going over dinner my dear sweet Tyler comes over and whispers in my ear those dreaded words..."mom, have you heard of the mom and dad Santa trick?" Well, since I am just a dumb mom I said in a very shocked voice "No?! What in the world is the mom and dad Santa trick?" Yes, you can guess what comes next, the truth. On Christmas Eve. During dinner. I'd like to thank the stars for aligning with such bad timing for this moment to occur. So Tyler and I went for a little walk and had a very big talk.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm actually pretty thrilled to have this chat done with. Honestly the Santa chat was harder than the where do babies come from chat. It meant the death of his little imagination and believe in magic. I asked what he thought. If he though it was real and you know what my little man said? "I'm 50/50 mom, but just for tonight, I'd like to believe in Santa" and I felt a little humbled. For all the hours I spend in meditation, I don't think I've ever been able to be so easy with the idea of just listening to my heart, despite what reality might be and just rolling with it. Tonight, just over a week later he told Brian that it was ok now, he knew Santa wasn't real and that was ok. I asked if he was sad, he said not anymore. I can only imagine what's been running through his head the last week or so.

In hindsight, I'm not sure I would have even brought Santa into Christmas. I've gone back and forth, it's sweet for kids to believe in something so crazy, but it has been a great challenge to remind them, this holiday isn't for their monetary gain but their spiritual gain. I have to admit though, I did threaten Ty with his life if he told his brother. He is actually pretty excited to help Jake believe and I think Jake will go on believing in magic for a long time to come.

So here's my two cuties in their Christmas eve pj's goofing around. Tyler has been wanting a robe for a couple years now and I just didn't see why in the world he would want one so I never got him one. This year I figured, what the heck? I don't want to go down in history as having given my child a complex because he never got a robe. So when I saw this robe I knew it was the year for it. He loved it! He has worn it every minute (literally) of the last few days. I have no doubt it will continue to be worn for the next few years until I make him give it up. Who said big kids don't have security blankies? They obviously never gave their kid a soft robe for Christmas!

Just dang cute

I went in to make sure everyone had a blanket on before I went to bed and Jake just looked so dang cute I couldn't help but take a photo!

That cozy little penguin you see is named ice cap. Brian and the kids love to garage sale in the summer and Jake just fell in love with Ice cap at a yard sale. A Teenage girl that was so cute with Jake, she told him the penguin's name was Ice cap, but he could call him whatever he wanted. So Jake continued to call him Ice cap and now we can't live without him! It has started a love for penguins that even after a year hasn't slowed down at all. If you look close at Jake's Christmas PJ's picture this year, you will see, they are penguin pajamas!