Be a Living Expression of Love

 Hello everyone, I hope that you all are having a wonderful week. Since I have not blogged in about a few weeks because of being sick for 2 weeks, and then I just got back from vacation, I thought that I would share something that I heard yesterday, and hope that it inspires some of you.  

"BE A LIVING EXPRESSION OF LOVE."

When I heard this, I was like "wow," very powerful. This just really spoke to me because sometimes I do not look at life through love.  I sometimes do not feel loved, nor do I know how to love someone else or even see the love in the world. So sometimes this is a struggle for me, as it is for others, I'm sure; but we can do this. We are already living expressions of love, we just don't always choose to express the love that we have within us.  We normally hide it or tuck it away in a safe place that way we do not get hurt or so we don't have to show people that we can love them. What we want to do is choose love over fear, and get into our minds where we are able to give and share love with the world through our actions or with our words. We do this by shifting our perception.  What does this mean?  It means: 

**PUT LOVE FIRST

                 &

**EXPRESS LOVE FIRST IN ALL THAT YOU THINK, SAY AND DO.

"when you put love first, you are choosing to see the world through the eyes of love. You start to focus more on the positive side of life, you start to see the hope that life has for you and others, and you start to see the good in people instead of just the negative aspects of them. When you put love first, you start to open your eyes to possibilities that are around you, and start to notice love everywhere around you. Expressing love is the other aspect of this and this can be in many forms like caring for others, being kind and generous, forgiving yourself and others and more.  It's also accepting yourself and accepting others and doing things that you love like singing, acting, writing or whatever makes you happy. It's knowing that you are worth so much more than others may think, and it's knowing that you do not need other's opinions or acceptance in order to make your life as beautiful as you want.  You do not need their acceptance in seeing the world differently than the way they may see it, because you are your own person." 

This world needs more love, and it starts with one person (YOU)...you can help show this world what love really means and how just changing the way you see life, can really change your life, your perception, your perspective, and soon others will notice this as well, and maybe follow suit.  So be a LIVING EXPRESSION OF LOVE and you will make your world and the world of others a much more beautiful place.  That's all for today, thank you for reading and I hope this inspired some of you, even just one person, to really see the love around you, see the love in others and just practice being a living expression of love for others and yourself. You just might surprise yourself on how beautiful this world really is. 

REMEMBER:

 sources:

pictures are from google images

5 Tips on how to balance being a wife, a mother and a full time college student and A CHALLENGE!!!!!! YAY

Hello everyone and welcome to another blog post.  As I mentioned yesterday, I was going to do a blog post about how I balance being a wife, a mother and a full time college student.  So here are 5 tips that I use to help me balance being a wife, a mother and a full time college student...Let's get started shall we........

Tip #1: Write things down
   -One thing I do to make sure I don't forget things is I write it down.  I have a planner that I use, that has all my homework in it, my appointments that I need to remember, when our bills our due, special events we have planned or any event etc.  This way I don't forget it and I can resort back to it if I need to change or look at something.  On top of this, I have a calendar in my living room to help with that.  Whether it's a notebook, a piece of paper, a calendar on your iphone, ipod, whatever, make sure you remember to put it in there so you don't forget anything that's important.

Tip #2: Designate a day or an hour that is "family time"
   -This has worked amazing for my family.  My husband works all the time, and we were never seeing each other, and we never spent time together and it was affecting our relationship between us and our child.  So what I did was I decided to take the days he has off and call them "family time."  On those days, we spend time as a family.  We go to the movies, or shopping, or to my parents house, but whatever we do, we do it as a family...all day.  This really just makes sure that you have some time with your family.  Even if it's just sitting down at the table for one meal a week, make sure that you have atleast an hour with your family, so that they don't feel left out of your life.

Tip #3: Utilize "nap times"
   I can't stress this enough.  When you have a child, a lot of what you plan to do, doesn't work out, and you feel like you have no time in your life to do anything...ok, well I have an idea...ready...."DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WHILE YOUR CHILD IS NAPPING."  That sounds so simple, but it's so worth it and yet so hard...because then it's like well what do I want to do?  While my son is napping, that is when I catch up on my blogs...which if I haven't been posting, that's because he doesn't always take naps, but anyway...I catch up on blog posts I need to write and share, I do some homework if I have any that day, I do the dishes and get the house cleaned, I take a nap myself if I feel I need one...whatever it is, I do it while he naps, that way when he wakes up, I can spend my time with him.  Also to add to this, I do my homework Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday...so that way, I have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with him...that's just how I do my school work and get it done.

Tip #4: Make time for your significant other
   When your child or children are in bed, take that time and spend it with your significant other.  My husband and I do this every night.  After my son is in bed, we go and spend time together, whether that's watching our favorite tv shows which right now are Survivor and Seinfeld, or playing cards, or talking, whatever it is, we make time for each other because they need to know you still care even though you are a mother. You want to try and keep that connection strong with your significant other because that will help when you are raising your child.

Tip #5: Make time for yourself
   Now I talk about this a lot, but it's so true.  In order to stay sane, you need to make sure you are ok.  Make sure your body is healthy, make sure your mind is healthy, make sure your spirit is healthy.  If anyone of these is not healthy, and not up to where they should be, which should be where you are happy, then you will not be happy.  You will be stressed, and things just will go down from there.  So take quiet time and do something that's just for you.
That's all for today's post.  Hope you all enjoyed it and it was helpful. So here is something I have never done before, but I'm going to give it a try.

******Here's a challenge for all of you anyone out there...whether you have a significant other, a child, a roommate, a a friend, a parent, whoever....here it is:
      - If you have a significant other, a child, a roommate, a mother, a father, a friend or whoever,... I challenge you to take 15 minutes and just spend time with them.  Don't think about yourself, think about them.  Talk with them, hang out with them, but spend 15 minutes and make it just you and them.  Do this for a week, 15 minutes a day, now this might be slightly easier for parents, or your significant other anyway....after that week,  comment back after the week is over and tell me how it went.  Did you like it, did you notice anything different etc?  You can post your comments on here or email them to me at lilvina25@gmail.com...Remember: 

 
Ok hope you all have an amazing week, and enjoy the challenge, I know you can do it :)

Liam's 2 year update

Hey everyone...welcome back to another blog post.  Today I will be doing Liam's 2 year update.  Now his birthday isn't for another 2 more weeks, but I will be on vacation, so I'm going to go ahead and do that now.

How I raise Liam:
   -Now every child is really different and what I found really works for Liam is to let him learn things the way that he can learn them.  He's a very independent, motivated little boy.  Has been since he was born, and he loves to figure things out on his own...and he can.  He can come a long way, and everything that he knows, he has figured it out by himself.  When the doctors told him that he should be crawling and rolling, he skipped both the steps and took his first step when he turned one.  When the doctors told us that he should be eating solid foods early, he ate them a little later, when the doctors said that he was really far behind than other children, he was caught up within like 2-3 months.  I never co slept with him, he has always slept in a crib, he always slept through the night, he was in a toddler's bed at about 19 months and stayed and has been in a toddler's bed ever since.  He understood the word "no" at about 4 months and whenever anyone would say "no, or don't do that, or Liam don't play with that, he would stop and go do something else;"loves the snow (I took him out in the snow 2 weeks after he was born, even though the doctors told me not to because he could get sick and he's too young, and he loved it.  Ever since then, he loves the snow), and loves to be outside...so I let him do things and learn on his own pace.  He figured out how to go up and down the stairs on the playground holding the railings in March, and another mom asked how old he was and I told her and she said WOW...he's going to do great in school, and now he can go up and down the stairs with no help...so that is how I raise him, and it's literally has worked wonders for me...and again every child learns differently so this may not be the way your child learns.

Liam's age, height, weight and built:
   -Liam will be 2 on August 31st.  He is a very active toddler, and usually very well behaved.  He's built on the smaller side.  He's about 23 pounds and around 32 inches tall.  He has just gotten into 18 month clothes...however those onesies and shirts are too small, but the pants are just right...So that's ok.  He wears size 3 diapers which he's worn for an entire year so far..but I'm pretty tiny so that's why he is built on the smaller side.

Toys and activities he loves:
  - Right now he loves his cars and trucks.  He's obsessed with them and he can just play with them all day if you let him.  He loves to color, play outside, and spend time with his grandparents.  So he's a typical toddler.

Where's he's at in his learning:
   -Now as some of you know, Liam has a speech therapist.  He's doing a lot better.  He's saying more words, and usually can repeat after hearing someone say it.  He still has a problem with the vowels, but he's getting there.  He says a few phrases and can associate the picture with what you are saying.  Now Liam has had a therapist since he was about 1 years old, because we went through a lot, where he had to wear a helmet because he had tortacollis, and he had to have occupational therapy as well as therapy within the home.  Thankfully his insurance covered all of that, and is still covering the speech therapist appointments that he has now.  In January he could only say like 2 words, now he can say like 30 words and knows like 5 different signs...we still have a long ways to go, but he's picking it up pretty well.

How I discipline Liam:
   -Disciplining Liam isn't really that hard. Now he is a toddler, he does throw tantrums, he does know how to push my buttons, but this is how I discipline him and it's what has worked for our house hold.   I use the 3 strikes your out method.  Now time out doesn't really work for him because he is so active that he doesn't really just sit anywhere for any amount of time, so once I count to three and he is still misbehaving, he goes to his room, he stays in there for 2 minutes, and then I get down on his level, explain to him in a way a 2 year old can understand that what he did was wrong, I give him a hug, tell him I love him and let him go play.  That method has been working really well for us.  Now this method may not work all the time for everyone, but for him it works really well.

What are we working on with him:
    -I am currently working on having him pick up things that he gets out or throws.  If he has food and he throws it, I make him pick it up, and throw it away.  If he gets toys out, and we are at someone's house, before we leave, I have him pick up the toys he got out.  He does this like clock work.  I show him where they go, and he picks them up one by one until they are all put away, I give him a hug, tell him I love him and thank you.  It impresses my parents how well he can remember and comprehend things so quickly.

  -Another thing we are working on is his body parts and shapes.  He can show me where his nose is, where his mouth is, where his head is, where his hair is, where his ears are and where his eyes are.  He can say socks, and he can say shirt as well.  He knows his shapes...if you ask him where the star goes, he can put it in the slot where the star goes and etc...so he's very smart.  He's amazing at puzzles.  Any puzzle you give him, he can put it together in like 10 minutes...and he remembers where they go..so if you dump it, he knows exactly where each piece goes...which his therapist said is amazing and impressive for his age.  She said that he's very intelligent and can really solve problems really fast.  If there is a solution, he will find it.

What have I learned as a young mom:
  - As a young mom, (i'll be 26 next month), I have learned to just let my child be a child.  Let him be a toddler and discover things, and get messy, and just let him be him, because that is how he learns.  It makes me so happy when he learns new things and he's just such a happy child.  So many parents and people have come up to me and have said that he's so well behaved, and he's so cute and how do I get him to listen at such a young age, because they can't get their toddlers to listen, and basically I just smile and say, I let him be him.  I make sure he knows what is right and wrong, and he knows when mommy says "no," it means "no." Now he does test me a lot, and that's expected and I just keep doing what i'm doing.  I'm very consistent with how I discipline him, and teach him, and raise him.  He signs "please," he knows how to say "thank you," because that is what I teach him...when he wants something and I don't know what he wants, I ask him to show me, and when I finally know what he wants, and he can have it, I say "what do you say? And he signs the word "please," I give it to him, and I make sure he says "thank you." So my advice to all,  is to teach your kids the way you want to teach them, no parent is perfect, not even me at all, but if you are consistent with what you are doing, they will pick things up fast and learn too.  Remember to be patient, be happy, always love your child, remember they are only children and that they will learn, and just enjoy being a parent because it's very rewarding and it's amazing.

Hope you all enjoyed this.

Note:

Now I'm also a full time college student and a wife...so that will be for another blog post on how I do all of that and be a mom.

5 Things motherhood has taught me

So today's post is going to be about being a mother.  First of all I want to say that anyone who is a mother or is going to be a mother...congratulations...enjoy it...it's a beautiful thing.  So here we go......

1) Be patient
      -As a mother, I have learned I need to be patient.  Now I have always been a pretty patient person, however when you have a child, being patient means so much more than just dealing with people.  It means that when you are in a hurry and your child is just enjoying life, because they don't need to be in a hurry, you just need to smile and tell yourself, they are just children and you need to have patience.

2) What you want goes out the window
      -As a parent you come to realize that the things that you really want, come in second place to your child.  All of a sudden you are responsible for another human being who relies on you for everything, so you need to understand that and be selfless and put your child first before yourself.

3) Pick Your Battles!!!s LOL
      -I'm am learning this as a young mom in my mid 20's.  I will be 26 here in September, and at the end of August my son will be 2 years old, and he's already acting like a 2 year old.  Matter of fact my son's birthday and my birthday are only a week apart so that's really cool.  But anyway...  Sometimes I have to remember to just pick my battles.  If he wants to keep his shoes on because he loves them, then that is ok with me, as long as he does what we are going to, whether that's getting ready to go somewhere or getting ready for bed.  I don't want to be fighting with him about his shoes because it's not that important.  So just pick your battles.  Realize that there are some things that are not going to hurt your child if they wear something, or whatever.

4) Always be prepared
       -I've also learned to be prepared for anything.  I always make sure there is an extra diaper bag that stays in my car, that has everything our normal diaper bag has in it, because I am always forgetting something, and when I forget something, I know that in the car, there is an extra set of clothes, or diapers, or toys, or whatever.  It comes in handy in case you are out in public, and your child has a melt down, or they are so messy that it's embarrassing; come on I know all you mothers have experienced this sometime in your lifetime with your children LOL, and you don't have what you need in the store because you didn't think you would need it...well have an extra set of everything in your car for those unexpected moments.

5) Always love your child no matter what & tell them that you love them
          -You should always love your child no matter what they have done or what they do.  Love is so powerful and its the one thing, that your child will remember as they get older.  I always tell my son that I love him.  I give him lots of hugs and kisses and I say I love you all the time, to the moon and back.  Yes he is young but he will remember that once he gets older.  Don't go a minute or a moment without telling your child that you love them.  Children are a blessing from God, and as their mother, we should always love them.

Question of the day:
    -What is one thing that motherhood has taught you?

The benefits of Morning Showers

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post.  Today's topic is morning showers and the benefits of them. Now personally I love morning showers because they wake me up and just get me ready for the day, however I know that some people love their night showers, and others really don't care when they take a shower as long as they take one.  So here are some benefits of morning showers.

Survey:

Herbal Essence surveyed 1000 US women ages 18-35, and found out that 90% of them said that morning showers transformed their day and it was the few times where they actually had alone time.  (www.beautystat.com)

Did you know that morning showers:
   -increases immunity
   -improves blood circulation
   -decreases stress
   -relieves coughs
   -increases fertility
   -instantly warms you up
   -improves hair conditions
 (www.venusbuzz.com)

So morning showers have amazing benefits that even I didn't know...and this was very interesting for me.  I still love morning showers, however everyone is different and whether you take a morning shower or an evening shower is up to you, as long as you just take showers and have good hygiene.

That's all for today, hope you all enjoyed the little information that was given to you, as I also found it very interesting.

Question of the day:
  -Do you like morning showers, or evening showers better...or do you not care as long as you take one?  Let me know in the comments below and have an amazing day.

What I'm Currently Reading

Hello and welcome back to my blog. I know I have been gone for a long time, but if you read my update, you will know why. You may see a few things different, look it over...hope you like it as much as I do.  Without further ado...  let's jump right into the post...What am I currently reading?  :)

So this is the book I am currently reading.  It is such a good book so far and just love it.  So I'm going to just show you what it is about because it's really hard to put into my own words, then I will tell you my thoughts thus far:  

Background

The Russian Concubine dazzled readers. Now, its gifted author delivers another sweeping historical novel.

Davinsky Labor Camp, Siberia, 1933: Only two things in this wretched place keep Sofia from giving up hope: the prospect of freedom, and the stories told by her friend and fellow prisoner Anna, of a charmed childhood in Petrograd, and her fervent girlhood love for a passionate revolutionary named Vasily.

After a perilous escape, Sofia endures months of desolation and hardship. But, clinging to a promise she made to Anna, she subsists on the belief that someday she will track down Vasily. In a remote village, she's nursed back to health by a Gypsy family, and there she finds more than refuge, she also finds Mikhail Pashin, who, her heart tells her, is Vasily in disguise. He's everything she has ever wanted but he belongs to Anna.

After coming this far, Sofia is tantalizingly close to freedom, family?even a future. All that stands in her way is the secret past that could endanger everything she has come to hold dear.

Source:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2309409.The_Red_Scarf

My thoughts thus far:

This book so far is amazing.  It's really taught me alot about how life was back then.  Labor camps were brutal and you had to work for your food.  If you didn't finish your work, you didn't get as much food as the others, or your food got rationed, to where you got less food everyday, to where one day, you may not get any. So far I have felt so humbled to live in the era that we live now.  We don't have to worry about almost starving to death, or eating bread crumbs off the floor.  These people in these labor camps, had to deal with that.  They had to deal with the harsh winters, and not having a lot of clothes on their backs.  They had to endure beatings or lashes when they were tired and felt like they could not go on any more, yet they still had to work until the people in charge(might I add, were not very nice) told them they were done for the day.  I was even reading in the first few chapters, that when it snowed really hard, they had to have a rope, and hang on that rope just to make sure they wouldn't get lost in the snow and die.  I mean WOW!!! That would be so scary, I am just so humbled by this book so far.  It's such a good book, and I can't wait to finish it.  There are about 471 pages, and there are 64 chapters.  Right now I am on chapter 15 so I have quite a lot left to go, but I am just so excited to read the rest of this, and learn the history about this book and what happens.

Question of the day/week:

What book are your currently reading?  Share in the comments below.

Just an update on why I've been MIA

Hello everyone, so I'm just going to make this a quick post. I've been MIA as some of you who follow me have noticed. It's just been a very stressful, busy past few weeks. You know when you just feel like your head is spinning with so much stuff you know you have to do or get prepared for...yea that's how it's been for me lol. I am getting things ready for the vacation my husband and I are taking in 3 weeks, and getting things in order so Liam can stay with my family for that week, getting things ready for his 2 year old birthday party here at the end of August. I've been also studying for my license, and dealing with school...because I am in college finishing my masters degree in healthcare administration...and I have a year left, so I'm thinking about after I do all of that and get a job in that...I might want to go and get my nursing degree or become a pediatrician or a therapist that works with young children....so that's all that thinking. On top I've been coming up with a new blogging schedule which is this so far: let me know if any of you think this is good. I will take mon-tues off cus those are the days I'm most busy with school and Liam's therapy, blog we'd-fri...and plan posts sat-sun.  I really like that and I feel I can really stick with that...I also want to change my blog background, get a new camera so I can start posting me singing or playing piano cus I know some of you have been asking about that and also I need new computer for school and blogging. So that is what I've been doing, thinking and of course working in my marriage cus it's been kind of rocky, and just being a mom cus I love it. So that's an update...I will be posting probably starting Wednesday on my new schedule but I wanted to update you all and let you all know what's going on. I'm trying guys lol...I'm 25, with a kid and married and it's hard at times. Especially cus I'm not working right now since I had to quit my job I had for almost a year because of some issues. Hope you all understand and thank you for all of you who have stayed with me even though I haven't blogged in awhile. I love you all and blog posts will be coming next week. Take care, have an amazing weekend and let me know how your summer has been.  I would love to hear about it😀