It is National Smile Day. It seems like a simple idea and yet how often do you smile all day? I smile when I encounter people, especially friendly ones or people I know. I smile when my daughter is being sweet or silly. I smile when I'm happy.

What if I tried to keep a smile on my face all day? Already my mind is thinking, "well I can't be smiling if I am correcting my daughter's behavior or it will send mixed messages." It's warning me, "my cheeks will be sore and it might make my jaw hurt." Before I have even tried, doubts and negativity has set in.

I am stronger than my doubts. And I am not a perfect person, which is a fact I accept. Therefore, there is no reason to not give it my best effort. Starting now, I will try to smile ALL day! If I realize I am not, I will simply start smiling again. 

I'm grateful for this little challenge. I'm grateful to see how it impacts my day. I'm grateful for positive national days to celebrate. I'm grateful for the power of a smile from a stranger. I'm grateful for the loving smiles of those dear to me. I'm grateful for my daughter's smile. And I'm grateful to share smiles as often as possible each day.
  
Who can you share a smile with today? Can you smile all day or make a similar challenge with yourself?

May today be full of smiles and friendly faces. May we choose to ignore the little voice saying we can't and just give ourselves the opportunity to try. Have a beautiful day!

My daughter loves swim lessons. She has since she was six weeks old. She just can't seem to get enough of the water. Yet for four weeks in a row she had pooped in her swim diaper requiring us to leave swim class early. 

It wouldn't have been such a big deal if she wasn't lock kneed, holding her poop in all morning. It felt like she was saving it specifically for the pool. And on week four as I walked, embarrassingly, out of the pool for the fourth week in a row to change her; she laughed about pooping in the pool. 

This week my anxiety was on edge between no sleep and being unsure how to address it. I had tried talking to her about it and telling her it was a no no. I had tried giving her foods the night before to make her poop. I had tried giving her breakfast to stop her up. And as I stood before her watching her lock her knees, refusing to go to the potty I felt overwhelmed. 

 I gave her an ultimatum. I told her if she pooped in her swim diaper, swim lessons were all done. No more swim lessons for the summer if she pooped in the pool. Then I bribed. I told her I would give her a cookie if her swim diaper stayed clean. 

When I got to swim class I shared my bribe and ultimatum with the other moms and teacher. Rather than only check her in the middle and end of class, I checked her every five minutes. Each time I checked she was clean and the whole class of moms, teacher included, would cheer for her and tell her how great it was that her swim diaper was clean. All that positive attention worked and we made it through swim class with a clean diaper.

I'm beyond grateful to have a great swim teacher for my daughter. I'm grateful for the other mom's in the class that helped me make it a big deal and a big celebration for my daughter. I'm grateful to have broken the cycle, at least for this week. I'm grateful for the wonderful village I have helping me raise my daughter, give me tips, and listen to me vent. I'm grateful to have a partner that is an active parent and helps me brainstorm. And I'm grateful for my smart, determined, sweet, social child that makes each day a new adventure.

What do you rely on your village for during challenges? Who do you consider to be your village?

May today remind us we are not alone. May we fine people to brainstorm with and people to cheer us on as we travel our path. Have a beautiful day!

Last week my daughter came down with Croup. It is a rattling cough that is caused by swelling in the windpipe. She is finally feeling better but it has come at the expense of many nights awake. 

On top of being up with her for five nights in a row, we were out of town for three of those nights. And while it was a wonderful trip, there is nothing like sleeping in my own bed. 

Last night I was in bed by nine. I was still up for a while with my daughter but it wasn't every hour anymore. When the alarm went off this morning it was a no brainer to just shut it off. My husband has the day off and my top priority was catching up on some sleep.

I was still up at 6:30 this morning but that is an extra hour and a half for me. The night was filled with weird dreams that maybe I'll submit to be made into a movie. All that mattered was it was a start on catching up on the many hours I have missed. 

I'm so grateful when priorities are so easy to make. I'm grateful to get some sleep last night. I'm grateful I was able to get my daughter back to sleep when she woke. I'm grateful to easily fall back to sleep after the alarm. I'm grateful to feel a little more rested and feel hopefully that I can continue catching up each night this week.

What priorities are easy for you to make? Are they priorities for others or for yourself? 

May today make it easy to see what's important. May we choose to care for ourselves so we can enjoy health. Have a beautiful day!

Memorial Day is a day of remembering those who we lost, whether personally or our national heroes. Yet when you ask people, many say they would rather be celebrated than mourned.

I, personally, would like to be cremated and have my ashes ride at the front of a small train that travels around the room delivering pie; this way I can be the hostess of my memorial. I would also like fun music and funny stories to be shared. And if you are having trouble getting the laughter going I know some great Laughter Yoga instructors. 

I don't need to see my loved ones crying for me. I know I will be missed and I know I am loved. I want my loved ones to cherish the time we had and the memories we created.

There is nothing wrong with taking time to go to the graves of the ones we lost. It is a beautiful gesture of love and respect. And however you choose to spend the time in reflection is up to you.

I choose to celebrate. I miss my grandparents terribly but rather than weep I plan to share funny stories and memories about these people that made a huge impact in my life. I plan to reflect on who they were and what they did that inspired me and see if any of those things can be incorporated into my life and how I live it. 

How will you choose to spend today? Who are you celebrating? How would you like to be remembered?

I'm so grateful for the wonderful people in my life; both those still alive and those who have passed. I'm grateful to spend today celebrating them and celebrating lives well lived. I'm grateful to take the lessons I learned from them and see how I can improve my own life from their lessons. I'm grateful for the legacies. And I'm grateful to celebrate rather than mourn.

May today give us time for reflection. May we find peace in our hearts and love in each moment. Have a beautiful day!

There is no question that I love my daughter. But some moments create memories that will stick in my heart forever.

Last night it was raining as I came home from work. We've had a couple rough nights in a row so I was feeling exhausted. There was a part of me that was bracing for a fussy toddler.

Instead I was met in the garage by my husband and a happy child. She was so excited about the rain and wanted to go feel it. 

As she stood out in the rain she was so tickled. She started dancing and singing "doo i diddy diddy dum diddy doo." Did I mention that I love this kid?!

She has such a great spirit and always reminds me how to have fun. We had a great evening and it was the perfect reminder to not expect the worst, no matter how little sleep we've had.

I'm so grateful for my daughter who can always put a smile on my face. I'm grateful for her love of being outside. I'm grateful for the much needed rain and the even more needed reminder to get out and play in it. I'm grateful to for my daughter's love of music that extends beyond just kids' songs. And I'm grateful to be learning some stellar dance moves! I'm grateful for a good laugh too.

When was the last time you danced in the rain? Who reminds you to just let loose and play?

May today remind us to get a little silly. May we see how important it is to jut dance in each moment. Have a beautiful day!

Growing up it was just my brother and me. I always wanted a whole bunch of siblings like my parents had growing up. The more siblings, the more fun shenanigans, right? And the more siblings to disperse being picked on. (Yes, I was the younger one getting picked on.)

I have always had a bad habit of putting people on pedestals. While somewhere in my rational mind I knew my brother made mistakes, he still fit nicely on this superhero pedestal. Yeah he may pick on me and he got in some trouble from time to time with my parents but he could also swoop in to protect me and make me feel better when I was sad.

Yesterday I was reminded again that my brother is human. He is not invincible to injury despite what I (and sometimes he) tends to believe. Luckily, in the grand scheme of possibilities the challenge he faces now is small and mendable. 

There is a part of me that feels surprised but even Superman has his kryptonite. I know he will be fine and I trust there will still be plenty of shenanigans for us to get into. 

I'm grateful to see that today is National Brother's Day. I'm grateful to have a great brother. I'm grateful for all the ways he made me tough as well as all the times he came to my rescue. I'm grateful to know he doesn't belong on a pedestal and equally grateful to allow him to keep the cape. I'm grateful to know that he can overcome any obstacle. 

Who is your brother? Is he family or a close friend? Who are you grateful for today?

May today remind us that family comes first. May we remember that no one is perfect but there are still plenty of superheroes walking around in plain clothes. Have a beautiful day!

Today is National Lucky Penny Day. Do you remember as a kid, or yesterday, the excitement of finding a lucky penny on the sidewalk? "Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck."

This is a good lesson in perspective though. The penny you found, someone else lost. Granted, a penny doesn't go far, so most people don't worry about a lost penny. But the same is true for other instances too. The job you got hired for means someone else did not and so on. Each person's perspective around the same incident is different.

I don't point this out to have you feel bad about the job you got or the penny you find or anything else wonderful that is happening. Everything happens for a reason and I believe ultimately it is in each of our best interest how things turn out.

I point this out because yesterday I had a crappy day. Between feeling embarrassed and frustrated and crying in a parking lot for ten minutes in the morning, weathering more frustrations, and then finding myself crying in frustration as I trudged around picking up dog poop in the afternoon; it was a rough day. 

Even though the evening went better, when my calendar alert came up last night at bedtime and said today was National Lucky Penny Day; there was a part of me that said, "where was my lucky penny TODAY?!" But then I had to remind myself, the luck isn't IN the penny. The luck is in the perspective. The penny is just the token to remind us.

I had plenty of pennies yesterday from my daughter napping long enough for me to get some flowers planted to having dinner cooked for me and getting to spend the evening with family. I even got a private concert from my uncle as he sang and played guitar for my daughter. There just happened to be some gum on the sidewalk too and that was the perspective I chose to take on the day.

Today I will try to choose to focus on the pennies. Not only will I try to keep my perspective focused on the positive things; I will drop some pennies for other people too. I don't mean literally...well maybe a couple. I mean I will do positive things for people like hold a door, be kind, help someone out so that when they reflect on their day hopefully they see the pennies more than the gum.

I'm grateful for the reminder last night that it is my choice how I react to my day. I'm grateful to start fresh today. I'm grateful to accept how I chose to see and respond to yesterday without judgement. I'm grateful to know we all have challenges. I'm grateful to have allowed the tears to flow yesterday rather than hold on to it. I'm grateful that even with a less than optimal start this morning I am choosing to look for the pennies because today is going to be a great day!

What pennies can you focus on today? What good things are going on in your life? What kind gestures can you share today to give someone else "pennies" to focus on?

May today remind us to look for the positive. May we spread love and kindness and receive the same in return. Have a beautiful day! 

Each month I set goals around a specific area of my life in the belief that by the end of the year I will have made twelve lasting changes. I call it Project Joy because each month focuses on a way to bring me more joy in that area of life.

For example, in April my goal was to increase my laughter. Specifically the goal was to laugh twice for real or do a minimum of five minutes of Laughter Yoga. The goal stemmed from recognizing all the times I found something funny but simply mused about it inside. Laughter is not only good for the spirit but it is good for the diaphragm and core muscles, as well as the release of endorphins.

May's monthly theme is centered around playfulness and my goal was less specific. At the end of each day when I checked in, I found it hard to determine if I had actually met my goal. Was playing with my daughter, as I do every day, enough to meet the criteria? If so, what was this goal improving? I tweaked it several times and eventually settled on responding to my daughter's moments of struggle in a more playful way (when appropriate). Finding silly ways to redirect when I could see a meltdown on the horizon was a little clearer but still required some contemplation at the end of the day as to whether or not I met my goal.

Yesterday I met with a friend to prepare our goals for June. June's theme is friendship and connection. I love that the themes are open to a wide possibility of goals. And while there were several ways I could have taken it, I learned last month that specific is better. 

I'm grateful for clear and specific goals. I'm grateful for goals that increase the positivity and joy in my life. I'm grateful to know that making twelve smaller goals a year makes for big changes by the end. I'm grateful to have an accountability partner and a notebook to record my success and struggles each day. I'm grateful for the friendships I have, both old and new. I'm so grateful for the people I choose to surround myself with that are loving and supportive and I'm grateful to give back this month. 

What goals do you have for the month or year? What vision are you working toward? Who helps you stay on track?

May today remind us that change is a beautiful process. May we find support and love in the relationships we hold dear. Have a beautiful day!

This weekend my husband and I celebrated three years of marriage. My daughter spent her first night away from me as my husband and I went out for a romantic excursion. 

We choose to celebrate by taking the Kansas Belle Dinner Train. It is a three hour trip in a restored dining car from the forties. 

The food just kept coming as we sat and talked as the train meandered down the tracks. It was a perfect way to connect and spend the evening together.

The dinner train is something I have wanted to do for a few years, mostly because I LOVE trains. And we will have to go again sometime because there is also an option of a murder mystery that we skipped this time to just enjoy each others company. 

There were a couple hiccups to the evening but we chose to focus on the big picture, who we were there with, and celebrating our special evening. Our choice paid off. We had a great time!

I'm grateful to get away for a romantic anniversary celebration. I'm grateful to get to ride a train! I'm grateful for my husband's ability to plan amazing evenings. I'm grateful to allow myself to be giddy and overjoyed. I'm grateful for the wonderful staff and the owner who brought such a fun idea to Kansas. And I'm grateful to "choo"-se to focus on all the bright spots of a wonderful evening!

What will you choose? What would be a great evening for you?

May today remind us perception is everything. May we choose to spend our time with those who are important to us. May we create memories that last. Have a beautiful day!

As usual I have a to do list a page long plus a long playdate scheduled for my daughter. I have a tendency to make my lists way longer than I could actually complete in one day because I alot ten to twenty minutes for chores that will take an hour. There is always something to get done or something needing cleaned.

Last night I listed some of the things I needed to get done today to my husband. I was talking about which things have to be juggled with an awake toddler, like vacuuming, and which things are best done when she is asleep. He asked for another thing to be done and we discussed how that would best fit in on the sleeping child list.

As I fell asleep I had a dream that seemed a little ridiculous at first. I was planning and hosting a baby's first birthday party. It wasn't my own child but was clearly someone important to me because I was going all out. Then I learned it would be a dual child party with the original baby's cousin also turning one. The signs needed redone and color scheme needed tweaked to fit the second family.

Then I got a call. In the call my husband's beloved uncle (not a real one) had passed away. His family was so torn up and needing someone to make the arrangements for a memorial. I took it on, even attempting to make a scrapbook within the two day window I had. 

The memorial rolled around just hours before the double birthday party was to take place. As I was putting the final touches on the scrapbook, while the family watched a photo video of their uncle, another family member came to me and asked if I would help plan him and his fiancé's wedding. It seems that with the passing of the uncle they decided love was too important to wait and they wanted to say their vows within the week. Of course I said yes. How do you say no to love?

Obviously this is a far cry from my actual list that includes things like cleaning the toys my toddler played with right before getting sick last weekend and watering the grass seed. But sometimes we need to extreme and ridiculously outrageous insight to understand a more common issue.

Which parts stood out to me? The death of the beloved uncle reflected the knowledge that my beloved dog is dying before my eyes. I have been watching as she has gone downhill for months and I know the time with her is very limited. Yet I have designated very little time to just be with her, cuddle her, and cherish our last days or weeks. 

The part about the marriage and love being so important reflected how much I love to just spend time with my husband. We will be celebrating our anniversary this weekend but spending time just hanging out with him could definitely appear on the to do list more often. And even taking time with my daughter, just the two of us, outside of playdates and lunch dates and running errands. Perhaps so far as saying, forget the to do list, let's just play cars and read books together in this moment because she is growing fast. What is more important than enjoying this time together?

I'm grateful for my lists that help me stay on top of things. I'm grateful for the pride a feel in checking things off. Yet I'm equally grateful to see how blowing off the list or adding more heart-based things to the list would be so beneficial. I'm grateful for the dream last night that seemed both outrageous and also like something I really would attempt if asked. I'm grateful for my big heart and generosity. I'm grateful for the reminder on what is important and that my family trumps the chores. And I'm grateful to strive to find a balance.

What is on your to do list? Do you schedule time for your loved ones? Do you schedule more than can actually get done?

May today remind us to find balance. May we add the things that fill our hearts with joy and love to the list and prioritize accordingly. Have a beautiful day!