Today's quote...

I woke up with this quote sitting in my email inbox.

I read it while nursing Sydney, at 6:15...after she had slept through the night.  WOO HOO!

"Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

And as I pondered this quote, I decided I would like to change it.  Even though, each night I go to sleep with the mindset that tomorrow is a new day.  A new start to parenting.  A new chance to learn and grow.  But then this morning we struggled...and I felt like I was this leaf...hanging on and about to free fall if the two little boys in my life pushed my buttons any harder.

So how would I change the quote...

Each moment is a new moment; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. 

I have to remind myself that each moment during the day can be thought of as a new start.  When we start the morning with time outs, tears, and frustration...it is important to remember that with each moment we can begin again. 

I find that separating the boys and giving them 10 minutes away from each other, playing in separate areas, reminds them of how valuable they are to each other.  It gives everyone a moment to remember and a chance for a new start.  And for myself, stepping away and out of the room and breathing deeply helps too.

Because at the end of the day...it is all about finding your "mama balance" and keeping yourself in check so that you are thinking clearly, and giving those ten minutes of playing separately, or remembering to go outside for some fresh air, or letting the dishes pile up and making a jaunt to a nearby park to push your kiddo on the swing...

Because when we don't think clearly...our day of moments - overwhelmingly can look like a massive pile of pumpkins.  And not thinking clearly just means that we don't attack the given moments with our best mama strategies.

And choosing the moments to build on and which ones to toss aside and start fresh with...is what being a mama is all about. 

They need us to be smart.  To find redirection and make the most of each day...so that every moment is worthy of picking.  Because the tough and the splendid moments are what makes our job as parents "the toughest, but also the most rewarding" job on earth.

Today...make each pumpkin in your cart worthy of picking!

This is the pumpkin patch/ strawberry farm outside of Grandma Charlie's town!  We stopped and picked pumpkins on our way home from our Apple Fest weekend.

Today:

Mondays are for getting back in the swing.
Unpacking, laundry, and getting the house ready for the week.
Catching up with friends, email, and getting a card in the mail.
Possible library outing.
Raking leaves and jumping before we get rain and they are too wet to enjoy!