Goals are dreams...

Goals are dreams with a deadline...

Feeling the need to set some serious goals for myself this year! Long story short, I feel like it's really time to start fine tuning some things here in the Parker household.

I was going to write my goals down each week in a notebook but then realized a better place would be here. That way they will never be lost or suddenly turned into a craft project by Titan. :) Plus, as my husband is ALWAYS saying, "We need to simplify" and one of the ways I want to simplify is fewer papers and files! And, I feel like putting my goals out there to be read will help with my accountability as well. :)

So here it goes, my goals for this week:

Household:
1) Clear out clutter in our bedroom and Kitchen. Find everything a home and make sure everything is in it's home or in storage.
2) Take at least 50 items to Goodwill
3) Make our bed daily.

Titan:
1) Set up chore chart for him. Have him start being more accountable.
2) Work on Titan completely dressing himself each morning. (I know, he should be able to do this, but I get caught up in thinking he's my baby and not the capable 4 year old that his is).
3) Spend  focused one-on-one time with him for at least one hour a day Mon-Fri outside of just co-existing in the same house & doing the daily routine type of stuff. :) Make time educational or active. (Can be one complete hour or split up into smaller increments)

Personal:
1) Read a new book. (This week either Anticancer or Make Every Day Friday)
2) Wake up earlier in the mornings. Going to shoot for a 6:00am wake up time so I have 90 minutes before work to get prepped for the day. Along with this, participate in Money Saving Mom's Early Morning Challenge.
3) Set clear goals for the rest of the year & write them down so I have better focus for my weekly goals.

Health:
1) 3 HIIT Workout Sessions and 3 Strength Training Sessions that are at least 15 minutes each.
2) Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
3) Eat at least 3 servings of veggies a day.

And I think that is a good start...

I'll report back next Monday! :)

Christmas 2012

Christmas was SO much fun for our little family this year. We had a blast decorating our Christmas tree, doing lots of Mommy & Me Christmas Projects, visiting family in UT, seeing the reindeer at Thanksgiving Point, visiting Temple Square and so much more! 

Looking back, we sure did cram A LOT into 31 days. So much that I figure the best way to recap our Christmas is just to do a post with all our photo's! A picture is worth a 1,000 words right?!? 

Decorating our Christmas Tree! It was so much fun finally putting up a tree! (We haven't put up a tree since our first Christmas together 6 years ago) 

December Enrichment Activity: Learning to Decorate with Fondant & Emergency Prepardness! 

Ti's Gingerbread House that he made on a Play Date! So cute! 

Writing our letters to Santa! Ti's letter was adorable & so much fun to put together! 

Festival of Lights Parade! 

Electric Safari at the Zoo! 

Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes! Ti loved that two of them together make a heart!  

Christmas Kisses Matching Game! Another fun Christmas project we did together! 

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shakes at Chick-Fil-A! I was introduced to this yummy yummy shake this year and absolutely loved it! Thank heavens it is only available seasonally!

Dryer's Peppermint Ice Cream! Another seasonal treat in our house! No other peppermint ice cream quite compares! (Can you tell I like peppermint?!?)

Making Pizza for Christmas Camp! (Christmas Eve all of the little cousins on my side get together and we have lots of activities planned to help make the day pass a little quicker. Some of this years activities included making reindeer food & a Nativity Guessing Game!)

Temple Square & City Creek 

Yummy Christmas Treats! This fruit candy cane was a big hit! 

Crazy Little Man getting into the Christmas spirit with a Santa Hat and dance! 

Ti making Reindeer Food! (Also part of Christmas Camp) 

Broc painting some of his Pathfinder Miniatures! 

Making Sugar Cookies with Grandma Cindy! 

Christmas Eve with the Ross Family! Ti loves hanging out with Broc's cousins Boston & Brody! 

Ti opening his gift from Great Grandma & Grandpa Ross. The present was literally bigger than he was!  (A little worried about finding a home for this in our apartment when we get back to Colorado - LOL) 

Christmas Morning! Ti was moving too fast to get a non blurry photo! :) 

Love all the cousins in their jammies Christmas morning! 

Ti watching the Disney Parade! 

Ti with some new Preschool books from Santa! 

Our little family Christmas morning 2012! 

This Christmas Ti loved putting the bows on his head, cheeks, etc. Too cute! 

This month we also spend lots of time at Grandma Cindy's Megaplex (as Ti calls it). We were able to see Twilight, Les Miserables & Rise of the Guardians the week after Christmas! 

Christmas Break it seems we always find ourselves playing lots of games with family, this year included Pathfinder! 

New Years Eve we got together with my Mom & brother's family for a game night. The first game of the night was Ticket to Ride and I somehow managed to score the lowest score in Trost family history! 

Luckily I did better playing Dominion! 

And we ended the night & the year with poppers! Ti had to get a quick lesson on popper safety from Uncle Aaron. He didn't quite understand that if you hold it at the wrong end, it could be dangerous! 

And that is our month of December! We had lots of fun, spent lots of time with family & friends, gave and received lots of presents, talked a lot about the true meaning of Christmas and all in all had an amazing month! I honestly cannot believe it came and went as fast as it did. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun! 

Today

Source: backonpointe.tumblr.com via Cambria on Pinterest

Saw this on Pinterest a while back and have decided it deserves a spot on our fridge. Right where we can see it each and every day! 

I love all the things listed in it! Create...spread love...inspire yourself...fill your body with fuel - what great reminders each and every morning. 

Today has been filled with a little work, meal planning for the next week, snuggling (little man is still a little under the weather), christmas fun (Gotta love being able to watch Santa feed his reindeer via live webcame! What did people do before the internet? ;) ), figuring out insurance, cleaning, etc. It's days like today that I sit back and think, is this really my life? Do I really get to do this day in and day out? 

Yes. Yes I do. I love being a mom. I love working from home. I love running a home & I love that I have a husband who supports me in all this. Life is good! :)

12-12-12

Is it really December? This year has seriously flown by! I swear I blink and 3 months have passed!

I've been looking for the perfect "excuse" to start writing back here on the blog and never could quite find the right place to start. I think the problem was I kept feeling like I needed to catch up. Then, I realized that today is 12-12-12 and figured, why not? What better excuse could I need then it being a super cool date. Plus, I have thrown trying to "catch up" out the window. It's never going to happen. And, I'm starting to be ok with that. :) It is what it is...

Anyway, in honor of 12-12-12 I've decided to put together my 12 favorite photo's that I've taken so far this month. I was surprised at how hard it was to narrow it down to just 12! Instagram and I have become close friends since I upgraded my phone to a smartphone! ;)

Enough with the talking though & onto the photo's...

YAY! Our Christmas Tree from 6 years ago still has working lights!  Our cute little tree has been in storage the past 5 Christmas's and I was so happy when we found out it was still in tip top condition! 

What gets me through the month! ;) 

 Decorating our Christmas Tree! This was SO much fun with Titan this year! 

Family Pathfinder! (The things you do for your kid...) ;)

Festival of Lights Parade! Memo to self: Go much earlier next year! LOL 

Bonfire with Friends! 

Letter to Santa! 

Titan was so cute, as I was cutting the pictures he supervised to make sure nothing was cut off. You know, so the elves can see exactly how to make it! :) 

Titan's WAY overdue haircut. I cut Broc's but have very little patience for cutting Ti's. At the appointment he told the hairstylist exactly what to do: "It's a 3. And don't forget the top. And I don't like me ears cut." LOL 

Electric Safari at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! Can't wait to get a season pass to this zoo in the Spring! 

Making Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes and eating Strawberry Santa Hats! Ti loved how the two candy canes made a heart! 

Some Candy Kiss Matching! Match an uppercase letter with a lowercase letter and the chocolate is all yours! Totally my kind of game! :)

And last but not least, it's been a sick day around here. Luckily nothing clorox wipes, some gatorade and LOTS of Christmas movies can handle! 

Well, I'm off to watch another round of Kung Fu Panda Christmas and snuggle with the little man. 

Here's to the last 19 days in 2012! 

(And to hopefully documenting them better than I've documented the last few months...) ;)

Parenting with Positive Guidance eCourse | Starts Sept. 12th

A little while ago I came across the site Not Just Cute. Let me just say, this site has literally (and quickly) become one of my favorite sites! The first thing that actually caught my attention about this site was the header, it reads "Not Just Cute - Intentional Whole Child Development".

Intentional Whole Child Development. Now, that is a statement I could get behind. (Funny, in a few area's of my life the word "intention" keeps popping up, more about that later though.) Of course, that wasn't the only thing that caught my eye, as I continued to read the articles on the site, I read one after the other and all were "ah ha" moments. As in, I was thinking, "Yes! That is the type of parent I want to be." or "Yes! That is the type of child I want to raise."

Here is just one quote from the site that caught my attention:

""Success” as a parent isn’t about keeping our children from facing challenges or experiencing pain (as tempting as it is to try).  It’s about being there to comfort, love, support, and — when necessary — apologize.  It’s not something we track on a tally sheet of our mistakes, it’s an ongoing process of connecting and reconnecting."

I've been thinking A LOT lately about the type of mom and role model I want to be and almost everything on this site reflected my thoughts and who I want to become as a parent.  I am not really a believer in reward systems or bribery, I don't believe in comparing children or putting them down in order to make them behave & I also am not a fan of spanking or time out's. Have I used those things though? Yes. In moments of frustration I have. That isn't what I want to be the norm though. And, truthfully, had they worked effectively, I wouldn't have been searching for articles on how to be a better parent and I wouldn't have come across the Not Just Cute site. 

In my opinion, if all those things work so well, we wouldn't all still be buying parenting books or tuning into the latest episode of Dr. Phil trying to figure out how to better connect with our kids.  We continue to use those methods though because they are the easiest in the moment, or at least that's why I've found why I revert to them. It's lazy and easy parenting. Of course, it's also not doing my son any favors in the long run. 

I want to be parenting & teaching out of inspiration and love versus frustration and negativity. And, that is why I love the Not Just Cute site so much. It shows you amazing alternatives to all those things! Things I've known I should be doing, but have just gotten sidetracked from or forgotten about since my days studying education at BYU-Idaho! 

So, imagine my excitement when I saw that Amanda (author of Not Just Cute) is now offering a Parenting with Positive Guidance eCourse!

Of course, first I figured I should try out her book, Parenting with Positive Guidance & make sure the eCourse would really be worth my time. 

In all honesty, I am now only part of the way through the book, and it already further affirms my love for this site and the information it provides. The books talks about how to teach your children to have inner discipline. Something I have had high on my list for how I want to teach Titan. I don't just want to bribe him to be good, or force him to be good. I want him to have the inner discipline and direction to be good himself, through his own choices & actions at as early of an age as possible. Yet at the same time I want him to also understand that he is part of a family, that certain thing are expected of him & that our lives are not meant to be wasted away. I've seen plenty a "good" kid who doesn't really get into trouble, but who also really isn't accomplishing much outside of their own wants & their own little world. 

Another thing that I think is awesome about the site is that Amanda is completely honest in that she tells you upfront that she is not offering a quick fix or a magic solution. What she is offering though are tips and insights into how to intentionally focus on whole child development, as opposed to just short term fixes. 

I love that she says the process will be hard & it will be challenging but that once you do it for a while, what was once challenging will become easy, or at least easier & the pay off will be worth it! :) Isn't that the truth with anything though? 

The Parenting with Positive Guidance eCourse starts September 12th (so you have a few days to sign up and join me in the course). 

Or, if you're not up for a full course right now, you could try out the Parenting with Positive Guidance Book instead. (It really is an awesome resource!)

I am so excited to take this course and to spend some time really focusing on how we are raising and parenting Titan! 

*****

About the Author of Not Just Cute & Parenting with Positive Guidance 

Amanda Morgan is a proud graduate of Utah State University who holds a BA in both elementary and early childhood education and an MS in childhood development.  She has a wealth of experience in classrooms ranging from preschool to sixth grade and has taught in private, public, and migrant schools.  In addition, she currently teaches preschoolers and works as a consultant and trainer for a non-profit children’s organization.  She enjoys teaching other teachers and parents about child development and teaching strategies.

Restaurant Review & Giveaway | Cafe Bella Rue

Are you guys ready? I am so excited to tell you guys all about a new restaurant that I've come across!

In July, Titan and I were able to attend a blogger event at a new local place in Utah called Cafe Bella Rue. We went to the event with my sister and her daughter Lily and I absolutely fell in love with the place.

In fact, Titan and I both loved the place so much that we decided to take a special trip back this last Tuesday so that Broc could try it out as well!

Cafe Bella Rue | Menu

For those of you who aren't familiar with Cafe Bella Rue, they are a cafe located at 11259 Kestrel Rise Rd in South Jordan, UT. Their food is ridiculously yummy and both times I've been there, the service has been awesome as well. Plus, they are kid friendly! (Always, always on the look out for places that are kid friendly & not fast food).

Here is what Cafe Bella Rue has to say about themselves on their site:

"Café Bella Rue embraces the traditions of European cafés where life slows for family and friends to gather to enjoy great food and tasty treats."

I will admit, sometimes I read a restaurants description and I wonder if they have met themselves, or even been in their own restaurant. With Cafe Bella Rue though, what they claim and describe is really exactly what you get. 

This cafe would be the perfect place for a play date, a big family dinner, a girls night out, a date night or really any event you can think of. They are that versatile. 

Plus, their menu has so many yummy options that you wouldn't mind going on Monday for a quick breakfast, Thursday for a play date and then Saturday night for a date night. (You're wallet might start to mind because you are eating out every night, but you sure wouldn't). ;)

Here are some photo's from both our visits & some more info about the cafe:

Grapefruit Water | Love touches like this at a restaurant! 

Cafe Bella Rue | Cousins being silly!

Splash Pad | Located right outside Cafe Bella Rue

Ti and his cousin Lily LOVED the Splash Pad that is just outside Cafe Bella Rue. Their location really is ideal for a play date or lunch out with friends. You can order lunch or grab some gelato and then move to their outdoor tables to enjoy some fun in the sun. Moms can talk and kids can play. Does it get any more perfect than that? 

Plus, on the weekend during the the summer they have FREE outdoor concerts going on in the park right next to their building. And in the winter, they have live music inside. I'm telling you, their location is perfect and they have thought of everything. 

Decisions. Decisions.

Cafe Bella Rue | Raspberry Cheesecake Gelato

The first time we went to Cafe Bella Rue I ordered the raspberry cheesecake gelato and it was ridiculously yummy! (Side note: Did you know that gelato is 80% healthier for you than ice cream?)

Titan and his cousin both really like their gelato! It was the perfect way to end a fun afternoon out. Plus,  they needed a little something to cool them off after all the running they had been doing at the splash pad. 

Cafe Bella Rue | Titan & Broc 

Here we are back again. This time though we made sure to bring Broc! We were told the Maserati and the Ferrari sandwiches were the most popular on the menu and so that what is we ordered. Both sandwiches were amazing! 

Love America's Got Talent. :)

Ti takes testing out our drinks very seriously. Look at that concentration as he tries out their raspberry italian soda. 

We can now say their italian soda's are Titan tested & Titan approved. He gave them a VERY BIG thumbs up! He also really enjoyed their pizza and the Capri Sun drink that he got in his kids meal. 

I personally loved my strawberry italian soda. The raspberry was just ok in my opinion, but the strawberry was ridiculously good. Apparently Titan begs to differ. ;)

My sandwich. Love that is was on artisan flat bread & love how FRESH all the ingredients were. I am not normally a roast beef fan and I ate this entire sandwich and wished there was more! So glad I listened to the girl at the counter who recommended that I not switch out the roast beef for something else. 

Delish! 

Sweet potato fries! We all enjoyed digging into these. I especially enjoyed their take on fry sauce. Very very yummy. Plus, I think it's awesome that they have sweet potato fries and not just regular potato fries. I always thinks it's great when I can get Titan to branch out and eating different things. 

The gelato & sorbetto! I learned while we were there testing out the various flavors (they are more than happy to let you taste a few until you settle on a favorite) that Cafe Bella Rue has the largest selection of italian ice cream in Utah! I'm telling you, they are awesome!  We probably tried 10-15 different flavors and there were only one or two that weren't to my liking. And that was more just personal preference than the actual gelato. 

The second time we went, Ti ordered a flavor called ACE. It's called that because it contains vitamins A, C & E. How great is that? Ti gets a yummy dessert and a healthy dose of vitamins all at the same time. 

The Specials! Do you see their breakfast list? Waffles $2.99? Gelato waffle only $4.99? Not bad pricing at all. I am definitely heading back sometime to try that gelato waffle out. 

 

 I  love that they have various other specials happening through out the week. For example, Wednesday is Kids Wednesday. Each Wednesday, kids get a FREE meal with any sandwich, dinner salad or whole pizza purchased ALL day long! (Tip: That means if you do decide to go here for play group before the weather turns cold, you will definitely want to go on Wednesday!) :)

Or on Monday they have Mangia Mangia Monday. Mangia Mangia is an italian saying that means Eat Eat! (Can't you just picture an Italian mom who has just finished cooking for her large italian family calling that out?) During this special you can get an awesome deal on pizza and drinks for your entire family. For example, a cheese pizza is only $7.99 and fountain drinks for only $.50 each! Talk about a great excuse to get out of the kitchen and enjoy some family time together on a Monday night!

Lots of yummy drinks and treats to choose from! 

And don't you worry, I made sure to try out the italian sipping chocolate. I mean, cooler weather will soon be upon us, so I figured it was time to start looking ahead and seeing if this place could handle all four seasons or if summer is just their specialty. Once fall hits, I trade in my diet coke for hot chocolate and I take my hot chocolate very seriously. 

So what did I think? I think their italian sipping chocolate is beyond good. In fact, it has quite possibly ruined boxed hot chocolate from the grocery store for me forever. It was that good & so different from most hot chocolates. A lot richer and creamier. (I guess that is why it is called sipping hot chocolate) ;)

All in all, our little family loved this restaurant. It was family friendly. It was clean. The staff was amazing. The food was fresh & super yummy. They have a prime location. And, they are very focused helping each and every customer have a great experience. There are so many restaurants that just want to herd you in and out now. It was definitely nice to find & enjoy a night out out a restaurant/cafe that isn't that way. 

*****

Want to know the BEST news? 

Cafe Bella Rue has given me a $25 Cafe Bella Rue Gift Card to give out to one lucky reader! 

(See told you they were all about making the customer happy!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So if you are wanting to run out this second and try out their strawberry italian soda... or their delicious sweet potatoes fries... or one of their 34 flavors of gelato... make sure you enter to win!

I'm telling you, if you live in Daybreak you absolutely need to enter & if you live anywhere else in Utah you also need to absolutely enter (it's totally worth the drive) and if you live out of state but will be traveling to Utah, you need to absolutely enter as well. In fact, you need to add them to your travel agenda right now. Not kidding! :) 

Good luck! 

Special thanks to Cafe Bella Rue for sponsoring this post & the Giveaway. Of course, while this post was sponsored, all opinions are 100% my own.