Spending Undivided Time With Your Household This Christmas....And Avoiding Consumerism.

not my photo.
image  from http://wallpapers-xs.blogspot.com/

I have a huge issue with consumerism lately. I used to be one of those people who "shopped til you dropped", unfortunately that lead to excess stuff I didn't need, wasted money, and generally made me more unhappy than if I hadn't bought the items in the first place.

How many candles do you really need? What about the endless amounts of scented lotions that end up thrown out? Or the clothes that go unworn and end up donated or trashed ( please don't trash them!)? 

I just ran across this news report: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101276268

It appears that ToysRUs will be open 87 hours straight for shoppers to get their last minute shopping in.  It appears that Kohl's has decided to stay open for 100 hours straight. 

All of this happening after Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc.
 Is all of this really necessary? 
Do we really need STUFF that badly, or are we all trying to fill a void?

 For many that void can be time that is uncomfortable around family and friends, others the over inflated ego that comes with giving an expensive presents, for others just the compulsive feeling to BUY BUY BUY.

 I get it. I understand. I broke the habit. I am STILL uncluttering from years ago due to the need for "just in case" items, and " I can't throw away because Aunt Sally gave me" presents.

Honestly, our time with our families gets interrupted so much through out the holidays. Wouldn't it be great to sit down with your kids on Christmas day? No phone calls, no clutter? Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy Christmas movies, a big breakfast, and bake a birthday cake for Baby Jesus?

The time you spend UNDIVIDED with your kids goes a long way, and they deserve it. The traditions you have with your children set the traditions they have with their children. I think that the love they feel will spread the love to their children and beyond.

Do we really need 100 hours of shopping without stop? Do we need to fight the crowds on Black Friday for the best deal? What are our children seeing and learning from this? What is  the take away message?

How loved can our children feel if we are sitting with our iPhone's glued to our ears or faces on the Christmas holiday? Sure, the texts and Merry Christmas's do give me a boost, but is it really necessary when I have already sent a card? Could talk to these people at other times? Do I need hour long phone chats while my child is playing on the floor? How is that condusive to family time?

These things all swim through my mind this season.
  To my loved ones: You may not get a Merry Christmas text on Christmas day this year, if you call it may go unanswered until it is convenient for ME. It is nothing personal, I am just playing with my daughter and her new kitchen, or finally getting a few minutes to sit with my Hubby who has a day off. Maybe we are in the middle of cooking dinner or watching a Christmas movie.

You won't see us rush to a ton of stores. You won't see us in the return lines either. You won't hear us worried about our wishlist or what we did/didn't get for Christmas either. 

We are the ReInvented Household. We call ourselves ReInvented for a reason. We are ReInventing our lives, and asking others to join us. We want to have better relationships with each other, our child, and YES our family and friends. One on one time is so much more important than the hustle & bustle. It is so much more important than the presents.

Ok, so you are uncomfortable at a family gathering?  Play a game instead.  Do you really need presents to connect? Chances  are you hate that ugly sweater anyway, and the gift you are giving someone else probably isn't their cup of tea either. Put the wine down, put the food down, put the presents down....put the credit card down. Take a breath and look around at the atmosphere, the people you are with, your children, your pets. Spend time. Turn off your phones & just be with the people who are with you.....you can talk to the others another day.

This is how I feel. Hubby and I aren't showering each other with gifts this year, and I am sure the stores hate us for it. Who cares. I am perfectly happy if we don't buy each other a thing. Love is all we need.

Baby A on the other hand is going to enjoy her new toy kitchen, and mommy & daddy are going to have a lot of home cooked meals prepared by Chef Baby A :) 

Do you feel the holidays have become too much about consumerism? Do you feel the need to BUY BUY BUY? Do you have trouble finding uninterupted time on the holidays with your children because of phone calls & texts?

Please share below! I would love to hear from you!! All opinions welcome!!

Nature Walks, Rediscovering Self, and The Joy of Being a Parent.

not my photo. forgot to take forest pictures i was having too much fun. enjoy this stock photo instead.

This is one of those posts where I ramble...so stick with me if you don't mind.

I just had the most incredible weekend....and it didn't cost money.

It was like a vacation, a mini vacation, one where you still get to sleep in your own bed and get home for dinner on time. The best kind of vacation in my mind.

Hubby and I took Baby A out into nature. We have been making it a goal to get as much sunshine and fresh air in our lives as possible. Every single day that it is not raining or snowing or storming, we are outside, even if a bit chilly out...we just bundle up and get outside.

It is refreshing to get outdoors after a long winter, especially with how bad a toll the weather took on my body. My pain levels were high and my mobility limited....but with the weather getting nicer and going outside, I am feeling better!

It is amazing how God has provided us with such a beautiful planet.

Walking through the forest, doing a little climbing, searching for chaga ( and possibly finding some but not on a birch, and high up so have to go back?!), and walking by streams....it was a fairy tale experience.

Anyone who knows me, knows that when I was younger, I did not want anything to do with nature. I was your typical junk food, sterilized environment, trendy, full faced makeup kind of person. I was this way up until I started to change my life in late 2006. I have very slowly and gradually gotten back into health and nature. It is really only this year ( and the end of the summer last year), that I have truly appreciated and taken advantage of the beauty and benefits of nature.

image from redbubble.net

That being said, I have to make a point to those who care less about nature, PLEASE STOP THROWING YOUR POP CANS, PLASTIC BAGS, GARBAGE, AND MCDONALD'S CUPS (or any other trash), INTO NATURE. I cannot believe how much junk I saw just tossed into the beautiful areas where we hiked. In addition, in one park, I saw someone dumped trash just a few feet away from the garbage can....PURE LAZINESS.

Now that my rant is over, I have to say that spending almost the entire weekend in nature with Hubby and Baby A, I feel so much more connected to my family.

My little family is such a blessing to me. Seeing how content Baby A was and watching her learn new things outside was so exciting to me. I feel lucky to be a mother.

The rest of the weekend was filled with late night runs to Walmart in search of a ball pit. Which we successfully...did not find....:( It seems a lot of ball pits are being discontinued? I checked Targets website and did not see any in stock either. It looks like a trip to ToysRUs may be in order. I love the ball pit because it encourages activity and imagination without her face glued to a screen all day.

this is what Baby A's ball pit looks like. It sprung a leak, but I can't seem to find anywhere else. image from target.com

On the plus side we found a filing cabinet while we were out shopping, it locks too which will be perfect with our daughter as she likes to open and close drawers. I can finally get my paperwork organized.

not my photo. this is what my filing cabinet looks like but minus the wheels.

Another great part of the weekend was on Saturday when I got an intense 1 hour of weight training in at the gym and 20 min. HIIT work out on the treadmill. I felt so alive and accomplished.

Over the past several years I have been on a long journey to rediscovering myself. I really hope that you will browse the blog. Even over the past year I have changed drastically ( just check my recipes, there is something for people of all walks in their healthy journey). I am continuing to change and get back into nature.

Life is too short not to appreciate the beauty of the wonder in our childrens eyes when they see a cardinal or a blue jay. The excitement of finding something difficult to find. The adventure of exploration. The comfort of being with family. The energy and warmth of the sun on your face. 

Get outside. Get moving. Replenish your body with nutrients. Grow.

This was one of the best weekends ever. I hope every weekend will

be as good as this one.

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today marks what would have been my father's 51st birthday. 

Sadly, he died August 15, 2011 after a long battle with colon cancer.

Me & My Dad July 2010

Even though he is not here, I would like to celebrate his birthday.

This birthday celebration is for the life he lived! The wonderful 50 years he had on this earth.

My Dad

But I don't want you all to know about him for his cancer. 

I want to share with you what a wonderful man he was.

Labor Day 2009

My father was the kind of man who would bring food to a homeless man on the corner of the road, take a lost teenager under his wing, help those in need. He cared about each and every person he met, no matter who they were, or what they believed.

My whole life, I remember growing up with a father who loved me and who loved my siblings, and who loved my mother with his whole heart.

And more importantly, he loved God.

He never let anything distract him from his family or from God. 

He was a man who made sacrifices of things he wanted or needed to take care of us and others.

My Dad doing what he did best.

I have taken a lot of lessons from my father but three stand out in my mind.

Live life with love.

Be selfless.

Respect yourself and others.

So, as I go about my day on January 28, 2012 , I will remember all the birthdays that we celebrated with my father & all the years I had with him.

Happy Birthday Dad! 
Today is a celebration of you!

My Dad's 50th Birthday 1-28-11

I love you Dad.

❤
 Lolli

This year Dad, we are sending your birthday wishes up to Heaven.
(balloon photo source: photobucket)