I am so, so excited to share some amazing news with you all! If you’ve been reading around here for a while, you will probably remember my Go Mighty project from earlier this year (click here to catch up if you have no idea what I’m talking about…). At the completion of that project, the company Olay was kind enough to make a donation to a charity of my choice, and I decided to donate the money to the Willow Domestic Violence Center in Lawrence, Kansas. The Willow Center was so excited about the project, and so thankful for the donation that will help numerous women and children trying to flee domestic violence situations and build new lives for themselves.
And now for some more good news (as if that wasn’t enough, ha!)…the Willow Center has just informed me that they will be having an art/gallery show in October to celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and they will be featuring the Motherhood Series in the show! I am so honored and feel so incredibly proud that the first art show featuring my photography will be for such a worthy cause.
I will certainly provide more details as the show gets closer, but this was too exciting not to share right away! Thank you to the Willow Center for such an amazing opportunity, and thanks again to all the mothers who participated in this project! Of course a huge thanks goes out to Go Mighty, for providing encouragement and support along the way, and to Olay for helping me do something so awesome!
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2013-06-28 14:40:552013-06-28 14:40:55Happy Weekend : Some Fun News!
If you’re like me, it’s hard to find time to find time to pick up a good book these days. With work, family obligations, social time and everything else on my plate, good reads tend to be placed next to my bed where they gather dust for months at a time. One of my slow down summer goals is to find more time to sit and really read (meaning, not reading a magazine while watching the E! network). Actually, that was one of my goals last summer as well, and even though I have sort of fallen off the bandwagon, I wanted to share with you some of the best books I have devoured lately, in hopes that it might be a good start for you. Happy reading!
The Night Circus – This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I will admit, it took me a while to get into it. But holy wow, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. This magical story of two nemeses whose life becomes about destroying each other, even as they fall in love, is spellbinding. The story is unfolded within the context of a otherworldly circus, and the visuals plus the rich backstory will transport you to another world.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened – This book, written by hilarious blogger Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) had me snorting with laughter. Maybe you have to have a particular sense of humor to get this one, but I so, SO do. Lawson tells the story of her life as only she can, with lots of stories (mostly true) with endings that will have you snorting with laughter too! I highly recommend this one, especially if you’re in need of some humor in your life.
Daring Greatly – I came upon the work of Brene Brown when I was at one of my lowest points in 2012. I hated my job, I was unfulfilled, I was dealing with some family trouble and I was just in the dumps. I heard about Brown from her incredible TED Talk (you should go watch it right now) and was so excited when I heard she had a new book coming out. Daring Greatly did not disappoint. The title comes from the quote from Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.â€
If you’re at a place in your life where you need a bit of ooomph or a push in the right direction, this is a great place to start.
The Matched Trilogy – Sick of vampires and you’ve already read all of the books in the Hunger Games series? Well, this is a good one for you. This trilogy follows the lives of teenagers in a time when the world is ruled by committees collectively called “The Society.†They have eliminated many diseases and scourges of human life, but now every move of the people is dictated by the Society. The story starts with a young girl who finds out that she has been matched (how Society dictates who will marry who) with the wrong person, and this leads her and many in her life to discover all of the horrible things Society has done to achieve this life for the people. The most recent volume of the trilogy just came out and I’m in the midst of it right now. I can’t wait to see how the series ends!
How about you? Any great reads I should add to my list?
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2013-06-26 14:19:582013-06-26 14:19:58Summer Reads for the Harried Mind
Both of my kids have always been champion sleepers. Even at 7, Lucy still needs a good 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night to function like a normal human. Tate is the same way. He’s always slept around 12 hours a night, and still takes 2 to 3 hour naps during the day. It’s their father’s genetics playing around in their bodies, they all love sleep.
But in the last few weeks, things have gotten a little nutty around our house. Our sweet boy has officially decided the crib is no longer his favorite place to be. He first climbed out a couple of weeks ago, in an angry fit that I hadn’t given him the appropriate amount of hugs before bedtime. It was a few days before he tried again, but now there is no containing him. And apparently those crib-tent things are no longer safe, so I can’t zip him in to his crib either. Grrr.
Our current solution (until we find the right bed for his room…which isn’t exactly in the budget since we just redid Lucy’s room two weeks ago) is the always classy mattress on the floor (demonstrated in the image above, and yes, he does sleep with five blankets and 10 stuffed animals). I suppose it is sort of working in that he’s not about to break his arm climbing the crib anymore, but he still isn’t sleeping very well. I will hear little noises at all hours of the night, and open the door to find him surrounded by his toys, wide awake like it’s Christmas morning. Twice I’ve checked on him in the middle of the night to find him asleep under a pile of books on the floor. And his new parlor trick is waking up at 4 a.m. and refusing to go back to sleep because it’s MORNING! GOOD MORNING LET’S PLAY CARS OR TRUCKS OR WATCH THOMAS THE TRAIN OR GO POTTY!!!!
Needless to say, I’m less than enthused.
So if you’ve seen me stumbling around the past few days or have been worried about my red eyes and all around crazy demeanor, please know it’s not you. It’s the kid’s fault. My god, it’s a good thing he’s cute.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2013-06-24 20:56:032013-06-24 20:56:03Sleep Deprived and a Little Bit Crazy
Happy Weekend : Some Fun News!
/6 Comments/in Finding My Path, Happiness, Photos /by MeganI am so, so excited to share some amazing news with you all! If you’ve been reading around here for a while, you will probably remember my Go Mighty project from earlier this year (click here to catch up if you have no idea what I’m talking about…). At the completion of that project, the company Olay was kind enough to make a donation to a charity of my choice, and I decided to donate the money to the Willow Domestic Violence Center in Lawrence, Kansas. The Willow Center was so excited about the project, and so thankful for the donation that will help numerous women and children trying to flee domestic violence situations and build new lives for themselves.
And now for some more good news (as if that wasn’t enough, ha!)…the Willow Center has just informed me that they will be having an art/gallery show in October to celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and they will be featuring the Motherhood Series in the show! I am so honored and feel so incredibly proud that the first art show featuring my photography will be for such a worthy cause.
I will certainly provide more details as the show gets closer, but this was too exciting not to share right away! Thank you to the Willow Center for such an amazing opportunity, and thanks again to all the mothers who participated in this project! Of course a huge thanks goes out to Go Mighty, for providing encouragement and support along the way, and to Olay for helping me do something so awesome!
Summer Reads for the Harried Mind
/4 Comments/in Fun /by MeganIf you’re like me, it’s hard to find time to find time to pick up a good book these days. With work, family obligations, social time and everything else on my plate, good reads tend to be placed next to my bed where they gather dust for months at a time. One of my slow down summer goals is to find more time to sit and really read (meaning, not reading a magazine while watching the E! network). Actually, that was one of my goals last summer as well, and even though I have sort of fallen off the bandwagon, I wanted to share with you some of the best books I have devoured lately, in hopes that it might be a good start for you. Happy reading!
The Night Circus – This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I will admit, it took me a while to get into it. But holy wow, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. This magical story of two nemeses whose life becomes about destroying each other, even as they fall in love, is spellbinding. The story is unfolded within the context of a otherworldly circus, and the visuals plus the rich backstory will transport you to another world.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened – This book, written by hilarious blogger Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) had me snorting with laughter. Maybe you have to have a particular sense of humor to get this one, but I so, SO do. Lawson tells the story of her life as only she can, with lots of stories (mostly true) with endings that will have you snorting with laughter too! I highly recommend this one, especially if you’re in need of some humor in your life.
Daring Greatly – I came upon the work of Brene Brown when I was at one of my lowest points in 2012. I hated my job, I was unfulfilled, I was dealing with some family trouble and I was just in the dumps. I heard about Brown from her incredible TED Talk (you should go watch it right now) and was so excited when I heard she had a new book coming out. Daring Greatly did not disappoint. The title comes from the quote from Theodore Roosevelt:
If you’re at a place in your life where you need a bit of ooomph or a push in the right direction, this is a great place to start.
The Matched Trilogy – Sick of vampires and you’ve already read all of the books in the Hunger Games series? Well, this is a good one for you. This trilogy follows the lives of teenagers in a time when the world is ruled by committees collectively called “The Society.†They have eliminated many diseases and scourges of human life, but now every move of the people is dictated by the Society. The story starts with a young girl who finds out that she has been matched (how Society dictates who will marry who) with the wrong person, and this leads her and many in her life to discover all of the horrible things Society has done to achieve this life for the people. The most recent volume of the trilogy just came out and I’m in the midst of it right now. I can’t wait to see how the series ends!
How about you? Any great reads I should add to my list?
Sleep Deprived and a Little Bit Crazy
/6 Comments/in Grumples, Tate /by MeganBoth of my kids have always been champion sleepers. Even at 7, Lucy still needs a good 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night to function like a normal human. Tate is the same way. He’s always slept around 12 hours a night, and still takes 2 to 3 hour naps during the day. It’s their father’s genetics playing around in their bodies, they all love sleep.
But in the last few weeks, things have gotten a little nutty around our house. Our sweet boy has officially decided the crib is no longer his favorite place to be. He first climbed out a couple of weeks ago, in an angry fit that I hadn’t given him the appropriate amount of hugs before bedtime. It was a few days before he tried again, but now there is no containing him. And apparently those crib-tent things are no longer safe, so I can’t zip him in to his crib either. Grrr.
Our current solution (until we find the right bed for his room…which isn’t exactly in the budget since we just redid Lucy’s room two weeks ago) is the always classy mattress on the floor (demonstrated in the image above, and yes, he does sleep with five blankets and 10 stuffed animals). I suppose it is sort of working in that he’s not about to break his arm climbing the crib anymore, but he still isn’t sleeping very well. I will hear little noises at all hours of the night, and open the door to find him surrounded by his toys, wide awake like it’s Christmas morning. Twice I’ve checked on him in the middle of the night to find him asleep under a pile of books on the floor. And his new parlor trick is waking up at 4 a.m. and refusing to go back to sleep because it’s MORNING! GOOD MORNING LET’S PLAY CARS OR TRUCKS OR WATCH THOMAS THE TRAIN OR GO POTTY!!!!
Needless to say, I’m less than enthused.
So if you’ve seen me stumbling around the past few days or have been worried about my red eyes and all around crazy demeanor, please know it’s not you. It’s the kid’s fault. My god, it’s a good thing he’s cute.