Happiness Archives - Page 21 of 70

A Belated Mother’s Day 2013 Wrap Up

May 13, 2013/1 Comment/in Happiness, Lucy, Tate /by Megan

I know it’s a bit late, but I wanted to share a little from our fun Mother’s Day. Truth be told, we didn’t really do too much this year, which was pretty fantastic. Last year was lovely, with brunch and a day at the park (read all about it by clicking here), but this year all I wanted was a few hours alone to run errands. I know, super glamorous, huh? But as many of you moms out there know, a day of running errands without kids in tow is like a trip to the Bahamas!

Before my luxerious Target run, I was served a lovely breakfast in bed, with leftovers from our date night evening before, and received some amazing gifts, including the clay frog you see below. I mean, seriously?! Best gift ever! We capped the day with an evening soccer game for Miss Lulu’s team. All the soccer moms were joking about spending our Mother’s Day out at the field, but we all knew there was no where else we’d rather be than cheering on our little girls. Every year that passes I feel luckier and luckier to be the mom of my two little rascals, and I’m sure most moms feel the same. This mothering business can be thankless and downright crappy some days, but then there are days like yesterday, when it all feels pretty perfect. Yay for the moms!

P.S. Love this cute video one of my friends made with Blue Bunny Ice Cream for Mother’s Day. Mothering really is a lot like eating ice cream without spoons, wouldn’t you say?

P.P.S. To see what we sent our moms/grandmas for Mother’s Day this year, click here.

Finding the Beauty in Me

May 7, 2013/8 Comments/in Happiness, web /by Megan

{An outtake from a recent self-photo shoot…not perfect, off center and out of focus in my weedy backyard…but still, beautiful.}

Throughout the years I have harbored a love/hate relationship with myself. Which, honestly, when I read it right there in print, sounds flat out insane. I mean, I spend so much time lifting other women up and touting the awesomeness that is the gaggle of rad ladies in my life (and whoa, they are incredible), but I have to admit, I have a hard time treating myself with the same kindness. But isn’t that how we all can be? I feel like so many of the women I know, especially the moms, spend a majority of their time propping up everyone around them and forget to do the same for themselves.

For me, this bad attitude toward myself started fairly young. I was the second daughter in my family, and through no fault of her own, my sister is gorgeous. Like, straight up model-esque. She was tall and thin and so, so pretty, and since we were many years apart, her beautiful phase coincided perfectly with my totally awkward stage. She was also effortlessly cool, while I felt like a nerdy outcast most of the time. By the time I hit my teen years, I had a nice, big pot of self-loathing stewing in my brain.

So early on I decided it didn’t matter how I looked. I would be awesome because of my mind and my heart! And for years, this sort of worked. I told people I didn’t care about that superficial stuff, and continued to promote my hard work in academics and sports. I was in drama club and I was known for going to Space Camp. I had my own little nerdy crew and I loved them!

But deep down, I knew I was a phony. No matter how hard I tried to mask it, I did care. I thought I cared because I wanted people to like me, but what I learned later was I wanted to like myself. Even though outwardly I acted like it didn’t matter, inside I was beating myself senseless. And this bad behavior manifested itself in truly horrid ways. You could see it in the way I treated my boyfriend, friends and family. I thought I was so good at hiding all those feelings, but it turns out, they were out there for everyone to see, even if they didn’t know exactly what they were seeing.

Fast forward about 10 years and two kids later…and I’d love to say I’m better now. I’d love to say, “Gosh darnit, I love ME!!!” And you know what? Some days I do! In fact, most days I do. When I look at my body now, I see hips that carried two little beings. I see eyes that have wrinkles from smiling too much. I see a snaggle tooth that will always have a great story behind it. I have spider veins like my mom and an overbite like my dad. I have lots of freckles. My feet are massive. My boobs, which fed two babies for two years, are no longer the plump melons they once were. Now they are more like water balloons. But hey, water balloons can be fun, right?! Who doesn’t love water balloons? Sure, there are days when I look in the mirror and feel just gross, but I’m human, and I’m allowed to feel bad sometimes. Usually it’s right around that moment that my daughter, who has my eyes, face, hair and smile, will ask me how she’s looking today. And what will I say? Would I dare tell my mini-reflection she looked gross? Hell no, because she doesn’t. She is beautiful and glorious, and I will tell her that every single day.

My point is, when I look at myself these days, I don’t see perfection in the mirror. I see myself. I see a body that is carrying my spirit around this world, and that’s a pretty incredible thing.

Dare I say, a BEAUTIFUL thing.

This post is part of the Love Yourself Linkup. Visit here to learn more and read some amazing posts from real, beautiful, smart women.

Kansas City Doing Good : HappyBottoms

April 24, 2013/2 Comments/in Happiness, Kansas City, World /by Megan

Being a mom can be so very hard. As a mom of two, I can tell you that one of the hardest times as a parent is when your kids are in diapers. Sure, I haven’t been through those teenage years yet (knock on wood!), but I know that for me, the newborn and toddler years were/are pretty darn difficult. I am so fortunate to have had a ton of support and cheerleaders as I dove headfirst in to motherhood, but there are so many moms out there that aren’t so lucky. One in six children in the Kansas City metro area lives in poverty, and one of the most fundamental needs that is overlooked for the kids and moms is access to diapers. Imagine choosing between diapers and paying your electric bill. Or putting gas in your car. Clean, dry diapers are important to the health and well-being of growing babies. It’s not uncommon for babies to be left in a diaper for an entire day (or longer) or for parents to re-use a disposable diaper, leading to possible urinary tract or skin infections. There is also an increased risk of child abuse when parents and caregivers lack a supply of clean diapers. Without regular changing, dirty diapers can be a source for the outbreak of viral meningitis, dysentery and Hepatitis A throughout the community.

This is where the fantastic non-profit HappyBottoms comes in! HappyBottoms is the only diaper drive in Kansas City, and provides free diapers to an estimated 1000 children every month. I was unaware that diapers cannot be purchased with food stamps or through the WIC program, two main monetary resources for those below poverty level in our community. So for some families, buying fresh diapers just isn’t an option. Isn’t that insane?! I can’t imagine not being able to change my baby’s diaper as he wailed and fussed because I didn’t have a new one to put on him. And the stress that a crying baby puts on a new mom, especially one who is already dealing with the daily stress of living under the poverty line, must be horrific.

HappyBottoms works with 18 partner agencies throughout our community to distribute diapers to those who need it most, but the demand far outweighs what they can currently provide. I was able to visit HappyBottoms’ headquarters and warehouse and was so inspired by everyone I met. Diapers are collected via donation, either through diaper drives, corporate donations or private giving. HappyBottoms takes any new diaper, even if the package has already been opened, and repackages them to deliver to their partner agencies. So if you’ve still got an extra pack of diapers in the house after your youngest was potty trained, you can drop if off at any of their donation locations, regardless of if you already opened the package. Pretty cool, right?!

Another way you can contribute to HappyBottoms is monetarily. Currently, HappyBottoms is partnering with Huggies, who is providing a number of diapers to the organization. They also hope to have several more large donations this year, in order to serve our community. But to do this, they need certain things. More warehouse space! A delivery truck! Staff! A new computer system to track the huge numbers of diapers that will hopefully be coming through the door! So to do that, they are doing some big fundraisers this year, including the upcoming “Make a Difference for Mother’s Day” campaign.

Are you looking for a special way to honor your mom this Mother’s Day? Why not donate to HappyBottoms in her honor?! Head over to the HappyBottoms website to donate, and HappyBottoms will recognize your mom on their Honor Roll on their site and Facebook page. They will also send you a certificate that you can present to your mom. Your donation will directly impact moms and babies in our area that need our help! Or, if you’d like to donate diapers directly, HappyBottoms is creating a REALLY BIG Diaper Drive in honor of Mother’s Day. They have joined with Price Chopper to hold a diaper drive from Friday, May 10th from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday May 11th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at four Price Chopper locations in the metro area (click here for participating locations). And don’t forget, they take open diaper packages too!

I love Kansas City. This community is a giving one, and people here really do what they can to help others in need. I hope you join me in supporting HappyBottoms this Mother’s Day! Let’s help provide life, liberty, and diapers for all!

For more information on HappyBottoms, please visit www.happybottoms.org or click here. Special thanks to HappyBottoms Board President, Liz Sutherlin, for showing me around HappyBottoms HQ!

Hitting Refresh

April 22, 2013/1 Comment/in Happiness, Lucy, Photos, World /by Megan

Oh, hey there, Internet! It’s been a while, huh?

Last week, as things went from bad to worse in the national news, I found myself, for the first time in ages, unable to post here. I’m going through some personal things as well, and along with my uncle’s funeral and the anniversary of my dear friend Frank’s death, I just couldn’t find the stamina to write. And for the first time in YEARS, I allowed myself that time. Time to work on healing and resting, instead of plowing right through everything like an angry bulldozer. There is something to be said for my new, somewhat forced outlook on life, which allows for such things instead of my trademark “Everything is fine, just leave me alone because I can do this!” Truth is, I probably could’ve gotten a post or two up last week, I just didn’t feel like it. I wanted to snuggle with my kids and go on date night with my husband and work in my yard and visit friends. I wanted to have an evening out shopping and an evening in with a fantastically horrible/wonderful Hallmark movie. I wanted to be outside, watching my daughter conquer whatever has been holding her back in soccer and scream like a madwoman when she played the best game of her life and won MVP for her team. I needed to concentrate on how fast she’s growing, her opinions becoming more pronounced and her teeth falling out of her mouth, completely changing her appearance. Basically, I needed to be elsewhere last week. And so, I was.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to. How about you, Internet? Did you take some time to breath this weekend? What’s keeping you sane these days? If you need a Hallmark movie of the week to watch, I have one to recommend!

(Photos from top: My nametag from a fun blogger meetup/shopping excursion at Madewell in KC, Lu playing the best soccer game of her life (2), Tate and his friend playing peewee soccer while their older sisters practice, Lu decided that tooth needed to come out so she pulled it, twirling on a rare spring-like day, goofing in the mirror after bathtime, some pretty tulips from Trader Joe’s warming up my living room, a fun night out with Miss Lane at the Madewell event | All photos excepting the two soccer game images were taken with the iPhone. The soccer images were taken with the Canon 60D.)

Love Will Always Win

April 16, 2013/2 Comments/in Grumples, Happiness, World /by Megan

Today I sat at my computer watching the cursor blink. Flash. Flash. Flash. Nothing.

How can this keep happening? What is wrong with the world? Why? WHY?!

I used to get really angry at the injustice on our planet. I used to rage and scream and beat my chest until my heart rate was beyond safe. I would rant and yell and blame everyone.

But somewhere along the line, my reaction changed. I’m still mad. Deep down, I’m still so angry I could scream. But then I look around at all the good in the world, and a bit of love breaks through. People who ran towards the injured, disregarding their own safety. This Google spreadsheet where thousands of people in the Boston area offered shelter and help to those who couldn’t get somewhere safe. Runners who, after a grueling test of their bodies while running the marathon, went straight to blood donation centers.

It’s so true, when the worst of humanity bears it’s head, the best of humanity retaliates in mass force. Hate has always existed, but humans have persevered. Like Patton Oswalt said, so very eloquently, the good outnumber the bad in this world. If they didn’t, we’d be extinct. I’m holding on to that today, and remembering all the simple kindnesses that were afforded to me this week, especially on Monday as we buried my beloved uncle who had passed away and then came home to the news out of Boston.

I heard this song today, rolled down my windows and sang as loud as my horrid voice could bear. You should do the same. It just might help you to feel the love.

I’ve been in love with love and the idea of something binding us together.
You know that Love is strong enough.
And I’ve seen time tell tales about that systematic drug. Well yea, that heart that beats as one.
It’s collectively, unconsciously composed.

Do you feel the love?
I feel the love.
Come on, come on.
Lets start it up.
Let it pour out of your soul.

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