Family morning

Wednesday. Already? Where did the week go!?

This morning Urijah cane into our room with a big smile and a polite "good morning mommy". What better way of starting the day? Then he jumped in his daddy's arms as they headed out to give uncle Andrew a ride to work. They do this every morning and usually Zuri stays asleep with me but this morning she was up calling out to her Dadda (and she calls me Nanna). And off she went with the guys. Leaving a very happy mom with the bed to herself (such a rare delight). So yes I snoozed right back to lala land. Ah the joy!

Once my little family returned we flooded the kitchen as I made breakfast ice cream. Literally the best darn breakfast ever! Unfortunately I have no pictures because we gobbled it up!

We love having our meals outside and this was the perfect meal for those very warm summer mornings.

The little ones then decided to start their day with a swim and while heading upstairs to get Urijah's goggles, a thought popped into my head "wasn't there something I was supposed to do today?". Then I stood for a moment and ran through the to do list: do laundry, mop the kitchen, take kids to story time at the library, make lunch, prepare dear husband's work lunch, make some phone calls...And then it dawned on me! Nothing on that list was more important than spending the morning playing with Zuri and Urijah. It could all be done later. Because honestly, as a stay at home mom,  I am my own boss (Urijah will argue that he's the boss). I can decide how my days are spent. And too often I place urgency on myself on things that aren't even urgent.

Earlier in this homemaker career of mine, I felt the need to fill my days with busy activities just so that I could feel some sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. To feel like I did something important. I'm not saying that cleaning house and preparing meals are not important, those things need to be done. But being busy for the sake of validating your role, now that's silly. Because really, the role of being a SAHM is to be a mom first. And I'd like to be a mom who is present with her children. I don't want to look back and wish that I'd spent more time. Even with them. I want both high quantity and high quality time with the munchkins.

And boy it's not easy to just let go of the to do list, but sometimes it's necessary. Doing this has helped me to not just look at my kids but to truly see them. To not just hear what Urijah says but to listen to him. Others will argue that being around them is enough. And maybe it is but kids are different. I know that my kids thrive when I am paying attention to them. And when we have our downtime or when they're off entertaining themselves, it feels good because our connection has been established.

Moments like this morning builds a strong foundation for our growing bond. I can just feel the joy exploding from within me! And then there's that internal peace. A peace and gratitude. I am so grateful that they chose me to be their mama! 

Fed Up

Dear husband and I stayed up way too late watching a documentary that should be seen by EVERYONE.

Seriously. Everyone needs to watch Fed Up. Whether or not you've struggled with weight, it really doesn't matter, this documentary is an eye opener about our global food system. And I intentionally say global even though it's based in the USA. Because, well let's be honest, the American diet has become the global diet. Have you ever had a big Mac with a coke? Exactly.

I don't want to go into great detail on what's discussed in the docie as I wouldn't do it any justice. What I can say is that I am grateful to the producers of Fed Up because now dear husband has finally seen the light regarding what the food industry labels as "healthy" and what is truly healthy. He was so moved that he not only agreed to get rid of the gallon of ice cream in the fridge but he dumped it out without me even asking. Now if you know my husband personally then you understand what a massive deal this is.

So today we took another step forward by doing our grocery shopping at a health food store, not because other stores don't offer fruit and vegetables, but because we're in a process of educating ourselves about real food. And as you might already know, some of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to eating for health, are those who pack shelves at such stores. So our schooling began with one of the employees Natural Grocer's. Dear husband stood with him for a good 10mins as he explained the difference between free range eggs and cage free eggs. We also overheard him explaining to another customer the difference between the honey you buy from normal stores and buying local honey. And with the little foundation from Fed Up, we knew that the difference is sugar. The sugar that either helps your body thrive or the one that we consume without even realizing it! Did you know that they now also put sugar in children vitamins?

So now the challenge for us is to transition the children into loving and craving good food. Luckily a few weeks ago I started experimenting with the idea of making two of our daily meals raw food...fruits and veggies. It did take some convincing moving Urijah from eating cereal for breakfast to enjoying fruit or a fruit and vegetable smoothie. Zuri on the other hand was an easy win. As long as I say YUM she'll eat anything we give her. I'll be documenting our food journey in hopes that we can gather helpful tips along the way. From how to afford healthy eating to tried and tested recipes for the whole family.

And until then, please watch Fed Up and let me know your thoughts.

Patience

Every night, after both Zuri and Urijah are sleeping, I sit back and replay the day. I do this mostly because I love to replay their cute moments but also to self evaluate. For a long time, as in years, I've struggled with perfectionism. I want to be the perfect mother and wife. Yet the older I grow, the further away that goal seems to get. Wanting to be perfect often leads to me being deeply critical of myself and others. It becomes a point of judgement and contention. Mainly because I know that I'm not perfect either so in some strange way I want other people to be what I am not. It's something I am actively working on daily. To accept myself fully so that I can be more compassionate and accepting of others too. Because at the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress. And these evenings of reflection have progressed from criticizing my own parenting to praying for more patience. Patience with myself, dear husband and the little Schamels. I know that such growth will not happen overnight, but I'm willing to put in the daily work. So here's to a week of progress.

Mommy's day off

I left dear husband and the munchkins for an entire day yesterday. GASP! Not because he had the kids on his own but because I actually volunteered to be away from 8pm till 5pm!

The relief society had a temple trip and I'll admit that even though I missed the munchkins during the quiet moments, the break from mommy duties was much needed. This was dear husband's first time taking care of both children on his own. Yes of course I was nervous for him but after a quick phone call and hearing him running after Zuri at the mall, I knew all would be well. And I absolutely chuckled to myself when he mentioned that both children were headed in different directions and he was exasperated just by trying to keep them both happy. Yep, don't I know it!

They did so many little activities that by the time I got home, Urijah could barely chat from exhaustion. I think we should have more of these daddy duty days:) just for perspective on both our parts. I often get so wrapped up in everything to do with the kids that I forget to build female friendships. And it's also good for dear husband to have personal bonding time with the little ones, without me looking over his shoulder and asking if he packed snacks, water or diapers. All in all, it was a good day.

A dream come true

Summer days.

Nothing quite like warm days of listening to the little ones laughing and playing in the water. Splashing, jumping, running. With their faces dribbling with sweet mango. I especially love those snuggles when Urijah takes a break from playing in his mini pool. His hair smelling of the sun as I wrap his shivering little body in his favorite towel. Often he'll sit right next to me, watching the clouds and talking about his day. That kid has a good life. And so does his sissy. She now takes a good 3hrs long nap in her own bed right before lunchtime. Which means that Urijah and I enjoy two lunches because why would we let her eat on her own when we all love food!?

Once the little munchkin is up from her nap, it's go time! She's not as interested in being in the pool as big brother but she loves to explore the backyard. Walking, playing in the dirt, venturing onto the grass (this particular activity started today, she's normally afraid of walking onto the grass but it seems like the fear has been overcome, hooray Zuri!). I mustn't forget to mention that she also puts just about everything in her mouth. It is only when she's quiet that I'm alerted to check on what may be inside her little hand. Kids, you always have to be on the watch:)

Oh man how I adore these little ones. I didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a stay at home mom. And now that it's my every day reality, I feel the need to pinch myself. It's a dream come true. One that I didn't even dream for myself. While I had other plans, Heavenly Father had something better in store for me. And all I can say is thank you. Thank you for making me their mama.

The busy princess

In a few short weeks little Zuri will be one years old!

And now I'm sitting here trying to note down some memories about her first year. It's so hard to write about Zuri because she's a personality to be experienced in person. Because of her age it's hard to read and completely grasp how truly grown she is. Would you believe it if I told you that at 11 months she can already run!? See! Exactly. But she can. She has a big brother who pulls her along and she tries her very best to keep up. This little missy is also quite the climber. She climbs everything and anything almost all of the time! She has absolutely no time to relax, her life is in constant motion. Maybe I've forgotten the different baby developmental stages but I feel like Zuri has skipped them all and moved to be a toddler.

Even though her baby stage was very short, she's still nursing, something which I'm very happy about. But don't let that fool you into thinking that breastfeeding is a relaxed bonding experience for her and I. For Zuri, it's a quick drive by snack on her way to play and discover the world.

It's the little things

Goodness me.

Nearly a year later:)

I've been thinking about blogging again. Mainly because the kids are so darn adorable and I want to document their lives.

So why did I finally start writing today? Well, baby boy (who's no longer a baby) had the sweetest interaction with some firemen. We were on our way back from the library, it was just the two of us as I try to give him some personal time while Zuri is napping at home (with daddy who just had his tonsils removed - a story for another day). Back to the firemen. As we got to the zebra crossing, a fire truck stopped to give us way. And as any 3yrs old would, Urijah started to wave with one hand as he held his apple with the other. They waved back with kind smiles and as we tried to cross and since it was a double lane, our attempt was obstructed by other cars driving passed. One fireman held out his hand to stop the traffic. And we walked on safely. Once we got to the other side, Urijah waved them goodbye while saying thank you (yep I did prompt him to say thank you). And the firemen replied with a honk and boy was my little guy elated! He turned to look at me and said "mommy, did they honk for me?!". And once I confirmed that they did, he couldn't stop talking about that moment. Also reminding me that we were just talking about firetrucks while walking to the library.

Such seemingly insignificant story but it made my day and definitely made Urijah's already amazing day which was also filled with a swim class, a new toddler pool at home and playing drums with a percussionist. So I wanted to document this memory because the kindness those firemen showed to a toddler passing by, brought me hope about life in general. It truly is the little things that matter most.