New Podcast about Minimilizing

We all want to be surrounded by beauty and simplicity, don't you think?  Images like this inspire us with their color and uncluttered look.  I want my whole house to feel this way.  (Someday, right? Maybe when the grandkids come to visit?)

This beautiful room designed by Kelly Donovan totally inspires me.

The painting, decor, and design aspects are going to have to wait for now (but I know I'll get there eventually!).

In the meantime, however, I'm focusing on simplification.  Anyone--on any budget of time or money--can simplify his or her home.  We can take out the trash, give away items we no longer use, and make our homes into a haven for each family member.  It's totally doable.

But how do you do it when you're in the midst of "being the mom"?

I just recorded a podcast with my dear friend Marilyn DeBry (who is so good at this), and it went live on Power of Moms today.

Click here for more information on Episode 46: Simplifying Your Home Simply (and WITH the Children).

And just a little more background . . .

I met Marilyn and her family at the Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico this past summer.  She knew me through Power of Moms (such a small world!), and we instantly became friends.  Here she is with her husband and six of her eight children:

Her two oldest children had gone on a week-long hike, and the family made posters to welcome them back to camp.  Isn't that so sweet?

And then before we parted after our week together, we took a quick photo in the dining hall:

The reason I wanted to record this podcast with Marilyn is because she is SO relaxed and positive around her children, and she and her husband had just de-cluttered their entire home. She was telling me all about how great it felt, and I knew that this was something our Power of Moms audience needed to hear. 

As a result of our podcast, my family minimalized our entire home, as well.  I was totally inspired, and now it feels incredible.  (I already liked de-junking, but Marilyn helped me take it to a whole new level.)  I am so grateful.

Enjoy the podcast!

Our L.A. Retreat . . . Such a Treat!

Hi! This is Alia, April's daughter.  :D  My mom is getting the kids ready for bed and getting ready for a webinar with Saren, so I offered to help update her blog!  She had a wonderful time at The Power of Moms Retreat this weekend. 

Below are LOTS of pictures that she took while she was there, and I will tell you all about them!

My mom didn't take any pictures on Friday during her MOM session, so she'll add one of those later, but it was a great experience, and she really appreciated having Sarah Chapman there to help her!

Friday night, some of the ladies stayed for a really nice dinner that Amy, Susan, and Sarah Chapman prepared . . .

and then they had a delicious dessert.  (See how there's a daisy on that cupcake . . . like on The Power of Moms?) 



After the games, Allyson played some fun songs on the piano, and my mom felt SO happy to be there.



After a great night's sleep on Friday night, everyone came back to this beautiful house for the Saturday sessions.  My mom wanted me to be sure to thank Lisa Palmer for letting The Power of Moms have their retreat at her house.  It was absolutely lovely!



This retreat was really special for my mom because her mother, sisters, and sister-in-law were able to come.  These are their names (from left to right): Laura, Lisa, Linda, my mom (April), Zoe, Melanie, and Susan.

On Saturday morning, Saren and my mom focused on "Taking Care of the Person Inside the Mom."  Allyson (pictured below), provides the "Comfort Food" for all of the moms there by encouraging them to be their very best selves and not to compare themselves to other moms.



This is my mom's friend (and Allyson's sister-in-law) Shauna, who was there with her brand-new baby.  So cute!



During the Retreat, they did an exercise called "Thought Replacement Therapy," where moms shared some of the negative thoughts that pop into their heads during the day. 

Then they crossed out those phrases and replaced them with better ones.  I don't really understand why moms would think these thoughts.  Seriously . . . without moms, the world would stop.

It's neat to see all these moms in one room, wanting to make their lives better.

This is Kristi Eyre, Saren's sister-in-law, who just had a new baby!



This is my Grandma Zoe.  She was so excited to come to the Retreat.

An author named Beth Aldrich spoke at the Retreat, too.  She wrote a book called "Real Moms Love to Eat."  My mom liked how she was so positive and encouraged women to take care of their whole selves.



Before lunch, everyone participated in discussion groups out on the lawn.  They focused on finding more joy in motherhood.

Don't they look happy?

This is the DELICIOUS lunch--with sandwiches, salad, and cookies from the La Canada Panera.

Here's a picture of Saren presenting Family Systems:

And Susan Chapman talking about Love Languages:

My mom is always sad to leave all her new friends.

This is Allyson Reynolds and Laurie Brooks:

It was Christine James' birthday, and in the middle of the Retreat, the doorbell rang, and it was a delivery person with flowers from Christine's husband.  All the moms said, "Awwwwww."



 

And in the middle of the Retreat, there was a very loud snoring noise.  Everyone looked around to see who was fast asleep . . . and it was this cute dog who had laid down right at the front of the room!

When the Retreat was over, my mom and her new friends took lots and lots of pictures.  Here are a few:

The moms in the photo above were so sweet and kind to my mother.

The mom in the photo above is named Melanie.  Her niece Morgan was one of my best friends when I was two.   And this mom below, named Mary Jenkins, is going to record a podcast with my mom really soon.

These are two of my mom's friends from our neighborhood.

And this is Beth Aldrich with my mom:

Isn't this baby darling?  He belongs to Sarah Chapman, who helped put on the Retreat.

Here's my mom with Laurie Brooks:

And this is my mom with Suzy and Malea:

This is Daisy and my mom:

These are the presenters and the hostess: Susan, Sarah, Allyson, April, Lisa, Amy, and Saren.

After the Retreat, a few mothers stayed for a Train the Trainer session.  They are interested in hosting workshops and Retreats for The Power of Moms.  Isn't that exciting?

Then they took more pictures!

My mom got home the next morning and found that we had made a little "house" for our Zhu Zhu Pets.  Here is a picture of the King & Queen sitting in their room.

Here are the two grown-ups and the two babies enjoying a "dinner" together.

Finally, we made a little "fish-shaped" swimming pool for them.  The only problem was that my little brother (4 yrs old) kept making his little action figure crash into everything. :D

Oh, and here's a picture of many of the women who attended the Retreat.  They forgot to take a group picture before everyone had to leave, but this was a part of them.

 
I hope you enjoyed hearing about the Retreat!  My mom will tell you more when she gets a chance.  Have a great day! 

California Power of Moms Retreat--The Report

Uploading these photos from our Dana Point "Get Organized" Retreat for The Power of Moms has been a bit of an emotional experience.  It seems like only a few months ago, I was creating a pretend homepage with AutoShapes:

And now I get to attend Retreats with women who put motherhood at the top of their priority list...right where it belongs.  I always get a little tickled when I see "official" Power of Moms signs (I hope this excitement never wears off).

Saren, Susan, Sarah, and I arrived a bit early to set up our room and greet the moms as they arrived to the hotel.  (Sarah and Susan were at our St. George Retreat, and now they're Power of Moms Trainers--it's nothing short of heartwarming to watch them in action.)

(See those cute brown sacks in the background?  Those are homemade treats we got to eat that evening.  I was in HEAVEN.)

We had "speed friend-shipping" in the lobby of the hotel, where each mom has a half-sheet of paper with questions to ask the other moms.  We pair up for five minutes each and get to know a bit about each other.   Here are Erin, Ann, and Melissa (with cute Benjamin):

 Saren loves to pose for me...(kidding), but I couldn't resist this shot of the elevator.  There's a beautiful window where you can admire the palm trees and harbor view. Have I mentioned that I wouldn't mind living in Dana Point?

I'm pretty sure I squealed when we walked into our hotel room.  You see, I NEVER stay in places like this.  Our family generally camps, stays with friends, or finds the least expensive hotel room available if we're traveling long distances.  But I must say, staying in a beautiful room--complete with an ocean view and a private balcony--did something unique for my spirits.  I loved every minute of it.

After our first sessions, "Taking Care of the Person Inside the Mom," (by me and Saren) and "Making the Time," (by Sarah...which was fabulous!), we all took a little walk to the shore to eat dinner at an incredible restaurant called Mahe's.  The stairs weren't exactly stroller-friendly, but we had lots of extra hands to help out.   

At dinner, we had four table topics--Family Traditions, Finding Joy in Motherhood, Tips and Tricks to Run the Home (and get the family to help), and Capturing Teaching Moments.  Two trainers sat at each table, and then our Retreat participants chose which topics they'd like to discuss.  We had some great discussions.

I think we were all so giddy to be out to dinner without high chairs, sippy cups, or diaper bags.  The waitress came by and asked if we needed more time to order, and we all started laughing because we had all decided within about 30 seconds. Moms don't sit around looking over menu details.  We act fast...before someone has a meltdown or needs a potty run.

We found a cute family sitting in the park when we were walking back to our hotel, and they consented to take a photo of our group.  

And then someone had this great idea of doing an "Eyre Jumping Picture," but after three tries, our cute friends still couldn't get the picture to take while we were up in the air.  (So I have a lot of "laughing" pictures.)

I snapped this picture of Kelly and Jill as we approached our hotel (is that not a beautiful building?).  They each came on their own--Kelly from Washington, Jill from California--and I thought it was great to see them talking, relaxing, and enjoying some time away to get rejuvenated.  We get lots of moms asking if it's okay (weird?) if they come alone.  Our answer?  Absolutely not...we're all best friends after the first few hours.

Okay, this picture needs some explaining.  A few months ago, I noticed that some of our celery was wilted in the fridge.  I put it in a glass of water, and it perked right up.  Then I said to my husband, "Sometimes moms feel a little 'wilted' when they've been taking care of their families for a long time without much rest.  Going to a Power of Moms Retreat is like putting celery in a cup of water."  My husband gave me a very odd look, but then he suggested that we make a "celery" pose at our next Retreat when we were in the hot tub.  So here it is:

Can't you see it?

Our evening session Friday night was a "Picking Your Priorities Panel."  Susan, Kelly, and Sarah Chapman are in the middle.  Kelly is the mother of thirteen children, and she is full of incredible wisdom.  Susan and Sarah are two of her daughters-in-law.  We were thrilled to have all of them with us.  

During this session, we talked about focusing on the relationships in our lives--that's what's most important, after all.  

Here are a few pictures from our breakfast buffet at the Vue restaurant located on the bottom floor of the hotel.  I absolutely loved it.

And here's a close-up of Benjamin.  I asked to hold him as often as possible.  

SO sweet!

Saren did an outstanding job with her Family Systems session.  I took copious notes, and I can't wait to more fully implement her ideas for a family legal system, economy, and culture.  The Eyre family has beautiful traditions, and I'm anxious to develop more within my own family.  I also realized that our family rules aren't clearly defined or posted anywhere in the home.  Gotta get on that....

Susan conducted a beautiful session regarding family love languages.  I'd heard of the book, but I never took the time to identify each family member's preferred way to receive love (Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Quality Time, Physical Touch, or Acts of Service).  Here Susan is showing us a board she made to help her focus on each of her family members' needs.

Here's our lunch set-up on the front lawn of the hotel.  They had weddings out here each day, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

And again, since I was a little out of my element, I had to laugh when they brought us Grey Poupon.  Susan volunteered to pose for a photo op.

Because we've had such a great response to Mind Organization for Moms, we decided to hire professional videographers to record that session of the Retreat.  This is Sally from One Productions (an INCREDIBLE company) fitting me with a microphone.  I've never had that done before...can you see how excited I am in this photo?  

Here are the four Power of Moms Trainers after we finished up the Saturday sessions.

And guess what!  We have three NEW trainers now who stayed after the Retreat for a "Train the Trainer" session.  Tiffany, Melissa, and Ashley are three incredible women who are going to help us take The Power of Moms out to the world.

Once our evening came to an end, I packed up my bags, drove an hour to get home, and was greeted with this beautiful sight:

My husband is really the one who makes it possible for me to do these Retreats.  He spent the whole weekend with the children--taking them hiking, making them treats, setting up a tent in the living room, and spending quality time together.  

As much as I loved the time I spent in Dana Point, and as much as I love working on The Power of Moms, my REAL joy is right here.