Laughing | a free spirit life

playing with paint

Posted on February 8, 2012 by a free spirit life in creating, laughing, loving, playing

I’m sure you can see from these photos that the Laugh Play Love fun has continued in our house this week! This is something I’ve wanted to do with the boys for a long while now, but my lack-of-interest-and-energy-to-have-to-clean-another-mess has prevented me from doing it. But the more I play and lighten up, the more I am starting to see “mess” differently. Rather than think of it as yet another job for mama, I’m embracing these moments with more gratitude. Because really, if there’s a mess to clean up, I guess it means we’ve had a really good time. (I will say that being prepared helps. I had a bubble bath ready for the aftermath!)

As I started taping down the white paper to the floor my 4-year-old exclaimed, “This is more fun than I even imagined!” We hadn’t even started painting yet. And man, was he right. We turned up our favorite Free to Be Me Pandora station and laughed, played, painted and danced. And towards the end my 4-year-old, covered in paint and hopping around like a frog yelled, “Mom, I love you so much.” And that pretty much says it all.

Your Personal Reflection: See what happens when you let yourself enjoy the “mess” today.

Summer Fun in the Winter

Posted on February 3, 2012 by a free spirit life in laughing, loving, playing

With the unusually warm weather yesterday and with the guidance of a 4-year-old, out came the bubble machine and off went the shoes. And today we are snuggled in by the fire on this cold, rainy day and just finished our indoor picnic on the floor. Great kick-off to a month of Laugh Play Love.

Your Personal Reflection: What fun are you up to?

Laugh Play Love…action!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by a free spirit life in laughing, loving, playing

Photos by Chris Duh.

Happy February! Today marks the first day of my Laugh Play Love month-long challenge . (I hope you will join me!) I’m setting an intention for the next 29 days to laugh more, play more and love more. It seems like those things should just come naturally. But I find that when I get bogged down with “to do’s” and obligations, well I can get too busy and serious, and let my desire to conquer the tasks pretty much suck the fun right out of my day.

I need to laugh more. I need to play more. And I know that when I do that – the side effects are super positive. I’m happier, I give and receive more freely, and it just makes the day-to-day living WAY MORE FUN.

The other day I was filming my weekly check-in video for the current Inside Out e-course group, and we transformed the bedroom into my podcast studio. We included the boys in the production, because let’s face it, they ARE my production team. They helped with the set-up and Kestan counted down…

three…

two…

one…

action!

They made me laugh. It was playful. And we all had fun.

I thought I’d share an excerpt from the video I recorded for my e-course group since I talk a little about why I created the Laugh Play Love challenge.

Join my new Facebook page A Free Spirit Life to receive Laugh Play Love inspiration throughout February. (And feel free to post your own stories there, too!)

Your Personal Reflection: How can you make your daily “to do’s” and obligations a little more fun and playful?

Laugh More, Play More, Love More!

Posted on January 30, 2012 by a free spirit life in laughing, loving, playing

Join me for the February challenge: Laugh Play Love

Life can get so busy. We run around all day long, going this way and that, doing and rushing and working, until we’re exhausted. Then, our head hits the pillow and we crash until the doing and rushing and working starts all over again…

I’m not quite sure where we think we are going and why we think we have to do so darn much and go so darn fast!

And if we keep going at this kind of pace, we may end up missing it. Missing the moment to laugh. Missing the moment to play. Missing the moment to love.

The moment to laugh, play, love – is right now.

In slowing down, I find that getting on the floor with my kids is sometimes the best medicine. They notice the little things in life. They laugh without thinking twice. They play without inhibitions. They love because they know no other way. They remind me of what’s truly important in life. To laugh, play and love – well, It just comes so naturally for them. And it did for us once, too.

February–the month of love–seems like a great time to lighten up and remember what it feels like to have more fun!

So, I’m inviting you to laugh more, play more and love more, and enjoy the side effects that come from opening your heart.

tell a joke
do a dance
be super silly
wear mixed match clothes
watch funny movies
pull some pranks
get messy
play games
blow bubbles
eat candy
write love notes
try new things
be kinder to yourself and others
create stuff
have fun!

Laugh more.
Play more.
Love more.

I’ll be sharing my month of laughing, playing and loving on my blog. I would love for you to join me. Capture your Laugh Play Love moments through photos, videos or words, too and feel free to post them on our A Free Spirit Life community page.

And if you share on Twitter, use the hashtag #laughplaylove.

Your Personal Reflection: Slow down. Notice the little things. And see what happens when you laugh, play and love.

If you have a blog, go ahead and grab a badge (just copy the code at the top of this blog’s sidebar). I’m excited to share this month with you!

Day #2: Thankful for 3-Year-Old Humor

Posted on November 2, 2011 by a free spirit life in giving, laughing

Today I’m thankful for my son Kestan’s sense of humor. And I’m thankful for my husband’s ability to capture it. Thank you both for making me laugh every day!

Your Personal Reflection: Who makes you laugh in your life?

Smile! (and your chance to win)

Posted on June 1, 2011 by a free spirit life in laughing, living, mothering

This is what I call JOY.

Your Personal Reflection: What makes you smile from the inside out?

If you are interested in winning a spot in my fall session of Inside Out: A Creative Adventure of Self-Discovery e-course, (or many other prizes) head on over to the Rhythm of the Home blog by Sunday to enter!

And check out my new summer project post Natural Playdough: Using the Garden for Inspiration.

How to Make a Snow Angel

Posted on January 24, 2011 by a free spirit life in laughing, playing

Thanks, Chris Duh!

Simple Gratitude

Posted on November 25, 2010 by a free spirit life in giving, laughing, mothering

Last night we drove many, many miles to attend a Christmas in the Park celebration. The flyer said there would be a fireworks show and then the park would open, where we would have the opportunity to drive around the lake and look at the hundreds of light displays. I was excited for it all day. We put on our jammies, piled in the car and turned on the Christmas music.

And we drove and drove and drove…

We got a little lost. We arrived a little late. We saw the end of the fireworks show from the shoulder of a busy road. And the only light displays we saw after that were the hundreds of tail and headlights from all the traffic! We never did find the display of lights at the lake and when we finally asked a cop, he said something about it being over and shooed us to keep driving.

The night was a total bust! We drove for two hours, pulled over to nurse 2 times, got frustrated about the directions and my head started to hurt. I was disappointed for my family as I was anticipating this event all afternoon. I had been building it up for Kestan, too…”We are going to see fireworks tonight and tons of Christmas lights around a lake!”

As we drove away, Kestan said, “Where are the lights by the lake?” And just as I was getting ready to explain to him that we couldn’t find (or just completely missed) the event, he exclaimed, “Oh, there are some Christmas lights!” He noticed a farm house on the side of the road that had, to our luck, decked out their house like the Griswolds. And he was happy.

We pulled over for the third time so I could nurse Ashton, and Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song came on the radio. Kestan laughed and laughed. And so did we.

And in that moment I remembered…it’s the simplest things that bring such great joy to our lives. It’s finding gratitude in every moment that makes life so very special.

We didn’t need to drive hours for some grand light production to kick off our holiday weekend. We simply needed the time and space to be together.

And it’s moments like these that I’m most grateful for today.

Your Personal Reflection: On this day of giving thanks, what are you most thankful for in THIS moment?

Today is the last day to enter for your chance to win a great gift from Hip Mountain Mama. Check it out HERE.

Inspiration in Art Journaling

Posted on September 1, 2010 by a free spirit life in creating, laughing, mothering

These are just a few of the hilarious things my son says throughout the day. I’ve finally found a way to capture these memories through my love of art journaling!

Go visit Rhythm of the Home today and see a new piece I wrote called, Capturing Your Mothering Memories Through Art Journaling. I give you some tips on how to get started. Then stay a while and explore this beautiful, inspirational on-line magazine. Psst…there’s a giveaway, too!

Happy, funny, creative day to each of you!

Your Personal Reflection: How do you capture your memories?