Time Out for Moms

Last night our church did a "time out for moms". It was a great evening of fun and laughter. Several moms talked on several topics including once a month cooking (as in getting it all done and freezing it for the month, not just cooking once a month), decorating your house with things you already have, daily Bible study method, blogs and pinterest.

I also did a short book review on two of my favorite reads within the last year or so. I love to read and somehow I always find the time to read. Last night I realized that I have time to read because I make the time and I don't do other things. For example, I really don't like to cook. Since "authentic" is my word this year, I want you to know that last night my family had pizza, the night before was leftover spaghetti, the day before that was Mexican (at a restaurant), the day before that was breakfast (at a restaurant) and I can't even remember if I cooked the night before that....I'm guessing probably not. I was a little convicted last night about not cooking much for two reasons....eating out is probably not that healthy for my family and also I know that we spend a lot more money when we eat out so often. And so, one of my February New Year's resolutions (it's February 1st after all) is to cook a whole lot more this month instead of cooking just once this month.

As Jennifer talked about blogs and pinterest, I really thought...oh goodness, where is the time? I don't have time to read all these blogs or to pin things to an online pinboard. And I know that people thought the same thing about reading books....where is the time? Ultimately, it's all about choices. I choose not to watch a lot of TV, because I would rather read books. I choose not to live in a spotless or completely uncluttered house because I would rather read books. I choose to only read a few blogs a day and spend minimal time on facebook, because there are other things I'd rather do. I like my kids clothes ironed and some of you would say that's a waste of time, but it's important to me. Stacks of papers on the kitchen counter don't bother me a whole lot, but I don't like dirty dishes in the sink. And so, I choose to wash the dishes in the morning and leave the papers on the counter. I guess we all just have 24 hours in our day and only we can decide how we use it.

Here's the deal with the whole Time Out for Moms...sometimes we walk away and feel bad about our choices because we spend the evening comparing ourselves to others. I'm impressed with Kim and Tonya's once a month cooking. Ashley has quite a gift for decorating and I absolutely do not have the eye for that. Jennifer obviously needs less sleep than me because she spends hours at night reading blogs and pinning things to pinterest. But at the end of the day, it's okay. They are not my competition. They are my friends. Thanks for the challenge last night to do just a little something better or a little something more.

So, what's for dinner? Since I'm working today and I have no plan for dinner (shocker!) and no time to go to the grocery before dinner, we are having pancakes for dinner. And then tonight I'm going to the grocery!