Sneak a Peek Intro

I one hundred percent promise that the next Isn't She Lovely feature is coming next week. Not to overshadow that or be redundant, but I had another idea...

Have you ever looked at another woman and thought, how on God's green Earth is she getting her child to be quiet in church without snacks? Or maybe you've thought, how did she put together that outfit and make it look so put together?

If you can't tell, I think about this whole building women up instead of tearing each other down business quite a lot. Here's what I've come up with to continue the building up process.

Every person has tricks of their trade or things that get them through the day. People utilize ways to cut corners or get deals to make life a little easier without even realizing it sometimes. This doesn't just pertain to parents/mothers/women. Everyone does it. Some are masters at it, and some are often oblivious (me).

Not that long ago I took my girls on a road trip to visit my good friend Kristin who also has two children under the age of five. I realized on that trip that it would be a beautiful thing to be a fly on the wall for a week in the home of every female I know.  I know my friends pretty well. We're a close group of women and I like to think that I know a good bit about their lives. While at Kristin's it came to my attention that I actually know very little about what they do in a given day to lighten the load. Let's use Kristin as an example:

Random things I learned from Kristin

1) Vitacost - Heard of it? It's an online store for all things organic. Yes, I realize not everyone buys into the world of organic. I'm good with that. For me it is a big deal in regards to quite a lot of things.
She showed me some of the products, told me about the pricing, and I was sold.  I then noticed on Facebook that Vitacost often has a small add on the righthand side. Had I seen that and gone to it myself I wouldn't have bought anything. I would've assumed the prices weren't that different or that it was a scam. Through Kristin I learned that this website can save me money on things that I already buy or have a hard time finding.

2) Dollar store treasures -  I've always shopped at dollar stores. Obviously you get what you pay for in some regards, but when it comes to tiny treasures for tiny children the dollar store is where it's at. I thought I knew this. I thought I had perused the aisles enough to know about the handful of items that I could get that would be out of the ordinary for my children. Then Kristin whips out washcloths formed into the shape of a tiny heart that open up somehow in the bathtub. She also tossed in the little bead things that dissolve in the tub and out pops a spongey dinosaur. These things may sound small, but I bet if you have a kid who hates taking a bath your mind is spinning right now. Go. Run. Get some.

3) The Neato (Kristin named her's Rosie) - After spending a few hours in her home it became clear to me that clean up was going to be even more of a constant on this trip. Four kids ages four, three, two, and not yet one spells mess...everywhere. The floor became littered with crumbs and debris and it crossed my mind to offer to vacuum. Then, we get up and get ready to go to the pool and Kristin turns Rosie on. She's a robotic vacuum, and according to Kristin she's a lifesaver. The Neato is often offered on Groupon for half off. Now I just have to convince Seth we NEED one even though our current vacuum isn't that old.

These are just a few things that I picked up on in a couple of days at her house. I never would have specifically known to ask about things like this, and she never would have offered them up because they seem so mundane.

There have been other random tidbits of things that have jumped out at me in the past. Namely, Katie's trick of having your child hide or discard their attitude is sheer brilliance. It's possoble that every other mother on the planet uses this tactic and knew about it well before I did. That doesn't matter. What matters is that I learned a very significant yet very small trick from a friend who saw that it would be helpful.

These are the types of things that need to be the focus of relationships among women. There should be no more "she does this and I don't agree with it so I'm going to be passive aggressive and call her out on the internet". There should be no more "I wish I was so much better at preparing dinner like my friend down the street that makes organic homemade everything every night of the week".  Instead of coveting what she's got going on why not ask her to tell you how she does it? Why not come to a place where it's all out in the open? Why not look at her and be all, "holy crap you are the smartest person alive for buying little spongey creatures that grow in the tub!".

If you are interested in sharing your brilliant ideas and/or tips and tricks with others now's the time! If you want to share tidbits of your daily life with the Isn't She Lovely readers in order to slowly chip away at female envy and bring about the glorification of all things helpful give me a shout.  I will gladly use this blog as a platform to not only give you mad props but to steal your ideas in a friendly and supportive environment.

If you are sitting there thinking you have nothing to share I urge you to click here and start jotting down your ideas. I will add to it every time a new suggestion pops into my head. You may surprise yourself when thinking about your everyday habits.

Send me an email or leave a comment if you are game for letting us sneak a peek into your day!