Kid's Online Book Club

I have the details finalized for my Kid's Book Club. I am offering an online book club to help encourage kid's love of reading. I love teaching kids to love reading more than anything and I want to keep it up! Here is the November Book Club information:

Preschool-K: Reading Fall Picture Books

Younger Grades (ready to handle little chapter books):
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl 

Middle to Upper Grades: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket Book 1

I will be sending you an email with the recorded reading every week. Preschool will be about 15-20 minutes. Younger grades 20-30. Middle to older 30-45.

I love that it will be online so they can do it at their own pace. Stopping and starting when they need to and not doing it in huge chunks if they aren't ready. The readings will ask questions and have discussions. Once a month we will do an online Zoom group for middle-upper grades to talk about the book.

Book Club is $10 for the month, extra children from the same family are $5 each. A steal right!

No books are necessary but for younger grades and the older ones I would get or borrow from the library the book to follow along.

Here are the Facebook groups for the Book Clubs:

Preschool-K: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1100168110100025/

Younger Grades: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/356104294731520/

Middle-Upper Grades:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1270856146307367/

If you are all ready to sign up head here:
https://beyondsurvivalmom.regfox.com/book-club

If you are all ready to register today register here!
https://beyondsurvivalmom.regfox.com/book-club

Any questions just let me know!
I'm so excited to get this going!

Self Love Class SALE

My class has changed a little bit. I'm so excited to host the Beautiful Mess Moms through Facebook. It was so great spending some time last week through Facebook Live telling my story. You can watch the video through the group on Facebook live. It's about 45 minutes long. 

I will still be holding my self love class starting Wednesday October 26 from 8-9:30. It will be four weeks long and all online so you can join in or watch later. I'm so excited to push forward with an amazing group of women. 

I'm offering a killer discount today. I have dropped the classes price from $147 quite a bit down to $47 dollars. Today through Sunday October 23rd at midnight I am dropping the price down to $25! A killer steal! I also am also posting the two scholarship winners on Facebook live today. They will get the class for FREE! Thanks to their wonderful nominees. 

The class will focus on some or all of these things depending on the time. 

-Loving who you are. 
-Managing emotions and changing your old stories
-Understanding your unique beauty.
-How to fully show up and be heard. 
-Connecting to your inner woman.
-Finding your beauty type. 
-Coming in to your feminine energy.
-Connecting to your children, spouses, self, and God. 
-Steps to overcome anxiety, depression, and perfectionism. 
-Motivating yourself to smile more often and love more openly. 

I'm so excited to have all you lovely ladies join me on this adventure! 

CLICK HERE to sign up today! 

Finding Your Inner Beauty and Light

The past week has brought many changes into my life. I have decided to become a Whole Health Mentor. I want to help women find their healthiest selves; physical, mental, and emotional. I have learned so many things along my own journey and I am excited to share how I can now look in the mirror with love. I can now look at myself and say I am past being just a survival mom. I am Beyond Survival Mom!

Finding Your Inner Beauty and Light Class: 

This is a 4 week class. Classes will be held Thursdays 7-9 PM. October 27, November 10, 17 and December 1. (Dates are tentative and will be fully addressed when I know the specific facilities.) Classes will be in person and LIVE online! 

We will talk about:

-Loving who you are. 
-Managing emotions and changing your old stories
-Understanding your unique beauty.
-How to fully show up and be heard. 
-Connecting to your inner woman.
-Finding your beauty type. 
-Coming in to your feminine energy.
-Connecting to your children, spouses, self, and our Heavenly Father. 
-Steps to overcome anxiety, depression, and perfectionism. 
-Motivating yourself to smile more often and love more openly. 

Value: 

Value of this class $297,

Your price is $127!

You have some bring a friend options available to you for a discount. Bring one friend and buy one get one half off! $190.50 for both! Bring two friends for $220. I love the idea of bringing friends and family to help lift and build each other as women! 

Scholarships and Nominations: 

Until October 6th at 7 PM, I will be offering 2 scholarships for my class. The two ladies that are awarded these scholarships will attend my classes for FREE! The women that nominate them will receive the class at 50% off the price!

To nominate someone you must tag them in the original nomination post through Facebook or Instagram through my account. Tell me two things; 

1) Why this woman is amazing to you.
2) Why they should get this scholarship.

If you would like to private message me you may also do so. 

There will also be prizes for those who share the most and nominate the most people!

Click Here to Register Now!

My Season: Turning for help when you don't know where to go.

The past month has flown by for me. It's been rough for me to find the balance of staying home, teaching preschool and a unit home school group, as well as tutoring and watching kids. It's been a tough struggle for me to still apply all that I've learned and feel content. I'm learning that this is my season...

I've been listening to the book The Power of I Am, which I highly recommend. He talks about being grateful for the season you are in. You will always be stuck or struggle in a season until you are grateful or you'll have a hard time when the "When time" comes. When I lose thirty pounds I'll..., When I buy that new house..., When I get pregnant. I am usually grateful but not content. I always feel like I have a million things on my list and never time to play. Sound familiar? 

My amazing friend Kathy, who is a wonderful mentor if you are looking for some help, talked to me about my generational belief that I can't stop. I can't stop moving. I can't stop being busy. I can't stop there is too much to do. That's because I am scheduling too much and I am making it difficult. 

When you take time to relax and plan in small portions things actually begin to fit better. So many people tell me I am doing too much or ask how I get the energy. I still have the energy but I am realizing if I take an hour out of my day to read what I want to read I actually have more time later. Making time for myself needs to be a priority. 

So the last couple days I have been working on it. I sat on the couch and read what I wanted. I watched a few vlogs I wanted to watch. I took time to breath and pace myself. I quit trying to keep the house clean when after nap the kids would be up again and started taking that time for me. I looked at my list and quit adding to it and thought, what is the most important things I need to do today. I also realized having kids around makes some chores take 10 times as long so I quit trying to do them when kids were awake. Why take 45 minutes when you can take 10 minutes. More time gained to my own time. I also realized my blog was part of this. I felt like it was something I enjoyed doing but I cut it out for the more "important things." 

If this sounds like something you do you can stop it. You can get a hold of it. You can slow down.  Pray. Ask for Heavenly Fathers help about how to change you old ways and create new ones. I am learning that these simple things you can ask for help on and he will send help. That is how I got a relationship with my son that I thought was impossible. That is how I lost so much weight these past couple weeks. (I will write more on these later, maybe even a vlog?) All I needed to do was ask for help beyond my own. I wrote myself a new story for how I wanted things to go and started looking outside of the box I was trapped in. I asked friends what to do when I am struggling with a specific things. Friends can be the best help because more than likely they have been there. My life has changed so much when I quit relying on myself and turned to the Lord. He has all the answers and he loves you. I believe it and know it. I have seen miracles happen. Even simple ones like changing a diaper, running out of wipes and finding a new container next to me all of a sudden. We are meant to live with joy. 

Two Easy Things to Start Your Mornings Right

I've found myself adding more and more things to my daily routine and being able to handle it. Not every one can jump on board a moving train. I honestly think it takes some slow and simple steps. I would suggest two easy things for one week. It will make you happier and start your morning right. Plus they take less then 7 minutes!

Here's my morning and night routines right now. 

It may seem like a ton to you. I have been building up for all summer to have everything on this list. I love that it is on a separate piece of paper and the feeling when I can check things off. Some are simple and easy to check off. Others take me a bit longer. It may seem like a daunting list. Don't you worry! I have two things that will make it so much easier for you. I do highly suggest having your own list for the week of your two simple things I am going to teach you.

There are two things that would start your morning off right. You can do them in either order.

#1 Make your bed.

"Why make your bed when you are going to mess it up again?" A phrase my husband proudly used to say. I've always loved the idea of making my bed in the morning. It always made me feel more put together somehow. There are many reasons to make your bed first thing in the morning.

1) It fills you with a sense of accomplishment. If I can make my bed I can handle the next things I need to do. I love starting the day immediately checking off something off my list. It also fills me with accomplishment energy to do more.

2) It organizes your mind. Your bed is a lot like your mind. If it's a mess you will feel like you are a mess.

3) It makes your bedroom feel clean. It's true, just having a made bed even if the rest of your room is a mess just feels better. You feel like your life is put together. I know making my bed actually keeps my room clean because I don't want to make a mess in it. I want one room that's my clean place.

4) It shows respect for your relationship and yourself. Treat your room like it is your oasis. It's where you spend a large majority of your time. It's a symbol of your relationship with your spouse. If you are single it's a symbol of how you treat yourself. Clean room=more love for yourself.

5) Better night's rest. What does your room tell your subconscious when you sleep? Do you think a clutter room is good for a good night's rest? The more organized the room the better the sleep. Making your bed symbolizes that you care for this place your spend a lot of time in. Caring for the room means better rest.

6) It's a great wake up. If you are like me you are not much of a morning person. I have been trying to get myself up early to rejuvenate myself before the day. It's not easy. Jumping up out of bed and making it wakes up my brain. I may start sluggish but by the end I'm awake and ready for the day.

There are probably tons more that you can feel from making your bed but these 6 hit the nail on the head for me. How freeing it is start my day accomplishing the easy goal of making my bed.

#2 Kneel to pray.

Starting my day with kneeling to pray seems simple but unfortunately it's not simple for me. I forget. I want to hit the ground running. Taking the time to kneel to our maker can make all the difference. There is millions of reasons why you should kneel to pray first thing. Here's just a few.

1) Start your day with the one who knows your day. He knows the battles, struggles, ups and downs of your day. He knows what you need specifically. Praying to your Heavenly Father gives him the in he needs to guide you along the path.

2) Mediation is powerful. Mindfulness is now a common word in our culture. When I think of mindfulness I think of prayer. I am not good at clearing out all my thoughts but taking time to talk to God of our universe is something I would like to be amazing at. Taking time in your busy day to slow down helps your brain to function better.

3) Taking time to ponder, visualize, communicate first thing creates a deep connection. It creates a connection with yourself and with your Heavenly Father. Talking about your dreams, goals for the day, and simple things. It may seem unimportant to you but it is not to your maker. He created you to live your life fully and to be happy. He wants to know.

4) He answers prayers. Starting your day with a question. From a simple one, "How can I help my son when he throws fits?" to a huge one, "How are we going to pay our mortgage?" He answers. You will find yourself hearing answers at unappointed times during the day. Asking questions results in answers. No matter how big or small the concerns.

5) He loves you. He desires to hear from you. Kneeling to pray first thing allows you to feel his love more deeply and more clearly. You chose to put him first.

These 5 reasons are just a few that make a difference to me. I am now going to challenge myself to have deeper prayers and learn to connect deeply with my Father in Heaven. What a way to start a day.

I hope you enjoyed these five reasons and that they are eye opening to you. I want you to know I was very prompted to write this page down. I hope it changes someone like it has helped shape my life over the past couple weeks. I challenge you for one week to start your morning on the right side of the bed.

15 Minutes to a Clean Home

I'm in a little over a week after decluttering my life. In my post Creating Space for Only  Things I Love I talked about how I spent three days cleaning out and organizing my whole house. There have been some spaces that completely worked and other spaces that needed a little bit more help. 

The best part is the mood of my entire house. I have felt free in a way. I am careful about what I bring into my home now because I don't want to be throwing it away again. I also have created a lot more beautiful spaces. I feel like my home and family are a little more peaceful. Also I can clean my house in 15 minutes! 

You read me right, 15 minutes and my home is clean. When everything has a home it's easy to keep it clean. First I have to talk about my mornings and nights. My great friend Becky Edwards said in her class (Overwhelmed to Organized) how night "time" is different than morning "time". Meaning the actual amount of time. Porter goes to bed at 8, in 15 minutes I can have the house completely clutter free and beautiful. Now if I would have waited until the morning when Porter wakes up it would have taken me hours to clean the mess. 

So here's the secret. In the morning I wake up early and do my Power Ups  after power ups my goal is to have the dishes unloaded and a load of laundry in. After that my house is pretty much clean. Because the night before I started the dishes and put laundry from the previous morning away. I usually at night pick up the disaster of toys because it's impossible to do during the day, sweep and mop. I also take the small amount of time to put things where they actually belong. I realized this was the true enemy of my beautiful home. Random stuff. It all ends up all over the place. I start making piles. A pile on the kitchen counter and the stairs. Everything from these piles go where they belong after I finish the main floor. No more having tons of things I never really used being shifted around and shoved in places! If something doesn't have a home I either make it a home or it goes in the trash.


Night routine- (15 minutesish)

Laundry put away
Clutter put away
Dishes loaded and started
Sweep and mop

Morning Routine-

Power Up
Dishes away (I also load dishes during the day so dinner dishes are a breeze)
Laundry loaded (during lunch I switch it to dry) 


This simple routine in the past week has helped me stay on top of things and feel accomplished. 

Junk/Cleaning Closet

One space I really had to fix was my junk/cleaning closet. I used to have a drawer and random things in other closets. In the past week this closet got everything shoved into it. So I spent an hour or so on Saturday setting it all up. Now it's so easy to put everything away and find anything. 

I added another set of drawers to organize it. I also put a bunch of command strip hooks to hang up bags and the mop pieces. It makes it easy to find everything. Now I would say my junk closet is actually pretty!

Bedroom Makeover

My bedroom change was huge for me and for my relationship. I can happily say this is my happy place. I love to walk into my room and know that it is clean and beautiful. I added some more decor over this past week. I absolutely love it. Also the closet space I talked about in my last blog post is amazing! I love that we got rid of the dresser! 

Toy Area-

My toy area was usually triple this mess. Now it's so easy to clean up at the end of the day. Only a few things and for some reason my brain can handle a little mess like this. Before this one shelf there were three... I was living a toy wonderland.... Now it takes me less than five minutes to pick it all up. 

The Basket-

I usually clean when Porter is asleep, which usually means I left with things that need to go in his room. I'm not opening that door though... So I created a Porter's room basket. It gets filled then the next morning I can put it all where it belongs. Usually it's just a pile in the hall but creating the basket made me feel like it was an amount I can handle. Plus I just need to pick it up and carry things where they belong in his room, instead of bending over 100 times. 

Dining Room-

I actually got decor for my dining room now. I love how beautiful it looks. I actually want to use it now! It's a perfect space for it. My before of my dining room is in my blog post Kitchen. 

Is there any spaces you are wondering about how to organize? I would love to tell you what works for me and share some other stories. I really have been so happy with this new life style. I actually get to be a mom and spend some much needed mommy time! 

How I Found a Deeper Connection with my Father in Heaven

I am a spiritual person. I am strongly rooted in the gospel in my life. I haven't always been this way. I went for years without the gospel in my life. I went years without praying, without hope, without real joy. Was I having fun... absolutely but I usually end up lonely without a real destination. I know I can't be the only one who has had those days/months/years. Those dark days of not really knowing your path.  The worst part was I knew my path but I was scared to get back on track. 

I want to tell you how I have become closer to my Father in Heaven than I ever have been. I want to share what I have finally done to feel like I have begun to know my Savior and feel my Heavenly Father's love. I know that it is just the tip of the iceberg of what I will know but I can't be the only one. I can't be the only one who promises at the beginning of the year to read my scriptures everyday and then forgets repeatedly. I can't be the only one that starts to say mundane prayers and doesn't fully know how to connect and feel close to my Father in Heaven. I just can't be the only one who struggles to get answers or who just moves ahead because they don't really know what an answer feels like. 

I wrote a blog post a couple weeks ago about how my mornings have changed my life. How I Changed My Life in a Week.  I wanted to recap and expand on that. I've now gone three weeks of consistently reading my scriptures and writing my letters to God. I can still strongly say this had dramatically changed my life. Am I challenged in life still, I would say even more than ever because I am bettering myself. I can say however I have the ability to overcome things and handle stress with only the power of angels. I am by no means perfect but I can feel a dramatic change in my self. 

My last blog goes into details about how I conduct my morning time. I wanted to talk about why and how it has affected me. 

This morning I woke up to my husband telling me about a few things and then heading out the door. It's 6:30 and all I really wanted to do was go back to sleep. Porter hadn't woken up last night and I had a great night's rest. I couldn't fall back to sleep... I've come to learn that if I can't sleep it's usually the Lord wanting to talk to me. So I started my morning routine. This time however I took the advice from Kim Duncan a very successful, spiritual woman. I am attending her online class right now called My Destiny. She talked about how important it is to make your bed first thing in the morning. So I made my bed and dropped to my knees. Usually I just sit in bed and pray because I am still waking up but this time I prayed on my knees. Was I still tired.. oh yes, but I did it. In fact I was still tired as I read my scriptures. I also was still tired as I wrote my letter to God. Then I got to his letter back to me. 

I was floored. Before the letter back I read my patriarchal blessing, I even the started the letter as I felt he normally would prompt me back. All of a sudden I just felt the spirit so strongly and knew I was writing what the lord wanted for me. He answered my questions, he prompted more questions for me, and he talked about my path. I love writing these letters because I can reread them. I can sometimes get promptings but not like when I write a letter. This has deepened my relationship with my Heavenly Father so dramatically. In fact, if there was only one thing I had time to do in the mornings, I would do this. I love that I finally have a way where I feel like I can connect to my Father. 

I share these things not to boast of where I am but to encourage others to build their relationship with their Father. He is waiting and badly wanting to tell us things. It has changed my mornings, my days, my relationship with my husband and son, my home, and most of all-it has changed me. I feel so much happier about who I am and what I was sent here to do. I feel beyond blessed that I can finally read my scriptures daily and feel the spirit so strongly. I truly am blessed beyond any of my doubting. I would suggest you try. Just try to make a connection through your Father by writing to him. No matter your faith or your thoughts about where you stand. He will talk back to you. He loves you and I know this because he loves me. I know it with all my heart. As my lovely friend Kathy Stoddard has said, "Our souls long to be with him again." Writing fulfills our soul's longing and desires. I am so grateful just in the past few weeks to have started this connection. I am grateful I made time in my everyday to make sure I talk to the Lord. It has made all the difference in my life. 

Creating Space Only for Things I Love

What a week! I can't tell you how wonderfully, exhausting this past week was. I went through my entire house and decluttered! I also went back through and reorganized. It's not perfect yet but it feels so great to finally have a start. I wanted to post for you my before and afters. Maybe you can get a feel for how much this changed me. 

First, I want to start with the 'Why?' Some of you might be questioning why would I do this for myself. Another part of you might be asking 'How?!' Luckily you are getting the answer to both those questions. Why I started... So I became a stay at home mom a couple months ago. I was not loving it because I couldn't keep my house clean. Isn't that my whole identity now? Aren't I supposed to have a beautiful home? What else would I do all day if it's not clean? Yet not matter the rotations (Monday-Bedrooms, Tuesday-Kitchen, etc.) I could not seem to manage to make that big of a dent. All I did was clean all day... I felt like I never had time to play with my son because I had to clean. I knew that I had to make a change. 

I read the book The Art of Tidying Up . It really helped me to see how to let go of things I don't need and live life to the fullest. You need to touch everything and decide, "Does it spark joy?" I was amazed at how many things I thought I loved but I really didn't. It is an amazing concept. I am so grateful my friend offered to let me borrow it. I read it in a couple days and was ready to go. I am the type of person that when I find something that would make my life easier I want to do it right away. Unfortunately I had to wait about a week until I had a day free. I sent my child to grandma's and had a couple of great friends come over and I was ready to start. The whole house in one day. No big deal... 

Even with two wonderful extra hands we were not finished. I felt kinda of frustrated. Did I really have that much stuff that it took that long? My living space looked like a mess even though my closets and upstairs were beautiful. The next day I decided to just tackle my kitchen. I HIGHLY suggest you do not attempt to declutter with children around. My child was not helping my stress or the mess. So that day I finished a majority of the kitchen but my living space still looked like a bomb went off. The next day I got a babysitter and cleaned my living space so I felt accomplished. Then I worked on my pantry/laundry room and basement. I am not finished with the basement since it will be a preschool and I am figuring out the set up still. However I would say a majority of it was finished. So it took me a total of three days. I bet it could have been taken down to two if you still had help and sitters.

It has been completely worth it. Every thing now has a home. It's not crammed with other things and I don't have to store clutter anymore! I actually feel a huge weight lifted off me. I will talk a little about each space in the links below. I can't wait to show you my space! It's super vulnerable but here its goes! That includes all the "hiding spaces!"

My Bedroom Makeover

Porter's Bedroom 

Bathrooms 

Pantry & Laundry  

Kitchen


Here's the pile of things I was able to give up and let go. I can't believe how freeing it is! A lot of these things I really liked but they didn't spark joy. I would love to see who else decides to take this challenge. Let go and finally live! 

Kitchen

The kitchen had an extreme makeover. I swear all my cabinets were shoved full of stuff. No wonder I hated cooking (are you sensing a theme here). 

I'll be trying to put the before and afters together. I got rid of so much!

This is where all our tupperware and large bowl storage went. Now I can find everything so much easier. 

This is my cooking cabinet. It's right below were I put my mixer. I was in the middle of cleaning it when I remembered to take a picture. It looks so much better now. The boxes have all the cooking supplies in them; brown sugar, flour, chocolate chips, etc. The basket has mixing cups and tablespoons. Now I have all my lids together on the bottom shelf in a container. The large bowls have a space. Now I can actually find my blender. 

Under the sink didn't change too much. It's the only place that will fit my tall mixer and my baking and cutting boards. 

This was an odd cabinet that I never really used. I actually forgot about it since we moved here and hadn't touched it again. All the tupperware went to DI if I couldn't remember it. Now it stores extra plates and our quail egg containers. We use it everyday now. 

The cup cabinet became a mess when we started buying baby cups. Now it's all organized and doesn't have more than what we use. 

Our food cabinet always became a mess. I moved a bunch to the pantry and have a drawer of snacks. 

My oven mitt drawer was way too full. Now it's nice and clean with only the amount I actually use. 

This was the really messy junk drawer. I changed it to the large spoons and such. It makes sense since it is by the oven.

















My silverware drawer got moved to where everyone thinks it should be. You know when you go to someone's house and open the drawer where the silverware should go. Well I moved it to that spot. I also moved the kids silverware in with ours because it makes a lot more sense. 

 













I cleaned a bit out from the random drawer and added all of the knives to one drawer. Much easier to get to it all. 

The snack drawer. Man I am sure you are all thinking I am such a messy person. I don't think I am but somehow pictures speak louder than words... Now it is my beautiful towel and wrap drawer. 

My old spatula and wrap drawer now has hardly anything in it. Some of Porter's favorite plates go here. 

The spice drawer didn't get much of a make over. It's so easy to find everything because I labeled all the tops. I do need to go through it and cut down a bit. I loved putting spices in such a easy way to store. Usually they are hidden in a cabinet and you can never find them. 

The baking drawer actually has containers in it to sort things. There is certainly not a ton to sort when you decide you never use it. 

Our computer is on the kitchen counter perfect for watching favorite shows while cooking and looking up recipes. We put the keyboard in a drawer so a little boy I know isn't tempted to climb up the counter. So it's kinda like a junk drawer but not anymore. 

I like having things in drawers. It is much easier to see. Porter got into this drawer one too many times. Now I have two drawers for snacks and breads.

I hate putting plastic cups in the cabinet. They are too easy to knock over and they just end up getting crammed in. My drawer didn't change much. It's so easy to find which bottle I want. Plus I don't really care if Porter goes through this drawer. 

This cabinet above the sink was a disaster too. I moved a bunch of it to storage and gave all my tea things away. I loved it but never used it. Now it's nice to have everything fit. I also narrowed down my thirty cook books I never read to my seven favorites. They are also in an easy place to get to them. 

I hope you enjoyed my kitchen. I should have taken pictures during the disaster of cleaning. Here's the after. I cleaned the top of the fridge off, got rid of extra magnets and papers on the fridge, got better bar stools that don't scratch our floors (Target clearance) and have everything tucked away where it should go with room to spare. 

I also have Porter's toy room in our kitchen but went down from three shelves to one. Talk about less clean up!