Love Meets the Crazy: guest blogger Natalie Norton.

Natalie here. I HAVE to start by saying, THANK YOU to those of you who prayed for baby Gavin. Truly. I know many of you literally lifted your entire hearts in prayer on his behalf, and I am deeply grateful to you. DEEPLY.PROFOUNDLY.ABUNDANTLY grateful. I love you.

So what am I doing here on The Coterie? Well, Heather asked me to share a few thoughts on love to kick off the season.

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Disclaimer:

Truth be told?

• My house is a mess.
• My kids? Well, they definitely need a bath.
• If you come to my house, NEVER open a drawer, and enter the bathroom at your own risk.
• My kids pee in parking lots and hit strangers kids at the park.
• I don't know anything about most things and know very little about everything else.
• I don't DO any of the things I'm about to share with you all.the.time. I WISH I did. Oh, how I wish I did.
  
• At the end of the day, you just do the best you can, then hit the hay, roll out of bed, and start all over again tomorrow.
  

Alllllllll that said,

here are some tips and tricks I've learned over the years
to keeping the love ALIVE in a house full of crazy.
(oh, and one thing I DO know a lot about? A house full of crazy!)

ultimately, it all boils down to this:

Love YOURSELF
and there will always be an abundance of love left
for everyone else

In my world,

1. loving myself means putting one load of laundry in every morning, FIRST THING.

Laundry is the ultimate SUCK, and I HATE nothing more than hearing my husband and my kids say "Mo'om I can't find any clo'othes!"

I've decided that I love myself too much to allow myself to get behind. Having clean clothes to wear everyday, well, it shows my man and my boys that I love them too.

2. loving myself means, sorting my mail as I walk in from the mailbox.

If I'm not careful, every single surface in my home will be COVERED by papers in 6 seconds flat. Subsequently, I feel like I can NEVER open my front door all the way when Neighbor Nelly comes a callin' unannounced.

Junk mail goes straight into the trash (I walk past the can to reach my front door). Bills go directly into the "bill cubby" the second I walk in the door, and everything that needs to be filed is filed immediately (I keep my filing system on my kitchen counter right by my fridge, so it's always accessible).

I love myself too much to feel embarrassed by my house all.the.time. Keeping things clean also shows my boys (Richie included) I love them too much to make them live in squalor.

3. loving myself means taking care of my body.

when I'm on the ball in the love department, everyday I do four things:

1. exercise (you can ALWAYS find time one way or another)
   
2. eat sensibly (that does NOT equal "diet like it's goin' outta style")
3. shower (it helps me remember I'm alive)
   
4. go to bed at a reasonable hour (aka I have to ditch out on trash tv)

Enough said.

4. Loving myself means FINDING A FREAKING BABYSITTER.

If I love ANYONE in my life, myself, my kids, my husband, my bank teller. . . I'll get a *babysitter at LEAST once a week. If I don't have that kind of break . . . oy to the ve!

Richie and I try to go out once a week. . . at least. I know more than once a week is unrealistic for most families, but we've had some extenuating circumstances in our family recently and we've found that more time together as a couple is a NECESSITY for everyone involved. If life's a little more high stress than normal, you may want to give this a shot.

If you don't have a significant other, ditch the kids and go to a movie solo. . . I do it all the time. Not as awkward as you'd assume. Trust me.

*If you can't afford a sitter, do a babysitting trade with another family in the neighborhood. FIND.A.WAY. You won't regret it.

5. Loving myself means connecting with God.

Whether through studying sacred text or listening to beautiful music or praying or reaching out to someone in need. . . I've got to take the time to connect with God every.single.day. Ultimately, he IS love after all, right? So knowing him, well, knowing him means knowing love. :)

How do YOU show love to yourself/those around you?

Happy Valentines Day Folks!

xo.

N