This conversation is sponsored by Pop Secret and the Linqia Community.

Life is busy right now around here.  Busy, beautiful, and messy.  Both literally and figuratively messy.  I’m hosting both a party and company this weekend, we have something to do every night this week, and I need to bake 50 brownies before Sunday night.  Oh, and have a breakfast casserole ready to go Sunday morning!  Chaotic, right?

One of my mama goals is to purposefully slow down when life gets a busy.  When my to-do list is longer than I can keep track of in my mind I need to take a moment to breathe, reprioritize, and then make a plan to tackle that list.  I don’t always succeed but I’m trying to do better.

This morning, during breakfast, I made a few lists which helped me organize my thoughts.  Then I went and played with my daughter.  Instead of choosing to do something I wanted to do and getting annoyed at her interruptions I spent quality time with her.  You know what?  We had a blast!  My to-do list will be there tonight and I can get to work then.  Maybe tomorrow she can help me stuff goodie bags for the party.  But today we played!

We grabbed some dining room chairs and a big blanket and build an impromptu fort.  To tell you the truth, I got a little choked up while building it.  When I was girl my grandparents built forts like this for my cousin and I.  It was an extra special bonding time with them that I’ll never forget.  I can still remember the blankets we used and exactly what the chairs looked like.  I hope my daughter will look back with such fondness of the times that we spend together.

First things first; she wanted to pretend to take a nap in her fort.  After she grabbed her blankets, pillows, popcorn, flashlight, and guitar, she proceeded to take a pretend little snooze.

Next up on the agenda was a fashion show.  Check out those shades.

Then it was time for a snack.  No fort experience is complete without a little popcorn.

Pop Secret’s Sea Salt is my favorite!!  {I thought sea salt was just another food fad but no, this stuff is remarkably different.  It’s delicious!}

Storytime!  She can’t read just yet but she’s memorized a few books and she likes to pretend that she can read. : )

Candy Land!  We usually play this as a family so it was a nice treat to play with just each other.

Chores will always need tending to, schedules will always be busy, errands will always need to be ran, but these little people that God has entrusted me with are growing up fast.  Much too fast!  I cannot believe that my son will be one soon!  It seems like yesterday I was planning his arrival.  I want to be intentional about pouring myself, my time, and my love into them.

I don’t want to be the mom who is too busy on the phone to play at the play ground.  I want to be the kind of mom who goes down the slide, who jumps in mud puddles, and who builds forts in the middle of the day just because.

I do hope you’ll join me in embracing childhood…while it’s still here to enjoy.  Need some fuel for imaginative play?  Head over here for a $1-off coupon for Pop Secret. {Try the Sea Salt kind!  Trust me.}  If you send Pop Secret your pillow fort pictures on Facebook they might have a special treat to share with you. You can upload them right to the Pop Secret timeline and tag them #PopSecretForts.