Day 6...

Considering the day... and the fact that everyone is probably sick of election stuff.... I am thankful that I live in a country where I can vote for what I believe in and know that I can make a difference. 

 I am honored and grateful to live in the United States of America.  I love that my children will grow up in an amazing country where they can decide for themselves what they want and who they want to believe in.  I am thankful to be protected by the soldiers who defend our freedoms daily and I pray for them and their families.  No matter the outcome of this election, I am truly grateful for it all.

And, no I won't tell you who I voted for.  I'll let you guess.

Day 5...

As a young kid, I really never liked books.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved the concept of books, but never actual read them unless I had too.  One of the first books that I truly ever read was Saving Alice.  I had to read it for high school english class.  Let me just tell you.  I read it, it was awful and I never wanted to read again.  The book itself wasn't awful, the contents were and the ending?!?  was TERRIBLE.  If you have read it, you know what I mean.  Then the next book I had to read was Night.  AGAIN, the contents were horrible and extremely depressing.  Do you blame me for not wanting to read again?!

Several years later, along came Harry Potter.  My mom and sister were instant fans.  They would talk about muggles, Snape, Harry, Dumbledore, Hagrid, the whomping willow, Hogwarts, etc....  It drove me CRAZY that I didn't know what they were talking about it!  So, I made a commitment to read the first one.  JUST the first one.  Well, let's just say the rest is history. Not only did I read the entire series 3 times, but the movies are some of my favorite.  AND, I now read all the time.  It's actually an addiction, one that I am proud to say that I have.

SO, today I am thankful for the books that have changed my way of thinking, taken me away into another land, books that have challanged me, changed me and ones that I now hold close to my heart because they somehow touched my soul.  The books that are in this picture below all have had long remaining effects on my life for one reason or another.  Some of them I read when I was going through really hard times.  Some of them took me into a land that I truly wanted to be in and others just helped me think differently and some were just plain beautiful.  Thank you to the authors of these amazing books and all of the others that were not mentioned here.  I am proud to say, that I LOVE to read and I hope that I pass that love onto my kiddos. 

Have a good one!

Day 4...

Today I am extremely grateful for the beautiful world in which we live. I thank my Heavenly Father daily for the continuous artwork that he displays for me.  THANKFUL. 



Day 1, 2, 3...

This year I am going to do the 22 days of Thankfulness....  Since its already the 3rd, I am a couple of days behind.  So, here are 3 things I am thankful for.

 

Day 1.  I am the luckiest girl alive to be married to my best friend.  He compliments me, loves me, pushes me, angers me, makes me laugh and I couldn't be happier.  We have been through more than we ever thought, but each day, I love him more than ever.

 Day 2.  These little faces.  Growing up, I always knew that I would have kids.  Never did I think what a complete and total blessing children can be.  I have learned so much from them about life, love and having a pure heart.  Thank you to my babies for allowing me to have the greatest gift of all. Motherhood.

 Day 3.  I am thankful for my home, the neighborhood that I live in and everyone that I share this home with.  I have a feeling we will be here for awhile and I a LOVE thinking about that.  This is our house, but more than that it is our HOME.

Day 4..... tomorrow!

Family and Hot Chocolate..

This is Anna's picture of our family. Love it.

Ummmm..... and does this look like the YUMMIEST hot chocolate EVER?!?! Well, it was or so Anna said.

Have a good day everyone!

No talking, just showing...

Instead of talking about what we have been up to.....

I will show you.

So, basically, the leaves changed, Anna had her 5th birthday, we bought pumpkins like we do every year, William scored 5 goals, YES 5 in his last game, it snowed and we turned on the fireplaces, and last but NOT least, we stayed at mom's work... Hotel Monaco!  Oh and a little jaunt to City Creek!

I'll be blogging more.  I miss it badly.

When is your "my time?

Here it goes... 

• I miss my kids like crazy. LIKE CRAZY!
• I am not a good housekeeper even though I religiously pin ideas off of pinterest on how to keep my house clean in 30 minutes a day. Whatever... I don't care who you are. It's not possible with small kids to keep your entire house clean for longer than 30 seconds.  If you were to tell me different, I wouldn't believe you.
• I am desperately in love with B. He is literally superman or Ironman if he had his way, right now. He cooks, kind of cleans, makes the kids lunches, helps them with homework, takes and picks them up from gymnastics and soccer and works like a mad man to get his day job done.
• I work way too much
• I eat horrible
• I don't exercise anymore
•  I don't sleep at all
• Between leaving for work every morning at 7AM working like crazy, I come home and still work. Emails, texts messages, cooking, cleaning, wiping down, picking up, reading school emails, spend as much time with the kids as possible before they go to sleep...  you get the picture.

Someone said to me the other day and it has stuck with me, " Kelly, I get that you work and have to juggle kids and schedules and that is stressful and hard, but can I ask you a question? When is "Kelly time"?"  Now this question was out of the blue and actally very random for the moment that it was in. I stopped what I was doing, looked up and was completely shocked that I already knew the answer to the question.  There was no delay in my response... " when I am in the shower and when I sleep, even then, I still get interrupted 80 percent of the time."  I went about my task at hand and was immediately saddened.   This person didn't say anything back to me. She just smiled at me. The kind of smile that says, I love you.  All she said was, "You know this is a problem.  I can see it and so can your family.

 

When I was a stay at home mom, I had time. I was always with my kids, so I would seek out time to get away for some" Kelly time". Girls nights were regular, weekend cabin trips with the ladies or my family, date night with my sweetheart every Friday was a necessity. Over the last 6 months, I have had 3 date nights, 2 girls nights out and have been extremely inconsistent with communicating with my friends.  When I was home everyday, I would have done anything to get out for some my time and now I will do anything to stay in. Ironic. I know that I need time with my B and I need time with my kids, but I also need time with just me too. To read, write, run, talk to my dear friends and learn about their lives, talk to my husband and hold hands and kiss.  You know, everyday little things that make me happy are unfortunately going by the way side and I feel like I am lost.

 

So I have a question...

 

The question is "when?" When does a full time working mom do this and not take away the little time that they have for their family?  AND, do you think it's important for a mom to have "My Time?"

I know there is no greater gift than being a mom and that includes being there for them and wiping their tears, hugging them when they have accomplished something and just being there when they need you.  But I also know that I am a better mom, when I have taken care of my needs as well.  I just can't seem to justify that right now and it makes me sad.  So ANY advice would be wonderful!