"Full-Time Grown-Up"

Do you remember when we were kids, wishing we could grow-up, faster, and be grown-ups? I know I wasn't the only one who was "Sick of being a kid" when I was like 13.

FF twelve years and I am a grown-up.

I have been married (at the courthouse) & divorced (not proud of this but it was a BAD situation, all around). I have a 3 year old whom I have primarily raised on my own. I am in school full-time, slated to graduate with my masters, spring 2012 (may). I am working part-time (24-30 hrs/week) M-Th while shadowing in schools (during the school yr) and Pre-schools. Paying bills & rent for a house that I will own by this time 2013. I have a gym membership and my daughter tumbles at the gym 1 day a week (when I remember).


When did all this growing-up happen? I feel like I just graduated HIGH SCHOOL. Like just last week I was staying at school till 9pm and coming on Saturdays for guard or yearbook.


But last week, I was not in high-school, I worked, got into a car accident, had to get a rental for 14 days, schedule to get my un-driavable, car fixed, get a new carseat,  paid bills & stressed about money, went grocery shopping, DID SCHOOL WORK, did dishes, laundry, cooked dinner, had my mom and step-dad over for dinner,  went on a "date" with my wonderful, understanding boyfriend, went to a birthday party for my 1 year old cousin, went to a family dinner at my Grans, Had my dad, step-mom & little sister over to catch-up, played outside, daily, with my girl, watched tv, etc. 


That is just a snap-shot of my everyday life. I am this busy, sometimes busier, every week. I love every minute of it.


In the last 10 weeks I have gained weight... I haven't had time to go to the gym. I know excuses. 


As a child I always wondered how my mom got so much done in one day. She too was a single mom. I have realized that, what ever needs to get done, has to be a priority. I have to decide how important said thing is to me.


As of Sunday... I have made it a priority to get back to the gym.. made it part of my daily schedule. I will make use of the money I am spending for my membership each month. I can't justify just letting that money go to waste.


I lost a ton of weight 3 years ago when E was born, I gained about 8lbs back while I was living in PA. When I moved back to FL last June... I lost about 6 of the 8 that I had gained. We were always moving, looking at houses, moved into my house, was single, etc. I was only in 1 class and had a lot of time. I was at the gym 5 days a week. 


In just one year, I am at the tail end of my graduate program, I have been/am in 2-3 classes at a time. I am settled into the house, working more, and in a HAPPY RELATIONSHIP and heavier than I have been in years. I am no longer comfortable with myself or in my clothes. 


I expressed to my wonderful man how I felt and he is now a member of my gym. He said he wants to support me in my desire to loose weight. Now when I get home from work (he is a teacher and is off for the summer), he is in gym clothes ready to go & has fed E her afternoon snack and she is ready to go. All I have to do is change and we are out the door. 


I am following the old weight watchers program (not the new points plus), as well as tracking my calories, exercise, etc with My Fitness Pal on  my iPhone and computer. 

Who knew being an adult would also come with weight struggles? and There never being enough hours in the day.

Yesterday was good. Followed the plan of gym when I get home, no lounging around till after my little is in bed. We had a great day. I had less stress, who knew that about 1 hour to myself at the gym is exactly what I needed. I can't believe it has been a month sice I was at the gym. I don't know how I have lived without it.

I hope in one month I can update with a 4-5 lbs loss (1 lb a week is my goal).

It is going to take some discipline to stay on track and go to the gym, M-Sat and do my homework (not fiddling around on the web) the minute E goes to bed instead of when I get home from work. My last class ends in Oct... I am off all of Nov/Dec and start student teaching Jan.

Needless to say things won't be slowing down anytime soon so its time it make things work in my day-to-day schedule.

...

Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Mom, Im Driving Home"

This past weekend was glorious! We had the perfect Friday night, grilling, playing in the back yard, eating dinner on the back porch and just watching the sun go down over our pond. It was so relaxing and much needed "family" time.

"feeding" the fish blueberries

How freaking cool is this pic? Unintentional.

Since E was out of school this past week her and I had a lot of bonding time. I loved every second of it, but I am ready for her to start "camp", she is attending camp 5 days a week from 9-2; we are nervous but excited about the 5-day thing. She started in Feb. going 3 days a week. If things pan out well with 5 days a week then come Fall she will go all 5 days a week, when did I get a pre-schooler! I am freaking out here about how old/big she is getting.

TM & I wanted to kick-off our summer (I know tech. summer starts June 21) in an awesome way. So we decided to take a day trip to TMs hometown, Saturday. He is from a quaint coastal town in southern FL.

How gorgeous, right?!

While we were there we got some serious beach time in & I got to know his family better, esp his mom. He is a mama's boy (not in the still living at home when hes 30 and calling her 5 times-a-day way, in the he had a special bond with his mom and I desperately wanted her approval way). 

I LOVE HIS FAMILY!! I can not wait to be a part of such a fun group of people one day. 

water for her sand castle...

checking out the gulf

Hard to believe we were in FL

TM enjoyed having reign over my camera & we loved that it was h2oproof

Having a mamadaughter pow-wow

On a hunt for the perfect seashells

She was loving that she could touch! I loved the calm gulf waters

Once we got back to TMs parents house, we all showered and got ready to go to dinner. We went to a cute pizzeria where E was smitten with TMs younger brother (21). After dinner we were boxing up leftovers and E came up to me, hand out, and said "Hey Mom, Im driving home!" 

WTF?!

Apparently TMs dad told E she could drive home. I had to explain to her that she is not big enough to drive home, she was sad and cried. 

I am freaking out, panic attack style, that E is in 'camp' 5 days-a-week, with a new class and a new teacher, the thought of her driving being old enough to drive would send me to the loony bin. 

They grow-up so fast I can't handle it. I want a stop time! 

Yesterday we swam at my moms house and floated around and just relaxed in the sun. I love watching E in the water, she is such a great swimmer, Thanks to my step-dad, he has been spending everyday, almost, in the water working with E. I swear that girl has gills.

I know this summer is going to be amazing, my girl can swim, she loves being outside & loves the beach. 

I already see a lot more chalk & bubble time, watermelon hunks in the backyard, running through the sprinklers & swinging on the swings happening soon. 

I could live on the sound of my girls joyful laughter & the sweet, sticky kisses she gives me, if I could. They re-fuel me, when school/work drains me. 

I look at my life 1 year ago today and I am so thankful to be where I am TODAY. I have come so far in one year & I am proud of myself. I am EXACTLY where I want to be. 

Thank you for all the support and love I have gotten from all of you. Your comments cheering me on, have helped me get to where I am. I love each and every one of you. 

**11 days till I am a quarter of a CENTURY old! I am ready for it... bring on 25 and beyond. 

...

Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"The BOX"

Do me a favor.. if you're reading this in reader or via RSS feed... Click here. I redesigned my blog. YES you read that RIGHT... I DID IT!!!  What do yall think?

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I have mentioned to a few of you about E's "weekly box" but I have never blogged about it. I figured why not now?

When I was concerned about E being colorblind, I got such wonderful comments & E-mails from my readers with suggestions, though none of them seemed fitting for E. So I started doing a lot of research and Dr. Google & I were becoming good pals. 

I was finding that a lot of children who excel in other areas sometimes will "lag" (for lack of a better word) in one pronounced area. E's must have been colors. I mean my kiddo was counting to 10 alone before her 2nd birthday. She knows her ABCs & can sing you any nursery rhyme-y song you request. 

But colors, were/are her weakness. She knew the names of all of them but matching the name with the actual color was where she was troubled. 

So after various research and talking to other toddler/older kid moms & early childhood aged teachers; I adapted something for E. 

We call it "E's Weekly Box". It is given to her MONDAY AM after breakfast. A big deal is made about the box so she is excited to open it and see what "treasures" lie inside. 

We do a COLOR, LETTER, SHAPE & NUMBER of the week. I know it sounds like a lot. 4 things to focus on but how I have adapted it she seems to do well. I am also seeing a huge improvement on her color recognition. 

Inside the box lies a letter written by mommy [me] on a piece of paper that is the COLOR of the week. The letter states what we will be focusing on that week. E & I go over that and she moves on to her "treasures".

The contents of the box or "treasures" as E calls them are things found around the house, in E's toybox, anywhere. I am creative & keep it cheap (as in $0-$1).

Everything in the box for that week is the color of the week. To really put emphasis on the color.  

Once we have gone over everything in the box and she has had time to play with and talk about her treasures we put them back in the box, for the next day. Its done every day, at the same time. We're big on routine here. Then usually Mon or Tues we go on a hunt around the house and collect as many things that are the color, shape, START WITH the letter for that week & add them to our box. 

E likes arts & crafts and when we do arts we focus on that weeks COLOR, LETTER, SHAPE & NUMBER.

As for the numbers she is good, she can count to 20 alone now, we're working towards 25. I just want her to recognize the numbers when she sees them quicker then she does & on her first try.  We have about 4 or 5  1-10 puzzles and she does those so quick, girl loves her puzzles, but I think its different just seeing the number. 

Over all I am very pleased with how this is working, as I have expressed to some (Candice did a similar idea with her son). E really enjoys the box. She knows she gets it after she eats her breakfast. I really like mondays b/c its all new.  E is just so animated, about everything. It really makes doing things like "the weekly box" that much more fun. 

Even better she has no idea she is learning. 

**Tell me, Do you do anything special with your littles to keep their brains firing & get them ready for pre-school? (OMG thats in about 8 mons for E...growing up too fast!) 

...

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"The Big Time"

Thats right kids, E is now in a BIG GIRL BED. No more cribs in this house. 

(4-in-1 crib to toddler bed)

[Yes. I . Cried.]

[you would've too, don't judge me]

This is a HUGE step. A step that basically happened overnight.

It didn't happen b/c she was climbing out of her crib or b/c I couldn't get her in there b/c she was too heavy (E is a peanut weighing in at 24lbs), she was actually quite content in her crib. 

It happened b/c we like to go visit Aunt Hayls & did frequently when E was small enough for her PNP. We used the hell outta that thing (THANKS JoLynn & Aunt Dottie!). We used it until she was oh IDK 17/18 mons and she was just so uncomfortable in it & wasn't sleeping well b/c she was too BIG! 

We couldn't visit HK anymore. Tear. 

While I was in PA I missed HK so much & so did little E, once we moved back Hayls was visiting us (catching up for lost time). A lot. I felt bad, and frankly I missed going to see her. Getting away for a weekend. I used to live in the city Hayls lives in, as we both attend(ed) the same college. I miss it [the city], sometimes. 

So I started searching out travel sleep options for toddlers and after reading countless reviews, I had found one. I had seen it in a catalog before I left PA but just briefly looked it over. When I finally decided to order it I got it on sale. Thats how I knew I made the 100% right decision. 

It came quickly, I wasn't ready for it to come so quick, but we did have a trip to see HK planned. I waited a day or two to introduce the travel-bed to E. I wanted to let her "try-it" before the trip. I wanted her to be comfy and familiar with it. I also didn't want to get 2hrs from home and her freak out, b/c shes never seen this thing before. 

I made a big deal about the new [travel] bed and what not. She loved it. She actually had about an hr of quiet time on it. Score!

(quiet time on her new travel bed)

(shes growing-up too fast)

So I threw it in my car, for Hayls house. E slept like a champ for 3 nights & 3 days worth of naps, no problems. Almost too good. 

(snuggles w.my pretty on her travel bed)

I didn't think much of it, except how great E did & that we would def. be visiting again. Soon.

Well E had a different thought. She thought that since she slept in a 'big girl bed' for 3 nights that meant she got to sleep in one at home too. 

Once we got home and I tried to lay her down for a nap, in her CRIB, she screamed "NO CRIB, Me want big-girl bed!! I a big-girl!" It was a fight it get her to take a nap. Promises of a big girl bed got her to lay down in her crib that she normally loved. 

I hoped that she would forget about my promise of a new bed, before bedtime that night, she didnt. 

Her crib was a 4-in-1 but we never bought the conversion kit and the company who made her crib went out of business, so after a week of promising my begging little, a big-girl bed, M & I went toddler bed shopping. Hoping to find one that day to take home with us. Unfortunately, since we needed cherry wood, it would have to be ordered. That was not going to work.

I promised that she would sleep in a big girl bed THAT NIGHT. I couldn't lie to her anymore. Frantic I called my mom we decided to use the 4-in-1 crib from PA, we had the conversion kit for that and it was cherry and matched the furniture in "E's room" at my parents house. I will just have to buy her an actual toddler bed when I move (soon).

So M & I disassemble her crib in about 20 mins no problem. The problems came when we didnt have the instructions anymore for the PA 4-in-1. It took us an 1.5 hrs to put together, but the look on E's face when she saw it was worth it!

(looking at her new bed for the first time)

(Laying in her bed for the first time)

...

I can't believe she is in a real bed now. They grow-up so fast. Whats next? 

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"April 4, 2008"

Dear Sweet Baby E,

It's amazing to think that it's been two years since you made your grand entrance. Two years since you single handedly changed my life, for the better. I don't know what I did so right to deserve to be your mommy, I have been so blessed. Being a full time mommy has been the best, most rewarding job in the world. Watching you learn and grow in to the beautiful little person you are today has been the best thing I could ever ask for. When things got tough, I cried with you and I learned with you and it all has been beautiful. I wouldn't change a single moment.

Seeing those crystal blue eyes looking up at me with your crazy halo of curls, surrounding your rosy cheeks, how can I not help but smile and scoop you up in my arms and snuggle you as tight as I possibly can. I see so much of myself in you, it's uncanny. That is until you wiggle your way out and run away to play. My little "baby shark".

Full of energy and always moving, you never stop. Everyday is a new adventure and nothing is the same. Just watching you play wares me out & I wouldn't change it for the world. I love seeing the world through your eyes, experiencing it all a new way. It is incredibly bewitching how you can take something so mundane and make it sparkle.

I've watched you go from completely dependent on me, the day you were born, to little miss "No mama Me do it". It breaks and makes my heart swell with pride all at the same time. Seeing your face weld up with fulfillment when you have accomplished your goal, I get excited along side of you, because you have realized that nothing is out of your reach. Every mother wants that for their child. Seeing that smile on your face after an accomplishment, no matter how big or small, makes my day.

Although your obsessions with "Finding Nemo", "Wow Wow Wubbzy", "Dora the Explorer" & "Go! Diego! Go!" drive me mad at times, seeing how excited you get is enough for me, because I know that in time this will pass. You will not be two years old forever and before I know it you will no longer love cartoons and I will be asking myself "where did my toddler go?" and I will want these precious days back.

E, You have taught me so much about life, what is important and what isn't. You have taught me how to love, you really opened up my heart. I can not for one millisecond imagine my life without you, I don't even want to. The last two years have gone by like the blink of an eye, being your mother has taught me that everyday is precious. I am enjoying every second I have. Enjoying the small pleasures you bring that really aren't small at all but are so huge they can't be measured in any thing but smooches and "noses". Not a moment goes by that I don't realize how lucky I have been. God blessed me and I thank him daily for you.

I didn't realize it till April 4th 2008 at 8:29pm, but you were the missing piece in my life puzzle. I couldn't have asked for a better child. The last two years have been sensational. I can't wait for the rest... I am so excited but in the same breath I want a stop time b/c what happened to this 5lb baby?...

E only less than an hr old:


E @ her 1st birthday party- April 4, 2009. 1 yrs old.


E yesterday @ her 2nd birthday party April 3, 2010- (1 day away from 2yrs old) (Tutu from ColeBabyTutu's ...BEAUTIFUL tutu, GREAT costumer service, great prices and E loves it!!)



Happy 2nd Birthday my little twinie! -- I love you Doodles.

Love,
Mama (now known as "Mommy" or "Mom" not fond of the latter)

"NO, It's NOT in the water..."

If I hear/see one more person say that "Im not drinking the water, EVERYONE [i wet to HS with] is getting pregnant" like its a bad thing, I will scream. Literally.

PEOPLE, we are not fresh out of HS... we graduated over 5 yrs ago! We're even out of college too.

Its not in the water. Its part of growing up.

It may seem as if "everyone is pregnant or married" but guess what? Just as many if not more are not. You only notice the coupled up or pregnant ones bc you have a heightened awareness & the mindset that its EVERYONE. Kind of like when you're going to buy a new car you see that same make/model, EVERYWHERE.

Some people aspire(d) to get married and start a family. Others wanted to "live out their 20s, fun & free" Both options are fine. To each their own.

But don't say that you're not going to "drink the water" bc you DONT want to get pregnant or b/c you're the only one who doesn't have a husband/kid you can't be friends with those people who do, anymore. Thats probably one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

Every person is different. If one decides to get married and start a family, then so be it. Just because its not the path you chose, DOESNT mean you can't you can't still associate with them. Or that it's wrong.

Just because someone had a kid or is married doesn't mean they have completely changed. I think its time we realize that we're NOT the only ones getting older. EVERYONE else is too.

-Kelli-sue

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