How quickly they grow.

Seth has been off for the past 4 days and it has been heavenly. I love having him home. There are so many topics on my list of things that I wanted to blog about and now that I have created a little slot of time to do so (everyone has gone to bed) I don't know where to start. Blogging can be so liberating...I can say whatever I want and I don't have to worry about anything (ie, driving people crazy with my incessant chatter). haha.

I guess I should start by saying "life is good." This picture really says it all:

Seth and Kailee went to the library the other day to get "The Little House in the Big Woods" (he loved The Little House on the Prairie series as a child) and they have been reading a chapter together every night -- Sophia doesn't really like to sit for any length of time to read so we stick to the shorter books with her. I was doing some work in the office last night, while I listened to him read to her. I noticed it got quiet so I just assumed that Seth took Kailee to bed. After about 10 minutes of silence I heard Seth's snores start to waft into the office so I decided to check it out and this is what I came upon. It was such a heart-warming sight.

While I looked at them asleep in the papasan chair (after I took a picture) I couldn't help but to feel a small tinge of sadness. Kailee seems to be growing up so quickly these days...and I'm not just talking about her height. She is acting like such a big girl. I can't help but to laugh at some of the things she says to me sometimes. On top of that, (this is not going to sound like a big deal to most of you) Kailee took her first shower tonight (after playing in the bath for 1/2 hour first. haha). I have been trying to get Kailee to take a shower since she could stand up. I have friends who's kids have taken showers from birth and like it. My girls have never liked showers. Kailee has always cried when I tried to turn on the shower. Tonight she let me turn on the shower and wash her hair...Although I am pretty sure I am done in the baby department, I have to say that I can see the appeal of having more babies when children hit this age.  It seems like just yesterday that I was in the nursing her, rocking her, soothing her, she was just a baby...

...and Sophia. WOW! She has grown leaps and bounds in just a month. She started with two word sentences about 2 weeks ago and now she is on to three words. It is so amazing the things they can pick up on. Sophia loves to mimic her big sister. If Kailee says she wants string cheese, Sophia isn't far behind saying the exact same thing followed by "too". It is really cute. Read book too. Go walk too. Watch cartoon too (although she will not sit through one). I love it! This is one of my favorite ages -- their brains are such sponges. Everyday is a new adventure. I am so blessed to be able to take this adventure with my girls. I thank God everyday and pray the He will lead us to bring them up in the way He would see fit; that they would come to know Christ at an early age. I pray for God to intercede because I feel like I sometimes fall short and I know He will never disappoint. I will continue to praise God for his grace and never-ending love...and for loaning me these two amazing gifts -- they are my everything!

Wordless Wednesdays...

Insert Sophia standing on the counter...

Then imagine her standing in time out in her diaper (as you can see her pj's are on the counter to the left) crying "cold! cold!"

My newest endeavor...

I have been waiting to blog about my newest endeavor...Why? I don't really know. Better late than never, right?

For those of you who know me (really know me), you know that I have had a hard time with the whole "being a stay at home mom" thing. I never envisioned myself doing this. I thought I would go to college, get a job, get married, and... I, for the life of me, can't figure out why I never thought about where kids would fit into the picture. It's not really that I didn't envision myself having kids, I just never thought that far ahead, I guess.

I remember my mom once saying to me something along the lines of "you never really liked kids". At the time, I was shocked. I couldn't understand why she would think that. I still don't quite know but I have learned that she may have known something about me that I didn't quite know about myself. It's not that I don't/didn't like kids, it's just that after a while they start to drive me crazy...my own included. Now for those of you that are reading this and may be thinking "What? Did she just say that?" Trust me...this is what many moms (especially SAHM) think...they just don't express it because of what people would think.

To me, there is nothing wrong with saying that my kids sometimes make me feel like I'm going crazy and need to just "get away" for a while. Is it their fault? Of course not. They are only 2 and 3 years old...they are just being kids. It just so happens that they dirty LOTS of clothes, make incessant messes (after I JUST cleaned it 3x!!), and they whine and cry a lot. Who in their right mind wouldn't need a break from this -- on occasion?

...and, no, my newest endeavor is not torturing my children (though it has crossed my mind....I'm just kidding, I think). :-) hahahaha

I sometimes wonder what Seth really thinks of me -- I am the wife who can't keep the house clean, the laundry sits folded on top of furniture for days waiting for the laundry fairy to put it away (as it is right now -- Where is she???), I end some days realizing it has been 2 (or dare I say 3) days since I last showered, I handle the household finances and don't always do the best job of sticking to the budget, I don't fix my hair 1/2 the time, there isn't always food available for breakfast... hmmm...I'm a HORRIBLE stay at home mom.

The only thing I do right (most of the time) is the "mom" part. I LOVE my kids but it is really overwhelming to get everything done in one day. Oftentimes I find myself at the end of the day thinking "I didn't get ____________ (insert any number of things) done again today!". So...frequently, they come first. I take them to play dates, read them books, watch (referee) them play, bake cookies with them, paint with them, etc., etc. Those days when I focus on getting the list above done, my children get on my very last nerve. There really is not a nice way of saying it. The drive me bonkers! I sweep the floor only to return to find crumbs all over it. I fold the laundry only to have Sophia (or Kailee) unfold them to try to help me fold them. I sit down to work on the budget only to have them try to crawl in my lap (mostly Sophia here) and press the "home" button on the keyboard 100x. I find myself very impatient and short with them on these days...and, at the end of the day, I find myself frustrated with, well, myself.

I have always been an entrepreneur of sorts (well, at least my mind works this way). Now, I guess the correct terminology is "mompreneur" (seriously, I didn't come up with this on my own). I know it sounds crazy since I already have so much on my plate with taking care of my family and our household but I needed something to help me "get away". Something that I could do to help contribute while at the same time having some time away from my precious, darling, angel girls (insert sarcasm). So, I decided to try an MLM/Direct Sales route (Multi-level marketing).

I am one of the odd people in this world who loves sales! I worked in sales through college and loved meeting new people from all walks of life (though there were those few that I could have definitely gone without meeting). I loved closing the deal. I loved that my pay check was a direct indicator of how well/poorly I was doing -- instant gratification, of sorts. I was pretty good at it. I WAS NOT one of those schmoozy people that talked you into buying something. I am/was one of those people that sought out your needs and tailored what I had/have to those needs. I was/am nice and friendly. That goes a long way these days. In a time when customer service is horrible almost everywhere we go, people LOVE nice and friendly. I definitely do! I will go out of my way (and even spend a little more money) to go somewhere with good customer service and friendly employees.

All of this to say that I started selling Scentsy in September. I had a friend of mine (from my mom's group here in Monterey) ask me to host a party for her and I did (wanting to help her out) not even knowing what Scentsy was. I fell in love with the product. I love scented candles!! The great thing (or so I think) about Scentsy warmers is that they don't have a flame and the wax doesn't evaporate into the air. The three biggest sellers for me were the fact that the scents smell amazing, the wax doesn't get hot enough to burn the girls, and the wax is re-usable making it a lot less expensive than regular candles. The added bonus is that the warmers look nice!

Anyway, so after doing some research (for like 2 days- haha), I decided Scentsy was for me. YAY!

More about my work from home journey/entrepreneurial failures to come. Be sure to subscribe above to get future updates...