We Could All Learn Something from a Toddler

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Kylee

My little Bubbie is 18 months old, and he is absolutely the light of my life.  I could go on and on about how wonderful he is, but what mother couldn’t brag about her kid?  Instead, I wanted to share a couple of things I’ve observed lately…

First of all, my son might just be the most generous, thoughtful person I know.  And he has no idea what it means to be those things.  I think that’s what makes it so beautiful.  I recently started watching a friend’s 6 month old baby in the mornings.  He is so different from my boy.  He’s tiny and sleepy and he cries… a lot.  After all, he’s just a baby.  Peyton grew up at some point, though I can’t pinpoint when it happened.  Either way, when the baby cries, Peyton becomes very seriously concerned.  He gets little worry lines in his forehead and begins looking around frantically.  He’s not looking for the baby, though.  He’s looking for something to console him with.  Sometimes it is a toy, sometimes it is a binky, and sometimes he runs to the kitchen and tugs on the refrigerator door, as if to tell me “he’s hungry, Mom!!”  How does he know?!?!  And why does he even care?  It amazes me that he can be so concerned for another person when he’s so small himself.

The other thing that has been fascinating to me lately is the way he shares things.  At dinner time, when it’s something that he could really take or leave, he eats what he wants and then he’s done.  But when it is something he really loves, he wants to share it.  His goldfish are an excellent example.  He will have a snack cup full of goldfishes, and he eats one, then offers one to me, and then one to his dad.  Cookies, chocolate, whatever it is… if it’s delicious, he wants to share.  I think it is so neat that he has no concept of where it came from, first of all, and whether or not there is more… but even more so, that he is happy to share his favorite things.  As adults, I think we tend to “hoard” our favorite things, and the less of something we have, the stingier we are.

I recently heard one of the djs on KLOVE telling a story about how her son asked her one day if he could give his granola bar to the man that was asking for money at the stoplight they were sitting at.  She was heartbroken that not only had she not wanted to do the same, but she wasn’t sure she was okay with him doing it.  There is so much danger associated with strangers, but are we creating that danger for ourselves?  Are they really that scary?  Can’t we be doing more to help those in need and show them God’s love, the way a child would?

We can always be doing more.  Always.  The hard part is just to do it.

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Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Kylee

Valentine’s Day.

Such a slur of emotions.

Some people love it, some people hate it, a lot of people get engaged on this day, and a lot of people spend the day mourning the loss of love.  I suppose there’s something to be said for the amount of emotion it evokes, but nevertheless, I see the “holiday” as a bit ridiculous.

A couple days ago, my boys and I were driving home and I was checking out my Facebook news feed.  My brother Keith had posted a link to an article his friend Aarik had written entitled Love in the Eyes of Art.  I loved his take on the subject.

The way Aarik sees it, artists (namely song writers) have three main “compartments” of love: love is a fairytale, love is a battlefield, or love is all futility or frivolity.  Three extremes.  And I agree.  I related so strongly to his article because I’ve been in the midst of this dilemma myself.

Music, movies, books, and television shows will all have us believe that there is only one way to be in love, and that is dramatically.  On the one hand there is Cinderella and her prince, who sweeps her off her feet, saves her life, and they live happily ever after.  And on the other hand there’s your typical Hollywood romantic comedy that tells you that first you will fall in love, then he will hurt you, and then he will do something incredible to win you back and you’ll live happily ever after.  Of course there are also the neigh-sayers who tell you that there is no such thing as love and they live the life of Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) or a crazy cat lady.  But I’m more concerned with the first two.

I first started to struggle with the notion of “my love isn’t good enough” when I heard the song ‘Bold as Love’ by John Mayer on his live CD ‘Where the Light Is.’  At the end of the song he breaks into somewhat of a rant, and the piece that sticks with me is where he says “And I don’t mean like, Roman candle, fireworks, Hollywood hot pink love. I mean, like, “I got your back”-love.”  (see the entire speech referenced below**).

This strikes a chord with me because I feel like we’re always comparing ourselves to others, and our relationships aren’t exempt from that.  I’ve seen relationships — decades of marriage — end, because that love didn’t look like someone else’s love.  Wasn’t passionate enough.  Storybook enough.  Pretty enough.

I’m going to be the first person to tell you that the love in my house isn’t pretty.  It doesn’t wear make-up, and most days it doesn’t even change out of pajamas.  Our love has sticky floors and streaky windows.  It has dirty dishes and yelling matches.  It makes snarky comments and leaves dirty socks on the floor.  Over and over again.  But you know what?  It is the most comforting thing I have ever known, and the best thing I have ever been a part of.

Now, I’m not saying we’re in the clear — that we’re never going to be at risk for that love ending — but I am saying this:  I realize that love takes work.  A successful relationship takes work.  And what a successful relationship looks like to us may be completely different from what it looks like to someone else.  What I’m trying to tell you is this:  PLEASE don’t let the Reese Witherspoon movies and Tim McGraw music of this world influence the way you feel about love.  Embrace what you have.  And share it.

 

** So check it out right, I’ve tried every approach to living. I’ve tried it all. I haven’t tried every thing, but I’ve tried every approach. Sometimes you have to try everything to get the approach the same, but whatever. I’ve tried it all. I’ve bought a buncha stuff. I went “ehh, I don’t like that.” I kinda came in and out of that a coupla times.

I thought I would shut myself off. I thought maybe that’s cool. Maybe that’s what you have to do to become a genius is you have to be mad. So if you can get mad before the word genius, then maybe you can make genius appear. Right? That doesn’t work either.

And I’m in a good place. I’ve paced myself pretty well. I’m 30, I’ve seen some cool stuff. I made a lot of stuff happen for myself. I made a lot of stuff happen for myself. That’s a really cool sentence when you’re in your 20s, right? “I made it happen for myself.” But all that means is that I’ve just somehow or another found a way to synthesize love. Or synthesize soothing. You can’t get that, and what I’m saying is I’ve messed with all the approaches except for one, and it’s gonna sound really corny, but that’s just love. That’s just love.

I’ve done everything in my life that I’ve wanted to do except just give and feel love for my living. And I don’t mean like, uh, Roman candle, fireworks, Hollywood hot pink love. I mean, like, “I got your back”-love. I don’t need to hear “I love ya.” You guys love me. I love you. We got that down. But some of the people who would tell you they love ya were the last people to just have your back. So I’m gonna experiment with this love thing. Giving love. Feeling love. I know it’s corny but it’s the last thing I’ve got to check out before I check out.

- “Bold As Love (Live),” from Where the Light Is, by John Mayer

 

 

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Fabric Envelope Tutorial

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Kylee

Are you looking for my fabric envelope tutorial?  I moved the content over here: Fabric Envelope Tutorial

Thanks for visiting!  Check back soon for more fun projects!!

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Transformation: Me

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Kylee

I love Dr. Oz.  LOVE him.  He motivates me and informs me… and inspires me.  Some people don’t share my feelings for him, but that’s okay… more for me! :)

Today I was watching his show about addictive foods and the dangers of a food addiction. Everyone knows about nicotine addiction or alcohol addiction (and the negative connotation surrounding them) but the people in Dr. Oz’s audience today were actually arguing over whether or not food addiction is possible.  Of course it is (in my opinion).  I believe we can be addicted to just about anything.  TV.  Video games.  Activities.  I think at one point in time I was actually addicted to crying.  I know, without a doubt, that I am struggling with an addictive relationship with food.

I’ve stumbled upon a couple of blogs lately talking about food and wellness, and most recently it was Lisa Byrne’s weekly newsletter (delivered this morning) that really spoke to me.  Dr. Oz’s 4 Most Addictive Foods (linked in the photo above) are listed as: sugar, chocolate, meat, and cheese.  Lisa’s list of dangerous acid-forming foods are listed as: caffeine & soft drinks, sugar, white flour, and meat and meat products.  Is it a coincidence that the lists are nearly identical?  Probably not.

Over the last few months I have been struggling with a terrible tummy ache after just about every meal.  The worst time of day is following dinner.  I haven’t been able to figure out just what the problem is, but I’ve decided that it’s time to get to the bottom of it.  I went vegetarian for a while (August-October) and I’ve never felt the same since then.  I felt fine going into the transition (I went vegetarian for ethical reasons rather than dietary) but since then my body seems to have a hard time digesting anything–not just meat.

As a result I have decided to start eating differently.  I plan to cut my sugar and soda consumption WAY back.  I plan to only eat meat that was ethically raised (Lisa’s disclaimer on adding meat to her list) and add in a whole lot more fruits and veggies.  I’m afraid that my tummy could be mad at wheat & wheat products… but I’ll cross that bridge after this one.  I’m hoping these changes will fix me right up and it’s not gluten at all.

Either way… I’m looking for help from you guys.  What do you eat to be healthy?  Where do you get your sweet-but-not-sugar-loaded fixes?  I have a giant sweet tooth and that’s what scares me most about this.  And how do you dress up your veggies?  I’m excited and nervous for this venture all at the same time.  I just have to do something…

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Our Trip to the Farm

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Kylee

I’m a city girl.  Big time.  I really admire the country lifestyle, but it’s just not in my bones.  I try to grow tomatoes every summer… and I end up buying them from the store every summer.  I want to try my hand at raising chickens this year.  I’m not sure I’m cut out for it.  I LOVE livestock… but I’ve only ever really been around it at say, a petting zoo.  I drive by farms and cows all the time (I live in Kansas, after all), but I don’t have much first hand experience with any of it.

Soooo…. all of that being said, my very dear friend (who also happens to be a 4-H agent) texted me yesterday afternoon saying “wanna go see newborn goats?”  My response was something along the lines of “OMG! HECK YES I WANT TO SEE BABY GOATS!!!”  So this afternoon she took me and my boys to her friend’s house to see the babies that were born yesterday afternoon.  Oh. Em. Geeee.  So cute!  He also had goats that were born today, that were only about three hours old when we got there.  Incredible.

The circle of life is so beautiful.  As we walked around this man’s farm, admiring the brand new babies and all of the pregnant mommies (he had somewhere around 50 gals that were about to pop–all due this week), he also told us about the 19 goats he had in a separate pen that would go to auction this week, the 2,700 pound bull that had gotten his 10 or so cows pregnant (all due in March) and the six itty-bitty, pocket-sized piglets he bought last spring and fed goat’s milk to, with the sole intention of slaughtering and roasting them for his daughter’s wedding.  Apparently pigs are more delicious when they are raised on goat’s milk.  Who woulda thought?  (A farmer, I guess.)  This man buys and sells, births and kills, feeds and milks more animals on any given day than I’d know what to do with in a lifetime.

Oh, and he owns his own auto shop.  THAT is his job.  Not this whole farm thing.  He spends almost $1,000 each month in feed alone.  As a country, we have NO CLUE what goes into farming.  What goes into the food we eat.  What we’d do without people like this man.  And he’s small potatoes.  He’s just a guy in Topeka with some goats.  And some cows.  And three chickens.  He had never met me before… never even heard my name before he shook my hand.  And yet he treated us like family.  Even shook Bubbie’s hand when we got there.  He insisted that we come back and visit.  I love the hospitality of the Midwest.  I really can’t imagine raising kids anywhere else.  I love that Bubbie will grow up with these experiences.  He loved the goats so much.  (And so did Momma.)  Here’s some photos from our adventure:

Hey Bubbie… wanna go to the farm?!

We’ve been working on animal sounds.  I’ve “baa’ed” at him reading books and it’s the one sound he wouldn’t imitate.  Until today.  He had to hear it from the goats… he didn’t believe me.  :)

It was a pretty overwhelming experience.  He couldn’t take his eyes off the animals.  This boy LOVES animals.

Three hours old.  These little tiny goats were so sweet.  They were trying so hard to walk.

Look how wide these ladies are!  One of them was so big she would stand up for a minute and have to lay back down.  He suspects she’s having triplets.  She reminded me of myself a year and a half ago!! :)

A beautiful winter sunset…

And a couple of fatty chickens.

BYE-BYE FRIENDS!!!

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First Trip to the Topeka Children’s Discovery Center

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Kylee

This year for Christmas we asked my in-laws for a gift membership to the new Children’s Discovery Center in town.  Hubby has been working on a project with the CDC at work and he was pretty excited to take Little Bubbie to see it for the first time.  I didn’t snap nearly enough pictures, and I’m still learning the lens (and really, my camera), but I was so grateful to have my new favorite lens from my awesome little brother, Keith.  (Thanks again, bro.)  The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but I’m still exploring this blogging thing–and now, photoblogging–so let’s call this practice. :)

So much wonder and amazement.

Always up to something…

[[Please excuse the dirty face]]

This boy really loves his DaDa <3

He also loves to hit things.

Gosh I love him.  So much.

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The End of 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Kylee

The end of December always brings mixed emotions for me. I’m always anticipating the new year, mourning the loss of another year, and reminiscing on what the finished one brought to me and my family. This year feels a little different, though. I’m not sure if that’s because I feel more accomplished (… maybe…) or if it has more to do with being a mom (… probably…). Everyone has always told me that time moves so much faster once you’ve had children. I had no idea. My son is 17 months old, but this time last year was still a blur, being that it was my first New Year’s as a mom, right after my first Christmas and Thanksgiving as a mom. And he was still tiny. So tiny. Still with that “new baby smell.” Ahh… almost makes me want to give him a sibling. But not quite yet.

I remember this time last year I had been contemplating my resolution(s) for some time. And I began thinking, “screw resolutions. I don’t need one.” And then 2011 was here and I thought, “we’ll call it a goal. That’s not so scary. Not that I NEED one, but it’s just what you do.” So I decided that 2011 would be the year that I would finish all of the unfinished projects I had sitting in my art room. Now, to some, that means a few finishing touches on a couple of craft projects. To me it meant so much more. It meant that I would have to re-introduce myself to a world I had been missing from for all too long. A world that I held so dearly and missed so much. It also meant I could fail. It meant I could fall flat on my face and find that the person I thought had been living at my core wasn’t who I thought she was. Wasn’t there at all. I know, I know, a little dramatic, right? Yeah. I’m a little dramatic. But I would rather we call me “passionate” than dramatic. Deal? :)

So… as I was saying… My “goal” for the year was to tie up loose ends. I think that I knew deep down inside that this would force me to do some serious soul searching. And it did. And I am SO THANKFUL.

About five months ago I had a series of revelations that turned my life inside out and backwards. And I like it so much better this way. SO. MUCH. BETTER. It’s crazy how we lose sight of the things that matter to us (or gain sight on something we think might possibly matter more), for whatever reason, and how beautiful and rewarding it feels to be able to admit to yourself, “I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not my favorite.” To be able to love yourself enough to walk away. To be able to love your family and friends enough to stop pretending to be something you aren’t.

I am currently in a place where I feel like I belong. I feel… right. I’m being true to myself, and that is such a big deal to me. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel accomplished. And you know what? I didn’t finish my unfinished projects. Not even half of them. And you know what else? I am A. O.K. with that. Because when I was talking with my sister the other day about her list of resolutions for 2012 I got to thinking… I accomplished A LOT in 2011. And for no reason other than it felt right. My heart told me to do something, and I LISTENED. For no one but myself, I would love to recap these accomplishments here. I’m hoping they might bring you some inspiration, because I want you to know, none of these things had a deadline. Not one of them was something I said to myself “I NEED to do this. And I need to do it in 2011.” These were just things that were important to me.

-February 2011: I joined Weight Watchers. By May 2011 I had lost 40 pounds.

-May 2011: I completed a 5K. I didn’t run the whole thing, but I didn’t walk the whole thing either. What mattered to me was that I finished.

-July 2011: my beautiful baby boy turned one. And exactly one week before his birthday I quit smoking. For him and for me. At the time of this post it has been five and a half months since I had a cigarette. And I feel amazing. This was also the month that my beautiful baby boy was admitted to the hospital for 3 days over a serious and unexplained virus. I held him down for a spinal tap. Me and three doctors. It’s true that you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

-August 2011: I went to California with my mom, dad, brother, sister, husband, and [very recently discharged from the hospital] son. My hubby and my baby got to see the beach and meet my [extended] family for the first time. I learned that I could enjoy and find peace in an overwhelmingly uncomfortable situation. (I hate to travel. But I did it. And I didn’t lose anything or anyone. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT!!) That month I also turned 26. This age is beautiful.

-October 2011 I made the leap to leave my job and be a true stay at home/work at home mom. I think I enjoy Sesame Street more than I should.

-November 2011: I posted my first original piece to Etsy.com. Within one week I had made my first sale and I have made 5 more since then. Etsy is a safe place for me. A place where I feel appreciated when I live in a community that doesn’t seem to have much of an appreciation for the arts. It’s my happy place.

-December 2011: I joined the beautiful Scentsy family as a consultant and began producing some extra income for my family. I truly love the product and I have felt so important to the gals around me.

All of that being said…. I still don’t have a resolution this year. And maybe I will resolve not to. I don’t want the motivation and energy I’ve gained in 2011 to redirect. I love the direction I’m headed. So I’m going to roll 2011 right into 2012. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

And I’m going to make it all beautiful.

That’s what I will resolve to do.

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Welcome!

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Kylee

Hi!!!

Thanks for stopping by! As you can see, I’m just getting started here, but I wanted to give you a bit of an “intro” into my world.

My name is Kylee and I am a little bit of everything.

My most important (and favorite) job is being a mommy. I have the very best little boy in the world (I’m only slightly biased!) and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with him. Bubbie is a year and a half old and he is the joy of my life.

My next most important job (okay, it’s probably tied with the first :) ) is being a wife. My hubby is crazy smart and super sweet. He is undoubtedly the man God made just for me.

I love pretty things, and crafty is kind of my thing. I think the best projects are the ones that cost very little and reuse or repurpose other items. In order to stay home with my little Bubbie, I sell a few of my creations on Etsy. It is such a great community and I am so honored to get to play with these fantastic people!

I am also a Scentsy girl! If you don’t know Scentsy, please check out my website over here!

I have all sorts of silly quirks (as you will see) and I am very new to the blogging world. I have great aspirations, though, as I have been snooping on some other very talented ladies’ blogs for some time now. I do hope that you will visit often and let me know what you think. I’ve been wandering for a while now, looking for my “career,” and I recently decided that not everyone has to have just one job, and that work doesn’t have to be boring… so I’m doing what I love (ALL of the things I love!) and hoping to make a bit of a living while I’m at it. Thanks for joining me!!

–Kylee

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