Goodbye New York..........

I had to say goodbye to New York yesterday 😩.   It was an AMAZING trip that combined continuing education, sightseeing, adult interaction (which can be hard to come by with 3 kids), and all around immersing myself in a wonderful culture that encompasses the foundation which America was built upon.  I saw so many amazing things (some strange and funny as well).  I am so grateful to live in a country where I can just pick up and go visit a whole different environment.  The experiences I have while traveling are so important to help me understand other people, other cultures, other entertainment, etc.  So, here's a small recap of my time in the Big Apple 🍎!

Friends Are So Important.........

As I travel through this journey known as life, I often think about how important it is to have friends.  The good Lord has blessed me with so many amazing friends and I thank him all the time for the fun times and great memories I have made with these beloved friends!  And even though I no longer live by all of them, they will always be so important to me.

As I was finally resting my feet tonight after a LONG day of continuing education and exploring Central Park, I got the most amazing text message from one of my long-distance friends💛.  This is what the text message read....................

"I am watching "The Blind Side" for the hundredth time and the mom reminds me so much of you!  It isn't that she adopts a child but that she is a force to be reckoned with!!  Don't ever change!  Happy New Years!"

I cannot even tell you how much this message warmed my heart 💗!  This is truly one of the most touching things that I have heard in a long time.  The best part about this is that the timing is so completely perfect.  You see, I have encountered some haters lately who want me to change who I am and be what they want me to be.  But, I am just me all the time, no matter what these haters think.  So to my wonderful friend Jess, thank you for reminding me to be myself.  And you have no worries, I will never change.  True beauty is when you can be yourself and truly love the person you are.............

All My Love,

#realblessemom

Working Mom

In the past couple years, I have found it difficult to balance being a full-time professional and also a full-time mom.  As it should be, the kids always win out when my time is being torn between them and professional development.  However, my career is very important to me and I hope that I am a role model for my kids (and girls everywhere) by showing that you really can follow your dreams and do WHATEVER you set your mind to.  I am very blessed to have been raised by loving and wise parents who taught me that if I want something and work hard at it, anything is achievable. 

Since I haven't been to many dental conventions in the past 2 years, I decided it was time to go learn more about one of my true loves....... DENTISTRY💜.  I looked high and low for a great course to attend, and low and behold I found one in......NYC 🏢 (yay)!  It's been great to get away and enhance my dental knowledge, but I do miss the kids 😭.  I guess for me it's all about finding the most ideal balance between being a good mom and continuing to follow my professional dreams.............

Throwback Thursday

Isn't it amazing to look at old pictures and remember back to that exact place in time?  I have been going through old pictures lately and I come across so many pictures that just make me stop and think "I miss them being that little".  I feel nostalgic, sad, and proud all at the same time when I see the kids little faces.  I want them to stay small, yet I can't wait to see everything that they will do with their lives.  The biggest lesson I take away from this is to truly be where you are and enjoy the heck out of the time spent with loved ones.  Truly, none of us are getting out of this life alive.  So lets make the most of every single day!  Eat the cake, take the trip, branch out to the new job, ignore the laundry, don't worry so much about the mess.............

                                    Paxton Elijah (3.5), Tayvia Rose (2 weeks), Kyser Bryant (4.5)

Back to the daily grind.......

Since the kids went back to school yesterday, we are back to the daily grind of getting up and preparing for each day.  This morning, my routine included cleaning up kids toys (lord help me), doing laundry, and getting lunches packed for everyone.  In case you didn't know this about me, I am not one to eat out very much.  There are a couple of reasons for this......  

1 - I cannot eat dairy or gluten, so eating out is risky because many restaurants prepare food with these items and I don't know until I have already eaten them and its too late 😮.  

2 - It's much less healthy.  Here's a little statistic for you: "On average, these restaurant meals contained 1,205 calories—about half of a person’s typical daily recommendations. In all, 92% of the meals gave a typical eater more energy than they need at a single meal (570 calories, which the researchers used as a benchmark for typical energy requirements.) And there was little difference between the calorie counts of food at chain and non-chain restaurants." (http://time.com/4187120/restaurant-meals-fast-food-calories/).

3 - It's much more expensive than making your own lunch! Here's some backing for this: "The average American spends $232 per month eating meals prepared outside the home. Given that there’s 18.2 meals eaten outside the home in an average month by the average American, the average meal outside the home costs a person $12.75.  If you were to simply prepare all meals at home, you’d move 4.2 meals from restaurants to your home. At an average cost of $12.75 per meal, you’d save yourself $8.75 for each of those meals. In other words, the average American would save $36.75 per person per week by moving all of their meals from restaurants to home-prepared meals." (https://www.thesimpledollar.com/dont-eat-out-as-often-188365/)

So this means that my morning food packing can be quite extensive somedays.  Today everyone needed lunches plus we need to pack extra food to have between school and lacrosse practice because we won't be able to come home.  It's always so much work, but it makes me happy to know that all of us are eating healthy and saving some serious💰💰💰 as well!  

We finally made it to the dentist........

As strange as it sounds, my kids are not the best about keeping on top of their 6 month dental exams (which is totally my fault) 😬.  This is probably because mom is always at work.... without them.  So, on the first day of the winter break we made sure that all three of them got in for their exam, x-rays, cleaning, and a WHOLE lot of goofing around 😂.  I am grateful that they all had no cavities or problems to report.  And a special thank you to my AMAZING dental staff who kept the other two kids entertained when I was working on one of them!!  With that being said, I encourage all of you to make sure you stay on top of your 6 month dental exams because if we don't see you in our office, then we can't help you if something is wrong!  Happy Monday everyone-stay smiling 😁😷!!!!!

About Yesterday..........

So, let's talk about yesterday.  First off, it is my goal to have one post per day, and that obviously did not happen yesterday.  What's the only reason that I would not get something done one time???  Probably my kids!  So yesterday was the last day of the holiday break (yay) and I had the kids all day.  Keep in mind that I still had to work, which meant taking all 3 of the kids with me to work.  From the second I got them back, it was obvious that Tayvia was beyond exhausted.  But, mama still had to work so off we went downtown to the homeless shelter so I could get my work done.  Whew, talk about an emotionally exhausting couple of hours working and getting errands run. Lets just say that if Tayvia's Grandma or Aunt lived in town that she would have been dropped off with one of them by lunch!  Our last errand of the day was taking the boys for haircuts.  I was wiped and just sat there trying to relax while we waited for them to get their cuts finished.  Well, little did I know that little missy was taking selfies and then decided to include me in them.  How is it that our children can takes to the brink of insanity, and then in one second bring us right back to cuddling and kissing on them???  The true essence of parenting is unconditional love 💞.   To my children, no matter what happens......  I will always love you Kyser, Paxton, and Tayvia 💗!!!

The Heart of a Child

There is no greater satisfaction for me than to see the heart of my children.  I work extremely hard to teach my kids that we love all people, just as God said to love thy neighbor.  But today's society teaches kids so many things different than my teachings and I often wonder if that can change their perception about people.  I got to see the true heart of Tayvia yesterday💜.  We were at Lacrosse practice for Kyser & Paxton and per the norm, she had to go bathroom.  As you can imagine, there are no bathrooms at the practice fields.  So, we packed up and headed to our favorite gas station (mainly because the bathrooms are superbly clean).  She wanted to use her own stall and she finished before I did, so I told her to go wash her hands.  I could hear her walk out to the sink and say hi to another woman in the bathroom.  Then I heard her say to the woman "you are beautiful", which of course made me smile because that is something she came up with on her own.  When I walked out of my stall, I was literally speechless. The woman she was speaking to was a homeless woman who had on worn clothes, dirty skin and hair, and had only a couple of remaining teeth.  But she was very sweet and had such a warm smile.  I knew right then and there that Tayvia could see into her soul and could tell that she was a beautiful woman on the inside, although life was being rough to her on the outside.  My heart was so warmed that it brought tears to my eyes.  Some days as a mother I wonder if I am succeeding, and then some days I get to see the kids walk the talk.  So thank you God for letting my kids see into people's souls and not judge them by their external appearance🙏..........

Is the Holiday Break Over Yet???

You can always tell when it's time for a break to be over because the kids are bickering more and more everyday.  The kids have been off school for 2 weeks now and it really is time for them to go back to school.  Yesterday was one of those high bickering days and mom really had enough of them not being kind to each other, so they got to get off of their Play Station/Xbox/iPads/phones and join me in the quest to thoroughly clean the house.  After scrubbing the bathrooms, dusting their rooms, vacuuming and mopping floors, and picking up all their toys, we then went outside and picked weeds and rocks for an hour.  They were complaining the WHOLE time and all I kept saying was "this was what I did all the time growing up".  I thought that would have been enough for them to stop fighting, but oh how wrong I was 😂.  So then they got to help put away all of the Christmas decorations.  It's sad for me to say because I have fallen victim to this as well, but as a society, we have made our kids soft and  whiny when things don't go their way (aka kids these days feel very entitled).  But I guess as parents, we need to keep holding them accountable and teach them how to work hard so hopefully that feeling of entitlement will leave our kids.  My kids really are good, they just need some correction and positive guidance from time to time!

Ringing in 2019!

Hello 2019!!!!!  It's hard to believe and also exciting to know that 2019 is here!  As I look back at 2018 and forward to 2019, I am extremely optimistic for everything that the future holds.  I hope that we are happy beyond measure, healthier than ever, and blessed greater than our wildest dreams.  And we wish the same for ALL of you as well!  So, here we go rolling into 2019 like Splash Mountain!!!!!

P.S.  This picture is from our recent trip to Disney World.  I just love how the kids are fearless and excited in the front row and the adults are behind them not looking so excited 😂.