Rock N' Roll, Baby

I like classic rock. You know... Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, The Beatles... that kind of thing. Heck, I even rock out to Bad Company. Don't deny it. You totally jam when you hear "feel like makin' love" on the radio! Anyway, three times now I have heard a particular song on my local classic rock station that totally irks me. REM, Losing My Religion. It's not that I don't like REM. I do. Nevermind the fact that the song is totally overplayed on radio in general, I just don't think it belongs on the Classic Rock station. Am I wrong? What's next? The Cure? I like The Cure too, by the way, but I don't want to hear it right after Lynyrd Skynryd, ok?

Thanks for listening, blog. Have a great Tuesday.

~Kelly

Motherhood and Marriage

I read www.dooce.com. I love Heather. I admire that she has the guts to honestly publish her life experiences and she doesn't sugar coat it. There are so many people out there that want to pretend that life is perfect and it's just not. Not to say that life isn't awesome. It certainly can be, but we all go through struggles and it's nice to know that I am not alone.

Yesterday the subject on dooce was motherhood vs. marriage. Which is harder? Here are my thoughts on the matter:

I absolutely think that motherhood is harder. Maybe that is because I didn't have a lot of experience with babies and then I ended up having two at once. It made it even harder that I had two boys and I grew up surrounded with women.

It's funny I would say that motherhood is harder, because my marriage didn't survive, so it was obviously difficult. But now, being in a relationship that is so different for me, a relationship that I really WANT to make work, I find it much easier than motherhood.

Motherhood comes with the heavy weight of knowing that you brought this precious life or lives into the world and that it is your responsibility to protect them and love them and also prepare them for the world. It is a big duty.

I want to be clear though, just because I think motherhood is harder doesn't mean that I don't relish it and that I am not thankful for the honor in being a mom. It IS hard, but it is also so wonderfully rewarding.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Have you heard of Activia yogurt? It has some sort of live cultures in it, which is supposed to help your digestive system. Although the thought of eating anything with the word "live" in it completely disgusts me, I decided to try it out. Well, I will spare you the details, but it totally works. I have just been eating one little container a day and on my way to work this morning, I started thinking... I wonder what happens if you eat it several times a day? Shouldn't they put a warning on the package or something? I looked. There is no recommended daily intake or any warning against eating too much. Just a thought I wanted to share.

Ok, I promise my next post won't have anything at all to do with my digestive system.

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year!

~Kelly Belly

My New Mouse

So, I got a new mouse at work. I had known for quite some time that my mouse needed to be replaced. It was really sluggish and I was always clicking on the wrong thing because of the slow response time. Finally, I mentioned it to my boss.

Yesterday my boss got me a new mouse AND a new mouse pad to boot! I cannot believe I waited all this time for a $12 mouse! What a difference! I am not even kidding you, it makes me smile every time I click. I keep wanting to tell my co-workers how awesome my mouse is when they walk by my desk. I am writing a blog about it, for heaven's sake... perhaps I am a wee bit over-excited, but anyway.

I started thinking about how long it takes for the "new" to wear off. I remember when I got my previous vehicle. It was a Jeep Grand Cherokee and it was a hand-me-down from my in-laws at the time. We really needed more reliable transportation for our family and we ended up agreeing to make payments to them for the jeep. I haven't been spoiled in the vehicle department, so things like automatic windows, seat adjusters, leather interior, a digital compass... things like that totally rocked my world, even though the vehicle was almost 10 years old, I was SO thankful for it. I remember driving down the road and thinking to myself, "Don't let the new wear off of this too quick, Kelly. Soak in all the wonderful things about this jeep that you are enjoying so much." Days go by, then months, and before you know it, all those awesome features become completely taken for granted.

We all do this, right? It can be anything. Houses, cars, your ipod, your relationship... Things that were once totally magical suddenly are yesterday's news. I am trying to keep this in mind as I live my day to day life. I don't want to start expecting the little nice things that people do for me rather than appreciating them for what they are.

There's my two cents for today. Did I mention how amazing my new mouse is?

My Daybook

My Daybook, an idea I took from Jana at Pilgrimsteps and that I will tag my sister to complete as well...

I am wearing: A black sleeveless shirt and a blue skirt with black flowers because, I don't know, it's only going to get up to 87 DEGREES TODAY! It's November, enough with the 80's already!

I am reading: I am trying really hard to read Twilight because I feel obligated to the 12 year old girl that I once was. I am sure she would have loved it and would be obsessively cutting out pictures of Robert Pattinson, etc.

I am hearing: Excited voices of co-workers sharing stories and someone listening to (gasp) Pearl Jam in the other room. Love it!

I am learning: How to live. I still have a lot to learn.

I am thankful: For so much! I have an amazing life. I love my boys and I love the family we are creating together with Mike and Seth. I love my mom and my sister and the rest of my extended family too. I have a great job. I am extremely lucky and I know it.

I am hoping: To live life to the fullest. I am hoping for things to get even better.

I am creating: A home where my family knows that they are loved.

And I cried...

Life is hectic. Every day we are up early to start the cycle of kids going to school, working at the office, cooking, cleaning, laundry, homework, bills, and bedtime routines... It goes on and on, just to start over again the next day. I get overwhelmed sometimes, even though I know that most of the pressure on me comes from myself.

Last night my boys were behaving badly. Nothing terrible, just kids being kids. I was trying to put a good meal on the table at a decent time. I had to put both the boys in time out while I was cooking and I was just feeling frazzled. The stress of the day was admittedly getting to me and I sincerely wanted to burst. Later, I sat down on the couch, which I hardly ever do. Cody looked over at me and said, "I am SO happy, mama." I said, "I am glad Cody. Why are you happy?" He answered, "Because I love you."

And I cried. Because my heart was full and I was sorry that I don't enjoy every moment that they are little and that I can hold them in my arms. He just wanted me to sit on the couch with them. It's just dinner. It's just laundry. None of it matters if I don't enjoy my loved ones. And I do love them so much.

I Love My Sister

So, my sister tagged me today. I think she may be the only one that actually reads my blog, so I am going to definitely going to play along.

You are supposed to pick the fourth file in your photo files and then pick the fourth photo. Here goes:


This is the fourth photo from the fourth file on my computer where I spend most of my time:


This is from a trip that my honey and I took to Jerome, Arizona with his son back in February of '08. It was just a day trip and my boys were with their dad that weekend. I took this picture of the Hotel Connor because it made me think of my own little Conner. There was a band playing in the Spirit Room and I snuck glimpses of the people rocking out as we walked past the window.

This is the fourth photo from the photos saved on my camera phone.




It is my little guys standing in the front yard right before we headed to the bus stop the day before yesterday. The weather is so gorgeous right now in the mornings. It reminds me that Arizona really is a lovely place to live during the winter, spring, and fall. I took this picture to send to my sister Regan, because she is so great at sending me photos almost daily of her amazing Griffin. It makes me feel like they are not so far away, after all, and I appreciate that because I miss that little Golding family something terrible!

I love you Regan!