What if...

Life brings on a lot of changes. Sometimes you can't help but wonder all the "what ifs." Like how would things be if you had changed just one thing in your life. Would anything be the way it is now? Would it affect other people's lives as well as your own. It's a waste of time to think about all the "what ifs" and not live in the present. You'll be missing out on some pretty great things if all you dwell on is the past. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out if things could be better, if you could have helped someone, or if you could have stopped someone from doing something stupid. Everyone lives their own lives. Yes the things we do affect people, but they ultimately decide their own destiny as well as we do our own. So live in the present. Live in today, don't forget about yesterday, but forget about thinking how different things could be "if" only.

All Dressed Up

When you're married and you have kids and you go through weeks of cleaning, cooking, and tending to everyone's needs but your own, you tend to overlook one peron. You. You let your appearance slip and stop worrying about "dressing to impress." After all, your kids don't care if you are dressed in a beautiful evening gown or if you wear your pj's all day. But it always makes you feel beautiful on the days when you try. Any little excuse to dress up just makes you feel great. Tonight I'm going out with the girls. I think I spent more time getting dolled up today than I have in a month or two. It's almost as exciting as a date with my hubby (which doesn't happen very often when you have 3 kids ages 5 and under). I like feeling like I look beautiful though, maybe I'll try and put forth an effort more often. But with three kids even getting a shower every day is lucky. But feeling clean and getting to put on makeup and do your hair....that won't be able to be an every day thing. Maybe when they grow up some.

Reasons

I'm really starting to think that things happen for a reason. When you want something really bad and you don't get it, you get all dissappointed, but then something better is right around the corner. It's crazy how things work out for the better when you're thinking that it's going to get worse. We recently wanted to get a house to rent, and we really liked it and were really excited, but turns out we didn't get it. They didn't want to rent out their house after all. So we were pretty upset and stressed out about finding a house. Well we took a chance and looked last night and found one in the same neighborhood and it was a better house, and better fit for us, and now it's ours! It's crazy to think that we might have missed out on this great house if we had got the last one. A door closes and a better window opens. Life is weird, but if you just take things as they come you might experience things you never thought you would. Take a chance and things will work out.

Before Kids....

Before Kids: *You could sleep in past 6 am and lay in bed watching Family Feud and Price is Right. *You got to eat meals that were actually hot! *You got to watch shows that weren't on Nickelodian or the Disney Channel. *You remembered what a grown up conversation felt like. *You got to take showers.....every day.......and even wash your hair while you're in the shower, and maybe shave a whole leg. *When you went shopping you gave the dirty looks to the people with screaming kids. *You could eat cake for ice cream and not set a bad example. *You didn't have to deal with boogers, poop, and temper tantrums. *You got kisses that weren't sticky or slimy or covered in kool aid! *You could go to a movie without paying the same price as the movie and snacks for a babysitter. *You didn't have to repeat yourself 5 times for people to hear you. *You didn't know that you could love someone so much before you even met them, and then love them twice as much with each passing day.

23

Time goes by really fast. I don't think I ever realized that growing up. When you're a kid you can't wait to get older. First you're so excited to turn 16 so you can get your driver's licence. That's like the most important thing for you in your life. Then you get there and you can't wait to turn 18 and graduate. It seems to take forever to finally happen. The school days go by so slow, and the weekends go by too fast. Then after graduation the thing you look forward to the most is turning 21 so you can "legally" do all the things you've probably been doing since you were 14. For me things were a little different. Yeah I couldn't wait to turn 16 and drive, and then turn 18 and graduate. But instead of things going slow after that they have flown by at warp speed. I got married 2 months after I graduated, it was 2 weeks before I was 18. And I had 2 kids before I turned 21, so for my 21st birthday it wasn't all about drinking and going out and partying like most 21 year olds. Now I'm 23 and I have 3 kids. Things have been different then most 23 year olds I know. But I wouldn't trade any of it for anything. I love my kids, and though my life is full of poopy diapers, spit up, breaking up fights, and feeding and bathing 3 wiggly kids, I'm happy and my life is full. My oldest son turned 5 today. It really seems like yesterday I was in the hospital scared out of my mind wondering what life with a baby was going to be like. I was more scared of what would happen after I had the baby then I was about going through the actual labor. Everyone tells you enjoy those moments because the years go by so fast and before you know it they'll be moving out of the house. I never believed them. I guess it was all the sleepless nights and poopy diapers, and headaches that just threw me off into believing the years were going by slow. But now I look back and I think, where did the years go. My youngest is going to tun 1 in 3 months. It's unreal how fast this year has gone. So I'm telling you right now, if you're a mom to be or a new mommy, or even if your kids are grown now, cherish all the moments, good and bad, because before you know it they'll be out of the house. Kids are precious, and all you have to do to realize that is spend 5 minutes with one. They'll make you want to smile, laugh, cry, and rip your hair out all in the same day. But they make life worth living. I couldn't imagine life without my kids. Though I'm only 23 I wouldn't want to be a normal 23 year old. I love being a mom, and wife and doing all the things that I always dreded as a kid. The days seem slow, but the years go fast. Love your kids before life passes by and you turn around and they are waving goodbye on their way to college.

Conversations

Have you ever had a conversation with someone on the phone that lasted for hours, and when you get off the phone and you think about it, you can't for the life of you remember what you talked about for that long. Like you can't figure out how you talked for that many hours, and actually had something to say the whole time. Some of my best friends right now, I have never even met in person. Being a military wife we've moved a lot and I've come to rely on making friends online through sites like Cafemom or MSN boards, and I have 4 friends right now, that I talk to on an almost daily basis, and I've never met any of them. But they are all so like me I think we would be the best of friends if we all did live in the same states. I used to be kind of scared about meeting people online, I've heard the horror stories as I'm sure you all have, but as long as you're not talking to hundreds of people and meeting them in deserted places I'm sure things are fine. But my point was that when you have really good friends you can talk for hours about absolutely nothing and have a blast doing it. Sometimes the best conversations are about nothing at all.

Things I Learned From Having Boys....

1. The names, and colors of all the Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and even Transformers. 2. That baseball, hockey, soccer, basketball, and golf can all be played with a beach ball. 3. Boys outgrow shoes faster than you can drive to the store to get new ones. 4. Stock up on bandaids because there will be bumps, cuts, and blood. 5. When they are playing sports, not only do they need a helmet, but you might want to put one on too. 6. You will not get through a meal without someone burping or farting. 7. It's impossible for them to be quiet (unless they are sleeping). 8. Hot Wheels and GI Joes are impossible to keep picked up off the floor and they hurt really bad when you step on them. 9. Clothes will get dirty and stained, they can't help it. Stock up on Shout Spray. 10. Boys love their mommies with their whole hearts!