11 Things on Your 11th Birthday

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! Today you're 11! This day jumped out right in front of me and took me by surprise. I'm not really sure how eleven years flew by but, here it is. Here you are! 11 years old!

To look at your beautiful face as it's changed has been an incredible experience. Watching you learn and grow is a gift you've given me every single day. Summing you up into 11 things may not be easy but, I'm going to try.

1. So freaking creative

Your creativity continues to shine through in all you do. This year you found a love for paper puppet dragons, YouTube short videos and painted masks. You continue to draw and write stories, sometimes in collaboration with your friend, Olivia.

2. Soaring through 5th grade

You are acing your tests and school work so far this year. After watching you struggle in 4th grade, then push yourself for major growth it's been awesome to see you ease into 5th grade! You think you have this grade handled and asked us to move up a grade because it's so easy.

 

3. Growing Friendships

Your ability to make friends has grown a lot in the last year. Gone are the days of being scared of talking to a complete stranger. You met your BFF, Maddi at the pool this Summer and have been inseparable since. You also met Olivia at writing club and had a sleepover with each of them. It makes my heart so happy you've found friends that fit your personality just right.

4. Singing

Still, you're not afraid to belt out a song at the top of your lungs. You still ask to turn up the radio every time a good song comes on and catch onto the lyrics easily. I'm still not sure if you're on key but, you chose choir for your music elective so I'm sure you're voice is about to grow even more.

5. Born Leader

Your preschool teacher called you a born leader and that's still true today. You love to take the lead and struggle when you have to follow. We're working on that.

 

6. Sensitive side

Even though you have confidence and determination, you still have a sensitive side. Your tears, few and far between, still break my heart. You're still so much like your Daddy and so much like me. 

7. Boba Tea

Your love for Boba Tea, always watermelon milk tea with no ice and passion fruit popping pearls (a rather tall order, if you ask me) is your favorite. I might even say you're obsessed.

 

8. Cats...correction, Therian.

To be honest, I think this new love for dressing up and acting like a cat is weird but aren't we all a little weird? And still, I love watching you play pretend. I just hope walking on all fours doesn't mess up your body.

 

9. Little, yet big entrepreneur

This year you made over 100 clay beads bracelets and set up a booth at Merchants & Makers. At the end of the show you put money into savings and some back into your business. Watching you sell your creations has always brought me joy. This experience was beyond that! I am so incredibly proud of you for sharing your creativity with the world.

 

10. Bedtime passionate chats

I'm still trying to figure out what it is about night time that brings all the deep thoughts out of you. You tell me the bad things and your worries, you ask me deep questions about purpose and if the planet will die. I decided to write all these things down so we can talk about them when we're not so tired.

11. Miss Personality

You have a big big personality! People love it, family and strangers a like and 99.9% of  the time I love it, too. As you grow it grows and your understanding of the fine line of being respectful and not too wild comes into focus. You keep me on my toes, striving to be the best Mom I can be for you.

 

Happy Birthday, Edee!!

I love you with all my heart,

Mom

Early Morning Thoughts

Sometimes I just want to share my thoughts with the world, just sometimes. These are a collection of my random thoughts in the morning that I had throughout the week.

I need to always remember how much I enjoy the buzz I feel after a yoga session. It's wonderful.

It's lotion season...already.

Words of Affirmation go a long way in any relationship. Boss to employee, coach to player, parent to child, between significant others. 

I can't believe a box of cereal is $4.99. 

And eggs $3.50/ dozen! 

It's Day 7 of our be active every day challenge. Ryan and I have a friendly competition to see who can be active the most days in a row. Who do you think will win?

I bought these socks on Prime Day and love them! 

Why don't they make Yellow Out anymore? And why can't I get stains out of whites like my Mom does. 

Our new hair routine with Edee has lost it's appeal. Send help.

The Fall colors are incredible. Every year it's like a brand new thing. Like I'm seeing it for the first time.

I want to read an entire printed book before the end of the year. I've listened to 15 audiobooks this year and I am ready to challenge myself to read an actual printed book. 

That's all for now! Keep Loving!

- Karlee

7 Things on The 7th of October

 1. 11 years

Today I celebrate 11 years of marriage to my man. 11! Last week I was shocked that E is 10 and now I am shocked all over again that it's already been 11 years since we said I do. The way time seems to disappear makes me want to hold on to every single moment that much tighter. This year we plan to celebrate with dinner together; simple and just what we love: time together. 

2. Curly Hair

We had a break through with Edee's hair that feels revolutionary! After my sister recommended using some sort of product for curly hair I turned to my curly haired friend and asked her for recommendations. Introducing Cake the The Curl Friend, some very useful tips on how to manage curly hair (something I've never had to do) and ta da! No more fights, yelling or upset child. I was excited to find the hair product on sale at Rite Aid, which was cheaper than Amazon's price. Woohoo! I also grabbed some mousse and my curly haired friend gave us leave in conditioner. E is going to be all set.

3. Ugly Love

I just finished my 14th book of the year - Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. Yes, I am a fan! I just added this book to my top 5 favorites list! I highly recommend the book. I read it in less than a week, which is a new record for me. Most of the time I am the caboose in my Book Club, finishing the book last but this book, which I read outside of the club with a friend (my curly haired friend in fact) was so good; the words, the descriptions, the story line, the ending - all of it. I finished it in less than a week.

4.  Speaking of book club...

I love love love my book club or as we call it The Mama's Reading Club. I enjoy the chatter about books, the food we share, our discussions and also catching up with the ladies on life stuff. I also really like that some of us are reading even more books than we ever have before. The more we read, the more we want to read. It's amazing! 

5. My Crochet World

I am currently on a yarn buying hiatus. I have limited myself to using only the yarn I have. I say 'limited' but honestly, it's been rather inspiring and freeing to choose from the colors and weights I have at home. Plus, I am saving money. During this hiatus I have found a love for creating book cozies. Each one turns out different, which makes them one of a kind! It's so much fun selecting each color, crocheting them together and watching the cozy come to life. I think in some ways it's an art form.

6. Work-a-versary

Yesterday I celebrated 9 years at Michigan Insurance Group & Strategic Consulting with my team. We had Panera (still my favorite) but today is my official anniversary. Again, looking back, time seems to disappear. I am enjoying my job still, probably because every day is new. Learning new things about myself, the team and the industries. It keeps things interesting and I am never bored! 

7. October

October is my favorite month. It's full of celebrations, if you couldn't tell! And change. The biggest change is the seasons. My drive to work is changed because of the rainbow of colors along the highway. The yellows, oranges and reds are glorious and at 5:00 the colors beam. It's truly a sight to see. Anniversaries and birthdays are reminders to reflect on how far we've come, how much we've grown. It is a perfect reminder of how lucky we are to have what we have.  

10 Things On Your 10th Birthday

Wow! You are 10 years old today! Double digits! Even though you've been counting down the days and reminding me for months it still surprises me. Since the day you were born, the very first time I looked at your sweet little face, till now seems to have flown by. Loving you has been the grandest adventure of my life. Here's 10 things to remember for your 10th Birthday:

1. How we celebrated you turning 10: Class treats on Friday, Sky Zone on Saturday with your friend Graeden, Grammie Diane, Aunt Kacey, Lucy and Lowen. What a blast! And Sunday a hot cocoa bar and gifts with Mia and Penny!

2. What you wished for: Time with friends, squishmellows, dragons and a Rainbow High Doll Mansion (Thankfully, that last one was on sale!)

About you today:

3. You are determined, sometimes feisty, energetic and always creative. (We are working on that 2nd one.)

4. You love music (still). You know every lyric to your favorite songs which are anything by Harry Styles. You also have Higher Love by Whitney Houston, Sunshine by One Republic, Everybody by The Backstreet Boys and a few others on replay. We call you DJ Edee because you typically choose the music any time we are in the car.

5. You like youtube books and continue to enjoy graphic novels. You are warming up to chapter books with few pictures and we are slowly reading Mr. Poppers Penguins as a family. 

6. You still love dancing in the living room and still do not want to join dance classes. 

7. You love swimming more than any other sport. You tried the recess soccer team but said, I don't really like it. We plan to sign you up for swim team in November! 

8. You love telling jokes, funny challenges and sharing interesting facts that aren't always true so we research them together. 

9. You still have a huge heart for pets. You love axolotls and kittens the most but recently started liking snakes...

10. Your friends are Ella and Graeden, Emma and Aria who we are so lucky to live close too. You girls love selling things and playing in the woods.

You are growing and learning so quickly it amazes me you can store the information in your beautiful head. You are my greatest treasure! 

Daddy and I can't wait to see what this year brings for you. Happy Birthday sweet girl! I love you as much as all the stars in the sky. 

Yesterday, I didn't do my best.

Yesterday,
I didn't do my best.
I wasn't strong.
I wasn't confident. 
I wasn't a good Mom.
I wasn't happy.
I wasn't loving.
I was mad.
I was very sad. 
I let anger win.
I let guilt seep in.
I let self doubt in.

Then, I saw this,

Then, I knew,

It is going to be okay. 

I am going to be okay. 

Sometimes the storms come in with waves of emotions that feel huge; too big to swim out of. Those are the days you have to be patient with yourself. Just as they teach you with a rip current, don't try to go against it. Swim parallel to the shore until you're out of the path of the current. Forcing it will exhaust you. Wait until the emotions subside.

Sometimes the calm arrives with a reminder smack dab in the middle of a painted sky. Sometimes it's subtle but, sometimes it's as obvious as a rainbow and the promise of hope, new beginnings and peace. 

You made it. You won the battle.

It's time to dust of your knees and do better now.

Do better than you did the day before.

Now the real work begins.

Self doubt won't get in.

Guilt won't seep in.

Let go of sadness.

Let go of madness.

You are loving.

You are happy.

You are a good Mom.

You are confident.

You are strong.

xoxo,

Karlee

Did I know I would need this word this year? Possibly.

I am currently reading (listening to): I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequest.

I had a feeling this one was going to be raw. It's why I took awhile to start listening to it. Empathy is strong ya'll. My instinct was to dive right in because Shauna Niequest is one of my favorite authors and she narrates her audio books, TOO!!

I even purchased the book on Audible and it just sat on the "shelf." But, I knew I wasn't ready.

Pause.

Confession: I had to dig deep to recall my word of the year (obviously I lost focus there) but the discovery that I got off track has good timing. My word of 2022 was (is): Resilience. How perfect is that?! Did I know I would need this word this year? Possibly.

Flash forward a month:

I am several chapters into my book now. I realize the timing of this too is just right for me to devour every word.

After a lot of ugly tears last night and conversation with Ryan (he said so many wonderful things to me), I am finding my way to be okay with learning a lot of knew things at once and being okay with not knowing what I am doing all the time.

The timing of this book in my life couldn't be more perfect. I find confidence and peace in the encouragement from my husband and team (and even Edee) as well as learning that an author as amazing as Shauna may not always have all the answers all the time either. Like duh! Who does?

Her words are forever helpful and useful to me. I can't wait to continue listening to her tell her story.

A reminder to myself: I am resilient. I have done hard things and can do these hard things. A great reminder for the season I am in right now.

Keep Loving,

Karlee

A New Space to Grow

4/19/22

I was given a new office today, a new space to call my own. It's a sky blue and it's quiet and bright and beautiful! I am so excited for my new space.

As we grow, things shift to make room for more; more people, more opportunities, more possibilities.

With these welcome changes I find myself looking back at the year and realize how much I learned and how much I gained on the journey to where I sit now. I am grateful to realize the importance of that journey.

All though we are told, "Don't look back, you're not going that way." I also know the benefits of reflecting on what's passed. I've been given the encouragement: it's good to reflect if it leads to good. And that's what it did for me today.

This shift from one journey to the next is something I have been waiting and praying for, a shift I've been anticipating and have had my sights set on for quite some time.

The year long journey wasn't easy. Actually, some days were down right hard. Without my team, weekends, throw a mental health day in there, encouragement and perseverance it would've been much harder.

I will never forget the tough moments, the happy moments, fun days, laughter, happy hours, conversations with my team, and coffee chats.

This journey has shaped me, as I can imagine, most journeys do.

I realize today how important it is to pause. Reflecting on the journey, seeing the turn in the road, and starting on a new path is so important.

Without the journey what would you miss out on?

As you are rushing towards your next goal, the next celebration, the next big thing make sure you pause and remember to enjoy the journey.

Keep loving, 

Karlee