Cookies

Sometimes that is all it takes to step away, cherish and enjoy what you have. We all get carried away with our own worries causing us to take what we have for granted. K has been asking to make Christmas cookies for days. By asking, I mean non stop talking about these amazing cookies she saw in a magazine. Can't really resist these faces as much as I try. 

They are so inquisitive, everything is a question followed by another question.  It's wonderful really, the amount of growth they go through at this age. How at the end of the day you realize the new things they have learned and the new things they have taught you. Watching them write their names, insist on dressing themselves, color the most imaginary pictures I wish I could dream up. 

I never thought I would have kids but my heart is more than full and I am more than blessed to have done so. We are the lucky ones to have them in our lives no matter how terribly hard times can be. 

Just a smile

It's around this time of year, at least for me, you start to realize what is happening, like REALLY happening in your life. I'm going to miss the days of sitting outside watching the twins play and bask in the summer rays. I've also realized how freaking old they are getting and how amazingly scary that is for me. No one warned me how scared I would be for them to grow into a world I'm not sure is good enough for them. Is that terrible I think so highly of them that I don't want them to have to worry about the real life struggle? So be it. We are all products of our own creations though. I see them try to express themselves to strangers, to openly welcome someone they have never seen in their life. I also, in turn, get to see them get rejected, ignored and in a way forgotten. As much as I would love to slap some in the face with a fish, I don't blame them all. I don't run away with my child thinking what a terrible person wouldn't say hello to such a beautiful little girl. I do however pay attention to where it comes from. I see a child just walk away as they ask to play, I then see this child's parents turn away when they are greeted. As though this will void what just happened, if I don't look at you or see you, you didn't make an effort to be in my world. 

What has caused so many of us to try and avoid human contact? What has caused people to judge those they have never met? Is the effort too much. Is it something that is just not viable at that point in your life. I remember walking down the roads as a young kid and how open neighbors were. I knew people blocks away that I simply knew from walking by their house daily. Maybe I was raised in a different world. Or are my parents to blame for my expectations of people? It's not a struggle when the end effort causes a smile. Those little relationships we make in our lives will in a way make who we are. It's those little none obligatory relationships that you will always look back on and think about how wonderful it felt to create and nourish it. 

For example in our old home we made an effort to reach out to our mail lady. We would watch her day in and day out walk in the heat and the cold from house to house. She didn't seem unhappy, she seemed determined. One day shortly after we got Auzzie Bear we were walking him up to a park near our home. She was on her normal route headed our way. She didn't say anything she simply smiled and bent down to give Auzzie a treat. I know you'll think, "Well she probably gives it to all dogs she sees." Although this could be very possible, I had never seen her do so with the many dogs along our street. It became part of a routine, Auzzie began to see her and get so excited just as she would. Like I said, not much was said between us, but there were the Hellos' and small gestures of her leaving treats in our mail box when she didn't catch us. She would put our mail out of the snow and rain as our box wasn't the greatest. She even if we had a larger box she didn't want to leave on the porch would come back after her route to give it to us in hopes of catching us. We would leave cookies or cards for holidays. It wasn't much, and a lot wasn't needed. It was just a smile. A simple smile that made both our days. I'll never forget the day we got a new mailman but I'll also never forget how wonderful it was to know that there was someone out there still willing to give a little. 

These are the little things I want to teach my kids to thrive on, not saying the big things aren't wonderful too. I'm just saying, why can't we just take those 2 seconds to pass on a hello, a wave, a smile. It's not hard, it's not going to cause your life to crumble. I hope despite the head turns and walk aways they continue to realize what they are trying to accomplish is what everyone should be trying to accomplish. Human interaction at it's finest. We all need it, we all deserve it. Its little children that show us these silly little things that I fear we are all slowly forgetting. 

Going through the motions

Wow...

It's been so long since I've posted anything. I remember when I did my best to do a post at least once a week. These days that just seems like wishful thinking! Call it bad time management or call it life, but I feel like the time in the day just gets shorter and shorter the older you get. 

We have been going going and going! 

The twins are growing up so big. Just last month they turned 4 yet they already seem like 5 or 6 year olds. They just completed their first year of pre-school and I never imagined having kids who enjoyed going to class so much. They are like little sponges. They soak up so much information and are continually looking to learn more. It was always a struggle to get them to leave as they wanted to show me all the things they could do in class. 

I'm not ashamed to say, I cried the night before their birthday. It was more of joy than sadness, but honestly a mix of all emotions. The realization you can no longer shelter them the way you did, they are growing and venturing further into a world I'm not sure any of us are sure we want our kids to fully see. On the other hand they have grown into such amazing little girls that I cannot wait to see them explore and try new things. They deserve so much and work so hard for the things they want to learn. It's, as said so many times, a bitter sweet experience.

Now being summer, we spend our mornings outside and enjoying the sun. Currently I'm still plowing through college to the best of my abilities and have begun hopefully my career path. It's taken years for me to decide on what I want to use my degree for. Nothing seemed appealing and in the end I almost regretted even getting a degree in this field (Graphic Design). These days everyone and their dog thinks they can accomplish this field without schooling, I'm not saying they can't, I'm saying it's a saturated market and finding our niche is a lot harder than it used to be. Yes, every company needs a design team. It's just a fact. But what if you don't want to work in a large company? There's freelance, right? Yes.. of course. As said before it's saturated. There are so many online sources to acquire freelance artists for an extremely low fee it's made it almost pointless. Then their is the over abundance of Wall art, Clothing design, and everything in between. Leaving the majority  who want to step away from online income to look towards larger companies. 

Well I decided to step out of the bounds and take on a world I've always been so passionate about. My dad made sure I grew up around cars, motorcycles and outdoor motors. Living around these things I've become to love them deeper than maybe I should. Riding my dirt bike is one of the greatest releases, I think, anyone could have! Add that to my cruiser, sport bike, boat, car admiration and it all kind of hit me in the side of the head. Why not create a company that will allow me to be around what I love on a daily basis? Maybe not DOING what I love..but being involved in it's world. Allowing me to support those who go out and seek adventures on the weekend with their grown up toys. Or those who simply enjoy putting a little extra love into their vehicles. 

Let's be honest I know NOTHING about starting my own business. What I do know, is that being successful takes one thing. Passion. It takes being unrealistic and doing something some people may say is pointless and wont work. It's been a few months of researching, planning, and working hard at getting a plan in place. It's slow going and that's all I can expect without a endless pocket and little background. Either way, I'm determined. Hopefully, soon, we will be able to fully launch this business and hit the ground running. 

So if you follow me on Twitter or FB or Instagram be sure to keep an eye out for it. ;)