iPhone withdrawl

I am selling my iPhone.....

It is SO sad. I am totally addicted to it. It is controlling my life. I check Facebook, probably hundreds of times a day!

I just put it on Craigslist and I am waiting for a response. Tyson and I decided to go back to the days before Smartphones. I haven't even gotten rid of it yet and I am already suffering withdrawl.

Pathetic.

The REAL meaning of Christmas???

Something happened today that really made me feel like a failure as a mother. The past few days, I have been thinking about our Christmases as a family and have really been realizing that each year, we are missing a VITAL part of the holiday.... our Savior.

I talked to the Mister about it and he agreed with me 100%. We talked about ways to change this and how we can really get the true meaning of Christmas to be the focus this year and all of the years to follow. I wanted to gauge how much my children know of the nativity story so, after school, I sat Ashtyn down and asked her why she thinks we celebrate Christmas. Then, the unthinkable happened. Ashtyn shrugged. I decided to ask Kai to see if I would have better luck and not feel like a total failure. Kai looked at me and said, "we celebrate Christmas so the family can be together?" Then it REALLY hit me. How did I miss this? How have I managed to go through each Christmas and NOT teach my children the true meaning and how presents really have nothing to do with the real celebration at all.

It was a huge disappointment. And now, I have a bug project in front of me and I am excited to take it on. Saturday, we are going to the live nativity that the LDS church puts on every year. That'll be a start. If ANYONE has any cute ideas of ways I can keep the kids' attention while teaching them, please let me know.

Operation: Keep the CHRIST in CHRISTMAS, is in full swing!!! :)

Og Mandino

Anyone ever heard of Og Mandino?? He wrote 'The Greatest Salesman in the World' The book is an easy read and I think a MUST READ! It has some of the most insightful and self-healing words in it, and I am in awe of the book.

I've recently been reflecting on myself and the way I handle different relationships and, just everyday life. I've always respected and looked up to people who are very self-aware. I think it is so important in life to know your short-comings and your strengths and to always be trying to improve.

Dave Blanchard is the president of the Og Mandino corporation and he offers a training that helps you become a better, you. I went online and did the assessment and the whole time I was very skeptical. After I finished the online assessment, I made a phone appointment with Dave and we went over my results. I cried through most of the call. It was the most spot-on assessment of myself and I was shocked that he could know all of this by an online test. I was sold right then. Now, once a week for a full year, I am learning the tools that I need to overcome my own insecurities and to embrace and live up to my full potential. I am SO excited.

2012 will be a great year for me and my family. I can feel it and I look forward to the wonderful blessings and, believe-it-or-not, the trials that it will bring. Because, nothing humbles you more and brings you closer to God, than a hardship. :)

I'll keep all two of my readers posted throughout my experience.. :)

(Just in case you are interested in the training or just learning about Og Mandino, here is the link http://www.ogmandino.com/)

FRENEMIES

So, an epic fail on my Thankful posts! I always updated on my Facebook, but I keep forgetting to update on my blog.

Anyway, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Utah and it was an absolute blast!! I really miss those Utah Mountains, but as I visit Utah, and also grow spiritually, I find that Vegas is where I belong.

Along my path of spiritual growth and development, I have actually had to cleanse my soul of negativity. Which also includes negative people that only bring me down. I recently said this and I stand by it:

"It's okay to burn bridges if those bridges are leading you to a negative place."

I don't usually quote myself, but I really like this one! :)

I want to really get into this subject because I have recently been enlightened. Sometimes we make friends with people because they share the same interests or ideas. Sometimes it's because we have the same habits, either bad or good. There are many reasons why we make friends with people.
In the past, I became friends with all the wrong people. And I became one of those people. Since then, after changing my life around, I have realized that I don't share the same interests or lifestyles of these said friends, and it has been easy to detach myself from them and say, "good luck to you."

I recently had a surprise detachment. This person was someone I knew wasn't as loyal of a friend as I would hope for, but that has been a friend for a long time. I find that as time goes on and I mature, I cannot surround myself with those who live life always trying to be "popular" or those who constantly are judging others and gossiping about everyone they know. I have a really hard time with those people who are in the church who preach one thing and do the opposite. I call these people "Utah Mormons"

I say that generally speaking. There are SO many wonderful people and great examples of the LDS church in Utah. But, speaking from experience, I have noticed that moving away from Utah, there is a HUGE difference in the Mormons outside of Utah. There are absolutely "Utah Mormons" anywhere, but it has to do with their demeanor, and not where they are from. There is just a more accepting, less-judgemental way about the Mormons outside of Utah. But I digress.

Anyway, I recently had to confront this person about some un-kind and things that were said about me, and being the blunt person that I am, I would rather confront the problem and fix it. That didn't happen and needless to say, we are no longer friends. This is a sad thing, but a necessary thing. I wish her the best and I am happy with my choices in my life now. I am so very thankful for all of the supportive and loving people in my life. I appreciate the relationships I have now and even though I lost one of them, I feel it was for the best. :)

Which brings me to my point. I belong in Vegas. I spent the first 4 years of my marriage trying to convince my husband to let us move back to Utah and to get his old job back. But, as I visit Utah, I realize... I have made friendships that will last a lifetime here in Vegas. Friendships that are meaningful to me, the kind that I can be myself and not worry that one of my dear friends is hurting me or judging my every move. I would absolutely LOVE to live closer to my in-laws because they are so wonderful, but I've come to realize, I do have family here. :) I am so blessed with the love and support and caliber of friendships I have here. That being said,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! :)

Thankful D, E, F, G...

Continued....

D. I am thankful for DIVINE intervention! I feel this has happened many times in my life!:)

E. ETERNAL marriage. Tyson and I will be getting sealed this January on our 7 year anniversary! It makes me so happy to know that my family will be ETERNAL and I take great joy and comfort in knowing that.

F. FAMILY is everything. No matter who comes and goes in your life, you cannot stop being someone's mother, sister, brother, cousin, child, ect. Even when things are troublesome in relationships with my family members, I know that every single one of them will always be there for me. :)

G. GOOGLE. It is a saving grace all of the time. I absolutely love that I can type anything in the google search engine and the answers appear!

I just love this time of year and I think it is the most important in providing service for others. Use your God-given talents to enrich and better people's lives. that is when you feel the most at peace.

Thankful For....

It's that time of year again!! Time to document my blessings here! I missed yesterday so here it goes...

A- I am thankful for the Atonement. Without it, I would truly not be the person I am today!

B- I am thankful for BABIES and all of the joy they bring to their families and to me. They help me with my not being able to have any more of my own.

C- My CHILDREN who teach me more than I teach them and who make my life whole and complete.

It is so important for us all to realize our blessings. When we do this, our trials seem easier and our faith is stronger.

"LIV"-ing with the Sister Wives!!

6 days ago, a dear friend of mine asked me to go to a meeting for a new product. I was mildly interested until she told me that the Sister Wives would be there. I thought it would be neat to meet them, so I obliged her and we went.

I really did not expect to be so moved and so excited about a weight-loss health supplement. BUT I AM!! The company is called LIV INTERNATIONAL. My personal site is

www.livonline.net/mizkylie

Go check it out!! It is AMAZING! I am on my 6th day of all the products and I am waiting to be on this for a couple of weeks before I give you my full testimonial. I am a very genuine person and I will not sell anything that I don't love and fully believe in. I will post more on this later on.

Anyway, I hit it off instantly with Janelle and Meri Brown and was invited go to a training for the product last weekend. It was so much fun. I was then invited to Christine's house for a jewelry party last night, it was so much fun and I have to say, these women are the most inviting and caring women I have ever met.

Meri and I had so much fun just being silly. One of the daughters took my phone to take a picture of us being silly and she just kept taking them! Needless to say, I have 12 photos of us being goofy, I thought I would share!





If you all get a minute, I would love to answer any questions you have on this product and I WILL post more of my experience with the product over the next few weeks!

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Halloween!!!

Womb-less

As I sit here typing next to my husband who is deeply sleeping, I am feeling very blessed. I've kissed my kids as they sleep at least 4 times tonight.. some call that OCD, I just call it being an awesome mom! ;)

I don't feel I am missing anything, although, technically, I am. I had a hysterectomy a week and a half ago. Yep. I am 28 soon-to-be 29 and I had my uterus taken out, by a robot no less.

I am blessed with two amazing kids and my husband actually had a vasectomy in 2005. So, we weren't planning on anymore kids, but I guess I always had that little hope that he would get a reversal.;) I think I only wanted another one maybe because I couldn't have one? I prayed about it often and felt I was, in fact, done having kids. Now, the deal is sealed.

It was the best decision for what I've been going through the last 6 years. Thankfully, I still have my ovaries so NO menopause for me this young!! phew!

The best part of having the surgery, is the amazing help we received from friends. I've never had such high caliber friends in my life. I know I've become a better friend the last couple years and I do try to give service to others, but the service my family has received the last couple of weeks would humble anyone.

Calls, meals, babysitting, rides, texts, emails, cards, ect. The list goes on. I am so grateful to be in this place in my life and have such amazing people that I trust and would do anything for close around me. One of the sweetest things I got was a beautiful bouquet of flowers the day after surgery from my ex-husband and his wife! They had just visited Las Vegas from Utah and they actually took both Kai AND Ashtyn out to get frozen yogurt. I am so grateful for my relationship with them as well.

I have a deeper appreciation for service. Even the little things. And, MEALS! Oh how they are such a blessing! Anyway, I'm feeling deeply blesses, grateful, and loved.

Ahhhh, I love my life.

Toothfairy....

Ashtyn lost her first "official" tooth today! She totally freaked out at first because, apparently, she thought that the tooth fairy, herself, took her tooth out of her mouth while she was asleep at night. She was eating a sandwich when she found out that was not the case. She asked me questions all day long.

"Mom, will the tooth fairy give me money or give me a toy?", "Does the tooth fairy have teeth? When she loses teeth, who takes them?"

Ashtyn wanted to leave a note for the tooth fairy. I went to get her some markers and paper and came back to this sitting nicely ON her dresser with a throw pillow on top of it! (see what I mean by bright?) It reads:

"I left my tooth for you. I LOBE you, Ashtyn" without the punctuation of course. She cracks me up.

.............................................

We love our new place. I decorated it SO cute and I have my lovely Scentsy burning in each room. Mmmmm, I love me some Scentsy. (Shameless plug) Let me know if you want to buy some for Christmas gifts or just to make your home smell lovely.

Ahem, anyway, we love our new house. We love our neighbors. It has been a great adjustment and I love being so close to the kids' school and being able to walk them to and from. NO more bus drama!

We are going to visit Utah the first weekend of October and go to a UTAH game! YAY! PAC 12 BABY! I am excited because we have not visited Utah during the fall in too long. I miss those fall leaves and the intoxicating smell of the harvest time.

Just a fun little update entry here. I will be able to flow better with my posts after I get the hang of it again.

XOXO- Kylie

P.S. Tooth fairy left some 'Hello Kitty' stationary, a personalized note, a Barbie toothbrush, some Aquafresh toothpaste, and some dog and cat tattoos for the Mini. :)

She is a bright one, she is. I took a couple of pics of them at church today for Tyson. I could not resist, they both looked so cute.

For your viewing pleasure, just some pics of the kids from church that I snapped for Tyson. They always look so cute in their Sunday best that I am always texting him pics. :) ENJOY!

Frugality?

Is that a word?

We just moved. It has been 2 years since we last moved. Las Vegas is the place to buy right now, it is soooooo cheap to buy a house here. We have been renting since we moved to Vegas 3 years ago. In order to buy a house, we need to have a good down payment to get a better interest rate and all that jazz.

I have been fervently praying for something. A change maybe? Then, just 4 weeks ago, we decided to move into a smaller home, still in the same ward that we love, with $500 a month less rent! We are closer to our friends and ward members and there are 3 pools here that are open 24/7, 365. Nice.

We actually really love this smaller home. It is something to get use to, but it is really clean and very homey.

I really want to start saving in every way and there are a few people I know that do the couponing stuff. I think I could totally get addicted to it. So, I am going to try it out.:)

The kids' new school is a short walk from my home and I love being this close to them. Since I am the PTA mom, I can be involved with the school much easier.

I would love to hear any other suggestions on how to save money here and there. Please post a comment, all ONE of you! ;)