LITTLE MOM big world Introduction

I've been a mom for ten years. I was only twenty when Alicia was born. I was scared. Of course, I was happy. But I was really scared. I knew that everything was going to be different. My husband and I were engaged and crazy about each other after 5 months of dating. Two months after that we found out we were pregnant. We had hoped for a long engagement, but things change and that's O.K. I was attending college and was only working part-time. My husband was also attending college and working full-time. School became a second priority for us when Alicia came. We had bills to pay and in all of the excitement of being an independent and young married couple, we created more bills for us to pay, if you know what I mean. I tried to continue my education whenever I could and managed to complete an Associate of Arts degree. It wasn't what I had always wanted for myself but, HEY it's something, right?!

Well, I have three girls now (Alicia 10, Aleyna 6, and Abigail 1) and sometimes I wonder if I'm doing a good job as a parent. I'm at home now, but have worked full-time in the past and felt incredibly guilty for not being with my children. What I have come to realize is that as a parent you sometimes feel as though your part is little in their great BIG WORLDS. But to be honest, I have learned that we play the biggest role in their lives. It doesn't matter if you are a stay-at-home parent or if you work full time. It's what you do with the time that you have with your children that counts. Do you come home and become completely overwhelmed with the gigantic amount of laundry you have to do? Do you come home and realize that you didn't defrost any chicken and therefore have to eat out once again for dinner? Do you bring home your frustrations from work? Are you so disgusted with yourself and your inability to succeed that even though you are at home you can't get anything done? I've been there. I don't want to be there ever again. I want to spend my life making it count for something. Not only do I want to be a great mom and wife. But I want to be a great somebody to me! I want to do this now!

I had a list of goals that I wanted to reach by the time I was thirty. Well that time has come and gone and I obviously have not reached all of those goals, so I have given myself an extension. I have decided that now is the time for me to get moving on my goals. This is not going to be easy for me. And to be honest, some of it may not be very fun either. But I will reach my goals and surpass them. My list may change from time to time, as everyone's does. And that's O.K. I hope that you all will join me in finding who you really want to be and what life you really want to have for yourself and your family.

Below is my "to do" list, feel free to read. I plan on giving myself deadlines and strict rules. I will lead a no excuse kind of life. If I don’t' know how to do something, I'll learn or ask someone to teach me. I will post my exciting mom adventures and any advice I can offer daily, I hope. I can't become somebody I want to be, by sitting on my butt all day, now can I?! And I certainly can't expect to help my children grow up to be strong and confident people if I struggle with this myself. So I need to change me and my way of living. The rest should fall in to place and if it doesn't, I'll give it a little push!

To Do List (goals)

Lose weight (I'm about 30 lbs. over the weight I want to be at)
Get my home organized (I'm somewhat of a pack rat, especially when it comes to paperwork) Teach Abbie to read by the time she is two (She's pretty bright, just like mommy)
1 hour playtime everyday with kids after school (No Matter What)
Include husband and kids in cooking meals daily (This is good family time)
Limit my TV watching to 1 hour daily. (This is hard, I love TV)
Plant a garden ( I would love to grow my own veggies)
Learn to tile (I have a fireplace that has never been completed and needs tiling)
Write and publish my children's books (I've already started writing)
Start my own business (I would love to be my own boss)
Buy a home with in 1 year (Cash, preferably)
Take my kids to Disneyland/Disneyworld (I have never been there and neither have they)
Take my kids to visit all of the National Monuments (They should know where we have been and where we are going!)

So these are some of the many goals and activities that I have set for myself. I sincerely hope that you will join me in my quest towards personal freedom and offer any advice you may have as well.