December

December is here and Christmas is near. Just less than two weeks till Christmas Day!!! I am very excited to see my family on Christmas Eve. My mom, abuelita, brother and his fiance will be coming to my house that day. And my abuelita is going to show me how to make her albondigas soup. It is seriously the BEST soup! Just thinking about us all being together brings back memories of childhood of when the family would all get together on Christmas Eve. We would always eat a yummy Christmas dinner and wait till midnight to open presents. It was always so much fun to be around all my tias and tios and primos. All us kids would play together till midnight. I remember how long the wait felt. I remember just counting down the days till Christmas Day felt like forever. Funny how once you become an adult time just flies by. And now I wish the days would just slow down so I can enjoy every moment with Nate. Anywho, I am very excited to celebrate this Christmas with him. I feel like he will understand so much more this year. It'll be so much fun seeing him open his presents and see his new toys. And also just having him surrounded by family. I want him to grow up and think back on his childhood memories of Christmas with so much joy as I do of mine. That would make me sooo happy.

Emotional Lately

Lately I have been getting so emotional as I look at Nate through out the day. We will be sitting at the table eating and I just look at him in disbelief at how much he's grown. I wish I had decided to quit my job sooner because I feel like I have missed so much with Nate already. He is so big now that I can see he needs more independence and time with other kids. I hope that with our next child (whenever that may be) I can be home with them from the beginning. I also pray that God brings some mommy friends into my life. Life can be pretty lonely these days. I just want to be able to live a simple life. I don't need much in my life but my family, a few quality friends and roof over my head.

Random Thoughts

I was just thinking of naming this blog Random Thoughts of Lis instead of Lovely Thoughts of Lis. I have no idea what I intend to write about on this blog. It used to be so easy for me to write about my life on my tumblr. I guess I didn't think much about what I wrote back then, I just wrote. I guess I should start doing the same now. Just write. I think I am currently in a weird place in my life.  I feel as though I am on the backburner in my own life. Right now Ryan has work full time and school in the evenings. On top of that he is traveling a lot for work so I am the primary caretaker of Nate weekdays. I am so thankful that I am home with Nate because if I was also working full time I think I would be so stressed. But at the same time I don't get much "me time" out of the house. And I feel like I don't have many or really any "mom friends". Not to mention I have to be creative with what I do as we are now living on one income and don't have extra money to spend. It is a challenge. On top of it all my son, Nate, is such a strong willed and energetic little boy. He is stubborn and can test my patience like no other. Parenting is the most challenging thing I have come across in my life. It can suck the life out of you and at the same time fill your life with so much joy. You are tested constantly but always rewarded in some way. It is like nothing else in this life. I am grateful I get to experience parenthood. I just hope that I figure out how to give more quality time to myself. I need to take better care of myself so I am ready for whatever comes my way with Nate each day.

Fall is near

and I couldn't be more excited. It is my absolute favorite. I have already noticed the weather cooling down and the sun setting earlier as we are midway into September.  There is something about Fall that feels like home to me. This season always brings upon change into my life. I'm hoping there is good change in the forecast this year. It's not officially Fall yet but I am ready for all the Fall festivities to begin. Here are some things I have on my to do list:

-Take a trip to SF
-Go apple picking at Apple Hill
-Bake cookies and other treats
-Pull out the crockpot and start putting it to use
-Find a Halloween costume for Nate

Big Decision

So, I made my first life changing decision. I put in my two weeks notice at my job. I had been thinking about this on and off for the past 2 years but not seriously until the past few months...and finally after talking with my husband we both agreed it would be best for our family. It was such a big decision that I felt so much anxiety about it. It was a very difficult decision for me. Of course I've wanted this and dreamed of it but to actually do it? The day that I told my boss I felt like I was going to vomit. But afterwards I felt so much relief. I am so excited to be able to be home with my son. It's like this long distant dream that I still can't believe will be my reality soon. Of course our family will have to sacrifice some things, mostly financial. But I do think our life will be less stressful. There are so many factors that have led to this decision that I just feel like it is the right thing to do. I can feel it in my heart and that is a feeling I have not had in a long time.

Changes

I can feel the changes coming. That is one of the reasons I am starting up this blog again. I am so excited to get back to, well, me! I think the past few years I have neglected myself. I've transitioned to motherhood and boy has it been full of challenges. I love being a mom, but my biggest challenge with motherhood has been balance. Being a working woman, wife, and mother is difficult. It's hard to make time for myself and the things I enjoy. After a lot of thinking I have decided to make necessary changes to better the quality of my life. I am still in the planning phase but I am so excited. This is the first time in a long time that I am making decisions for me. I'm starting to realize a happy me means I can be a better mother and a better wife. A happy me means I can be a better person in general. I am starting to realize that although there are times in life where we feel stuck in our current situations, we still have control of our lives by our choices. If you don't like something, well, change it. It may not be the ideal situation at first, but small changes can help you get closer to where you want to be. I'm so excited to document the changes I make in my life!