inspiration

An Ode to Fathers

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NauticaforDad #CollectiveBias

I think that fathers should be celebrated more than once a year. So often we hear about and only focus on the fathers who could (and perhaps should) do more for their children – but what about all of those men that go above and beyond and try their hardest to care for their families? Eleven months out of the year we keep pretty quiet on the subject.

All over social media I see jokes about mothers who need a break, or some coffee, or a glass of wine, but there are dads out there who have the exact same responsibilities, and they deserve a break too.

To all of the dads who work all day and come home only to turn around and coach their children’s sports teams – thank you.

To all of the dads who spend countless hours rocking colicky babies to sleep at 3 am; knowing that their alarm clock will go off at 4:30 – thank you.

To all of the dads who stay home and take care of the house so their partners can have the career that they want to have – thank you.

And to all of the dads who didn’t have to be a dad, yet stepped in to become a parent when a child needed one – thank you.

My husband has done many of those things for us; being a dad for Anika when she and I were alone; staying up countless nights so that I could get a couple hours of sleep; and rearranging his work load and schedule to help with the kids so I could pursue my career and have breaks.

I wanted to get him something nice for Father’s Day this year, because I don’t think that the kids should be the only ones to get their Dad something, spouses should as well. Something that he could use and would never buy for himself – so when we were at Macy’s last weekend I snuck over into the fragrance department and purchased the Nautica Life gift set for him. For only a couple dollars more than what you would normally pay for just the men’s fragrance. This deluxe gift set is only $65.00, a $128.00 value. This gift set includes: 3.4 oz Eau de Toilette, 2.5 oz Aftershave Balm, 2.5 oz Shower Gel, and 1 oz Eau de Toilette, all wrapped up in a in a nice box – so nice looking that I’m not even going to bother wrapping it!

The Nautica life men’s fragrance smells fantastic and I’ve never bought Wayne cologne before, so I know he will be surprised and appreciate the quality of this fragrance and the thought behind it.

I hope you have something special planned for the Father in your life this weekend – and will make more memories with them not only on Father’s Day, but throughout the year.

I’m also happy to be part of a fabulous giveaway that includes a cruise vacation package for one Grand Prize winner and five second place winners that will win a Nautica Men’s Fragrance gift package! (Winners must be 18+)

~Melissa

Nautica for Dad

June 18, 2015 2 comments

ideas inspiration Uncategorized

Why I Took a #MEday – and Why You Should Too

written by Melissa Kaylene

We work hard. Let’s face it – between juggling the kids schedules, your spouse’s agenda, work, volunteering, after curricular activities, plus handling all of the little mundane things (like shopping, cleaning, and bills) there’s just not much time left – is there?

Sometimes I tend to overdo it, and in the past I’ve found myself in a vicious cycle of being over committed, completely exhausted, unable to focus, and in doing so I know that I’m not being the best ME that I know I can be – and I know I’m not the only one out here that struggle with this.

I’m not sure why we always feel the need to have an excuse to take time for ourselves, because in reality it should be a necessity. It’s not being selfish to take time for yourself. Ever.

Sometimes taking a ME day isn’t necessarily an entire day or a huge planned event, sometimes it’s just making an effort to do something for you, whether that be taking a hot bath, spending half of an hour in a coffee shop solo sipping a latte, a 20 minute nap, a pedicure, or even a 30 minute workout in the gym – taking time to do all of those things will in return make you a better wife, better mother, better YOU. I make sure that I do these things on a weekly basis for ME.

Taking care of yourself makes you a better self.

According to a recent survey conducted by domain.ME 8 out of 10 participates stated that they felt stressed about their work and life balance – and that’s not right.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to have a girl’s night with a couple of friends plus some co-workers. One of my friends drove down from Astoria and she and I stayed the night at our other friend’s house. We met everyone and then went to a special movie theater that served snacks and cocktails.

After the movie the three of us went back to her house where we snacked and talked until nearly 4 am. These women, like me, are incredibly busy and I won’t lie and say that it didn’t take any effort to make our girl’s night happen, but we all decided that it was a priority and made the time to have fun. I know that sounds crazy, right? But it’s so important.

Even though I was very tired the next day it was so wonderful to be able to catch up and maintain my friendships, celebrating each other’s lives, while each of us had a little ME time.

International ME day is coming up on March 16th, but we shouldn’t need a set day to take time for ourselves. Everyday some small part of the day, should be devoted to spending time with ourselves.

When was the last time you took some time for you?

~Melissa

This post was sponsored by domain .ME. All thoughts, opinions, and photos are, as always, my own.

February 16, 2015 8 comments

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Love is a Gift.

written by Melissa Kaylene

I can’t believe it’s November already! After we set the clocks back last night it really hit me – we are almost finished with 2014. I wish I could pause time for a while and keep things this way. MassMutual asked me a few weeks ago to share a personal story with you and I though that since it is November – a time that we all count our blessings, that I’d share one of my biggest blessings with you: my husband.

I met him ten years ago while I was working as a certified nurse’s assistant. I was a young, naive new mom who wasn’t looking for love – in fact at that time of my life I was bitter, scared, and had no desire to share my emotions with anyone, because that would mean I risked getting hurt – again.

Call it fate, call it luck, but I took care of Wayne’s stepfather and he came in to visit him often, and I began to get to know him. I was attracted to the fact that someone could so selflessly think of people they loved and devote time into sitting there, caring for someone when I know it’s not a fun or easy thing to do. All too often I saw quite the opposite – where individuals went weeks (or more) without ever having a visitor.

To shorten I very long story, here we are today – though it hasn’t been without bumps along the way. We’ve had our ups and downs like any relationship does, and I’ve grown to ignore the nay-sayers or judgemental people who have purposely tried to tear us down because of our age difference. I don’t care because every love is unique.

It works, for us. Wayne took Anika in as his own and helped me raise her because he fell in love with that little curly red haired toddler. Emma and Noah came along and made our family complete.

Every love is different – and every kind of love that we share is unique. No two loves are alike. I’m so glad that I let my guard down and accepted the love that he had for me initially.

Every love is a gift.

MassMutual has created an initiative for everyone called “Love is a Gift” So you can share your’s with everyone you know. For every picture you post on Instagram with the hashtag #LoveIsAGift, MassMutual will donate $1 to Easter Seals, up to $50,000.

Love comes in many ways – and one of those ways is by providing children and adults living with disabilities, caregivers, and veterans more access to the things they need like specialists, information, and financial strategies that can help improve their quality of life.

I encourage you to post your mini story on Instagram and share your gift of love with others!

Join me on Wednesday, November 5th at 8:00 am PST/ 11:00 am EST for the #LoveIsAGift Twitter party!

~Melissa

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the MassMutual.

November 3, 2014 2 comments

inspiration Inspiring Uncategorized

Why haven’t you finished your dreams?

written by Melissa Kaylene

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Western Governors University. The opinions and text are all mine.

Well, today is my last day in my full work week stretch. It’s been good, yet incredibly busy. The house is a mess, I’m behind on a bunch of stuff, and I am thoroughly exhausted. Whenever I fill in for a stretch of more than a couple of days I really begin to appreciate that I don’t have to work outside of the home full time, at least not while the kids are little.

Even though I’m glad I’m not out busting my butt forty + hours a week away from the kids, I’m forever grateful for the decision I made to go back to school and become a nurse. I may have mentioned it before a long time ago, but when I was pregnant with Anika I was young, scared, and broke. I knew I needed to find a job that would provide me with a stable career and above minimum wage pay – so I took a class and became a C.N.A. (Certified Nurse’s Aide). I worked as a C.N.A. for many years, moving my way up to working in the hospital, and I had always tossed the idea back and forth whether or not to go back to school. I knew I couldn’t do the physically demanding work that I was doing forever, and I was close to maxing out on the top of the pay scale, but I was still scared to make that leap.

2008 was a challenging year for us – we had recently purchased out home, Miss Emma was born, and Wayne lost his job. I didn’t know what to do at that point – and then towards the end of the year I did it – something inside of me knew now was the time – I applied to school to finish what I had started 5 years prior. Everything fell into place – one of my co-workers at the time ended up getting accepted into the same program as I did and she lived in the same small town, so we commuted together. I was blessed and found the best babysitter I could ask for and she lived within the school bus route so Anika could ride there after school.

It was incredibly hard for me to leave my 1 year old as I went to school every day, but I kept telling myself that it was just for one year and then I would have the flexibility in my schedule again so I wouldn’t miss out on things. I knew that if I became a nurse I could always financially support my family if I had to, and that if Wayne ever had job problems again I wouldn’t have to work twice as much just to make the same pay.

I graduated the course in November 2009, and passed the NCLEX on Dec. 31, 2009. I was fifteen weeks pregnant with Noah at that time.

Now I am confident that if anything ever happened that I can take care of my family. When we had our pinning ceremony I had never seen my dad so proud – you see, he himself had never graduated from High School, and I know that it’s been a hard thing for him to live with, but by me graduating he had felt like he did accomplish something – and he did. He always worked his hardest to support us, and I know that he has always done the best he could to support his family, and I wanted to do the same. It made me feel good that I had stuck with it and finished, that I could show my kids if I could do it, anyone could.

Since I became a nurse I’ve worked part time and on call and it’s turned out great. I can work here and there and make a little extra money to help out, and I have a flexible schedule so I don’t have to miss any of the kids’ activities.

If you’ve been thinking about going back to school, Western Governor’s University is one worth checking into. They are a nonprofit, accredited university and have a unique approach to learning. Their goals are to address the obstacles facing those who are looking to advance or enter a new phase of their career – such as budget and scheduling restraints.

Western Governor’s University excels in four main areas: Business, information technology, education, and nursing. They have a competency based learning schedule – meaning it’s not about the hours you spend sitting in a classroom, but about the knowledge you have! WGU is half the cost of other online schools and a lot of flexibility, and right now they are even waiving their enrollment fee when you use the code: WONDER .

What’s been holding you back from finishing your dreams?

~Melissa

Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Western Governors University. The opinions and text are all mine.

September 29, 2014 0 comment

inspiration Inspiring life memories sports Uncategorized

Learning Life Lessons Together

written by Melissa Kaylene

Next week all of the kids will have soccer camp and I’m a little nervous for Emma. I’ve said it a few times on here before, but Emma really had a difficult time with her first year of soccer. She is so shy that she either would not go out on to the field during a game, or she’d stand in one spot on the field – frozen like a statue. I’ve debated back and forth with what to do – to continue to gently encourage her, or to just give in and not push it. I finally decided that she needed to give it a go through the spring season because I don’t want my children to just give up the first time something feels difficult or scary.

I was becoming so desperate to help her overcome her insecurities that I had tried all sorts of things… yet nothing seemed to be working. On our way to one of her last games I gave it one more shot. I was tired – it had been an exhausting day and I did’t have dinner planned, so I told Emma if she could be a brave girl and run out on that field with her teammates we could go out to dinner for Happy Meals at McDonald’s, where I knew I had the option of getting myself a McCafe Smoothie and a freshly made salad as well.

She thought and thought about it, and then surprised me out on the field. She not only ran – she got into the game and actually kicked the ball once! It was the first time she had ever kicked the soccer ball during a game.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief when she told me after the game that she had so much she had forgot that we were going to go to McDonald’s!

We pulled up and went inside to sit down and eat – something we rarely do anymore due to our busy schedule. As Emma opened up her apple slices and chicken nuggets she appeared sad then looked down and said softly,

“Mom, I kicked the ball the wrong way.”

I knew she had, but I wasn’t going to bring the subject up. I paused, and thought for a moment.

“Emma, do you remember that one time when we went through the drive thru here and we drove all the way home before realizing that they had forgotten to put apple slices in your Happy Meals?”

“Ya, and you called them back and the guy hung up on you!” Anika chimed in.

“Yes he did. But then I called the corporate office to let them know and they were so apologetic, sincerely sorry and wanted to fix the situation. They not only sent us a gift card, but coupons for free desserts and then called me back not once but two times making sure that the next experience went well.”

“What exactly is your point Mom?” Anika said.

“My point is that everyone messes up sometimes. We all make mistakes – but that doesn’t matter. No one is perfect. What does matter is what you do afterwards. When McDonald’s found out about what had happened, they wanted to make things right to keep a customer happy. They didn’t just give up and say, ‘oh well, we screwed up’ and let us down.“

I told Emma that just because she accidentally kicked the ball the wrong way didn’t mean she couldn’t do a good job at soccer. I told her to just keep trying to help her team and prove to herself that she can be brave and do it.

She just had one more thing to say after our little chat.

“Mommy, if I kick the soccer ball the right way next time, can we go to get Happy Meals again?”

How can I say no to that? 🙂

I wonder if she’ll remember this little moment we had a from a couple of months ago at soccer camp.

~Melissa

“Disclosure:
Compensation was provided by McDonald’s via Mode Media. The opinions expressed
herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or
positions of McDonald’s.”

July 31, 2014 1 comment

inspiration Inspiring life memories photos pictures Uncategorized

Extraordinary Little Moments

written by Melissa Kaylene

This week it was Anika’s turn to help the older kids feed the sheep at the barn, so Wayne has been taking her over at 6 pm each evening. Wednesday I had an event at Whole Foods so he had to take all three kiddos with him. Of course then on Thursday and Friday they wanted to go again, so Noah got to go the first day and then Emma went with them last night – leaving just Noah and I holding down the fort at home for an hour.

I decided to do something that I don’t do very often – for that hour I followed his lead and played with him, in that magical way that only a 4 year old can create. We tickled and tackled on the couch – playing pretend with bouts of giggles in between – when suddenly he turned to the window.

Four large birds were gliding in the wind over the trees that lead down to the river, and he was in awe. Normally I would just glance at them or mention to Noah that I see them too, but not this time. This time I sat there in awe with him – and just watched them.

I forgot how extraordinary the littlest things can be.

For 30 minutes we sat there spotting out all of the birds that flew by, watching them soar or dart or dash by. This extraordinary boy is so observant of the world around him. I suddenly found myself back as a child, when there were no schedules, no deadlines, and no responsibilities – when nature was a big part of my life and when summer seemed to last forever.

I miss those days.

The Stanford Children’s Health Hospital and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital have been the top-ranked children’s hospitals in Northern California for over a decade, and like me, they believe that what makes kids extraordinary isn’t just the epic stuff – it’s the little things. It’s those little moments that maybe only you as a parent can see and celebrate daily, and they’ve created a site to help you remember the little extraordinary things by creating a video for your kids – and it’s really easy to do.

Here’s the one I created for Noah last night. It brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

“Your kid is extraordinary. Show them how much you enjoy every moment together by creating a special video of your own.”

~Melissa

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

June 28, 2014 2 comments

inspiration Inspiring style Uncategorized

Live your finite life.

written by Melissa Kaylene

So many times I am reminded of how fragile and precious life is. It’s a gift, blessing, and so often its cut short before we even get a chance to do the things we wanted to do,

or live the life we dreamed.

In the blink of an eye someone can be gone forever.

When we were younger we all wished to grow up, live our lives, not have to be a kid anymore.

And then we grow up and we long to go back to our days of youth.

It goes so fast.

I wish we could go back and tell ourselves as youth to enjoy the moment. Don’t worry about responsibilities; adult problems, just live, because you never know.

And then I wish we could all find a place of happiness where we are in life now. Most of us will never have everything we want, but to learn to be content with what you have and

Life is finite. Live it. Breathe it. Don’t let it pass you by

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~Melissa

May 27, 2014 0 comment

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Memories of Summer Simplicity

written by Melissa Kaylene

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

There are some moments that I wish I could just slow down or put on pause. Between all of the bickering and hollering from the kids – it can wear me out. But with summertime approaching generally comes better spirits as the days are longer and there is more leisure time for their freedom.

In the summer there seems to be more moments when they are all getting along and playing nicely together. It’s those moments where I have a huge sigh of relief and know that I must be doing something right. These moments are truly a mother’s bliss.

April 28, 2014 8 comments

inspiration Inspiring Uncategorized

Never Take Life for Granted.

written by Melissa Kaylene

I have to talk about something that has been heavy on my heart for a few days now. My husband’s boss lost his son. I’ve never met my husband’s boss nor his son, but my husband knew both of them. I believe he was 8 years old.

I as a parent cannot even imagine going through the pain of loosing one of my children. Especially not at that age. Not that young. From what I heard he had just died in his sleep. Unexpectedly. I feel for my husband’s boss even more because not only did his only son just die, but he himself is a doctor. As a nurse I can only empathize how much he feels like there must have been something that he could of done – a sign or symptom that he could and should have paid attention to more.

It brings tears to my eyes.

I’ve been hugging my children a little tighter the past few days. It seems as if every time I finally forget about the hurt and pain that death brings to people it pops in again just to remind me that it’s always there. But when it happens to children it brings me the heaviest heart of all, for they had barely begun to live their life.

It makes me wonder how much the little things matter. Like the times I said I had to clean the house instead of making a fort with my children. The times that I should have slowed down more to let them help me make dinner. The mornings that we should spend cuddling in bed reading stories instead of rushing around.

The one thing I can say about death is it makes me appreciate life more.

My family more.

Don’t live your life thinking that what is now will always be. Live your life appreciating the now and experiencing the moment – for you never know when you won’t have that opportunity again.

~Melissa

April 18, 2014 2 comments

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There Will Always be Mean People..and That’s Okay.

written by Melissa Kaylene

Growing up I wasn’t picked on too much. Sure kids tease, but I wasn’t constantly tormented or harassed by others.

Kids have a way of pointing out everything about you that they learn from society as “abnormal”.

Red hair. Freckles. Weight. Crooked teeth.

Everything that you have insecurities on – that’s what they use to tear you down with words.

Many of us fight with the demons inside of our heads that tell us we’re not pretty enough, skinny enough, popular enough.

Some people never overcome them.

I’ve felt that the past few years I’ve grown as a person – grown away from the negativity and jealousy that was inbred and have accepted myself for who I am.

And you know what? Life is way more fun when you don’t worry about everyone else’s opinions of you – because their opinions are rooted down to their own demons that they battle.

Last weekend though, my self confidence was challenged.

I met a friend at a local tavern to meet her new boyfriend. He had clearly been drinking prior to meeting my friend and I there. We all chatted small talk together and I wasn’t thinking too much as he walked away to get himself another drink.

When he returned he began talking to my friend and I wasn’t really paying attention –

then I realized he was talking about me, to me.

“…And you have funny eyes, a big nose, and an overbite!” He clearly stated staring at me.

I was taken aback by what he said. How could someone I just met – intoxicated or not – point out all of my physical “flaws” after just meeting me? Why would anyone do that? Most of the time I choose to bite my tongue and walk away, but this time I got defensive and responded with an equally appropriate (though not necessary) jab – commenting on his clinical obesity.

He said, ” Hey you know I’m just messing with you.”

and I said, “Well, I guess I am too then.”

I then politely excused myself and drove home. And thought.

This world is full of negativity and cruelty. Why anyone would choose to blurt out all of the insecurities that I’ve worked on overcoming is beyond me.

After a day of licking my wounds I decided to let it go.

I feel bad for anyone who says and does things like that, because they must live an unhappy life.

There will always be mean people in this world but that’s okay.

Words can knock me down but I will not let it ruin my happiness.

Because happy people are beautiful people.

~Melissa

March 4, 2014 2 comments

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