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This is Me

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

I enjoy people watching and scrolling through others lives on social media. I like to see similarities and differences between separate people. My name is Kendra Keil, like Kyle but spelt awkwardly. I am a 22 year old who is married, has two boys, is the marketing lead for an employment resource agency, and I own my own social media marketing business.

I started as a 19 year old who was almost bankrupt and panicking with every step she was taking because I felt rushed into life. I went from being my own person to becoming married and having a child within 5 months of each other. This journey felt like it was tearing me down and I did not know what to do. We were just kind of making it by with life, and then nine months later we found out we were pregnant with my son Logan. With Logans pregnancy I was severely sick and having a hard time being on my own so we moved in with my parents. I was struggling to make it 15 minutes without almost passing out and being nauseas. I finally came into contact with an amazing woman who gave me a job at a store in the mall. This was something I could do while making sure I was not overdoing myself. We lived with my parents for my entire pregnancy. I had Logan and went through a different kind of depression. The store I was working at closed down and I was not sure what I was doing with my life. I had two kids to take care of and was living with my parents. Then Logan started having breathing issues which brought on a new kind of panic. The hospitals were helpful but were not giving us answers that we thought were right. However, he started to seem a little better. We knew he still needed help but thought that it was just a longer process of helping his breathing and we needed to be patient.However, with all of these struggles we started to think about it and knew that the next decision was going to be a hard one but that we needed to do it. My husband called an acquaintance of his and then took a twelve hour journey for a job in Montana. After a long month of working we built up enough wealth for him to come down and pick us up. We traveled down to Montana it was a two day journey. We dropped Jason off at my mother in laws on the way there and then made it into the area we live in. We lived with my in-laws for the first part of our time here until we could move into our apartment. I started out with a week temporary job answering phone calls and taking messages for an insurance agency while he was on vacation. It wasn’t much but it was something. After a few weeks my son came back from his grandmas and I started looking for a daycare. About a week after he arrived back home we were told we could move into our apartment early. We found an amazing daycare and I started working at Target. After a few months Logan became sick again, really sick. He was in the hospital for a little over a week and it was the most painful thing to watch. I called out of work everyday to stay with him. Thankfully we got put on the right track and are beginning tests and surgeries to help him, more on that later. After the time in the hospital we had some issues with target understanding why I was gone so long and to make a long story short I decided to find a new job. I found a new job as an office assistant for an employment resource agency. Although to my luck they did not just want an assistant they wanted someone to run their marketing. So here I am their new marketing/office assistant. I am also running my own social media marketing agency on the side. Montana was the best decision we have made and we are thriving. We found a new church and are attending events there, I started cooking which is something I have never been able to commit to, I am raising my boys and starting to tot school them (toddler school), I am helping our family become a more green family and turning our lives around.

Making the most of the outdoors

I like many people enjoy being outdoors. This is a time to feel better in the fresh air and make sure that my children have the freedom to explore the world, or at least a chunk of it. Having no backyard ourselves has made this a struggle living at our apartment; however, when we are some place with a way to see the outdoors we tend to make the most of it.

I encourage my children to explore their imagination and this week they have really started to open up. With my parents large sandbox my boys are creating everything from dugouts to castles. The boys have been so creative this week making sure to keep up with the adventures their aunts and uncles have set forth.

During the evening the boys gathered their swords to come save their aunt (the princess) from dragons (bugs). They have enjoyed tackling one fiction story after the other from the three little pigs to made up non sense. It has been a joy to endure their little minds with what they can accomplish.

The temperatures have been nice enough to allow them to be outside the past few days and that is where my two year old has thrived. He has struggled with being able to take naps the past few days and with him running around and being in the fresh air he has accomplished more then I can even remember. His naps are actually happening because he is so exhausted from playing in the morning air and then he goes straight to sleep after bath time because he is exhausted from hanging out in the afternoon sun.

The outdoors are a great tool for anyone with children or not. Whether you have some sort of make believe life going on or you are playing sports in your backyard. I have yet to see my children not find something to do in the outdoors and that is what is great about the imagination in the outdoors.

Separating work from home while working at home

Whether it is because of the epidemic or it was because of the type of work you do there is a number of moms out there who are tackling their work load from the comfort of the house or even the discomfort of their house. Working from home can be extremely stressful and I can attest to that! Between taking care of two toddlers, keeping up with the house, taking care of guinea pigs, trying to run a personal business and school work life has been a hassle here as well as i am sure it is most everywhere else.

For me working from home always works best when we have a schedule. Not a 7 am – wake up schedule, but more of a to do list set up that makes sure we get our routines done and keep in check. It can be hard at times with being home constantly you realize there is so much that needs done and sometimes it is easier to just not worry about what you should be doing and just focus on what you want to be doing. I fall into that trap so many times, but when I have my schedule out and someone to hold me accountable I have an easier time focusing. And when I do not have someone hold me accountable, I set alarms to make sure I stay on task. Below is a set up for how I make my daily to do lists and a generic outline for what I make sure to do during the day.

I start my daily tasks by breaking my day up into four parts. Morning, afternoon, evening and night. Each part of my day has a list of tasks that I need to finish before the set time I have and as soon as that time comes up then I have to stop that section (unless it is something such as work or homework then I finish up what I am doing before continuing onto the next project).

Morning: Finish before 11:30am

Wake up
shower and face wash
get ready for the day
get boys up and ready for the day
make breakfast
Daily cleaning list
boys education
make lunch
get boys in bed
clean up lunch

Afternoon: Finish before 4pm

Work on Marketing business
work on school work
read 20pages at least in book
devotions
switch laundry
water plants
make phone calls
go through bills
check over budget
prep for dinner

evening: Before 7:30pm

make supper
eat/clean up supper
play with the boys
get guinea pigs out of the cage for at least 30minutes
play outside for 30 minutes
go for a walk
pick up from the day
switch laundry
boys bedtime routine
get Logan in bed
jason bedtime snack

Evening: Before midnight

Put Jason to bed
finish work from earlier that needs done
pick up anything that needs put away
start dishwasher
feed guinea pigs
freetime
wash face and lotion
read book
go to sleep

A routineI have found for me personally is easier to follow when you do not have to do certain things by a certain time. That was to stressful and with the uncertainty of children it was almost near impossible to accomplish. I am always able to switch up my schedule when needed for meetings or appointments when I have to which makes this schedule work well for me.

Kiddie shows

In a time where we are all spending a little extra time trying to work or gain some sanity around the house many of us moms are using some extra screen time to keep our kids entertained while we contain those things done around the house. After watching 7 billion episodes of mickey mouse clubhouse during these times I needed to branch out. I have found a few different children television shows that are at least tolerable and I can watch a few extra times and not completely hate it.

Phineas and Ferb: A cartoon where two brothers build things and their sister tattles on them without their mom ever finding out. I watched this show with my family when it was first out and it was so fun to watch. I definitely could watch this show for a while before needing to turn the entire show off.
Miraculous: A cartoon where two regular kids are also super heros but they can not let anyone else know. This is fun and cute and each episode is a new adventure!
Marvel Spiderman: The cartoon spiderman has many different adventures and whether I am doing school work with it in the background or snuggling with my boys I definitely do not mind watching multiple episodes in a row.

Those are some of my favorite t.v. shows that I can stand watching on repeat for awhile. However, my children are also into watching the same movie on repeat. So I also have the top movies that I can watch on repeat that my children also love watching.

Frozen 2
Toy story 1
Finding Nemo
How to train your Dragon
Beauty and the Beast
Peter Pan
Shrek
Kung Fu Panda
The minion movie
Despicable Me

Times like this parents need to understand that some extra screen time is okay. There are so many changes going on and many of us do not have personal time nor are they able to get their regular work done due to also taking care of children. So take some extra time to watch some extra tv with your children and enjoy their company or get some work done while your child enjoys a different movie.

Entertaining toddlers with shelter in place

In Montana we have officially been put into shelter mode for almost a week. The kids are starting to get restless and feel cooped up and we are looking at being stuck here until at least June 1st in a non air conditioned apartment. (I know lucky us) After relaxing the first few days our toddlers decided that they had had enough relaxing and needed more enjoyment in their world. I made a list of a few different ways to keep toddlers entertained during this quarantined time.

Indoor pool: Bath time with swimsuits is one of my children’s favorite play times during the day. They take their swimming toys and throw those in the tub also and it serves as being at the pool.
Walks: This one is more so known for everyone. Many towns have started their own “bear hunt” for people to go on walks and find other stuffed animals in people’s windows.
Dance class: The internet is a wonderful place that has helped with many activities for everyone. One thing we use is youtube to search for dance classes. The music gets the boys excited and their little bodies just somehow know how to dance.
Art: There is so many different options here. We enjoy placing a large piece of paper down on our kitchen floor and giving the boys crayons to color all over it. Then we hang photos on their wall to display. They are so proud.
Education: This one might not be so exciting for some children but we have some extra time to be with our children and to teach them about the world. I have spent a few days teaching my two year old how to speak.

Taking the time to get closer to your family during this is what is going to help us get through this. There are so many things we could easily do; get mad, sad, feel lonely. Coming through this will be hard on everyone being cooped up, but helping each other out will help us figure out a way to get through this easier.

Being the mom of a child with respiratory issues during the COVID-19 outbreak

During the scare of the Coronavirus outbreak people have been panicking. People with good immune systems have been panicking. With all of the toilet paper, sanitizer, diaper wipes and soaps going into a shortage if not disappearing completely from shelves this is leaving those who really need them in a moment of confusion as to what they need to do now.

My son has floppy airways, and although this does not mean he needs to be seen by a doctor every other week, he does need to stay away from those with any kind of contagious disease as his lungs will contain the illness for longer then it would a healthy person. With this hand washing, sanitizing and keeping others away who are sick are already part of our daily routine. When the shortage happened we were not prepared for stores to be out of sanitizer and soap. This has brought a struggle to our house for a while as we did not know how we were going to help keep our child away from diseases even those that are not with the Coronavirus. Thankfully we have been able to keep both our children healthy and some stock has added up to bring soap at least back to the stores.

Among washing our hands here are a few things we have done to help keep ourselves free of any kind of illness as well as COVID-19.

Washing clothes as soon as we get home. There is so much contact with others that happens on a daily basis and our clothes keep it in that coming home and washing it right away is an easy way to help prevent it.
Showering when we get home. Obviously this is the same reason we wash our hands but at least our entire bodies will be washed off and our children will have less of a chance of having disease spread.
We clean up each night and make sure to run through the house each night and do a quick pick up that involves sanitizing toys over night, washing heavily touched areas and wiping down all phones and remotes.

Illness is always a concern at our home and with the up bring of coronavirus it is still the same level of concern but, we are already taking precautions for this and it has not brought as much worry to me than any of the other diseases have.

Clean Mama, Clean

With spring right around the corner the weather is finally warming up! This means its time to organize, sanitize and clean out your house of all the junk, and overburdens that take up space and prepare your house for the warm weather ahead!

I love to keep my house clean and well dressed, but with children that is sometimes almost impossible. I have a few tips and tricks for those of you who are getting ready to spring clean and tackle keeping it cleaned with children running loose.

Wash those carpets and get a rug! – With two children and an apartment cream rug finding a rug to go over it is a must. My children almost destroyed our living room carpet and last weekend I sent them to their grandparents, moved all the furniture and washed the carpet. After it dried I set up the house around a rug and placed a coffee table into the middle of the carpet. This has drawn my children to the table with their food and if they drop stuff on the floor its on the rug instead and I can clean it up without staining the carpet!
Make a schedule – This is so important for me to stay on task and see what I have done and what I am doing. Also plan things such as what needs to be done first or when it needs to be done by.
Maintaining it – Make a chore schedule, new list each day or something that will keep you on track to not worry about the clutter piling up again.
Nap time – I know, I too wish this meant my house would clean itself while I napped. But sadly it does not work like that. While my boys are napping however I make sure to work on projects that would otherwise be hard with them in my way.
Donate at least 10 items per person in the house. – If you have four people in your house this means getting rid of 40 items altogether. This is a great way to get rid of extra clutter and make sure that you are not the only one disposing of waste.

Cleaning with children does not always have to be stressful. Maintain the children in one area while you work in another. As well as use the times they are with someone else or down for a nap wisely!

Stress-free comes after financial freedom

When Graiden and I started our life together we did not have much money to begin with. With a child on the way we invested most of our money into his needs and no money into our future. From formula to diapers, and cribs to apartment rent.

After a few years of the living paycheck to paycheck and sometimes not even making it till then we decided to work on our financial state and dissolve one stressor we knew we could have control over. These are some of the tips that have helped us get on our feet and become more financial stable.

Tax Return: We are not using this for a fun family vacation. Instead we are using it to pay of debts and start a savings for us.
Savings: We are taking into the $5 challenge. Every $5 we get then we put it straight into savings.
Talk to bill companies: We ended up talking to our landlord and were able to have them take on some of our utilities and created a payment plan to pay for electricity.
Reduce energy: We do pay for our electricity so we make sure to unplug everything when we can.
Groceries: We started up with Hello Fresh. This has cut down our grocery bill cost and helped us eating at home more.

These are just a few of the ways we have used to help cut down our costs and start saving money. Cutting the financial hinderance on us has helped us grow closer as a family and enjoy our life just a little more without constantly having the weight of if we are going to make our next payments.

10 Things I want to accomplish by 25

When I was in high school I remember looking out into my life as if I was going to have everything I wanted by the time I was 20. As most of you can guess this is not the case. However, I do have many accomplishments in my young age of 22. I am looking forward to many opportunities in the next three years. Listed below are ten things I would like to accomplish by my 25th birthday.

Debt free: We are so close in our financial state to being debt free. Once we pay off my school finances and some medical we will be officially debt free! I am sure we can accomplish this in the next three years.
Run a 5K: I have ran the Rumble on the Ranch every year and hope to include a straight 5K to my running accomplishments. I am not a runner but knowing I have accomplished these runs makes me feel good about my self and helps me to know that I can accomplish what I set my mind to.
Eat breakfast: This seems like such a small accomplishment but I hardly ever eat breakfast. With trying to wrangle two children into their morning activities and getting myself to work I just hardly make time. I would love to start meal prepping breakfast so I can eat something healthy but quick!
See the Ocean: I moved every other year growing up until my freshman year of high school. In all of these times we stayed in the midwest and I have still never seen the ocean.
Aerial dance: I am starting aerial dance lessons this summer. I hope by the time I am 25 I can have it down enough that I can preform it without panicking each time.
Wake up early: I would love to be able to wake up at 6am without completely hating life. This one might not be able to come till closer to 25 as my boys still wake up frequently in the night making it hard to wake up early.
Have 2 customers: I own my own social media management agency. I already work for a company where I do all of their marketing and am in the process of two potential clients signing on. I am excited for the adventure of owning my own business and can not wait to see what comes of it!
Keep a plant alive: There has never been a plant that has lasted more than maybe 2 weeks at my house. I would love to learn how to take care of a plant and keep one alive for a good length of time.
Transfer to natural products: We have started out our natural journey into becoming better for the environment and living a healthier lifestyle. If we can continue on the path we are going, then by the time I am 25 we should be able to maintain more natural products instead of constant disposable products.
Have my wardrobe built: I have the same clothes that I have basically had since I was in middle school. I would like to gather all the essential clothing pieces and build a wardrobe that I would actually want to be seen in.

These ten are just a few of the many goals I have in my life. But they are the top ten I want to have done by the time I am 25. I think they are easy going goals as well as something that will help me look forward to bettering myself.

Finding Answers

This past week we went to the hospital for many tests. The tests consisted of a chest CT, chest x-ray, swallow study, genetic testing and a bronchoscope. While this may sound like a medical dictionary to some, this is a normal day for me in motherhood. My child as I had mentioned earlier has been sick since he was born. This past week though we finally have some answers.

At the start of our appointment we did not know if we were going to be able to afford this appointment. We have been struggling with our insurance since day one of my son being in the hospital. This is something that has taken a financial toll on our family. But if emptying my wallet to find something for my son is what it takes then I will make it work.

Watching my son go under anesthesia for these tests was one of the hardest things I have done as a mom. I held back tears so my son would not be scared as he went under. But as soon as I left the room I let it all out. No matter who was looking at me, I felt like no matter what the tears would not stop.

After my son was done with his tests we finally had some answers. He has a floppy airway. This means that from now until the age of 5 he will always have breathing issues. Because of this also he is more perceptive to disease. After the previous specialist we had brought him to did not diagnose him correctly my son has now had floppy airways for a year, and thus bringing on a lung infection. We have started medications and treatments. For now we will not have to be in another hospitalization, unless the antibiotics do not break down the infection.

The fact of the matter is that we have a diagnosis though. We can now start treatment and work on a way to make my son healthier and able to breathe. This also means that we have to continue treatments throughout the day everyday. With this we will be changing from a daycare to a nanny. My sister will be starting out with us to help us adjust to the new routine. Starting now we will be able to make my sons life a little easier, and that is the best present I could have asked for.