Kali J Desautels

Wow. It has been 12 years. 12 whole years since you first lit up my life. 12 whole years since you came into this world with the biggest eyes that I have ever seen. 12 years of funny, goofy, silly, intuitive, emotive, expressive, glittery, sparkly, sweet, sassy, sarcastic, and brilliant you. 12 years of not wanting hugs or cuddles, unless you want them (usually after you have been put to bed). 12 years of your independent, but kind spirit. 12 years of you giving your pocket change to those in need without even having it suggested. 12 years of being brave, even when you didn’t want to be. 12 years of being my girl. 12 years of putting up with all the random nicknames that I can think of. 12 years of being you.

Happy birthday, Bean. I love you more than that. I love you most. I love you mostest. I. Love. You. Thanks for being my kid.

#hbd #happybirthday #thisis12 #mybabygirl💕 #myfirstborn #mybean #blueeyes #bigeyes #proudmama #mamalovesyou #thanksforbeingmykid #unicornbaby #kalidesautelsreads

It’s been a while since KDR has shared a selection of book reviews! So! Coming up in the next weeks, we will be reviewing the books in the above image!

– Love & Courage by @jagmeetsingh

– How To Be An Antiracist by @ibramxk

– Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by @lorigottlieb_author

– Had It Coming by @robyndoolittle

– Periods Gone Public by @jenniferweisswolf

– Pussy by @mamagena

– White Fragility by @diangelorobin

– The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

– Catch and Kill by @ronanfarrow

#bookstagram #books #reviews #bookreviews #socialscience #equality #equity #socialjustice #race #womensrights #prisonreform #metoomovement #mentalhealth #mentalhealthisimportant #therapy #depression #kalidesautelsreads

There is something about seeing this reminder in my calendar that both encourages me and intimidates me. It blocks off time in my calendar to dedicate to myself, which encourages me and reminds me throughout the day that I have a plan and have made a promise to myself. It also intimidates me and sets my brain on a non-stop loop of talking myself into and out of actually attending my class.

When I sign up, my mind says “yes! This is great, you can do this! It will feel so good afterwards! You are soooo motivated!!” About 4.5 hours later, my mind says “what?? You actually intend to do A THING after work?? You haven’t seen the kids all day, and you have to clean up the kitchen! Oh, and have you even given a thought to the laundry??? Seriously! You don’t have time for this nonsense, cancel the class before it’s too late!!”

I will then wrestle with how many things I can fit into my 4 hours after work BEFORE my workout… and tell myself “you can TOTALLY do all the things and still go to yoga/workout/Nacc! Stop being ridiculous! You have sooooo much time!”… and then I miss the first train, which cuts into the 4 hours and I am back to “what on earth, woman?? Do you even remember what your blog looks like?? When was the last time you actually did some freaking work?? Oh, and did you forget about the laundry??? And your kids have been text tattling (yep, it is now a thing. Seriously. 21st Century momlife), so you know they will have soooo much to tell you when you get home, and it will be time for homework and mediating, and chores! Who the hell has time for meditating???”

This goes on and on and on, and usually only ends when I text someone and tell them I am going, or actually go and put my gear on, alerting my mind, my family, and anyone else who has input that this is happening.

My resolve is okay, but a space of time blocked off in the family calendar means it is more likely to happen. And seriously? The laundry will still be there. It will ALWAYS be there. I will die with a mountain of laundry still in my hallway.

But maybe not as soon if I listen to my reminders. 😉

#success #100daystoslay #fitlifestyle #yoga #oxygenyoga #workout #reminder #friday

We have a new toy. Needless to say they both have very different ways of using this thing. She is working on a Tik Tok trend and trying to improve her flexibility. He is Spider-Man. Par for the Desautels house – 2 kids, one toy, millions of activities by 2 very different imaginations.

#stretchband #spiderman #mykids #activitiesforkids #stretchingexercises #climb #doorsofinstagram #fun #saturdaymood #brothersandsisters #brotherandsister #brothersisterlove #yvr #2020goals #kalidesautelsreads

Day 4 – gotta love the crazy hair. Did I feel like it today? Nope. But that not the point of accountability. The point of accountability is to do it anyway.

#fitlifestylelosetheboozeandmove #100daystoslay #yoga #crazyhairdontcare #frizzfordays #frizz #selfiesaturday #bw #day4 #2020 #accountabilitycoach #naccfitness #believeinyourselfalways #january2020 #funnyfaces😜 #funnyface #womensupportingwomen #empoweredwomenempowerwomen #kalidesautelsreads

My Raggedy Man. He always looks more brown in pictures than he does in real life. I did not care one way or the other for animals before him. They were fine, they were cute, but I wasn’t concerned one way or the other. I loved babies, and I guess was always too anxious for animals to relax around me. They just seemed like they were too unpredictable for me to relax around them.

Then this raggedy man needed a home. He also doesn’t care too much for animals. He thinks he is a dog. He’s not to keen on being picked up, or bothered. He hates when other cats approach our screen door. He will kick me out of a chair that I am sitting on, just so he can sit on it. He will wake me in the middle of the night to follow him down to the kitchen just to watch him eat. He leaves fluff balls all over the floor. He meows when the kids aren’t home, and drags me to bed when he is tired.

My raggedy man is getting tired now, though. He can’t jump off the couch, or even on to it for that matter. His favourite space at the top of the stairs is pretty hard for him to climb to now, so he rarely bothers, and has made himself at home on the middle of my reading chair. It’s close to the ground and close to his food. He is starting to walk stiffly, and his fur is more gray than it ever was before. He still lies on the floor next to my feet all the time, but struggles to jump up when I move in a way that is new. His middle age fat has started to slip away, and his hind legs are a little more yoked than they were even five years ago. He steps over things gingerly rather than hopping. I’m glad his days of baby gates are behind him, because his flying leaps when the kids were babies would not be manageable for my raggedy man.

And now, the woman who never cared for animals is crying over the aging of the cat who thinks he’s a dog and also never cared for animals. My boy, my raggedy old man, is 16 now. My baby who is not a baby, who taught me to not just love him, but animals as a race. My Timon.

#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsig #raggedyman #catstagram #catsofinstagram #kalidesautelsreads #timon #disneypets #myboy #mycat #myfluff #love #lovehim #lovemyboy #catlove

Day 5 – Mike lost his head, and Michelle and Katie are very blurry… I may not have the hang of my new portrait mode just yet… These 3 literally dragged me out of bed to walk this morning (nope, believe me, I understand the difference between literally and figuratively. Literally is the right word). We walked and I introduced them to Everest. They are now clear on why it is Everest 🤣

Then spent the day meal prepping for the week… it’s been a Sunday. I convinced Katie to keep coming back by dangling the horses as a carrot… she will not miss out on horses to save her life.

#fitlifestylelosetheboozeandmove #100daystoslay #walk #health2020 #january #literally #figuratively #katielovesthecritters #horses #believeinyourselfalways #lovetheseones #sorrymike #selfiefail #kalidesautelsreads

It’s been a while since KDR has shared a selection of book reviews! So! Coming up in the next weeks, we will be reviewing the books in the above image!

– Love & Courage by @jagmeetsingh

– How To Be An Antiracist by @ibramxk

– Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by @lorigottlieb_author

– Had It Coming by @robyndoolittle

– Periods Gone Public by @jenniferweisswolf

– Pussy by @mamagena

– White Fragility by @diangelorobin

– The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

– Catch and Kill by @ronanfarrow

#bookstagram #books #reviews #bookreviews #socialscience #equality #equity #socialjustice #race #womensrights #prisonreform #metoomovement #mentalhealth #mentalhealthisimportant #therapy #depression #kalidesautelsreads

Day 6 – a 30 minute, very wet before work walk, then a 30 minute session on the elliptical and 10 mins on the rower in the gym at work, as well as the prepared Bipambap for lunch, it has been a pretty good day!

Luckily, following my day of getting drenched, I was able to make use of the shower in the gym! (Luckily for my coworkers for sure…) #100daystoslay #fitlifestylelosetheboozeandmove #showers #rain #sweat #sweatyselfie #mondaymotivation #mondaymonday #believeinyourselfalways #mentalhealth #2020 #naccfitness #fitacademy #yvr #raincity #raincouver #kalidesautelsreads

What is your morning routine? I try to be a morning person, but I struggle with this because I read past my bed time way too often. This morning my routine involved rolling over, resetting my alarm for almost an hour later, going back to sleep, and spraying my hair with dry shampoo, grabbing my (marshmallow-free) coffee and heading out in the monsoon that is British Columbia’s Lower Mainland’s weather. If I get a good night sleep, and practice good sleep hygiene, I would wake up, drink my coffee while journaling and then pull an oracle card, and meditate for a bit. It makes my morning feel so much better when this is how it starts.

Like an excel spreadsheet, my days are all about “IF, THEN” statements 🤣.

#ifthen #dory #findingdory #coffee #coffeemug #marshmallow #morningroutines #tuesdayvibes #sleepy #goodmorning #routines #sleephygiene #sleep #kalidesautelsreads #disney #pixar #disneymug #disneyplus #nemo