Mommyhood

I ran across this list the other day and sat in amazement, nodding my head as I read the list.  

For me, and I can only speak from my experience, this list is exactly RIGHT ON.  (Except for #4 and #11.)  The other 10 things I experienced, but maybe not every item on the list was with each kid, but I've experienced every item on the list at some point with all my 3 kids.  

It was found here.

1. Maternity Leave will be a nice break from work. I mean yeah, I don’t miss conference calls, commuting or having to dress up everyday, but this isn’t quite the vacation I imagined. Because now I work 20 hours a day, without pay, while being covered in vomit and poop.

2. It’ll be easy to get out with the baby. Except that it first involves packing for approximately two hours, changing the baby five times (who undoubtedly will throw up on herself while being changed), folding up the stroller using magic origami and ninja skills to get it in the car, all while attempting to not get covered in baby puke as you execute prior steps.

3. I won’t need that much help. Unless you count always and all the time. I want help 24 hours a day. I want help for my help. I want constant assistance in all things.

4. I’ll fall in love with the baby immediately. I mean yes, there is an instant and inexplicable bond, and an awe-inspiring sense of wonder, but I think the real love comes a bit more gradually, as the terror subsides and you get to know the baby. It’s in full force now, and grows every hour, but the first few days and weeks were so ridiculously hard, that I think I felt the full spectrum of every emotion from love to hate to insanity.

5. Post-partum depression and emotions won’t be a big deal. Unless you consider debilitating sadness and despair easy to handle on no sleep.

6. The fatigue isn’t as bad as people say. No, it’s WORSE. As my brother reminds me, sleep deprivation is a form of torture for suspected terrorists. So, no biggie. You’ll just LOSE YOUR MIND.

7. I’ll be ready to go back to work. See numbers  5 and 6.

8. It’ll be easy to get back in shape since I’m not working. Not only is there no time, there’s no energy or desire. I’ve been a fitness addict most of my adult life, which makes it even more alarming that I could not care less about it right now. I have zero desire to exercise, and if I did, I wouldn’t have the time or energy to do so.

9. I won’t be influenced by things I read online. This one might have stood a chance if there weren’t 20 hours a day spent feeding a baby where your smartphone is your only outlet to the world. Enter Google madness.

10. I will naturally be good at being a mom. Maybe on some levels I am, in that the baby is healthy and thriving (hooray!), but I doubt myself constantly and generally feel like a total mess.

11. Nursing will be magical. It was, and then it wasn’t. And ultimately it wasn’t the best choice for us. And that was a tough pill to swallow, since society kind of shuns formula. I was amazed at how supportive momma friends were about this though, and I’m grateful for that.

12. I won’t rely on other moms for advice because I’ll pave my own way. Let me say this: I wouldn’t have made it without the love, guidance and advice of my friends and family. I mean that wholeheartedly. I am so, SO blessed to have a huge network of helpful moms and dads in my life, who have become the village I so desperately need to raise my daughter. They understand exactly what I’m feeling and fearing at any given time and are constantly offering reassurance. We all wear the same badge of honor and battle scars, forming a critical bond. I’ve also had amazing support from friends who aren’t parents, but still know just the right things to say and the best ways to help me feel better in the toughest moments.

Sisters

I've always said that Josh would make a G-R-E-A-T used car salesman.

And today was proof.

I looked outside while Daddy, Macey and Josh were cleaning out the shed for the winter.

I see Macey riding her broom......literally.

Then a minute later, after the wagon comes out of the shed at warp speed.....I see this:

She's pushing HIM in the wagon!

How on earth did he talk her into that?!?

Then he talks her into pulling, cuz pulling is easier than pushing.

Then he must've given her one too many directions, and she bailed.

She plum left him stranded in the middle of the back yard.  

I can just HEAR her attitude from here.......

"Pull your own darn wagon if you know so much."

So he did try to do that, but it just wasn't as much fun.

Sisters.

Can't live with them.

Can't life without them.

So Thankful

Even though it's not quite Thanksgiving yet, I wanted to share how Thankful I am.

I'm especially thankful right now for my Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma generously offered to take me shopping to buy new clothes for my kids. 

Initially I thought we'd be okay, but as the cold season approached, and my kids were evidently taking lessons on how to grown out of clothes quickly, I decided to take her up on her offer.

Looks can be deceiving. 

It doesn't look like much, but it was A TON!

It was like Clothing Christmas!

The best part of it all was I got to buy what I KNEW my kids would love and wear, not what was the cheapest.  

And I was smart enough to have the kids actually try on each and every piece of clothing.  Because holy cow.....they both went thru a growth spurt!

Josh is in a 6 and Macey is in a 4T.  

I thought those sizes would be too big, but no, they were just right!

So after a while, the kids got fussy.  And I've said it before and I'll say it again, a good parent bribes to get good results.

After they tried on a piece of clothing, they would come to me or Chad, have it looked at, then get a Skittle.

Yep. 

Thats how we got thru it.


Rock on good parents.  Rock on.

And thanks Rockin' Grandparents!

Painting Pumpkins

This year, I bought some Tempera Paint to keep at home.   

I thought I'd start doing more art with the kids.

They LOVE to do art.  

And like typical kids....the messier the better.

So this year, when my wonderful Sister-In-Law took me to "THE BARN SALE", I bought some small pumpkins.   Three for $1!  

If I'd have know how much fun the kids would have painting them, I'd have bought $5 worth!

So one day, when I was in a fabulous mood, the kids were both home, and the stars aligned....they painted.

Notice how the OCD mom had to have each color have their own paint brush.  And she even drew little squares as to where they should be placed when not in use.  (I eventually just had to leave the room and let them be artistic!  Couldn't take it!)

They loved it!

Eventually, there wasn't enough blank pumpkin left, so we elevated them on coffee mugs.  White ones no less.

They had more fun than I'd even hoped.

And even though it didn't last long because they're fast painters (and messy painters go faster), they still enjoyed every minute of it!

I even bought 4 more pumpkins to do!

Happy Halloween!

Future Shirt for Chad

This would make an excellent Christmas present for Chad in about 10 years.......

Purpose

So lately I've struggled with purpose. 

I know I'm where I'm supposed to be.

Wiping butts, noses, cleaning, and most importantly-shaping the future.

I'm so lucky to be a stay-at-home mom.

Chad and I worked H-A-R-D to get here.  

We saved, scrimped, did a trial run financially to make sure we could make it.

We W-O-R-K-E-D to have me be home.  It wasn't easy, but we're here.

So....somedays can be overwhelming. 

Overwhelming because my life is 3 little ones.  

The only adult interaction I get is with Chad and Dog the Bounty Hunter on TV.

So somedays it's easy to focus on the here-and-now.  

The kids that are loud and wake up the baby.  The kids that won't play more than 10 feet from me.

The baby who refuses to go back to sleep at 3:30 like she's going to miss something.

The baby who has decided that 4:20 she'll cry for no good reason.

It's easy to lose sight of why it was important for me to be home.

I ran across this blog.  

http://teachmetobraid.blogspot.com/2014/09/if-my-child-marries-yours.html

The post about "if my child marries yours" had me in tears.

It was great to have another mom, in the trenches with me, give me more purpose and focus. 

It was refreshing.

I'm ready for those loud, clingy, crying kids that I love.

Bring it!

Funny Animals

I saw this the other day, and all I could think about was Zoey.

Oh how I wonder how many of these she'd like to try on the kids.

http://news.distractify.com/megan-mccormick/animals-who-arent-thrilled-with-kids/?v=1


Poor girl has gone thru so much.

Getting a kid at age 7.

A loud rambunctious kid.

I remember her hiding on the back of the couch to get away from him!

Then another kid at age 9.

A kid who wants to squeeze and kiss you.

And then, just when you think all is well.....

we moved her houses.

And then added another kid.

It's a wonder why we don't constantly have 'retaliation poop' on our carpet.

Take Time To Slow Down.....

Lately, I've been so stinkin' busy. 

And nothing has really changed!

Except I have a baby.

Who needs to eat every 2.5-3 hours.  

Which requires me to be present.

And I have 2 other children, whom the M-O-M-E-N-T I sit down with the baby.....scramble to get a view of her.

I'm getting claustrophobic!

Sometimes I just want to yell, "BACK UP!  LET ME BREATHE!"

But it's times like the ones I'm about to tell you, stop and make me realize that this is MY LIFE.  

Not just a list of things to do, not just people walking in and out of my life, BUT MY LIFE!

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The other night we were all sitting down to do the devotional that goes with Josh's Wednesday night program.

Chad was leading it and we were supposed to be quiet and think in our head about how we can have more Jesus in our lives.  (Or something like that.)

Chad asked Josh and he had a good answer.  

Then he asked Macey, "What were you thinking about?'

And without missing a beat, she replies, "Bubble Guppies!"  (It's her new fave cartoon.)

We both just giggled.

Then later it came time to pray and he asked Macey if she had anything she'd like to ask God for.

And again, without missing a beat, she replies, "A Mermaid!"

Oh golly.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then the next day, we were practicing our school stuff (sight words for Josh and letters for Macey),

I told Josh to say the words outloud as I point to them.  (We have them on our cabinets in the kitchen.)

So he starts YELLING his words!

I stop him after a few and ask why he's so loud.

'Well mom, you said to say them out LOUD."

Oh boy........

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But those are my kids.  That I made. 

And I'm so proud of them.

First Kindergarten WORK!

Josh got on the big, bad school bus today.

Ok.  

So it's not the big, bad school bus, but it is big.  

And it did take my kid away.

Josh was scared and started to balk at 7:15, but we talked through it.

The school bus picks Josh up at the end of our driveway!

The bus driver seemed nice.  

I cried as I walked back to the porch because he looked so scared when I looked at him thru the window.  

I wanted to go yank him off the bus and yell, "Oh screw it.  It won't be that hard to load an infant, an opinionated 3 year old, and Josh in the care at the butt crack of dawn every day to take him."

But I didn't.  I just went back inside and sulked in my bed.

But he made it to school.  How do I know?  Chad picked him up!  Ha!

When I checked his book bag, there were a couple of things in there.  

And here was one of them:

That's right ladies and gentleman!!!!!  

After a year and a half practicing at home with mom....

And ONLY ONE DAY IN KINDERGARTEN.....

Josh F-I-N-AL-L-Y knows how to write the "S" in his name!

He wrote it correctly on all 3 pages!

And then here was the last page of the assignment.  He had to draw a picture using all 3 shapes.

And notice the hearts for me!

I'm so proud of him.  

He did say that today wasn't as much fun as the first day because they didn't have as much time to play and more work to do.

Welcome to life, Buddy.  

Welcome to life......

My B-I-G boy....

I knew today was coming.

Heavens...I knew it when he was born!  The days were already numbered.

The day would come when he would leave for school.  REAL school.

Not preschool; only a couple of hours a couple of days a week.

But the R-E-A-L school where it's every day.  And in this case, starting in October, all day.

It was tough dropping him off.  

The whole family went!  (Even Zoey tried to come!)

Parking was CRAZY! 

 And Josh did great!  Until he realized it was FOR REAL. 

His little eyes got red.  You know the look when you're about to cry.

But by golly....he did great.  He held it in.  He tried to be brave.

Seeing your baby cry and be scared is hard.  But then you see he's grown.  And he's trying to be brave.  Which makes him look even more mature.  

And then I tried to be brave.

Kiss on the cheek.  A hug.  You'll do great.  And let's leave.  

I think I even saw Daddy tear up.  Although he'll probably never admit to it.  

It was tough.  

On everyone.

Even Macey on the way home asked, "Where is Josh?"  

   
The only one happy to see him 'go' was Zoey.  A 3 hour break from pestering.  Ha Ha!