3 in 1

So this post will be 3 posts in one. Yep, I have that much to talk about!

First, other mommies out there -- ever realize that something your child is about to embark on makes you worried, stressed, and nervous way more than you should. Yep, pretty much every milestone does that for me. Especially with my oldest as I am not always quite sure how to approach the situation. That is what makes me the most uneasy about the situation. But then your child makes it easier than you could ever imagine. And for that, you are VERY grateful! Thank you dear child. :) This new milestone I have been worrying about, nervous about, stressing how to do it correctly is potty training Jake. He had started on his own a few months back but then stopped having any interest as there was a lot going on our life. Then this week I bought him Diego big boy underwear (he picked them out too) and pretty much, the rest is history. He had used the potty and I didn't give him a choice, he was going to wear his Diego underwear. He had accidents but knew immediately after he needed to go to the potty - big progress! And yesterday, he only had one accident. And he went poopy in the potty and thought it was hilarious! At bedtime we still need something but last night he did not want to wear a diaper or training pants, "Big boy" he told me. So my wonderful husband talked him into wearing the training pants as they are big boy bedtime underwear. :) What a big boy he is! He is growing up way too quickly! (*sigh*)

Next, I must talk about my other perfect son, Scott. He is only 8 months old and such a sweetheart already! He is so loving and caring. And he already shares! I was playing with him earlier this week and I put his paci backwards in my mouth so I did put the same side in my mouth that he puts in his. He laughed and laughed. It was the funniest thing to him because Mommy didn't know how to use the pacifier. He grabbed it out of my mouth, turned it around, and put in my mouth the right way! I thought that was pretty funny and very impressive. He was already trying to help out and take care of others. How sweet is he?! Yep, I have pretty amazing kids! God truly blessed me!

And finally, as I am running out of time, I have found another product I am in love with.... Cloud b Sleep Sheep.

This product is AMAZING! And my life saver! For over a month now Scott will only sleep if he is laying on my chest. Needless to say, Mommy hasn't gotten very much sleep! Thankgoodness for this sheep! It has different sounds, the one we need is heartbeat. I have it playing after I put him in the crib and he is sleeping SO much better! He will sleep in the crib and is only getting up once or twice at night. Thank you Lord for this great invention!!

You just never know.

Yesterday I wanted to do a fun Halloween activity with the boys, particularly Jake as Scott wouldn't be able to participate but he would have fun watching. =) I decided we could make Halloween paper plate masks. Perfect I thought. This would be fun as Jake loves to draw so he could draw on the plate as much as he would like after I cut out goofy faces on the plates. Then we would have lots of fun wearing them and later "scaring" Daddy when he got home from work. Plus, it was a pretty much free activity since we have all items needed on hand, bonus! I was excited. I had these visions of a very fun activity. As all parents must know, you must go with the flow and your expections can easily be smashed to pieces in a matter of seconds. Everything depends on your child. And this activity was just that. I had goofy faces cut out on a couple plates with ribbon tied to them, all ready for Jake to draw on. I put the masks on and Jake loved it. He was laughing and have a lot of fun. And then it ended. No drawing was done, no more fun with these plates were had. Jake was so upset that the plates were not "whole" anymore. "Fix it, fix it" he cried. I tried changing them out with new "whole" plates but that wouldn't do as the masks were not whole. I tried to explain to Jake the pieces could not be put back on the plates that were cut out but "Fix it, fix it" was still be cried out. Eventually, Jake was caught up in playing with his cars and trucks. And the plate masks were in the trash. Just like my vision for this activity was. Oh well, we will try again next year. :)

Perfect.

My oldest, Jake, is absolutely perfect. Okay, no one is perfect and like all 2 year olds, he has his days. But, he is amazing and an incredible blessing to me. He is only 2 1/2 and already knows exactly what to say and do at just the right moment. What an amazing young man he will be and what an amazing husband he will be to one lucky lady some day. And I know that time will come all too quickly. (*tear*) Here are two perfect things he has done the last two weeks:

It was a weekend day and my husband was gone working hard so it was just me and the boys. And it was a very stressful day. Scott was fussy and wouldn't let me take him away from my side. Jake had just had Purple taken away and this was the worst day of that transition (lots and lots of whining for Purple). I have gotten less sleep than usual the last couple months so I am overly tired and when I am overly tired, my patience is a lot less than usual, and I will admit it, I can get grumpy. So I had had enough this day. I was past my limit when we were trying to get out the door to go say HI to Daddy and Jake was very insistent on having a cookie, so I gave him one. Then I was trying to my coat and shoes on and he was very isnsitent again. I tried telling him no but then he said "Mommmmmy", so I gave him one. Then he totally melted my heart and did just want I needed. He gave the second cookie to me. How sweet was it that he wanted to share and have a cookie with his mommy? Then as I have a hold of Scott's car seat walking out the door, Jake is yelling "tiss, tiss, tiss!" I put Scott down, get on my knees, and Jake runs to me and gives me the sweetest little kiss. Awwwww. Yep, perfect.

And that's not it. There's more. =) This past weekend Josh was working for a little bit again so it was me and the boys and we were doing great, having fun, getting the house clean, and so much checked off my "To Do List". Then it was time to clean the wood floor in the dining room and our bedroom. That's when chaos and all hit. Jake was watching TV in the living room and Scott was in his walker in the living room. The carpet keeps Scott walker there pretty well. I told Jake to stay in the living room while I cleaned the floor. He did, for a little while. Then it was run as much as I can on the wood floor. Plus, Scott wasn't happy he wasn't in on this fun so he was fussing. Add to that, the cleaner bottle wasn't working very well so it was a struggle getting cleaner out of the bottle on to the floor. And yep, there's more. My mop broke. Yep, at the beginning of the cleaning. Great. So on top of everything, I had to result in cleaning the floor with a sponge on my hands and knees. I was about to throw the towel in and forget about cleaning the floor when Jake was absolutely perfect once again. He was on the carpet, stopped where it meets the wood floor. Looked down at the wood floor so seriously and carefully and said, "OOhhhh, Shiny!" "Mommy clean it!" He was so happy and loved seeing the shiny floor I cleaned. Thanks sweetie, Mommy needed that. So yes, I finished cleaning the wood floor, with my heart smiling big thanks to Jake.

Yep, he's that amazing!

Goodbye Purple. Goodbye Yellow.

Purple and Yellow are gone. Gone, gone, gone, gone! No those colors aren't removed from my house. Although I don't believe there is much purple in my house. Purple and Yellow are the final names my oldest gave his pacifiers. He first changed their name from paci to Yellow and then changed their name to Purple. And they are gone. Thanks to my husband. He took action and took them away one evening. Yep, just like that. I was not thrilled to be honest with you. But my husband was right, I probably never would have been ready to do it. Good thing he took charge! Jake did surprisingly well too. There were only a couple melt downs, really I can only think of 2 times. Otherwise he would ask for Purple or Yellow and we would tell them it was gone. He's a big boy now and a little baby needed a paci so he now has Purple (or Yellow depending on which name he was calling it). And yes, that actually worked. A couple days into the removal of Purple and Yellow, we took Jake to a store to pick out a new toy. He wanted a new tractor. So he looked and looked and looked and finally picked out his new tractor he got for being a big boy and giving up Purple/Yellow. And the rest is history. He will occasionally say "Purple?...... Nooooo". He knows it's gone and he doesn't need it. He has even surprised me by not trying to use Scott's paci. Instead he will find Scott's paci for me and give it straight to Scott's mouth. He knows baby's need pacifiers and he's not a baby anymore. What a big boy he is. (sigh) He is growing up too fast. The only real struggle with this "milestone" was bedtime. He had a hard time soothing himself to sleep and calming down to go to bed. It has improved but it's not as struggle free as it once was. We'll get there. And also, Jake seems happier without Purple/Yellow. Not sure why but he just does. He is also using my hair less as his security blanket and is talking LOTS and LOTS! He really is growing up way too quickly right before my eyes. I better not blink or I will miss it.

Breath Taking

There are so, so many things I love about being a mother and am going to write about one of them. Being a parent is so wonderful and breath taking in which you get to rediscover everything in life. It's so incredible to view life through a child's eyes. So fresh, new, innocent, amazing. I just love it. I could go on and on every single day about so many things that are incredible that I rediscovered through my babies' eyes. One the other day was when I was outside with my boys. Jake was playing with his cars in his sand boxes and Scott was hanging out on my hip in a baby sling (which are AMAZING!). I was dribbling one of Jake's balls he had out and Scott was laughing hysterically. I love thinking about that moment. A ball going up and down was so funny to my 7 1/2 month old. That's just so incredible and takes my breath away. I know other mothers understand what I mean. I love that a ball going up and down is funny and brings joy to my baby boy. And you know what, it does to me too. Living life through a child's eye is so fun and wonderful! And you know what, it makes you feel so happy because you are enjoying life and the moment instead of worrying about life's stresses and speeding through our precious life. Just another thing I pray each and every night for everyone.

The "Right" Thing vs. The Best Thing

I sometimes wish I could get a hold of every parenting how to book out there to rip apart and have one awesome bonfire as well as somehow shush all the parenting "experts". It honestly drives me insane how we are always being told the "right" way to raise our kids. The "right" way gets told so much it gets drilled into our heads and if we don't parent that way, we feel guilty and like a bad parent, when we shouldn't feel that way. We should feel like an AWESOME parent and very proud of ourselves for doing what's best for our child and family. No child is the same. No parent is the same. No family is the same. No parenting way is right or wrong (of course, to a common sense extent!). I will admit, I read parenting books and search online for what to do in different child raising situation. And I wish I wouldn't. And I do A LOT less of it with my second child. Now I may look at a parenting book just for the list of what my children should be doing at their age to make sure they aren't too far off or to boast on how far advanced they are. :) I have learned to do what's best for my child/children and our family and not care what others think/say. Because doing so is the RIGHT way to parent. I wish our society didn't make this so hard to learn. And so hard to say "I don't care what you think, this is best for my child so this is the RIGHT thing." (If this is choppy and I seem to be rambling, I am sorry, I am just letting it all flow from my head and heart.) For example, if we rock our child to sleep, our society makes us feel like we are doing something wrong because they should be put down drowsy but awake so they learn to fall asleep on their own. However, my opinion is, I will rock my child to sleep or whatever he needs because I love my child unconditionally and he will grow up too quickly so I will savor this time and snuggle with my child as much as he wants. This time with my child will show him he's loved unconditionally and hopefully will increase his self-esteem and confidence because of all the love I give him, he will feel so good about himself. Or my favorite of society's "right" way to parent: you must let them cry it out. Oh how I disagree with this. Now if you go with this method, that's fine, it's your choice but here's my opinion. I am so strongly against this "parenting rule" so it must make me a bad parent, right? Wrong. It makes me a wonderful parent who does what's best for my child and family. My child will cry and get upset over a variety of things as he grows and learns (for example: learning to share, being told no, having to come inside when he doesn't want to.). Letting him cry and be upset because he is scared, lonely, wants Mommy or Daddy, just wants to be held, to me is just wrong and horrible! If my child gets up during the night and just wants to be with someone, I will not let him cry. I will go snuggle with him and love him and enjoy this precious time with him. This to me shows him he is loved and that does oh so much wonderful things to a child. My oldest is just starting to sleep all night more than he gets up and that's because he's mature enough and his body is ready to sleep all night. Sure maybe this would have come sooner if I let him "cry it out" but I feel that's the "cop out" for parents who want to take the easy route and get more sleep. (No offense to those who choose to do this, again this is just my opinion.) (Plus those who have good sleepers, have it way too easy as parents. :)) I follow my child's lead of what he is ready for and what he needs, not society. It's something I have always done but not always done so guilt free. Society used to make me feel so guilty and bad for not parenting the "right" way, but not anymore. I will proudly and happily do what's best for my children and family and that makes me a wonderful parent. I pray for other mother's struggling with this. It's so sad society does this to mothers who already have so much going on and adjusting to.

Toy Test

Has your child ever gotten a toy as a gift that he/she absolutely loves, but you don't know where it came from? What about one that looked awesome in the package, but broke after playing with it for 5 minutes? There are all sorts of toys out there, good and bad, and ebeanstalk likes to make sure they only have the great ones. Head on over to their website and tell them about the best learning toys you've found or the worst baby gifts you've ever received. They need to hear about the best and the worst to provide the best toddler toys around.

I recently got the honor of testing one of their many fantastic products:

It's the Pound A Peg by Melissa & Doug and it is a wonderful toy! The bright colors and durability of it being wood are fantastic. My oldest loves to pound the pegs and turn it over and pound some more! I like that it can help teach him the colors as well as I can ask him to pound the blue pegs for example. And it is a very well made toy as the pegs don't just fall out but my son can still pull them out if he wishes. That's another perk of this toy - it can be so much more than what it's made to be. My 7 month old loved to chew on the pegs and their big enough and safe he can do so. My 2 1/2 year old liked to use his imagination and do more with this toy. He took all the pegs out, put them in a bowl, and used the hammer as a mixing spoon. I love toys that are so versatile! :) As wonderful as this toy is, yes it does have a draw back. But really there's only one draw back that I can find so that's pretty gosh darn good! The draw back is against a perk I already mentioned - that the hammer is wood. It's hard for a 2 1/2 year old to understand he can't hit anything else with the wooden hammer, like he can with his plastic toy hammer. Otherwise, this is a wonderful toy - fun and educational! What every parent wants in the toys they give their children!

Mommy's Milk

As most people who know me know, I am very pro breastfeeding. I nursed my oldest for 15 months, until my doctor requested I stop because I was pregnant with my second. And I plan on nursing my second just as long, if not longer if he wishes. I am very grateful that I am able to nurse my children as not everyone can. Some mothers for unknown reasons just can't. And my heart goes out to those women. Especially those women of premature babies who really need breastmilk. That's why I am so glad I can help them out. I made my first donation to the U of I's Milk Bank of Iowa yesterday and it felt so good! I donated 115 ounces of milk and plan on donating as much more as I can. God blessed me with an abundant supply of breastmilk this time around to share and help other babies. I am so grateful for that. And I want to spread the word of this wonderful opportunity many nursing mommies don't know about. The process to become a donor was relatively easy. There was a verbal screening that took maybe 5 mintues, then there was the written screening, a signed document by my doctor stating I am healthy, a signed document by my baby's doctor stating he is healthy and thriving, and a simple blood draw to check for diseases that would limit your donating ability. They have drop off sites a few places around Iowa so you don't have to go to Iowa City all the time. The closes to me was Des Moines at Mercy Hospital and they are SO nice and friendly there. I was very impressed. I am also very impressed with the strictness of donating milk. Don't take that as it's hard. They have rules so that the breastmilk premature babies are getting is the best breastmilk they can get. For example, if someone in the house has a high fever, I cannot donate my milk. The rules are in place to ensure the best health for the babies getting the breastmilk. You don't get any compensation for donating, just the great feeling of helping babies. (Not much could beat that!) I am so grateful and proud I have been given this opportunity to help other little babies. There will be some chubby little ones thanks to my milk!

Bittersweet

So, last night was a huge first. My oldest fall asleep without me by his side. (Sigh) (Tear) I am so proud of my little boy for doing so well with staying in his bed to fall asleep when I leave the room. He is doing amazing and doesn't try to get up. I am also very proud of him for falling asleep without someone next to him. But it is also so very sad for me. I didn't like not being there next to him when he went to dream land. It's just so bittersweet. And shows me once again how too quickly he is growing up. Someone please find a switch to slow life down a little bit, pretty please! I can't quite put my feelings about this first into writings. Perhaps there are no words to fully describe the mixed emotions I am feeling. But it's part of the "letting go" that Mommy must do even though Mommy doesn't want to! I want to keep my babies babies forever. And I know all Mommies know exactly what I mean!

Learning

As I was thinking about what I was going to write about in this post, I discovered it's another "It's funny that... when you have kids." passage. Didn't plan it but like I said in my previous post, there are a lot of these sentences! So here it goes....

It's funny that you learn so much about yourself when you have kids. I could write several, several paragraphs about this as you learn SO much about yourself when you are a parent. Maybe someday I will go into depth on the numerous other things I have learned. For now I will write about two that became aparent to me today.
One being I cannot use a straightening iron and curling iron on my hair and sing non-stop without becoming short of breath. And I'm not that out of shape! My boys keep me VERY active! I don't know what it is but it is impossible not to become short of breath doing these two things at once. I discovered this by only being able to get ready this morning but singing fun, crazy kiddie type songs constantly, otherwise my baby was crying at me. The songs made him happy and me get ready. Score!
The other thing I learned about myself thanks to my kids is actually another thanks to my youngest. I cannot sing "Rockin' and a rollin', rockin' and a rollin'...." without dancing. Yep, it's impossible. Go ahead, try it. I'll wait..... See? It's impossible not to shake your hips and bootie while singing this song. My youngest loves to roll and roll and roll and sometimes gets on all fours and rocks back and forth so I sing this song to him a lot anymore because it fits and it's fun. Every time, no matter what, I gotta dance. I tried not to and it's just not as fun. The song looses it's funness. :) Not a word, I know, but it works.

Now go ahead and sing and dance a little yourself! :)

Good Enough

I have come to the realization that there are SO many sentences I can begin with "It's funny that/how..." and end with "...when you have kids." So many sentences in fact I could easily write a book with each chapter beginning with the sentence "It's funny that/how . . . when you have kids." in which, of course, the . . . would be filled in with something different. So I thought I would write about one of them....

It's funny that your definition of clean changes when you have kids. -------
Before kids, I had to have my house a deep, sparkly clean all the time, no exceptions. I have come along ways, believe me. Now I am perfectly satisified with my house being "good enough clean". It's clean and picked up but not sparkly clean daily. It'll get a deep sparkle clean every once in awhile but most of the time it's "good enough clean". I don't want that to sound like my house isn't very clean because it is. It's probably cleaner than most would consider "good enough clean". But I have a problem, yes I admit it. I am a clean freak. I get greatly stressed if something isn't clean. But I have relaxed and accepted my house isn't going to get deeply cleaned like it used to and quite honestly as often as it should. Oh well. I don't care. Good enough clean is good enough for me and most people I know, especially mommies who understand. No one complains or makes comments when they come over anyways, or maybe that's just because they are being nice? :) You used to never find dust in my house. However with a very active 2 year old and an extremely active 7 month old, there's going to be dust and if I don't want to spend time with my children, enjoy them, teach them things, then I could make my house the always dust free house it used to be. Instead it will have dust every now and then. More than I like to admit. But being with my children is much, much more important. They grow up too fast and I want to savor it as much as possible and enjoy life with them. It's so wonderful to enjoy life through the eyes of a child. So until I have an empty nest (tear), my house will be good enough clean and we will be okay with that and very, very happy!

Short & Sweet Sunday Post

Apparently I call my husband "Hun" and "Hunny" too much. My 2 year old has been calling Daddy "Hun", "Hunny", or today's latest "Hun Hun". I think it's cute, adorable, and a little funny. My husband, not so much. Oh well, it could be worse. :)

Letting Go

There are a lot of hard things about being a mommy and mostly they are all hard because we love our children so So SO much! Right now I am struggling with "letting go". I'm not talking about my oldest going to school, oh how do I already dread that. He's growing up too quickly the way it is! I am talking about getting my oldest to fall asleep on his own, without mommy by his side. Oh how it is hard on me to let go. He doesn't need me laying next to him. He plays with my hair (his security blanket) for awhile but he knows how to fall asleep on his own. I feel like the gate keeper anymore.... laying there as the easy way to make sure he stays in his bed. He's old enough to do it on his own without mommy. (Oh that was hard to type, and no I will not be saying that out loud.) I had tried this before but was unable to let go but last night as I lay with him I decided it needed done. So I left the room for a little bit after explaining to him what was going on. He came to the door and I stopped him and told him he needed to go back to bed and back to bed he went. (He listens so well! He's an amazing little boy I am so proud of!) I went back in and layed with him for a little while, then left the room again. This time a little longer. And this time he didn't come to the door. He waited for me to come back. And when he saw me, he laughed. (He must think it's a game? My heart doesn't think so!) So I lay with him a little bit (each time a little less in length) and he quickly drifted off to sleep. He can do this. I can do this. I will just have to give myself a pep talk each night before his bedtime.

You Know You're a Mommy When....

You know you're a mommy when. . .

. . . all you watch anymore is Toy Story 2. That's it. My TV spectrum doesn't go any further than that.
. . . you give your child a "spit bath" (and I said I would never do this to my child!).
. . . you sing now more than you ever did, without being able to carry a tune to save yourself.
. . . you see a child at the store without shoes and you have to stop yourself before you blurt out "Where are your shoes?!"
. . . as much as you hate to admit it and thought you would never say it, a mini-van would be very nice to have. It would be roomier and so much more convienent.
. . . you have been peeped on, pooped on, and puked on, and you don't even flinch. (And yes, I have a HUGE germ phobia!)
. . . you only have one, maybe two, shirts without spit up stains.
. . . that hug, smile, voice from your babes makes you forget all your stresses and worries.
. . . you absolutely adore seeing that little body in the adorable little jammies in the middle of the name wait for you at the top of the stairs, then walk back into his room and crawl in his bed waiting for you to snuggle in next to him.
. . . there's so much more you could put on this list, but time is limited! :)

Toys Toys Toys!!!

Sometimes when you buy a toy, you never know just what you are going to get. Will it be fun? Is it durable? Ebeanstalk relies on opinions like mine and yours to ensure that their customers are 100% satisfied with the toys they buy. What do you think the safest baby toys are? Have you found the most fun kids toys out there? What are the best ways to find the perfect toddler toys? Go to ebeanstalk and let them know what you think. Maybe you will even discover something new!
I recently visited ebeanstalk and boy did I ever discover new things! I am head over heals in love with this site! Oh my gosh! It is amazing! If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or just know kids, you will LOVE this site as well! If money wasn't an issue I do believe I would be buying almost every single item in my children's age group. It's just so amazing. I am acutally almost speachless because I am in total awe of this site. You can look at toys by gender and age group and in that age group it will tell you toys that are perfect for each development your child will be expereinceing around that age. If you want to give your kids the best and help them be the best they can be (and what parent doesn't?!) this is the site!! Their price isn't bad either. Oh how I want to continue looking on this site and making my dream list for the day I become a millionaire. :) This site is amazing, you must check it out! I will definitely be toy shopping here from now on!

A GREAT Way to Help!

I discovered a wonderful site I couldn't help but pass along. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month so I am getting a little ahead of myself but everyone should check this site out now... and continually after that! childrensart.org is a great place to do some shopping! All products are designed by a pediatric cancer patient rom M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Children's Art Project. There are numerous items that are adorable, and the price is good too! Hope you enjoy the site as much as I did.

Just another way to show our children to care about others and help when we can. :)

Truly Savor Every Second

I know a man who lost his 12 year old granddaughter in a car accident earlier this week and his other granddaughter is in the hospital. I cannot imagine, nor do I want to imagine, what that family is going through. It makes me relive a moment almost two weeks ago that is forever sketched in my brain. I was driving home from my mother-in-laws after picking up my two little boys and I was stopped on the highway waiting to turn left. There was a red blazer that was going too fast, wasn't paying attention, and/or was being plain dumb & careless! (Yes, I would LOVE to have "mother" talk with that man. You know the kind of talk you could hear your mother giving.) When I saw this blazer speeding towards me, I had no time to react, nor could I. All that went through my mind was what will happen to my boys if he hits us. Thank goodness for our guardian angel that day as the blazer took the shoulder at the last second and passed us. The blazer was going so fast and went by us so closely, the entire car shook. And I have been shooken up over it ever sense. I know you can't dwell on "what if's" but all I can think about is what would have happened to my two beautiful baby boys if that blazer hit us. It breaks my heart and makes me SO grateful to have every moment I have with them. I like to think I am a person who truly appreciates life and savors each and every precious moment. But still sometimes I don't savor and appreciate it as much as I truly should. As each healthy, living second is such a precious, precious gift. So, all the mommies and daddies out there, play with your children a little longer tonight, spoil them a little, hold them tightly a little longer and press this wonderful time into your brain. And thank the wonderful Lord each and every day for the amazing blessings he has given you in your life.

Sleep Deprivation

I know, two posts in one day - crazy! This one is short and to the point just because I know other mommies can relate:

You know you are greatly sleep deprived when you cannot read your children stories before naptime. Your eyes won't focus, nor will they stay open. You've read these stories so many times you have them memorized so you start reciting from memory but you are so tired you start combining stories and making up things, so the story does not make any sense! Then you look at your children feeling horrible that no matter how hard you try, you just cannot read them a story, and those beautiful blue eyes look back at you so sweetly, not caring that you are making no sense, they just like to be snuggled up next to you. That's when you treasure your sleep deprivation because it means you get that much more time with your beautiful, amazing children. And I know that some day in the far future, I won't be so sleep deprived, and I will be longing for more snuggle time with my babies. It's truly bittersweet.

Two Mommy Saviors!

Going through parenthood, I have discovered many "Mommy Saviors" but for the lack of time, I will focus on only two right now.
First is a "Mommy Savior" as it is a significant money saver, which all mommies need more of these! The "Mommy Savior" - Target brand diapers! It only took me 2 years to discover these but at last, they have been discovered. And with two in diapers, thank goodness for them as a box is only $13.69! Yes, that's right, only $13.69 a box, not $20-30 a box! It took me so long to discover these as my first born is a diaper leaker. It didn't matter the brand of diaper, he leaked through them. We stuck to Luvs as they were less expensive as some and the leaking wasn't excessive. He leaked the same in Luvs as the expensive diapers. I tried store brand diapers with him, but then EVERY diaper was a leaker! Then my second child came around who wasn't quite the leaker. I got brave once again and tried store brand diapers and my second born didn't leak but I wasn't in love with the diaper quality. Then it happened. I bought Target brand diapers as they are the cheapest diaper I have found. Their quality is wonderful, almost identical to Luvs. They worked for my second born, so I tried them with my first born, and no more leaking than usual! (I can hear angels singing in the background.) Thank goodness for Target brand diapers!
The next "Mommy Savior" I will fill you in on today is a mommy must have! A dry shampoo called Batiste from ulta.com. It's not the cheapest but it's not that expensive either (Target brand diapers savings will get you this with money to spare!). I do not know how I survived without this. Oh wait, I didn't have kids. :) All moms need more time in the morning, sometimes a shower is not a possibility, and sometimes due to the lack of sleep, moms need to sleep the extra minutes it would take to wash our hair and dry it. With this wonderful product, you simply spray it on your hair almost like hairspray, massage into your roots, wait a few minutes (perfect time to apply make-up), then brush hair & style. What a big savior!!
If you have a "Mommy Savior", I would love to hear it. All us moms need help on what else can save us. :)

One Gigantic Bump in the Road

There is a new Angel in Heaven. One who has left a great void in our life and is already deeply missed. My boys' Bompa went home to be with Jesus a couple weeks ago. There is so much going through my mind that I am unsure how to put into words. My amazing 2 year old can't possibly grasp what has gone on but I am sure it's more than I give him credit for. I am surprised he hasn't been asking for Bompa but he did understand that he was sick so maybe that is why. How do you explain to a 2 year old Bompa is no longer here, he had an illness only God could fix so he went to be with him in Heaven? How do you explain to a 2 year old without making him terrified of anyone being sick? I don't want him to think that if he or someone he loves gets sick it means they will be going away. I am not sure anyone has these answers. I know he understands a lot has gone on these past couple months as he doesn't want to sleep alone for very long, is longing for his "firer" (pacifier) a lot more, and is extra clingy to Mommy. I am sure some people think he's too old to have his "firer" as much as he does, but he has had so much go on in his little world that only he knows how much he understands, so if he wants to hold on to his "firer" a little longer, it's okay. Potty training has slowed down and that's okay too. And if he needs more hugs and snuggles than usual, that is definitely okay. It breaks my heart he probably won't remember how much love and compassion his Bompa gave him. How Bompa would do anything he wanted him to. And all of those wonderful 4-wheeler rides he looked forward to with Bompa. I hope I can keep these alive for him to forever cherish like I will. And that brings me to my 5 month old baby who was named after his Bompa. I know he won't remember anything but I hope the picture we have of them together will give him an understanding of how much unconditional love Bompa had for him. When you see the picture I am talking about, you can't help but feel the love. I want him to know that he is named after an incredible man. A man who knew no stranger, always had a smile on his face, would do almost anything for anyone, has touched many lives and was loved by many, and a man that deeply loved and cherished his grandchildren. I look forward to watching my boys grow up and seeing characteristics of Bompa in them. And I am grateful they have a wonderful Angel watching over them.
(I appologize that this is choppy and rambly but as I said earlier, there are so many thoughts going through my head and I don't know how to put them all into words.)

Same Word, Different Meaning

I love how a sacrifice isn't a sacrifice because it's for your children. Just like any parent, I would do anything for my children, and I don't see anything as a sacrifice when it's for them. I could write a very, very long post about all the "sacrifices" that have been made in the past 2 years but what mother has time for that? Instead I will highlight on a couple that stick out the most. One was when I was pregnant with Scott. We live in a 2 bedroom house that is big for a 2 bedroom house so my wonderful husband did a little remodeling and now we have a 3 bedroom house. With this change came "musical rooms". Our oldest son now has the biggest bedroom (it's also the playroom), our youngest as the second biggest bedroom, and my husband & I have the smallest. This "sacrifice" made me so proud and a very happy mommy giving my boys the best and giving up our big bedroom for a very small one. The second "sacrifice" is the most recent, and I will admit the hardest. But it is for my baby boy so I will gladly do it. I am a breastfeeding mommy and my baby is very spitty. I have been unsuccessful at determining what food I eat that makes him the most spitty, until now. I think I have finally figured it out so I am giving it a 2 week trail to be sure. I am cutting out of my diet for my little boy sweets (my poor sweet tooth is already having a hard time) and dairy (mainly cheese, which I LOVE). Most would say just give the baby formula, don't make that sacrifice. But giving up these foods is no hesitation for me. It's not a sacrifice, it's for my baby who I will breastfeed until he's at least 13 months old giving him the best I possibly can. I don't call it a sacrifice, I call it unconditional love.

A Lesson For Mommy

Every since I became a mommy, I have learned many things about myself. Before I had kids, I thought of myself as a patient person. Once Jake was born, I learned I wasn't as patient as I thought. So I have learned patience and have now become a patient person. Or so I thought. Jake surprised us this weekend by starting to use the big boy potty! Let the potty training begin! Perhaps I would have been more prepared if it wasn't sprung on me so unexpectedly. Jake has used the potty probably 3 times in the past 2 months but no other interest. And they say boys are usually 3 when they start potty training, so with Jake being only 26 months, I wasn't expecting any major potty training for awhile. Then yesterday he came to me saying "Potty" (don't pronounce the t's for Jake's pronunciation) and has been doing so since. Yay Jake!! This has been a huge learning experience for Mommy and teaching me even more patience, a depth of patience I never knew I could have. As Jake is learning to empty his bladder completely when he uses the potty, this is meaning several trips to the potty close together with small amounts in the potty. But he is improving and working on using the big boy potty and gets great praise each time! He is doing amazing! He is so proud to show off his pull ups with Mater and Lightning McQueen on them, and is doing wonderfully at keeping them dry. Potty training is very tiring on this Mommy, so good night!

You're being watched....

"Every step you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you...." This is so true of our children watching us parents. They look up to us, strive to be like us, and many times we forget this. My 2 year old, Jake, started imitating everything we do a few months ago, especially everything Daddy does! Even though this is a visual reminder that he's taking in everything he sees us do and say, it is so easy forget. And often I don't understand exactly how much he takes in. Yesterday was a prime example of how much I am being watched. I will sometimes make Jake & I Ceaser Suddenly Salad and for some reason I always eat the green noodles first. Yesterday he was at my parents and he had some with his lunch... and he ate all the green noodles first! Never did I think he was watching how I ate. I consider my actions but not the way I eat food. I truly am being watched every step I take, every move I make, and also every word I speak. I am constantly reminding myself of this and striving to be the person I want my sons to be. As a parent, I want my children to be the best person they can be, and yes, that does mean a better person than I am. So I continue to better myself as a person. Through the 2 years of my parenting experience, I have learned many reasons God blesses people with children. One being, God wants us to remember to be our best, help others, put others first, strive to be as fabulous as he. My sons are a constant reminder of that. I have a goal in my mind everyday... at the end of the day, can I say "I did my best today and I am proud of who I am."? If I can't, I strive to learn and grow from that lesson. And now I have added a new goal to each day, to help atleast one person in some way. In hopes my boys will learn from that and help people as much as they can. Always keep your actions in check because YOU are being watched! God bless.

About "The Mommy Sensation"

I am a very proud mommy to 2 amazing little boys. I absolutely love being a mommy, it's the greatest "job" in the world! Like most moms I have been sucked into "Mommy World" and can talk about my boys and everything mommy related pretty much 24/7! That is why I started this blog. In my blog, I will brag about my wonderful sons, vent about parenting frustrations, and share everything mommy related -- tips, amazing must have products, and money saving tips, as everyone needs to stretch their buck, especially mommies! I hope you enjoy this blog. Take care and savor each and every precious moment you have with a little one.