Mommy.... It's my favorite name

When I found out that I was blessed to be pregnant with a second little boy I was thrilled. I was more excited then I even expected to be.   As my growing belly wasn’t “real” enough for me already, when we found out we were having a boy as the new addition to our family it all became even more “real.” I no longer was thinking about the possibility of re-painting the nursery from blue to pink.   I no longer had to worry about getting a whole new wardrobe of girl clothes because all I had was boy’s clothes.   The financial aspect of having two boys, in the same season, so close together was a big pro. And as I started to day dream about our new little man growing inside me a worry that I had that was different then my first pregnancy was: ‘I hope this little boy is loved by everyone as much as Jake’ and that he is not always compared to Jake.’ You hear about second siblings holding a grudge because they were always being compared to their big brother, or big sister...

All I have to say is stressful ! If you have read anything on this blog before you may know that I have two little boys who rarely sit still.   So a family picture is like torture for one or both boys. No matter what day or what time of the day I painstakingly pick so it doesn’t interfere with nap times, or meal time, or to close to a mealtime when they MAY get hungry and then freak out, pictures are always mass chaos. The family pictures I see on Pinterest where everyone is in their pressed shirts and smiles from ear-to-ear, there may be a toddler who is sweetly standing still with a shy little grin while a big brother or sister is smiling directly at the camera and the parents are smiling proudly surrounded by a beautiful sun-filled backdrop….this is not us! This is always my goal, but it is far from our reality.  Me, holding Jake's leg to keep him from running away Our reality is that I spend too much time and energy over what we will all wear, then plan the perfe...

The imagination of a little kid is limitless, it is amazing and inspiring.   As we get older I think that our imagination fades as we focus more on everyday life and our reality then the “what could be.”   Now I know every adult has ‘imagined’ winning the lottery, and everything that could be done with that money.   Yes, that is imagination, I guess, but not the childlike imagination.   In a child’s imagination ANYTHING is possible, I love this! How are they supposed to “dream big” if they cannot imagine the impossible? This is all coming to me as I took the boys on a shopping trip last night, I was trying to find a dress as quickly as possible to get back home and get dinner going as it was already getting late. There was another little boy there with his mom and he and Jake were both going between the clothes racks and “hiding from the bad guys”.   They were staying close to us and I saw no harm in it. The other little boy’s mommy was ready to lea...

I dropped my boys off at daycare earlier than normal on Friday morning to head to Memphis, TN for my little sisters Bachelorette party.   My mom, and middle sister and I put a lot of thought and planning into the weekend to make it special and memorable for Abby and all her friends…..I think that we succeeded. It was a great trip. With some of the girls getting ready for dinner   I had a blast sitting and having girl talk over several glasses of wine.   I loved the laughter and hilarity that comes from the conversations of 14 tipsy ladies. And it was nice to go out and dance to something different then the ‘Frozen’ soundtrack. However the lack of sleep that I now have, from enjoying the previously mentioned items is extreme.   Mom and sisters My little gentleman stayed at home and played with daddy all weekend.   This was the FIRST time I have ever left for a whole weekend away from all my boys.   And while I hopped in the car excited Fri...

The wild and responsibility-free 21 and 22 year olds that we were when we met, are no longer.   We no longer go out until 3 am every weekend and sleep until noon.   No longer are we able to leave for a fun weekend trip on a moment’s notice.   The days are gone of sitting at the dinner table with empty plates and just talk about the day or future for as long as we want without being interrupted.   young love :-) I loved those days, although probably not as much as I should have. I took for granted the alone time that we got.   I didn’t value our one-on-one conversations like I should have.   While we were married for two and a half years before we had our first little baby, it went fast and there was so much that I didn’t realize would change after they came. I know that sometimes you get slighted for the boys.   It is rare that you get 100% of my attention and for that I am sorry. You are, of course worthy of it. It has been a big challen...