Oh my goodness being a mother is just the definition of bittersweet for me. I feel like I hug & kiss & cuddle my boys almost to death & probably tell them I love them each at least 40 times a day. They’re my whole world and I’m a little more than midly obsessed with them. I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to be with them pretty much all the time. Lol.. but lately, their little milestone moments are totally depressing me.

Today Noah sang me his Days of the Week song that he’s learned at preschool. He’s also told me about the apple cider he’s tried, sang other songs he’s learned, told me about the class pet hamster…  & on & on and I am simultaneously beaming with pride & heartbroken. Does that make sense? I want to be WITH him for every single moment like that. I want to be a fly on the wall of that preschool so that I don’t miss any of those firsts..  As a lightbulb goes on in his head and he understands something for the first time, I want to SEE that moment for myself! I’m the mom, I’m the one who’s been here for all those milestone moments. I saw the first steps and heard the first words & took him to the potty for the first time.. ME! So now the realization of the fact that I won’t be there for everything from here on out is just too much. I mean, ok.. it’s not “too much”. I’m overreacting here. Or overstating, or whatever. I’m not sitting here in tears right now, although these days it doesn’t take much to conjure them up! But it’s just…….bittersweet. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m so glad he’s where he is and that he’s learning so much already! I purposely tried not to drill him with too much preschool stuff before he went b/c if I had, what’s the point of even taking him, right? I didn’t want him to know everything before he went in or he’d just be bored. So I’m glad he’s learning.. I’m glad he’s growing. But man, it’s hard for me not to be there to see it happen.

Then there’s Abram, who’s so sweet I just want to eat him up. He’s such a happy baby & God couldn’t have blessed us any more than he already has with this kid!! He’s exactly what I prayed (hard) for for nine months! I rock him to sleep for his naps & bed but not nearly as long as I had to with Noah. I get him to the “almost asleep” area and then can easily put him down. It’s awesome, but in those moments I can hardly stop myself from squeezing him too tightly! He’s growing so fast! I want to squeeze him tight & stop all that growth so that he’ll stay this size forever   The thing is, I know that the next couple of years with him are going to be a blast. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say. I can’t wait to see what his walk looks like or who he gravitates toward, or how he’ll do when we take him to the next class up at church!

Right now he’s trying to walk. He’s mastered the crawling now & seems to me to be lightning fast. He can stand up and stands on his own now for a few seconds before falling. He hasn’t stayed up by himself for more than like 10 seconds yet, but he’s just now 10 months so he’s definitely not far off from where Noah was, and he walked at age one. I think Abram may be a little early. I’m absolutely scared to death that he’ll walk when Steve & I are on our vacation in a month from now. I would be heartbroken!! I’m already having some major anxiety about leaving them, so I’m really hoping they don’t have any huge milestone moments while we’re gone!

He’s clapping now when we ask him to clap. So smart   And he can wave now, and he’s saying Dada all the time but we’re still not sure whether he gets that Steve is Dada or not. You can see his handsome brown eyes registering everything & looking around, exploring his world. I’ll tell him to say mama, then he’ll push away from me so that he can get a good look at my face and then he smiles & buries his head in my neck. And once again, I want to squeeze him a little too hard! I’ll say “kisses?” and he pushes away again to look at me and just stares at me with my lips out trying to kiss him and he kinda opens his mouth like he’s not sure what’s going on… then I kiss him on his top lip and he smiles & buries his head in my chest and hugs me… oh. I love being a mother.

Noah’s been asking me the most random questions (as a 3 year old will), and one of them here recently has been “why did God give me to you?” and I tell him it’s because God knew that no one on Earth could possibly love him more than I do. And I absolutely believe that to be true! No one loves your kids like you do! Love them well!

I think I’ve probably talked about the subject of children’s books on here several times, but I think they’re worth taking up an entire post!! I started my love for them as an Elementary Education major at Purdue. A professor read “The Napping House” to us aloud in class one day & I fell in love. I bought the book a short time later & now I read it to Noah almost every day either before his nap or before bed. He loves it, too!

When I became a Title I. reading teacher, I fell in love with READING books aloud to the kids! There’s something to be said for the people that have perfected the reading aloud of a good children’s book.. it’s a skill that’s acquired through many hours of doing so, and it takes a little work for some people to feel uninhibited enough to really let loose & read it the way it should be read! When there’s an exclamation mark, you need to raise your voice! When there are rhymes, you should almost be singing that thing! And the most important thing- when there’s repetition, you should always…. always let the kids say the words. After the 2nd page they’ll get the idea & you let them finish the sentences. Noah basically reads The Napping House to me now, as well as several other books!

Things to know & look for in a good book: Repetition, repetition, repetition!  Bright colors, no more than 3-4 sentences per page (example: Bernstain bear books are great, but no good until kids are older.. Noah can’t sit through an entire BB book at this age). BOARD books!! So important to get those.. kids aren’t going to dislike them when they get older & they hold up so much better! & Finally, kids love books that are similar or in a series. If they get familiar with a character or a general way that books go, that makes them happy & comforted, if that makes any sense. I like to find an author or character that he likes & get all the other books by that author or series.

Here are some more books that are not necessarily “classics”, but that are favorites of Noah’s (& mine)!

The Napping House is written by Audrey Wood & Don Wood illustrator (look for more of their books, as well as a few of their son’s!)

Moo, Baa, Lalala, and all other books by Sandra Boynton

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and all other books by Eric Carle- esp. if you like color & repetition

Where the Wild Things Are (not Mommy’s favorite, but it’s definitely a fav. for boys)

I Love You Stinky Face, by Lisa McCourt (mommy & Noah favorite)

Pat the Bunny was a favorite when he was little.. it’s kinda destroyed now after TOO MUCH use

The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister

Puff the Magic Dragon- if it comes w/ the Cd, get it! Brings back fond memories & there are more songs on it, too.

Snowmen at Night (or Christmas), by Caralyn Buehner -finding the little hidden things in this book is so much fun!

Duck & Goose, by Tad Hills (several others- “find a pumpkin”, “opposites”, “time for Christmas”, etc…. all cute!! & Noah loves them)

My Penguin Osbert, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel- beautiful illustrations & great story!!-Love this at Christmas time!!

No, David!, by David Shannon- & all the other “David” books— & How I Became a Pirate is good, too!

Dr. Seuss books- I’m generalizing. Noah likes those.. I’m not a big fan. I find them tedious to read & groan every time he picks one up. My favorites are the foot book & One fish two fish, etc… Green Eggs & Ham kills me. lol

On the Night You Were Born, by Nancy Tillman- this is new to our library since Abram came along. I love it though & Noah liked it pretty well although it’s still a little over his head.

Guess How Much I Love You, by SamMcBratney- we’ve been big fans of this b/c I have always told Noah I love him to the moon & back so for him to see it in a book is like a little secret treasure we share!

Jack and the Beanstalk, by whoever.. so many authors & we have a couple different ones. I highly recommend checking this out in the store before buying to make sure it’s not too tedious.. if we didn’t paraphrase over half of the one he likes at our house, we’d be reading it for half an hour!!

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?, by Jane Yolen- several others of these, too! Noah’s loving them!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff- and all the others by her, as well! “pig a pancake”, “moose a muffin”, “take a mouse to school”, etc..

Others that I’m hoping Noah will “get” more here in the near future b/c they’re GREAT books!

• Forever Young, by Bob Dylan- it’s the song with good illustrations
• The Mitten, by Jan Brett- also any others by her are wonderful- read them a ton in Title I
• The Dot, by Peter Reynolds- & several others! “Ish”, etc.
• A Bad Case of Stripes, by David Shannon- this is a little over his head now but he sorta kinda likes it. It’s just not a “read it again” type of book yet.
• Room for a Little One, by Martin Waddell- BEAUTIFUL illustrations in this book! It’s a gorgeous story of Jesus’s birth & Noah actually liked it ok last year but he was asking more questions about the animals & didn’t quite “get it”.. I have high hopes for this year!
• Berenstain Bears books! They have such good messages but are too long for him right now.

Those are our favorites! Also, here’s a list I found of the top 100 books! We have almost half of these! It’s insane..

http://childrensbooksguide.com/top-100

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” -Spoken very wisely by Ferris Bueller

This week has been a very challenging one. As I drove Noah to his new preschool today, I found myself getting a little emotional! Things are going so well right now. We’re doing so, so much and packing our schedules to the brim with activities, but I feel like I’m doing an ok job right now. I mean, I’m managing to stay sane, even with all these crazy activities! I’m learning, I’m growing, and I’m improving. And my kids are happy & healthy! I guess I just realized it all of a sudden and felt like “wow, I’m getting the hang of this balancing act!” (finally!)

 We’ve started Noah in his new preschool class after the debacle that was preschool #1 (aka “the yucky school”, as Noah’s now calling it).  I’ll spare you all the details but basically they were extremely unorganized & it was more of a daycare than a preschool. Things like him being in the wrong class, them not having folders, no paperwork, no field trips, they were taking naps (yeah, seriously?), he was dirty when I picked him up, etc. etc… it was just a mess. SO, this time around he’s LOVING it! We discovered that the wonderful lady who teaches him at church also teaches preschool! It’s a little bit of a drive for us but it’s worth it to have a tear-free goodbye & a happy boy when I pick him up!

This week we’ve also started Kindermusik with Abram! It’s only once a week and conveniently during the time when Noah’s at preschool so it’s working out nicely. I felt like a total schmo the first day though, compared to the other moms there. I was the only one with a plain ole t-shirt on (Colts!), and I was wearing no jewelry, save my wedding ring. I was lucky to have had makeup on at all, & what I was wearing was the bare minimum. The other moms had nicer shirts on and cute little jeans or shorts & jewelry & their hair looked nice. Their kids were wearing adorable little outfits with button up short-sleeved shirts & nice shorts, while I had Abram in a baseball onesie with matching sweatpants. We looked like total slobs compared to the rest of them. Thankfully they were all very nice & we had a good time, but I’m sure most of you can relate, when you go somewhere & are obviously the one sticking out somehow, it’s unnerving! But hey, Abram had a blast & the older I get, the less I care about all that stuff. I mean seriously, it’s 9 in the morning when we’re there.. I’m not getting dressed up to impress a bunch of other stay at home moms, ya know? That’s just silly. I ended up with spitup in my hair & on my shirt & still had to run errands afterwards! I sat in the Arby’s and ate my lunch while I fed Abram his first ever all-formula bottle (which was a success, by the way). Then we picked Noah up & took him to get a happy meal… yes, a happy meal that’s not extremely healthy, and no we didn’t ge t the darn apple slices b/c Noah wanted french fries. I’m probably a terrible mother. Lol.. but! for some reason, I feel like God is really helping me to let that stuff go. I’m just plain not concerned about being so “perfect” all the time.

My mother’s always told me that I’d care less & less about what people think as I go & I frankly thought she was full of it and that it was just a personality difference. But the more I parent, the more I realize that as long as my kids are happy & I’m sane, we’re doing great! I feel like we made the right decision to get Noah back into a preschool class b/c it does give me a break & time to be with Abram without hearing dinosaur roars & taking a break to get craisins or more chocolate milk! And he needs that social interaction desperately!

THEN, we started Noah in soccer this year, too! VCYSA- U4. For those of you who don’t speak soccer (which was me a couple months ago).. that’s Vigo County Youth Soccer Association and he’s on a team that’s 4 & under. Steve’s coaching the team! Shocker, right? It was hilarious to see the little ones running around in circles trying to “dribble” their soccer balls. Steve was so cute & cracking me up as the coach. The teacher in me definitely came back out as I ended up doing almost as much coaching as Steve did.. simply because he’s used to older boys and these kids clearly needed more explanation and examples of how to do the things he was trying to tell them to do! We worked well together though and Noah had a great time & met all of his new teammates. His first game is Sept. 11th & they’ll be every Sunday for 8 weeks.

As much as I’m in LOVE with both my boys, I also know that I need breaks and if I don’t take those breaks, I will be absolutely no good to them. Am I still a little stressed right now? You bet! But I’m learning that it’s ok to ask for lots of help. It’s ok to ignore the pile of laundry for a while & zone out.. and ignore the panic that arrises every time my mom or mother in law are going to be coming over & may see my messy house! The most important thing is that I know I’m doing my best and that my kids are going to see their mom struggle here & there, & know that it’s totally normal! They’ll see me ignore the chores for a while so we can play hide & seek, or take a break from working on things to go get ice cream before bath time. That’s the kind of childhood I want for them.. and the kind of mom I hope they’ll remember! Fun, not frenzied! Afterall, they’re only this little once! So stop here & there & read some books or have tickle fights! It’s a lot more fun than doing dishes, anyway!

After much debate & tons of shuffling through reviews online, I finally found a stroller that I loved & was excited to get! We decided on the Joovy Caboose Stand-On Tandem Stroller.  I had been going back & forth between this one & the Baby Trend Sit n’ Stand one b/c I wasn’t sure whether or not Noah would want/need a whole seat to himself. And by that I mean, a seat that he could recline in & that has the sunshade option, etc…  & I decided that he didn’t need all that. He’s 3 and only naps if he absolutely has to, so I don’t think we’re in danger of him asking to take a nap! We’ve gone to the zoo, the children’s museum, several different other places and so far this hasn’t been a problem! At first we used it with the carseat for Abram and it worked beautifully. I loved that he was facing me. And Noah loved sitting on the bench & being able to hop off anytime he wants.

This would be a great stroller to get even for your first child!! The carseats/carriers work on it and it’s small & compact for a “double”.  You could save a truckload by buying one of these to begin with and not messing with the single! I’m just sayin’…

Here’s a photo                                      

This was taken at the zoo last month! Obviously Noah isn’t in this photo, but you can see how easily this could work for just one kid (if you’re buying one for your first child). Noah could & did jump right onto the back of this to sit down so he was back to back with Abram. You can see a part of the little bench above the diaper bag.

Love it & highly recommend! It folds down very compactly, too! & is metal, whereas most are plastic.

I looked up some statistics for breastfeeding & it turns out, in Indiana only 11.4% of women are exclusively nursing their babies at 6 months. That % is quite a bit higher in several other states but 25.7% is the highest and that’s in California. Lots of women are still nursing their babies at 6 months while supplementing formula, as well though. And I think I’m about to become one of those women.

Unfortunately, my milk is drying up out of nowhere. It’s heart-breaking for me, but at the same time, I’m so ready!  With Noah we had to do one bottle of formula a day from week 1 on because of his jaundice & to help with reflux (giving him rice cereal in that). But with Abram, we’ve yet to give him an ounce of formula. I’m not sure how he’s going to react to that since I’m going to have to wean him a little earlier than I would’ve liked.

There is such a stigma on the whole nursing thing these days.. to nurse or not to nurse, and how long do you nurse, and exclusively or not? It seems these days it’s switched so that nursing is the cool thing to do b/c it’s healthier & WAY cheaper! So I’m glad to be among the “cool” people for once in my life! But at the same time, there’s a total stigma attached to that if you don’t nurse “all the way”… aka, to 12 months. Well, Steve & I are going on vacation in mid October so I decided that would be the cutoff.. about a month early. But like I said, the weaning process is going to have to begin a little earlier due to this milk shortage!

My Dr. said if I’m more active this time around, that could be a factor in the supply going out. Also, I’ve heard/read that when you’re supplementing formula here & there it’s a lot easier to maintain your supply of milk… which is probably why I was fine with Noah.

So.. I’m going to bite the bullet and get some formula to try once a day now. Hopefully I can take the time to pump during that time and get a little more milk built up so that I can continue nursing until Oct… but we’ll see!

Now the only thing to decide is when to give him formula. I’m SO ready to be able to go on a shopping trip and not have to be back at a certain time to nurse! I feel so selfish but I also know that I’ve done a stinkin’ good job up to this point and every mama needs a break, ya know? In my mind I can easily justify all of this & say it’s good for me to be able to get out & do things more, and every mom needs breaks to maintain their sanity!!.. so why do I still feel guilty? That stigma again! I hate that we women often put up these “you’re only a good mom IF” fronts and everything becomes a competition. As long as my baby is happy & healthy & I am, too, that’s all that matters! Now if I can just convince myself of this & let the guilt go… that is the challenge!

Their 1st bath together!

It’s been such a busy summer for us so far, I haven’t kept up on my blogs. I am looking at pictures from my “June-July” folder and noticing that I have not slacked off in the picture-taking department with these boys. There are tons of the two of them together. It’s a fascinating thing to watching them as they grow to love one another & to play together.

I grew up with a little brother, so in some ways I can relate & find myself thinking back to things we did together as kids. Steve had a little sister. Neither of us are sure how two boys are going to interact together. We’re not sure what to expect and I think we’re both a tad frightened! Both of us were always in that fierce ‘protect the little sibling’ mode & Noah hasn’t really shown a whole lot of that so far, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time.

Abram is totally in love with Noah- to the point of jealousy on the part of Steve & I… we can’t make him laugh nearly as easily as Noah can. Plus, Noah isn’t even trying to make him laugh most of the time. It just happens spontaneously as Noah comes bouncing into the room, or splashes around in the bathtub.

Here recently though, things have begun to change a little. Now that Abram’s on the move a little more, Noah seems to think he can rough house with him. He’s been in time-out for numerous offenses regarding Abram… let’s see.. he’s tossed several toys at him, hitting him in the face (luckily they were small toys that didn’t do much harm). He’s tried to pick him up and then realized halfway up that he’s entirely too heavy and practically dropped him back on the floor. He’s taken ahold of his walker (w/ Abram in it) and pushed it as hard as he could, causing Abram to have a mild amount of whiplash! And this is only the beginning.. it’s not that he’s trying to cause him bodily harm, of course! But it’s absolutely scaring the crap out of me.

I keep wondering what on Earth else my future holds w/ these guys. What else could one or the other of them do on “accident”? I am only a few feet away when things like this have happened, so what’s going to happen if I decide to get brave one day and leave Abram in his little Jumperoo while Noah’s watching Max & Ruby? Am I going take my 3 minute shower and rush out in the towel to find Noah feeding Abram fruit snacks (choking hazard) or giving him some big pointy book to read (pointy edge in the eye hazard)?

 I’d like to think I’ve gone over the basic safety issues with Noah enough times that he knows what not to do to/with Abram. I once heard a story about this woman with 4 kids.. she left one kid in his Johnny Jump-up (this hangs down from the ceiling between a doorway) and the other 3 watching TV and came out to find them grabbing hold of the baby’s legs, walking backwards as far as they could go, and letting go, causing the baby to fly through the air in his Johnny Jump-up & squealing with delight! Sure, that story turned out to be funny, but it definitely caused this new(ish) mommy of two to be a little wide-eyed and scared of what’s ahead!

I guess either way we go, it’ll be an adventure. And as long as  my boys love each other (no matter how they tend to show it!)- that’s all that matters.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a control freak of epic proportions. After Noah was born I was completely obsessed with his schedule and making sure everyone followed it right along with me. I was going off of Babywise and I took it a little too far. It did help to get him sleeping through the night at an early age & all that but more than anything it drained me and stressed me out & made it tough on everyone else. They felt like they were walking on egg shells around me.. I was moody, had a little case of the baby blues, and felt basically like a complete mess.

This time around though, I was SO much more relaxed. I wanted to make sure Abram was on a schedule but it was a lot more flexible and we didn’t stress if he slept longer than he “should” (according to books.. which is just ridiculous, by the way). As a result of all of our patience & flexibility this time around, Abram has done so much better than Noah did as far as stretching his sleeping & eating times & his mood is just better in general. He’s a happy baby most of the time.

SO- this week we’re changing things up.. and just when I have everything the way I want it. Ugh.. but it’s for a good reason. Adventure Week (aka Vacation Bible School) at our church is next week and I volunteered to help with it. I help back in the children’s area anyway so it seemed like a good thing to do- plus, it’s a half hour away and if I didn’t work it, I’d be dropping Noah off, then driving a half hour home and coming back to do it all over again.. & w/ gas prices these days, that’s just silly.

SO-(again)- I didn’t really think it through all that well and now I’m reading my packet of info. on what I need to do as a Preschool crew leader for Adventure Week… and I’m starting to feel that “I’m freaking out” feeling like I used to get when Noah’s schedule was disrupted.

Basically, AW is going to start at 8:30 in the morning. I need to be at my “ready” station at 8:00am. Now, to a lot of people this may sound like no problem b/c their kids get up at 6am… mine don’t. They sleep until a good 7:30. I usually feed Abram anywhere from 8-8:30. Yeah.. that’s not going to work out this week!

On top of that, the packet says I need to be there at 7:15!! We need time to prep our areas and get together for prayer, etc. etc.. and I get that, but I just didn’t think it all through before now. That would mean that I have to leave my house by 6:45.. which means I need to have them up at like 6 or a little after! That looks like an insanely huge hurdle to me right now. Needless to say, they were both in bed a half hour early tonight and we’ll keep pushing it back as early as possible in prep. for this!

The thing I’m most concerned about is Abram’s eating schedule. This past month he’s dropped his early morning feeding. I was feeding him anywhere from 4:30-6am, and now he goes until at least 8:00. But if I get him up that early he’ll surely want to eat… which will put him wanting to eat again at an earlier time instead of his usual noon feeding. Ugh… which also means that I’ll have to make sure to pump enough to have a bottle for him, PLUS bring baby food for the poor people in the back to feed him while they’re watching him & I’m toting around 6 or so preschoolers through AW activities.

This wouldn’t be an issue for most people, but on top of all this (which I realize is not THAT stressful), Abram has awful reflux so I was hoping like crazy to avoid them having to feed him. I nurse him.. it’s what I do. We do one bottle a day and that’s his 7pm one before bed which is a lot bigger bottle w/ rice cereal.

I think what I’m going to try, is getting there at 7:15 or seeing if they care if I’m there by 7:30.. b/c seriously, something’s gotta give here. And then feeding Abram when I get there (he only takes like 10 or 15 min.)… that way there’s still a chance he may not need to have a bottle. AW goes until 11:30. It’ll be close. At the very least, maybe he’d have his bottle around then and by the time I get my area cleaned up and get back to him he’ll be done & I can take the brunt of the spitup and get him his baby food so I can spare those poor people from being puked on.

*sigh*.. Oh yeah, and I’m definitely going to have to shower the night before.. yeah..    I’m so looking forward to the days when I can tote the two of them around & not have to worry so much about all this nursing/pumping stuff. It’s a GREAT bonding experience- I love it, really I do. (except the mastitis I just had & am on meds now for… I’ll save that for another blog!). And nursing saves us so much money and is better for him. I wouldn’t have it any other way; it’s just awfully frustrating sometimes.

BUT- Noah will learn an awful lot about God through Adventure Week. I hope I am his preschool crew leader so I can see him as he learns new things and experiences God in a new way. It’ll be great fun overall and a learning experience for me, too! haha.. among other things.

Yesterday I got to visit with my great friend Sarah and her daughter, who just turned 2 in February. She told me about this family she ran into at the mall who were playing at the same playplace. The little boy, who turns 3 this summer I believe she said, was bouncing around the letters on the floor and reciting them and saying other things (numbers, colors, etc.). Sarah talked with the grandmother that had the boy there and she told her that this boy already knows how to count to 100, he can spell something like 35 words, he knows his letters, colors, etc. etc. etc… and they had been really careful to teach him as much as possible so he wouldn’t be behind because he was born a “coke” baby.

So Sarah & I started talking about how inadequate that makes us feel as stay at home moms. Shouldn’t we be working with our kids like that so they know all those things, as well? Are we taking too much time for other things like … TV or just playing around? I know that I could definitely work with Noah more… but here’s the thing… it’s just plain unnecessary. I mean, I feel like maybe I have a little bit of a different perspective on this because I taught preschool for a short time and I tested preschool kids for 3 years as a Title I. teacher to see how prepared they were to enter Kindergarten. When I taught, I remember being pretty judgmental towards the parents of the kids who didn’t know their ABC’s & 123’s… afterall, how long does it take to work on those, right? Now that I’m a parent, I resent the judgment that I once had.

To a degree, I still feel I was right. It doesn’t take long to work on ABC’s & counting. But to sit down with your child & go over letters and have them practice writing, and spelling words, etc. etc… it’s a lot of work! And if you’re anything like me, you may have 100 different things at a time that you feel are on your “to do ” list.  At any given time, I’m behind on at least 10 things. Right now I could be working on pictures, laundry, putting dishes away, vacuuming, showering, playing with Abram on the floor to work on crawling, or doing preschool prep stuff with Noah! But I’m taking time out to relax a little & write this blog. It’s my choice to do that, and I’ll work on something else in a minute. And why is it that other moms/people are judgmental of that? I do the same thing.. pass the same judgments. I say things to myself like “well Noah already knows how to write a few letters, and he can do X & X & X”.. and that makes me feel like a more adequate parent/teacher. But in reality, I could be doing a lot more. We all could, couldn’t we? BUT- how sane would I be if I spent every minute of my day working on something around here and not taking any time to zone out or relax? The point is, every person is different. I think as long as you’re working on the core basics with your child, you’ll be just fine. Is it helpful to work on all that other stuff? Yes… but just remember that your child may end up being bored when they know how to count to 100 and the preschool teacher is working with everyone else on counting to 10! haha

Here are a couple of tips (because we should be all about helping each other find creative, time saving ways to work on this stuff!):

 I try to work with Noah at times when you wouldn’t normally think to do so… for example, the other day I needed to get in a little stretching & some lunges, etc., so we made a game out of counting to 20. Noah still gets the number mixed up from 15-19. So I’d let him “beat me” to 20 as we did our jumping jacks, or lunges or whatever. I’d get to 19 and let him say 20 before me, which he thought was hysterical.

The easel he got for Christmas has been the best gift he’s ever gotten. He draws on it all the time (dry erase) and has learned how to write several things and we really haven’t spent much time “working” on it. It’s just a great tool- kids his age have trouble writing letters & other things in a small confined space, so letting them do it on a bigger scale like that really improves their writing, then you can scale down as they get better at it.

Try to talk the way you normally would, even if you think your child won’t understand a word you’re saying. For example, Noah has learned the word bulbous (sp?) here lately because Steve was making fun of my round head   lol.. so we just explained to him that it means round and we gave him lots of examples… we were talking about this in the car. So everything he saw from that point until we got home, he’d ask if that was bulbous and he now can point out things that are spherical & says “that’s bulbous Mommy.”  .. it can’t hurt, right?

Every first time mom I’ve ever known goes into information overload. They read tons of books, get tons of advice, and worst of all, look up every item they register for and read all the reviews which ends up confusing them to death and worrying that they’ll pick the wrong changing table & ruin their baby’s life forever. It’s not that drastic people.. but I’ve decided to go ahead and list the things that I’ve found over the past couple years to be really helpful information. Most of this is my own opinion but some of it came from other women who steered me in the “right” direction when I was that confused, overwhelmed mommy to be!

This is going to be all about your registry..  Brands, types, things to think about.

Here goes. In no particular order. And PLEASE- OTHER MOMS, FEEL FREE TO TELL US WHAT YOU’VE FOUND OR WHAT YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH!!!

Desitin diaper rash cream is the best and NOT the creamy type. Butt paste is expensive and it works well, too but Desitin works just as well if not better so why get the expensive stuff?

No matter how uncomfortable you are with it, rectal thermometers are the best. Those ridiculous under the armpit or pacifier ones are dumb. Sorry, but listen to your Dr. on this one and just get the rectal one.. your life will be a lot easier and your child’s temp. will be accurate when your nurse/Dr. asks if the baby has a fever.

The only brands of clothes I will buy for my kids are Carter’s, Old Navy or Gap stuff. We absolutely hated the Gerber clothes. They ran really small & were scratchy cheap material. Carter’s is soft.. love that.

Don’t get a 3 in 1 or 4 in 1 crib that changes into a regular full sized bed if your baby’s room isn’t big enough for that. We made that mistake and we’ll end up selling it to get a twin bed. Beware of that!  –also, the ones that turn into toddler beds are nice. But toddler beds are like $50 at wal-mart and are just as good.

You do NOT need to register for tons of bibs or very many blankets. Everyone on Earth wants to buy those soft blankets and those ridiculous bibs that say corny things on them. Plus, a ton of outfits come with bibs.

The cloth diapers make the best burp cloths.  & the bibs that you absolutely Must have for when you’re starting solids, are the plastic ones with a little pocket to catch the food/spitup.

Get a bouncer that will also rock… it’ll save you a little.  And as far as swings, I’ve found that my boys liked the side to side ones better (think baby Papasan). But that might just be them.

High chairs that hook onto your regular chairs are fantastic. Saves you space & money & they’re just as good.

Yes, you do need a breast pump if you’re planning to nurse at all. I would never get by without mine.. or at the very least I’d never get to leave the house. Those little plastic storage bags for that are crap though. Hated those.. they hold very little milk and do not fit in the freezer well. Ziplocks work just as well if you want to go the “bag” route. Otherwise get more of those little plastic bottles that hook onto the pump.. you can pump right into those, put the lid on and put them in the freezer. Much easier.

I am a big fan of the Tommee Tippee bottles. No weird parts to put together and they look a lot more like a real nipple- shape wise. They’re getting very popular and are the number one brand in England. Other TT stuff is great, too! I love the bowls with the suction cup mat.

We’ve tried every brand of diapers and have found Pampers to be the best- especially when they’re tiny b/c they turn colors or a shape or something appears when they’re wet. Fabulous! HOWEVER, when they get a little older, we go to the Parent’s Choice brand at Wal-Mart which work just as well (only without the color thing) and are half the price. We’ve hated Huggies & Luvs.. they ran small for our kids & didn’t hold leaks well at all.

The only brand of wipes we’ve found to go well with our wipes warmer is the Pampers brand that are the super soft. You can get the huge box of them at Sam’s or Wal-Mart.

Finding a diaper bag that looks like a purse, too will really help you out. Leave a couple pockets open for your phone & money & chapstick and you’re good to go with ONE bag instead of toting around 2 or 3. Don’t be afraid to get one big diaper bag and one “dad sized” one for smaller trips. You won’t regret it.

The Playtex Fridge to go tote for bottles/food is awesome b/c it already has a cold pack in it and it’ll keep your stuff cold for  a long time. Just found that recently and LOVE it.. no more cold packs.

Bumbo sitters are nice for that 4 month old who can’t sit up yet.

A Jumperoo or Johnny Jump Up are great for their legs! We have the hideous rainforest jumperoo and our boys love it.. they can jump around and it has activity stuff all the way around it. So it’s like an activity center thingy for them but they can also move in it.. bonus.

Get an actual changing table separate from a dresser. Those combos are horrible. They’re usually cheaply made and you (if you’re like us) won’t want to keep it as an actual dresser for your child once they’re done with diapers.. just invest in a good dresser now & sell the changer!

Those little mittens for newborns.. pointless. They don’t stay on. Get “sleepers” or layettes that have the little part on the sleeve that folds over their hands. Lots more effective.

Johnson’s & Johnson’s is great for soap, shampoo and I love all the different scents. But I’d get naturals for a newborn and then gradually go to scents. Noah had no trouble with the lavendar (which we still use) but it made Abram break out. Aveeno baby is Great stuff, too!

Room darkening shades/curtains will be a lifesaver for you in those light summer months when baby doesn’t want to go to sleep!!

A combination potty & stepstool is awesome & saves space. We have one by Boon that we all love.

Get something to store the toys in for the bathtub.. something that lets the water drain.

Hooded towels are great.. but get the kind that actually feels like a grown up towel and not those super thin ones.. you actually want it to dry your baby. Baby sized robes are just dumb. Cute, but not useful.

I’d recommend to ANYone- get a video monitor. It will save you countless trips to the nursery. Seeing that your baby is just fine & simply shifting a little, rather than needing you for something is just plain priceless.

Try out a stroller before buying or putting it on your registry. My idea of a lightweight stroller was very different from a friend of mine’s.. she got a travel system, which was great.. but it was a ton heavier than my Graco metrolite which fit my carseat on it perfectly but wasn’t classified as a “travel system”. Look for one-hand mechanisms for open/close and think about how compactly it folds & storage space for shopping bags

Baby books are tricky.. there are some that let you record every month of baby’s 1st year and some that do not. Look through them to make sure you’re getting what you think you are.

Cool mist vaporizers are what you want for their room! The Crane animal ones are adorable but super hard to clean. We’re throwing ours away (Elephant one) & getting the boring one that’s in Noah’s room to replace it.. the cuteness is not worth mold growing in the basin that we can’t get to.

Lastly (for today)- if this is your first baby- don’t get all blue stuff for a boy or all pink for a girl (I’m talking carseats, high chairs, swings, big stuff)… if you have another baby of a different gender in the future, you’ll feel very grateful for that unisex stroller that you can still use!  .. even burpcloths, receiving blankets, etc… just keep it in mind, that’s all I’m saying.

Things I’d say are a Must:  Glider, Diaper Genie, Bottle Warmer (yes you can use the stove but it takes forever), bouncer (if you ever plan to shower while at home by yourself), gas drops, boppy (multiple uses for that thing), good closet storage/bins, swaddlers!!, and good pacifiers

K, I feel better now. If you’re an expectant mom or dad, I hope this has helped you in some small way. I’m sure I’ll remember more any minute and have to update this tomorrow. Haha

Please feel free to put your own Must Haves on here or things you’ve found to be useless!! Helpful tips!! We gotta help each other out here girls. Good luck!

Wow am I overwhelmed right now! I actually shouldn’t even be taking a break to write this blog, but I am so tired of doing work and not having time to relax so I feel like I must get a little of this off my chest or I may explode!

First & foremost, how working women do all that they do and still manage to take care of their kids, house, and husband is just mind boggling to me. Right now I’m staying at home with the boys, which is a full time job in & of itself, especially if you’re doing it “right.” And “right” in my opinion, is not just babysitting them, but teaching them, molding them, making sure you’re giving them everything you can..  which looks different to every mom. For me it means making baby food b/c I want Abram to eat healthy things, plus we are pinching pennies anywhere we can and that saves us a boatload.  It also means making sure  I stick to my guns as far as Abram’s schedule and don’t allow myself to get too lazy & take the easy way out when I’m tired or just plain don’t feel like working at it! It means making time to do preschool prep with Noah, and making time to read books to him, AND taking him outside as much as I can to get good exercise. It means working on manners, even when he makes it impossible & my patience is completely shot. It means taking time to sit & just cuddle with both my boys. It means stopping whatever I’m doing to really look at Noah & listen to what he’s telling me, however trivial & unimportant it may be. It means stopping to write the big moments down in their baby books and taking pictures/videos to document these precious moments that are flying by way too quickly. It means being patient enough to let Noah go to the bathroom all by himself (which menas pull his own pants down, put the lid up himself, step onto his stepstool, let him flush it, & pull pants back up)… even if it means the whole thing will take 3 or 4 times longer than it would if I helped him. It means baking goodies every once in a while & letting Noah help.. again, even if that means it’ll take longer than it should & I’ll miss an opportunity to put dishes away or do other chores around the house.  Speaking of chores- it’s also important to me as a mom to make sure Noah (& eventually Abram) knows he has to do chores! He helps me here & there and I ask him to do things & try to explain that he needs to try & be helpful.. which he doesn’t understand.  It means answering the hundred “why” questions Noah has everyday. It means suctioning Abram’s nose when he’s stuffy & filling vaporizers with water & keeping track of clean clothes & new clothes & making sure things are washed before worn, and thank you notes are written for gifts (yes, I make Noah help me write his notes!).

 It’s a whole huge slew of things that I want to make sure I do so that I can be a good mom. But if I’m doing all these things, where is there time for such things as cooking, cleaning, yard work, outings with my husband, reading my Bible & doing Bible Study obligations, & oh yeah, relaxing! And now, thankfully enough, I’ve gotten several photography jobs. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great thing.. it’s just that it’s pushed me from on the verge of a mental breakdown (which is the usual), to jumping off the cliff of a mental breakdown.. know what I mean? The only time I’ve left the house in the past two weeks for something other than a photography job or church was when Steve & the boys took me to eat for Mother’s Day or when we took Abram to the Dr. today for his well baby checkup! I mean, I’ve got to have some relaxation time or I’ll go completely nuts. But instead of relaxing, I’m uploading, editing, numbering, renaming, emailing, creating, etc. etc. and those are all things I love to do but when there are about 30 things in the back of your mind that are saying “you need to work on me, too!”… it’s draining! I’m neglecting my kids & my husband when I work on this stuff constantly, but if I don’t get it finished I’ll disappoint my customers and won’t get more work from them in the future! It’s such a hard thing to figure out how to balance. Basically, there just isn’t enough time in the day. But I don’t know many people who don’t feel the same way or have the same problem.. too much to do and too little time! In some ways I’m looking forward to when the boys are both in school and I can do photography full time and not have this problem. But most of me dreads them being in school because that means they won’t be my little ones anymore & that breaks my heart. I want to freeze them both at this age & keep them this way forever.. I mean, is there anything better in the whole world than being in bed with your beautiful sleeping baby on your chest and your other adorable child asleep right next to you cuddling up & holding onto your arm? B/c that’s my idea of a perfect moment and how lucky am I that I get to do that a couple times a week!? They’ll both wake up from their naps early some days and I just give in & bring them in with me and we have a group nap.. and it’s wonderful. That whole “my cup runeth over” thing springs to mind when I think of that!

No matter how overwhelmed I get.. my family brings me back to reality & lets me know that they love me- even as a frazzled crazy mommy/wife.