You're Not A Terrible Parent

2 posts in one night... I know, something MUST be wrong with me. But, my previous post was all about my boys... this one is more about everything else! :) 

I recently read this article from the Huffington Post titled "To the Parents of Small Children- Let me be the one to say it out Loud" If you have the chance to read it, I strongly encourage you to do so. It was so accurate and just makes you feel better about parenthood. In the article, he states everything that we as parents don't want to say out loud. Like, how sometimes, it's okay to just go totally crazy! It's okay to want to be at work on those difficult days! And how it's okay  to look forward to bathtime... The author states that you're not a terrible parent if you thing about these things. And it is SO true! I mean, how many of us parents can honestly say that we've never thought about wanting to be at work instead of home? I know I have! I'm not afraid to admit it. There's been those days where I have thought, "Man, I would be LESS busy if I was working full time." haha. Seriously, being a stay-at-home mother is a full time job. It's no joke! I've also had those days where bed time just couldn't come soon enough. You know, those days where your children are bouncing off the walls and just driving you crazy in general. I think goodness, bed time needs to get here. We all feel that way at times. And it's good to remember that feelings like that are normal. They don't make you a bad parent. It makes you human. All it takes is for my 2 year old to say "Momma" or my 4 month old to smile and it makes all that crazy, busy life fade away. Those boys know how to drive me crazy- but they also know how to melt my heart. I wouldn't trade a single day at home with them for a day at work. You can read the article HERE!

Last week was the annual Kidsignment Sale at the Marion Pavilion. Seriously, if you're from So. Ill and you've never gone- YOU NEED TO GO!! Let me tell ya- this sale has EVERYTHING for kids... clothes, toys, baby gear, more clothes... haha. And get this, everything is at GREAT prices. I won't lie- I got almost ALL of my Christmas shopping done at the sale. I know, I know... you may be thinking... "you bought used things for Christmas gifts?" The answer is, Yes- Yes I did! Let me explain... if your a parent then you are aware that toys these days are beyond expensive! It's ridiculous! Especially when we all know that children play with toys for a few days until they lose interest! I know that Jesse and I certainly don't enjoy paying full price for a toy that Gabe will lose interest in so soon. I honestly try not to spend full price on toys... because well, you know me- I like to shop and I like my boys to have everything... so full price would literally put us in the poor house! haha. So, back on topic, luckily both of our families understand this and are practical thinkers in terms of used toys so they were all on board with this idea. We have 6 nieces and nephews plus our 2 boys- so you can imagine that Christmas time can get expensive. I Literally got all our Christmas shopping done at this sale for $80! SCORE! The best thing is- all of the toys that I got look brand new! Who can beat that!? :) I also picked up a walker for Lincoln and Gabe got several new pairs of Crocs! That boy does love his Crocs! He's got a new sandal pair and a new pair for the winter! He's been wearing the sandals everyday since! So cute! OH & I got the boys' Halloween costumes! So SO cute!! :) 

Speaking of Christmas time... Who's excited!? This Girl is! I can not wait for Christmas this year. Gabe is at the age that he understands and somewhat enjoys opening gifts. So far, we've gotten him a lot of fun toys! I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning when he opens his gifts. Granted, we do have a few more things that we'd like to get the boys but most of our shopping is done. 

OK, that's all for tonight friends! This Mama has been exhausted all week- so it's tonight it's an early bedtime! Have a good one! 

4 months and Holiday World

I really need to update more! I'm so sorry- I'm just so busy and tired all of the time. Anyway, on the 2nd of this month Lincoln was 4 months old! Can you believe it? He's growing up so fast. He weighs a whopping 13 pounds 4 ounces. He is literally 7 pounds lighter than Gabe. Whew! No wonder that carseat is getting heavier everyday! He's going to be bigger than Gabe in no time... which is why we have got to get my big boy to start eating more! haha. 

Anyway, Lincoln rolled over for the first time a few weeks ago! It was so exciting. He's starting to "Talk" a lot more and we have began the teething phase. Oh, how I despise the teething phase. Not only is Lincoln beginning to teeth, but Gabe's molars are coming in now too. Fun!? Uh, NO! Gabe's were hurting him so bad that he was scraping at his mouth and filling it up with blood! Terrible! He was in so much pain. He had a couple of these episodes until I finally figured out what was hurting him. Thankfully a little Motrin did the trick and he was better. Did I mention how much I hate teething? haha. Right Now, Lincoln is just in the drooling and wanting to chew on his hands phase. There's been a few times when he's been really grouchy and irritable. We gave him a little tylenol and he that did the trick. Oh yes, what fun we have ahead of us. 

A few weekends ago, we took our big boy to Holiday World for the first time. The company that Jess works for took all of their employees for free. So, we took Jesse's little sister and Gabe with us. We had a blast! Gabe absolutely LOVED the water park. They have a little mini park inside the water park just for kids- complete with little slides and the fountains that shoot up from the ground. He LOVED it. We also took him to the wave pool and let him swim his little heart out. He had so much fun in that too. He rode a couple of rides and by the end of the day he was EXHAUSTED! We rented a wagon and my little man was actually sitting up asleep- that's how tired he was! 

Some Milestones & Favorites for my boys: 

Lincoln:: 

First time rolling over: August 24, 2013

First time standing in his walker: September 11, 2013

Favorite Song: Pat-A-Cake

Favorite activity: Playing in his exersaucer and walker

Favorite toy: Sophie the Giraffe & Cocoa the Monkey (Teething toys) 

Car rides: LOVE! Sleeps most of the time!

Other Favorites: Being Outside, Being Held, Bathtime!

Gabriel:: 

First trip to Holiday World: September 7, 2013

Favorite Song: Jesus is My Rock

Favorite toys: His Cars

Favorite activities: Playing with his cars, playing outside, mowing with Papa, swimming

Favorite foods: Macaroni, pizza, spaghetti, bananas, animal crackers, cheerios, goldfish

Favorite drinks: Milk and Apple Juice

Favorite Shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, The Adventures of Chuck the Truck, and his newest favorite, Daniel the Tiger

Favorite time of day: Bath time! 

Favorite Movies: Cars, Cars 2, and Horton Hears A Who (he loves that silly elephant!) 

Things he is saying now: "I Wanna go to papa's and mow" 
"awwww...baby!" (while giving Lincoln Hugs) 
"See the P's" (P's = birds)
"Bye-Bye Goat" Or "Hi Goat" (Goats= deer)
"Hear the choo-choo!?"
"Go-Go-GO!"
"See my Car cars?"
"I brush my teeth"

The Blunt, Honest, Kinda Hilarious Truth about Motherhood...with 2!

A while back I did a post on the things I've learned since being a mother. I've learned A LOT since having Gabriel and I'm still learning more everyday. I've also found that life with 2 boys is quite different than life with 1. So here's the blunt, honest, kinda hilarious truth about motherhood with 2 boys:: 

1) If one is crying- the other one will most likely start to cry as well. I mean, really? This usually happens to me on car rides when Gabe is really tired. He'll start crying uncontrollably, wake Lincoln up, and then Lincoln starts crying as well. It's usually one of those moments where I just take a deep breath and deal until we can stop or we get home. 

2) Your oldest will take interest in the youngest one's toys. Yes, this is a fact... at least in this house it is. Gabe LOVES playing with all of Lincoln's things. His walker, rock n play sleeper, teethers, swing, bouncy seat... you name it, he loves it. Thank Goodness that boy doesn't weigh to much- so I don't have to worry about him breaking them! haha. 

3) God does have a sense of humor! :) I'm a firm believer that God does a sense of humor... I mean, he gave me 2 boys! haha. If you know me, you know I love ALL things girly... but God gave me these 2 boys and now I'm learning to love Cars, dirt, and playing outside. It's definitely interesting and there is never a dull moment. But I love every second of it. 

4) The youngest child will learn so much quicker than the first. I'm a firm believer that children learn by observing other children. Lincoln is already catching on to things so quickly- and I believe it is because he has his older bro to look up to.

5) Diaper changing will become more of a hobby-you'll just do it without thinking. Seriously, I probably change at least 10 diapers a day...probably more than that. Perhaps I should count how many I change in 1 day. It's crazy! And the craziest thing of it all?? My boys will always, always poop as soon as I change them. It NEVER fails! 

6) You will freak out anytime they are near any thing that could possibly hurt them. I'm on edge every time that Gabe takes off running on our concrete playing. It freaks me out. I know it's inevitable for him to get a scraped knee or need stitches, Again, but I REALLY want to avoid that. Oh boy, what am I going to do when they are BOTH running!? 

7) You will do more laundry for these small people than you ever have before! haha. I feel like I do laundry every single day... and on those days that I don't feel like folding- I just hit start on the dryer again! shhh... don't tell! 

8) Night Terrors. They're terrible! Gabe recently started having night terrors and I absolutely hate it. He is still asleep and he starts crying out loud or whining- and he's inconsolable during these times. I've read about them and most say to just block them from anything that can injure them. That most likely they won't remember any of it in the morning. And yes, that's true. I'm usually more traumatized than Gabe is the following morning... not to mention more tired! 

9) Toddlers are like little tornadoes. My house constantly looks like a tornado went through and just threw our toys everywhere...and yes, I mean EVERYWHERE! Granted, it's partially my fault for buying the kid so many toys.. but seriously, how does one little boy make such a mess? Can you imagine life when they're both running and playing? Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. 

10) Your body won't be the same after birth. Don't we all know this already? Boy, what I'd do to have that old body back. But, these boys are worth every bit of it! 

11) You will be exhausted and yes I mean EXHAUSTED!!!! Keeping up with these 2 boys has me more tired than I have ever been. I was just telling Jesse how I wish I could just have one day to catch up on my sleep. 

12) Again, people will always comment and give their own parenting advice. Just take it in stride- that's all I can say. I remember taking Gabe to the grocery store when he was still a baby... I had him in his carrier and thought that he'd be just fine. We weren't in the store more than 5 minutes and he started screaming. I had just fed and changed him so I knew that wasn't it. Well, this older lady came up to me and said- "Oh, I think he's hungry... is he on the breast?" I simply replied, no he's not hungry- he's just mad." Again, she said, "I think he's hungry." What can ya do? Just smile and move on! haha. 

13) Following the previous post...shopping in general will be hard with 2 if you are alone. I usually try to only take 1 of the boys with me when I do my grocery shopping OR I go with my mom so she can help too. I must say that the last few times I've gone grocery shopping with just Lincoln (he's always in his carrier) I've had people offer to unload my cart for me. This always restores my faith in humanity.