Christmas with kids

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I thought Christmas was exciting as a child, but no one told me how much fun it is when you have a child. Seeing the excitement of the holidays on their face just melts your heart!

My oldest is obsessed with Christmas lights. He gets SO excited when he sees them. He loves to look out the window every night at the neighbors lights. You’d think they put up different lights each night by how excited he gets to see them each time. But no, it’s the same lights every night. It’s so cute!

He isn’t 100% sure about Santa but he knows he’s associated with Christmas and points to him anytime he sees something with Santa on it.

My kids are still young so they don’t exactly associate gifts with Christmas. Which is super humbling because here they are getting excited about the lights, decorations, etc, vs the size of the presents or how many there are. Everything with them is so innocent and sweet right now. It makes you just want to freeze time and stay here in this moment forever! ❤️

Toddler Struggles

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The start to yesterday’s temper tantrum was thanks to Ryders fingers……

His fingers couldn’t reach to the bottom of the raisin box to get the last few raisins to eat. This is where the tantrum began. It caused a full body drop to the floor, followed by rolling. It almost looked like he was practicing the “stop, drop and roll” we learned in elementary school for when we ever caught on fire. So naturally the visual and memory of that just made me laugh. Well, if you’ve ever laughed at a mad toddler, you know it’s a BAD idea. This made the tantrum even worse, and louder. He decided to throw the raisin box at me because I laughed at him. The box hit me causing the stuck raisins to break free and fly all over the floor. The dog came running into the kitchen because she thought something was wrong with him thanks to all the noise he was making. She saw all the raisins on the floor and began to eat them. So of course this caused the tantrum to continue further, because now his raisins are gone.

Mind you this went on for a good 10-15 minutes

Lesson learned for mom: put raisins in a bowl and never laugh at a mad toddler 🤦🏼‍♀️

Making time for the doctor

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Something I’m trying to get better about is doctors visits. Especially ones to my dermatologist. Last week I went to the dermatologist for my yearly skin check. She told me I had 3 spot on my body she was worried about. One was on my shoulder, one on my back and the other on my arm. They did a biopsy on all 3 and sent it off to the lab to check.

I’ll be honest, I had a tinge if fear in the back of my mind. I know I’ve done a number on my skin over the last few years. Especially in my teens and early twenties. I was an idiot back then about skin care. You couldn’t pay me to wear sun screen and I went to the tanning bed religiously. I was so stupid. 🤦🏼‍♀️ It wasn’t till I heard about a girl I went to college with getting skin cancer (she was in her 20’s) that I had a major reality check! If someone that young could get it, I obviously wasn’t in the clear! No joke, the day I heard about her, I went to the store and bought spf 50 and a face lotion that included spf for every day wear. I also stopped going to tanning beds. I switched over to self tanner and airbrush tans instead!

Last week when the doctor said she was worried about some spots, a little voice in my head said “you have no one to blame but yourself.” (Lol I’m pretty hard on myself) Worst case scenario ran through my head. What if I had skin cancer? Will it be curable? Is this how I go? What will happen to my family if I die? Will they be ok without me? Literally this all ran through my head in a matter of seconds. However, I made my attempt at pushing the thoughts out and just focusing on my kids in that moment. They’re always a happy thought for me. I didn’t want to let results of a test that I had no control over and knew nothing about yet consume me.

Luckily for me my biopsy results came back negative for skin cancer! THANK YOU JESUS! While I know the treatment of cancers have advanced, it’s still a scary thought. I do wish I’d been smarter about skin care when I was younger. However, what’s done is done. No take backs unfortunately. Lol So I’ll do the best I can now to prevent any further damage. I’m also attempting to instill positive habits in my kids regarding skin care. I don’t want them to ever have a scare like I did. I want them to be perfectly happy and healthy! 💙

Toddler Finds

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Last night while I was trying to rock the baby to sleep, my 2 year old walked in with a loaf of bread and handed it to me. You would have thought he had found buried treasure by the proud look on his face. I don’t know what he thought it was, but he sure thought it was something important that I needed that minute! 😂 I’ll never understand the toddler mind 🤦🏼‍♀️

What others see….

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A friend of mine posted a quote the other day that got me thinking……”Your body is a reflection of your lifestyle.” 🤔

If someone I didn’t know was asked what kind of lifestyle I had based off how I looked, what would they guess? Would they guess a tired mom of a 4 month old and 2 year old? Or would they guess a hard partier because I look so tired? Lol

I’m not much of a makeup wearer, unless I’m going to an event or dinner. I’ve always hated the feel of makeup on my face so I rarely wear it. Most days I wear just mascara and lip gloss or chapstick. I only wear mascara because I feel like it opens up my eyes a little and makes me look less tired. Otherwise I wouldn’t normally waste the time putting it on.

Clothing wise, I live in leggings. It’s the most comfortable attire when chasing around a 2 year old. I see these Instagram moms in skinny pants or beautiful flowy dresses hanging out with their kids and I think to myself…..nope. I can’t even wear jeans and be comfortable during the day. I do too much up and down movements, squatting, crawling on my hands and knees, etc. I’m constantly cleaning up or picking up something. Leggings are literally the only clothing item that allows me freedom to move and feel comfortable.

I hope to most I have a “mom look” and not too much of a lazy look going on. I guess I could try a little harder in the mornings to look nice, but does it really matter? Right now my kids don’t care if I dress up for them and they’re pretty much the only people that see me regularly during the day.

I am always curious what someone passing me thinks when they see me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Maybe it’s best I don’t know….😂

You can’t catch a cold from being cold

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Did you know you can’t actually catch a cold from being cold….. 🥶

Viruses, such as rhinoviruses and influenza, cause colds and the flu, not the weather. Although, exposure to cold weather can increase your risk of catching a virus, especially if you have a weak immune system. 😷

Study’s done have shown that cold weather reduces the immune response and makes it harder for the body to fight off illness. That’s why people are more commonly sick in the winter months than summer!

Protect yourself this winter by taking your vitamins, drink lots of water, exercise, eat plenty of fruits, veggies and lean protein, and wash your hands regularly! 🖐🏻

Camden’s second flight

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Camden’s second flight!

He did so great on the plane. We booked ourselves on the earliest flight so he slept the entire time and only woke up just a few minutes before landing.

We looked a bit ridiculous when we got our bags from baggage claim. We literally had 7 bags. 😂 But in our defense, one bag was the stroller, one was the car seat, and one was the golf clubs. So technically only 4 of them had clothing and other items. I of course needed his diaper bag, my husband brought his one bag, then I had to bring two bags. I packed Camden’s doc-a-tot in my large bag and it literally took up over half the bag. So a second small roller bag was necessary to fit our clothes. However, it was a bit comical to see two people and a baby with 7 bags. Thank god we flew with two friends because they were able to help us out.

This whole flying with an infant thing is becoming a breeze! As long as you schedule flights around sleep times, it makes it so much easier and less stressful!

TRX Map

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My gym got this machine called a TRX map. I’d watched people use it every so often and they looked ridiculous. But it peaked my curiosity. So with a little push from my husband I tried it.

The machine has you stand in place and do three squats. While doing this it measures your balance, flexibility, etc. When I got my results I was shocked but things made sense.

The results literally told me I’m standing crooked. It’s not obvious to any person looking at me but the machine picked it up. My right shoulder sits higher than my left and my left hip is higher than my right. When I brought my results to the head trainer at my gym he explained them to me. The imbalance is likely due to how I carry my kids. I ALWAYS carry them on my left hip. Hence why my left hip is up more than my right. I’m constantly pushing it up and out. My right shoulder is higher than my left because my spine is out of alignment. This is due to the muscles on my left side being stronger than my right due to the way I hold my kids! So crazy but it makes sense!

The trainer recommended that I foam roll my hips, back, and glutes more regularly. He also recommended I try to use my right side more when carrying the kids and stretch after workouts.

I’ve been foam rolling daily and alternating sides when I carry the kids. I’m not the best about stretching but I’ve been trying to squeeze it in here and there. I could actually feel a difference in my hips within two days of making the change.

I’m going to retest myself on the machine in exactly a month and see if there’s much of a difference in my results. I’d assume there would be since I can already feel a difference but we shall see! 💪🏻

Toddler in the house

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There’s nothing scarier than waking up at 4am, and hearing someone in your house going through your things……Only to find out it was your toddler who woke up and decided to have his own private play time. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Seriously though. I’ve never been more scared in my life. My husband was out of town and I was home alone with the kids. My oldest son was sleeping in bed with me because he’s still uneasy about the new baby and feeling like he’s going to get “left.” I thought I’d shut the bedroom door tight in case he did get up and wander. Clearly I didn’t. 🚪

There was a banging coming from the living room. I thought I was hearing things at first so I sat for a minute to really listen. It continued and a sort of crash followed. That’s when I knew someone was out there. Now thinking about it, if I’d been more awake I would have realized the dogs weren’t barking or going crazy. They do that if someone is just walking by the house. AND my child wasn’t in bed next to me anymore. However none of that was going through my mind at the time. The only thing I could think of was what do I do if someone is in the house? I knew I had to get to him before he got to my kids. There’s a bat under the bed so I went and grabbed that. I figured of anything I’d use my old softball skills to clobber him with the bat. 🥎

As I walked into the living room, I noticed toys everywhere. Then I saw the shadow of the intruder looked very small. That’s when it registered. It’s Ryder! The kid was up playing with his toys in the dark! I have no idea how long he was up. I’m typically a pretty light sleeper. But somehow he managed to wiggle out of my arms, get off the bed and go out into the living room all without waking me. 🛏

Just when I thought the toddler stage couldn’t get any more exhausting, mine goes and tries to give me a heart attack! ❤️

False Lashes

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I LOVE the way false lashes look. Whenever I get my makeup done I have them put them on me. I however can’t do it myself. I always screw up the glue and never get them on right. I wish I had time to go get the semi permanent ones done once a month but with two small kids at home it’s just not feasible. 😢

Recently I’ve been seeing people post about these magnetic lashes. I did some research to see how safe they were. I’m super careful about what I put on my skin, especially my face. Once they got the safe approval in my mind, I decided to search them out. Lucky for me a friend made a post about them. She sells beauty products and this is one of their new items! So I bought some!

I’ve worn them twice now. The first time it took me two tries to get them just right. The way they work is with a magnetic eyeliner. I had to put two layers of eyeliner on, let it dry then connect the lashes. Literally the lashes connect like a magnet! They don’t come off if bumped or even if you happen to brush your eye. You have to really tug at them to get them off and they don’t hurt when they come off! I absolutely love how simple they are and how great they look! I’m officially obsessed with magnetic lashes!

Definitely an easier option than trying to find time every month to get them done or messing with glue! Anything that makes makeup application or dress time quicker is a win for me! 💙