Tag Archives: Family

Morning person

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I’ve never been a morning person. I don’t like getting up early. Don’t get me wrong, I can! I have no problem waking up early, getting dressed, getting my kids ready and fed, etc. Getting up isn’t the problem. It’s that I don’t WANT to get up early. 😂

On the weekends, before kids, I slept in till 9am. During the week when I worked in marketing, I slept till 7am and was in the office around 8/8:30am. I changed jobs, became a teacher and I somehow got the “lucky” school that started classes at 7:30am. So I had to be to school around 6:15am. That meant a 5am wake up, because it wasn’t a close drive like my previous job. 😳

I think god was preparing me for children of my own when he brought me the early morning teaching job. Because I now have children who get up between 5-6am ready to play! I’m still not a morning person, and I would love to be able to sleep in every once in a while. But I wouldn’t trade it for a minute with my little ones. I love getting up and starting my morning playing with them. 💙

Potty Training….

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How’s potty training going in our house? Well my toddler prefers to poop in the yard like the dogs instead of going in the toilet like a big boy. So I’d say it’s going well. We are just taking a small detour. 😂

My kid does things on his own time. He walked one month after crawling. He woke up one morning and started talking. He literally had me so worried he wasn’t going to talk. He got to 2 1/2 and still wasn’t talking. Then out of the blue he just decided ok today’s the day I’ll start talking and it hasn’t stopped!

So no I’m not pushing the potty training. I’m letting him do things on his own time. Would I like him to be potty trained right now? Absolutely! Diapers aren’t cheap. But often times when you try to force a kid to do something they won’t or actually take steps in the opposite direction. So I’m just letting him tell me when he’s ready. We encourage it and talk about it, but never force it.

I’m not exactly sure why he wants to poop in the yard. It is a little odd, I’ll admit that. But he does love his dog. And maybe he’s just intrigued by the fact that she does it outside. I don’t know. I’m just trying to laugh it off for now. Because one day when he’s older, and potty trained, it’ll be a great story to tell!

Lack of alone time

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The worst part about quarantine….zero alone time. And by alone time I mean me, by myself, with no one to talk to and nothing to think about. 🙄

I’m an independent person with more introvert characteristics than you’d think. I like to do things on my own and figure things out for myself. I also enjoy being alone sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and my husband. But I’m one of those people who needs an hour or two to themselves just to relax and think about nothing important. It’s like hitting the reset button for me.

I lost most of my alone time when I became a stay at home mom. But what little I was holding on to is completely gone now thanks to this quarantine. I can’t even take a shower in peace without my husband opening the door to have a conversation or ask me questions. Or my toddler coming in to hand me a toy or ask for something. I know my child means no harm by it, and it’s sweet he wants to share a toy. But when you just want a moment of silence, a child standing there with the shower door open staring at you, isn’t the most relaxing.

Im trying to stay positive and remember that this quarantine wont last forever. We will go back to normal life eventually, and I’ll be able to go back to the gym and have an hour to myself. And if God wills it, maybe I’ll get an entire day to myself one day too to recover from all this 😂🤷🏼‍♀️

These days

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Isn’t it funny the little things we take for granted…… I miss going to the gym whenever I wanted. I miss trips to the grocery store with my boys (they actually love it there). I miss taking my boys to play places and watching them play and laugh. I miss walking down to the park and letting my little one play on the slides. 😭

It’s a strange and sort of scary world we live in at the moment. We are doing our best to stay happy and positive, but it gets hard at times. I’ve actually had to stop watching and reading the news. It was making my anxiety so bad, which isn’t healthy for me or the kids. ❌

Right now my focus is just making sure we eat healthy, get some exercise, get fresh air, keep our distance from others, and just keep hope that the light at the end of this dark tunnel is near! ⭐️

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! ❤️

Life with two young kids

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Life with two young kids….. 👶🏻 👶🏻

Yesterday the day started with one kid peeing ON my pillow. I’m still debating on whether to put it in the wash and bleach it or call it a loss and just throw it away. 🛌

It was then followed by Ryder taking off his shorts and diaper and running naked through the house. He was kind enough to take me by the hand and show me where he peed on the floor during his streaking episode. 🚽

Ryder’s new thing is sticking his hands down his pants…..we knew the day would come as it does with every little boy. However, we have started with the back side of our pants. It took all my energy not to fall over laughing when ryder stuck his hands down into his diaper, only to remember he had just pooped. He pulled his hands out and they were covered with poop. It was HILARIOUS to see the look on his face. Then I realized I had to clean him up. It stopped being funny…… 🧼

That afternoon Ryder decided he wanted to have a party while I was changing Camden’s diaper. He went into the pantry and took out the paper plates and flung them all over the kitchen. He then took out the remaining plastic wine glasses from a previous party and lined them up on the floor. He filled those glasses with animal crackers from his snack bowl. The dog decided to join the party and ate some of the animal crackers. He also took out any boxed food item and stacked them as high as he could. 🐶

During another of Camden’s diaper changes, Ryder thought it would be funny to go in the closet, shut the door and sit quietly giving mommy a heart attack as she ran around the house panicked trying to find him. 🚪

Dinner consisted of 75% of the meal ending up in Ryder’s lap or on the floor. (We are still trying to master our silverware skills.) So of course right before bed he was starving and asking for more food. Guess what I gave him……the remaining animal crackers in the plastic cups! 😂

Would I say this was a bad day? No. It was definitely a battle of a day but not our worst! We are all in one piece still. So I’d say it was just one of our more “busy” days. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Baby Update

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Baby update: The boys and I are slowly adjusting to life together. It’s definitely been an uphill battle. Routines have changed and the vibe in the house is very different. Even the dog is thrown off. 😂 But it’s a good different. Literally each day has a new challenge to work around and learn from. 👍🏻

Trying to get Cam and Ryder up and taken care of each morning definitely isn’t without its battles. They are both in a demanding stage and need so much of my attention. Also, a clean house isn’t the easiest task now. So I do my best just to make sure things don’t pile up. Showering is done if I’m lucky. I have to beg someone to watch the boys just to be able to rinse off. God only knows when I’ll be able to find the time to wash my hair again. Dreadlocks may be in my future! 😂

By no means am I complaining. I love the new changes in our life. And despite Ryder’s annoyed faces he gives Cam, I think he will settle in soon and realize Cam isn’t a threat. If my over possessive dog can be ok with Cam I know Ryder will be too (eventually). 🐶

When people ask what I need, my only request is positivity. I just need everyone to be positive and happy around me. If others around me are happy and positive, it helps keep my energy levels and positivity up. I focus more on the good and less on the things upsetting me or stressing me out. And trust me, with 2 little ones under two, the feeling of stress and being overwhelmed comes quick!

Couvade Syndrome

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I couldn’t stop laughing when I first heard about Couvade Syndrome. Never heard of it? It’s a condition in which pregnant women’s partners think they’re experiencing pregnancy like symptoms! Sounds ridiculous but it’s real!

Partners can actually take on feelings of leg cramps, abdominal pain and even cravings! I literally laugh every time I think about it. Not because I’m making fun of the people this happens to. Just because I find it crazy what the human body can do!

This hasn’t happened to my husband, thank god! When he gets a cold it’s like having a sick helpless child in the house. I couldn’t imagine him with Couvade syndrome!! 😂

The Accident

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Saturday afternoon was probably one of the scariest moments of my life. While driving southbound on 75, a truck slammed into the side of us. It knocked us so hard we actually drove up into it. Our truck then dropped to the ground and the front of his car drug across the side of our truck. The force of him smashing into us caused us to spin. We spun around twice, smashing into two other cars before coming to a stop.

They say in scary moments your life flashes before you. Not me. I was aware of everything happening around me. I remember feeling the truck lift up a little on one side while we were spinning and thinking ok this is it, we’re going to roll. I remember telling myself to brace and hoping Ryder was ok.

Once I finally collected myself and looked around, I saw six vehicles all banged up. Our truck had settled facing oncoming traffic. Not the safest feeling when on a highway. But my husband, Ryder and myself weren’t hurt and it didn’t appear as if any of the other drivers were badly hurt. Lucky for us, Ryder wasn’t really phased. He was strapped into his car seat tight so he barely moved.

While sharing insurance and talking to police, we were finally given the story of how it all started. One car in the far right lane tried to get over quickly to the middle lane and thought they could cut off a truck in time to get over. However she was closer to the truck than thought and bashed into him. This flung him over to our lane casing him to hit us. While spinning, the front end of our truck hit a car and the back end of our truck smashed into the backside of another before coming to a stop. The car who’s backside we hit was destroyed. Her trunk area no longer existed. It was smashed into her backseat. While all this was happening, people slammed on their brakes to keep from hitting us and the other vehicles, therefore causing multiple fender benders. In total there were 11+ vehicles that ended up getting banged up.

Multiple people came up to my husband and said “I thought y’all were going to roll.” The woman who’s back end we hit even said “I saw y’all coming and thought, this is it, they’re going to roll right over my car.” So I wasn’t imagining the lifting feeling and that thought of rolling. We almost did.

I’m so thankful we were in my husbands F250. That thing is a tank. It’s banged up pretty well but not as bad as the truck that hit us and the cars we hit. I couldn’t imagine how different the accident would have been in a small car or even a small SUV. I’ve always been a Ford lover but after this accident my love for them is solidified. I will forever demand (yes I said demand) that my husband drive an F250. That tank kept us safe. With him driving that kind of truck I know he and our children will be safe. I’d sell my car and drive one too if it wasn’t too big for me.

What’s crazy is two of the other drivers had children under 5 in their vehicles, in addition to us having Ryder and me being pregnant. Because of that woman’s selfishness and need to get over and cut someone off, she put multiple children and however many adults lives in danger.

Why are we always in such a hurry to get places? Or to get around, or in front of people? When we rush, we make hasty decisions that aren’t always the best or safest. People think better when they are calm. I wish people would stop trying to rush through life. It’s ok to be 5 minutes late. Especially when it’s your life, and others lives at hand.

Dogs and babies

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1C506738-95A6-4997-AB07-FFAE545F9B79When I first got pregnant with ryder I was so worried how the dogs would take to him. People kept telling me pit bulls are not good to have around kids. Both dogs are older and pretty set in their ways. My dog Sadie is very protective of me. She follows me everywhere. When I first brought Ryder home Sadie would growl and pace a lot. I decided to take an approach where I made sure to only pet her when I was holding ryder or he was close to me. When I didn’t have him I pretended she wasn’t there. I wanted her to know that he was ok. So when he was close she got attention. After about 2 weeks she started to relax. By the time he was 1 month old she would actually lay next to me when I held him. As he got older and I would lay him on the floor to play or do tummy time, she would come over and lick him or just lay and watch him. Now that he’s 8 months old she follows him everywhere! She has to know where he is all the time. She gives him kisses all the time, lays her head on him and watches him play. It’s the most beautiful thing to see. 

Don’t ever listen to anyone when they say you can’t teach a dog to love and be ok with a baby. Like people, every dog is different. Sadie is a pit bull lab mix. When I tell people she’s part pit they freak out and can’t believe I let her around ryder. She’s a dog! Forget what type and ignore the stereotypes. She’s always been a sweet loving dog to me so I knew I could get her to love ryder too. Despite the bad rap they get, pit bulls can be the most loving and kind dogs if they are brought up correctly!