09 Oct 2012

Empty Bed Syndrome

Since my son Aaron was 17 months old he has some how found his way into our bed every night.  He will go to sleep independently but when he wakes up during the night he comes into our room and climbs into our bed. Sometimes he may wake up at 11:30 PM or sometimes it may be 4:30 AM, it varies.

Aaron will be 2 years old this Friday and our bed feels a little crowed at times.  I must admit I have been looking forward to the days when my husband and I have our bed all to ourselves. At least I thought I was looking forward to it.  Three times in the past week and a half Aaron has sleep the full night in his own bed and each time I found myself missing him as I woke during the night.  This morning I woke up and went into his room. He was lying there so soundly.  I wanted to pick him up him and take him to our room, but I refrained. I let him sleep, went to the kitchen and poured orange juice in his sippy cup then placed it by his bed for when he woke up.  I then went back to my room and waited. About a half hour later he walked in my room smiling as he sipped his juice.  He looked like such a big boy. As I held back the tears I said “good morning” and he walked over gave me a hug.

Time has gone by so fast. Especially this past year.  I feel like we were just celebrating his 1st birthday and I blinked and now we are about to celebrate another.  I guess I feel this way because we had 2 major life changes this year, one being moving and the second being birth of our daughter both which occurred in August.  We looked forward to our children growing up and gaining confidence while becoming more independent but at the same time you want them to still be your little baby. So I guess I am suffering from “empty bed syndrome”, i hate to see what I will be like when they leave the nest.  :-)

Love and Blessings

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
05 Oct 2012

2 years behind on my 2 year old’s scrapbook :-/

Ok so I am 2 years behind on the scrapbook for my son who will be 2 next week.   You do the math!!  I have all the photos (digitally of course) that I want to use.  The hardest part is choosing which pictures to print with out selecting hundreds of photos.  With the modern technology of cameras on cell phones I take so many pictures it is insane. And what happens, they just sit on the media card and don’t get printed out.  I just went through all the pictures on the camera and on my cell phone and put them on my computer and there are sooooo many.

Now I am in the process of uploading them to Walmart for printing, but I feel so overwhelmed deciding which pictures to print.  I have already uploaded over 100 pictures and I am not even through his first year.

I need a better way.  Any suggestions?  I thought about making a list of  the holidays/special occasions and picking no more then 6 pictures for each and then pick on picture for each month from his first year to go in the baby book that is already filled in.  My goal is to have this scrapbook done in one week.  I see some sleepless nights in my future.

 

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , | Leave a Comment
04 Oct 2012

Great Way to Learn Colors

Materials :

  • Colored blocks
  • Construction paper matching the colors of the blocks or colored bins

For the past few months I have trying to teach my son (who will be 2 on Oct 12) his colors.  The other day while playing with his mega block legos I pulled out some construction paper that matched the color of the legos (this would work with colored bins as well.  The colors were red, blue, yellow, and green.

As we took out the mega blocks one by one we said the color and then I had him place the lego on the construction paper that matched.  He really enjoyed this and it was a great way to go over his colors. Just wanted to pass this on to you all.

Enjoy!!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
04 Oct 2012

Heels to Socks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since becoming a SAHM I realize that I never really have chances to wear my heels.  I used to be so into my shoes. I remember when i was working as a School Social Worker I would dress up everyday in my heels. At the end of my first year the students even voted me the staff member with the best shoes. That was then.  Now I am into socks.  I find that I am more consumed with buying socks then shoes.  Most of the mommy and me activities I take my son to require the removal of shoes.  I’ll be darned if I shoe up with holey or dirty socks, so I find that i am obsessed with buying socks.  But oh how I miss my heels.

A few months before we moved I went through all of my shoes and modeled them for my husband asking his opinion on what I should donate and what I should keep.  He had never even seen half of my shoes. I ended up donating about 12 pair of shoes.  But  rarely wear the ones I kept.

Since having our second child I am on a mission to get my sexy back.  Part of that will be wearing some of these shoes that I love so much and feel so good wearing.  I just need to find places to wear them.  I am not going to show up to a play date in 4 inch heels…lol.  I will be having girls night later this month so I will be able to wear a pair then and going to church I try to dress up so I can wear my heels as well.  And I guess I can always wear them when the kids go to sleep :-)

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
03 Oct 2012

Had a Blast!!

We recently moved back to NJ from the Poconos. In the Poconos I had my son in numerous activities.  We did a mommy and me music class, library lapsit, and mommy and me tumbling.  Over the summer we moved and then had my second child in August.  I knew that I wanted to get my son back in some activities for the fall.  He had become so restless being in the house all the time.

Two weeks ago I found the same music program he was in here in NJ.  It was not a positive experience.  He was all over the place. I guess because it was a new place that he was not used to.  Then to top it off I hear a mother talking about my son after class to another mother.  I was so upset.  She did not know my son or our situation.  He had been in music class with the same teacher from 2 months old to this past June.  So of course he needs time to adjust to a new class and new teacher.  Not to mention we moved and he became a big brother all in the month of August.  I just could not believe that this woman was speaking about my son.

I decided to try and find something else where he would be able to move around and not be required to sit for 45 minutes.  My neighbor told me about a toddler gym in the area where she took her son when he was around my son’s age.  So we went on Tuesday and had a great time.  It is impeccably kept and so much to do. Class is once a week for an hour The children can roam and do whatever activity they choose and come together for circle time twice during the hour that they are there.  In the gym were so many things to do, Aaron had a ball!!!! So we signed up and it is money well spent!!

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
28 Sep 2012

What are we speaking into our children? Success or Failure

Earlier this year my husband and I were out running errands.  While we were out I mentioned that I needed to go to the library.  As I was looking for what I wanted to check out my husband took our then 15-month old son into the children’s library to play at the activity table they have there.

I was frustrated to learn that what I wanted to check out was currently unavailable so I  went in the children’s library to let my husband know I was finished.  I walked in to find my son interacting and sharing puzzle pieces with another little boy around his age.  My husband was sitting at the table with them and smiling as he watched their interaction.   It is always so cute to see our son playing with other toddlers since currently he is the only child.  As I was standing there watching I noticed a young woman sitting on the couch that was located a few feet away from the activity table preoccupied with her laptop.  I assumed this was the little boy’s mother as she would look up from her laptop every now and then to see what he was doing,  smile and continue on her laptop.

After a few minutes we told our son to say “bye” to his new friend because we had to go.  He waved and took my hand as we started towards the door.  His new little friend (who turned out to be 18-months) followed and his mother got up from the couch to get him.  As she grabbed his hand to head back to the couch she said to him, “see he does’t want to play with you because you are bad”. I was totally shocked.  The little boy was not acting badly.  He interacted very nicely with our son and they were a pleasure to watch.

Why had she spoken such mean words to her son?  As parents we have the ability to speak success or failure into our children.  It is our job to teach, support, and encourage our children.  I strongly believe in reprimanding a child that is behaving inappropriately, but that was not the case in this situation.  As I headed for the door my heart felt heavy.  I imagined the future for this little boy.  How would you expect a young man growing up to act who is told he is “bad” even when doing nothing wrong.  I imagined a young man who never feels good enough because even at his best he gets criticized.  A young man who eventually gives up trying because he feels it would make no difference.  The type of young man we see many times in our communities.

It is not up to teachers, community workers, coaches or whoever else to to speak success into our children.  It is great and wonderful for our kids to have support outside of the home but it needs to start in the home.  Children deserve to get encouragement from their parents.  It is our responsibility.

I should have turned around and said something to that mother.  I should have said that her son was behaving very well.  I understand he was only 18-months and perhaps he did not understand what his mother was saying to him.   However,  there will come a time when he will understand and then what?

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
28 Sep 2012

Expecting

(This is something that I wrote while pregnant with our son in 2010)

Nowadays the new thing is to refer to pregnancy as being “preggers” or “prego” but I prefer the old-fashioned term “expecting”. I am EXPECTING. I don’t know what preggers is and to me Prego is a brand of tomato sauce. Expecting, is the best way I can describe the feeling that has come over me during this amazing experience.

I am EXPECTING………

A beautiful healthy baby

Sleepless nights and tiring days

Laughs and Smiles

Frowns and Cries

My husband to pull out the camera every chance he gets

To pull out the camera myself during his first diaper change..lol

Our child to grow and develop his/her own relationship withGod

To have days where I call up the grandparents not knowing what to do

To grow more gray hairs (I already have one)

To be respected and loved

To be mom first and friend later down the line

My husband to be a GREAT father

Miracles

Faith was once defined to me as having a “Confident Expectation”. When I heard that definition I fell in love with it. I have a confident expectation in becoming a parent in other words I have faith in our parenting.

Being blessed with these 9 months of pregnancy is a gift. It gives time for the baby’s development but it also gives 9 months to develop our own confident expectations for parenting. So from this point you understand why I simply enjoy just saying ….

I am EXPECTING

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
28 Sep 2012

Love Goggles

My husband and I were recently joking around.  He can tend to be a pessimist at times which he fully acknowledges.  I told him that he never showed that trait until we got married.  He laughed and told me that before we married I just did not see it because I had my “love goggles” on.   I laughed and then thought.  I thought about how many married women (myself included) complain about their husbands changing after saying “I do”.  Have they in fact changed or did we just have our “love goggles” on before we got married?  I think it may be a little of both.

I agree before we married I did have “love goggles” on.  I saw only the best qualities in this wonderful man that I just knew I would be spending the rest of my life with.  I honestly can not remember noticing any irritating qualities in him before that magical day.  However, after that day I noticed that my dear husband tends to think the negative at times, drag out stories, and gets easily distracted by the TV no matter what might be on.  It would be crazy to think that a 38- year old man just started doing these things three years ago.  They had to have been there all the time but I was looking through the “love goggles” and did not notice them.

These goggles distort the image we have of the one we are in love with and hope to spend the rest of our lives with.  We only see the perfect mate that we want to see.  Do not get me wrong.  I love my husband with all of my heart.  He is the love of my life, but he does have qualities that irritate me.  I just do not understand why we chose not to see certain things, that are right in front of us because we are in love.  If they did not irritate me then, why do I allow them to irritate me now?  The answer I came up with is a simple one…. I took off my “love goggles”.  I did not take them off knowingly, there was just a point when they came off.

As young women when we think of our “boyfriend” or “fiance” we see this wonderful man that has the ability to make our hearts flutter and our knees weak.  Then we marry and the fiance is now our husband.  Over time when we think of our “husband” we see this man that sits on the couch and watches TV, a man that comes home from work gives you a quick peck on the lips and simply asks, “whats for dinner?”.  We then get frustrated with this man and complain that he has changed.  I know my husband may not be as romantic as he was when were were dating or during our engagement.  But I did not fall in love with him because of the things he did,  I fell in love with him because of the person he was (which he still is).

So now what?  Well, I plan to pull those “love goggles” out of the drawer, dust them off and put them back on.  I am sure I will still get irritated when he takes too long to get to a point or immediately walks in a room and turns his attention to the TV that may be on. However, I am not going to forget about all of the great things about him that continues to make my heart flutter and my knees weak.  This is the man that chose me to spend the rest of his life with and who I chose to spend the rest of mine.  He is my best friend, the father of my child, my lover, my soul mate, and my husband!

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
27 Sep 2012

I Have Never Heard My Mother Pass

I know you are sitting there saying, “why did this woman start a blog about her mother’s flatulence and why am I actually sitting here wanting to read about it”.  Well let me assure you, this blog is not about my mother’s flatulence or lack there of.  This blog is actually about the reality of my life as a wife and stay at home mom (SAHM) of  two.  When I first decided to write a blog many titles came to mind but nothing seemed to stand out or reflect the direction I wish for my blog. Then I thought of the title “Ain’t Never Heard My Mama Pass Gas”.  It was the perfect.

Growing up and watching my mother I thought that being a wife and a mother was so easy and glamorous.  My mother just made everything seem effortless.  I know my sister and I were a handful but my mother handled every situation so instinctively.  Now that I am a wife and mother I realize how foolish I was to think that just because I never heard my mother pass gas did not mean she never did.  It is something natural that you body does and needs to do. It is the same as being a mom.  Just because my mother never seemed overwhelmed or stressed does not mean she never felt that way.

Feeling overwhelmed at times and stretched thin are natural feelings that mothers feel.   How you deal with these feelings is what really matters. So that is what I plan for this blog.  To share the reality of my life.  I am not always organized and tidy nor do I keep my home spotless.  My reality is that I have dishes in my sink, a two year old that seems to find his way in our bed halfway through the night, and to be brutally honest days that I find myself unable to find the time to take a shower.

I hope that you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy sharing it with you.

Love and Blessings

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Post Navigation

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.