LOVE

So the other day I walked into the room and found Gideon looking over Gabriella's swing intently. I quietly watched; Gideon unaware that I was there. He smiled and whispered into her smiling face

"Sister, I love you."

I almost cried! I lost it! How sweet is that?

Of course after my adament praise and excitement Gideon started in a broken record of "I love you mommy, I love you sister, I love you mommy..." and so on, but in that one special moment, when he didn't see me watching he confessed his undying love for his baby sister.

In the years to come where they will fight over toys and argue over who is on what side of the car and hold barbie and treasured toy cars hostage... In all the coming struggles, hair pulls, and conflict resolution....

I can always come back to this moment in my mind and heart. A secret confession of love.

Holding me hostage for cookies ;)

Second Baby Myths

Myth One:

If you have one easy-goin' kiddo, you're always in for a nightmare!

Does she look like a nightmare to you??? She, in fact, is probably the easiest baby ever to grace this earth. A little slice of Heaven. (oh and By the way, Gideon was an awesome baby too)

Myth Two:

Girls are always smaller than boys.

My beautiful monsters. Gideon was 9 lbs 7 oz and I thought she couldn't possibly be bigger... WRONG. She was 9 lbs 14 oz. (pretty much 10 lbs)

Which leads me to my 3rd myth

Myth Three:

You can't deliver super big babies naturally. SO wrong. I did it... I have great friends that did it! It's totally doable!

Myth Four:

Jealousy will ALWAYS rear it's ugly head as soon as you bring home number two kid to meat number one kid.

Gideon LOOVES his baby sister, and he is PROUD to be the big kid of the two of them. Protecting and Caring for her, always.

Myth Five:

Your diet is always to blame for the size of your baby!

I was really careful not to eat very little to nothing sugary or fatty with throughout my pregnancy with Gabriella especially, and guess what... genetics had their say. ;)

Moral of story... don't trust what people say. It is never as good or bad as they say it is. :)

Messy Mommyhood

So... we all know mommyhood is messy, and not JUST in the "What is that fluid on my tshirt?!" kinda messy, but also in the... life is nothing if not out of control and unpredictible kind of messy.

There is no shame in messy... embrace the disaster!

Society seems to pin women against eachother like starved crazy pitbulls!

The definitions of a good wife/mother/woman being skewed by pop culture and IMPOSSIBLE standards!

So let me go out on a limb here and set the record straight with something that is eating away at me like a pack of starved piranas.... bit by bit. (like the imagery?)

The priorities for moms has been so skewed it is almost lost. Let's go back to "...the greatest of these is love" and let that define our motherhood. There is so much literature out there about how to "properly raise" your little ones. All stocked full of random info prepared to make you feel guilty for nearly EVERYTHING you do. Most of said books will do all but tell you to manufacture your own air on an all organic compound in the middle of the rainforest.

Do you think that is really what matters to God? Isn't His opinion the one that matters??? The best way to discover what kind of parent to be is to look at the ULTIMATE parent. God, himself.

Love, Discipline, Patience, Consistancy, Compassion, Empathy, Spirituality... These are the things that matter. These are the foundations of what we teach our children.

Home grown all organic Jumpsuits... Not so much.

Always put your kids your first and do your best and I'm sure you're doing fine! Don't let the image of "perfect homemaker" eat away at your confidence and soul!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!

Kiddo Logic

So, my son has a recent obsession with air planes and helicopters of all varieties. He gets immeasurably excited when he sees them fly overhead. Which has been somewhat encouraged by my husband who wanted to be a pilot as a child.

Recently we were making a trip to the grocery store and after loading up the van and getting everyone buckled in my son went into a fit of hysteria.

"mommy, LOOK it's a RED airplane in the sky!"

Being a distracted mommy that I am I just nodded

"oh yeah, look at that..."

Then joyful giggles turned into sniffles

"sniff sniff, momma I WANT it."

I reassuringly told him

"I'm sorry Gideon, but the airplane is waaay up in the sky. I can't get that for you."

He paused and thought about this for a few minutes and excitedly said

"WE'LL GET A LATTER!"

Needless to say... he still didn't get his airplane, but DID get commended for his ingenuity and problem solving skills ;)

So here's me saying... if your problems seem out of reach... even ridiculously so... just get a latter. ;)

ch-ch-ch-CHIA

Do you remember those weird little chia pets that were popular for awhile.. "Just add water and watch it grow!!"

Well... now there is some new relevations being made about incorporating chia seeds into your diet for MAJOR health and weight loss benefits

www.mychiaseeds.com/articles/top10chiabenefits.html

I have tried these and I have a personal experience review... these little things are AWESOME. They are filling and energizing and they "clean you out" without making you run for the bathroom (if ya get my drift).

BUT they are as disgusting as they are amazing. The package says to mix 1/3 c seeds with 2 c water and take 2-3 tbsps full a day... um... sure if you want a smoon full of snot running down your throat (what it feels like). I reccomend either putting it IN your food or what I do is

1/3 c seeds, 2 c water, 1 can juice concentrate (of choice), and 1 juice can of water

Then ALWAYS stir it before consuming (seeds settle at the top) and drink about 1/2 c twice a day, before meals.

Milkies

Product review of the day.....

These things... while akward... and occassionally messy. (especially for the uncoordinated like myself) are AWE-SOME! You wouldn't believe how much milk you are wasting!!!

Basic concept: you put it on the side you are not nursing from and collect the "drip off"

Average Price: around $25

Where I got mine: www.amazon.com

Biggest upside: avoid PUMPING

Hot Dog

This is one of my classic "Gideon stories".

SO... my mom and I were in safeway shoppin' it up and Gideon was riding in one of those overly large, obnoxious, but unbelievably handy "car carts". Driving, beeping, and urrrching to his hearts content.

We then heard him ask for help with his "num nums". This perked my interest, so I peeked into his car and found him attempting to eat a hotdog THROUGH THE PACKAGE. Teeth holes in the package and all... I admit it... I panicked... I put the package back on the shelf and booked it out there. DONT' JUDGE ME... no one expected to find their kid gnawing on an unopened, uncooked, package of hotdogs... lol. In retrospect I totally shoulda brought it to the front or something, but I was a tinge on he embarrased side at time... all I can do is look back and laugh. What was he thinking??? What was I thinking???