Struggling

I sit here tonight in the dark and quiet living room. KBoo is asleep in her room. Kevin and the pups asleep in ours and the baby asleep in my lap, attached, for no other reason than security. I think back on the day, as I do every night, and judge myself on what type of mom I was for the day. Was I fun and entertaining? Was I grouchy? Was I neglectful in any way? Was I loving? Did I give my kids enough attention, love, hugs, kisses?! Ugh! The list just keeps going. 

Do we as mothers all do this to ourselves? Or am I just nuts? Don't answer that! Ha! I beat myself up all of the time about how I am mothering my kids. And wish all the time I could be that mother that gets up and hour and a half before the rest of the family and gets a shower and gets dressed, apply my makeup and fix my hair, then make breakfast and have the dishes washed and put away along with all of the laundry. Wake the kids up with a smile on my face and pep in my voice and play with them all day long.

 Truth of the matter is, half the time we all stay in our pajamas all. day. long. Simply because every bit of energy I have goes to entertaining and playing with KBoo and nursing Isaac. We get dressed and ready if there is some place we have to be and that is about it. 

I sit and worry about all of this every single night but do you know that when I stop focusing on the little things, like getting dressed up, and just look at how polite and sweet and smart and fun (I could go on forever) KBoo is and how wonderful and unbelievably happy both my babies are, I know that without a doubt I am doing a pretty darn good job at this mommy thing. 

So, I guess the moral of my post is this, STOP comparing yourself to other moms, STOP competeting with other moms and STOP beating yourself up and judging yourself because YOU ARE A GREAT MOMMA! The sooner we realize this the sooner we will focus more on the things in life that really do matter. Heck! I may use the time like this I use up every night on a new hobby......or a bubble bath.....yeah, bubble bath sounds really good. 

Hugs to all you Mommas out there that take care of your kids, put their needs above your own, go days without a real shower (the ones your kids give you while you bathe them? Yeah, those don't count haha),years without some actual "me time", clean up everyone's mess a hundred times a day and feel totally unappreciated most of the time. I think we could all use a hug right about now. As always, God Bless. 

                      

Live in the Blink

When you become a parent  you finally understand the statement, "Children grow up in the blink of an eye". It seems like just yesterday my KenseyBoo was curled up in my lap still in a diaper and footy pajamas with nothing more than a coo coming from her tiny mouth. I look back on the past 3 years and think there is so much more I could've done in that "blink" that I didn't take the time to do and things I shouldn't have done that took time away from her. 

About a year ago, roughly when I found out I was pregnant with Isaac, I decided to live in the blink. I changed,and am still changing every day, the way I parent and how I go about things. There are so many small things we do every single day that we could stop and have that much more time spent on our kids. Your children need meaningful time spent with them every. single. day. Spending the time on your kids and letting them see how you live your life will have such an impact on you both. They can help you better see who you are. 

Instead of trying to just spend time with them, I try to make memories with them whether it be arts and crafts, getting in the floor and playing anything with them,baking or just dancing around the house acting a fool. That's what they will remember. 

If I feel overwhelmed during the day I always always always take a "Mommy recharge break". I put the baby down for a nap and let Boo play in her playroom or watch television and I go into the bedroom, bathroom or kitchen for ten minutes to either pray, think or sit and do nothing and have a quick snack. You need a little me time every day. 

I always try to remember that my kids and I are on the same team. They are not out to purposefully make a mess or break something. And honestly, some days that one is just hard to believe!Haha!

Do less. Play more. 

Don't sweat the small stuff. Hard I know. 

Learn from yesterday, start fresh today and be ready for tomorrow. 

Let things go. Do not dwell on things. It can unknowingly and unintentionally affect your attitude. 

Remember that praising your child goes a long way. 

I've had to make myself stop saying, "In a minute" and actually give a minute. 

Pray out loud and ask The Lord for forgiveness. Explain to your kids what forgiveness is. Just pray outloud and talk to God. Monkey see. Monkey do. Actively seek, grant and receive forgiveness.  

Lastly, make sure that the last thing your child hears every single night is I love you. 

I strive every single day to LIVE IN THE BLINK. 

               

Side note, my Momma told me something a few months back that I think about every day and that is:

Children spell love T•I•M•E

Maps, ABC's and Peanuts

Kensley learned the ABC song a long time ago but she never had any interest to learn them visually......until now! We have started a new learning activity to teach her the alphabet and all the states and she is having a blast!

What you will need: 

Patience

Map of USA

Alphabet 

(For the map and alphabet we bought placemats from WalMart, very cute and colorful)

Bite Size Snack (We use peanuts) 

With the alphabet we started with the first row of letters, A-J. KBoo sang them first and then I sat a peanut on a random letter and had her tell me what it was. Every time she got one correct she got to eat the peanut. She did pretty well! Boy did she want those peanuts! ;) We did those for about 45 minutes and will move onto the second row, K-U, tomorrow and so on. 

We had dinner and gave her brain a rest and then we started on the map. I had no clue she was going to catch on so quickly! Holy moly! In the 30 minutes that we played she learned where Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida are!!! She went over them over and over and ended up with a mouth full of peanuts!! Hahaha!! She will learn all the states in no time! I can't wait to play again tomorrow! There is nothing greater than watching your child learn and actually have fun doing it! BTW! They sound really cute trying to pronounce the states! ;0)

Tubal Ligation: To Tie or Not to Tie

Okay, so Kevin and I knew Isaac would be our last child as we both only wanted two. So I figured since I would be having another c-section I would go ahead and get my tubes tied. I spoke with my obgyn about it and he said it would be an easy procedure because I'd already be opened up and normally there are no complications with it. I should've heard normally over everything and should've done my own research because I am here to say I totally without a doubt 100% regret it. Monthly cycles now, even though I am still breast feeding, are pure hell. No,seriously. The cramps are comparable to contractions, no joke. TMI but I go through a full box of Super+ tampons in 4 days plus a pack of pads and it lasts anywhere from 5-9 days. The migraines that accompany it will have you seeing those fun little birds floating about your head. 

If you are considering a tubal here is my advice. Research, research RESEARCH!!! When you are done with that, hand the keys to your man and MAKE HIM GET NEUTURED!!! Its totally not worth this. I am now looking at surgery to either have a uterine ablation or a partial hysterectomy. I don't want either, but at this point those are my only two options. So all seriousness, please research first. 

God Bless. 

Co-Sleeping Fabulousness

So before Isaac was born I knew that we would co-sleep just like with Kensley. There are so many benefits and being a mommy I LOVE IT. I understand that some don't think it is safe and they say it spoils your kids and you have no "romantic spousal" time and yadda yadda yadda. I think that is a load of garbage but to each their own. Opinions are like, yep you go it, BELLYBUTTONS! Everybody's got one and some stink. ;)

Back to the subject at hand. We bought a Simplicity Bassinet/Co-sleeper. How excited I was to know that I could park that sucker right next to the bed and it would be like he was in the bed with me and I could feed him and roll over when he was done and we'd both sleep well. Boy! Was I wrong! When you have the side off there is about a 12 inch opening. Your baby is much longer than that when they're born!!! It was beyond difficult to feed him whilst laying down. It was like a lying down mammogram. Trying to put your boobs through this opening while balancing on the edge of your bed on your side with nothing to really hold onto and trying all the while to be quiet and make small moves. It was a nightmare!! So, I had to find a solution. I was on Pinterest, big surprise, right? And I ran across a blog that showed a picture of a standard convertible crib with the front off ( and a few other slight alterations) and it was pushed up to the bed to make a co-sleeping/at arms reach crib. I thought,  GENIUS! This was after thinking, " Wow, you must have a huge room to use a standard crib for this, and you have to climb in the bed from the bottom! No room on the side!!" Luckily for me I have a mini crib!!!!!!!! Whoot Whoot!!! So, I ran in to see if the front would come off and still leave me 4 legs and it did!!!!!! Hot dawg!!! Next was to measure beside the bed to be sure it would fit and I could still get in the bed. Yes! Perfect fit!!! So, after rearranging and cleaning I set it up beside my bed and it is wonderful!! 

How magnificently great is this?! 

Goodbye Simplicity Bassinet/Co-sleeper. Hello bedside mini crib!!! 

For those who are interested in co-sleeping but you also think it is dangerous and only spoils your kids I highly urge you to read this. It aides in the prevention of SIDS!! This is something I think every mother is terrified of. It's also a great bonding time and if you breast feed it is wonderful to be able to feed them to sleep while you rest,and you can also go to sleep. Also, it's easy to feed in the middle of the night without getting up and stumbling around your house half asleep.

Remember this: Just because (insert your name here) fell asleep, does not mean mommy fell asleep". Meaning, just because you are asleep does not mean that the mother in you fell asleep. You will know exactly where your baby is and if you are a healthy individual and don't have a drug or alcohol abuse  problem, you should be fine. 

God Bless. 

Schedule Time

So this year I have decided there will be some changes in the way we do things around the Cramer house. With two babies now it is a little more difficult to get things done,especially when you have one attached to your boob all day long and the other who is a tiny tornado. Seriously.

My plan? Simple. A schedule. I know, I know. Schedules normally suck and they never last very long. But I actually like the ones I've devised. They are easy to follow and you spend time with your kids while getting household chores done.

Hello Again!!

Hello again! It has been SO long since I have been here and SO much has happened. I do not even know where to begin.

I'll start with the biggest change since my last post, last January. We had a baby boy!! His name is Isaac Christopher and he is perfect. He came into this world on August 27,2013 at 8:45am via c-section weighing in at 7lbs 12oz and 21 inches. I was and am still so blessed to be able to exclusively breast feed him. He is now a handsome little 16+lb 4 month old.

Kensley Reagan just celebrated her 3rd birthday! I can't believe it! She is growing up so fast. She loves her baby brother beyond words. We have been so blessed that she hasn't been jealous or feeling left out. 

She also has a love for puzzles!! Who knew a 3 year old could love puzzles so much. And she is good at them too!! She never ceases to amaze me. She has done a lot of growing up since I last blogged. 

Kevin is still Kevin. Not much has changed with him. :) Just a little more fishing and a little more kayaking on the lake. 

A lot has happened to me family wise and it is one big mess so I am not going to get into it. What I will say is this, I couldn't be happier. Sometimes you truly have to let go of those miserable souls because the only thing that makes them happy is to see you miserable too. Focus on yourself, God and your family and your heart will be full. Nothing else matters. 

I will start back later this evening or tomorrow with my blogging. I'm about to start new things with the kids and can't wait to share them with you. 

Be blessed!