My list of 22 things

One of my favorite blogs is Mommy Nani Booboo. She is hysterical as well as insightful. And despite never meeting her or sharing similar backgrounds, I feel like she's one of my people. Maybe I'm overly confident to assume that we would hit it off, but seriously, she sometimes speaks my own thoughts. She seems lovely. So, she is my people. (Some examples of her speaking my language? here and here.)





Anyway, her latest post was a list of 22 things that she's learned since becoming a mother. She has it linked to a blog she reads, so I thought I would link to hers while sharing my own list.





So....here it goes....





22 things I have learned since becoming a mom





1. no matter what happens in a day, it can all be forgiven with just a little sleep.





2. i never knew unconditional love until i had children.





3. there is no reason to feel guilty for not playing with your children all day. good parenting allows for some amount of neglect on your part.





4. toots are funny. and even funnier when a small child rips one.





5. laughter really can change a moment, a day or a life.





6. even the sweetest child can make the most patient person lose their mind.



7. you think you're going to remember every little detail of your babies...but you forget most of it.



8. it's more amazing to watch your child succeed at something than it was to experience it yourself when your were a child. (ie learning to read, swim or tie your shoes)



9. having a dog is NOT like having a child. not even close. not even like practice.



10. i never understood just how hard it was to parent until i became a parent.



11. living through junior high will be nothing compared to parenting a child who is in junior high.



12. sometimes parenting is just doing what you need to do to make it to the next day. survival.



13. i never knew true joy until i had a child.



14. just when i think i have it figured out, my children move on to the next stage which always seems to be more complicated than the previous stage.



15. my mom was brave. i have to dig deep to be so brave.



16. i never knew how much i had to give to another person. i didn't know that i actually could be selfless, putting someone elses needs before my own.



17. snacks are good entertainment.



18. some lessons in life are best learned without your parents.



19. pretty good is sometimes good enough.



20. sometimes it's better to turn up the music and sing loud than discipline behavior in the car.



21. you children can be a nice distraction in awkward social situations.



22. bribery is not a bad thing.

Finally!!

The winter here in Kansas has gone on and on and on!! If the weather is nice one day, it's followed by 3 days of wind, cold or rain. FINALLY we had a nice day with more nice weather to follow! I am not a fan of winter...but I've hated it even more this year because it just seemed to linger. If you don't know, the winters here are dark and dreary. Sometimes the sun doesn't shine for days on end.

We took advantage of the sunshine today and had our first lake Sunday of the year. It was a beautiful day with no wind. We spent the morning at my parents house baking and frosting cookies and then dying Easter eggs. Then we all headed out to the lake to play and have dinner. It was lovely, to say the least. We played on the beach and the kids put their toes in the water. Pure joy!! There is nothing better than getting down and dirty in the sand at the lake.

It was Julianna's first time on the beach as a toddler. She wasn't sure about that sand stuff. She sat there with her feet stuck out in front of her trying really hard not to let them touch the icky sand. It was so funny! She did end up getting warmed up to the idea of digging around and filling buckets with sand. Good thing because I plan on spending our entire summer at the lake!

It is supposed to be EIGHTY SEVEN DEGREES on Wednesday. 87!! We are totally slathering in sunblock, breaking out the swimming suits and spending the whole afternoon in the sunshine. Life is so much better when the temperature is warm and the sun is shining!!

HAPPY SRRING!!

I spent today playing more than anything else. I think we all had fun!

makes me giggle...

...when one of my children passes gas. Every time. We call it a toot at our house. That word makes me giggle, too.

...watching Drew play soccer. He ran and ran and ran. And afterwards he told me, "I had fun!" So awesome!

...when Julianna gets going. When she's talking and telling us everything, but nothing at the same time.

...when Lily does her own make up. The rule is- no make up until after lunch. Her make up is different every time. Today she painted her face with blue eyeshadow.

...watching videos from when my babies were actually babies. I love watching them watch themselves.

...when someone at our house gets tickled (litereally, or otherwise). When one of us laughs, we all do.

let me clear something up

In my last post I may have given the impression that I was some how striving to be like the 'put together' moms. Let's be clear- I am not. I am just fascinated by a lifestyle that differs from my own. I have always been a casual ponytail wearing girl since....well, as long as I can remember, really. I didn't wear make-up until college...I didn't own a pair of high heels until after college. And I am perfectly happy this way. I am just so in awe of the girls that look so good all the time. It's amazing to me.

I do not feel the need to be like them. I am happy just the way I am.

you know the type

Today my friends and I were discussing a certain kind of mommy. The kind that never leaves the house without full make-up, designer jeans and her hair teased just so. We wondered how they do it. I still don't know. What time are these people getting up in the morning? What are their kids doing while they are teasing their hair? (Because, today I took a 10 minute shower and came upstairs to find Lily had climbed on the fridge and reached the art supplies. And in the time it took me to wash my hair, she had cut Drew's hair and painted the kitchen with watercolors).

I am still in awe of the mom that can maintain her pre-baby appearance and manage to make it out of the house every morning like that. What is her secret? Now, I totally get the need for a working mom to be up and together for her day at work. I've said before that I admire their ability to hold it together with the job, the kids and the husband. What I'm really wondering about is: How can some people look good ALL. THE. TIME.? You know the type. For example, there is a mom at Lily's preschool drop off and she wears a pink (sometimes blue) hooded sweatshirt and black yoga pants every day. Every. Day. And she ALWAYS looks good. How is it possible? Even on the days that I manage to get my flat iron through my hair and mascara on my eyelashes...I don't look that put together. And all the woman is wearing is a hooded sweatshirt and yoga pants. I have both of those clothing items in my closet...but I look like a slob when I wear them. Seriously.

Usually, if I can get may hair combed and styled, then I don't have clothes to match the hair. Or, if I get a cute outfit put together, then my hair is tied in a knot all day. Make up? I keep that in the car...so if I catch a few minutes in a parking spot...I can swipe some mascara on my lashes. And! You know what else? I have THREE sticks of deodorant stashed in my house and car...because it never fails...I am always forgetting that step of my morning routine. I have them stashed so that when I start smelling myself...there is always some handy.

If you have any insight into this topic, feel free to comment. Because, even on the days I have it together...I still find banana squished and dried all over my shirt.

After bath fun

I have a feeling that when Julianna is as old as Drew and Lily that I will be saying something like, "Mommy's ears are tired now, Julianna. Can we be quiet for just a few minutes to let them rest?" She is talking ALL THE TIME. Sometimes she's saying words and sometimes she's just testing out her voice and experimenting with her sounds. But, the girl never stops talking. She's even begun to sing along with us! (Lily likes us to sing her happy birthday everytime we have a dessert, so Julianna has a lot of time to practice that song. She's getting pretty good!)

She is an agreeable child, you'll notice that in the video. Most kids her age are shaking there head no about everything, however if I phrase anything I say to her as a question, she always shakes her head yes. Like last night I asked her if she liked purple hippos and of course she said yes. I can't argue with such a positive outlook!

Have a great day!

**Never mind the pile of dirty clothes in the background!! We had stripped all the children and tossed them in the bathtub. :) The children, not the clothes.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Girl

Julianna, 14 months

The club

It's been a fairly slow progression, really. First I was a young working mom. Then I was a fairly young stay at home mom with young children. And then, after Julianna was born, I was a stay at home mom driving a mini van. And now? I am a full blown, mini van drivin', yoga pant wearin', crock pot using, SOCCER MOM!! It's true. I took Drew to his first soccer practice last night. So it's official. Soccer mom. Whew. Weird.

Drew LOVED the soccer practice. I mean, after he got the jest. He ran around after the ball with a big grin on his face the whole time. I had to yell at him from the sidelines a couple of times, to remind him to run after the ball...but, he got it. And the important thing was that he had a great time. :) I suppose I can get over being in the Soccer Mom Club, if he's having such a good time!!

Go Purple Team!!

Style Series: Gypsy?

Lily got all dressed up to go grocery shopping this weekend.

She wondered aloud if anyone at the store might think she was a gypsy.

Progress

Julianna turned 14 months last week. She's really is well on her way to toddlerhood. We took her to the doctor about 10 days ago and she weighed 19 lbs 8 oz! We are one half of one pound a way from the big 2-0! Also, she can throw a tantrum with the best of them. Although, they don't last long and she can turn it off in mere seconds, they are still happening! She's been talking a lot more, too. It's fun to hear her add more and more words to her vocabulary. I love this stage that they are learning so much so fast.

All of that is exciting, but maybe this most exciting is that the girl is getting teeth!! And hair!! A few days ago I heard something scrape against the spoon at dinner. We found and felt some teeth popping through her gums. The weird thing was that they were her top side teeth. I secretly hoped that they didn't come through and make her look like a vampire! After her bath this morning, I did my usual check of her gums and I felt a tooth coming in on the bottom!! Yay Julianna!! You will finally look your age!! No longer will people stop to guess your age and say 9 or 10 months!

And the hair situation? If you just saw her everyday like I do, you would think that she has no more hair then she did the day she was born...but you'd be wrong! Her hair is coming right along. You can catch a progression in the following pictures (sorry for the quality, in typical Taylor fashion, I couldn't find my camera this morning so I used my phone).

Random

I really haven't come up with anything new to blog about these days....we're going to play at the lake today, so hopefully I have some fun stuff to share! The weather is warming up here and the sun has been shining (until today) so things are looking up around here! :)

Here's a video of Drew eating his first Cadbury egg. Pure yummyness!

Happy weekend to you and ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

Does she look like Aunt Sarah?

Their mouths are different, but I think that Julianna looks like her Aunt Sarah.

Grateful

It is stressful being Lily's mom. More than I can convey on a blog. I think it's best to keep most of that between she and I. However, no matter how hard it is to be her mom, I am truly grateful to NOT be one of her Barbies.