tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21952584547689453302024-02-21T07:31:14.330-08:00Laura's Little BlessingsLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-38428766770065749412014-03-31T15:14:00.001-07:002014-03-31T15:14:36.393-07:00School Choice
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pregnancy is a time of preparation. The mother’s body is
continuously changing preparing to give birth. The baby’s body is continuously
growing and becoming stronger waiting for his debut. While preparation in the
lives of the mother and father are taking place as well. There seems to be so
much to get ready! You have to get all the essentials—diapers, wipes, car-seat,
stroller, highchair, burp cloths, nursery décor, clothes, and then more
clothes, nursing pads, a nursing pump, bottles, blankets, and the list could go
on and on. You are told to take child birth classes and CPR classes. You have
to child-proof the house and get that nursery looking perfect. The funny thing
about all that preparation is that it doesn’t really matter that much. It can
all be done after the baby arrives, and often there is plenty of down time to
get it all done when the baby is still in the hospital. However, it seems to consume
the minds of the mothers leading up to the birth. Everything has to be just
perfect.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the midst of pregnancy the logical thing seems to be to
prepare for when the baby arrives. I’m sure some of you other moms understand
when I say most of those things really don’t matter. However, when it’s all you
have to think about—it just makes sense. As my children grow I find myself
having to make “more important” decisions. As my perspective has changed (seems
like daily) those “important” decisions seem to change right along with it.
Decisions about nursery décor seem very unimportant when thinking about the
decisions we now debate. Our newest decision is where to send our oldest to
school.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On one hand we are so very blessed to have so many options.
On the other hand it seems like it would make life so much easier if there was
one clear choice. In my eyes we have three choices, homeschooling, catholic
school, or public school. Each choice has it’s pros and cons—which I could list
here for you, but I’m guessing my list and your list would be different. This only
makes sense since our children are different and our perspectives are
different. There is not a correct answer—no one size fits all.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So instead I will tell you that for now we have decided to
send our oldest to kindergarten at public schools. We are very blessed to live
in a great school corporation that consistently ranks at the top in the state
academically. There are things that I’m not thrilled about such as class size,
all day kindergarten, not enough play, and probably some other things I can’t
think of currently. However, for now we are going to see how it goes. In an
ideal world we would have an amazing Catholic school that was affordable and
right down the street from us and that had smaller class sizes, but we don’t
live in an ideal world. We do live in a world where we get to decide though.
Luckily, I know going into the school year that if anything goes wrong or if we
don’t like the decision we made we can pull her out and try a different
approach. And I think that is what I’ve learned through the whole process of
school choosing, nothing is ever permanent. That fact alone is why I think this
“huge decision” (that will look tiny in the big scheme of parenting) isn’t
keeping me awake at night anymore.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What about you? Do you have young children who haven’t
started school yet? What have you decided for their schooling? Do you have
older children who are already in school? How do you feel about where they are?</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-34026560772830549932014-03-26T10:03:00.000-07:002014-03-26T10:03:34.988-07:00Going by FastIt's the third trimester already! I'm not sure where all the time has gone, but there isn't much of it left until this new little one blesses us with HIS presence. Yes, in case you missed it--we are blessed to be having another boy.<br />
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I have been pretty awful about keeping this blog updated. I guess with three little ones and being pregnant I have an excuse, but maybe this third trimester I'll do better? <br />
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I don't want to jinx myself, but so far I'm still feeling pretty great. I've been maintaining a wonderful 5-6 times a week workout routine and the baby seems to love healthy food like pineapple so it's been easy to maintain a good weight. I'll try to have my husband take a belly picture soon and post it. I'm not big on pictures of myself anyway, but the 4th time around has given me even less motivation than normal to post pictures of how huge this belly really can get!<br />
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I know Lent is half way done already, but since I've posted so infrequently I figured I'd discuss a little of what I'm doing for Lent in hopes that I can motivate you--not only during Lent but for afterwards too.<br />
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I've been sacrificing sleep for Lent. I wake up fairly early in the morning get my workout, daily prayers, and shower all done before the kids are up. This is leaving more time during the day to spend with them. It's been wonderful! I think I may try to keep it up once Lent is over too. I have a stack of about 6 Catholic books on my nightstand too. I'm slowly making my way through each of them a little each night. It seems like a great way to end the day and clear my mind before I rest each night. It might not seem like a lot, but for busy moms getting in that daily prayer and a little spiritual reading each day is HUGE. If you haven't been able to lately, maybe try waking up a bit earlier--trust me it's worth it!<br />
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The next big milestone during this pregnancy is that fun Glucose test. I've never really minded the test all that much. The part I dislike is getting a rhogam shot--which happens at the same appointment. Yeah for being A+. <br />
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Thanks for reading all the pregnancy updates. I'm going to change it up a bit and write about school choices in the next post. Hopefully that will be posted Friday!<br />
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Have a blessed day. Don't forget to count all those small blessings!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-39678325209240564092014-01-24T10:10:00.003-08:002014-01-24T10:10:47.316-08:00Second Trimester Bliss
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You know those mothering days where you wake up to complete
silence, your children have dressed themselves in matching clothes, and they
are polite and quietly play with each other all day long?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yeah. Me either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, compared to what life was like just a couple weeks
ago these past 2 weeks have felt like motherhood bliss. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m sure everyone knows one of “those women”. The women who
LOVE being pregnant. They never get sick, they have even more energy than
before pregnancy, they glow with beauty, and they are just generally wonderful
to be around. I am not one of those women. Let me repeat—I. Am. Not. One. Of.
Those. Women.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m sure you could already tell that from my previous post.
But I want to be very clear-- for some of us pregnancy just plain sucks. We get
sick before the pregnancy test even has a chance to turn positive, our hair can’t
be helped with any product, our nails chip and break, our faces forget that we
aren’t going through puberty anymore, we puke with such a velocity that it is
bound to splash back up into our hair, we have less than zero energy, and we
are moody. Picture one of those walking dead zombies. That’s kind of how I feel
during pregnancy. At least during the first trimester.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the first couple of weeks of the second trimester I
feel like I am in pregnancy bliss. The sickness has subsided, my hair starts to
look somewhat decent, no more acne, much more energy, and the moodiness is far
less. I have been loving it! All that stuff that I put aside while I was
feeling awful is now getting done. I have multiple parties planned at my house.
I’ve been cooking dinner every single night again. And my favorite part is that
I’ve been working out again! Each and every day I look forward to those
workouts. Second trimester bliss! I hope all you other pregnant ladies will
have the second trimester bliss too. I won’t even talk about what happens next—let’s
just enjoy this time together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 10<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> is our big ultrasound. We will be
finding out if this little baby is a boy or girl—I’m not the patient type. I’ve
been having strong feelings that it’s another boy, but I can’t wait to find out
for sure. Any thoughts from you??</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>As a side note, since this is the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> time I’ve
done this I feel like I should document postpartum so everyone else can see
what it’s like. I’ve been thinking about journaling each and every day from
what I ate, to what my workout looked like, to my emotions, and of course how
my body is bouncing back. I find that it is very challenging to “get back to
normal” after baby. I’m hoping maybe I can help lead other postpartum women to
their goals. I’d love to hear what you readers think about this! Post here on
the site or message me personally with any comments, thoughts, or ideas for the
postpartum journey.</em></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-39598557856648112342014-01-07T14:06:00.002-08:002014-01-07T14:06:53.741-08:00Perspective
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I woke up and realized it is now the year 2014. I feel
like the last 2 ½ months have been a complete daze. Between pregnancy sickness,
that seemed to last all day every day with no end in sight, and our family
passing around the flu/cold bug that has been going around I feel like I just
woke up from a long nap. The good news is that I’m feeling great! All the kids
seem to be on the mend and things are slowly getting back to normal. The bad
news is that we have now been snowed in for 3 days and everyone seems to be
getting a bit antsy.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I thought this would be the perfect time to write an
inspired blog on “New Year’s Resolutions”. But who am I kidding? I’m 15 or 16
weeks pregnant, (I can’t seem to remember—I guess that’s what happens the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
time around) I worked out yesterday for the first time in 3 months and I am so
sore I don’t want to lift my arms, no food sounds appealing therefore no
cooking sounds remotely fun, my to-do list seems to grow exponentially by the
day, and I’m just plain tired. So I’ve concluded that instead of blowing a
bunch of smoke up your asses I’ll just be honest—for now, I resolve to get out
of bed each morning, do my workouts, play with my kids, do my chores, say my
prayers, love my husband, and fall back into bed each night. Hopefully, all my
energy and zest will return shortly!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes I think God just wants us to do the simple things
though. I feel like after being so sick from this pregnancy and relying on so
many other people that I have a whole new perspective on things. How blessed I
am. How blessed we are. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t imagine dealing with a lifelong debilitating illness.
I can’t imagine not having a warm place for my children to sleep at night. I
can’t imagine my husband not having job that allows us to have nice things,
warm clothes, a beautiful house, and general security. I should never have a
complaint in the world. God has truly blessed me in this life.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, with that perspective in mind I’m going to try and do
the little things the best I can. I wish you all the best on your own New Year’s
resolutions. If you haven’t started on your resolution yet—feel free to join me
on my journey to conquer the little things. </span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-36255132442535180022013-11-12T09:26:00.002-08:002013-11-12T09:26:33.252-08:00My Friend Japs
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are those friends we make when we are young that will
forever be our friend. Sometimes we meet someone that is a friend for a while
and then our lives take separate paths. However our friendships come about, there
are some stories of friendship that will forever be a part of our memories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza has made a friend that brings a smile to my face every
time I think about him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A couple weeks ago as Brian was putting Eliza to bed they
were going about their usual routine of storytelling. Usually Brian just tells
Eliza some story and then tucks her in, but this was a special night. Brian
insisted that Eliza be the one to tell the story. So she told him this elaborate
story about being a princess and her prince “Japs”. Brian found the story so
funny that he told me about it and about how Eliza was convinced that prince
Japs was a real boy in her school. We just laughed it off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Multiple times over
the next few weeks Eliza would tell us stories about playing with prince Japs
at school. I couldn’t believe her imagination!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then the day came. The day that I will not forget for a long
time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was going with Eliza on a field trip to the pumpkin patch.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We loaded the bus and waited. What I didn’t realize was that
another class would be coming on this field trip with us. As that class filed
out of the school to load the bus Eliza immediately started screaming “It’s
Japs! It’s Japs! Look mom there’s Japs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At this time I started thinking that she had a really good
imagination and this make-believe friend must be going on the field trip with
us. So I attempted to shush her as she continued to yell about her friend Japs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Soon a little boy walked up and asked me to move so he could
sit next to Eliza. He was very polite and I thought for just a second that
maybe Japs was real. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As he buckled in I leaned forward and said, “Hi, I’m Eliza’s
mom. What’s your name?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hi, I’m Japs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had about a million thoughts in that single second. Then I
thought I must have heard him wrong. “What did you say your name was?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Dax, D-A-X.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know exactly where Eliza was getting the name “Japs” now.
I found it absolutely hysterical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before I had a chance to chuckle Dax turned around and very
politely said “Excuse me, Eliza’s mom?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes Dax?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m going to marry your daughter one day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He continued by saying that he had discussed it with his
parents and that the girl he was previously going to marry wasn’t as good as
Eliza. I just laughed and said we’d have to talk to Eliza’s daddy. I think I
was still surprised that Japs was a real person and that he wasn’t Asian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since then we’ve found out that Dax lives just down the
street from us. I haven’t decided if I should tell him the little boy a few
doors down, that pees in my front yard, might put up a fight for his future wife.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instead I just laugh every time Eliza mentions her friend "Japs". (She calls him Dax now.)</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-58179838644482215092013-10-29T10:52:00.002-07:002013-10-29T10:52:34.983-07:00Rear View<span lang="EN">Yesterday I had a very strange moment. I was driving my kids home from preschool and I glanced in the rear-view mirror. For a split second I felt as if I was living someone else’s life. When did I become an adult? When did I become mature enough to be a mother to these three tiny people? When will I be giving them back? It was as if I blinked and my life changed from being a carefree teenager to being a mother. Ever had one of those moments?<br />
<br />
I read a fascinating quote in an article about motherhood this morning. The following quote was written by Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty in his book “The Mother”.<br />
<br />
“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body. The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. . . What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?” <br />
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I just kept reading the “a dwelling for an immortal soul” part over and over. It’s easy to read something as powerful as that quote and know that what I do all day REALLY is worth it. That those random moments where my subconscious tries to poke through in the rear-view mirror to convince me that it was better “back in the day” isn’t the truth. <br />
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I’m sure all you mothers out there understand what I mean by the never-ending cycle. Motherhood is this cycle of sometimes (ok most of the time) mind numbing duties that, like zombies in the night, we do over and over, day after day, year after year. Put them together and you have one heck of a job description, but separately they can seem like the most pointless tasks. I guess that’s why our job is not only the most important job in the world, but the job that requires the most prayers and aid from God. We simply could not do it without Him. I sure wouldn’t want to.<br />
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When I look in the rear-view mirror tomorrow, and I see those tiny little faces smiling back at me I’ll try to remember that I am in charge of forming them to become saints. That God is depending on me to be the very best mother I can be so that the souls that He created in my womb will one day be reunited with Him in heaven.</span><br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-12606948746405074632013-10-25T07:42:00.003-07:002013-10-25T07:42:44.358-07:00The Mom in the Mirror<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Would all the perfect mothers please stand up. Are you
standing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yea. Me neither.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t we all strive to be the best moms we can be? We try to
do it all. Society has convinced us that we are not good enough unless we have
the perfect children, are in perfect shape, dress like a magazine model,
decorate like Martha Stewart, cook like Betty Crocker, participate in all these
extra-curricular activities, and the list could keep going. Does it make us
imperfect if we “fail” in one of these areas?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our brains have been conditioned to constantly criticize
that person looking back at us in the mirror. Let’s cut ourselves a break and
be realistic for a minute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I read an article recently that discussed how women need to
stop judging each other and just tell a fellow mom “good job” once in a while.
It encouraged us moms to reach out to the mother you see struggling in the
grocery store or in church with a wild toddler instead of judging them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it time we do the same thing to
ourselves? It’s easy to look at all our failures and all the things we don’t
get done in the day, but let’s cut ourselves a break. It’s impossible to get it
all done. That’s one of the joys about being a mother—we are always needed.
Even when our kids are grown and gone we will be needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve said it many times before, being a mother is the
hardest job in the world. You can feel so completely worthless and wonderful
all in one day. There are no pay days or raises. We just do what we do. Then we
go to bed (sometimes with one or two children squeezing in bed with us) wake up
and do it all over again. It is an endless job. An endless passion. An endless
vocation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So instead of knocking ourselves down because we aren’t
perfect, let’s stand up, look ourselves straight in the mirror, and remind that
person of how good of a job they really are doing. Then ignore some of that
housework and go play with your kids, or read them a book, or color a picture
with them, make a mud pie—because at the end of the day isn’t that what you
want your kid to remember??<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-61678953944750853032013-09-06T08:29:00.001-07:002013-09-06T08:29:08.482-07:00After a Long Break.....I'm back.Ok, well not quite back. But I'm posting to let you know starting next week I'll be adding posts regularly again!!<br />
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I hope you haven't missed me too much. Until next week....don't forget your blessings, especially the small ones.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-78175850027941023892013-03-06T18:15:00.001-08:002013-03-06T18:15:00.604-08:00It Is Time<span lang="EN">Home. Have you ever really thought about that word? It’s one of those simple 4 letter words kind of like love that means so much that books have been written about it, movies have been centered around it, and conversations are constantly going on relating to it.<br />
<br />
Home used to have a very clear definition in my mind. Home was Zionsville Indiana, the Mike Einterz residence a wee bit out in the country (not so much anymore) where my family would enjoy family dinners and all 8 of my siblings would begrudgingly tell about their day at school. Home was where the kitchen always smelled fantastic because of my mothers cooking. Home was where I knew the streets like the back of my hand because I would train for hours on them in preparation for the next sports season. Home was where I would run into town and bump into multiple people and end up turning a 5 minute trip into a 45 minute trip because they just wanted to know how things were.<br />
<br />
“We’re going home. I got the job.” <br />
<br />
Was I supposed to jump with joy? Maybe I should scream with excitement? Maybe I was supposed to cry out of relief and happiness?<br />
<br />
As Brian spoke those words I’d been longing to hear for years my emotions seemed to get stuck in the pit of my stomach. <br />
<br />
I was so sad and so happy all at the same time. Truly a bitter-sweet moment. Why?<br />
<br />
Bitter-sweet because now we have 2 homes. The life that we have in Oklahoma is one full of blessings. We have so many friends that we consider family that I can hardly imagine day to day life without them. It gives me a knot in my throat each time I tell someone else that we are leaving. We’ve been met with prayers and excitement though. Everyone is so happy for us and it makes this move just a tad harder then it already was.<br />
<br />
Six years ago I moved out to Yukon Oklahoma with not much more than my clothes. Brian and I began our married life here. We have been through deaths and births together. We have become so strong together because of this place. Our family is the way it is because of this place. This place became our home. The memories that have been made here are not just memories but are true blessings in our lives. <br />
<br />
When it comes down to it “home” is where your family is and our family is now being split between two amazing places. God has truly blessed us.<br />
<br />
Saying good-bye is not going to be easy, in fact it’s going to be really hard-- but how awesome is it that we get to leave one home for another?<br />
<br />
We left Zionsville as kids. We were so young and thought we knew so much. We’re leaving Oklahoma as a young family with a wild life ahead of us. There’s no more thinking we know what we’re in for. This new adventure is one that we’ve been looking forward to and that we will start with eyes wide open.<br />
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Thank you to all of you who made us feel truly welcomed. I couldn’t have written a better story for our first adventure together as a married couple. We will never forget you. You will always be welcomed in our home and you will always remain in our prayers.<br />
<br />
As for those we’re coming back to--we can’t wait! We are so happy to bring our kids home to be around all our family. There are so many things we’re looking forward to that I could write an entire post just about them. Bring on the family fun!<br />
<br />
</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-7017893274261412442013-01-16T13:48:00.002-08:002013-01-16T13:48:52.139-08:00What A Year...<span lang="EN">Today I turn 28 years old. This morning I woke up, looked in the mirror and wondered where all the time went. Honestly, a lot of days I feel like I’m still 18 years old. The last 10 years have just flown by. I wish that this year would slow down just a bit, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be just as wild as the past 10. Maybe the infamous 29 will be the year for a slow down?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As I look around at my life I feel overwhelming joy at all the blessings in my life. I don’t need a single present for my birthday because life couldn’t get any better. I have a wonderful husband that works so hard to provide for our family. He loves me so much and takes amazing care of me and our children. He continues to surprise me and he makes me laugh every single day. I have three awesome children who are growing before my eyes. They have been blessed with tenacious personalities and remind me to enjoy the little things in life. Just last night Eliza told me that Jackson and her were going to make my birthday cake so I didn’t have to do it myself and spoil my birthday. I’m amazed every day at the love they give me and the love they give each other. I hope and pray that they continue to be such good friends and that they continue to develop into faithful and good-hearted individuals.<br />
<br />
We have had our hardships and struggles but I have learned so much from them and I believe that I am a better person for making it through them. I know that life is just beginning, and although I’m not a big fan of rides--I’m strapped in tight for this one and I hope it continues to give me such thrills.<br />
<br />
Thank you to everyone for the continued prayers and support. I don’t anticipate life slowing down any time soon, which means these blog posts might be few and far between, however I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated on life, and of course I’ll continue to share stories and opinions on life. <br />
(I know those are your favorite reads anyway <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Remember to count your blessings--especially the small ones!</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-12747695039224731892012-12-13T11:25:00.001-08:002012-12-13T11:25:33.876-08:00Guilt<span lang="EN">So I had this post that I’ve been working on for a couple days--”12 Things I didn’t Think I’d Be Thankful For in 2012”, but I didn’t have time to finish it last night and I have another topic on my brain today, so just roll with me.<br />
<br />
Guilt.<br />
<br />
I’ve become very aware that the longer I’m a mom the more things there are to feel guilty about. I think it’s because I want to be the best mom I possibly can be, but maybe I’m just more guilt prone than other moms out there. Whatever the case-- I’m sure I’m not the only one.<br />
<br />
But really, what’s with the gobs of things moms should feel guilty about these days?<br />
<br />
Let’s take a simple example. Eliza goes to preschool 3 days a week. She is in class for a mere 2 ½ hours each of those days. Yet there is always something that I need to volunteer for or something that I need to help out with. Always. Now the fact that I have 2 other small children at home with me all day doesn’t seem to curve my guilty feeling. She doesn’t even have homework yet! I simply feel guilty for not being able to help during the school day or not being able to come help out at some activity during one of those “fun” days.<br />
<br />
Then there’s the clean house guilt. I really try not to care about my house being messy. Really I do. However, if you’re anything like me you have those thoughts in the back of your head-- <i>what happens if someone random just stops by </i>and <i>if I trip over one more toy I might scream</i>. I also hate the thought of my husband coming home to a messy house after a hard day of work. (Even though he probably doesn’t care at all)<br />
<br />
How about the <i>I’m still fat from that baby I had x number of months ago </i>guilt. Yeah yeah I know it takes time to get back into shape. That doesn’t stop those thoughts from creeping into my head. Taking a day off from working out is perhaps one of the guiltiest feelings I have. I’m sure other women have the same thoughts. You just have those days when you look in the mirror and think <i>seriously what is all this hard work I’m doing for anyway.</i><br />
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</i>
<br />
The everyday things are a mile long. Have the kids dressed, and not just dressed but looking cute, get all the housework done, play with the kids, work out, make breakfast, lunch and dinner, make sure the laundry is done, read to the kids, run the errands, feed the baby every 3 hours, play with the kids some more, take care of the yard, pray, catch up with friends, catch up with family, take a couple minutes for yourself, pray, and look good while doing all of it. That’s if it’s a normal day. I think I can count on one hand how many “normal” days I’ve had while I’ve been a mom.<br />
<br />
Guilt.<br />
<br />
I haven’t even touched on the parenting side of mothering. We’re expected to have our children well disciplined, well fed, well groomed, well rounded, and well educated all while we set a good example of how to live. Heaven forbid they act out in public or in front of our friends or family.<br />
<br />
How about the spiritual side of a child? We need to teach them how to pray, how to act with grace, how to behave in church, how to be Christ-like, how to be a good Christian example for the world, how to love, and how to stand up for your beliefs.<br />
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More guilt.<br />
<br />
I could probably go on for pages about all the guilt we moms can feel on a daily basis. I wish I could give you a solution for not feeling that guilt. However, I think it’s probably a necessary evil. If you didn’t feel guilt I might worry about you. Feeling guilty means that you know you can do better. In motherhood as in life I think we are never finished growing. There is no such thing as the perfect mother out there nor will there ever be. Guilt is just part of being human. <br />
<br />
I CAN say give yourself a break. Although some days it feels like we are supposed to do it all and be everything for each of our kids--this is real life. As long as you can lay your head on the pillow at night and tell yourself that you did the best you could, then you can ignore those guilty feelings. God does not call us to be everything for our kids. God calls us to do the best we can. <br />
<br />
So if you see me out in public and my hair is a mess, one kid has marker on his face, the other is in mis-matched clothes, and the baby is screaming, just cut me a break-- I’m probably already feeling guilty about all of that and more. And if I see you in the middle of your child throwing a tantrum and you losing your temper I’ll give you the knowing smile and nod of the head. Then I’ll say a quick prayer for you and turn around to chase my own child down, since inevitably she has wandered down yet another aisle without me. </span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-38757711356058964122012-12-12T14:38:00.000-08:002012-12-12T14:38:10.167-08:00The Greatest Present<span lang="EN">So I had this great 12 things I’m thankful for post all ready to go for today--but I haven’t had time to finish it. I’m hoping to work on it later tonight and post it tomorrow. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
<br />
<br />
Today is going to have to be a quick post instead. <br />
<br />
Today I just want to remind everyone to take time to enjoy your children. In the hustle and bustle that is the holiday season I think it’s so easy to overlook the greatest present we can give our children--time.<br />
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I don’t know about you, but I can tell an immediate change in my kids' attitudes when I spend even 5 minutes playing with them. Sure it’s easier to flip on a cartoon and have them sit in front of the TV while I’m getting one of the million things crossed off of my “to do” list, but it really is priceless to spend time with them while they are little. <br />
<br />
I read a sign the other day that said “please excuse the mess, we live here.” What a great message. The most fun times I have with my kids are those times where I look up after 30 minutes and there is a gigantic mess in every room. Oh well. I can clean it up after they go to bed. While they are awake I’m going to take time to play and enjoy their company. I hope that you take some time for your kids on these cold winter days. You just might be pleasantly surprised at something they say or do.</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-1577955035872646642012-12-10T10:42:00.002-08:002012-12-10T10:42:32.241-08:00Part 3 of 3<a href="http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/12/7252/">http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/12/7252/</a><br />
<br />
Hopefully, later this week we'll get back to some posts to me. :)Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-2811157073729867662012-12-06T12:42:00.002-08:002012-12-06T12:42:56.176-08:00Part 2 of 3Part 2 of 3<br />
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<a href="http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/12/7250/">http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/12/7250/</a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-56513217295372742802012-12-05T12:19:00.000-08:002012-12-05T12:19:06.892-08:00Part 1 of 3I've written often about my view of the family and marriage. Usually I just write from my view point and I don't include a lot of facts to back up my assertations. However, I came across a wonderful 3 part article series that I wanted to share. Considering that I haven't had much time to write blog posts I thought these would be wonderful while I'm catching up. :)<br />
<br />
Part 1<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/12/7248/">http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/12/7248/</a><br />
<br />
I'll put part 2 up tomorrow.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-844344331558280122012-11-05T10:28:00.001-08:002012-11-05T10:28:20.160-08:00The Fight<span lang="EN"><br />
So, I had this long post all prepared for the day before “the big election”. However, I just got done reading and eating Nilla wafers with Jackson, and all the rhetoric seemed kind of trivial. Playing with my little boy reminded me what life is all about. It’s not about being Republican or Democrat. It’s not about who wins the power tomorrow. <br />
<br />
This wonderful, amazing, blessed life is about glorifying God each and every day.<br />
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I am a mom. I am pro-life. I am pro-religious freedom. I am pro-family. <br />
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Tomorrow I will vote so that my voice does not get over-looked. I will vote in the hopes of electing individuals I believe will bring goodness into office. I will vote because it’s the right thing to do.<br />
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I hope you will join me.<br />
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Please continue to pray for our elected officials, our God given rights, our families, and our future.<br />
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Remember to never stop fighting for what’s right.<br />
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</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-31354559202300369342012-11-01T13:15:00.003-07:002012-11-01T13:16:05.480-07:00You Wanna Judge Me?<span lang="EN">
<br />
As I was debating whether or not to finish up laundry or get a work out and shower in before the kids got up from their naps today I started to realize why so many moms are fat. That’s probably not a very nice way to put it at all. What I guess I really mean is-- why are there so many moms out there that don’t take care of themselves?<br />
<br />
We’ve all been told to take that time out for ourselves. (I believe that is essential to survival at this point.) We’ve all been told to put ourselves first once in a while. We’ve even all been told that by us being healthy our children will not only learn to be healthy, but will have us around longer as well. Then why is it so darn hard?<br />
<br />
It’s hard because we are mom’s. We aren’t used to leaving something until later. We look at our house as our office, and the saying that a cluttered office makes for a cluttered mind is just as true as a cluttered house. We simply DO NOT have enough time in a day to get it all done. And I’m here to tell you that at this point I don’t care. For once in my life I’m giving in--it’s not all going to get done. Sorry. <br />
<br />
Wait, why am I apologizing to you? I’m really the only one that cares about ALL of it. <br />
<br />
But let’s face it--we’re each others biggest critics. It’s so easy to make judgments about other moms--even when we’ve been there. We are all human and we really do strive to be better than those around us. It’s time we stop trying to be better and start being on each others side. It’s a little easier said than done. Really think about it. If you went to a friends house for a play date and it was a disaster--you’d judge. If you went out to lunch with a friend and she looked like crap--you’d judge. If a friend’s kid was a hot mess and a brat while you were around--you’d judge.<br />
<br />
Well mommas, judge me or don’t judge me but I’m giving up. Today I decided to work out instead of finish laundry. I took my kids to a play place this morning and our suitcases are still not unpacked from visiting family in Indiana over the weekend. After my kiddos went to bed last night I snuck 4 (that’s right 4) pieces of candy out of their bags.<br />
<br />
I guess sometimes something just has to give. Maybe once I catch back up with my life I can do it ALL again, but for now I’m ok with only doing some of it--just give me a 15 minute heads up before dropping by so I can make sure the disaster that is my house isn’t TOO disgusting. And if you run into me somewhere and I look a little disheveled it’s probably because I have 3 small children and that’s just what happens. And now I’m going to go sneak another piece of candy from a Halloween basket, because I love candy, and I can take my time and enjoy the candy because all the kids are asleep. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
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</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-64387991949758187482012-10-18T09:12:00.001-07:002012-10-18T09:12:10.278-07:00Sweet Song by Eliza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
This is a song that Eliza has been learning at preschool. She performed it during chapel at her school yesterday, and then did a solo performance for us last night before bed. <br />
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I've heard this song probably 100 times in the last few weeks and every time I love hearing it. It has such a deep meaning. Sometimes as a mother I think it's easy to forget that our ultimate goal is to raise our kids to be good and faithful human beings. It's easy to talk about all the things they should do or all the things they should say. We are quick to remind them of their manners and even quicker to correct bad behavior. <br />
<br />
But what about OUR actions?<br />
<br />
Children learn by the example they are given. This is especially obvious when they are young and learning things for the first time. They like to repeat what we've said, they like to mock our actions, and they like to follow us around and watch our every move. We are their first teachers, not only by what we say to them, but what we show them by our actions. <br />
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In this world we are surrounded by evil. Sin is everywhere we look. We can't even turn the news on without hearing about someone being kidnapped or shot. Our TV shows are full of what society calls "the new normal". Taking our children shopping, even just to the grocery store, can reveal the latest fashion trends that are less than modest. The culture of sex seems to surround us. Where is the goodness? Where are the values? <br />
<br />
Those are up to us. WE must be the example for our children. Their little eyes see everything that we do. Their little ears hear the words that we say and how we say them. Their little hands repeat our own actions. The only way to reverse this culture of sin is to be the example that our children can mock. It's time we stop complaining about all the craziness out there and stand up and DO something. <br />
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Speak to your children with kind words, and know that they are listening when you speak to others. Do good deeds for others and encourage your children to help. Say prayers with your children and make sure your children see you praying on your own. We are the only ones who can make the future one of love, hope, and morality.<br />
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If my words don't touch your heart listen to Eliza sing that song again--and if she doesn't touch your heart I'm not sure what will.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-35148396517608330612012-10-16T11:47:00.004-07:002012-10-16T11:47:50.894-07:00Sometimes I Hate Oklahoma<span lang="EN"><br />
<br />
I think it’s fair to say that I am just a little bit crazy. I don’t think you get into the mom profession without a little bit of craziness. Some days I feel a little crazier than others, and today just happened to be one of those days. The kids were being great this morning and I really needed to get to Target for a few things. If I didn’t, Gavin would be wearing one of Jackson’s diapers this afternoon. So I packed them all up and headed off to Target.<br />
<br />
When I take all three kids out I have a pretty solid plan down. I put Gavin in the baby pack, Jackson in the cart, and Eliza walks holding onto the cart. It works pretty well. Today as I opened my car door I nearly fell over from the wind. I grabbed a cart, stuck Jackson in the front, had Eliza hold onto the side, and I put Gavin in the pack. We walked inside being blown sideways the entire way. My list wasn’t too long, so I proceeded to get everything, and because the kids were so good I decided to let them pick out Halloween baskets. They were in the dollar aisle so I figured it was a good bargain on my part. (Plus it's boss's day and I am kinda like their employee--haha) We checked out and headed back out in the wind “storm” to load everything in the car.<br />
<br />
I think the wind was even stronger on our way out. I managed to get Eliza in the car, tossed Jackson in his seat and started tossing bags in the car. Poor little Gavin was holding on for dear life. I held his head under a blanket with one hand, held the cart with one foot, and tossed bags with the other hand. And of course the Halloween baskets go flying out of my cart. In that split second I had to decide if I was going to abandon my empty cart and run after the baskets with Gavin strapped to my front or if I would just watch where they go and attempt to get them after I put him in his seat. Luckily, I chose the saner option and decided to put him in his seat first. I thought chasing down rolling baskets in the Target parking lot with a baby strapped to my chest probably wasn’t the best idea. Anyway, I watched where the baskets rolled--they had to stop eventually right. <br />
<br />
Then I saw what I thought was a good Samaritan, that must have seen my thoughts of running after the baskets, pull over and jump out of their car to grab the baskets. By this point the baskets are completely across the parking lot and stuck in a line of trees. They start driving back towards me. I figured they’d just pull up right beside me and hand me the baskets. Oh no. They parked a little ways away and hoped out like nothing was going on. I ran over to them, asked them about picking up the baskets, and they said they hadn’t picked them up and didn’t even see them. (So now I think I’m really crazy) I thought maybe they hadn’t picked them up and they were still stuck in the trees. A little frustratingly (b/c I knew they were just lying to me) I got in the car and drove across the parking lot keeping an eye out for the baskets. They weren’t there. I even drove across the street to see if they somehow blew threw the trees. They weren’t there. I guess a couple kids just get some free Halloween baskets. That part doesn’t bother me at all, the part that bothers me is that these people just lied to my face over $2 of baskets. Oh well. Sometimes I wonder why all this crazy stuff happens to me. I really can't make it up!<br />
<br />
As I look back in my head of how I managed to hold onto my cart and get my kids in the car while some of my purchase went flying in the air it just makes me laugh. Sometimes I really do hate Oklahoma--but at least the wind here is strong enough that as I made the split decision to not run after $1 baskets they were far enough away to help make up my mind.</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-13026894389409543982012-10-12T09:55:00.000-07:002012-10-12T09:55:41.769-07:00Just an Update<span lang="EN">It’s been a crazy week or so around here. Keeping up with this blog isn’t going as I hoped. I’ve had multiple topics I’ve thought about and hilarious stuff happen in the last week, the problem is I have no memory so if I don’t write them down immediately I just forget about them.<br />
<br />
I’m going to try to get you up to date with this post and next week I’ll attempt to “get a little deeper” with my posts.<br />
<br />
Gavin was baptized this past Sunday. It was wonderful. We had some family come in from out of town and Gavin was decked out in the hand-me-down baptismal gown that has been passed down from my oldest uncle on my dad’s side through 13 children, bunches of grandchildren, and now on to great-grandchildren. It’s pretty awesome to think about how many babies have been baptized in the same gown.<br />
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After everyone left Monday morning we attempted to get back to normal around here. I’ve decided that there isn’t really a normal though. We’ve begun to get ready for fall/winter which means cleaning out dressers and closets. It takes a lot of time to pack and unpack and organize everything. I think the hardest thing about it all is after the kids closets are nice and organized they just want to play with all the toys they see that they haven’t played with in a while. Half of me wants to be excited for me but most of me wants to say please don’t mess it all up, I just cleaned it all up. But kids will be kids and I’m trying to remember that.<br />
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Eliza had a class field trip to Orr Family Farm this week too. In case you don’t know Orr Family Farm is a fun little farm around Oklahoma city. The kids got to see animals, go on pony rides, ride the train, and pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Brian was able to go with Eliza and brought Jackson along too. They all had a wonderful time, and it gave me a chance to get a little shopping done. It felt very weird being out and about with only one kid. <br />
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Today it is pouring down rain--which helps motivate me to finish up the organizing. I know this post wasn’t all that interesting, but I guess that’s just real life. I’ll do my best to spice it up next week with the funny things my kids do on a daily basis. (As long as I remember to write them down.)<br />
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A few more pictures from the weekend:<br />
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Baba and the grandkids wrestling. <br />
There was a lot of wrestling over the weekend.<br />
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Eliza being silly.<br />
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Cousins Quinn and Eliza<br />
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Lovely Eliza<br />
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Sweet Jackson<br />
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Baba giving Eliza a horsey ride.<br />
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Cousins chillin after a long day of playing.</div>
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Gavin sleeping through the craziness of the weekend.<br />
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Uncle Michael and Gavin<br />
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Yum...puppy chow!<br />
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Poor Jackson was scared to death of a toad in this picture.</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-22627119323209014002012-10-02T15:22:00.002-07:002012-10-02T15:22:08.604-07:00A Love Like Ours<span lang="EN"><br />
<br />
“I love you.” Such a simple phrase with a huge meaning. I don’t know how you look at the phrase “I love you” but I’m a pretty selective “I love you” sayer. Honestly, I’ve only ever said “I love you” to my family and to my husband. It’s just a very serious thing to me. I never said it to any boyfriends either--except for Brian.<br />
<br />
Our love story began with me saying I love you to him before we ever started dating. We had been best friends for years so he knew very well how big of a deal me saying that was. Brian had chased me for years and I always blew him off--for some reason it just never clicked for me. I guess all that needed to happen was for him to be taken away to college for me to realize my true feelings. I was only 17 at the time, but when I said I love you to Brian it was as if I said “I do.” I knew at that very moment that I would spend the rest of my life with him. It’s a crazy thing to know at 17, but I really did know. Now 10 or so years later we are together still with 3 beautiful children.<br />
<br />
The word love is not very respected in our society. I feel like people don’t truly understand the meaning of love, and it wasn’t until I thought about it recently that I realized just how amazing the love between Brian and I is. I kept trying to figure out why. Why are we so “in love”? Why does our marriage work so well? Why does it seem like our love multiplies every single day? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it all has to do with our foundation. The foundation of our relationship has always been God. Even when we were just friends--our friendship was rooted in our faith. When we began dating God was always the center of our lives independently and together. We strived to follow God’s will through our dating relationship and we continue to strive to follow God’s will in our marriage.<br />
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We do it together. We have had some very hard times and some very good and happy times, but the one thing that remains the same through it all is our foundation in God that we follow together. We do some things in our marriage that very few couples do today, and quite frankly a lot of people probably think are just crazy. (more on that later) We do these things because we are faithful, not just to each other, but to God. The amazing thing about being faithful to God is that He will always provide. I don’t just mean financially but I mean in every way possible.<br />
<br />
It seems like in today’s society marriage is just a next step. It’s not seen as a forever bond as man and wife, it’s seen as something to do and something that can be undone at any point. The crazy thing is that society really embraces this idea of undoing marriage. People are encouraged to separate and divorce all the time for all sorts of stupid reasons or no reason at all. It’s time that the faithful take over again. It’s time for marriage to be a serious thing again. It’s time that we start encouraging engaged couples to have a foundation in God. No one ever said marriage was easy--it’s time we tell young people that marriage isn’t easy, but it is worth it. It’s time that we stop taking the easy way out. Taking the right path is more often than not the hard path. It’s time to encourage morality in this ever-progressive world. It’s time to speak up and let the faithful be heard, because I don’t know about you but I’m not going down without a fight. I will continue to fight for a moral and decent world for my children to grow up in.<br />
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Love is an action not a feeling. Let’s start acting.</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-81162171976622653692012-09-27T12:12:00.000-07:002012-09-27T12:12:06.652-07:00What's Your Because...(Part 2)<span lang="EN">It’s so easy to look at the negatives. It’s human nature to feel sorry for yourself and to always look towards greener pastures. What if instead of always looking for something better we were satisfied with what we have. We are so abundantly blessed that we have no right ever complaining. We have our bad days--sure. Our good days are so good though. Recognizing that we need God is a huge step and those hard times help us need Him.<br />
<br />
So I took all the negative "because statements" from the other day and I turned them into positives. I can’t say that this is how I always look at my life, but doing this little exercise has reminded me that I should think about the negatives in the positive before I feel sorry for myself. You should try it.<br />
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<br />
<br />
Because the way my 20 month old communicates is pretty darn funny.<br />
<br />
Because my 3 year old hasn’t pooped in her pants in 2 days.<br />
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Because my 3 year old does things at meal time that amaze me to the point of smiling and shaking my head when I should just spank her.<br />
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Because when I was grocery shopping without any children.<br />
<br />
Because I just turned around and the box of Lucky Charms is all over the floor, but both kids just dove right in and started eating all the marshmallows. That’s one way to get it cleaned up.<br />
<br />
Because pinterest does have some pretty cool ideas for me, my family, and my house.<br />
<br />
Because I have no privacy--bathroom time for me is either party time or story time depending on what the kids decide. Not everyone can say they get to party every day.<br />
<br />
Because I didn’t vacuum at all today.<br />
<br />
Because my family has enough clothes to have piles of laundry to do.<br />
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Because everywhere I go I have multiple people “reminding” me that I have my hands full and that reminds me how blessed I am to have such great kids.<br />
<br />
Because my kids are smart enough to push a chair over to reach anything that’s supposed to be out of their reach, which means they can grab some chocolate for me while I’m stuck breastfeeding the baby.<br />
<br />
Because Eliza is rambunctious and full of energy all the time.<br />
<br />
Because my husband might not do a great job rinsing his plate, but he works so hard every day to provide for our family.<br />
<br />
Because gummy vitamins all over the floor make for a fun keep away game with my 20 month old.<br />
<br />
Because we are blessed enough to have a new van that fits all the kids.<br />
<br />
Because sleep is overrated when you have bonding to do.<br />
<br />
Because not everyone can brag that they can squirt milk across the room from their boobs.<br />
<br />
Because the preschool teacher tells me that my 3 year old is always good at school.<br />
<br />
Because my 3 year old likes to “paint” herself with sidewalk chalk and water and therefore my 20 month old thinks it’s a wonderful idea to follow suit. Hilarious sight.<br />
<br />
Because some days I get lucky enough to enjoy some quiet time during the middle of the day while the kids are napping.<br />
<br />
Because my 3 year olds’ nap time has turned into puzzle time, Candyland time, and coloring time -- bonding time!<br />
<br />
Because certain people don’t know how else to communicate other than asking for some help, and I’m lucky to be able to lend some advice.<br />
<br />
Because when we do see grandparents it’s always super special and for multiple days at a time.<br />
<br />
Because my house is messy with children’s art work and those fingerprints are the most beautiful artwork I could think of to decorate my house with.<br />
<br />
Because we can afford to buy good food and I learned how to make that good food into a healthy meal for my family every night.<br />
<br />
Because the majority of nights I get to battle with my 3 year old to eat that home-cooked meal and she is healthy and happy because of it.<br />
<br />
Because it is NEVER quiet in my house. Noise is so comforting to me now and chaos is weirdly calming.<br />
<br />
Because bad things happen to the good people in my life and I do my best to be there for them along their journey.<br />
<br />
Because I’m tired. I’m tired because I get to spend all day and night with my children.<br />
<br />
Because communication through tantrums is the only way sometimes.<br />
<br />
Because most days I work more than 24 hours. And I love most parts of it.<br />
<br />
Because I’m so blessed to be a mom.<br />
<br />
Because we can afford to buy new kitchen appliances.<br />
<br />
Because my children learn so much because they always ask why.<br />
<br />
Because my 20 month old chucks his pacifier at the door to let me know he’s up from his nap, and then in his growl language points at it when I open the door like he has no idea how it flew across the room. I laugh every time I get him out of his bed and so does he.<br />
<br />
Because little kids need a lot of things repeated.<br />
<br />
Because I love nursing my baby and I’m so blessed to be able to stay home and take care of him.<br />
<br />
Because sometimes you just gotta take a break from working out.<br />
<br />
Because I’m so lucky to have enough milk to provide my baby with nourishment.<br />
<br />
Because when my husband doesn’t get home until after 6:30 it means he was working hard yet again.<br />
<br />
Because some days we laugh and play and eat ice cream before dinner.<br />
<br />
Because having everyone remind you of things is nice.<br />
<br />
Because I don’t really care what I look like most mornings. At least I have a working and healthy body.<br />
<br />
Because not completing a thought has become the norm and it can make for some very funny conversations.<br />
<br />
Because I could probably write 3 more pages of these if I spent all day tomorrow working on this.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b></b><br />
<b><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Because the truth is that my cup is over flowing-- it’s no where near half full or half empty.</span></div>
</b></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-70412335846935286602012-09-26T15:54:00.001-07:002012-09-26T15:54:57.837-07:00What's Your Because... (Part 1)<span lang="EN">The thing about life is that there are 2 sides of it. Both are very real. There is the optimistic, glass half full, sunshine every day, glorious side and then there is the pessimistic, glass half empty, dreary, grey side. Normally I'm on the sunshine team...today we're going to dissect the dreary side. </span><br />
<span lang="EN"></span> <br />
<span lang="EN">The following is a list of why life stinks, why I should be crazy, why I need a whole lot of prayers to get me through the day, just why. (I'm sure a lot of you will understand)</span><br />
<span lang="EN"></span> <br />
<span lang="EN"> </span><br />
Because the way my 20 month old communicates is through a series of growls.<br />
<br />
Because my 3 year old has decided it’s a good idea to poop in her pants during “nap time”.<br />
<br />
Because my 3 year old managed to not only spill her milk all over herself, but she managed to rip a huge hole in her shirt as well.<br />
<br />
Because when I was grocery shopping without any children I was asked when I was due.<br />
<br />
Because I just turned around and the box of Lucky Charms is all over the floor.<br />
<br />
Because pinterest doesn’t have a pin to give me extra arms, extra legs, or extra energy.<br />
<br />
Because I have no privacy--bathroom time for me is either party time or story time depending on what the kids decide.<br />
<br />
Because I could vacuum my house 4 times every day and it would still need a 5<sup>th</sup> vacuuming.<br />
<br />
Because there is always laundry to do, in fact, there is always laundry in the washer and dryer.<br />
<br />
Because everywhere I go I have multiple people “reminding” me that I have my hands full.<br />
<br />
Because my kids are smart enough to push a chair over to reach anything that’s supposed to be out of their reach.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Because my husband still doesn’t know how to rinse his plate before putting it in the sink.<br />
<br />
Because while I was changing the baby’s diaper my 21 month old got to the gummy vitamins, somehow opened the bottle, and was making a mad dash to eat as many as he could before I got to him.<br />
<br />
Because when I got in the car to buckle all the kids into their car-seats my hair got stuck on the clothes hanger of the car ceiling.<br />
<br />
Because I haven’t slept more than 2 straight hours in months.<br />
<br />
Because breast feeding truly makes you feel like a cow--a cow that can squirt milk across the room on any given day.<br />
<br />
Because the preschool teacher tells me that my 3 year old is really good at getting messy--as if I didn’t already know.<br />
<br />
Because my 3 year old likes to “paint” herself with sidewalk chalk and water and therefore my 20 month old thinks it’s a wonderful idea to follow suit.<br />
<br />
Because “is it nap time yet?” is something I say multiple times a day.<br />
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Because my 3 year olds’ nap time has turned into puzzle time, Candyland time, and coloring time yet again today.<br />
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Because certain people only call/text me when they need something from me.<br />
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Because I don’t have the option to drop the kids off at the Grandparents house and run to the store real quick.<br />
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Because, not only is the world my children’s canvas, the inside of my house seems to be their canvas as well.<br />
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Because the majority of nights I make a home-cooked meal that is actually healthy for my family.<br />
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Because the majority of nights I battle with my 3 year old to eat that home-cooked meal.<br />
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Because it is NEVER quiet in my house.<br />
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Because no matter how desperately I want to fix the problems of the people I love sometimes there is absolutely nothing I can do.<br />
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Because I’m tired.<br />
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Because I secretly understand why little kids throw tantrums--and some days I want to do the exact same thing.<br />
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Because most days I work more than 24 hours.<br />
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Because only 1 out of 3 of my children speaks actual words and I still want to change my name from “mom” to anything else.<br />
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Because multiple kitchen appliances decided to break on the exact same day.<br />
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Because why? Why does it matter?<br />
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Because my 20 month old chucks his pacifier at the door to let me know he’s up from his nap, and then in his growl language points at it when I open the door like he has no idea how it flew across the room.<br />
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Because I’m tired of repeating myself.<br />
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Because as I was burping the baby today he spit up and it cascaded right down my cleavage.<br />
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Because I had a c-section 3 ½ weeks ago and I already feel guilty for not working out yet even though I’m not allowed to for 3 more weeks.<br />
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Because of that feeling you get when your milk comes in.<br />
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Because when my husband doesn’t get home until after 6:30 it makes for a really long day.<br />
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Because some days it feels like all I do is correct and spank my children.<br />
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Because having children really does kill your memory.<br />
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Because some mornings brushing my teeth and throwing my hair up is about all the energy I have for me.<br />
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Because not completing a thought has become the norm.<br />
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Because I could probably write 3 more pages of these if I spent all day tomorrow working on this.<br />
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<strong>What's your beacause??</strong>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-59531741234616184532012-09-24T13:43:00.002-07:002012-09-24T13:43:43.590-07:00God Will Provide<span lang="EN">"God will provide."<br />
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We’ve all heard this magic phrase. It’s one of those comfort phrases that people say to you when you are going through a tough time. They might as well just say “hang in there, He will take care of you”. It’s a phrase that is hard to believe unless you’ve truly experienced it, and then it’s pretty amazing.<br />
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Brian and I were fortunate enough to experience this first hand yesterday. The day had come to take our 3 little munchkins to Mass for the first time. To say that we were dreading it is a HUGE understatement. Even as we were getting ready in the morning Brian looked at me and said “I may never go to Mass again!” On the way to church I led our family in a little prayer. I felt that it was the only way that I could calm my nerves about taking three small children to Mass. It was a simple prayer and a prayer asking for help--and you know what… it actually worked. I saw this little cry for help prayer answered before my eyes!<br />
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As we pulled in the parking lot I took a deep breath-- not to calm myself, but because I smelled something gross. I thought to myself, how are we going to make it through mass when I have to change a poopy diaper before we even make it through the door! Well, apparently all my children are on the same bathroom schedule, and after 2 dirty diaper changes,1 run to the bathroom followed by nursing Gavin in the Narthex we had made it through our first Mass as a family of 5. The crazy thing is that it was one of the best church experiences we’ve had in years. Both Eliza and Jackson were really well behaved and except for a little cry of hunger Gavin was awake and checking stuff out the whole time without another sound.<br />
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It would have been easy to put off going to Mass. Shoot, it would be easy to put off going to Mass for a few more years until the craziness has passed. Fortunately, we’re not in this for the easy. We’re in this to glorify God in all that we do each and every day. Amazingly, God provided us with a wonderful experience of enjoying heaven on earth with our family during mass on Sunday. That one Mass is going to give me something to look to for hope while I go through my days of craziness this week.</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195258454768945330.post-12919798465156009472012-09-19T10:41:00.003-07:002012-09-19T10:41:39.976-07:00Mondays, Meltdowns, and Mischief<span lang="EN">
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I’ve been told by multiple people that having 3 kids is the hardest. I was even told that by my aunt who has 11 children. How is 3 possibly harder than 11?<br />
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We’re on our third day by ourselves. Grandma and Mimi are back in Indiana and back to their regular routines. As for our routine…ha! We’re not there yet. I keep telling myself that once we get into routine we’ll be ok, now I just have to survive until that routine is set. I keep praying it won’t take long!<br />
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I’m trying to take advantage of the 10 minutes I have while Eliza is at school, Gavin is fed and happy, and Jackson is happily playing to write a bit. As I’m typing Jackson is now climbing over my legs and begging for attention. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
(So much for finishing this in one sitting!)<br />
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I’ve learned just a few things already about having 3 children that I thought were worthy of sharing. First of all having 3 children 3 years old and under is hard work! I know I’m going to love the age gap between them soon--but for now it’s just flat out exhausting. The exhaustion is one of the reasons for the title of this blog post. So far every day has felt like a Monday. You know what I mean. You wake up in sort of a daze, not quite sure what day it is and then when you realize you have to get up and get to work you grumpily drag yourself out of bed. My dragging has kind of turned into a hop at the sound of Gavin wanting his early morning feeding. I keep thinking maybe I can squeeze in a few minutes of sleep after he’s done, but so far the house is up and hopping by the time that morning feeding is done. Maybe I’ll become a morning person??<br />
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Have you ever seen a 27 year old have a meltdown? Imagine a 3 year old’s tantrum and just replace the 3 year old with a 27 year old. <br />
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Haha. <br />
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I’m just kidding. <br />
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I haven’t had a meltdown yet, but we sure have had our share of meltdowns from each of the kids. I anticipated this would happen though. You don’t just throw a newborn and sleep deprived mom into the mix of every day normalcy and expect that it will remain normal. Luckily, the meltdowns have been limited and they seem to correct themselves rather quickly. Maybe it’s the prayer I send up every time we’re on the verge or maybe I’ve just gotten really good at distraction? Whatever the case is we’ve had our daily meltdowns and as crazy as it sounds when only 2 kids are crying it’s pretty manageable--it’s when all three have lost it that my sanity starts to waiver. I’ve learned to just sing my way through it. Eliza started singing “I’m not Perfect” at the end of a long day and it seemed like the perfect theme song for us, so I just belt it out when I feel a little on edge. (See the link below)<br />
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I’m convinced that breast feeding is the perfect time for toddlers to get into as much trouble as they possibly can. I remember the mischief from Eliza when Jackson was a newborn and now the trouble has doubled or tripled!! It makes perfect sense. I think Gavin is going to learn how to hold on for dear life as I nurse him with one arm while doing all sorts of things with the other. It’s actually quite comical if you think about it. Let’s just call it the modern housewife. Running around the house half topless with a newborn attached to one boob, hair a wild mess, chasing two toddlers who are smart enough to understand the limitations of their mother. Great picture huh?<br />
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Through all of this I’ve been reminded by some very good veteran mothers to smile and keep a good sense of humor. Laughing and smiling has helped me through so far, let’s hope the comedy continues. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
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<u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u><br />
<u><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span><br /></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uoKvs5a-fQ"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="EN">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uoKvs5a-fQ</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><span lang="EN"> (Fast forward video a bit to get to the song)</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580772206074266666noreply@blogger.com0