TWENTY-FIVE

Happy Hump Day!  Half way through the week!  I hope you're all doing well.  Today, as I was perusing my Facebook feed I saw this post that one of my friends had shared.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/beth-woolsey/20-things-every-parent-should-hear_b_3209356.html

Reading it made me thankful for becoming a parent.  Everything in this post is spot on; parenting is the hardest, dirtiest, most exhausting, joyful and eye-opening job I will ever have.  In the short time that I have been a parent I have had moments where I just didn't think I could do it anymore, where I went to bed wondering if a decision I made was the right one, and where I have been blown away by this little person who has taught me so much.  I know that I will continue to have hard days, days where I question myself but also some of the happiest days I could ever have.  I thank God every day for the amazing gift he has given me by allowing me to become a parent; I've also bagged him for patience  and strength but I wouldn't wish to have it any other way.

Happy Wednesday everyone!  XO

TWENTY-FOUR

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I hope that your weeks have started out good.  Mine certainly has.  This morning was a wonderful treat and what I am thankful for; unplanned family moments.  It is very rare that Matt, myself or both of us isn't running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get out the door in the morning.  Occasionally though all the stars align and we have a small block of time where Matt, Addie and I can just enjoy being together.  That happened this morning.  We were both ready for work, the animals were taken care of, and Addie was fed and ready to go to Mema and Poppy's.  When I looked at the clock we had 20 minutes of spare time!  We took advantage of this by sitting on the couch while Addie excitedly walked back and forth between Matt and I, having us point out objects on her game, while we watched one of her movies.  I was actually able to sit down and drink my coffee, all of it!  It was so nice to just decompress before the hustle and bustle of the day took over again.  It was very relaxing and wonderfully uninterrupted family time.

I love these moments where neither of us have any place to be or something to do right that moment.  We just enjoyed being a family for 20 peaceful minutes.  In the "Go, go, go" of every day life these moments are so important and I cherish every minute.

Have a nice evening everyone!  Until tomorrow. :-)

TWENTY-THREE

Hello Everyone!  I am officially back on track.  Addie and I caught colds; mine apparently slowed me down a lot more than Addie's did to her, so I got de-railed.  I'm back in the game though.  On that note I will be playing catch up.  Since I missed it last weekend I will be writing about how I'm thankful for Mommies.

This Mother's Day marked my second Mother's Day.  My first one with Addie found her and I still in the process of figuring this other mommy/child thing out.  A year later I am by no means an expert but I definitely felt much more like a mommy than my first one.  God has blessed me with our beautiful little girl and over this past year I have learned so much.  I've learned the real definition of exhaustion and that mom's really do have super powers.  I have truly amazed myself in how I not only stayed awake some days but was still functional.  A small miracle that honestly may not have happened if not fueled by caffeine. lol  I've also learned that you don't really know what unconditional love is until you look into the eyes of your baby.  I still tear up a bit some days when I look at Addie and the miracle that she is.  She keeps me laughing and on my toes every day.

 Being a mommy has given me so many things; patience, love, perspective and is one of the most rewarding jobs I have or ever will have in my life.

I want to thank you Ma for teaching me so much that I never fully understood until I became a mom myself.  You taught me what the unconditional love of a mom is, the value of patience and how your child will test it, how a mom would do anything for her child and puts their safety and well-being above hers and that your first friend is your mom.  You are truly an amazing woman and I love you and thank you for every sacrifice, every kiss of a boo-boo, every time you let me lay my head in your lap when I was down.  Thirty years later your arms are still the place I want to run to if something goes wrong.  Thank you for all that you do

 Finally, thank you to all of the other mommies in my life; my family and friends who are shining examples of wonderful moms.  Being a mom is truly one of the toughest and most rewarding jobs there is and you all are wonderful at it.  I love you all!

TWENTY-TWO

Happy Friday Evening everyone!  Sorry again for the missed post.  I'm still trying to fend off this cold and last night staying up just wasn't an option for me.  But I'm getting rest and trying to take it as easy as possible. :)

Matt is having a boys night so it was just Addie and I for the evening.  In honor of our mommy/daughter time I'm thankful for special moments with Addie.  As I watched her eat her dinner while completely mesmerized by the movie "Tangled" and cracked up as she played "splash mommy" during bath time I thought, "enjoy every minute".  Our little angel is growing so fast and every day she makes us smile and laugh with her antics.  Addie loves when I sit on the floor while she is playing; soon she is scooting backwards, with her butt sticking out and I know that she is on her way to my lap. She loves to "brush" my hair and make funny faces in the mirror with me while I'm getting ready for work in the morning.  Working outside of the home makes me cherish these little moments so much because it's hard to leave her every morning so I soak up every moment, knowing that it won't last forever.  She has already moved past being my little baby and has moved into being my little girl.  So, I try to remember to slow down and enjoy these moments because if I don't I could miss the best moments I didn't even know where happening. 

Good Night! XO

TWENTY-ONE

Happy Wednesday everyone!  We are officially over the hump and more than half way through the week. :-)  It is said that it takes 21 days to  start or break a habit, so in honor of my 21st day of thanks, I am thankful for new habits.  I don't know if the 21 day rule is true and this may only be happening because I'm doing it on here but blogging what I'm thankful for has definitely become something that I have to do every day now. 

Some days I have to really think about what I'm thankful for; let's face it, it's not always so easy to see the good in a day.  I like that I have to do it though, because it's on those tough days that I need to remember what I'm thankful for the most.  This is one habit I'm glad I chose to form because it helps keep things in perspective for me.  Not every day is going to be a good day and it is hard to recognize it some days but forcing myself to focus on the good makes the bad days tolerable and the good days even better.  It also gives me a moment to slow down because I'm focused on this one thing. 

Is there a habit you've been thinking about taking up or trying to break?

Sleep tight!  XO

TWENTY

Hello!  I hope that everyone is having a good week.  I have to admit, today I was having one of those "Grrrr" days.  There was no reason for it really, just one of those days.  As I was contemplating the light in my grrr day I got a text from my mother-in-law saying that they were still out and that I would probably beat them home.  There it was; I was thankful for unexpected no baby time.  Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get home each night and see Addie's smiling face.  That being said, when the opportunity for no baby time, no matter how short, arises I take full advantage. 

When I arrived home I began to run around getting things done that I had been putting off because doing them when Addie is around is not always so easy.  I was a house cleaning fool.  Yes, I know, when you get no baby time you should sit down, relax and just enjoy it.  Well for me, a clean house makes me very relaxed.  Let me tell you what, I got an insane amount of stuff done in a half an hour span.  As I watched my in-laws arrive with my little angel, I looked at my house and the cleaning miracle I had just created and thought, "ahhhhhh, this is nice."  It was definitely nice to have a little uninterrupted time to do things I wanted to do. 

As I watched Addie excitedly wave and yell at Matt through the window as he was mowing the yard I thought, "Ahhh, this is nice too."  :-)

She felt the closer she got to the
window the better chance of
Matt seeing her. lol

Very excited that daddy was outside mowing

 

NINETEEN

Happy Monday Everyone!  First let me start by saying, I am aware that I missed a post yesterday.  That being said, that brings me to what I'm thankful for; rest.  I'm pretty sure that Addie caught a cold and since her and I hung out all day Saturday I had the joy of being covered in snotty hugs and kisses.  When I woke in the middle of the night Sunday I had a sore throat and by the end of the day I was quite wiped out.  When Matt, Addie and I returned from Sunday dinner with Matt's parents, her and I passed out on the couch for the night.  It was early and the sun wasn't quite set but I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed Addie's early bed time last night. :-)  I'm still fighting off whatever it is that Addie caught but it was so nice to get some much needed rest after an enjoyable but tiring weekend.

I am trying to be better about resting when I am feeling under the weather, though that is often times easier said than done when you have a young one.  I should probably be at home resting one more day but I am glad I granted myself the rest needed last night instead of worrying about vacuuming the carpet or sweeping the floors.  Maybe I'll be able to convince Matt to take over cleaning duty tonight so I can rest some more.
;-)

I hope you all have a great start to your week!

XO