Top Five Fridays - Motherhood Quotes

Today I am just keeping it simple. Here are five quotes that can make you laugh, think about, and treasure up motherhood . . .

1. "There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." M. Russell Ballard

2. "Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard." Author Unknown

3. "The phrase 'working mother' is redundant." Jane Sellman

4. "One of the greatest needs in the world today is intelligent, conscientious motherhood. … Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness the first assurance that there is love in the world. The noblest calling in the world is motherhood. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all arts, the greatest of all professions. She who can paint a masterpiece, or who can write a book that will influence millions, deserves the admiration and plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose immortal souls will exert an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or have been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God." David O. McKay

5. An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. ~Spanish Proverb

So don't forget mommies - what we do each day is amazing, wonderful, and more meaningful than anything that we will ever do. Have a good one. ;)

Top Five Fridays - The Joy of One

Is anyone else a little bit floored that my baby is already one? It seems like only one year ago that I was desperate enough to try out some castor oil, which led to me coming a little bit too close to having a baby in the hospital parking lot . . .

I want to dedicate this post to five things that makes having a one-year-old a wonderful thing.

1. She is not too old to still cuddle with her mommy. Often throughout the day she'll just speed crawl to me and cuddle her little head into my belly or shoulder. I love it! Before every nap she likes to cuddle on my shoulder and pull at my hair a little bit, and only then is she good to go down. Lately when I get this bit of cuddle I can't help but think that any day now she'll become too interested in the world around her to cuddle with her mommy.

2. She is somewhere between a baby and a toddler, so I feel like I am getting the best of both worlds. She still has plenty of baby fat to squeeze and kiss, yet she is totally intrigued by the world around her - just as a toddler should be.

3. She is an observer. She will watch Kenzie carefully as Kenzie puts on bracelets and a purse, and then as quickly as Kenzie puts her stuff down Jordyn jets over to try on the bracelets and does her best to try and pull the purse over her head. I love watching her because she isn't quite super coordinated yet, so it makes for a very entertaining process to watch. As soon as she accomplishes her feat, she looks up with a smile ready to have her accomplishment celebrated.

4. She is sturdy enough to really play with now. As soon as I am down on the floor and wrestling with Kenzie or chasing Kenzie around the house, Jordyn is right there to be apart of the action too. Her favorite thing to do is head-butt your closest body part and laugh a hilariously deep belly laugh.

5. Finally, I love to watch her little personality really establish itself. Jordyn has shown that she is a determined little lady. She does not stop trying until she gets it. She'll get a little bit frustrated, but she doesn't stop. The kid also loves people. She can be sick and yucky feeling and as fussy as can be - give her a room full of people to watch and she is chill and content.

So there you go, five of the many reasons that I love having a one-year-old in my little house.

I Ain't Afraid of No Bug

The posting title is quite deceiving, because my daughter is actually deathly afraid of all things crawling and creeping. If you were to base her feelings for bugs on the following conversation we had yesterday, you wouldn't think that though . . .

Kenzie: Mommy, mommy come in the bathroom.

Me: What is it?

Kenzie: (Pointing at a piece of flint in the bathtub that bears a very strong resemblance to a bug) See that bug in the bathtub?

Me: Yea, I see it, what about it?

Kenzie: He is scared of the bottom of my foot.

Habits

So I've noticed lately that Kenzie likes to chew around the peel of her apple. The results often look something like this:




In my attempt to save some apple I cut off the peel before giving her an apple today. The result came in as this:



A habit formed is hard to break . . .

Top Five Fridays -A Modified Shape

Alright, I am going to try and do what I will refer to as "Top Five Fridays". This is really just a way for me to vent, share, or give to much information about different aspects of being a mom. I thought a good tmi entry would be the best way to start things off . . .

So here it is. Plain and simple. Just a few of the ways that your body will (or already has) modified itself since having children. (I like the word modify, it's a bit softer than deformed)

1. The gray hair. The minute I was got pregnant with baby number one I started growing outrageous amounts of gray hair. In fact, I grew an entire SPOT of gray hair on the back of my head (fortunately it's in a spot where it can easily be hidden). I hate the idea of ever dying my hair because I feel like I am imprisoning myself to a never-ending new bill . . . but I just might have to give in one of these days.

2. The sag. The sag in the boobs, the sag in the butt, the sag in the belly, the sag in the thighs . . . it can happen anywhere. I will at least spare you the information about the precise location of my sagging symptoms.

3. This next one I like to call the shrink and expand. I have shrunk in places that I would have preferred stayed, well, un-shrunk; and I have expanded in areas that would have been nice to keep slim. Just the other day my husband was saying that I am getting too thin because he noticed that my jeans sag off my rear-end. Well, it all comes down to the shrink and expand problem. My rear-end shrunk, but my waist isn't getting any thinner . . . the result . . . pants that fit around the waste but sag right off my shrunken fanny.

4. I figure I should list at least one good thing . . . my hair got curly. That's right. I can curl my hair quite well since having children. Now that just takes an outrageous amount of hormone if you ask me. I must say that it's quite the convenient style-quick-and-go hair style for a busy mom. Just dry with a towel, add some good moose, and ta-da!

5. Finally there is the bane of my existence. Every sneeze, every good laugh, and jumping a little too much can all add up to one horrible sensation . . . lack of bladder control. Now I KNOW I am not the only one who has this, so don't go thinking, "I don't have that, that can't be normal?". Yea, being 23 with the bladder control of my potty-training child can be a bit of a humbling experience.

Hide and Sneak

Kenzie has developed an obsession with "games" lately. Duck, Duck, Goose, and Hide and Seek are a daily request in this house.

She doesn't quite have the entire concept down, but she sure is hilareous to play with. Here is a rendition of "Hide and Sneak" (as she appropriately refers to it).

Me: Alright, I will count to ten while you go and hide, okay?

Kenzie: Alright! I gonna go hide and sneak in the nursery, okay?

Me: Well you're not supposed to tell me silly girl, its a secret.

Kenzie: Okay, here I go, shut your eyes and count.

Me: One, Two, (I hear the nursery doors being slammed open) Three, Four, (I hear the nursery doors slammed shut) Five, Six, (I hear frantic little giggles) Seven, Eight . . .

Kenzie: Mommy, I hiding, come and get me

Me: I'm not done counting yet.

Kenzie: But I'm hiding, so you all done counting

Me: Alright then, ready or not, here I come! Hmmmm . . . I wonder wear Kenzie could be?

Kenzie: I in the nursery mommy

Me: Is she behind the chair? Noooo

Kenzie: Noooo (frantic giggles once again)

Me: Is she under the desk?

Kenzie: No, I in the nursery, I sneaky!

Me: Is she in the bathroom?

Kenzie: Mommy, I told you, I in the nursery! (with a bit of irritation in her tone)

Me: Hmm, lets look in the nursery. (I walk in a see what is pictured above). I wonder if she behind the door?

Kenzie: (Yanks the blanket off) Here I am! How you find me?

Me: I found you!!

Kenzie: I a good hider, you thought I was in the bathroom.

Me: Yup, you sure tricked me!

So, I think my favorite is when it is my turn to hide and her turn to sneak. She only gives me to the count of three (a VERY fast three) and if I do happen to make it to a good hiding place she gets really frustrated. She always expects me to be in the place that she was last hiding in and that just adds to the frustration. Then she starts screaming "Mommy, you supposed to tell me where you are!"

She's got a way to come with her hide and seek skills, but she is totally hilarious nonetheless.

Roller-Coaster

Do you ever wake-up ready to be done for the day?

It seems I have experienced this thrilling feeling for the past two or three days straight. I love my kids, but I also love to sleep. Sleep isn't something that happens much when you have a three year old and a one year old who share a room the size of a small walk-in closet. (That's right - just enough room for a crib and a toddler bed - and I mean ONLY a crib and a toddler bed.) When I don't get my sleep motherhood can become a very interesting roller-coaster ride. Wait. I take that back. Motherhood is already a roller-coaster ride. When I don't get my sleep its more like a roller-coaster ride that I have not been properly secured in.

Okay ladies, it's time to share the truth. We hesitate to say that our kids can be irritating, exhausting, demanding, whiny, and down-right annoying at times. Such a statement might somehow imply that we are bad mothers. It might imply that we are cut out for a good examination from CPS. Is that what we are living in fear of? I don't know why the hesitancy when it comes to admitting the truth about being frustrated with our kids. I know we've all been in that moment when the baby is crying, the two-year old is having a full fledged conniption over a dropped sippy, and you are standing there trying to muster up even a particle of energy in order to respond to these little people who you know you love, but you just don't like them at the moment. To top if all off you are only ten minutes into the day! When I'm tired, these moments of mayhem can feels as frantic as running from an avalanche.

Oh, and then there is the guilt cycle. Once you respond in a not so great way to the sippy being dropped, then we can go into batter-yourself-to-pieces-mode for your poor reaction. AH! And you know all along that a good nights rest would have made the sippy incident laughable.

Well, I don't know you, but I feel better having shared that being a tired mommy is not something that I will EVER be fond of.

That said, I want to share a few things these last few days that have lightened the tired mommy load.

First and foremost would be other mommies. I can't tell you what good going to playgroups and hosting playgroups does for me on these exhausting, irritable days. There is something refreshing about talking with other moms who are in the same exact boat I am in. It's nice to hear that all moms have moments of laughter, moments of extreme love, moments of extreme madness, and moments when you just want to jump off the boat all together. We all have the reasonable part of o brain ur that totally knows that we are not the only ones with an overdramitic two-year-old and a poor sleeper for a baby; but somehow it is still easy to convince ourselves that that everyone else on the block is the perfect mommy.

The other thing that has really gotten me a long way is to just turn off life for a few hours. I shut down the TV, the phones, the computer, the music, and everything else so that there are no distractions and I just get out a puzzle with the girls, I go on a walk, I do whatever they want. I can be such an uptight person that if the phone rings it would be like breaking one of the ten commandments to not answer.

So tell me . . . what keeps you sane on your I-want-to-throw-my-children-out-the-window days?