Right Where I am supposed to be

My 9 month old just reminded me of a very basic, but often forgotten lesson in my life and I thought it was worthy to share. Miss Kinz woke up an hour earlier than usual, so naturally she was ready to nap an hour earlier.....at least I thought so. Well, after rocking, singing, reading, drinking a bottle (even though it was too early to eat), chewing on a teething toy , and rocking some more, she still did not fall asleep. Now I am definitely not opposed to letting her cry herself to sleep....trust me, this is what I have to do most days because Paul is really the only one who can successfully rock her to sleep. However, even after letting her cry, it was obvious that she was not going to go down easy. It broke my heart to see her standing up in her crib, tears drenching her face, and hearing her scream like someone was pinching her.....

WHat's a mom to do?

So I wrapped her in a blanket, cuddled her up, and laid down in my bed as I stroked her head and kissed her like five hundred, million, trillion times. I am not judging those who co-sleep, but Paul and I have chosen, in fact, we made it somewhat of a rule that our children learn to fall asleep during nap and bed time in their own beds. However, today I didn't care. I just lay there with her tiny head on my chest, feeling her breathe so rapidly, as though she was terrified that I was going to put her back to bed, and watching her eyes blink open/shut/ open/shut and then just like that...she was asleep! After an hour-long battle of the wills, my babe was fast asleep.....PHEW!

But Now, I was stuck....my arm wrapped under her head and her tiny body nestled next to mine....there was no way I was going to even attempt to move and wake this sleeping beauty, Now usually, I LOVE my mid morning nap, but conveniently after finally getting Kinz to sleep, I could not physically fall asleep, much less put my mind to rest. A million things were running through my mind....the laundry, the dishes, the bills....AHHHH.

And then it hit me.....I can't remember the last time this child has fallen asleep in my arms....and I definitely can not remember the last time she seemed to ENJOY cuddling with me. Kinz is always on the go. And in just a few short months she will be walking and then who knows when I will get to cuddle her.....and so I stayed right where I was. I just stared at this beautiful face and thanked God for giving her to me and giving me this moment.

Back when I was on maternity leave and not bringing in an income, I received an email from my wise ol' dad reminding me of the importance of the little, non-materialistic, things in life. He so poignantly writes

" What you need most at this juncture in life...is time with your family. They will one day grow and this youthful time will drift into photographs and memories. Money lost can always be made again, honey...but time lost is gone forever."

I feel so blessed to be able to lay in my bed with a healthy child breathing easy on my chest, and honestly not having to worry about a thing....at least for the moment. Life really is a all about 'The Little Things'.....and I know I am right where I am supposed to be:)

We - are - FAMILY

The other day, I asked Hunter to entertain Kinz while I ran downstairs to change the laundry (this is the plus side to having such a huge age gap...built-in 'babysitter'). When I returned, this is the scene I walked into....

'First we stack the blocks.....'

'Then we knock them down....'

'Wow, what a neat concept...'

'Yeay for us...'

Paul and I have always wanted more than one child, but when we finally got pregnant with Miss Kinz, I spent a lot of time worrying that the age gap would prevent a strong bond like one we both have with our siblings. Well, I was WRONG. The bond between siblings is undeniable, no matter what stands in the way.

It is truly an honor to be the mother to these two beautiful children, and to help guide and foster one of the most important relationships in both of their lives

Our own Christmas

This past weekend I had what turned out to be 'the good fortune' of working on Christmas day (more on that later). Yes, it is not ideal, but we made it work. Kinley, of coarse, has no idea about the magic of Christmas and Santa so she made it easy and Hunter didn't care when Santa came just as long as he did come. Well, Santa must have received our letter because the morning of Christmas Eve we woke up to a very pleasant surprise.

(Hunter's pile is to the left and Kinley's one measly present is to the right.....Don't worry, she still got very spoiled)

Hunter grabbed his stocking from his bed (Santa always pops in to lay the stocking on our bed and whisper a Merry Christmas to us as we sleep....I know kind of creepy, but it is a tradition my parents started when I was a kid). Anyway he woke up at 6, and then of coarse his excitement just spread quickly through the house because shortly after Kinley decided to wake up....and so our own Christmas morning began.

First, we sat on the stairs and sang 'Happy Birthday to Jesus' and then the kids attacked the gifts...And in no time all the gifts were opened, so we all enjoyed a home cooked breakfast, and spent the day playing with our gifts and enjoying the snow!

We hope your holiday was as blessed and filled with love and laughter!

Christmas Card 2010

A Christmas card posted on my blog....I know, this is semi lame, but hear me out. Over Thanksgiving, my kids and hubby dressed up (against their will) and put on their best smile for our annual Christmas photo. It turned out beautiful, and I had real intentions of mailing it out to our family and closest friends, but I have a whole book full of excuses for why that never happened. And then I had this brilliant idea to make a christmas card and send it out through email and facebook. It is a long story, but let's just say me and my mac computer are not on good terms......and so alas.....here is out Christmas card for 2010.

This year has brought many wonderful blessings to our little family. The biggest blessing was by far the birth of our little girl this past April

WOW....how the time flies by. Kinley is now 8 1/2 months old and she is such a wonderful addition to our household....and she fits right it. She is sitting up, army crawling EVERYWHERE, eating solids, sleeping through the night, enjoying every second laughing at her hilarious brother, spending the days with mommy, and cuddling with daddy. She loves to laugh, eat, explore, be held, read books, play with cell phones and remotes, oh yeah and did I mention eat:)

And then there is this guy.....

Hunter is 5 1/2, and is growing up even faster before our eyes. He is loving Kindergarten and learning how to read, and Hunter bear continues to be such a social butterfly. He started Tae Kwando this fall, and will test for his orange belt this weekend. It is a big commitment, but he really loves it. He will also start playing basketball this winter, which give him and his daddy something to practice during the cold winter days. But his most favorite thing to do besides playing sports and hanging out with his friends is making his sister laugh.....(at least I like to think so)....He has become mommy's little helper and loves to entertain 'missy' while I get dinner ready. It is so precious.

And as for Paul and I, well, we are basically enjoying ever second we get to spend with our kiddos. They sure keep us busy, and we are loving every minute of it. Paul just finished his last semester at our local community college and he will start his Bachelor's degree in Business this coming March at a local school that supports working adults. That's right, he will still be working full time and going to school. I feel so blessed that he is willing to still work full time because this allows me to continue to be home during the week with my kids. It has been a HUGE change and wonderful blessing to be able to call myself a stay at home mom....at least during the week. I still work 'weekend package' at our local Children's hospital, which I LOVE! I work with amazing women that have become great friends and I get to take care of such inspiring kids. Because of our crazy work schedules, we both try to spend every evening home together and thanks to Paul's mom, we still get to enjoy a date night out at least once a month.

We feel so blessed to have two beautiful, happy, and healthy kids. We feel even more blessed that we have all of YOU in our lives. We hope this holiday season and upcoming year bring as many blessings to your lives as we have been privileged to experience.

TAKE ONE

TAKE TWO

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Shopping

It is not even Thanksgiving, and I am already planning out not WHAT, but HOW am I going to do my Christmas shopping this year. I already know I am going to be shopping at the last minute...I always do:(. Will I go to the store and ship my presents or shop online, or BOTH. Well, I stumbles across this new website called Ebates from another blog that I follow. As a mom working a few days a week, I am determined to save money while still being able to buy the gifts that I want to for those I love. This site is great because I have access to all the stores I would normally shop at online, but this way I can actually make money by shopping. I thought it was too good to be true, but it actually makes sense. This website gets a commission from these stores for referring customers to their websites, but then Ebates turns around and shares part of the commission with you. I am so excited I found this, and thought I would share it with all of you. HAPPY SHOPPING!

Healthy Habits start Young

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you accomplished more in a few hours than you have in an entire week. Well, today was one of those days for me. I woke up early, worked out while Kinz napped, cleaned the house, folded the laundry, and grocery shopped for the week. And although I am definitely proud I knocked some things off my list (even though it is FRIDAY), that's not even what has made me feel so accomplished.

As many of you know my family is drinking this new fruit juice blend. I am so happy Paul, Hunter, and I are getting the benefits of 13 servings of fruits and vegetables through this drink. I am still nursing Kinley so I know she is getting at least part of those benefits too. But today, I invested some time in healthy choices specifically for my babe....

At the grocery store, I purchased 2 sweet potatoes ($0.73), 2 butternut squash ($0.90), carrots ($1.68/bag); 4 apples ($1.84); 3 pears ($1.52), 3 bananas ($0.68); and 1 can of pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice ($0.77). That's a total of $8.12. We spend that much for

I washed, blended, mixed, packaged and stored. And in no time at all, I had over 15 servings fresh fruits and vegetables to feed my little princess

This really was so easy, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I can't wait to see how much Kinley enjoys her new food.

Consuming Love

Last night while at dinner with my family, Kinley began to choke on her first finger foods ( we won't be trying that again anytime soon). Instinctively, I stood up and reacted like any mom would. I was pretty shaken up because in just an instant I was reminded how fragile life is. Now, it may not have been that serious, but in the moment words can't express the fear as a mother when your baby is struggling. As her mother, I reacted differently than everyone else at the table......it really struck me, and so I have been thinking all morning about this crazy thing called motherhood!!!

The past five years, I have been consumed with motherhood. About 99% of everything I say, do, or feel has been related to being a mom. Being a mother is the most exhausting, time consuming, yet exciting, and rewarding role I have ever had. I wake up a mother and go to bed a mother.

...My whole life revolves around these two angels...

It is a love I have never quite experienced. I always thanked my parents for their unconditional love, but I never truly understood it until I became a mother 5 1/2 years ago. It doesn't matter how tired I am or how overwhelmed I am feeling at the moment, my love for my babies has NEVER waivered. It is a love that only grows every day.

It is a love that could only be created by the One who loves us more than even our own parents. People talk about miracles every day, but the love of a parent for their child is truly miraculous because it is only through divine intervention that our own selfish, human tendencies are put aside when we become parents.

Sometimes, it's hard to grasp how we, as parents wake up every day and give all our time and energy to another being whose every need depends on us. However, in the midst of it, we don't think about this stuff because it comes so 'naturally'.....well, only a love that natural can come from our first parent, our Father in Heaven. I am so thankful everyday for the patience, the energy, the commitment, and the desire to be the best mom I can. I pray that God can continue to work through me as I guide my children through this life and help them navigate their own path.

And so today, in the midst of pure exhaustion (they both needed mommy last night)I thank God for my happy and healthy children who are better than any amount of sleep could ever measure up to;)