Things only my children can teach me....

Clark Lara Photography

So, it has been ages since I last posted and now I am ready to finally get back into posting at least once a month! Well, let's just say it's a realistic goal for me. I thought awhile about what I wanted to post tonight. My list included: kinsey growing up, grady growing up even faster, my 29th birthday, family life, friends, to go back to work or not and so on. While all of these options would make for good conversation I decided to enlighten you all and myself by talking about the lessons that my children have taught me. It seems like I have been so caught up in being a parent to two children under the age of three that I forgot about living life and cherishing each moment. I have had nights where I go to bed and hear the voices in my head tell me, " You are so out of your league...you will never get the hang of raising two babies at once!" Sometimes, it's easier to believe the negativity than it is to hitch up your pants a little tighter and carry on to another day. But, during these last six months as a busy, out of control, losing my sanity parent I have realized that with every bad, awful, no good, terrible day, my children give me reasons to keep smiling. So, here is my list and hopefully other mothers will read these and realize that their beautiful chaos is actually pretty normal.. at least to this mother!

Clark Lara Photography

Things only my children can teach me...


1. Being a mom doesn't mean you have to be PERFECT! Guess what... you are going to mess up every now and then.
2. Making me sit in time out is okay. I may HATE every second of it but as long as you give me a hug and kiss after time is up, I know that you still love me.
3. I think that you are BEAUTIFUL! Really, I do... you may see every wrinkle, extra five pounds, stretch mark, grey hair and under eye circles... but to me you are the most beautiful mommy in the world! (p.s. daddy thinks so too!)
4. STOP being so hard on yourself! Just because you stay at home with us doesn't mean that you are required to get everything done each day. Relax a little and enjoy your time with us. The laundry can wait until tomorrow!

5. Be SILLY! We love when you dance to the Wiggles and spin us in circles. Watching you let loose let's us know that it is okay to have a sense of humor!

6. PRAISE me everyday! We love to hear how much you love us, how smart we are and how much you love being our mommy! It makes us feel special and warm inside!

7. It's okay if you want to CRY! We know sometimes you are overwhelmed and we would kiss away your tears if we could. We don't like to see you sad but we will hug you until you feel better and that's a promise!

8. Stop LISTENING to what other people say! We love you just the way you are and we don't want you to change just because somebody else has a problem with the way you do things. Stand strong and believe in yourself... it's the only way we will learn to be confident too!

9. Let us get DIRTY! We know you hate when we come in filthy, but it is so much fun! We love letting our imagination run wild when we play outside. And we love it even more when you play with us!

10. Don't be so SERIOUS all the time! We know there are other things on your mind (i.e., bills, what to cook for dinner, calling the plumber, etc.) but we love you the most when you are smiling! It helps us know that everything is all right in the world!

Clark Lara Photography

11. Be PATIENT! We know it is easier said than done, but I promise that we will get it down. We just do it at our own pace.

12. Do not YELL at us! Yelling at us hurts our feelings and makes us feel terrible. Plus, we don't like the way your face looks when you get real angry. Instead, put us in time out or walk away from us and yell at the wall, the sky, a tree... anything besides us!

13. Take TIME for yourself. We know that you are probably laughing at this one, but we really think you are happier when you get a break from us every once in a while. Being a stay at home mom is a TOUGH job and everybody needs a sick day!

14. It's just fine with us if you RUN every time we fall. Some people tell you to let us get up on our own, but we know you love us more than that and sometimes we need you right away to help take away the pain. We will let you know when we don't need you to run.

15. ENJOY every second with us! Sometimes we know that you are multitasking while we are playing blocks together and we wish you would just devote that 30 minutes to us. We are growing up so fast and we don't want you to be sad when we are older.

16. Stay focused on GOD. We love hearing you tell us bible stories about Jesus and how he loves all the little children. We love when you help us say our prayers and we watch you as you pray too. Never stop being devoted to your faith...we want to grow up as believers too!

17. Newsflash: being a parent is HARD! You want to scream one second, and then cry the next. We know we don't always make it easy but don't give up on us. We are worth so much more than that!

18. A little MESS never hurt anyone. Yes, we are children and we make a mess quicker than you can say it. But don't fret over the toys we leave out because one day you will miss seeing them there.

19. TALK to us. So, we don't always make sense, but we feel so connected to you when you talk with us. We learn so much more when we are able to hear you respond to our little stories and questions. (FYI:  "Why?" is always a legitimate response to any of your answers).

20. LIVE for today. You are only guaranteed today...stop worrying about what we need to schedule or do months ahead of time. Instead, live each moment with us to the fullest... the rest will take care of itself. Remember how you always say: "LET GO and LET GOD!" Well do it already lady!

Until next time, PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!!

Clark Lara Photography

3 Month old drool and Not so Terrible Two's!!

I am officially back to my blog..woohoo! I feel so bad for neglecting this precious space that allows me the opportunity to fill you all in on the little quirks and stumbles in our daily life! It has been a roller coaster of events since bringing home baby Grady. First, Thanksgiving and then Christmas with two kiddos! I had no ideas what to get little man...I definitely didn't want him to look back at pictures when he is older and see that big sister was pleasantly spoiled by Santa while he was only given meager offerings, so we got a little anxiousand bought too much stuff that I ended up opening by myself because as you can see little man slept right through Christmas!!!

But I felt better knowing that he if were awake he would have been spoiled just as much as Kinsey! Whom by the way had a great Christmas... and it was so much fun watching her open all of her gifts with such a big smile on her face!! It made the whole morning just perfect in every way possible.
She was so excited to see that her Santee (as she calls him) came to see her. Such a special moment for our little family:)

After Christmas, it seems like we were hit with the sickness bug full force and we are still not completely out of the water, but much better than we were! Grady ended up in the hospital for two days in January for dehydration and ear infection. I am pretty sure those two days have been the worst experience of my motherhood so far! I hated seeing him hooked up to an iv and just laying there sick and miserable, but prayer and the healing hands of our Lord brought him back to normal and healed him quickly. The next week, our precious Kinsey came down with her first ear infection ever and it just happened to hit both ears at the same time. It was awful!!! I now realize that once one kiddo gets better, almost immediately the second one will start to feel awful! It is just a part of having two babies in this beautifully confusing TEXAS weather. We were pretty much healthy coming into February until Miss Kinsey caught a stomach bug...luckily though it only lasted for 24 hours!! But now Mr. Grady is under the weather again.. not sure if it is just early teething because he is drooling uncontrollably or a bug! But last night was one of those nights that you remember when the sun set and were still awake when it came up again in the morning:) Crossing my fingers that maybe today will be better... it is so hard to see your babies hurting as any mother knows!
On a happier yet bittersweet note, Kinsey is fixing to turn two! Really? Did I just say that? Yep...it's true our little beauty is fixing to be two years old and in a way it is exciting but at the same time I want to SLOW down time!!! This year she is having a strawberry shortcake birthday party because it is safe to say that Strawberry Shortcake is her cartoon hero at this moment!! We pretty much watch Strawberry every day in the car and every morning on the HUB channel! I must say I have been busy making decorations and planning her party even though it is not until the end of March! I love planning special parties for my kids... it makes me feel happy to spend my time creating memories that I know they will cherish forever.
It might sound like this post has been nothing but a big girl whining session but do not be confused by my antics. I will admit that 2012 has started off rough and emotionally taxing, but we are grateful that we serve a God who delivers from each and every struggle we encounter. We are blessed to have our two children who keep us on our toes and thankful for the small moments like watching cartoons in bed and eating ice cream together. It is special moments like these that make up for all the craziness and insanity in the our lives. We may not have everything we want, but Kinsey and Grady are definitely more than we will ever need! I wish you all a super happy Valentine's full of love and time spent with those who mean the most!! Until next time, PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!