Unconditional Love

I have been blessed with amazing parents.

Let me rephrase- I have been blessed with an amazing family, but my parents in particular are...amazing.

I wasn't one of those kids who constantly engaged in screaming "you don't understand how I'm feeling!" battles with my parents. I actually hardly ever really argued with my parents at all. Don't get me wrong, I was no angel. There were definitely moments. But thankfully those moments just made my relationship with both my Mom and my Dad, that much stronger.

My Mom has always been one of the strongest women that I have ever known. No matter what trials or obstacles have come her way (and I can only imagine how many there were, especially with having raised 5 kids) her faith and belief that everything happens according to plan has never waned. She's often my voice of reason and my go-to person when I need a sounding board or someone to vent to (after I've already talked my poor husbands ear off).

My Dad is my calming force. I am always in awe of his appropriately timed words of wisdom and humor. His quiet, yet powerful presence is always reminds me that you don't have to be the loudest person in order to be heard. 

My parents are the kindest and most genuine people you'll ever meet. They've taught me so much about life and they've been amazing examples of what true love really is- not only in the way that they love my brothers and I, but in the way that they love each other. The relationship that they have with one another has always been humbling and inspiring.

They are also the strongest and most selfless people that I know. Even now- although we've all grown up and have families and responsibilities of our own, my parents will still drop everything in a second- no matter what- to lend a hand, lend an ear or to just be there when we need them. They are my best friends and I can only hope to be half the parents that they are.

I am so lucky that my kids get to experience the unconditional love and wonderfulness of their grandparents.

Lolo with Baby Belles

Lola with Baby Keats

Girls dates with Lola are always the best.

This little man loves his Lolo like crazy.

 "Parents aren’t the people you come from. They’re the people you want to be, when you grow up." 

- Jodie Picoult

Oh, the Places You'll Go

One of the greatest gifts that I've ever received from a past employer was the book, Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. I had actually never read the book, so I when they gave it to me, I just laughed, said "thank-you" and set it aside- knowing that one day I would probably just give it to my kids to read.

And then one day, years later, my daughter pulled the unopened book out from her bookshelf and asked me to read it. And it left me speechless. Emotional even. And I wondered why I had never bothered to open it until that moment.

The message in the book is so simple and so clear- while the journey through life is full of possibilities, failures and achievements, the goal is to keep on moving forward. Don't wait for things to  happen- go and do. The possibilities are endless, but you have to go and find them.

As a parent, that's all I want for my kids- for them to be fearless. For them to try new things and to be open to new adventures in order to grow and find out who they really are. I want them to learn from their mistakes, savour their achievements and be the best versions of themselves that they can possibly be.

But after reading this book (now multiple times) with both of my kids, I realized that they're not the only ones who need to absorb this message. I realized that my identity has been easily consumed by my role as a Mom and a Wife, and the passion that I want (and need) for my life outside the walls of my family is missing.

I have been blessed with an amazing husband and wonderful children, but being a Wife and Mom isn't it for me. Is it? I have dreams, I have goals and I have an identity apart from being someones wife and someones mom. While I know that I've accomplished a lot in my life, there is still more for me. I don't know why it took me so long to see that.

So, I'm starting a new adventure- one just for me- in order to find my passion again. I want the time that I spend away from my husband and kids to be just as rewarding and exciting for me as it is when I'm with them. Maybe that's too much to hope for. But I realized that I'd rather try than not.

Here's to new adventures!

Xo,

M

When They're Sick.

When they’re sick, your world tends to pause. Your priorities shift and the outside commitments that you may have had come to a grinding halt until you’ve been able to regroup, assess the situation and come up with a plan of attack. That helpless feeling that comes when they’re sick is the worst. You wish that their pain, their discomfort, their sickness would just somehow take over your own body instead. You being sick is better than them being sick. You’d do anything to make them feel better. To just feel back to normal.

I had planned to spend my Friday off shopping and planning for Belles upcoming birthday party. I had my to-do list organized, my schedule for the weekend made and the creative ideas flowing.  

Keaton had other plans. 

I thought that my days of changing liquidy, mustard seed-style poops were a thing of the past. Apparently not.

Whatever bug made its way into my poor guys system was a mean one. I changed around 20 diarrhea filled diapers in a span of 2 days, necessarily (and excessively) washed his sheets due to the ridiculous amount of poop and puke that soaked through them, and hosed down bathed my kid more times in one weekend than he probably has in a week. His poor little bum never got the chance to soak in the extreme amount of Zincofax or Baby Powder that I’d coat it with before the next explosion (literally) would happen and I spent the nights being anxious, half-awake and on guard for more middle-of-the-night-puking sessions. The laundry that accumulated from these puke and poopcapades took precedent over the piles of laundry that I had already planned to do, and my house had a lingering sour poop smell that had me constantly opening windows and lighting candles.

Ya, the weekend was an exciting one.

And yet, through it all, we still managed to fill our weekend with friends, play dates, family, laughter, cuddles, dance parties and fun.

The calm before the chaos. My happy Ice Princess and Ninja Turtle.
I admittedly (and naively) assumed that, regardless of having 3 poops before breakfast, he’d still be fine to come on a shopping adventure. A quick 2 hours and 4-5 poops later, left us cutting our lunch date short and rushing back home since I was out of extra diapers and 2 out of 3 of us were covered in shiss.
Happy Friday!

My helpful little dancer.
She spent the weekend cautiously pulling back her little brother’s diaper and checking for poop whenever I was busy changing the laundry.

 

Hoping that some ballerina watching would help make the tummy feel better.
Yes, I'm aware that we both have tired eyes.

 

“I swear Mom, I’m better. Just give me a damn donut.”

 

It’s definitely never easy when they’re sick. And while my house usually goes into  ‘shut-down’ mode until all the bugs have vacated the building, the resilience and vivacity of my little dude definitely made this weekend more fun than it could’ve been. Poop and all.

I hope you all had a wonderful and explosive-poop-less weekend!

Xo

M