What if we all wore signs...

I don't even know how to lead into this post but I just read a story that may forever change my life.  

How often do we pass judgement on someone without even knowing what is really happening in their life.  Sometimes we may even judge with the best of intentions or we may not even realize that we are passing judgement.  

I just came across a blog post that puts such a wonderful perspective on judging, and not just judging but on missing a chance to help someone in need.  She talks about how different this world would be if we all wore signs that said what we were struggling with.  How much kinder would we be to one another, how much more helpful we would be if we knew exactly what our friends, neighbors, strangers were going through.  

I will just let you go and read the post if you want

what if we all wore signs...

Randomness...

Just some great pics from recent happenings....ENJOY!

Daniel lined up all his cars on the stairs

Miles always sleeps with his hands on his face

Handsome Daniel all ready for church

The free petting zoo at the fair

Daniel at the fair

Garrett at the fair...he turned just as I was taking the picture

Miles just chillin' at the fair

My three little men

Garrett all ready for preschool

Miles first taste of rice cereal

Not sure what to think

Love his bumbo

Crazy boys

They love their brother

Bath Time

Love sleeping babies

Hehehe robber Daniel

Garrett robber

So tired he was falling asleep in his bumbo

The boys first snowman of the year.  They built it all on their own.

Nap time

All three boys are sleeping?!  I can hardly believe it...really I am shocked!  It probably won't last long and I really should go and be productive but instead I will sit here and blog :)  

My life is a constant state of managing chaos...but I have come to realize that with children you can only really control so much of the chaos.  Some of it is actually productive and purposeful.  

I found this on pinterest the other day and it completely conveys what I feel as a mother to boys...

"The Rules for Toddlers"

Be Cute

Stand on the table

Play with your food

Splash in the tub

Climb on everything

Jump on the bed

Give hugs

Splash in puddles

Dump out all the toys

Scream as the top of your lungs

Everything is mine

Giggle till your belly hurts

It says it perfectly...kids are made to get dirty, make messes, climb on stuff, and get into trouble.  My job as a mother is not to keep them from everything but to let them explore and discover who they are.  I am to help them reach their full potential not by controlling every move they make but by guiding their footsteps.  

I have come to discover that as hard as it is sometimes I have to let go and let my boys make a mess and be crazy.  I am trying to look for more opportunities to say 'yes' and trying to say 'no' less often.  Most of the time my children aren't trying to drive me crazy, they are just exploring and figuring out where they fit into this world.  

They have so much potential and I want to help nurture that not destroy their spirits.  I am hoping that I can come to see them making mud and painting the house with it as them exploring and not just making a mess.  (and yes my boys did do this...it was the outside of the house thankfully but they did use dishes from the kitchen and water from the kitchen to make the mud)

My kids are going to be crazy, they are going to get dirty, and they are going to fight but that isn't always a bad thing.  They are growing and learning and I hope that I can be a part of that.  That means I need to get messy and let them be messy.  

My new motto...also from pinterest:

"Please excuse the mess, the children are making memories."

Just Thinking...

Look at these three guys....I am amazed that I have been trusted with these three.

Some days I feel so incredibly blessed that the Lord would trust these three to me and other days I feel incredibly under-qualified to raise these three.  I just hope I am doing the the job well and that they will turn out to be wonderful men.

I just love these guys so much and only want what is best for them.  I want to show them how wonderful this world is and how powerful they are.  They can do anything and have such amazing little spirits

Garrett

Take this handsome young man.  He is so incredibly smart.  All day long he is asking questions and trying to figure out how things work.  He just loves to learn and use his mind.  He is becoming quite the independent little boy.  He also has an extremely sensitive little spirit.  He doesn't like it when other are hurting and can get hurt himself very easily.  Sometimes sadly I am the cause of his hurt.  I am not always patient with him and his poor little spirit is hurt.  I really want to be better at this.  His sensitive nature is a good thing it makes him very aware of others feelings, I just need to work harder at not hurting his feelings.  

Daniel

This little guy what can be said....what a clown!  He loves to make others laugh and loves to entertain.  His whole person is just funny, he doesn't even have to try he is just a character.  He isn't worried about what others think of him and just does what makes him happy.  He is quite the mama's boy and when I can't help him right away it really upsets him.  Poor guy was just kicked out of his spot as the baby and I think he is handling it well but sometimes I think he is frustrated that sometimes I have to help the baby before him.  I hope I can help him learn that no one can take his place and that he is very important to me.

Miles

I know he is young but I can already see some of his wonderful personality.  He loves to wiggle....and I mean he love to wiggle a lot.  If he is awake he is usually moving.  He is such a calm influence in our home.  No matter what craziness is going on around him he stays calm.  He really only gets upset if he is hungry.  He loves to talk to anyone that will listen.  He will just jabber away if you start talking to him.  Sadly because he is so good I feel like he gets the short end of the stick and gets ignored sometimes.  I feel like he isn't always getting the attention he should, but he just stays as happy as ever.  

I am sure most moms know the feeling that there just isn't enough of you to go around.  Everyone seems to need something and sometimes every needs something at the same time.  I just sometimes get discouraged knowing there just isn't enough of me.  I just hope that what I can give is enough.  I hope my boys will think fondly of their mother and have kind things to say about me when they are grown.  I hope the Lord is pleased with how I am taking care of my stewardship.  I sure know that I need his help.  My new motto is "Always be kinder than you feel."  I hope that I can remember this and try a little harder everyday to be a little better.  

 Anyone have any tips on how to be calmer and kinder to their kids?

Three!

My hilarious friend, Katy, is doing this so I thought I would join in


1.  Three favorite items of clothing
1. My yoga/pj pants,  just ask my husband if I could I would live in pj's
2. Hoodies, any kind really.  I just love hoodies.
3.My cute new brown shirt that I just bought from Ross (LOVE that store) You see since I am only a month postpartum a lot of my clothes don't fit right so I went and got a few new things and let me tell you I LOVE them.

2.  Three things in my house that I wish were self-cleaning
1. My sink full of dishes that I should be doing instead of this :)
2. Shower.  I hate to scrub out the shower
3. Baby diapers.  I seriously change so many diapers.  I counted, one time I changed 6 diapers in and hour and a half.

3.  Three favorite summertime lunches
1. Sandwich and chips
2. Lots of fruit.  
3. Anything easy that I know my kids will eat!

4.  Three things my children say that they picked up from me
1.  "I am okay."
2. "I don't want to hear you again!"
3. "Stop that!"

5.  Three good movie recommendations
1. The Blindside
2. Newsies
3. A League of Their Own

6.  Three inexpensive date night ideas
1. Movie on a Laptop outside somewhere
2. Dessert and walking the Greenbelt
3. Bowling!!!

7.  Three favorite flowers
1. Gerber Daisy (these were my wedding flower)
2. Orchid
3. Daffodil or Cala Lily

8.  Three places I'd like to visit
1. London, England
2. Japan
3. New York (I have been there before but would love to go again with my husband)

9.  Three good habits that I practice
1.  Brush my teeth regularly
2. Use deodorant daily
3. I am usually in bed by about 10 pm

10.  Three pictures

1. Our Wedding what a great day!

2. My three most favorite boys in the whole world, imagine when these three are teenagers!

3.  Right after the delivery of our third boy which I did completely natural, which was a huge goal and I accomplished it!  It was a very painful but empowering experience!

Happy Mother's Day to me....

This little guy joined our family just in time for Mother's Day (I told him he had to be here before Mother's Day and he made it with and hour to spare)

Miles Knighton King 

May 7th 2011 at 11:00 pm

6lbs 6oz

20 inches long

He has been such a wonderful little addition to our family, he is a very peaceful and calm baby.  I think he might be a very old and very wise spirit.  

The Story

His birth goes back a ways when at just about 35 weeks I started to have contractions that were about 5 min apart for a few hours, that happened a couple of times.  Luckily Miles decided he wasn't quite ready to come out just yet.  Since that time though I would get contractions nearly everyday.  Nothing consistent but still very uncomfortable (no they were not braxton hicks)  They around 37-38 weeks I started to have contractions much more regularly and more time able.  

On Saturday May 7th I started to have contractions that were very regular.  They started at about 10 am and were every 3-5 min apart for 2 or 3 hours so we decided to head up to the hospital (only because I knew that I was 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced already from a previous check-up)  

We got to the hospital at about 1 pm and they got me in to see if this was the real deal.  I was having regular contractions and making some progress after about an hour or so at the hospital so I got to stay.  Nothing like getting to the hospital and having them send you home.  

I really wanted to go natural this time and was pretty nervous that I would be able to do it.  Well time kept on passing and my progress was slow.  We walked a lot (I mean a lot) and I still would only dilate a cm in like two hours, I felt like it was going to last forever.  The pain level was fine I was just anxious to have him here and have it done with.  I didn't want it to go on forever or I knew I wouldn't have the energy to go all the way.  After several hours of very little progress I decided to let the Midwife break my water.  I think that was around 8 pm.  And let me tell you that is a weird sensation, kind of like peeing your pants.  

That is when things really picked up.  The contractions started to get much more intense and much closer together.  According to my midwife I have very long contractions as well.  At this time the pain was still very manageable.  I would just concentrate and breath through it.  Not having to be hooked up to anything really helps too. 

By 10:00 or 10:30 I really started to feel it.  It scared me and I just hoped I would make it through.  They decided that because little Miles was trying to come out with a hand on top of his head that they would put an IV (well a hep-lock actually) just in case they needed it.  Well they never even had a chance because by this time things really started to pick up.  I was feeling the urge to push and was in so much pain.  I don't think I will ever feel pain like that ever again on a scale of 1-10 it is a 12.  You have to fight through each contraction and tell yourself that despite the pain you have to push.  It is the only way for the pain to end.  By this time I wanted an epidural and the midwife said they would call for one but she didn't think I would make it, Miles would be here before he could get there.  She was right.

At exactly 11 pm he arrived and I have never felt so much relief and joy in my life.  I am still in shock that I was really able to do it, I am still not sure if I will do it that way again.  Despite the pain it is an amazing, empowering, and incredible feeling to know that I did it.  I am so much tougher than I thought. 

Chad was amazing through the whole thing.  He was so supportive and never left my side.  I couldn't have done it without that wonderful man by my side.  It was and incredibly emotional experience for both of us and I would never trade that even with all the pain that came along with it.   

Now on to some pictures

Just a few minutes old

Mom, Dad, and baby boy #3

He is so much smaller than my other two

He had really wrinkly skin right after he was born

Long and Skinny

So Handsome

What a angel baby

Let me paint you a picture...

So let me start by saying this is me...

Very pregnant and getting more uncomfortable by the day, not to mention I have a nerve/muscle in my back that is pinching and makes it hard to function.  Breathing in to hard is even uncomfortable.

Add this....

Daniel had his Tonsils and Adenoids out as well as tubes put in this last Tuesday.  He has been miserable and wanted no one but mommy.  At first he was on Tylenol with codeine and that helped the pain but it upset his stomach so much that he wouldn't eat or drink.  We decided to try alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofen for the pain and that helps as long as the medicine doesn't wear off.  His stomach has been better with that but he is still miserable and wakes up about three times a night.  So we went to the Doctor today to see what he had to say and he said that Daniel is looking really good actually and that many kids take up to 7-10 days to feel better.  I guess I will have to hold out a little bit longer....I just hope it ends soon, this momma is so emotionally exhausted she can barely think straight.  

Then the cherry on top...

Garrett threw up right before we left for the Dr. (that wasn't so bad because he made it to the toilet) The real doozy was that he threw up in the car on the way home from the Dr.  He got it all over his seat and all over himself.  This all happened while Daniel is crying in the back.  Then Garrett being the sweet boy that he is started trying to comfort Daniel even though he is covered in throw up himself.  

This is a day I hope I don't have to repeat soon and I hope that the days start to get a little better from here on out.  I guess we will see.