You know you're a...

I thought this would be a fun list. And I am sure the majority of you will relate. I call it "You know you're a mom/ grown-up when...".

Let's get started, shall we?

You know you're a mom/ grown-up when...

1. You get excited to see a parenting magazine in the mail instead of the latest Cosmo.

2. The only bottle you are willing and able to pass around is full of formula.

3. You used to be able to go for days on just a few hours sleep. Now you need days worth of sleep to make it a few hours.

4. A sloppy, drool kiss from a boy makes your day instead of ruins it.

5. Saturday nights are spent at home playing peek-a-boo instead of going out to meet-a-boo.

6. No matter how much you try to avoid mom hair, you look in a mirror a week later and realize things haven't changed, moved, or been brushed.

7. When you hear a crying baby you run towards it, not away from it.

8. Diaper commercials make you tear up. I do feel pretty, oh, so pretty. (This commercial makes me think of Kendrick when he wakes up in the morning. He grins huge!)

9. and lastly, you feel no shame in going to bed before 9 p.m.

Feel free to add yours to list! I appreciate humor :)

Salty Toes and Squishy Dough

Kendrick made Mother's Day presents for his Grandmas. I know it was a while ago, but I am a busy girl. Anyone else find it ironic that I blog about being a mom and yet I am just now getting around to this topic?

I digress.

Look at what my son made!!!!

A salt dough footprint and handmade card!

Here is how:

Salt Dough Footprint
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup warm water

     Preheat oven to 200. Mix flour and salt. Add water. Mix then knead. May need to add a little flour here and there while kneading. You don't want the dough to be sticky...or crumbly. I formed a ball by tossing it from hand to hand, like a ball and mitt. Place dough ball on wax paper on a smooth plate. Place wax paper on the top as well. Flatten into a thick circle. I then made flat, circular motions on the top to give the dough a smooth surface. It makes for a good print! Remove the wax paper from the top only. Grab your munchkin! Kendrick's foot got stuck to the dough the first time so I put flour on his foot before making the impression. He looked at me weird...
     Once you make the impression and are happy with it, put it on a baking sheet and bake for 2 to 3 hours.
     Once it is done, paint it a color of your choosing. I chose a pearled paint so the foot indentations would show up nicely. I sprayed a clear gloss coat to finish it off!

Handmade Card
     I saw this idea on Pinterest and once again in real life. It is simple and fun.
    
     I cut a piece of construction paper in the Grandmas' favorite color. Then I placed drops and squiggles of acrylic paints onto the paper, placed it in a gallon size Ziploc bag, and sealed it shut. I placed the bag in front of Kendrick and let him just play with it to get the paint squished around. Once he was finished doing a phenomenal job, I removed the card and let the paint dry. I flipped it over and wrote a message to them from Kendrick! Voila!! Refrigerator art!

HAPPY FOOTPRINTING!!!!!!

Messy Baby

     I keep a clean house. Or what I consider to be clean. A lived in house shouldn't look like a museum. Mess gives character. Dirt gives me an eye twitch.

     Kendrick recently started solid foods. And I have to admit, making messes is fun. Especially when the mess is on a cute face. It tested my cleaning OCD the first time. I had a washcloth ready to go to catch the food fun.

     The first time he made a raspberry sound with his lips was with a mouthful of carrots. This is when I realized that the color orange looked good on me! The mess and the laughter that followed made me forget about the ready to go washcloth.

     This is his "What are you feeding me?" look. He loves the new experiences, and I love watching his expressions. He knows how to make a face! So far my favorite was his green bean mustache and gummy grin!

You're sucking the fun out of it!

     Whatever happened to letting kids be kids?
   
      I am a competitive person by nature, but when an extra-curricular activity or interest starts feeling like a job, then you are doing it wrong; or teaching it wrong. It's different if a child wants to try out for a sport, band, or school play. Practice, practice, practice! But, constructively criticize instead of picking them apart.

     I say this because just recently I took my nephew to his swim class. It was the third class in the series. I sat next to a mom and her dad. She had a child in the same level of the class as my nephew. During the entire 30 minute class they did nothing but pick apart the efforts of her kid. Apparently after your third class you should have the ability to out swim Michael Phelps, have perfect form, and be able to hold your breath for 5 minutes at a time. So after 30 minutes of picking this child apart, they said "Good job, buddy! It was perfect!" and that was all. They moved on to dinner plans. I roll my eyes.

     First off, unclench. You can't expect that much out of a 9 year old kid after his third class. It's ridiculous. Parents are often the reason a child gives up on something that started out as fun, and new to learn.

     Secondly, don't lie to the kid. What is he learning? They had no problem criticizing him when he was out of earshot, but when it came time to do it constructively they had nothing to say. The lesson doesn't stop when he gets out of the pool.

     And lastly, yes I am judging them. I didn't hide my side eye look from them either. Frankly, I don't care. I'm sure my parenting style will be judged constantly. But I will not be the reason my child gives up on something he was excited about or interested in.

    

If being pregnant has taught me anything...

     I have always been pretty good about being patient. Most of the time. Unless I am super excited about something and have the power to get it myself right away. Being pregnant is way different. For obvious reasons. Apparently, you can't just go out and get a baby at the drop of a hat, and sadly a stork doesn't just drop them off. You have to get through nine months of stuff. Ugh.

     Even though this was an oops pregnancy I have been wanting babies, and dogs, and picket fences. Okay,  maybe just babies and dogs. So once we found out we were pregnant I thought "Awesome! Here we go!" It did not take me long to realize I was not born with the glowing, serenity gene and love of being pregnant. Just thinking of those (lucky) women stirs my third trimester nausea.

     The time has actually flown by. It is everything else making me want to just have this little guy already and get it over with. I am ready. I am waiting. Let's do this. Nine months is a long time to day dream and plan and freak out. I can only get his room ready so many times before it gets ridiculous. Come to think of it, it probably already has.

     I feel as if I just roam the halls of my house and imagine what it is going to be like. I can't count the amount of times I just walk into his room and look around. And if I go through his clothes one more time, I may just call it what it is and become a self-certified creeper.

     My silver lining is this. I have learned patience through being with Nick. He is a handful, in a fun and loving way. My eye sockets hurt some days from the excessive eye rolling. I have learned patience from anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son. I only have two and a half-ish weeks left until I can confirm my suspicion that he is, in fact, the most handsome little man ever. By the time he gets here, I will have the patience of a saint. Maybe then I will acquire that mythical glow I keep hearing about.

     If anything, it will give me time to practice for when he gets old enough and both he and Nick take turns driving me crazy. I look forward to it :)

I thought playing outside was free...

     So I was perusing the internet about mommy stuff, which by the way has taken up my life, and I came across this little gem of an article. Now I am not one to judge, but who would pay a woman to sit a block away drinking coffee while your child played unsupervised in Central Park?

     Yes. You read me right. I completely agree that children playing outside for hours at a time is a lost art. Growing up, my mom would kick us out of the house during the summer. We could come in to eat, pee, and nap. That was it. We had shade, a garden hose, unrelenting energy, and an awesome imagination. And somehow an endless supply of slip and slides! We were forced to get creative to have fun and learn how to interact with other kids. We didn't run around causing trouble. Well, most of us didn't. And, hallelujah, we survived adolescence!!! How can that be?!

      But you better believe my mother and every mother on that block knew where we were at all times. There is absolutely no way my mother would let us loose in Central Park unsupervised. Probably for the sake of other people, but that isn't the point.

     While I agree with this woman, and encourage independence, my son will have all the chances in the world to get his energy out on a playground, while I sit back and keep at least one eye on his whereabouts. Look at that! I just saved myself $350 big ones! I think I will treat myself to some new shoes!!