Random Thoughts From a Mommy

Dear Mackenzie,   I'm sitting here, clinging to the last few hours of you being 2. Has it really been 3 years? I feel like I just wrote this post yesterday. I wonder if we, as parents, will ever cease to be surprised at our kids' birthdays? Will that amazement of how fast time goes ever dwindle?   As a musical family, we sing...a lot. And you seem to pick up words really quickly. We graduated from nursery rhymes and children's songs to Roar (thank you Auntie Crystal!) to all your favorite Disney songs (I am still in awe that you know every.single.word to Let It Go and A Whole New World). And if I thought you talked a lot when you turned 2, it was nothing compared to how much you've grown in the past 2 months. This is the age they "warned" me about - they told me this is the age where kids "don't shut up".   And you know what? Your dad and I were just chatting the other day how much we actually love you talking so much. Maybe dow...

Dear Bryanna, Before you sister was born, I was worried I wouldn't love her as much as I loved your dad. Your sister taught me that God doesn't require us to love one more than the other, he just grows our heart bigger to make more room for more love. Yet, before you were born, I had the same fears. What if I didn't love you as much as I loved Mackenzie? What if there was just no more room? Of course, our hearts don't work that way. When I was pregnant with you, I desperately wanted you to come before Christmas. And if you couldn't make it before then, I wanted you to come after New Year's. Because there is nothing worse than having a birthday between Christmas and New Year's (yes, I am speaking from experience). You get a bit cheated on presents, and there is never a good time for a party. I prayed on New Year's Eve that you would not show up that night. You didn't. You showed up 6 days later. And not without some drama. Please, ...

Did you know January is Postpartum Depression Awareness Month? No? Me neither! This came as a good time as I've been thinking about writing this post for a couple of months. Coming from the personal development industry, it is really easy to write off depression. Feeling sad? Then change your state! How do you do that? Get physical - go exercise, do your move, or have a quick dance party. Didn't work? Then ask the right questions - what are you grateful for? What are the lessons here? What is God trying to show me? Still didn't work? Surround yourself with the right people who can help you ask the right questions. Read a good book. Change your thoughts. You know what I'm talking about. I was one of those people who preached this. Having been through a period of depression in college, I literally woke up one day and decided that I had enough. I was not going to let my past rule my present. I took a good hard look at my circumstances and came up with all the l...

As 2013 comes to a close, I sit here reflecting on this year. Things that have happened, lessons I have learned, people I have loved. It has been an eventful year to say the least. Coming up with the top 10 this year required some combing through. Here we are :) 10.) New Job - Being stay at home parents has always been our dream. So when Bryan lost his stay at home job, we were left scrambling trying to figure out what to do next. And while business was steady, we really needed something more concrete earlier this year. I am not sure how it happened (isn't that always the way?), but somehow, the Universe brought me this job. I applied, interviewed, and was hired and working within 2 weeks. It has been an incredible experience being on this side of the table (working I mean). I love being at home and still seeing the girls on my breaks and lunch. It truly has been a blessing! (And my coworkers are awesome peeps too) 9.) Going to Montreal - that ties in with the new job. ...

Dear Mackenzie, A year has come and gone. How could that be? I could've sworn it was just yesterday I was fussing about what to write for your one year birthday . Here I am again. Some things haven't changed. You still light up when you see Po Po with as much enthusiasm as you did a year ago. You did things earlier than I expected you to, just like when you were a baby. You are still our teacher every day. I read a blog post once that you'll remember the firsts, but most of the time, you won't remember the last. Like I don't remember the last time you signed please, the last time you needed me to spoon feed you because you weren't coordinated enough yet, the last time you ate your crayons, the last time you used a sippy cup...there were so many last times I didn't realize were lasts. Every new word or new thing you did came as a surprise each time. When I started singing "I'm A Child of God", I was so surprised that you remembered the w...

I don't know what possessed us to potty train a 22-month old when we have a newborn at home, but you know, we did it. One of my mommy friends has an older kid and suggested the 3-day method a long long time ago. I never forgot it, but never really looked up on it either. All I knew was 3 days of nothing from the waist down. As you can imagine, the thought of doing that with a newborn terrified us. But a couple of months ago, Mackenzie decided to get into the Penaten for the THIRD time, resulting in this: We sucked it up and we picked a weekend with no plans (which if you know us, you know how impossible this is for us!), and off to training we go! Let me tell you - the first day and a half was a nightmare! There was a lot of, "Mack, do you need to go?" and Mack replying, "NO!" And when we did put her on the potty, there was a lot of whining and a lot of "I AM NOT READY!" Even though she only had one accident on day 1 and day 2, we still ...

I've always said that children are amazing teachers, so it comes as no surprise that Mackenzie taught me a great lesson today. It was a cloudy day this morning. So at the first sign of sun, we took both Mack and Bree to the park just down the street. Mack went on the swings first as usual. An older girl with her mom wanted her mom to push her higher because Bryan was pushing Mack so high. You can tell the girl was jealous. I'm sure the mom was cursing us on the inside thinking, "thanks a lot for teaching my kid to swing high. Now she's going to bug me forever!" Then Mack went on to the slides. She first went up the stairs to warm up, then she climbed this 3-foot rock climbing wall, and then she went on the other side to climb this metal bars that were about 3.5 ft high. She's been attempting this for a couple of weeks now. I've always been too nervous to let her go on her own. This time, Bryan was behind her. He gently guided her to go up. With every s...