Because I am her baby...

I listened to "The Baby" by Blake Shelton this morning while dancing with Landry.

I day dreamed about dancing with him on his wedding day, to that very song, in tears just as I was today.

I know I'll think to myself that I missed so many great moments. Moments like this one. Dancing with him in the kitchen, him holding onto my shoulders for dear life and grinning from ear to ear. 

I'll miss the squeals of excitement and the disappointed look on his face when the song was over and we had to stop. 

I'll miss the way I felt when he crawled for the first time, or got his first tooth. 

And I know as hard as it is to think about now, I'll miss those moments in the middle of the night when he just wanted to play with me instead of sleep.

I already miss moments of when Zachary, Brennon & Tripp were babies. 

I miss the way Zachary laughed. It was contagious. It was so pure and raw and beautiful.

Now we have hit the back talking, attitude stage. It's not near as enjoyable as the smiles and giggles from tearing down the DVD's. 

I miss the way Brennon cuddled with me on the couch. I can't get him to sit still long enough for a hug, much less to watch cartoons. I miss the way his hair felt on my chin as we cuddled. It was so soft and smelled so sweet. I pray I never forget that smell. 

I miss the way Tripp curled into my body so perfectly when I nursed him at night. 

I miss the way he looked after he did something he knew he wasn't supposed to do. 

His eyes would light up and he would grin from ear to ear, proud of what he had accomplished. 

So many things I miss now... and so many thing I know I'll miss later. 

So today I've tried to really enjoy the kids, even at their worst. Because I know one day will come when I miss even those days too. 

Listening to your body

As a mama of many I often find myself not listening to my body.

It clearly is telling me to slow down when I'm falling asleep nursing the baby.

But I never do. 

I'm like the Little Engine that could.

Except I can't.

A few days ago I started getting extra tired.

But I didn't have time to nap.

I finally crashed Sunday afternoon for about an hour.

It clearly wasn't enough.

Yesterday was a rough day as far as energy goes.

I was SOOOO tired and my gut issues seemed to be bothering me more.

Nothing too extreme but more than I had been having.

My body was telling me I needed to take today to rest.

But I didn't listen.

And here I sit- in pain and not a single thing I can do about it.

I have pain medicine to stop the gut spasms but it makes me crazy tired and I have a house full of babies. 

Everything else is off the block because I'm still nursing my sweet Landry.

I will be waiting until 5ish to get any relief and it's all because I didn't listen to my body.

Mama's- it's important. 

Your body is telling you when to slow down, when to get checked out, and when to get moving. 

So please, take my advice today and listen to your body! 

Otherwise you're gonna be sitting at home, feeling crummy with not a soul who wants to hear about it.

"THAT" mom

You know "that" mom. 

She shows up with handcrafted Valentine's for every student in their kids class 

AND every teacher in the entire school. 

Or even worse... she shows up with perfectly personalized cookies that were made from scratch. They taste as good as they look.

Um... Thanks for making us look bad. 

Last year we stuck with box Valentine's Day cards. Zachary filled out his name and we were done. 

It was simple.

And fast. 

But that was before I became a pintrest addict. 

This is SOOOO me. I'm not really all that crafty. I'd like to be. 

But I'm not. 

So when I had these wild visions of crafty things to do for Valentine's Day I knew I was in trouble.

I bought all the necessary tools. 

And proceeded. 

I'll show you my inspirations and the final products. 

My Teacher Gift Inspiration:

Was supposed to have a card that reads "Thanks for bee-ing a great teacher!" 

And the final product: 

Yes, I realize it's not quite perfect. But I drew the bee. Doesn't that count for something? 

And the kids classmates Valentine's- 

My inspiration: 

Our final product: 

Totally realized their arms need to be more to the side instead of out front in front of their face. Oh well. 

Zachary's: 

Brennon's:

I'm not really on a quest to become "that" mom. 

But I'd like to be a cool enough mom to want to do these fun activities with my kiddo's at holidays. 

They had fun doing these and for me it was worth it. 

Next year will probably be boxed Valentine's Day cards I'm sure. 

But that will be okay.

Because to my boys... those things are WAY cooler! 

And to just add this because it doesn't happen that often...

I woke up at midnight to the smell of a funeral home in my bedroom...

And on my nigh stand sat these beauties. 

From the most amazingly sweet husband in the entire world. :) 

I'm gonna miss this.....

People used to tell me when I was pregnant with Zachary to be sure not to blink. 

They will be starting school before you know it.

They told me to enjoy every moment because I'd miss them when they were grown.

But no one ever told me how much I'd miss nursing my sweet babies. 

They didn't tell me how attached I'd get to the sweetness of a baby reaching up to your face while you feed them. 

They didn't tell me how your heart will skip a beat as they grab ahold of your finger while they nuzzle into your breast, getting a full tummy and slowly drifting off to sleep. 

When Tripp was done breastfeeding I had moments where I wanted to cry that I hadn't enjoyed each of those nursing sessions like I should have. 

I longed for those sweet moments again. 

When Landry was born I was so excited to nurse again. It had only been 8 months since I had stopped nursing Tripp but it felt like an eternity. 

Nowadays with each nursing session I grab ahold of each second and I cherish it. 

I allow him to grab my finger and watch as he sometimes drifts off to sleep. 

I take a mental picture of his arm reached up tracing my chin, lips and nose. 

I never want to forget it. 

And occasionally... I have Josh snap a picture for me to keep. 

So when Landry is starting school or marrying his high school sweetheart I can pull it out and remember that exact moment when I was the only person in the world he wanted. 

I don't typically post nursing pictures. I am not ashamed of the purpose of my body but I am a bit reserved. I feel like this picture in particular shows very little but to those mama's who also nurse their babies they understand why it means so much to me today. 

My new love...

Little Maven. 

The most amazing clothing line EVER.

Tori Spelling may be blonde but she's a genius in my book.

My bestie Kimberly sent me a picture of her daughter with an adorable shirt on that had a bib hooked to it. 

After running to JC Penny to check it out myself I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't think of this sooner. 

That would be a sleeper that has a bib that snaps on it. 

(Sorry for the crummy picture) 

Not only do you get the outfit but you get 2 bibs with it as well. 

And the best part? 

$8.00 

I can't even buy a sleeper alone for that price. 

And have YOU checked out the price of bibs lately? 

They are expensive!  

Considering the purpose of it is to catch drool.

And then you have this adorable outfit... 

$9.00 

And then one of my favorites..

$9.00

I'm not only amazed at the prices themselves but the ingenious designs and styles. 

And for so cheap! 

The material is soft, and looks like it's well made. I'm sure I'll have an update on these later sometime after my boys have worn them pretty well as typical boys do. 

So... there you have it. 

I'm in love. 

With a piece of cotton. 

You can catch some awesome sales here for both genders!