10 Parenting Lessons I’ve Learned That No One Told Me About

Posted on May 31, 2019October 1, 2019 by admin

We’ve been at this parenting thing for a year and a half now. I’ve learned a few things. The hard way, of course, but you probably did too.

So here’s what I’ve learned so far:

My kids are awfully picky eaters for people who will fight you over a two day old Cheerio they found under the couch.
Eat when the kids are asleep, you won’t have to share your food that way.
If you brag about how well behaved your kids are being in public lately, WHILE in public, they will instantly form a riot and try to burn the place to the ground.
If you are in public alone and hear a child pitch a fit, you praise the Lord it’s not yours.
If all else fails, just sit down and cry with them. It’ll either make you feel better or they’ll stop crying because they think you’re insane. Win-win.
If they halfway wake up or you’re trying to move from room to room without them raising hell, don’t make eye contact. The second you lock eyes, it’s over, you’ve been busted.
You have to pick your battles. Those battles include the one you have with yourself on whether you want to hear screaming or Mother Goose Club for the thousandth time. Mother Goose Club will probably win, but not by a landslide.
If you get them used to noise early, they’ll sleep through a hurricane.
You can clean up anything with baby wipes.
Remember to laugh. The only way to make it through the craziness is to laugh until it hurts.

Check on your parents of toddlers, we are not okay!

My Kids Bring Out My Inner Redneck

Posted on May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 by admin

I grew up in a tiny town. When the kids were almost 4 months old, we moved to a slightly larger small town. This is small town North Carolina, mind you.

My neck has always been a little red. I listen to country, we have deer heads hanging on the living room wall, and I’ll always pick Ford in the ol Ford vs. Chevy argument. That’s how I roll, it is what it is, whatever.

But, something about being a mom really brings out my inner redneck. It’s like, you can’t hide who you really are when you’re in survival mode.

Let me tell you a story (it’s a short one, I promise): we’re outside, kids are running around, expending energy, just being your regular, run of the mill hellions. The whole time this is going on, I’m running around after them hollering “y’all get over here!” or “that ain’t your yard!” (they like to run through our next door neighbor’s front yard).

Y’all, it’s nothing for me to be carrying a kicking and screaming kid into the house, because they weren’t ready to go inside yet, while the neighbor kid stares on in horror.

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that my kids bring out my inner redneck. It seems like every sentence out of my mouth is a Southern-ism.

Lawd, it’s crazy.

Moral of the story is: your kids bring out your truth. I’m a redneck mama, I can’t hide it. There’s a good chance you’ll see me barefoot outside chasing a kid or telling the little stinkers to “come here and give mama some sugar”. It’s who I am. My twins helped me really learn my truth.

This. You’re Gonna Miss This.

Posted on May 22, 2019May 29, 2019 by admin

You’re gonna miss this.

You’re going to miss the sleepless nights, the messy house, and the teething. You know why?

Because, one day, they’ll suddenly be graduating high school. You’ll ask yourself how so much time has passed since those sleepless nights that you rocked your baby to sleep.

You’ll miss the messy house when they get their first home. It will feel like it was just last week that you were all moving into your first home. And it will feel like just yesterday when you chose to play with them instead of picking up around that house. How did time slip away like that?

You’ll miss the tantrums. You’ll miss them when you realize that they’ve become adults who can communicate their anger. When did that happen?!

The teething? Yep, you’ll miss that too. Those memories will come flooding back at your child’s baby shower for their own baby. You’ll watch them open their gifts and it’ll hit you when they receive a gift of teething toys. Can my baby possibly be having a baby?!

In the moment, these things feel impossible. But, it isn’t forever. One day, your baby will be grown. All the laughing, dancing, and singing that happened between the tantrums and the fights during those toddler years will be memories. So, dance to the music, take all the hugs, and appreciate all those little moments.