Why I love being a young mom

I recently read an article on the Babble.com website entitled Why I love being a twenty-something Mom (fromEarlymama.com). I myself am still in my twenties and now have 3 children. I love being a young mom for many of the reasons listed in the article, primarily because I am young enough to keep up with my children and this means that I will have more time with them as adults as well. I know that Ken would say his favorite reason is because we will still be in our 40's when they all reach that golden age 18. Being a young mom has been challenging and rewarding in more ways than I can possibly count.

My oldest daughter was born when I was just 19. I was elated to be having a little girl and thought that I was ready for the responsibility that came with that. I was in for a rude awakening when I realized that I no longer mattered in our daily routine. She ruled the house and my life was turned upside down. I was no longer allowed to be a child myself, I had a new life to nuture and protect. We did a lot of growing up together in those first few years and I am not ashamed to admit that we would not have faired nearly as well were it not for the help of my family, especialy my own Mom.

I love thinking that I will get extra years with my children and grandchildren and, hopefully, my great grandchildren. My kids have the amazing luck to have great- grandparents on both my husbands and my sides of the family and I am thankful for every day that we get to spend together. One reason that was listed in this article however has beena double edge sword for me. Being the "young one" in the group is not always easy. More and more women are waiting until they are in their 30's to start families which means that when you are the youngest in a group of moms, you get some nasty looks. Most of the time it's pretty easy to brush off and ignore. But every so often it gets a little upsetting. I will always be one of the youngest moms at school events, especially with Khiarra and I am still amazed every day that I have a child who is almost 9!

Just like every parent I take the good with the bad and move forward but overall I love being a young mom. I can run with my kids and relate to the problems in their lives. I understand the problems at school and can enjoy some of the toys and television shows that they like. We do not have a "generation gap" and the music I like is the music they like and we watch Disney movies together. I love it all.

I have often wondered if I would have been a better mother had I waited to have her until I was older. But, we do the best with what we have at the time and when I look at that beautiful little girl I am proud of who she is and who she made me both as a mother and as a person. We continue to grow together and will always have a special bond.

Baby it's cold outside...

One of my favorite winter songs, especially the Elf version with Zoe Deschanel :)
http://youtu.be/jPH_HT741Ew

Anyway.... it's SNOWING! and not just a little bit, it has been snowing all day for the last 3 days and it's sticking. The girls are outside in it and are having a blast building snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other. We definately don't get enough of this fluffy white stuff in the Seattle area.
Since this is Hudson's first snow I bundled him up and we ventured out into the cold.... he didn't quite know what to think of the flakes falling heavily from the sky but enjoyed it while we were out. He also really like watching it fall out the windows, he just looks back and forth from the snow to me and smiles.

The girls have been having a blast playing outside all day, every day and I must say that it is nice not having to worry about getting homework done or what activity we need to get to. It looks like we will be having a few more snow days this week so I am going to try to enjoy having all 3 kids home (If I don't give one of them away first)!

Sick little man :(

This must be some sort of record for me.... posting 2 days in a row!

The last couple days have been pretty miserable for my little guy. Hudson woke up at 3 am on Sunday with a high fever and not wanting to eat. A trip to the Dr. the next morning revealed an ear infection. His first, and I'm sure not last. The poor little man couldn't nurse and was having a hard time sleeping so neither of us got much rest the first 2 days. His nose is stuffy and his eyes are a little glassy and if I try to come near him with the bulb syringe to clean his nose he starts crying. But today he seems to be feeling better. He's had a couple days on his antibiotics and the fever is gone, he still sounds like a piglet when he breathes though :)

Yesterday Ken and I got a little bit of much needed alone time! (something we haven't had since Hudson was born). Grandma Margaret came over to watch the kids and we had ourselves a little "day date". We went to the gun range for a while (I am an amazing shot, in case you were wondering) and then went and had lunch and did some shopping. It was really nice to get out of the house without the girls and the baby in tow. I hope that we can do that more often, Mommy needs a short break every so often!

Yeah, that is a zombie holding a very well endowed woman hostage..... I shot them both in the neck.

Today, however, I am very sick. I had a slight sore throat yesterday which overnight has turned into a severs sore throat with cough and congestion that has me feeling like my head is going to explode! My saving grace is that I do not have to go into work this week, I am so happy that this happened during a week that I was scheduled out anyway! I hope that the girls and Ken don't follow our lead and come down with anything.

My Strange Addiction?

My newest obsession and something that takes up a large portion of my time spent laying in bed when I can't sleep is...... Pinterest!
I know that there is no way that I am the only one out there who scours the pin boards for great craft ideas or new recipes to try as well as looking at amazing clothes and homes that we will never own. It is a playground of sorts for me and I am totally and completely addicted!
I have made a few recipes so far and they have all turned out delicious so I plan to try more as I have the time.

I also have an entire pin board filled with craft ideas and projects for the kids. I love crafting and being creative and I hope that my kids get that as well. Home made gifts are the best!

With the addition of our 3rd baby, Hudson, I have started to let up a little on the "house rules." I am no longer a tyrant when it comes to picking up toys and projects (I can handle a little mess and long as it's not dirty) and what I feel is a HUGE accomplishment for me, I am allowing play dough, moon dough and even paint in my house! This is a big step for me as even the thought of play dough mashed in my carpet or paint dried on the table makes my skin crawl, yuck! But, for the sake of my children and their constant need for stimulation and entertainment and all that good stuff, I am trying to allow these things.

I will be posting pictures of some of our crafts and culinary adventures as they come!

Fa La La La La.... Christmas 2011

Christmas in our house seemed crazy this year! With this being Hudson's first Christmas I struggled with finding a balance between wanting to make it amazing and buy him all sorts of toys and realizing that he will not remember this day. I tried to meet in the middle and I think I did pretty well. It was a memorable day for everyone and we had a lot of fun!

I couldn't resist this adorable little pirate ship rocker! It is just so stinkin cute! Argh Mateys.... do you think he likes it as much as I do?

This year the girls asked for American girl dolls. They have been totally amazed by the store that opened at Alderwood Mall recently and ask to go in every time we are there. It is honestly a little girls dream, a whole store filled with dolls and clothes and accessories where you can even have lunch with your doll in a (very pink) cafe...... I am sure we will be making many trips there in the future! I chose to get them dolls that look like them and they are thrilled :)

It's hard to see in this picture but Khiarras doll has little pink glasses like hers, she was so excited!

Madison had to get the cat in on the festivities too.... whether he liked it or not...

And at the end of the morning this is what my living room looked like! Quite the mess to clean up but it was worth it, as always, and the girls were very excited and happy with all of their gifts!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and great Holidays!

We say "I do".... FINALLY!

After almost 8 years together Ken and I were married on November 23, 2011. I am not a big event type of person and I really don't have the time to plan a wedding so we had a very small ceremony at the courthouse here in Everett with our children and a few close friends and family members. It was a little bit last minute as we started planning just a week prior but it was perfect for us and I am very excited to be able to call him my Husband, it really has been a long time coming!

We do have a few pictures of us on our "big day" and I will post them soon :)

I hope to plan a reception for all of our extended family and friends this upcoming Spring or Summer so stay tuned for the announcement :)

Halloween

Halloween this year was REALLY cold but we had a lot of fun trick or treating with Donovan, Adawna and Maxten. Khiarra was an adorable Kitty, Madison Sleeping Beauty (what else for a little Princess?), Hudson was a hamburger (fitting of his husky stature :) and Maxten was a scary Monster! Here we are:

Family picture.... cutest little Hamburger ever!

Daddy with the lil man... he was soooo cold!

At the end of the night we stopped in at Uncle Steve and Aunt Teri's house for a surprise visit!

Poor Husdon looks pretty scared between all those crazy girls!

Before Halloween Daddy helped the girls carve their pumpkins....