Thursday, March 1, 2018
Hey guys! Recent polls on IG show you guys want MORE mommy posts - and I'm totally here for it. For a little awhile, I felt kind of lost with my posts and didn't know what to write anymore but I've come to the conclusion that I'm both a mommy that loves beauty and I can write about both, right? RIGHT.


So today, we're going full-on mommy! 
(And yep, my jacket totally has a bunch of fuzzies on it.)

For those that may not know, I'm a stay-at-home mom which means I'm lucky enough to get to kick it with my boys every single day. I say lucky today. Tomorrow I might say that I'm being held here against my will. Totally depends on the day. 

These past few days, I've been reflecting on my two little guys (especially with all the crazy stuff going on in the world lately) and wanted to share with you guys a few things my three year old has totally schooled me in. It's funny.

1. They're listening.

Holy crap, are they listening. They might not hear you yell their name a million times across the room, but you bet your butt they heard you whisper, "Son of a bitch." under your breath at the car that cut you off. And it's kind of funny. Honestly. I never realized half of the things I say to him or others in general until it came out of his mouth like a little parrot. Here's a few of my favorites:
  • "You scared the crab out of me." Crab = crap.
  • "This is fucking dickless." Dickless = ridiculous. Also, yes, I have said this on multiple occasions because I have the mouth of a sailor and also, everything with kids is ridiculous.
  • "How does that feel?" and "Oh yeah, you like that?" When Hunter would come up to us, and hit us, we'd tap him back and say this to him. It's hysterical that he says this to us now.
  • "I don't know about all that."
  • "Suckers!" My mouth honestly dropped when he said this. I had no clue where he picked it up from....until he explained to me how a mouse hopped into a car, running away from bad guys and yelled it that I realized he was talking about this happening in the movie "Sing".
The point is, his vocabulary is literally made up of words I've said. Mindblowing, right?

2. Have fun in the great outdoors.

Hunter loves being outside. Like, honest to God, more than anything in the world, he just wants to be outside. He wants to ride his John Deere tractor and put rocks and sticks in the trailer. He wants to harass the chickens. He wants to check out the bug on the slide. He wants to go pick raspberries in our yard and eat them fresh off the bush. He wants to make a snowman. "Where's the sticks and rocks?" (for the snowman) Then knock it over. Like hearing an airplane and searching the sky for it. Or how that big rock makes an awesome hill for his Matchbox cars. Hunter has taught me how to just enjoy the outdoors and take it all in. I've always been an outdoorsy kind of girl but being outside with the boys makes it that much more fun.

3. It's just as frustrating for them.

I think it's safe to say anyone with a three year old (or children in general) knows that being with them can kind of be like dealing with a tiny dictator. Sometimes it feels impossible to please them no matter how many times you change their shirt to "that shirt" or put their food in the blue bowl or try to find that one car with the red racing stripe with the one wonky wheel they just have to have. And then one day it hit me. Hunter was trying to explain something to me. He kept saying the same words over and over again. I told him, "It's okay, baby. Slow down. Is it something you can show me?" and he just kept saying it over and over again until he said, "Mommy. YOU say it." Meaning he can't say it or find the words to explain what he meant so can I say for it? Literal tears, you guys. At that moment, I realized it's hard for them too. They've only been on Earth for three years. How can I expect him to know everything already? They're these ticking time bombs because they're learning and sometimes it can be overwhelming and confusing and frustrating for them as much as it is for us.

4. This too shall pass.

With Hunter, like most parents with their first baby, we had no clue what the hell we were doing. We co-slept, we did baby-led weaning, we literally flew threw the first years by the seat of our pants. One particular night, when Hunter was a nursing machine, I remember being up at three in the morning thinking, "Does the constant feeding ever end? Will I forever and always be up at three in the morning? What is sleep!?" Well, past Noelle. It does. The nursing eventually ends (and now we're onto the next babe!). Hunter sleeps in his own bed for most of the night but still sneaks in around three in the morning into our bed - and I love it. Long gone are the days of him sleeping in his co-sleeper in between us in bed and him wiggling up to sleep under my chin. The screaming during car rides because he hated his carseat? That ends too. The throwing food on the floor? Done. Well, now it's just strategically hidden. But still. It all ends. All that those sleepless nights and tough decisions - they eventually (some sooner than others) come to an end. And you're going to want them back. 

So for now, I hold onto every single hug a little longer. When he tells me, "Mommy. Look at this!", I  tend to drop whatever I'm doing and take a peek. We talk. All the time. I ask questions. I play cars and superheros. I hold him when he asks. I kiss him and tell him he'll be okay when he cries. Because one day (hopefully a long time from now!), he might not want to anymore.

5. The world is our oyster.

At three years old, the world is Hunter's oyster. He can do anything he puts his mind to. The opportunities are endless.  He can rule the world with no pants on if he wants to. He can ask mommy for a cookie three different times and expect a different answer every time. So why does that whimsical feeling leave us when we're older? We still have these opportunities. Sure, as we age, we know there are limits and consequences and maybe life has served us a piece of humble pie, but the world is still a place of opportunities and dreams - no matter our age...but maybe we'll keep our pants on.

What's something you've learned from your children?