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Being a Boy Mom

When we first found out we were going to have a child, four years ago, Jamy and I were both hoping for a little boy. There seemed to be something special about the notion of our other children having a protective older brother to lead the way. We also somehow got it in our head that a boy might be easier to handle and thus a great transition into parenthood.

So far we haven’t been too far off base with our assumptions. While, Holland, is only a year old, I swear I can already see a major difference in her personality. She has very distinct attributes that scream girl. Some of which are sweet and some of which are a little more difficult. In general.. there is just a lot more sass.

My favorite part of having a little boy, though, is not necessarily the ease of his personality, but his interests. Growing up with an older brother, myself, I think I was always envious of the sports, action figures and overall “tough” persona that comes with boyhood. And now that I have a son, I think that little girl in me gets to vicariously live through Hudson. Is that weird? Probably. Either way, I’m really enjoying our day to day life being filled with trucks and transformers.

And in honor of his truck obsession we took Hudson to see Monster Jam this weekend. And weirdly, Jamy and I were probably more into it than he was. But, it was nice to have some alone time with our little man and just bask in all of his boyness as his sister spent time with her aunt and grand mama.

The Adventures of Batman

It’s amazing the amount of fun that can be derived from a creepy, three dollar mask from the party store. Hudson, or Batman as he likes to be called, insisted on wearing this get up during our walk last night. He climbed trees, fought crime and stopped The Joker from stealing our dinner.

DIY: Toddler “Dirt” Pit / Sandbox Alternative

Louisiana is quite literally being flooded away right now. Our home is, very fortunately, not in a badly hit zone, but we are still being trapped inside all weekend by the constant showers. Which means, cabin fever. And cabin fever + small children means hell.

Luckily, I just happened to finish this little DIY project for Hudson last weekend and it has turned out to be the perfect lifesaver for a rainy day. Heres, how it came to fruition…

Right outside our balcony door there is a large opening under the railing that is just big enough for a baby or dog to crawl under. And it opens to a 12 foot drop off, leading right down to a hard cement floor. For the last three years, this opening has driven me crazy with worry. We tried covering it with plants and other odds and ends but nothing felt secure enough. So this weekend I finally put my mind to it and used all of my handy man prowess to build…. A BOX! Ha. It was quite easily one of the most simple carpentry projects there is. Four sides and a bottom. But, I was still extremely proud of myself. After all, there was an electric saw involved. And screws. And measurements. And Stains. And Paints. You get the point. I’m basically a DIY Genius, is what I’m getting at here.

We just happened to have a lot of excess wood lying around from past projects. So, I measured that pesky opening in the stair rail and cut the wooden boards down to make a rectangular box that would cover it perfectly. Screwed all of the pieces together. Covered the holes with some wood putty. And Stained and Painted some cute stripes on it. Finally I sealed it with a polyurethane spray to protect it from the elements.

My original plan was to make it into a flower bed. But, I have whatever the opposite of a green thumb is. And I knew my son would inevitably dig in the dirt and ruin it anyway. So, with that in mind, I decided to scratch the live plants idea and fill it with rubber mulch. It’s fairly inexpensive, relatively un-messy (compared to actual dirt) and perfect for your truck obsessed little ones to plow and dig in for hours of fun.

Hudson and Holland have both used it daily since we introduced them to it and I no longer worry about impending doom from falling off of the balcony. It’s a win win! This idea is also a wonderful alternative to a sand box, in my opinion! Let me know if you give it a try!

It’s Finally Easter Egg Season

One of the main things I was looking forward to when having kids was all of the fun holiday activities that I participated in during my own youth. Up until now, Hudson has been a little too young to really partake in any of them. Until, this year! So as soon as those egg dying kits hit the shelves, you can bet we bought them all up. I knew that for my action and truck obsessed kid dying easter eggs might not be super exciting so I wanted to make it appeal to him as much as possible.

Thankfully, we found this awesome Egg Spinner dye kit at the store and a few Paw Patrol decorating stickers. And to my excitement he really loved it.

The egg spinner was definitely more fun than the typical dipping and less frustrating than trying to fish the eggs back out with that weird wire spatula thing. And other than a couple of eggs slipping out of his little fingers and smashing to the ground, I would say it was a big success.

Now, I’m looking forward to egg hunts and easter baskets, and most importantly chocolate bunnies! Happy March!

 

The Year of Stress Free Birthdays!

I am a major sucker for a good theme. And I LOVE a party that looks like it flew off the pages of my Pinterest board. But, this year, I am just feeling very apathetic about most things. And that has poured over into the kids’ birthday parties.

I think I love birthday parties so much that I have pushed them past a point that is personally fun for me and into a level of stress and blown budgets. So this year I made a resolution to not give a crap. (Excuse my language.)

Hudson turned three this year, which is probably the last time he will be blissfully unaware of whether or not he has a party. And Holland is one so she is blissfully unaware of most everything. Except food. So their parties this year were either low key or non existent.

For Hudson, in lieu of a party we just planned a special play date with his best friend. Which is all most kids want anyway, I would say. And yesterday, we celebrated Holland’s First with our family and a couple of our best friends. Honestly, I wouldn’t have done anything if it wasn’t for my desire to watch her eat a smash cake.

So instead of prepping and planning for months, I picked up a few pretty plates, some giant pink balloons, ordered some food from the Jambalaya Shoppe, and trekked the kids out to our neighborhood park. The kids were in heaven. We barely spent any money. And no one’s house had to get messy. I’m pretty convinced this is the best and only way to do parties now.

Holland had a blast. And was of course spoiled with a few presents. The girl is such a pro at eating, that the smash cake was less of a ‘smash’ and more of a ‘daintily taste the cake with her fork’ kind of affair. And aside from a few tears shed when our balloons inevitably made their way up to the clouds, fun was had by all. Definitely a stress free celebration, just like I wanted!

Holland is One!

I can not believe that this day is finally here! Holland is one!

I remember during my 20 week ultrasound, being so filled with the hope and expectations of having a girl, I thought I would actually cry if it turned out to be a boy. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE being a boy mom and was so grateful that my first child was a son. But when the tech said that Holland was a little girl I felt like I could finally breathe for the first time since entering the room.

Since then, life has been all snuggles, skirts and bows. And I couldn’t be happier. Holland has made our family complete and way more energetic.

My absolute favorite thing about her is how much she loves to hug and cuddle things. Her Cloud B Bubbly Bunny in particular is her best friend. She drags it around the house by the ear and when she’s worn herself out she stops for a quick cuddle.

Other  wonderfully Holland things are her obsession with all the foods (just like mom), the way she waves and says ‘hai’ and ‘bai’, and her major adoration for all things Hudson.

I can’t wait to see what kind of woman she grows into.

 

Stay in the Moment, Momma.

Hey all! I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines’ weekend. Ours was very low key and filled with lots of cooking and sugar. Which is about as much as you can ask for! Aside from a couple of trips to the park we spent our weekend snuggled up inside making all kinds of heart shaped treats and then devouring them on the spot.

(Homemade doughnuts.)

The kids are finally coming into an age where they have become little playmates. Holland is absolutely obsessed with her big brother. Which is something I had hoped for from the moment I knew we were having a girl. However, the reciprocation on Hudson’s end has been a slower process. But, it just makes those moments that he loves on her even more precious and beautiful.

This stage of family life is weird. Everything they do is adorable and precious, but each little milestone and holiday just gets me anxious for the next year. Like, ‘just imagine how cute Valentines’ Day will be next year when they’re both old enough to truly enjoy it and participate’. I constantly have to remind myself to stay in the moment and let the future  be.

As it is, time is going fast enough. For example, our little girl will be turning ONE in three days. I can not believe this day is already here. That first year really flies when you’re chasing after an older sibling. It’s definitely been the most exhaustingly lovely year of my life.

How to Rock Valentine’s Without a Babysitter

Ever since my husband received his 1099 form this year we have been very budget conscious. There is nothing quite as sobering as realizing how much money you made and then discovering you really don’t have much to show for it. “Where did it all go?” “Um…. Target?!”  Who knows… We have been playing pretty fast and loose with our income for the majority of our marriage. And we finally decided to make a major change in our lifestyle. Which is what leads me to the point I am at now. Trying to plan an at home Valentine’s Date. With Children.

Don’t get me wrong, I am actually excited about saving money. And anytime I think I’m missing out on something I just remind myself that it’s for the greater good… of eventually buying a bigger house and having more kids (dare to dream, people). But, how do you do Valentine’s right when you’re stuck at home with the kids?

Here’s what I’ve got in mind so far…

 

Step One: Decorate some Valentine’s treats with the kids while most likely watching Paw Patrol. Because Hudson is on a kick.
Step Two: Fancy Home cooked meal, followed by indulging on the kid’s homemade desserts (One for you, and One for you, and Five for Mommy)!
Step Three: Whine down and put kids to bed. Then pop open some wine.
Step Four: Music and Board games. Something to actually get us interacting and engaged with one another.
Step Five: Red Box and Chill. Is that a thing? It should be… Although, There is a very good chance that “chill” here really means “fall asleep”. Because, honestly, a good nights sleep sounds super romantic to me, right now! Ahhh, the joys of parenthood.

What are all of you planning for this Valentine’s Day?!

So Many Things

It has been ages. Somehow, life with more than one kid has been a little time consuming. Can you imagine?!
Anyway, tonight I am just reflecting on how different things are the second time around. My mother would kill me if she knew that I have no idea when Holland started crawling or what day she said DaDa for the first time. But, truly, I have no idea. A few weeks ago? Yesterday? Last year? What day is it…? EVERYthing is a blur.

Unfortunately for my precious baby girl (who, yes, I am obsessed with) most of the time I feel a very “Been there, done that” attitude about the things I used to obsess over with Hudson. Someone asked me the other day when she learned to pull her pacifier out of her mouth to smile and greet someone. I’ve been so in my head that hadn’y even occured to me that it is sort of a milestone and I probably should have noticed.

Oh well. I know Holland may regret my laissez faire attitude when she is older and feeling nostalgic (and for that reason, I will do my best to improve) but for right now I am enjoying just being with the two of them. And soaking up any chance I get to just sit and play with them.

So since we’re here. And I’m blogging. I’ll record a few of Holland’s recent milestones (just don’t ask me what date these things happened….)

She is very social.  Loves to smile and make eye contact. Currently learning to wave.
She is obsessed with Hudson and all of his trucks. The feeling is not mutual.
She Army crawls as fast as lighting. And sits up with the greatest little baby posture.
She loves to eat and yank on people’s hair.
She has two teeth finally cutting this week.
She will dance any time music comes on.

On the not so cute side…
She is already very feisty and will yell at/whack her brother when she doesn’t get to play with his trucks.
She does not sleep well anymore…yaaaayyyyyy….
She is GLUED to my hip. And upset when I have to do anything not involving her.

All very typical sweet and not so sweet eight month old things.

I promise to be back soon with more news and updates.