Confessions from a stay at home mom. Should be interesting. First things first though. Stella is 7 months old. I just brought a meal to a friend from MOPS who just had a baby and she was just so tiny. It is crazy to think that just 7 months ago, Stella was that little. They really do grow and change so fast! I will give you 5 facts of both Stella and Ruby. Ruby will be 22 months on the 29th of November.
Stella:
1. Stella had a rough couple of weeks of sleeping. She would require me to nurse to sleep and then proceed to wake every 2-3 hours. It wasn't fun. I was a crabby wife and mom and it was just not cool. The last 3 nights we have been laying her down awake with hopes of her putting herself to sleep. At first it was a little rocky, but I think she is getting the hang of it. She will talk a little bit and whine a little bit, but then after about 5 minutes she is out. Not only that, but she has only been waking up once to feed. It's awesome! The same is holding true for naps, although she still takes pretty short naps.
2. She is crawling/scooting all over the place. She can definitely get to where she wants to go.
3. She will fall asleep instantly in her carseat. She also falls asleep during our Pastors sermons on Sunday mornings. Maybe I should just play his sermons in her room at night. haha. I'm kidding....kind of. Thanks Pastor Max!
4. She absolutely adores her sister, Ruby. If Ruby even looks at her she will just light up and smile and sometimes giggle for no other reason than Ruby looking at her.
5. We joke around often that Stella kind of looks Asian. She has Ben's "squinty" eyes. She is a spitting image of Benjamin.
Ruby:
1. Ruby is just so good with Stella. I don't know how we lucked out, but boy did we. She calls her sissy and will often go up to her and just rub her head. It's the cutest.
2. Ruby is a climber. She climbs anything and everything. She also never stops moving. Ruby is probably the most active toddler I have met. I worked at a daycare all through college and Ruby still takes the cake. She keeps me busy.
3. Ruby locked me out of the house the other day. I went to start the car in the garage and shut the door behind me. Well, she locked me out. After a quick panic, I remembered that there were house keys with my van keys. When I tried to unlock the door, the door wouldn't unlock. More panicking sunk in as I didn't have my phone on me. I tried again and apparently Ruby was kind enough to unlock the door. They keys that I tried are for the front door and not the garage door. Sheesh!
4. She is talking so much. A lot of times Ben and I will just look at Ruby in amazement. She is so goofy and has such a big personality.
5. She LOVES Curious George. In fact, in the morning a lot of the times she wakes up saying, "ah ah." That's what she calls it, because that is what a monkey says. For those of you who know Ruby, know that she doesn't sit still....ever. Well, if Curious George is on she will sit still and watch for most of it.
Ok, I realize that this post is going to get long. Now, onto the title. Confessions from a stay at home mom.
Going from a childless Kindergarten teacher to a stay at home mom was/is hard! Being able to stay at home has always been my dream and thankfully Ben's vision as well. I wouldn't trade my hardest days to go back to work and be away from these girls. Again, I must state that I know incredible working mothers. This is no way shape or form me bashing on working moms. This is coming from my own experiences as a stay at home mom. So, let me just throw out some confessions. I don't know where this will take me or how many confessions I will confess, but here we go.
1. I need Jesus daily. Holy moly do I ever. There are several days where I mutter, "I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength." Being a mom to two girls under 2 is hard. My patience runs thin a lot of the time. It is hard when Ruby is hungry and so is Stella. It is hard when I'm nursing Stella and Ruby falls and gets hurt. (Probably from falling off of something she tried climbing.)
2. It can be very lonely. There are times where I haven't seen an adult besides my husband in 3 days. It can get lonely talking to an almost 2 year old and a 7 month old only. I so appreciate my friends who love me even when they haven't heard from me in forever. I appreciate my friends who invite me out time and time again. I so appreciate my MOPS and MOMS club group. They help me get out more.
3. Getting out of the house is hard. You have to take Stella's nursing schedule and Ruby's activeness into affect. It is hard to go to events or indoor gyms when I'm doing it solo. If I have to feed Stella, who is going to chase after Ruby. Get my drift? I have to time everything with Stella's feeding and Ruby's napping schedule as well.
4. Most of the time when the girls/Ruby (It is rare that they both nap at the same time) are napping I check email, Facebook, instagram, and I relax. I try not to be on social media while the girls are awake. This means that sometimes Ben comes home to toys on the floor and dishes in the sink.
5. I question what I'm doing all the time. I told Ben the other day that I guess my way through parenthood probably 99% of the time.
6. I graduated with an Early Childhood Education degree. So, I'm always questioning if the girls are where they need to be developmentally. It's kind of annoying. At the same time, Ben asks me often, "Is that normal." A lot of the times I honestly don't know.
7. I sometimes get jealous that Ben gets to go to work and have an 8+ hour break from the girls every day.
8. I absolutely love getting to stay at home and I don't think you could pay me a million dollars to spend this time apart from them. It is worth it to me (and Ben) to spend the early years at home with my girls. I don't take this job title lightly. I try my hardest to be on the floor and present with them at all times. I try not to let the world and other moms dictate the way that I mother these girls.
9. I am so amazed by my own mother. From when we were in school she went to work, did all the house work, always cooked home cooked meals, and supported our activities. She was seriously amazing and I never realized it until I became a mom. So mom...you seriously are amazing!
10. Taking care of me is hard. I forgot what it felt like to be healthy and look nice. What I mean is that I have recently decided to eat healthy and exercise. I also have attempted to put on make up every day and you know...look presentable to society. I think it is so important to take care of yourself first so that you can take care of others. I love being and feeling healthy.
That's all I have for now. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have lots to be thankful for! I know I do!
Love this little girl!
Chilling with Santa.
Ruby knows the real Santa. This totally wasn't him.
Cruisin all around.
