So I have been reading a really moving blog about a mother of a sick little boy and her journey. It was so moving to me that I wanted to share it with everyone so here it is...
http://rockstarronan.com/
also feel free to leave me comments, questions, likes/dislikes, or any comment for that matter!!My email is paige.beane@gmail
xoxo
P
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Being A Good Mom!
I LOVE this article on how to be a good mom, so I thought I would share because I know I have a lot of mom's who follow:)
1. Trust your instincts. If you think you will feel better buying the baby monitor with the TV screen, then do it. But if you realize it will lead to obsessing about whether or not the baby is breathing, then don’t. If someone tells you your baby looks flushed and you disagree, you are probably right.
2. Trust your kids. If they indicate they are ready for grown-up forks and deciding for themselves how much toilet paper to use, then they probably are. If they make a mistake, help them learn from it and move on. You knew that someday they would grow up, you don’t want to be pouring the milk for a 12 year old anyway, do you?
3. Don’t be a single parent unless that is your official classification. My husband is a 100% parent and so am I. He takes care of poop accidents, he makes ponytails, he cooks, he laces shoes. Not every day, not every time. But neither do I. But between the two of us, it gets done. Having a good Dad makes you a good Mom, and vice versa.
4. Talk it out. Talk to your kids. Talk to your spouse. Life is a battlefield and you need a plan. If you wander through life, then you will get nowhere. But if you have some sort of plan or purposeful response to a parenting situation, you will do better. After a troublesome day, BAGD and I often talk about ideas for next time. How can we reduce Geetle’s sassy talk; maybe we should implement a reward system. How can we keep Pookie from accidentally dressing himself out of Geetle’s side of the closet; maybe we should hang a scarf on the closet rod to separate the sides.
5. Don’t be too hard on yourself. If making cupcakes for preschool is fun for you, do it. But if its not, then buy them at the grocery store. Parenting magazines are great for ideas, but NO ONE can possibly do all those crafts, made-up backyard games, finger puppet plays and funny face veggie pizzas. By my estimation, the average Mom (who is probably also a “good mom”) does less than 5% of the things in the magazine. Your kids would love a funny-face pizza, sure. But they would rather have you spray them with the garden hose or listen to their 10 minute story about the pile of dirt behind the fence at preschool.
6. Your kids are part of your life, your whole life. I take my kids to the grocery store, Jiffy Lube, the bank, and Great Grandma Jones’ antique-saturated home. If you learn to integrate your kids into your normal everyday life, you will get to spend more time with them, you will teach them how to behave in different situations and you will be able to get all the necessary tasks of life done.
7 . Try to be organized. This can be a hard one, but it really makes a difference. When your physical surroundings are chaotic, so is your mind. At the bare minimum, organize the parts of your life that directly affect your parenting. I have a giant box of household papers that I know I will never file; I stuff them in the sump pump closet in the basement. But, my the closet my b/g twins share is organized by gender and type of clothing. I have hundreds of recipe clippings that I stuff into a folder, making them useless. But, we keep our 25+ piece Mr. PotatoHead set all together in a lidded plastic box with his picture taped to the side.
8.¬† Keep your sense of humor.¬† Stepping in poop that fell out of someone’s droopy pull-up is funny.¬† Explaining why some peepees have hair on them is funny.¬† Realizing that someone let the hamster out is funny.¬† Cutting a patch of maple syrup-encrusted hair out of your daughter’s ponytail 5 minutes before the bus comes is funny. ¬† Hearing your son belt out “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” at the top of his lungs at the bank to hear the echo is funny. ¬†¬† You might not realize it immediately, but its true.¬† If you don’t think so, try telling one of your stressful parenting stories to the Grandpa and see if he laughs.¬† If he laughs, its funny.
9.¬† You reap what you sow.¬† Screamers beget screamers.¬†¬† Whiners beget whiners.¬† Do you know why Geetle listens to me when I tell her to pick up her toys?¬† Because I listen to her when she tells me her theory on why car tires have silver stars in the middle (hubcaps).¬†¬† Why is Pookie willing to sit still in the doctor’s waiting room?¬† Because I sit quietly and cuddle with him on the couch at home.¬†
10.¬† Let your first thought and consideration when making any decision or action be “what about my kids?”¬† Really, if you do this one, you can skip all the other rules you read here or in any parenting book.¬†¬† This is the silver bullet of good mothering.¬†
1. Trust your instincts. If you think you will feel better buying the baby monitor with the TV screen, then do it. But if you realize it will lead to obsessing about whether or not the baby is breathing, then don’t. If someone tells you your baby looks flushed and you disagree, you are probably right.
2. Trust your kids. If they indicate they are ready for grown-up forks and deciding for themselves how much toilet paper to use, then they probably are. If they make a mistake, help them learn from it and move on. You knew that someday they would grow up, you don’t want to be pouring the milk for a 12 year old anyway, do you?
3. Don’t be a single parent unless that is your official classification. My husband is a 100% parent and so am I. He takes care of poop accidents, he makes ponytails, he cooks, he laces shoes. Not every day, not every time. But neither do I. But between the two of us, it gets done. Having a good Dad makes you a good Mom, and vice versa.
4. Talk it out. Talk to your kids. Talk to your spouse. Life is a battlefield and you need a plan. If you wander through life, then you will get nowhere. But if you have some sort of plan or purposeful response to a parenting situation, you will do better. After a troublesome day, BAGD and I often talk about ideas for next time. How can we reduce Geetle’s sassy talk; maybe we should implement a reward system. How can we keep Pookie from accidentally dressing himself out of Geetle’s side of the closet; maybe we should hang a scarf on the closet rod to separate the sides.
5. Don’t be too hard on yourself. If making cupcakes for preschool is fun for you, do it. But if its not, then buy them at the grocery store. Parenting magazines are great for ideas, but NO ONE can possibly do all those crafts, made-up backyard games, finger puppet plays and funny face veggie pizzas. By my estimation, the average Mom (who is probably also a “good mom”) does less than 5% of the things in the magazine. Your kids would love a funny-face pizza, sure. But they would rather have you spray them with the garden hose or listen to their 10 minute story about the pile of dirt behind the fence at preschool.
6. Your kids are part of your life, your whole life. I take my kids to the grocery store, Jiffy Lube, the bank, and Great Grandma Jones’ antique-saturated home. If you learn to integrate your kids into your normal everyday life, you will get to spend more time with them, you will teach them how to behave in different situations and you will be able to get all the necessary tasks of life done.
7 . Try to be organized. This can be a hard one, but it really makes a difference. When your physical surroundings are chaotic, so is your mind. At the bare minimum, organize the parts of your life that directly affect your parenting. I have a giant box of household papers that I know I will never file; I stuff them in the sump pump closet in the basement. But, my the closet my b/g twins share is organized by gender and type of clothing. I have hundreds of recipe clippings that I stuff into a folder, making them useless. But, we keep our 25+ piece Mr. PotatoHead set all together in a lidded plastic box with his picture taped to the side.
8.¬† Keep your sense of humor.¬† Stepping in poop that fell out of someone’s droopy pull-up is funny.¬† Explaining why some peepees have hair on them is funny.¬† Realizing that someone let the hamster out is funny.¬† Cutting a patch of maple syrup-encrusted hair out of your daughter’s ponytail 5 minutes before the bus comes is funny. ¬† Hearing your son belt out “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” at the top of his lungs at the bank to hear the echo is funny. ¬†¬† You might not realize it immediately, but its true.¬† If you don’t think so, try telling one of your stressful parenting stories to the Grandpa and see if he laughs.¬† If he laughs, its funny.
9.¬† You reap what you sow.¬† Screamers beget screamers.¬†¬† Whiners beget whiners.¬† Do you know why Geetle listens to me when I tell her to pick up her toys?¬† Because I listen to her when she tells me her theory on why car tires have silver stars in the middle (hubcaps).¬†¬† Why is Pookie willing to sit still in the doctor’s waiting room?¬† Because I sit quietly and cuddle with him on the couch at home.¬†
10.¬† Let your first thought and consideration when making any decision or action be “what about my kids?”¬† Really, if you do this one, you can skip all the other rules you read here or in any parenting book.¬†¬† This is the silver bullet of good mothering.¬†
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Pool Day!
So after another wicked hot day down here in the south, we decided to head to the local pool that also has a kid area that includes a slide, sprinklers and various bubblers. I thought Liv would love it, instead the big hit was sitting on a beach towel and eating lunch. The girls spent over an hour and a half, changing seats, sharing snacks, and getting in and out of the tent I had Maddie in. So instead of a blog post about how much fun swimming was, here is pictures of the picnic:)
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| I asked Olivia to smile for a picture..... |
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| Liv, Byrnn, Caroline, and Maddie in the tent! |
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| and Maddie slept through it all:) |
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Liv's First Day of School!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Ballet!
Markers vs. Hardwood floor!!!
Sooo after a few minutes of silence when Liv had her friend Kiley-Jo over, I knew it was trouble.....
the damage........
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| Guilty as charged!! |
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Make-up Time!
Yesterday I was playing pretend make-up with the Olivia. She asked if she could put some make-up on Maddie and I happened to have my camera right next to me....
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Toddler Bed Victory!!
So we have finally conquered the big girl bed!!! After a few weeks and a vacation up north in between, we have Liv sleeping all night in her bed. I have looked online and asked the advice of mother's for help to get her to bed, and stay in it all night. We made a big deal about getting her new bedding for her toddler bed, we put stars on her ceiling and a little table to keep her books on next to her. We read to her for about 15 minutes each night to help her relaz, then we put the gate up, turn the light off and she has to stay in her bed. We have said (and thankful never had to do) that if she get's out of bed then we will shut the door and this seems to work! She cries for a few minutes on nights that she is super tired, but other than that she sleep all night in her own bed! It was not an easy process by any means but well worth it in the end :) Now if we could get her little sister to sleep through the night I would be one happy Mumma!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Maddie posing!!
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| her serious look |
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| her flirty look |
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| her happy smile! |
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| her curious pose... |
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| her looking at her sister smile! |
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| of course he was ready to pose also! |
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
What a difference a year makes!
Steve and I were recently talking about where we were a year ago and I thought I would write a quick post about it...
...One year ago we had just found out we were pregnant, we didn't know we would be blessed with another healthy beautiful girl and have been so fortunate to add to our growing family! As the test came back positive I was sooo excited to be fortunate enough to have another child...yet NOT looking forward to 20 weeks of non-stop vomiting chasing after a toddler!
...One year ago Liv was still our baby, using a pacifier, sleeping in a crib, diapers, baby food and a single stroller were all necessity's to the Beane family. She was barely talking and now she is growing up before our eyes, starting preschool this year, in a big girl bed and with a personality of her own with an independent spirit to match her mum's! She knows what she wants and has the attitude to match it, much to her grandmother's delight (hello KARMA) and much to my HORROR!!
....One year ago we found out we would have to leave New England, our family, friends and all the comforts of home for Steve's to take a promotion in his career. After weeks of talking and debate we decided that we would take that chance and we could always move back if it was the wrong decision for us. We will not deny that it has been REALLY hard being away from ALL of your family...We have come to many first over the last year...first holiday's and birthday's without our family's around, instead of going to see cousins we skype with them instead of bad attitude's and driver's we have been welcomed with southern charm and courteous drivers! However we have also become stronger as a family unit, learning to lean on each other more, making the most of when we are all together, and learning that your time here is is not a guarantee but rather a gift.
We have had a lot of great things happen to is over the last year and we really have had to rely on our family, friends (old/new). From preparing for the actual move to Tn, to the birth of our new daughter, we have reached out and been welcomed/helped with open arms. So here is a BIG THANK-YOU for helping us grow as a family along the way!!!!To another year of HEALTH, LOVE, and HAPPINESS!!
...One year ago we had just found out we were pregnant, we didn't know we would be blessed with another healthy beautiful girl and have been so fortunate to add to our growing family! As the test came back positive I was sooo excited to be fortunate enough to have another child...yet NOT looking forward to 20 weeks of non-stop vomiting chasing after a toddler!
...One year ago Liv was still our baby, using a pacifier, sleeping in a crib, diapers, baby food and a single stroller were all necessity's to the Beane family. She was barely talking and now she is growing up before our eyes, starting preschool this year, in a big girl bed and with a personality of her own with an independent spirit to match her mum's! She knows what she wants and has the attitude to match it, much to her grandmother's delight (hello KARMA) and much to my HORROR!!
....One year ago we found out we would have to leave New England, our family, friends and all the comforts of home for Steve's to take a promotion in his career. After weeks of talking and debate we decided that we would take that chance and we could always move back if it was the wrong decision for us. We will not deny that it has been REALLY hard being away from ALL of your family...We have come to many first over the last year...first holiday's and birthday's without our family's around, instead of going to see cousins we skype with them instead of bad attitude's and driver's we have been welcomed with southern charm and courteous drivers! However we have also become stronger as a family unit, learning to lean on each other more, making the most of when we are all together, and learning that your time here is is not a guarantee but rather a gift.
We have had a lot of great things happen to is over the last year and we really have had to rely on our family, friends (old/new). From preparing for the actual move to Tn, to the birth of our new daughter, we have reached out and been welcomed/helped with open arms. So here is a BIG THANK-YOU for helping us grow as a family along the way!!!!To another year of HEALTH, LOVE, and HAPPINESS!!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Why I love the airport!
Since moving down south, we have started to fly alot more to visit our family and friends. Olivia alone has flown more than a dozen times and she is only 2 years old. Needless to say Steve doesn't usually fly with us due to his busy work schedule so we have gotten pretty savy around the airports. When I was flying while preggers with Maddie I would sit and watch people while waiting for our flights. I blammed it on the hormones but when I broke out into tears during our latest flight I realized that it was a great place to go if your doubting the kindness of humans! What I am trying to say is watching people meet each other after being away is pretty touching. Just the other day we saw a military man greet his wife and kids after who knows how long he was away. He had to twin girls around the age of 2 and the way they started screaming "Dada," it got me choked up....then random people started clapping as the family embraced. I love watching people running up to each other, giving a romantic missed-you kind of kiss, and seeing the smiles and hand holding as they walk away. This has made me in a great mood everytime we fly now and I look forward to this pick-me-up. Call me crazy but you really see the good in people when you are trying to navigate an airport alone with 2 car seats, double stroller, carry-on and diaper bags. During both flights people would help without me even asking. Mom's who had their own kids would ask what they could do, the grandfather behind us on the plane carried both car seats as we got off the flight without me asking. Flying alone with 2 kids can be hell, but I have chosen to start enjoying these moments and when I am feeling a bit down about leaving whereever we were traveling, I know that I can just smile, and watch to see that "love actually is all around."
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