Kairos Moment

The other day I blogged about Kairos moments. It is based on THIS post. Kairos time is God's time, time outside of time if you will. Those moments when your day stops and you really see your kids, your spouse, your world for what it really is. The moments that you want to freeze frame forever. That is Kairos time.

My day to day is boring, mundane and sometimes hard, who's isn't? But I want to try and occasionally capture those Kairos moments here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday morning Lo came barreling into our room bright and early at 630a, as usual. I scooped her and her 19 babies into bed and snuggled down with her hoping to catch just a few more peaceful moments; instead Leighton grabbed my face and whispered:

"Mommy, you are kind, you are smart and you are important to me. I love you soooo much."

{since discovering this quote from the movie The Help, we like to say it to Lo, no child can be told that enough and evidently I need to hear it too. :) }

As if that weren't enough, a little later she added :

"Mommy you are so beautiful and cute."

Then she leaned over to daddy and whispered: "I love you so much daddy."

Perfect start to the day. I just wanted to lay there and snuggle her all day. Kairos moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The other day when I was perusing my digital scrapbooking sites, I found this page that I can't wait to "scraplift" and make my own. What a perfect way to capture some of those Kairos moments, with the post as the backdrop. Love.

Source: theshabbyshoppe.com via Michele on Pinterest

What are your Kairos moments? I would love to hear them. I think this would make a great series.

Mommy Got a New Camera

My hubby surprised me the other day with a belated anniversary gift and every holiday in between, including Arbor Day, gift: A Cannon Rebel.

Hip Hooray for an awesome camera!!!!!
After sitting down and "editing" Micah's birthday I was so frustrated. While I didn't expect we could get it this quickly I am so glad we did!

Wow, what a difference. Now if I could learn how to actually use this camera, I can't imagine how good my pics will be.


My little test photo shoot of Micah on his daddy's rocking pony.
{Your welcome Grandma Rachel}

Most days instead of napping, she spends it reading to her babies.

Cute pics from my point shoot.


My little princess.

She wanted to pose with her poodle, like Micah does with his giraffe.
Lo has really been into coloring lately...love those color wonder markers.
Every night before bed Lo gets a chocolate graham cracker and stir it up {aka chocolate milk}, Micah has decided he too should get to participate in said tradition as he has taken to stealing Lo's graham cracker when she isn't looking. HA! So now he gets his own.

New 'Do

Leighton had her first REAL hair cut a few weeks ago. I cut her hair once 6 months ago and it still looked scraggly and icky. I can't stand her bangs hanging in her beautiful face. I decided we girls need a real hair stylist and the boys can just have buzz cuts by yours truly. :)

Anyway she did so good. She was a bit nervous at first, but she sat so still and let Ms. Cori work her magic. We love Cori. She has been doing my hair for at least 10 years and it is in this tiny shop in an even tinier little town.

Cori couldn't let Lo leave with out making her first trip extra special by curling her hair all up. She looked beautiful. Lo kept saying "daddy will say 'oh, Leighton you look so bootiful.'" She was dying to show everyone. Of course in her mind the sucker made the trip extra special! HA!

Here she is Before:

And After:

Regularly Scheduled Programming.

For someone who seems to thrive on routine and consistency I seldom seem to be on one! HA!

I think God gave me kids to shake me out of my ruts and realizing that status quo is not the only way {to go}. But it isn't for lack of trying. I really do think all of us thrive better on routine, I mean all those "how to raise your kid" books say it, so I must be right about it. :)

Anyway, after a long, yet fun holiday season, going back to work to get first quarter audits done, and giving Micah a fun first birthday, I am so ready to get back to regularly scheduled programming. I just it wish it wouldn't take me so long to bounce back into our routines.

I started working out again with My Shape for our kinect and I really enjoy it. I like having someone come up with my work out routines. As a mom I feel like I have to be the entire brain of this family and some days I just want to yell "no, don't want to!" like Leighton gets to and have someone else doing the planning. When I told Chad he could go grocery shopping he said "good now we can get ramen noodles." Really?! Gross. He always knows just what to say to make sure I keep doing it. HA!

And now my house is finally clean{er} again. Thanks to MW's party, but never mind the reason it is done and now I can hopefully get back on my cleaning schedule...of course the will to clean is a whole other issue.

I also have a bazillion projects I am trying to get going too.
*Garage Sale
*Scrapbooking
*Baby books
*Blog books---I am starting to have freak outs that blogger is going to crash (or be shut down b/c of some dumb bill in congress) and I will lose all of this. Seriously I lose sleep over this people.
*Consignment sale
*taxes--bleh.
*Lo's 3rd Birthday---which makes me incredibly sad. I don't want her to grow up she is at such a fun age of innocence.

And I am slowly getting back into menu planning and couponing again. Our last menu plan was the week before Christmas. Maybe I will be cool like my friend Kelley and start posting them here to keep myself accountable and as a fall back when I draw a blank.

And speaking of regularly scheduled programming, have you all seen Once Upon a Time on ABC?! Oh my gosh this is my favorite show, possibly of all time. I have missed the last 3 weeks because I can't stand not being able to watch it all at once and our Roku is out of commission. Grrr. But I saw a preview for yesterday's episode and my heart seriously went pitter patter. Just thought I would throw that random thought out there. HA!

Happy Random Monday!

A mommy pick me up

My friend Ginger brought this blog post to my attention via her FB. And I just had to share it here too!

Nothing means more to me in this mommy community then moms who are willing to get down and real about what motherhood is really like. Enjoy this post!

My favorite part was when she said she hopes one day when she is the grandma in line she can tell that young mom in front of her this:

"It's helluva hard, isn't it? You're a good mom, I can tell. And I like your kids, especially that one peeing in the corner. She's my favorite. Carry on, warrior. Six hours till bedtime." And hopefully, every once in a while, I'll add -- "Let me pick up that grocery bill for ya, sister. Go put those kids in the van and pull on up -- I'll have them bring your groceries out."

I hope I can do that too someday. I seem to however run into more "grandmas" that look at me like they don't even remotely remember what it was like to a have a 3 year old and 1 year old.

Hope you got the mommy pick me you needed today!

Micah's First Birthday {The Party}

We had Micah's first birthday party Sunday {the 15th} afternoon. It was a perfect day. Sunday was the day I had him and I just kept thinking about what I was doing last year at this time...you know like giving birth! HA! I just can't believe how much they change and grow in that first year. A blob to a walking babbling toddler! Wow.

{side bar: please excuse most of the pictures...I use to not notice how bad my point and shoot is, but now it is really grating on my last nerve and Chad and I are desperately trying to save to get a real camera...I am tired of big moments like this not turning out. :( }


{the theme}
Was Cookies and Milk. Fitting since MW is a milkaholic. Actually I chose this theme when he was 5 months old and have been pinning away ever since. Not that my parties ever turn out like those, but it was fun trying. I found these really cool milk bottles/crafes at Dillons for $4 and we used Snapple glass bottles for the guests. Of course, no one seemed to get it, but that's ok it looked nice.


My mom and I made his cookie birthday banner which was inspired from here.


{the invite}

which was inspired from here.

{the food}
We had cookies {chocolate chip, sugar, oreos and red velvet whoopie pie "cookies"} and milk in chocolate, strawberry and 2% varieties. Micah got to indulge in a red velvet whoopie pie cookie/cake. Both my kids didn't go crazy over their cupcakes. I was hoping for a messy, smash fest. He didn't really know what to do and preferred drinking his chocolate milk. Eventually he got the hang of it and down it all. Which he later spent the rest of the evening puking up. Not because he was sick, just because we can't escape this reflux crap even post surgery. :(

Look at miss attitude. Welcome to being 3 and emotional!

{the presents}
Micah got lots of fun things from his family. Lots of little boy toys, but this time airplanes! No cars. HA! My sister did get him this awesome road sign set from Melissa and Doug to use all those cars with. And he ended up with TWO ball poppers! Those grammies really need to start communicating better as they keep getting the birthday person the SAME gifts! HA! Of course the ball popper was a hit and we probably should keep both. Since our last one didn't last more than 2 years. But that could have a little something to do with the fact Lo stuck beans in it. If you are looking for a gift for the baby in your life this gift seriously is a hit. Lo still loves it and she is nearly 3!

The big gift was from daddy and mommy and any one who gave him money was his new big boy car seat! So far he loves it. And now that he is 18.4# we may be flipping it soon! :0

{photos}
I tried to get a photo of all the guests with the birthday boy. But he was done and cranky. So this is what you get. Lo has also been in a rotten grumpy funk and ruined most of the pics too. Sorry. It is what it is.


Then Chad played Micah's baby video he made for the family and everyone laughed and misted up a bit at how fast this year has gone! {don't worry Misa, we are mailing you a copy!}

Overall, it was a great party. I wanted it to be special for Micah and I think it was. I know he won't remember it, but I will. I want him to know how much he is loved and how we can't even imagine our lives without a little Micah bear and all his fire and ice.

I made his onesie using my new cricut I got for Christmas! Pretty proud of myself.

Happy Birthday my precious Micah Bear. I love you SOOOOO much!



PS Now I get to start on Lo's 3rd Birthday which is next month!! Holy cow it never stops. :)

Mommy Wars {Thanks Anderson Cooper}

I have a bazillion things I want/need to post on, but first I just have to get this written out and off my mind I have literally been stewing about it for days!

Did any of you catch Anderson Cooper the other day. You know the one on SAHM vs Working moms. I don't regularly watch Anderson Cooper matter of fact the only thing I regularly watch was One Life to Live and I guess Stephanie and I were the only ones, so they took it off the air last week. Big bummer for us.

Anyway as you can imagine this topic mommy war sparks a lot of emotions in people mommies. I literally wanted to jump through my tv and go all Jerry Springer on those working moms! They flat out called SAHM lazy! LAZY! They were disrespectful to any SAHM that said otherwise, by rolling their eyes and scoffing. I mean how rude is that. We are fellow moms here. We should be building one another up and supporting each other NOT tearing one another down because one works outside the home and the other doesn't it.

The show was done because there is a study floating around out there saying working mommies are happier and healthier than SAHM. I am going to just say right now I have not read this study, I have no idea how legit this study is, but I am an educated woman, even though I stay at home, and I am going to tell you this study is crap and a waste of grant money or tax payer dollars.

You can't do a conclusive study on emotion or human nature. It is ever changing. You could poll mommies all day and depending on the day and time of month we are in you better beleive we will all have different answers--every hour! When my kids are angels I am all over being a SAHM and loving every second of it. When they try my patience for days on end I am ready to look through the want ads.

I think this boils down to 3 main points:

1. There are plenty of mommies I know that LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE staying at home. It makes them who they are. Some of us have only ever dreamed of being a wife and mommy. My sister is one of them. And she is a great one, she is {as far as I can tell} completely and utterly fulfilled by this role. Then there are mommies like me who never dreamed they would ever want to be a SAHM, but as that sweet little Lo Lo girl grew bigger and bigger in my tummy the very thought of going back to work brought me to uncontrollable tears. And finally there are mommies that enjoy going to work and interacting with actual adults and coming home and spending quality time with their kids, and some who just plain have no choice in the matter.

Each of those scenarios is completely ok and works for each type of mommy. Not for one instance does one scenario say "hey I love my kid more than you love your kid." Every family has its circumstances and reasons for making said decision and that decision should be supported by the mommy community at large. Not with eye rolling and scoffing.

2. Furthermore, I feel like saying working moms are happier and healthier is a crock because in my humble opinion that is like saying that to be fulfilled as mom and woman we must all be teachers, or lawyers or dare I say it SAHM! We mommies are still individuals, with different temperaments, passions and goals for our lives. What works for one mommy will not always work for the next. Again it is about what works for your family and what keeps you sane as a mommy. I beat myself up relentlessly some days because I don't buy into this teaching my kid stuff. I don't want to do all those crafts and letters with Leighton. She doesn't want to sit down and do it any more than I do. I am slowly coming to a place where I realized I am teaching her through my passions. She isn't stupid, she will learn her numbers and letters, it just may not be at age 3.

3. To address the lazy issue. Those are just fighting words. Why would you say that?! To be honest yes, I probably get to sit on my derrière a bit more than the working mom, unless she has a desk job. And my day may not always be go-go-go, but I do stay busy being present with my children and keeping a house. I fully realize working moms do that on top of working, but such is the lifestyle you lead. It isn't fair to call me lazy because I stay at home and can do laundry and dishes throughout the day and you only have Saturday to do it. I am jealous of people who can afford other luxuries I can't like cable because of the lifestyle they chose. It is what it is, don't be rude.

Because we can all throw stones. One of the working moms on the show switched places with a SAHM. I thought this was utterly ridiculous and proved nothing.

1. The working mom took care of the SAHM kids because the working mom's son was school aged. Of course she would hate staying at home with someone else kids. I would. They aren't yours, you have no emotional ties to them, so yes the day would be draining and long. Duh.

2. I noticed that the SAHM went to a waitress job. I felt like screaming at the tv: So you are "just" a waitress. Insert eye roll. Too lazy to get a real degree...see how rude and demeaning that is. I don't really feel that way about her, but would like to see her try that on for size. We moms are doing the best we can for our families and that should never be put down no matter what you do, and how you do it.

I hate these mommy wars. I hate moms who make other moms feel bad about any of their choices. Let's try and remember what our moms and grandmoms taught us: If you have nothing nice to say then don't say it at all!

We mommies are shaping the future {our kids} and it could be a beautiful thing if we would all start building one another up and encouraging each other in this very difficult journey!

One Year {Watch Me Grow}

Oh wow, my sweet Micah Wyatt, you are ONE today. One. As much as I wanted this day to arrive, I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. It feels like just yesterday I was giving birth to you and holding you in my arms for the first time. I broke down watching your baby video daddy made once "our song" came on. I just love you so much. This year has been such a struggle and it has been challenging on so many levels, but not for one second have I ever doubted my love for you. Micah, you are the little boy I NEVER knew I WANTED! I love the car noises you bring to our home and the meticulous thought you give everything you explore. I look forward to watching you grow up and find your passion. But most of all I pray your passion will also be for God. I love you my little man, you will always be "mama's little boy" even if you do out grow it. :)


Milestones: You are a full time walker {Jan 3} and almost runner! Towards the end of December we would find you walking down the hall. You looked like a 'drunk frat boy' :) but you were walking nonetheless. Over the last two weeks you are all over the place and have even learned how to stand up without the aide of furniture. I am still surprised when I see you walking up to me or into a room. Makes you such a little boy.


You have moved up to your big boy car seat! Still rear facing as you aren't 20# yet...your sissy was 18m before we broke down and finally switched her and she still wasn't 20# :/...


Language Skills: You are starting to say "mama," "dada," "ba" {ball, boo or bottle, depending on the scenario}, "vroom" "hi" and "bye" both in very southern accents.

Vroom, Vroom.

Eating: You are a milkacholic. If I would let you, you would be fine with a liquid diet. I transitioned you over to milk around 11 months. You did half formula, half milk until we ran out of formula last week. You love to eat dry cheerios and baby oatmeal for breakfast, PB and Jelly or turkey and cheese for lunch and can pretty handle anything we eat for dinner. You don't seem to picky, but when you are done eating you are done eating!

If you see some food you want you do this little shout squeal to let us all know you want some!


Finally we are slowly weaning off the bottle, but first I have to wean you off needing a bottle to go to sleep with. :/ oops...oh well you win some you lose some.


Sleeping: You are sleeping through the night. Hip hip hooray! Sleep training worked and I am pretty hacked at myself for not doing it sooner! You sleep from 630p-630a then you are up for the day. You nap at 830a for 1-1.5 hours and at 1230p for ~2 hours. You can set your watch by these naps. Again thank you sleep training...who knew babies nap best at the same time each day...not this girl, obviously. :/

Milkacholic Down.

Favorite Toys and Books: All your little boy cars. How do they know to vroom vroom them on the floor? No one taught him that he just did it. Lo had cars at his age and never did that...she just played mommy. Don't tell me boys and girls are the "same" and we influence them based on gender sterotypes!

Of course you love your favorite playmate!


You also love blocks and can stack them. Boy genius. ;)

please ignore the yucky vacuum...

You are starting to play by-your-self! Can I get a Hallelujah chorus and an Amen?!
The other day I brought you downstairs and sat on the floor. You got up walked down the hall, hung out in the playroom for 5 minutes, alone, emerged with a toy, walked back down the hall and blew past me like I didn't exist! I was blown away. Some moms would be sad, not me! :) 'Bout time you take on a little independence.

We don't read to you. ;)

Your favorite game is "Trot Trot to Boston."

Anecdotes/Quirky things you do:
You have acquired several nicknames this year: Micah Bear, Stinker feet, Love bug, and Lo loves to call you Mike-Mike?! Dislike that big time.

I make this look good.

You get very excited about bath time. Sometimes I can barely make sure the water isn't too hot before you jump out of my arms! You also love to brush your two little teeth. It may or may not have to do with the vibrating toothbrush. :)

You love to go into your sister's room and still her underpants and carry them around. We call it the panty raid. HA!

You are Mr. Muscles. You try and carry around all these "heavy" objects like sissy's step stool and your high chair tray. Silly boy.

You also love your grandmas, so much. Whenever you see them you light up and squeal with delight.

Temperament: You are still up and down. A very emotional child. I suppose part of why you and I butt heads is because we may be a teeny tiny bit alike. You can be so happy and so content and then you can be a firecracker throwing the world's greatest tantrum. Some of it may be attributed to this new reflux situation...didn't we have a surgery to fix that?! Yeah, that is what I thought too. Hmmm.


Stats: His Dr. Appt is on Tues, I will update you with this riveting information then, but for now here are my guesstimations.
Weight: 18# 4z (2%)
Height: 27in (0%)
Head circ: 17.75in (16%)
Clothes: 9-12m
Diapers: size 3 swaddlers
Shoes: size 4
Teeth: still only 2, but I think we have 2-4 just about to break through!!

{A Look Back Over The Year In Pictures}


{Family of 4}
{six months}
{One Year}

HEY! Get out of here, this is MY photo shoot! MOM!!!!

Happy FIRST Birthday Micah Bear!
We love you SOOOOO Much. Our lives are forever
changed by one special little boy.