Letters for my babies

Dear Jayden,


Last night your dad and I were talking about how special you are. I know that every parent in the world thinks their kids are special, have a special soul, but we’re not the only ones that see it with you. Your soul is different, Jayden. Most kids your age aren’t concerned with the things you’re concerned about. Most kids your age aren’t as loving as you are. Your boyscout pack leader tonight told me how sweet and special you are. Jayden, your soul is so pure and I find it hard to think that it could ever change…. I told your pack leader, hey we just might have the next prophet right here. I love you, Jayden. You brighten my world and make my heart sing. I want you to know that I will ALWAYS be here for you… no matter what. You will always be my baby.


Love, Mama






Dear Ella,


I just want you to know that you are a complete joy to my life. I catch myself just staring at you while smiling. I catch myself praying to Heavenly Father just to thank Him for
blessing me with you. I tell you all day long that you and your brother are my best friends. Ella, I just absolutely adore you and I want you to always know that. I want you to always know that you are so special to me and I will ALWAYS be here for you…. no matter what.


Love, Mama

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A Mortifying Parent Moment

Being a mom comes with a whole bunch of mortifying experiences. Situations that make you want to crawl in a hole and not come out for a very, very long time.


Today one of those happened to me.  As my fingers tap against these keys I still want to hide my face.


There was a knock on the door.  Normally, if you don’t call I don’t answer the door.  That’s just how it goes ~ so if you’re in my area and reading this… TAKE NOTE.  And after reading this you’ll understand why.


Well, today I had this feeling that I needed to answer it.  I’m glad I did, because it was my landlord and I really needed to talk to him. 


I picked up Ella and answered the door, stood outside with her and spoke to the man.  We were exchanging phone numbers {funny how we didn’t have each other’s phone number huh?} and so I stuck Ella back inside. When I came back in from my conversation with him, Ella was standing in my living room with a shirt on.  And that’s it.  No Pull Up, no panties, no pants… her bottom half was BUTT NAKED!


Panic went through my entire body…. did I really just hold my daughter outside, while she had nothing on?????  I had to know, so I called my landlord {since I now have his phone number} and asked.  YUP!  I apologized and said I really had no clue!!!!  HOLY CRAP.


And that my friends… is the life of a mother.


And this mother is MORTIFIED!

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Pregnant Woman & Their Tempers

My patience was very close to non existent today. I don’t know what my deal was {maybe the fact that I’m pregnant had something to do with it} but my son definitely could feel it.


Tonight he told me:


Mom, you know your temper you had today. Pregnant woman have to take their temper WAY down, because your heart can start beating really fast and then your baby will cry.


So, you just have to 1, 2, 3 and {he took a deep breath}


And I just love him so much.

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Take a Moment… treasure your babies

Sometimes in life things just don’t go the way you planned them out. You may see things one way, and other people see them another. Maybe you’re right… maybe they’re right. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. 

Today in the havoc of drama that just makes my head spin and really question people that are in my life, a mother lost her baby.  Her 2 year old son was ripped from her life in a horribly tragic way.  It sure makes you stop and appreciate what you do have.  I have embraced my kids and loved their smiles, their hugs and their giggles tonight.  I’ve mourned with a woman I’ve never met, because that’s what our twitter and blog world does.  We mourn together, we cry together, we get through life together.

Tonight…. I’m going to shut this computer, take a moment to treasure my babies, light a candle and say a prayer for Shellie @Military_Mom 



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And remember my baby girl in heaven
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One Proud Mama…. and toddler too!

I am up earlier than usual on a Monday. See, normally I don’t get up until the alarm goes off, and Monday is a late start day at Jayden’s school….. BUT! I had to get on here and blog about our first night making Ella STAY in her bed.

I blogged last night on how she had gone in there fell asleep on her own and how proud I was of her. Shortly after that blog we heard her crying. So, Gino went upstairs and got her. Technically I should went up and made her stay in there, but that’s not what happened. Instead, she layed on the couch and feel back asleep.

THEN! We took her upstairs and instead of throwing her in our bed I put her in her’s. She woke up and started crying and I reminded her that she was being a big girl and was going to get a sticker for being such a big girl! She nodded her head and said okay, hugged her bobby and went to sleep.

It lasted about 15 minutes…. then she started crying for Mommy. So, I went in, comforted her and reminded her that she’s being a big girl! She said ok and pointed to Jayden’s bed and said MAMA! Okay, I layed down in Jayden’s bed so she felt comforted for about 20 minutes. In that 20 minutes she woke up once and I heard her say “OH!” Like a oh, okay, she’s still here! And heard her turn over and I vacated the room.

And 7am is when she woke up!

She got out of bed yelling I DID IT!!!!!! She was so proud of herself…I just loved it and felt so good inside!

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I’m Reparenting…. blogging the journey!

I’m reparenting. Ella has turned into a little tornado and I’m in the process of kicking it square in the butt before I end up with a sassy little teen! I blogged the other day about how out of control she’s been lately, and I’ve decided to just buckle down and get this under control.

I’m not gonna lie… it’s been DOWNRIGHT DIFFICULT! She’s used to getting away with a lot because I would prefer to just give in than do the hard work of sticking it out and sticking to my word. That’s where I have been failing as a parent. I owe it to her to teach her that she has rules, she has to respect her parents and that we are here to love her, and ensure that she is raised the right way!

We’d been through so much with Ella that I think we both just sortof let things slide. I’d think oh that’s nice, she just poured her lemonade out all over her…. well, at least she’s alive to be able to do that. It could be so much worse, because she could not be here. So instead of getting frustrated and getting on her we both instead let things slide. HUGE MISTAKE! I’m just happy that I’m changing things before it’s too late.

Consistency. I’m being as consistent as a rock is hard! Not easy… takes and extreme amount of patience {blogged about that today} so not only is this changing her, but it’s changing me. We are both being changed for the better. I’m finding that life is actually 110% easier when giving the toddler boundaries, and she’s realizing that MOM MEANS BUSINESS!

I think the most shocking thing ever is that I’m seeing results so quickly. I’m giving her choices for the most part on things, and she’s picking one or the other and realizing that this is the way it is. However, the little smartie realized that she can say that she wants an option that I’m not giving her…. EXAMPLE: Tonight I was working in my room/office and had the baby gate up so she couldn’t come inside. She was having a MELTDOWN! I gave her the option of either going to hang out with her dad downstairs for her brother in their room. She thought long and hard about this and said, “Mama!” CRAP! That was not an option….. how is her little brain able to think outside of the box? Oh! I know, because she’s abnormally smart!

Today for naptime she slept in her own bed. I didn’t have to continually put her in her bed, she layed down (which is normally a fight) and asked for “Bobby” and I told her that she’d be a big girl and get a sticker if she’d lay down and take a nap in her bed. Almost 3 hours late she opened her door and came out with a huge smile on her face. She was PROUD OF HERSELF!!!!! And I was just as proud of her too!!

As I type this extremely long novel of our events here she’s sleeping in her bed. Ever since I layed her down in her bed she’s stayed there. If it lasts all night long she’s getting cake for breakfast! Okay, I’m totally kidding, but she’ll get to add a sticker to her chart that we’re going to make her tomorrow.

I know that parenting is hard, but seeing the benefits of having patience and sticking with it makes it so worth it. I feel not only proud of her, but proud of myself as well for having the patience she deserves and showing her that she has boundries and she MUST respect her parents.

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Just a Motivating Monday – Patience is a Virtue


If you’re just joining in:
-Write a blog post about ANYTHING at all that inspires you, or something you feel will inspire others. 

-Please link back to Garibay Soup 

-Please snag my Just a Motivating button on your post.

-I hope that we can all go and visit each other’s blogs and read what everyone has linked up ~ I hope that this carnival can bring more traffic for you 🙂 So, spread the comment love! 


Last Just a Motivating Monday I talked about Forgiveness and talked of how for the next few weeks I will be basing my Just a Motivating Monday post on virtues.



Patience is a Virtue

Something that we’ve heard over and over and over again in our lives. As a child I never got it. I never quite understood why being patient is a virtue… actually, I think back then I never quite understood VIRTUE.

The best way for me to talk about patience as a virtue is through my eyes as a mother.  Recapping on virtue, we know that things of virtue are things of righteousness, moral excellence.  My goal in life is to be virtuous.  It’s something that definitely takes a lot of focus and striving for.  I am willing to work at this, even if it takes my entire life.  To be known as someone of virtue is an honor.

Patience.  Hardest virtue I think there is out there.  Especially as a mother!  It’s extremely important that we don’t lose it on our children.  Trust me… there are MANY, MANY, MANY times a day I would like to just fly off the handle, because it’s easier.  Instead I have to remind myself over and over and over again that this too shall pass.  If I hold on to that one virtue that is extremely hard to achieve and just be patient, it will pass.

Motivation…I need motivation to be patient.  I think the best motivation for me is my children’s memories… I don’t want their memories to be of their mom frustrated, impatient, not being there for them.  I want them to know that no matter what… I’m here.  I want to be the model mom.  I know I never will be, but I sure can strive to be.  Being a model mother requires a lot of virtue, and the hardest, yet most important one is patience.  Teach them how to be patient by being patient.  Teach them to be virtuous by being virtuous.

This week I’m going to work extremely hard on being patience.  Patience with my children, my husband, my work, me… I’m just downright going to be as patient as I possibly can.  Let me tell you, this is EXTREMELY hard on me.  I struggle with this virtue more than any of them.  So tomorrow I will wake up with a personal goal for the entire week.  The beauty of it is the more we practice being patient the easier it becomes.  Let’s give our children memories of a patient mom, a mom that was easy to approach, a mom that took the time to listen to their needs, a mom that took the time ensure that they felt important.

If you have anything else to add on this virtue, please leave it as a comment.  I’d LOVE to read other’s thoughts on this virtue… especially since it’s the one virtue I struggle with.

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God, please HELP!!!!!!

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I realized on this trip that I AM SCREWED! There’s no pretty word for what I forsee in my future… nope, no pretty word AT. ALL!
You see, I have this little 2 year old that has the attitude of a young little tween all packed with a load of hormones.  

I know this, 
I see this, 
but I really 
NEED TO GET ON DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!


She hits, she thinks it’s hilarious to NOT listen, she glares, rolls her eyes, yells…. oh shit! I’m describing myself!!!!  Damn it, {Kandi}!  You were right…. all I needed to do this whole time was look in the damn mirror to figure out where she gets all this from.  This little devilish precious walking mini me CANNOT turn out ANYTHING like me {well, me as an adolescent} .  So, I’ve gotta roll up the sleeves and get to work on her.  I’m realizing that just because she has a heart problem doesn’t mean that she should get away with EVERYTHING….. so I’m about to embark on a world of hardness….. expect many blog posts about this.



Any advice for me? 

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Tonight My Heart is Heavy

Life is short. Boy is it ever so short. I talked on my blog a while back about my problems with my IUD and how I was going through hormone testing and the Nurse Practitioner that I was seeing was WONDERFUL. She was so nice, layed back, took the time to hear you out. I loved her! I just found out that in April she fell and slipped into a coma… and she never came out of it.  Just like that, a wonderful person gone from this world.  





Today is a little girl that will just melt your heart’s 2nd birthday.  However, she’s not here to celebrate it.  I’ve seen her pictures all over people’s blog and waited until today to finally head over to her mom’s blog and get to know sweet Maddie.  Oh my goodness….. I sat here tonight reading her mom’s letter to her today and cried and cried and hugged my babies.  One day she was here, the next day she was gone.  Life is so short.  And Maddie’s story really makes you stop, think and appreciate every moment that you are given with your babies.


To read all about Maddie… go {HERE} for her mama’s blog or {HERE} for her Daddy’s blog.  I waited a really, really long time to suck it up and cry with them… but I’m so happy I did.  I hope you too will go and become a friend of Maddie… she’ll melt your heart.

I have been so close to losing Ella, that stories like these crush me.  I’ve been there…. I’ve actually sat there hearing them call codes on my little girl.  At one point I thought she was gone… I know what it’s like to drop to your knees and pray that your baby won’t die…. and I’m so fortunate to still have her here.  I can’t imagine what not only Heather & Mike (Maddie’s Mama & Daddy) but all of the parents in this world that have had to suffer the heart wrenching loss of a child have had to go through… and still go through every, single day.

My heavy heart can go on and on.  I feel like I’m mourning a sister.  I haven’t unleashed the drama that’s been going on, but I’ve decided to break my silence and talk about how I feel.  My sister has turned into somebody that I do not like.  Somebody who talks disgustingly and someone that I am ashamed to say is my sister.  My sister wouldn’t act the way she’s been acting.  But in the end I think I’ve learned something that I’ve always known.  You turn into who you hang around.  So, it’s so vital that you choose to hang around people that inspire you, challenge you to grow, and have virtue, values & morals.  Because if you choose to hang out with anything less, unfortunately you will be less.  I am in mourning, because things that have been said can’t be taken back.  I have been challenging myself to personal growth, and during personal growth you need to ensure that you are not surrounded by people who hold you back, live negatively and have no virtue, values or morals, because the last thing you want to do is turn into them.  

Life is short though, and I’m sad to say that I’ve had to accept the fact that my sister and my brother are both individuals that will always be stuck in their rut.  Living a life that is not something to be proud of, and until they accept this and learn and grow from this they’ll never change.  They will continue to always be hustling their way through life.  A life without honesty, a life without morals…. it’s so unfortunate.  But I have to remember that in order for me to continue with my personal growth I have to stay away from them.  I have to look at the negativity they hold, the hate they hold, the evil they hold in them and pray for them.  My brother is not someone that has ever had good in him.  I’ve been through it all with him, and honestly feel quite secure in not being in his life.  Anybody who can walk away from their own flesh & blood child and deny them is evil.  My sister, however, I’ve always loved her.  It’s unfortunate what’s happened, but I’m okay with it now.  Yes, Jessica, I do check your myspace status, because I want to see how my niece and nephew are doing.  The things you put on there lets the ghetto and trash in you shine on.  I wish we could mend this crap we’re going through, but I’ve realized since it’s started that you are not a person that I want in my world… and fortunately I get to choose who’s in my world.  I choose class, virtue, morals, and people striving to better themselves, which are things you don’t hold.  I hope one day you learn how to.

My heart is heavy, but at the end of the day I have a wonderful husband that makes me happier than I ever thought possible.  A son that never fails to put a smile on my face and warm my heart and a daughter that is and always will be  my rainbow after the storm.  My heart is heavy, but I love every thing I have in my life.  I feel fortunate to have the blessings that continue to pour down on my family.  I will continue to keep my prayers with those in this world that truly need it….. and I will continue to send my balloons to the people in heaven like Mya, my precious daughter who will always have a huge piece of my heart with her, Maddie, who has touched a world of people with her beautiful eyes and smile, and Karen… my nurse who woke up one day and didn’t know it was going to be her last.
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She Prayed… and my heart melt

I wrote a couple of minutes ago a Just a Motivating Monday on a special poem that touches my heart. There are moments in my life where something so precious, so sweet happens that I just want to stop and kiss that precious smile.

Yesterday my daughter did something that was downright PRECIOUS! The girl is only 26 months and in the middle of playing she walked over to the ottoman put her hands by her eyes, her face into the ottoman and started rambling. I heard her say princess and a couple of odd off the wall things, then she says “Amen” stands up and smiles… I said to her “Were you praying?” and she says… “YUP!” and my heart melt at that moment. And I felt like an extremely good mom, and am proud of the example that I am setting for her.

They watch everything that you ever do…. make sure that you’re setting the right example.

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