It's time!

My youngest son will be two years old in July.  I'm assuring you we are going through and have been through most of the terrible twos at eighteen months!  I always knew my sweet boys were ahead of the game and progressed early :)  I'm kidding.  I'm not the mom who talks as if my boys are any more special or advanced than other children for many reasons. Mainly because we are are equal in God's eyes.  That's the lesson my seven year old nailed.  We will see how it works with my sweet twenty -two month old.

In LESS than SEVEN days my little climber got out of his high chair all by himself!  How am I going to shower alone?  Put him in his crib, right?  Wrong.  In the SAME seven days he managed to get out of his crib (you should know it's a full size crib and it's set on the tallest settings) and go to the potty!  Are you kidding me? 

All I did when he told me he needed to be changed (not in those words, I'll spare you the real words haha) was change him and he didn't need to be changed.  I asked him if he wanted to go sit on the potty.  Of COURSE he did!  He knows there is water in the potty and he LOVES water.  That's all it took.  However, I'm hoping a whole slew of people will hop on board the potty training wagon or I don't think it will work.  I think he needs consistency, but who knows?  I remember my oldest being so very difficult to get out of diapers.  I promised my oldest a trip to Disney World (when we lived in Orlando) because I didn't feel he was ever going to learn.  I'm a believer in "every child is different," and they all do things and hit milestones when they are ready not when we are ready. 

 I do everything when the boys are in bed or spending time with their dad.  All of the housework, cleaning, laundry, and everything else that has to be done gets done after bedtime.  Some nights I'm worn out and ready to go to sleep at eight p.m!  I asked Santa for a part time nanny or a clone, but I guess he thought the children were more important to visit.

 I know most of you moms out there are in the same boat too.  I also realize that in general, most men don't partake in cleaning, cooking, laundry, and all the fun stuff that has to be done.  I'm not even mentioning getting groceries, running errands, managing the finances, and driving the family taxi! I'm honest & I take all the help I can get if I need it.  I can only function on four hours of sleep for so many days before I feel like my brain is shutting down and I'm moving alongside snails. 

I've been working harder than ever to become better with being able to save part of my income.  It has taken some work!  I recently went to a couponing class!  Laugh.  It's funny, but hey I'm ALL ABOUT saving money and learning how to get things really cheap or free!  It's not easy providing for three, and I love to know I'm saving money.  I'm going to be able to take my son to a MLB game for his birthday.  That's a mini-vacation for my sweeties and I.  I'll do whatever it takes (and I told God this whenever it finally sunk in that I was a single mommy) to provide for my boys and it's worth anything, I mean anything to see the excitement on their faces when we do those things!

Tonight is another fun night of soccer (I even soccer mom-ed my trunk with a cargo net to carry baseball stuff, soccer balls and snacks)!  Yes, I'm excited!  I can't seem to zip my mouth ever when I'm watching my seven year old play.  I'm not hard on him ever and I always say positive things, but this mommy gets excited! 

My baby isn't such a baby anymore.  He's a toddler!  I can't believe it.  Where does the time go?  I love to see him growing and changing as do I with my oldest, but you know it's different with a baby because there are more frequent "first times." It's time for him to be changing rapidly, whether I like it or not. I hope you all are having a great week and take a moment to notice all those blessings around you, even if you have wild little apes like me :)

Coach Mom

I'm so glad the long anticipated weekend is here & I'm sure if you are like most you are glad to have a two day break from the work week as well! 

I'm looking forward to hopefully getting some time to relax this weekend with my sweeties.  Recently, my oldest son has started soccer AND baseball (he's seven).  This means after work is done every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, & Friday this mommy loads up the car and runs to practice and games.  My oldest loves sports and I think it's great for him in every aspect. Last night I was asked to coach a boys team (ages 4-6).  At this age, they don't have referees so the coaches run the fields, make the calls, and encourage these sweet little ones.  I had a blast!  I've been a soccer mom for two years & I always thought coaching would be too much for me.  I've decided to coach next season and I can NOT wait!! What's wrong with me!  Someone needs to put a shock collar on me :)  I'm tired!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not sleepy, just tired of the "go, go, go" mode.  However, I wouldn't trade those precious moments for anything in the world. I never dreamed I'd sign up for MORE responsibilities, but my little soccer star looked me in the eyes and said "Mom, I wish you were my coach."  That's all it took.  Done.  Sealed.  Stamped.  That's it.  I'm in! 

 I'm so glad he has the opportunity to play and isn't restricted from sports.  Every year it is a possibility that he will be told he can't play sports.  It's always based on a pediatric cardiologist's recommendation every year. 

I knew whenever my seven year old was old enough to have a personality of his own that he had a special heart.  I couldn't ask for a more compassionate and giving little boy.  His heart is filled with a yearning to do good things for others.  It warms my heart!  When he was two, we were sent to see a pediatric cardiologist due to a "clicking" in his heart.  After all the tests were done and the wait to finally see someone who specializes in the area, I was told that my son had BAV (Bicuspid Aortic Valve-- in his heart).  This means that a healthy human has three valves that send blood to and from the heart.  My B only has two.  The two he has work harder than they should have to because they are working extra hard to make up for the loss of the third. My B's heart valves also leak extra blood back into his heart.  This isn't supposed to happen.  I was told in 2007 that my son wouldn't ever be able to play sports, lift weights, ride roller coasters, and would more than likely have to have surgery whenever his heart was fully grown.  Might seem minor, but it's not an arm or a leg.  It's his heart and we all know this is THE MOST vital organ needed for survival.

I used to consume myself with my son's condition that can't ever get better.  It can only stay the same or get worse.  I don't do that anymore.  God is in control and he knows what he is doing.  I trust God 110% with my little B's heart.  I've finally grasped the concept that this is the way things are and we will still have a life filled with happiness no matter what comes our way.  Focusing on this imperfection and serious health matter did me NO good.  Does it ever do anyone any good to focus on things out of our control?  I think not.  It IS hard to give these things to God, but I promise you that when you give him anything and everything you will have peace. 

I'm so blessed and couldn't ask for anything more nor do I want for anything other than my sweet boys to have the best life ever!  I'm going to have and am having a great life.  No, it isn't what I planned.  No, it's not perfect.  No, it's not always amazing.  It's simply the way I choose to view things and I choose to be positive, happy, encouraging, and do my best to be the best mom &friend (and all the other roles I play) that I can be.  I want the same for you. Life is like a game of soccer.  It doesn't matter whether you win or lose.  What matters is that you have fun and are happy, enjoying it!   Make it a great day and smile even when it's hard to smile.  If I can, you can too.