Raising Isoms

The thing about being a mother is it sometimes you're too busy to hold the camera in your hand to capture the Beautiful Moments. But that's what makes them what they are, that's what makes them moments. There one minute, gone the next. Like last night when my son crawled into bed with us and I laid there and my husband put his arm over me and my arm was over my son, and I thought this would be the perfect picture. But that's what makes it so special, so priceless. Some moments you can't capture. Some moments you have to live in, and you have to take in every second before it's gone. Because trust me it's gone faster than you would like. And then this morning as I was cooking breakfast and I look over the bar of my kitchen, I see my children talking to each other. Well my son talking, my three month old babbling back at him. But that connection was so special, and that's the kind of thing that a camera just can't hold. It can't hold that emotion a...

     Let's talk potty training ...I think I felt the shudders and tears of mothers everywhere when I said those two words. Who would have thought that teaching someone to crap in a bowl of porcelain would be such a stressful ordeal? But man Oh man... stressful is putting it lightly. After months and months of working with Rowan I had him trained before Lydia was born. I was THRILLED. I wasn't going to have two in diapers!!! But then he went to my mom's for 2 weeks while I recovered from my C-section. Needless to say when he came home he was not using the potty anymore. I don't hold it against mom, I get it. She was busy with her life too while trying to help me with mine. And I was trying to get breastfeeding down and still healing even after he came back home, so I didn't immediately put him back in undies. But today I am starting again.       I am pretty irritated that I have to go thru this again. Cleaning smushed poop out of underwear i...

     Somedays all you can do is sit there and stare at your kids. I wish life was like a parenting magazine. Where the mom's are flawless and they are artistic and creative and the kids just glow. And their houses are trendy and clean and all the white surfaces are flawless. And they all eat these fancy gluten free meals with organic everything. Blah blah blah. I call that giving mom's unrealistic expectations. The raw truth of it is that somedays you can barely hold your head up. I'm gonna guess that the professionals who put these magazines together either have nannies for their kids, so it's easy for them to dance a jig and click their heels in front of a camera with their kids because that 5 minutes is the only time they've spent with their kids that week. Or they are the type of women who never had kids but think they know EXACTLY what every mom should be like. Or maybe im just an exceptionally tired mother.      Today I took my kids in a vo...

     I've never been the most organized person. "Organized chaos" is my typical explanation of my life. Until I had kids. Now it's just "chaos chaos". I clean something and I hear Rowan ripping something else out of its place. I can't ever successfully fold laundry and put it away because someone is constantly demanding my attention. The dishes...I usually have to let Rowan cling to my leg and let Lydia exercise her lungs because we have to have things to eat off of. I step on pointy hurtful toys countless times. I am constantly having to rescue Rowan from hanging himself on the string from the window blinds. Rowan was potty trained until I had Liddy. Then he reverted. So I'm consistently changing someone's diaper. There's always another mess, a mouth wanting food, someone getting hurt, "mama, mama, mama" all day long. Every DVD I own is scratched to hell, I find random half eaten apples under Furniture at least twice a week, someho...

     Rowan will be 3 this year. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. We had no clue what we were doing. I had always imagined myself as a certain type of mom. But from the moment I heard his first little cry everything changed from what I thought it would be, to what it really was. And here we are almost 3 years later with TWO, and still things are never what I expect them to be.       Watching my babies grow up is the hardest part of this all. You give birth to this tiny little human who can barely keep their eyes open, and within 3 months they can roll, hold their heads up, smile and coo and laugh, and a month later they are eating cereals, and two more months after that they are crawling and pulling up and into EVERYTHING. By a year they are walking, backtalking, and stealing your French fries. To alot of people a year can drag on. But to parents, a year might as well be a week. It just goes too fast. ...

     I'm not sure if I'm brave or crazy. It's a fine line I often find myself on. But nevertheless I decided I was going to take my two kids to the grocery store alone. Since my daughter was born I've always had my husband go with me to do major shopping. I can handle a quick run thru for a few things with the two of them. But I have never shopped like this without my husband. The cabinets were bare and I really couldn't wait until 7 o'clock tonight.      I loaded the kiddos up at 8:30am and headed first for an oil change. While we waited at walmart, Rowan terrorized the toy department. I'm so sorry to the walmart employees who had to clean up the mess. I tried to put things back as best I could. When the oil change was finished we went out to the car and Rowan proceeded to release himself from my grasp and run thru the parking lot. This kid has a death wish. I think I'm going to need to get a lasso. Next stop was goodwill to find Will (husband) some w...

Well I suppose I should start with an introduction. I'm Nina. I'm 21 years old. I raise my 2 babies in a small town. A really small town. I'm a stay at home mom who has always enjoyed writing and Journaling my life. Fortunately, when you have 2 kids you NEVER run out of things to talk about. Since I had my son (Rowan), I'd put posts on instagram with long endless thoughts of how I view motherhood. Now I also have a daughter (Lydia "Liddy") and my views of motherhood continue to change and adjust with each day. Many of my friends have consistently encouraged me to start blogs or write books or submit articles. So I figure the blog is a good place to start.     My days consist of chasing Rowan (2 and half years) while Liddy (3 months) is attached to my boob (all day, every day). I never have quiet shower time. I cook and clean one handed. I recently just chopped my hair off so that I can just wake up and hit the floor running (after Rowan usually). My husband w...