mother's day

You'd think since it took me two weeks to write this post it was due to the fact of intricate details and documentation but really, it was a simple affair around our part of the world! The afternoon before we set the girls up with some paint and they got working on gifts for all their grandmothers (granny, gram gram, and gramma). Phew! It surely would have been enjoyable had I gotten the supplies sooner! And shortly after I headed into work for an overtime shift so I'm sure Brendon was pleased to deal with the chaos all on his own.

I got to sleep in until just after 9am but managed to not get out of bed until 10 which I look as a complete success. Kennedy was entirely too excited to give me my trinkets. She made me a lovely necklace which was accompanied with a little list about WHY I'M SO AWESOME along with two hand painted pots for my two little cactus's at work and a new romper from my husband that I have yet to try on. I'm horrible.

My mom's name is Leia.
I love my mom because she is sweet.
My and I like to eat ice cream (pictured 😂).
My mom's favorite thing to do is sleep in. Literally.
My mom is special because she loves me 😭😍.

Brendon made a nice breakfast and we bummed around until my mom and sisters arrived. We made a delicious lunch of buffalo chicken pasta with corn bread (I still didn't sit down to eat until after Piper had finished and made a complete mess of the table) and sat around sipping some Strongbow and played catch in the front yard. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon.

And then we have Piper who decided to have a meltdown when I told her we needed to get her shoes on before we could take the dog for a walk. Which then reminded me why Mother's and Father's Day has the connotation of vacation for either party being celebrated.

But hey, it's the reason for my day and we mother's know how to roll with the punches.



Now to prepare for Father's Day!
Leia

mom shaming

In light of Mother's Day I thought I would delve into the world of mom shaming. It's something that happens a lot whether online or in real life. Whether you're sharing a story or seeking advice, someone out there "does it better than you" or "how could you do that". The gall! That woman is giving her baby a bottle instead of her boob!

It's absolutely obvious why mom shaming happens. Whether we like to admit it or not, and whether we playfully brush off compliments, "Oh you, stop it! I do what I can!" deep down we all know we are the best mom on the planet (aside from our own mothers of course) and so obviously the way we are raising our kids, the way we chose to deliver our infants, or the holiday traditions we continue or begin is the only way it can be done.

It's not going to stop. Yeah, it's annoying when you get sucked into questioning whether what you're doing is right or wrong or even wanting to tell someone they should maybe try something a different way. Likely if you are doing something one way, it's because YOU think it's WRONG to do it another way and likely since someone else is doing it in said way YOU are BETTER and your child is going to have a life that is exponentially greater because of this decision.

Do I feed my kids a vegan-gluten-sugar free diet? Hahahahahahaha, good one! While I agree the cause behind veganism is a great one, realistically it's never going to happen for me and my fam. Do I feed my kids absolute garbage? Yeah, on some days it happens. This entire organic movement really gets me fired up at times. You know what else is organic? Dog shit and cow manure and I don't want that anywhere near my food. If the goal is to be better off as human beings at least lower the prices to put the other guys out of business and join forces.

Do I think women should give birth (or at home) without any meds? HELL NO. We are not pilgrims and if birthing pain is the worst pain any human being can feel I hope that when you need a root canal you are going to opt to do it awake and free of any medication as well. If those meds are not good for baby during birth, they likely are not good for you at any other time as well. And all I'll say is eating your placenta has shown no scientific benefits, so that's on you if you want to ingest a used up nutrient sack. Eat a scab while you're at it. See! Look how easy it is to begin the shaming.

Do I think that all babies and children should be vaccinated? YES. Well, if your kid is vaccinated and my kid who has not been goes to school with them they won't get sick because they are treated against measles, right? *snark, snark, snark* Well, sure in theory. But since these vaccines are formulated against the 'ancient' viruses they cannot fight the mutated super strength measles that have survived this far.

Why is the debate over formula vs breast milk so prevalent still? You wanna shame people that give their baby formula from a can? Surely there are some added benefits to babies that are breast fed but on the same hand babies that only ever have formula are not any worse off. And sure at the end of the day that's what pilgrim boobs were made to do but it's also why babies live today if their mothers are unable to produce breast milk.

If we have differences on any of these subjects am I going to judge you? Yeah, who am I to play it off like I'm this perfect accepting human being?! But am I going to get up in your face and tell you to do otherwise? No. You do you, homie. So that leads me to my next point.

To combat the mom shaming just live your truth. Unless you're a crackhead then please give your baby to a responsible adult and seek help! We should definitely care about others, but we should definitely care a little less about what they think of us. We're all trying to do our best. Some days we feel down in the dumps and guilty about how we acted or treated our kids that day. The last thing we need is be bombarded by someone else (likely someone who hasn't even birthed a baby at this point). So really, ya just gotta block em out; take some advice from DJ Khaled. DON'T BE BOTHERED BY THEY.

Just because my Instagram feed shows a life well lived in and not the white clean linen of the rest of the blogging community neither one is any better than the other. Sometimes it's easy to forget that. So again, don't go around acting like you are superior in motherhood and don't pay attention when people try to get you down or make you seem like less.



Preachers gonna preach.
Leia

instalife

Hoping they will both listen to me with only one ear each. 👩🏼‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨

alpha-bop

Ah, yes! Another milestone for the 'baby book'. Kennedy had her first ever singing concert last week!

To me, this shows a face that is excited for the evenings events! A smile that doesn't look forced or grinchy and poses galore! We got her all dolled up and fancy because.. wasn't the best part about school concerts growing up the part where you got to get all dress up and go back to school? And I admit that what she's wearing isn't even that fancy. Well, at Kennedy's school I guess it is typical that the kids all wear their field trip shirts on top.

The songs were all really fun; some classics from my own childhood, but no matter when I stopped to get a look at her or take her picture she was always scowling! You would have thought she was being tortured or threatened to be on stage. I was so confused because before the concert she was excited! Maybe she was just nervous.

And much to my surprise during their second to last song a child from each Kindergarten class came down to the front and my little chick was one of them! I had NO IDEA that this was going to transpire and I was completely surprised. I like to imagine she was picked because she's the most awesome one in her class. Piper kept exclaiming, "Kennedy Grace right there!"

And then to make it just a little more special, Brendon had picked up a little bouquet of flowers and she was absolutely ecstatic when he gave them to her. She was 100x more excited to get those flowers than she was to participate in her concert.

The one disappointment from the evening? They handed out programs literally as the kids are walking on stage (I know they were really on top of it) and none of the kindergartners from this school year were listed! Thanks for nothing!



Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack.
Leia

instalife

Ya know the feeling? And Kennedy just came in telling me her stomach hurts, "I kind feel hungry but also yucky." This is now the second/third time in the past few days. Hope she's not coming down with anything because everyone knows I don't fare well with stomach shit. 🙅🏼😫

behind closed doors + thirteen reasons why

Yippie Skippy, picking up like nobodies biznaz. Comin' atcha with books #7 and #8, both of which I've already completed leaving me in the process of debating which of the three unread books I have from my birthday to pick next.

What can I say about this little number? For one, it was absolutely nightmarish. After Gone Girl I was thriller hungry and tried scrounging up every last novel that had a glimmer of the jaw dropping and heart palpitating moments Gillian gave me. This book was published in 2016 after my psycho hunt had ended but luckily Angelique stumbled upon it and let me in on the deets. I think the title and tagline make it clear there is an issue within a marriage that is unknown to anyone else. But boyyyyyyyyyyyyy is it terrifying how different the problem turned out to be. I was uneasy and horrified the entire time and it was only made worse knowing that there are people who have endured something similar. If you are a fan of either Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins I highly recommend this book to you. Feel free to badger me if you read it and end up hating it.

My next decision was solely based on the new Netflix series.

This novel went undetected from my radar until I saw the series as a new release on Netflix. Maybe it all dwindles down to me being a glutton for punishment, but when I see people raving about a movie or show and I find out it's roots began as a novel, I absolutely love to give the author credit first. Do I understand that even when they do an amazing job it's never as good as the book? Yes. But hey, they took one book and turned it into a thirteen hour series so I find it hard to believe that any details are going to be ill presented. 

When I added this book onto Goodreads, the first things I read were the first few sentences of the top most rated reviews by other individuals and they were a mix of, "oh my god I loved this story so much! Such a good representation of missed signs" to "wow, I can't believe this book is so popular since it glamorizes teen suicide." Now that I have finished the book I can see both sides. I can see the reviews as coming from someone compassionate towards mental illness and from those that are not. Tonight I finally slip into the film version with Clay and the individuals who tore Hannah Baker down.

Olly-olly-oxen-free!

Leia

easter, finally

Candy and easter eggs and pretty dresses galore! I totally scored and will absolutely pat myself on the back for the amazing dresses I found the girls. I found Kennedy's dress three months in advance and it was the best/worst thing! So happy that I found the perfect dress, so upset the holiday was so far away. If you're thinking I could have let her wear it beforehand.. absolutely not. Giving a five year old free reign in a white dress? HAH. Piper's dress on the other hand almost didn't arrive in time. Three days before the holiday my package from Gap arrived promptly on my doorstep but lo and behold it was filled with a pair of men's size 36 khaki cargo pants. Yippee! Luckily the lady I spoke with over the phone got a dress shipped out and it arrived Friday evening. This ensured that her dress did not get ruined beforehand either.

Alright, enough about the dresses. Saturday afternoon, yeah the day before Easter, we dyed our eggs. I think next year I'll try a Pinterest method to make it more fun for the kids. We've typically always just used vinegar/water/food coloring and I guess truthfully it's pretty boring for them. Piper kept cracking her eggs on the edge of the table as if we were getting ready to cook with them and she was content enough to keep submerging them in the spoon rinse water. Whatever floats her boat, it kept her out of Kennedy's hair and for that we had peace.

And then it was time for the Easter Bunny to get to work. He did most of the shopping at Target aside from one pit stop at Lush for the most adorable chick egg bath bombs. I really appreciated the simple route he took and he made sure to get the girls exactly all the same items aside from a slight difference in the PEZ dispensers.

^^ can we just appreciate the way Piper looks at her big sis. MELT.

NOW YAY! DRESS TIME! Dolled up and ready for another egg hunt at papa's house. Ken's collar, Piper's huaraches. I was dying all afternoon long.

Vogue.

 Such sweet photos they took with dad. Piper had so obviously expended any and all photo etiquette in these few photos because afterwards she was off and running like a lunatic leaving the photos with me to end up as they usually do. Extremely candid with me usually grabbing at her arm pulling her back into frame. 

 And then I turn into psycho mom after frustrations with Piper, "I don't care that the sun is bright! Put your hands down and smile!" Damnit!

*Insert quote from the bible here*

Leia