Give You the World.

Every mom is quick to share their desires of giving their children "the world". I say it all the time because it's true, I want to give my children the world. I want to give them everything that I know, I want to provide them with every path they wish to follow and the entire world to explore and all the lives in this world to impact as they've impacted mine. But the idea of giving our children the world is simply a phrase, clearly we cannot give them everything on earth. Have you ever stopped to think further into what it is that we are saying when we imply this? We want to give our children the world.. but do you?

I find myself worrying every day about the harsh realities of this life and the world we live in and how my babies are going to be exposed to them. All that they know right now is this blissful perfect "world" in which they live in, the worst part of their world consists mainly of boo-boo's and being told no. I wish I could live in that world. They are innocent because they are unaware that things exist like prejudice, they have no idea that there are children in this world that don't get to eat on demand like they do, they don't know that every day children are separated from their mothers and so much more. But they will learn. Slowly the ideas of good and evil will set into their fragile minds and change them forever. Everyday I wish I could keep my children inside of this perfect little bubble we have created for them, but I can't.. and that kills me.

While my husband and I can do our very small parts to attempt to make our world a better place, I know that certain things will never change. So while I play my part and attempt to create a better world for all of our children, I can dream of the world I actually do wish to give my children. When I say "I want to give them the world" what kind of world do I want to give my children? Most of my hopes and dreams seem far fetched in today's world, but sit back and imagine what world you would give your children if it was at all possible.

I wish to give you a world in which:

• You won't be too crippled with debt from school to enjoy the career that you fought and studied hard for. 
• You won't be afraid to travel to all edges of the earth, and that we can enjoy the beauty in every place without fear.
• You are able to surround yourself with those who wish to see you succeed and easily weed out those who only wish to drag you down.
• You are able to live in a world where you aren't familiar with prejudice and we are all looked at as one.
• A world in which the female body isn't looked at in such a sexual manner, where breastfeeding is simply feeding your baby and bare pregnant bellies aren't inappropriate but rather they are the beautiful source of life and love they are meant to be.
• A world where you will never find your plates empty, or be afraid of when you will be able to eat again.
• A world where we can cure serious, life threatening disease as easily as a common cold so you never have to say goodbye to anyone too soon.
• A world where face time is actually time spent face to face.. where being social involves coffee dates and barbecue's rather than pictures on the internet.
• One where you are confident enough in yourself to pursue anything it is you wish to do, if you wish to be a doctor - that the hard work it takes to get there won't scare you away. If you wish to be a dancer - that you don't feel the pressure to become something "better" or "more successful".
• I wish for you to live in a world that makes you happy, keeps you healthy and surrounds you with nothing but love and light. A world that see's just how much you mean to me.

A perfect world isn't an obtainable one, the realities and harshness of life aren't avoidable. In fact they help us learn. Because of life's difficulties I have learned what it is I want, what in life truly makes me happy, and where I want to go. Watching our children struggle through these moments is what makes them stronger, but I can't help but wishing they never had to struggle in the first place. This is why we are here, this is why we are made into mothers, we are their guides through this world despite how unpretty it may be at times. 

No matter the "world" we are a part of, nothing will ever stop me from wishing to give it all to you. So there for, whether its simply a phrase or not, I wish to give you the world. 

-T

Far from Empty.

As blessed and excited as we are to add another little one into our lives, I would be lying if I said it wasn't also a life altering and very scary experience. Both my husband and I knew that we wanted a big family, we wanted our children close in age, we wanted loads of love and a house full of chaos. Most call us crazy but I am sure that there are many others out there who share the same dreams as we do! After having our first born, I fell into a place where I truly believed that all of my prior dreams had vanished and my desires no longer lined up with my husbands. Carter was, and still is my "baby".. even the idea of sharing our time and love almost made me ill. He was my best friend, we went on countless dates together and we were the perfect team and in my eyes adding anything to the mix that could ruin that was disastrous and nothing I wanted any part of. AJ was always understanding, and attempted to talk up the idea, and very patient when I told him no. From the beginning we had the "2 year plan" in the back of our minds and as the days slipped past me I began to feel this heavy weight on my shoulders knowing the day would soon come that my husband would want more children.

During this time I decided to focus all of my energy in on what was current, and what I knew best, which was the undying love I had for my son. I started observing mothers of many in public and trying to envision their lives and watching as my peers started popping out their second or third child and seeing how their lives were changed by this. And all in one moment it smacked me in the face.. I am so in love with my son. I get to wake up every morning to a heart that is overflowing because he and his father are in my life. The man that I love most helped me create this perfect little human who I felt I had known my entire life and will never go another day without having the pleasure of loving (even when he doesn't want me to!). This love is special and I am an addict to this love.. why wouldn't I multiply it? Why wouldn't I want more of this incredible relationship? The love I have for my son can't, and will never be changed, I physically CANNOT love him any less. If anyone were to ask me if I wished I could have more of this feeling I would be a fool to turn them down.

Adding another child to our growing family then grew right back into a dream of mine. Many people who have chosen a different way of life have asked my why I didn't give "enough time" to my son, or why I feel empty and need another child. And to be honest.. I have found nothing more offensive than those words and assumptions. I am not empty, I am SO entirely full of love and gratitude for this family that I want us to bring another tiny human into our mix only to break the boundaries of our hearts once again. To insinuate that my son leaves me empty in any way is not only offensive, but so incredibly false I cannot help but laugh. I can say without hesitation that everyone in my life is aware of the bountiful love I hold for my family because as annoying as people may think it is I cannot help but share it to the whole world! My time with my son will never come to an end, I will never quit devoting myself to him. To say I haven't spend "enough time" with him, enjoying him is also false. We live every second of every day with each other, and this won't be changing anytime soon.

This second bundle of joy is exciting to our family, it is a gift that I get to give to my son and our families. The bond that these children will experience - both good and bad - will change their lives and when you ask them 10, 20, 30 years from now I am sure they will be unable to imagine a life without each other, just as I am unable to comprehend a life before them.

The late nights, little sleep, lots of laundry and loads of love will help mold me into who I was meant to be in this life. I am meant to be a wife to my husband, and I am meant to a mother to these children. The strength of love is what will power me through, and I can assure you, we are far from "empty".

-T

16 weeks.

Here we are at 16 weeks little one! This week was exciting, we felt your first little flutters, everyone said they should feel like butterflies or tickle.. I may be odd but to me you feel like a goldfish swimming around. I love it! Alongside those sweet little movements every now and again, we can now feel braxton hicks contractions, boo. I'm hoping that because they are starting early this time it is a sign that my body remembers what it is doing and this time around we can go in to labor on our own, without the necessary help of medication.

Our list of names is starting to grow but we are unable to create a "favorite" and have pretty much decided that we will just have to wait to see your sweet face to decide on who you look like. Who knows, you may look unlike every name we have picked out! I go back and forth on a daily basis on whether you are a boy or a girl and am just about to give it all up because I don't have any hunch. Your surprise will just be that much more worth it in the end!

We are starting to plan the nursery that you will sleep in, and how you will share mommy and daddy's room the first few months. One thing that we want to try differently this time around is teaching more self soothing techniques, things like swaddling and a binky (if you will take it..) both are things that your brother refused to accept!

We are so excited to be getting more energy and are enjoying the blissful second trimester before we get large and in charge and so so uncomfortable. Having no aches and pains and painful baby kicks is fun but we are well aware that they are on their way and we will be seeing them sooner than we know. This pregnancy is flying by so much faster than my pregnancy with Carter, I feel like I have all the time in the world to get ready yet no time at all! For now we are happy to enjoy the little things and like the procrastinators we are.. we will save the planning and preparation for later ;)

-T

Are you the Mother of your Children?

What a goofy question right? Ummm.. no need for maternity tests over here, clearly I carried my son and am baking my second, of course I am their mother. I am the one they will call mom, I will kiss boo boo's and make breakfasts and change far too many poopy diapers.

I wan't you to sit back and ask yourself, beyond all doubt, without hesitation do you think you are in fact the mother of your child[ren]?

Now consider this, when making important and potentially life changing decisions in regards to how you wan't to raise these babies of yours, can you say that all of the many important decisions you have made have been your own? Something that many first time, second time and even fifth or sixth time mothers face is criticism from others. Making the decision to switch to formula is bound to receive unwelcome judgement from those who have chosen otherwise. New advances in science leading to massive changes in standardized cribs and safe sleeping remedies may seem ridiculous to those in the generations prior to us. Deciding to homeschool when your children's cousins all attend the same elementary school can bring in one too many eye rolls. Or simply deciding to have children closer in age as we have can invite uncomfortable questions. When pregnant with my son, all of my decisions relied heavily on what those around me thought was best. If I am being honest, I didn't have a voice. I knew that I was at the short end of the stick from the get go, my son was not planned and birthed out of wedlock, there for I was viewed by some as unprepared and those who were concerned for my abilities as a mother let me know "how things should be done" and so I did them. Thankfully there were also those who loved us unconditionally and guided us alongside our journey into parenthood with grace and open minds.. they guided us.

I have never in my life felt compelled to tell another mother how to raise her children, and unless I see true danger within her actions I will continue to keep my opinions to myself. Why is this? Well, who am I to say that she is truly wrong? What is even considered right? What is right by me is far from right for many other mothers who are doing wonderful jobs raising families of their own. I am adopted, I was adopted at birth and there for I was bottle fed formula from day one. Had anyone come up and scolded my mother on all of life's benefits she so horribly was depriving me from, they would look like a fool. Formula WAS best for me, it was all that I had and my mother spent loads of her time and money on finding out what brand was best for me. She was right, she was the mother, and no one had the right to tell her otherwise.

In today's world motherhood is more of a competition rather than a sisterhood. Are we not all walking blindly along the same road hoping to reach one common goal in the end? We all want to raise bold and beautiful children into strong and courageous adults. The ways that we go about it can be different as night and day but that doesn't make us any different than one another. Why should we feel dignified to shun those who aren't exactly like we are? Whether they're mothers with children our age or now mothers of adults who are older than we are? Thankfully we are living in a world where things such as race and sexual orientation are now becoming a thing in the past and we are all simply one. Black, white or purple we are ALL human. Gay or straight we are ALL capable of love. Breastfed, bottle fed, co-sleeping, stay at home moms, working mothers, babywearers, whatever you may be.. we are all mothers. There is no prejudice. There is no room for eye rolling. Only when we open our minds and hearts to realizing that there are "other" ways of doing things, rather than "right and wrong" will we finally achieve the sisterhood of motherhood.

Until then, rock on momma bears and keep loving on those little ones. While there is much left to improve upon, it starts with us. Chose love.

-T

Needed.

From the moment we found out we were expecting Carter, it was stressed to me how important our breastfeeding relationship would be. I was told to push through all sorts of nightmare situations that come alongside breastfeeding, and how I couldn't afford to do it any other way. My now husband and I weren't married and weren't in the stereotypical situation of which is recommended to bring kids into this world, but we paid our bills, had extra to go do some nice things, attended college and that was the best we could do. Despite the recommendations I bought bottles, I had no idea what breastfeeding would mean and if I could do it or not, but I didn't want to be unprepared if I couldn't live up to the expectation. And before we knew it he was here, and then it began.

We had a NICU baby, who was born at 42 weeks gestation.. who expects this? His blood sugars were dangerously low. My breasts produced nothing. A nurse encouraged me to feed, then pump every three hours, a process that in total took about 1.5 hours. I was constantly having my boobs messed with for hours at a time and then about an hour after they got a break I was back at it again. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that.. it didn't hurt. All the painfulness they promised me wasn't happening. I sat expecting it and days went by, I no longer had to pump, I fed as necessary and it never hurt. My son and I were the perfect team, he latched great and my body made my life easier by avoiding the cracking, the uterine pain and the chapped nipples. Breastfeeding was almost to easy for us which was far from expected, yet cherished.

Now I can sit here and pretend that we had this easy breezy journey with no pain and all smiles but I would be lying to you! Something no one had prepared me for was the realization that I was it.. every midnight cry was aimed at me and only me. Hours of being awake while my husband snored away became daunting. I knew he needed the sleep more than I did, I had the opportunities to nap through the day while he worked and attended school full time but emotionally I was drained. There were many times I wished I was able to shake him awake and let him know that it was "his turn" while I was able to sleep through it. I consulted a friend and shared with her my woes and it wasn't until that moment that I recognized the gift I was given, my entire world changed with some seemingly simple words. "Welcome to Motherhood."

Welcome to motherhood.. a world in which you put everything and everyone before yourself without hesitation, you think about every minuscule decision three times over, you sacrifice what you need to in order to provide, and through it all you are met with an over abundance of love that your heart alone cannot contain. I am Mom. I am powerful and determined, and I am needed. My son trusts ME to provide all that he needs. I am his home base, his safe haven. In this new and scary world he confided in ME to guide him. I've never been "needed" in my life, and just like that I felt courageous each time I responded to his cries. Every time I breastfed I was calming my son and showing him that I will in fact be here, always, for everything he needs without fail.

As he grew he needed me less and less, and as those little moments slip from my grip I caught myself saying what everyone had promised me that I would.. I missed them. Eventually he grew the courage to crawl away from me, take steps without holding onto my hands, and explore places without being by my side. But we held onto breastfeeding, it was my cherished quite time. The only time I could rally my growing toddler into my arms in complete stillness just to gaze into each others eyes. In the craziness of family get togethers I was able to take a break with him and I and just be us, no one else needed to be there.

A few months ago I started noticing that he needed breastfeeding less and less, his busy little mind and body didn't quite have the time to slow down for even a moment. At 14 months we were now only breastfeeding once before bed, and that was all he needed. 

Two days ago he told me he didn't need that anymore. I was heartbroken while singing him to sleep as he dozed off without our nightly routine, and we have yet to look back since. But I trust him, and I admire his ability to grow and learn and make his own decisions, and this is one of them, one that had to happen eventually. As our journey came to an end I found myself sadder than I care to remember but God seems to send me moments of reassurance right when they are needed most. The very next day in the midst of all the playing and making messes and crying and being a boy he paused to come over to me, plop down in my lap, kiss me and fall asleep. Although our journey may be over now and many more journeys will come to there ends some day, for now I know he still needs me. I am still his guide through this world in which he has hardly touched, I am here to show him the ropes and raise a boy into a strong and respectable man just like his father.

So cheers to the first of the lasts, cheers to many tears, and cheers to sweet defining moments of Motherhood. Welcome.

-T

15 Weeks.

15 Weeks.

This 15 weeks has flown by, I still wake up and have to remind myself daily that I am in fact pregnant. Similarly to Carter it's so difficult for my to grasp the fact that I am growing another precious human, someone who will someday attend school, go to prom, get caught sneaking out, become a husband or wife and change our lives! We are finally starting to feel that second trimester bliss, no more sickness, no more groggy days, no more falling asleep everywhere from being over tired! We can finally sit back and enjoy these little moments.

We were told that we should start feeling baby number two here soon, as you become more in tune with your body the second time around however I didn't feel Carter the first time around until 21 weeks and everyone thought that I was nuts. I never felt the flutters, we went straight to those little kicks! So this time I am not expecting to feel this little one for a few more weeks.. maybe I'm not as in tune with my body as I had thought!

We debate daily between whether this little one is a boy or a girl, one of the fun parts about waiting until birth to find out, there is always a conversation! Simply because every aspect of this pregnancy has been wildly different I can't help but think "oh it must be a little lady!" but I have always felt destined to be a "boy mom" so I catch myself referring to our little one as a He all the time. I find it funny that the entire pregnancy with Carter I just knew he was a boy, and this time I can't peg anything. Our 20 week scan (actually 19 week scan..) is around the corner and this is the hardest time for those who don't wish to know the gender. The temptation is REAL! Last time I made it through our ultrasound by squeezing the daylights out of my husbands hands and looking away from the screen, and just like that it was over. No more scans = no more temptation, and it became a breeze!

What we do know for sure is that you are so so loved little one, by all three of us!

-T

| Banner by @littledovie | https://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleDovie | Dress by: @junieblakeinsta | 

Welcome.

Hello All! My name is Taylor, I am a blogger, a creator, an obsessor of caffeine and most importantly I am a wife and a mother to two precious little ones. One is 14 months old and the other is 14 weeks in the womb. I certainly am not new to the blogging world, however after technical issues with our previous platform we decided it was time for a fresh start. What a better way to start things off other than a question and answer between my followers and I. I have accumulated questions from you all regarding the crazy, unconventional life that we so happily live and cannot wait to answer them all for you in hopes that you get to know our little family and what we are all about!

+ How did you meet your husband?
I met my husband when I was 18 years old at some college party that he was throwing for a friend of his. In reality I had no clue that I was attending this party, my simple college minded self was told that we were off to get slushies at the local gas station and decided against changing out of my pajamas and simply threw my hair up and put on some boots.. as you can imagine I was radiating beauty. We showed up and my blue stained slushy mouth was spitting a few choice words about the situation I found myself in and refusing to go inside to this party I sat outside in protest. AJ decided to come out and sit with me and we ended up spending hours on those porch steps and that was that!

+ What are you and AJ's Love Languages?
If you have yet to read the Love Languages book I highly recommend it. My husband and I read it together and learning that we show and give love in entirely separate ways transformed our marriage! Personally I relate most to "Physical Touch", I feel most loved when AJ holds my hand, kisses my forehead, cuddles with me at night or simply sits right up next to me on the couch. Because of this I would always show him love by loads of kisses and cuddles which is not his love language! He relates most to "Quality Time", he wants us to do everything together, which I didn't see as necessary. He wants us to do yard work together, go to his games together, spend his lunches together or even sit down and watch a movie together. I could give him all the kisses in the world to show him that I love him, because that is what makes sense to me, and it wouldn't mean as much as spending time with him. We both had to make changes but the key to our happy marriage is learning what life is like through each others eyes.

+ What was your reaction to finding out you were expecting Carter?
When I saw the little stick turn to a big blue plus sign my heart sank quickly as I muttered the words "I'm pregnant" to AJ (at the time my boyfriend) who sat there and hugged me. He played with my hair and assured me how much he loved me and of course he promised everything was going to be just fine, although he himself was terrified. We were not married. We were not finished with school. We had no idea what we were doing. Yet in the backs of both of our minds there was a peace, we were at peace with what was happening. We had shared with all of our friends and family that we were planning to be engaged, and we knew without a shadow of a doubt that we were meant to be with one another. This little baby was not going to change anything, and he didn't he simply made our hearts even bigger.

+ What was your experience with labor with Carter?
Well, nothing went as planned. But what does? Having all my plans thrown out the window and revolving the entire process around my son only introduced me to what life would be like with him! Nothing ever goes just as planned anymore, it was simply my initiation to the idea of motherhood. And it was ok. I was induced at 42 weeks along and after a long and tiring 49 hours my son was born via c-section. Him and I had contracted an infection and all in the span of ten minutes everything headed south, his heart rate went through the roof, I spiked a dangerously high fever and in trying to come out he separated bones in my pelvis causing an indescribable amount of pain. I knew what had to happen and truly I was okay with it, I knew that it was best. Because of the infection he was in the NICU for the first few days of life and because of the damages to the bones in my pelvis I was held in the hospital for a week to work on rehabilitation. Yet.. I would do it over and over and over again. There was nothing more empowering to me as a woman. My husband is my birth coach and will openly admit that the process of labor was truly the most exciting and romantic experience of his life. I love it all!

+ How did you get your blog/instagram to grow?
This is a fun question! Truly I started my blog when Carter was only about 1 month old in order to have something to do for myself to keep me sane. It didn't take long before I found out that it was a passion. My first readers were family and facebook friends, and a few random people who found us through searches. In order for our page to grow I came to the realization that I had to step out of my tiny little comfort zone and expand my relationships. I invested a lot of time in collaborations on giveaways, reviews and shout outs that were able to help my in growing our blog audience and followers through instagram and it was no easy task. Some suggestions is to link your blog/social media sites to every platform that you have, take the time to respond to those who follow you and leave comments and questions, use your hashtags, and have patience as it is a lengthy process!

+ Being a young mother, how did you decide you were ready to have another baby? Did you care what friends and family thought about adding to the family?
This is a great question, and one that I have spent loads of time thinking on. Truly, the decision to add children into our family is the choice of my husband and I. Our families were much different in how they chose to have a family. Both of our siblings are more spread out, so we were certain that they would think we were nuts. But that never bothered me! We know beyond a doubt that they love us, and they support everything we do whether or not they agree with it. Something that I fall back on is that this is my family, and no one else has the liberty of choosing how I raise it. My husband and I were well aware that we wanted a few children and we wanted them close in age, financially we waited until we were absolutely sure that we were stable to add another life into the mix. My husband worked hard for promotions that we thought were necessary before adding another baby. I stay home with out little ones and we have decided that is what is best until our children hit the age where they will start attending school, however here shortly I will have my Bachelors in something that I am passionate about and cannot wait to pursue, so having our children close together I am able to get into my field sooner! Being that we had Carter out of wedlock I think that adding more children is automatically a touchier subject with others but it went well, we've never given anyone any reason not to believe that we couldn't do an amazing job!

+ Do you plan on having all your children with the same age gap as Carter and this Baby?
I couldn't tell you! I think we will have to wait to meet this baby and learn what he or she is all about before deciding whether or not to have any more. We both want a larger family, but space between children will all depend on how our family functions with each addition!

+ How do you handle all of the things that you do?
This is flattering because sometimes I feel like a hot mess, and handling it all becomes quite the task. Staying organized in my days certainly helps, but whats helped me most is realizing that each day will come with its own individual struggles. Sometimes Carter will be happy and allow me to get a lot done, and other days he is off and we spend all day in pajamas and don't bother touching anything around the house. Coming to the mind set that its OK to have those days changed the way I viewed my work load. I did lots of research on how to create effectiveness between laundry, dishes, working from home and raising a family and can offer a few tips on things that helped me. Regarding laundry, if you are like me you get loads going and they just pile up unfolded and some sit in the wash and soil and you have to run it over and over and over. My trick is to get one load in the washer, change that ONE load to the dryer without loading another load, fold that load and put it away. Only when that one load is entirely finished do I move onto the next one. With dishes we learned rather quickly that is it ALWAYS easiest to put everything straight into the dishwasher, no leaving things on the counters of in the sink letting it pile up. While dinner is going I wash whatever it was that I just used and can escape having any dishes left over once we are finished. My key to working at home with Carter is nap time.. always work through nap time. And never forget to allow yourself days where you know nothing will get done, without allowing these kinds of days you will beat up on yourself for your lack of success within that day.

I loved answering your questions, we have many more and look forward to answering them in the future. Thank you all for following out little journey through life, we hope that you are able to find joy in our page and connect with us on a personal level in one way or another. Motherhood is something that we all have in common, and something that we should all be able to lift each other up on rather than creating frivolous competition. One of my favorite sayings "Welcome to the sisterhood of motherhood", that's exactly what we are. We are human creating, messy, tired, empowering sisters that all share the same common goal. Lets get there together.

-T

Baby Led Weaning.

Baby led weaning.

So what does baby led weaning mean? It simply means no more mush!
We planted, tended to, grew, picked and pureed our sons food from the time he was four months up until month seven. It was then that I realized that he was far more interested in what it was that I was eating, rather than the mush that he was presented with. He even started protesting his purees. So I found this theory, why not just give your baby what your eating?

We piece and present his with whatever we put on our own plates and laugh at the mess it creates. But it does much more than just this, it promotes independence. He is exploring and learning with every single meal. The connections that it makes for him to do this at each meal is only furthering his development. He does not depend on the breast as much as he did in the past, however he still needs this. Since baby led weaning I have been able to comfort him in other ways rather than just succumbing to the breast.

To add to the list of benefits, he sleeps better. He maybe wakes once a night. It’s a miracle! Sleep is a breeze, he will wake himself up at night and feel confident enough in himself to roll over and put himself back to sleep. We never had to “cry – it – out”.

This also promotes YOUR health! If you are feeding your child whatever you are feeding yourself you are bound to create a healthier diet for yourself. You wouldn’t feed your seven month old a McDouble and French Fries right? I have learned and had fun researching tons of fun recipes to incorporate for me, my husband and Carter,

Eat on my friends!

-T

Sweet Biscuit Relief.

If you have been following us now for a while, you know well enough that we try to do everything as naturally as possible. Avoiding any chemicals and preservatives is our goal, without being absolutely crazy about it! Teething has tortured our poor and sleepless household now ever since Carter popped his two bottom teeth at just four months old. At almost seven months of age we are now looking at two more about to make their debut!

One of the many things that we have used to save our sanity is this sweet recipe right here.

A teething biscuit.
The pint sized cookie is made to be rock hard, so that infants cannot bite pieces of it off and potentially choke. The ingredients are all added in order to help soothe the gums (while still tasting appealing to the kiddos!) and the rough edges are there to help massage. Below is our little rendition of what we found was the easiest, cheapest, and most functional recipe:

Ingredients :+ 1 cup of rice cereal
+ 1 cup of whole wheat flour
+ 2 tbsp coconut oil
+ 1 mashed banana
+ 2 tsp cinnamon
+ 6 tbsp of water

How To:+ add all ingredients in a bowl, mix with hands until a doughy substance
+ put on cutting board and using a rolling pin, roll flat to about 1 / 4 and inch thick
+ cut our your own shapes or use cookie cutter
+ line cookie sheet with oild, place on pan
+ preheat oven to 425 and bake for 15 minutes
+ let cool
+ freeze for added benefit

Hopefully you find as much relief in this recipe as our family has, teeth on my friends.

– T

I Vow.

I had to share our vows. Why? Because I never want to lose these little pieces of paper that they are written on, and because I think that my husband wrote the sweetest words I have ever heard and I think that they are worth sharing.

Enjoy.

After starting with a prayer for God to guide him with strength, courage and knowledge to be the best husband and father he could be he said,
“On this day of celebration I wish to let you know that work will never come before you. These vows are written in a metaphorical sense of how I vow to dedicate all of myself to you Taylor.
My ears, attentive towards listening.
My eyes, to see your eternal beauty.
My arms and legs, the tool to provide for our family.
My mind, to be open to our evolving marriage.
My stomach, to enjoy “all” of your food, to be nourished by all of your hard work.
My feet, to be the everlasting support and balance to our family.
My mouth, never to stray from positive conversation, to remain thoroughly honest.
My hands, to always provide the hard work that has been instilled in me and to embrace you with love every day.
My heart, to always be open to fully surrender myself to you and Jesus Christ.”

This man is made of miracles.

-T

Motherhood and Modesty

One of the most difficult things that I have found in the transition from being a single young woman is finding my happy medium in being a wife and mother. I have donated the majority of my entire closet full of short skirts, crop tops and tiny dresses.

But it wasn’t easy.

I wanted more than anything to be able to fit right back into those clothes, and maybe after a while that could have been possible, but I feel like I have the responsibility to my son to look like I am his mother. Not his babysitter. Now as sad as that sounds, I have found immense amounts of joy in recreating my look and finding my happy place with the mommy body God has given to me!

I haven’t sacrificed anything. I haven’t lost myself. And I truly believe that my more modest set of clothes does me much more justice than any of my more skimpy selection ever did. I am a fan of big sweatshirts paired with fashionable leggings, skinny jeans, scarfs and my massive collection of boots. I love wearing maxi skirts with the right tank top paired with the perfect necklace.

In other words, no. I do not rock mom jeans and a turtle neck. Because I don’t have to.

I can wear all of these things, and look even better than my 18 year old counter part. Being a mother I sacrifice sleep, sanity and the occasional night out, but I have NEVER felt like I had to sacrifice my body in the process. Find your mommy sexy, your flattering middle ground, something that makes you look like YOU!

I have stretch marks, I have a pooch that will never go away with any diet on the market, I have hips, I have lopsided breastfeeding boobs. And no one would ever know it.

Motherhood and modesty, its a real thing. I promise.

-T

| dress by @junieblakeinsta | junieblake.com | pictured: Jana Modest Blue T-shirt Dress |

Simple Signs.

I worked in a preschool for 2 years back in the day (makes me sound way too old). I was the assistant teacher in the classroom with kiddos ages 11 mo. to 20 mo. and I loved all SIXTEEN of them. I guess you could say that’s where I learned how to multitask without flaw!

Amongst other things like art exposure and physical activity I was the driving force behind teaching my kids how to use American Sign Language. At first I found myself frustrated but within a matter of months I was astonished at the success and simplicity of this practice. There is something about teaching a child the meaning of a word, and how to use it before they even know how to speak it. Not only does it do absolutely incredible things for connections in the brain but it also helps communication between mom / caregiver and baby, in turn saving both from those terrible temper tantrums.

I have found that most of the tantrums I have been a part of in class (carter obviously being too young) have been caused by the inability of the child to effectively communicate his or her needs. They get frustrated and hell, I would too! By teaching simple everyday words to the kids I was able to understand what they were needing and after they mastered their signs the tantrums were few and far between. And yes, this was with all sixteen littles.

After falling in love with signing I enrolled myself in a few classes to better understand the possibilities and learned that on average, children who used sign language alongside verbal communication while growing up scored 12 points higher on an IQ test later on in life. What more could you ask for??

Carter, AJ and I have been using sign language since Carter reached four months. Already we have seen him understanding what we are communicating to him. We don’t expect him to sign back for about two more months but he is aware of what we are trying to communicate to him and that alone has brought us as a family much closer as well as kept us all sane!

Below is a few very easy signs that you can start with. Remember make things FUN. Be REPETITIVE. ENCOURAGE your child when you see them use or understand each sign, and never stop learning!

Mom and Dad:

MOM

DAD

These are pretty obvious signs to teach at first. One of the most effective signs of communication and something that may save your sanity later on down the road! 

Please and Thank You:

PLEASE

THANK YOU

We have been hitting these signs hard! Why? Because it is never too early to teach your children the importance of manners. 




More and All Done:

MORE

ALL DONE

I have always taught these signs in conjunction with one another, the kids used and abused the “more” sign while I found myself using “all done” all day!

Eat:

EAT

This sign was not only fun, but the easiest sign for me to teach. Children are always hungry it seems, imagine how much strife you can save yourself!




The best recourse for myself is always babysignlanguage.com, you can find a dictionary full of words that you can pick and choose from as well as tips and tricks and answers to just about every question that you can come up with. 


Happy Singing!


– T