6 Tips to Survive Sickness as a Mom.

Being a mom is hard enough work, with all the dishes, laundry, snuggles, tears, tantrums, schedules, cooking.. you get my point. So when life decides to play a cruel trick on us moms, called getting sick, we lose a little bit of our "mom flow". Let me tell you, I am no motherhood unicorn! When Carter gets sick I know without hesitation that my day is on its way and I just need to wait out until the worst hits. Growing up somehow my mom was always on the forefront of our sicknesses and always avoided getting sick herself.. how? I am sorry to tell you that I have no idea. Some of us just get sick. All the vitamins and preventative tricks in the world won't save my sick and sorry butt! So what do we do when we still have little ones who depend on us for everything, a home that needs tending to and sanity we would enjoy keeping? Here are a few tips and tricks for the sick momma bear.

*I am no doctor. These are simply little things that help me get through my sick days. They are probably not a cure all for everyone!

1. Blow it Up!
This requires a little attention before hand in the world of baby proofing, but trust me, if you put in the effort you will thank yourself later. Many of you have seen me lounging on our blow up mattress on the worst of days with this pregnancy (i.e. morning, afternoon and night sickness..) while letting Carter run around and play around me.. and let me tell you, it is heaven. We went through our home and baby proofed everything that you could think of JUST for moments like this. Wether its a cold or morning sickness, if you have little ones who are old enough to be running around there is no way to stop them so bask in it. Blow up your air mattress and lay it down in whatever room your kiddos desire to be in and get the rest your body so badly needs all while knowing that your children are in a safe environment. Hint hint.. they may even come snuggle with you which makes all those sick bugs just disappear! If even for a moment!

2. Fluids
Water. Water, water, water, water, water... and water. I know my parents used to force water down me when I was sick and I thought it was ridiculous. However, when I have a family to tend to it becomes a life saver. Without fail fluids will get me feeling better much faster than I would on my own without them!

3. Essential Oils
These gems have become a staple in our home, we use them for everything! Making our home smell fresh, cleaning supplies, cloth wipe solution, bumps, bruises, headaches and sickness! Be sure to do the adequate research on what oils to use and how to properly use them before applying anything into your life. I used to be skeptical about the "magical oil powers" and was finally convinced to try them and haven't so much as looked back since. Being able to replace all the chemicals and medicine in our home with solutions that I know are beneficial and safe for our family is such a beautiful reward in itself!
*feel free to email us for any questions*

4. Comfy Socks, Comfy Blanket, Comfy Sweater
Is there science behind this? No clue. What I do know is that I feel 300x better when I take a few moments to make myself comfortable. You're already uncomfortable enough being sick as it is, doing simple little things can easily pick up your mood and ease you onto the road to recovery! Heck.. if your most comfortable naked then be naked my friends!

5. Food Prep
For the most part I can always feel when I am going to be sick. If my son doesn't get sick first and let me know that the tornado is on it's way I am usually warned with symptoms the day before it unleashes itself. While this might be the last thing you want to do, it is one of the smartest things I have to offer. Having ready made food for myself and my son makes it easy to get us through the day with as little effort as possible, and trust me.. you will want to move as little as possible.

6. Don't be Afraid
Never be afraid to ask for help! If you are lucky to live close to family or friends or you wind up sick on your husbands day off, ask them for help with your littles to let you recover. Chances are they will be more than willing to help out and then you have time to focus on nothing but getting yourself better. No one is going to think less of you for needing assistance. It happens, we all get ill, we all need a little love sometimes!

In the meantime, if we aren't sick now I can promise you.. we all will be at some point yet again. Until then lets be preventative when ever possible. Wash your hands, eat healthy, wipe those nasty grocery carts and ask people to stay a fair distance if they are visibly ill. Regardless those bugs still find their ways into our lives and when that happens hopefully you have 6 new ways of incorporating peace and healing into your sickness routines. Feel better mommas!

-T

My Marriage Comes 'Before' my Children.

This is one of "those" posts. One that you have to read from beginning to end before truly understanding, and one that many people will disagree with, and it won't apply to everyone's lives the same way it applies to our own! However it is something that I am very passionate about.. truly my marriage is what I am most passionate about in my life. If anyone were ever to ask me who comes first in my life, what comes first or what is most important the go to answer for most is there children. And yes, I am with my babies so much more than I am with my husband, they rely on me more than my husband does and require more of my attention than my husband (sometimes..) but my marriage comes 'before' my children.

I would've never imagined myself saying something like that. From the moment we found out we were expecting Carter my life started to revolve entirely around him. AJ and I were lucky that our local church offered marriage classes they offered to engaged couples before their wedding day, we kind of laughed at the idea at first when is was mentioned to us and decided to go because it was something that was recommended, heck both of our parents did it before us and they have beautiful marriages so it couldn't hurt. It wasn't before long that we had a week focused on the idea of family and what that meant to us, and that is where we were asked..

"What comes first in your life?"

Neither AJ or I hesitated to say it was the growing baby in my belly! We smiled and were proud, and out of no where we were hit with a giant brick wall.. we were told we were wrong?! What do you mean I am wrong? The words that followed have stuck with my husband and I, they permanently left an imprint on our souls and completely defined our marriage.

My children are here because of the love I share with my husband. Every little life decision we make for our children we will make as a married couple. The foundation that we set in our marriage will be the guidelines of which our children will use to find their own happily ever after's. If we didn't put our marriage first, then what stable grounds do we have left for parenting? I want my kids to see that the love their parents have for each other is unbreakable, I want them to watch us and see inspiration and feel safe in the arms of our family. We are their foundation, their home base, their safe haven.

I want them to grow up searching for the love they they saw between their mom and dad. I want them to see that sometimes it's hard, but without fail we never give up and it will always get better. I want my husband and I to be able to make decisions for our family as one, and together we can make our lives as beautiful as possible. Without putting my husband and our marriage first none of this would be possible. Marriage is the most self sacrificing thing I have ever had to do, it is so much harder than having children. It is a life long commitment that I made and I work on it every single day and I am far from perfect. I am learning about AJ as every day goes by, and in turn he is teaching me about myself. We don't give 50/50, its always 100% even when I don't want to.

My children will always be taken care of, loved beyond belief, cherished and celebrated. I love my family unconditionally and putting my marriage first doesn't change that, it only helps our love grow stronger. So yes, my marriage comes before my children, because without it we would be nothing, we wouldn't be where we are today. Marriage is the happiest contract I have ever entered into, with the most work implied behind each and every promise, and something that my husband and I take with the upmost sincerity. So thank you AJ, for helping me create this beautiful life, and even more beautiful - the foundation upon which we create and raise our family. "I do" every single day, I still do, and I always will.

-T

21 Weeks.

21 years old, 21 weeks pregnant and 21 more reasons to smile! As the weeks pass Carter seems to get more and more interested in what is going on with mommy. He has always kissed and loved on his "bebe" but until now thats as much as he seems to be interested in the idea. Now that mommy is getting noticeably larger he seems to be a little confused and searching for answers.. he has tried to give my belly medicine, cover it with a blanket playing peek-a-boo to see if it disappears and laying all over it in every direction to see if it can go away. Sorry little man but you haven't seen anything yet.. prepare yourself!

This week I did a lot of reflecting on the parent that I desire to be to both of my kids. How I want to show them that I love them all while keeping their best interests in mind. One of the hardest parts of parenthood for me to grasp is the realization that I DO want to be my kids best friend, I will try as hard as I possibly can.. but I am there parent before anything. As Carter gets older and I have to steer him away from things that could harm him while he gets upset, I am learning just what is means to be a parent before a friend. So I wanted to write an apology to my children, so that in the future when they are upset with me they know just why I do what it is that I have to do:

Little Ones,

I am sorry.
I am sorry for saying no, saying not now, and saying not ever.
I am sorry for leaving too soon or deciding not to go in the first place.
I am sorry for telling you I'm uncomfortable with ideas, friends, and places.
I am sorry for hurting your feelings.

What you don't see is that I'm not sorry for keeping you safe.
I'm not sorry for steering you towards successes and carrying you through your failures.
I'm not sorry for loving you beyond what you can comprehend and sometimes loving you a little too much.
I do all that I do for you, not for myself, because without you my life has no purpose.
Making you upset with me breaks my heart although you may not see it.
Behind closed doors I ache for you, because I have been there too.
I'm never sorry for being a mother, a mother I should always be.
A mother I will always be.
But I am sorry that you are upset with me.

As must as you want me to tell you it won't happen again,
I can promise you that it will.
For as long as I live I want to see you happy, healthy and thriving.
I want this world to see how much you mean to me, and everything that you are capable of.
So forgive my harsh words and high tone.
I am busy loving in the deepest of ways.

Parenting while in these young stages can seem blissful and ever-easy, however we are only just getting started. I am learning as I go, without a clue as to what I do next. Someday I will be raising young children, then teenagers, and then my adults will be raising their own. It is my job to get them there, and get them there safely, and that involves hurt on both ends. I'm not looking forward to the days when I have to be the "bad guy" or "that mom".. I don't ever want to be name shamed. But I have to be. We all do. All I know now is that I will love them through it all, that will never change. So embrace these tiny, easy moments and look forward to the changes yet to come.

Happy 21 weeks my littlest love, we love you so dearly, even in the hardest of ways.

-T

| Banner : @littledovie | littledovie.com |

Journey to Complete Cloth.

We have used cloth diapers on Carter since he was 6 months old, after we ran out of our disposable stash. Off the bat we had issues wearing pampers and were knowledgable of the fact that some babies bums will like certain brands and others won't be able to tolerate it. He was on a strong antibiotic ointment for a severe rash for the first three weeks of his life and we quickly changed out his pampers to huggies and were happy from there. The choice to switch to cloth was (at first) geared towards the fact that we were moving away from everything that we knew, moving into a much more expensive home in a more expensive state to a new job for my husband and since I was home I felt like this was one small thing that I could do to help out in a big way. Shortly after switching we grew fond of the process and began to fall in love!

We never "hated" disposable because we had never had a problem with them! We would still use them if Carter was ever being watched by friends or family for their convenience and ease and on long trips. One evening we put Carter in some huggies and headed to the play gym with a few friends of ours. About three hours later we arrive home and start our bed time routine when AJ calls me urgently into Carters room. What we saw was horrendous.. our son was burned in all of the areas where the elastics of the diaper touched his bum. He had blisters and peeling skin, and was screaming at the touch. How could this happen when we had been using this all of his life? It was in that moment that we vowed to make a very permanent change, for any of our children, there was no way I could see this happen again. Now, nearly a month later, Carter still has two small open wounds from the burn he received on his bum from the diaper but thankfully they are healing wonderfully. We are praying there will be no scaring left behind.

A diaper.. a diaper made for my child hurt him. To this day I am unsure if huggies had changed anything about their diaper formulas or the way they were made or maybe we bought the wrong batch. But after reaching out to a sweet friend from The Sparrow Collective desperate for help (knowing that I, myself am far from a sewing pro) in making cloth wipes she graciously made us a plenty and now we are able to rest easy knowing that everything that goes in and on our children is monitored and carefully thought through.

The Sparrow Collective, a wonderful kids clothing and teepee shop, beautifully sewed us 20 wipes perfectly sized to fit inside a box of wipes and if that wasn't impressive enough she included a bag of goodies from her favorite shops and fun little work sheets for our son! But don't think that we are anyone special, this is included in EVERY order that she sends out. We cannot thank The Sparrow Collective enough for the peace of mind we were given through this seemingly small item.

Cloth Diaper Solution (what we use on them):

• 2 cups of Purified Water
• 2 tsp Castille Soap
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
• A few drops of Tea Tree & Frankincense or Lavender Essential Oils

Process:

• Combine all ingredients
• Soak wipes in solution
• Ring out the wipes and put into wipe box
• Use wipes as needed, add to wet bag with diapers after use (use diaper sprayer when needed)
• Wash with cloth diapers

We couldn't be any more excited to have switched over entirely to the process of cloth and can't wait to see all the benefits that it unfolds for our sweet kiddos. If you have more questions please feel free to shoot us a message HERE! 

Happy Bums to Everyone!

-T

| Special thanks to Kids Clothing and TeePee shop @Sparrow_Collective |

Biscuits.

No matter the choices in your life there will be naysayers, nonbelievers, and negative nancy's. I've made lots of choices in my life that I know plenty around me would never dream of making, and that's okay. I have seen others make choices that I would never make, but never would I insinuate they were in the wrong for choosing what was best for them. Often times I find it hard to keep my mouth shut but all I have to do is put on my favorite Kacey Musgraves song and be reminded that we all should mind our own biscuits.

Today I was approached at the pool while playing with my son and asked several questions. Now understand, I think asking questions about someones lifestyle is a great way to get a glimpse into another side of a story that you may not be familiar with, but there is a point where you over step your boundaries. Asking me if I am on welfare or government assistance because I have a young family and couldn't possibly afford otherwise.. that's too far. Asking me how far I got through school before having to 'drop out' when becoming pregnant so young, then learning I am less than a year from my bachelors and will be moving forth with law school post college.. you look like a fool. Asking me if my parents are still a part of my life after having my son out of wedlock, well you're only asking for a rude awakening. 

Let me say this. My children are loved, our mouths are well fed, we don't depend on anyone but each other for the things that we need, both my husband and I are college educated and will continue to attend school until we feel out educational minds are filled, we have a roof over our heads and we have the judgements of those who assume otherwise to laugh at. Before assuming anything, about anyone regardless of the situation just read yourselves these lyrics. We are all human.

Taking down your neighbour won't take you any higher
I burned my own damn finger poking someone else's fire
I've never gotten taller making someone else feel small
If you ain't got nothing nice to say don't say nothing at all

Just hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy

Nobody's perfect, we've all lost and we've all lied
Most of us have cheated the rest of us have tried
The holiest of the holy even slip from time to time
We've all got dirty laundry hanging on the line

So hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy

Pouring salt in my sugar won't make yours any
Pissing in my yard ain't gonna make yours any greener
I wouldn't know about the rocks in your shoes
So I'll just do me and honey you can just do you

So hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy

Source:http://www.directlyrics.com/kacey-musgraves-biscuits-lyrics.html

Lets all rejoice in the journey we are on.

-T