Moms=Amazing

As most of you know, I am a nanny for a wonderful family with 3 beautiful little boys...Charlie (4), Max (2), and Luke (4 months old). The older two boys went to visit their Nana and Papa in Ohio this week, so I have been playing house with Luke this week;) He has been staying with me since Monday morning and I have had a blast!! First of all, let me just say this...God bless all of you women out there who work and have children, stay at home and have children, or just have children because it is definitely a FULL time job!! Now, I know that I am not a mom yet, but from keeping these boys for a little over a year now and being around some great moms, there are a few things that are just plain out facts of motherhood:

1) Whether you have one, two, three, or four children you always have another human being that you are responsible for and that can be stressful. (I do have to make a side not though, keeping one child this week vs. the usual three has been much easier.) ;)
2) Moms beat themselves up a lot! I have never met a mom who is satisfied with her "mothering" even if she is the best of the best.
3) When you leave the house, you have to put a lot more thought into it rather than just "Do I have my keys and wallet?". For moms it is "Do I have the formula, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, toys, car seat, stroller, pacifiers, baby food, etc.?" oh yeah and don't forget to grab the baby.
4) Moms worry about every little thing there is to worry about for their children..."Are they too cold?", "Did they have enough to eat?", "Are they getting their daily dosage of vitamins?", "Did I make their summer fun enough?", "Should I make them eat organic foods only?", etc.
5) I think that being a mom has to be one of the most rewarding things God has ever given us the opportunity to do.

I have come to this conclusion...there is one VERY important thing that most moms do not do and that is take some time for you!! You deserve it and you need it. Whether it is 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or a girls' night out, take it! You don't have to be supermom ALL of the time. Let yourself have a moment just FOR YOU.

Whether you are a caregiver, mom, babysitter, nanny, nursery worker, daycare worker, teacher, or any other occupation that requires "mom" characteristics...you ARE awesome!! The ability to give another tiny human being just what they need is a God-given thing so take hold of it and be proud of what you do. I love what I do and wouldn't have it ANY other way!! Thank you to all of you who give me or have given me the opportunity to care for your children. I feel so privileged to be able to do it. :) :) :)

Beating the Heat

My hubby is going to be busy, busy, busy tomorrow with research papers and spreadsheets. When I am at home and he is trying to do these things...I am a HUGE distraction;) I just can't help it! I love being around him. So tomorrow I decided that I needed to be out of the house so he could have complete concentration. I was thinking of some different things to do and I was feeling a little adventurous. I called up my sister Jessica and we have a plan...we (along with my new brother in law, Juan) are going to drive to the Blue Ridge Mountains tomorrow and go on a 4-5 hour tubing excursion. I'm pretty excited about this because it is totally out of the ordinary "Saturday routine", it's outdoors, and it's adventurous!!

What are some things you can think of that fit those descriptions (out of the ordinary, outdoors, and adventurous) to "beat the heat"??

To blog or not to blog?

Reasons why I have never started a blog:

1) I always thought you had to be a brilliant writer, eloquent speaker, or an english major in order to do so.

2) It irritates me when people say things to me like, "How do you find the time to update your facebook status every day?" or "You must have a lot of time on your hands.". So with that said, I did not want to get that kind of feedback for blogging.

3) I have never been a believer that people really care about what I have to say.

4) My friends' blogging skills intimidate me;)

5) I didn't have a clue what to write about.

Reasons why I am starting a blog now:

1) I realized that you don't have to be a brilliant writer, eloquent speaker, or an english major. You just have to be vulnerable in sharing your life and thoughts with others.

2) I don't really care anymore if people say "You have a lot of time on your hands.". You spend time on what you are interested in doing and blogging may not be for everyone.

3) Even if people are not interested in what I have to say, I can at least attempt to make people laugh, think, wonder, or even cry happy tears by writing about every day life.

4) I think that the friends' whose blogs used to intimidate me, just might end up being my closest followers;)

5) And last, but certainly not least, I LOVE learning about people...where they came from and where they are going and all of the good stuff in between. So maybe, just maybe, someone else out there loves that too and if so, come on...follow me...you know you wanna;)