Guest Post – Mommy Truths

Before we jump into today’s guest post I (um this is Kendra btw, just in case you’re a little confused) wanted to say a little hello and let ya know what’s going on.

Our sweet pea was born on April 30th!!!!!! He’s absolutely scrimptions and I can’t wait to introduce him to y’all! I’ll be checking in with a post from time to time “Meet Baby Brother” being one of those post but while I’m in my foggy newborn mama cave I thought it would be fun to have a few guest posting mamas!

I reached out on Instagram and asked if anyone would be interested in my little gust post project and had great response! I’m so excited

for you to see what they’ve come up with! They have some awesome post planned for you!

Sooooo while I’m getting my mom of 2 under 2 sea legs about me I sure you’ll enjoy the mama guest post series! Check back often. We’ll have 2 new post a week.

Okay now that that’s out of the way let’s meet Alicia…………….

 

Well Hello there!  I’m Alicia and I’m super excited to be guest blogging over here at Kendra’s today!  Just so you know a little about me, I’m a wife to an amazing guy.  I’m a momma to a spunky, beautiful, animal loving tween girl, Caroline.  I’m a photographer, crafter, DIY-er and lover of all things old or unique.  I’m a slight coffee addict, but I only drink decaf…what?  Anything pink makes me happy.  I talk too much, hate laundry, love Jesus, live in the country and can’t live without Dr Pepper.  Visit me anytime over at Murry Mayhem!

Since I’m a momma, I wanted to chat about momma stuff  today.  Being a mom is what I know best.  It’s what I’ve learned the most about in the last 13 years.  I’m definitely not an expert, but I can tell you what works for our family.

You find out your pregnant, go through all of those emotions and then you dream.  Dream about your little bundle of joy, what they’ll look like, how you’ll style their nursery, how wonderful it will be the day they’re born.  You think about birthdays and holidays, your hopes and dreams for them.  It’s scary and blissful all at once.

I wasn’t completely blind going into motherhood.  I knew that things wouldn’t always be the way I pictured them.  But there were certain things that I thought would be easy peasy, only they haven’t been quite so easy.  You think, “I’m the adult.  I can handle what this kid throws at me”.  That’s about the time that you really realize this little person has a mind of their own.

I have no clue why I thought she would always love big bows in her hair.  I thought, “She’ll wear cute bows and matching outfits, she’ll love them!”.  I have a stash of bows for sale.  Anyone?  I’ve got tons.  At the age of 9, she protested.  I kept thinking this wouldn’t happen for years. I was wrong.  And her clothes are the same way.  No more cute-sy outfits that I ordered from Etsy.  I learned that these were not battles worth fighting in the morning.  I gave up.  If she wants to look like Punky Brewster, then, you go girl. 

Truth:  On school mornings, I’ve given up fighting about what she wears, or what her hair looks like.  I’ve sent in her dirty clothes on more than one occasion.  Hey, if she insists on wearing something that hasn’t been washed yet, that’s her choice.  I make sure she’s bathed and has on clean undies.  That’s as good as it gets.  And do you know how my mornings are regarding clothes and hair?  Blissful.

When it was time to introduce solid foods, I thought about how picky I am {or was at the time} and knew I didn’t want that for Caroline.  I made her try her everything.  Sadly, for a while dog food was her favorite snack, but that’s a story for another time.  This kid shocked me so much, she never turned her nose up at anything.  I realize that this isn’t the case for most, but that’s why it wasn’t what I was expecting.  I knew most kids were picky eaters, I assumed mine would be the same way.

Truth:  On the rare occasion I don’t cook dinner, I let her have whatever she wants.  She may or may not have had microwave mac ‘n cheese for dinner last night.  Followed by 2 oreos. 

I remember being so excited about celebrating the holidays with her.  Being Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, I had big plans.  I knew that one day all the fun would end and she would know that we handle all those roles.  I figured I had about 10 years, if I was lucky, as long as other kiddos hadn’t given the secret away.  Caroline is such a bright little thing, and no, I’m not just saying that because I’m her momma.  She really is super smart, not much gets past her.  Which is why at over 12 years old, it floors me that she is still totally clueless.

Truth: I sort of let the cat out the bag over Easter.  Not exactly on purpose.  She was at her dad’s for Easter and I made the mistake of asking what the Easter Bunny brought her.  Apparently the Easter Bunny didn’t leave his goodies at her dad’s house, he supposedly left them at our house.  Oops.  Needless to say, I had to explain.  Really though, it’s better this way.  I was tired of ‘shushing’ people when they were about to say that ‘so and so’ wasn’t real.

One thing I thought about a lot while I was pregnant was the ‘type’ of mom I envisioned being.  I came up with the plan of just being real.  Living life whatever way worked best for our family.  I had certain ideas in my head and some worked and some didn’t.  I knew I would dote on her, I knew I’d run to her rescue and I knew that I would have a hard time disciplining her.  What I didn’t expect was how much I would do for her.  Crazy huh?  I didn’t realize I’d make sure every.little.thing had been turned in, no deadline missed.  Even if that meant running to the school to turn something in for her, so she didn’t miss out or get a bad grade.  Here’s the deal ya’ll.  I’ve ruined her.  She just waits for me to tell her what to do and if push comes to shove, she knows that mommy’ll take care of it.

Truth:  I didn’t do it for her this time.  Nope, I sure didn’t.  She’s part of a school group whose mission is to help out in the community.  They have to complete 10 service hours in order to go to the big pizza party at the end of the year.  Her hours were due last week.  She didn’t have enough.  We had it all laid out, what activities she needed to get done.  Most of these are things she didn’t need me to drive her to, she could do in our neighborhood or at our house.  I reminded her about finishing her last few hours and told her to knock it out so she could turn her folder in, go to the party, and be proud of what she had done.  Normally, I would have rushed and helped her spend the hour picking up trash, spent the hour to help her gather donations for Salvation Army, but not this time.  I let her be in charge of her own timeline, and you know what?  She didn’t do it.  She flat out chose not to hustle and get it done.  And for the first time, I didn’t run and do it for her.  She had to learn the hard way on this one.

Bottom line.  We all have an idea of what motherhood is to us.  What we find out along the way is another story.  We learn and grow in our parenting, just like our kiddos learn and grow.  We all have those things we just don’t talk about in public and those, my friends, are our mommy truths.

I’ve also learned that we apparently take a lot of car selfies.

Connect with Alicia at these lovely places………..  

Blog

Insta

Pinterest

Bump Update–38 Weeks

Hey friends!
I’m currently 38 weeks and 4 days pregnant! 
Can you believe it?!?

It’s been awhile (8 weeks to be precise) since I’ve done a bump update so I thought it was time to check in and let ya know how things are going.

True story………
I typed up a 37 week bump update.
Didn’t post it.
Along with several other post I’ve typed and haven’t shared.

It’s become a thing.

Pregnancy insomnia leads to random late night blogging which usually includes a Luna Bar maybe some almond milk then deciding later on not to post whatever random blog I’ve come up with.

I guess it’s like the pregnant bloggers version of drunk dialing but having a friend knock the phone out of your hand before the call goes though.

Only I’m drunk on almond milk and sleep deprived so pretty much it’s nothing like drunk dialing.
Or is it drunk texting these days?

Ok enough with that! Let’s get on with the update!
This one is going to be a little different than my previous bump updates.
No format or questions to answer.
I’m just going to have verbal diarrhea (gross I know but that’s pretty much what’s about to go down) all over this post to catch ya up with little bit’s pregnancy!

Things might get a little random but here we go……..

28ish weeks pregnant with Weston. We shot these in Colorado. Oh Colorado take me home!

I’m Slacking:

I’ve yet to shoot maternity photos!
Don’t think it’s going to happen either.  
I feel kind of bad about that because we made a whole hoopla about taking them during our 1st pregnancy (see above) and well it just hasn't happen this time around.

Little dude you can blame your brother for the lack of maternity photos, pregnancy update post, cute themed growing bump shots, and everything else I’m slacking on. 
Don’t worry we still love you!

We did however have a little picnic a couple weeks back during our trip to the zoo and shot a couple photos of us playing.

Weston’s shirtless because he gagged on his lunch and vomited all over it.
I had just peed in those very bushes behind me and the water in the background was full of trash and grossness
buuuuuuuuuuuut
I’m not wearing yoga pants and I have my hair down and you can see the bump.
I think that qualifies these as maternity photos, no? 

7 Days Until I Join the 2 Under 2 Club:

We have 7 days…..1 freaking week until we get to meet our new little love unless he decides to come before then and it’s not looking like that’s going to happen. 
I had to be induced with Weston and this little one is following in his big brother’s footsteps.

Y’ALL 7 DAYS!
Really more like 6 because we check into the hospital the night before.
That’s nothing!

With the amount of crap I still need to do before the baby arrives and my BFF getting married this weekend I just know I’m going to blink and open my eyes to see our sweet new chunk in my arms.

Kent’s mom is back from China and able to help with Weston again so I’m trying to cram months worth of nesting into 2 weeks.

Not recommended my pregnant friends!

It was highly impossible to anything with him always underfoot nor did I have the energy to clean and prepare for the little’s arrival after a day of chasing Mr. Tornado around so nothing got done while my mother-in-law was away.

But now it’s on!

Nothing is safe from me! 
I’ve been purging, organizing, and cleaning all the things! 
We’re in that “It gets ugly before it gets pretty!” phase. 
There’s stuff everywhere (see multiple Instagram post) but I’m making some ground work and hope to get it all tidy and finished up this weekend.

It HAS to get finished this weekend because the stress factor is through the roof and poor Kent can’t handle crazy pregnant nesting Kendra for much longer.

I haven’t been the sweetest peach lately.

Thinking About Weston’s Heart:

I’ve been trying my best to be as present as possible with Weston.
Laundry has taken the backset so I can play with animal stickers and trucks.
Cuddles and kisses have gone into over drive and I find myself getting lost in his sweet face.

We’re about to rock his world and I have no idea how he’s going to handle it.
Part of me thinks it’s going to be a smooth transition (he LOVES babies) but part of me knows he’s going to need some time to adjust.

I know I will too.

I also know I’m going to miss being able to fully focus on him.

I’m so grateful for the time we had while my mother-in-law was in China.
It was just Weston and mama!
I stopped working and fully focused on him and my most favorite role of being a mom.
It was something both he and I needed and a time I know I will treasure especially with a new season of life approaching.

I’ve been chatting with other mama’s who have children close in age like my boys will be.

One mom shared some really great insight.

She said………..

”My youngest (9 months) knows no different than to share me with his brother. He was born into a world of crazy and it’s all he knows. It’s his normal. He’s adapted and does great playing on his own or with his bother. He doesn’t flip if I don’t hold him 24/7 like my 1st did. He has no idea that that’s even an option.

My oldest (20 months) has a different reality than my youngest. He only knows what it’s like to have mama and dada give him their undivided attention. All. The. Time. We were his playmates, his constant form of entertainment until just a few months ago. Then his normal changed. He needs us in a different way than our baby does and I try to remember that.”

I loved what she had to say and I’ve been thinking on it for some time.
She was right too.
Her baby was happy just doing his own thing smiling at everyone playing with toys on his own.
Her older son was all about mama.
Loving on her, brining toys over so they could play together.
She played with both of them just in different ways.
It was kind of a neat thing to see and her words gave me a lot of peace.

What’s Your Name:

Y’all we cannot agree on a name.
We have one that’s most likely going to be “it” but it’s not locked in and we’re still looking at stinking name sites.

It’s gotten to the point where we’ve literally seen every boy name that’s out there and we’re trying to decided which name is okay between the few that we agree on.

Ugh I hate the “okay” part.

I was smitten with Weston’s name, still am!

Is it possible to have a Weston 1 and a Weston 2?

I want that same smitten feeling about baby brother’s name but it’s just not happening especially if I want to go with something that Kent loves.
We have a few names on the table. All names that I’m not in love with but okay with.

We’re going to wait until we meet him and see if something clicks.

A few names that I like but have been vetoed or we can’t use for various reasons:
Colton, Cole, Tanner, Sawyer, Landon (my brother’s name is Brandon), Reid, Mason, Colby, Trevor, Tucker, Tate

Names we’re thinking on:
- Carson Nathaniel: Yep it’s back in the running
- Carter James: My mom thinks he’s going to be called Carter the Farter. Kent agrees so our 2nd name, another Kent pick is now up for debate.
- Camden James: We both used to love this name. Kent has since fallen out of love with it just like Carson, and Carter.
- Parker Reid or Parker James: We used to have a dog that was like our baby. He passed away 4 years ago. We both like the name but see the weird factor in naming our son after our dead dog.
- Jayden James: We actually both like this one but the popularity factor of it is holding us up. This was our very 1st pick even before we decided on Carson.

So we’ll see what happens after we meet him.
For now we just call him Baby Brother Carter James Carson Parker Jayden Camden.

Buying All the Stuff:

I’ve started collecting things that I’ll need in the hospital and for postpartum recovery.
This time around I actually know what I’ll use so it’s been more enjoyable to buy things like stool softener and Dermoplast.

Drugstore.com has been my bff.
They’ve had everything I’ve needed so far and even a few extras.
The plus is being able to shop for all the postpartum fluff  from home.

Taking Weston to the wall of maxi pads did not sound like fun time for him or I. High 5 to the mama’s out there that loath pumping. Wasn’t a fan of my last hands free bra (all the undressing and adjusting) so I’m going to try the Simplicity Hands Free Pumping Bra. Purchased mine on Amazon. I’ll let you know how it goes

I’ve got my breast pump all sorted out.
Brought some cute pjs to wear after we get home. Not than I need them but they make me feel pretty.
Stacked up on bars.
Bars were the only way I survived those 1st few weeks with our colicky baby.
We have snacks for the hospital.
Yes we like snacks!

Baby Brother Carter Carson Jayden Parker Camden may not have a name but he has a sweet little coming home outfit!
A gift from his nana! 

I bought a few little hats for his newborn photos.
Yep I’m going to attempt to take them again even though Weston just about killed me when I shot his.

Speaking of Weston’s newborn photosWeston’s newborn photos let’s look at one………

or maybe 2

Ugh I can’t take it!
I can not wait to have a new squish to love on!

Okay back on track….

As I was saying I’ve bought a few things for baby brother's newborn session.
But mainly I’m  going to need lots of prayer to survive it.
Who knows maybe he’ll be the complete opposite from his brother and let me do my thang!

I bought itty-bitty newborn diapers last week.
We plan to cloth diaper brother as well but will be using disposable diapers the 1st month or so.

We have most of the baby necessities, a bassinet, clothes, swing, bottles, pacis, car seat things along those lines which I’m so very grateful for but needed to order a couple duplicate items.
Things like a second diaper pail (we love our Ubbi), and additional camera for our monitor system.

I’d say for the most part if he comes today we’re ready for him!
This is pushing my irrational list of things I that MUST be done before baby arrives aside.

Double Stroller Y’all:

We’ve ordered the Contours Options Elite Tandem Stroller in Sand

So many things I love about this stroller…….

The price, huge storage basket, you can arrange the seats in 7 different positions…..YES 7, it folds with both seats still attached (hard to find that in double stroller), it comes with all the bells and whistles like cup holders and a car set attachment, it handles really well yep I tried the turn on a dime trick in the store and took it down the aisles to make sure it wasn’t too wide, the seats lay back if  someone wants to nap, lots of leg room for my tall boys, the large stroller canopies, its a manageable weight, and did I mention the price? Other double strollers we were looking started at $560 and went up.

I like this one just as much as the others we checked out and we bought it for $299. Sweet!

This sold me too…….

I love the idea of putting Weston in the front, baby wearing baby brother, and using our stroller as a shopping cart verses the icky store carts. 
Also like when I use this system I don’t have to put the cart back when I’m done with it, just pop our “cart” into our car!

We baby wear a lot and I like that this gives us additional option to use the extra seat as something else if we’re not using it for the baby.

I think this is going to be a stroller that we can grown with as little bit grows from newborn to a toddler.

It’s hard to find though.
Most stores are sold out so if this stroller sounds like a good fit for you as well you’ll have to do a little hunting to find a vendor that has it in stock.

Diaper Bag Crush:

Have you ever had one?
I didn’t until just recently.
Then I got it baaaaaad! 

I’ve never really been in loooooove with our diaper bags.
We switched from a typical shoulder strap diaper back to a backpack style.
The backpack option suited us best but I hated the bag.

Well I saw this little beauty a couple weeks ago and literally chased down the a mama sporting it so I could ask her all about it.

It’s a Ju Ju Be BFF bag in the print Queen of the Nile.

After interviewing the mama I saw with it, then doing a ton of research, watching youtube reviews and packing tips, and visiting a couple stores to check out BFF bags………

Yes I’m crazy nuts about making sure I’m making the right choice when purchasing something that I consider expensive.

I decided this is the bag for us!

It hasn’t come in the mail yet and honestly I’m a little worried that I’m going to get an email saying that it’s out of stock because like the stroller you have to do some hunting to find a vendor that is not sold out.

I have a feeling that this bag and I are going to click and it’s going to be “The Bag” I’ve been looking for.
I’ll let ya know after I’ve had a little time to love on it!

-Update-
Since I typed this post I received an email from the vendor I ordered from.
The very email I was worried about.
They don’t have it in stock and canceled my order. 
Waaaaaaaaaah! 

If anyone knows of a store that has this print and bag stocked please let me know!

You’re Ready to POP:

My belly isn’t as big this time around.
I got massive with Weston but baby brother is measuring more on the average side.
Weston was 9.3lbs so he was a big dude.
With that being said I’ve gotten a few stretch marks.
I’m not sure how that worked out……

Massive belly no stretch marks. Average bump, oh hey there stretch marks. Huh what?

Thankfully there’s not a ton of them at this point.
I’m really hoping the few that I have don’t invite their buddies over for a stretch mark party in the next few days.

Keep your finger crossed for me!

All in all I’m feeling great. Tired but great!
I have to remind myself to slow down and take breaks if I don’t I always pay for it the next day.

My back has been acting up again so I’m hoping to get an apportionment with the chiropractor the day of our induction just to get everything sorted out one last time.
She magic I tell ya!

All recent checkups on the baby have been great!
He’s moving and kicking up a storm which is always reassuring.
We have another sonogram on Monday to check in with him and make sure things are still looking good before the induction. 

He hasn’t dropped yet and I’m barley dilated.
Currently at a 1 aka nothing!

With my history of not going into labor during Weston’s pregnancy and having big babies she just wants to make sure he’s not bigger than we think and that he hasn't flipped.

I’m always up for a sonogram and I appreciate that she’s being cautions!

Monday’s our last appointment then it’s baby time!

In the Works for the Blog:

Guest Bloggers-
I reached out on Instagram and asked if anyone would like to guest post while I’m tucked away in my newborn mama cave.

I had great response and have several fun guest bloggers scheduled.
Their post will start popping up in May so be on the look out for those.

Just a sample of some of the topics they have planned for ya…….
-Day in the Life of a Twin Mom
-Using Essential Oils on Your Children
-Healthy Toddler Snacks
-Mama Lessons
-Mom and Kid Favorite Things

I’m sure I’ll check in with a few post from time to time and of course want to introduce you to the baby but for the most part I’ll be taking a little blogging break for a month or so.

We’ll See Ya on Instagram: 

Even though I’ll be on a little mini blog break I’ll still be active on IG. My favorite form of social media!

We’ll be doing another Day in the Life “We’re Having a Baby” series via Instagram the day leading up to the baby’s birth.

We did this with Weston’s birth and I love looking back on how we spent that special day.

During the Day in the Life “We’re Having a Baby” series I’ll post a photo every hour the day before the induction starts and will probably check in a few times until we meet him.

We’ll also be introducing him to you 1st via our IG feed.
It’s just easier to post there.  

Sorry this is suuuuuuuper long!

Shockingly I decided to nix a few topics I wanted to talk about…….
-The nursery (I’ve been updating on Instagram)
-Weird things I’m packing in my hospital bag
-The vain things I’m doing to prepare for labor.

But like I said this post was just getting too long.
If you follow our Instagram page I may chat about some of these topics over there.

Who made it to the end of this post?
Leave me a comment below or let me know over on Instagram!
I’m curious because this was a long one my friends.

I Like Big Trucks and I Can Not Lie

Time for another edition of “Pick That Camera Up”

We had brunch at a really cute restaurant in a historic district not too far from us (downtown McKinney for those reading who are local). 

I typically wouldn’t take my camera to something like this. We had plans to walk the square after we ate and old Kendra wouldn’t be too excited about lugging the camera around buuuuuut with the whole New Year’s resolution and all I decided to bring it along.

As I’ve said in my other “Pick That Camera Up” post I’m so happy I decided to grab it. I would have missed these shots which I think are stinking precious and really showcase Weston’s silly personality.

Pure bliss captured in these photos!
Weston is obsessed with big trucks, construction vehicles, farm equipment.
If it’s big and has wheels he’s all about it! 

These sure do make me simile and so does our little nut!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!
Kent has Good Friday off so we’re headed to the zoo with one of Weston’s little buddies.
I’m pretty sure I’m more excited than he is but I know he’s going to have a blast.
He was tiny the last time we went (see here) so I can’t wait to see his reaction to all the animals.

This will be out last family of 3 adventure so it’s a little bitter sweet.

Yes I’ll be lugging my big camera along. I have a feeling there will be tons of precious photo opts.

Pick That Camera Up:
VOL 1
VOL 2
VOL 3