Children

Seasons of motherhood and remembering yourself

Children, Encouraging, Mental health, Motherhood, Parenting

 With motherhood comes growth

Being a mother, you find yourself in different seasons within your life.
Sometimes those seasons can be smooth and some seasons will pull at your
heart. No matter the season, do not allow it to pass you by
without learning a lesson, that you can share with other mothers
along the way.

Unexpected changes

I walked into a season of my life, years ago, where I met a handsome little six-
year boy whose mother had died when he was just a baby. I stepped in and become his mother at 23 years old. Not having gone through the nine months of carrying him and preparing for him as a newborn, I had to dive in deep. There was such joy within his eyes to see that God had given him a second chance by giving him another mother that would love him and accept him. 

Stretching myself thin

I was married at 23 years old and become an instant mother. No
longer was I responsible for myself alone. I had to be responsible for two
more people that I would have to pour into. My husband and I became pregnant with our firstborn son right after getting married and then his brother came along the next year. The heat was turned up with me having a newborn, a toddler, and an eight-year-old. My plate was getting full.

Glass half empty

I poured my all into my family and forgot about myself. It felt like I had no time to take care of me. I was too busy giving to everyone around me. My cup was running dry, and I didn’t
realize it until my body started to break down. That was the beginning
of my new season, a wake-up call saying it was time to pour into myself
as well.

Take care of you

Mothers, you are valuable. If you are not here on this earth for your kids, they would have missing pieces of a puzzle they can’t solve without you. As a mother, you
must allow yourself to stay physically, mentally, emotionally spiritually
hydrated so you can pour from a full and alive cup of life.

Isaiah 43:4 “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you,”

Book review: Skedaddle

Children

 

Book review – Skedaddle

 

 

Skedaddle is a children’s book wonderfully written by Jacqueline Leigh and beautifully illustrated by Erika Wilson. In this delightful book, you’ll meet the main character, Nellie. All Nellie wants to do is go to bed but she finds it impossible with the racket that’s going on above her head. Loud noises from an unwanted guest, who has decided to make a home in her attic, hinder her ability to fall asleep. Unfortunately for her, she is the only one troubled by the hubbub while the rest of her family is fast asleep. Nellie tries to find clever ways to get her new guest to quiet down. In the end, she solves the problem in an unexpected way.

 

Nellie can hear all the commotion in the attic

 

I read Skedaddle to my kids as soon as I got it. On the first page, the meaning of the word “Skedaddle” was explained which was great because my kids did ask what the word meant. I thought it was extremely helpful to have the word defined before the story started.

Almost immediately my kids were laughing hysterically. The illustrations really brought the story to life. I love the way this book is written because it gives the reader the ability to play around with how they read it. I made sure to be very dramatic when I said certain words and it had my children cracking up. There are big exaggerated words written next to the illustrations. And this book gets extra points for that because, after several reads, my kids were able to recognize which words were which. 

Nellie can’t take the noise anymore.

 

I find Nellie’s character to be so relatable and my kids weren’t shy about telling me how I sometimes look like her when I’m tired. What I love about her is that even though she really wants to rest, she tries very hard to remain kind and considerate. As a parent, I appreciate the underlying message of showing kindness no matter what. I also enjoyed the ending of this book because it was such a silly twist.

Skedaddle is a great book for children. My kids are two, four, and five years old and all of them love this story. I’ve read this book to them every day since I’ve gotten it. My kids ask me to read it to them as soon as they wake up and also as a bedtime story. During each reading, they laugh as if it’s their first time hearing it. They even run around the house saying “SKEDADDLE.”

I highly recommend this book! And if you would like to purchase it for your kids, it’ll be available on October 1st on Amazon. I’ll share the link to purchase then. Meanwhile, you can be apart of the SKEDADDLE: Virtual Launch Party by listing yourself as “Going.” As stated on the page, This will be your opportunity to get your hands on the first official copies of the book. All copies will be personalized and autographed!   You don’t want to miss that, so make sure to join and celebrate Skeddadle’s release with us.

I want to thank Jacqueline Leigh for allowing me to review her awesome book. Check out her website here.   And if you would like to follow her, head over to her Facebook and Instagram.  You can catch up on her work before Skedaddle‘s launch by purchasing her first two books Time for bed with Ford and Red and  The Spill.

Hoped you enjoyed this book review. As always (HUGS and LOVE!)

 

 

 

 

Mothers need support not judgement

Children, Motherhood, Parenting, Unity

 

Before we had kids, many of us had all these ideas in our heads of what motherhood would be like. We imagined our children and created their personalities in our minds. Truth is, there’s no build a child workshop. As much as our actions and teachings mold our kids, they come with their own personalities. 

Being a mom is hard. Sometimes I can’t help but feel bad when my kids are acting up and I pass another mom whose kids are calm and behaving. I want to whisper, “What’s your secret?” Honestly, there is no secret. Kids have good days and bad days. They have times where life seems to be a ray of sunshine and moments where they are completely overwhelmed. Throw in a missed nap and who knows how rough a quick trip to the grocery store might turn out. 

A while back, I had to pick up a few things from the store. My twin sister decided to stay with my kids while I shopped, lucky me. I shopped, as usual, enjoying a peaceful trip. No one to tell me they want some nasty cereal because their favorite character was on the box. No complaints about being touched by a sibling while they’re all in the cart because they get a little too friendly with strangers. 

After getting everything I needed, I headed for the self-checkout. In the distance, I could hear blood-curdling screams. I thought for a moment about the poor mom that had to be so stressed. I knew the feeling of trying to hurry up because my kids are crying at the top of their lungs. 

Even after I was done I could still hear crying. I saw some older ladies roll their eyes in disgust as I could only assume in the direction of the mother and child. As I headed to the exit, I glanced over to this family only to recognize them. It was a child from the daycare I worked at, a former student of mine. I thought about going on and minding my business but something in my heart wouldn’t let me. 

I went over to them. The mother was renting exercise equipment, an older brother around seven stood next to her, and the crying toddler sat in the front of the cart. I called the child’s name then greeted the mother. This two-year-old was not having it. He couldn’t have cared less about my existence at that moment. I thought to pick him up and maybe he’d calm down from being held but he used all his weight against me and even began to cry more. I felt defeated. I had no intention to make things worse. 

I wanted to leave right then but as I peered around at all the bad looks this mother was getting, I thought maybe I can’t make this little boy feel better but I can be some support for her. I started a conversation with this incredibly calm woman. She told me that he seemed to be getting sick. I suggested that maybe he was cranky because it was the time he’d be sleeping at daycare. She nodded and said that he recently got up from a nap but wasn’t sleeping well at home. It was amazing how I couldn’t hear his screaming anymore as I rubbed his back and talked with his mother. He hadn’t stopped crying, though it seemed that way. 

His mother added that his dad was away for football training and wouldn’t be back for a few months. Her mother concluded it had to be separation anxiety, that’s why being in a cart and not in his mother’s arms was so hard for him. It made me realize that there were probably so many similar stories or rational reasons for the seemingly obnoxious tantrums that kids throw. 

We said our goodbyes once she had the items she was renting. She left with a smile on her face. I saw her. Not as a mom with a screaming toddler but as my sister. I saw her as myself, a woman who was going through a tough time, and my kid was the external reaction to my internal feelings.

Sometimes we need to take a moment to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. No judgments or harsh criticisms. Be there for the mommies in our circle or complete strangers who might be way too overwhelmed to force a smile on their face. Whenever we can, we need to let other moms know that we see them and that we get it. Being a mom is tough but we can all do this tough job with support from each other.