Base Cattle Drive

When I first began blogging and moved from SC to here, one of my first posts was about the cattle drive across base, I could not get over it! This year was our fourth and, more than likely, last cattle drive and I am truly sad about it. Living in this small town has definitely been different, and there are things I have really missed like Target and a grocery selection; but those are things I can find if I am willing to drive for a bit to get them. There are things here that I will miss terribly and I know I can't find them anywhere else, like all of the festivals and carnivals to celebrate anything and everything (even rattlesnakes!) Knowing at least one person everywhere you go, and knowing my children are safe. I will miss our church and our squadron and all of the ways these communities have supported my family, and more importantly my sanity. I will miss this town a lot when we leave, but I am not going to focus on that now, now I will focus on the awesome time we had yesterday...

This is the girl who used to do my hair :)

All the cattle coming in, see how close we were!

This cowboy brought his horse over to see the kids.

This is our pastor! He is holding #2, the only one brave enough to get on a horse :)

They even let him wear a real cowboy hat, he talked about it all day!

I LOVE men in flight suits and cowboy hats rounding up cattle!

We moved to a new spot to watch the actual drive and this is what we saw coming down the street.

Then all the cows took a detour to come visit us, eat some grass, and rub up on some trees.

Not entirely comfortable with how close they were.

Basically holding onto my babies with a "mom grip" like you wouldn't believe.

What a FUN day!!!

Love On Wings

Friends and Family,
I just want you to know how I love and appreciate your support for this personal blog, I have received such amazing feedback from you all it has inspired me.  I want to expand my writing, I love writing about my kids, but now I want to write more!  I want to inspire and encourage, maybe even entertain, mama's like me.  I will continue to write my babies adventures on this blog but for those of you who maybe want a bit more I would love it if you would consider following my love on wings blog.  Thank you again for inspiring me to be better, to do more, I feel so tremendously blessed!

In Love,

Toddler Choices

Choices have been on my mind and heart lately. We all have choices like who we love, how we act, how we teach our children, what we make/eat for dinner, you get my drift. I am thinking that once a week I might post on ALL of the choices we make and how they effect different parts of our lives.
Today I am going to post on toddler choices, so it's a twofer, choices + mama tips, yea!!!
If you are/have been/or will be the mama of a toddler you need to know choices are the absolute key. Toddlers and preschoolers are always at the mercy of those around them, told when to eat, what to wear, and who to play with. They NEED choices, they NEED to feel like they can be in control of something. I try to give my kids choices wherever and whenever I can. "It's time to get dressed, do you want to put your shirt on first or your pants?". "It's time for dinner, what color plate do you want?". The simplest questions can take a full blown tantrum from a 10 to a 3. Just the other day my sweet Ash was loosing his mind over having to stop playing and come to the table for dinner, what stopped him in his tracks, I asked what he wanted to drink. It's like a fancy little magic trick you can pull out of your mama hat!!

Is that a Grump or is that a Grump?
Photo By Melanie

You should be warned, however, that the choices you offer need to be actually choices between two acceptable things. I learned the hard way that "you can get dressed or you can go to school in your PJs!" can backfire in terrible ways that leave you explaining to your sons teacher why he is at school in spider man pajamas and several days of explaining to your screaming preschooler why it is NOT acceptable that he goes to school in pajamas all the time.

Three Babies

Having three babies in less than three years is not for everybody, truthfully it's not even for me, but God has much bigger plans than I do! I get a lot of looks when I am out with my brood, mostly looks of pity. I have had more people than I can count say, "well you certainly have your hands full!" to which I used to say "yes, but that is better than empty!" which always makes strangers quiet right down but always made me feel a little snarky even though that's not who I am. A great friend of mine just had her third baby in three years and told me that she has started saying, "yes, but they are full of wonderful things!" which also shuts people up but leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside so that is my new saying.

Having a third baby is the ultimate dealima for a lot of couples, especially if they already have a boy and a girl. So I am asked pretty frequently about the third baby, here are the things I know to be true about third babies (and if you don't believe me you can ask the before mentioned friend who texted me last night to tell me I was right on all accounts).

Nursing a Third Baby is Awesome...
** the amount of things that you can accomplish while nursing your new baby will make you feel like you have super powers! I once diapered and dressed my 1.5-year-old while nursing #3, I felt like I was bionic!
** while nursing your first born can feel like more of a chore, since you are sequestered away from everyone all of the time. You welcome this break with your third. I would just sit in #3's nursery and rock her and sing and let her nurse for ages while I listened to my hubby out side the door, "#2, leave your diaper on! #1, we don't poke eyes! Boys, no riding on the dog!" I would just grin to myself and keep on rocking.

Three is not much harder than Two, just more time consuming...
** it will take you 20 minutes to load your car up, accept it, plan for it, move on. I am ALWAYS the last person to leave the parking lot after Mother's Day Out, I even see some of the teachers leaving before me!
** the laundry is unbelievable, literally if I told you how much laundry I do you would not believe me.

Number Three is Always Spoiled...
** I don't know how it happens I just know it does. Maybe the nursing time as mentioned above? Or maybe it's the fact that you are required to hold them much more, for their own safety more than anything. Who knows?!
**you will do things with your third child that you swore you would never do as a parent, and you probably didn't do with your first two. Case in point; #1 had his first french fry when he was 2, #2 had his first french fry when he was 1.5, and #3 had her first french fry when she was 6 months. It just happens, forgive yourself in advance and you will all be much happier.

Bottom line...
having a third baby just means more
more kisses
more food
more baby giggles
more toys
more love
more playing
more laundry
more pictures
just more, and truthfully I just can't get enough of it.

Super Mommy!

When you are a parent I think it is truly incredible the roles that you adapt to and become. How awesome that God gives us Grace to be able to do all that parenthood requires of us, He makes us SUPER. I have lately found myself feeling like quite the detective. It even goes beyond discovering where (or who) that funky smell is coming from, beyond telling if a mess could be chocolate or poop by sight alone, it goes beyond...

All summer long Ash has been waking up several times a night, and just recently I think I discovered why, he was cold. Ash was wearing the same summer pajamas as his brother and sister, but DJ insists on sleeping fully covered (even his face) every night under a big blanket and we have closed all the vents in Iz's room because it tends to get freezing when the AC is running; but poor little Ash refuses to use his covers and he sleeps right next to a vent. A few weeks ago I put him in some long feety pajamas and he slept through the night. Score 1!
Lately, DJ is struggling in the preschool program in church. J was called out several times a few weeks ago because DJ was lying under a folding chair and refusing to come out, and then sitting in a corner (arms crossed, grumpy frown and all) refusing to move or participate. That kind of disobedience calls for a punishment, it used to be that if you misbehaved at church you would not get a doughnut (our Sunday ritual). That was until the Sunday DJ said to me, "that's fine mom, I don't want a doughnut any way." I had to sit down and look through everything we did on Sundays, what could be turning DJ into such a monster. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, low blood sugar! When my kids start REALLY acting out I have to run through the check list

#1 are they hungry
#2 are they sleepy
#3 do they have a dirty diaper or in DJ's case when did he last use the potty. I swear DJ would hold it in until his bladder literally burst if we didn't make him go, and having a super swollen bladder makes him a crazy super grouch!

In this case while every other day of the week my kids eat breakfast, have a mid morning snack, and lunch around 11:30, on Sundays we fed them breakfast and nothing else until lunch around 12:30. No wonder DJ was crabby! We have now implemented snack time in the car on our way to church and a potty break as soon as we arrive. DJ is a different kid in class now, the teacher even used the word amazing where before she had used the word barbaric. Score 2!

Everywhere I go I feel like one of those detectives who rolls into a restaurant and within minutes can tell you the eye color of the waitress and describe the tattoo of the man sitting at the bar. Except I can tell you things like, the if the toilet lid was up when I walked by the bathroom, if the glass of milk is about to spill even if I am across the kitchen. When we walk into a new place I instantly know the things that my kids will tear apart, crawl up, and get stuck inside of, so I act accordingly. I wonder how I should use this finely honed skill once my kids get older. Can I use it to tell if they really just went to the movies, or if they really don't have homework after school. Who knows? But one thing is for sure, nothing is getting by this Mama (OK probably some things, but not a lot of things). I am excited to see what other Super Powers motherhood has in store for me.

two boys and a girl

This is what happens when you have 2 baby boys and then a GIRL.

My baby, in a boy camo creeper that I painted a pink birdie on.  I thought surely having a baby girl would be all hair bows, ruffles and twirls, not so much.  I love making things for her and I really love buying her sweet things, but for every day wear it is just not practical!  Iz is as rough and tumble as her brothers ever were, so I find myself going through their old things trying to figure out what I can make work for my girl.  I think this creeper in particular turned out wonderful, a little girly, a little tough, all Iz. 

A special thanks to my dear friend B, who actually gave me this creeper when Iz had a blow out at her house (B has all boys), then told me to keep it.  I had no clue what I could possibly do with this boyish onsie when my baby was a girl!  Then I painted the birdie on it and I LOVE it, now I feel inspired.

How cute is my Iz?



BOYS!

It is never so obvious to me that my boys are in fact crazy, as when we have family and friends over to visit.  Nobody ever says anything, they don't have to, it's their wide eyed fear as they watch DJ bodyslam Asher off of the couch that speaks volumes.  Or the way they avert their eyes when the boys run into a room in head to toe knight/viking/superhero gear because just the sense of violence to come is so overpowering.  The way visitors all move up to sit on the edge of the couch when Iz is in the room because they know at any moment a brother could come tearing around the corner and take her out.  I am tempted to say, "my boys are ALL boy," or "boys will be boys," or "at least Iz will be a tough little girl,"  but these are all cliche and not at all true.  My boys are something, let's say something "special" and they terrify just about any person who is not around them constantly (like me or J or our dear friends in OK who have come to embrace the epic violence in the Newberry household). 





I recently joined a movement on FB called "21 days of prayer for boys" all about learning to pray scripture for the ones you love, especially the boys in your life, however, I truly learned so much more about my boys.  I learned that their epic violence is not unique, it is not super common, but it is not unique.  I read this blog post and I felt the weight come off of my shoulders...
"when boys are just too much"
strangely enough the author of this blog post is the same author of the "21 days of prayer for boys" apparently she feels my pain.  We are all born selfish, we are born with only thought of ourselves and desire to only do what makes us feel good.  For some of us the desire to please is what makes us feel good so we behave and do as we are told, for others (my boys) we feel good when we are in control, when we lead and are able to do whatever whenever.  Now I can bribe and threaten my boys to get them to behave themselves (and I do) but that only works 75% of the time. It is only when their hearts change that they will have the character and the obedience that I desire for them.  It is only when their hearts change that they can truly love and be great leaders. 





Who can change hearts?  Certainly not little old me, only God can change hearts and so my prayer from now until the day I die is that God softens the hearts of my children.  I am committed to being a living example for my children (although I do mess this part up on a fairly regular basis, I am trying), and I am committed to letting my children be who God has created them to be.  There is a fine line to be walked between letting my kids be who they are in the depths of their souls and making sure that they are socially acceptable human beings in public. 

I am praying every day for the hearts and souls of my children but I also need to remember to pray for myself.  For patience and wisdom, for God to open my eyes to see the things in my children that come from Him and to notice the things that are out of place or wrong.  I wish that all of the people who come to visit could see the things that my kids do when no one is watching.  The way that DJ will lovingly brush the hair out of Iz's eyes.  The way that Asher gives kisses by holding your cheeks in his chubby hands and puckering up so huge you think he might swallow your face.  The unsolicited "I love yous" or the way that they tell me at least six times a day that I am pretty or precious or cute, they also love to tell J that he is "the best daddy in the whole life world contest."  Yes my kids are wild, and violent, but they are also loving and caring.  God entrusted these babies to me just the way they are, and so I will indulge their wild side by slaying dragons and having pillow fight wrestling matches, but I will also show them what is loving and caring.  Most of all I will pray for their little hearts because in the end it is not really me at all that will make them mighty men, it is the All Mighty that will do that job.