The Role of a Parent

"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." - The Talmud

I am stealing this quote from my friend :-) Yesterday while at the mall - there was this strange looking man running around with his daughter. Not strange as in "scary, get my kid away from this place" - but strange as in appearance... not your average Joe. And before you go getting all "oh my gosh, you were judging him" - you do it too! Some people just look .... strange, out of place, weird, off their rocker (you get the point!). Well, there was this strange Joe and a Average Joe, both their with their kids. While the average Joe just sat there, on his phone, doing NOTHING - Strange Joe was running around, playing, singing, having a BLAST with his daughter. Actually, Cy found himself drawn to the man, as I found myself drawn to watching him. He was so full of life, so funny, he had a trail of kids following him EVERYWHERE and he kept coming up with this great little games for them to all play together. I actually found myself finding a seat and just watching them (nice for me because after an hour of chasing Cy around with a 14 pound monster in my moby - my back needed the rest!!).

Ok ok - I'll get to the point of this whole "story" :-) I have been thinking a lot lately about the role of a parent. There are a few "parents" in my social reach that have made some very sad and disheartening decisions in the last few months. Some have left their children (divorce, abandonment, other "women" to start new families with), some haven't left but might as well have - not hands-on or attentive (like the Average Joe at the play area), some have older kids and don't help anymore (even though, it can clearly be seen that help is needed). I was talking to DH the other day, and we had a very serious talk about the roles of parents. His father left when he was very young, so when we talk about being a parent - it sparks a deep passion in him. A passion to be a good dad, to give his kids everything - something he never had the option to get, and to LOVE his kids more than anything in the world. *Yes, I am a very lucky woman - I have a husband, who through all his history and hard times, has come out being stronger and more determined to have a family, to provide for his family, and to show his kids LOVE at ALL times - that's huge!!!

Anyway, we were talking about how money doesn't matter in parenting. Yes, you can have money and that really does help kids to have an "easier" life, better schools, better clothes, ect. But money is not all that there is to parenting! Average Joe was very well off (you could tell with their clothes and phones and such) but he was soooo annoyed with his kids the entire time. Strange Joe was more on the "needy" side of the spectrum. Clothes not so nice, long hair (but clean!), ect. But this Strange Joe was giving his kids sooooo much more! He was giving them attention, adventure, love, respect, kindness. I could go forever!

What kids really need are parents who are active in their lives. Parents who give those annoying pieces of advice when they are teenagers and don't want to hear another word from their "rents" ;-) Parents who make them work for what they have - not just hand them a silver platter to eat from. Parents to teach VALUES, give financial advice, give HUGS AND KISSES. Parents who raise their children to be mentally and spiritually STRONG. That is the role of a parent. Money helps, money makes life easier. BUT money is not all that there is in life! I guarantee you, that if I teach Cy and Lu from the beginning to be SMART with what little they have, to work hard for what they WANT, and to never give up - they will be able to graduate top of their class as a doctor, same as the rich kid next to them! Money isn't everything. But Mental, Spiritual, and Physical development is!

And what is better - my husband, who had so little in a father-figure, is teaching my kids something so BIG!!! He is teaching Cy how to be a father. How to love, how to support his family, how to stick it out in the hard-times (even after 20+ years of marriage), how to have ADVENTURE, how to work HARD. And Cy will teach his son that too! He is teaching Lu what to look for in a husband - yes, that's right, she is learning too! She won't settle for a lazy bum who just sits there and makes her do everything or beats her. She is going to look for a strong, determined, loving, adventurous guy... who loves the zoo as much as she does ;-)

See? Parents - you are not only teaching your kids... you are teaching THEIR kids. You are building a legacy. You are starting a TREND for generations to come! Even when you are old - you are still building that legacy with your grandchildren. Are you going to be hands-on, loving, determined, kind, caring, give amazing advice (care enough to give advice), give HUGS and KISSES, give those much needed pats on the back,"that a boy", "get back up and try it again!"????

Train up a Child in the way he should go & when he is old - he will NOT depart from it! Proverbs 22:6

So what this STRANGE JOE showed me, on top of the quote I stole, and the convo with my husband - is that PARENTING is soooo much more than is wealthy. I can give my children the BEST life EVER by being there for them - mentally, spiritually, and physically. You can too.

A day like today

OH goodness what today a hard day! For starters - DH had a test today in class, so last night, he locked himself into the room to study and I took care of the kids. Which is the usual anyway, but it was a hard night - my stomach was hurting, Lulu had horrible reflux - literally cried for hours last night, and Cy was, of course, fighting sleep. So when this morning came, I was upset to find that I was still sick to my stomach, throwing up and all that jazz. :-/ DH had already left for work and I could hardly hold my head up.

I am very very lucky for such a loving hubby - he came home after class, taking a test, watched the kids and did work from home for a couple hours so I could rest. It helped a TON! But he did have to go to work at some point so that left 2 kids with 1 sick mama. It's been a hard day. Poor Cy has been sitting in front of the TV all day, while messing up the house. Lulu has been having horrible reflux and wanting to eat 24/7 to soothe. And I am just in horrible pain and have extreme fatigue right now.

OH! And from being sick, I had to miss my first day of MOPS today :-( I was so excited to blog about it too. Wait for that blog - it will be coming in 2 weeks :-) I could complain - and kinda am, but I am also sitting here, rocking my baby girl, thanking GOD that I have such a beautiful family that gives me such crappy days :-) Seriously - I would rather have one of these horrible days than a boring day with none of them, any day!

Now... whos ready for a vacation?? ;-)

2 months for Ms. Lulu

Yesterday we took Lulu to her 2 month checkup. Can you believe she is already 2 months old?! Seems like just yesterday I was bringing her home and showing her to Big Brother. She looked amazing! I love love love our Doctor - so ladies in Woodlands/Spring area - if you are looking for an amazing doctor, I have one!

Anywho - Here is a little bit of what Lulu is up to these days :-)
She is measuring 13 pounds and 8 ounces and is 23 1/4 inches tall. She was in 76th and 94th percentiles. Crazy girl! She's going to be big, just like her brother it looks like. I'm seeing her being a basketball player in her future ;-) Mama was too short for stuff like that, so now I can live vicariously through my tall baby girl haha. The doctor said she looked great! She still has reflux - we are giving her some meds for that, but it still comes and goes. Some nights are super hard with her being so fussy but others, she goes straight to sleep. She isn't as much of a piggy at night as Cy was. She only wakes 2 times a night now - which I am happy about! I still have to keep her upright for 30 minutes so the feedings are still taking a long time. She is a wiggle worm!!!!!! She moves constantly! CONSTANTLY! Ha, people often ask "is this how a newborn should move?" - nope! That's my baby girl - constantly wiggly. Often making it hard for me to get ANYTHING done around the house with her. She is very very alert! The doctor was shocked with how alert and focused her eyes are (yay! My smart baby girl!!) and she smiles CONSTANTLY at daddy and mommy. Constantly! We are going to have a very happy baby girl. She also coo's all the time - she loves talking - just loves it!

Well that's about it. Cycy is getting a lot more welcoming of the idea that he is a big brother. Yesterday he held her in his lap and said "smile baby sisa, smiiile" :-) I guess Mama says that a lot to Lulu - ha.

Sweet Lulu, I am so excited to watch you grow, to help you mature, and to lead you into womanhood. You are my pride and joy - you put a smile on my face when the entire day is going badly. I love you with all my heart and I am so so so thankful that I can stay home with you and watch you grow, change, wiggle and squirm all day long :-) I love you!

Happy Labor Day

This weekend has just been absolutely, completely, jammed packed with lots of fun things for the Fouladi household! This has been the first holiday that I have not been completely depressed at the fact that my wonderful hubby had to work ALLLL weekend LONG. It has always been like that since I've known DH. I don't think we've had a holiday weekend together for 6 years (out of our 7 years together). It's just not something that someone in retail can do - take off during busy holiday sales (especially when in a commission job).

Anyway - this holiday I decided not to be a sad person. I have tried this in the past but it always happened that everyone always had other plans, so Cy and I always ended up being alone on the days where everyone else was with their families. I loaded up my calendar! And I'm talking LOADED! We had something planned every morning, afternoon, and evening. Cy is currently in his bed, exhausted from the long weekend.

We visited Bibi and went swimming, went to Memorial City Mall for some fun and lunch... followed by a ride on that spinny thing that makes me all sick ;-) We had an absolutely WONDERFUL playdate at my friend Abby's - the weather was perfect and company even more perfect! Then had dinner at my amazing friend, Krystin's. She helped the kids make little pizzas while I got to sit and feed Lulu in peace. Yeah - I know! PEACE! IT was amazing!!! :-) An entire feeding for the precious baby girl with no interruptions from big brother. Priceless.

We went to the park a couple times this weekend - with the weather so absolutely PERFECT and having stayed inside for the last 8 weeks because of a newborn and the heat being unbearable - it was soooo nice to get out! We also went swimming in cold water with my friend, Christine. That was a great visit up until the point Cy hid in her corner and poo'ed in his pants. *AACK!* We had dinner at Maria's with her family - real Mexican Fajitas ;-) They were delicious! We visited Nana & Papa for a couple hours for some BBQ - Papa showed Cy how to hit a baseball with the bat. That was amusing to watch! And of course Cy drove the little Jeep that Papa and Nana had gotten him and Cousin Nico to play with. :-)

All in all - a very busy weekend, packed full with family and friends. I miss some people dearly - family and friends. But count my blessings for those who are in my life and who have been sooooo kind and thoughtful to share this, what would have been a depressing, weekend with me!

Now what I'm thinking of doing tomorrow is.... writing down everything that Cy gets upset about ;-) Should be a very very very interesting blog - so stay tuned. And I hope y'all had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Salt Painting

So I have been trying to do more crafts with Cy. It's a perfect way for us to have one-on-one time after nap, while Lulu sleeps. He loves doing crafts (or rather making a HUGE mess) and I love the time I spend with him doing something fun and different. I have started making lesson plans for him. I am about to plan out my September now. I plan 3-4 crafts a week from various blogs, and put them in my google calendar, so that I can click on the link and be reminded about how and what we are going to do that particular day. So fun! It also helps because I already have it planned and it takes out the guess work of "what are we gonna do today?"

So today we painted Salt. SOOO fun! I took a black piece of paper, and had Cy put glue all over it - he loved that mama let him play with the glue all by himself :-)

He then got to DUMP salt ALL over the paper - we did this a few times to cover all the glue with salt. This was Cy's favorite part and needless to say, half the salt was on the floor by the end...

Cy then dipped... or rather jabbed, the brush into the water (I put just a tiny bit of water in a dish and 2 drops of food coloring to color the water. I didn't use too much water because let's face it - we are dealing with toddlers here, too much water = a wet floor!) & lightly touched the salt on the paper. We were able to watch the colored water flow down the salt and even mix with other colors

The end result was so cute!

And of course, my goober was eating the entire time :-) Gotta keep up the cheeks and double chin ;-)

I highly recommend this fun craft for any 2 year old crazy kid :-) It was easy, short, but so fun! And not very messy. I am always looking for crafts that will keep Cy's interest and my sanity (i.e - not a huge mess!) and this one was perfect!

I wanna do this!

So there is something going around Facebook. While I am not on Facebook, I do still get the email alerts - and I got an email just a little bit ago. SOOOO I am 10 weeks and craving kit kat krunchies :-) Hope everyone is having a great week! I already miss my friends so much on FB. Dang you FB!!! :-) Today was a fun-filled day. We went to the Children's Museum for Free Thursday Night - Cy had a blast and the company was even better! Thanks to all the mamas who shared their snacks with Cy - He appreciates it ;-)

I have something to say!

My dear Friend, Christy, is pregnant!!! I've known her for YEARS and she is pregnant! I am so so so so so excited for her! This is also her 2nd - and when I found out this news, I started thinking about ALL the advice I would give to her ;-) So here are a few I'd give :-D

1. Enjoy the birth! The scared factor was out of it for me the 2nd time, so I was able to enjoy and take it all in! I was more picky about what I wanted and stuck to my gun about it all! I enjoyed the whole experience SOOO much more!!

2. GET HELP! I think the hardest time for me has been week 4 through now :-) You get exhausted. The first 2 weeks, Ash was here but also all the visitors come during those 2 weeks. It's when hubby goes back to work and the night feedings really start hitting you, plus taking care of another child during the day - it gets hard. So try and push help back, and ask people to help with kid, bring meals, and come help with chores at week 4 and on.

3. Keep things as normal as possible. When I came home with Lu, I sat on the floor and played with Cy for 30 minutes and let everyone else take care of the baby. This showed Cy that I was still there for him and I think it really helped him not to develop jealousy right away.

4. Talk talk talk! With 2, you get tired and worn out and exhausted and there is no such thing as a nap most days. And the chores get behind and the word "night out" is completely UNKNOWN in your vocabulary. TALK to your friends - find a support group of mama's, it will really help and will keep ya sane ;-)

5. Seriously find time for yourself! I didn't do this the first time, but this time around - I must workout 3-4 times a week, it's my sanity-keeper! So find time for youself and don't feel guilty about it either! :-)

6. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are going to love love love having 2! You will love even MORE when the older one hugs and kisses on the younger one - talk about MELTING the heart! :-) It's amazing and solidifies WHY I put myself in this crazy mess to begin with :-D

Again, so excited for my friend... and for any other friends who are having a baby ;-)