It was late. 2 hours of putting my 3 year old to bed. Past 8 pm and having been at work that morning at 6 am, working, then coming up to tend to the kids for the rest of the day. I was tired. Worn out. Ready to throw in the towel and rest. Wait! I'm a mom. I cannot clock out as soon as my children do, I now have a house to tend to. I look around - survey the damage - hold back the tears - take a deep breath. Dishes (at least 2 loads to be washed... by hand), 4 loads of laundry to fold and 2 to rotate through the washer and dryer, floor that needs swept/mopped, bathroom to pick up after the bedtime hurricane, dinner to put away. Yep, I had a lot to do.
Dishes - Thank you Lord for giving us dishes to wash, dishes that we can eat off of. Dishes that I can serve my children from. Food that dirtied these dishes. Clean water that filled these cups. So many dishes - thank you for the 2 days of food that filled our bellies and for the reminder that we have not gone without.
Laundry - Thank you Lord for the HEAP of laundry on my couch that I have the ability to sit on (though, most of the time, my laundry puts it to good use... and I let it...). Thank you for my children who are growing and needing new clothes. Thank you for the small stains on some of my favorite clothes that did not come out, despite soaking them in whatever spray I have in there, for they are reminders of the fun we had while making cookies, or the awesome birthday party we had just the week before. Thank you Lord for a washer and dryer that work and allow me to give my children clean clothes with minimum work each and every day.
Floor - Thank you Lord for giving my precious baby girl hands to throw her food on the floor and a mouth that can get 20% of the food in her mouth. Thank you for the extra food that could land on the floor, while my kiddos still got plenty to eat. Thank you for the milk that splattered all over the floor - what seemed to have gotten in EVERY area of the kitchen, dining room, and hallway - my kids have milk to drink, thank you. Thank you for the yogurt that filled in the gaps where the milk failed to reach - it's a staple food item here and one that we have never had to go without.
Bathroom - Thank you Lord for the pee-soaked floor around the toilet, for it shows me that my son is growing up and able to pee on his own... albeit, I think I may need to supervise I bit more. Thank you for the wet towels, wet floor, and wet me. My kids had a warm bath and tons of fun playing together in a bathtub.
For those nights when I need to take a VERY deep breath before surveying the damage of the day. For the nights when I fight with all I have to not break down a cry of exhaustion when I see that so much still needs to be done. It helps to see how much I truly have in life. It helps put things into perspective and to see that silver-lining, no matter how small it may be on that particular day. Whether you believe it God or not, I give all my thanks to my God, you can still be thankful for the amazing life you have and the wonderful blessings you have. I am blessed. It doesn't make all my days easier. It doesn't make me any less tired or want any less help or need any less encouragement. But it does get me through some of those harder days. Thank you Lord, for Your gentle reminders.
Fouladi Family
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Cy is 3!!!
Yes, I did just post about Lulu turning 1. And now it's Cy's turn. WHAT was I THINKING when getting pregnant around the same time with both kids?! It has been a crazy crazy month with both of their birthdays back to back. I am seriously rethinking a lot of things for next year because 3 parties in 2 weeks just doesn't work all that well.
My big boy is 3! 3 comes with a lot of attitude already, I can tell.
He is the most fun-loving, rambunctious, hard-headed, stubborn, sweet, sensitive boy! I love my sweet Cy to pieces and with each day, I am more and more excited of what he can do! I love having a 3 year old - it's so fun to run around with him, to teach him things, listen to him count to 15, sing songs, read books, and watch him play by himself and have an imagination.
Happy birthday big boy! You are the light of my life and I love you more than you will ever ever know. If you want to simmer down and listen a bit more this coming year - I would LOVE that ;-) If not, be who you are! Mommy and Daddy love you for who YOU are and we are so excited to see all that God has in store of you and that passion of yours!
My big boy is 3! 3 comes with a lot of attitude already, I can tell.
He is the most fun-loving, rambunctious, hard-headed, stubborn, sweet, sensitive boy! I love my sweet Cy to pieces and with each day, I am more and more excited of what he can do! I love having a 3 year old - it's so fun to run around with him, to teach him things, listen to him count to 15, sing songs, read books, and watch him play by himself and have an imagination.
Happy birthday big boy! You are the light of my life and I love you more than you will ever ever know. If you want to simmer down and listen a bit more this coming year - I would LOVE that ;-) If not, be who you are! Mommy and Daddy love you for who YOU are and we are so excited to see all that God has in store of you and that passion of yours!
Lulu is 1!!!!
1. You tend to baby the 2nd one a bit more, I don't know if it's because she's a girl (probably) or because this time around, I really cherish the time a lot more. I also thank sweet baby Jayden for teaching me this. Not a day goes by that I do not look at his picture on my fridge and thank him for teaching me the importance of appreciation.
2. The little things do NOT matter as much as they did the first time. At Cy's birthday party - I had to be the one to hold him, show him everything, be with him. Lulu's birthday party - yep, everyone else had her. It's a different world with 2. I don't have time to hold her all the time (though, I'm sure many would say I hold her too much... I beg to differ - I wish I could hold her MORE). I remember obsessing about nap times with Cy. OMG, it's time to go from 2 naps to 1 nap. My mom: "Sariah, it's FINE, Cy will get it - you don't have to time his naps"... um, YES I DO, He might DIE if I don't" ;-) Now: Oh, she wants 2 naps... ok... thank goodness for the break. HA! See? Little things like writing down each time I nursed, counting how many dirty diapers the baby had in 24 hours, watching to make sure EVERY single food group was fed to them each day, covering the floors with blankets so they wouldn't get cold while crawling... yep, they just don't matter as much as they did with my first.
3. The little things annoy me SO much more than they did the first time. :-) Splashing in the tub. I would let Cy splash to his little heart's desire. Now that there's 2... um, you get a splashing war going and it's done. Your bathroom will be spotless and you will not need a shower at the end of the day. Eating with your fingers - so cute. Until you have 2 and they mimic each other. Oh dear - no!!! 4 hands to clean is just too much.
4. Every single child is different and unique. Lulu has taught me that above all else. This year has probably been the hardest year of my life so far. With reflux, sensitive sleeper, fussy all the time, and very needy - she's given me a run for my money. It's been hard but it's taught me that what worked with Cy - does not work with her. Great, now I have TWO kids to figure out. Seriously - WHERE are those owner manuals for each kid????? Anyone writing one for my kids yet? I'll pay you serious cash if so!
5. Sleep is overrated and will never come again. With Lulu still up every 3-4 hours (now it's teething - yikes) - I have come to terms with the fact that I will never again get a straight 5 hours of sleep a night... let alone 8 hours.
6. Through it all, your love for your child grows with each day that passes. Milestones are still so important. The term "my heart is melting" never made more sense than it did as I stood above my children, watching them kiss each other. WOW. The love, the affection. Each day - it grows. I love my sweet baby girl!
This journey that I am on as a mother. It's soooo hard. It's exhausting. There is a lack of appreciation, a lack of sleep, a lack of acknowledgement. But there is an abundance of love, overflowing sense of pride, and bubbling over joy that comes from my children. I am learning more and more every day. While that scares me, because I'm becoming my mom (YIKES!) and never thought I'd "understand" moms because they were all so psycho and crazy and had annoying, loud, dirty kids.... I do. I get it now and I am so thankful that I do. :-) **For those youngsters reading this, I know what you are thinking... and I can't wait to hear from you in 15 years to tell me that I, just as my mother is now, was RIGHT!
Lulu, I love you sweet angel. You are amazing and wonderful and your personality just gets me every time! Happy 1st birthday sweet baby!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
9 months Old
Lulu turned 9 months old a few days ago. 9 months. 3 months until she is 1 year old! What's even harder to swallow is that Cy will be 3 years old in 3 months as well. What's even HARDER to swallow is that I have 2 very important birthday parties to plan, budget for, and pull off just 9 days apart from each other. Yeah, that'll be fun! ;-)
Ok, back to Lulu and her absolutely adorable self!
Lulu
-You are now 20 1/2 pounds and almost 30 inches tall. You were in the 90th percentile for Height and 75th percentile for weight, with your head being in the 80th percentile. Big baby girl.
-You are in 12 month clothes and for one pieces or dresses, mostly 18 months because your torso is so long.
-You can say Dada, Mama, Bobo (the dog), and have now started making crazy little random sounds all the time. You are definitely a talker. Which is fun to listen to but also scares me for what my life will be in a year when I have 2 extremely verbal kids. Yikes! ;-)
-You love to smack your mouth when eating. It is absolutely one of the cutest things I have ever watched! I love to feed you, just so I can watch you smack afterwards :-)
-You are extremely independent already and mostly feed yourself now with tiny bits of whatever we are eating. I always told myself I wouldn't let my 2nd child advance faster than my first, but you are crazy and will refuse baby food unless you have some finger foods as well.
-You are sliding everywhere! It's not an army crawl, not a crawl and not a scoot. It's you using your back legs to push yourself across the floor. Down fall to this method of getting around - your front shirt is always getting dirty. Even when I sweep and clean the floors constantly, you are still picking up everything on your shirt.
-You are not a very good sleeper, which is saying a lot because Cy was a great sleeper. You will sleep from 7 pm until 6 am most mornings and just lay in your crib and chat until we get you. And you are still waking every 2 or 3 hours to nurse most nights. You also take an hour nap in the morning and an hour nap in the afternoons. When you take anything longer, I am the HAPPIEST mama on the planet! :-)
-You are learning very quickly that shrilling and crying will get you attention. Cy also knows to run away at this moment because he will, inevitably, be asked how he was involved with this said action.
-You have a FULL head of hair. The back hair is actually falling down your back down - it's crazy! I am loving your head of hair and love styling your hair whenever we have time to do so!
I think that's about it. I love your spunk. I love your adorable toothless smile and your hilarious attitude. While most of the time I cannot wait to see how your attitude develops, some of the time I am very scared to see because I already have one hard-headed child and having a 2nd would make for an interesting next 17 years ;-)
P.S. You are soooo a 2nd child, I have zero recent pictures of you on this computer - oops. I will upload some as soon as possible baby girl ;-)
Ok, back to Lulu and her absolutely adorable self!
Lulu
-You are now 20 1/2 pounds and almost 30 inches tall. You were in the 90th percentile for Height and 75th percentile for weight, with your head being in the 80th percentile. Big baby girl.
-You are in 12 month clothes and for one pieces or dresses, mostly 18 months because your torso is so long.
-You can say Dada, Mama, Bobo (the dog), and have now started making crazy little random sounds all the time. You are definitely a talker. Which is fun to listen to but also scares me for what my life will be in a year when I have 2 extremely verbal kids. Yikes! ;-)
-You love to smack your mouth when eating. It is absolutely one of the cutest things I have ever watched! I love to feed you, just so I can watch you smack afterwards :-)
-You are extremely independent already and mostly feed yourself now with tiny bits of whatever we are eating. I always told myself I wouldn't let my 2nd child advance faster than my first, but you are crazy and will refuse baby food unless you have some finger foods as well.
-You are sliding everywhere! It's not an army crawl, not a crawl and not a scoot. It's you using your back legs to push yourself across the floor. Down fall to this method of getting around - your front shirt is always getting dirty. Even when I sweep and clean the floors constantly, you are still picking up everything on your shirt.
-You are not a very good sleeper, which is saying a lot because Cy was a great sleeper. You will sleep from 7 pm until 6 am most mornings and just lay in your crib and chat until we get you. And you are still waking every 2 or 3 hours to nurse most nights. You also take an hour nap in the morning and an hour nap in the afternoons. When you take anything longer, I am the HAPPIEST mama on the planet! :-)
-You are learning very quickly that shrilling and crying will get you attention. Cy also knows to run away at this moment because he will, inevitably, be asked how he was involved with this said action.
-You have a FULL head of hair. The back hair is actually falling down your back down - it's crazy! I am loving your head of hair and love styling your hair whenever we have time to do so!
I think that's about it. I love your spunk. I love your adorable toothless smile and your hilarious attitude. While most of the time I cannot wait to see how your attitude develops, some of the time I am very scared to see because I already have one hard-headed child and having a 2nd would make for an interesting next 17 years ;-)
P.S. You are soooo a 2nd child, I have zero recent pictures of you on this computer - oops. I will upload some as soon as possible baby girl ;-)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Never judge a book by it's cover
A couple weeks back, at church, I am dragging myself in to the building. 2 kids in tow, alone, 9 am, and going off 2 hours of total sleep from the night before. I had contemplated skipping church and resting... but if we are to skip anything because of exhaustion, shouldn't it be play dates or errands? Cut things out to survive, yes... but church should not be one of them. Anyway, so I forced myself in and started chatting with a friend:
Friend: Good morning! How are you?
Me: Oh, I'm ok. Exhausted, Lulu was up all night, again :-)
Friend: Wow, well you don't look tired. You look good to me
Me: Ha, that's not what my body is yelling to me right now
I often get this response when I say I am exhausted. But I guess I carry exhaustion well... because no one believes me. This got me thinking of judging moms we see on a daily basis. Moms at the grocery store, moms at the gym, moms at church, single moms, married moms, newly separated moms, teenage moms, young moms, mature moms. We judge and then we compare. How does MY motherhood look compared to hers? How am I doing compared to her?
So, to show you that everyone has baggage. Everyone has trials. No one - NO ONE is perfect... I thought I'd let the pictures do the talking ;-)
So those are some examples. The pictures show smiles and happiness and maybe even a touch of perfection in the parenting area... but there was nothing perfect about them. But one thing. We love our kids. We do the best we can, every single day. We all parent differently, but we all love our children. That, my friend, is perfection. With God's grace in our failures and with a few tears, fake smiles, and wonderful photos - we make it through with amazing memories, wonderful experiences, and a grateful heart to God for blessing us with the chaos of children ;-)
Friend: Good morning! How are you?
Me: Oh, I'm ok. Exhausted, Lulu was up all night, again :-)
Friend: Wow, well you don't look tired. You look good to me
Me: Ha, that's not what my body is yelling to me right now
I often get this response when I say I am exhausted. But I guess I carry exhaustion well... because no one believes me. This got me thinking of judging moms we see on a daily basis. Moms at the grocery store, moms at the gym, moms at church, single moms, married moms, newly separated moms, teenage moms, young moms, mature moms. We judge and then we compare. How does MY motherhood look compared to hers? How am I doing compared to her?
So, to show you that everyone has baggage. Everyone has trials. No one - NO ONE is perfect... I thought I'd let the pictures do the talking ;-)
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| Family Vacation. Such a happy family - HA! DH is horribly ill and hardly got out of bed the entire weekend. Cy is without a nap for 2 days and crying constantly and Mama is just trying not to cry over a "failed" vacation. :-) |
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| CHRISTMAS time!!!! Look at those perfect smiles! Layla just finished running into the gifts and screaming. And Cy... well, the blanket is on his lap because he had no undies on... It was one of THOSE days ;-) |
 |
| All smiles at Dewberry Farm! But if you ask my friend, Whitney or Maria... it was NOT all smiles. Was probably one of the hardest days for me as a new mommy, juggling 2 kids in the heat, right before nap time. |
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| This one makes me laugh - New Years Day! What a great way to start the New Year - with family. At IHOP, where Cy proceeded to scream the ENTIRE meal, spilled his milk (see there in the FULL cup), didn't eat a bite, and we had a 3 year old from another table who kept leaning over and watching us eat... very annoying... yes, if you let your kid lean over and stare at others while eating - don't. We don't like it. Even if we have kids too. :-) |
Thursday, January 26, 2012
5 love languages
Today at MOPS, we talked about the 5 Love Languages. I have already heard about them and done them with Ash... though (don't tell him) I forget what his are (... ok, ok, no I don't really USE them... I blame the 2 kids, lack of sleep, and crazy holiday hours... for now... until another excuse comes up). Anyway, I snagged a few tests so I can be reminded of what his are again... but the speaker said something that really struck me! These can also be used on your children! Cy has been going through a very very very very very (enough "very" in there yet? no, I don't think so...) very very defiant stage right now and I have found myself yelling more and more each day. While patience is something I am working on :-D It's hard when you are going on so little sleep. But this hit home and made me want to show Cy the 5 love languages each and every day. I want to see what kind of change I see in him, if I just show him love. And hopefully through this, I can find out which ones are on the top of his "needs" and focus more on those.
1. Words of Affirmation (Encouragement, compliment the character)
*I did this tonight - thanked him for being a big brother and he was sooo sweet to Lulu for the next 2 seconds haha so perhaps doing this more would help
2. Physical Touch (Hugs, Holding hands, cuddling)
3. Acts of Service (Helping him...Now, I really don't think this is for me to say "Well, I made his dinner and presented him is meal - I am serving. I think of this as what HE wants help with. Talking to Pooh Bear or going out of my way to build a super awesome train rail)
4. Quality Time (An emotional connection... don't be doing something else. Give them 100% of your attention for even a few minutes) A friend of mine said that kids need 20 minutes of undivided attention a day from us. I am aiming for that. To put the phone down, Lulu in bed, and giving him 20 minutes. I am also going to give Lulu the same amount of attention
5. Receiving Gifts (Ya... they get enough from us... I'm gonna be ignoring this one - ha!)
I will be focusing on giving Cy each of these every day and praying for God's blessings on my efforts with my son. I feel like I am treading water here and would love to see some positive change in Cy soon. I encourage you to try as well to fulfill the childrens' Love Needs... oh, and if you want - feel free to put it in practice in your marriage or relationships too ;-)
1. Words of Affirmation (Encouragement, compliment the character)
*I did this tonight - thanked him for being a big brother and he was sooo sweet to Lulu for the next 2 seconds haha so perhaps doing this more would help
2. Physical Touch (Hugs, Holding hands, cuddling)
3. Acts of Service (Helping him...Now, I really don't think this is for me to say "Well, I made his dinner and presented him is meal - I am serving. I think of this as what HE wants help with. Talking to Pooh Bear or going out of my way to build a super awesome train rail)
4. Quality Time (An emotional connection... don't be doing something else. Give them 100% of your attention for even a few minutes) A friend of mine said that kids need 20 minutes of undivided attention a day from us. I am aiming for that. To put the phone down, Lulu in bed, and giving him 20 minutes. I am also going to give Lulu the same amount of attention
5. Receiving Gifts (Ya... they get enough from us... I'm gonna be ignoring this one - ha!)
I will be focusing on giving Cy each of these every day and praying for God's blessings on my efforts with my son. I feel like I am treading water here and would love to see some positive change in Cy soon. I encourage you to try as well to fulfill the childrens' Love Needs... oh, and if you want - feel free to put it in practice in your marriage or relationships too ;-)
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| My cup runneth over |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Cy... 30 months.... 30 things
Let's see if I can do this :-) I want to give 30 things about my sweet, crazy son for his 2 1/2 year old mark. I cannot believe that in 6 short months, he will be 3. Where has time gone??
1. You are 30 months old - or 2 1/2 because it irritates me when people go by months ;-)
2. You are about 40 inches tall and 40 pounds heavy
3. You are wearing 3T jeans and 4T shirts
4. You had a BLAST at Christmas - it was seriously the most fun I've had in a long time to watch you
5. You are still having a very hard time with bedtime... It's the most frustrating thing I have ever had to deal with
6. You don't have many friends but love the friends you have and we hope to make more this year
7. You love to read books! You can sit and read for hours!
8. Your vocabulary is insane. You talk all the time and can speak in full sentences (have been doing so for some time now)
9. I am noticing that you are starting to play WITH friends and not just side-by-side... very exciting stuff!
10. Having a baby sister has been a very very hard adjustment for you, you are extremely jealous and mommy has a hard time sharing time between you two
11. You love to drive around and often yell for me to "slow down" or "speed up" or "Red light - STOP mommy!"
12. You love Fire trucks and everything Fire trucks
13. You are obsessed with cars, construction trucks, and Macs (Semi's)
14. Cars, Toy Story 3, and Sesame Street are your favorite shows right now
15. You are getting more and more used to church and staying with you "friends"
16. You are a very good eater and will eat ANYTHING pretty much
17. You are full of life
18. Vibrant
19. Stubborn
20. Extremely loving
21. Rough
22. Sensitive
23. You sometimes dislike playgrounds... you would rather just walk outside, picking up leaves or sticks or running with friends than playing on a playground
24. You pretty much have the zoo memorized
25. Guacamole is one of your favorite foods
26. You asked mommy what that "Lady doing" the other day... it was a man... first gender confusion ;-)
27. You light up daddy's face! When daddy is stressed or upset, you can turn his mood around in a moment!
28. You have a million and one gestures... you shrug your shoulders, point commands, have facial expressions out the wazoo, have a very unique strut
29. You are the funniest little fella that mama has ever known ;-)
30. You are one loved little boy. Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever ever understand!!
1. You are 30 months old - or 2 1/2 because it irritates me when people go by months ;-)
2. You are about 40 inches tall and 40 pounds heavy
3. You are wearing 3T jeans and 4T shirts
4. You had a BLAST at Christmas - it was seriously the most fun I've had in a long time to watch you
5. You are still having a very hard time with bedtime... It's the most frustrating thing I have ever had to deal with
6. You don't have many friends but love the friends you have and we hope to make more this year
7. You love to read books! You can sit and read for hours!
8. Your vocabulary is insane. You talk all the time and can speak in full sentences (have been doing so for some time now)
9. I am noticing that you are starting to play WITH friends and not just side-by-side... very exciting stuff!
10. Having a baby sister has been a very very hard adjustment for you, you are extremely jealous and mommy has a hard time sharing time between you two
11. You love to drive around and often yell for me to "slow down" or "speed up" or "Red light - STOP mommy!"
12. You love Fire trucks and everything Fire trucks
13. You are obsessed with cars, construction trucks, and Macs (Semi's)
14. Cars, Toy Story 3, and Sesame Street are your favorite shows right now
15. You are getting more and more used to church and staying with you "friends"
16. You are a very good eater and will eat ANYTHING pretty much
17. You are full of life
18. Vibrant
19. Stubborn
20. Extremely loving
21. Rough
22. Sensitive
23. You sometimes dislike playgrounds... you would rather just walk outside, picking up leaves or sticks or running with friends than playing on a playground
24. You pretty much have the zoo memorized
25. Guacamole is one of your favorite foods
26. You asked mommy what that "Lady doing" the other day... it was a man... first gender confusion ;-)
27. You light up daddy's face! When daddy is stressed or upset, you can turn his mood around in a moment!
28. You have a million and one gestures... you shrug your shoulders, point commands, have facial expressions out the wazoo, have a very unique strut
29. You are the funniest little fella that mama has ever known ;-)
30. You are one loved little boy. Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever ever understand!!
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