Before I was a mom I used to say things like “my kid will never do that” or ” I would beat my child for that” (now, I would never REALLY beat a child it was simply a saying and I only mean to spank them, calm down)! I used to think that my kids would be so well behaved because well I do not honestly know why I thought that, but I did. I would see kids have a full blown melt down in the middle of a grocery store and think “nope, no way would I allow that”. Clearly I was naive!

Fast forward several years into my marriage and our first daughter is born. God laughed at me! I did everything I said I would never do. I held her while she slept. I “spoiled” her according to others. I put her in our bed once she no longer could sleep in the bassinet. We NEVER used her bed EVER. I realized spanking wasn’t so easy for me. I scolded her for doing wrong, but I was not a person who spanked. My first kid tried me, but was good enough as a toddler that I decided a second child was what we needed!

Fast forward to my second daughter being born. I now had 2 kids in my bed & once again was eating all my words from before motherhood! Once my second child became a toddler I ate even more words. Those fits my first child never threw I got to experience first hand by my second child. She was born spunky and full of all the energy! Now that she is a little older I experience an attitude I have never known. She has come backs fit for a teenager and she is only 3! The sass is strong! She is as headstrong as ever and she never backs down, ever.

I tell you this to tell you that pre-mom you had no idea what you would do as a mom. You can think about it and imagine it and even plan it out, but no matter what your plan is you have to be prepared for it to be different. Pre-mom me judged other mothers for how they raised their children. I am not proud of that but it is the truth. Post-mom me knows to never judge another mother. All good moms who are trying their hardest do not deserve our harsh judgement. Especially judgement from someone who has never been in her shoes. Pre-mom me would never have offered to help a mom out who looked as if she needed a small break. Post-mom me can see when a mom is in need of a breather and I always offer to give them a break. I am a mom and I know what it is like to need 5 mins alone. Alone time is nonexistent sometimes for us moms and if u can give a mom that time then offer! Rather than judging her for needing time alone. Moms are just humans who are trying to raise other tiny humans. It is a hard yet rewarding job, but that does not mean we deserve your judgement.

If post-mom me could tell pre-mom me anything it would be that I needed to be less judgemental of moms. Moms come in all shapes and sizes. We are all different. We all parent different. Some of us work full time jobs, some work multiple full time jobs, some work part time jobs, and some stay at home. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter where or how you work. It doesn’t matter if u choose to spank or not spank. It doesn’t matter if you co-sleep or let them cry it out. If you are a loving mom who treats your children well then your doing a great job. Raising kids is hard and moms need your respect not judgement. We are not all going to do it the same anyway! That is what makes the world so diverse. If we were all raised the same the world would be so boring! If you are in the pre-kids stage of your life just know that you will no doubt eat your words and that is okay! We all do it, but I hope once you read this you will choose to not judge a mom you see struggling! I hope you will choose to help instead.

Moms have to stick together and I hope the moms reading this know that I have your back and I think your doing a kick ass job!

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.”

Elizabeth Foley

I have had the same best friend since I was 5. We were inseparable until high school when we both found new crowds to spend time with. This didn’t change things except how much time we spent together and talked. We still loved each other dearly, but we had other things going on separately. One day I got a call that rocked my entire world. She had been in a terrible accident and they couldn’t tell me if she would make it until the next day! I dropped everything and went straight to her side. We had not talked in a while at this point, but I was not going to let her go through it alone! Her recovery was long, but she was a champ. When I visited it was like nothing had ever changed. We were the same two 5yr old girls who had been friends forever! That was when I realized that just because we were growing individually didn’t mean she and I were any different together.

Through the years we have talked each other through many things. We have cried & laughed. We have witnessed each others weddings & she was there when I was expecting my girls. We still don’t talk everyday. Sometimes we don’t even talk every week, but I know that when I call she is there. I know if I need her to drop everything she is doing and come to me she will. I pray she knows the same!

Husbands, kids, and distance could never change the fact that she is my best friend! When I have a dilemma sometimes she is the only voice of reason. She is the only person who knows all of my secrets & I never fear anyone else will. She is loyal through and through! Everyone should have a best friend just like her!

Find a friend who is loyal. Who will have your back even when your wrong. Find one who will drop everything just to come help you. The one who gives you the advice no one else can give because you would never talk to anyone else about the same things! Find one that u can tell all your secrets too and be confident she will take them to her grave. Find one who buys things just to come see you for a few mins at work so you can talk! Find one who knows you have a family at home and are so so busy but doesn’t get mad when she doesn’t hear from you in weeks! Find the one that you can pick up with just like it hasn’t been a month since you have talked. Find you a friend like mine. Everyone should have one ❤

Before I was a mom I hated getting up in the mornings. I stayed up really late and I just was not feeling it most mornings. I hated for anyone to talk to me until around noon! I would sleep until I absolutely had to get up or i was going to be late to school/work & then I would rush and rush until I had thrown myself together enough to leave the house. It was a routine I had for years!!

Fast forward 29years.. Post kids me loves the mornings. Coffee, snuggles, morning talks & all of us girls getting ready together (I’m sure that last one will be a problem in a couple years) makes mornings so much better now! Now, I love to wake up to those Good Morning smiles & bedhead. I look forward to these things, but even now there are parts I hate.

Once everyone is dressed & all the coffee has been drank the fun ends. Its backpacks, shoes, do you have everything and out the door! Then we drive the little back roads all the way to school. Some mornings the girls have nothing to say in the car and some mornings its constant conversation. Some mornings it’s a 90s dance party and some it’s silence! 12 mins after we started the journey I pull into the parking lot and watch my heart climb out of my minivan and walk like a big girl into her little school.

Before I was a mom the thought of dropping my child off at school didn’t phase me. Now that I have to do it 5 days a week I wish I could go back and tell 20yr old me that this is a real thing & it sucks! Do not get me wrong I am thankful for her school. It is a great place and I love that she goes there, but that does not make dropping her off and leaving easy. It’s hard. You think those newborn nighttime feedings are hard, but they don’t touch watching your heart walk into a school alone while u drive away for the day!

If I could go back and tell pre-mom me anything about motherhood it would be to not worry about spoiling them by holding them. It would be to enjoy those nighttime feedings. I would tell me to not put my children into school before they are required to go and enjoy the time I have with them more. They grow up and before you know it they are dragging their backpack into the school while never looking back.

I am so proud of the almost 7yr old she is today. She is smart, funny, sassy, beautiful and sweet. I know that while she is inside that school building she is rocking it, but while she is rocking it I am stressing. I know I am not alone. As I am driving away a million terrible scenarios are pounding in my head. While she is already sitting with her friends having breakfast I am debating if I could homeschool or not. I can’t be the only one, right?! Having a child going to school takes parenthood to a whole new level. You suddenly have new fears.

We have to let them grow and learn. We want the best for them, but it’s hard! If your reading this and feel the same way today just know that your not alone. It’s hard on all of us mamas! Coffee & prayers might be all that pull us through after 7am Monday- Friday. So tomorrow when u watch your heart walk into school know that another mom (I’m that mom) is feeling your same pain and im praying for you!

Living in a small town I learned a long time ago that people like to talk. They will talk about anyone and anything just to have something to talk about. They also do it to keep from having to face their own issues. This is something that I have never been able to just let roll off my back. What most people don’t know about me is that I am really insecure. Knowing someone is talking about me in a negative way really works on those feelings. It’s the human in me I guess you could say.

The funny part about the small town talk is most of the time it isn’t even the correct information to begin with. People know about things in your life before you even know (because they never happened)! What makes this okay? I will never know!!

It has taken me 29years to learn that what those people are saying doesn’t matter. It matters to them because they need conversation pieces, but it doesn’t matter to me. Does it hurt to hear you were the topic of the conversation?! Of course it does! No one wants to think that a big group of people were standing around bad mouthing you and you didn’t have the chance to stick up for yourself! What I have learned is that those people are bored.. Those people need someone else to talk about so they don’t have to talk about their own problems. They make themselves feel better and look better by dragging others down. Is it right? No! Will it ever stop? No!

If someone needs someone to talk about to keep from facing their own issues then so be it. Talk. Make up all the things and spread them like wildfire, but know that in the end it wont make you feel better. You still have your own issues you need to face. They won’t go away just because you are dragging someone else’s name through the mud.

Something else those people should know is that just because you “heard” something doesn’t make it accurate information… why is it that as humans we like to gossip? We need something better to do with our time! Seriously yall, why are we so mean as humans?! I would love to live in a world where this kind of thing didn’t exist but that will never happen. In the meantime I will pray for you! I pray that your conversations are dull & no one cares what you say. I pray that you find something better to do with your time than what your doing now! I pray that you grow up eventually! I pray that you change..

After 29 years I can finally say that I am glad I can be a topic of someone’s conversations. If someone thinks I’m important enough to talk about when I’m not there then I’m flattered. Besides, all those other people need a break so I’m happy to have a turn! Just remember, you don’t know the truth about anything unless you are directly involved. Lies will get you no where in life, and I’m sure your mama taught you better!

I pray that Matt and I can teach our girls that this is not the kind of behavior anyone should want to partake in.. I pray we can show them that being kind is the better way. I pray we can teach them right from wrong, but above all else I pray I can teach them to not give a damn what anyone else thinks about them or has to say!

If your dealing with this kinda thing then hold your head high. You are the only one who knows the truth so hold on to that. Be you and be proud of that! If your the one sitting around talking about others then shame on you. You know better! Your better than the lies you believe to be truths. Your better than the gossip. Face your issues without bringing anyone else down with you! Most importantly GROW UP!

My 3yr old (almost 4) currently has a nasty carpet burn on her nose and lip. In the brain of a child it seemed like a good idea to stage dive off the ottoman but she forgot to make sure she had groupies to catch her!! This fall resulted in alot of blood and some nasty looking scrapes, but it also brought up an interesting conversation between her and my mother-in-law the next day. They were sitting there eating their breakfast when she asked my mother-in-law could she teach her how to fall and catch herself.. when my mother-in-law told me this I was baffled. What does she mean she doesnt know how to catch herself??

You see this is my child who is WILD on a completely different level than my oldest child. She must pull all the energy God gives me directly out of my body! She also sees no danger and has no fear. This usually results in those injuries that require a bandaid and a kiss! It never crossed my mind that as a mother I would need to teach this child how to catch herself when she fell. She believed someone would always catch her when she falls and her little heart was broken because no one caught her when she dove off the couch into the floor! Naturally my heart broke when my mother-in-law relayed this information to me. I have failed my child ….

I thought about it long and hard once I asked how she handled it. She told me she demonstrated how to fall with your hands in front of you. The clinical approach that the child was probably looking for I am sure and that approached placated her for now. As her mother I wanted to make sure I discussed this with her and eventually I will. It got me thinking about my parenting approach…

We all have a different approach to parenting, and I think that is great! We are all different people so naturally we won’t all see things the same way. My way is more like those mama birds who kick their young babies out of the nest and pray they fly! This realization made me see that this is exactly why she doesn’t know how to catch herself when she falls! This approach works really well on my oldest child but not this child. She needs more guidance and love. She requires more attention and patience. Parenting her is like starting over with a whole new strategy because she is her own ballgame!

It made me realize that no two children are the same just like no two mothers are the same! Each one of my children require my attention in very different ways. It was an eye opener for me because all of this time I have tried to parent her just like i did her older sister, and that will not work for her! Today my 3yr old taught me the lesson.

We all fall at different speeds and sometimes we forget how to catch ourselves. Some of us naturally catch ourselves and run with it. Some of us face plant and come out with very nasty cuts and bruises. It’s okay for your kids to be different. It’s okay for you to parent them differently and not feel guilty about it.

Motherhood is hard. Some days I face plant and some days I grow as a mom. Today, thanks to my 3yr old, I am growing as a mom. If you are reading this and having a face plant kinda day take a minute to step back and think for a second. Know that your doing a great job because your trying! Your kicking motherhood’s ass and doing a darn good job at it. Maybe you just need to sit down and let your children teach you a lesson to get back on track! It appears no matter how old we are or how many children we may have we still have lessons to learn!

Hey all!!

First, Thanks for joining me.. I am so excited to FINALLY be starting my blog! I have talked about it since the moment I gave birth almost 7years ago. Something about motherhood seems to bring out the hilarious stories & the unforgettable memories that every mom should be writting about!

Second, let me tell you about me.. I am 29yrs old and live in a really small town in Tennessee. I was born and raised here and this is where I met my husband of 9years when I was in high school. We were high school sweethearts from our freshmen year on. Not without trials and tribulations, but more on that another time! Together we made the most beautiful two little girls I ever have seen!

Lastly, I look forward to giving you all something to read every now and again. I do not promise to always be politically correct or have the same opinion as every other mom in the world but I promise to give u honesty and love!!

Talk to you soon!!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton