Grounded Big B means no fun for me!

   The last three weeks with Big B have been difficult. What I am about to blog about I am sure is normal and everyone has been through it, however it is my first time and I am frustrated. He is 5 1/2 and 95% of the time he is a great kid. Well mannered, very thoughtful and typically if I ask him to do something he is pretty quick to get on to it, but not lately. If I say stop, he goes, if I say up, he goes down. It seems like out right defiance. Everyone says this is normal, that he is just pushing boundaries, but I don't like it.
   This week at school they had a field trip to Disney on Ice. He disobeyed his teacher, aggravated his fellow classmates and was the ring leader in a bathroom incident that out right defied what the teacher had asked him to do. This was the third field trip in four months that he was horrible! At school he will not stay on his cot at nap time, bothering his classmates and in one incident chipping paint off the wall.
   Daddy and I have discussed many different methods of how to handle the situation. Grounding him from his ipod, wii and playstation first. This only affected him about a day. Taking away toys and playdates. Still no reaction. This week he was grounded from all electronics for 2 days and he had to miss Eggstravaganza at church. I was so disappointed! I really wanted to attend this event, but we couldn't go because he was grounded. I want to scream "I did my time already, now I'm grown, why do I not get to have fun because he was bad?", but I know at the end of the day its the right thing to do. We must stand united as parents in disciplining our children and although I was really disappointed I didn't get to go, it made a bigger statement to Big B that what mommy and daddy say, goes.
   Of course he will not see the light at 5 1/2 because he didn't get to go to Eggstravaganza, and probably won't remember that this event even occurred in a few days, however the short term impact is just as important. Today we were all sad because we had to miss this event, but we are one step closer to insuring that our son learns that there are consequences for his actions. Being a mom with it all is hard work, but worth it, even when I have to miss out!

A Stormy Night and God

    Thursday night we had storms come through Arkansas. They were very intense creating straight line winds and tornados. Ultimately, in Arkansas, 3 children and 4 adults perished. In two of the cases the children perished with a parent.  The parent had gone to comfort them through the storm and a tree fell on their house. I wonder if those people knew Jesus and where prepared to be called home.

    I mention this above because on April 10, 2011 my husband and I dedicated our children. We are Assembly of God and attend the most wonderful church. As a member of the Assemblies of God we do not baptize our children, we dedicate them. Dedicating a child acknowledges God's sovereignty not only over the child, but also Mom and Dad. Parents present their child before God and His people asking for grace and wisdom in carrying out their responsibilities. Parents also come praying that their child might one day trust Jesus Christ as Savior for the forgiveness of sin.

    Big B is 5 1/2 and I often wonder if he understands what church is all about. Why we are there and what it means to worship God. After the storms had passed, we all laid in our bed and he told us that God never sleeps, he was causing the storms, and because he never sleeps he is always protecting us. He then asked daddy to pray for us. Daddy prayed, thanking God that he had protected us and kept us safe during the storm. I was taken aback at first that of all going on in the moment, that was what he was thinking, and then I was extremely proud. He is so little, yet he is so aware and I love the way he absorbs, and process the things he learns.

    I have an amazing life, an amazing family, and an amazing church family. They are helping my husband and I teach our children about God, and without all of them, it would be difficult to insure that the promise we made to God on April 10th can be fulfilled.

Baby Feet to Soccer Feet

   As I sat with my 8 week old baby girl tonight watching my 5 1/2 year old baby boy play soccer I couldn't help to be a little sadden at how fast he has grown. I know the word on the street is "they grow so fast" but you do not truly understand what it means until you are there.
   I feel like I have been through so much to get my babies... they were both fertility babies as I explained in my last post. When I was pregnant with Big B I developed preeclampsia. I was very sick and they took him via c section at 36 weeks. He weighed 4 lb 14oz. He struggled with everything in the beginning and had to be sent to Arkansas Children's Hospital after developing a pneumothorax. I didn't get to hold him until he was 7 days old. He came home at three weeks old, my little miracle baby, and although he had some lingering effects of being premature, he flourished! He was so tiny, loved to observe everything and loved to be held. I miss those days. Now he is running around a soccer field and I often hear "I can do it myself mom"! He is so big, yet still so small. I want to protect him from everything!
   Like all moms I have fears. My two biggest fears is that he will be taken or he will choke on something. I am not sure why those are my worst. I do know that I freak out when his bites are too big and tend to try and cut them up... I am now being told "I am a big boy and corn dogs come on a stick for a reason, quit cutting them please".. at least he is polite about it, and I guess he does have a point. I do not allow my children to have hard candy, at all and I don't like him chewing ice, although thats a hard one, especially when I hand him a drink from sonic while I am driving. I have to trust at some point that I have taught him well and he will be careful. He is 5 1/2 but still my baby.
  I love my children, I love my life. Is it perfect, not hardly. I hope this blog finds other mothers and wives out there that understand how I feel at the end of the day when I am angry the hubby hasn't picked up his dirty clothes or helped put the kids to bed.. or the kids won't stay in bed after being put there... My shirt smells of formula from spit up and I smell because I forgot to take a shower because there just wasn't time... but ultimately as I lay my head down at night I feel very blessed to be a Mom With It All!

A look Back...

  In order for me to blog about my life today, I need to give you a quick look back on my life then. My husband and I met almost 10 years ago on Match.com. Yes it works! and now they should give me a royalty for mentioning that! He is 9 years older, however you would never know it.. I had endometriosis really bad and two years in to our relationship I was told if I wanted kids I needed to start trying now. Two years later, months and months of fertility drugs, 2 failed rounds of IUI and a successful round, we found out we were expecting Big B so we decided to get married. That was May 14, 2005. Big B was born November 15, 2005. He was born 1 year to the day after Daddy D's dad passed away as well as this is my mothers birthday. It was a great day.

While I was pregnant we moved from Fayetteville, where I had graduated from the U of A (on my wedding day; walked that morning got married that night) to North Little Rock where Daddy D is from. All of our family lives in central Arkansas so it seemed like the right next move. We have been here ever since and I am glad we made the decision. 

  The endometriosis continued to get worse. I had three laparoscopies to try and relieve some of the pain, but nothing helped. In April, 2010 I had an abnormal pap smear. It turned out to not be anything to worry about, however my Dr. strongly suggested I have a hysterectomy, I was 30 years old. I called my husband that day and told him I did not want a hysterectomy without trying for another baby first. We immediately went to the fertility clinic and within the month we were pregnant! It was a miracle.. Success on the first IUI round this time! Baby J was born February 11, 2011. I now have the All American family, a boy and a girl, with a great husband.

  Now know that there are a lot of details left out that I plan on incorporating in future blogs. A little glimpse into the past to make the future make sense. Plus, there are a lot of details and I would run out of my character allotment!

  Until the next post, I am very blessed to be a Mom With It All! Good Night!

Hello World!

Hello World!
  My name is Jay and I am new to this whole blogging thing, but have read blogs that my friends have started and found not only how interesting they are but how theraputic they seem to be for them, so thought I would give it a whirl. I am a work at home mom of a 7 week old baby girl, Baby J, and a 5 1/2 year old boy, Big B, and a wife to Daddy D. My days consist of balancing motherhood with career. I can honestly say I am a mom with it all!
  Just because I  feel like I am a mom with it all doesn't mean life is easy or I don't want for things. My definition of all and yours may be polar opposite. I am not rich or famous. I am not tall or skinny. I am average in many many ways... but at the end of the day there are two people who think I am awesome and love me unconditionally, Baby J and Big B, and that makes me a Mom With It All!
  I hope you follow me on my journey as I blog about the good, the bad and the ugly of my life. I look forward to your  comments and getting to know you!