Motherhood

Being a mom is exhausting, rewarding, life changing, challenging, and about a zillion other amazing things.Trying to keep up with a blog, prepare for family traveling to stay and meet your newborn, and starting a workout regime is nigh impossible. Which is where I'm currently living, right on the border of impossibilities and miracles.

Babies are demanding. Throughout all of the advice a pregnant woman receives before the baby arrives, it doesn't prepare you at all for what is to come. I could sit here and type away on the keys until my fingers fall off, but that's not why you're here, is it? No, that's not that this is about.

I wanted to take the time to talk with the mothers out there, the ones who haven't showered all week. The one's whose nipples are cracked and bleeding. The mother that formula feeds her baby, and is constantly being told that breast is best. The one who's losing sleep night after night because their little one is teething, going through a growth spurt, reverse cycling, colic-y, or just reusing to sleep more that forty minutes every three hours. The mother that has taken her family through many a drive thru all week long because she has no time or energy to make dinner.

You're doing a bang up job, and if anyone tells you otherwise, flash them a smile and shake their hand with yours covered in a mother's perfume (aka one or more of the following: poop, pee, spit up, snot, baby boogers, something sticky, you're not sure).

All too often, we're told what we should be doing and what is the best for our children. But when things are going the exact opposite as planned, it's harder than difficult. Then, because you don't have everything in absolute perfect condition, the judgment and criticism come rolling in. A lot of the time, it's comes from fellow women. And worse than other women, other mothers.

Why? Why is it okay to do that? Who gave you the right?

If we can all remember that at one point, we were all in shambles. We hoped the socks we put on were clean, we used dry shampoo for one too many days, we fed our kids peanut butter and jelly for all three meals, then maybe us moms wouldn't feel so judged and alone. We would know that there's no reason for us to be perfect, and it's okay that we have imperfections. In fact, it's what makes us who we are.

Show love to one another, and stop throwing so much shade at mother's who are at different levels of motherhood than you are. Being a mom is hard enough as it is, we don't need to fight each other. 

What Do You Meme?

2016 is coming to a close, and the year has been ruled by meme culture. Whether it's Harambe or the Obama-Biden memes, social media has blown up with these snapshots of 'humor.' There are some people who share on a constant basis the latest in the meme-o-sphere. Though sometimes funny, certain shared posts make the sharer appear unintelligent, even if they're well educated.

Yes, I'm talking about political memes.

Often racist, derogatory, slanderous text is strewn across a smiling portrait of someone in the political arena, these images do not help support what you believe. In fact, you portray yourself as a close-minded individual who is unwilling to tolerate or accept those with different ideals than you. Humor is subjective, and is not a valid justification for sharing hateful things NOT covered under freedom of speech like racial slurs and defamation.

Now, this doesn't mean you need to baby step around when posting on your own social media account(s). Becoming offended by every little thing has become the norm nowadays. But you do need to be conscious of what you're posting online. Just like you, others have a right to voice their opinion. Be prepared to have people disagree with what you're sharing or posting. That could be supporting your views, or it could be learning to ignore those people's comments. But they will come.

I've shared a few memes myself, tagged friends in posts, and even saved the really good ones to look back on on a rainy day. It's okay to enjoy a good meme! But just remember: we will never be able to overcome the mindset of racism, misogyny, rape culture, and white supremacy if we won't stop talking about it, making jokes on these issues acceptable, and if we aren't trying to actively change what is happening in society today.

Everyone can post what it is they like on their own social media accounts. Try and withhold yourself from lashing out at others when they share memes that meet the negative criteria of this post, or the negative criteria in your own moral standing. Instead, do something to change the way you would react and in turn, it could change how the people sharing these things conduct themselves online. Please, feel free to argue and defend your own views if they are being attacked. But don't utilize memes or two minute "news" videos to rely on when forming/supporting your opinions, do your research and use credible sources.

Let's change the direction social media has taken over the past few years, particularly 2016, and put our best foot (and best selves) forward.

Adventures in a Pumpkin Patch

As a former beach-side resident, the idea of going to a pumpkin patch seemed to be a right of passage for someone having moved to a state where the season actually change. With my husband in tow, I convinced him that every pregnant woman needs to go to a pumpkin patch in order to take cute pictures of their belly with a pumpkin.So, off we went.

If you've never gone to a pumpkin patch, you should most definitely go at least once in your life. Take lots of cheesy pictures too, you can never have too many cheesy pictures.

At this particular patch, there were playgrounds and a bouncy house for the kids. A tiny train-tractor combo was waiting by a sunflower field to drive children aged 10 and under up and down one of the rows, and the attraction's line looped through the parking area. across a huge open field, where the playgrounds and bouncy house were, there was a corral with two ponies and two horses. There, kids could ride around a real carousel. (As long as they had a helmet on, of course.)

Now, many of you might not know, but horses don't always smell nice. Not even the sunflowers across the way could help the smell. I'm not sure if my super-human pregnancy smelling powers were making everything worse, but I DO know one thing: the six pens of baby animals next to the corral wasn't helping.

You may be wondering where the pumpkin patch actually was in all this. In order to get there, you had to take a hay ride. Yes, a hay ride. Once out in the rows and rows and rows and rows of pumpkins, you got to pick out which pumpkin(s) you want. For me, it took quite some time to pick out a pumpkin for my husband and one for me. Thankfully, there was no time limit.

Before I had my husband take any pictures, I made sure to inspect every single pumpkin I came across to ensure the two I chose were the best ones out of the entire patch. (They were!)

Ladies and gentlemen, if you ask your husband or significant other to take pictures of you somewhere, please be sure to tell them exactly what you want them to snap pictures of. There's a good chance that they'll take some great candid shots of you.

My favorite part of the trip was watching my husband lug around two huge pumpkins, and eating a jumbo corn dog. This wasn't any ol' corn dog. Look at your arm, and bend it normally. From your elbow all the way to your wrist was the size of this thing. HUGE and covered in ketchup and yellow mustard. Deep-fried, salty goodness all conveniently skewered on a stick. The heavens opened and the angels sung; the corn dog was better than ambrosia.

Hopefully, if you haven't had the opportunity to go to a pumpkin patch, and you get the opportunity, jump on it. Don't be afraid to take the cheesy pictures or look like a tourist. It's about having fun and enjoying yourself. And if someone snaps a candid photo that might not be exactly what you're looking for, it might just turn out to be your favorite.

Photo by: Amber