True Love...

Today on my Facebook, my sister inlaw posted a song with a video that was about being a Mom.  It started out asking "If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing before your first child was born what would it be?"  Then it has several Mom's holding signs they wrote with their answers on it. 

They were all good answers some were..."Imperfect is the new perfect", "Be brave", "Take time to fit back into your jeans" ( I did not do that!!), "Real men change diapers", "Take time for yourself", "Your Mom was RIGHT!" (you were too MOM!), "Your going to make mistakes" these are all very good and true.

Then there were a couple I didn't really understand like..."You can live with out sleep" (no I can't, anyone who knows me would agree with that.  I NEED my sleep!!!  That would be why at 2 weeks Ryan was on cereal and sleeping through the night!!)  The other one that I didn't understand was "Take time to fall in love with your Baby".  I loved both children long before they were born.  I remember being pregnant for Ryan and his little bum sticking out and rubbing it.  After he was born for the first year rubbing his bum was a sure way to get him to sleep! (I'm sure he will appreciate me writing that!)  And when I was pregnant for Zac his feet were always sticking out my side and I loved tickling them.  I loved both boys from the time I knew I was pregnant.

Which leads me to the one I thought was so very true..."Get ready to know what true love really is!"  Chris and I had been together almost 3 years before Ryan was born and if in those 3 years if you would have ask me if I knew what true love was I would have answered "Yes, that is what we have".  I would have been wrong because on October 11, 1991 at 10:07 pm I finally knew what True Love was.  It happened twice that night.  First was when I seen Chris' face as he looked at Ryan for the first time, tears in his eyes, describing him to me before I seen him and the second time was when Chris placed Ryan in my arms. 

I have been lucky enough to have know that feeling several more times.  Again on September 9th, 1994, at 2:20 pm when our second son, Zac was born.  And the lastest time was November 24, 2010 at 1:10 pm that is the day Cayden was born and on that day I felt true love on 3 levels...for Cayden, for Ryan all over again because I could see that he knew finally knew what true love was and for Chris all over again because he had that same look on his face as he looked at Cayden for the first time that he did when our boys were born.

PS Ryan and Bay...there was another sign that I liked to it said "Let Grandparents spoil the kids!"  I agree with that one also :)

3 AM Cuddles & Smiles...

Who would have ever thought that I would enjoy getting up a 3 AM?  Now don't get me wrong, I know I would not enjoy it if I was doing it every night, but the one night a week I do it, is great! 
One night a week we try to take Cayden for the night so that the kids can relax, Bailey can work on her school work and they (well Bay) can get a full nights sleep!  Cayden isn't sleeping through the night yet so he usually gets up around 3 or 4 am for a feeding.  His crib is in my room and he cracks me up when he wakes up!
First, he starts stirring and then he starts talking to himself.  When I get up and go over to get him, he is all smiles...I put him over on the bed to change him and he still smiling!  I get his bottle and cheat alittle because he then gets in bed with Nannie for the rest of the night so we can cuddle! (which I never did with my own boys, just another one of those perks of being the Grandmother!)
He looks up at you with these eyes and a big smile as much to say "I love you, Nannie" and it melts my heart!
I remember the boys waking up for feedings but I don't remember enjoying them that much :)  I guess it's true what my Mom said Grandkids are better then your own!  I never really understood why or how she could say that...after all she tells me almost daily that I was a perfect child...of course there are others who would disagree :)  But now I understand what she meant...when the boys were little there was always so much to do, housework, laundry, groceries, work, getting them to hockey, baseball, friends houses, etc. and sometimes as parents we forget to enjoy the little things!  But with Grandchildren we are older and smarter and I have realized that our job with them is to love them and enjoy every minute with them.  Because as I've gotten older and smarter I have also realized that those dishes and that laundry will still be there tomorrow...but he is only this age for a very short time and I'm going to enjoy those cuddles and smiles :)

The Best Years...

I remember when the boys were little and thinking "Oh things will be so much easier when you can walk, or tell me why your crying!"  Then they do and you wish they were babies again.  Then they go to school, your working all day, come home and get supper and then spend your evening helping with homework and before you know it, it's bed time and you haven't had anytime for yourself or got housework done!  And you think "Oh I wish you could do more stuff for yourself!"  Then they do and you wish they needed you more!  I think at every stage the boys have gone through I wished them to the next stage in their life and once they got there I wished them back until now.

Today, I had a great day, Zac and I picked Ryan, Bailey and Cayden, they had some running around to do and we needed to pick up a dresser for Cayden.  We all went for lunch and as we sat there talking and laughing (so hard at times we were crying).  I thought to myself, "Look at these great young men!"  They are funny, thoughtful, kind and so much fun to be around.  I like these guys, I mean of course I love them, I love them more then anything in the world, but I really and truly LIKE these guys.  They are people I consider friends.  We still have a Mom and Son relationship but I think for the first time we also have a friendship. 

I'm not sure why it just hit me today or why I'm so shocked.  I consider my Mom to be one of my closest friends!   So maybe that is the way with all parents and children when they get older.  And I'm sure if you asked the boys if they considered me one of their friends they would say "No, she just Mom!" and that's ok too!

I guess my point is that I have enjoyed every stage of life my boys have gone through so far, yes even the terrible 2's and the teenage years (one is still in that stage) but I can honestly say that this time in their lives is my favorite by far!  I'm not wishing them to the next stage and I don't wish them back a younger stage, I hope this is where we stay forever!

I honestly think these are the BEST YEARS!!!

Out Of My Comfort Zone

I've decided to start doing this blog because someone I admire very much does this and I enjoy reading hers everytime she puts one on.  She is so comfortable telling her feelings and her thoughts...she just lays it all out there, she is comfortable with who she is and is one of the strongest people I know.  So in my effort to step out of my comfort zone, I'm going to give this a try!  I'm not saying that everyone will find my blogs interesting, maybe no one will but I'm going to give it a try.
For me I think it will be hard to share things because I don't share my deepest thoughts, feelings and worries with anyone.  I share somethings with some people but they are selected, carefully thought out things!  With this I hope to be able to grow as a person and become a better person. 
So somethings I hope you will find funny and others I hope you can relate too.