what momma writes

lesson learned. I was so worried about stella wearing her patch and keeping it on and well, she's kind of obsessed with it. the first day was rough and she tore off two in a row, but I wore one the whole time allotted and we watched Frozen together. *NOTE momma doesn't watch TV with the little person much. I hate cartoons, but I do like Frozen and my child's eyes are worth it haha. I texted my mom saying something dramatic about her taking it off and she came over with her brilliant idea. basically, my mom is awesome. she's resourceful and creative. she came up with the ultimate Patch Bag! What is the Patch Bag you ask? in short: a bag of junk. stella loooooves trinkets and knick-knacks so this was pretty much the perfect fit for her. (this could be modified to the likings of other children of course). my mom filled this bag with random shit. old key chains, bunny statue, bouncy ball, rosary, 3 magnetic marbles, and honestly I don't even remember what's i...

dear stella, you've now been alive with us for two whole years. it seems like longer, and yet not that long at all. you seem so old, and yet not that old at all. i guess that's the beauty in each stage. i'm embracing your two-year-old self. screw the terrible two stereotype.  your language has taken off to a whole new level. you are doing a ton of short sentences and you let us know exactly what is on your mind. some of your latest phrases include: "see ya. bye bye" as you put on a bag or purse and head towards the door. "hold ya" when you want to be held "i'll show ya" "no way. no way" "sorry, _____ " insert animal name "how are ya?" "good morning" "i luff youf, _____ " insert stuffed animal name "mmmmm. good. good. eating. mmmm" "i dont fink so" "fix it" "ahhhh steam roooooll" - steam roll goldie. "mahhhhhhhh....

today is just good. i made no real plans. it went something like this wake up after some good sleep. finally. morning playfulness. i let bird watch 30 minutes of thomas the train while i got myself together (what a treat!) headed out to a coffee shop.      split a morning glory muffin and banana and i had such a yummy coffee beverage.      walked to the park; swinging, playing, running, sliding, tree hugging occurred. bird had some quiet alone time play. emptied the dishwasher & watered the plants together. moma and bird read her letter cards and some books. snuggled on the rocker for 10 minutes into napland. it's nothing spectacular and i know every day can't be like this, but it's made me a happy human today. only thing missing is daddy.

i posted this picture on my fb page and it caused some discussion. i like discussion. sometimes i'm not the best fb "discusser" but over all i like when things strike a cord in people drawing to a conversation. i didn't reply on fb bc i didn't find the time to gather my thoughts, but here goes... keep in mind these are my thoughts and conclusions. i'm no expert, but i'm only my own expert as i do my own research. i used to think homeschooling was weird. as a catholic school girl 1st-12th grade and growing up the only homeschoolers we knew of were through our church. the mom had long hair past her butt and swayed to the hymns with her hands held high and she had 6 or so kids (also not the norm). while this was deemed weird in my book at the time, i look at it now and think "sway away" to each their own. and kudos to them for going against the grain. today my views are changed, just like a large portion of what i believed growing up. that...

dear stellaluna, you are just short of 21 months. it's eery, amazing and wonderful that i have an almost two year old. you continue to amaze me daily. i've stopped paying attention to silly milestones because honestly i don't know what they are at this age, but you seem to be developing just fine in all aspects so there's that. i stopped counting your words since your vocabulary sky rocketed on vacation. well, let's be honest, i stopped counting before that, but after vacation there was a huge jump! you repeat everything; words you already know, words you don't know. i think it's safe to say you are a talker. when we read books, you now say the objects in the books and know what words you want to hear. it's your own way of reading i suppose and it makes me melt. somehow we've been lucky enough to have you miss all the curse words to repeat. i keep saying, it's only a matter of time bc i have a slight issue with a potty mouth. perhaps it will ...

this post is a little silly, but it got me thinking. over the weekend, bird and I attended a 4 year old birthday party. like most birthday parties or gatherings we attend, bird beats to her own rhythm and bops around curiously exploring her new environment. getting her hands (and feet and at times mouth) all over whatever she can... at some point she will find her level of comfort and level of exploration satisfaction and find interest in the big dogs (aka older children). after things calmed down, I let stella in the birthday party bounce house with 3 other children (one being the birthday girl) who were old enough to know to be gentle with her in there. (I have to admit, bounce houses make me nervous with such a little thing, but go figure she loved it running back and forth saying "bouncy bouncy bouncy" like tigger). these same 3 girls ended up inside shortly after and I happened to be changing bird's diaper. bird proceeded to repeat all their names and the bir...

dear little piece of skin, i know why you are there and why you hang out. literally hang out. i try to love you and embrace you, but you are just so there. all the friggin time. and everyone tells me not to like you. and to get rid of you. you are weak in physical form, but there is great strength from where you came from. you are the aftermath of the greatest gift. you are the constant reminder of the gift of motherhood and the gift of imperfection that is myself. some days you irritate me more than others. most of them are the days i see post partum moms strutting their best, oh so soon after birth. it's when i compare i start to hate you. and in turn, hate on me. i hide you well and i will likely continue to hide you. i just want to keep hating you less and less until one day i'll decide to just accept... ...and accept that the moms strutting their stuff probably are just hiding you too.

Holy moly, stella! You are 18 months old! I’m so totally a broken record when I say I can’t believe it, but when I look at you, truth is, sometimes I can’t. Such a little being, putting us in our place! Your dada and I were driving with you and he looked back and said, “you look like a little girl back there in your seat. No more baby – you are a little girl!” and you are – more and more each and every day you sponge something up. I know this isn't unique to me and by child number two it may not that exciting but I’m impressed on a daily basis of her words and how much she understands. The human brain, and the little mini person human brain is incredible. It’s so interesting to me watching hers expand and soak in so much. [If you care to hear about how Stella is probably like most 18 month olds please read on. Having never had an 18 month old before it’s exciting for me to document!] VOCABULARY: You are wordier by the day. I know I am going to miss a...

i'm not sure what to think of mother's day after becoming a mom. i know that sounds sorta oxy-moronic, but honestly shouldn't we be thanking our mother's and those that do motherly things for us more than just one day? last year i did a big old brunch with both sides of the family. while that was fun, it was at the same time stupid. why did i host something for all the mom's when all the women ended up doing all the work? doesn't that defeat the purpose of moma's day? isn't this day supposed to be a thank you and a break? lesson learned. don't host mother's day - you end up more tired than you started.  this year, i tried to go in with no expectations, but on the same token i can't deny the fact that i want to be appreciated for the things that i do for my familia. luckily my mister knows that i cringe over materialistic gifts and appreciate thanksgiving and action. (although sometimes we have to remind each other. that's marriage, tho...