Celebrating and Dreaming

Well we have had two speech therapy sessions, a birthday and lots of fun the last few weeks.
This week has been crazy busy with trips to the zoo, the farm, The Great Cloth Diapers Change, doctors appointments and just normal day errands. It was a great way for us to celebrate Earth day week. We decided we were going to take the kids to the zoo for Treyton's birthday but it was going to rain all day on that day so we went early. Both Avalynn and Treyton love to see and learn all about the animals and it was Earth day weekend so we got all kinds of goodies. We also took a little trip out to a new friends farm. I can not wait for the day that we have our own farm and are living out our dream in a very sustainable way. Our kids thrive on being out in nature and playing freely. Yesterday they were able to play with chickens and baby lambs and bossing baby goats around because they were being mean to the week old lamb. I love to watch them pure joy on their faces when they get to climb a pasture fence gate and run as fast as they can in the pasture. Climbing a fence gate is apparently easier then climbing anything at the park. Avalynn and Treyton were climbing with no fear at all and were completely free to do so. That kind of freeness is so refreshing.

Treyton turned two! It's hard to believe he is already two. My sweet hard headed little man is growing up way too fast. In just two therapy sessions we have already seen so many improvements in his talking. He now prolly says between 10-15 words. That is a huge jump from the not even 5 he was saying 2 weeks ago. It is so awesome to hear him actually use words. He still doesn't really like to use them all the time but that will change I'm sure. Treyton has also decided that he is too big for diapers. He really hates having to put one on the go to bed but I don't want to have to change sheets everyday so he wears it.

Avalynn is still doing preschool type things just not as structured as wee were being. The more I read and learn about "unschooling" the more I love it. We are basically letting Avalynn decide what she wants to learn and when. If she doesn't want to learn till she is 7 that's cool she doesn't have to learn till she is 7. She has already expressed that she want a sewing machine and hot glue gun for her birthday so she can learn how to make things. So come September my then 4yr old will be learning to sew and use a hot glue gun properly and safely. Avalynn loves to learn about animals but not from books she wants to see it and play with it. Yesterday she was chasing chickens trying to pick them up. She can point out which ones are roosters and hens and which ones lay different colored eggs. It's awesome how fast she has learned these things. So for us unschooling is how we are going to be learning.

Tony and I have started learning how to make soaps. It is very fun. However not as easy as we thought it was going to be. We are not giving up though. Tony is still loving coffee and making beer. He is getting really good at making beer and really enjoys it. He will also be heading out to camp pull a shot in June for a week. He is beyond excited about 30/30 giving him this opportunity. I'm still learning everything I can about breastfeeding/lactation process and childbirth. I'm also loving learning about sustainable living/homesteading. It's truly amazing how far our world has come from these practices and we as a family are wanting to get back to this simpler way of living. Simpler doesn't always mean easier or less work and that is what we are looking forward to.

Being a mommy

So many decisions to make when you're a mommy. From how to feed your baby to what kind of diapers to use to how you are going to educate your kids. Some are very small things but some are very very big. Being a mommy is very hard especially now in the "Pinterest age". Mommies are being tricked into believing that all moms are doing all these amazing crafts and making all kinds of yummy food everyday. I'm here to tell you that is definitely not the case. There are days at my house I can hardly keep up with making a PBJ and you know what that is perfectly fine. My kids aren't going to remember the spotlessly clean house and the crazy perfect crafts or the food that most of the time they don't/won't eat. My kids are going to remember me playing silly games and loving on them when I think I need to be doing something else "productive". My most important job is being mommy. My dishes and all the toys on the floor can wait. This lie that mommies are told that they have to be perfect at everything and do every little activity they have pinned on their craft board is making mommies have major "mommy guilt". Mommies don't buy into it! Remember you are the best mommy your kids could ask for. You mommy are what your kids want. Your attention and time is the most important thing to your kids. Yes all the other stuff can be fun but we shouldn't feel like we aren't having fun when we aren't doing huge art projects. Those simple moments are the most fun. The unprepared and impromptu activities are the memory makers. Find those simple memory makers and lets not stress about the rest.