J'z Place

Archive for the ‘Motherhood’ Category

This weekend has been full of family time and my daughter and I had a great time. It started on Friday which was my mom's birthday. Since Saturday morning was the car show early, all of us helped to get the car ready. Even the grandkids! It was really cool to see all of us cleaning the car together. Since all of us have pretty busy schedules it's hard for us to get together all at the same time.

We got to the 1st Annual Emerald Downs Car Show at about 8am. There were over 130 cars and lots of variety. The best of show went to 1954 Corvette that was all original, a beautiful car!

Here is my nephew Matt Werner-Hagerty and his friend in front of mom and dad's 55 Chev. Matt is a Jockey at Emerald Downs. So after the car show it was on to the races. Matt rode and Won the feature race…Gooo Matt!

This was one great weekend that we will not forget! What an awesome weekend of SUNSHINE here in Washington State. If you have never been to the horse races I really suggest going just for the experience even if you don't know how to bet or anything. There are a lot of great people that will help you – just ask!

I am totally excited to get started today and on top of that I get some "Mommytime" to do it. My daughter woke up at 4am and went back to sleep. Now I have a couple of minutes to work on my blog and get some stuff done. It amazes me how much I can accomplish while she is sleeping. Being a mom is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love being a mom. It is the best feeling in the whole world to watch this little person learn about life and become their own person. My daughter will be 2 in September and we are already going through the terrible twos phase. I must say that some days are worst then others, but the good out weighs the bad for sure. Well that didn't last long – She's Up!! Here I am bragging about getting some "Mommytime" and..  I guess that is what I get, right? See this is the part of being a mom that was a hard adjustment for me. At a minutes notice my whole schedule can change. Until recently, I didn't know how to adjust very well and I would get frustrated. I am a structured person and have always kept a schedule. That all changed after becoming a mom and now I keep a list of things I need to get accomplished during the day and as time allows I work on that list. If I don't get everything done then I work on it the next day!

I need to finish up the laundry and feed my daughter – Make sure you stay tuned by subscribing to my blog. I am working on some really great resources to share with you!!

As most of my readers and clients know that I have taken Connie Ragen Green's 30 Day Blog Challenge.(@conniegreen) Well I got behind with posting and now I am trying to catch up. This is my 18th post…wooohoo! I guess I have had Spring Fever. Our weather here in Washington has been a little crazy the last few months. So with the Sun out more, my daughter and I have been outside as much as possible. And with that said – I neglected blogging. So this morning I sat down and wrote out a schedule. Being a stay at home mom, you can sometimes get lost in the day and before you know it – it's bedtime! I think this schedule will not only help me – it will help my daughter too! I can't believe my daughter is almost 20 months old. Where has the time gone? She is so busy all the time. Trying to learn anything and everything. She loves to color and play on her Barbie Laptop (Just like her Mommy! LOL) She has been really good considering her molar teeth are coming in right now. I have heard all these horror stories, but we haven't experienced anything too terrible. I think the worst has been when she is up for 12-14 hours straight and we have tried multiply times to nap without any success. I have learned on those days I need to be more patient and not to get frustrated. I guess that is enough rambling for now, the laundry is calling my name!

So here is a little update about my daughter.

If you didn't read my previous post here it is : Terrible Twos Already?

It is actually amazing the results that I have gotten just from being consistent. I really think that being consistent is important to remember when raising a child. From experience, Since I have been staying a lot more calm while disciplining her I noticed that she responds better and goes on about her business. When I would get frustrated, she would get frustrated then it would turn into some chaotic uproar. I also noticed that she treats me a lot better. Before she would bite and smack me when she would get mad and not get her way. I had a friend tell me that kids like schedules and routines. See and I have been pretty laid back with the whole schedule, but now it makes total since as why to have one. I don't use my schedule down to the minute, but I sure use it as a guide. I guess you could say that it is my 24-7 work schedule except the benefits are way better than any job I have ever had. I have been keeping calm when telling her no. And she acts like a completely different child. When she starts to act out of control. I sit her down and talk to her. She respects me better. I have not been bitten once since I have taken a different approach. Since the out come was so good that it inspires me to stick to my guns with the guidelines I have set for myself.

• Be Direct
• Be Patient
• Be Consistent
• Stick To Your Guns

I am really proud of myself for being patient and allowing me and my daughter to get an understanding of one another.

These past few weeks have been a little crazy around our house. I think my daughter has hit the "Terrible Twos" already. She can throw a fit like nobody's business. She bites and hits and when she is really mad she will point her finger at you and scream some sort of babble. I have tried the whole distraction thing. Okay that didn't work! I have tried sitting her down and talking to her. That didn't work either!  I know that a lot of it is frustration because she can't communicate. So I keep that into prospective.

Being a first time mom and getting tons of advice from others can get a bit overwhelming. I have to admit that when she first started the tantrums I would start laughing, but that was my way of dealing with it and it totally made it worse (Word of Advice – Don't Laugh!)

So now, I have decided to try a couple of different ways to deal with my daughters tantrums.

• Be Direct – I am going to let her know that I mean business by keeping a serious tone and speaking to her.
• Be Consistent – Just because we had a rough day the day before doing a task. I am going to stick to our daily routine.
• Be Patient – I have to be patient so that her and I both don't get frustrated.
• Stick To My Guns – I know that I can't give in to her even when she gives me that smile that melts me.

I was raised to treat others with respect and that is how I want my daughter to be raised. I can honestly say that being a mom is the hardest job I have ever had, yet it is the most rewarding job of all. I praise all mothers who live their lives for their children and go without for themselves. I think if I have learned one thing being a mom is how selfish I was before having my daughter. I really took for granted what I could do on my own time without being bothered.

So I must say with all the trials and tribulations of raising a child I would most definitely do it again!