Boyd Meets Girl

I never thought I would be that parent . That parent who yelled . Not that I have something against raising my voice, but I never thought I would be a yeller. But I am. And I am sorry. I'm sorry I yelled. I'm sorry I yelled when you fought your diaper changes. I'm sorry I yelled when you wouldn't stop crying. I'm sorry I yelled when you wouldn't go to sleep. I'm sorry I yelled when you made a mess.  I'm sorry I yelled when I couldn't get dinner on the table before you were hungry. I'm sorry I yelled because I had to get to work, and we were running late. I'm sorry I yelled when you couldn't find your shoes.  I'm sorry I yelled when you didn't want to be in your car seat. I'm sorry I yelled when you wouldn't sit in the buggy at the grocery store. I'm sorry I yelled when you whined. Incessantly. I'm sorry I yelled when you came in to "help" when I was getting your little sister t...

So, I kinda knew I was going to freak out when I had my second daughter. A) I don't deal with any change very well and B) the freak out from having my first daughter just 21 months prior was too fresh on my mind to ignore. I wrote about it ( read it here ); I asked for tons of advice. Come April 2015, I braced myself and experienced the inevitable: complete (but manageable) chaos for basically 4 months straight. Some people have easy kids. That's great! These must be the same people who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight, never get sick during pregnancy, and have kids that slept through the night when they were 2 days old. Although so thankful for my little cherubs, my kids aren't what I would categorize as "easy." Probably a good thing or I'd want to add more little soldiers to our army. Being the Type A personality that I am, I have always felt the need to be prepared. I did my research and made a list of what I thought that I needed for my ...

 Only.... 3 wake ups last night, awesome! Today is going to be a good day. Baby still asleep? Sweet. I'm going to go take a ...... DAMNIT. How does she always know when I am about to either eat, shower or go to sleep? Ok, feed baby, then maybe she'll go back to sleep. Then I'll shower.... or go back to sleep. Why won't she go back to sleep?!!!?!?! GO TO SLEEP. WHY is the bigger kid UP already? What did moms do before video monitors...? Yes, I am so on top of things. Coffee pre-set to brew, toddler's drink already poured and in the refridgerator. I got this. Dog needs to go out, baby needs her reflux medication, Cat is out of water. Toddler wants juice. THERE IS ONLY ONE ME. No one has any freaking patience in this house. Why is the baby crying?? She must hate me. I need to spend more one-on-one time with her. The toddler is definitely misbehaving because she is seeking attention. Ignore bad behavior, ignore bad behavior. Maybe...

Other than the "prize" you get at the end of pregnancy (the baby) and maybe the nesting, my favorite thing about pregnancy is taking maternity photos! I am not one of those women who love pregnancy, and I'm fairly certain that the feeling is mutual. Both of my pregnancies have been laced with such atrocities as severe morning sickness, gestational diabetes, rare eye conditions, PUPPS, and high blood pressure, just to name a few lovely occurrences. So, why even schedule a photo shoot if pregnancy is so horrendous, you may ask? Because women are crazy, that's why - and even though I despise almost every second of being pregnant, there will come a time where I will look back on the time fondly (since I am no longer being held captive by the baby who has taken over my body) and be GLAD that I captured pictures of it all. Between the two times I have been pregnant and had maternity pictures done, I have come up with some tips that can help you (hopefully) when you ...

HUGE GINORMOUS DISCLAIMER: Please read this before you read anything else. This post wouldn't even exist if I didn't wholeheartedly believe that breast is best. So, this is not a formula vs. breastfeeding debate. Nor is it a discussion on which is better, easier, more natural, whatever. It is simply my personal manifestation on why I chose to breakup with breastfeeding. I chose the wording on this very carefully. I chose "breaking up" because, for me, breastfeeding was all about the emotions. All the feels. My self expectations on what it meant to be the best mother I could. The visions I had of lovingly nursing my little cherub(s) and knowing that their weight gain, their thriving, their BEING was all a result of ME and MY super milk. I don't think that formula is bad or else I would never give it to my children. So, here goes my story..... With my first daughter, I was bound and determined to nurse her. I had my pump rip roaring and ready to go at, like...

If you are looking for a positive spin on motherhood, you might want to stop reading right now. This post is for the mom who might have hid in the bathroom earlier today so she didn't have to share HER snack. This post is for the mom who quietly whispered "f$%^" as she heard her kid waking up at 5:30 am in the morning to start the day for the third time this week. In general, I pride myself in attempting to be a pretty positive person; I write blog posts like this one on positivity and this one on turning mommy guilt into mommy mantras . I try to extend this attitude to my parenting as well. For the most part, I think I do a pretty decent job of being a happy mom. But, dangit, some days are just hard. Some days, you feel isolated, alone, and stressed to the max. Some days, you would welcome an overnight stay at the closest looney bin because you wonder if you  really are crazy (plus it would be a night of interrupted and possibly medicated sleep- yessss!). Good ...