If you have a toddler, you know diaper changes can feel like a wrestling match sometimes. After going through this adventure with two kids and currently being in the trenches with kid number three, I feel like I can say I've been there, done that, and I have some tips to share including our recent love for some great Huggies Little Movers Plus from Costco!

Keri, my very wise mom-blogger friend, is relaunching her book today called Why Just Survive When You Can Thrive: Tips for Thriving as a Mom! I reviewed it last year. You can read the review here.

I received an advanced copy of this book for the purpose of review. The opinions I share are all my own. See my disclosure statement.



I love reading a good book on motherhood, and Hoodwinked didn't disappoint. The full title is Hoodwinked: Ten Myths Moms Believe and Why We All Need to Knock It Off. Right off the bat, the title got me!  One funny thing about this book reading experience is that I'd never heard the word "hoodwinked" before, so naturally I had to look it up to see if it was actually a word.  It is!

I title this "Part 1" because I'm sure there will be more thoughts as the weeks and years go by.

Also, I'm leery to post this because it's kind of a brain dump, but I'm dumping it here. My thoughts. My feelings. You may or may not relate.



When we went into this last pregnancy, we were kind of back and forth about it being our last. Do we want three or four kids? Morning all day sickness hit and hung around until about 18 weeks. Then I hit 25 weeks, and tiredness set in.  So, if you do the math, I got about 7 weeks of feeling ok. With our past history and people that surround us, I've never been one to really complain much about being pregnant. This pregnancy. however, was a different story. I was sick. I was exhausted. I actually had a few nights in the third trimester that I cried and wanted to be DONE, and that had never happened with the other two. Now, I realize some people don't get a moment of relief their whole pregnancy, are hospitalized, etc. So, I don't have a lot to complain about... (But again... MY thoughts. MY feelings. MY life.)  I wasn't able to be the mom or wife I wanted to be for a long while and I'm still working to get back into that role...

Welp, we're surviving, and I wanted to bring this post to light again since it hasn't been shared in two years.  Go check it out!

I've been a fan of Lisa-Jo Baker for a while now. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you see that I share her blog posts often. She is such a down to earth mom who just has a way of poetically sharing real and uplifting thoughts. She is truly an inspiration.

When I heard she was coming out with a book, I immediately pre ordered it. On April 1, Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected about Being a Mom arrived on my doorstep (Thank you, Amazon.). I dug in right away, but then got side tracked by the end of the school year and the baby pulling out my bookmark a few too many times. I just finished it this past week, in progress toward one of my summer goals.

I have a collection of blog posts that I keep around and look back upon for reminders and inspiration. Here are a few that I wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

Why Routines are Important for Kids

We have bedtime routines. We have morning routines. Henry thrives on consistency and knowing what is coming soon.  He's become more independent (especially in the mornings) because of routines we have. 

Using Do-Overs to Discipline

When I am not in fits of rage or frustration because of something my lovely 4-year-old has done (I'm kidding...sort of...), I have used this technique and it actually works. Sometimes he even finds it humorous when we practice "doing it over." Try it out!

How to Fall in Like with Your Kids

Lisa Jo speaks to my heart so often, I could have a post just full of her posts. If you aren't a regular reader of her blog, you should be (Yes, I just "shoulded" you). She has a new book that came out Tuesday and arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I can't wait to dig into it. I could relate to this post very easily.

Well, When I have kids...

This is another blog that resonates with me often. This post made me laugh at all the misconceptions and judgements I had before I had a little one living under my roof.

Working, Family, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Again, this post resonated with me - "My husband looked so concerned when he told me he thought I wasn’t happy.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him that no one is." Head over there to read it.

To the Tired Mom

This post just gave me hope. Her reminders that we are not alone and that the regularities of motherhood should be celebrated were refreshment for my soul.

I'm a mom. A mom of boys. Two boys to be exact. We hope to have a third child someday. It may end up being another boy. As much as I feel like I really should be a mom of girls because of my love of fashion, shopping, crafting, and otherwise, right now, I'm raising two super heroes.  Below is a list of some things I'm learning while raising them.

Some of these may well apply to princess, too, but boys are all I know right now.

I went to a mom's night with a friend at her church the other night. The message was on words and how they are affect our lives so much.

Proverbs 18:20-21 was shared:
20 From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Going into the night, I was totally open and expecting the usual message, "How you speak to your children matters. You should speak lovingly to them. You are their inner voice." And I was excited in the anticipation to hear that message as they are words I thought I needed. There was a little of that, but there was so much more I wasn't expecting.

What I wasn't prepared for, but was the main focus of the night, was a message sharing, "How you speak to yourself matters. You should speak lovingly to yourself. It's your inner voice." 

We often talk about our muffin tops (and not baking, if you know what I mean), our beauty issues, our lacking abilities as mothers, housekeepers, wives.  We tell ourselves we aren't up to par. We tell ourselves we are failures.

Ladies (and gentlemen, because I know you read here, too), this talk does us NO good. It does not further us in any way. It ruins our self esteem. It makes us grouchy. Those insecurities cause us to snap at others when we feel threatened or lacking. 
 
It does no good. It's not a model we want our children to see.

Will you make it a goal along with me that you'll work to stop the negative talk about yourself?