Where is the love?

Music jam in the living room.

Christmas family pic (pj's made by mom)


Amelie helping her brother ride his bike.

A message on our wall.




I don't feel like I am giving an accurate view of our family. We have so many amazing

moments together and I want to share that side too.

Sometimes pictures say more than words.

REAL tidbit #2 ~ A couple of nights ago I was overwhelmed and tired. I had just gotten the kids to bed and Callum (our 3yo son) came out of the bedroom and told me he pooped in his diaper. He was doing so well. I then went on to tell him that he wasn't a big boy. He was a baby. Only babies poop in their diapers. :( It didn't visibly affect him but I felt awful once he was tucked in and asleep. I sometimes feel like I am the worst parent in the world for saying mean things like that. I made sure the next morning I told him he was a BIG boy!

I just want to be allowed to parent in peace!

Why is it if you are mainstream and you don't research you are considered a responsible parent who only wants what is best for your children? There are no hoops to jump through and no condescending glares. It must be so easy to march into the doctors/dentists/insert any government location here and get what they need done with no protest. MMR shot please. Easy peasy. I completely trust you and you can do whatever you feel is best for my child. What about us as parents? What about what we feel is best?

I don't judge parents who follow this route. I may even be a little jealous of them. I would love to head into an office without the pit in my stomach and my nerves on end because once again I have to stand up for my child against someone who obviously knows better.

I bring my child to the doctor. You homeschool???? You don't vaccinate???? What do you feed them???? The list goes on. Don't you know your child is going to be unsocialized, sick and malnourished? I go to the dentist. You don't want fluoride???? There is no fluoride in your drinking water???? Don't you know that your child's mouth will continue to fill with cavities because you aren't parent enough to do what is right????

It is a constant battle to go against the norm. Constant. Am I complaining. A little. I have had my share of people in the past weeks with tonnes of obviously needed opinions shoved down my throat.

I hope that one day someone will say to me, "Wow. You must be a dedicated parent who researches all options. You must love them so much that you want what is best for them." Believe it or not, I an a non-confrontational person. I don't enjoy the stares, glares, nerves and discussions. I want to be treated with the same respect as people who follow the rules.

I don't judge people who choose a different way and I would like the same.

I just want to be allowed to parent in peace!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY ALL!

We had a wonderful day as a family. <3

We started it with grilled pb+j cut into big hearts. My husband and I gave each child a Valentine with one word that best describes them (from each of us) so two words in total and a chocolate. They don't experience the whole Valentine thing so it is nice to share that with them. I feel so blessed to be able to share this love filled day with so many.

Real Life

I have all of these ideas on how I want to parent my children. To be a good parent, a wonderful parent I should follow the advice in my plethora of books. I should follow my mama instinct. I should be compassionate, pray with them, never yell, teach lessons, have clean clothes and have our house tidied. I should cook all nutritious meals and not let them touch sugar. Riiight!
I research.
I research everything about parenting that I possibly can.
Eating, sleeping, teaching, gentle discipline and potty training. I have also learned that no book or website or television show or friend or or or ... is going to be all right for us.
I find that as parents we all strive for perfection. All of us want our children to be happy and well-rounded adults. We want them to look back on their childhoods and think warm and fuzzy thoughts.
Here is what I believe and how I *try* to be. Is it right? Only time will tell.

I don't want to swear around my children or have them hear swearing.
I don't want them around immoral behavior.
I want my children to eat well researched nutritious foods.
I believe in gentle discipline and keeping the lines of communication open.
I believe in God and want my children to too.
I want a healthy environment for them and a clean one too.
I want to teach the kids about giving and how important it is.
I want them to learn responsibility and not be lazy.
I want them to be kind and gentle with others and each other.
I want so much for them, my marriage and myself.

Does this happen? For the most part. I swear at times, I yell and I don't use gentle discipline. I know what I feel is right and I try my best. That is what we all do.

I wish that more parents shared the REAL stuff. The real stuff that life is made of. Life happens and we can't do everything as perfect as we would like.
So here is my life. My parenting life that I will share with you all.
Grab some popcorn (microwave GASP!) and pull up a chair. We are in for a long haul.

REAL tidbit #1 - Yesterday, my 3yo son pushed a chair up to the counter and placed a dinky car and a band-aid in the toaster oven and turned it on. I went to use the sink and smelled the burning. Oh my sweet son. How fast they grow and get into trouble.