A Changing of the Guard

It seems so unreal, but my time as a stay-at-home parent has come to an end.

Yesterday, my Daelen spent his first entire day in the care of someone else.

The emotions I feel cannot be contained. I have spent the last hour or so reading blog posts about my time with Brytin and Daelen and additionally remembering thousand of moments I didn't post on the Internet.

I wish could redo it all. I wish I hadn't made so many mistakes, wasted so much time, I wish my kids were with me RIGHT NOW. I wish I had taken Brytin on 1,000 more adventures, and recorded every minute.

I wish I hadn't spent so much time concerned with raising amazing men, and spent many more hours enjoying my amazing boys.

Lord knows, I am a perfectionist. I am never satisfied with the results I produce - I can ALWAYS do better. And in parenting, it seems, it is ten times more heartbreaking to look back and wish you had done something more.

I know that I was home with Brytin when he most needed me to be the constant in his life. I know that I was home with Daelen at the most precious and vulnerable time in his life. I know that I have done the best I can with my children thus far. But I know I can do better.

Thankfully, I am smart enough to know when and how to make a change.

So...I will go to work. And my kids will go to daycare. But when we are reunited, I will NOT be too tired, too crabby or too busy to have some fun. I will find balance. I will choose happiness. And I will accept them as children who are learning.

And maybe, someday, I will be blessed with another opportunity to be home with my children. Maybe. Hopefully. Someday.

bowling

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I put him in the swing for the first time 13 Oct 2011

Little Boys

In a letter to her son, my friend describes what it is like to be the mother of a boy:

"...to be your mom is to see things through new eyes every day.


Before I had a son, there were so many things I didn’t notice. Police cards. Fire trucks. Diggers. Trains. Dump trucks. Dinosaurs. Drums. Guitars.


Construction and emergency vehicles passed by me unnoticed. Musical instruments did not give me cause to stop and listen and then immediately imitate. I didn't visit the zoo every month hoping to see sparky the seal. I wasn't aware that monsters could be part of every conversation whether we're discussing going to the potty or eating lunch.


But not anymore. I have a son. And because of that I see the moon when we're driving home from grandpa and grandma's house at night. I stop to wave at school buses when they drive by. I am now aware that nearly anything can become a drum stick in the hands of a little boy. And the act of hiding from monsters is a regular occurrence in my life these days.


Being a mom to a little boy has made me a better, more well-rounded person. Thank you for that Samuel. I hope I don't ever stop noticing all the things in life that you are passionate about."

Everything my friend has written about little boys is perfectly depicted.

Someday I hope to write like this. For myself and for my kids. I want them to know how greatly I love them. And I want to record every moment of the joy they bring me. Stacy does it often, and she does it perfectly.

Broussard Boys

This happened over a month ago, but I finally convinced Blogger to load the videos. Hope you enjoy :)

Daddies are just different than Mommies!



They Grow Up Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Fast!

I'm sure every parent has said this at least 50,000 times, but seriously, time FLIES when you have children!

Brytin is in SECOND grade! Do you understand that like yesterday he was starting Kinder?! And now his teacher is talking about multiplication and chapter books and extra credit! AND when I took him to the Science Museum last week (for like the 50th time), he was actually interested in some of the SCIENCE stuff!

And don't even get me started on Daelen Jon! He is almost six months old! He can sit. He eats pureed foods. He gets FRUSTRATED (Dad's genes, I swear!). AND he weighs over 19 pounds!

Women are AMAZING

I'm trying to make dinner, teen needs help with Geometry, Brytin needs to be directed each step of his homework, the baby needs to be fed and I need to pee. Seriously this year is going to be an amazing test of my endurance.

Thankfully, Grama fed Daelen his Cheerios but he still needs to nurse.
I don't remember a darn thing about Geometry.

Brytin is trying to use the distractions to weasel his way out of doing any additional homework.

Sarahlyn doesn't think she'll like what I'm cooking.

And Chris is at a club meeting.

This is insanity! Seriously. Women are amazing!

posted from Bloggeroid