So beautifully written...

"Give them a safe place to land, always. The babies, the toddlers, the teens. They all need love and kindness and reassurance at home. And when you’re done yelling because you’ve — once again — lost your s***, make sure they know that despite your craziness, you still love them. You have always loved them. You will always love them."

Let them know that you will make mistakes, but that you will always have their best interests at heart.

Expect the best from them. Not your best, but their best. Vast difference.

Love them. Love them. Love them. Kiss them while they’ll still let you. Hug them. Sing to them. Read to them. Laugh with them. Let them see you cry. Then they’ll know that all those emotions are okay, are normal, are expected, are perfect parts of our human imperfection.

You may not think you’re doing it right, Mamas and Daddies, but you are. Oh, you are. Just look at those precious faces. There’s nothing wrong about that.

Get dirty. Get clean. Get grateful.

Fall down. Stand back up.

Do the work. Embrace the reward.

Hang in there. Sleep when you can. Drink when you must. Hide a secret stash of Oreos. Pull up your britches and get on with it. Hang on tight. Let go when it’s safe.

Enjoy the ride."

-Katrina Anne Willis
http://katrinaannewillis.com/2012/09/07/toddlers_and_teens_and_in_betweens/

Some of the most honest and inspiring parenting wisdom I have ever read is contained in this beautiful article. If you find yourself in need of hope today, it is here in Katrina's words. Letting go to grasp what really matters ... that's living Hands Free.

photo credit: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com/post/8689393596

The Beauty of a Woman...

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked,

"God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart the place where love resides."

I'll never forget...

October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

August 30, 2009 <3 <3

Remembering Our Little Ones

Those who have lost a pregnancy or baby often suffer in silence. October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and the 15th is a day set aside for all grieving families to come together in remembrance of their pregnancies and babies.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed October as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. “Each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the United States end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of the newborn child,” reads his proclamation. “National observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, 1988, offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn and newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members and work to prevent causes of these problems.”

October 15

Robyn Bear founded www.october15.com in hopes that bereaved parents would have a day to come together. At 7 pm, those affected are encouraged to light a candle in remembrance of their loss. Her goal was to not bring these families together, but to show how they could be supported by their communities as well as how friends and family members can express their support without being dismissive.

The objective is for parents to learn to live with their loss -- not get over it.

Light a candle

"Every life, no matter how briefly they were with us, deserves to be remembered"

The objective of October 15th is to light a candle everywhere, in every time zone, at 7 pm, and leave it burning for one hour to create a wave of light around the world for one day as we remember what we’ve lost. Many parents will light a virtual candle -- use a photo or graphic of a candle as their Facebook profile picture, for example.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day was designed because every life, no matter how briefly they were with us, deserves to be remembered. We who have lost a baby will never forget, and this way everyone can help us remember our baby’s life.

Count the Kicks

After learning that Norway had dramatically reduced its still birth rates by conducting a public health campaign on kick counting, five Iowa mothers, who lost babies to late-term stillbirth or infant death, started a campaign in Iowa called Count The Kicks in 2009. The campaign recommends that parents contact their health providers right away if they notice significant changes in their babies’ movements, and was developed to prevent late-term birth complications and stillbirths. Scientific studies indicate that counting kicks by making a daily record of a baby’s movements (kicks, rolls, punches, jabs) during the third trimester, is an easy, free and reliable way to monitor a baby’s well-being in addition to regular prenatal visits.

To learn more about Count the Kicks, visit the website at www.countthekicks.com

http://pregnancyandbaby.com/the-hatch-blog/articles/965713/october-15-is-pregnancy-and-infant-loss-remembrance-day

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

To My Sweet Lil Aiden Grey...

First Day of School...

First Day of School poem

He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside him
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as he took his place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as
He first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though he must have grown
To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar him first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand
To lead him through the places
That he couldn’t understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew he would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
With friends and work and play;
He’s not a baby anymore –
He’s in Kindergarten today.

——————————————-

Hope you loved this poem for the first day of school.

Aiden's Kindergarten Orientation...

Today at Aiden's orientation his teacher gave him a white lunch bag with a "special treat" inside. The treat was a ziplock snack bag with Lucky Charms cereal inside. There was a poem on the outside of the bag with the following words...

This special treat is to remind you that I'm glad you are in my Kindergarten Class! Before you eat your treat have someone read this list to you. Search the bag for the marshmellow shapes hidden inside!

You should find:

*A yellow star~to remind you to always shine!

*A pot of gold~to remind you that you're worth a million!

*A colorful rainbow~to remind you to promise to always do your BEST!

*A blue moon~to remind you that once in awhile, we all make mistakes, and that's okay!

*A green clover~to give you good luck as you begin Kindergarten!

*A purple horseshoe~to remind you that YOU matter!

*A red balloon~to remind you to soar above the clouds and try new things.

*And most of all~a pink heart to remind you that as your teacher, I care about you!

Love,

Mrs. D'Angelo

xoxo

I have to say that as I read this poem, I got a little teary eyed. I can't believe my baby boy is starting Kindergarten tomorrow morning.

Sometimes....

Sometimes the person you’d take a bullet for ends up being the one behind the gun... Life is full of fake people... It’s so easy to believe someone when they TELL you exactly what you want to hear... But when a person SHOWS you who they really are, believe them the first time... Some people are only nice for their own convenience – the type of people who only call when they need something or come around when it’s beneficial to them... Not everyone has your best interests at heart... But sometimes you have to be tricked and mislead by the wrong lovers and friends once or twice in your life in order to find and appreciate your soul mate and real friends when they arrive...