This Thing Called Parenthood...

When the girls had their slumber party at their Grammy's last weekend, Justin and I were reflecting over our morning paper and bagels and orange juice. It was so wonderful having quiet time to wake up and leisurely stay in bed until we were ready to get out. To quietly read the paper and eat breakfast without being interrupted or having demands being made on us. To get dressed without wondering what was being destroyed in the next room. I thought to myself, this is really nice, BUT... I was sadly reminded that so many people from my generation choose this life not as just a treat, but a lifestyle. It was all about Justin and I that day and it was wonderful. But it seems to me that so many people my age are afraid of giving up their own time and convenience. Of making that big step to it not being all about them.

I look back over the past five years, to when I was still pregnant with Maryn. I really had no idea as that naive, big-bellied, 22 year old girl, exactly how much being a parent would change my life. It has changed my life in ways too many to count. For the past five years since Maryn and Brynna and now soon to be Lauryn have come into my life, I have sacrificed my body, my sleep, my comfort, and my sanity. I have been humbled and humiliated and had to come to grips with every weakness I possess. But, I can honestly say I would not trade a single minute of it. Not for all the leisurely Sunday mornings in the world. Not for having money for myself rather than it going to my my kids. Not for a great career or that Education I wish I could have finished. Not for anything. I am so grateful to be a Mom. The thought of my kids brings tears to my eyes and I know that this is what I was put on this Earth to do.

I can honestly say, there is no pet so wonderful, no career so rewarding, no lifestyle so carefree that I would trade it for the experience of being a parent. I have heard my children's little voices say "I love you Mommy!" or "I love my family!" and know that they really, in their pure hearts, mean it. I have been filled with peace and love as I watched their little chests rise and fall while watching them dream. I have marked their height as they have grown and with every inch seen them learn new things and come into their own personalities more and more. I have seen their smiles and experienced that strange and wonderful thing it does to your heart, that really only a parent can understand. My children, while not making my life any easier or convenient, have brought me a joy greater beyond any measure. And for that, I am grateful.

She Finally Stopped!

Maryn is notorious for going full-throttle until she absolutely has to succumb to exhaustion. Tonight, up until seconds before she crashed on the couch she was was running, yelling, squealing, climbing, poking, interrupting, laughing and basically manically squeezing every possible emotion out of her little dynamo body before it just quit on her. I love watching her sleep, because as much as I just love that child and her wild-woman personality, this is one of the few times that she is quiet and still. We'll be up again with this little Energizer Bunny again soon enough, so for now, I'm going to sit on the couch with my husband and enjoy the sound of silence!

Justin's Color Is...

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Brown

You're brown, a credible, stable color that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral color, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

I was reading a 'Brown' profile on a friend's blog and I thought "Hmm, that sounds like my husband!" So I had Justin take it and sure enough, my man is Brown! When we first got married some of those qualities, like everything being black and white or being able to seperate feelings and facts so easily, used to make me crazy. Now it's one of the things I absolutely love the most about him. He is my rock, my stability, and takes so much of the confusion out of this overthinkers life! Justin can size someone up almost immediately and I've discovered that after almost 9 years of marriage, the guy is right 99% of the time. He continues to wow and surprise me with his quiet, steady ways.

It Is My Favorite Color!

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

She Has A Name!

-Lauryn McLean Young-

Justin and I finally found a moment of quiet this morning to sit down and decide upon a name for our little baby girl. We had had some ideas and had been going back and forth since the day we found out she was a girl, but never settling on anything for sure. Last night Justin's mom took Maryn and Brynna for a slumber party at her house. (Bless her!) So this morning when we woke up, the house was peaceful and still. Justin rolled over and put his hand on my belly and the baby just started doing acrobatics and jumping around in my belly. With as crazy and distracting as life has been lately, it was so fun to share a moment with just Justin, me, and her. I knew it was time we gave our little 'Pepper' a real name. I had been playing around in my mind with other names, but Justin was adamant that he wanted Lauryn. Which I also think is just beautiful, so Lauryn it was. For her middle name we had been again, toying around with other ideas and suddenly it just seemed right that it should be McLean. Not only because it's my maiden name and very meaningful to me, but I have always thought it was a beautiful name on it's own. So I feel blessed that our little Lauryn will always have a piece of her Momma and her heritage with her always. We are so excited and feel so blessed to be welcoming Lauryn into our family and home. We love you little girl!

Fun Surprises!

We had the chance a couple of weeks ago to go hang out with my new sister-in-law, Megan's family to celebrate Chinese New Year together. We all hit it off and I realized quickly that it already felt like we'd known them forever. The next week Megan's mom, Tracy, asked if she and her daughter Ansley could drop something off at the house real quick. A few hours later Ansley was on the doorstep handing Justin a bounty of gift bags. What was this? Tracy decided that it was never too early to start getting excited about our new little girl on the way and decided to spoil us with the CUTEST little outfit! Isn't it adorable?! The little leggings that I can just picture slipping fat, baby legs into and the cute belted shirt! I can hardly stand it! Now this baby needs to hurry up and get here so I can dress her up! Ansley had also picked out some fun, Valentine surprises for the Maryn and Brynna at the Disney Store. Which they immediately went crazy over and started squealing with delight! Thank you SO much Tracy and Ansley! You guys really are too much! We love you!

Busy Little Bee

One might generally think that illness would slow a child down from wanting to participate in mischief. I however, have exceptional children when it comes to finding the energy to get in to trouble. Yesterday morning it was little Miss Brynna Grace's turn. We all woke up and I got the girls' breakfast ready. A couple minutes into eating Brynna announced she had to go potty. I told her to hop down from the table and go. About a minute later, Maryn decided she needed to go too and so she also hopped down and ran into the bathroom. Seconds later Maryn came running out of the bathroom with her p.j.'s around her ankles yelling "Mom and Dad, Brynna is cutting her hair!" You've never seen a sick woman move so fast! I hopped up and ran into the bathroom. Sure enough, there was Brynna, caught redhanded, scissors in hand. All I had to say was "Brynna! What are you doing?!" and she burst into tears because she knew she was being naughty. So I began collecting the fallen remains of her beautiful golden locks...

But there was still more...

What had she done!?! I was just thinking the day before that I was going to grow her hair out a bit so we could do something cute with it for Aaron & Megan's and Dan & Steph's weddings. She wasn't even gone two minutes! How did this happen!? Upon inspecting the damage, I told Justin that it was all short and crazy on one side and long on the other, how the heck was I going to fix this?Justin made me laugh though when he said she looked like Christian off of Project Runway. Of all the people to look like, why him?! Yes, he is talented, but such a twit! He would probably tell Brynna she looked "Fierce!" but Momma Bear begs to differ.

So this morning I set to work cutting it, trying to salvage some sort of hairstyle. I cut the length up, so the space between the hacked layers wasn't so noticeable. Then I blow dried and sprayed and attempted to tame and smooth these wild and crazy punk rocker spots on the side of her head. But, in truth no matter what I did, she still had this weird mutton chop thing going on, on one side of her head. That's when you lay down the scissors and just say "It is what it is. Just let it grow back out." As you can see below, in a picture I caught of her and Maryn joking around with each other, there is some definite hair missing up front. Sigh, oh well, what are ya gonna do?

Despite all her mischief and punk rock layers, she still is too stinkin' cute for her own good.