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We all love a good baby registry list.
The adorable footie outfits, the cute little shoes, the soft and snuggly stuffed animals, the practical swaddles and blankets, early development toys, and on and on an on... Yes, these are ALL necessities (well, minus the shoes...they are pointless regardless of their cuteness) and pretty fun to register for if you're a first time mom... BUT... If you're on #2, #3, #4..... OR If you're in my shoes, and have received the news of BLUE 5x in a row... There is not much left that you will need for your little one, aside from diapers, of course! No items on a registry that you don't already have stashed away somewhere in your house. BUT... There's still a little part of you that would like **something** to celebrate your new little life who's on their way to join your family. ENTER THE 5 MOST THOUGHTFUL GIFTS FOR EXPECTING MOMS WHO HAVE IT ALL!! My friends and family are masters of thinking outside the box, and without them, there would be no list like this in existence... THE BEST GIFTS THIS MOMMA OF *almost* 5 EVER RECEIVED... ...wasn't something you could scan onto a registry... ...wasn't something I had to find a home for in our closets or drawers... ...wasn't something I had to wash or clean daily... BUT IT WAS... ...something that saved me time... ...something that saved my sanity... ...something my baby would NEVER grow out of... ...AND something that made me SO HAPPY because I would have never bought it for myself. If you're looking for the PERFECT GIFT for a family member or friend who is expecting, someone who seems to have it ALL already... These 5 Thoughtful Gifts for Expecting Moms Who Have It All has you covered!! 
I will never forget the scene.
I walked into another twin momma's home...desperate for tips...but also desperate for a good deal on a twin nursing pillow. Our 5 littles played while we managed to try and have an adult conversation. As much as I wanted to listen to her advice, I was SO DISTRACTED.... Lining every wall of their playroom was TWO OF EVERYTHING, and along one wall were plastic tubs stacked to the ceiling! I couldn't believe my eyes. SO. MUCH. STUFF. I decided in that exact moment that I would do everything in my power to NOT aquire TWO OF EVERYTHING just because I was having twins. I'm no minimilist by any means, but I also can't handle chaos and disorder, and I could only imagine adding two more of everything to the everything else that we already had from our older two would be the end of my sanity. PLUS, NOT buying TWO MORE OF EVERYTHING would help cut down the costs heading into this new life with 4 kids. As we journey this life of DOUBLE JOYS, DOUBLE TROUBLE, and DOUBLE LOVE, I am striving to keep the STUFF (and the chaos) at a minimum... This post contains affiliate links. Read more about what that means, here. 
I'll never forget the sight I saw at 20 weeks into my first pregnancy.
As we settled into our "anatomy scan" appointment, laying there draped with paper and anticipation of what our future would behold, I couldn't help but WANT A BOY first. Being the oldest of 4, and the ONLY GIRL in our family, I had always dreamed of what it would be like to have an OLDER brother. I even went as far as to wish I had a twin brother! Something about having a protector. Someone who would always be looking out for me. My husband shared my desire for a BOY FIRST. Being the youngest of 3 and ONLY BOY, he was fully hoping for a boy to start off the lineup in our home. So, as we sat there awaiting that magic wand to wave over that perfect "spot"...BOY was on our mind! Without hesitation, question, or pause....our hopes were revealed with a VERY OBVIOUS view of our son in all his "glory"!! Little did we know that we would sit in that exact same place FOUR MORE TIMES and see that "glory shot" EACH AND EVERY TIME!!! FIVE BOYS is sometimes hard to swallow as we look ahead at the road the Lord has prepared for us, but we know that he has placed each one of these boys into our care for a reason. HOWEVER, it is NOT EASY. IN FACT, it can make you feel a little CRAZY (let's be honest...A LOT CRAZY most days) As a "boy mom", I have had to come to the conclusion that..
And so, I began to equip myself with wisdom from others who have been there and survived! And it didn't hurt to realize I wasn't along in this Boy Mom journey... These 4 Books helped me see my world as a little less crazy...and a little more normal. (This post contains affiliate links.) 
"Is this a good cry or a bad cry?" my ultrasound tech carefully asked me, moments after delivering the news that she was seeing TWO babies on the screen.
"A good cry," I responded, totally in awe that I was carrying TWINS. This was my 3rd time around going in for the initial 8 week ultrasound. I had a 4 and a 1.5 year old at home, and my husband decided to just stay behind and watch them, so going to my appointment alone was a welcomed little get away. Weeks before, we had met with our midwives, but unsure of exactly how far along in my pregnancy I was, they suggested having an ultrasound done just to be sure. So, here I was 11ish weeks pregnant, excitedly waiting to see that little peanut on the screen. Seconds after placing that wand on my belly, I was kinda shocked at how much bigger that little peanut was that I had seen in my other 2 pregnancy's.
I have been honored and blessed to be a part of the Raising Godly Boys Series over at Intentional In Life Blog. Every day this month, moms of boys have been sharing their insights, wisdom, prayers, and struggles as they have walked the path of raising their boys to become godly men. Since the Lord has given me the official platform of "BOY MOM," giving me and my husband the hefty role of raising 5 boys in a world that wants the opposite for them than we do, we are grasping at every resource and opportunity to join forces with others walking this line to raise godly men and godly leaders...both in their homes and in the world around them.  Many moons ago, I was a substitute teacher. It was a great gig during my single/newly dating (my now husband) phase of life. I could pick and choose the jobs I would accept, and if it didn't work out, I wasn't obligated to return the next day. An art position opened up one day, and I quickly jumped on it, even though the school was pretty far from my house...this one sounded interesting. After showing up for what I thought was a "day" job, I later realized, the art teacher needed someone to cover for her for several months! And the best part, I was able to create and implement my own curriculum (within certain guidelines of course). My idea: Art Journals. Each week, we'd study the artist, talk about one of their famous pieces of artwork, and then, in our own way, recreate our own version of the original. Georgia O'Keeffe was one of our journal entries. I had been introduced to her artwork from a family I had nannied for and I just loved her viewpoint on taking a close up of flowers, and focusing on the details. So, when education.com contacted me to see if I'd be interested in featuring one of their activities for kids...I was ELATED to see that Georgia O'Keeffe was their focus! I have used activities from education.com for YEARS for my oldest son, as we explored homeschooling and educational summer activities, and I'm thrilled to be able to feature one of their activities here: 
I could tell what kind of morning it was going to be the second they woke up.
Legos dumping, bed jumping, car zooming, and the mischievous laughter before 7am did not bode well for any sort of calm morning...despite my deep desire for it. I'm not sure how my kids wake up with more energy in one morning than I am alotted for the year, but one thing's for sure, that energy turns to CRAZY real fast if I'm not careful. Too much freedom can lead to too much craziness in our home, and for me, it's a serious frustration trigger. Rewind to having only 1 child (I now have 4), and I could already sense we needed some structure to the days that had no structure. My oldest needed some gentle boundaries as he played or two things would happen... 1. He got CRAZY (and destroyed stuff) OR 2. He got BORED (and destroyed stuff) It's a lose lose...no matter their age, no matter how many there are. Independent play time has always been important for me to instill in my children. As much as I LOVE to get down and play with my kids and believe that the INTENTIONAL time spent with them is incredibly important, I don't want to be seen as their only source of entertainment. I've got things to do too!! I knew I needed a plan to save my sanity yet still entertain my kiddos (and back then, with one child, I had time to plan). I knew I needed to step in and guide his "free play" to maximize the minutes in our day FOR GOOD, cut back on the craziness, cut back on the destruction, cut back on the discipline, and give him an environment to thrive! Snow days, Spring Break, Summer Break...whatever your need for some sanity saving activities, these 15 Minute Activity Stations will sure help break up the crazy and bring some sort of structure to your days. (This post contains affiliate links) 
"It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring." Don't you just WISH you were THAT OLD MAN in in the song? Able to sleep away a rainy day... Able to drift off to sleep with the sound of raindrops and thunder rolling in the background... AH! It's sounds glorious. HOWEVER.... If your house is anything like mine, a rainy day just means EXTRA LOUD FOOTSTEPS in the house, EXTRA COMPLAINING because there's "nothing to do," and an EXTRA CUP of coffee for you...cause you're not really sure what time it is. In our house, we try to embrace a good ol' rainy day and make the most of it...so momma don't go crazy!! So, if you're stuck at home, here are 10 of our family's favorite rainy day activities... (This post contains affiliate links. Click here for full disclosure and explanation.)  No one told me the harsh truth of becoming a new mom. No one warned me how many tears would be shed those first few months, turn years. No one gave me the heads up that at times, I would feel like the most selfish, incapable parent on the planet. No one thought to mention that the one thing that I'd hoped for all my life would actually make me feel like a crazy person. No one wants to bash the hopes and dreams of a mom to be. No one wants to talk about how motherhood can bring out certain sin struggles that we never knew existed. No one really wants to be the bearer of bad news. So, I learned the hard way...  There it was again. The third time this week that the words, "You don't love me!" had come bursting out of his mouth. It caught me off guard the first time he said it, and I remember casually responding with "Of course we love you. Don't say that." But it happened again. And again. Always in the middle of a tantrum, always when he wasn't getting his way. My husband and I thought we had a light bulb moment one day while discussing this new phrase coming out of our son's mouth. MAYBE we had created this false sense that "love" was supposed to have the end result of "feeling good", "being happy." We weren't shining light on the fact that love rebukes, love disciplines, love bears all things....you know, the stuff that doesn't always look OR feel good. Aha! That MUST be it. That must be why he always says "You don't love me," when he's being asked to leave the table for poor manners, or when he's corrected for snatching a toy out of his brother's hand, or when he looses a special privilege because of his disobedience, (or even when he throws a fit because he has to wear shoes he doesn't like to school). He thinks love is supposed to work in his favor. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son. That whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life." The very verse he had memorized the week before was going to be this momma's go to verse to solve this problem. I was going to open that Bible, explain how Jesus died on the cross because of His love for us...that it didn't feel good...it was painful and he was all alone, that it didn't make him happy...it brought darkness and separation from his Father. But it was all because He loved us and wanted a way for us to spend forever with Him in Heaven.  |
Welcome to Dwelling Well Mom! I'm so glad you are here! I'm Christi, wife, mom of boys, Christ follower, picture taker, DIYer, chocolate eater, and coffee drinker. Born and raised a Florida girl, now braving the mountains of Boone, NC, I'm on a journey to find peace in the midst of my mundane. Join me!
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