Happy Mother’s Day to all wonderful mothers out there! I truly respect those of you who work so hard day in and day out and always seem to smile no matter what. The love of a mother is everlasting, and I am lucky enough to have two wonderful ladies in my life as proof.
My mom, Avery’s G-Ma, has always been there for me and now she’s always here for Avery. It’s obvious how much Avery loves G-Ma since every time we see her, mommy and daddy move down on the list of favorites. They even turn their backs on us!
And if we were to ask Avery for a bite of her snack, there would be no way she’d share, but for G-Ma, well…
Of course, when with her Mommy, my beautiful wife/Going Mom, I seem to get the cold shoulder too.
Geez, how do I survive as a stay-at-home dad with this kind of treatment?!
Can’t blame her, they are both beautiful and amazing women that I’m happy just to have in my life. Not just on Mother’s Day, but every day.
Mom and Kelley, I love you so much and can’t thank you enough for everything you do and all the love you give. Hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day and many, many, MANY more to come!
I wish the same to all of you wonderful moms out there as well. Have a great day, I hope you’re celebrating with the ones you love today. I’ll be spending mine with these two girls.
We’ll see G-Ma in another week to celebrate again. Maybe we should consolidate Mother’s and Father’s Day to just one day, Parent’s Day. That sure would make things a little simpler.
I think it’s safe to say we have moved on from the big “D”, and no, I don’t mean Dallas. Any Mark Chestnutt fans? I’m not talking about the Big D Texas Marathon either.
Despite the fact that I live in the suburbs of Dallas and have run many marathons in the past, I despise going into the city mainly because of the constant construction and traffic so it’s just not appealing to me. That, and my long distance running days are long gone……by choice.
Oh yeah, I’m most certainly not talking about the other Big D know as Divorce. Although I know a great guy who moved right past his Big D and is now happier than ever, I’m perfectly happy as is. Thanks to Going Mom for being such an amazing wife and mother! Anyway, the Big D I’m referring to would be diapers.
YES!
Okay, technically, No, because we still rely on Honest Company Training Pants overnight and sometimes when running errands, but we have definitely moved on from cloth diapers. I shared about our cloth diaper collection/routine on this post, and while I highly recommend that route over disposables, it’s still a lot of work.
Avery and I have many memories of putting diapers together. She would sit in her Mamas & Papas Baby Snug or on the bed in our guest room as I put the inserts into each diaper and I called out each color to her blank baby stare.
Helping daddy put together cloth diapers
It seemed like it wasn’t getting through at the time, but now she’s a color-naming and counting whiz! Remember, parents, always talk to your babies! Their entire growth and development depends on hearing you talk to them.
She’s far from perfectly potty trained (I think I could even use some help sometimes), but it’s mainly undies from here on out. We have seen some impressive “snakes” followed by her announcing the movement simply by saying “Hiissssssss!’ and I *insert Chandler’s from Friends way of speaking* couldn’t be more proud of our daughter. As for her, I think she’s slightly annoyed with me…
Guess I can’t blame her. Sorry, Avery!
While we’re on the topic of potty talk, our 2.5 year old is already learning anatomy. She’s been aware that her and mommy have vaginas for a while now, but when she tried to say the same about daddy, I had to quickly let her know otherwise. For reference, here’s a recent conversation we had….
Me: Okay, Avery, we need to wash your hands before lunch.
Avery: Mommy and Avery have vagina, daddy has peanut.
Me: —————–
Avery: Penis
Me: So we scrub our hands with soap for 20 seconds…..
And now we hear this several times a day. At least she no longer says peanut. Is that a good thing?
Meh, whatever the case, it’s bittersweet moving on from the diaper part of parenting. It’s awesome because, diapers, but sad because that means growing up. As always, it’s too fast. That’s one cliche that will stand the test of time as truth.
But we have plenty of fun ahead and she constantly reminds us how we will always be new parents each and every day as she continues to drop new bombs on us. Unfortunately, that’s a literal statement at times.
Do you remember the day you realized diapers were done?
If you still use them, are you impatiently anticipating the day?
Almost every day for the past two weeks, Going Mom has been making a magnesium salt bath for us to soak our feet in at night. Our family has been well-informed of the benefits magnesium has to offer for a while, but only recently started the magnesium salt bath.
Most of the general population is deficient in this vital element; yes, that means you probably are lacking! Poor food quality from low-nutrient soil, excess caffeine, chemicals like fluoride and chlorine, and stress all play a role in depleting our magnesium levels. Do you have any of the signs in the graphic below? If so, magnesium might be all you need to relieve your symptoms.
Finding a natural source of magnesium is better than resorting to medicine which only masks your symptoms and never cures the problem. My wife and I were taking an oral form of magnesium from Natural Vitality called Natural Calm.
We like the unflavored version, but they have Lemon, Raspberry, Orange, Cherry, and Raspberry Lemon flavors as well. All Non-GMO and free of sugar. Whatever you choose, all you do is add 1 1/2 teaspoons of powder to a small 4 ounce glass of water, let it fizz, then drink. Just be careful, if you up the dose, you’ll have a little….eh hmmm, gastro issues. I speak from experience. 🙂
The thing is, is that magnesium taken orally may not be the best way for our body to absorb the mineral. Poor gut health and the aforementioned stress (I know we all deal with it!) are the major reasons for this malabsorption.
Plus, since our skin is our biggest organ, it has a super ability to absorb nutrients and deliver to the body, and rid the body of toxins from the environment or the vast array of cosmetics that people use. Thus, we’ve created a new nightly routine of magnesium salt baths.
Every night, while I prepare dinner, Going Mom, prepares a magnesium salt bath using Epsom Salt (which becomes magnesium in water) or Magnesium Flakes. There’s a long list of benefits, but here are a few of the most important ones.
As much as I hate to face the fact, we are all getting older, and kids sure can put a toll on us from playing with and caring after. Giving our body a break with a simple magnesium bath just might be the answer to rejuvenate us and prepare us to face a new day of kids, work, and life in general.
While I don’t have any quantitative measurements to give you, I will say that our family of three have all been sleeping better lately. Yes, even our crazy toddler sleeps fairly soundly all through the night. Soaking our feet for around twenty minutes (unless someone has an unexpected potty break) sets the tone for a peaceful dinner (usually) and an overall calming night (again, usually).
I’m no doctor, so I can’t promise your ailments be relieved when you introduce either oral, topical, or both forms of magnesium, but I am confident you will notice some form of beneficial change. The best thing is that there little to no side effects for at least trying, so give it a shot and see how your life improves. It certainly has made us a happier family!
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
