Extreme Guide to Parenting: Will you be watching?

The trailer for this new show airing on Bravo has caught my attention. I am looking forward to seeing all these different "Extreme Parents". I'll be watching the episodes every week and sharing my thoughts here. I hope you'll join me to share some of your own!

The Thing About Parenting That Surprised Me The Most...

*I have received product or compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Today I wanted to take some time to reflect on what surprises me the most about being a Mom. All your life you hear these stories about parenting. You might hear a parent with a new baby talk about the sleepless nights. You might hear a Mom or Dad talk about having to drive around the block all night to get their little one to sleep. Since I grew up with a baby in my home I was pretty familiar with babies. 

What I wanted to talk about today were the little things that have surprised me. The stuff I didn't grow up hearing about. The stories that don't necessarily get told all that often. For starters, I am very surprised at how selfless you become once you become a parent. I've heard this before but no one ever made the degree of selflessness that clear to me. I remember when there was a day when I'd shop and shop and shop. Ever since I became a parent I don't have the desire to buy things the way I did before. Of course I still love trend watching and treating myself to something every now and then but I have to make a conscious effort to shop for myself. I want to do things for myself and take time out for myself but the truth is whenever I do have free time I use it to do something fun with my kids. Being selfless goes far beyond these two examples but you get where I'm going...

I'm also way more cautious than I've ever been in my whole life. I've never been so aware of how to prevent something from happening. Before I had kids I don't remember using sunscreen unless I was at the beach. Now I'm rubbing everyone down before we leave the house and then spraying everyone every two hours while we're out. Since babies have sensitive skin I've already started thinking about rubbing a little diaper rash ointment on Baby M's bottom at night to prevent diaper rash. I would hate for him to have any discomfort. I plan to use Dr. Smith's diaper rash ointment for long car rides and overnight sleeping. We'll be going to the beach in September and I've already started gathering things for water safety and researching baby tents for the beach. These are some of the little things that surprise me about parenting. There are so many little things you'll do just to prevent something else from happening. From choosing the right car seat to finding the perfect beach tent I'm so much more cautious then I ever thought I would be.

Another thing that surprises me about parenting is how much it has made me appreciate my own parents. Before I became a Mom I don't think I ever really thought about how hard it must have been for my parents to raise my brothers and I. I had a great childhood but I'm sure it came with some sacrifice. I think about my parents in a completely different way now. I am so much more understanding. Now I know for sure that everything they did for me (whether I liked it or not) was done out of love and in consideration of my well being. I am so much more appreciative of every time they told me no or changed my curfew. For every Christmas and family vacation. I can definitely get where they were coming from. 

What has surprised you the most about parenting?

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Thirty Things My Kids Should Know About Me...

This morning I was reading Adventures of Team Pancakes and saw the Thirty Things My Kids Should Know About Me link up. I tracked the link up back to Baby Making Machine. I think this is going to be fun! Next month will be a busy time for me so this challenge is right on time. I plan to do one of the writing prompts everyday. I'll still sprinkle in posts about my pregnancy and baby prep too. 

Anyone else doing this? I can't wait to get started!

The List:

1. List 20 random facts about yourself.

2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears

3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?

7. What is your dream job, and why?

8. What are 5 passions you have?

9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

12. Describe a typical day in your current life.

13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?

14. Describe 5 and weaknesses strengths you have.

15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.

16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?

19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?

20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

21. Describe your relationship with your parents.

22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?

24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?

25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?

28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?

29. What are your hopes and dreams for your prosperity?

30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for?

What's your Mom Style?

Welp. Sorry fashionistas. This isn't a fashion post. I was thinking about those fun quizzes in magazines that I no longer have the time to take. If I were to take a quiz about my Mom style or personality what would my answers say about me? That got me to thinking. What is my Mom style or Mom personality?

In a nutshell. Here it is.

Way to Go! You're a "Regular" Mom!

And by "regular" we mean pretty awesome. You believe in play dates and routines. Eating veggies and occasional splashing during bath time. Bed time stories and consequences for broken rules. You think it's okay to stay up late every now and then. Eating from a drive-thru isn't necessarily your preference but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and you don't beat yourself up about it. You may or may not constantly be behind on laundry. Hey. Everyone has that one task that they hate. Folding clothes just happens to be yours. Moms like you laugh more than they stress because you realize that most of the crazy in your house is temporary. You consider yourself a domestic diva but agree that you're not quite Martha Stewart. You may not be the craftiest of Moms but you can out-source and shop with the best of them! You believe that life experiences and family vacations are more important than expensive trends. Moms like you realize that perfection is over rated and boring. Most importantly, you relish in the time you have with your little ones because you know they won't be little forever. See. Being "regular" isn't so bad, right?

Haha, this was fun! What would one of those quizzes say about you? Do we have anything in common? Feel free to share your on description in the comments!

The Terrible Whose (Twos)

Whew. This past week has been very eye opening. Up to this point we have totally avoided any terrible two type behavior. In fact, I don't even call it the terrible twos. I call it the terrible whose because I would like to know whose child this is. Whose child is this because my little Savannah doesn't have her sass turned on all the time.

Don't get me wrong she is definitely sassy and has her moments like most children but the frequency of these moments of sass has been increasing over the week. I can not take it. I've heard a lot of people say that they never experienced the terrible twos. Lately I've heard people say they had a terrible third year. Since we're only a few months away from Savannah's third birthday I can only wonder if that's where we're headed. 

Since we're only in the beginning stages I haven't seen a full on tantrum yet. Right now I've just been hearing a lot of "No!", "Why?" and "Why not?". I have to admit sometimes it makes me chuckle. However,  it's only cute or funny for so long. I have got to nip this new level of sass in the bud. It's hard because I feel like she inherited this attitude. That's no excuse though. 

I'm starting to figure out how to deal with it. I don't want her behavior to get too out of hand. I know some people will say "She'll grow out of it." or "All kids go through this.". I honestly can't wait for her to ride this wave out. She needs to know what is and what isn't acceptable behavior. If I don't teach her that than who will? How have you dealt with behavior changes with your small child?