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I've been meaning to post but.. Nadia and Sami have been at each other's throats the past two days! I don't know if it has to do with the rain and the fact we haven't been able to get out or what.. Maybe there is a full moon or something? Samirah's been super cranky which makes me question everything I know about Mommyhood, and Husam's also been extra crabby and more helpless than normal.
So. ***Sighs*** I haven't had enough time or energy to sit down and think of something funny, witty, or interesting to say. Do you forgive me?
Luckily, tomorrow should be nice. And we have a LLL meeting in the morning where Nadia will have some playmates. Then I'm taking a trip to Kohl's.. I got a 30% off peelie so I want to go hit up the clearance racks! woo hoo! Then I may even take the kiddos to the lake after lunch. Go go go! Like that book Nadia reads.. "Go Dog GO" Only my version is "Go Mommy.. GO!"
I'm hoping they will all be more cheerful tomorrow. Truly more for their sake than my own. I love them no matter what but I know I don't like very much to be in a bad mood and feeling out of sorts. So I imagine it's not very fun for them...
So. once they chaos calms. I will be back with something of substance to say.
Any suggestions? I'm thinking of an Adventures in Tandem Nursing post.. Or something along those lines.. :-)
PS- Still waiting on Samirah's petti/tutu and I'll def have an awesome photo shoot when I get it!
I blog so much about my children I never get to blog about my awesome husband Husam! I met Husam when I had first turned 18. I'm 27 now! It's hard to believe 9 years have gone by.. But they have. Things aren't always perfect, and we've definitely had our share or hard times, but we've come out the other side. Closer than what we were before... I'd like to think.
Our friends had set us up. Thinking, since we were both Middle Eastern we'd have a lot in common! I thought this was a rather silly reason to set two people up, but I guess it really wasn't all that silly since I ended up marrying the guy...
I remember speaking to him on the phone for the first time. There were no awkward silences. He was so easy to talk to. It was like talking to an old friend whom I'd known my whole life. We hit it off pretty well over the phone so we had decided to meet up in person. (with our friends who had set us up of course "just in case")
We all went out for dinner and I thought he was just tops! I was completely enamored by him. I remember at the end of our first date, I turned to my best friend and I said "THAT is the man I'm going to marry" I truly believed it too. Everyone called me crazy.. But I did marry him. So I guess I wasn't as crazy as they thought.
We dated for nearly 3 years before we decided to get married. But we had talked about it so much it was just a natural step for us. We knew we wanted to share our lives together. Start a family together. The whole Sha-bang!
Our first year of marriage was fantastic, the second year (When I was pregnant with Nadia) was tough, and the year after as well.. I think he had a tough time adjusting into parenthood. It was definitely a difficult time for us and I wondered how we'd ever come out of it okay.
But we did. Six years of marriage later we are stronger than ever. He's my best friend. And I like to think I'm his. He tells me I am anyways. Our life does not revolve around outside friends. Neither of us really have many. We definitely don't go out with them. Our lives revolve around our little family.. He works so hard so I can stay home with our kids. Something we both feel strongly about. I don't think I tell him quite often enough how much I truly appreciate that.
We have our moments, trust me. But overall, there isn't any other person I can imagine being with in this life. He isn't perfect, but for all his imperfections there are many more things that make me love him like crazy. Even after all these years.
So I've heard a lot of to-do lately about breastfeeding effecting a marriage negatively. Now, I have nursed all 3 of my kids. Still nursing my two youngest in fact. And I like to think I have a pretty strong marriage...
My husband and I have been together for 9 years. The very happiest years of my life for sure. So as I hear people suggesting that breastfeeding could be effecting us negatively I decided to take a step back and evaluate.
We have, like I mentioned, 3 beautiful children. I always new I'd breastfeed. I think if your REALLY going to do it, you have an idea going in that it's what you want. In fact I believe I heard at one of my LLL meetings that by the age of 16 a girl has a clear positive or negative view of nursing. I don't know where I got my view from since NO ONE in my family breastfed. I just knew it was best. And of course, I wanted to be the best Mom ever to my kids. So breastfeeding it was!
I remember Husam being very supportive when it came to nursing Nadia.. In his religion, breastfeeding is mandatory for at least 2 years. So he never batted an eye at all the boobin' co-sleeping, and baby wearing that was going on in our house.
True, for the past 4 and a half years there has been a child between us in our bed lol. But he's never complained to me. And we've obviously found a way to have more kids! lol Two fold! So I decided to ask him if he felt our marriage was being negatively effected by my breastfeeding. His answer? "Are you out of your mind? No way!" He went on to explain that watching me nurture and do what is without a doubt BEST for our kids, he's only fell in love with me more. I think we can both acknowledge our relationship is different than it was- say .. 6 years ago. But I think kids change that regardless. And I don't think it's a bad thing.
We both recognize this time is about raising our family in the best way we can. Sure, there are sacrifices. But we plan on being together for the rest of our lives! So these young years, when I'm needed SO much by them, are really a blink of an eye. And what husband wouldn't understand that? What marriage would really break under something so beautiful and wonderful??
So has breastfeeding destroyed our marriage? Put it on the rocks?? No way. Has it changed it?? Sure.. No more than having kids has though. And only for now. There will be a time when our kids grow up, move out of our home, and we will again be left with each other. Loving one and other much more than we did to begin with.
What about you? How do YOU feel breastfeeding has effected your marriage?
I have heard women say they lose themselves after having children.. For me.. It is the opposite. Having my children has made me find myself. In a whole new way. I am "Mommy" "Mom" "Mama" "Maaaa!" and I wouldn't have it any other way.
My kids are my whole entire life... I can't imagine living without them. And I almost can't remember life before them.. How did I live then ? Without these precious people in my life.
Having children is such a miracle. They are m
ade from something so small.. They grow, inside of you, into an entire person! As if that isn't amazing enough, Your body KNOWS how to birth them.. Without any aid, without any help, your body knows. And then, from no where, there they are.. They come into this world so tiny and fragile, they depend on you for everything.. And then they begin to grow (Far too fast if you ask me) And they bless you everyday with their words and actions..
I promise you there isn't a day that goes by that I don't hit my knees and thank God for blessing me with my children. I thank Him for trusting me with the most wonderful little people. For believing I can do a good job in raising them.
For all the hardships of Motherhood. For all of the sacrifice, there is no way on earth I'd ever trade it for anything else in this world.
I always knew I wanted to be a Mother. It was one thing I was always sure of. I have always loved everything about babies. So when Husam and I got married I wanted to have children right away. Husam wanted to wait a bit, but we compromised and Nadia was conceived 9 months into our marriage. I remember being pregnant and asking my Mom "But what will I do with her when we get home?!" She said- She will let you know ;-) And she did.
I found you can never understand the love your parents have for you until you have children. I knew my parents loved me of course.. But until I experienced the love of a Mother for myself, I could never comprehend how unconditional, how strong, how powerful, how amazingly consuming the love of a Mother is. I remember looking at my first daughter when she was a few days old and thinking "wow. my Mom REALLY loves me"
I don't let a day go by where I don't tell my kids how much I love them. I tell them several times a day , everyday. And I am glad for this, because Nadia who is 4 now will just randomly say "I love you Momma" I always tell her "I love you too baby, more than anything in the whole world!!!" She's such a loving little girl.
I am lucky. Sometimes I think.. Why do I deserve this? My children are amazing. I am blessed. I am loved. I am Mommy. And guess what? There isn't anything else I'd rather be.
