Letting Go of the Pre-Baby Body Image

We women can be hard on ourselves, can't we? Trying for perfection.


But, none of us will ever get there. We'll just make ourselves crazy trying.


That notion of perfection is what was behind my poor body image. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see what was really there: I just saw a body that is not the same as what it was pre-baby.


That image of what I used to look like kept haunting and taunting me, making it impossible to be able to see what I truly look like now. And it's time to let that go.


I need to let go of the idea that my body, after being through three pregnancies and breastfeeding three baby boys...not to mention aging over 7 years since I first got pregnant....will ever go back to exactly how it once was.


It's okay to workout, to eat right, and to try to get myself in better shape. In fact, that is a healthy thing.


But, to constantly compare my real mama body to that of twenty-something pre-kids me isn't healthy. 


So, I'm letting go of that pre-baby body image and embracing my new curves and softness.

Perfect? Nah, who needs that? But, I can be okay with who I am, mom curves and all.

The fabulous SITS Girls are doing a series on Letting Go. On Tuesday, you can click over there to see more details on their Women on the Move Channel. On Thursday, they will have a linky so that you can link up your own post about what you are letting go of. You can also follow along on twitter with #SITSLettingGo.  I hope that you will join in this wonderful community of women.

P.S. You don't really think I'm outside completely naked for this pic, do you? ;)

Full of Wonder

In a house with three boys:

a Kindergartener, a Preschooler, and a toddler,

Life can be LOUD.

And busy.

And messy:

In more ways than one.

But, it is also:

Smiles over Santa and his elves.

Believing in magic.

Cookies baking.

Craft-making:

Even when the glue is in their hair more than on their projects.

Lots of laughter.

Excitement.

Full of wonder.

This is what I wish for you and yours this holiday season:

The wonder.

And to remember:

Those things that don't go as planned:

not to get stressed over them.

It's the memories that are important.

The wonder.

 

But don't forget to blog about the disasters.

So that we can all have a giggle.

Joining in with Merry SITS-mas!

If you are visiting for the first time, you might want to check out this post.

My Magical Zoo: Halloween Parade

Did your kids have fun trick-or-treating?


Mine are candy-obsessed and love to dress up, so they adore Halloween!


My oldest was very insistent that he be Harry Potter for Halloween. No one believes me, because of my Harry Potter obsession, but this was all his idea. I never suggested HP to him. But, he was on a mission in the costume store, breezing by everything else, trying to find a Harry Potter costume. I tried to distract him with a zookeeper costume since his little brothers were going to be animals. And I thought it would be adorable to have him been their keeper.


But, no go. So, Harry Potter it was! I think he makes an adorable Harry.

He's not really a fan of me taking that many pics of him and gives me the stink eye very quickly.

He totally gets that look from me, I admit it.

If you look closely, you can see his lightning bolt scar. Yes, I drew it on his head with marker.

My middle son was a lion. I adore these fleece two-piece costumes and am very sad that he will be too big for these types next year. They grow too quickly.

Then, there's the baby. Well, okay, he's nearing the 2.5 mark, so maybe I shouldn't call him a baby any more, but he's MY baby!


When you are the youngest of three, you have your choice of handmedowns costumes and my little man went with each of them. One on the day of his brother's Halloween party at school- he wanted to be dressed up, too. Another for mall trick-or-treating, and a third for trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

Everyone thought he was a girl in his giraffe costume because he wouldn't keep the hood up and his long curls were bouncing.

Join in with the SITS Girls, who have some of the best blogging tips, for a Halloween parade and a chance to win a fabulous camera. That I so desperately need. Luckily, my mil let me borrow her camera or I would have had no pics from Halloween!


What did your children dress up as? I want to see pics!


Btw, I'm working on my most emotional Pour Your Heart Out ever...if I can only get it into words. I hope that you will stop by on Wednesday- and link up, too!

Making Something Special(?) for Halloween

I'm really not all that crafty.


I would love to be, but I'm really such a mess when it comes to things like that.


Plus, I'm scared to ever let my children anywhere near glue again.


So, when the challenge from the SITS Girls was to share something that we created for Halloween, I was a little stumped.


Do you know what we created this Halloween? Probably the worst memories for our kids. We created yet another thing they can blame us for later, when they are complaining to their therapists.


Because on Friday night, we took them to a pumpkin patch.


On a hayride.


A haunted hayride.


Yes. In the dark. Through the scary woods. With crazy monsters that jump out of the woods and JUMP UP ONTO THE WAGON AND SCREAM AT YOU.


Or, slam their chainsaw down on the hay bale next to you.


And yes, my boys are 5, 4, and 2.


Whose idea was this anyway?


Oh, that's right. Hubs, of course.


Though, my 2 year old thought it was hilarious and laughed the whole time. And my 4 year old took it all in stride, even when the Grim Reaper tapped him with his death sickle. Or whatever that thing is called. Until the chainsaw guy popped up right in his face. Then he freaked out.


My 5 year-old hated the whole thing. From the very beginning when the creepy voice warned as as we were going into the woods that we shouldn't enter. "Mommy, he said not to enter. Why don't we turn back?" And then he tried to boss all the monsters around, telling them to get off our wagon and leave us alone.


My kids were far from the only ones on the hayride and not even the youngest. The three year old beside us ended up on the floor of the wagon, with his blanket over his head.


I don't think that the haunted hayride will be something that we do anytime again until our boys are teenagers at least! Because I really don't need to create any more traumatic memories for my kids.


And after we frightened our kids- here's a treat for them, too:


This is a treat that I've made for several Halloween parties. Because kids get enough candy. Make peanut butter sandwiches with Ritz crackers, then insert pretzel sticks for legs. Attach raisins with pb for eyes. There you go- a cute Halloween spider treat.

When Costumes Were Plastic...or Pajamas

Kids today don't know how lucky that have it.

That could be applied to MANY things these days.

But, right now, I'm talking about Halloween costumes!

It used to be that you either bought a plastic costume with the flimsy plastic mask or you wore some of your regular clothes in a creative way to make a costume. Unless you were lucky enough to have a mom who could sew.

My kids have been dinosaurs, bunnies, knights, firefighters, cute monsters(as opposed to scary), giraffes, and monkeys. All adorable costumes. Purchased, of course. My excuse for not sewing is that there are so many cute costumes out there, that it's okay to buy. Plus, you know, I can't sew.

I'm linking up with the SITS Girls today for a Halloween blast from the past and showing you one of my old costumes. In case you didn't know, they have the best blogging tips! Honestly, a lot of the credit for my blog growing the way it has in the past year goes to them. (I had about 50 readers in early October last year- and then I discovered SITS!)  Oh, and Tiffany is pretty.

Back to Halloween: One year, I was Minnie Mouse. With a cute dress straight from my closet that had Minnie printed all over it and a plastic Minnie mask. Another year I was Smurfette, with a blue turtleneck, blue tights, white slip with Smurfette printed on it, and a Smurfette mask. Another year, I was Cheer Bear: the plastic costume and mask, of course.

But, the picture I have to share with you is from 1980. Yup, THIRTY YEARS AGO.  I was three. Yes, I'll totally flaunt my age. Being in your thirties is FABULOUS, you know!

I was Strawberry Shortcake.

I wore my Strawberry Shortcake nightgown and my mom found me a red wig and some sort of hat that was supposed to look something like Miss Shortcake's. Except that I'm pretty sure that it was a plastic shower cap.

Lord only knows what my brother was supposed to be.

Do you have a favorite or at least memorable Halloween costume from when you were growing up? Share with me in the comments or write your own post about it and link it up with SITS.


There is a contest to win a fabulous camera going on over there. That I'm not too proud to beg for. Since my camera is completely dead. After just 15 months. This is where I point out that *I* was not the one who wanted to get anything other than a Canon. That was Hubs. GRRRRRR! See, me winning the Canon camera from SITS- would not only give me a fabulous camera to take pics of my kids(stuck with disposables for now!), but it would let me be all obnoxious and prove to Hubs that I'm right and that Canons are always better.

It's My Day!

My SITS day! I used to see this button all over the place and think it was some secret society that I had to be invited to join. Instead, it's a very welcoming and supportive group of ladies!

Welcome, welcome!


I would have cleaned up for you, but I hate housework.  Besides, I have three boys ages 5 and under- they just tear through and mess things up anyway, so why bother? No, we're not going to keep trying for a girl. Three kids is a good size for our family, regardless of gender.


Step over any messes you see and c'mon in. I'm Shell, a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom who is a beach girl at heart. Thanks for stopping by to visit Things I Can't Say.


If this is the Things I Can't Say, is this blog just blank? you might be wondering.


It's more The Things I Can't Say outloud.


The Things I Can't Say to someone I just met at a playdate for my boys.


The Things I Can't Say or it would mortify mil and my mom. And possibly Hubs. And maybe my friends.


 But, it's all got to come out somehow- and that's what this blog is for.


I started blogging as a way to keep track of all my boys' milestones and cute stories. But, as soon as I told one funny little story that involved my boys' fascination with a certain body part and how they thought it resembled a magic growing beanstalk, that was enough for my family. And I realized that maybe I had more to say than just the cute little stories. So, I started this blog- anonymously.


I like not having to censor myself. You always get my honest opinions on parenting, marriage, friendship, and whatever else happens to pop into my head.  The good, the bad, the ugly- but it's always genuine me.


So, to show you around a little bit- other than checking out my favs, where you will find mama anger, a post about who I used to be, a challenge about sex, and a really embarrassing/hilarious video of Hubs and Bil dancing:


I have a tendency to struggle as I try to make mom friends. If you want to know what  a "motherbitch" is and how to avoid being one, you can check out this post.


Hubs and I have been married for seven years now, but I have to tell you that I think romance is overrated.


Though I do have a romantic side and fully believe that people come into our lives for a reason, even if it's just for a day.  This post is part of the meme I started about two months ago: Pour Your Heart Out, which you can participate in on Wednesdays- anything that you consider pouring your heart out. It gives you an excuse to talk about anything that is weighing on you or an issue that is important to you.


And, in case you are wondering what life is like in a house with all boys, you can read about brotherly "love" here.


Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my blog!