Yes, I Have All Girls. No, You Don’t Need to Feel Sorry for Me.

By

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June 1, 2015

As the mother of three little girls, I feel so lucky. My first pregnancy (twins) was not a very easy one, and resulted in two preemies who had a long battle in the NICU. When I became pregnant again a few years later, I was so grateful to experience a normal, healthy pregnancy. In all honesty, I didn’t care if this baby would be a girl or a boy. All I wanted was to deliver a healthy baby who could come home with me. No surgeries, no NICU, no ventilators. Just a healthy baby.

When we found out this baby was another girl, I was so excited. Three beautiful girls! How blessed am I? After finding out, I spent the next few days imagining the new baby in all my big girls’ old clothes, imagining helping three girls get ready for prom, and all the other fun things mothers get to do with daughters. But apparently, the rest of the world didn’t see it quite that way.

“Oh man! Your poor husband!”

“Welp, looks like you’ll have to have another!”

What? Why?! Why would anyone feel bad for my husband for having three healthy children? Why would I have to try for a boy? Guess what, world- a perfect family is a happy, healthy one… not necessarily one that has an equal number of male and female anatomy. If you have all girls or all boys, you’ve likely heard these comments, too. Or if you have one of each, I’m sure you’ve heard many people say something like, “oh! A boy and a girl! You can be done now!”. Maybe it’s just me- but having strangers in Target comment on if I should have any more children just irks me. It’s certainly not their decision, nor any of their business.

Yes, the perfect all-American family is usually drawn with a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a dog, and a white picket fence. My family photo might not look like that, but I certainly don’t need anyone to feel sorry for me. And here’s why:

1. My three girls are the best of friends, and likely always will be. Even as adults, my sisters are my best friends. Of course, I love my brother to death… but there is just something a little different about the sisterly bond (same with the bond between brothers). My sisters and I have talked about things my brother would never want to hear. We hang out, we share clothes, we get pedicures together. Sisters are built-in best friends. Likewise, my brother grew up best friends with a family full of boys. And they wrestled each other, and played baseball together, and built forts together. There’s just something special about same gender siblings.

2. It has saved me a ton of money! I’ll never have to buy my youngest a single piece of clothing in her life. She has bins and bins of clothes in every size saved from her sisters, waiting for her to grow into. Of course, I still do buy her things, because who can resist those adorable newborn baby girl outfits… but, the majority of the time, baby rocks her hand me downs!

3. It makes getting along a little easier. Usually. While I certainly don’t believe in “boy toys” and “girl toys” (my girls have a garage full of skateboards, hockey sticks, and 4 wheelers… as well as playroom full of Barbies), let’s face it- no matter how hard I tried to be gender neutral, my girls tend to favor typical-girly things most of the time. So, there’s very few arguments when it comes to what movie to watch, which game to play, etc. They’re into the same shows, the same toys, and the same activities.

4. They complete me. My three girls- each so beautiful and full of life and unique- absolutely complete me. It’s hard to remember life before them and impossible to imagine life without them. They are my greatest accomplishment, the reason for my every breath; my world revolves around them. My heart is so full and complete.

Don’t get me wrong. We fight over toys and who gets to wear what outfit. Our house is loud and full of sass. And we are inevitably going to have many more fights and stressful nights. But, my family is perfect. And a little boy wouldn’t have made my heart any fuller. So, yes… my husband is outnumbered, but you don’t need to feel sorry for him. Yes, we have all girls… and we wouldn’t want it any other way!

Are you an all-boy mom? Or an all-girl mom? Heard those comments before? I’d love to hear why it makes your family perfect! Chime in below!

Introducing the DMBs of Kim Colon

By

Kim C.

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June 1, 2015

Hello! My name is Kim Colon and I am a career woman by day and wife/mommy by, well… all the time! My husband David and I are raising a sweet and sassy 2 year old girl, Iva, who is constantly keeping us on our toes.

{Down with Detroit}

As an outdoors family, we spend time each summer in the gorgeous Upper Peninsula and on Lake Michigan. When we can’t get away we like to walk, bike, swim and explore all of the metro parks and we are always looking for new places to try. Living here our entire lives, we are still surprised by what the metro area has to offer and that is why we are trying to instill our great love of all things Michigan in our daughter. Making a happy and healthy home are our priorities and we work every day to make sure we get the most out of every experience from lying in bed watching cartoons on Sunday mornings to trips to the Zoo. We are finding the love in the little things in our life and trying not to take our blessings for granted!

{My Life}

We started our family when I was 38 so our perspective as first time parents was little different than most of our friends who started 10 years before us. Or so we thought! We have had the fortunate and amazing experience of 11 nieces and nephews under our belts along with many friends whose kids we consider family and who call us Auntie and Uncle so we were prepared for anything. Or so we thought! As any new parent can attest, babysitting is nothing to compare to 24/7. Surprises abounded and we delighted in everyone. Maybe delighted is too strong a word; we were fascinated at every turn. We were… sleep deprived, deliriously happy and still learning. Still, even with the surprises we had in store for us, I considered myself a laid back first time mom. I didn’t sweat the dog hair or the paci that fell on the ground. I was not bothered by spit-up and I went with my gut instead of old wives tales. I worried more about daycare and training wheels and college. My husband on the other hand, turns out to be more of “helicopter” dad. He fretted even the hint of a cry, every wobbly step and now the reckless toddler. Then again, he’s Slurpee’s and I am organic soy milk. We make it work!

I found that my platonic friendship with photography suddenly became a passionate love affair and I started documenting every week and then month with a milestone chalkboard. I planned elaborate photo shoots without the chalkboard carefully selecting outfits and lighting. It’s an obsession that continues today.

{Baby + Beyond}

I stopped reading novels by the truckload and started reading mom blogs and devouring Pinterest in my few quiet hours each day. (Along with reading about 17 children’s books a day!) I stopped watching E! and started watching Sprout. I stopped eating hummus for dinner and started cooking meals. I changed a lot of old habits and hobbies. I regret nothing.

That brought me here. Finding an amazing community of supportive and inspiring moms, from all walks of life with varied opinions and ideas made me want to contribute my own. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could help brighten a day, share an idea, inspire a change and most importantly just make someone smile.

Summer Recipe Series: Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

By

Jessica Maurer

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May 29, 2015

Summer in Michigan and grilling go hand in hand, sure technically we could grill year round but there is just something special about the sun shining down while the smoke rises up and that unmistakable sizzle when the food hits the grates (plus having to shovel a path to your grill is a real bummer!).

I love making kabobs, they cook fast, there is more surface area for marinades or glazes to hang on to and kids think food on a stick is fun! One of our family’s favorite flavor combos is pineapple and chicken in a soy sauce based marinade. I found this one from Pinterest a few years ago and we really like it.

Eating organically is important to me but we are also a single income household and I have to be conscious of that as I make decisions in the grocery store. Some things are far more important than others to buy organic and in this recipe the chicken, sugar, and soy are my focus. Organic chicken is not given any drugs, hormones or antibiotics and also is never fed GMO corn. Sugar and Soybeans are 2 of the crops most likely to be grown from GMO seeds in this country but anything certified organic has been proven to not be GMO. The price difference is not that great on the sugar and soy and it is well worth it in this case.

Making the marinade was quick and easy, the pineapple I bought already cored – Pineapple is on the EWG ‘Clean Fifteen’ list and likely not contaminated with pesticides, it is also not likely to be a GMO crop so buying conventional is a safe bet….I am just terrible at coring a pineapple myself and I would rather pay a little extra to eliminate that stress so I simply sliced the pineapple and 2 of the slices I further cut into chunks and tossed those in the marinade with the chunks of chicken.

For the chicken I actually only used one large breast for this recipe – I am amazed how far I can usually stretch chicken when I serve it cut up in some way and with other veggies or fruits to fill up the plate. When I serve full breasts I usually need 3 (one for my husband and I each and one for my 2 young kids to split) but since these kabobs are going to be skewered with pineapple and served with rice, a filling side dish, I know that one large breast will be enough. This is another way to save, organic meats are more expensive than conventional and I know that can add up really fast so every little bit helps. Full disclosure, we probably could have used a little bit more, not a full second breast but I also didn’t want leftovers because we are going out of town tomorrow, otherwise I would probably have done 2 breasts. If you need more than 2 medium to large breasts to feed your family I would recommend doubling the marinade.

I let the chicken and pineapple chunks marinate for a few hours before sliding them on to metal skewers. I have learned to leave a little space between pieces to ensure even cooking. If you are using wooden skewers make sure to soak them for at least 20 minutes ahead of time to minimize burning. My grill was pre heating while I put together the kabobs so I oiled it quick and placed my skewers so that I could still close the lid on the grill. I turned them about every 5 minutes until they were fully cooked and we all enjoyed them with a side of long grain brown rice and green beans.

I had meant to toss the pineapple rings onto the grill during the last five minutes of cooking but I forgot! I really like the flavor grilling gives to fruits and pineapple rings are super easy to grill so I highly recommend it.

This is an easy light meal with tons of flavor that is perfect for a Michigan summer evening – enjoy!

[yumprint-recipe id=’1′]

Introducing the DMB’s of Aubrey Moon

By

aubreymoon

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May 29, 2015

{DOWN WITH DETROIT}

I grew up in a small town along the St. Clair River about 50 miles north of Detroit. When I was young, I remember going to my first Tigers game with my parents and little brother and being in awe of the culture that surrounded old Tigers Stadium. My dad did business in the city, and still continues to this day; I think it was his knowledge of streets, buildings and the history of Detroit that taught me to appreciate the “Detroit hustles harder” mentality. I love the pride that Detroiters (those residing in the city limits and those like me who live in the ‘burbs) have for their city and I am working hard to instill that in my family.

My husband, Brian, was born and raised in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. He will be the first to tell you about the beauty of his hometown. It wasn’t until his college years that he even visited Detroit. It took a few Tigers and Red Wings games, along with cruises up and down Woodward for him to understand all that Detroit has to offer… I think I’m finally able to coin him a fan.

163456_10100434871650544_2822486_n — Brian and me at a Michigan State basketball game back in 2010

Together we enjoy heading downtown to check out the latest on the restaurant scene and occasionally meet up with friends and former co-workers of mine for happy hour amongst some of the coolest architecture in the city. Detroit has so much to offer, and we’re just at the forefront of what it will be like for my son’s generation.

{MY LIFE}

Brian and I were both advertising majors at Michigan State, but it wasn’t until spring semester of our junior year that our paths crossed, and we found out that we shared nearly half of the same friends. We met in a media planning class; yes, I still remember the room number in the ComArts building and the desk at which we both sat. After a few group projects and classes together, we began dating, and I had a gut feeling early on that he was the man I would marry.

AubreyMoon1 — Highlights from our almost three years of marriage

After graduation, we both worked in Lansing for a year before deciding we wanted to live the big city life together and move to Chicago. We lived in a high rise in the heart of the financial district, just steps away from the Sears Tower and Millennium Park. It was an ideal situation for two 20-somethings working in advertising. The day before Brian’s 24^th birthday we got engaged while taking our dog, Macy, for a walk in front of Buckingham Fountain. It was perfect: the proposal, the ring, and the celebration at our apartment afterwards.

As you can imagine, long distance wedding planning isn’t as easy as one would hope. It felt like we were driving home every weekend to meet with vendors or to go dress shopping. Brian was getting burnt out from his job and my cousin was expecting her first child; we made the decision to move back to Metro Detroit. We wanted to be closer to family and eventually start our own.

After we got married, which, by the way, was a perfect summer day (70* and partly cloudy); we moved our things from Chicago to our parents’ basements before moving into our first home. People say you should only make one life-changing event per year, but because we like a good challenge, we decided to get married, buy our first home and start new jobs within a month of each other. I even signed us up to be on House Hunters! (I was the “crazy” wife that didn’t want stainless steel. SPOILER ALERT: I’m not as passionate about stainless steel IRL as I appeared on the show). It was a whirlwind of a honeymoon period for us, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Aubrey Moon-House Hunters — Filming House Hunters

We settled into our life as newlyweds just fine. I worked at an agency in Detroit handling the consumer-facing advertising for one of the Big Three and loved every minute of my 50+ hour workweek. On the weekends, I worked at my girlfriends’ fitness studio, The Barre Code, and began to take more of an interest in fitness. Brian is still at the same job today, as a sales manager for Premier Business Products handling the office equipment needs of Southeast Michigan.

{BABIES & BEYOND}

I bet if you ask my friends, they would say they had me pinpointed to be one of the first to have children. If you ask the same question to Brian’s friends, I’m not sure they’d have the same answer. Nonetheless, we were the first of our friends to welcome a sweet baby into the world. We chose to keep the gender a surprise (best reward ever, IMO) and Holden was born on August 12 during the torrential downpour of 2014. I’m mesmerized by how quickly he’s growing and fast he’s learning. He is such a lover and yearns to make people laugh. I know that one day he will make a dependable and caring big brother. Until then, he will continue his role as little brother to our sweet Macy.

AubreyMoon2 — Holden representing the Spartans & Tigers, and playing with Macy

While I loved my corporate job, I know I was meant to be a mom. Last fall, I stepped away from my full time advertising job so that I could be home with Holden. I now manage The Barre Code in Rochester Hills, and it allows me to live a healthy lifestyle with flexible hours.

TBC has changed my outlook on life tremendously, especially since having a baby. I take pride in the things I’m able to do and am always pushing myself to be a better daughter, sister, friend, wife and mom than I was yesterday. I’m excited to share my journey into motherhood with you all and hope you’ll bear with me as I learn along the way.

The photo on the left is me after Brawl class just five days before I gave birth... on the right is me after the same class seven months postpartum. — Left: Following The Barre Code’s Brawl class five days before I gave birth. Right: Following TBC’s Brawl class seven months postpartum.

Connect with me on Twitter & Instagram @aubzim!

Weekend Happenings May 29-31

By

Darlene Waller

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May 28, 2015

Chevrolet Belle Isle Grand Prix

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29 – Sunday May 31, gates open at 7:30 am

{Cost}
Free on Friday, see website for ticket info

{Location}

Belle Isle Raceway

Detroit

*

Titanic at the Redford Theatre

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29, 8 pm

{Cost}
$5 per person

{Location}
17360 Lahser Rd.

Detroit

*

Birmingham Village Fair

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29 from noon – 11 pm, Saturday from 11 am – 11 pm, Sunday noon – 9 pm

{Cost}
Free entry, ride wristbands $15 – $20

{Location}
Shain Park

Downtown Birmingham

*

Macomb Fair and Expo

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29 & Saturday May 30 from 3 pm – midnight, Sunday noon – 11 pm

{Cost}
Free entry, ride wristbands $25

{Location}
Gibraltar Trade Center

Mount Clemens

*

Grosse Ile Islandfest

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29, 4 pm – midnight, Saturday 10 am – midnight, Sunday 9 am – 4 pm

{Cost}
Free

{Location}
Grosse Isle Municipal Airport, 9601 Groh Rd.

Grosse Ile

*

DIA Drop-in Workshops

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29, see website for full schedule

{Cost}
Free

{Location}
5200 Woodward Ave.

Detroit

*

New Kids on The Block at the Palace

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29 @7 pm

{Cost}
$29.50 – $102.50

{Location}
The Palace of Auburn Hills

Auburn Hills

*

Dinosauria at the Detroit Zoo

{Date + Time}
Saturday May 30, 9 am – 5 pm

{Cost}
Free with zoo admission

{Location}
8450 W. Ten Mile Rd.

Royal Oak

*

Banana Rama Storytime & Crafts with Cowboy Alex

{Date + Time}
Saturday May 30 from 11 am – 11:45 am

{Cost}
$5, registration required

{Location}
Royal Oak Senior Community Center, 3500 Marais St.

Royal Oak

*

Welcome To Detroit! The All-in-One Bus Tour

{Date + Time}
Saturday May 30 @ 10 am

{Cost}
$30, registration required

{Location}
The Urban Bean, 200 Grand River Ave.

Detroit

*

Museums on Us by Bank of America/Merril Lynch

{Date + Time}
Saturday May 30 & Sunday May 31st during museum hours

{Cost}
Free

{Location}
Various Museums throughout Metro Detroit

Detroit

*

Friday Fun Campfire

{Date + Time}
Friday May 29 @ 7 pm

{Cost}
Adults/ $10, kids/ $5

{Location}
West Bloomfield Parks

West Bloomfield

*

Paddlepalooza

{Date + Time}
Saturday May 30 @ 8 am

{Cost}
$20 per person, registration required

{Location}
Clinton River

Auburn Hills

*

Rochester Hills Mom 2 Mom Sale

{Date + Time}
Saturday May 30 from 9 am – 1 pm

{Cost}
Free

{Location}
Rochester Adams High School

Rochester Hills

*

Oakland County Farmers Market

{Date + Time}
Sunday May 31st from 6:30 am – 2 pm

{Cost}
Free

{Location}
2350 Pontiac Lake Rd.

Waterford

*

School’s Out for Summer… {but Mom’s not.}

By

Meghan Simonie

-

May 28, 2015

{School’s Out – What now?}

Whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom, or maybe a teacher that is already thinking about next year, we can all agree that it is important to keep our child’s mind as active as they are during summer break. However, we can also agree… that is the opposite of an easy task!

Thankfully, through this lovely, Detroit mom of two, you can make learning and speech development fun! Jennifer is a speech therapist that works primarily with children from ages 2-10. She has developed her own blog that allows both parents and teachers to discuss and learn about our children’s learning and development. She also has great resources for purchasing and even winning your own tools to use at home with your children!

25-jsto25of26 — Jennifer, Owen, and Clark

{Making speech therapy fun}

I had the privilege of speaking with this inspiring mommy to see just how she figured out ways to make learning and development fun! She too had some difficulty with her speech as a young girl, specifically, trouble with ‘r’ words. She has fond memories of truly enjoying the time she spent with her speech therapist and looked forward to all the fun she had with her. Jennifer also knew that she definitely wanted to work with kids, so viola! She followed her dream and is now an amazing speech therapist for young children!

One of her most recent posts highlights the importance of continuing speech development with children throughout the summer. She indicates that if you just routinely read to your child, or even just describe daily activities to them, it will continue to progress their speech development.

{A More Serious Note}

Summer learning loss is a HUGE problem for children, teachers, and parents! While I don’t think that children should not be allowed to have a summer, I do think that it is crucial to continue learning and development and find time to work with our children throughout the summer. The Huffington Post recently posted an article detailing the statistics of how summer learning loss affects children when returning to school. Over 65% of teachers surveyed noted that it takes 3-4 weeks at the beginning of each school year to reteach subject matter from the previous year.

Most parents are willing (and wanting) to get their children involved in summer camp. There are plenty of resources now available to get your children in summer programs that help their learning and development but are still fun! If you are on a budget and can’t swing paying for camps or programs, try doing some of the items the Huffington Post article suggested like a family book club, visiting the local library and city learning events, or even recruiting your little one as your summer event planner!

Either way you do it, summer learning can be so beneficial to our children, especially when it is so fun, they don’t realize they are doing it!

Introducing the DMB’s of Jill Mitra

By

jillmitra

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May 28, 2015

{Down with Detroit}

My name is Jill Mitra and I am a stay-at-home mother of three. I moved to the Detroit area from Chicago four short years ago. I feel so blessed to live here and raise my family in such an amazing community of people. I spend my time with my three amazing kids playing, doing art, and cooking delicious food.

{My Life}

I grew up in rural Iowa with my teacher parents. My dad became a principal while I was young and ended up taking a position at the high school I graduated from. I followed high school by studying nutrition at Western Illinois University where my love of food and cooking blossomed. I began working at restaurants while attending college and after University I moved to Chicago to continue my restaurant career. Before I knew it I was the youngest Manager for a huge restaurant group in downtown Chicago. I was working at said restaurant when I met my husband who soon became a regular. He pursued me for six months before I finally agreed to a date and he has been my partner in life ever since.

My husband and I married in Chicago. At the time I was working 70 hours a week at the restaurant and having a family was the furthest thing from my mind. My husband was starting his own company and financial security seemed like a very distant light at the end of a tunnel. But surprise surprise we found out we were expecting our first child. Our baby, now 5 years old, was born in Chicago on a spectacular spring day, and our worlds were forever rocked. We stayed in our cramped apartment until she was almost 1 and I found out I was pregnant again. Instead of moving to the suburbs we opted to move to my husbands home turf in beautiful Michigan.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when we moved from familiar Chicago to the suburbs of Detroit. Being from out of town, I hadn’t always heard the nicest things about Detroit, but I was ready with an open mind to get to know my new city. I have never felt more at home than I do in this community. I love my new home town which fills my need for space and nature, but we are so close to vibrant down town with all the culture and benefits a big city has to offer.

One subject about my life that really impacts our family is that my husband is a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober for four years now. He took his last drink exactly one week after our daughter turned one year old and, if all goes well, our children will never see him drink again. It has been a long journey for our relationship and recovery takes hard work and dedication from both he and I. I have learned so much from, not only my husband, but the other men and women I’ve meet through AA (alcoholics anonymous). I am filled with gratitude and take things one day at a time. I look forward to sharing my experiences with others and learning more about members of this community.

{Babies + Beyond}

We now have three children, a daughter 5, son 3, and baby boy 8 months old, plus a big old dog and, if I have my way, a few chickens by the end of summer. I enjoy staying home with my kids and each day is a new adventure. We like to stay physically active through lots of outdoor play, riding bikes, and swimming. My daughter is a budding artist with a beautiful spirit and she shares my love for nature and animals. My son has enough energy to share and is a rough and tumble three year old with the most loving heart. Last, but not least, my sweet sweet baby boy is by far my most calm and happy baby, he is so friendly and smiley people are drawn to him wherever we go. I love living here and raising my kids in this community. We found our home in Clarkston and the spacious yard has been amazing. I want my kids to be unplugged and outside as much as possible. I try to use a healthy mix of attachment parenting and free range parenting to raise independent, confident, compassionate people.

Introducing the DMBs of Amber Cross

By

Amber Cross

-

May 27, 2015

{Down with Detroit}

Hello Detroit! I’m Amber Cross. I’m a 31-year-old mother of 2. My husband is in the military and we have moved all over the country, but we are PROUD to say we are natives of Detroit. We love the Detroit Red Wings and tell everyone we’re originally from HOCKEYTOWN. We hope to get our kids to their first Detroit Tigers Baseball game soon. We couldn’t be more pleased to be stationed at ‘home’. I’m excited to have the opportunity to write about two things I’m very passionate about: Detroit and this crazy life called Motherhood.

{My Life}

I’m a stay-at-home mom by choice and I find it to be the hardest job I ever loved. One of my goals while writing for this blog is to get out of the house more. My husband always tells me I need a hobby and he’s right! In what spare time I do have I love to exercise and be outdoors. I also love to write. I’m glad I get the opportunity to put my degree in journalism to good use here at DMB!

{Babies and Beyond}

Our son, CT, is 4 and will be starting preschool this Fall. He’s our soft but energetic, enthusiastic but gentle boy. Colin and I got a rough start, as I suffered from pretty severe postpartum depression. Every day we grow closer and the bond we share now is stronger than ever.

Our Daughter RB will be 2 in a month. She is a sassy spitfire. She challenges us every single day and she’s what my mother calls “The Perfect Revenge.” This quote from Shakespeare can truly be said of her “Though she be but little, she is FIERCE.”

A Tale of Two Babies – Different Babies, Different Personalities

By

Erin Piper

-

May 26, 2015

As I eluded to in my last post, I gave birth to my second child, my daughter Julia in January. While I can’t say life is easier with two kids, I’m really enjoying things a lot more this time around. I’ve found that it’s not only possible, but easy to love another baby as much as your first child. I’m also lucky that after a tough bout with reflux with my son, my daughter is reflux free and….(mostly)EASY.

I know, I know...pretty cute, right? — I know, I know…pretty cute, right?

Yes, I said it, and if you don’t have an easy baby, I know you hate me as much as I hated all moms who toted their smiley cooing babies around while my poor son was crying in discomfort. I also know now that while I’m definitely wiser about some things the second time around, I just had two totally different babies (with exception to sleep…they were both decent night sleepers, bad nappers!).

While some people would like to attribute all good (or bad!) characteristics to parents, I don’t think it’s that easy. Of course I’d love to take all the credit for my kids’ good qualities (and find a way to blame the less desirable ones on someone or something else!), but I don’t buy it. Our role as parents is hugely important, but I also think that there is just a “you-ness” about each of us that is hard wired and part of ourselves that isn’t going to change. For example – ever since my son could speak, he requests on a daily basis to run around the house. “C’mon mommy, let’s wun awound!” I hear it every day. Believe it or not, my husband and I didn’t ever “wun awound” the house before these requests…Oliver just knew he needed to blow off steam and energy, and running in circles around the living room made sense to him. This isn’t a learned behavior – he’s just a really physical, active kid – it’s just so very OLIVER.

He was a tough baby, his sister is a breeze by comparison. While I used to spend hours trying to get him to nap, she’s usually out in a few quick minutes. My back was sore every night from carrying him around the house to stop crying. More than two years later, my back is still sore, but it’s from carrying that same baby (who is no longer a baby!) back to bed for the thirteenth time!

This time around, I am wiser in some ways that make parenting easier, but in most ways, I just have a baby who is far more comfortable, and far more easy going in her nature. There are moments when I feel she’s not getting as much attention as she should because her “squeaky wheel” brother is getting so much. But she’s happy, and while she doesn’t get as much undivided attention as he did, I’m also trying to savor small moments with her more than I did the first time around.

I don’t say all of this in an attempt to encourage pigeon holing our kids into restrictive labels by the time they’re three months old. It’s probably dangerous to hang onto these descriptors for long. (No one wants to be a teenager with a mom resentful that she was a colicky baby twelve years ago!) Rather, I believe it’s important to realize that even if we parent multiple kids exactly the same way (which we probably won’t do – we learn so much as we go along, that it would be silly to make the same mistakes twice!), they’ll still be totally unique, and we can appreciate them for who they are rather than trying to change them.

If you have a tough, spirited, colicky, whatever you want to call it kind of baby that isn’t as easy going as all your friends’ kids, know that you didn’t do anything wrong or bad, and keep on loving them as they go through this rough patch! Chances are good they’ll still turn into a really cool kid!

The DMB’s of Jessica Maurer

By

Jessica Maurer

-

May 26, 2015

Hi! I’m Jessica and I am super excited to become part of the great team at DMB!

{Down with Detroit}

I LOVE living in Michigan and everything that comes with it from the freezing snow to the gorgeous lakes. I was born in Redford, grew up in Livonia and now I live in West Bloomfield. Although I love to travel I have never wanted to move away from our great state and now that we have kids we are so blessed to have family close by and to be able to share places and memories from our childhoods with them. I have my bachelor’s degree from CMU and that is also where I met my wonderful husband. We spend a lot of time Up North, particularly in Traverse City.

{My Life}

My husband Jeremy grew up in Frankenmuth (yes, people actually live there!), we met at Central and had a lot of mutual friends but didn’t start dating until after we had both graduated – although I knew I would marry him on our first date. I worked in advertising for almost a decade with a very prominent client and got to experience a lot of cool things and lots of Detroit events but I’m currently a full time stay at home mommy to my 2 beautiful children. I’m sure everyone knows what a misnomer is – we hardly ever stay home! With my daughter in full day kindergarten and my son in full toddler mode we are always on the move between the gym, music & swim classes, the library and our great MOPS group. When my daughter was born 6 years ago I started taking a greater interest in the foods we were feeding her and that has slowly snowballed over the years to my commitment to making my entire family’s lives as natural and organic as possible, some may think I border on extreme but it is something I am passionate about and I strive for balance. I have always loved taking pictures but I am horribly uneducated on how to actually use my camera, I hope to change that this year and take it off auto!

{Babies and Beyond}

My beautiful daughter Anna will turn 6 next month. She is extremely strong willed and already quite a handful, I’m worried now for the teen years to come! She is also such a happy girl and very outgoing – she makes friends everywhere we go. It is a much longer story, but due to ectopic pregnancy complications both before and after being pregnant with my daughter we had to resort to in-vetro fertilization to conceive our son. Henry turned 2 in February and he is such a light in my life, with Anna away at school all day we have really had fun hanging out together this past year and he is the sweetest little boy. Anna is totally a girly girl so it is fun to watch the way Henry learns and interacts with the world, he is all trains, cars and balls right now! Both of my kids love each other so much and (so far) there has never been an issue with sibling rivalry, I hope they always stay the best of friends.

“Oh man! Your poor husband!”

“Welp, looks like you’ll have to have another!”

Are you an all-boy mom? Or an all-girl mom? Heard those comments before? I’d love to hear why it makes your family perfect! Chime in below!

{Down with Detroit}

{My Life}

{Baby + Beyond}

{DOWN WITH DETROIT}

{MY LIFE}

{BABIES & BEYOND}

Connect with me on Twitter & Instagram @aubzim!

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{School’s Out – What now?}

{Making speech therapy fun}

{A More Serious Note}

{Down with Detroit}

{My Life}

{Babies + Beyond}

{Down with Detroit}

{My Life}

{Babies and Beyond}

{Down with Detroit}

{My Life}

{Babies and Beyond}

In + Around Detroit