Welcome to the Monkey Babes Mama Blog

A blog for the tired, but grateful... the creative but needing inspiration... the director of organized chaos... and ringmaster parent of monkey babes... only truth bombs, humor, and kindness to be found here.

Picture this...

It’s whatever morning... your dishes are in the sink, one kid is screaming, the other wants

a snack after protesting the eggs, toast, fruit, and juice you provided while you maybe

managed to have a glass of water or a cup of “insert cold caffeinated serum” needed for the

day. The dog is eating from the crying child’s fingers, the cat is running underneath your

feet as you trip, and your brain is 30 seconds away from over stimulation and explosion

where you have diarrhea of the mouth at your children, dog, cat, and whatever or

whoever else may get in your way. This is where you are faced with choices...

Oh, choices... A lovely word we once cherished when the choices were tacos or pizza, margaritas or an IPA, a walk on the beach or a hike through the mountains, wherever the light breeze blew you, you went, because none of it impacted anyone but you. Now the storm of “controlled” chaos has hit and the days of selfishness and free spirited choices are gone. Guess what, you have tiny humans, or in my house “monkeys” that you are now responsible for.

Your choices now guide and impact your Monkey Babes, and shape them into the loving, humble, and kind (I feel like I just quoted a Tim McGraw song here) young adults that we all hope will take on this world better than we did. High expectations, but with sincere aspirations to be the best we can be for these small dependent humans while we still have them under our roof, and the world hasn’t tried to ruin their innocence yet. Whether you are a stay at home parent, or a working parent, BLESS YOU. You are doing an amazing job, because let’s face it, we love our little Monkey Babes, but some days they are a job. A wonderful blessed job, yes, but like any job you have good days and bad days. You have days you may have to repent for later, and days you brag about... or post about because let’s face it, no one really shows you their full “true day” of the ups and the downs. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, or embarrassed about. We are all learning each day, because parenting is fluid, and ever changing.

The diapers in your cabinet were the best yesterday, and now everyone tells you differently. Maybe the food you buy for your infant is no longer the “accepted” brand. You should or you shouldn’t give your baby teething tablets to help soothe their sore gums and give you a breather from the consistent screaming clinger of a baby you have. The rain boots you bought for your toddler to jump in puddles weren’t tall enough, so now your toddler is soaked, and crying in the back of the car. This of course is happening while you scramble home from what WAS a wonderful morning turned, sour by wet jeans and the lack of clothes you usually bring, but didn’t because, “he had rain boots”. True experience folks, true experience.

Kids smack you like a brick wall sometimes, and other times they make your heart so full that you feel like it could burst. I’ll tell you what, the hard times are so much easier to focus on because they are what brings us down... but failure is a learning lesson. Parenting comes with so much grace, and your little Monkey Babes come with the most forgiveness in their hearts as any human you have met. To them, you are what makes the world go ‘round. They would choose you over any other person on this planet (right now), and that is a special bond no one can replace. Welcome to parenthood in the midst of still trying to figure out our own lives, we are coaching tiny people who have the best and worst tendencies we have because we are their teachers, and they are our mirror.

In case you haven’t realized yet, this isn’t the blog that tells you how to do things perfectly. I’m still learning to be a mom of two myself. Truth, meal prep, sensory play, dancing, walks, sibling rivalry, potty training (or lack thereof), parenting tips from the imperfect parent, and a little bit of my own life thrown into the mix will likely appear here. So stick around if you want truth and not just the ups, or quite frankly if you’d like to hear about some failures that I am learning from. The comedy of errors as a parent just shapes our kids... right? Well, that’s what I keep telling myself. Let’s run with it.

Your advice is accepted, your questions are encouraged, but may not be answered in the way you’d like. Your negativity or criticism (unless constructive) is not welcome. I hope to share some of your comments or questions in my “comments” area for other parents to learn from, or to help guide you so it isn’t just me on here. When I say “parents” that term is loose. We have so many people parenting children any more, that the word parent now covers... moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, foster families, friends, etc... the list goes on.

So thank you, for being a parent who cares about your kids. Thank you for wanting to read about the life of an imperfect parent trying to be the best I can be for my kids, because I care. Maybe with this, we can all come together and help each other raise these Monkey Babes of ours together; rather than shaming each other for mistakes so frequently made by each of us. If you made it through that mumbo jumbo, then I hope we can be “blog friends'' and you will read about me in the next post! Take a peek in on the life of a Monkey Babes Mama, but mind you, I only post in the evenings on the weekdays. The daytime and weekends are for my family.

Cheers!

Monkey Babes Mama