Being a Mom! Part 1
A mom of boys....
Growing up I was the oldest of 3 girls! I knew all about Barbie's, My Little Ponies, Cabbage Patch Kids, hot pink, and bedazzling! We played school and house often! Training of course for "real life!"
My mom would curl my hair and give me side ponytails (what was she thinking)! Yes, my dad did his part too! He did a great job of keeping us girls a little boyish too! I played basketball. I liked to get my hands dirty. And unless something is exceptionally heavy, I'm all about moving furniture, doing household projects, and swinging a hammer all myself!
When I got married and Domenic and I decided to start a family, I wasn't thinking much about what life would look like if I wasn't raising girls! When I found out I was pregnant I knew I just wanted a happy, healthy baby! Boy or Girl...we weren't sure!
Low and behold Baby #1 was a gorgeous little boy!
Luke Phillip Mingacci was born on October 14, 2005
Learning to be a parent had it's challenges for sure!
It's a learning process unlike any other in the world!
You are now solely responsible for this little life!
You find your heart has more love than you ever thought possible!
You find just how capable your are of getting through the day on little to no sleep!
You find patience tucked sometimes in the depths of soul!
You come to appreciate a hot shower and quiet moments like never before!
You recognize that holding that tiny, warm, sleeping baby makes any troubles go away!
Then come the first smile and the first laugh!
An affirmation that you might be doing a good job
and bringing happiness to your little baby's life!
It seems that since the moment Luke 1st smiled and then learned to laugh he hasn't stopped!
(Of course he has! He's a typical kid and that sometimes
brings tears, temper tantrums and disappointment!)
However, I feel like the joy I felt when I saw his 1st smile and 1st heard him laugh returns still with his shy smile and belly laughs!
At 6, he still brings tears to my eyes when he is overwhelmed with happiness!
Pure joy....
I thought could I really love another as much as this little man?!?
Well around the time Luke was 3,
it was an extremely hectic time for our family!
We sold our 1st house,
were preparing to move into a new house,
and you know what they say...
"New house..new baby!"
This happened in 24 hours for us!
Nervous, excited, overwhelmed, and blessed!
We experienced just about every emotion as we envisioned
our family of 3
becoming family of 4.
I had gotten used to being a mother of a little boy!
Trucks, cars, Sesame, I began to doubt if I would be a good mom to a little girl.
Just like with Luke we waited for the ultimate surprise!
Boy or Girl...we weren't sure!
And...Who knew? Baby # 2 was another handsome little boy!
On April 11, 2009 Nicholas Salvatore Mingacci blessed our world!
There were of course new lessons to be learned as our family grew!
We learned to juggle!!
Domenic and I juggled responsibilities, the boys, family, visitors,
meal times, bath times, bed times, sleep, each other!
It was a wonderfully chaotic time!
Yet, even in the stressful moments of both children needing us at the same time,
I was blissfully calm!
I knew that these moments were all short lived!
The tough moments would go by fast.
But sadly the easy, fun, wonderful moments would go by even quicker!
And yes....
It was double the joy!
Double the love!
Double the happiness!
Double the smiles!
Double the belly laughs!
Double the silly moments!
Double trouble at times too!
Our boys teach us new things every day!
Some of my favorite lessons include:
Towels can wipe up all the water on the bathroom floor...
sometimes it really is more fun to splash like crazy!
It really is possible to feel complete exasperation in one moment
and be hysterically laughing seconds later!
The small stuff really doesn't matter!
Baking cookies should happen on the spot...despite the time of day!
Bedtime stories are so much more than the words on the pages!
Their quiet, cuddle moments that I have grown to cherish!
Time spent with grandparents is invaluable!
Yelling solves nothing!
A simple hug can bring us back to the moment and give us perspective
about the stuff that does matter!
Clothes don't have to match!
Sometimes it's fun to make your own rules to the game!
And while this is a reflection about being a mom, our boys have opened a whole new part of my heart for their daddy! I always knew Domenic would be an amazing dad! We're both still kids at heart! Still, what I've learned about my husband through my boys is remarkable!
My strong, wonderful, brilliant best friend
is also the most amazing father and partner in this thing we call parenthood!
They wrestle, build legos, use electronics, chat about pop culture (then and now), read bed time stories, jam to music, cook dinner, talk about Disney World, read comic books, watch movies and so much more...
At times I step back and say to myself
"He's definitely the most fun parent of the two of us!"
And then i remind myself this is exactly what makes he and I great!
We balance each other out!
I'm not always fun or funny for that matter...
But we both bring our strengths to the "parenting table!"
We have our troubles but I think we're doing a good job for now!
Being the mother of boys is certainly an adventure!
I can name super heros and all the Cars characters!
I have to go to football practice for Luke 4 times a week!
I remind myself to think about situation when I might need to allow my boys to struggle and learn resiliency and problem solving and when to pull them in for hugs and let them know nothing matters except being loved and trying your best!
There's no pink, no Barbies, no side pony tails....
And I'm learning new lessons each day....
And I wouldn't trade it for the world!
