bent out of shape

 I want to talk about my hair.

In high school, my hair was so long and beautiful. A dark brown. Even though I swam in chlorine at least five times a week the majority of my high school and childhood years, it was luscious and healthy. I think it's something I found most beautiful about myself. 

I remember letting my hair down in middle school while on the monkey bars, feeling like I was a gorgeous diva (haha). 

I cut my hair short before I headed off to college. (Well, my sister did - who is a cosmetologist and super good at it.) It was the shortest it had been in yeeeears. While in college, I worked up the courage to cut my hair INTO A PIXIE. It was so freeing. 

I had been hiding behind my hair (gorgeous hair) for so long and with a pixie cut - my whole face showed. I had to show me - and not my hair. I felt like a new person. 

Looking back, I am a bit embarrassed by some of the pixie cuts I got. (I looked like a man for the first one!!!!! Eek.)

I decided to grow it out after maybe a year of pixie length. It was fun to grow it out. Getting some length on the top gave me something fun to play around with. I could curl my hair and pin some back. I felt a bit more feminine and flirty heehee.

Then I noticed something weird. As my hair grew towards my shoulders, there were certain sections that had weird textures. Weird as in kinky and bent all out of shape. At first I thought it was heat damage. But I am here to tell you (several years later) that it is not heat damage. I know what heat damage is!

I tried snipping it off. I had weird sections of hair that were so poofy and irregular. My doctor told me that maybe I had African American heritage LOL. I tried altering my thyroid medication and other medications. I've had my thyroid tested numerous times over the past several years.

I'm in my mid twenties now. My hair still has sections that are poofy, kinky, and unlike the rest of my head of hair. My whole head of hair used to have a fine texture and there is a lot of it. But ever since growing my hair out from a pixie, it hasn't been the same. 

I've tried. I've tried different hair products. I hardly use heat on my hair. And yes, I have tried Monat.

I so badly miss my smooth and silky hair. I realize it's such a trivial thing. "Well at least I have hair, right?"

I'll also add that multiple hair stylists don't know what to say to me. And my cosmetologist sister doesn't know why my hair is doing this, either.

 So once again, I am learning that I am more than my hair. I'm more than my once beautiful head of hair. 

But if I had the chance, I'd definitely take my old hair back LOL. 

I'll let you know if I ever get it back. 🤪

bouncing

 I have an itch to write!! About myself. Lol. 

I'm currently sitting. Bouncing. Bouncing. Bouncing. 

Bouncing my baby while he sleeps. My arm and shoulder are sore. My little baby has such a difficult time sleeping. Isn't that just infuriating? 

There. I ever so softly layed him down. And he is still asleep!!!! Hooray!

I am a mom. And this is one of the biggest struggles of motherhood. Getting your little ones to sleep. Because they get so so exhausted and overwhelmed and then overtired. It's hard to be a little one. 

But it's also hard to be a mother. It's really hard work.

I'm here. And I'm showing up for it.

What a Stay-at-Home-Mom Does All Day

I get to stay at home with Kaladin! It's such a wonderful blessing and I love that I get to be with him everyday. Maybe you've wondered what a SAHM does all day? It's nothing fancy, but I'll tell you right here.

My first priority is Kaladin. I nurse him, eat meals + snacks with him, and keep him safe. I read books to him, dance to music with him, go on bike rides + walks with him, and run errands. We go to the library and attend classes or play there. I also spend a lot of time helping Kaladin to fall asleep when it is time to rest. I nurse him and lay with him until he falls asleep. He takes two naps a day and he goes to bed from 8-9 (if he falls asleep!). Sometimes he is a little bundle of energy and doesn't go to sleep until later than 9.

Oh - I also clean! I keep our home pretty, organized, and tidy. I love to shop at thrift and second hand stores to find cool things for our home or for Kaladin. Sometimes I read books and listen to podcasts (mostly about parenting). We read scriptures everyday and listen to general conference talks. Sometimes we go to visit daddy at work during lunch.

Sometimes Kaladin has really good days. Sometimes he has rough days, due to teething pain, being tired, or feeling grumpy just because. On those days, I spend a lot more time holding him, nursing him, and laying with him to sleep.

I also cook dinner - fancy me! Desserts, too. And you can't forget laundry. Kaladin is a good little helper.

No day is the same to me and Kaladin. He is changing so quickly and showing more of his personality. Each day may have some challenges but also some pretty beautiful things. I am so in love with my life and the people that are in it.

My job right now is raising Kaladin with Stephen. And I am SO HAPPY to be called to this work! It's challenging and tiring and so so sweet. It really is the best job ever. Why? Because of the way Kaladin looks at me, his sweet kisses and hugs, his bouncy dancing, and the way that we nurture each other everyday. Stephen and I are partners with God in raising a child - and that is something special.

(PC: https://macibingham.com/)

letting your baby take risks

Kaladin and I spent time outside the other day and I snapped a few photos above. See the yellow grass on the right side of the pictures? Kaladin stepped one foot over onto the scratchy and sticky grass and decided it wouldn't be very comfortable to explore in that area. So, he decided to go back to the sidewalk and explore there and on the green grass.

It would have been really easy for me to say anything and take him to another area. But, I wanted him to find something out for himself. I didn't say anything - and I let him find out that the yellow grass is scratchy and that he would not like walking on it. He took one step onto it and changed his mind - heading back to the sidewalk.

Not saying or doing anything allowed Kaladin to discover something about the world and himself. These discoveries happen when I allow him to be as independent as possible (safely). I am simply letting him learn about the world around him and his abilities in exploring it. I observe and redirect only as needed to keep him safe.

Kaladin is a happy boy. And I think that in large part it is due to the freedoms I give him in exploring, playing, and working. After all, this is his work! I am not saying his happiness is all due to me (lol). But by letting him take risks I am allowing him to be confident in his decision making and in his abilities. And isn't it amazing what we can learn from our children when we watch them take risks and explore?!

Motherhood is awesome.

smart things about me

You may be wondering what qualifications I have to be sharing wisdom with you. I thought I'd dedicate a post to information on my experience working with children and my education - formal and informal.

When I was in high school and in my early years of college, I taught swim lessons to children ages 3-14 (and lifeguarded) PT. In 2017, I earned a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood/Special Education from BYU-Idaho. (See pictures below.) At school, I took courses on Child Development for infants and toddlers, Assessments, Interventions, Social Studies Education, Elementary Education, Science Education, Literacy Education, Math Education, Children's Literature, Physical Education, & Special Education. I also taught a toddler and preschool class with fellow students and did interventions with babies and toddlers. At the end of my college career, I student taught in 2017 for one semester in a 1st Grade classroom and a Special Education classroom. Finally and most importantly....I have a child - Kaladin (14 months old). (See picture below.)

I learned so much from my formal education. But the most amazing part has been applying my knowledge with my own baby and toddler. I love knowing what stage of life and growth Kaladin is in and how I can best promote his development. And - I am continuing to learn about his stages of development...the learning has definitely not stopped since college!

Anyway...maybe now you're convinced I have a little bit of an idea of what I'm talking about. ;) I don't know everything and I ask questions all the time. But I feel that I have something to share with the world...a unique perspective based on my personal experiences and knowledge. Thanks for joining me on this journey. :)

I graduated at 4 months pregnant! (Well, I still had a semester of Student Teaching.) Here I am with my niece:

Me with my husband, Stephen (insert heart eyes):

This is me with my side of the family. I don't have a picture of me with my other family (the one I married into lol) on my computer. Fun Fact: I'm wearing the heels I wore on my wedding day.

So proud:

I love being his mama!!

Helping your Baby love books

We live in an apartment and I drilled holes in the walls for curtains, a shelf in the kitchen dedicated to hot sauces, and these bookshelves:

Sidenote - Kaladin likes to stand up and slide all the books on the shelves on the ground. So...it definitely does not look put together all the time like the picture shows.

Kaladin went through a phase when he learned to crawl (around 10 months old) where he didn't sit and look at books and didn't want to sit with me for long while I read. I think that he was so excited he could move around that he didn't want to stay still for long. I still kept books available to him but did not force him to sit with me and read. And now at 14 months old, Kaladin is a book lover!

I keep books in just about every room in our home...the bathrooms (right next to his toilets in baskets), our bedroom (we all share a room), our secret reading room (spare closet), and in the living room. Our home isn't too big so it's not a challenge to have books everywhere.

 Books in our bedroom:

Current books in bedroom basket:

Not only does reading books help children develop print awareness and a love for stories, but it helps them develop fine motor skills. Kaladin works hard to turn the pages and open the flaps in his Little Green Frog book.

Some of Kaladin's favorite kinds of books are the touch and feel ones, as pictured below.

And where do we get many of our books from? The LIBRARY! We love love love the library. We go about once a week just to play in the kids area or to attend a class/reading time for children Kaladin's age. We love using the library because it is free and it means we don't have to buy books and use our home space to store them. We do own books of our own, but I keep most of them up in a closet and only have a select few out at a time. I've found great books for Kaladin at Goodwill and at Idaho Youth Ranch. And, Kaladin has received books as gifts from family members, as well.

I have kept books for Kaladin in our living area for a long time - since he was a newborn! I remember Stephen and I showing Kaladin the red, black, and white crunchy book we were given from the hospital while he was a newborn. He was laying on our bed and we turned the pages for him while he looked at all the shapes. Such a sweet experience to see him pay attention to our "story"!

When Kaladin was younger, I kept only a few books out for him to look at. I didn't want him to be overwhelmed with too many options. Now that he is older and spends more time reading, I think the amount of books out is appropriate for him.

I know that exposure to print is so important for his development of print awareness....and a love for stories, as well. He spends quite a bit of his day sitting down and looking through books. He will occasionally "read" his books (with babbling) and it's about the cutest thing ever.

Thanks for reading! Catch ya later. :)

new news!

Hi everybody!

I thought of something the other day. I am going to use this blog as a platform for talking about things I'm really into: parenting, Montessori, Minimalism, being a Mormon, and life as a stay-at-home mom and wife.

So here goes!

My name is Mallory.
I'm married to Stephen (about 2 years).
We have a little boy named Kaladin (14 months old).
We want lots of babies.
We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I have fully embraced motherhood and wifehood as my job and calling.

And here I will tell you about things I am learning regarding parenthood...because it's my passion.

Stay tuned!

-Mallory

itching

I've just been itching to write something. And I wouldn't call myself a writer. And I never have wanted to be a writer.

But I used to write a lot on this blog and it was nice. So I'm going to write something now.

I last created a post on this blog four years ago.

I wrote on this blog a lot during high school.

And I created things on this blog for myself and for others. It's nice to share ideas and pictures and things that I think about. It's different than facebook, instagram, or twitter. I can squish a lot more words in this space. This is kind of like a public journal, yeah?

Now I am a college graduate, married, and have an almost one year old baby.

There's no way I'm telling you all my secrets or my fears, (I suppose I don't even write about those in my private journal...) But I will say words on here and maybe share pictures and you can read it if you want.

Anyway, there's something nice about just putting your thoughts right out there, even if it may seem like there's not much to them. Social media presences have really changed over the last four years. I'm a little tired of instagram right now, so here I am. I feel like I can put more out here this way.

So, I'm a mom, a wife, a homemaker, a learner, and a thinker, and a try to do-er, and I'm writing right now.

seeing

“You can understand and relate to most people better if you look at them—no matter how old or impressive they may be—as if they are children. For most of us never really grow up or mature all that much—we simply grow taller. O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.”—Leo Rosten, American writer

maybe you will read this

I don't know if more than one person read this post on FB...but you might!  Because blogs have more words.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy-PhBPEFr0

This (the link above) reminds me of what we talked about in my Book of Mormon class earlier. My teacher is so great. We talked about how we can get stuck thinking of all the bad in the world…or we can focus on the hope of Jesus Christ and His gospel. I really believe that this is important.
We have so many "shenpa" experiences…(to be shenpa'd means to become stuck on something so that we are unable to grow and learn. We are literally spiritually and mentally stuck)! When we turn to Christ and seriously rely on His atonement, we can become unstuck.
Last week after we discussed the meaning of shenpa, I asked my teacher, Brother Purse, how to move away from shenpa.
I said: "It seems easier said than done." And he confirmed that…ha ha . However - this is what is most important - he said: "It all comes down to saying: 'Jesus, take the wheel,' in a Carrie Underwood sense." By believing this and trusting that there is a Savior who knows how we feel can take the burden off of our shoulders. Let Christ carry what you cannot, because He has already suffered the sins and pains of all people who live…YOU. After we have done all we can to repent and become more like Christ, we say: "Jesus, take the wheel. Because I cannot do this alone and I KNOW that you are aware of me and are beside me." Because He is.
We cannot control all aspects of our lives, but we can definitely control who we decide to become and how we react in all situations. So, will we turn to Christ and hope and trust in the redeeming and spiritually healing power of the atonement?

No matter who you are, what your background is, where you're from, what ethnicity you are, your age, hobbies, or family life, YOU can feel of God's love and of our Savior's love. I promise that the feeling of the redeeming and healing power of the atonement is worth more to me (and can be for you, too) than any other "thing" or feeling in the entire world - in all of eternity.

Someday when we die, we can meet God and our Savior again. We will remember more clearly our divine heritage and potential, and know that we are truly sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who KNOWS and loves us. Because I know this, I have peace in my heart and an abiding hope and trust in Christ that I can live with my Savior and Father in Heaven again.