If you are raising kids and don't live near your family, the key to survival, at least for me, is having a good set of friends around to lean on. After I moved to Colorado I got very accustomed to doing things on my own. Not that we didn't have a great set of friends out there, but I just, for whatever reason, don't like asking for help (unless its from Paul...or my mom.......lucky folks they are ;) ) So I was very used to just plowing thru the days by myself and no matter how hard it was and how depressed it probably made me, I just did it and after awhile its just becomes the norm. In so many ways I needed that and I am a much stronger person than when I left NC...I'm a much better wife and mother because of this but recently it has just become so apparent to me that I can't nor should I have to do it all by myself....We don't have family close enough to help on a daily basis so our friends have become so very important.
We have been extremely fortunate and pretty early on, thanks to the local library, I met a few little boys around Decky's age that came from nice families and had really wonderful caregivers that I could talk to. Around October of last year, I met Emily who has a boy one month younger than Declan and thru her we've met a couple other moms with super amazing kids so we have built up a great little group that I felt really lucky to have when it was just Declan but oh my word, its killer now with Carrig. Because I'm trying my hardest to nurse this little boogar I can't count the number of times one of the moms has just had to take Decky and feed him, change him, entertain him etc etc etc when we are out in public. I'm stuck with this kid on my boob and totally incapacitated but they ALWAYS step in and help. Without even asking. Like its the most natural thing in the world. Like they are his mom. And that's the way I like it............we're all pretty similar in our parenting styles and for better or worse, our kids are all pretty similar and are in the same stage so Decky doesn't miss a beat when Emily makes his lunch or Kim takes him to go play with Kaylie. Its so nice to have someone to call when my child is being a full blown menace and its soooo good for my heart to drive to one of their houses and just let Declan run wild in their backyard with the other kids while us moms talk about all of our worries and stresses (and ps these women are exactly like me and are very open about the struggles of parenting/marriage/life etc etc etc and don't act like "oh i just love every single second of this" - bs, you don't love every single second and if you do you are caraaazzayyyy!!! totally my pet peeve right now, parents (moms in particular) who act like their kids and/or life is perfect. get outta here with that). Because let me tell you, this age ain't easy and all of us have the exact same problems. Its funny (but not really) how one will say something and its literally what I was just crying to Paul about the night before....
Its just totally been on my heart recently how thankful I am to have a good set of friends here in Myrtle Beach that I can go thru this stage of life with. It is hard. So hard, and I am not one to ask for help, ever, but luckily with these women I don't even have to ask.......
Here are a few pics of Emily taking Carl and Declan into the pool a few weeks back while Carrig ate........she's about 36 weeks pregnant herself so for her to take on these two crazies was pretty awesome.
Best buds chatting it up instead of swimming it up. The water was COLD so I'll give it to them that day.
