The Mom Next Door Series: Shelly C

Our Mom Next Door Interview comes all the way from rural Alaska, thanks to the candid and amazing Momma of twins and a singleton (all boys!), Shelly C.  If I'm being honest myself - over the past two years, I have come to consider Shelly as an actual real life friend of mine, despite the fact that we've never met in person.  The internet brought us together in this little corner of the MommyBlog world and I have been grateful ever since.

Through her gorgeous pictures, hilarious snippets of life with boys, and her enthusiasm and dedication to a life that is literally off the grid - I find inspiration regularly from Shelly.  I know you will too, so please take  minute today to read more about Shelly, her boys, and her life as a Bush Momma.

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Hi! I am Shelly, a stay-at-home mama of three, living most of my life in a tiny village in Alaska and blogging at The Cunningham Family in Bush Alaska. In addition to my three rambunctious boys (the twins, Logan & Jack, age 6 and "the baby" --I seriously HAVE to stop calling him that-- Wyatt, now 3) I also live with my best friend (and husband) Josh.

In my former life, I earned my bachelors degree in psychology with a minor in human development, and while I am not using that degree in a career, I find it quite useful on a daily basis raising three littles. Also in my former life I spent six years as a classroom assistant in special education.

Now I am - what I refer to as- a "bush mama", meaning I homeschool, entertain and hang out with our three boys; and I also bake bread, make tortillas and cook things from scratch (less from desire than for necessity). I consider it "warm" out if we are above ten degrees, thanking God for every day that the twins can gear themselves up to go outside now, and willingly spend $15 on a twelve pack of Coke at the co op in our village.

Marshall, Alaska

Which chore is your least favorite?   My least favorite chore has to be making bread. It's a necessary evil, and I am always ridiculously happy when it's done, but I hate doing it. I also dislike making tortillas and meal planning.

What has become (at least for now) you're parenting mantra or guiding principle?  "There is only love" has been my mantra lately. It helps me remember to see things from their perspective and love them through whatever they are going through.

What keeps you up at night?  Feeding the kids right, getting them enough exercise; balancing praise with not creating competitiveness between the twins; loving "the baby" (there I go again!) through his tantrums, while not raising him to be a spoiled brat.



What big projects, worries, or events have you busy right now?  We are just settling into our routine again after spending the summer in Washington state. While it feels good to be back home in Alaska; unpacking, organizing and jumping back into homeschooling has been, at times, overwhelming!

What do you feel like you are really good at as a mom?  I am really organized. This is a huge boon to our family as living in a remote place like we do, requires a lot of planning. Stocked shelves in the pantry, well thought-out packing for summers spent away, and traveling over 2500 miles as a family of five are all a lot simpler when planned in advance.

What do you feel like you wish you were better at being a mom?  Not rushing. I wish I could remember to slow down.  And also go to bed earlier. I'm much more pleasant then.



What is the one "Mom Tip or Trick" that you can share that has made your life easier somehow? When traveling for a long period of time, have one bag that is for your short term hotel stay that has everyone's things in it. That way, you don't have to unload the whole car for just one night!
Also, there is no shame in velcro shoes, water can almost always cheer the children up (hello bath time!), and sometimes, it's okay to have cereal for dinner.

What are the small joys of being a Mom that you treasure most right now?  I treasure small feet in Saltwater sandals, all three boys asleep in the back seat, and their eyes on fireworks at the fourth of July. Magic.



What do you miss most from Mom days already gone by?   Baby wearing. My three year old is now over 40 pounds and I really miss his squishy baby self. I also miss rocking him to sleep.

What would your pre-mom self be surprised to know about motherhood?  Every.single.thing that I EVER judged a mom for, I now do. I give in to whining sometimes, I have had pink mold in my bathroom from a lack of proper cleaning, and sometimes my kids' hair looks like they just rolled out of bed. I am also surprised that it feels wrong (selfish) to take time for myself.

What would your pre-mom self be proud to know about you in motherhood?  That my heart grew big enough to love all my children, and that I would do anything for those boys. I am a mom through and through, and I took to parenting like a fish to water. My younger, more naive self, would be shocked that I live where I do, but I also know she'd be proud that I was willing to sacrifice so much in order to be home with my children.

Baby Raising Competition: A third baby celebration

There are lots of things my third baby won't get that her siblings did:  lots of new clothes (we love handmedowns!), parents that aren't shared with two other kids, a crib that doesn't already have bite marks all over it, board books with clean, unchewed corners and no pages missing....

==Although there are lots of things she will get that her sibling didn't too:  a big brother and big sister who can't wait to meet her, parents that are far better experienced in parenting, a mother who has watched two other children grow too fast and will hold a little longer and cherish all the small moments a little more consciously. ==

Knowing all this makes me feel both a little bad for her (on all the things she won't get) but also grateful for her (for all the things she will get) and as I was filling in the initial pages of her baby book, I flipped to the page that announced at the top "My parents had a party in honor of me" and I thought, 'No, somehow she will not miss out on this one thing.'

We definitely don't need any more baby 'things' to prepare for this girl - we have bins and bins of girls clothes until she and Gem are about 7 (thank you Kate & Tausha!) and all the blankies, swaddles, bottles, slings, and strollers a new mom can care to dream about.  But I did want to have a party in which we could celebrate her impending arrival.  A way to bring our family together, include our young kids and her future cousins, and for it to be fun!! (and funny if possible).



The inspiration for the party came from 'practicing' with our kids about baby related activities (diaper changing, swaddling) and the thought (hope!!) that we will be experts this time around with our third.  Plus, we love competitions and making grown-ups play funny games - thus was born our Baby Raising Competition party to celebrate our newest addition.

Our Baby Raising Competition:

We invited our close friends and family to our house on a Sunday afternoon - boys and kids too! to spend the day together in honor of our new girl.

Our Baby Raising Competition included a delicious spread offered from our amazing guests.  (thank you, all!)  That's what happens in our family - you tell everyone not to bring gifts and they all show up with food, dessert, and diapers!  (we are so, so blessed).

We all lounged around and ate and completed a few little activities at the start of the party.  I had a  Guess how many M&M jar set up (simplest game ever), and some fill-in-the-blanks for our new girl (inspired by this pin) for her to read someday when she's a teenager and needs a reminder how much she is loved.

And then it was time for the Baby Raising Competition to Begin!  We had our guests pair up with a partner to complete a set of Baby Raising related activities to earn points (tallied on our poster size scoreboard).

Our first game was Blindfolded Pudding Feeding:  Feeders were blindfolded and knelt in front of their partners who had to sit on their hands.  The top three teams were selected for having the least amount of pudding on their faces and/or bodies (we supplied napkin bibs to protect shirts).

Our next event was Baby Food Taste Tasting:  the partners each had a chance to test five different baby foods and give a guess as to which fruit/vegetable it was made of.  We didn't blindfold them so they were able to see the color & texture which actually didn't seem to offer much help (hah!)  Teams were given +2 points for each correct baby food guess.

Then we had partners Fill in the Missing Words to our Favorite Nursery Rhymes.  I selected four of my personal favorite songs/rhymes I sing to the kids and we had the partners complete the papers to earn points for each correct word.  Greyson and his partner cousin Ariel were the only ones to get a perfect score!  Way to go Booboo!  (hahha, he had a little bit of an advantage obviously).

Afterwards, I had all the teams watch as I slowly went through the steps to swaddle one of Gemma's babydolls.  Afterwards I asked if anyone had any questions, (no one did), and then I announced that our next event would be Grown Up Swaddling using a moving blanket to which laughter erupted from the crowd.  Partners needed to decide who would be the 'baby' and who would be the Swaddler and the event was timed.  Teams had to follow the exact steps of swaddling for it to count as a complete swaddling.  It was absolutely hysterical.  (Brandon and his partner Aunt Pam won this event!  Yay Daddy!)

Finally, we finished out the competition with a relay-style Baby Raising Obstacle Course:  At the start of the timer, the first partner was asked to diaper a baby doll, put the baby in a carseat, run a set of hula hoops, and then crawl under the trampoline.  The second partner then had to remove the baby from the car seat, change the baby's diaper again, place the baby in a front carrier, and push our play vacuum along a long line.  The obstacle was completed with a 'family' photo finish!

After a close competition, our winners of the Baby Raising Competition were Aunt Uch and Kevin!  (ahem.)

The day was a fun (and hilarious) way to celebrate our third baby's upcoming arrival.  I am so grateful to have family and friends willing to spend a beautiful summer afternoon playing silly games that make me giggle.  I can't wait to show this baby girl how her favorite people in the world spent a day swaddling each other and tasting baby food in her honor someday.  Oh how she will laugh and also think her family is a bunch of weirdos.

We closed out the evening with more lounging, chatting, and laughing.  We are so lucky to have family and friends that help clean up and take extra food home (thank you!!) So as always, parties are easy to manage when people show up early to help and leave late to help.  (honestly so blessed).  And we had very sleepy kids that night after so much fun and playing all day.

Dear baby girl,
We love you, darling, so much.
We just can not wait for you to be here with us.
love you already
and then forever and ever after that,
your family

The Mom Next Door Series: Jessica S

Our Mom Next Door Interview this week comes from Jessica, a 'sorta'-stay at home mom to her three boys living in Western PA.  I was introduced to Jessica through a mutual friend that we have who was singing her praises in the love and perseverance that Jessica has in raising her family.  After learning more about Jessica and her family, I am so honored to have her voice and story included in the interview series (thank you, Carli for the introduction!)  

Jessica and her husband were informed that their third son had suffered an in-utero stroke and the initial prognosis was very grim; but now - over a year since receiving the terrifying news; Jessica and her family continue to dance, laugh, and cherish each day as a family celebrating the small joys and spreading awareness along the way.

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Who are you? I am Jessica Sims. I am 33 years old and live in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania. While I love the amazing view from our deck my husband took it a little too far when he moved us into a log home. Talk about endless dusting!!

Who is in your family? My husband and truly my best friend and biggest fan is K.C. Our three sons are Ike, Carter and Quincy.

What do you do for work? Mostly I am a "stay at home" mom that doesn't ever get to stay at home between running my youngest to therapies/doctor appointments and my older two to soccer and baseball games. I do work for Credo, an online tutoring service, as an english/social studies teacher. I'm so thankful for Credo because I can have a flexible schedule but still be "in the classroom."

What has become (at least for now) you're parenting mantra or guiding principle?  Nothing is better than this day! With the birth of Quincy, our lives were changed when doctors told us that he had suffered an in-utero stroke and at best we would have four months with him.

What was the most difficult Mom moment you've had (so far)? The first six months with Q when we held our breath each day hoping that it wasn't the day that something happened that would take him away from us. Also having each doctors appointment when they would tell us over and over again the grim prognosis that we should expect. Thankfully Q is a fighter, we just celebrated 13 months and he is amazing us each day!

What would your pre-mom self be surprised to know about motherhood? It's not all giggles and refrigerator art to be proud of. It is disappointment - when you watch your child try so hard but not be able to achieve something. It is gut-wrenching when you have to watch your child being sick or in pain and there is nothing that you can do. 

What would your pre-mom self be proud to know about you in motherhood? I know every family or situation is different but I like my kids with me all the time. They tag along to every thing from grocery shopping to doctor appointments. We have fun doing the everyday things and KC and I never miss a moment of their growing up. (My family actually jokes about how "selfish" we are with our kids because we don't let them stay over all the time, etc)

Which chore is your least favorite?  LAUNDRY - the gathering, sorting, treating, washing, drying, folding, and then you have to put it all away just to be gotten out again! Thankfully I have a hubby that is willing to do our laundry! Bonus he is able to keep the whites staying white!

What keeps you up at night? We don't have the time for that long list.

What big projects, worries, or events have you busy right now? Aside from Q's therapy four times a week and monthly doctor's appointment things are slowly down for the Sims family. On Mother's Day we hosted Quincy's Quest, a 5k to raise pediatric stroke awareness  (Quincy's Quest website). Plus we had a family wedding and all three boys' birthday parties recently so I'm thankful for a little down time.

Dropping off supplies to Ronald McDonald House

How do you unwind ore re-charge? I adore early morning walks by a local lake, when there are few people out and the dew is still on the grass. The freshness of it all charges me for the day ahead. 

What are the small joys of being a Mom that you treasure most right now? When all three boys are snuggling with me in the morning, either reading our devotions or just talking about what we are going to do that day. I will really miss that day when Ike feels he is too old to snuggle.

What do you miss most from Mom days already gone by? While I miss Ike and Carter being toddlers it is also so much fun to see their excitement for life. How excited they are when they learn something new at school or read a new book that they can't wait for me to read so we can talk about it.

What do you feel like you wish you were better at being a mom? Patience! I get so upset with myself when I lose my patience with the boys. It is such a thin line sometimes. I don't want them to grow up too fast but I want them to be responsible.

What do you feel like you are really good at as a mom? I asked my boys what they thought and they confirmed my answer...silliness and fun. I have dance parties in the kitchen with them after a hard day at school. And birthday parties:  we have awesome birthday parties at our house.