Monthly Mama Spotlight: Kayla

 

Hey Mama’s,

I’m Kayla Ford, 28 year-old, mom of three girls. My daughters are Lily (6), Daisy (4), and Willow Grace (22 months) and yes I’m one of those moms who say the months instead of 1 year-old lol. We are a Military family, so because of that I am left to do most of the physical everyday parenting alone, most of the time. It can be hard sometimes but this has been our family’s norm for as long as I can remember and the girls are used to it, and thank God for FaceTime and vacation days.

Being a mom is hard and just recently I realized that being a mom is not something that can be taught, but is a part of life that has to be experienced in order for you to truly understand it. With Motherhood, you learn as you go and even have to relearn some aspects with each child you have and the stages they go through as individuals.  All three of my girls are so different, personality wise. I believe that it is so important to find out what your children’s love languages are. My oldest, Lily’s love language is “Words of Endearment,” she loves to talk and be talked to but most of all that the person she is speaking to listens intently. Daisy, my middle girl, loves “Physical Touch;” whether a hug or simply her toe touching me, she has to be near me at ALL times. Lastly, my baby Willow loves “Time Spent,” she will demand you play with her until you do so. It is impossible to always be able to meet the needs of all of our children every day, but it is important to make an effort to show this intentional love.

Taking care of three spunky little girls is no joke sometimes, but do you want to know how I get through it? I tap into my inner “Mommy Beast Mode!” This is a concept God gave me a few years ago when I was having a rough time parenting the girls. “Mommy Beast Mode” is the inner strength, which I believe; God gives us moms to get through those times of the day when we feel like we just can’t keep going. Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t do another thing, and then a burst of energy just pushes you to get that last load of laundry done? Well that’s you tapping into your inner “Mommy Beast Mode!” I use my Instagram page @mommybeastmode_mbm to highlight moms and their businesses, and to just uplift our community of moms as a whole. Whenever, we as moms feel alone just know you aren’t, God is always there.

Moms lets continue to uplift and encourage one another! There is enough room and opportunities for us all to win! No mom shamming, it’s all love here.

Love and Blessings

Ford Family

Nine Things My Nine Year Old Wants You To Know

Today our oldest is nine! He is super sweet and full of random facts. He is always telling me very useful information so I figured I would interview him on this birthday and see if there is any nine year old gems he wanted to share. So here is a list of nine things he wants you all to know about!

1. You should know physics.

2. You should know how to cook.

3. You should stop saying boys rule or girls rule, because we all rule.

4. You shouldn’t play violent video games.

5. You should know that God is real.

6. You should help needy people.

7. You should know that being nine is a big responsibility.

8. You should know that nine year olds have more energy than eight year olds.

9. You should know that boy nine year olds do not like to talk about marriage like nine year old girls do.

💙

Mistakes!

It’s ok to have a bad day mama. It’s ok to just call it a wash. But keep your head up. Tomorrow is brand new for both you and your babies. Remember the present is a gift. 💗💜

Happy New Year!

Monthly Mama Spotlight: Mych’layla

Motherhood to me…

Motherhood. What I understood it to be before I became a mother, was much different than what it actually means to me now that I have crossed over. I am a 2nd grade teacher, work in several areas of ministry, lead my own God given ministry, and wear several other hats. So honestly, I had this expectation that it would be difficult, a little, but that it would be full of glitter and roses most of the time. Haha! That’s partially true. It is great, BUT it is also VERY difficult. There are things in me and about me that I did not even know existed until I experienced motherhood for myself.

First of all, conceiving was a huge struggle and took much longer than many other people around me. This impacted me more than I could have imagined. Why? Because in the midst of all of the struggles that come with infertility and trying to conceive, I still had to be a Bonus Mom (Step Mother) to my two beautiful bonus children. They shaped the first phase of motherhood for me and walked me through the true meaning of unconditional love apart from myself; how to truly love, no strings attached.

Through all that love, we later conceived my Rainbow Baby, Worshyp. After she was born, I struggled through navigating postpartum depression, feelings of being overwhelmed, guilt, shame, and many misunderstandings about how I should feel because of how long it took to conceive and have her. Fast forward to 8 months after, still navigating those feelings, and I find out that I am pregnant again. What?! I was just finding the “thing” to grasp for some type of grip on this “motherhood thing.” Geez!

If you ask me now, what motherhood means to me, I would most definitely have a very different answer than two years ago. I would say that it means knowing when to be selfless but also understanding the times when you need to be selfish. It is finding ways to indulge in self care, in the midst of caring for everyone else. It is knowing that you should only compare yourself to who you were yesterday. It is being honest, true, genuine, and authentic about what you see, feel, hear, think, need, and understand to be true. It is breathing when you feel suffocated by your “motherly” duties. Motherhood for you may not look like motherhood for me. That’s okay. Breathe…relax…and be…YOUR best representation of motherhood.