Introduction

My name is Courtney Henry and I am the mother of two daughters; Brianna is three and Savanna is two months.   Before each of my two children was born, I spent many pregnant nights reading books about parenting and childhood alike; how to do things the “right way.”    Through my readings I learned a lot about topics like what to feed your child, self soothing, transitioning a big sister, etc, etc.  What I also learned was that nothing I ever read could prepare me for the journey I was about to embark on; parenthood. 

This realization is what brought me to the title of my blog.  My personal experience of parenting has been quite an adventure and I’ve learned many lessons along the way.  As a mother, I’ve realized more than anything that you learn the most through experience.  For example, while out shopping with my daughter recently, I unexpectedly learned how to react when your child throws a temper tantrum in a public place, a lovely way to start the day!  It was the first time I had ventured out with both kids and things were going pretty well, right up until the part they weren’t.  Long story short, I had an infant carrier with the baby in one arm and my screaming, flailing toddler in the other.  You can imagine the stares I received, but I politely met them with a smile and nod which let my fellow shoppers know we were all on the same page; my kid is a menace! 

Luckily, we now know that if such a thing happens again, she comes home and goes straight to the infamous time -out chair.  (On a side note, I’m sure every parent has one of these, ours happens to be in the corner of our formal dining room.  And don’t worry; the only thing formal about our dining room is the chandelier that hangs over countless toys, which, on a good day are actually put away. )   Back to the lesson at hand though, I hadn’t planned on coming home with this knowledge that morning, but who ever has?  I’ve learned more than once that kids will force situations on you that you’re not prepared for.  After all, who can prepare for things like finding your daughter and your spare bedroom covered in red lipstick, or hearing her say ‘dead’ for the first time.  That’s the funny thing about parenting; you learn to expect the unexpected.  No book can teach you what experience does.