Casual style with Albion Fit | & Learning Kids' Love Languages

I’m learning to love my kids the way THEY need it, AND a little talk about casual beach style with a giveaway from Albion Fit!

I’m learning how to better love my kids. It’s a daily struggle to fill their little love tanks while still keeping mine in tact and without damaging the patience already dangling.

Both of my kids have super big personalities, I blame myself for that. They are strong, independent, stubborn, ornery, passionate, and opinionated about everything. Again, I don’t know who to blame there. {crap}

I just finished reading the 5 Love Languages and recently purchased the 5 Love Languages of Children and it’s been a fascinating read.

I am learning that at least for my oldest, quality time is definitely his love language. If I can set aside time to actually spend with him, disconnected from work, friends, dad, housework, he really responds well and we have far less problems behaviorally. The rest of the day he’ll be literally telling me he loves me and hugging me out of the blue. Of course it means a lot of work because I can’t always give him the attention he really needs. My kid needs me to look right at him, not work next to him. When people come over he is a leach and won’t let them go because he gets attention from them more than me. And that always breaks my heart. The sad truth is, I don’t know if my attention will ever be enough for him. He is SO needy, that I can drop all things, spend time with my kids, and he’ll often still act like a typical 4 year old, throwing tantrums, cutting computer power cords and eating candy into all hours of the night… the other morning we found him asleep in front of the open fridge. I can do what I can do, but that kiddo will still be a 4 year old. He is so much more pleasant though when I really pay attention to how he needs to be loved. Sometimes he’ll even tell me, “mom, I love when you pway bwocks wif me.” I just wish I could all day!

My daughter has been much harder to figure out. She wakes up ticked, screams until she gets what she wants, and screams harder after you give whatever that is to her. She’s an enigma I haven’t yet cracked, but nonetheless, we have tried to schedule in more time to just be together, no distractions, and the beach is our favorite place to do that. When we are together as a family, just us, even though it’s stressful, it’s bonding. The other night we found a gift card to Red Robin so we went. The kids were terrors, climbing over the benches, food everywhere. It was at the end of a high-stress day of moming for me and I was out of patience. I sat in tears while I played the jungle gym for 2 toddlers. When we left, walked in stressed silence to the car, my little guy was singing some song to himself about getting his new red balloon and getting to eat mac and cheese. He announced, “this was a really really great day, mom!” And for him, it was! We spent time and he KNEW I loved him.

We spent another evening together at the beach that went very similar. Though work to get there sometimes, it’s always so needed. I wore my wrap cause my hair was nasty frizzy, and my cozy shirt from AlbionFit that I love so much! I have this in 2 colors and wear it all.the.time. It’s like the perfect shirt for everything- casual, work-out, beach, cover-up… and these harem pants were a Nordstrom Rack find and I’m obsessed with them. I don’t know that my big booty pulls them off so much, but I just don’t so much care. So cozy, especially when it’s a little chilly at the beach!