Thursday Printable

Yesterday, I was making the newsletter for our Mom's Group, and I realized that there really wasn't anything important to include...so, I went a little rogue, and made a printable to hand out for Easter.

It's nothing fancy, but a good reminder for me nonetheless as we go into this weekend--it's a busy time for a lot of families. I know we've got service tonight, Justin's band is recording all day tomorrow, and then service that night, someone texted me that they have a trombone for Justin (which was news to me, but apparently he is playing the trombone for Easter Sunday?), there's outfits to wash and arrange, and Easter baskets to fill (whoops), and bread to make for Easter dinner for about three dozen people (or bagels? or rolls? ). There's a mountain of laundry on my couch, and workouts to do, and bathrooms that haven't been cleaned in I'm not sure how long. Anyway, the point is that it's sort of like Christmas time for me-- I can easily get flustered and busy and overwhelmed and forget the joy in it all.

So, I popped this printable in a frame, leaned it up against the wall on our buffet, where I'll see it 100 times a day as I walk through the tornado of a house. And I think about the Easter morning call and response of "He is risen!" followed by "He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!". And I think about the time of Lent where in the Lutheran church the alleluias are missing from the songs and the service, and I didn't realize the I missed them, but I do.


If you want, click on the image, and that will take you over to Flickr, where you can download the original size. It's 8.5 x11, but worked just fine in a matted 8x10 frame for me. Enjoy your Thursday!

Catching up.

{one} 

We made some serious progress in deep cleaning the house this weekend, which is awesome and amazing, because the next FOUR Saturdays are booked up...which is crazy and surreal. We still have a huge amount to do pre-baby, but getting a good check of the general deep-cleaning out of the way is a huge relief. And it's kind of nice that I could actually invite people over to our house again--it really was so bad, that it was out of the question!

{two}

I have a dermatologist appointment this morning, I think to check on how the place where I had stitches on my stomach is holding up, and also to monitor a mole. Even though I don't think it's going to be a big deal, I have a hard time not getting super anxious any time I have a dermatologist appointment. I freaked most of the night last night about the appointment.

{three} 

I did some housekeeping to the blog over the weekend--I cleaned up the sidebar a bit, and also revamped the pages in the header. Now, you can find all baby and infant related posts itemized in one central location, and also a master list of all book reviews. I'm also trying something new and opening up a limited number of sidebar ads via Passionfruit-- check it out if you're so inclined (and I promise you won't hear much more from me on the subject).

{four}

We went to a wedding over the weekend for a young couple that used to help with childcare for Mom's Group. Justin and I were cracking up because both the father/daughter dance and the mother/son dance were the exact same songs we used for our wedding. I don't think I've heard them at ANY wedding since then, so it was pretty funny to hear both in one wedding. We kept joking that we guessed we were supposed to be remembering our wedding that day ;)

{five}

I get to start Beth Moore's study of James with some of the ladies from Mom's Group this week, and I am so excited. SO. EXCITED. I have absolutely zero doubt that it'll be really good for me to really dig in to the Word in these last few weeks before having a baby...because I don't know about anyone else, but it is so easy for me to fall out of the habit of daily quiet time, and when I do, nothing good comes of it. Also? Totally crazy to think that I most likely won't finish the study with the group because I'll be off having a baby.

{six}

Last night, I had a conversation with Lizzy about dinner that went like this:
Me: Lizzy, would you like a cheeseburger for dinner?
Lizzy: No mom!! I want a hang-a-burger with cheese, please.

If I would have told her that a hang-a-burger with cheese is the same thing as a cheeseburger, it would have resulted in a 37 minute tantrum. Sometimes, it's just easier to call it a hang-a-burger with cheese.

{seven} 

I'm in a book slump. I haven't picked up a book that I was really, really excited about reading in too long. This is compounded by the fact that what I read before bed has recently been directly influencing some absolutely crazy pregnancy dreams, so I'm trying to limit myself to happy, inspirational fluff. But yeah...not excited about anything I've read lately. Any suggestions?

Thursday Thoughts

{one} 

Can I ask a favor of y'all? There are so many of you who have left comments over the past couple of weeks that I've wanted to respond to, but many of you haven't had email addresses associated with your accounts, and it just makes it much harder to get back to you! It's really easy to add an email to your account--in blogger, from your dashboard click on "edit profile", and then add an email address to your profile! With so many free options for email, you could even create a separate email just for your blog :)

{two}

I am so happy about the Top Chef finale. I don't want to spoil it in case there's anybody who hasn't watched it yet, but I really thought the other person was going to win and it was making me nervous! I'm glad the one I was rooting for pulled it through!

{three}

Thank you guys for the thoughts and prayers about my dad in the hospital, he went home last week, and then had been back in again since Monday of this week, but got to go home yesterday! Hopefully he's recovering well and can say out of that place!

{four} 

I'm thinking about re-instating "Photography Fridays" on the blog, which I haven't done in awhile, but in the past has included the 12 Weeks to Better Photography course. That particular course isn't available any more, but I think there are others we could do, or that I could come up with something. I'm just jonesing for more photography and need an excuse! What I'd like to know is if you're interested in participating, what sort of tutorials would YOU like to see--very basic, beginner, more advanced, etc?

{five}

Lizzy had been doing pretty great with potty training. And then all of a sudden, I'd tell her that it was time to sit on the toilet and she'd start to scream, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!! I too BIG!" (I think she actually means she's too little). I've been trying not to push it because I know she'll do it when she's ready and blah blah blah. But seriously, I'M READY.

{six}

I have Mom's Group this morning, and I *really* should shower, but I just don't want to. Most people at this particular Mom's Group usually come pretty dressed up, but I think that I may end up going in a sweatshirt and yoga pants today. Oh well. I'm feeling lazy. Plus, if I go out dressed ready to work out, I may actually be more likely to do Jillian's Yoga Meltdown later today like I'm supposed to, you
know?

Thursday Thoughts

{one}

Thanks to Ryan and Renee, Justin and I got to go to a belated Valentine's Dinner date last night! I don't think we've been on a date since before Christmas, so it was much needed. We went to Red Robin thanks to a gift card, where I had a delicious vojito. Oh yes, you read that right...a mojito, but made with vodka instead. And since vodka is by far my favorite category of alcoholic beverages, it was obviously quite good. Had I not been so budget (or calorie) conscious, I may have had three of them.

After that, we went to Costco to pick up some produce. What? Your dates don't end in the Costco produce isle with your husband making dirty jokes about it being the re-produce isle? Oh.

Also, I'm not sure what's going on there, but I look puffy and just weird in that photo. I don't know about you, but a bad photo can really get me started with negative self-talk, so I snapped another photo this morning to convince myself that it wasn't just me--sometimes there are just bad photos and bad angles.

{two}
We weren't able to go on a date on Valentine's Day because Justin and I were presenting to the church council about the importance of our church website and how we've really grown beyond our current website and need something that more accurately represents who we are and what we do. Happily, we were given the green light to move forward with that, and I'm finding it so easy for me to disappear into graphic design for hours on end. I haven't done much in terms of graphic design beyond this blog in quite awhile, so it's kind of fun to re-visit logo making and all that good stuff.

{three}

This morning at Mom's Group, Lindsay from Earth Monkey Moms came to talk to our group about her experience as being the recipient of a home from Extreme Home Makeover. I was so blessed and uplifted by how real and honest she was with us--she talked about how receiving the home was a huge blessing, but that afterwards she had to deal with some tough stuff as well. She talked about going through a pretty awful experience personally while being in a pretty public setting. I don't know much about Lindsay's own internal reaction in that, but I can only imagine that for myself, I would have probably felt a huge amount of pressure to put on a happy face and continue talking about how wonderful and blessed we were, even though inside I was devastated. In addition to her overall message about growing into who God designed us to be (and having the freedom to say "no" to things that don't fulfill that purpose), it was also such a good reminder to me that sometimes we may see a person publicly--up on a stage, on tv, on a blog, or even someone in our own circle of friends--but still not really have any idea what they're going through privately. It was a good reminder for me to treat everyone as if they're in the middle of one of the worst days of their lives, because they very well may be.

{four}

Lizzy's new favorite song is "Little Bunny Foo Foo", and it is seriously the CUTEST THING EVER to hear her try to sing along to it. At the very end, they say "The moral of the story is hare today, goon tomorrow!" and she laughs hysterically every time even though she has absolutely no clue what they're saying. I love it.

{five}
We filed our taxes today. WOO HOO!

{six}
I made this for dinner the other night, and it was delicioso!

Source: thewaytohisheart.wordpress.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Also linking up with:

The Home Organization Binder

I'm not a naturally organized person, and I REALLY hate spending money when it comes to organizing things. Organization doesn't come easy to me, and I'm definitely not an expert at it. That said, the Home Organization Binder that we made at Mom's Group a few weeks ago has been a big help to me, and so I wanted to talk about it here.

I'd seen similar binders all over Pinterest, but hadn't actually made one because (a) I hadn't seen one configured in a way that I thought I'd actually use, (b) I hate spending money on that sort of thing and (c) I don't have a lot of craft supplies, so it would probably end up being very expensive for me to buy scrapbook paper and all those other goodies necessary in order to create a binder that I wouldn't mind having just sit out on a day-to-day basis. That's the beauty of my Mom's Group--you pay annual "dues" and part of that dues money goes towards providing all the materials needed to do the craft of the day. It's awesome.

Anyway, we were instructed to decorate the outside of the binder however we wanted. Again, my goal was to have something that I wouldn't mind sitting out on the desk all the time. Then, on the inside, we were supposed to create divided sections based on something called a "brain dump" that they had done the previous session. I missed that one, but from what I gather, you basically take a blank piece of paper, give yourself an allotted amount of time, and then just write down everything on your mind until the time is up. The suggestion was that you then review your brain dump and see if there are any themes or categories that might help you decide what your divided sections should be. Here's what I ended up with:

1. Finances: Included in this section are two zippered pouches--one for receipts that need to be entered into our budget, and one for receipts from the month that already have been entered. We enter most of our financial info directly into an Excel spreadsheet, but I also printed out a copy of our monthly budget for easy access. It might also be a good place to keep track of due dates for various bills, interest rates for credit cards/student loans, and that sort of thing.



2. Prayer: I mentioned the Inspired to Action website a few days ago, which includes some great e-books that include monthly calendars for praying for your kids and spouse. I have them printed out and in sheet protectors in this section. I also added lined notebook paper so that when I hear about prayer requests, I can jot them down and (hopefully) actually follow through later.

3. To Do Today: Exactly as it sounds. It's a section of lined paper. I fold each piece of paper vertically, and write two days worth of to-do's on each side. Another great option is the Weekly Overview (again from Inspired to Action) which allows space to write your Bible Study plans, a menu, and a to-do list.

4. To Do Later: This section is also filled with lined paper and is for things that I want to remember, but don't necessarily need to do that day. I also have a few sheet protectors for fliers/brochures, and my brain dump is also here. I really liked the brain dump and I think I may do it more often.

5. Meal Plan: My plan was to print our my meal plan and keep it here, along with a master list of the recipes that I can cook. That said, I'm finding that I actually end up looking on the computer (I keep the meal plan in a Word document and also look on Pinterest a lot) than in the binder, so this category may turn into something else.

6. Toddler Activities: Awhile back, when I was venting about the parenting/cleaning balance, Emily commented that she tries to do three activities with Thomas each day. I really liked that idea, and have implemented it a lot with Lizzy with my own little spin. I keep a list of activities to do with Lizzy in this section. This isn't anything fancy...typically I just take toys that we already have, and couple them with developmental stuff. So, one activity might be to play with Legos with Lizzy, with me focusing on counting as we're playing (or colors). It isn't anything structured--just while we're playing, I make an effort to count the Legos as we stack. Sometimes, the activities are just going to the library or to the park...but the key for me is that it helps me to be more present and to really feel like I have some freedom to clean, or read, or whatever doing the day because I know Lizzy is getting some quality time. And as a bonus, it helps me remember to rotate in books and toys that we haven't read or used in awhile. This would also be a good section to keep lists of free things to do in your area, printouts from places like www.icanteachmychild.com and more.

7. Notes/Other Info: Since the binder typically sits next to the computer, I like to just have lined paper where I can scratch notes as necessary. Justin's been working on an inventory of our DVD collection, so that may eventually go here, as may schedules for baseball/softball, etc.

8. Emergency Info: This will probably just be a place to store phone numbers of our doctors, Justin's work, our insurance agent, etc. Phone numbers that I may need quickly, but probably don't know by heart or necessarily want/need in my phone 24/7.

Other ideas for divider sections that I've seen are things like cleaning, take-out menus, sports schedules, etc. The bottom line is to do what works for you...do the brain dump, identify what is stressing you out, and do what you can to make yourself a bit more organized in those areas. I know, it sounds so simple, right? Well, it's not that simple, and you won't do it perfectly (I don't anyway), but doing something is better than doing nothing I figure!

I know this post is getting long, but I also have to mention that our mail is stored elsewhere (in the living room post, I showed you the inside of the flowered box--it's in there). We have sections in that box for incoming bills, things to be filed, cards/notes, etc. But, all of those categories would probably also work in a Home Binder if you think that would work best for you--I just already had a system going for that and figured there's no sense in messing with what's already working.


Also, does it drive anyone else crazy that when you put things in sheet protectors, you can no longer see the divider tabs?! No? Just me? Okay then....  :)

Real

In real life, I'm a bit of an introvert. Socializing doesn't particularly come easy to me. Small talk is not my thing. I've mentioned on this blog before that while I have a few precious, amazing friends who I can hang out with and feel completely at ease, for the most part, I have to gear myself up to go be social with people.

My Mom's Group is amazing--they are wonderful, welcoming women. But still, sometimes I feel a little out of the loop, which is probably just a by-product of the fact that I don't go to the same church as most of them do, so I just don't see everyone as often as they generally see each other. Still, it sometimes  makes me feel insecure, which means that when they do invite me to come do something, often the safety and warmth of the couch seems much more appealing. It's expected. I fit there nicely...no pressure. No small talk. No wondering whether people like me. No finagling the budget so that I can afford dinner and drinks. It's much less effort to stay at home.

Still, over the past year there have been a few women who have really tried to invite me to things and to include me...to make me feel welcome, and to encourage me to come and be a part of things. I have so appreciated it.It has been a huge blessing to me. So, I try to step outside of my comfort zone--to go when invited (Lord knows I need to get out of the house more often) laugh and smile, even if it's a little uncomfortable for me right now. Because the only way to make friends, is to be a friend yourself...to give a little of yourself.

Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

Snippets/Confessions

-I couldn't get Lizzy down for a nap until almost 4pm today. It was a battle royale, but I won. And because she went down for such a late nap, I'm seriously thinking about taking her to Justin's softball game tonight, which doesn't start until 8:30pm. I feel like it's going to be another battle royale to get her to bed tonight, and I just don't want to do it alone. On the other hand, I just feel badly keeping her out that late.

-Once J's game is done, we are staying up to watch the season premiere of Bones. I don't care if we have to stay up until MIDNIGHT to do so.

-I took this recipe to Mom's Group today, and it was glorious. And so easy.

Source: stamps4fun.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

And the perfect comfort food for a Mom's Group that I cried all the way through--we had an amazing woman named JoLayne come and talk about her faith. And, about her daughter Faith who died in September from cancer. JoLayne is now trying to raise awareness about childhood cancer as well as funds for research. I told JoLayne that while this is a small thing, if she ever wanted to write about what she's doing here on the blog, she's always welcome. And I hope she does--there were so many things I didn't know, and I'm sure most people don't.

-I've got two prayer requests for you guys. First, my-brother-in-law Justin's grandpa died today. I know his whole family would appreciate your prayers for comfort. Second, one of my best friends Kaitlin just recently found out that her husband Jesse is deploying for the third time. Very soon. I think they could use prayers all the way around too.

Just Things

-We are still in teething hell. Friday and Saturday, poor Lizzy had a fever and was just miserable. Then, yesterday and Sunday, she no longer had a fever, but was obviously still hurting despite the motrin. Unfortunately, that manifested itself as Lizzy being absolutely naughty. She bit. She threw food on purpose. She spit her milk at me. She hit. She screamed in the highest pitch scream known to man. She threw huge and elaborate tantrums over everything. On one hand, I feel badly for her because she is obviously in pain. On the other hand, she has definitely been trying my patience lately. HOLY COW. Moms--what did you do when your kiddos this age threw all out tantrums? We've been doing the time-out thing, which Lizzy obviously understands, but I haven't noticed much of a difference in behavior at this point. I'm just hoping that today brings my usual happy kiddo back.

-In the face of all this craziness with Lizzy, Justin will probably be going out of town for work soon. I've been trying not to grumble too much to him, but it SUCKS for so many reasons--Lizzy has been a handful lately, and I so appreciate his help. Lizzy knows when it's (roughly) time for dad to be home, and stares at the window and says, "Dada? Dada?" over and over...she's going to miss him. Plus, every time he's out of town for work, I have these awful morbid realizations that this is what it would be like if he died. Seriously morbid, and seriously depressing. And consequently, I battle some serious anxiety whenever he's gone. I think I might go stay at my parent's house for a few days, and then I'm hoping that between Bible Study and Mom's Group, I'll keep fairly busy.

-I'm waaaaaaaayyyyy behind the times and I'm reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and so far, I really like it. I've temporarily lost interest in Outlander #4.

-I've continued as usual with the Couch to 5k program, and finished W6D2 last night. I have to say that it was really hard to go back to the intervals! I think they are harder than the distance runs! I really felt like I was dragging this week. But the crazy thing is that I'm done with the intervals. On Wednesday, I'll run a 25 minute run, and then after that, I'll run one week's worth of 28 minute runs and one week's worth of 30 minute runs. It's kind of funny, because even after running for 20 minutes the other day, those 25, 28, and 30 minute runs still feel kind of unattainable. But I just plan to keep tossing motivational messages up on the wall, and go for it. The REAL trick will be whether or not I'll be able to continue running while Justin is gone! 

- Speaking of running, if you're lucky enough to have an iPhone (I am not, but Justin was able to buy one through his work) or possibly an Android, the RunKeeper Pro app is free through the rest of the month. It's normally $9.99, so I'd jump on it if you think you'll EVER use it!

Snippets

-So first of all, LIZZY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY IS TOMORROW. Holy cow...where did the past year go? To be honest, I always kind of rolled my eyes when I heard other moms gush about how big their little babies were getting, but seriously, I get it. I don't think a year has EVER flown by so fast in my life!

-In regards to the above, I'm making Lizzy her own little cake, but for the adults, I'm making a Snickers Bar Trifle. I'm hoping there's not a revolt due to the lack of cake, but hello...that looks so yummy! I'm also making Leah's 3-2-1 Beef...which has seriously become my go-to recipe for family gatherings. With Black Butte Porter (yeah Deschutes Brewery!) it is delicious. 

-Doing better on the running in terms of shin splints and things, but I'm still struggling with those three minute runs. I feel like such a wuss saying that I'm struggling with running for three minutes. Seriously...how hard could that be? I even cover up the time, but by the 2:00 mark into the last 3:00 interval, I'm wheezing up a storm.

-My mom's group asked if I would talk about photography tips for moms at their next meeting. I'm excited, but also a little overwhelmed about where to start...there is such a diverse group of women, and I'm struggling with how much info and detail to go into. I want to give enough that they can actually make some good changes, but not so much that they just get totally overwhelmed and don't try anything.

-I just finished the book The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris. I feel like most book people that I respect totally loved it, and I hated it. Big time. I'm okay with leaving some things unanswered, but with this particular book, I felt like I read and read, and at the end I knew nothing more than when I started, and had no more of a connection with any of the characters...in fact, I liked them even less. Not off to a great start with books in 2011! But, I just picked up the 4th Outlander book and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo from the library yesterday. Here's hoping that I have better luck with them!

Lizzy Photos (and a few snippets)

I've mentioned before that Lizzy is becoming quite a little ham. She loves to be the center of attention, and definitely knows how to be silly enough to get it! She also clearly knows about cameras now, and if she's seated/trapped where she can't walk away, she will smile and totally ham it up:

Also, I think I have mentioned this before, but she is SUPER into Pat the Bunny lately. If you're a momma of toddlers and don't have this book, I HIGHLY recommend it and see it at Target often. Lizzy already knows all the actions, and can read the book by herself for hours. Isn't the last picture of her "smelling the flowers" the cutest.thing.ever?!

-In other news, thank you guys for your words of encouragement yesterday. Honestly, it's still a daily battle to not freak out and just to TRUST, but I'm trying to keep my head. We really appreciate the prayers, and everything else.

-I'm reading Outlander, as you may have gathered from the sidebar. Holy lord, there's a lot of Scottish sex. I feel kind of like I'm reading a Danielle Steel romance novel....but I haven't stopped reading it yet!

-Our house is a total disaster. Between trying to cram in workouts and frantic headband making into any available nap time, the house is suffering. The fact that we haven't really been home much this week (and won't be) doesn't help. Friday was supposed to be our night at home, but my mom's group is having a craft night, and I am considering going--I definitely have some crafts to work on, and they're also having a kid's clothing and toy swap. Lizzy is just starting to need 12 month clothes, and we could definitely use a few more things. I'm thinking this swap is a definite blessing, even though I would MUCH rather snuggle up on the couch with my sweet husband all night at catch up on Glee and other TV shows.

-I am terrified that Lizzy is getting her molars. I've heard that they typically come in around the one-year mark, but Lizzy already has 8 teeth, and she's acting like she's teething again (super fussy, grainy gross poop, drool city, sticking her fingers waaayyyy back in her mouth and chewing, hysterical if I try to feel for teeth, intermittent crying while taking her bottle, middle of the night screaming, etc). Ugh.

-Also, other mommas out there....have any of your kids been diagnosed with seasonal allergies? I am almost positive that Lizzy has them. She gets all the same symptoms that I do when mine are particularly bad, and my general practitioner even commented that she looks like she has allergies. But our pediatrician keeps insisting that kids cannot have allergies their first year of life. Frankly, I think that's bull....

Snippets

Lizzy and cousins on Tuesday. Love it!

-I think I'm finally caught up on editing, which is good since I have another shoot tomorrow afternoon! I'm thankful to have had so many opportunities to shoot recently, but I'm also thankful to have a weekend off! So does Justin!

-About 20 minutes into the Couch to 5k running podcast, the podcast guy says something to the effect of, 'At this point, you should be feeling warm, but not tired or out of breath.' I want to punch him in the face every time. 

-Lizzy took two wobbly steps last night. Justin missed it, so I tried to recreate it my putting a gingersnap (she LOVES them for teething) on the couch, and putting her standing about a foot away. She did the wobbly walk again! Holy cow!

- Justin made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese out of the box for dinner last night, and it was delicious.

-My sister-in-law decided that we would take a load of things to the dump yesterday. Instead, we ended up cleaning out our entire garage. For the first time ever, our CAR actually fits inside our garage! And it's a single-car garage! Wooo! 

 

-While we were cleaning, we talked about the idea of all of us (4 sisters/sister-in-laws that are married and in our own homes) getting together, and taking days to go to each others houses, and doing either the cleaning tasks that never seem to get done (i.e. washing the windows, cleaning out the pantry), or the cleaning tasks that person hates most (i.e. the bathroom for me, laundry for others, etc). I am really, really liking that idea!

-Thank you guys for your prayers for my friend {A} who lost her baby over the weekend. On Wednesday mornings, most of the women from Mom's Group meet for a Bible Study. {A} asked that the group still gathered yesterday, and she wanted to come. I was really nervous going into the morning, because sometimes I feel like I'm really socially inept when it comes to people who are grieving. When I'm grieving, I initially need some time and space to be left alone, and sometimes I assume that others feel the same way, and don't reach out to them enough. Anyway, we gathered, all wrapped around {A}, and prayed.

The church that I grew up in and attend today doesn't tend to do the laying on of hands when we pray, but we did yesterday morning, and it was one of the most powerful things I have ever experienced in my spiritual life. There was so much love, sorrow, grief, and compassion in that room all at the same time. 

After that, {A} asked if she could share the story. She talked about her experience, and about how beautiful her precious baby girl was. She asked us all questions about physical recovery. She spoke of her sorrow, but also of the fact that she trusts that God is walking alongside her through this experience. I was, and continue to be in awe of her perspective. There were smiles, laughs, tears, and so much love. I am so thankful for this group of women, and I pray that we'll continue to be able to support {A}, especially around Christmas, when she would have been due. That we'll be able to help her remember that it's OKAY to be feeling angry and upset. That just because we know God can use any situation for good, doesn't mean it hurts any less while we're going through it.

- In the midst of being with {A} and the other Moms, I received a text that another one of my friends who had previously experienced pregnancy loss had given birth to a health baby girl that morning. It was an overwhelming and emotional day.

Crafting Fail

I am not by nature a very crafty person. I don't have fun swirly handwriting. I don't have a good eye for taking unusual things and making something beautiful out of them. There is no way on EARTH that I could ever open an etsy shop.

That said, every other Mom's group, they do a craft. Sometimes it's something you could then do with your kids, sometimes it's just something fun and easy. Today, we were painting pumpkins. We were actually supposed to paint pumpkins, hollow them out, and use them as a "vase" for mums, but I knew right off the bat that I would never make it past the painting step, so I just set my expectations right from the start to just be a painted pumpkin. I had grand dreams of what my pumpkin would look like. I mean, how hard is it to paint a pumpkin?!

I envisioned something like this:

photo credit-{BH&G via S.HOPtalk}

I decided to start with some silver metallic paint. Only, after I got the darn pumpkin painted, I realized that it must actually be like a silver finish...meant to go on TOP of another color, not to stand alone. It was all lumpy and chunky, and no amount of smoothing it with a brush was helping. So, I did the only logical thing I could think of. I threw handfuls of red glitter all over the pumpkin. And very quickly realized that doing so was not a good idea for a number of reasons, the least of which being that the whole thing turned into a goopy globby mess. 

By the time I had finished {about 5 minutes into the project}, one of my friends was still contemplating what to do with her pumpkin. I turned to her and said, "Hey, you could just write 'Fall 2010' in black sharpie, and it would probably still look better than my ghetto disco pumpkin!" We both died laughing, and decided that my pumpkin would from thence be known as "The great disco pumpkin of 2010", and made a sign for it. 

 

And now it sits on our front porch. 

Perhaps scaring off solicitors.

It's okay, you can laugh. I did. A lot.

Parenting-- Saying No.

The other day, I was with a bunch of mom's from Mom's Group, and I couldn't help but notice one of the parenting techniques that one of the moms was using. It seemed to work really well for her, and really intrigued me.

I noticed that even when she was correcting the behavior of her kids, she rarely told them "no", "stop", or "don't". For example, when her boys were playing in a part of the house that they weren't supposed to be in, she said, "Boys, you can come out of that room now." When her boys were running through the house, she said, "Boys, you can walk through this house please. You are so smart, and I know you're going to do a great job listening to this rule."

It sounds silly, but I was kind of blown away. Especially when her kids DID listen, and DIDN'T run in the house, even when other kids started to again. 

That's not to say that she never said "no", "don't", or "stop"--when one of her boys hit the other, she said, "John, no. Don't hit your brother again." But I noticed that she used no/don't/stop sparingly, and usually only when the boys were doing something that was harmful to themselves or others. 

It reminded me of something I heard a few months ago. When I was at work, there was a man who taught parenting classes. Once, I heard him mention that there is usually a 1 to 5 ratio in terms of positive things we say to kids versus negative things or correction. He said that correction and boundaries are very important, but that we have to be careful that our words don't sound like we're saying 'Everything you do is wrong' and that the ratio really should be more like 5 to 1. Think about it...it's easy over the course of a half an hour to say:

Don't jump on the couch.
Don't lick the cat.
Stop making that noise.
Sit still.
Be quiet!
Don't play with that.
Don't hit your brother.
No, you cannot have some more candy.

What if positive redirection could be used on all of those instances except 'Don't hit your brother' ? It's a hard paradigm shift, and even harder to put into practice. Believe me. Over the past two days, I've been watching two of Lizzy's older cousins. They are GREAT, AMAZING, and SWEET kids, but it is *still* so easy to fall into the trap of saying "no, no no" all day, when really, they're not doing anything terribly wrong. When I remembered, I tried to use positive redirection on the small stuff, and it typically worked really well. I'm going to make it a goal to keep at it. I do think it's important for kids to have boundaries and to hear "no" from their parents, but I also think that it's important to build up self-esteem and self-worth in our kids. Maybe this is a way to do both? 

What do you guys think?

Want/Need

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. -Psalm 23 (NIV)

A few months ago at mom's group, we were doing a craft. The daughter of one of our friends was painting something to hang up in her room, and wanted her mom to write "her verse" on the paper. As it turns out, her verse was a version of Psalm 23: 

The LORD is my shepherd, I have everything I need. -Psalm 23 (similar to The Message translation)

This sweet girl's version of Psalm 23 has really been on my mind ever since. For me, it brought a whole new spin on things--because traditionally, I always heard Psalm 23 and thought of being "in want" as dealing with the big, extravagant things--boats, Hawaiian vacations, shopping sprees. This child's version of Psalm 23 has caused me to look at the verse through a lens of Need versus Want.

I struggle often with being in want, especially now that I am a stay at home mom. Because the honest truth is that money is tight, every month. We've dipped into our savings more often than we should have, sometimes out of necessity, and {honestly}sometimes because it's been hard for us to transition from two incomes (and thus more discretionary income) to one. I think sometimes we wanted to continue living virtually care-free about our spending. But the bottom line is that we just simply can't be as carefree with money as we once were.

It's hard because I want clothes that fit and feel flattering. I want lasagna for dinner instead of the chicken salad we have ingredients for. I want to be able to meet a friend for lunch and coffee before she goes away to medical school. I want to be able to go and visit my parents or Justin's parents as often as we want to, even if that means driving there two or three times in a week. I want to be able to occasionally buy Lizzy a cute outfit when I see it. I want to be able to put more money in savings. Heck, I have a whole tag on this blog called "I want." Justin has his own set of "I wants" as well--not extravagant "I wants", but just little things. 

Sometimes, these things that I want to do or have feel like needs. But really, they're not. I may feel like "Oh, I need to go grocery shopping, I have no food in the house." I may not have the groceries that I want, but my cupboards are not actually bare.We have food. It may not be a meal that I would typically put together--it may be a mish-mash of things, but we have food.When I think about it long and hard, I can't really think of anything that we need but do not have--we have a home, we have food, we have transportation, we have each other.

As I've said before, sometimes it is HARD to be in this place. I feel like I deserve to have these things that I want. They are small things after all. Sometimes I find myself looking up jobs on Craigslist, thinking how much easier it would be if we were back to two incomes {And yet, I do know that the grass is always greener. The additional money would come with sacrifice as well--either hardly seeing Lizzy or hardly seeing Justin}.

On the other hand, I know with every fiber of my being that it's God's plan for me to be a stay-at-home-mom right now. Justin and I have prayed about it long and often. I know it, I feel it, and I'm at peace with it. I have faith that our NEEDS will be provided for during this time, I just have to reconcile with the fact that our WANTS may not be. Honestly, this is probably a good lesson for me, even if it isn't always a particularly fun one.

This next month in particular, I really would to spend time thinking about where every single penny of our money is going--not that some of our money won't be spent on wants rather than needs, but I have a feeling that if we really continue to remember that we do have everything we NEED, we'll find a lot more discretionary income than we thought we had.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for you heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why do you worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? -Matthew 6: 25-30

Interesting Thought--Saying Yes

Yesterday at Mom's Group, the speaker had something interesting to say, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts. She was encouraging us to be intentional about living in the moment, and appreciating the little moments with our family--especially our children.

She said that if she has any regrets in life, it's that she was involved in so many activities--lots of church groups, play dates, lots of activities for the kids, fundraisers, charities, etc. She said that looking back, she feels like she was always rushing through life, and that she wished that she would have taken more quiet time with her family.

She said that now, she lives by the motto that anytime she says yes to something, she is saying no to something else. And she just encouraged us to think about when we commit to something, what we are giving up instead. If we're giving up our TV watching time, that's one thing. But if we're giving up precious family time, that may be another. Like a good diet, our plates should be balanced with family time, time for ourselves, and time for others...but the key is to keep it balanced. Are we spending so much time organizing a Bible study or a bake sale that we're not paying as much attention to our kids or our spouse as we should?

Personally, I struggle with this a lot right now. Because Justin's work has laid off so many people, he often works 50 or more hours a week--leaving by about 6:30am and getting home at 5 or 6 (or later). It is a blessing that he's working so many hours, but it's also hard sometimes.

I also sometimes feel like our family is over-committed and over-stretched....between Justin's band, playing for church, Bible Studies, doing things with our family, making time for me to work out, and doing things with friends, there are weeks where the only day that all three of us are home before 8pm is Friday. And that can be stressful. But we enjoy everything, so it's hard to identify something to cut out. But sometimes, I just want to "call in sick" as a family, lol!

What about y'all? How do you keep your lives balanced between work, personal time, family time, and other commitments? Do you feel like you're able to say "no" when life gets too busy?

Snippets

-On Wednesday, I finally got to go to the Mom's Group. I loved it. There's such an awesome and diverse group of women, ranging from 20's to 50's. Some have had kid, some have adopted kids, some are foster parents. It's just an awesome thing. On Wednesday, they had a speaker from the library come--they're trying to re-start a program for infants and "wobblers" at the library. All our local libraries closed two years ago when the county stopped funding them, and since they've re-opened, all the programs haven't started back up. I hope that this one re-starts. I'd love to line up some things to do with Lizzy that don't cost an arm and a leg.

-I was also shocked to learn that there's actually a pool in our town. I don't know that I've mentioned that I live in a little itty bitty town. Like, there's not even a Starbucks small. Anyway, I didn't know that there was an indoor pool that offers infant swim classes at a pretty reasonable ($28/ month) price. They're in the evenings, which means that J and I could both potentially go. We have to wait until she's a little older--I think 4 or 6 months. I'm excited though. I love the water and would like to get her comfortable around it as early as possible.

-Today we're meeting with someone about possibly refinancing our mortgage. We had previously been working with B of A (who our mortgage was through) on a mortgage modification. I guess we qualified under the Making Home Affordable program. But, for the past six months they've been supposed to be sending us paperwork that hasn't ever arrived. Every time I call, it's "in the mail". Sure. So, we decided that it was time to go see someone in person (you have to do a modification over the phone apparently). I'm hopeful that we'll be able to refinance, but with how much housing has depreciated, I'm suspecting we won't be able to. But it's worth a shot, right?

-Also, I mentioned previously that Lizzy slept through the night. Well, that isn't something that she does with any regularity. For the most part, she still wakes up at least twice to eat. But occasionally, she won't. And I really battle with whether or not to wake her. On one hand, the pediatrician told us that we're supposed to wake her at least every 5 hours to feed at night. On the other hand, I know that babies aren't going to starve themselves, and plenty of women let them sleep through the night with no problem. I'm just a by-the-rules girl, and I have a hard time not following them! I still feel a little guilty for not waking her up sooner last night--she ate at about 8:30pm, and then was OUT until 4am. She didn't even wake up because she lost her pacifier! But yeah, I kind of feel like a bad mom for letting her go almost 8 hours without eating.