Messy Mom Monday

Brittany and Jess are hosting a new link-up called Messy Mom Monday--getting real about the fact that virtually no moms have it all together all the time, even though it may look like it sometimes. I'm not sure if I've ever told this story before on the blog or not, but not too long after Lizzy was born, I remember looking at some other moms that I knew and thinking, I just don't understand how they do it! Their homes were always spotless. They were always posting on Facebook about their from-scratch cooking, the many novels that they were reading, their great 10 mile run, the hilarious TV they were watching, AND the great Beth Moore studies that they were doing. And here I thought it was a good day if I got a shower.

And then when I was talking with a few of the moms one day, one of them mentioned that they had been hiring a high school girl to come clean their house. Another mentioned that she has her kids go to daycare one day a week, and that's when she does her long runs and cleans the house. Another told me that they just shove everything into their back bedroom anytime someone is coming over. It was like an epiphany to me--they aren't perfect, I just thought they were. It can be a lonely place to think that you're the only person who doesn't have it all together all the time, and that's what I think this link-up is all about...letting ourselves be real once in awhile, and hopefully letting others know that it is okay for them to be real too.

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Here's my sweet adorable girl this morning...she's on the couch watching Dora while I lay in bed and blog.



But let's back up and get a fuller picture of the room, no?


It's amazing what you can hide in photos.

Our laundry situation is out of control right now. I wasn't able to do laundry at all last week and hadn't done much the previous week either, so it was a little outrageous. We made some good progress this weekend, but left two loads on the couch yesterday morning ready to be folded after church...and then didn't end up back home until 10pm. So there they still sit...along with numerous other piles of laundry that need to be washed and sorted through.







The buffet is still a mess from Lizzy's birthday last week. And the photo that I took to show you? I have no idea what happened there, but it ended up looking like this:



And our spare bedroom? Oh my GOSH you guys...it has become the dumping ground lately for everything that we don't have a home for anywhere else. We desperately need to add some money in the budget for Rubbermaid containers to get this under control!

But, Justin only has a week or so left on his high-paying job site, and so I'm leery about actually spending that money instead of putting it in savings. I mean, I can always just shut the spare bedroom door.

Go link up with Jess or Brittany and share your Messy Mom Monday post with us!

Attitude Adjustment

I need an attitude adjustment after a terrible softball game last night. I have tried to go into this league just to have fun (because I can be really competitive when it comes to sports I've actually played), but after losing by over 20 points last night, I was in a really bad mood.  Especially when they chose to keep playing even after the game had been called due to our losing by so much. I know that was the good decision to make, but on a night where almost no one seemed to be clicking (other than Justin who hit two home runs!), it was PAINFUL for me to keep playing. Mostly because it gave myself more reasons to be irritated at myself (I rarely notice errors that other people make during games, but I hold on to the ones that I make for-ev-ah). Anyway...so to combat my mood, I decided to make a list of a few things that I am thankful for today.

1- I've written about my friend Kaitlin a few times on this blog, asking for prayers for her son Jaxon (or as I like to joke, my future son in law), who was in the NICU after being born at 35 weeks. Well, Jaxon is finally home! He was able to go home on Friday, just in time for Kaitlin's birthday on Saturday! God is good. {PS- Kaitlin, your birthday made me feel old. Sometimes I forget that we aren't the same age ;) }

2- Sweet Justin. I've written before about the Bathroom Cleaning Battle in our house. On Friday, I told him that it was really important to me that the bathrooms be cleaned this weekend. He said that he would absolutely clean them, but to be honest, I didn't have very much faith that they would actually get done. But I was so wrong. Justin impressed me so much by cleaning them both AND vacuuming while I took a nap on Sunday. {Can I also just mention that I really didn't have any idea how tired I was until I took a nap?!}

3- A fridge stocked with food, and just enough money to get us by until Justin gets paid on Friday. It's incredible how my staying at home has somehow worked every month.

4- JJ Heller. A few months ago, Renee sang "Your Hands" by JJ Heller at church, and got me hooked. I've been listening to her a lot, because Lizzy really seems to like her and calm down. She has two songs (Lullaby and Keep You Safe) that as a mom, make me melt every time. Seriously mommas, both of those songs are great songs to sing to your little ones in my humble opinion.

5- Smiles from Lizzy. She is at such a fun age right now. All smiles and laughs. She's really starting to be interactive, and it's just so incredible to watch her grow. 

What are you thankful for today? I'd love to hear them in the comments!

Four Things

-Have I mentioned that J and I are playing on a co-ed softball team this year? I'm a little nervous for it (because I'm super competitive when it comes to softball and I don't feel like I'm in good enough "softball shape" to play) but we're doing it just to have fun. The first game is the 25th. Justin's band is playing a fundraiser the night of the 24th, so it should be a busy, busy weekend.

-Also, my allergies are going CRAZY this year. I have a constant sore throat from all the snot dripping down it! I've been a little nervous that we might have to cut out my allergy shots because they are just SO expensive with Justin's work insurance right now. Right now, it's a no deductible plan, but we have to pay 50% of everything. Which is just really hard. However, Justin just told me that in May, the company will be going back to their old insurance, which means that allergy shots will be $5!!! And, right now we have to pay $300 a month to keep us all on his insurance. In May, the company will start paying for us all again. Do you know how many different ways we could use an extra $300/month?!

-The above is a great example for me of God providing in our life. I remember talking a lot with my prior co-worker Emily about staying home with Lizzy. I've talked about Emily on the blog before here, but she's also now blogging, and you should totally check out her blog! Anyway, I distinctly felt like God was calling me to stay home with Lizzy--and I might add that this was strange for me, because I have never before felt like God was calling me to do anything. I was one of those people who would totally roll their eyes when people said 'God spoke to me', because I thought they were full of it (and honestly, when people say that God spoke to them about where to go for dinner, I still roll my eyes. Though that's probably bad of me). Anyway, I remember praying and praying, and feeling so confident that I was supposed to stay home. But also being really nervous about how that would actually work, because it just didn't work on paper. Yet, it has worked. In fact, things actually work BETTER than when I was working in a lot of ways. This has been a powerful lesson for me about how when you're doing what God calls you to be doing, your basic needs WILL be provided for. Do we have money to go to the movies, and go shopping? Nope. But our basic needs are met, and that's all I need right now.

-And because I love pictures, here's a shot of Lizzy over the weekend, doing her favorite thing--standing. Anyone who knows Lizzy can attest that she hates to lay down (she thinks you're trying to put her to sleep), and LOVES to stand!

Snippets

-I went to buy fabric to make another DIY baby wrap yesterday. I wanted some basic cotton jersery--you know, t-shirt material. It was freaking $8 a yard. No thank you. At that price, I might as well just buy the pre-made wrap.

-I also tried on some jeans, because as I mentioned, nothing seems to fit correctly right now. I also didn't mention that I only had one pair of maternity jeans, and since I wore them all the time, they are a little worse for the wear. Anyway, it was entirely depressing, and I found nothing. Also, I had a heck of a time finding anything over a size 10 in longs. They didn't even have slots for them on the shelves. What, is everyone who is higher than a size 10 short?

-Yesterday, I started reading to Lizzy from The Message bible. I hadn't ever read Genesis in that version, and I found it to be REALLY weird. And kind of inaccurate.

-We need to look into refinancing our house. But the whole process is overwhelming to me. Could we even do it without paying closing costs up front?

-I'm noticing a funny change in dynamic since I started staying home. Before, when we were both working, we'd come home and both be exhausted and not want to go anywhere. Now, I'm rearing to get out of the house--especially for some adult interaction. But Justin is still exhausted and just wants to kick it in front of the TV. I totally understand both points of view...hopefully we'll fall into a better routine here soon.