I’m going to share a few “new” things I’ve been trying lately that seem to be working for me. Totally random, but maybe they’ll be helpful for someone else!
It turns out, there’s a little more to “adapting” to my new [best] job [ever] than I may have thought. All good things, but in the past few weeks I’ve stumbled onto a blog/podcast that has challenged and inspired me, especially in my motherhood, “homemaker” role, but truly in every area of my life I can think of. I’ve already gushed about it to some of you, but seriously, you guys should check her out- Allie Casazza, “The Purpose Show.”
Anyway, so I’ve been trying to find a “new normal” I guess, which is not always real consistent with a 7 month old. After all, I did lose a 3 hour battle today, trying to get him to nap. Normally, he naps great! I’ve been trying to do some things differently and work on a routine of sorts. I posted a little about that a few weeks ago. So here are my “things.”
1. Doing ONE load of laundry every day. I gather up the clothes from everyone’s baskets in the morning and throw them in. Then sometime during the day, I dry them (and usually at another point in the day, dry them agin 😂), then I make sure to fold them and put them up every night before I go to bed. One reason this method would not work for you: 1. If you have something against washing everything together, because I definitely toss it all in.
It toook me a day or so to catch up so that I’d only have one each day, but it truly has helped!
These things don’t fit together at all, by the way lol
2. “Training” my hair, so that I don’t have to wash it daily, because it SAVES SO MUCH TIME! I realize that I’m late to this party, but my hair is so fine/thin and gets oily easily so I’ve always felt like I needed to wash it daily. This week is my second, and I have washed on the 1st and 4th days. That third day is rough, and I wear a hat if I go anywhere. Everything I read about it says your hair will “get the hint” after a few weeks since it’s a “cycle” you have to break. If you wash daily, your hair creates more oil. In short, I can already tell a difference on wash day because my hair feels healthy! Hoping for good results.
Ok, last thing. Hear me out on this. I haven’t even typed it out and I can feel some eye rolls coming, and I if I hadn’t tried for myself, I would be one of those eye rollers too, because “who has time for all that!” So...
3. Making my own baby food. Now, I don’t get too crazy. I still store buy some, and I don’t have anything against store bought, if you’re wondering. But, there are several that are EASY and CHEAP.
A lot of them can be steamed super quick (grab those steamer bags from Wal-Mart. I don’t even own a steamer basket), or butternut squash, for example, cooks easily in the oven. When I was telling my bf about this stuff, she says “So what all equipment do I need for that?”
Blender
Ice trays
Ziplock bags.
That’s it. I cook it, throw it in the blender, freeze it in ice cube trays and then store it in ziploc bags in the freezer (for up to three months!). So far, I’ve done butternut squash, peas (frozen), zucchini, carrots, bananas, apples (a tad more involved with the peeling and cutting), green beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin (canned)... I think that’s all. If you’ve done this, or have any other ideas on it, I’d love to hear them.
Just for example, a pound of carrots is .78. I can make 7-10 (or more) servings with that, as opposed to 2 store bought servings for $1.28.
Ok, so that’s that. And just in time. I’ve been finishing this post while sitting in my car outside my house because Jett was finally sleeping. 😅 What weirdo things have you done in the name of a sleeping baby?!
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
#takeiteasyonmymommaheart
My babiest baby is seven months old today. How? I know everyone feels like time moves in fast forward, but I truly cannot wrap my head around how he is seven months old. We are SUPER excited that my brother and sister in law are pregnant with their second sweet bundle! But, I had to break the news to her that the second baby seems to grow even faster than the first. Maybe it’s because you sort of know what to expect and have seen all the milestones before. I don’t know. But it goes in hyper speed, and because it does, it seems like the urge to hold onto all the special moments is even stronger.
After we had Jett, we ended up staying at the hospital an extra day and were so ready to go home. I was so ready to be with my big boys and to wrap my mother hen wings around my whole family. However, as we got into the car to leave, I remember feeling overcome with emotion, realizing for the first time that it seemed so much quicker. I couldn’t believe the pregnancy was over, that he was already here and just like that we were on our way home. I think, for just a second, I grieved the end of that season. I can put it into coherent words now. Then, not so much lol I was an emotional wreck, of course, and that scenario actually went down more like this:
Me: Laughing, smiling, ready to go... two seconds later... bawling like a crazy person. To Tim, “This is just a warning. I’m feeling some kind of way.”
Tim: 🤔😑
After that “experience,” I wanted so badly to slow it down. I’m about to just be really honest and open, so if y’all think I’m crazy, so be it. When the nurse was doing my IV, she blew a vein. My skin has always bruised easily and badly anyway, so I had a huge- seriously huge- bruise on my left arm. I looked at it every day, wanting it to still be there, unchanged. If the bruise was still there, his birth was still close. I would reach around my back and feel the spot where the epidural was. Again, if I could still feel it, he was still a newborn. In fact, I remember the day, the moment, that I could no longer feel it. And to myself, I let out a few tears and reflected on the past several days with my new baby boy.
Overall, throughout my pregnancy, delivery and postpartum with Jett, I was a lot more enotional, so it was no surprise that I struggled some after we got home. It was kind of like, you know how if you’re going through a difficult time, like a break up or the loss of someone, you have this odd, lonely feeling that makes you want to stay in your house, because “no one out there understands,” and it feels a little like the world should not be going on around you, but somehow it is. That’s how I felt. And I was a little angry, almost, like “We just had a baby! Literally, just brought this life into the world and EVERYTHING is different!” And within a few days...days. Days. The boys have to go back to school, and husband has to go back to work. You’re just expected to go on, life as usual and I really wanted to be able to stop time, and “Can we please just have a minute to stand in awe of this perfect baby and this beautiful time in our lives?”
I soaked in those early days, weeks, and before long was feeling pretty “normal” myself. Our new normal, at least.
Then, you sleep a couple of times and are all of a sudden, taking pictures of the baby you had 2 days ago, sittting up and wearing a 7 month sticker. And in that same week, you may have had to register your first baby for Kindergarten, and question whether or not ice cream is still a valid celebration for a 5th grade progress report.
Sometimes, the growing and changing is more obvious than others, and puts a little more strain on our momma hearts. In those times, it serves us best, to focus on EVERY great thing that comes with EVERY changing season of our kiddos lives! (Life lesson credit goes to my own momma for this one!)
And for the love of mommas everywhere, don’t dismiss those more mature mommas, who stare at you and your babies with adoring smiles when you pass them in the mall or the grocery store. Welcome them. Engage them. LISTEN to them. Give them 5 whole minutes of your time and allow them to stroll down memory lane, to reminisce about the days we get to live now. Whether it’s the momma in the barber shop, whose “baby in that first chair is turning 16 tomorrow,” or the Cracker Barrel employee whose “youngest baby just turned 63,” I just know their hearts still feel that same tug, their throats that big lump, their eyes those soft tears, when they look back on all the time that has passed, seemingly overnight. One day momma, you will want that young mother to welcome you, too.
After we had Jett, we ended up staying at the hospital an extra day and were so ready to go home. I was so ready to be with my big boys and to wrap my mother hen wings around my whole family. However, as we got into the car to leave, I remember feeling overcome with emotion, realizing for the first time that it seemed so much quicker. I couldn’t believe the pregnancy was over, that he was already here and just like that we were on our way home. I think, for just a second, I grieved the end of that season. I can put it into coherent words now. Then, not so much lol I was an emotional wreck, of course, and that scenario actually went down more like this:
Me: Laughing, smiling, ready to go... two seconds later... bawling like a crazy person. To Tim, “This is just a warning. I’m feeling some kind of way.”
Tim: 🤔😑
After that “experience,” I wanted so badly to slow it down. I’m about to just be really honest and open, so if y’all think I’m crazy, so be it. When the nurse was doing my IV, she blew a vein. My skin has always bruised easily and badly anyway, so I had a huge- seriously huge- bruise on my left arm. I looked at it every day, wanting it to still be there, unchanged. If the bruise was still there, his birth was still close. I would reach around my back and feel the spot where the epidural was. Again, if I could still feel it, he was still a newborn. In fact, I remember the day, the moment, that I could no longer feel it. And to myself, I let out a few tears and reflected on the past several days with my new baby boy.
Overall, throughout my pregnancy, delivery and postpartum with Jett, I was a lot more enotional, so it was no surprise that I struggled some after we got home. It was kind of like, you know how if you’re going through a difficult time, like a break up or the loss of someone, you have this odd, lonely feeling that makes you want to stay in your house, because “no one out there understands,” and it feels a little like the world should not be going on around you, but somehow it is. That’s how I felt. And I was a little angry, almost, like “We just had a baby! Literally, just brought this life into the world and EVERYTHING is different!” And within a few days...days. Days. The boys have to go back to school, and husband has to go back to work. You’re just expected to go on, life as usual and I really wanted to be able to stop time, and “Can we please just have a minute to stand in awe of this perfect baby and this beautiful time in our lives?”
I soaked in those early days, weeks, and before long was feeling pretty “normal” myself. Our new normal, at least.
Then, you sleep a couple of times and are all of a sudden, taking pictures of the baby you had 2 days ago, sittting up and wearing a 7 month sticker. And in that same week, you may have had to register your first baby for Kindergarten, and question whether or not ice cream is still a valid celebration for a 5th grade progress report.
Sometimes, the growing and changing is more obvious than others, and puts a little more strain on our momma hearts. In those times, it serves us best, to focus on EVERY great thing that comes with EVERY changing season of our kiddos lives! (Life lesson credit goes to my own momma for this one!)
And for the love of mommas everywhere, don’t dismiss those more mature mommas, who stare at you and your babies with adoring smiles when you pass them in the mall or the grocery store. Welcome them. Engage them. LISTEN to them. Give them 5 whole minutes of your time and allow them to stroll down memory lane, to reminisce about the days we get to live now. Whether it’s the momma in the barber shop, whose “baby in that first chair is turning 16 tomorrow,” or the Cracker Barrel employee whose “youngest baby just turned 63,” I just know their hearts still feel that same tug, their throats that big lump, their eyes those soft tears, when they look back on all the time that has passed, seemingly overnight. One day momma, you will want that young mother to welcome you, too.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Intentional
I’m kind of a middle of the road-er when it comes to planning. Like, I don’t have the next 6 months of my life planned out by the millisecond (though I seem to attract people who do lol and I am so grateful for them and their planning antics because they keep me balanced!), but I also don’t totally fly by the seat of my pants (I know my favorite planner is disagreeing with me right now lol). I kind of have a general idea of what’s going on, and then let it ride. When I was working, I had to be very self disciplined because I ran my own schedule- and I did fine with that. I may plan which schools I was going to, or which kids I was going to see, but wouldn’t schedule it by the minute, you get the picture. But lately, I have been drawn to be more intentional. I LOVE these days at home, but after the first few days of trying to be on a tight schedule, I quickly let it go because that is not reasonable with a 5 year old and 6 month old- at least it’s not reasonable for me. And I’m good with that. But, it also is not working, to just meander through the days, weeks, months and wonder what you’ve been doing with the wind you’re sucking. So, I feel like I’m in the process- and I realize it’s a process- of finding my balance. Flexible intentionality, maybe? I just made that up.
God speaks in so many ways, and in the past two weeks He’s used a book and a blog by two similar, but different, incredible women to seriously get my attention about this, and a few other things: living intentionally, taking time for myself to be alone and to be with the Lord, to be present in motherhood, marriage and LIFE, overall, to THRIVE, rather than just SURVIVE, to be intentional and positive with my words, to clear the clutter from my home and my head and make space in both for WHAT matters!! And that means, asking myself to be really, really, really honest with myself about what actually does matter. I’ve heard twice this week, if you want to see what really matters in your life, imagine someone watching you all day, and what they would see that your priorities are. Let that sink in for a minute. Stings a little, huh?
So, this week has looked just a little different for us. We’ve cleaned Judah’s room and removed 6 trash bags full of stuff. Did a little organization to help him keep his room up better on his own, and we both feel a million times better. I’ve done some easy and obvious decluttering, like pulling out 4 trash bags full of blankets and sheets we haven’t used in the 3 years we’ve been in this house, threw out two lamps that haven’t worked in months, and a couple of baskets full of kitchen items that have been falling out on me every time I open any cabinet in my kitchen. Basically, if I don’t love it or we don’t use it, it’s gone. Oddly enough, we’ve still had time to practice math with sidewalk chalk, have a picnic and play at the park. And I do still have quite a bit of de cluttering to do.
This morning, after I got up with Jett at 5, I stayed up. I thought If I could get my shower out of the way, I’d feel good and save time later in the day. So that was great, but by now I need a nap lol However, the balance is that I decided to use this time, instead, while Jett is napping, to write a new post, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Annnd the other part (can we just call it balance, too? Ha!) is that Judah (who normally doesn’t watch tv during the day) is getting a little time with his favorite Duck Dynasty guys lol. He is obsessed. My 5 year old runs around hollering “HEY!” And “GOOD GRIEF!” like Uncle Si. Though, by now, he’s moved on to barricading me into a pillow hut and jumping on my head, so I’ve bought as much time as I can.
I’m excited to be on this “journey” I guess I’ll call it! I hope to make some positive, lasting changes that will make me a better wife, mom and person.
Intentional- done on purpose; deliberate
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
God speaks in so many ways, and in the past two weeks He’s used a book and a blog by two similar, but different, incredible women to seriously get my attention about this, and a few other things: living intentionally, taking time for myself to be alone and to be with the Lord, to be present in motherhood, marriage and LIFE, overall, to THRIVE, rather than just SURVIVE, to be intentional and positive with my words, to clear the clutter from my home and my head and make space in both for WHAT matters!! And that means, asking myself to be really, really, really honest with myself about what actually does matter. I’ve heard twice this week, if you want to see what really matters in your life, imagine someone watching you all day, and what they would see that your priorities are. Let that sink in for a minute. Stings a little, huh?
So, this week has looked just a little different for us. We’ve cleaned Judah’s room and removed 6 trash bags full of stuff. Did a little organization to help him keep his room up better on his own, and we both feel a million times better. I’ve done some easy and obvious decluttering, like pulling out 4 trash bags full of blankets and sheets we haven’t used in the 3 years we’ve been in this house, threw out two lamps that haven’t worked in months, and a couple of baskets full of kitchen items that have been falling out on me every time I open any cabinet in my kitchen. Basically, if I don’t love it or we don’t use it, it’s gone. Oddly enough, we’ve still had time to practice math with sidewalk chalk, have a picnic and play at the park. And I do still have quite a bit of de cluttering to do.
This morning, after I got up with Jett at 5, I stayed up. I thought If I could get my shower out of the way, I’d feel good and save time later in the day. So that was great, but by now I need a nap lol However, the balance is that I decided to use this time, instead, while Jett is napping, to write a new post, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Annnd the other part (can we just call it balance, too? Ha!) is that Judah (who normally doesn’t watch tv during the day) is getting a little time with his favorite Duck Dynasty guys lol. He is obsessed. My 5 year old runs around hollering “HEY!” And “GOOD GRIEF!” like Uncle Si. Though, by now, he’s moved on to barricading me into a pillow hut and jumping on my head, so I’ve bought as much time as I can.
I’m excited to be on this “journey” I guess I’ll call it! I hope to make some positive, lasting changes that will make me a better wife, mom and person.
Intentional- done on purpose; deliberate
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
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