Musings of a Mom....part 1

Today was a busy day for Little One and I!! Even though our day didn't start until after 11:00 am (I went back to bed after Hubby left for work), we unloaded the dishwasher, folded and put away the laundry, cleaned up the bedroom, sorted through Baby's clothes (pulling out too small items and adding in bigger sizes), Baby took a good long nap while I worked out (sorta), and then we took the puppy for a mile walk! I made dinner, gave the Baby a bath, bedtime story, bottle, and bed! Whew!!

All in all, after a very long, rough, discouraging week, today was a great day!! Kensei Faith is such a bright, beautiful baby! I can't believe she is 10 months old and will be having a 1st birthday so soon!! If you ask her, "where is ____?" she can generally pick it up and show you. Specifically her bear, Curious George, a book, and her beads. She has "smelled" flowers and is in love with herself in the mirror! She will laugh and wave at the baby in the mirror forever!! She is trying to walk, but still prefers to crawl everywhere! It won't be long!! Her facial expressions are priceless and she has learned a new "thing"....she puts her hands palms up as if to say, "I don't know!" It is so funny coupled with the look on her face!!!

I am trying to get back on the wagon of working out and getting rid of this baby weight. I dislike very much the woman in the mirror and getting dressed in anything except yoga pants is very depressing!! It seems that many of my friends are on this journey too, so together we are making small changes for the bigger picture---a healthier "me". I want to be comfortable in my own skin and I haven't been there in a very, very long time. Hopefully, with so many people surrounding me on similar paths, I won't falter and fall off so many times!! Water and walking are my first steps, with better eating habits following, and then figuring out some sort of workout routine (in addition to walking). I'd love to find an elliptical to use or a couple of ladies to walk with! (I always walk farther and faster when I have a buddy!)

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine posted on FB that her Bible study was opening up to new people! I jumped at the chance to join and it has been awesome from the start! Each session is 6 weeks long but from night 1 I have felt like I've known these ladies my entire life!! How beautiful to have nearly instant friendships orchestrated by none other than our great and mighty God!! I am so looking forward to continuing this journey with these sweet ladies and ones that join us in the future!!

Life has been crazy adjusting to hubby's new work schedule, looking for places to rent, catching up on bills, and working at menu planning/budgeting/couponing! I also picked up some work writing for a blog (www.crunchymoms.com) so I have been adding that in too! I am still so excited that moving into our own place is within reach now and cannot wait to unpack every single one of these boxes!!

Off to get some sleep before another busy day begins!!

Our baby girl is 9 months old!

Our baby girl is 9 months old tomorrow!! I'm sitting here wondering where in the world time could have gone!! Am I really planning her 1st birthday party already? It cannot be possible! Just yesterday I was giving birth to a beautiful, tiny little baby girl and now it's time to plan her 1st party!! Unbelievable!!

It has been an amazing journey watching her grow up these past 9 months!! She can now crawl anywhere she wants to go! She is standing all the time, and she even stands for a few seconds by herself at times!! She loves to laugh and play and make silly faces!! She has a total of 8 teeth right now, 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom!! She is quickly outgrowing 9 month size clothes and has been wearing some 12 month sizes for a while now! There were lots of things she either didn't get to wear at all, or only got to wear a couple times! This little girl loves everything you give her to eat!! She loves food!! She is not a fan of the pureed "baby" food anymore, so we have been feeding her more food off our plates than from a jar. I still make her own food a little bit, but she eats like a pro and loves real food!!

Oh how she loves to play in the water! Not just at bath time! She loves the pool and splashing water everywhere! She has played both in the kiddie section of the water park, and in the "big people's" pool at our friends house! I'm so glad she loves the water! We haven't taken her to the beach yet, and I wonder how she will do with the sand and the sound of the waves crashing!

Sleeping is a challenge some nights!! Getting her to sleep at a decent time is the bigger challenge! Some nights she goes right to sleep & some nights it's 2 in the morning before that happens. We are trying to cut out that late afternoon nap, but sometimes it just has to happen!!

We have also been teaching her to sign! She can sign mama, yes, bathroom, "what up", and "puffs" (her own made up sign). We are still working on daddy, milk, food/eat, hungry, and water. She has verbally said "dada" and just last night "mama"...of course it's more like a string of sounds with those mixed in!

Her beautiful blue eyes have stayed and her blonde hair has some curl to it!! Ad this little girl loves music of all kinds! She dances and "sings" with it!

All in all, our tiny baby is growing up into a beautiful little girl!!

Took the plunge...

After reading my sister's blog entry regarding shaving with baby oil, I decided to give it a try myself. I first saw this idea on Pinterest, and pinned it, but never got around to trying it for myself. My sister now swears by it, so I grabbed the bottle of baby oil as I stepped into the shower. Other than trying to figure out how to not spill the bottle in the shower, I shaved just as I normally would with beautiful results!! 

It did not clog my razor and my legs were left soft and silky smooth! I'm very pleased with the results and feel that I will continue to use this instead of body wash for shaving!! 

Update 8/21/13: It's been almost a week and I have continued to use the baby oil method for shaving...with great results! I'm loving the super soft feeling afterwards!! Although I feel I need to get a smaller bottle to keep in the shower and refill it as I need. Currently I only have the gigantic bottle and it's a bit challenging to maneuver with wet hands!

Halfway to a Year

We are halfway to a year already!! Kensei turned 6 months last Thursday!!! She is growing up WAY too fast!!! Where is that teeny, tiny baby that slept all the time and was sooo little!?!?!

We started solid foods shortly after the first of May. She has had avocado, banana, apple, sweet potato, carrots, green beans, beets, and yellow squash. The avocado was a hit the first time, not so much the second time around. Bananas, apples, and sweet potatoes are her absolute favorites!! Carrots and green beans are next, and we just introduced beets and squash. I don't think she quite knows what to make of those two yet!! We've got oatmeal, pumpkin, peas, peaches, pears, and possibly some chicken in the near future. Although we get jarred food on WIC, I prefer to make her food on my own so I know exactly what is in it and she is getting fresh food with nothing added!

What has Kensei learned in the last month??
Oh, wow, let's see...

• She has learned how to "gargle" and loves to make that sound! 
• She will laugh and laugh at anything silly you do..funny faces, different sounds, acting surprised. 
• She can sit up by herself now...YES, by herself!!! 
• She does tip over after a few minutes but she loves to sit and play with her toys! 
• She has learned how to play "Boo" (peek a boo) and will often play it by herself, covering her face and uncovering it. If you don't say "boo" when she uncovers it she looks at you with this pitiful look as if to say, "did I do it wrong?". 
• She gets so excited when she sees us in the morning, or after naps that she gets the "shakes"...like she's jumping up and down but doing it while laying down! We'll have to get it on video! 
• Oh, and she can scoot on her back upwards (whichever direction her head is pointing)! 
• She still HATES being on her tummy and will scream until you pick her up if she finds herself in that position. The other night she ROLLED OVER in her sleep, and a few minutes later was screaming hysterically, even after I picked her up! We have never forced her to have tummy time and I know she will enjoy it in time, but I didn't think it was that big of deal! Apparently, it is to her!
• She has an exersaucer at my mom's that she loves and has discovered how to turn the seat around! 
• If you hold her up in a standing position she laughs and dances and pretends to walk! 
• Her auntie got her a sippy cup and she didn't like the handles! I took the handles off and she loves it! 

It is such a joy to watch this sweet little girl grow up and also breaks my heart that its happening so fast!
We have so many pictures of her and hopefully this summer we will see her sisters and be able to get pictures with all three of our girls together!!

There are two things I do miss from our pre-parenthood life: sleeping and reading. Even when I do have time to read, I only get a few paragraphs read before I find myself dozing off!! And sleeping...well...they say you never get that back! LOL! Oh, well, it is completely worth it to have our sweet bundle of joy in our lives!!!

18 Weeks and Counting

Our little monkey is almost 5 months old!! It is so hard to believe that she is growing so very fast! She has changed my life and I love being a Mommy!!

Kensei will be 5 months on April 29th. She is wearing 6-9 month clothes and moved to size 3 diapers this month!! She cut her first tooth over the last weekend at camp (April 5). Believe it or not she is nearly sitting up by herself and very close to rolling over! Toes are her newest thing and she LOVES to play with your fingers...if she's not chewing on them first! She has more teeth working towards breaking through! This baby girl is all smiles and laughs! We have been blessed with such a good baby!! She has picked up "growling" from somewhere and will lay there for a length of time just listening to herself! Since about 2 1/2 months she has basically been sleeping through the night. Bedtime is usually around 10 or so and she generally sleeps til 7 or 8 with a little bit of fussiness a couple times through the night (generally eased with a paci and/or a diaper change). We have been teaching her sign language and so far she can (mostly) sign "Momma" (much to Daddy's dismay). She probably doesn't have a clue what it means but she will learn and hopefully teaching her to sign will, among other things, help keep our tantrums to a minimum as she grows up!

Kensei even went on her first camping trip to PWYP in the mountains of NC!! It was pretty chilly that week but she did wonderful and had lots of fun meeting her extended family and new friends!!

Within the next month, we will be starting her on solid foods! After reading lots of information, we've decided to make our own baby food as much as possible, starting with avocados and bananas! I cannot wait to see the look on her face when she takes her first bites!!

A few more things I've learned as the journey of Mommy-hood continues:

• No matter what time in the morning (or night) it is, seeing your baby girl's smile is always worth it.
• You really do go through more diapers and wipes than you ever thought possible!
• You do not have your own schedule now. Your schedule is her schedule!
• Baby-wearing is an art that takes time to perfect for you and your LO, but is so incredibly worth it!
• Holding your baby as she falls asleep with her head on your chest is one of the sweetest moments!
• Getting out of the house on time, with everything you need (the first time) is a huge success....one that you don't have very often!! ;) 
• The actions and expressions you find your baby doing are priceless, cute, and half the time hilarious!
• Pictures and video are worth a thousand words, and everyone wants a copy! 

:) I love being a Mommy and I (we) have been incredibly blessed with a very sweet, happy baby (except for bedtime!)!! I do NOT wish these early months and years away but I do know that I can't wait to watch her develop and learn new things! She will be rolling, crawling, and into everything before we know it! 

"How Great Thou Art..."

Sitting here tonight listening to Alan Jackson's Youtube channel of good ol' gospel hymns! I am so thankful I was raised to love those songs! They have brought so many memories and so much comfort to me over the years. I can only hope to instill that same love of the old hymns into my children.

This morning at church I was reminded of why I am a part of a small group of people who came together because they loved Jesus and believed that church was more than just a building. A group who have come together in hard times, celebrated in times of joy, and over the last few years, have stood by each other through a million different situations..good and bad. I am so thankful to be welcomed back into this family after being away for a couple years.

When we moved home, I really didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. This morning I was reminded that I do belong somewhere and to Someone. I belong to the King. I am His princess and He loves me! He has put people in my life who are able to remind me of that when I've lost sight of it. Like today. Life has been pretty depressing and overwhelming for quite a while now, but I was reminded and encouraged more than once today that God has a plan, He works miracles, He provides, and He has not forgotten about my family.

My hubby has been desperately seeking work since we moved back home. I have even been looking some, too. We are down to our last dime with bills way overdue and debtors knocking at our door. Somehow we have managed to keep food in our house--enough to sustain us. This is not the first time this has happened. Each time we say it will never happen again, but unfortunately, it does. We are trying to get back on our feet and they keep getting kicked out from under us. At almost thirty years old, with three children to support, oodles of dollars in debt to pay, it really does seem like a hopeless situation.

I know two very sweet ladies in particular who have taken the time to listen and pray; and offered encouragement and suggestions. They have never failed to remind me Whose I am and that all things are possible. While many people have or would just say, "pray about it"/"God has a plan"/"you'll get through this" etc, etc...these two sweet ladies have taken my concerns and my fears to heart, and truly ministered to my very downtrodden being.

Sometimes its not the words that are said, but the sincerity behind them that makes all the difference.

You know who you are.....thank you for being YOU. Thank you for being strong for me when I can't do it for myself; Thank you for reminding me often that God really does have a purpose for all this heartache and stress. Thank you for reminding me that I have a place to belong. Thank you for loving my family and I no matter what and across the miles. I am always forever grateful to you for everything you have done...which may be more than you will ever know.

With Love.....

Gods works with Pinterest & Facebook

Isaiah 40:31

"But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

This is a verse that has come to mind a lot this last week. There is so much going on and as far as the Hello Morning challenge...I haven't really done much towards it to be completely honest. I did walk and I have been in the Word but haven't made it a point to get up early or such.

Here is what God has opened my heart to this last week....

Hubby and I have basically been in a rough patch for the last 2 years. We made a move that looked like, sounded like, and felt like the best thing for us and our future. As it often happens, we quickly discovered it was not. And we have been trying to get out of that hole ever since. 

We've been married a year in April and we are both stubborn and independent people. This week, on Pinterest, I found a couple websites that list "100+ things to do with your husband" lists. And it doesn't include watching TV. I posted those to Facebook and asked my husband to list his top six favorites off both lists. He then turned around and asked me to list my top five. We listed different ones so together we have 22 different things we can do together and in our marriage. 

Something changed that night between us. Suddenly, I realized that I had not been letting him or encouraging him to be the head of our home. I said I was, but I really wasn't. Suddenly, it was more important to ultimately let him make the final decision on matters and for me to support that decision. We agreed that it is important for us to discuss my opinion/thoughts on the matter, but for the big things in our life (such as a move), he had the final say. We agreed that little things, (such as how to organize the closet) are more my ultimate decision. Again, we agreed that we can lay each of our opinions on the matter out on the table. 

I don't know exactly what it was, or how it came about, but this week I feel like my marriage became stronger, our love became deeper, and our bond became stronger. 

What does this have to do with the verse at the beginning? I think it is because I have begun to get back into the Word that God is allowing that to strengthen our marriage/relationship. 

God works in mysterious ways....but apparently, He also works through Pinterest and Facebook! ;) 

JR