Extra Good = Great

Ask and you shall receive. This is a common phrase said by many people often, yet it still amazes me to see it happen. It's like I'm a dense idiot who just doesn't get it. Goodness, what am I to do with myself. Well anyway, enough about me and on to the fact that yet again we're being showered by God's blessings. 

If you recall, it wasn't too long ago I wrote a post about how I was coming to terms with our new and improved household budget. I spoke about how we're living within our means, but that are means are mighty slim these days. We had to drop a few budget lines to keep us going strong and it was a hard realization. I gave it up to God though and once again he's giving back. 

I watch a little boy Noah twice a week. That brings in some money and it's nice to have. When I constructed our budget though, I did not include this money. My reasoning behind this is that this money isn't very steady. I don't always have him and I won't have him at all during the summer time since his mommy works for the schools. So any money I got for him is extra that we can use on crazy things like car repairs and clothes- I know I'm a crazy spender! And, once we get our car paid off (six more months baby) we'll be able to put some of the money from watching Noah into savings for an emergency fund (there's always something that is needing our money, isn't there). 

Well, Amy (Noah's mom) has a friend (Sarah) who was looking for a someone to watch her little girl a few days a month. Sarah's mom does the majority of the child care, but will have a few days a month that she can't do it. I would be her back up babysitter. Like my money form watching Noah, this won't have us buying a new house any time soon, but it will help out. It will allow me money to buy family and friends gifts and give Matt and I money to get a date night in every once in a while. Things I thought I was kissing good-bye after readjusting the budget. I can't tell you how great it is. And that, just like Noah, it isn't an everyday thing so I still have one-on-one special time with my baby girl. I have time to do my thing (grocery shopping, cleaning the house, you know all this wild stuff I'm in charge of maintaining). It fits with our needs and my wants. How awesome is that?!

I was checking Facebook before I got on here to write this post and a old friend/acquaintance had the song lyrics from Hillsong Australia's song "... Savior, He can move the mountains, My God is Might to save, He is Mighty to save. Forever, Author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave..." and it is so true that  he can take care of my small daily needs because he has done bigger and more miraculous things. He loves us and provides for us all that we need. Amen yet again!

Life's Roller Coaster Ride

So while dusting my TV stand today I had a thought (if you've read my previous post- my thoughts are going 100 mph these days). My thought was "my life is pretty good." I can't complain about too much. I mean it's not perfect over here but the big things in life are feeling like they're in order. Then the instant I had this thought that "life is good," I had the thought- "that means some thing bad is going to happen." After this second thought, was a panicked thought of... "wow, how can I prepare for this bad thing that might happen at any time?" I mean life doesn't seem to stay good for too long, right? At least in my experience, I feel like I'm on life's roller coaster. Life is good and you've got your hands in the air and a smile on our face only to realize you've taken an unanticipated turn and you've found yourself in one of those dark tunnels on the ride. So what do I do to prepare for this dark tunnel or sudden drop? Can I do anything?


Well my answer came during my Bible study with Shauna. We were going over Luke 14 and I'm not sure that my answer came as part of the study or just doing the study helped me make the connections. Anyway, my answer came when I realized what I was doing at that very moment, building my relationship with Jesus, is exactly what I can do to prepare myself for what this world has to offer. The good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. It was a wonderfully comforting answer to a pretty scary question.


I'm always amazed at how Jesus has been working in my life these days. I feel so lucky to be living my life with him by my side. How wonderful it is to have a great moment and just know in my heart that Jesus is smiling along with me. Same goes when I'm frustrated or tired and life is getting me down. I know that my prayers are heard by him just the same. What a great God we have that He is with us no matter what and no matter when. He never has anything better to do, in fact, he sees being with us as the best invitation of the day. I pray that I invite Him into my life everyday!


"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists  and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

The Hamster Wheel

“We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking.”  ― Santosh Kalwar


I feel like this quote rings true with how I've felt the last few days. I'm a very social person, but in my older age I'm finding quiet and alone time quite wonderful. I enjoy being home with Lauren, as opposed to in a classroom full of children or a meeting full of adults. I do however notice that this quiet lifestyle leaves me alone with my own thoughts regularly. Most of the time I enjoy it but sometimes I wish I could shut them off. 


Yesterday was a prime example of this. I feel like my brain was on a hamster wheel and I just kept rolling the same thoughts around and around. This would have been fine if the thoughts weren't so bothersome and pesky.


I watch a little boy, Noah, two days a week (Not sure if I've mentioned him before). He is a cutie and I enjoy how he loves to snuggle and read books and he has the cutest smile and laugh. I'm friends with his mom and have gotten to know his dad since I've begun watching him. They are sweet people and fellow friends in God. I feel like Noah has been a blessing to our family in more ways than one. But yesterday and a "few days" before then I have been feeling frustrated on the days he's here. I couldn't put my finger on why it was.  


The worst part was is I was feeling guilty about the thoughts. I love Noah and enjoying watching him- so why was I feeling this way? I kept asking myself over and over this very question. Monday was a particularly trying day and I was noticing my thoughts getting louder and louder as they rattled around in that hamster wheel in my head. 


I don't know about you, but I feel like sometimes thoughts like this are the devils doing. Making a good thing seem not so good. Tempting me to act a way I wouldn't or say something I shouldn't. So I kept fighting them and praying and telling myself that I was just having a bad day- when I know that wasn't what it was. So why was I frustrated? What was causing this frustration? Was I frustrated with being stuck in the house on the days that I watched Noah? Was I frustrated that it's harder to take care of two kids, as apposed to just one? Was I frustrated that even thought I'm stuck in the house I get very little done around here on those days? Was I frustrated that he still spits up ALL the time and I'm constantly turning around to find the spit up all over him and the floor and the toys, etc.? Was it because all day long he was throwing this or that and I was having to say "No..." every two minutes or take the toy away? Well any one of those things could get my panties in a bunch but I've come to terms with not being able to leave the house and made Mondays and Fridays laundry days (you still feel productive, and it's a chore that you can walk away from at a moments notice). Although the spit up is yucky- it doesn't really bother me, well at least the first few times. I enjoy that Lauren has a playmate and although two kids is harder than one, there is a plus side to them playing together too. What about the throwing...well in a round about way the throwing was the trigger to my pesky thoughts.


All these thought all day long and I couldn't quite put my figure on what was causing it, that was until Amy stayed for dinner that night and we talked. We talked about how Noah is hitting that age where he's discovering his independence and testing his boundaries (it blows my mind that it starts so gosh darn early). 


Before I can go forward thought, I have to regress to give you more background. So, there are many reasons I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. One on top of the list is that I wanted to be the person who nurtured and raised my children. I knew, from being a teacher, that I would spend more waking hours with my students than their parents would. I knew that if I kept working that who ever watched my kids would raise them, or do the majority of raising them. That wasn't okay with me or Matt for that matter. This played a large roll in me quitting my job.


Okay so now you're trying to connect the dots here and these thoughts don't seem to be easy to connect. Well, I kept thinking every time Noah would do something he wasn't suppose to or any time that he needed guidance that I needed to do it like his parents would. I kept thinking if I didn't they might find out I told their little boy "No" when they might not have. I kept feeling like I needed to be Amy- because wouldn't I want the person watching my child to raise them "my way." Well in having this backwards mentality I was frustrating myself because I was trying to force myself to not be me and I was also second guessing everything I did. I kept thinking "What would Amy do?" And on top of that I would feel guilty reprimanding him. Now this was something I never had any problem doing before with kids in my care, so why now? 


You see until Christmas time he was still a "baby" who, for the most part, sat where I put him and played with the toys I gave him. I was just watching him and not yet helping to raising him. Now that he's crawling and pushing those boundaries, like how many pieces of food can I throw on the floor before she stops feeding me type boundaries, I'm having to tell him "No." So why is "No" so much harder now- well again because I didn't want to do anything his parents wouldn't do because I wouldn't want someone to raise my kid their way, then Amy and JP must feel the same way, right? Wrong! 


After my talk with Amy about Noah's growing independence, I talked with Matt. He's the one who made me realize that they're trusting me with their child. Trusting me to help them raise Noah the best way I can. I shouldn't feel any more guilty laying down the law with him than I do with Lauren. I wouldn't want Lauren throwing toys all over someone else's house and I'm sure Amy doesn't want Noah doing it either. I need to buck up and help her by trusting my judgement. I mean isn't that why they choose me to watch him, because they trust my judgement? 

So here I am finally coming to terms with my frustrating thoughts. I'm realizing they trust me so I need to trust me. And most of all God trusted me with their little boy and that should be enough for me. Let's just say I'm looking forward to Friday, well Thursday actually since he's coming for a couple of hours then too. I hope the hamster wheel will be filled with happy thoughts, which are of a less bothersome nature.


                                           


"If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand." Psalm 37:23-24

Lauren's Top Ten: January 2012

TOP TEN LIST:
SWEET THINGS I SEE AROUND THE HOUSE FROM LAUREN...

10. Teething, poor baby - most likely your molars 

9. Saying "Bah-Bye" on the phone or when we're leaving some place
8. Pretending to talk on the phone when you see mommy or daddy on the phone 
7. Only taking one nap a day, but a nice two hour nap
6. Gathering things that are similar-  especially books of the same size
5. Lifting your shirt to show us your "Bee-Bo"
4. Singing along with the Gilmore Girls theme song
3. Coming up to mommy and daddy and hugging our legs
2. Snuggling with mommy before bed
1. Walking!! 

Buying Used

Like I've said in many posts before this and will most likely repeat again- I try my darnedest to save, save, save. So today I saved by going to a lovely second hand kids store. It's one of those stores that buys your gently used kids clothes and accessories and then turns around and resells them. Well my poor baby is just growing and growing and no matter what I tell her she just keeps growing (it's a hard lesson to learn I know, since I didn't stop growing until around 18, 19 years old ;-).


Her newest growth has been her cute little feet. Maybe these new big feet are what she needed to make her our walker! Yes, Lauren is walking (and climbing) all over the place now- we're so proud of her. 


Now back to my shoe story. She's been in a size three for a while. Currently she has one pair of sneakers that fit and one she's grown out of- both size three but made by two different companies- so you know how that goes. She also has two dress shoes, one white and one black, again size three. The problem her is that they don't fit her anymore either. So, for the past two or three weeks I've been stuffing and cramming her little feet into the dressy black shoes for church that don't fit her poor feet. Both of the dress shoes were hand me downs and they both have the bottoms that are for crawlers- so I shouldn't even be using them on my little walker. My poor girl has been stuffing her feet into shoes that don't fit and have no support or rubber grippers on the bottom to help her balance. Today I finally got around to heading to the second hand kids shop to look for shoes.


The last few times I went to this store the shoes where a hot mess. The boys and girls mixed up and sizes too. I spent a good amount of time looking and looking. This time however, someone must have just reorganized because they where all neatly in the correct bin- AMEN! I found two pair of shoes, one white and one black. The black are kind of velvety with a bow (more dressy) and the white are more like sneakers, but still cute. I figure the white will be nice for spring. Another plus is that the white are by the same maker (Stride Rite) as her pink sneakers that still fit her. I'm hoping since that brand has allowed her a little extra growing room to get me through this growth spurt, that this new pair will follow suit. In fact the white ones are a little bit big, so I plan on saving them until she officially out grows the pink ones.


I know this post wasn't very riveting but this is just one of the ways I saw God working in my life. He allowed her pink sneakers to continue to fit when all the other shoes were too small. To last this family long enough to get through. God's grace had all the shoe bins organized so I could find what I needed without hassle. I should add that I had previously seen the white sneakers I purchased today but I could never seem to find both shoes, only one (I told you it was a mess). Today there these white shoes where just waiting to protect my sweet baby's precious little feet. God is there all the time working on our side. I pray that my eyes are always open to seeing Him!

Lauren's little pink sneakers.

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
      your right hand will hold me fast."
Psalm 139:9-10

Pee and Poop- here's the scoop!

I've been meaning to write a post on our cloth diapering experience. Today's story inspired me to do just that.


Lauren got a LeapFrog toy from Matt's parents that goes on the fridge and has the letters of the alphabet. You put the letters in the toy and it tells you the name of the letter and the sound(s) that it makes. While I was making our waffle breakfast (love my new waffle maker I got for Christmas- ironically another present from Matt's parents) Matt was entertaining Lauren. They began playing with the fridge toy and the letter P was in there. Now I should preface this with the fact that Lauren likes to play "DJ" with this toy and press the letter over and over, not letting it go through its whole spiel. Matt started laughing and encouraging Lauren to keep pressing the toy so it said "P, P, P." LOL! Only my husband would find a way to make a educational toy into a "potty" toy. We were all laughing, although I think Lauren was just joining the fun and hadn't a clue as to why it was so funny.

Here's the toy described above.

So more about P, P, P.... As a way to save money I started to research cloth diapers last spring. I was absolutely amazed at all the stuff on the market these days. I had visions of the old prefolds and plastic covers in my head, but that is not all what I found.


The first hurtle to get over was the vocabulary. I had no idea what a "prefold" was or anything else for that matter. I went to a lot of other blogs and found it hard to follow what they were saying since I had no picture in my head for the things they were discussing. Thank goodness for "YouTube" because I watched a lot of videos on there to get the lingo down (I'm a visual learner and needed to see these things).


I also talked with my friend Heather (the Heather I ran the race together in November) because she uses cloth diapers with her little boy, Alex. She uses Bum Genius with him. These are a pocket, one size diaper. I liked this concept. First the one size concept was great since I would be able to buy the diapers and they would grow with Lauren. I would then only have to make the investment once therefore saving money in the long run (the main, but not only, reason I was looking into cloth). 


I also liked the pocket diaper concept. These diapers look just like a disposable diaper in the since that you don't need any other parts. There are no clips, pins, or snappi. Also the liner or absorbent part of the diaper is pre-stuffed in the diaper so at changing time there wasn't any extra work. This is important to any mom who has changed a child who desires to be anywhere but getting their diaper changed.


I looked into the bum Genius diapers but didn't like that they closed with Velcro. I hate that Velcro sticks to everything and everything sticks to it- gross! That's when I found FuzziBunz. These are another brand of cloth, one size, pocket diapers. One of the differences between them and bum Genius- FuzziBunz stays closed with snaps, not Velcro- now that's genius! 


Matt and I were worried about what detergent to use with the diapers since there is a lot out there saying you can develop a buildup on the inserts causing them to not absorb the liquids as well if you use the wrong detergent. There were recommended detergents, but most of them we'd have to buy online or at a specialty shop. This part was frustrating since having to buy a special soap would be an inconvenience and add cost to the cloth diaper process. I asked Heather what she used and she said she used the Target Up and Up version of All Free and Clear. Now this worked for me since we use All Free and Clear for our cloths. She had never had any problems using this detergent and that was testament enough for me. I also want to add that we live in the same town and therefore have the same water source- hard water verse soft water often plays a role in the type of detergent you need as well. 


So when all the looking and searching was over, Matt's mom got us a six diaper supply to get us started (She was just as excited about these cool new diapers as me). She did this so we could check them out and see if we liked them before we invested any money, what a great lady. She purchased them for us in June. I didn't however start using them right away because we were headed home and I didn't want to start that process on the road. When we got back in July I began using them. 


Once we started using them I knew that we had found something we could use. I did find that I changed her diaper more often than when I used disposables. This was fine with me. She could last about two hours or so in one diaper. She was about seven months old at this point. She was being nursed five times a day still and was eating three solid meals a day. Now a days, at thirteen months, she can go a little longer between diaper changes since she's no longer nursing. 


I purchased a dozen more diapers in July. I also purchased a large wet/dry bag to hang on her nursery door, a small wet/dry bag for the diaper bag, and some flushable diaper liners as well. I love the FuzziBunz wet/dry bags I bought but I've gotten very little use of the liners. There is a practically unused roll still in her drawer upstairs. 


The reason I got the liners was because I decided to try the liners instead of the toilet sprayer. Since her poop was already pretty solid. I'm glad I didn't get the strayer, this is more necessary if your baby doesn't have solid poop. I really didn't feel the need to use the liners since the poop just comes right off the diapers and falls into the toilet without the liner.


Oh yeah, I also got three free diapers from Amazon (that's where I purchased the diapers) because one of the boxes was suppose to come with a free wet/dry bag- but there wasn't one in the package when I got it. The Amazon costumer service guy was wonderful and sent me three free diapers which were also suppose to come with a bag. I got those diapers and again there was no bag. I asked Matt if I should call and complain again and he told me not to push my luck. These diapers brought my "stash" to a total of 21 diapers.


With 21 diapers we go two days before needing to do a load. I could go three days but I like that I have left overs and I don't have to rush and get the diapers washed and stuffed first thing. We do the loads opposite of Lauren's bath night (we give her a bath every other night). So the nights when she doesn't get a bath we throw the load in after she goes to bed. We pre-wash with cold and then wash with hot using a small amount of detergent. In the morning I throw them into the dryer on low for 40 minutes. I have, on occasion, put them outside to dry. I would do this more often if I had a clothes line (Matt and I talked about putting one up in the spring). Also, when I've put them outside to dry they tend to take the better part of the day to dry- another reason I like having a few extra to carry me through the morning. Lauren and I stuff them together. She hands me all the inserts and then after I stuff them she throws them about the living room- I find this so cute. She loves helping mommy with laundry and I for one can't help but loving having a helper (although helping might not best describe her actual role in this process).


There have been a few drawbacks or negatives in our cloth diapering experience. One was that Lauren started getting pimples on her bum. When I showed the doctor she said they were moisture bumps, so I dismissed them. At the next visit we made to the doctor she looked a little more closely and noticed "white heads" and said that it was a staph infection and prescribed a cream. I was a little panicky but my sister explained that its just like the bacteria that create pimples on your face. After using the cream the pimples went away fairly quickly. Occasionally I'll see one and I put the cream right on it and it goes away. I know this is a little gross, but I want to capture the true experience we've had.


The second negative has been those snaps I fell in love with. I've had a dozen or so diapers get broken snaps. I had to send most of the diapers back to the company and they returned a brand new one at no charge. In fact they would send gifts with the new diaper to compensate for the cost of sending the diaper back. There were a few times they allowed me to send in a picture of the defective snap and they would just send me out a new one. The costumer service staff was wonderful to work with. I guess they had a bad batch go out and were very accommodating about replacing the diapers. Plus, they were honoring the one year warranty they have on their diapers. 


The third and last drawback to one-size, pocket diapers is they do have a little extra padding than a disposable diaper. There were a few pants she "out grew" a little faster because of the extra bulk. For the most part though, I haven't seen too much of this since my baby is a little smaller anyway.


A few things I love besides saving money include how freakin' cute they are. I love the colors and Matt and I even let her pick the color once in a while, I tell her the color I'm putting on her so she's even learning during a diaper change, nice added bonus. They wash up nice. Every so often an insert will still stink like pee still after a washing and I throw it back into the bag for the next wash and they always come out stink free after that. They haven't stained, but I remind you she was eating solids when we started this. If you start your baby earlier though, drying them in the sun will get rid of the staining from new born poop. 


Anyway, I think I've capture it all and then some. If you've read this whole thing I feel like you should get a prize because this is a long post. Maybe I should have done two parts? Oh well... I'll leave you with a picture of Lauren sporting her FuzziBunz and some rockin' sheep slippers!

Here is a blog I've read and follow for LOTS of information on cloth diapering your baby: http://awesomeclothdiapers.blogspot.com/

$10

I don't know about you but I always get super excited about the holiday and I'm so glad there here. I love to thought of giving and enjoy purchasing gifts for my loved ones. I enjoy seeing loved ones during the holiday too. Then comes the holiday hang-over. Where you feel like you've hemorrhage money for the past month and a half. I don't go over board at all, and I always give myself a manageable holiday budget and stick with it, but still as soon as January hits I'm in a money panic.

This money panic hit on Wednesday. I haven't really done up a budget since I started staying home. Matt and I cut back a lot once I started staying home but it was time to sit down and crunch the numbers. Well Lord only knows the panic I was in when I realized that we've been in the red every month. Not so far in the red that we're drowning but enough that I began to panic, which didn't help my holiday hangover feeling.

I've been very diligent with our money. But it's hard. It's very hard to go from two incomes to one. It's hard to know that you don't have the extra five or ten dollars to do with it as you will (yes, that is usually the wild and crazy Jennifer splurging on a want that is five dollars). For instance, while I was out at the mall walking around with Esther and Caitlyn we hit up a kids clothing store. I purchased five items for Lauren for next season. A Halloween shirt, a Christmas shirt, a fall outfit, and a pair of tights were the items I purchased. Each item was on sale for $3.99 or $2.99 (total bill ~$15). I thought I did good, nothing huge, right- WRONG. I didn't have the money to do that. I think that is when the reality of our new budget hit me. That which use to be a small splurge was now an expensive buy.

I have since chipped away even more at our budget. I've given up my membership at the Y (sad but not worth going into debt over), I've scaled back on my already cheap prepaid cell phone, we cut back what we put away in my retirement fund from $100/month to $25. We also took a chunk of money from savings and put it towards our one car loan so that will be paid up by the end of the summer- freeing up another $232 a month. After all is said we were out of the red! I got most excited though about my call to the phone company.

It really blows my mind how much phone and internet cost. We have an unlimited phone plan since 75% of my phone calls are long distance to family back home it makes the most sense to do it this way. We're able to bundle the phone and internet together saving money there too. Even with all that we still pay close to $100 a month for the both of them (have to factor in taxes and fees), so I called to see if there was anything we could do to bring down the cost. He told me that what we have is our best value and then after fixing a mix up on their end (such a nice guy he was) he also gave us a $10/ month discount for the next twelve months (then advised me to call back next year this time and see if they can do anything else for us). It's only $10 but it's God's blessing.

I try each day to look for God and be conscience of His daily blessing. Some days I have to look hard, like this past Wednesday. This was a hard lesson for me to sit through but it was one that really pounded into this head that God knows what we need- but he still wants to hear from us. He still wants us to talk to Him and ask for what we need. He craves a personal relationship with us and we should want the same thing. I'm glad that on my walk through our household budget, He was right there handing out the ten dollars this mommy needed.

"Reach out for God and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:27

My Rear View Mirror

I have been thinking about this post for a few weeks now and I finally remembered to take the picture when I was parked (yes, I did refrain from taking it while driving down the road ;-).


I L-O-V-E looking into my rear view mirror and seeing my sweet baby back there. When we were preparing to start a family it was also around the same time we were looking to purchase a "new to us" car. I took our soon to be growing family into consideration when I started looking. I saw the Honda Pilot one day on the road and I thought- that looks like a perfect sized car. When I got more serious at shopping for a car I knew this car would be perfect for our family. I wasn't interested in a mini-van, but wanted room. This car had everything we would need and some extras too! It even kicks butt on gas since it has an i-VTech engine, allowing us to afford the gas it needs to run. God found the perfect car for our growing family.


We purchased it a whole year before Lauren blessed our family and for that whole year I remember looking into the mirror dreaming about the baby who would soon be tucked into the back in their car seat.


Lauren's first few trips in the car had daddy driving and mommy joining her in the backseat (Grandma P too when she was here helping out). Soon though it was mommy's turn to drive the precious cargo around. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time. I hope I never forget how I prayed for the sweet baby that fills my rear view mirror and how God blessed me with her! I still enjoy watching her play in the back seat and babble on. I even enjoy watching her take a snooze too. Just seeing a glimpse of her makes me smile and give thanks.


I get a little sad when I'm driving around and she's home with daddy. The car just doesn't feel right without a sweety pie in the back seat reading her books or throwing toys about. My mirror looks more complete with my baby girl in it!


"Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble." 1 John 2:10

Lights, Camera, Dead Batteries!

Oops! While Lauren was playing with daddy's keys last night (mommy was at the gym) she popped his trunk open. This left the trunk light on all night and killed his battery. Getting him to work early today didn't work as well as we had hoped, but nevertheless- he made it there just fine!

A Day in the Life Of...

I've read other blogs that day a "Day in the Life of" post. I thought it seemed kind of neat- I'm not sure where the idea started or if I have to give anyone credit for it, my apologies if I do. And I just randomly picked today so you get the good, the bad, and the truthful...


My day started with Matt waking me up. He usually gets up first and has a little alone time to eat and read the paper in the morning. He got Lauren out of bed since I was still resting and barely awake yet. Daddy and Lauren came in to greet me and help get that last bit of sleep out of my eyes. I notice my neck was hurting me. I think that the joint she fixed yesterday might be back to it's old habits, so I'm glad I'm headed back to get checked again tomorrow. I think because my neck hurt and I had slept so restlessly that morning (woke up to use the bathroom and just couldn't get back to sleep- took me an hour, yikes!). I showered and got dressed while Matt finished up his routine upstairs. Then we all headed downstairs. Matt started making Lauren's breakfast while I got her dressed. I usually don't get her dressed until after morning nap, but today we had to head out the door right after nap, so I was planning ahead (such a smarty).


I feed Lauren breakfast and ate some myself as Matt had prepared his own lunch- poor guy I've been so off my daily routine because of traveling, having him home, holidays, family visiting, etc. that I didn't think to make it for him. He then continued with feeding Lauren while I did the hair thing and then I finished her breakfast (she eats a lot for breakfast and she can be slow so we share the duty sometimes) and Matt shaved. Before long Matt was out the door and Lauren and I were cleaning up breakfast and starting the dishwasher. Side note: since I have been home and cooking more we run our dishwasher every day/day in a half. While I worked and before Lauren we ran it twice a week maybe. Weird the things that have changed around here. Well maybe just weird to me.


After all of that was done Lauren and I played in the playroom and called Aunt Shauna. We were scheduled to go over the next bible study lesson of Luke, though I started by venting my frustrations of being out of whack with my schedule and routine. I really have a hard time functioning without them- but low and behold today was a day of getting back on track! Lauren continued to play around me while we discussed Jesus and his works. This lesson was on Jesus visiting the predominately Gentile town of Galilee and removing demons from a man and then feeding the thousands.  Both Shauna and I were so grateful for God's word and how we needed to hear exactly what he was saying to us. I've fully enjoyed doing this study with her and am glad that we're not even half done. At about 10 I put Lauren down for nap and finished talking with Shauna while I swiffered the floors (I love to multitask on the phone, but I'm not always very good at it). We talked for quite some time today- that's since we usually don't talk to each other on weekends or at night and with the holidays and husbands having extra days off we had some catching up to do.


Before I knew it, it was time to stir Lauren awake. I usually don't wake her from naps, but today was our first day back to library time since before Christmas. I was excited to go there, Lauren loves it. She squeals with delight at the familiar songs and just enjoys the interaction with other kids. We got there a little late, since I had to wake her up, and we missed her favorite song- "Peek-A-Boo." It was okay though, we still had a wonderful time. Afterwards, Esther and Caitlyn came over to eat lunch with us and play. It is such a nice time to have adult talk and let the girls play together. Normally it's a nice break from a usually quiet house but since Matt had been home so much it didn't make as much of a difference today.


They left at 2:30 and Lauren headed down for nap. This sweet little girl was tired after a long afternoon and a shortened morning nap because my sweet angel slept two hours!! During which time I got my coupons organized, my meals planned through next week, my grocery list made, and two emails sent. Wow- I love my baby and was so excited when she woke up, but that break to get caught up was such a blessing! I tell you God knows and always provides for our needs and I needed that time to take care of all that boring stuff. 


After getting Lauren up, she had her snack and we snuggled. Then daddy was pulling into the driveway. When Matt gets home Lauren's eyes light up- it's so precious. It's cold here so I got her coat and hood on because Lauren and daddy always go get the mail together and then get daddy's computer bag and lunch out of the car. It's their special routine. We ate dinner- left over night, and then we played for a bit. Garrett call and we chatted while Lauren and daddy played Legos. Then I got dressed to head to the gym, Zumba night! I needed to leave a little early since this class is usually pretty full and they've been known to turn people away. Plus, with the New Year Resolution people at the gym I didn't want to get turned away. Is it bad that I hate going to the gym in January and February since it is always so much more crowded. I always find that by March though it is back to normal. 


After Zumba, and oh how I needed Zumba, I headed to the grocery store. I was just telling Garrett about how when Matt and I were trying to have a baby and also when I was pregnant, I would always see moms and their children at the grocery store and long to have a baby in the front of my cart too. Now I find it soooo much easier to head to the store at night. For one reason- the store is always emptier and also I can be more focused and get out faster. When she's with me I find myself distracted by her cuteness- it's hard to focus on shopping when my precious baby is right there demanding my attention. Also, she always wants the list and coupons- and one time I gave in and gave her coupon I knew I wasn't going to use- she ate it!!! LOL!!! That little stinker ate it, she was younger then, and I had to fish it out of her toothless mouth. Silly baby!


Anyway, I shopped and chatted it up with Garrett some more. Our first conversation got cut short so she called me back. I was so excited to have saved 25% between coupons and sales. I shop for the % saved, and get sad when I don't get over 20% savings on my bill. It's a weird thing, but I like to find ways to save money for my family and yet still eat well too. When I got home and Matt helped me put the groceries away and he likes looking at everything I got, seeing if I got him any treats. Then I headed up to get pj's on and check on my sweet sleeping baby.


It was a typical day- nothing to flashy here. But it was a day I got to spend with my little girl, so it was a wonderful day. Not a day goes by where I don't give thanks that I'm home with her, watching her grow and blossom into such a character. Well sleepy land is calling!


"God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

Buzzzz....huh?

Today was another great day with daddy home with us. We enjoyed a slow morning and a yummy egg breakfast- Lauren LOVES eggs! After morning nap we ate a quick lunch and met up with Noah and Amy at the children's museum. A membership there was a wonderful gift from my dad and step-mom for Lauren's birthday. They have two locations, one downtown and one down the road from us (well 15 minutes down the road). I've only taken Lauren to the one down the road since it is geared more toward little ones. The one downtown location, which is still only 20 minutes away, is more for walker and up (so maybe we'll be hitting that one up soon). Anyway, we had a nice time visiting with them. Noah-man had a growth spurt- he's taller than Lauren now! He is exactly 3 months younger than Lauren and yet sooo much bigger. Those boys grow so much faster. 

After we got back from the museum it was time for afternoon nap. It still amazes me that she needs both naps. Caitlyn, the little girl we met at library time, she is down to one afternoon nap. Lauren is no where near ready for that. I see the benefit of it for a mommy who needs to get stuff done outside the house, but I also enjoy her morning nap time. That's when I do my daily devotional time. It's when I settle my soul and enjoy some precious moments with God, that gives me the energy and focus I need to be the best mommy, wife, and person I can be. I'm going to be sad the day she's ready to transition to one nap a day.

Wow, I'm all over the place tonight with my thoughts. Anyway, again trying to get back on track- sorry, so after we got home daddy was outside doing some outside projects like fixing our fence and Lauren was down for her nap mommy had a moment of peace. It was short lived because I was headed to the chiropractor. Yes, I had my first ever appointment. I had be noticing my lower back muscles being really tight. After i worked out or ran when I'd stretch afterwards my back would be so tight and no matter how well I stretched, it would still be tight. Then my knees started really bothering me. I'm no longer training for a race, so I'm not running as much and this confused me- why if I'm running less are my knees bothering me more? I started feeling like the back and knee issues were connected and maybe it is all connected to carrying little Lauren around in my belly for nine months.

Sure enough it was the case. I went and everything my brain was thinking was right on to what the doctor was saying. Yes, I was a biology major in college- but I focused more on environmental science and animals than humans. It was like the doctor had read my mind or something. My two hip bones had gotten out of alignment so bad- one was to far up and the other tilted down and twisted forward. I'm not surprised my knees where bothering me at all- goodness. She explained to me what I already had figured out, which is that when one part gets out of whack the others have to compensate. She snapped a few things in my neck, one thing by my shoulder, another around my mid-back, then fixed both hips, and then worked on my knee joint. I walked out pain free! Now mind you the knee thing had been bad since November after the race and had gotten progressively worse. I'm not a big fan of meds- unless that's the only way to make the pain go away, so I wasn't taking anything to help it. She told me I would feel a little sore- which I do and I'm headed back to her on Wednesday so she can check me out again (your muscles after being out of whack for so long tend to want to head back to the wrong position and need to be moved a few times before they get back to being comfortable in their original spots).

Well now to jump back around- sorry- I headed to the appointment early since I figured I would have to do paper work but when i got there there was a sign on the door that said they were closed and they'd be back at 4- the time of my appointment. So I headed back to sit in the car for the 12 minutes I needed to wait. I called Matt on my cell phone to tell him how I had to wait and my phone started to die. This happens to me all the time. I never think about my cell phone until I'm out and about and that's when I notice it's low on battery (go figure) so I charge it when I get home and then two days later when I go out again- it's dying again. It's a viscous cycle. So I went to plug it into the charger and call my mom to kill some time. that's when the cell phone charger made a buzzing noise and I noticed the battery light go on, on the dashboard. Yikes, I tried to start the car but it wouldn't start. Double yikes!! So I prayed my phone battery charged up enough to make one more call. Thankfully I was able to call Matt and tell him what was happening. He said that when Lauren wake up he would come by and see what was up. I figured it needed to be jumped. So I headed into the appointment and when I came out, to my surprise Lauren and daddy where waiting for me! He had come and started it and it worked just fine for him. He said that he turned everything off, including my seat heater which I had left on- oops. We headed to yummy Arby's to pick up dinner (lazy mommy really needs to go grocery shopping- maybe I'll be motivated tomorrow) and then enjoyed "Beefy Mondays" at home (it is the best deal- you get a whole crap load of shaved beef, four buns, and four sides for $10.99. We eat half one night and half the next night).

After dinner we played around in the living room. We've all been enjoying Lauren's Christmas gift from Santa- Legos. We build and Lauren destroys. She has also been known to dump the whole bin all over the floor. She cracks me up. She has been more adventurous today at walking from one "safe" place to another. She'll walk the length of the couch and then take a few steps to get to the ottoman and then walk along that and take a few steps to the basket or chair. I keep cheering her on- saying "Yeah!!!! You go girl. Look at you!!! You're such a big girl!!" I'm just so proud of her. I love her to bits and I can't believe how big she's gotten- it sure has made Matt and I miss the baby stage though...

Anyway- I think this post has been long enough. I have a wonderful week ahead of me and maybe I'll keep making time to post and share all the fun with you (if anyone even reads this...either way I still enjoying writing all of these memories down to be revisited later, even if it's only by me).

Lucky Me

I'm sitting on the couch right now feeling blessed by this holiday season (still). Mostly because daddy has been around so much more. He had two days off for Christmas (four days total counting the weekend) and then he headed back to work for three days and then we got him for three days again because of New Years. It's also nice because usually when Matt has off work we're headed some place for a fun adventure, but this time we've just been enjoying our home.


I've been thinking about how I enjoy having him home, not just to have another set of hands to help wrangle babyzilla (a cute nickname we have for Lauren when she's making a mess of her surroundings). But to just enjoy time together. I'm very blessed that God give me such a wonderful husband, partner, and friend. 


On our walk around the neighborhood tonight (one of our favorite family activities) I was being silly and reminding Matt that we've been together for ten years now- I asked him if he could believe it. And of course he had some smartypants remark, that's my hubby!


To think of where we've been over the last ten years and how much we've enjoyed together. He has been my partner through a lot of life's up and downs. He's been a rock to me and to our family. He's so stable and compassionate. He's also silly and enjoys getting a rise out of his wife by teasing me just so. He is a wonderful father. I often enjoy just watching Lauren and him interacting. When I'm doing things in the other room, like making dinner or picking-up, I smile to myself as I hear the two of them playing or reading. He's so patient with her, like he is with me. 


I can't tell you the amount of times that our relationship is such a reminder to me of how God knows what we need. He has a plan and if we're good children of God and listening we can take part in that wondrous plan. God promises us many wonderful things and all he asks of us is to have faith and except that He is the one true God. We don't deserve his love and grace, but he gives it to us anyway. That is how I feel about Matt. He is a gift God gave me and I pray that I never take that wonderful gift for granted. But instead remember to humble myself and give thanks for this special person He gave me. How special God must think I am to bless me with such a perfect partner in life. 

One day I want to look back and say on one of our walks, "Honey can you believe we've been together for 50 years"...I wonder what his smartypants remark will be then?

I love this wedding picture, because I remember the feeling of calm and peace that came over me when I realized that we were now husband and wife for life. We were partners picked out by God's hands especially for each other.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him." Jeremiah 17:7