Posts Tagged ‘Mamahood’
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Our living room is set up in such a way that there is a great little space between our long sofa and love seat. Many a day, the girls have played back there. Jack, on occasion, has even taken to hiding from the girls resting there. But in the last couple of weeks, it’s seen little use. Which I find a little sad, because if I could comfortable fit, I’d be in that little nook all day.
This weekend I came across a cute {and easy} idea from Pinterest ::
On Monday, with the girls help, we created our own little reading nook ::
And least you think that the girls are quiet, non-messy readers, this was how their nook looked within the first 2 minutes ::
Have you ever made a reading nook? Or do you/your kids have a reading nook?
Visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.
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I’ve joked that if given the chance, the girls would permanently attach themselves to me. From the moment they wake up, to the moment they go to bed, they are constantly touching me. A pat on my arm to get my attention. A sweet hug to show their love. Or my personal favorite, sticking their hands up my shorts/skirt while I’m cooking. Actually, that last one drives me a little batty.
While I’ve always said touch is one of my love languages, I think 3.5 years into motherhood might be proving that wrong. {My love language now is extra sleep.} Now before you think I don’t like loving on my girls, please know that I do. Very, very much. I could hug, snuggle, kiss on them all day and be perfectly happy. But {and that’s a very big but}, there are different touches that can make me start to unravel, in a mama’s-losing-it sorta way.
Like clinging to my feet while I’m trying to clean {Hannah literally clings to my feet, forcing me to drag her around with me}.
Or, patting my arm while repeatedly saying “mama, mama, mama, mama, mama”.
Or, in a moment of sibling rivalry, deciding who can sit the closest to me while we’re reading {normally resulting in jumping on me}.
There are several more, but frankly, they are a bit TMI {if you’re a mom, or married, use your imagination… yeah}.
So, from 6 am to 8 pm, there is a whole lotta touching going on. And really, after the fourteenth time of having a little hand go up my shorts, I have to draw a boundary. Rather than waiting till I’ve hit my touch limit for the day, I schedule out personal “no talk, no touch” times throughout the day. One normally after we’ve had breakfast and sent Jonathan off for the day. Then one during Hannah’s nap and Julia’s quiet time. And then a final one in the late afternoon or early evening. It might sound harsh to some of you, but I need my “no talk, no touch” time.
I set the timer for 10-20 minutes {it’s usually longest in the morning so I can have my quiet time} and the girls know that they can’t talk or touch me until the timer goes off. Once the timer rings, we are all back in the game, with little hands everywhere. And by then, I’ve had enough “no touching” to be ready for the next round. There are times when the touching starts to drive me crazy between the “no talk, no touch” times. But rather than flat out telling them to stop touching me, I ask them nicely to only do it once. Or in the case of who-can-sit-closest-to-mama, I tell them I can read two stories – one story with my arm around one girl, and another story with my arm around the other girl.
Do you have touchy children? How do you handle too much touchiness?
Top Ten Steps to Potty Training
Posted on: June 28, 2011
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We are “officially” potty training Hannah. I’m hesitant to even write about it, mostly because I feel like when you announce that you’re potty training, a certain expectation is set on you and your child. And for me, I am all about fun training and don’t want it to be pressure based. Now that I’m two kids in, I’ve learned a few things {though am far from an expert}. But here ya go:
1. Train Early – This isn’t for everyone, but I am all about starting potty training before 1 year. Nothing major, just sit the babe on the potty and let them get use to it. I even go so far as to not provide any kiddie potty seat – as I want the babe to be okay with a real toilet. That might go a step too far for you, so do what you like {little potty, potty seat, etc}. But I’ve found with the girls, they catch on to the potty super well since we started so young {even if real training doesn’t start till 2}.
2. Sing Praises – Because of personal family convictions, we don’t use food as a form of praise/reward. Instead, I sing my little heart out. And both girls have gotten a kick out of it.
3. Show Grace – Kids aren’t going to get their training the first time. Or even the fifth time. You’ll have accidents. Some days a lot. Show them grace. Show yourself grace.
4. Show Even More Grace – Have a kid who’s been potty trained for a year and now starts having accidents? Show even more grace. Trust me on this.
5. Be Prepared for the Worst – If you’re potty training, please, please, please don’t leave the house without a spare set of clothes for your kiddo. Even if you think you’re in the clear, always prepare for the worst. {And show grace when it happens, cause it will.}
6. Put on a Show – In addition to my awesome song, lots of dancing, fun shouting and rowdy play takes place while I’m training. Especially in the beginning. I remember with Julia, once running through the house shouting “she did it, she did it!” after she had a successful potty trip. Man, that girl was on cloud nice for the rest of the day. And so was I. 😉
7. Set the Bar Low – With both girls, my first goal was to have them learn to poop in the potty. Then pee. Not both at once. I set the bar low and then s-l-o-w-l-y up it as I see them progress.
8. One Step at a Time – For whatever reason, nighttime/naptime training takes a while for my girls. And that’s okay. I don’t mind doling out the money for nighttime pull-ups. It’s part of life and I am so okay with it {especially since we don’t need them during the day}. I say, day train and then night train. One step at a time.
9. Set the Right Expectations – Of course I’d love to have a bootcamp weekend where Hannah is full potty trained in two days, but that ain’t gonna happen. For one, I’m not that patient. And for two, that’s not how our family rolls. Instead, I’m setting the expectation that Hannah be day trained before Baby Boy arrives.
10. Have Fun – Having fun and potty training don’t always go hand-in-hand. But they can. Realize that kids like to please you and really like to feel like big kids. So, with a little grace {if you haven’t caught on by now, potty training is all about the grace}, some crazy mama dancing and lots of praise, potty training can be a really rewarding experience. For you and your kid.
Have you ever potty trained a child? If so, what are some tips you’d add?
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Every House Needs A Toy Room
Posted on: June 22, 2011
- In: Life
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For the love of boy, I have been utterly exhausted for the past few days. I declared Monday an official “day off” two days before it even began. Then yesterday I was struck with a horrid migraine that prevented me from being much use to anyone {unless you consider bursting into tears for no apparent reason as useful}. As I waved my white flag last night and climbed into bed, I realized one two things:
1. I love my little family to pieces {even though at times I feel like I am a bad mama/wife}
2. I am grateful we have a toy room
The first one is a no-brainer. I’m blessed beyond belief with a great husband, two awesomely adorable girls and a to-arrive baby boy {who will hopefully have a first and middle name soon}.
The second one was a revelation yesterday. I’ve always said how much I love having a separate toy room for the girls {not their room}, but as I was completely useless to them for a good two plus hours yesterday afternoon, my love for their toy room grew. First off, there is a spare bed in the room. That just so happens to be facing the couch in our den. Which means – the girls can watch a movie while mama sleeps and mama can still be seen and the girls can still be heard. Awe-some. Secondly, when mama is awake, but still totally not with it, the girls can move into the toy room and play their little hearts out without taking the mess into the rest of the house. Double awe-some.
{note the mess that I don’t even feel compelled to clean, since the room has doors? triple awe-some}
Every house needs a toy room. Of this I am certain.
And on a side note : I should say one thing that I realized {again} and am grateful for {again} is that God’s graces are renewed every morning. That today is a new day, that I didn’t completely mess up my kids {whew} and that His love and mercy knows no bounds.
Oh, and it’s mom’s night out tonight. Rock it.
Visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family for more Works For Me Wednesday.
Happy Birthday, Hannah Michelle!
Posted on: June 15, 2011
- In: Life
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My sweet little baby turns 2 today. It’s hard for me to believe that two years have gone by. That Hannah Bear has gone from this:
to this:
I don’t even know how that happened! For whatever reason, with both girls, turning 2 has been much harder on me than turning 1. Two is such a big kid and shows me how fleeting are the moments I have with these precious little girls. *tear*
Hannah Michelle,
My sweet cuddly mama’s girl, you are such a wonder to me. God has blessed us greatly by adding you to our family. Your appetite for life {and food} are such testimonies to your little personality. How you willingly take on something scary, like jumping into the pool, as though it’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done. I love that about you. Your strength to pave your way in a family full of strong personalities, just shows how perfectly you fit in with us. I love that you delight in your sister and think the world of her. She is your best friend and it’s my prayer that she will always be that way. I also pray that in the next year, your understanding of God would grow, that your little heart would already be on the path to serving Him for your life. Know that you are loved, by God and your family, more than you will ever fully realize. My only advice to you is, try not to eat Molly’s face so much. She’s such a cute little bear and I’d hate for her to not have a nose. I love you my dear, Mama.
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When I found out I was pregnant with Julia, I couldn’t wait to have that really cute pregnancy belly. It took until 15-17 weeks before you could tell I was pregnant and didn’t just have a “beer” belly. With Hannah, again, I couldn’t wait to have a cute pregnant belly. And with her, it came pretty soon. Partly because that’s what happens with consecutive pregnancies, but mostly because I still had “baby weight” from Julia.
With this pregnancy, I’ve been pretty excited about having a cute pregnancy belly, but I’ve been less than thrilled with increasing weight and realizing the hard work it took to lose two babies worth of “baby weight”. After meeting with my midwife, I came away feeling more empowered about food and have gone on a “diet” of sorts. While I don’t monitor my caloric intake, I monitor what I’m eating. I focus on eating 60+ grams of protein, cutting back on simple carbs and limiting my sweet intake to once a week.
Then, there is exercising. I promised myself that when we got pregnant again, I’d maintain my fitness goals. Yeah… I didn’t take into account just how tired and sick I’d be. So, for about a month, I didn’t lace up my running shoes. Then two weeks ago, I was gifted with a double jogging stroller, and take the girls running when my energy is highest in the day {which varies from morning to afternoon and day to day}.
With the amount of running I had been doing, weight I had lost, I figured it’s take a little longer for my belly to “show”. Turns out, the third time around, you don’t stand much chance of hiding that baby. By 10 weeks, I had a nice little belly showing, and by this week {12+ weeks} I’ve clearly got a belly. Now, whether it’s viewed as a pregnancy belly or a “beer” belly, is debatable. Well… why don’t you tell me?
Pregnant or not?
Now, I will bare my soul to y’all for a moment.
Since Julia, my stomach has been less than, how shall I say this, perfect. And when I got pregnant with Hannah, I noticed that my stomach expanded in a very strange way. It’s flat in the front, where my belly button is, but then everything else bulges. Frankly, it looks really, really weird to me. And honestly, I’m a tad bit self conscious about it. I don’t know why… but it just sort of makes me feel a little weird. With Hannah, it always stayed flat right there at my belly button {and I assume it will this time around too}, so I just always thought it seemed odd.
There you have it. My soul baring moment. Mind blowing, huh? Well, now you know that I’m not always the most confident of women, despite my good looks. Haha! 😉
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Our family is still trying to sort through how exactly we plan to celebrate Easter. Will there be baskets? Candy? Eggs? Thankfully, the girls don’t ask too many questions and seem oblivious to the commercialized side of Easter and have only learned the true meaning.
With that said, we did do an egg hunt this weekend. Our neighborhood held an egg hunt and several of our neighbors were attending with their kids. We decided to go. When we arrived, there were long lines of cars and people so we just kept driving by. We figured maybe a family breakfast would be much more fun.
Then, as we drove past Walgreens, we saw several workers standing outside advertising an egg hunt that started in 20 minutes. It was free and no one was around, so we figured we would give it a try. By the time the hunt started, there were more parents than kids, so every kid walked away with a big bag of eggs.
The girls "smiling"
Our loot
Despite being tired, Hannah was not going to lose out on getting some goodies
Two of my favorite people {and the loot}
Now, for this next picture, I realize it’s not the best, but it’ll have to do…
The growing baby bump:
Being Pursued in the Midst of Pain
Posted on: April 18, 2011
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I nearly burned our house down on Friday.
You might think that is a slight overstatement, but it’s not. I put a pot of stew on the stove, walked outside to play with the girls and that was the end. I had no concept of the time passed. I had no clue what was taking place, literally, feet from me. No alarms. No smell of smoke. Nothing triggered me, but Jack’s barking.
Jack {who was outside as well} started barking and barking. At first I dismissed him, then when he persisted, I went to the back door to find my kitchen/living room filled with smoke. Black, nasty smoke. In the moment, I calmly removed the pot, opened the windows and began to air out the house. Thankfully, nothing was damaged beyond the charred pot, though the smell of fire still lingering this morning.
Saturday morning, I flooded the girls’ bathroom. The toilet got clogged while I was cleaning and water started flowing everywhere.
I panicked.
My first instint was “Don’t tell Jonathan.” You see, I’d already failed miserably the day before and we were still paying for it {by way of spending all Saturday morning cleaning and washing our smoke filled home}. I didn’t want him to see my failure again. I was ashamed. Embarrassed. Guilty. I wanted to run. Hide. Escape.
Finally, I called out for Jonathan. Even though I knew he was frustrated, he still loved me through it. He stayed calm. Fixed the situation.
And that’s when I lost it.
I ran.
I hid.
I sat in our bathroom and wept.
I calculated all the ways I failed. All the things I’d done wrong. Again. All the ways I didn’t deserve love. Didn’t deserve a second change.
Then there was a knock at the door. It was Julia.
“Mama, why are you sad?”
More tears.
Then another knock. It was Hannah.
“Mama, sad?”
More tears.
Then another knock. It was Jonathan.
“Babe, come out, please. You have two adorable daughters and a husband that loves you. Come out.”
Then a final knock. It was God.
“Sarah you are loved. By Me.”
I opened the door. Both to my family and to my God.
When I am in pain, I run. When I have failed, I run. When my trials are too big, too overwhelming, I run. I hide from the pain, from the failure, from the trial. I run and hide because I am afraid that maybe this time – this time – I’ve gone to far. I’ve messed up too much. This time I can’t be forgiven. This time I can’t make it right.
But that isn’t true.
Through Christ’s blood, I will always be forgiven.
Through Christ’s death, I will always be made right.
This weekend, through my failures, my family’s love spoke to me. My husband’s kind direction and warm embrace. My daughters’ gentleness and sweet innocence. Through them, God reminded me that I can run, I can hide, but He will always find me. He will always knock at my door. He will always pursue me. Because, in my failures, He loves me most of all.
My Budding Photographer
Posted on: April 13, 2011
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
This is what Julia Mabel does when she should be having quite time/nap time:
I should add that there are several "feet" pictures in this series.
The pictures are a bit out of focus, but given the time, I think Julia might just have a career path laid out for her.
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Have you ever asked someone when they are due, only to find out they aren’t pregnant? Or, even better, has someone asked you if you were expecting, when you very clearly were not? I’ve always erred on the side of caution and just not brought up the belly in question. But, when it comes to social media, people can drop “pregnant hints” like none other. What then?!
Well, here are a few ways to tell if your social media friend is indeed, with child:
And if those signs fail to pass your “they might be pregnant” radar, then maybe this will help:
Yes, my friends, I am pregnant. I am 10 weeks along {tomorrow}, due the first week of November. Thankfully, I haven’t been overly sick, just some extreme nausea that can last mere minutes, several hours, or all day. Quite unpredictable. But, baby is well, and that is all that matters.
We just had our appointment with our midwives earlier this week. We will be delivering with a birthing center in South Austin. I am thrilled with the facilities, as it’s the perfect blend between home and hospital. I am exploring water birth as our delivery option, but am still in the research phase. If any of you have had a water birth, or know of good resources on them, please let me know!
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This post will be linked with this week’s: Try New Adventures {with Alicia’s Homemaking} and Things I Love Thursday {with Diaper Diaries}.
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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