Posts Tagged ‘Mamahood’
All Quite on the Western Front
Posted on: April 4, 2011
- In: Life
- 3 Comments
Actually, our house is anything but quite right now. We are still in the throws of unpacking and organizing the new house. But we don’t have Internet until Wednesday. I’m currently writing this from Jonathan’s iPad. Which is harder than I expected, since the app isn’t letting see as I type. {So let’s hope I get this right the first time ;)}
I promise I really do have some fabulous posts coming. Ranging from new adventures to an update on my 30 before 30.
Stay tuned!
Ponytails and Little Girls
Posted on: March 16, 2011
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
A long time back, I wrote about how Julia hates to have her hair brushed {or even really touched for that matter}. And as her hair gets longer, it just gets more matted and gross. Slowly, I convinced her to let me brush it, but never, ever {ever!} would she let me pull it back in a ponytail. Now that might seem strange to some of you out there. After all, Julia is the child {and only 3} and as the mama, what I say goes. Right? Well, when it comes to screaming and crying over pulling her hair into a ponytail, she can win that battle. Because at 7 in the morning, it’s not something I want to deal with.
Then, as the genius that I like to think I am, I had a brilliant idea. Julia loves Angelina Ballerina. And Angelina always wears a ribbon in her hair. Well… you can’t have a ribbon in your hair, without a ponytail, now can you? No ma’am, you cannot.
I asked Julia if she wanted to wear a ribbon like Angelina {and I might have gone even further by saying all real dancers wear ribbons}. Her eyes lit up and she said that yes, she did want a ribbon. I told her that to wear a ribbon, we needed to put a ponytail in her hair. She didn’t buy it at first, but once I googled some pictures of Angelina’s ribbon, she totally bought it. And up went her hair and in went the ribbon! Now, she doesn’t want it up every day {and I’m totally okay with that}, but, get this, she’s asked to have her hair pulled back just so she can wear the ribbon.
Score 1 for mom.
Visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family for more Works For Me Wednesday.
Some Days Are Like That
Posted on: March 15, 2011
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
Some days don’t go according to plan. Some days you wish you had a restart button. Some days couldn’t end soon enough. Some days you think it’ll be a miracle if you make it through with a shred of sanity. Some days:
1. You wake up late
2. And feel rushed for time
3. Your kids are overly tired and cranky
4. You’re overly tired and cranky
5. Your to-do list keeps growing
6. But the time in your day doesn’t
7. You spend more time disciplining your kids
8. Than enjoying your kids
9. You scratch the grilled pork chops and potatoes planned for dinner and make spaghetti instead
10. And go to bed thankful that God’s grace is renewed in the morning
That was my Monday after daylight savings. Sigh. How was yours? Thankfully Tuesday has started off much better.
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
I Hope My iPad Makes Me Smarter
Posted on: March 3, 2011
- In: Life
- 9 Comments
Gone are the days that I can pour over a book for hours. Twenty minutes, sure. But hours? Never. Because of that, my reading has been limited to “easy reads”, which in my case tends to be anything more modern and non-classical. unfortunately, classics tend to be my favorites {or books written in classical form}. So I haven’t read a new-to-me classic since Julia was born {though, I have re-read a few favorites}.
Enter the Kindle for iPad:
About a month ago, I downloaded Kindle to my iPad, mostly because I needed to buy a book for church. Then I started browsing through Amazon’s Kindle collection and found a treasure mine full of free classics. I downloaded a handful with the hopes of one day reading them.
Earlier this week, I realized one day really just means never in mom world, and decided to start that day reading a new classic. Which classic did I choose?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
According to the Kindle app, I’m only 4% through the book, but so far it is good! The app has the sentences and paragraphs broken up for “easy” reading and I can fly through a chapter in no time. It has an easy bookmark feature, taking me right back to the last page I read. Even better… if I have to quickly turn the app off, it still saves my page without my prompting! Honestly, between the girls, Jack, errands and chores, I use that last feature more than bookmarking the spot myself.
Here’s to delving back into good {but challenging} reads!
What have you read lately?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
The Day a Mouse Drove Me Crazy
Posted on: February 28, 2011
- In: Life
- 5 Comments
When I was a child, my mom introduced me to Angelina Ballerina. The first book is Angelina and Alice; a precious story about two mice who are dancers and best friends. I remember loving it. A few weeks back, while at the library, I thought Julia might like Angelina and Alice, so we borrowed the book. Oh was I right.
She seems harmless, but she's not...*
From their first introduction, all Julia talks about is Angelina. All she wants to listen to is ballet music and dance “like Angelina”. All she wants to read is Angelina. All she wants to watch is Angelina {thanks PBS!}. Angelina. Angelina. Angelina.
One day last week we read through our 9 Angelina books 4 different times. Doesn’t seem too bad, right? But these aren’t small books. And typically Julia asks questions about each page {“Why is Angelina wearing a purple dress?” “Why is Angelina sad?” “Why is Angelina’s bike red?”}. So each session lasted about 30 minutes. Times four. That’s a lot of Angelina. Even for an avid reader like me. By the last reading session I had to put my foot down. Angelina was literally driving my crazy. I would read no more. Poor Julia was a bit heartbroken, but I made it up to her by letting her watch an episode of Angelina while I made dinner {told you she was obsessed}.
Since then, I’ve made an effort to set some reading rules. We can read all the books twice – once in the morning and once on the afternoon. Any other time, Julia can choose one or two, no more. Angelina is still driving me a bit crazy {mostly because it’d be nice to read any other book} but at least I’m not reading for two hours.
Maybe it’s time to look into audiobooks.
Wanna Bag ‘O Grace?
Posted on: February 24, 2011
- In: Life
- 17 Comments
If you drive through any major intersection in Austin you will notice one thing: homeless people. Standing along the road with signs, begging for food or money. Rain or shine, they are always there. In fact, one of the best know Austinites is homeless – his name is Leslie. He’s even run for mayor. The homeless roam the streets, and the ones near the University have earned less-than-kind nicknames. I remember in college buying bags of candy to hand out while I walked down “The Drag“.
Six years later and I’m still handing out bags to the homeless. Only these have more purpose.
Our missional community {i.e. small group} banded together to make Bags ‘O Grace – large bags filled with water, crackers, canned goods, etc., to hand out when we pass by the homeless. In each bag there is a small note that simply says: Christ Loves You. No tracks. No come-to-our-service invites. Just simply a bag full of grace.
I, personally, haven’t seen any homeless come to Christ because of the bags. But I’ve seen some incredible changes – in my life. And in my kids’ lives. At every intersection, Julia says “Mom, does that man/woman need a bag? Mom give them a bag.” It isn’t always possible – the light changes too soon, or we are too far away. But each time, it opens up conversation. Each time it allows my kids to see a glimpse of grace – giving love when love isn’t earned. It forces me out of my comfort zone to acknowledge the hurting world around me and too find ways {even small} to reach out to them.
What is your bag ‘o grace?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
This Girl…
Posted on: February 4, 2011
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
…Is my Friday joy. And my every-other-day joy, for that matter.
What’s your Friday joy? I’d love to hear it.
An Entire Year of Family Photos
Posted on: February 1, 2011
{Sorry for the fuzziness - I'm still figuring out our Point and Shoot. And Jack does look a little evil in this one...}
Yesterday marked the 12th month of our monthly family photo. It’s hard to believe an entire year has passed since I first started this project. It has a been wonderful documenting how the girls have progressed. So much has happened in the last year that our lives seem so different now.
Hannah is talking up a storm. Every day she adds something new to her vocabulary and it’s awesome. My favorite phrase is “I did it!“. She says it with such pride and enthusiasm. Hannah has completely transitioned to a twin bed and isn’t waking up nearly as much to crawl into our bed at night. Watching her always imitate Julia has made her seem advanced for her age. And while she isn’t even 2, she seems so much older than she really is. It makes me want to pause life for a while and capture all these little moments.
Julia, as always, is acting like a little mama. She’s taken charge of several responsibilities – putting away dishes, helping with Hannah and cleaning. Julia’s been learning a lot in preschool lately. She’s very fascinated with sciences, so we have been spending time watching educational videos on the planets, the ocean and wildlife. She can’t get enough. I secretly believe she’s going to be a scientist.
Jonathan recently became part of Toastmasters – an impromptu public speaking group. It suits his personality perfectly and is teaching him how to be short and concise in his presentations. In addition, he has been spending a lot of time researching houses here in town, narrowing down what part of Austin we would want to live in. While we haven’t found a house that we want to buy {or rent}, we have at least settled on living in south Austin – for now.
I’ve spent the last month training for the Austin Half Marathon, which happens February 20th. It’s been good for me to get back into a real running regimen again. However, I’ll be happy to have long runs of only 5-6 miles instead of 10-12 miles. I got back yesterday from Blissdom in Nashville. It was a awesome. Overwhelming {with information and content} but I am hopeful that I can really implement a lot of the things I learned this week.
- In: Life
- 14 Comments
I’m leaving today for Blissdom. And much like when I left for New York last fall, I have taken some steps to help Jonathan out while I’m away. Because, while some days I’d like to think my full time job is my blog, it isn’t. My full time job is taking care of my family. I take a lot of delight in my work and want to make sure that I can still fulfill my wife/mother roles while away. So here are some ways I’m helping Jonathan cope with me being away:
1. Organize the girls clothes –
Each day is bundled together, with the girl’s name on it. Unwrap, dress and you’re ready to go! {I did provide layers, in case the weather goes all crazy on me.}
2. Organize meals –
I have the freezer stocked with dinners and the pantry loaded with quick and easy snacks. I’ve also made a list of side options to go with each meal.
3. Organize activities – While Jonathan is super active in the girls’ lives, he doesn’t quite know what activities there are to do around town like I do. So I made a list for each day to let him choose.
4. Sticky notes –
I did this when I traveled to New York. Jonathan said it was helpful {for other things – like coffee}, but the dog never did get fed…
5. Movies – While I tend not to want the girls to watch much television during the week, I know it’s an easy pass time. I’ve made sure there are several episodes of their favorite show recorded so they can watch a set amount as needed.
6. Diapers/Wipes/Pull ups – Jonathan isn’t as into cloth diapering as I am {read Jonathan doesn’t cloth diaper}. To prepare for the week, I stocked up on disposables. Because there is nothing worse than having to run to the store just for diapers.
7. Back up help – We were very blessed to live right by three close families while in Iowa. At the drop of the hat we could ask for help and they could be there in no time. Now, as we are still meeting people, I’ve had to do a little more planning. Still, we’ve been really blessed with people willing to help Jonathan {even if it is just inviting him to playdates} so that he doesn’t feel alone in the process.
8. Answering my phone – I’m notorious for not answering my phone. And it drives Jonathan bonkers. Because of that, for the next few days, my phone will be attached to my hip {not literally – not a big fan of those hip holders}.
9. Sweet loving – I’m making sure Jonathan gets some sweet loving before I leave. And… It’s not what you think. I made him a batch of cookies {as bribery for girls} and am currently baking some blueberry muffins – which are his favorite.
10. Grace – Taking care of the girls and being a homemaker isn’t Jonathan’s full time job, it’s mine. I need to loosen up any expectations I might have for how things should go – or honestly, how the house should look when I get back. I need to be overwhelmed by the fact that my husband is showing me this grand gesture of love and respond in kind, with grace and love.
What do you do to help your husband prepare for you being away?
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Hannah Makes Tortillas
Posted on: January 21, 2011
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
While we were packing to move, Hannah decided to take a break and make some tortillas. You can hear Grandma in the background – she was less than pleased. But, personally, I thought {and still think} it was pretty hilarious.
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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