Mommy and Me

Mommy and Me
Sharing life with you is fullfilling

Friday, June 27, 2014

Boy did I check off my list today

I was rocking this life this morning.  And I feel it all has to do with starting my morning with God.  So long as I'm able to sleep well in the night I have made it my goal to get up when Patrick gets up,  which actually wasn't working out because he let's his alarm go off so many times, he hardly has enough time to get ready, let alone eat breakfast if he has to wait for me to cook it.  So this morning I got up before him, made his breakfast and set it at the table and we ate together.  It was lovely.
Just after he left for work I started my daily bible reading and writing down my prayers.  I love this time in the morning, when I can pour my heart out to my heavenly daddy. .. And I have noticed a change in my journals over the last two years... positivity,  thankfulness,  and a general oppinion of the goodness of the God I serve.
The rest of the day was uneventful but accomplished.  I even enjoyed my children while reaching my goals. It's hard sometimes to stop and really enjoy your children when you have a lot of things to do, but I have been really putting in the effort and praying hard for God to help me to enjoy these children and to speak respectfully to them without yelling but still with authority. ... That is a hard job, but so far I think I'm doing pretty well.
Do you have goals for your parenting?  Have you seen God at work in your life in an area you didn't even know he was going to be improving?  I'd love to hear about it!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Little House on the rv lot

I feel like I'm failing.  There are so many things required of my time and none of them are getting a sufficient amount except perhaps my husband who though he is getting good attention and lots of love is also getting a lot of grumpy lady lately.  The gym membership has been wonderful because I'm getting showers and tiny breaks from the children but it is bad because I use a lot of energy and Micah isn't sleeping through the night this week.  And because my husband wants us ready to go as soon as he gets home which means I have to pack both of our gym bags and make sure the kids are ready to go with snacks and water, and Micah has been fed and had a nap. .. makes gym days pretty hectic until about 3:30pm.
Plus we were on track to end school two weeks before next school year began but now we are closer to one week of vacation because this week has been so crazy and we have not kept up in all subjects.
I'm having attitude problems this week too. Which of course means my children are too. The funny thing is, though my attitude stinks I have actually managed not to yell much at all, a goal I set for myself last week. .. To stop yelling. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be but I really think it is God's grace that is helping me through it considering my horrible attitude.
My bad attitude is not just affecting the things mentioned above but also my thankfulness.  I have until this week really been enjoying living in our 5th wheel. .. But this week I'm not to thankful for it.  I want so badly to be near friends and don't want to start over again in making friends. It is hard work,  putting yourself out there to be judged by others and hoping you come out as a valuable relationship and then when you leave saying goodbye and trying hard to maintain the relationships but not really having much time to do it.  Honestly it stinks and takes a long time to do, just to leave again in the end.
I feel that way about being a doula too... I love my job but it is hard work to put yourself out there as much as you have to,  and then when rejection happens it honestly hurts but you have to remain professional, no crying or begging.
So I guess my little house simple life really isn't too simple.  I'm still drowning in dishes and laundry, still trying to be a good wife and mother,  still trying to make friends in a world that promotes loneliness.
Sorry for my bad attitude.  I will be praying and trying to improve on that before posting again, I just hoped to show you that though I love my life it isn't all sunshine and happiness.

Friday, June 20, 2014

To wiggle or cuddle that is the question.

Caeden was not a wiggly baby really. He loved to be near mama but didn't always have to be held; though there were times that he just couldn't be consoled by daddy he was usual a happy little guy.
Fia and Micah how ever are a bit different.  The more tired they get the closer to mama they need to be but the more they wiggle. This is not a good working relationship.  Currently I'm lying in bed nursing this 7 month old blessing and that sounds nice and cozy until I mention that I wrapped him in the outer edge of my blanket and then laid on it to prevent him from escaping and then laid my leg over his legs to keep him still.  He is almost asleep now so I no longer have to keep his arms pinned to my body so that is good.  And he isn't flexing his fingers on my skin to scrape me with his always sharp finger nails or pinching the skin of my side under my arm like he often likes to do.  And at this moment he looks sweet and innocent and nothing like the monkey I was wrestling for a nap moments ago.
I remember when getting Fia down for a nap I had to swaddle her regardless of age, she sleeps better or I should say faster when movement isn't an option for her.  And then I had to grip both of her feet in my hand and feed her a bottle with the other hand.  If the girl could wiggle or press her big toe on something the nap would not happen.
I do miss those days though.  My babies are growing up.  Caeden will be 6 the end of this year.  5 was hard 6 is harder.  At least I have some more time with my 5 year old before turning him over entirely to 6.
What fond little memories of your children's baby days do you have?

Thursday, June 19, 2014

I need some cheese with this whine

Oh my good Lord Jesus! What a design you made!  Our bodies design is just incredible to me.  So many parts of life are just amazing. .. Today I am marveling at the muscular system.  Mostly because mine HURTS! But also because I am just amazed.  Did you know that muscle at rest will burn calories? So you can eat more and do less to maintain your self if you have more muscle than fat!  Of course muscle will disappear if you don't work it so you should of course work it,  but if you had a twin you, and one of you were in shape and the other you completely obese which one could eat and eat without gaining weight?  The skinny you. .. The fat you would gain weight on a tiny meal. Craziness!
I think God has such an incredible design! That does not mean that I have not had people be rude to me because they feel that I never gain weight. ..I have.  But I have also seen friends eat little exercise a lot and not change a thing about their body size. .. Why?  Because God's design has to be treated right to work right.  You need to eat.  You have to eat.  But here is the deal about exercise: if you excercise the same muscle group constantly it won't get stronger it will get weaker. .. You have to give those muscles a break so that they can build themselves up again.  30 minutes on a treadmill is great but a little weight training before that is better and it is best to only do all that 3-4 times a week.  If you let your muscles relax for a full day and work out again after a 48 hour break or close to it then you will find you can do far more and burn more calories over time than if you continually burn out those same muscles day after day. This is all according to the man at la fitness who runs the personal trainer program.
So all that being said I'm totally not going back to the gym for a few days!  I am so so so sore! I couldn't even sleep well because of the pain last night.
What new things are you doing in your family life?

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Pilates sucks

Patrick and I joined a gym.  I love it.  Once upon a time a asked God for a husband who would work out with me and it seemed for a long time that it would never happen but now we can!  He has a personal trainer so I don't work out with him every time but at least once a week we can work out together and I love it. 
Yesterday he met with his trainer and I went to a pilates class.  I expected not to be able to do everything but man I felt like a weakling yesterday!  Today even more so! I seriously hurt everywhere.
I titled this pilates sucks but really it is the greatest full body work out I have had in a very long time!  I'm so excited to turn our family into a family that gets healthy together. 
What are you doing to improve your families health? 

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Changing the tide

Kid number one gets everything by the book,  kid number two you can test the water in your own theories while juggling the new responsibilities of two children and reading some of the books and mommy websites you learned about for number one.  But then comes number three,  do you stress about how many hours of sleep they get?  Maybe if they are not getting enough, which should be translated to if mommy isn't getting enough sleep.  Do you stress about when to start solid food? Well if you are living in a 5th wheel and your table won't fit a high chair then you probably start solid food the day you are sitting down to eat and your baby reaches over with its octopus arms and grabs your bowl or plate and pulls it into your lap to distract you from the other hand that reached inside the bowl or plate to get a handful of whatever yummy food you are consuming and stuffs it into their mouth. 
This is not exactly how Micah started solids but he does attempt this at least once a day.  The thing is there is no right way to do this parenting thing so glean what you can to get started, it is nice to have some background work to get your feet wet with on that first kid, but after that you really can only parent the way you parent. 
What's different about patenting Micah as opposed to Fia or Caeden?  Let me tell you. .. everything.  I don't buy baby food Micah eats whatever I'm eating and he loves it.  Why start him off on things we may never eat in our house, I want him to have a taste for the things I cook.  So I just give him tiny baby sized pieces of whatever is on my plate.  Or let him chew on a cracker because even though crackers are not that nutritious we eat them all the time here, and he still gets most of his nutrition from breast milk anyway.
What else is different? Well everything.  We live in a small space with a large dog who is currently shedding, no one in my family knows how to put away their shoes without being told to and there are tiny choking hazard Legos all over the place.  I'm cleaning constantly.  Yes that is different.  When it was just one kid I learned how to get my dishes done and started schedules in our house and found out how valuable they were.  The second kid taught me how to keep a house clean and make a working schedule that lasted us 3 years and made me proud to have people over whenever they showed up. True it wasn't prefect but it was good enough that I wasn't embarrassed.
Now there is Micah and this much smaller living space and I'm finding that to live comfortable in this space I need to be cleaning it constantly.  Which has lead me to the understanding that I can indeed keep a clean house!  Does that mean that Micah is always clean and never has anything he shouldn't in his mouth?  No.  Yesterday he had a piece of paper in his mouth while chewing in his dad's shoe lace and his shirt was covered in a layer of Graham cracker drool and topped with dog hair that had stubbornly stuck to the floor even after I swept.  None of that stops us from having a great day.  I just have to actually have designated play clothes and going out clothes for my baby as well as for my older children.
Right now I'm nursing Micah in my robe while the older two are playing with Legos and waiting for breakfast and the 5th wheel is trashed. .. But today is going to be a great day!  I'm so excited to get started on it.  :)
Perspective is everything my friends!

Monday, June 2, 2014

Rest your weary head

Nap time over the last 7 months has been totally messed up.  First off when moving it isn't always possible to get naps when they are needed, and second the kids are growing and changing so much that their needs are also changing in the area of rest time.
Now that we are settled into our 5th wheel I'm trying to discover their nap time needs.  I know that where Caeden did not require a nap before when he was inside all the time, he now plays so hard every day that a nap is absolutely necessary.
Any day that we happen to be driving at 3pm will result in all three of my children snoozing in their car seats. So you would think that nap time would move easily to 3pm from the previous 1pm time it used to be.  I would however point out that 1. A carseat keeps my overly active 5 year old still in a way no other thing can, and 2. My children share a very small room in the 5th wheel.  Micah is easy to fix.  Put him to bed in my bedroom with pillows to keep him from rolling off the bed.
Sapphira needs her nap but has never done well at going to sleep.  Caeden needs the nap and if I could get him to slow down he might take it but he is insanely active.
Putting them in the room together results in a lot of play,  putting them in separately results in me getting nothing done and them laying down but not sleeping.  Putting them down together with me seated in the room changes nothing.  Just quiet rest time where I do nothing, get no relaxation, and they do not sleep. 
What is the solution?  Any one got any ideas?  Playing hard is resulting in a grumpy girl, a boy with more frequent accidents at night, and a mommy who is going to go bald.  If I try to slow them down there are other undesirable affects...so really I'm just looking for a nap time solution.
Any comments will be taken into serious consideration.  Thank you in advance.