Experiencing Three

I haven't posted much this week because I've got an extra child! Friends of ours went away for a few days and decided we were trustworthy enough to watch their daughter while they are gone. So my kids have been enjoying having their friend Kelsey "sleep over". And I've been whipping around the house mediating arguments, cleaning up messes, intervening when punches start flying, and racking my brain for ideas to entertain three emotional youngsters under the age of 4. So if you have any ideas, please share them, because it's cold outside and they're getting cabin fever! So far we've done stickers, played outside in the snow, made homemade pizza, and while I was upstairs, the two older girls made themselves breakfast this morning so I guess that counts as an activity. By the way, their idea of breakfast was yogurt sandwiches (YUK!), apples, and granola bars.

This Week's Memory Verses

Romans 8:38-39 (New International Version)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:5 (New International Version)
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

This is mostly for my own benefit and reminder, but feel free to memorize with me!

Tell the Truth Tuesday

Today's Truth:

I think I sometimes give off the impression that I have "it" all together. The truth: I do not. It only looks like I do because I am obsessive-compulsive about my house, and when your house is under control, people assume you are too. The truth is, I spend far too much time on my house, letting all other aspects slide. And it's not out of a desire to provide a nice environment for my family, it's purely selfish (and prideful, YUCK!). I am stressed and anxious when my house is messy and disorderly, so I clean and clean. True, my closets and cupboards are organized and I have three binders of coupons tucked into baseball card page protectors, but I often feel like I don't spend enough quality time with my girls, I know I don't spend enough quality time with God, I struggle to maintain a good fitness level, I should spend more time with friends.....so next time you visit, if my house is a little messier than usual, compliment me on my self-control and newfound priorities! Now you all know my "dirty" little truth. What's yours?

Make Something Monday

I actually made these last year, but I thought I'd share them. Last spring, I won some hand-dyed yarn on http://www.hyenacart.com/. I used the gorgeous wool yarn to knit up some longies for my youngest. What are longies? For those of you who don't cloth diaper, they are pants and diaper covers in one. In this case, the wool acts as a water-resistant barrier, and is anti-bacterial so it doesn't stink! It took me nearly 9 months to knit these...I finished them just in time for Christmas, but I'm so proud of myself, and I really need to get started on those shorties for summer! So for this "Make Something Monday" I pledge to begin that pair of shorties tonight after the girls are in bed. Oh, and never mind the one funky-looking leg. It actually doesn't stick out like that, she must be standing funny.

I *think* I'm still glad DH got a job

Now that B is on the road home, I feel it's safe for me to share my last few days. Wednesday is always a stressful day, as I have to get Amelia ready for Cubbies, Adeline ready for nursery, and myself and B ready for youth group. (We each lead a small group there.) B gets home just in time to grab a bite, throw the kids and all our respective workbooks and study materials in the car, and shoot over to church 30 miles away. And we're usually about 15 minutes late for Cubbies...So this past Wednesday I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had ribs in the crockpot, potatoes boiling on the stove, Amelia knew her verse, and Adeline was up from nap, when I get a phone call; what I believe to be B letting me know he's on his way home from work 40 miles away. It is B, but he's calling to tell me that his boss is in the process of booking him a flight to Phoenix for that evening, and he'll be gone through Saturday. So of course, I respond in the supportive wifely way of yelling at him for having to leave me to drag the girls in zero degree weather to church and back in the dark, cancel plans for both Thursday and Friday night, and drag the girls with me to a baby shower on Saturday, instead of being able to go alone and have some mommy time. And what really got me is that while I was hauling two girls around in snow and freezing weather, he would be flying FIRST CLASS to sunny Arizona. Thankfully, I got my act together and sent him off in good spirits, but here is how my week "alone"' has gone:

Wednesday: Leave for church 30 minutes later than usual, as B has the car with the car seats and has lots of loose ends to tie up before he can drop the car off with me. Thus, Amelia misses her favorite part of Cubbies, the puppet show, and I arrive at youth group stressed and breathless. Despite my poor attitude, youth group went really well, and we made it home safely. Prying my white knuckles from the steering wheel when we got home was a challenge, but it's good for me to drive outside my comfort zone.

Thursday: Storytime in the morning, home for lunch (left my wallet at the library and the movies that were due at home), clean the house, leave for speech at 2:30. While I'm cleaning the house, I stupidly believe the girls are upstairs reading quietly in Amelia's bed. To my horror, they are instead filling their sippy cups with water and dumping it all over Amelia's bed (soaked through two quilts, a comforter, the pillow, and into the mattress), all over the hall carpet, and filled a laundry basket with it, which Adeline was leaning over as Amelia poured water over her head. Fully clothed. So I clean that up and we leave for speech, again in zero degree weather. Other than Amelia's recurring bout of explosive diarrhea, the rest of the day went well, thanks to my mom inviting us over for supper.

Friday: Had a nice lazy morning, and friends came over for a playdate in the afternoon. Made it through supper and got a call from my mom offering to have my dad babysit so I could go with her to "Fireproof" at my brother's girlfriend's church. Score! Had a nice evening until the drive home on awful roads, but we made it. I was hopped up on lattes from the movie, so I vacuumed, emptied the dishwasher, purchased a cloth diaper online, then read in bed until way too late. Girls both woke up several times in the night and I ended up letting Amelia sleep with me which I know was a bad idea. At some time during the night, she wet her bed. Recollection of the details is fuzzy, but I do know for sure it wasn't in MY bed.

Saturday: More diarrhea. The roads look bad so I'm not able to make it to the shower I've been looking forward to. Lots of snow, so I went out to shovel for the first time in years. At least it can count as a workout! Now waiting for B to get home, and praying that even though I feel ragged and stressed from the last three days, I'll have a gentle and welcoming spirit.

Wordless Wednesday

Diaper Laundry (about 2 days)

Enter to win

Enter to win a baby bath care gift basket from Nature’s Baby Organics. Just visit our friend and mommy blogger Cat at 3 Kids and Us to win with more great giveaways all February long. I've been on the lookout for natural baby products lately, but have no money to shell out for them, so I'd LOVE to win this package.

Wordless Wednesday

Jamaica has a piece of my heart.

I'm Giving Myself a Time-Out

It's been a rough week, for no other reason than that I've been way too hard on myself. So in a twist on my daily hobby of putting Amelia in time-out, I'm sitting myself on the time-out bench.

I'm taking a time-out from:

*mommy-wars...I am not the same mommy as the one next to me. In fact, I am the perfect mommy for MY children. How do I know that? Because God entrusted them to me, and He knows what He's doing. However, I am not the perfect mommy for the hypothetical child next door, and have no right to judge said mommy.

*mommy guilt...my children will not be forever scarred by my decision to allow them to watch t.v. all afternoon while I took a snooze on the couch. I'll do better tomorrow:)

*perfectionism...my house does not have to be perfect every second of every day. Neither do I.

*antsiness...is that a word? My husband can not complete every single home improvement project this weekend, or even this year. So I'm going to give it a rest already! and enjoy my home the way it is.

*God-guilt...I am forgiven for not having spent the time I should with God in the past. Time to quit fretting about the time missed yesterday, and spend the time today.

What do you need a time-out from?

Make it Monday

Here is what I made a few Mondays ago:

Adeline hasn't had anything on her walls since we moved in last year, but funds are low, so I decided to repurpose something that I hadn't found the perfect spot for here. I started with framed artwork I had put together for Amelia before she was born. I had converted an old window into a frame, and put photocopies of an antique children's book in the "windows". The artwork no longer worked quite right with her new room, so I decided to remove the artwork and replace it with pages from another antique children's book. I used coordinating scrapbook paper as matting, and used a staple gun to secure the foamboard to the frame.

In progress:

Here is a "before" shot.

Total cost of this project: $0

Of course, this piece of artwork that I slaved over is now sitting on the floor of her closet as I wait for dear B to hang it for me:)

Piece of Me blog

I've found a new favorite giveaway site, Piece of Me, that has some awesome giveaways going on right now. The first giveaway is for pregnancy-safe bath and body products from Mama Mio. I browsed their site, and they have some amazing packages for different stages of pregnancy, new moms, and anyone who needs a little pampering. http://makingmyamericandream.blogspot.com/2009/02/mama-mio-review-giveaway.html?showComment=1233979140000#c2736262151406501694

The second is for one of my favorite things, cloth diapers! Fuzzi Bunz are some of the most popular, and I'd love to give them a try. http://makingmyamericandream.blogspot.com/2009/01/fuzzi-bunz-giveaway.html?showComment=1233979560003#c8465395642731343789

They also have some other fun giveaways going on. You know I love me a good giveaway!

I'm a Star...sort of

Check me out on the local news! http://www.keyc.com/node/16976

Moses Basket Giveaway

Enter to win a classic Baby Moses Basket from Hoohobbers. Just visit our friend and mommy blogger Cat at 3 Kids and Us to win with more great giveaways all February long.

Wipes Giveaway

I'm always interested in trying new cloth wipes. When I started cloth diapering, I got sucked into the world of cloth wipes as well. I find I save a good $15 a month by using cloth wipes, with the bonus of knowing exactly what chemicals are going on Addie's bum. Specifically, plain old H2O, although there are plenty of yummy-smelling wipes solutions out there. Anywho, if you'd like to try cloth at no cost to you, enter to win a set of luxury baby wipe cloths from Bummas. Just visit our friend and mommy blogger Cat at 3 Kids and Us to win with more great giveaways all February long.

A "Wagie Ride" for Tuesday

It's amazing how easy it is to become caught up in someone else's life out in the blog world. I was bored tonight and clicking through links on the blogs I follow and came across the heartbreaking story of little Tuesday Whitt. You can find the full story here http://half12.blogspot.com/. Basically, Tuesday was an adorable little 2 year old diagnosed with cancer last year. She passed away on January 30th, leaving behind her parents, twin sister, and two brothers. Seeing the footage of her dancing with her sister really cut to my heart, because I also have an *almost* 2 year old, who adores dancing with her own sister, and I can't help but see my own child in Tuesday. And because when Amelia had her cleft palate surgery, we spent a day and a half on the pediatric floor, surrounded by families whose children were battling cancer. It's hard to feel sorry for yourself when you realize that while you're worried that your child might need speech therapy, or MAYBE a second surgery, other parents are worried that their child won't be here next month.

Join me (weather permitting in fickle MN) in participating this Saturday in A Wagie Ride for Tuesday. See the button on my sidebar. Take a moment with your children to enjoy a wagon, bike, or stroller ride. Pray for Tuesday's family. Be thankful for your children.

Wordless Wednesday

One Day's Mail

Living the Dream

Felicia at Go Graham Go! wants to know what her readers are doing to live their dreams. Well, let me first tell you my "original dream". As a young teenager, my dream was to spend the majority of my twenties in college and graduate to become a psychologist. I wanted a full-time career as a therapist. Husband and kids were very optional. Fast-forward a few years to meeting my now-husband. I still had the career dreams, but the husband part was fast becoming less optional and more of a requirement. And he wanted kids, so I figured we could adopt some and put them in daycare.

Fast-forward a few more years to my attempt at college. I ended up coming home with a serious bout of depression, and a crippling fear of school. You've heard of the "freshmen 15"...I experienced the "freshmen -15"...in two weeks at school I lost over 10 pounds. After I got my health under control I began work at a local daycare center while I sorted out my next steps. The daycare is where my "new dream" took shape.

I adored the kids placed in my care, and fell in love with "parenting". During this time period I also became engaged (to my high school sweetie) and we started planning our future together. My dream at that point became to get married, help B finance his last year of college and start a career, buy a house, have a baby or two, and become a stay at home mom so I could pour my childcare/preschool training into my own children. And ultimately, to see them become children and men/women devoted to Christ. So here's the progress report:

B finished his last year of school and went on to a *mostly* successful electrical engineering career. ( I say mostly because he has experienced a few company closings, so has been unemployed more than once, but God has always pulled through with something better in the wings.) Once he was hired for his first "real job" we bought a little house, and a year and a half later our first daughter was born. I was blessed with the ability to stay home, and when she was two, we welcomed our second daughter. A year later, we moved into a bigger house that God dropped into our laps. We've been active in our church youth group, and our oldest started AWANA last fall. She asked Christ into her heart on the ride home one Wednesday evening.

So, long story long, am I living the dream? Let's see, I'm living in my dream house (at least it will be when I get the bathroom done and all the wallpaper down), have two gorgeous daughters that I'm able to love on all day long, one of whom is already starting to walk in her daddy and mommy's faith footsteps, am surrounded by family (that I actually get along with) and the best friends a girl could ask for, a succesful husband who after eleven years of togetherness still enjoys spending time with me and vice versa, and am helping both my parents start businesses revolving around their passions. So, yeah, other than the fact that I'd love to add a few more pairs of pitter-pattering feet, I'd have to say at least I'm living MY dream.

Don't forget to keep checking in on the Mom Time in '09 party over at Go Graham Go and Jolly Mom.

http://www.gograhamgo.com/
http://www.jollymom.com/