Feb. 6th 2013
At communion the Princess listens to the pastor carefully. She then leans over and whispers in daddy’s ear: “They have gluten free wafers”.
However, Mr. Awesome heard her say:
“They’re giving away free wafers”.
He leans over and tells me, we giggle. I write down this funny moment. Two months later, I see the note & share the story with you. {Smile}
They’re only things
WARNING: I am obsessed with being closer to Jesus, and making my home a happy place.
I’ve read some great books lately that have really changed the way I feel about “stuff”. First was Organized simplicity, then at the suggestion of my former sister-in-law, I read Almost Amish.
I feel like I am in a constant battle with STUFF. I’ve always sort of thought that it just comes with the territory of having children. But then I realized it doesn’t have to. {I wish I knew this 10 years ago, don’t you?}
My children have plenty. I remember being at a party a few years ago when a little boys rubbery outdoor ball popped. He was angry and upset. So to stop his tears, the mom quickly responded with “oh don’t worry about it, we’ll just buy you another one”.
WHAT? Did you really just tell your kid that you would buy another one? I mean even if you fully intend on replacing it… don’t make that a default.
We live in a world where everything and even some relationships are perceived as replaceable. Our landfills are full and our divorce rates are out of this world.
Our family is getting better about not getting our kids so many toys. And I want to get better about this too. You see, my kids still have so much STUFF. I don’t want to raise children that expect gifts at each birthday and holiday.
We had a garage sale a few years ago where we sold 9, YES I SAID N.I.N.E, totes FULL of toys. Big huge totes… at like a quarter a piece… it was craziness. All of our shoppers were thrilled at our great deals. Towards the end I even started filling paper sacks and boxes with toys and marking them FREE.
It made me overjoyed to not be picking up or telling my daughter to pick up her toys all of the time. But, it also made me sad. I was sad to think of all the money our family/friends (and us) had spent on those toys.
There are so many things I’d love to ask for, for my children. School supplies, like printer paper (you have no idea how much paper we go through here), tape, markers, pencils, and workbooks. They wear clothing everyday, and they actually enjoy getting clothing too. But those aren’t “fun” gifts. And really, I’d love to see quality time given as a gift. And even more so, I’d love to see money donated to a reputable charity, in their honor.
I feel like I don’t get enough quality time with my children because we are so consumed by things.
We will be having another garage sale this year. This time, I am NOT holding back, and I am not going to feel guilty about letting stuff go. Thankfully I have my practical, sentimental husband to help balance this process out. But I hope to downsize greatly.
I’m tired of feeling consumed because I feel like our house gets smaller by the day. I want my children to be creative and having too many things actually makes that much harder to do. They never have to come up with ways to improvise or use their imagination, because everything is already there for them.
It is my hope that in doing this, we will live a happier, more peaceful, God centered life. Sometimes I struggle to connect with God when I’m so consumed by the materialistic things of this world.
And just to be clear, I’m not saying our kids need to only play with rocks and sticks (although we did this earlier in the week, and they had a blast). There are some toys that I love, like Lego. Both the boy and the girl like them, and they play with them together. They can be passed down to future generations, and they are really fun for all ages.
Have any of you done this? Or wish you could, but don’t know where to start? Or are you just cool, calm, and collected when it comes to stuff?
School days: Greater than & less than
Watch “Alligator greater than by Peter Weatherall” on YouTube
Videos like this one really help my little guy to learn. Videos like this also make me think I should be making educational YouTube videos.
What fun (or not so fun) videos have your kids watched lately to help them better understand a concept?
What I heard: Birthday Party Plans
The little 5 year old boy, who is also the house comedian, just came to tell me all about his plans for his birthday party. And although he’s a funny boy, and it is April fools day, he’s not kidding!
He often refuses to eat candy, and even throws fits if it’s offered to him twice. So, I’m documenting this here so I can show it to him when he’s older, and wondering why we never got him a 6th birthday cake.
He says:
“My birthday party is only going to be about healthy food. No sugary stuff, no cake. Just meat, and peas and rice, and no milk.
And no marshmallows, and yes fireworks. Just remember to bring fireworks.”
DIY: Diaper Sprayer Shield How-To
This post contains affiliate links. You can visit my disclosure tab to learn more.
We are a cloth diapering family. I catch a lot of crap for that. Get it? Crap. Yep… Momma’s got jokes for dayyyys!
There is a product on the market similar to this and it is only about $20. However, I wasn’t able to find one to purchase as they are all out of stock everywhere I looked. Besides, I’m a DIY kind of gal anyway.
I made a quick run to the dollar store and picked up:
- 1 Plastic Clipboard
- 1 Plastic Folder.
- We already had Duct Tape on hand. I mean, what sensible person wouldn’t, right? kidding, kidding!
I attached the folder inside out so when I sprayed the water the.. um… ‘junk’ would not get stuck inside the pocket of the folder.
After I made this I anxiously waited for the baby to give me a poopy diaper to work with. {Insert your own corny “you know you’re a mom when” joke.}
The verdict:
It works, and works well! It’s not pretty, but it works amazing, and for under 4 dollars, it was definitely worth it. You could color coordinate this, cut off the pockets (or use another form of plastic), and make it pretty. I just didn’t and I’m okay with that.
Quick Update {July 2016}: This held up for over 3 years and is being tucked away for ‘someday’ when we hopefully have another little peanut to put adorable fluffy cloth diapers on.
If you’re not a DIY’er, or simply don’t have the time or ambition to make your own, check out the Spray Pal – Cloth Diaper Sprayer Splatter Shield
on Amazon. The reviews look excellent, and it’d be to your door in about 2 days with Amazon Prime.
on Amazon. The reviews look excellent, and it’d be to your door in about 2 days with Amazon Prime.Dear Momma,
In case no one has told you today, you are doing a GOOD JOB! Do not let this world make you feel guilty or ashamed for any part of the way you mother. Love and protect your babies the best you can. On the hard days I want you to breathe deep, snuggle your babies close, and don’t give up. You are amazing.
Love,
Quincey B.
My Fears Through Pregnancy, Labor, Delivery and Recovery.
Fear.
It’s been a year since I found out I was expecting our 3rd baby. We tried, cried, and prayed for this baby for y.e.a.r.s.
Each time a friend would get pregnant while we were trying to conceive I would feel joy for them, but not as much as the sadness I felt for myself. Believe me when I say I felt like everyone I knew was getting pregnant. I felt broken. I didn’t understand why things weren’t working according to my plan.
In God’s time, friends would gently remind me. Yes, I knew it would happen in His time. That didn’t make it any easier.
Even though we had tried for years to conceive another child, when I got the positive pregnancy test,
there was a thought in my mind. It was a thought so strong and so deep that at time, it was debilitating. It was an intense thought of what if something goes wrong.
What if merely getting pregnant again was enough to kill me, what if something happened to my unborn child. What if she was handicap (don’t judge me), or still born. What if I died giving birth.
There were days that I would lay on the couch sobbing because the fear was so overwhelming, and my hormones were raging.
Before I even knew I was pregnant I knew there would be something wrong in my next pregnancy, I knew that there was a chance I could lose my child or myself.
There weren’t any major medical reasons predicting that this might happen. But I felt a nudge from God to be prepared.
I guess I’m just trying to talk this all out so I can finally let my fear go and know that everything turned out okay. Whatever okay is.
My pregnancy was tough. It was really hard on me this time around, but the labor went quick and the delivery was over in a blink of an eye.
The delivery was so quick that I didn’t have time for the drugs that I had thought I wanted.
My mind was clear. I was right there. I felt every little pain and movement. I felt it all, and I took it all in. I knew exactly what was going on when my little girl came into this world.
I didn’t experience that the last time that I gave birth I was too uneducated, doped up, and didn’t have a clue which way was up.
This time as my daughter entered into this earth I took a look at her. She was blue. I was prepared for the worst. I took a deep breath. I looked across the room and saw a nurse give me a soft, sweet smile. She was familiar, I thought she was my angel, coming to take me to meet my creator. My mind was so free, and I was thinking so fast. Everything was so fast.
I took another breath, and so did she. My baby that is. My baby breathed, screamed, and her color came quickly. “Praise you, Jesus!”, I said out loud.
I didn’t realize just how a newborn looks hot off the press. My last baby was bathed, dressed, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a sweet little hat before I even remember really looking at him (we had a tough time, but that’s all in the past now).
My daughter was okay. I was okay. We lived!
That beautiful nurse handed me my baby girl and kindly asked “are you going to be nursing?”. I sheepishly replied, “I’d like to, but I don’t really know how”. She gave me that same sweet smile and put my baby to my breast. Instantly, I was feeding my baby. I felt total bliss.
.Fast forward a couple months. We did find out that our daughter has a heart defect. She has a problem with a valve and an artery. She is okay, but we don’t know if she will continue to be okay as her body grows. This tears me up inside.
Her cardiologist described it as a house getting bigger, but the door staying the same size. We love her with all our hearts, and we will keep on loving her. That, and pray, is all we can do. I believe in healing prayers. I believe that our daughter will be healed. I’m not frantic feeling, or angry with God for my daughter having this problem. He prepared me to know something was coming. Of course I wish it weren’t this way. But don’t we all have something about us that isn’t perfect? 😉 And we’re all, okay.
My daughter’s name is Grayson. She was named before she was conceived, because I knew, that through this all, I would need to be reminded to have GRACE.
Product Review: Medela Pump In Style
When you’re a mom you get to try out all sorts of gadgets and products. When you’re a nursing mom you get to try out even more!
I really love trying new products, who doesn’t love new things, right?
I had this idea that I was going to nurse my baby and we wouldn’t need a pump, bottles, formula, etc.
However, between my PCOS possibly causing low milk supply, my daughter being tongue tied & having a heart condition that physically made breast feeding difficult for her, we’ve been forced to rely on the pump.
At the suggestion of the Therapy Shoppe employee, I purchased the Medela Pump In Style, back pack version.
The Pros:
- The back pack is awfully handy, especially when we’re traveling somewhere and my hands are already full of baby gear.
- The bag is black, so no one knows I’m lugging around a breast pump.
- The pump isn’t terribly loud (see below). But my mom can tell when I’m pumping while we’re talking on the phone.
- The suction has been great so far.
- The pump is built for daily use. I was using it up to 10 times a day for about 2 months straight. More recently I’ve used it 2-3 times a day. There has been no change in the quality of the pump over 4 months time.
- Easy to clean.
- Comes with 4 bottles, ice pack, & cooler.
- Amazon sells a car adapter so you can pump in your vehicle if necessary. I bought one, but haven’t used it yet. It’s winter here in Iowa, folks. I’ll gladly awkwardly pump in other peoples homes than sit out in the cold van. haha.
The Cons:
- The pump isn’t silent. Since I mostly pump at home, this isn’t a problem for me.
- It only comes with medium flanges. You can’t specifically swap out for another size without purchasing a pair separately. For most people, this may not be a problem. But for me it was, and having the wrong size flanges caused for less milk to be pumped, and the whole process to be less comfortable. Again, you can get those on Amazon too.
I’ve used it for about 4 months and I can honestly say, YES, I would recommend this product to a friend!
The Boy Turns Five and a Half
This past Saturday our family celebrated something special. Even though we didn’t celebrate in the way we normally do, because we were busy cleaning and taking care of household things we were still celebrating. The celebration was marking 5 and a half years of what we call “The Carben1 Comedy Tour”. Yes it’s hard to believe it just 5 half years ago we welcomed our son into this world.
I wholeheartedly enjoy this boy so very much. There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t make me smile and laugh and sometimes do one of those rolling on the floor laughing things everyone post about online. I mean, do people really do that after they read something funny? Doubtful.
Spend a day around this sweet little boy and you too will be rolling on the floor laughing. So Jesus, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for my little boy, my joy.
I know that someday he will grow up to be an amazing husband, like his father is. He will be a wonderful father to his children and he will make all of his friends laugh just like he does for me now. When that day comes I have no doubt in my mind that he will still love his mother very much, but I know so much of him will be with his own family then and so these days I have him so very close I will cherish.
School Days: Magnets On an Oil Drip Pan
This sweet boy is independently practicing his 3 letter words.
We use a large oil drip pan from Wal-Mart or an auto supply store (about $10) to attach our kid magnets to. I like this way better than getting scratches on the fridge. The magnets nicely fit in a tote when not in use, and the oil pan can easily slide behind a piece of furniture.
Product review: Graco Nasal Clear Nasal Aspirator.
If there is one product that I’d recommend to new parents above all the others, it’d be the Graco Nasal Clear Nasal Aspirator.
I can’t remember where I first saw it, maybe the big box store.
The Pros:
*Quickly and effectively gets the snot out
*No holding the baby down fighting with the bulb syringe.
*No bulb to wash out and hope you got it all the water out so you’re not flushing mold into your babies nose the next time you use it.
*It comes with a handy bag to keep all the parts in (there are two different tips).
*It easily fits in the diaper bag and can go anywhere you go.
The Cons:
Maybe the cost, I mean $20, for another baby item. Trust me though, this one is worth it!
You really should clean it after each use, which takes a little time, but much less than the bulb syringe… I leave it at the changing station and clean it after each day we use it. To clean it I just turn on the water and press the button to get a tiny bit of water in it, then I take it apart and wash it. Less than 2 minutes. Easy peasy!
Our son had a milk allergy that caused a constant runny nose (yuck!). This thing was a life saver!
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