So, this isn't some crazy important lesson I've learned, or some mind-blowing event that took place in my life. But this week, I made a homemade cheesecake for the first time ever. And it was amazing!
I absolutely love anything that has to do with cooking and baking. In fact, I volunteer to spend most of my afternoon in the kitchen cooking so that my mom didn't have to because I just wanted to spend my time in one of my most favorite rooms in the house. Now that I'm a momma of two, I don't get to spend near us much time cooking and baking as I would like to. But I started my first Thanksgiving food project a couple of days ago.
I go crazy over Olive Garden's Pumpkin Cheesecake. The awful thing is that they only serve it around fall every year, so I have to get my fill of it when it's actually available. I decided I wanted it with Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I set off on an internet search for the closest recipe possible. After finding what looked like the best candidate (http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-pumpkin-cheesecake-458678) I started gathering my supplies, and the confidence in the kitchen to make one of the more difficult recipes I've done. Cheesecakes have always intimidated me. I've heard horror stories of cracked cheesecakes, ones that fall apart before you cut them, and cutting into seemingly-baked cheesecakes only to have raw goo pour out from the middle. So needless to say, I researched every single thing possible to make sure that those stories didn't happen to me!
I probably spent a ridiculous amount of time making sure that I had every detail perfect. I followed the recipe to a "t," reading and rereading it the couple days prior to baking. I searched for cheesecake baking tips and followed every one that seemed to be smart. I freaked out every step of the way. And I constantly wished that it wasn't against food etiquette to cut a slice of my cheesecake before Thanksgiving!
After all of that work, and a huge mess in my kitchen, I had a baked a cheesecake with no cracks, no jelly-like center, and no crumbling crust. And then I had to wait two days to cut into it! As I sliced the first piece tonight, I was seriously sweating. Then I spread my homemade whipped cream onto it (UH-MAZ-ING!,) garnished with gingersnaps and caramel sauce, and gave out the plates. And listened to the quiet of my family eating and the "mmmmmmmmmm" sound that soon followed.
I had done it! I conquered a (ridiculous) fear of mine and successfully baked my first free-standing flavored cheesecake. And it is probably one of the best things I have ever made.
Next challenge: Gingerbread Cheesecake at for Christmas dinner with the in-laws. I'm ready to take it on now!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
My Family Is Too Important.
Yep. I did it again. I haven't written in... Well... The time doesn't need to be mentioned. But you will understand why when you read this post. And you will also learn that my "every day" goal is being knocked down to "twice a week."
I have a problem. I get busy too easily. I always find something to occupy my time and I have a horrible habit of always saying, "Yes!" That may not seem like that bad of a habit, until you factor in that I have a husband, two children, and myself to take care of, on top of all of the other responsibilities that I take on. I recently had a bit of a wake up call about my busy-ness.
My children are growing up so quickly, and most of my time is spent cleaning, organizing, emailing, typing, or reading, and taking care of the things I have committed to doing for others. I love my friends. I love my (extended) family. I love my church family. But my immediate family is what is most important in my life, aside from God. And I am watching them pass by me and spending minimal amounts of time pouring into them. It seems like there is always an event to attend, an errand to run, a schedule to make, or a book I have to read (whether for pleasure, or because I'm asked to.) And as I take care of those responsibilities, I get irritated when my children, or time itself, don't cooperate and allow me to finish the tasks I need to. But while I wrote out my to-do list the other day and flipped the page because I ran out of room, I realized that no where on that list is, "Build towers with Cameron," or "Baby Talk with Bennett," or "Cuddle with Hubby." And "Put Your Feet Up and Relax," was definitely not on the list. Instead, I needed to clean, organize, bake a cake, make a gift, read a chapter of a book, write a blog post, etc.... I try to make my to-do lists in order of priority. Devotional time is always at the top, but it somehow gets pushed down further every day. So, not only am I straying from spending time with my family, but from spending time with my Heavenly Father as well.
So I have resolved to change that. Before I bother to even start the dishes, I will play cars or build towers with Cameron. I will cuddle and chat with Ben. When my husband gets home and the kids are asleep, I will cuddle with him instead of read or play a game on my phone or bake something. This seems like a great change, right? Of course it does!... Until I realize that by re-prioritizing my days, I will need to say "no." It is such a hard word for me to say. I have always striven to be liked by everyone I know. I want to please them and show them that I am committed to our relationship. But being committed doesn't mean that I always have to do everything I am asked to do. I can't always bake the cake they need. I can't always read some of that book they "assigned" to me. I can't always attend that meeting. And that will just have to be okay.
The holidays are approaching, and so is one of the times I dread. I have always loved Thanksgiving and Christmas. I used to love traveling. Then I had children. Such little humans require so many things when you go on trips, and sleeping in places besides home doesn't happen easily for them or me. I end up coming home from holiday "vacation" exhausted and stressed with a ton of laundry (and gifts, at Christmas time) to sort. We are entering the time when everyone wants us to be somewhere. I feel like it is completely impossible to make everyone happy unless you travel to visit everyone you know for every single holiday. That's a lot of every-s. And honestly, I don't like it. I shouldn't be spending my favorite time of year stressing about who I'm upsetting by staying in one place for too long. I shouldn't be worried that someone will look down on me for staying home with my sweet little family for Christmas day instead of traveling in the car. But I still do. I worry and wish I could have planned differently and I stress until I can't sleep. If I had my way, we would stay in the comfort of our home and people would come see us instead of us lugging everything out of our home and inevitably bringing back twice as much, because there are always leftovers, new clothes, or new toys that someone wants to send with us. It doesn't matter if we are visiting family or friends, the stress is still the same. A vacation to me is just a trip away from our comfortable home, and I'm still Mom and still in-demand 24/7. I'm fine being Mom all the time. I love it. But when you add additional stressors, it gets HARD! (Side note: I love all of our extended family, and I enjoy spending time with them and doing fun things together. I'm assuming that is a known when I type this. It's the traveling part of vacations that I don't enjoy.)
I want to see all of our family for the holidays. I want to be okay with traveling constantly. I want to be fine with us taking our time off work to be away from home. (I think people forget about that last part.) But I can't. It's something I have struggled with for over two years now and I probably always will. I don't think families should feel like visits always have to be alternated, or equal amounts of time, yet I place that burden on myself and try to make everything fair. No one even has to mention fairness or holiday visits for me to start worrying. I do it to myself.
This year, I want to try my best to enjoy my holiday season with my family of four. We may not be in our home, but we will be all together. I will love the time we spend with our extended family, but at the end of the day, the time I spent with my husband and little boys is what matters most to me. And I will start saving money like crazy so that we can one day have our own home and people can come visit us for a holiday and maybe I won't stress as much. But I still probably will.
Because my family is TOO important. They are TOO important for me to need to have all the laundry and dishes cleaned. They are TOO important for me to have to make that schedule and read that book when I haven't spoken kind words to them yet today. They are TOO important for me to worry about writing a blog post more than twice a week. And they are TOO important for me to worry about pleasing everyone that I know. I care about making God and the three guys that live under my roof happy. And that's just going to have to be okay from now on.
I have a problem. I get busy too easily. I always find something to occupy my time and I have a horrible habit of always saying, "Yes!" That may not seem like that bad of a habit, until you factor in that I have a husband, two children, and myself to take care of, on top of all of the other responsibilities that I take on. I recently had a bit of a wake up call about my busy-ness.
My children are growing up so quickly, and most of my time is spent cleaning, organizing, emailing, typing, or reading, and taking care of the things I have committed to doing for others. I love my friends. I love my (extended) family. I love my church family. But my immediate family is what is most important in my life, aside from God. And I am watching them pass by me and spending minimal amounts of time pouring into them. It seems like there is always an event to attend, an errand to run, a schedule to make, or a book I have to read (whether for pleasure, or because I'm asked to.) And as I take care of those responsibilities, I get irritated when my children, or time itself, don't cooperate and allow me to finish the tasks I need to. But while I wrote out my to-do list the other day and flipped the page because I ran out of room, I realized that no where on that list is, "Build towers with Cameron," or "Baby Talk with Bennett," or "Cuddle with Hubby." And "Put Your Feet Up and Relax," was definitely not on the list. Instead, I needed to clean, organize, bake a cake, make a gift, read a chapter of a book, write a blog post, etc.... I try to make my to-do lists in order of priority. Devotional time is always at the top, but it somehow gets pushed down further every day. So, not only am I straying from spending time with my family, but from spending time with my Heavenly Father as well.
So I have resolved to change that. Before I bother to even start the dishes, I will play cars or build towers with Cameron. I will cuddle and chat with Ben. When my husband gets home and the kids are asleep, I will cuddle with him instead of read or play a game on my phone or bake something. This seems like a great change, right? Of course it does!... Until I realize that by re-prioritizing my days, I will need to say "no." It is such a hard word for me to say. I have always striven to be liked by everyone I know. I want to please them and show them that I am committed to our relationship. But being committed doesn't mean that I always have to do everything I am asked to do. I can't always bake the cake they need. I can't always read some of that book they "assigned" to me. I can't always attend that meeting. And that will just have to be okay.
The holidays are approaching, and so is one of the times I dread. I have always loved Thanksgiving and Christmas. I used to love traveling. Then I had children. Such little humans require so many things when you go on trips, and sleeping in places besides home doesn't happen easily for them or me. I end up coming home from holiday "vacation" exhausted and stressed with a ton of laundry (and gifts, at Christmas time) to sort. We are entering the time when everyone wants us to be somewhere. I feel like it is completely impossible to make everyone happy unless you travel to visit everyone you know for every single holiday. That's a lot of every-s. And honestly, I don't like it. I shouldn't be spending my favorite time of year stressing about who I'm upsetting by staying in one place for too long. I shouldn't be worried that someone will look down on me for staying home with my sweet little family for Christmas day instead of traveling in the car. But I still do. I worry and wish I could have planned differently and I stress until I can't sleep. If I had my way, we would stay in the comfort of our home and people would come see us instead of us lugging everything out of our home and inevitably bringing back twice as much, because there are always leftovers, new clothes, or new toys that someone wants to send with us. It doesn't matter if we are visiting family or friends, the stress is still the same. A vacation to me is just a trip away from our comfortable home, and I'm still Mom and still in-demand 24/7. I'm fine being Mom all the time. I love it. But when you add additional stressors, it gets HARD! (Side note: I love all of our extended family, and I enjoy spending time with them and doing fun things together. I'm assuming that is a known when I type this. It's the traveling part of vacations that I don't enjoy.)
I want to see all of our family for the holidays. I want to be okay with traveling constantly. I want to be fine with us taking our time off work to be away from home. (I think people forget about that last part.) But I can't. It's something I have struggled with for over two years now and I probably always will. I don't think families should feel like visits always have to be alternated, or equal amounts of time, yet I place that burden on myself and try to make everything fair. No one even has to mention fairness or holiday visits for me to start worrying. I do it to myself.
This year, I want to try my best to enjoy my holiday season with my family of four. We may not be in our home, but we will be all together. I will love the time we spend with our extended family, but at the end of the day, the time I spent with my husband and little boys is what matters most to me. And I will start saving money like crazy so that we can one day have our own home and people can come visit us for a holiday and maybe I won't stress as much. But I still probably will.
Because my family is TOO important. They are TOO important for me to need to have all the laundry and dishes cleaned. They are TOO important for me to have to make that schedule and read that book when I haven't spoken kind words to them yet today. They are TOO important for me to worry about writing a blog post more than twice a week. And they are TOO important for me to worry about pleasing everyone that I know. I care about making God and the three guys that live under my roof happy. And that's just going to have to be okay from now on.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Birthday Parties Aren't Stressful... When They Aren't At Your House!
Saturday was my son's second birthday party. (He turns two on November 11. Yep... He was an 11/11/11 baby. I'm awesome.)
Last year at his first birthday party, I tried to do everything. I cooked a full meal. Meatballs, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, chicken. You name it. I made it. I baked cupcakes, made homemade decorations, spent hours toiling over every single detail, and invited everyone I knew that had children. And you know what? Besides the pictures, I barely remember it. I do remember being so stressed and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. (Excuse the cliche.) And I remember after it was over, saying "We get to do this every year?? Yay..." Sense the sarcasm?
So this year, I went a different route. I really didn't have the time to invest in a ton of homemade decorations, and we had so much food left over last year that I didn't see the sense in cooking a feast again. And cleanup last year was awful after all of that work! So I rented out the Children's Discovery Museum here in our town. I baked a simple box cake and cupcakes and used canned icing and sprinkles. I bought two tablecloths, colored plates and napkins, and one helium balloon. And I got a veggie tray and a few bags of chips. Ta-da. Instant birthday party with very little fuss. We invited a small group of friends that our son sees on a weekly basis, mostly little boys from our church family and their siblings. I did stretch out of my plan and make treat bags... out of the leftover Halloween candy that I didn't want to keep in the house. I will remember this trick every year for his parties.
And guess what? I know that it just happened, but I remember it! I got to talk to some parents. I got to play with my son. I took my own pictures. And it was amazing! Yes, I did pay a fee to rent the museum, but compared to the amount of money and time I spent on all of the food and decorations last year, it was so worth it! The best part was that when you rent the museum, you get it for a two hour block. The first and last fifteen minutes were set aside for setup and tear down. So when it was time to go, our family helped us gather the little bit of items we had brought and out the door we went. And I came home to my clean home with a few fun presents, I put on comfy clothes, and I watched football.
Best birthday party day ever. I don't think I will ever throw a crazy intricate fully-homemade party again. Because I guarantee my son and his ten friends had so much fun Saturday that they didn't care one bit about what I decorated with and what they ate. Except the cake. They all liked the cake. :)
Last year at his first birthday party, I tried to do everything. I cooked a full meal. Meatballs, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, chicken. You name it. I made it. I baked cupcakes, made homemade decorations, spent hours toiling over every single detail, and invited everyone I knew that had children. And you know what? Besides the pictures, I barely remember it. I do remember being so stressed and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. (Excuse the cliche.) And I remember after it was over, saying "We get to do this every year?? Yay..." Sense the sarcasm?
So this year, I went a different route. I really didn't have the time to invest in a ton of homemade decorations, and we had so much food left over last year that I didn't see the sense in cooking a feast again. And cleanup last year was awful after all of that work! So I rented out the Children's Discovery Museum here in our town. I baked a simple box cake and cupcakes and used canned icing and sprinkles. I bought two tablecloths, colored plates and napkins, and one helium balloon. And I got a veggie tray and a few bags of chips. Ta-da. Instant birthday party with very little fuss. We invited a small group of friends that our son sees on a weekly basis, mostly little boys from our church family and their siblings. I did stretch out of my plan and make treat bags... out of the leftover Halloween candy that I didn't want to keep in the house. I will remember this trick every year for his parties.
And guess what? I know that it just happened, but I remember it! I got to talk to some parents. I got to play with my son. I took my own pictures. And it was amazing! Yes, I did pay a fee to rent the museum, but compared to the amount of money and time I spent on all of the food and decorations last year, it was so worth it! The best part was that when you rent the museum, you get it for a two hour block. The first and last fifteen minutes were set aside for setup and tear down. So when it was time to go, our family helped us gather the little bit of items we had brought and out the door we went. And I came home to my clean home with a few fun presents, I put on comfy clothes, and I watched football.
Best birthday party day ever. I don't think I will ever throw a crazy intricate fully-homemade party again. Because I guarantee my son and his ten friends had so much fun Saturday that they didn't care one bit about what I decorated with and what they ate. Except the cake. They all liked the cake. :)
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Don't Ever Expect A Bad Day To Stay Bad
I don't like to start my day off rough. The worst start to a day for me is waking up at 6:00am after being up every two hours all night long. Which is exactly what happened to me last night.
I love my children. But it is so hard to stay optimistic and make the day fun for your kids when you can't think straight because your head hurts and you can't keep your eyes open. To make matters worse, my almost-two-year-old was so grouchy and defiant today, and our almost-three-month-old was a gassy mess for some reason. After being awake for only three hours, I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown and it was barely 9:30am. At that point, I realized that the day needed to turn around. Fast!
And then, the miraculous happened! Well, miraculous to me, at least. The boys fell asleep at the same time! Which means I got to nap too! And they napped for almost two straight hours. I woke up feeling refreshed and so much better! We colored. We played. They even cooperated so that I could clean up some of the house! I had counted the day out and assumed I would want to pass out as soon as they went to bed without having any time to relax a bit.
To top off the good afternoon, we went out to eat as a family with some friends of ours, then stuck around at the local restaurant to listen to a friend of ours play along with some great friends of ours. And of course, we ate some delicious food because Black Bear is amazing! (If you live in Morgantown and have never eaten there, you are really missing out!)
After getting my belly filled with delicious food and finally having some adult conversation, we came home and I got to watch my son play pirates with his Daddy, thanks to his birthday gifts from his buddy, Jacob. While they played, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law, Sarah, and got to catch up for a while. It's so nice to have conversations with people that you don't get to see often, especially family!
I know this post is just me rambling about all the stuff I did today. But this was a pretty big lesson for me. I am so good at counting a day out after a few hours of bad attitudes or a crappy night's sleep. But today I learned that just because a few little things get me down, I need to continue to be optimistic. When I look back on my days, most of them have been amazing. There really has never been a day that started bad and ended badly also. So from now on, I won't count out a day just because of a few bad hours. My life is so awesome, even on the bad days. Thank you, God, for the crazy awesome life I live!
I love my children. But it is so hard to stay optimistic and make the day fun for your kids when you can't think straight because your head hurts and you can't keep your eyes open. To make matters worse, my almost-two-year-old was so grouchy and defiant today, and our almost-three-month-old was a gassy mess for some reason. After being awake for only three hours, I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown and it was barely 9:30am. At that point, I realized that the day needed to turn around. Fast!
And then, the miraculous happened! Well, miraculous to me, at least. The boys fell asleep at the same time! Which means I got to nap too! And they napped for almost two straight hours. I woke up feeling refreshed and so much better! We colored. We played. They even cooperated so that I could clean up some of the house! I had counted the day out and assumed I would want to pass out as soon as they went to bed without having any time to relax a bit.
To top off the good afternoon, we went out to eat as a family with some friends of ours, then stuck around at the local restaurant to listen to a friend of ours play along with some great friends of ours. And of course, we ate some delicious food because Black Bear is amazing! (If you live in Morgantown and have never eaten there, you are really missing out!)
After getting my belly filled with delicious food and finally having some adult conversation, we came home and I got to watch my son play pirates with his Daddy, thanks to his birthday gifts from his buddy, Jacob. While they played, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law, Sarah, and got to catch up for a while. It's so nice to have conversations with people that you don't get to see often, especially family!
I know this post is just me rambling about all the stuff I did today. But this was a pretty big lesson for me. I am so good at counting a day out after a few hours of bad attitudes or a crappy night's sleep. But today I learned that just because a few little things get me down, I need to continue to be optimistic. When I look back on my days, most of them have been amazing. There really has never been a day that started bad and ended badly also. So from now on, I won't count out a day just because of a few bad hours. My life is so awesome, even on the bad days. Thank you, God, for the crazy awesome life I live!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
We Are Incredibly Blessed
My son turns two years old on Monday. First off, whoa. Where in the world did the last two years go? Time has went by fast since I met my husband because life has been so awesome, but since we have had our children, it has flown by! Along with a birthday comes a birthday party. We have planned a small get together with family and some little boy friends of his this weekend, and with everyone that will be coming into town, I figured I should get the house back in order so as to not add to the chaos of a birthday party weekend. Since we had our second son almost three months ago, I still haven't gotten back into the swing of things as far as housekeeping goes. Going from being a mother of one to a mother of two hasn't been very difficult for me... as long as you don't look at the upstairs of my home.
Having two children, especially when one is a newborn, has made it a bit harder to keep things as neat and tidy as I like. I prefer to spend my time doing things with my family over organizing at times, and the holidays are quickly approaching, so it gets hectic. Our youngest son is also growing incredibly fast, and sped through wearing all the clothes we had up to size 6 months already, so I am constantly pulling out the next size up of my eldest son's hand-me-downs.
As I sorted through tiny clothing and vacuum-bagged some things today, I looked around the room and was hit with this overwhelming sense of gratitude. We as a family have been so amazingly blessed. Sure, there are things we want but we don't need for anything. We have a comfortable home that, while it has some storage space issues, allows for us to be warm, dry, and have guests over. We have clothing that is in great condition. The boys even have so much clothing that I have had to give some away due to lack of space! We have shoes. We eat three meals a day. We are all very healthy, aside from a cold here and there. We have never experienced great or unexpected loss And we have one another to love.
It's easy to sometimes dwell on the bad. Money is occassionally tight, but I believe every family goes through a period like that. I would love to eat something besides the same things over and over for dinners, but I'm happy to have what we do. We don't have enough bad to outweigh the good in our life. I cannot believe how gracious God has been to us to allow us to live the wonderful life that we do.
Our children will be growing up in a world that is becoming more me-focused by the day. Because of this, we have decide to forego the usual Santa tradition for one we have come up with ourselves. Every year, in the spirit of St. Nicholas, our children will choose gifts to give to other children in need. Winter coats, shoes, toys. Whatever the child may need. And we will deliver the gifts around Christmastime so that our kids can see how great it is to see someone's face light up when you are able to bless them from the abundance you have been given. I pray that we are able to show our children how to love others and give from their hearts because of all that we have been blessed with. Perhaps we can help others feel just as blessed as we do.
Having two children, especially when one is a newborn, has made it a bit harder to keep things as neat and tidy as I like. I prefer to spend my time doing things with my family over organizing at times, and the holidays are quickly approaching, so it gets hectic. Our youngest son is also growing incredibly fast, and sped through wearing all the clothes we had up to size 6 months already, so I am constantly pulling out the next size up of my eldest son's hand-me-downs.
As I sorted through tiny clothing and vacuum-bagged some things today, I looked around the room and was hit with this overwhelming sense of gratitude. We as a family have been so amazingly blessed. Sure, there are things we want but we don't need for anything. We have a comfortable home that, while it has some storage space issues, allows for us to be warm, dry, and have guests over. We have clothing that is in great condition. The boys even have so much clothing that I have had to give some away due to lack of space! We have shoes. We eat three meals a day. We are all very healthy, aside from a cold here and there. We have never experienced great or unexpected loss And we have one another to love.
It's easy to sometimes dwell on the bad. Money is occassionally tight, but I believe every family goes through a period like that. I would love to eat something besides the same things over and over for dinners, but I'm happy to have what we do. We don't have enough bad to outweigh the good in our life. I cannot believe how gracious God has been to us to allow us to live the wonderful life that we do.
Our children will be growing up in a world that is becoming more me-focused by the day. Because of this, we have decide to forego the usual Santa tradition for one we have come up with ourselves. Every year, in the spirit of St. Nicholas, our children will choose gifts to give to other children in need. Winter coats, shoes, toys. Whatever the child may need. And we will deliver the gifts around Christmastime so that our kids can see how great it is to see someone's face light up when you are able to bless them from the abundance you have been given. I pray that we are able to show our children how to love others and give from their hearts because of all that we have been blessed with. Perhaps we can help others feel just as blessed as we do.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Being Prepared Feels Awesome!
No crazy, life-changing, mind-shattering revelation today. But I did learn something that is just awesome!
I am a fairly organized person. I plan our menus at least a week in advance. I love to cook ahead and freeze meals. I write everything on the calendar. And I have a daily to-do list. But one thing that always sneaks up on me and that I'm never prepared for is Christmas. I absolutely love the holiday. Everyone is cheerful and places are decorated beautifully. And my most favorite thing in the world to do is give people gifts! (Just as a general disclaimer, we don't believe that gifts are the best thing about Christmas, but when you know you are buying presents because of the awesome gift that God gave us in His son, Jesus, giving gifts is even more enjoyable!) I don't really love shopping, but when I'm buying things for someone else, (especially my boys!) I go crazy!
Despite my love for the holiday, I typically find myself shopping up to the week before Christmas, and wrapping on Christmas Eve! (We don't do Santa in our home so wrapping gifts before Christmas and having them around where our kids can see them isn't a big deal. I'm sure that will change when they start wanting to open them, though!) I decided that this year was going to be different. No last minute rushing. No spending all that money on gifts within a couple weeks. No wrapping until midnight the night before we leave to visit family. Especially since we have a fairly new baby and things are kind of hectic right now.
So, we started shopping in August. See something someone might like on sale? Scoop it up! Make gift baskets so we can buy a few different items. And slowly, we have come to accumulate a mound of gifts for our family! The best part is that we have been able to purchase more, better quality gifts for everyone because we took advantage of so many great deals and spread our shopping out for months instead of into one hurried month.
The other great part? As of tonight, aside from stocking stuffers that don't get wrapped, every single gift we have bought is already wrapped, labeled, and ready for ribbon! (I don't do that until closer to Christmas because the pretty bows get smashed when storing.) We only have a few gifts left to buy, and a few things we are waiting on to be delivered, but I am already 80% done shopping and it is only the beginning of November! I'm so excited that I don't have to stress about getting gifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year (though I will still go check out some Black Friday deals for last minute things.)
Now for the hard part... Waiting almost two months to give everyone their gifts! Thankfully my son's birthday party is this weekend, so I can at least give him a few things. ;)
I am a fairly organized person. I plan our menus at least a week in advance. I love to cook ahead and freeze meals. I write everything on the calendar. And I have a daily to-do list. But one thing that always sneaks up on me and that I'm never prepared for is Christmas. I absolutely love the holiday. Everyone is cheerful and places are decorated beautifully. And my most favorite thing in the world to do is give people gifts! (Just as a general disclaimer, we don't believe that gifts are the best thing about Christmas, but when you know you are buying presents because of the awesome gift that God gave us in His son, Jesus, giving gifts is even more enjoyable!) I don't really love shopping, but when I'm buying things for someone else, (especially my boys!) I go crazy!
Despite my love for the holiday, I typically find myself shopping up to the week before Christmas, and wrapping on Christmas Eve! (We don't do Santa in our home so wrapping gifts before Christmas and having them around where our kids can see them isn't a big deal. I'm sure that will change when they start wanting to open them, though!) I decided that this year was going to be different. No last minute rushing. No spending all that money on gifts within a couple weeks. No wrapping until midnight the night before we leave to visit family. Especially since we have a fairly new baby and things are kind of hectic right now.
So, we started shopping in August. See something someone might like on sale? Scoop it up! Make gift baskets so we can buy a few different items. And slowly, we have come to accumulate a mound of gifts for our family! The best part is that we have been able to purchase more, better quality gifts for everyone because we took advantage of so many great deals and spread our shopping out for months instead of into one hurried month.
The other great part? As of tonight, aside from stocking stuffers that don't get wrapped, every single gift we have bought is already wrapped, labeled, and ready for ribbon! (I don't do that until closer to Christmas because the pretty bows get smashed when storing.) We only have a few gifts left to buy, and a few things we are waiting on to be delivered, but I am already 80% done shopping and it is only the beginning of November! I'm so excited that I don't have to stress about getting gifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year (though I will still go check out some Black Friday deals for last minute things.)
Now for the hard part... Waiting almost two months to give everyone their gifts! Thankfully my son's birthday party is this weekend, so I can at least give him a few things. ;)
Monday, November 4, 2013
Mommies Don't Get To Wake Up Early (At Least Not By Their Own Doing)
I have been slacking in the area of spending quality time with God. I don't remember the last time I sat down and read my bible more than just to know the passage we were covering in Sunday service or our community group. I've been "Read(ing) Through the Bible in a Year" for going on two years now. My only regular prayer time is in the evenings when we pray together before my son goes to bed. And by the end of the day I feel like I've been drug through the mud because I just feel so heavy.
I don't understand why we hesitate to set aside time for God. When I read and pray regularly, I feel amazing! I feel refreshed, I can take on the day with a more positive attitude, and I know I'm a more pleasant person and better wife and mom when I'm in constant fellowship with God. So why is it so easy to push Him away? It's just like exercise... I know that I want to exercise. I know that it makes me feel better about myself and provides me with so much more energy. But I never find time for it despite all of the reasons I want to! And when I do, the "habit" last for about two weeks and then I push it aside again.
After listening to the sermon yesterday and talking about a few things in our community group last night, I realized that I truly desire to be in a more constant fellowship with Christ not only for myself, but for my husband and children. I want to be more pleasant in every day life. I want to be able to teach my children about how awesome God is throughout the day when they are at home with me. I desire to meet my neighbors and get to know them on more than just a wave-as-I-drive-by level and to potentially share the good news of Christ with them. So I decided to start being more intentional about setting aside a chunk of my time to learn about and talk with God.
When I went to bed last night, I set my alarm for 7:00am. My eldest son usually wakes up around 7:45am, and our youngest is sometimes asleep, but when he's awake he's content just staring at a light fixture or a dangling toy. So that would give me a nice chunk of time to start out my day with some fellowship with God. And, of course, the inevitable (and usual) happened... At 6:55am, five minutes before my alarm was set to go off, I hear, "Hey! Mommy! Daddy!" over the monitor. I hit the button to turn on the video and sure enough, my eldest son was standing at his door yelling for us. (He has yet to figure out how to turn regular round doorknobs. I consider this a blessing.)
So, I began my day like every other one today. And I realized that if I want to spend time with God, I'm probably going to have to be even more intentional than waking up at 7:00am. I feel like any morning time starting sooner than that is still bedtime, so I'm not quite sure I can crack into waking up at 6:30am. But I do have a nice hour and a half chunk of time in the afternoon that is called naptime. I so enjoy taking a nap during that time, especially since I do have a newborn who still enjoys waking up multiple times throughout the night. But perhaps I need to learn to go to sleep before 10:30pm and find my rejuvenation during the day in the refreshment of God's Word. The thing that makes me more pleasant in the morning is surely able to help in the afternoon just the same.
So, we'll see how this afternoon goes. And maybe one day I will get to wake up in the morning when my alarm goes off and not when someone yells for me. We'll work on the exercise thing later.
I don't understand why we hesitate to set aside time for God. When I read and pray regularly, I feel amazing! I feel refreshed, I can take on the day with a more positive attitude, and I know I'm a more pleasant person and better wife and mom when I'm in constant fellowship with God. So why is it so easy to push Him away? It's just like exercise... I know that I want to exercise. I know that it makes me feel better about myself and provides me with so much more energy. But I never find time for it despite all of the reasons I want to! And when I do, the "habit" last for about two weeks and then I push it aside again.
After listening to the sermon yesterday and talking about a few things in our community group last night, I realized that I truly desire to be in a more constant fellowship with Christ not only for myself, but for my husband and children. I want to be more pleasant in every day life. I want to be able to teach my children about how awesome God is throughout the day when they are at home with me. I desire to meet my neighbors and get to know them on more than just a wave-as-I-drive-by level and to potentially share the good news of Christ with them. So I decided to start being more intentional about setting aside a chunk of my time to learn about and talk with God.
When I went to bed last night, I set my alarm for 7:00am. My eldest son usually wakes up around 7:45am, and our youngest is sometimes asleep, but when he's awake he's content just staring at a light fixture or a dangling toy. So that would give me a nice chunk of time to start out my day with some fellowship with God. And, of course, the inevitable (and usual) happened... At 6:55am, five minutes before my alarm was set to go off, I hear, "Hey! Mommy! Daddy!" over the monitor. I hit the button to turn on the video and sure enough, my eldest son was standing at his door yelling for us. (He has yet to figure out how to turn regular round doorknobs. I consider this a blessing.)
So, I began my day like every other one today. And I realized that if I want to spend time with God, I'm probably going to have to be even more intentional than waking up at 7:00am. I feel like any morning time starting sooner than that is still bedtime, so I'm not quite sure I can crack into waking up at 6:30am. But I do have a nice hour and a half chunk of time in the afternoon that is called naptime. I so enjoy taking a nap during that time, especially since I do have a newborn who still enjoys waking up multiple times throughout the night. But perhaps I need to learn to go to sleep before 10:30pm and find my rejuvenation during the day in the refreshment of God's Word. The thing that makes me more pleasant in the morning is surely able to help in the afternoon just the same.
So, we'll see how this afternoon goes. And maybe one day I will get to wake up in the morning when my alarm goes off and not when someone yells for me. We'll work on the exercise thing later.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
What I Learned To Do With My Extra Hour
It's that time of year that I used to look forward to. That weekend when you get this magical extra hour of something. For me, that something was always sleep! Glorious, refreshing, sound sleep. Then I became a mother.
Children don't understand the concept of an extra hour of sleep. They go to bed at their normal 8:00pm bedtime. And they wake up 12 hours later. It doesn't matter what the clock says. I know this concept well. This isn't my first time experiencing a time change with children. And yet I made a dumb mistake... Instead of going to bed so I could at least get the normal amount of sleep, I decided to stay awake until after midnight. Which is about two hours later than my usual bedtime!
As I laid down to go to sleep, I thought about how tired I was going to be in the morning. Sundays tend to be long days for us, so I like to get to bed early on Saturday evenings. I expected to wake up grouchy and frustrated, especially since it was our two-month-old's first night in his own room. But when I woke up this morning, I felt great! And my day was great! How in the world did I go to sleep so late, not get to gain an extra hour of sleep, and still wake up happy?
Because I realized that I didn't need an extra hour of sleep. Or an extra hour of tv time. Or an extra hour to myself. I was given the privilege to be a mom for an extra hour today. I got to wake up early and enjoy time with my husband and children. I got ready for service in plenty of time, listened to a wonderful sermon, took advantage of some great Christmas shopping deals, took a nap with my son, and attended our awesome Community Group. I realized that sleep doesn't matter as much as having more time to be with the people that mean the most to me. My goal now is to remember every day that I've been given the gift of time with my family, and I pray that I use that time wisely and help my family to grow strong together.
I guess time changes aren't that bad after all. Sometimes they give you a better outlook on life.
Children don't understand the concept of an extra hour of sleep. They go to bed at their normal 8:00pm bedtime. And they wake up 12 hours later. It doesn't matter what the clock says. I know this concept well. This isn't my first time experiencing a time change with children. And yet I made a dumb mistake... Instead of going to bed so I could at least get the normal amount of sleep, I decided to stay awake until after midnight. Which is about two hours later than my usual bedtime!
As I laid down to go to sleep, I thought about how tired I was going to be in the morning. Sundays tend to be long days for us, so I like to get to bed early on Saturday evenings. I expected to wake up grouchy and frustrated, especially since it was our two-month-old's first night in his own room. But when I woke up this morning, I felt great! And my day was great! How in the world did I go to sleep so late, not get to gain an extra hour of sleep, and still wake up happy?
Because I realized that I didn't need an extra hour of sleep. Or an extra hour of tv time. Or an extra hour to myself. I was given the privilege to be a mom for an extra hour today. I got to wake up early and enjoy time with my husband and children. I got ready for service in plenty of time, listened to a wonderful sermon, took advantage of some great Christmas shopping deals, took a nap with my son, and attended our awesome Community Group. I realized that sleep doesn't matter as much as having more time to be with the people that mean the most to me. My goal now is to remember every day that I've been given the gift of time with my family, and I pray that I use that time wisely and help my family to grow strong together.
I guess time changes aren't that bad after all. Sometimes they give you a better outlook on life.
Sweatpants are Too Comfortable to Not Wear.
Yes, I already missed a day. But in my defense, I was busy wrapping birthday and Christmas presents, and spending time with my family. So I'll just post twice today and then it's like it never happened ;)
On Saturday, we all woke up and knew we had some errands we needed to run. In our family, weekend days without some type of obligations come around very infrequently, so we tend to be exhausted by the end of the weekend. This weekend all we had planned was some shopping, a quick run to our church building, and a trip to the bank. I went through our usual routine: get the boys downstairs, change diapers and dress them, get breakfast, and go about the list of to-dos. My awesome husband made us breakfast as I dressed the boys. I got them cozied up and comfy in their sweatpants and long sleeve t-shirts so that they would be warm and wouldn't fuss because of scratchy stiff jeans. After breakfast, my husband went upstairs to dress and came down in sweatpants and a t-shirt also. Then it was my turn.
It takes me forever to get ready, even for a short errand trip on a lazy Saturday. This Saturday looked like it was going to be the same as those others. I pulled out a pair of jeans, a nice shirt, picked out earrings and cute shoes. Then, as I was yanking my jeans over my post-baby bottom, I thought jealously about how the boys all got to be so comfortable on our trip out, while I had to find a way to look nice with just a short amount of time to get ready, and I was already looking forward to coming home and putting on my yoga pants and tee. Then I thought, why? Why can't I be comfortable while we go out? Why do I feel the need to get all "dolled up" to run out on some errands when I felt pretty crappy from the cold I've been fighting recently?
Now, I don't mean that it should be okay for me to go out in mismatched clothing, with mascera lines under my eyes and my hair a frizzy mess. I like to look decent when I go out, if for no other reason than that I respect myself and want to look good for my husband, even when we are just going on a quick trip out. I'm still fairly young and still in the typical post-baby body funk. So I put away the jeans. Folded my nice shirt. And pulled out my cute WVU sweats and t-shirt, the comfiest pair of socks I have, my WVU clogs/slippers, and threw my hair into a combed ponytail. And you know what... I still looked fine! I didn't spend twenty minutes doing my hair. I didn't have to use multiple makeup products on my face. I was me, and I was comfortable. Not only physically, but I realized in that moment that I was finally comfortable enough with myself to not cover up behind nicer clothes, makeup, and sleeked, shiny hair.
So, what did I learn yesterday? I learned that finally, after being on this earth for almost 28 years, and being married for three, and having two children, I am comfortable with who God made me to be. I realized that I haven't worn makeup when going out of the house more than once a week. That I don't mind wearing my more comfortable clothing when I'm just running out for a bit. But the best part was that I wasn't comfortable doing it just because I didn't care about my appearance anymore, and that I wasn't letting myself go. I was simply pleased with being me. And it was a wonderful feeling.
On Saturday, we all woke up and knew we had some errands we needed to run. In our family, weekend days without some type of obligations come around very infrequently, so we tend to be exhausted by the end of the weekend. This weekend all we had planned was some shopping, a quick run to our church building, and a trip to the bank. I went through our usual routine: get the boys downstairs, change diapers and dress them, get breakfast, and go about the list of to-dos. My awesome husband made us breakfast as I dressed the boys. I got them cozied up and comfy in their sweatpants and long sleeve t-shirts so that they would be warm and wouldn't fuss because of scratchy stiff jeans. After breakfast, my husband went upstairs to dress and came down in sweatpants and a t-shirt also. Then it was my turn.
It takes me forever to get ready, even for a short errand trip on a lazy Saturday. This Saturday looked like it was going to be the same as those others. I pulled out a pair of jeans, a nice shirt, picked out earrings and cute shoes. Then, as I was yanking my jeans over my post-baby bottom, I thought jealously about how the boys all got to be so comfortable on our trip out, while I had to find a way to look nice with just a short amount of time to get ready, and I was already looking forward to coming home and putting on my yoga pants and tee. Then I thought, why? Why can't I be comfortable while we go out? Why do I feel the need to get all "dolled up" to run out on some errands when I felt pretty crappy from the cold I've been fighting recently?
Now, I don't mean that it should be okay for me to go out in mismatched clothing, with mascera lines under my eyes and my hair a frizzy mess. I like to look decent when I go out, if for no other reason than that I respect myself and want to look good for my husband, even when we are just going on a quick trip out. I'm still fairly young and still in the typical post-baby body funk. So I put away the jeans. Folded my nice shirt. And pulled out my cute WVU sweats and t-shirt, the comfiest pair of socks I have, my WVU clogs/slippers, and threw my hair into a combed ponytail. And you know what... I still looked fine! I didn't spend twenty minutes doing my hair. I didn't have to use multiple makeup products on my face. I was me, and I was comfortable. Not only physically, but I realized in that moment that I was finally comfortable enough with myself to not cover up behind nicer clothes, makeup, and sleeked, shiny hair.
So, what did I learn yesterday? I learned that finally, after being on this earth for almost 28 years, and being married for three, and having two children, I am comfortable with who God made me to be. I realized that I haven't worn makeup when going out of the house more than once a week. That I don't mind wearing my more comfortable clothing when I'm just running out for a bit. But the best part was that I wasn't comfortable doing it just because I didn't care about my appearance anymore, and that I wasn't letting myself go. I was simply pleased with being me. And it was a wonderful feeling.
Friday, November 1, 2013
In a Nutshell...
I'm inconsistent. I have half-knitted scarves that will never be worn. My shelf is full of books that will forever have a marked page three-quarters of the way through. And I start blogs and forget about them. Yet here I am, starting a new blog. Again.
Here's my purpose, in a nutshell. I think about my past a lot. About how I left college long before I graduated, and how I still believe that's one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. I love learning. I envy those who are continually sitting in a classroom, listening to an interesting lecture and challenging their brains. I miss taking notes and highlighting a textbook. I miss learning and challenging myself. But, then I realize, I am learning. Every single day! If I'm breathing, then there is a leason to be learned. When I lay down to sleep at night, I've learned at least one new lesson since I got out of bed that morning.
What can you expect from this blog? You can expect to read about the big, emotional lessons that I learn throughout my days as a Christ-follower, wife, mom, sister, and friend. You can also expect to read about the tiny, seemingly insignificant, and sometimes comical, lessons I learn about random things in my day. But every day, I'll learn something. And every day, I'll write about it
Remember when I said I'm inconsistent? Well, that's very true. Which is why as much as I say I want to write every day, I won't. I'll forget. I'll be too tired. I'll not have access to a computer. But I will try my best to keep up with this blog. Not neccessarily for your sake. But for mine. To prove to myself that I am indeed learning every day. And to chronicle my journey of learning.
So, here goes nothing. I hope maybe you can learn from my lessons in the process.
Here's my purpose, in a nutshell. I think about my past a lot. About how I left college long before I graduated, and how I still believe that's one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. I love learning. I envy those who are continually sitting in a classroom, listening to an interesting lecture and challenging their brains. I miss taking notes and highlighting a textbook. I miss learning and challenging myself. But, then I realize, I am learning. Every single day! If I'm breathing, then there is a leason to be learned. When I lay down to sleep at night, I've learned at least one new lesson since I got out of bed that morning.
What can you expect from this blog? You can expect to read about the big, emotional lessons that I learn throughout my days as a Christ-follower, wife, mom, sister, and friend. You can also expect to read about the tiny, seemingly insignificant, and sometimes comical, lessons I learn about random things in my day. But every day, I'll learn something. And every day, I'll write about it
Remember when I said I'm inconsistent? Well, that's very true. Which is why as much as I say I want to write every day, I won't. I'll forget. I'll be too tired. I'll not have access to a computer. But I will try my best to keep up with this blog. Not neccessarily for your sake. But for mine. To prove to myself that I am indeed learning every day. And to chronicle my journey of learning.
So, here goes nothing. I hope maybe you can learn from my lessons in the process.
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