Check Me Out
Here is a random conglomeration of things that I’ve been introduced to or run across that I think are awesome and wanted to share. It’s VERY random from food to websites but surely there will be something you will want to check out. Check yourself before you wreck yourself, I always say.
1. Chicken Puffs
One of the meals someone brought me from my church was this dish I speak of: Chicken Puffs. It’s easy, affordable, and delicious and odds are, if you have a baby and she isn’t bringing it you for a meal, then I will.
Ingredients:
1 box cream cheese
shredded cheddar cheese
a few pieces of bacon ripped up or real bacon bits they sell in a bag (optional)
1-2 chicken breasts, shredded finely
a tube of crescent rolls
Directions:
Take all ingredients (except the rolls…duh) and mix them together in a bowl. I don’t measure the shredded cheese so go with that voice in your head.
Spoon a dollop of mixture into the middle of an unbaked crescent roll, wrap roll up over the lump.
Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet at 350 for 15-20 minutes. They’re ready when they are golden brown and not doughy. BAM. Chicken puffs.
Note: 1-2 chicken breasts can feed 6-8 people in this recipe. However, I used a whole pound for me and Lance because we bout’ it.
Who knew that American Eagle made clothes for babies and kids 0-5 years old???? Sandra Bullock did and dresses her kids in their line. My sis-in-law ran across this in a magazine and introduced it to me last week. It’s like big American Eagle for little ones minus the huge logo written on everything. (score) They have some really cute, unique, and stylish kids clothes. Go ahead, you know you want to click on it.
3. Trip Lee
I consider myself to have stellar taste in rap music. The hard thing with rap is how trashy it is all the time so if that bothers you, let me introduce you to Mr. Trip Lee. LOVE him and if you like rap, I think you will too. Here is one of my favorite songs on his new album:
And another song….
and another….
4. Take them a meal
If you are a part of any large group that provides meals to people at any time (clubs, friends throwing a shower, family reunions, groups having a potluck, churches delivering meals to couples with new babies, families after a death, etc.), this site organizes the schedule and delivery for you including online sign-ups, delivery dates and times and who is bringing what to which location.
The couple at our church in charge of organizing this type of thing used this site for my meals after having Salem. I thought it was awesome and that someone was a genius with this idea! It can be a pain organizing this sort of thing and this makes it easy and lays it out so that everyone can see what foods people are bringing and when. That’s helpful for you when you are planning your meals and fun to watch if you will be the eater of the foods, too =0)
Here’s a sample of plan from their site below. Scroll down the sample to see the whole layout.
http://www.takethemameal.com/sample.php
Enjoy all of this random awesomeness. You’re welcome.
Read MoreBeast Mode
Did I tell you that two kids were easier? Silly me, I meant that I’m not crazy this time and that’s easier. All my silly words creating so much confusion…..
Yesterday handed my butt to me mommy style. It was the first time I almost cried. Emphasis on “almost”. Don’t steal my thunder. It just seems like it’s a marathon right now which is how one of my friends who is a mother of three puts it. One cries, the other poops, “Lance, put this one in the car”, “Where’s her passy?”, “Whose passy?”, “Your mom’s passy. Get the freakin’ passy.”, “Go home. I forgot the formula”, “Salem is screaming in her car seat.”, and all that to show up twenty minutes late and have to put a size 3 diaper on your newborn because you only brought diapers for the big one.
It’s constant. I love, love being a mom and I love my girls and my helpful husband, but it’s constant. Last night when I shed my almost first tears of being overwhelmed, I reminded myself that this stage is temporary and will pass. Praise the Lord that this is my second child and experience tells me it’s true rather than just having people tell you it will pass and deep inside you think, “What if my baby is different and it’s like this forever, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?????!!!!!!!”
After I gave myself that wise reminder, I went back to feeling sorry for myself, haha. I was watching Lance type his sermon at the table and I started to think how much a mother gives up. I started telling him that he has all of these built in breaks that I can’t get because I don’t work a set job. For example, lunch breaks with friends, sermons he can leave for hours to write, and the fact that he can listen to any song on the radio ALONE in his car while I’m rockin’ out to Wheels on the Bus on the daily. I turned on the radio the other day and I was like, “Ohhhhh, this is what music sounds like! Where are all the cheesy adults with yuppy voices and tone deaf kids screeching out tunes like human recorders?” I miss you, Justin Bieber. I love you, rappers.
Having 2 really does make you feel like having one was a cinch, although, I can’t really get away with saying that because bringing home my first was full blown devastation on the home front. However, as far as your time, schedule, and ease of simplistic tasks such as say, self teeth cleaning, one baby takes the cake on easy street. Still, ANY number of kids is a full time job. I’m so proud of women because we are such beasts!
My night of being exhausted ended with getting up at 3,5, and 6. Then the next sleepy morning we moved into Eden bringing me my Mother’s Day gift which culminated in a spanking because she would not relinquish the prize. I’ll blame humanity and dad for getting the coveted Snoopy Mother’s Day card.
Once we made it out of the house (late, duh), I showed up to church with two beautiful daughters and a sweet helpful husband who helped me get my two little ones in matching dresses inside for Mother’s Day pictures. When the madness of a long day or night settles, you are always left with the sweet little faces and dear family that God blessed you with and you think to yourself that you hope they never grow up so that you can wake up 4 times a night and calm your daughter down over cartoon character cards with scribbles on it.
When church was over, Eden came running through the sanctuary with a card for me that she colored in the nursery. It was the first gift one of my children ever made me and I loved it. It was one of the highlights of the day. The other highlight was when Salem gave me a huge burp in the middle of the service like a burly bar man. They both made me special things.
Being a mother is as precious as the children that made you one. When you are growing up and look you back and all the childish drawings and pictures you made your parents, you can’t understand why it was so priceless but I totally understood today when Eden came running and smiling with a scribbly card. I made one for my mom this year. For some reason, it wasn’t as cute.
So happy one day late Mother’s Day to all of the long night warriors, wound patchers, story tellers, snack providing, butt wiping champions of the world. We are MOTHERS!!!! Hear us………..
sleep.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Home
I look down at the clock in my dirty minivan and it’s 3:51. I realize I haven’t even brushed my teeth today.
Eden is in her car seat in her diaper only with chalk on her face but happy as a lark. Salem is sleeping in her seat. Praise the Lord. How do people get anything done with a toddler and a newborn? I see how people say they want 16 kids and then have another and say, “Okay, maybe just one more kid. Or maybe, two kids is fine. Okay, a puppy.”
I still want more children but today has been beastly. We are trying to move and actually, have moved to an extent but we are living in box land at our new house. I don’t know where anything is. I’m Salem’s favorite pacifier and Eden, I can tell, feels out of sorts. Our bathrooms aren’t up and running yet, our master isn’t finished, and I feel crazier than a one eyed homeless cat….who is missing a knee…and also this cat has a pain pill addiction.
Last night was sort of hard for me because I don’t do well living in chaos. The house of mount box more is stressful and it’s just not home yet, as it shouldn’t be. I’ve never done well with being unsettled. To Lance, a home is four walls. To me it’s where I weave my craft of motherhood, find comfort, and create a life worth remembering for my pint size additions.
My fears in the move were realized today when I went back to our previous house to get a few more things. We pulled in the driveway and Eden said with excitement, “Are we home?! This is Eden’s house. I want to go inside!” I could only stay for a minute which made leaving even harder on Eden. Even though it’s an empty house, it’s still home. Feels like home….
I had to put her crying into the van while she fought getting in because she didn’t want to leave Eden’s house. It broke my heart for her. I know she will be fine and that bitter-sweetly for me, she won’t even remember that house. I just ache that she feels out of place.
Mothers do a lot of things and making a comfortable, safe haven for their kids is one of them. If you were lucky, you had a home like that growing up. I know I did. It’s only when you get older that you realize that homes don’t feel that way because it’s familiar….Homes feel that way because a mother makes it. Sometimes in a transition, you have to make it home for yourself too while you spout excitement for your children of all the wonderful things you will do together in your new house.
The whole way home from our old house I listened to Skittles cry that guttural, throaty cry that cats do during car rides. She wasn’t too keen on the move, I guess. Other than the cat sounds, it was quiet on the way “home”. We pulled in our new drive and Eden said, “This is not my home. This is the other house.”
I put on an excited face and tone for her but on the inside, I felt that ache, too.
Read MoreYarn Bow Tutorial
I decided to whip up this little tutorial while my 3 week old baby fussed in my husband’s arms. You can make one in 3 minutes, with or without the crying baby.
Before you begin, cut a 3 inch piece of yarn and have it with you while you work. You will need it to finish the bow at the end and you won’t have a free hand to cut yarn once you’ve wrapped the bow.
To start the bow, take yarn and hold one end between these two fingers. Pull a fair amount off the roll so that you have enough slack to wrap the yarn around your fingers.
Start wrapping the yarn around your fingers until it looks like so. There isn’t a certain number of times to wrap it because everyone’s fingers are different sizes. It doesn’t take much.
When you’ve wrapped the amount you want, cut the yarn leaving one long end. Gently slide the wrapped yarn off your fingers and pinch it firmly in the middle.
Take the 3 inch piece of yarn you cut in the beginning and firmly tie it around the center catching all ends. Then cut the end pieces to short enough so that they don’t show from the front of the bow.
Then add any center you would like. I just grabbed a felt button that I had on hand. Patterned ribbon would be cute to wrap the center with or any type of cool button etc. Attach a clip to the back or affix on a headband, gift box, or whatever you can think up.
You can churn these babies out! Enjoy! I love yarn bows!
The 2 Transition
So Lance is about to head back to work and leave me flying solo with duo kiddos. Sigh. If only we lived in a world where you didn’t have to have jobs and you could always just tackle your family together and have your church bring you free and prepared meals. Where is such a land where this is life? Take me to that land.
As of right now, my take on the 2 transition is very favorable. Like I said in a previous post, it’s been much easier for me than going from 0 to 1. There is such A HUGE difference in how you feel and parent the second time around. You are so much more relaxed and fret less over EVERY LITTLE THING!
“Was that a cough or are they choking?”
“Did you pull the blanket down far enough when you put her down so that there is no feasible way that should could inhale it into her face?”
“Why are they crying?”
“Her face feels a fraction warmer than it did 10 minutes ago. Oh my gosh she has contracted the plague in a matter of minutes!!!!”
I feel so much more at home, laid back, and in my skin this time. I know what works for our family and each child and I’m much more flexible about going with the wind and let me tell you….this baby has some wind while we are on the subject. To be fair, momma does, too. I’m probably causing her wind like some sort of hurricane that passes from my milk to her. We are truly in this together.
It is a little hard at times to balance the two. I’ve been alone at home tonight and Eden was calling for me from the tub and Salem was crying in the other room while sucking her hand for dear life as if she has never been fed. I would tend to one and then go back to the other until one started calling or crying again.
In the van earlier today, Salem AND Eden were both wailing in their seats to the point that I pulled over on a 2 lane road and distributed passies evenly among the tribe. Lance was following behind me and pulled close to come help me and I just waved him on as if to say, “Don’t even bother unless you can teleport me home.” Crying babies make for long drives, even if it’s a spin around the block. Even still, it wasn’t all that stressful. Convenient,nay but I felt calmer than I would have 2 years ago. Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little annoyed watching Lance driving in front of me talking leisurely on his cell phone in his quiet car while I listened to the battle of the lungs from the backseat. I wasn’t enjoying the experience but with small children, what can you expect? Somewhere in the “What to Expect the Toddler Years” there should be a section on when you add another child and it should say: Expect some dual crying. Expect it to happen at inopportune times and in enclosed spaces.
I really can’t complain though because in my vast experience of 3 weeks of having 2 kids, it’s only happened 2 times. I feel like I’ve hit the lottery with this combo. Some mother out there just laughed and scoffed at that comment with my only being 20 days in to my second. Listen y’all, I’m going beast mode on mothering two. I mean it. Big time.
So far, so good. I will say it is a little crazy at times like when trying to leave the house. I don’t know how to get ready anymore. I’m like a 2nd grader crying with a hair brush in her hand because she can’t get her hair done. Okay so minus the crying. You can keep the 2nd grader part though because I sort of look like one.
No lie, it’s taking me and Lance an hour to get us all four ready and out the door. Today I got the girls ready for church and myself ready and it took me closer to an hour and a half to do it alone. When we finally got in the car, I realized my gas light was on, church was starting in 15 minutes, I didn’t have my wallet, and Salem was crying because she needed her passy and she was fighting sleep. That’s kind of how trying to get out of the house looks for me right now. I don’t know how you can be on time any where with multiple kids. I think each kid should give you a thirty minute exemption from arriving on time. When you walk in late somewhere and some person asks you where you were, I think you should be able to hold your kid up like Simba and not have to utter a word. Your children are your perpetual late excuse.
I’m still trying to see how this whole thing will work as far as getting back to cooking for our family (barf) and running errands, and getting 3 girls ready every where we go. (I’m the 3rd girl in case you are confused.) I’m assuming this will take me some time to get down pat. I don’t have a new normal yet but the transitional abnormal wins with flying colors from me. Not to strip my children of their awesomeness but I guess when you thought you might be on that loony bin status again with another baby that everything looks very nice. Losing it has its benefits.
Read MorePause
You know things you say a lot based on hearing your child repeat them. Lance came home last week and said, “Have you ever heard Eden say, ‘whatever that means’?” I laughed and said no but that I knew she got that from me. Of course, she doesn’t use it in the right context and will say things like, “I’m going to eat this pizza…whatever that means…”
It’s funny because I knew instantly that I say that phrase but wasn’t aware of saying it or using it that often until Eden started repeating it. I’ve noticed a few other things that even though she’s not repeating them, I feel like I say ALL time. A few of these things are: not right now, hold on, or just one more thing.
Do you find yourself constantly saying that to your child? I guess now that I have 2, some of those phrases will be just plain unavoidable at times. However, if you strip it all down, I don’t want those to be things I say to her all day. I don’t want her to feel like she is perpetually on pause while mom does yet another thing in the house. Shouldn’t our children be our first thing a lot of times and the other things need to hold?
When you stay at home, sometimes you are trying to be productive and do the laundry, thaw the dinner meat, return calls, pay that blasted bill that just came in that you didn’t know was coming and so on. Then there are other times where you are trying to finish the tail end of The View to take a 5 minute break and you have to tell your child that the 5th reading of “How Do I Love You” will commence after the next special guest. It’s easy to be distracted and not realize that you’ve told your child to hold on or that you’ll be right back, 20 times that day. I understand that we have households to run and stuff to do and I’m not saying we should sit in the floor and entertain all day long, BUT do you ever wonder how all the “not right nows” and “in a minutes” may feel to them? I wonder how they perceive our constant distraction.
It just bothers me and I hate to hear myself say it too many times in a day. It’s so tempting to get stuff done around the house and while it’s important and it can’t all fall to pot, I think, “I’m a stay at home MOM, not housekeeper.” While there is a balance between the two and “mom” means doing things around the house while you’re home, when push comes to shove, which are you putting as a priority? Your 10 minute breaks? The dishes? Phone calls? Are you balancing well or are your kids constantly hearing “not right now” or “one more thing then….”?
How often are you sitting on the floor with your kids engaging with them? I think it’s easy to be around your children all day as in being present but how much time are giving directly, meeting them where they are at, stimulating their need for learning, love, and attention?
These are hard questions. I try very hard to engage with Eden as much as humanely possible and still feel myself saying the things I’ve talked about above maybe a little too much some days. It’s easy to get lost in everyday life and that’s why it’s good for mothers to ask themselves hard questions sometimes. Think about yesterday, for example. How many times were you directly interacting with your children? This doesn’t mean talking to them while you get your errands done or having them help you unload the spoons from the dishwasher albeit great to involve them in daily routine. Did you sit in the floor with them and do a puzzle? Sit with them while they took a bath? Were they along for the ride yesterday while you did “mom” or did you stop and be still with them?
Now that my time is even more divided, I’m painfully aware of a balance that has to be struck between productivity and my children. We talk about all the time how our children grow up so fast. We talk about it as it happens under our noses while we run 50 errands and do 10 loads of laundry and somewhere in those long, tiring days, that’s where it’s happening.
I’ll end with this little poem that most of us have probably read at some point. Let me always be reminded and more importantly, let this be me.
Song for a Fifth Child
- By: Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shoppings not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
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Good For
At some point, at some age, we all enter the “good for” comments. You know, “You look good for 50!” If you’ve had a few kids you’ll hear, “You look good for having 3 kids!”
That’s a weird comment to me. It’s almost like saying that by general terms, you don’t look that great but if you take into consideration how many birthdays or babies you’ve had, then well you look great!
I’m right back to the “size” I was pre-second baby and Salem is 2 weeks today. I think scale wise I still have about 5 pounds to shed but I would lose a few of that if I quit nursing. Now anyone who has had a baby knows that while the scale may read pre-pregnant numbers, your body may be distributed differently but I’m still in my pre-pregnant jeans with no rubber band clinging the button and button hole together for dear life. I’m in, zipped up, free and clear. So, I feel pretty good. Does my stomach look totally the same when I look straight at it? No, but in clothes to the common man, it should look basically like it did. That’s why when I’ve heard, “You look great to just have had a baby 2 weeks ago!” I think….” Yay? .”
I know it’s a compliment but it’s sort of like saying, “Your haircut looks good considering the scissors were broken!” I thought I looked pretty normal but then thought that maybe I’m falling into the “good for” category. Maybe I’m just being paranoid but when I hear “good for” comments given to other people, I feel the same way for them, too.
Can’t a sister just look plain good at 50 and not just good considering her age? Doesn’t the mom of 4 kids want to look good like every other person out there and not only good when compared to how many kids she has? I guess I just think it’s a socially awkward thing to say. I’m not hatin’ on the people who have said this to me (dad for example). I know people would want to hear that over nothing. For real though, have you ever thought of it that way that “good for” are weird compliments?
Like, “Hey, this post is really good for a Monday.” I’ll accept that one. To be fair, since having a baby I’ve forgotten what day of the week it is several times. I woke up today and realized, dang, I was supposed to post something. So, it’s my girls nap time and here I am posting about what I would have posted originally if I knew what day it was.
That’s pretty good…for just having had a baby.
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