Retail Therapy Or Expanding My Talents?

I went to Goodwill the other day, to look for kid's hangers actually (because my kids have more clothes than I have hangers). I had the baby with me and realized his diaper had leaked. Since we were planning on being out all day, I thought I'd pick him up another outfit. From that moment, I was trapped! I don't know who it is that donates to our local goodwill, but they have good taste! I spotted a wonderful orange and white dress shirt in Nater's size. I had to have it. One thing led to another, and I walked out of the store with a plan and a huge bag of clothing (I remembered the hangers last minute too).

So, here you have my latest "family" photo shoot. All of the pictures are taken by me, except for the ones that have me in them- Mir did those. We had 7 of the 18 clothing items already- I purchased the rest that day. All of the pictures are SOOC (straight out of camera). I feel like I am comfortable with the way my camera functions now and I want to start catching great natural light (so that was the goal- get outside in the outfits at the right time/light). By the way, the orange and teal is my current favorite color combination!

So what do you think? Worth the impulsive shopping spree?

 

Becoming Human Again

I love my kids! I love being pregnant. I love having babies. I love being able to hold and feed and love and care for my babies. I love watching my babies grow into such awesome kiddos. I love being a part of their lives every day. I love staying at home with them. I love being responsible for teaching and guiding them. I love being a mom!
But sometimes, I feel lost in it all. Sometimes I feel like there is no me left. I know that it is important to do things for myself, but honestly, it never ranks too high on my list of things to do. I've always wanted so badly to be a mom and I knew it would not be easy. But, it is sometimes so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.
Philip and I discussed during my last pregnancy some of the sacrifices of being a mom. I was feeling blue about my body not being my own. We talked about sharing my body for not only pregnancies, but to nurse my babies. For me, the fluctuating hormones that go along with those choices put me through a lot! I have given 55 months of my life already in sharing my body with my babies. That is nearly 5 years! And, on our long days, I feel like I have lost my sense of self in those years. I dream of days when I will be free to do what I want, when I will have time to do the things I want to do for me. I then remember that my commitment wont end when my kids are all out of the baby stage. It wont end if we send them all off to school. It wont end when they are growing older. It wont end when they move out. It is a never-ending commitment. This shifts my thoughts back to the positive and I make it through the long days.
Lately, those long days, are coming less and less. Lately, I feel on top of the world! I feel like I can do anything, that I get so much done. I feel like we will make it through and sometimes, I even feel like we are using our time here productively. Lately things are good.
Wanna know my secret?

The baby is on a schedule. Plain and simple. That is all it takes to change my days from seemingly endless and cloudy to manageable and often fun to boot! Mind you, this schedule is still a busy one. The baby still eats every three hours or more frequently. He still needs me to take care of him in so many ways, and he is old enough now that he actually wants me to entertain him too. But, the magic of a schedule is that I know what is coming next. I can plan for it. I can be prepared.

Which means, my days accomplishments go from this:
feed baby- check
keep everyone alive- check

To this:
feed baby- check
do some laundry- check
cook some meals (maybe even do some cooking in advance for future meals)- check
read- check
homeschool on purpose- check
play with my kids- check
take some pictures-check
get dressed- (most days) check
clean something all the way- check
organize something- check
write a blog post- check
enforce consequences- check
breathe- check

Have I mentioned yet that I love baby being on a schedule?!

And let me tell you, this could not have happened at a better time! Miranda has a babysitting job and leaves me for 4 days a week! MORE than half a week I am on my own. That was a crash course in "manning up" and getting done what I need to get done. I feel good. I feel proud. I feel happy. I feel, like maybe, I am almost human again!

And now- for a rare look at me- here are some pics of me sharing my body with some wonderful babes!

oops! Should've flipped this

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Christmas made me really homesick this year. I was homesick for Philip. I was homesick for traditional Christmas Eve with cousins. I was homesick for Indiana. I was homesick for snow. I was having a hard time getting excited for Christmas. Part of me wanted to pack up and head to Indiana- a larger part of me did not want to drive that long with a 4 month-old. We stayed home, for a quiet Christmas just the five of us (me, the kids, and Mir). It ended up being so worth it! I end up loving our quiet Christmases at home the most. I love opening and playing with presents all day long on our own time frame.

This years presents and stockings. Stockings always have some food for munching.

Alexis got an art kit with supplies, feet stilts, a bird costume, a dinosaur costume, a couple stuffed animals, a few hard plastic animals and dinosaurs, a large dino, a gift card, a dress, blocks, and other goodies.

Emily got an art kit with supplies, feet stilts, a nurse costume, a dino costume, a couple stuffed animals, several other animals, some dolls, an outfit, a gift card, blocks and other goodies.

Nater got a train set, cars, more cars, a dino costume, an outfit, stuffed animals, other animals, a golf club, a fridge toy and other goodies.

William got a gift card, clothes, balls, a blanket, a stuffed animal, and other goodies.

I decided this year that there are a lot of things I want to start as traditions for next year:
I want to do fabric bags to contain the kids toys. During the month of December they will get to fill the bags with things they want to give away. That way there are not too many toys.
I want to limit our gifts to the following- something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read and gifts from your family. (see below)
I want to do homemade gifts for each of our family members. The kids will have time with either Philip or I to make a gift for all of their family members. Philip and I will also make everyone gifts. It was so much fun to watch the kids receive gifts I had put so much time into.
I want to have duck for dinner on Christmas and a "themed dinner" on Christmas Eve (this year we did "p" theme- pizza, pears, popcorn, pop).
I want to serve more.
I want to focus on the gifts we give to Christ. (see this article). We have a birthday cake for Jesus and this year when we sang to him, we talked about the gifts we are going to give to Christ that day. I want to extend that to the gifts we give him all month.


 I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a great new year!