Cabin Fever

Ok, before I get shot by all my midwestern friends and family, can I just say we're getting cabin fever down here too? I'm tired of this winter, I'm tired of this weather, I'm tired of being cooped up in our house with no where to go because anything fun indoors costs money. Just the other day Travis and I agreed they need to make an indoor place that's fun for kids (i.e. playground) that doesn't cost money. Who's with me?! I know I can get an "AMEN" from my fellow SAHMs! I mean, you can only get one free hour of childcare at the YMCA a day, and you can only go to the pet store so often before employees are like "Oh, you again? So you're still not going to buy anything, right?" We tried the library for their story hour last week and that was an epic fail. Anna just wanted to pound type on the computer keyboards the whole time. So we may wait a few months before returning.

We've been trying to get creative around the house since we've been stuck inside. Like wash our hands, because it's fun and it keeps someone busy for 5 minutes. Anna's new favorite game is putting a piece of clothing or blanket or towel over her head and pretending like she's a ghost. I have no idea where she got that from because I don't remember doing it. So she must be watching way to many scary movies. I should talk to someone about that, she's way to young. She loves hats--for about 2 seconds. She'd rather you wear the hat than her, but if you insist that you really don't want to wear the Columbus Blue Jackets Stinger hat for the umpteenth time then she'll relent and wear it herself. Her new favorite hat is this one:

Ok, this is super horrible quality because it's from my dumb phone (aka not a smart phone) but I want you to see that what she's wearing is, in fact, not a hat but a skirt. I repeat, the thing on her head is a skirt but she adamantly thinks it's a hat and tries to wear it all the time. Is that not the cutest thing ever?! At least she hasn't tried to leave the house in it. And here she finally agrees to wear the Blue Jackets hat, although it usually adorns Travis' head:

Again, horrible quality, but you get the idea.

So what have you been doing to fight the chilling temperatures and snow? Any suggestions for a desperate mother? I've been thinking of trying the 'no poo' regiment everyone's posting about on Facebook since I don't have anywhere to go and no one to see for the next six weeks. Might as well let my hair get nasty and greasy while we're trying to stay warm inside!

As of Lately

I've already broken my new year's resolutions. So that's great. But, wait, didn't I say they were more like reflections? So, I'm good. I'll just pick up where I left off 3 weeks ago.

I painted Anna's toenails for the first time! And I have to say they are the cutest little piggies I ever did see. I had to bribe her with food in her highchair while I quickly swiped each toe. I think more paint ended up on her skin than the actual nail but it all came off in the bath so who cares, really? Again, cutest little piggies EVER:

A week and a half ago we loaded up the 12 passenger Urban Eagles van with the Urban Eagles staff leaders, wives, and two toddlers and headed two hours to the mountains for a little retreat. It was a great weekend filled with worship and planning surrounded by beautiful scenery. We left refreshed and without my keys (to just about everything). So the only logical thing to do was return, just the three of us, the next weekend for a little getaway!

Perfect, right?! Well it would've been had I not gotten food poisoning the one night we stayed. (Note to self, and really all mothers for that matter: don't ever get sick. Just don't do it. It's bad enough when you only have to take care of yourself but when you now have a little one to take care of it becomes 100 times worse. So just don't plan on getting sick. Ever. Unless, of course, you have an amazing husband, significant other, mother, friend, etc. to basically do everything and more for you, and in that case, get sick all the time!)

Before I got sick and was up all night vomiting, we had a wonderful day relaxing, reading, napping, and enjoying the breathtaking view outside our window. It really was perfect. We saw the sun set and the sun rise. Travis built a little fire. We tried a game of Scrabble, and then when we realized we both have a horrible vocabulary we quit. I mean, we were putting down words like "lid" and "nope". I think my only word that was longer than three letters was "kindle". Pretty embarrassed by this so let's move on.

Let's talk about this child's hair. When is a good time to get a little girl's first haircut? You know, I was thinking I'd at least wait until she was 3 or 4 when her hair's really long, down to her butt, and there's nothing else to do but cut it. But if you see, it's starting to get a little crazy. To cut or not to cut? What do you think? I mean, she still looks absolutely beautiful but Travis thinks it needs a little shape. I'm still on the fence.

If you're wondering, we've gone down to one nursing session a day. I just couldn't give up that bedtime feeding, just not yet. However, even with that one session, we're still able to get in ample cuddle time. I was afraid that would just disappear. It hasn't, we cuddle right before nap after I give her a bottle of whole milk. She falls asleep on me and it's just amazing. I know, you're supposed to put the baby in the crib before she falls asleep, yadda yadda, but that just doesn't work for me us. I can even slip in a quick 10 minute nap as she's falling asleep too. It's been perfect! I know I'll probably get back on here in a couple of months asking advice on how to get my baby to sleep without having to cuddle, but just let me have these moments. I only get them for so long.

So the beginning of 2014? Not bad (if you don't count my little food poisoning episode). I'm about done with this frigid weather though--well, frigid for Charlotte. These 30 and 40 degree days are not fun for a mother of a toddler, let me tell you. Ok, now before all my midwestern friends shoot me for complaining about our fair weather, I'll go ahead and say, 'til next post!

My (Not So) New Year's Resolutions

New Years Eve, December 31, 2012

2013, have you really come and gone just like that? How is it possible that in just a week it'll be a year since Travis left for SE Asia and Anna and I headed to Ohio to be with family for two weeks? How did the year fly by beginning with us having a tiny baby and now we enter a new year with a walking, talking babbling, gets into everything, toddler? I guess that's just what happens when you become a parent. The years really do just fly by, and nothing like they ever did before that little bundle of joy came along. Seriously, time flew before she came but now that she's been with us for over a year it literally feels like I blinked and 2013 is over.

I try not to participate in new years resolutions. Not that I don't think they're great but they're just not for me. I'm not a big picture sorta gal. Big goals and aspirations scare me, they're just too...big. I'd rather look back to 2013 and see where God carried me, and maybe those moments will take me into 2014 with hopes and dreams I will more likely achieve.

1. I didn't write enough. Anna's baby journal, my personal journal, this blog. Writing just wasn't a priority like it had been in previous years. I can probably chalk it up to being a full-time mom and having more important things to do than sit in my little corner and put pen to paper (if you're one of those awesome parents who can still find time, I envy you). I will say I missed it though. Every time I'd open Anna's journal, my journal, or this blog and see the last date I had posted an entry a piece of me grieved knowing I had missed out on writing memories I may soon forget. Therefore, it's simple really, I hope to write more in 2014. Easy enough with a toddler around now, right?

2. I didn't read enough. I don't think I read one fiction book. My heart just broke a little as I wrote that. B.A. (before Anna) I would read almost every night as a way to calm me to sleep. Now I can barely get through two sentences before I'm reading the back of my eyelids. Don't get me wrong, I still read, on the occasional evening that I can make it through a few pages. These books I'm reading though are all about parenting and your child. All the books I've read have been very helpful but I sure miss the suspense, the love, and the excitement a good fiction can only bring. I also didn't read enough of the Word which I miss so much. So my goal for 2014 is to read more fiction and the Bible since I already read everything I need to know about parenting in 2013. Ha, yeah, right.

3. I didn't eat good enough. Ok, isn't this (along with working out) everyones new year's resolution? I can't say this will be a resolution of mine this year, however. Only because I love food, my diet isn't absolutely horrible, and I take a multivitamin that makes me feel better about not eating enough greens.

4. Our YMCA membership has been one of my best friends. We see each other at least three times a week. And I won't deny the fact that I go for the free childcare. I get an hour to do whatever I want. I can take a class, run on the treadmill, swim a few laps, or sit in the sauna. I don't have huge aspirations for my new friendship, just that we'd continue doing what we've been doing, those 3 hours a week are saving my life. Thank you, Y, thank you.

5. Date nights have never been so good (and coveted). What do you do when your parents aren't around to watch the babe? You enlist in good friends and interns. Yep, we had our interns who admitted to not changing a diaper before watch our precious little Anna. We were that desperate. And they have proven to be two of Anna's favorite playdates, not to mention brilliant at putting her to sleep. I'm praying that 2014 sees many more dates because God knows we still need just us time especially living in the ministry and being new parents.

Again, these aren't necessarily goals as much as they are memories of the last year that I hope I can do better with in the year to come. New resolutions and I just do not mix well. They're too big and when I don't accomplish them I'm just too hard on myself. I'd rather just not try than try and fail. So my small goals (since I don't like big goals) for 2014 are to write, read, eat, workout, and love just a little bit more than I already do. Not too difficult, right?

New Year's Eve, December 31, 2013

Can't get enough of new year's kisses! 

A glimpse into the future, maybe?  I pray laughter is a constant in mine and my daughter's relationship. 

Weaning

In our nursing chair

How do you know when it's time? Does it ever feel like it's time? Will the baby really tell you when she's ready? How do you know? Isn't my milk better than anything a cow can give her? But she's still a baby!

These thoughts have been racing through my head for the past 6 months. I always said I'd nurse Anna until she was a year. That was my goal. Then 10 months crept up on us and weaning Anna at a year old seemed way to early. I wasn't ready, she didn't seem ready. Her birthday was coming, wasn't that milestone big enough? Adding weaning on to it just seemed too much for this mom to handle. So I decided 18 months. Yeah, that sounded good. 

Well Anna is now 15 months and I've already weaned her from her morning session. That was easy. Well for her. For me, when I would feed her in the morning she'd usually fall back asleep for an hour or two, which was uh-mazing. Now that she's only getting a bottle of cow's milk (and not me) she doesn't want to fall back asleep. So our days begin at 6 am (aka the butt-crack of dawn). Thursday was the first day to cut out her nap session. Daddy helped. He gave her a bottle of cow's milk and after 30 minutes of crying she finally fell asleep. Yesterday she only cried for 10 minutes. Today I gave her the bottle. She fell asleep within 15 minutes but was crying again within 30 minutes and took another hour before finally falling asleep. Nap time today was rrr-ough. I don't think it's because she wants my milk. She doesn't seem to mind that she's receiving a bottle rather than me. But today's craziness makes me want to reconsider this whole weaning thing because when I nurse her that girl falls asleep in 5 minutes and she's out for almost 3 hours! 

18 months was my new goal. I felt better knowing that I will have given her a great start with a year and a half of the best milk she could receive. However, she'll definitely have been weaned by then at the rate we're going. So why am I beginning this whole weaning thing 3 months early? It all has to do with my luteal phase. Some of you may not even know what that is (I sure didn't know before we started trying for a baby over 2 years ago!) Basically, in laymen's terms, it's the days between ovulation and your monthly visit from Aunt Flow. In order for women to get pregnant this phase needs to be at least 12-16 days long (10 days is really pushing it but I read that it can still happen). Women who have consistently had phases lasting less than 10 days and get pregnant will most likely miscarriage. I've been charting since the summer and my luteal phases have consistently been less than 10 days. After a little research I found out it could be due to breastfeeding. With us hoping for a brother or sister for Anna in the next few months I knew it was time to see if breastfeeding really had anything to do with my shortened luteal phases. So, we'll see! It really is crazy how our bodies are. Some women have a very difficult time getting pregnant after the second, third, etc. due to many things while others who aren't trying at all get pregnant while still breastfeeding. Just like no two babies are alike, no two women bodies are alike! My research and weaning could be all for naught if my luteal phase doesn't lengthen after Anna's completely done breastfeeding. So who knows?! At this point though I just pray it does have to do with breastfeeding for more than just the reason that I want to get pregnant again. I would hate to take my milk away from Anna if it doesn't help.

So the questions that have circled my mind for months are finally being answered. When is the time? Now. Am I sad? Of course. I'm grieving a bit. And that's ok. But what makes me feel better is knowing that Anna is taking it well, and also the hope that weaning will eventually lead to another little joy for this family of three.

After one of our first nursing sessions still in the hospital