The Cure to Mundane Momhood.

Oh, life...how you have kept me busy. Kaiden has been demanding extra attention lately. I love that he needs me but we literally play together every second of the day. My free time is his nap time...but it's spent taking a shower, doing my hair (a recent attempt to try and avoid the lazy non-blow dried ponytail look), making important phone calls in regards to our move, replying to emails, posting the discussion for our Bible study, house chores galore and of course, making sure to remember to eat lunch. By the time I'm done with all of that, he's up and running and I'm ready for my real break...which I don't get until Ethan comes home, dinner is made and Kaiden is tucked in bed lol. I know I'm not the first mom to go through this, and definitely not the last, but it sure tires me.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Being a mom is the most important job you will ever have." While there are valid points to that statement, sometimes I have a hard time hearing it, and I could never quite figure out why until I read this:

My husband and I have often talked about our burning need to be a apart of something bigger than our mundane existence. I have two small boys, and one could well argue that raising them is the most important job I will ever have. Yet, I am worn out with the tedious nature of it all - feeding, bathing, diapering, potty training, disciplining, supporting and answer an infinite number of unanswerable questions. These things fill my day and mentally wear me out, and the idea that perseverance for the next eighteen years will hopefully result in respectable young men who contribute to society is not enough to sustain me right now. I need an even greater purpose to keep my joyfully steadfast for the long haul. 

In this passage, (Ephesians 1:3-14) Paul gives us a deep spiritual truth - he calls us to understand God's purposes and plans from before creation. As fleeting as this life is, we can all marvel at something timeless and eternal. Our place in God's story was planned before time began. He chose us! He chose us for himself to accomplish his purposes and to reveal to the entire world something beautiful about himself. When I think of God setting his purposes in motion before time began and those purposes including me, then I start to tap into something that sustains me. I am not raising my boys simply to be responsible citizens when they turn eighteen and leave my house. I am raising them in light of God's eternal kingdom purpose for both them and me. The tedious aspects of my daily life fade as I get a vision for God's eternal plan playing out in my home. There is something going on here that transcends time and therefore gives meaning to this day, this week, this month, this year and this lifetime. 

This is a snippet taken from the book we are studying, By His Wounds You Are Healed. If I could copy and paste the whole book, I would. There is so much wisdom and life application packed in it. After reading this snippet of one her chapters I felt relief. There is the answer to the uncertainty I felt when someone would make "most important job" statement. Yes, I love being a mother but no, this is not my sole purpose...this is not where I find my identity! I've known that being a mom is a role that God has given me but that knowledge is not enough to sustain me through the 3 am wakeup's or the 45 minutes spent rocking him. These two paragraphs really gave me a shift in perspective and since reading it, has helped me get through MY mundane day to day activities. I hope it brings you mom's out there some peace and encouragement as well.

Our Trip to Disney World

My parents decided to take our entire family to DisneyWorld this Christmas. It was definitely an exhausting trip. Now that Kaiden is walking, we weren't sure how Kaiden would do on the long flights. So, in preparation for the trip, we loaded Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes on E's phone and  packed Kaiden's diaper bag full of crackers and puffs. He slept during the first flight and stayed awake for the other 3.5 hour flight. Things weren't going too badly until we landed at our destination. We took the tram to our rental car facility, only to find that they wanted to charge us $450 more than the quoted price. It was back to the airport for us, where we continued to get ridiculous quotes from various car rental places. We decided to book our reservation online through Orbitz, and then proceeded to walk up to the car rental counter where we paid less than half the price they initially quoted us, and for that, I love you Orbitz! After loading up the car, we were about to drive off the lot when they told us that we were in the wrong vehicle... the one we were in was parked in the wrong spot. It was already a hassle to buckle Kaiden's carseat in so E wasn't too happy lol. We re-loaded into another car, drove up to the gate and AGAIN, we were in the wrong car. It was the same color and model, just the wrong number. Soooooo, we negotiated with the rental car people and they let us stay in it and threw in a free tank of gas. That whole ordeal took 3.5 hours until we could finally leave the Orlando airport...not to mention we still had to drive another 3 hours to my grandparent's house. When it was finally time for bed, Kaiden wouldn't sleep. He woke up every 15-30 minutes consistently until 5 am. It was a nightmare and I'm so incredibly glad it's over with now. Just thinking about it all melts my brain.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. After having lunch with my grandparents, we headed off to Clearwater (where I went to college years ago. I still can't believe I went to college there... I miss "studying" on the beach haha.) It was a relaxing evening eating seafood and doing some midnight swimming in the pool. The next morning I was off to do a photo session (check out the preview here!) After that was over we hung out at the beach for a bit and then headed off to Orlando.

You can see why they call it Clearwater, Florida

Seaworld offers free tickets to all active duty military members so we spent our evening oohing and ahhing over sharks and fish. On a side note: I can't express how grateful I am for companies that give so freely to their military members. I know they don't have to but it's rare that we get to go on a vacation, (or can afford one for that matter) so free tickets is HUGE to me.

My family met up with us the following day and that's when the real adventures begun. We went three days straight moving from park to park. It was crowded...holiday crowded and I quickly realized how much I don't like lots of people all at once. Despite the shoulder to shoulder walkways, I loved spending time with my family. It pains me to know how much I'm missing out with my brothers and sisters and how much they are missing out on Kaiden. Unfortunately, it's a reality I have to face. I just focused on the fact that we were all together there and we were having a great time! I was nervous that Kaiden would be afraid of Mickey but he loved him! He ran right up to him and started grabbing Mickey's nose. I don't know what it was about Winnie the Pooh but Kaiden actually hit him in the face and the security guard had a fit. I had to laugh. He's only one. What can a one year old really do to a person covered in layers of stuffing? Oh, well. 

We are now safe and sound at home and back to reality. 

I felt like a little kid watching all of my favorite characters dance on stage.

Kaiden's new thing is to start giggling and stick his belly out (like this right picture)...he's a goofy boy!

We couldn't get a picture where everyone was looking :(

And there he is...attacking Pooh.

My brothers and sisters with E on the Teacup ride!

By the way, you should be proud! I actually didn't take many pictures this trip. I made it appoint to leave my camera behind and just enjoy the time instead of worrying about camera settings and people placement and I'm so glad I did. When you're worrying about your kid, your family, the crowds and trying to get on rides, the last thing you want to worry about is your camera :)

December Festivities.

It's amazing how different each stage of a kid's life is. I know I'm only in the first year, but even so, every month has brought change after change. Kaiden is really starting to develop his personality and I can already tell that he is independent, curious, mechanically-minded, sweet, caring, yet sensitive and easily upsetted. If I run an errand or E comes home from work, he immediately runs up to us and wants to cuddle. He has started resting his head on my shoulder and purposefully sitting on my lap. I can tell he is just like E. Both my boys love affection and love to show it. On the other hand, he now fully understands what the word "no" means. He is starting to have tantrums and oh, we will not  be tolerating that. I've seen too many kids become extremely spoiled which leads to acting out in public, becoming  a sore loser and never learning discipline. We have found a perfect method to disciplining Kaiden and it's proven to be quite effective.

I went to the dentist yesterday for my bi-annual checkup. Everything was fine, except I explained to the dentist how my jaw has been popping lately and how lately I clench my teeth when I sleep. The dentist told me that the jaw popping is because of my inflamed jaw muscles...which is a result from the clenching. He asked me if I was under any stress, as that is the common reason for clenching. I know there have been stressful points in my life but at this point there is nothing extra. I've been trying jaw relaxation techniques (which sounds ridiculous) but I think I'm going to have to get a night-guard to help re-align everything. It's going to cost us an arm and a leg but my dentist said the clenching is having an effect on my gum line and jaw, and I'm too young for this occur. Not to mention, I will be having my wisdom teeth removed in a month. Ugh.

On a better note, I'm so excited for this month's festivities! Our December is filled with events. This Thursday is E's work's annual Christmas Party. Friday I'm having a cookie exchange. Monday is my birthday and next Thursday we are going on a last minute vacation to Florida for Christmas! My whole family will be there and I'm so excited to see my brothers and sisters and for them to see Kaiden. Because of this, the entries will be sporadic but once the holiday season settles down and the new year begins, I'm committing to more consistent (and more personal) blogging :)

We bought Kaiden a monkey backpack (the leash is at tail) for DisneyWorld. No getting lost little monkey!

Pre-made Meals for Little Ones

I've been in the kitchen all morning. I've decided to start pre-making all of Kaiden's food. There are days when I don't want Kaiden eating the same thing we are.  Surprisingly enough, I had a hard time finding unique meal ideas for little ones. At this point, most parents feed their kids pizza and mac and cheese but I don't want his taste buds to start hating healthy foods just yet. So I've compiled a list of different foods you can pre-make for your child.

Breakfast

Pretty much any pureed fruit will do:

• apples
• bananas
• berries
• pears
• plums

add extra topping:

• baby yogurt
• peanut butter
• toast strips
• oatmeal
• puffs/cheerios

Lunch/Dinner

Your base is some sort of mashed vegetable:

• sweet potatoes
• red potatoes
• squash
• spaghetti squash
• zucchini
• avocado

add a soft vegetable/bean:

• corn
• carrots
• peas
• tomato
• green beans
• black beans
• tofu

add meat:

• ground turkey
• ground chicken
• sliced chicken
• turkey hot-dog slices

add grains:

• little pieces of toast
• brown rice
• white rice
• orzo pasta
• rice cereal

add sauce/seasoning/topping:

• spaghetti sauce
• garlic powder
• cheese slices

Combo Ideas:

Taco - avacado, chicken, cheese, tomatoes

Spaghetti - spaghetti sauce, pasta, ground chicken, tofu

Mac + Cheese - pasta, cheese, chicken

Asian Combo - white rice, peas, chicken

Thanksgiving - sweet potatoes, diced turkey, carrots, peas

Apple-Cinammon Oatmeal - applesauce, cinnanmon, oatmeal

Some tips...

1. A food processor will speed up the mixing and mashing.
2. The dollar store and Ikea both sell tiny containers that are perfect for storing food.
3. You will have a TON of leftovers so I suggest freezing your extras in the tiny containers and then you can just pop them in the microwave when you are ready.
4. Try purchasing frozen vegetables as they give the most bang for your buck.
5. Don't be afraid to mix and match veggies with different bases, etc. Your kid really won't know the difference if he ends up eating similar things anyways.

Mom Life.

I got an email today from one of the baby websites I'm subscribed to and it was entitled, "Your Little Head Banger." That is totally Kaiden right now. He loves to tap the back of his head on his high chair or play pen. Initially it seemed cause for concern but I quickly realized it's just another way he is exploring life around him. Apparently the article says it's baby's way of letting out excess energy haha.

It amazes me when I think about how Kaiden's goals in life at this point are to 1) eat 2) play 3) laugh 4) sleep. My day revolves around me meeting those needs. Although these tasks may seem small in comparison to everything else going on in the world, I've started to realize the value in what I say and do with him.

For instance, Kaiden is constantly looking for my approval. He will be playing with a toy and turn back to look at me. He has this expression that speaks, "Mom, do you see what I'm playing with? Did you see that? Is this ok?" It's the most adorable thing ever. Every few seconds he is constantly checking to see if I'm paying attention. The best part about this is the look he gets when he realizes I AM paying attention to his new discovery and I DO care that his block just fell off his table. It's this extra attention that I know will build his confidence and give him the security he needs. If you get a moment, please read this particular blog entry from one of my favorite bloggers. It really spoke to me about my role as a mom and and the significance of a mothers efforts.

Cleaning up spit up, hugging your child, reading him bedtime stories...none of this is in vain. We are investing into people that God will use for His plan and His purpose.

My dear friend Stephanie sent me this adorable bib months ago. I finally got around to taking pictures of him in it :) Thank you Stephanie!!!!

And here's a quick update:

E got accepted into training for the job he's been wanting for so long! He will be leaving for four months during the summer next year. Lord willing, if he passes all of his training we will be moving by November or December of 2012. This is a HUGE answer to prayer for us. We are grateful for all the prayers of our loved ones and family members. E has applied to SO many different jobs and many doors have been closed. We are not getting our hopes up just yet but we are definitely planning to get ready to start all over again if we need to.

Being A Mom.

There is no better feeling in the world than seeing the fruit of all Ethan and I have invested into our son so far. Kaiden is taking as many steps as his little spaghetti legs allow. He is able to eat "real people food" (mashed potatoes are by far his favorite!) His personality is really starting to come out (he is initially shy but very determined and curious). Even his face is maturing into a little boy's face. 

I absolutely LOVE being a mom and I wouldn't trade it for any other job in the world. God's really used this role to change my heart and teach me so much about Him^ and what it means to be a wife/parent/friend/believer. When I was pregnant, my mother in law consistently told me that being a parent makes you realize how selfish of a person you are. It's true. Having Kaiden has forced me to sacrifice and give my all to this tiny being, and although this was hard for me initially (I made it hard on myself), I am ever grateful for it. 

Kaiden, you've changed me and I love you more than you will ever know! Happy Sunday :)