Stay-At-Home Mom Blues

Do you ever feel like being a stay at home mom has all these expectations that you seldom feel like you reach?

This question is not to overwhelm you, but actually to empower you. Yes, sometimes there are crazy expectations, or opinions, of what we do, or are suppose to do, as stay at home moms. Sometimes though, we are able to redefine what our lives can look like.

We can choose to be "busy" but with no purpose, like having somewhere you could go but not needing to be out of bed until 8, or we can choose to have a purpose to every day.

One of the challenges to being a stay at home mom is finding something to do every day. (At least this is a challenge for me) I use to have it figured out. We would go to church for me to work out, and the kiddo to be in daycare, 3 days a week, I would have bible study one day a week, and we would go out and do something fun, like the zoo, on our off day. When that was my schedule, things were great. I felt energized. I felt social. I felt like I was able to connect with others. I was out of bed by 6:30 or 7. Most of all, I felt like my kid was doing great!

A few months ago I thought that I would give working another try, only to give up all of our daily routines and not work. We have spent the last month or so, being essentially bored. I have lost my drive to do just about anything.

So now I'm taking charge again. I'm deciding that for my kiddo, and for myself, the best thing is to get involved in groups and activities again. I'm not sure if we'll go back to the gym, though I think that's a real possibility. I'm not sure what I'll do about bible studies, since most are out for the summer. All I know is that we need a daily and weekly plan. A reason for us to get moving in the morning, instead of watching 4 episodes of Daniel Tiger and looking at each other saying "What do you want to do today?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?"

Goodbye stay at home mom blues, and hello active mom life!

Mother's Day DIY

Guys! I am so proud of myself on this one. This has been, by far,

my favorite DIY project.

I was looking for something cool and special for my mom, mother-in-law and my sister-in-law this year. We already got my mom something else, all the kids together, but since it wont be in before I see her, I wanted to get her something she could have right away.

After searching around on my beloved Pinterest, ;), I decided on personalized casserole dishes. I know whenever I see someone bring personalized dishes to a party, I always think, "Oh, how fancy!"

Well, anyways, here's how to do it!

Get:
-vinyl (or contact paper)
-a die cutting machine (or an exacto knife)
-some Amour Etch
-a paint brush
-scissors
-some glass dishware
-Gloves (You're dealing with acid, safety 1st)

Start by deciding what you want etched on your glass, I chose last names. Open up your die cut machine software, I have a Silhouette, and design your design and cut!
(If you are using an exacto knife to cut, just make sure that you don't cut all the way through, you want to be able to peel back only the vinyl)

After your have your vinyl, stick it to your glass, making sure there aren't any air bubbles. 

***Seriously, get all the air bubbles out! The Armour Etch is acid. It will etch any glass that it touches***

(I used a stool to keep my dish "up" so that I could work on it easily. You want to make sure that, however you are holding your dish up, the Armour Etch wont spill while it's drying)

Now get your gloves on and "paint on" your Armour Etch with your paint brush. You want to put on a nice coat, but doesn't have to be crazy thick. Your just want to make sure that you properly cover the area you want etched.

Wait about 10 minutes, then wipe the majority off with a paper towel. After you've gotten the majority wiped away, run the area under water and gently rub. Now, take the viynl off and properly wash your dish, TWICE, with soap.

Dry and Enjoy!

Stranded... So We Made Bubbles

I probably should have picked another analogy for my last post. ;)
The next day, I thought I would take my kiddo and dogs to a state park. The only iasue is that state park arr usually in the middle of nowhere, and just as I rounded the last bend before entering the park, my car started acting up. Every time I would try to accelerate,  it would take a few seconds for the car to react, then it would jerk us forward and slow down.
Thankfully,  we made it to the entrance,  where you pay, before the car really had it. No sooner than I had pulled up,  the car jerked forward onw last time and then shut off.
As I waited for the lady to give me my receipt, I decided to try to turn the car on. She thought I was trying to drive away, but I let her know I was actually just making sure my care would turn on, which it did. Even though it turned on, there was no movement. No matter what gear I put it in, or how many times I tried to restart the car, there was nothing to do.
Thankfully the nice lady who was helping me called over one of the officers and they both pushed my car to a side area, so I wasn't blocking the entrance. Mind you that the entire time they were pushing, buttons, my protective dog, was barking like crazy at them.
Anyways, by the time we made it to the side, Chris was on his way to rescue us. After a short while of walking around the car and in the feild nearby, so that we could all stretch our legs, Chris arrived. It didn't take him very long to decide that we would take his truck and he would wait for a tow truck.
Long story short, the car had a line that had a crack so it was unable to maintain enough pressure to work properly, which was only a $230 fix. Hopefully that's all, but we're waiting to hear back.

Which brings us to today. Its 9:30am, and we've already had breakfast,  taken the dogs out, played with toys,  and done bubbles. With no car, and having it rain outside, this is our first day that we can't leave the apartment.  (Though we may escaoe later and try to walk to target, which isn't too far)

Here are our bubbles we made. :)

When Your Power Steering Runs Out!

No my car didn't run off the road. ;)

With that said, mainly for family and friends who know me all to well, I'm talking about when our life feels like it's out of control and it's hard to correct our path.

As I sat in MOPS today, listening to Shannon Bloodworth, she spoke about how we are so often faced with the enemy telling us lies and trying to veer us in the wrong direction. It's so hard to say "NO!" and fight back. Something she said that I loved was that we need to fight with "the blood of Christ" on our side. We need to constantly fight against the lies and deceits of the enemy with the power that we are given through Jesus's blood.

As she spoke, full of energy and spirit, she told us example after example of how we are so often confronted with a decision to put up our boundaries and protect our minds and our lives, or fall into the enemy's traps.

I got the image in my head of being in a car and realizing I'm on the wrong street. The problem is, my power steering is out! In order to turn my car so I can return to the right street, I have to force my steering wheel with all my might.

I feel like so often I get in a place in my life that I don't want to be in. Whether it's believing the enemy's lies that I am not good enough, or worrying about outcomes, it's so hard to realize that you have to stop and use all of your might to pray for help to change your thinking.  I know I have to just stop myself in my tracks sometimes and tell myself, "Be still, trust and let God do his work. You are good enough. You are enough because you are in Him. You are loved."

I shared with my group today that through our journey of infertility I have always wanted to be in control. I have always taken tests and checked my results over and over again, googling what the results might mean. (Since I am totally medically trained and know what everything means... or not) I wanted to be in control because I wasn't trusting that God knew best. Even though I know that come August, whatever happens will happen, and if nothing happens we will just plan our life as a party of three, I have had a really hard time truly trusting and letting go.

I always think of being still, letting go, as if I'm holding on to a rope and I have to let go, trusting that God will catch me. The truth is that I'm letting go, but not trusting. My mental image of what my emotions look like is often a person falling off a cliff, flailing and freaking out the whole way down. Of course I'm not actually falling off a cliff, but emotionally I'm absolutely flailing around. I've let go of my control, but I'm constantly grasping to try to reach any other rope, which is causing me to stress out, and flail, the whole way. I find myself constantly going back to worrying about "what will happen if..."

So friends, I'm finding myself having to consciously make myself believe that God has me. I have to remind myself that it may not be my plan, but God does know best.

God must have a sense of humor, because every time I'm about to learn something, he gives me something to apply it to. This week, as I opened my bible to find our verse for the week, I landed on Hebrews 11:1.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (NIV)

Have faith. Faith that God can. Faith that God knows best. Faith that God loves us. Faith that he has a plan and he hears us.

So have faith, and pray for the strength to veer away from where you shouldn't be, and strength to face the enemy with the truth that God is sovereign.

A Princess Affair

My sweet baby isn't a baby anymore! We celebrated her birthday this year Princess style!

As she got closer to her 3rd birthday,  everything was princesses. She wanted the dresses, the crowns, the shoes, the jewels... you name it.

So obviously we chose to celebrate in royal style!

Here are some of the highlights!

Prince charming and his princess

Royal hidden treasure

Royal carriage

With private parking spot!

Making crowns

Happy Birthday My Sweet Princess!

Loving what you have, being thankful for what you don't.

As I reflect on what the new reality is for a friend, who just gave birth to a beautiful child who was born with complications, I was reminded that everything happens for a reason and with a purpose.

I was reminded today,  or rather told, that everyone is born "with a purpose at an appointed time." Not only is every child born exactly when and where they are meant to, but it reminds me that this is also true for me.

As I have dealt with depression and anxiety issues for years, I often wondered "why me?" I often wondered if I was adopted, though I'm the spitting  image of my mother, with my father's health and personality. I couldn't understand why I was made the way I was, because I always felt like I fell short.

But as I was reminded today, I was created specifically how I am, specifically when I was, for my specific situation.

So was everyone who is on this earth,

Of course, going through what our family is dealing with, I am reminded that Abby is exactly who she is meant to be, and was born exactly when she was meant to be. Same goes for any children we may have in the future.

My challenge to us all is to view everyone, yes even the annoying person infront of us at Starbucks,  as a beautiful,  purposeful,  God intended and created person.

Searching for Good Isn't (shouldn't) Be Hard

Sometimes it seems as though lifr is controlling us. Its as if we are just onlookers to our own lives.  We often feel like we have no control over what happens,  all we can do is pray it will be ok.

In those moments it's really easy to focus on being overwhelmed and any bad we can identify. 

This is the kind of situation I find myself in now. As I sit in a crowded restaurant,  waiting for a friend to arrive so we can have a girl's night,  I am realizing how out of control I feel. It would be so easy to  see everything as overwhelming.  Everything from moving to mission trips, possibilities of birth control to take an infertility break, to even the simple goings on of life. These things seems to be happening around me, with me praying that certain outcomes would take place.  All I can do is pray.

Pray in the morning, through the day, and, it seems, pray myself to sleep.

But as I sat in traffic earlier today, in no particular rush to be anywhere,  I realized that though I have a lot going on, a lot that can stress me out, I also have a lot to be thankful for. My husband sometimes thinks I'm pulling at straws when I'm trying to be thankful for everything we are blessed with, but it helps me realize its not so bad.

Find what you're thankful for, even if it's just the blue sky, or the rain watering the trees.