If we were sitting down over a cup of coffee right now and I were being totally open and honest with you I would tell you I am tired.
Physically, emotionally, and spiritually tired.
Three weeks ago is when it all officially started, but I guess it had been going on for even longer. I finally got Bug to the doctors on July 10th. Due to a lot of extenuating circumstances, Bug hadn't been to the doctor in months. We ended up having to switch to a totally new office and thankfully a friend of mine who is a doctor was happy to take my kids on as patients. I had known for a lot time that he was really small...but hearing words like "failure to thrive", blood work, and specialists had me feeling broken, drowning, helpless, and alone. My husband was at work and I had to keep my composure.
After having had my first be 9lbs 5oz at birth and by his first birthday being around 25 lbs; I never expected to have my second be such a little peanut. Bug was 8lbs 5oz at birth but at 11 months weighed in only at 16 lbs. They want babies to double birth weight between 4-6 months and triple by their first birthday. Now what?...
It took me a couple of days of crying and praying to be able to face reality and really be ready to deal with whatever we need to do.
Then the next week hit.
Tuesday the 16th my husband started to not feel well and by the time he came home from work I could tell he was really sick. We ended up sleeping downstairs most of the night, Dowe on the rocking recliner and me on the couch. It's the room with the AC and our room was so beyond hot it almost felt hard to breathe even for me.
I ended up driving him to work on Wednesday as he wasn't up to driving himself. After taking him to work I took Bug to the hospital for his blood to be drawn...
I wanted to cry.
My sweet little boy, not even a year old, was being poked and prodded and I had to help hold him down for the whole thing. But he was a little trooper. He cried during the initial poke but once they were just collecting the blood he just looked at me with these sad little eyes that said "Mommy, this hurts and I don't like it but I know you're holding me and that I'm safe. I know you would never let anything hurt me for no reason."
After that was done we went to the library for a few then off to get the rest of our camping supplies. And begin the process of packing for 4 people by myself to go camping for 3 days.
My husband's breathing got worse on Thursday and I told him if he wasn't substantially better by Friday morning we would be taking a trip to urgent care for either a Nebulizer treatment or an inhaler. He has a history of asthma and there was no way I was going camping with him like that. He thankfully woke up Friday morning feeling 100% again and off camping we went.
Camping ended up being a lot of fun. Crazy but fun. I'll do a post just on camping soon.
Needless to say soon after that the 2yo I babysit began to be unusually difficult and I've been burning the wick from both ends. And to top it all off my dear sweet friend who was adopting a little girl got to 71 out of 72 hours and the birth mom changed her mind. My sweet friend and her husband went home empty handed and brokenhearted to a home with a nursery awaiting this baby girl.
But on the days when I'm feeling the most pulled in every direction, emptied out, and I begin to get frustrated if I can just hide away for a few minutes to spend alone with Jesus I am able to feel the most at peace and the most grace.
Even in the midst of the craziness of it all, if I am just able to sit down with a cup of coffee and my Bible, quiet myself before Him and remember that he "daily bears our burdens" (psalm 68.19) I am able to feel centered once again and can make it through the day much better than when I try to do it on my own.
I'm not saying it's easy but at least I feel I am then able to finish well.
What do you do when you are feeling tired and overwhelmed in every area of your life?
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Have yourself a fluffy little Christmas!
Merry Christmas!!
Actual Christmas is still months away, but, to celebrate Christmas in July, The Parenting Patch and other participating blogs are giving away a Best Bottom Diapers cloth diaper prize pack to one lucky winner!!
Heather and Poppy are huge fans of Best Bottom Diapers. Even James prefers Best Bottoms over other cloth diapers. From the double leg gussets to the inserts that snap in, Best Bottom cloth diapers are an all around winner in The Parenting Patch household. a Rafflecopter giveaway The Parenting Patch Christmas in July Best Bottom Giveaway is restricted to legal residents of the United States of America and Canada. The Christmas in July Best Bottom Giveaway ends at midnight EST on July 25, 2013. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Prefold Party Day 3!
Welcome to Day 3 of The Median Mommy's Preference for Prefolds Party! Prize Pack #3 is another amazing pack, full of wonderful handcrafted cloth diapering goodies!
The beautiful creations of Rumor Has It are the handywork of Constance. I was drawn to Constance's Etsy store by the beautiful fabrics and designs she uses to create her handbags, wallets, burp cloths and blankets. You can also find her on Facebook here.
Gotcha Covered Diapers is the handiwork of Emily Hicks, having started creating diaper covers for her cloth diapering daughter. Once she started, Emily said that she "fell in love with designing and making these!" You can purchase any of her fun and funky prints, with sizes fitting 2-40 lbs., in her Etsy store here. You can also see her latest additions special offers posted on her Facebook page.
Amy Washington is the talented seamstress behind Mama Bear Baby Wear. Mama Bear Baby Wear offers a range of items appealing to natural parenting aficionados: carriers, wonderful wool covers and homemade lanolizing spray, training pants, diaper covers, hybrid fitted diapers and more!
One lucky winner will receive:
1 Diaper Cover & 1 Set of Cloth Wipes from Green Mother Crafts
1 Diaper Cover from Gotcha Covered
1 Beautiful Set of Prefolds/Burp Cloths from Rumor Has It
1 Hybrid Prefold Diaper from Mama Bear Baby Wear
1 Pack of Snappi Baby Diaper Fasteners
Enter through the form below:
Giveaway Form:
From the Stash anniversary sale AND an exclusive coupon!
I have some very exciting news for you all plus an exclusive coupon code!
As you all know I am very pro-cloth diapers.
Having personally started our family out on a tight budget; cloth diapering is what made it possible for us to have me be a stay at home mom.
1 in 3 families struggle to diaper their babies and we were the 1.
And while we started out with a very simple and inexpensive cloth diaper stash some families struggle to even do what we did.
Which is why I am such a big supporter of Cloth For A Cause.
From The Stash which offers quality used cloth diapers and more is celebrating their one year anniversary in an amazing way! $1 from EVERY sale in the month of July is being donated to Cloth For A Cause!
"Every dollar that is donated to CFAC goes to helping us get diapers out to needy families. Before a cloth diaper is loaned out, it's stripped and repaired. A dollar can buy us a spool of thread to help us replace elastics. It can go towards buying elastic and buying detergents to make sure that the diapers are free of contaminants and safe for use. It also allows us to set families up with a bit of detergent so that they can safely start using their diapers (and washing them) right away."
So up above you saw the Buy More Save More percentages, HOWEVER, I have an exclusive coupon for all of you! For being one of my readers you get 5% off your purchase with NO minimum! So spend $5 and still get 5% off AND $1 gets donated to CFAC! Everyone wins!!!
Come on...you know it would make you happy to get some fluff for your own baby's bum AND help another momma put some fluff on her baby's bum too! Just enter "THANKFULFORTHORNS" at the check out to get 5% off your purchase no matter how big or small it is!
I would love for you to comment if you use this code and let me know what you got!
Don't forget they don't JUST sell cloth diapers...there are also lots of other goodies on the website so go check it out!
As you all know I am very pro-cloth diapers.
Having personally started our family out on a tight budget; cloth diapering is what made it possible for us to have me be a stay at home mom.
1 in 3 families struggle to diaper their babies and we were the 1.
And while we started out with a very simple and inexpensive cloth diaper stash some families struggle to even do what we did.
Which is why I am such a big supporter of Cloth For A Cause.
From The Stash which offers quality used cloth diapers and more is celebrating their one year anniversary in an amazing way! $1 from EVERY sale in the month of July is being donated to Cloth For A Cause!
Now you might not think that $1 is going to make a huge difference but it really can.
It could go towards getting new elastic to replace dead elastic in diapers, new snaps, or even shipping costs. I even found some Brand New Prefolds on From the Stash's website for $1.
So a dollar can go a lot farther than you might think.
I actually asked one of the lovely ladies from CFAC how does a dollar help and this was her response:
"Every dollar that is donated to CFAC goes to helping us get diapers out to needy families. Before a cloth diaper is loaned out, it's stripped and repaired. A dollar can buy us a spool of thread to help us replace elastics. It can go towards buying elastic and buying detergents to make sure that the diapers are free of contaminants and safe for use. It also allows us to set families up with a bit of detergent so that they can safely start using their diapers (and washing them) right away."
How awesome is that?! Every diaper that is sent out is completely ready to go directly onto baby! No washing and no prepping needed!
So up above you saw the Buy More Save More percentages, HOWEVER, I have an exclusive coupon for all of you! For being one of my readers you get 5% off your purchase with NO minimum! So spend $5 and still get 5% off AND $1 gets donated to CFAC! Everyone wins!!!
Come on...you know it would make you happy to get some fluff for your own baby's bum AND help another momma put some fluff on her baby's bum too! Just enter "THANKFULFORTHORNS" at the check out to get 5% off your purchase no matter how big or small it is!
I would love for you to comment if you use this code and let me know what you got!
Don't forget they don't JUST sell cloth diapers...there are also lots of other goodies on the website so go check it out!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Prefold Party Day 2!
Welcome to the second day of the Preference for Prefolds Party, hosted by The Median Mommy! Today I have another amazing prefold-related prize pack! Please check out these amazing sponsors below:
Founded in 2000, Babykicks is a family-owned and operated business based out of Maryland, making cloth diapers and accessories with natural and organic materials. Known for their hemp diapers & soakers, Babykicks are luxoriously soft, incredibly absorbent, and possess anti-microbial properties.
Kirsten Schultz is the artisan behind Sew Little, crafting everything from diaper covers, inserts, wipes to carriers. Her assortment of items, and colorful prints, make Sew Little a must visit store for new or expecting mamas!
Snappi Baby, creators of the pin-less diaper fasteners, Snappis -- one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread!
One lucky winner will receive:
BabyKicks prefolds: 1 each S, M, L
1 fitted prefold - Adrianna Knits
1 diaper cover - Sew Little
1 set cloth wipes - Sew Little
1 pack of Snappi diaper fasteners
You can enter through the form below:
Giveaway Form:
Monday, July 1, 2013
Prefold Party Day 1!
Without further adieu, let's introduce the first prize pack sponsors:
A HUGE thank you to all our sponsors!
What is included in the newborn prize pack, you ask?
- 1 Bummis Newborn pack, with 12 newborn prefolds and 2 wrap covers
- 1 Sew Little Stuff diaper cover and set flannel wipes
- 1 Pack of Snappi diaper fasteners
Giveaway Form:
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