Tuesday, January 26

Burberry

When Burberry looks like this... is it still considered chic?
*Side note. Doug thought this post was a little mean... but I told him pepole have to know. NEVER buy my son a collared shirt. His gobble clearly gets in the way... On a serious note, thank you to cousin Chase for the AMAZING hand-me-downs!

Monday, January 25

Consignment ROCKS!

The joys received from the 'little things' = PRICELESS! Take for instance my steals at Value Village on Friday! I got ALL THIS for $38! (translates to $270 of goodness!)

A chair for Parker's room. Clothes for him from Janie & Jack (nothing was more than $1.50!!) and these AMAZING books many just $2.99 for my prego library!!! Seriously... one of my most joyous moments!

Saturday, January 23

Tortoise


“We called him Tortoise because he taught us.”
~ Lewis Carroll


It's no secret that we often refer to Mr. Parker as 'turtle.' From the very beginning both in his looks and actions he has resembled a turtle. I ran across this quote the other day and chills entered my body. So true was this statement especially on that particular day.

The last few months have been hard. I knew I was never alone in my struggles, as many new moms have gone through the same things... but yet I was. Doug working, friends working and family on the other side of the globe, I felt very alone.

We had teething, Christmas travels and slightly compromised immune systems. The sleep that I ignorantly had taken for granted was gone and looked as if it would NEVER return.

I found myself growing weaker and struggling. I began questioning my child, my mothering skills and even if I could do 'this,' period. Every conversation was about me, me, me and questions of why, why, why. It became very vain... 'why is he acting like this?' 'This shouldn't be happening to me.'

Finally one day, after a great devotion and a phone call from a friend... I got it. The reality check that I needed. All the hard stuff that I was experiencing was motherhood. Parker's struggles were innocent and most likely to teach me a lesson.

The day that I decided to accept each new challenge or experience as a blessing, things changed! Parker slept through the night and has continues to sleep better. I am no longer questioning myself as a mother or my parenting style. Parker is a fine communicator, all I have to do is listen. Block out the outside world and it's influences, naysayers and criticism and listen to my intuition.

I now fully understand why we felt the need to call him turtle. Because he is here to teach us, especially me! Thank you Parker for holding the mirror nice and steady for me to see! (It must have been so heavy for you to hold it for so long! Next time I will be quicker!) With my pride no longer on my shoulders, the gain of sleep and the little bit of yoga... I am a new and stronger women! Thank you tortoise for the life lessons. Please, keep them coming!

Sunday, January 10

Change

Without change we stop evolving and die... right? Well last week being sick, stuck at home and taking care of a 4.5 month old drove me to 'change' some things. Some were small and not worth sharing, however one was really, really big. Let me preface the photo first. My biggest girl crush ever is Rebecca Woolf and a couple weeks back she posted how to 'trim your bangs' at home. In Chandra speak I interpreted that as how to 'cut your own bangs.' And did just that on Thursday afternoon. I freaked out just a little and scheduled an appointment to fix what I had started. To my surprise my stylist said she liked them and did very little to fix the mess. This means two things... Rebecca's photo tutorial was pretty fierce and I can cut some mean bangs! Ok, Ok... enough talk. What DO YOU THINK?

I kind of feel like they make me look old. Or, I could just be in shock that I am days from turning 29... which means that next year I will be 30! (That's a whole other post... which I will gladly share with you soon!)

Lastly, this is a little something I threw together for Doug. It's his 'mantra' for 2010 and it now resides on our living room wall! Wishing you all 'massive, massive, change' this year!

Wednesday, January 6

What to do...

A very popular discussion. Sleep... or lack there of. I was VERY blessed in the beginning because Parker boy loved his sleep. Some nights he slept straight through and other nights he woke just once. Now... he is waking three times a night and I don't know what to do!

It started the beginning of December. At his four month check up he had gained not quit a pound. Being a little competitive I must say I was a little bummed! Well before I new it he was getting up all night long and eating me out of house and home. Ten days later he had already gained a pound and showed no signs of backing down. I knew that he was experiencing a growth spurt and I thought it would be short lived, so I rolled with it.

Then it was Ohio for nine days over Christmas. Many new faces, shorter naps, new beds and again... up three times every night. I thought that he wasn't feeling well, so again I nurtured it. (Later we decide he is partial to the gluten free/no cheese diet I had been faithful to the month before.)

Back home in Washington he has returned to his happier self, his poop is almost back to normal... but I'm still getting up three times a night. Granite, I realized the child won't sleep 11+ hours without waking to eat, but when the times become 1.5 hours between each other, I know that he doesn't need to eat.

I have tried letting him cry it out. But hello... have you meet his temper? He has never been very good at soothing himself, even since he has picked up sucking his fingers. I have even sent Doug in to get him thinking he won't associate him with eating and would nestle back down... nope.

I guess what I am struggling with most is what to do. My elders say 'rice cereal.' However, Doug and I both would rather not. And I don't know what my intuition is telling me. Partly that one feeding, two occasionally is suffice, but that three is tooooo many. And partly that this is what he needs or he wouldn't be asking for it.

I find it complicating yet empowering how we evolve in what we know and believe as people. This is then played out in our personal lives and for me now how I parent. Right now I sit with bags under my eyes, a hankie in my lab (Ohio travels, Christmas goodies & NO sleep = sniffles) and many questions running through my mind. But I am thankful and appreciative for the healthy, amazing gift that sleeps beautifully on the other side of the wall!

Saturday, January 2

Ringing in 20-10!

I've spent just a short time thinking about what I want my life and our family dynamic to look like in 2010. What I've come up with so far is:
  1. Quality time together, cherishing the small things.
  2. My life more Christ centered, spending time digesting and memorizing His word.
  3. Growing more of our food and making delicious, nourishing goodness to feed our souls, bodies and minds.
And that's pretty much as far as I am right now... because I have this to tend to!