That My Husband Got Up with the Baby This Morning

Maybe my little guy is teething.  Because he isn't having such great nights of sleep lately.  He is up every 4 hours or less.  Yuck.

My husband knew how many times I got up in the middle of the night.  And so, when our little guy woke up at 6:30 this morning, my husband (who has to work a late shift) took the baby to the living room and fed him and played with him and let me sleep.  I didn't get up until 8.  It was a beautiful thing. 


What are you grateful for today?

That My Kids Woke Up

So lately, I've been kind of in a funk.  It's not a fun place to be.  And it's not a good place to be.  It impacts everything from the way I feel about myself to my relationships with my husband and my kids.  It also means I haven't dealt with things like no sleep well.

And when you're a parent...  Especially when you're a mom...  Well, lack of sleep comes with the territory.

And yesterday was a morning following a night where my little man had a particularly crappy night.  Which meant I had a particularly crappy (read: sleepless) night.  But I'd gotten him back down around 5:30 and was hoping to get another 2 to 2 1/2 hours of sleep before he woke again, and since my sweet girl had been sleeping in until about 7:30 recently, I thought there was an actual chance it might happen.

But it didn't.

My girl was up at 6:30 and went right into the room where her baby brother was sleeping and excitedly called out to him.  Which woke him up.  And well, I just was grumpy from then on.  Which made my husband grumpy.

I've decided grumpiness is the gift that keeps on giving.

Anyway, around 8:30, we all went down for a much-needed nap:  Daddy and baby boy in our bedroom and Mommy and our sweet girl on the couch.  And as I lay there, I thought about something my awesome friend Andrea had just posted on facebook the day before about gratitude.

In my grumpy state, I wanted to say there was nothing for which to be grateful in regards to losing sleep because my kids wake up early.  But I decided, as I lay there next to my precious little girl, that maybe I should look for the silver lining in even the most annoying of circumstances.  And I forced myself to look for one in that scenario.

And when I did, I actually teared up.  Because here's the silver lining:  my kids both woke up.  Sometimes, somewhere, a mother loses a baby or child in sleep.  And every day my babies wake up, I am blessed.

And so, though it is hard to not get enough sleep day after day.  And though I wouldn't mind it if the baby would sleep through the night or the 2 year old would stay asleep until 8 in the morning...  The truth is, I'm infinitely grateful that my babies woke up yesterday.  And today.  And I pray that I don't ever encounter a day when that isn't true.  I just have to remember that there is generally always a silver lining -- even in the most annoying of circumstances.  I just have to look for it a little harder some days.

And I'm working on that.  Because I believe it will help me get out of my funk :).


What are you grateful for today?

Milo (Pronounced Mee-low) ;)

Okay, so this stuff isn't the greatest chocolate drink mix ever.  My love of Milo is not really about the Milo.  It's about the memories. 

Memories of sitting at the kitchen table at 7229-B Rybicki Road in Cardenas with Brad and Christina.  Memories of our glasses of Milo set before us (probably the first time we ever tried the stuff).  Memories of our -- I don't know: shock?  annoyance?  laughter? -- that the stuff didn't mix in at all.  Like, at all.

And most definitely memories of Brad (ever the comedian), lifting his spoonful of Milo, proffering it to me and saying, "Hila, would you like a bite of my Milo?" 

And memories of the laughter that followed. 

It's why I buy this stuff for him (and myself) every time I go home to Alabama (I can't find it in regular grocery stores up here).  Because, trust me, it's not about the Milo (seriously, the stuff doesn't mix in!  Hence the lovely layer in the pictures above!  And hence Brad's burning question!) ;).


What are you grateful for today?

Airport Play Areas

We recently took a vacation.  To Alabama, as usual :).  Always worth it, don't get me wrong.  But Washington is on the opposite side of the States.  So this makes for a looooong day of travel.  Especially with 2 kiddos!  (And let's just say that we were particularly worried about how our little man would fare on the flights.  But we learned that he is just about as awesome a flyer as his sister is!).

Anyway, long day of travel.  And a 2 year old with a ton of energy.  And an airplane ride (or two) in which she will be required to sit almost 100% of the time. 

And that's why I think the person who developed the idea of airport play areas was a pure genius.  Pure.  Genius.  Or someone who has been there, done that with children.

So this was our first stop once we got through security at SeaTac!  It was so awesome.  Plus it had a family bathroom and a mother's nursing area attached.  Again -- genius!  We were able to stop and regroup while our Energizer Bunny ran around jumping on all these airplanes and such.  She was generally contained, and while we were always vigilant and watching, we didn't have to be as nervous about her wandering away and getting lost in huge airport. 

They had one of these in Dallas where we stopped on the way to Alabama.  They also had a small one in the Birmingham, AL airport.  We love them. 

Three cheers for airports with play areas!  They are the life-saver of parents with young children who are traveling all day :)!!


What are you grateful for today?

Fruity Pebbles

Judge me if you will, but I have a category of things in life I like to call guilty pleasures.  They are things I know I probably shouldn't enjoy...  But I do.  And so, on occasion, I allow myself the guilty pleasure of enjoying them.

Well, Fruity Pebbles is one of them.  I am fully aware they are packed-full of food colors and dyes.  And sugar.  And I am fully aware that is not healthy for me. 

But there's just something about those Fruity Pebbles that, to me, is oh-so-yummy.  (My husband thinks I'm crazy.  He thinks they leave a waxy coating in his mouth, so he doesn't enjoy them.  But I do!)

So, because I know they aren't the best option for me, I don't buy them.  But sometimes you just have awesome friends who know you like certain things.  And sometimes those awesome friends bring you those very things you like as a "hey, you just pushed a huge baby out of your body!  You should enjoy something you like!" gift. 

And so I've been doing just that with these -- in those very very very very rare quiet moments when it's just me.  So I'm grateful for Fruity Pebbles to enjoy.  And the awesome friend who brought them for me to enjoy :).

What are you grateful for today?

Compassionate Service and Those Who Render It

Five days ago I gave birth to a healthy (and big!) baby boy.  It's a blessing. 

It also means lots of adjusting for everyone, and lots of sleepless nights for mommy and daddy.

And every day since we've been home from the hospital, we have been blessed by the love and service of others who are caring for us by bringing us meals to help alleviate the "things to do" on our list every day.

I cannot even adequately begin to express my gratitude for these wonderful people who so abundantly bless our lives.  With post-pregnancy hormones raging through my body, the truth is I get choked up when I think about how much this service has meant to our little family.  Truly these wonderful people exemplify Christ-like love.  Their generosity has been enormous.  And there truly are not words enough to thank them. 

I know there are others more needing and more deserving of this service.  But it has been so wonderful to have one less thing to think about these days. 

And just as I'm thankful to be receiving this service at this time in our lives, I'm thankful that I have opportunities to serve others when they are in need.  I'm grateful to be able to help, even in a small way.  And I'm grateful that, through receiving the service we are receiving, we have an even better appreciation for and desire to do such service to others -- for we know what a blessing it is.

So to all you wonderful people (some of whom may read this and others who may not), thank you.  Thank you for blessing our lives.


What are you grateful for today?

Our Recliner!

I've been meaning to post this for a while.  But time is not really something I have a lot of these days and before I know it, it's 10 p.m. and I'm trying to convince myself it's time to go to bed ;).

After going through the newborn phase with our little girl, I realized that a recliner would have been nice.  So I told my husband I wanted a recliner with the next baby.  He thought I was crazy.  Because recliners take up a lot of space.  And they aren't fun to move, because they are heavy.  But he loves me.  And so he looked for a recliner.  And he hit paydirt a couple weeks ago!  Sometimes I love Craigslist!

So he found this recliner, called the lady and we drove out and bought it.  It's a swivel rocker recliner and it is so awesome.  Microfiber, so easy to clean.  Enormous, so will fit me and two kiddos (because I'm sure my toddler will want to sit with me a lot when I'm rocking in it with a newborn).  And we got it at a great price. 

Sometimes (well, most times) I consider these happenings as tender mercies from the Lord.  Because I really wanted a good recliner.  And, since we were getting it second-hand, I wanted it to be clean and all that.  Well, we went to pick it up, and I had no concerns over the history of this recliner. 

My munchkin loves it.  It is now where we sit and read our stories before bedtime every night.  I love this recliner because it's comfortable and I enjoy laying back and relaxing with my huge belly.  And I'm pretty positive I'm going to be able to sleep in this thing with a newborn.  And that is a beautiful thing!

So I'm so very grateful for this new acquisition in our home.  Even if it does take up a ton of room ;). 

And I'm quite grateful for that cutie who is sitting in it in the picture above.  I love that little girl!

What are you grateful for today?