Borrowed Baby Gear

Okay, so traveling with a baby means you bring a lot of stuff.  You need to pack enough outfits.  You need to pack enough burp rags.  You need to pack enough toys... 

And then there's the stuff you just decide to leave at home, because it's cost-inhibitive (or space-inhibitive) to take them.  You know, like the stroller.  Or the jumper chair.  Or the changing table.  Or the crib. 

If you drive, perhaps you have fewer space restraints.  We flew, though...  So we had to be choosy.  Even then, my husband, upon seeing the 10+ outfits I'd packed for the baby, said, "10 outfits!?!  Wow.  That's an awful lot." 

I think he was willing to take back that statement when we changed her out of her first outfit at the airport on the way out.... since she pooped before we even boarded the airporter (but we didn't know it until we were already on it and driving...). 

But anyway...  You end up traveling not-so-light.  Even without the pack and play or stroller.  And those are seriously important items when you're already out of your own element (and the baby is out of hers as well). 

But I happen to have some seriously awesome friends in Alabama.  And they have come to my rescue.  We have been loaned a pack & play as well as a stroller by two of the most amazing women I know.  They are so good to us. 

I am so grateful for the borrowed baby gear.  Because my girl needs her own space (she's used to it!  And she doesn't do well without it!).  And it's so nice not to have to pack her around everywhere in the front pack!  A back needs a break every now and again :).  The stroller is awesome -- and even better is that she is thrilled with it!  She is able to enjoy some strolls around the neighborhood (and possibly the UA campus).  This awesomeness -- and the women who made it happen -- have made our trip all the more pleasant.  And I really am grateful :).

What are you grateful for today?

A Good-Flying Baby

So I have to be brief today.  Because it's been a long couple of days.  And I'm running on maybe 3 hours of sleep I got this afternoon, after we reached my dad's.  And 3 hours may be a generous guesstimate. 

But my grateful for the day is a good-flying baby :)...  What is that?  Well, a baby who does way better than we could have hoped on her first flight (and 2nd).  And when the first flight is when she should be well on her way to dreamland (and she hasn't had a wink of sleep before boarding!), it's even more impressive.  I was seriously worried we would be the most hated passengers on the red-eye last night; but thankfully, our sweet girl was very quiety and nobody's sleep was interrupted much -- if at all.  Well, except maybe mine and Daddy's...  But, still.  Awesome that we aren't hated ;).

What are you grateful for today?

Vacation

 

Life is great.  But even a great life needs something a little out of the ordinary every once in a while :).  Something to look forward to (yes, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition...  And the next one too.).  And that's where vacations come in!  Sometimes you just need time away from the hustle and bustle (or the hum-drum) of every day life.  Time to get out of the routine.  Time to go away and do something fun.  See fun people.  Eat yummy food you can't get every day.

And we are going to do just that!  Tonight we fly to Alabama.  And let me tell you, if there are to be days where I struggle to pick just one grateful item, it will be the next 8 days...  And so they may have to spill over to our return to reality ;).  And that's okay.

But today, I'm grateful for vacations.  Grateful that we have the opportunity to go.  Grateful for the excitement.  Nervous about flying with a baby overnight (maybe I should offer an apology before take-off??).  But oh-so-excited to be going.

One thing I know for sure:  this vacation is going to rock the Nilla Life :).

What are you grateful for today?

Throwback 80's Cereals!

Yes, I am completely serious.  These are "grateful-worthy" :).  Because they totally made my day!! 

I don't know what it is about me and sugary, bad-for-you cereals; but I love them.  I know I shouldn't.  But I do.  They are on the expensive side, though.  And I've become miserly.  So I rarely buy anything but Raisin Bran (from Costco) these days, unless I get a phenomenal sale. 

And I don't know what it is about me and the 80s.  But I love that decade.  The music, the movies, the fads, the TV shows.  The cereals.  Pretty much every year since we started doing the Halloween party (except this year), I have bought Boo Berry cereal to make Boo Berry treats (a la rice krispie treats).  And the box of the cereal was a new design.  So when I went to Target the other day and saw these, I about died.  (Okay, that's a little exaggerated.)  But seriously!  The throwback box!?!  It was all I could do to tear myself away without making a purchase.  I admit, I was a little heart-broken.

So imagine my surprise when the mail lady rang my doorbell today and I got a package.  And inside was a box of every single one.  It was like Christmas, I kid you not.  I've never tried the mummy one or the frute brute, but I'm looking forward to the experience :)...

Yep, they are a guilty pleasure, but they made my day.  And I'm grateful for them.  And for the awesome 80s-loving friend who sent them for my birthday :)...  But she's getting her own grateful post one of these days.  Because she's just that awesome :).

What are you grateful for today?

My Savior and His Atonement

I guess that seems like two things for which to be grateful today, but I don't think I could separate them.  He is who He is because of what He did for me.  For you.  For everyone.

So to not make this "grateful" among my first was a conscious decision.  Not because I am not grateful beyond words for both my Savior and His Atonement, but because it is an obvious one to me, and one I planned to set aside for those days where I may feel blah and have a hard time thinking of something.

But as I sat in Relief Society today and heard the teacher say something like, "Even if you feel like you have nothing else to be grateful for in your prayers, be grateful for the Atonement," it actually hit me really hard: Why haven't I taken a day to express my gratitude for this?  Is this not one of the most important parts of my life -- if not THE most important?

I am not saying I don't have a lot for which to be grateful.  I've barely scratched the surface in the three weeks I've been doing this.  But my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Atonement He performed are of utmost importance to me.  They influence all other aspects of my life.

It is because of the Atonement that I can be forgiven.  That I have been forgiven.  I have made probably a million (or more) mistakes in my life.  Some small.  But some quite large.  And it is because of the Savior and His Atonement that I have been able to repent of those things and be forgiven.  I have been able to feel the weight of guilt lifted from my shoulders.  I know what it feels like to let go of a burden of sin.

It is because of the Atonement that I can be healed.  I have had heart-ache in my life.  I have had moments of extreme devastation.  Moments I felt so broken I didn't believe anything could heal me.  But as I learned to rely on my Savior and His Atonement, I felt the healing power of that sacred act.  I know what it feels like when broken things are mended.

It is because of the Atonement that I can do hard things.  I believe in the enabling power of the Atonement.  I believe that, when something feels like too much for me to bear, I can turn to my Savior for help.  That through His grace and through His Atonement, I will receive the help and strength I need to have.  I know what it feels like to have strength beyond my own to persevere when life is hard.

Through His Atonement, my Savior has offered me all of these things.  But He offers me so much more as well.  He offers me an example of what kind of person I want to be.  He offers me His love -- a love I don't completely comprehend.  He offers me hope.  

And, because I remembered something I wrote many years ago that seems so appropriate to this post, I will include it here:

And, because it is Easter, I feel like I should share something much deeper than the mundane details (and faux pas) of my daily life. So, as I was driving home from Brad's, a memory popped into my head about an insight I gained once. It had more to do with the Savior's Atonement than His Resurrection, but as those two things are kind of tightly intertwined, I feel that this is applicable. I can remember very vividly walking around FoodMaxx in Tuscaloosa the day before I was to head to Dothan for Thanksgiving in 2006. I'd been in Tuscaloosa for about 3 weeks at that point -- and I was so very alone. So, so very alone. It had been almost 6 months since my divorce -- a wound that was still very, very fresh. And I was in such emotional anguish. I can remember walking down the frozen aisle -- not even sure why I was there at this point -- and thinking, "I feel like I can barely hold up under the emotional pain and anguish I'm feeling right now. How did the Savior bear every single pain, sorrow, grief, sickness, and sin of not only me, but of the world? How could He stand it? I cannot even begin to fathom that, because I can barely hold up under this small bit of right now -- nevermind my past and my future." It remains one of the most poignant moments of my life -- that realization of just what my Savior did for me. "Surely He has borne [my] griefs and carried [my] sorrows." And though I cannot fully understand how He was able to do it -- nor need I understand -- I know that He did. And He did it, because He loved me. And because He loved every single person who ever has been and ever will be born. And He did it so that we could return to be with our Heavenly Father. And He was allowed to feel that anguish -- mine, as well as yours, so that he would "know... how to succor his people." Through His Atonement, He broke the bands of spiritual and physical death. And I have every reason to know I am forever blessed because of it.  

He is my Savior.  And yours.  And I am so grateful for Him and all He has done for me.

What are you grateful for today?

Theme Parties

Okay, so I love to plan stuff.  Event-type things.  And one of the things I have done almost every year since I moved to Washington is plan a Halloween Party for my family.  In the last couple of years, it's been more for the kids, so the focus has changed some and we've done things like candy-corn bingo.  Tonight we had our Halloween Party, and this is the first year we had nieces and nephews from both my side of the family and my husband's side.  And this year, I think I was most excited about the "touch boxes" I made (and found on Pinterest). 

A large part of my parties centers around food.  (Have I mentioned yet that I am a total foodie?).  So tonight we had jack-o-lantern grilled cheese, mummy hot dogs, green slime dip, jello worms, eyeball deviled eggs, candy-corn fruit cups, and ghost rice krispie treats with orange soda (decorated like a jack-o-lantern).  I don't know, there's just something fun about themed food in my world...

I've planned an 80's party where we had foods named after things of the 80s (like "oreo truffle shuffle" and "Pretty in Pink lemonade").  I planned a party with my friend April based on the sitcom "The Office" back in its heyday.  This included a Dwight pen in jello and a kitty litter cake, and bacon -- from an episode in which one of the characters grilled his own foot on his George Forman grill -- and a few other things. 

I don't know, I just think it's fun!  It's one of the areas I sometimes feel creative :).  And part of the fun is in the planning, at least for me. 

So I'm grateful for opportunities to plan and participate in theme parties.  They are one of the bright spots in my very blessed life :).

What are you grateful for today?

Cloth Diapers

Well, I'll be frank:  we are primarily disposable diaper people.  We have been since our little girl was born.  Fortunately, we received a lot of diapers as baby gifts, and so we still haven't had to buy diapers.  But that day is rapidly approaching when we will (and our vacation will necessitate it sooner, because I'm not packing an entire package that I can just buy there...). 

I should also mention that, before the baby was born, I had told my husband that I would consider cloth diapers... eventually.  I never gave a specific time-frame, but was clear that it would be considered only after I had figured out how to be a mom.  I didn't need one more thing I had to figure out thrown in there.  (Kudos to our moms for using cloth diapers from day one, back when disposable diapers were too expensive for their budget -- seriously, my hat is off to them.)  (Also, I should say that I am not saying I've figured out how to be a mom, necessarily.  Just that I at least have gotten to know our munchkin enough to anticipate things :)).  So my husband had brought up the subject a while back, and I still wasn't really willing to commit to anything. 

But then the whole government shut-down scare happened.  And my little family was affected.  Or at least we thought we would be.  And I may be a touch on the alarmist/dramatic side; because upon hearing my husband was working with a promise of payment eventually, but not at the expected time, I immediately started thinking about ways we could cut back on our spending, or use the money to stock up on essentials.  Cloth diapers weren't exactly at the top of my list of ways to save money (but less expensive meals were, and if I'm going that route, you know I'm concerned...  I like food).  But then I got a call from a friend whose husband was in the same boat, and whose kids are all now potty trained.  Would I like to use her cloth diapers to save a bit of money?  And so I figured: why not give it a try?  So she gave me her diapers along with her extra money-saving tips, and I determined to try it out. 

Funny enough, my husband is not sold on them.  And it's true, they are way less convenient.  (Especially when she poops in the cloth diapers).  But they are saving us some money.  Because even though my husband's paycheck was never interrupted, thankfully, I do still have a budget we set up and agreed to use.  And so this is letting my grocery budget (where I budgeted the diapers) stretch further.  Now, I have chosen to cloth diaper only when we are home (and we're not taking them on vacation), but most days that means we use a maximum of 3 disposable diapers.  And I figured it out... If we use 3 disposables every day and cloth diapers the rest of the time, we would only use a box of Costco diapers every 2 months.  And that's not bad.

So yeah, even though they aren't my favorite thing in the world, I am grateful for the cloth diapers.  And for my friend Christina who lent them to me.

And it really doesn't hurt that tonight, while our munchkin was sporting her bulky cloth diaper (made bulkier by the extra money saving tips), I was reminded of a certain Sir Mix-A-Lot song.  Because this baby [had] back.  Hahaha.

What are you grateful for today?