10 Minutes in Paradise

The day started out like any other weekday. Dad & Sister left for work and school. Sticks and I were left to tackle the day at home. It seemed like a normal day, although quickly it became the clingy day. Moms know what I am talking about here. Nothing makes them happy all day, they whine and whine until you just don't think you can take anymore. The day when no one but Mommy will do and they must be held all day long, as they still continue to whine. All this would be fine, if I had nothing else to do that day (haha Mommy humor). I received an urgent work project that had 2 days to complete as well as dinner to make, house to clean and unending mound of laundry to do. After hours and hours of whining, in between naps, I was done. In the middle of making dinner I realized that I didn't have all the necessary ingredients, plus I had to be at a friend's house to pick something up and Daddy wasn't home yet. I left Sticks with Sister and ran over to my friend's house a few blocks away. I got to friend's house and she wasn't there yet. So, I turned off the car and sat there for about 10 minutes in absolute quiet. No one was talking to me, no one wanted to be held, I wasn't thinking about all the things I needed to do or haven't done. I just sat there and played Suduko on my phone. I realized shortly after my 10 minutes in Paradise, that it was the first time in a LONG time that I had been all alone and could just relax. Nap times are great, but they are usually a mad dash to get everything done that needs to be done. I realized that I need to schedule some Mommy alone time. Daddy needs to take Sticks and play while I sit and do nothing. Maybe I could grab a cup of coffee and drink it leisurely unencumbered by the fear of burning the baby. Maybe I could read a book just for fun, one that isn't a baby book or an educational book. Maybe I could learn a new skill, like painting or speaking a foreign language. Ok, maybe the last ones are a little too large to tackle in 10 minutes, still I am looking forward to my 10 minutes in Paradise...

Daily Bread

Making the choice to stay home and be a Mom was an easy decision for me. Ever since I was a kid all I ever wanted is to be a Wife and a Mom. I know in this day and age that may sound ridiculous, but it is truly what I wanted. I knew that staying home would be hard financially, but I knew God would make a way. We took a look at our budget when I got pregnant and started a mad dash to pay off debt and live as simply as possible. We have made a lot of sacrifices but, God has been truly faithful.

This faith journey has been remarkable. Growing up we have always prayed, "Give us today our Daily Bread." I never really understood this until this past year. Every time we are in need God has remarkably given us our daily bread. This past month our only car broke down. We were afraid it was the transmission, but thankfully it was only the catalytic converter, still very expensive but less than transmission repair. We truly didn't know how we were going to pay for this. God placed it on some one's heart to give us the money for the repair. Another dear friend loaned us a car until the repairs were completed. These are examples of the dozens and dozens of accounts of God's provision for us over the last year.

We are truly blessed to be able to rely on God to meet our needs and take care of us. I don't think I would exchange this time for anything. I know this time will pass but we get to be witness to the God of the universe who created the heavens and the earth providing all that we need. There is nothing that can replace that.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and Glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Falling in Love

I am somewhat astonished at the capacity to love that lies within us. It's amazing to think that you are all filled up and then you heart grows more and more. I am not saying that I am the Grinch and my heart suddenly grew 3 sizes larger, but I am saying that everyday I am so completely enamored with my little baby Sticks. She is getting to a really fun age. She is moving around, laughing and her personality is really developing. Tonight Big Sis was in the kitchen and started dancing and Sticks was in the exer-saucer. She was laughing and trying so hard to dance with her sister. It was hilarious. In the morning she wakes up so happy and is overjoyed to see Daddy & Mommy. All these little moments melt my heart and I feel truly blessed to have this baby girl. It is an awesome privilege to watch her grow and develop.

Thanks God! You picked the right time and baby for me. It was super hard waiting, but I am so happy now.

Who You Calling Short???

So Lizzie went in for her 4 month check up. As a new Mommy I was a little concerned about my baby. Compared to some of the other babies around, Lizzie is tiny. She is still wearing 0-6 week shoes and 0-3 months clothes. She is healthy and growing, but very petite. The doctor measured her and weighed her and then proceeded to give us her stats. She is 24 inches long and 13 lbs 8 oz. She is in the 46th percentile for weight and the 39th for height. The Dr. told us she was very petite, but that wasn't a problem. "We would be worried if she was below this line, as she pointed to her screen, and that would mean she would be less than 5 foot tall." Hmmm, I thought to myself. What's wrong with being less than 5 foot tall? I am 4' 11" and I manage to live just fine. I can drive a car, walk, buy clothes, and do all the things that "normal" people do just fine. I mean I do own 2 step stools and use kitchen tongs to get cans off of high shelves, but I am surely not disabled in anyway.

All in all I have a healthy baby girl. She is thriving and the Dr was surprised at how strong she is. The Dr noted that she will probably walk early, since she is already standing up and taking steps on her own. Lizzie will also probably be crawling and sitting up on her own by her next appointment. My life is really going to change quickly. My little baby girl will soon be mobile.

The New Math

So I am quickly realizing that anything I do now falls under new math. In my previous pre-baby life I could accomplish a million things in a day and work full time. Now living in my new life, post baby, I am living under the new math. Baby + any task = hours of work and not much accomplished/finished. Being a very task orientated person this brings me so much daily frustration. One would think after three plus months into mommy life I would realize it and give myself some grace. Not so much. Every time I give myself a to do list, I am surprised. Simple tasks are like now take forever to accomplish, bathroom cleaning 1 hour, laundry a full 2 day event, picking up the house NEVER ENDING! LA LA LA!!!!

In the midst of my frustration, I have become more organized with dinners and shopping. I have my dinners planned out for 3 weeks and shop for everything all at once. Of course, there are the additional grocery trips for perishables items (milk, fruit, etc). Doing dinner this way has saved my life, and my grocery bill. I can't imagine shopping every week, I don't know where I would find the time or effort to put into it. It has also greatly reduced my grocery bill every month. So far I am averaging less than $300. Not too shabby for a family of four. It's great also because we will live Sticks home with her sister and Dave and I have a fun date night at the Stater Bros. (OK I fully realize I am delusional and trying a mundane activity into a date. BUT, in my defense with a baby, a teenager and a pastor hubby, a girls gotta sneak in alone time with her man somehow right?)

Breaking the Queen of the 20 Minute Power Nap

So as you may remember Sticks is not the world's best napper. She gets exhausted and fights sleeping. Somehow she believes that during her nap we are all going to do something really cool and she will miss out. Lately, she was becoming the Queen of the 20 minute power nap, which drives me crazy. She will fall asleep and then 20 minutes or so later will wake up. Once she is awake she is fully engaged and utterly exhausted at the same time. This creates a downward spiral for the rest of the day as she increasing becomes more and more tired and grumpy. Then attempting to get her to sleep again at the next nap becomes an overly exhausted scream crying session with arm flaring and kicking. I have been trying to break this vicious cycle, for obvious reasons. The last few days she has actually taken great naps, including 3 hour nap session on back to back days. Woohoo! It's exciting times in the Land of Strobel. We need to keep this momentum going.

A Day with the Nephews

My brother and I really didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time with our cousins growing up. On my father's side of the family we were the youngest by 15-20 years. Most of my cousins were in their 20's and 30's by the time we came along. On my Mom's side everyone was a little geographically scattered so we kind of missed the opportunity there as well. All of this to say I am so thrilled that Sticks gets to grow up with cousins that are close in age to her, well on my side at least Daddy's side is a long story for another day. My brother and his wife welcomed their first son (aka #1) into the world in February of 2009 and their second son (aka #2) was only born in August of this year. Today their whole family came down and spent the day with us at our house. It was so fun to have all the kiddos together. Sticks is quite short compared to #2. It is so funny to see them next to each other. He is much longer than her already. This is further evidence that she is getting her height from me. Poor baby girl. #2 is also so much more mellow than Sticks. We placed them side right next to each other and Sticks was kicking her legs and moving her arms and talking #2 just kind of sat there and looked at her. It was almost like he was saying in his head get this crazy girl away from me. Poor #1, he is stuck with 2 little babies.

Double the fun!

Stick's playdate with her friend Cade. He is a few weeks younger than Sticks, but he is already longer than her. I think she will have my height. Here is to a lifetime of pants hemming.

Transformation

So becoming a Mom was something I always wanted to be. Ever since I was very young all I ever really wanted is to be a wife and mom. As I got older and my life became further away from being a Mom I found comfort in my career, ministry and friendships. I became very accustom to the life I had created and at times thought that being a Mom full time would be too hard, demanding, or something I would not like. I enjoyed my nice dinners at Flemings, my clean house and the ability to get up and go whenever I choose to. It's amazing to see myself transforming from the woman who seldom cried, struggled in my friendships with other women, needed my independence and alone time to my current state. I now cry at commercials and news stories about children. I love planning out dinner from my family and currently have three weeks of meals planned, date assigned and groceries purchased for. I also did some light gardening recently, baked a cake from scratch and find myself wishing I knew how to sew. YIKES! I am one step away from canning my own peaches and buying a farm. It has been an amazing journey thus far. I can't wait to see how the changes in me continue. All this to say I am blessed beyond belief with my new life as a Mommy to Sticks!

Praise the Lord maker of baby swings

So I understand that there are babies out there that are so sweet and calm and stare at the walls all day. That is not my Elizabeth. In the 11 weeks I have been her Mom, I have noticed that she is a relational baby, very interactive and is frustrated that her body will not move. She is already trying to sit up, crawl and if we hold her hands she will pull herself up to stand up. It is crazy. Our biggest challenge with her is sleeping. She fights sleep. It is simply maddening at times. Sometimes it will take 30-45 minutes to get her asleep. We originally had a small travel swing that she wanted nothing to do with. Recently we went to my Brother (Michael) and Sister in Law's (Cassie) house and used their swing. She was out in 5 minutes. My Mom happened to have a swing at her house and gave it to us. We assembled it yesterday, and I swear I must have heard the sound of Angels singing from above when we laid her down in it. She was talking to all the animals in the mobile and then she tired of that and fell asleep. And the Strobel household all thanked the LORD for making swings!