The Mimic

I can't believe how quickly time goes. My little baby girl is now *gulp* 16 months old. I have discovered that I am so far really enjoying this toddler thing. She is now talking, even a few sentences, she laughs all the time, walks around and by new favorite thing she mimics us. It's like watching a small mirror image of yourself. She does things and I think where does she come up with these things. Later I realize that I did the same thing. It's so cute to watch her pick up the CD remote control and talk to her imaginary friends. She is chatting up a storm and laughing. She ends by saying "k bye". 

All this mimic behavior has really got me thinking about how my behaviors, even the ones I don't realize have an impact on her life. Sticks is an amazing child so full of promise, zeal and gumption. She is also empty in many ways just by being a baby and still learning. She fills in those voids by what she learns from her surroundings, (a.k.a. me, our family and friends). Seems daunting this task of raising a child and filling her with all the right influences and just the right amount of the bad ones to help her choose. Plus, making sure that I am living a life that is worthy to be immolated. These are the moments as the Strobelized Mommy that I could have never planned for. The feeling that people can't truly describe to you before the baby. The moments where you realize that you are really in charge of a life.

This Strobelized Mommy is praying that I will be a Godly woman that my daughter can follow as an example. I don't want to be politically correct or what our society has deemed that I should be. I want to follow the example of women like Ruth, Deborah and Miriam. I choose them any day over Gloria, Hillary or Rosie.

Finally! It's all about me!

So I had to get my gallbladder out. The doctor told me it was best to get it done while I was still young (as if I am approaching 90) and the sooner the better. I worked so hard on getting everything planned out for Sticks and the family while I would be recovering. I wrote out her daily menu and sleep schedule. I made a ton of baby food so no one would have to worry about what to feed her. I planned friends and family to come and sit with us after Daddy goes back to work, since I won't be able to pick her up for 1 week. As the surgery day came and I was overcome with the emotions. I couldn't believe how frightened I was. I didn't want to have anything happen to me, I couldn't imagine my sweet baby never knowing her Mom. So sad. Well, as you can tell the surgery went fine. I can home the same day and started recovering nicely at home.

The first few days I was really out of it. People were coming and going with food and I don't really have a clear memory of it all. All I knew is my husband was taking care of me and Sticks, and doing an excellent job. I had all my meals brought to me, along with snacks, drinks and medications. He got me movies to watch and anything else I wanted. It was amazing. Although I started noticing that Sticks wasn't missing me. She really was quite content hanging with Daddy. I was starting to feel so sad. She should at least be noticing that I am not around. I mean I don't really want her to be throwing herself down crying and refusing to eat, but something would have been nice.

The third day my Husband came down with a cold and he had his Mom come over to help him help us. Sticks was playing on the floor. I came in and sat down on the couch. She looks up at me, and says "Mama". Whoa! Then she pointed to me and said "Mama". Holy granola! This made up for all the dada nonsense. She really does love me. Who knew?!

She's a Dada Kind of Baby

I am beginning to realize parenting is all guts and no glory. You completely rearrange your whole life to accommodate this little ball of joy, and all you really want at the end of the day is for that little wonder to look up and say "Mama". Instead every day my precious angel looks up and says "Dada". This is very disheartening.

It all started a few weeks ago. Sticks started saying dada to everything. We assumed she didn't know what that meant and she was just making sounds, actually I should say I was hoping this was nonsense and not actual words. One morning I got up and picked her up from her crib while Daddy was in the shower. I changed her diaper and brought her back into my room and she exclaims "dada!", as she is looking around the room for him. I feed her and as I was finishing in walks Dada. She looks up and sees him. Her face lights up and she exclaims "Dada". He laid down on the bed, and she wiggles out of my arms and nestles up next to him and is chanting "dada, dada, dada". Nice! It's not like I have done anything great, only carried you in my tummy for 9 months. I gave birth to you, nursed you, sat up with you in the middle of the night, changed my whole life for you, but hey it's cool say "dada". It's not a big deal to me. Ok, so I jest, but only slightly. I worked with her for months saying mama with all smiles making it fun. Apparently it made no difference.

I do have to say in a world where Dad's a becoming less and less important and many babies do not have Daddies, I am so proud that my little girl gets to have a Dad. Plus, her Dad is awesome. I couldn't have picked a better dad for her anywhere in the world. I praise God who used all my bad decisions and made them to work for his glory. I get to sit here today with a family and a life I could have never obtained on my own. Want to know more about this visit www,lookup316.com or join us at Seabreeze Church www.seabreezechurch.com.

The Intentional Mommy, is a Sane Mommy

It seems as though the days of spur of the moment events and living without plans are gone and I don't know that they will be returning anytime soon. I am coming to realize that without a plan nothing will get accomplished because daily life and just getting through the day will suck up everyday.

Becoming an intentional Mommy I think is easy. I am a planner by nature, I enjoy an organized life with things filed neatly into nicely labeled filing cabinets. Becoming an intentional family is taking some work. This was best demonstrated on Valentine's Day. We had plans to go to a concert and then go out for dessert after wards. The day was a mess. Stick's nap schedule got all off and she was miserable. We had an appointment to get her pictures taken and big sis was home to help. The original plan of an 11:00 appointment was changed to 4:30 because of the sleeping nonsense. The pictures were amazingly cute. We stopped by to get Daddy a card from each of us and waited in the long procrastinators line to pay. By the time we got home from the mall, I still needed to make dinner, get Sticks ready for bed, feed and bathe her. I walk through the door and my adorable loving husband said, "let's go out to dinner for Valentine's day". I looked down at my t-shirt that still had peas on it from lunch time (not my peas, the baby's), I remembered my hair was in a ponytail and still had no make up on. All and all I was a wreck. Not to mention I had nothing ready for anyone else to eat & hadn't been grocery shopping so there were not a lot of options. The thought of going to a restaurant looking like I did and waiting for all those skinny 20 somethings with their high heels and cute dresses on, made me a little sick to my stomach. After the "no" that came out of my mouth and the look of horror on my face, we talked through the planning and communication. 

I have discovered that I need plans. I need to schedule meals, times with friends, family and most importantly time away from it all with the love of my life. Life quickly will run out of control if I live moment to moment. Being intentional is the only way I can run my life without it running me.

Repurposed

As I was washing my dishes this morning, I realized how many of my household items have been repurposed by Sticks. I was washing the peas and carrots out my cute little custard cups today when I realized this was not their intended purpose. I remember registering for them when I got married. I envisioned making fancy dessert in them or perfectly portioning out all my spices for elaborate dinners like they do on the TV cooking shows. I never expect them to be used to feed my daughter.

This realization made me look around and take inventory of all the other items that have been repurposed. My couch is no longer just for sitting on, it is now a standing/ walking device for Sticks to cruise around the living room with. Old Tupperware containers, plastic lids, 2 liter bottles of soda (empty, don't worry) and kitchen spoons are music instruments, chew toys and very cool crawling toys.

I knew my life would be transformed by Sticks, but never realized all my stuff would be transformed as well. I think I love those little custard cups with peas and carrots in them more, than anything else I have ever put into them before.

Granola Mommy 101

I say this knowing a lot of my friends will be greatly disappointed, but I have never really considered myself a "Granola Mommy" nor a person who is a Greenpeace member & recycles everything. I love the convenience of disposable diapers, wipes and I have even used the disposable bibs on occasion. The thought of cloth diapers actually makes me gag a little. I rarely buy the organic foods unless they are on sell, but I decided to make my own baby food for Sticks. I started reading an awesome website www.WholesomeBabyFood.com. It surprised me at how super easy it is to make the food. The baby food jars are about $.80- $1.00 which you can get 1-2 servings out of. I was able to buy a bag of carrots for less than $2.00. I used half the bag and now have at least 10 servings of carrots. All you have to do is steam them and puree them. I now have a freezer stocked up with green beans, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes (which are really Yams, but that's another topic for another day). I am pretty sure this is the first step into making my own clothes, braiding my hair, wearing prairie dresses and getting rid of all electricity in my home. Hopefully this will not happen, but if this is my last blog you know that I have gone over the top and will need an intervention.

The New Mommy Accessories

I have never really been into jewelry and accessories. I have gone through periods where I feel the need to accessorize, but those periods are very short lived. My friends and family have tired buying me accessories and doing everything short of an intervention, but they just wind up being worn by my step daughter. Sticks has become fascinated with jewelry and accessories lately. I think she must have looked at me and has decided my plain colored tops were just too boring for her. She has opted to accessorize for me. I first noticed it the day she was fussy for an hour and only wanted to eat her cereal on my lap. I feed her and noticed white cereal all over my my shirt. Since then I have noticed carrots, green beans and my true favorite snot all over my clothes. It's not so bad when you notice them at home, but leaving the house with my new accessories is quite embarrassing.

Maybe Sticks is onto something here. Maybe there is a market in the Mommy accessories, maybe I could make millions. Hmmm, any takers on the previously used baby snot? It's all the rage in Europe.

Mommy vs. The First Cold

I came to the point in Sticks life that I dreaded since she was born, her first cold. I sure I was like most new Moms and never wanted her baby to suffer. The thought that she would have to suffer through a stuffy nose or fever, or worse was not exciting to me. Plus, how do you determine what is going on with an infant who cannot talk?

This little cold came on out of nowhere. One day she was a little cranky and the next snot was pouring out of her nose. Which, on a side note, I was completely shocked how much came come out of something so small. It all started the day after Christmas. Her nose was stuffy and leaking. At night it had become so bad that I could hear her breathing from my room. I was freaking out. I was going in and out of her room to check on her. Finally after she awoke gasping for air, I picked her up and was determined to not sleep the entire night and just hold her. I grabbed the Nose Freda (which is a strange device, that sucks out the snot via a tube powered by your ability to suck with your mouth.) Daddy said she could lay next to us for a while. Little did he know I was going to sleep on the floor next to the crib had he not spoken up. Sticks wound up kicking Daddy out of bed because she was snoring and snorting so bad.

We all survived the first night and we determined to get her better. Daddy and I tried all the techniques we could think of to relieve this issue. However, after 10 days she was getting worse and to me this was getting a little out of control. I really try to not be a Mom who over reacts, but something was not sitting right with this cold. She seemed fine during the day. She had no fever and she wasn't pulling on her ears, but waking up 4 times a night was not working out for us. We called the doctor and got an appointment for the next day. I was shocked to find out that she had a double ear infection. Yikes, I felt awful. Here my little baby was suffering and I was basically like, "walk it off baby." Although I do have to say the doctor was very impressed by all our methods for healing her and said we did everything right.

Mommy is now armed with an arsenal of antibiotics, a Nose Freda and Baby Simply Saline. Watch out cold this Mommy is no joke and is out to kick some booty!