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.