Friday, March 28, 2014

Moms are Beautiful!


I've been thinking about beauty. It is rather an obscure, indecipherable thing, don't you think? What is beautiful to one person may be only mildly tolerable to another, and vice versa. I was remembering today when I gave myself the screen name of PrettyMama for a website (I don't remember what it even was). Let me tell you, I was feeling nowhere near pretty that day; in fact, I hadn't felt pretty in months. Small Boy was Tiny Baby still at that point, and I was still at the point of amazement with myself that for the first time in my life I couldn't care less if I ever showered again. It had been months since I had worn makeup, did more to my hair than brush it maybe (and possibly less than) once per day, and nursing or pumping every three or so hours certainly wasn't making me feel sexy!
It's funny how very much we change once we are responsible for a tiny helpless little life. All of a sudden I went from wanting to be a pretty wife (yes, I had my hubby bring my makeup bag to the hospital so I would look good in my new mommy photos) to not even caring how horrible my hair was the minute that baby came out. Actually, I think I quit caring sometime during the 36 hours of labor...All of a sudden I was a new person--a mommy--and while it was all I ever wanted to be (other than a wife!) I was totally unprepared for the reality of it. Completely surprised by the continuous complete exhaustion, by the constant needs of that precious little baby, and by my lack of caring about so many details that would have bothered me before giving birth. A woman's whole focus and purspose for life changes at that first birth; and it takes a while to reorient our brains to incorporate that new person into the rest of our being. So hence the name "PrettyMama". It was born of looking in the mirror, realizing that there was a little spot of baby poo on my face, and not caring that it was there, and at the same time thinking that there was something wrong with me for not caring but not knowing what was wrong. What I didn't know was that it was the whole working out of how to merge the new persona of "mommy" with the woman/wife that was still buried in there somewhere. As it turned out, it's like our moms always told us, "Beauty is as beauty does". It didn't matter that I was barely fitting into clothes 4 sizes bigger than I had ever worn, but that I was successfully growing a beautiful healthy boy. I was cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing dishes, and grocery shopping all while juggling that baby--I even got good at making scones with one hand at 10pm! That is what makes a pretty mama, ladies; and yes those details may look a little different for each person, but the principle is the same. It is everything we do, all those sacrifices we make every day for the other people in our homes that make us beautiful. It is the attitude of willingness and desire to do well for those people that make us beautiful. I am not saying that we should always want to do all those things every day, because there are plenty of days that we don't! But it is the love and care we have for our families that makes each of us beautiful. So throw out those societal markers of beauty, because they will always be changing and contradicting and we will drive ourselves nuts trying to meet them.
Yes, it is okay and good to have personal goals for fitness and health; but we need to make sure that those are OUR goals, that they are what is best for us in our personal unique situations. Remember, "but they comparing themselves among themselves are not wise."! (2 Corinthians 10:12)
So I am signing back off for the weekend to work on my beauty--washing dishes, folding laundry, playing with Boy, and spending time with my hubby!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Happy Days


Ahhhh life. So last week seemed just crazy busy, and next week is gonna be way worse. But it was a good week anyway. Hubby and I both worked our tails off as usual--I work two days per week and he works the rest--and then of course was the usual grocery shopping, errand running, laundry doing, etc.  The biggest news though was that we got a new apartment! It is modest by some standards, but exactly what we wanted--washer&dryer in unit, dishwasher, two bedrooms, nice little balcony, and a park and grocery store BOTH within walking distance!  Next week I'm working four days as the other hygienist is going to Hawaii, and of course I have to start packing. Moving day is April 25th, and I have a long list of things to do; normally I really hate moving but this time I'm actually looking forward to it. Do you know I'm going to gain at least two extra hours every day just by having a dishwasher; can you imagine all the writing and cross-stitching and scrapbooking I'm going to get done?! Oh and I will be able to start practicing my violin again! And...well I better stop adding things into that time because I will be out of time before I even get the time :)
Anyhow, I better get off my duff now, because I have a large sink-full of dirty dishes...toodle-loo!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Technology, Modesty, and Cheerios



A few thoughts as I was preparing breakfast:

1. Spring is here!!!! The photo my Mom took of one of her first hyacinths blooming.

2. I have been AWOL partly because my dear hubby bought me an iPad; I have been loving it, but because I am the delinquent who has not picked out the case with a keyboard that I want yet, I cannot type well on it. You should know, I don't really like my computer (it has seen better days); my husband will tell you that I can go for days without opening it. So yes I am planning to get a desktop eventually, because if it is out I will use it. In the mean time, I have definitely decided to get a keyboard case for my iPad, because that is the best solution for the tech-avoiding me. I am mostly a "technology is for useful things only" kinda gal.

3. A friend posted on her Facebook stream this morning that she wishes her well-endowed friends would not show that part of them half-naked on Facebook so often because she would rather they keep that for their husbands to enjoy instead of her husband running across it innocently as he was scrolling through his news feed. I couldn't agree more. I know that my husband feels he runs across enough images that are less than appropriate out in the world, that he shouldn't be accosted with those in his Christian friend circles!  Yes I know the subject of modesty is a hotly debated one that does divide believers, sadly enough. I am not advocating women covering up from collarbone to ankles, but I do think we ought to examine our hearts and our intentions in how we dress. And I will stop there for now, because this is a subject that takes up whole books.

4. Why does a two-year-old (who is nearly three) who hates having sticky fingers insist on eating Honey Nut Cheerios with milk with his hands??? And yes, when he is done he is covered with sticky Cheerios. However, this Mama feeds him breakfast in his pj's so that when he is done we just strip them off and put on his daytime clothes. Then the dog licks up the Cheerios off the floor. And with that, I must go mop the kitchen!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

About Me :)


FYI: This post may sound a bit rambling, but that is my brain today. And I dare say, that is many Mamas' brains on many days. I need to fold the laundry, I love my babies so much, I wish the dog would quit shedding, and when we get to take an actual vacation I want to go to Italy, and Oh Look--there's a spot on the wall I should get up and scrub. Sound familiar?

So here are a few things about me, in no particular order.
1. When we take a real vacation I want to go to Italy. Yes I want to go someplace tropical, but I really want to go to Italy.
2. We have an older lovable dog who sheds/grows more hair with every passing year--why can't dogs' hair get thinner as they age like humans???
3. I want a lot of kids, and I mean pretty much as many as I can have till I get too old, then we will adopt. Do you remember reading "Jo's Boys"? She had this huge house filled with kids who hollered all day and needed lots of love; the thought of a home like that makes me feel so happy inside.
4. Related to the above comment, I am not one who naturally has patience; I guess God will help me learn that one over time :)
5. Don't think I am one of those ladies who always has a smile on my perfectly madeup face in the morning who is ready to attack the day with all of my never-ending energy. Nope, my hubby will tell you I am beginning to get more human after I have sat for a half hour with my large mug of coffee.
6. I am tired a lot; (I "blame" that on my two-year-old BOY with endless energy) but I accomplish a lot because I can never (rarely) sit still and do nothing--until I am too tired to move and then I just collapse, tears may or may not be present at that point. And then I wonder if I can ever be a good mother because I can't just keep going endlessly and my sweet hubby reminds me that if only I would take breaks a bit more often I wouldn't collapse.
7. I can't just sit; hence me sitting here typing on Sunday afternoon because I do believe it should be my day of rest and I have no energy to wash dishes.
8. I want a house with a white picket fence surrounding a green lawn edged with an old-fashioned cottage style garden. When we buy a house, my hubby knows that if it doesn't come with a white picket fence that he will be installing one on his first free weekend. :)
9. Really really wanting another baby today. Really trying to just put a little more faith in God's timing on that one.
10. There is a blue purse I saw at JCPenney yesterday that I really want cause it will go so nicely with the blue strappy heels I bought a couple months ago; meant to buy it on my way back out of the store, but made the mistake of shopping in heels, and my feet were in so much pain that I forgot.
11. "I forgot" is a phrase my hubby hears from me more often than he wants to; I gotta work on not saying that so often in front of Boy or he will likely start using it...  My memory went when I got pregnant with him and has gone downhill from there; but he doesn't get that excuse, in my opinion :)
12. I think you are probably bored by now. Or have a kid emptying the pop-up tissues box, or swishing in the toilet, or something of that nature.