Welcome To Our Learning Farm

I haven't been doing much blogging lately as you've probably noticed. You've probably also noticed that most of my posts lately have been to direct you to a post on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. Sorry about that, there hasn't been a lot of blog worthy things going on around here, and what posts do pop into my brain are cloth diaper related (I can't imagine why. ...) so I've submitted the to TCDW to earn points toward a gift card for more diapers. Funny how as a mother you can constantly be doing SOMETHING and yet if you are asked what you've been up to the inevitable response is "not much" or the more accurate "same song, second verse". Our days are filled with dishes, laundry, fussy babies, cooking and lots of coffee. But we wouldn't trade it for the world (ok, yeah, there's those moments you'd like to run screaming into the night, but you'd come back!) There's the special moments where you see your child growing and learning before your eyes. Those special grins. Sleepy cuddles. Moments like this one that I posted on Facebook yesterday:

Or this one, where it seems I've traded humming "I Walk The Line" or "Amazing Grace" for "Welcome To our learning farm, we've so much to show you!...".

But there's other moments too. Moments where you wonder if GOD really thought long enough before HE entrusted the life of this little person to you. Before I had kids, I was full of confidence! After all, I had babysat thousands of times, had younger siblings and had helped with foster kids! I had even taught preschool! But all that doesn't help with big questions like: when do you wean? 6 months? A year? 10 years? And once you've picked an age, HOW do you wean? Well obviously you have to start the baby on solid food before cutting them off nursing, and that opens a whole new can of worms! Pablum? Canned babyfood? Baby Led Weaning? Oh! Can he eat that? Of course in the midst of all this, jr is happily picking up whatever treasures the vacuum missed and blissfully eating those!

I try not to stress, really I do. And usually I'm fairly successful. But sometimes it gets to me. Sometimes I just want someone to hand me a step by step manual of how to raise this child. The child GOD has entrusted to my care. I guess, as long as I'm praying for wisdom, doing the best I know how, that'll just have to be enough. Tell you what though, I'm sure glad I've got Cowboy to lean on, because I often just don't feel strong enough, wise enough, to raise this little boy. I don't know how the women do it whose husbands work away from home or are no longer with us. I just can't imagine.

Well I better get busy, I'm supposed to help Cowboy move a tractor this morning and I need to get that load of diapers washing first. Enjoy a coffee for me ladies!

Come to think of it "learning farm" is kind of appropriate; Bubby is learning to be a good man, but I'm learning to be a good mom. Hmm. I might never hear that song the same again

Just Another One Of "Those Days"

Tell me I'm not the only mama who spends her day with a cycle of; feed, change, HAPPY! Mama's gonna go do ___ (dishes, laundry, her hair, get dressed... you fill in the blanks) get halfway through, oops baby's crying, feed/change or both, HAPPY/SLEEPING! Wash. Rinse. Repeat?!?

Its the weekend before CHRISTmas and I'm feeling like I accomplished something because the cards are ready to go out on Monday! Never mind that the reason they're ready is because I've put them higher on the priority list than all the house chores except laundry (I cloth diaper so laundry is of utmost importance! LOL) and cooking meals!
I have a good bread machine and there's still no bread in the house because I was addressing cards in every spare minute instead of taking 5 minutes (literally) to set up the machine!
Cookies or muffins for Cowboy to eat with his morning coffee? Not a chance!
Oh well. Maybe next week will be better.
I'm just grateful my husband is an understanding man, but its only fair to him that I find a way to get some baking done.... I'll let you know how that goes.
Anyhow! Lil' Buckaroo is asleep, time to try to accomplish something! TTFN!

Well its an hour later, there's bread baking, dishes done and meat in from the freezer.
And as I was accomplishing that this post was tumbling around in my head and I realized, today was just "one of those days" no, I haven't accomplished much this week because of doing cards but Bubba has been sleeping longer and amusing himself for longer periods of time lately, apparently he's starting another growth spurt because he's wanting to "cluster feed" and needing extra attention.
I realized something else too as I was setting the bread machine up. I had all the ingredients in except the yeast when I realized I had forgotten the egg! Now with this machine the liquids go in first. I've made this recipe enough times that I know it by heart but still I messed it up. I don't know yet what putting the ingredients in out of order will do to my bread but it got me thinking. My priorities have been a little screwy. I've spent a lot of time on Facebook lately because after all, when I'm nursing Bubba I only have one hand and there's so much to do when he's sleeping. Excuses. Do you know my son is 11 weeks old tomorrow and only today I downloaded an app to read my BIBLE on my phone? Priorities. Like ingredients in a recipe they need to be in order.
I spent some time in The WORD tonight, some in an actual BIBLE while Bubba slept, some on the phone while he nursed. I feel refreshed. Calmed. More ready to face my day. I should have checked my priority list a long time ago.