Mommy Monday on a Tuesday

I know I didn't post yesterday, but I literally didn't have time. The whole day was filled with running around and if I was home I was making food or sleeping. :) The rest of the week will be a lot of that as well. I have some things I have been learning that I want to share with you, but it will have to wait till next week. Right now I am going to get things done while Aiden is sleeping so when he wakes up I can spend some much needed quality time with him. 

But I can't post without a picture, so I wanted to share one of my absolute favorites with you. Kudos to Dan for taking this great picture. It was on Aiden's first birthday right before bed. :) LOVE IT!

Mommy Monday :: Purpose Jars

I recently did a project that I put together from multiple Pinterest ideas and added my own little flair to it. My reasons behind this project was simply that it is so easy for life to just happen, to pass us by. I want to live a life that is purposeful, meaningful and close with the people in my house. Even with Aiden I can feel lost & without motivation or ideas. So, I thought this would help us be more intentional.

If you are on Pinterest you know that some things people pin are like "Cheap Date Ideas" and "101 Things To Do With Your Toddler"...etc. So, I went through a couple of those lists and added some of my own and made two separate lists. One for Dan and I and one for Aiden. I have a TON for Dan and I, but Aiden's list was a little more difficult since he isn't old enough to do a lot of the ideas that are online.

I printed them out and cut them into strips. and of course I needed something to put these strips in. So, I bought two smooth jars and craft spray paint. I used a glue gun to write the words "love" on one and "play" on the other. It was actually a lot easier than I thought, expect for those hot glue strings that are inevitable; they show up. :-/ Then I spray painted the jars and this is what I ended up with. :)

At the beginning of the week we are drawing one strip from each jar to accomplish sometime that week. Obviously some things are weather permitting, so those may have to be put back until warmer weather. :)

This past week was our first week and we had a good time being purposeful. Obviously I can't put "the love list" on here because that would ruin the surprise for Dan each week, but I will blog about some of them. Here is Aiden's list though just in case you want some ideas for your young ones!

Mommy Monday :: Soup-Soup-Soup

I am always struggling with knowing what to give Aiden to eat, I want him to eat healthy and not the same things alllll the time. Anyway, I end up buying cans of soup every week and he has that a lot. So the other day I thought- why not make a big pot of soup and freeze individual servings for Aiden?! DUH, why didn't I think of it before. Definitely cheaper and without all the preservatives and stuff. So, I went looking for a vegetable soup recipe and I found this one.

Chunky Veggie Soup
1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 x cans of chopped tomatoes (14oz)

1 1/2 litres of water or stock

1 cup of pasta (your choice)

In a large sauce pan over medium heat add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and cook until just soft. Add the tomatoes and water and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for another 8-10 min. Serves 4-6.

So I started with my vegetables and I added some zucchini and fresh greens beans to the mix. Can't go wrong with more veggies.

I only used about 3 1/2 cups of chicken stock since I didn't add the pasta to the cooking and since Aiden doesn't really need a lot of broth.

I just thought this was cool. :)

Now, I didn't add the pasta only because pasta takes up so much space and I wasn't sure how it would freeze, so I'll probably just add some each time I give it to him.

After I took this picture I poured one of these in Aiden's bowl and it was way too much for a serving, so I got two more containers out of it. Yay! I gave him some the next day and he loved it and so did I! I will be doing this again. :)

Mommy Monday :: Not Such A Fun Activity

If you remember from my last "Mommy Monday" I mentioned to stay tuned for this week's post because I was going to do what I thought would be a fun activity for Aiden. Welllll, not so much. My idea was to let him just play with shaving cream in the bath tub. I thought he would enjoy squishing and spreading it all around (since he likes to do that with his food). I couldn't have been more wrong.

I started by putting Aiden in the tub and squirted a decent amount of shaving cream in front of him. He just starred at it. I put my hand in it to show him what to do, still nothing, so I took his hand and put it in the cream. What happened next I was not prepared for. He got a terrible and scared look on his face and starting crying BIG time. He immediately stood up and wanted out, so I first cleaned off his hand, then his foot hit the shaving cream and he slipped around a little bit. I caught him, but I understand how that would have been scary and so he cried more. I just grabbed him out of the tub and within seconds I was covered in shaving cream. It took him a long time to stop crying and I am still baffled by this. He is not one to be scared easily. Only two times that I can remember; the vacuum cleaner when he was like 6 months and my sister's big dog because she jumped up on the gate. 

He finally calmed down and I tried a little bit more with the shaving cream like putting it on my finger and having him touch it. He would get a little frowny face and shake his head no, so sad and so cute. Needless to say I cleaned it up and just gave him a bath. And Dan will be using some cheap shaving cream for a while. :) I will try it again sometime and hope for a different result, I will also take it a little slower. 

Here is the one picture I took of the whole ordeal.

Mommy Monday :: Just Photos

I'm lacking inspiration today. So here is my easy way out, photos of who made me a mommy. :)

Enjoying bath time.

He put this cube on his head and was walking around laughing and he couldn't see at all! 

He was running into things but he just kept doing it. It was so funny!

Stay tuned for next week, we are going to something fun this week that I'll be excited to share with you!

Mommy Monday :: Favorite Toys

If you have met my son there is a good chance that you know of his love for balls. It doesn't matter what kind...if he sees one, he will go get it. I believe his favorites are small ones so he can hold one in each hand; or even two in each hand. The other day I put away all his babyish toys and got out some I had put away around his birthday. It was a lot of fun to give Aiden some new balls! It's fun as a mom to see your child's face light up when he gets to play with what he loves! It's the small things. :)

Here is a picture of our ball bin, as you can see we may need a bigger one soon. :)

What are/were some of your children's favorite toys?

Mommy Monday :: The Daily Grind

Last night in youth group Dan spoke on how God shows up in our lives in different ways. Where it's easier to see God in the high and low moments it can be hard to see Him in the everyday. One question he asked was "If you could take one thing out of your life what would it be?" My answer came to me immediately...housework. And that is a good area to start to ask God to show Himself in! It totally clicked with me. What if I invited God in to my housework; the constant picking up, dishes, laundry, cleaning...etc. What a difference that could make in my life. Now I must say that I am struggling a little just because it's gonna be hard, it's so much easier to just do the stuff either without thinking or complaining in my head. But I want God in my everyday, so I'm going to try! Please feel free to ask me how I'm doing. 

And I encourage you to answer this for yourself.

 "If you could take one thing out of your life what would it be?"

...invite God into those moments and see what happens.

Mommy Monday :: Grateful

This morning as Aiden and I watched Dan drive away to work I was reminded of how grateful I am that I get to be home with my son. If you know me, you know how I feel about daily having to go to work...yuck, even before having a kid. lol. There was one job I loved and it was...taking care of kids that I grew to love...big surprise. This reminder was just what I needed as did a much needed clean of my house. I got it done in a few hours and didn't mind it at all!! 

Of course, I definitely have to fight against laziness and having a bad attitude about doing the same things over and over again, but when it comes down to it there is nothing I would rather do! Now I am definitely not saying anything bad towards moms to have or want to work. This is just our dream and I am so thankful that by God's provision we are able to do it!

I thought the January Joy Dare was fitting for my topic today!

A gift in your hand. 
I love these rings the same as the day Dan gave
them to me and I love what they mean!

A gift you walked by.
SUNSHINE!

A gift you sat with.
I spend lots of time with this boy in my lap and I love it!

Mommy Monday :: Down With The Sickness

At the end of our Christmas vacation Dan and I experienced our first sick child. It happened in the middle of the night and I was thankful that we were sleeping in the same room as Aiden otherwise I don't know if I would have heard him. He didn't cry and I don't even think he was fully awake, but I heard that he was throwing up. I jumped up and got him out, trying to help him finish in the garbage can. Then we turned on a light and saw that it was all over the pack-n-play. Talk about NASTY! 

I always said that I wouldn't be the one to clean up puke, but it really is amazing how things change when you become a mom. I was able to do what was necessary and Dan helped with some of the extra nasty stuff which I was so thankful for. 

We made it through the night although I wasn't sure what to do; or what Aiden would do. After an hour or so he did eventually fall back asleep and stayed asleep the rest of the night. Also during this time I did not feel so good either, which made it that much harder. 

The next morning we left to come back home, I didn't feel good and we had no idea what Aiden would be like. I sat back with him and Dan drove the whole way which was amazing because I was having such a hard time feeling with it. We made it with no big events! Praise God!

A couple things I learned through this...First, I CAN handle puke, but probably only if it's my child. Secondly, it is a hard thing to be sick and have a child to take care of and so I am thankful one of us felt healthy while the other was under. And it always good to remember that the sickness won't last, although it feels like it will never end. Here's to the first experience and I'm glad is over. 

I thought this would be fitting because there's much cleaning to do after someone is sick.

Mommy Monday :: Growing Up

This past week I began to change Aiden's room from a baby room to a toddler room. I got rid of his changing table and rocker. We decided to move them out now due to a certain Christmas present he will be getting (which will not be revealed until the appropriate time). Also, it gave him more room to be able to play in his room, which he has done a lot of since it's been changed.

I must say that I did get sentimental when I was moving those things out, remembering all the hours spent in the rocker and how many times a day he was on the changing table. I just can't believe how fast it's gone.

Here are some photos of his new room. But first a couple of disclaimers: 

1. I am wanting to make him a reading corner and just don't have the stuff yet.

2. It looks like there is absolutely nothing on the walls, but in fact there are cute things that I love on every wall, they are just up higher and so are not in the photos. 

Mommy Monday :: Stress

This post is something I would call a don't-have-it-all-figured-out-work-in-progress-post. It's interesting because when these special times come around like Christmas, birthdays, vacation...etc we look forward to them so much! But they are also filled with so much preparation and busyness that it can suck the fun out of it if we aren't careful. Then all of a sudden it's over and you're left thinking "what even happened and I wish I could do it over". 

I have a list of things I want to get done before we leave for Christmas vacation in 11 days. Really, it's not too much and I am more than capable of getting it done. So why the stress? I think for me it is the anticipation of doing everything and sometimes I feel like I am going nonstop. 

Like I said earlier, I don't have the answer of what I need to do to be unstressed, but I do have some thoughts. 

1. Talking to God about it- giving it to Him over and over again if that is what it takes. 

2. Taking time in my day to rest and do nothing. 

3. Trying to remember what is really important- people.

Sometimes these things are easier said than done. But, here we go....I am going to end this post and play with my son who is begging for attention :)

Speaking of Christmas, here's our tree!!

Mommy Monday :: Aunties

I know this is my third post about Thanksgiving and my sisters visiting but I just can't help it. :) 

As a mom there is something so special about watching other people love your kid(s). Especially your sisters/family,  and I loved experiencing that while Jocelyn and Carmen were here. It was awesome to see them play with him and say over and over how they loved him. And also to see how much Aiden loved them being here. He was the most non-stop funny I have ever seen him- 3 days in a row! He loved their attention and would do whatever he could to make them laugh. And it made me even more sad that we live so far away and that Aiden will miss this love on a regular basis. But, on the positive we will continue to see each other as much as we can! 6.5 hours isn't toooo far. 

Making goofy faces with Aunt Jocelyn!

Dancing with Aunt Carmen!

Waiting for Jocelyn to come out of the bathroom. haha.

Wanting Carmen to come out of her room. :)

Mommy Monday :: Fork and Spoon Here We Come!

I am now officially committing to the new adventure of teaching Aiden to use a fork and spoon to eat. AHHHHHHH. That's the way I feel about it. lol. I don't know if this whole concept just wasn't on my radar or what, but I hadn't really thought about teaching him till recently. Probably because it's just waaaay easier to give him finger foods or for me to feed him, then to go through the drawn out process of helping him get every bite onto his spoon. As you can tell I am not overly excited about this as every meal will be even more complicated and I will be eating even colder food. :) 

It is a good thing, obviously, and I know I will be glad when the hard work pays off and he can eat on his own. I also remember feeling like he would never be able to drink from a sippy cup or eat regular food or walk, but before I knew it, he was. So, I keep reminding myself that it won't be for too long. And, I still want to enjoy these extra moments I'll have with him at each meal. :)

Any advice for this little adventure?.....

Look at those messy hands. Not for long! 

(you don't even want to see what his face looks like :))

Mommy Monday :: Give Praise!

I was planning on doing a post on daylight savings and how we handled it this year and stuff. Then last night I was watching a video that someone posted on Facebook about a baby who was born with a heart problem and had to have open heart surgery at just a couple weeks old and all this crazy stuff and I'm still thinking about it.

As I was seeing the pictures of this tiny baby totally connected and tubes everywhere I couldn't help but cry. That had to be unbelievably hard for the parents and I have heard so many stories of just really hard and sad experiences that break my heart. Then of course I cannot help but think of my own son and what if that was us and I get even more sad. Then where I end is simply praising God. He didn't have to choose to give us a boy who has been perfect and healthy since the beginning, but He did. And I never want to take that for granted. Everyday we live together is a big gift from God and I am so thankful. I don't know what the future holds and it can be scary if I think about it too much. But the sweet thing is that I have a big God who never changes, who loves me and who I can trust. 

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust 
in the name of the Lord our God. 
Psalm 20:7 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. 
I awake, and I am still with you.
Psalm 139:17-18

3 Weeks

7 Months

13 Months

Thank You Lord!

Mommy Monday :: Weekend Away

This past weekend Dan & I took some students in our youth group down to Liberty for "College For A Weekend" and because of the nature of the trip we came to the conclusion that it was best not to bring Aiden with us. My amazing mom offered to drive to watch him for the four days we were gone. 

Now this was the longest we had been away from him; four days and three nights. I knew it was the right thing to do and that I would be fine once we had left, but leading up to it was a killer. The day before we left was hard and I was constantly worrying about it. I received good encouragement from Dan and my friend Jody that Aiden was in God's hands the same as when I am home. So I worked through that a lot, continually giving him over to God and choosing to trust. But still, I barely slept the night before and the morning of I had this nervous/sick feeling in my stomach that wouldn't go away. 

Then our friend, Faye came to watch him for a few hours before my mom arrived and Aiden was happy and being goofy and that made me feel so good. Then off we went and as we were on the road I felt better. As the trip went on I was even more confident that we made the right choice. With long hours in the car and the busyness of the weekend it would've been difficult for Aiden and myself. 

Meanwhile at home, mom and Aiden were having a great time. Every time I called it just seemed like it was going so well and that he was happy!!!! Which of course made me happy. And coming home was the best to see him again (looking bigger of course) like we were never gone. :)

A few things I learned from this weekend away:

• In a new way I put my trust in God for Aiden and I want to keep that perspective and trust even when I am home with Aiden. 
• It's hard to leave your kid(s), but it is ok and healthy for both you and your child.
• It made me realize that Dan and I need a weekend away together to relax and rejuvenate, so I am in the beginning stages of planning somewhere for us to go!!! 

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us, that means a lot! 

And thank you so much mom!!! Aiden was in good hands 
and I am glad you two got to spend time together!! Love you!

At the Liberty football game! :)

Playing with his new football from Grandma!

Mommy Monday :: Books

Aiden's love for reading books has reached new heights this past week. I introduced him to the fact that he could go get a book from his room, bring it to me and I would read it. It was so cute the first few times, and now, for like the 1000th time, it is still cute as he plops his little self in my lap, but I'm not so eager to read over and over again.

Regardless, here are a few of his favorites...

Skippyjon Jones                                                                                    Higher, Higher

Up and Down                                                                                     

I think read this book 20 times in one day and that
doesn't count how many times Dan read it to him. :)

The Toy Box (4 Toy Story Books)                                                          First 100 Words

Of course how cannot I not add a photo of my little man doing what he loves!

What are some books that your children love?!!

Mommy Monday :: New Play

It's so interesting to see how children's play changes as they grow. I remember thinking how it seemed like it would be forever before Aiden would even be able to hold a toy. Then he not only held it but interacted with it & could do things like turn pages in a book. Now he walks all over the place carrying his toys and climbing on things and will even bring me a book to read to him while he sits on my lap. It's exciting as he becomes more independent and more his own little person.

His newest feat is that he can now climb up & down the beds in our house. :) He is very proud of himself when he does! And I don't mind it, he likes to be up there and now I don't have to lift him up over and over again, he does it himself!

And this morning we made our very first fort! I feel like Aiden will like forts since he loves it when we put things on or covering his head and he loves to stash toys places, which forts are just great for that. It didn't take him too long to figure it all out and I think he liked it, I am leaving it up for after nap and we'll see what he does then.

Mommy Monday :: Training

Just a few days ago it clicked with me that my role as mother had changed, that no longer was I only caring for Aiden's physical and emotional needs. And no longer is it oh-so-cute when he decides to hit my face with his pudgy little hands...things have changed. Of course, I still make sure he is fed, rested, clean, loved and happy, but I am also full force into training him. This includes discipline, redirecting, teaching, guiding and letting him figure things out on his own. The decisions I make now will have an effect on what kind of kid he is, how well he behaves and how he learns. It sometimes seems overwhelming and I definitely have to remind myself that it matters, it's not just "oh, he's too little to understand". So here Dan & I are, wanting to start off strong to raise our son in a way that is pleasing to God. If you think of us, pray for us!

"Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6

Such a big boy...

Mommy Monday :: Top Ten Phrases

Here are the top ten things that I say to Aiden at this stage of our lives:

10. Are you ready to go ni-night?

9. Let's go change your diaper...

8. Do you want to eat or a drink? (which he pretty much always does!)

7. No Aiden.

6. Where's daddy? Go get him. :)

5. Don't throw your food on the floor.

4. I'm gonna geeeettt you....

3. Don't put that in your mouth.

2. Show mommy what's in your mouth.

But with no competition the thing I say to him the most every single day is.....

1. I LOVE YOU!

This photo reminds me of something else I always say, "Mommy's gonna go get the camera" :)

Mommy Monday :: Motherhood as a Mission Field

I read this article some time ago and I really liked it. It's a good refresher that can bring encouragement to your heart and life. I hope you take the time to read it.

"Motherhood as a Mission Field"