Either the best or worst parenting ever....

Paul and I were driving around Manhattan making some last stops before we headed off to Colorado. I have to admit, I was dreading the long car ride with a baby that is SUPER DUPER active and also doesn't sleep... at all... OH! And isn't super great in cars... Anyway...

As we were stopped at a light, this white truck drove by us and then sat in front of us at the light! My first reaction was... "LOOK AT THAT PAUL! Do we have the camera?!?! That is HILARIOUS!!"
If you look at the truck you will see a dad and his 2 boys sitting in the truck. The dad has on ENORMOUS ear muffs (Paul and I guessed the hunting kind... the ones that block out ALL sound)

At first I thought that was looking like a pretty good idea for our trip to Colorado. Block out all the sounds and maybe catch up on some much needed sleep! Then, I think Paul said "That might very well be the best or the WORST parenting ever!" I laughed... he was super right! I'm guessing the dad was at his boiling point and that was the only way to save his sanity! I think we all have this coping methods (although they may not be as OBVIOUS as these ear muffs!) I know there are times where I hand Asher over to Paul and say "YOUR TURN!!" I'm at my boiling point, and if I have one more second.. the boil over can be bad! :)

 The more I think about it now... I'm SOOOO thankful God doesn't have these coping methods with us. He doesn't put ear muffs on when he hates what we're saying. He doesn't hand us over to someone else and tell them "IT'S YOUR TURN TO WATCH THIS FOOL!" :) Nope! He graciously listens to us and loves us, even when we're at our worse!


What are some good coping methods you have picked up over the years? Parents? Married Couples? People with friends?!?! :)

The Mysteries of Life..

I've talked to a lot of my close friends lately... and it seems that each one I talk to is going through some life changing situation:
#1) lost their job. They are 60... and need to find a new one
#2) lost their job... it was their fault.. they did some things they weren't supposed to do, and they are struggling with that a lot...
#3) marriage problems (2 friends)
#4) struggled to get pregnant, then when they did get pregnant... there are some complications with the baby..
#5) almost DIED over Christmas break due to an embolism
#6) House almost burnt down, and has been preggo and not able to live (nest) in her own home for over 3 months!


I keep thinking... so when is it my turn... when does real life find me and mess up my little world?!?! I know God provides. and in the end God knows the best for us all.... But I guess the age old question is... why does there have to be so much suffering?!?! More importantly.. why do some of the people I love the very most have to hurt SO much.. and there really isn't a whole lot I can do to make it better?

Maybe share some GOOD things that are going on...

3 Pounds left and 1 Cadbury Egg

OK! So... over the past week I dropped 2 more pounds putting me at the 3 pounds left to lose point. The end is in sight. How did I celebrate... mmmm...

...with a Cadbury Egg.... :)

My relationship with food is a complicated mess. One day it is blissful love. The next day it is hate (due to the blissful love from the day before). The next day it is a mutual respect... I respect that you taste good.. and you'll respect me for refusing to eat you. The next day it is a guilty pleasure (due to the mutual respect from the day before, I had GREAT willpower yesterday so I can eat it up today..).  It is an endless cycle that I'm sure messes my mind up. My body up.

Bright side: I have food to eat. To choose to eat. To choose not to eat... unlike most of the world. Thank you Lord for your blessings.

Do you and food have a good or bad relationship?

insults...

Here is what a kindergardener said to me today as I walked her back to class:
"Your hair might look pretty if you straightened it!"

I agreed....

It does look a TON better straight! But I just don't have the time to do it... so it gets washed and worn. Well... that and I'm lazy... :)

LATER that day... on my way down the hall, another girl who is in 1st grade said:
"I really like your hair today Mrs. White"

Now... the first thing that popped in my mind was (sorry): "Kiss-up!" haha...

Anyway.. then on my way home I was thinking about how easy it is to take to heart the mean/or oh so truthful things people say to us, yet toss the compliments aside (kiss-up). Like... I remember in high school someone "mooing" at me.. (I think it was at me) and it tearing me apart. As much as I try and let it go.. it is still in my mind. But those compliments that others have paid me.. They are hard to remember. Not that they don't happen.. they are just harder to remember. WHICH ALSO makes me think about my words and the impact they have on others. I really need to seek out positive and encouraging things to say... try and bombard people's minds with positive things so that they don't forget that they are one of God's most amazing gifts to this earth! :)

Share a compliment you got lately... it's not bragging... it's sharing the positive!

I'll pick that up 1,000 times....

It seems like half of the time I spend with Asher is picking up the same object over and over again. He drops it, I pick it up. He drops it a few seconds later... I pick it up. (Which makes me think I should have outstanding abs and back muscles by now). Sometimes I'm not sure if it's a game or if he really is that clumsy with his hands. If I was him... I'd play that game! :) How funny is it to see someone picking the same object up over and over again. Hm.... I'll drop it ONE more time JUST to see if she'll pick it up again... YEP she does! :) The thing of it is, I will pick it up over and over again because it makes him happy. Which in turn makes me happy! :)
This makes me think about how God looks at us. Will he forgive me ONE more time?!?! If I sin ONE more time.. if I do it ONE more time.. surely he won't pick up that sin. Yet, time and time again. He does. Not to make himself happy, but to make us feel loved and clean again (making us happy). What a great and awesome God we have!

How about you, what are some things you'll do for your child over and over again?!?! Or, are there any God moments in your parenting?!?! (If you're not a parent, maybe there are some things you do for your spouse or your close friends).

1 Month and 5 Pounds

I have about 1 more month left to meet my goal of taking off the baby weight in the same amount of time as I put it on. I'm a little disheartened in that I'm not sure I'm going to make my goal. Not only that, but even when I do meet my goal... I'm still not going to fit into my clothes the same way. My weight has all shifted into new areas and new places (how fun). The most frustrating part of this whole journey is that most of my friends that have had their babies are already back to their original weight. I feel like I'm a total slacker. Even though I know I'm not! :) I know I'm not the only one out there trying to lose those last couple of pounds. Share your success stories, methods, train of thoughts, or frustrations...

Life... Asher style

Watching a baby is hard work! It's a daily reminder that you are no longer #1 in your own life! It's a GOOD reminder, and a hard one! But what is harder than being a baby mama? Being a baby mama of a SICK baby! So far in the 7 months of Basher's existence (outside the belly of course) we have been lucky in that we really haven't had TOO many sickness problems with him. Until this past week. He had the fever, the glazed over eyes, the dead head, pretty much every sign you have a sick baby. So we take him in and find that he has a BAD fever. So then we get the yummy bubble gum medicine to remedy that. Turns out that pink stuff is TOXIC to our little guy, because a day later he is covered in a rash. Not eating. Not sleeping. Not smiling... just lots of Crying. Yelling. and the need to be held 24-7. This takes a lot out of a person. I feel myself just praying that God will heal him and bring back the happy-go-lucky baby I know and love so dearly (not that I don't love the cranky sick one too...). I have a feeling this will set us back a bit too on the whole sleeping thing. Since he has been sick he has been sleeping WORSE (as if that is possible). Not sure if when he finally feels better he'll go back to better sleeping, or if we're in it for the long hall again.. I guess time will tell. So, please share sick stories with me! Make me feel like my mess is nothing but a blip on the radar of motherhood (because I know it is). AND if you're not a mom... your own sickness will do! :)

In Him,
AJDUBS