Tuesday

Regression

I picked Munchkie up from daycare today and ended up staying for a little bit talking with her teacher.  They document everything the children do from each minute they sleep, to each bite they take as well as every time they go to the bathroom.  My poor Munchkie had wet herself at least 6 times, sometimes just minutes after sitting on the toilet.  Yesterday morning by the time I woke up there was a pile of dirty wet clothes from her multiple accidents. This started happening last week after she would go an entire week without an accident.

It's amazing how much your own feelings can influence a child who doesn't even comprehend the feelings her parents are feeling.  Right now I can not even comprehend all that is going on in our life.  There have been way too many stressors and way too many tragedies in our lives lately.  I feel like every time I log onto Facebook I see something else that adds to my prayer list and brings tears to my eyes.  I don't understand why these things are happening to those I love, but I will continue to pray for the families of those going through difficult times.

I am also praying for peace and comfort to my own family.  We are taking a several day hiatus from potty training, knowing that we will be traveling and celebrating the life of a close family member.  We are hoping that upon our return we will be able to restore a happy, positive, peaceful environment to our home and begin the potty training process over again. 

I am going to continue telling myself that regressions happen and it is not my fault that Munchkie is being influenced by the feelings of her parents.  As a parent you want to protect your child from the negative things in life, but no matter how hard you try, they are touched by it.  It kills me to know that my tears and my sadness are directly relating to her accidents, but I also want Munchkie to understand that emotions are not something to be hidden and covered up.  I want to teach her that in difficult times we "pay to Sheshus (pray to Jesus)," in good times we "pay to Sheshus" and with his help, we can overcome all of the hurt and stress in our lives.

Sleep, Where Are You?

It's 3:30am and I am beyond wide awake.  I have organized my magazines in the blue basket they sit in.  I have been waiting for hours as 165 photos upload online to print off.   I finished the book that I only got a few chapters into on vacation.  And I'm still wide awake.

I had great plans for tomorrow.  I was going to scrapbook for the first time in years.  I was going to read a few chapters of the book I just finished.  Clean the house.  Maybe even use my Mother's Day gift certificate and get a manicure.  I was going to hopefully sit out in the sun a little bit so I could get some natural vitamin D.

Now it is an hour of the day that can't really be called the middle of the night anymore, but no normal person would call this morning.  My day off is shot.  I slept all day, straight through my alarm.  I swore to myself when I went to sleep that I would definitely wake up today.  Today would be different. I would wake up and make the most of two days. 

Looks like I'll be sleeping all day tomorrow/today.  At least Munchkie will be in daycare so I don't have to feel guilty about missing out on another day with her.  Because that guilt is one that is too much for me.

Sunday

No Time to Wash My Hair

My hair this morning when I got home.
The other day when I was getting my hair cut my hair girl was telling me to try out dry shampoo.  I had heard of this before, but she said that there are many brands out there that have a version, including Suave.  I brought some a little while ago for $2-$3 and decided to try it out last night before I went into work.  I last washed it Friday morning in the shower, sprayed it in my hair yesterday evening and am heading to bed now after a night of work.  I have to say, my hair does not look greasy at all.  I think I went a little crazy spraying it, and probably could have used a fraction of what I did use, so it made my hair feel a little funny.  My scalp was also itchy, which is usually is, and I also don't know if it was as much physically itchy as it was psychological because I knew there was something there.  I don't usually use any kind of product besides some leave in conditioner or antifrizz cream so I'm not used to having stuff in my hair.  I'm definitely going to be trying it again because it cut so much time off getting ready.

 This is what the back says:

This dry shampoo spray, with mineral clay, refreshes hair to prevent a greasy feel between washes.

Stylist recommendation
Shake can well.  Hold 8-10 inches from hair.  Spray directly on oily roots.  Use heat from the palm of your hand to rub in excess powder.  For oil prone hair, apply on first day hair is washed to give extra volume and texture as well as to absorb oil throughout the day.

This makes me think that if you have oily hair you can also use this after you dry and style your hair to keep it fresh looking throughout the day.

If anyone tries this out, let me know what you think.  I'm interested to hear!

Thursday

It's Just Not Fair

The ominous gray clouds weeping huge tears reflected the pain and sadness of the day today.  As I sorted through my dark colored clothing options it was all I could do to keep myself together and not copy the gray clouds.  I held it together while driving, parking and walking under the black awning.  Seeing a familiar face with tears pouring down her face made me shake a little and after signing the guest book my eyes caught a box, with a pink fabric covering it.  This combined with a couple walking into the room, holding and supporting each other as they moved towards the little pink box was too much for me.

It's just not fair.

A beautiful little girl was never given the opportunity to take a breath of air, to fill her lungs with oxygen.  Never given the chance to open her eyes and see the light of the world.  Her heart was never given the chance to take that first pulse on its own.

It's just not fair.

She brought her parents so much joy in her short life.  The picture set next to the smallest casket I have ever seen showed her precious little nose and sweet little cheeks.  She was just so beautiful, so small and so perfect.

It's just not fair.

I woke up this afternoon and since the moment I picked Munchkie up have held her, hugged her and kissed her.  I am reminded of how blessed I am.  Not one moment of life can be taken for granted.  When Munchkie said "I wuv oo Mama" without me saying it first my heart almost pounded out of my chest.  I will never again take for granted a moment I have with my family.  I will never feel guilty again for walking into Munchkie's room at night just to watch her sleep.  I will hug her close and breath in the scent of her hair every chance I get.

Wednesday

Oven Free Homemade Pizza

What happens when you don't have a working oven and haven't had one for a few weeks now.  You can't (or at least shouldn't) get take out every night and there is only so many nights that you can cook chicken on the stove top.  Munchkie's Daddy was really feeling pizza, so we decided to get creative.  For Munchkie's birthday we made individual pizzas and so we did the same tonight. 

Normally we would make our own pizza dough, but since there was no oven to cook that dough, we used some sandwich thins that were left over from last week. Then some pizza sauce was added, reduced fat cheese sprinkled on top and turkey pepperoni strategically placed.  Into the toaster oven it went, set up the temp to 400 degrees and a few minutes later once the cheese was melted and bubbling it was finished.

Easy, quick and actually not too unhealthy, compared to a piece of pizza from the deli down the street.

Per individual pizza (approximate)
Calories 220
Fat 8.5
Carbs 25
Fiber 6
Protein 16

Tuesday

Operation Clean House Day 3

Mimi was here last week and when we came home, our house was just so clean.  So clean and so picked up.  Both Munchkie's Daddy and I said that we couldn't believe how great it made us feel to be in a clean, organized house.  We said to each other that we need to do whatever we can do to keep this up.
Look at our dining room table!  There are actually four places!

Sometimes we just get so overwhelmed by how out of control things feel that we can't even begin to get our act together.  You don't even know where to begin because there is just so much to do.  The piles of clothes, mail and things to get done look at you and taunt you as you move about the house.  It makes you feel guilty and like a bad wife/mother/person for allowing these piles to accumulate.

We had a fresh slate to begin with upon returning from a revitalizing vacation so we wanted to keep the feeling going.  We are on Day 3 of keeping this house clean and are doing much better than we ever have before.  After we use something, we are putting it away or in the dishwasher.  It is easy to put one bowl in the dishwasher, or even wash one pan out if it's just one.  When the sink and counter are covered it's a lot harder and takes a lot more motivation to get it done.  We are going to keep this up.

I hope that our house continues to look like this.  Operation Clean House has made it all the way to day 3.  This is a huge step for us!

Monday

Absent Blogger Apologies

I have been quite the absent blogger lately.  We have had a lot going on and every time I sat down to blog something would come up.  Besides having to type of 12 pages of instructions for Mimi while we were away, we had work and preparations for our trip.  Since my last blog, I have celebrated my third Mother's Day, 27th birthday, 5th wedding anniversary and for good measure, my 5th nursing week!  Needless to say, we've had a lot going on.

I learned a very important lesson this week while spending some amazing quality time with Munchkie's Daddy.  It is ESSENTIAL to take time for your significant other.  No matter how busy you are or how much time you think you spend together on a day to day basis, you need to set aside time just for the two of you.  We had such a wonderful time together and realized that while we may not need to leave the country frequently to spend time together, we need to set aside more time to spend together.  Doing more than sitting side by side on the couch responding to emails, wasting time on Facebook or reading.

I am now a huge advocate of getaways.  Whether they be for a couple hours to catch a movie, overnight an hour away, or a week vacation somewhere, getaways are essential!  Munchkie's Daddy and  I decided that we are going to make a huge effort to spend more time together as a couple.  We are also going to make the time and set aside the money for more vacations.

I think this is how you keep a relationship going, take time to focus on the other person.

Sunday

Two Going on Tween

With all the change that is happening in our lives it feels like things are moving so fast.  I feel like my life is rapidly changing and evolving into something unrecognizable.  I am overcome with all kinds of emotions every day.  The array of emotions include fear, excitement, anxiety, sadness, anticipation, and stress.  Tonight I was watching TV and there was a commercial for Mother's Day and I actually had to choke back tears.  There was a teenager in the commercial and I had visions of my little Munchkie as a teenager.  It feels like life is moving so fast that this day will come much sooner than I would like.  Each day Munchkie is expressing more of an attitude and temper tantrums that really show she's no longer my little baby.  This is such a difficult realization.  I know that I am being a little overly dramatic about her being a teenager soon, but things are moving fast.  I just love my Munchkie so much and even though each day seems better than the last, I don't want the days to fly.


How do you savor each moment?  How do you prevent the days, months and years from flying by?