Thursday, June 26, 2014

How I try to make bedtime fun for my Evie.


For the past almost two years Leon and I have felt like bedtime was always a battle.. We had a goal to make Evelynne so tired that she'd just fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow but still to this day that has only happened a very few times. I've always dreamed of being that mom that could rock and sing her child to sleep but Honestly Evelynne would rather get up and dance if I tried to sing to her. She's like an everlasting battery that doesn't like to go down for the night. So we decided that Evelynne has a bedtime and she has to go to bed rather she likes it or not. Some days she cried and other days she screamed. I've had people tell me I'm doing the right thing and I've had others tell me I should just let her stay up until she's tired. But this is what Leon and I thought was best. We highly believe in boundaries and bed time was one of them. So even though bedtime usually ends with darkness before the light. Leon and I do try our hardest to make our way getting to the crib a fun experience.

Usually about an hour or two before Evelynne's bedtime we like to play games with her. Like chasing her around the house or let her walk when we go on evening walks to get at least some energy out of her system. And unless it's a special occasion we don't usually give her any sugar before bed. (We'd be asking for trouble!)  Then we give her a bath, let her play in her room for a bit and then it's bed time. I say a fun active prayer with her that ends with tickling and I give her a book to look at until she falls asleep. She's getting better and better but to be honest I am still in no way comfortable with putting her in a toddler bed with no bars!

I honestly cannot believe that we reached the end of our series!! I hope all of you wonderful mamas have enjoyed these series as much as I have. We all loved these series so much that we are now working on round two! So stay tuned :)


From Here to EternityWords About Waverly
my delicious adventure Photobucket
My Delicious Adventure                  The Life Of Faith
Running From The LawThe Olive Tree
         

May 8:          Taming the Temper Tantrums
May 15:        Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk 
May 22:        Dealing with Mommy Guilt
May 29:        When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it
June 5:         Traveling with your Toddler
June 12:       How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all
June 19:       How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood
June 26:       Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)

Monday, June 23, 2014

15 weeks!

Baby R's Stats!

Baby's size: Peach

How far along:
15 weeks!!! I skipped my 14th week update last week because I was too busy enjoying life and washing three months of dirty laundry. Taking one day at a time. :)

Sleep: Sleep hasn't been the best. For some reason I keep waking up which is causing me to be even more tired in the morning. Also it's just hard to get comfy these days.

Maternity Clothes: I'm rocking the leggings these days. I'm at that awkward stage when my jeans are a little tighter and maternity pants are saggy. I could still wear my pants but I hate feeling tight jeans with a passion so I've been all dresses and leggings.

Food cravings: Something different everyday. Yesterday it was chicken salad and today it was just sandwiches. This is such a fickle pregnancy haha. 
 
Food aversions:
Coffee :(((((((((((( Right now I can't even stand the smell of it. And it makes me so sad. I'm starting to be okay Frappes again so 'm hoping that's a sign.  Other than that there is always something I'm hating on.

Symptoms I HAVE: Still some morning nausea, tiredness and cramping but that's it. 

Doctor’s Appointment: I have one tomorrow & I'm so excited to hear my sweet baby's heartbeat.

Movement: I felt movement for the first time last week! I was shocked due to the fact I didn't feel Evie until I hit around 20 weeks. I love feeling movements. It makes my day.
 
Belly Button: Innie but it's starting to look like a pregnant innie.

Gender: Jesus blessed Leon and I  by telling us the gender of our baby early on in our pregnancy by telling my Husband, two friends who are like sisters and to seal the deal our Pastor Prophsiesed our baby's gender over us. So we know in faith what our baby is however, we're gonna wait to share it until we do the announcement.


Name: We've.. I've put out a few names here and there but Leon and I are really waiting on The Lord for a name. 

Best moment of the week:
Honestly, everyday since I've been feeling better has been the best moment haha. Feeling great is amazing.

What I’m looking forward to:
Feeling stronger kicks and my next ultrasound.

What I miss: This is going to sound
silly but I miss craving and loving coffee.. No I'm not addicted... I just love enjoying it. My coffee makes a great blogging/morning/writing/reading companion so it feels so weird not having my pretty mug with me.... Fyi this blog is a "no judging" zone. ;)

 

Big sister: Evelynne has no idea what's going on right now. She doesn't really understand why I can't hold her as much as I use to or wrestle with her. I keep trying to tell her that her baby sibling is inside mama and she just looks at me like I have three heads haha. She had her first encounter with an infant Sunday when we got to meet her new cousin Hannah but she didn't show too much interest until I picked her up. Once I held Hannah she immediately  came up to me and demanded that  hold her lol. I tell you my daughter doesn't say much at the moment but her actions speak way louder than words sometimes haha! However, I know Evelynne is going to be such a great big sis and with  practice with her dolls she'll learn to be okay with sharing mama.

Do you mamas have any advice on preparing a little one for a sibling? I could use all the help. :)

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Mommy Moments Link up & Giveaway!!

Happy 100th Mommy Moments Link Up & GIVEAWAY!

In addition to winning the $10 Starbucks card and $100 Paypal cash, the winner also gets their pick of a Pearberry Pie headband pictured below!

Looking back over the best couple of years, I had no idea how this link up would change my life. I was just a clueless pregnant woman excited about becoming a mama! Turns out, this link up is where I have met some of my best friends and been so encouraged each week as a mama! 
Because each of you are what make this link up possible every week, we want to celebrate YOU with a giveaway! Enter to win below and then link up your post for the week!
Thanks to all these wonderful ladies pictured below for their contribution to this fun giveaway!
 


                      
 This Marine Wife//A Cowboy's Life// Madly Wish//Foxy Domestic Side//The Life Of Faith// The Not Quite Military Wife//Beautiful Family Affairs//Just A Touch Of Crazy//The Everyday Momma//This Little Light Of Mine//The Peanut's Gang//Eat, Pray, Read, Love//Sounds Of My Pitter-Patter//Crazily Normal



Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to Sweet Country Roots and her post Back To An Old Fashioned Way Of Thinking! I loved this post and the heart behind it. Even though we can't really go back in time, it's so important to instill some of the values from the past even in our current culture. Thanks for the great post Brittany!old

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The Not Quite Military Wife
 The Not Quite Military Wife


Beautiful Family Affairs

 Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Now, link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 


Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!
We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up! If you are not able to copy/paste the code on your page, please e-mail one of us and we would be happy to send you the code!

The Life Of Faith
<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/mommymoments" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/cfa5ba11752f4e898055d03d33cf24e0.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>



P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

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Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory
Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.





Thursday, June 19, 2014

Making time to blog in the busyness of motherhood


I feel like I haven't been much of a Blogger Mama lately however, I hit my fourteenth week of pregnancy and I'm starting to feel more alive each day so I have a feeling I'll be jumping back on the blog wagon soon!!! I'm already working on some posts in advance for next week so 'm getting my groove on again.

Ever since I started this blogging journey I've been asked by many women "How do you have time for blogging?" And I believe it's an honest question. I mean Motherhood is 24/7. We wake, breathe, sleep and dream motherhood. It's understandable to why people would not only be curious but also to why I would even make time for it when there's so much more to do. Well, today I'm going to be sharing how I manage to make time for blogging in and I will also share why.

I don't blog every day.
I pick two days a week usually and sometimes more to take a break from blogging. It not only gives me more time but it gives me time to get inspired for my future posts. Another thing that helps a whole lot is scheduling. Scheduling and organizing my blog helps me to remember what I plan on writing that day and usually one day I month I will go to a coffee shop for a ME date and write blogs to be scheduled on certain days.

I am always open to guest posts.
I love it when bloggers offer to write guest posts for my blog. Because I love introducing new amazing blogs to others but it also helps me out a whole lot.

Blogging is also something I choose to do either before Evelynne wakes up, when she's napping or after she goes to bed.  also usually do things while I blog like laundry or run the dishes through the dishwasher.

A question that many mamas ask is why I make time for blogging. And there are many different reasons why. I have family who like to keep up on Evelynne but I mainly like to use my blog for ministry. Ministering to women of all ages and encouraging them is something I have always had a heart and desire for. And because my husband and I are a one car family right now I'm not able to do it much in person so I use my words in writing to bless and I love to see how God uses this blog to make someones day. That's why I make time to blog. And  don't consider it as a waste of time but I see it as time put into something good, true, encouraging and pure. And that's what I desire this blog to be in a media that's full of garbage. 

As you know  our series are coming to an end next week. But after talking with these mamas we've decided to do a round two! Do you have any questions/discussions you'd like us to include for our new series?
From Here to EternityWords About Waverly
my delicious adventure Photobucket
My Delicious Adventure                  The Life Of Faith
Running From The LawThe Olive Tree
         

May 8:          Taming the Temper Tantrums
May 15:        Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk 
May 22:        Dealing with Mommy Guilt
May 29:        When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it
June 5:         Traveling with your Toddler
June 12:       How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all
June 19:       How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood
June 26:       Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Hitting the road with your toddler.


Okay, I'm gonna be honest here. I have not left my state with my daughter yet.  Because of my Husbands tight schedule working as a Baltimore Police Officer we really can't travel yet unless I went by myself.  However we have drove in the car for more than an hour many times so I'm going to share some tips that have helped me keep a girl happy while sitting in the car.

- Having toys on hand has helped me so much. For Evelynne she loves books so I try to keep at least one or two books in my bag along with some other toys and her bear. If we were going on a long drive I'd probably bring more like coloring books, and other stuff that would help the short attention span  of one year old.

-Also having snacks and drinks on hand is a given. It's hard for kids to be miserable when they have snacks.

- Being positive also helps. Kids feel what you're feeling and if you're stressed it's going to cause them to be even more stressed. When Evelynne's upset I usually put on some calming classical music or worship and calmly talk to her and sometimes I don't say anything at all so she'll have that space.

I know these are all obvious "to-dos" when traveling but these are the things that help me. They're not creative ideas but they work.
From Here to EternityWords About Waverly
my delicious adventure Photobucket
My Delicious Adventure                  The Life Of Faith
Running From The LawThe Olive Tree
         

May 8:          Taming the Temper Tantrums
May 15:        Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk 
May 22:        Dealing with Mommy Guilt
May 29:        When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it
June 5:         Traveling with your Toddler
June 12:       How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all
June 19:       How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood
June 26:       Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)