Category / Motherhood

by Bethe

Countdown to Cali

Friends, I’m hopping on a plane and headed to sunny California this week! Well, actually it’s northern California, home to gray overcast skies, but it’s California nonetheless.

I’m headed to a social media conference at a winery in Sonoma for a few days. I know, rough life. I’ll be staying in a big empty hotel room, all by myself, with no baby monitor, no barking dog, no chores to do. I plan on doing some deep sleeping while I’m there. I’m going to eat all of my meals with both hands, no juggling a baby and praying she stays happy while we inhale our food.

I won’t have to make a single bottle (although I’ll have all the joys of pumping on the road) or change a single diaper for three whole days.

And oh my gosh, I’m going to be in a hotel room, 1,000 miles from my baby girl. And Mr. Right. And my baby girl. For the first time. And I won’t get to snuggle with her, smell her sweet baby smell, be on the receiving end of her big, open-mouthed wet kisses, or hold her as she falls asleep.

Please pray for me.

We practiced Face Timing over the weekend. First we called Wrenn’s grandparents – she looked confused, as if to say, “How did grandma and grandpa get inside your phone?” She was serious and curious, but not unhappy.

So being the first-time parents that we are, we decided to practice Face Timing with me to see what Wrenn would do.

She had a total meltdown. She did NOT like seeing her mama on the phone without being able to touch her. It was awful. She cried. I cried. And y’all… I was just one room away. I still cried, because the thought of her melting down like that while I’m in California… well, that would break my heart.

Did I mention during all this crying, Mr. Right just laughed? Thanks a lot, honey.

Deep breaths. I can do this. She’s six months old. She has no concept of time. She’s in good hands with her daddy while I’m gone. It’s only for three days. She probably won’t even notice that I’m gone.

Oh my gosh, what if she starts crawling and I miss it? Baby girl, don’t you dare do anything new or cute while I’m gone. And Mr. Right, if she does, don’t you dare tell me.

Really, I’m so excited about my trip that I could spit. I couldn’t travel while I was pregnant because I was too sick to function most of the time (ahh, memories), so it has been almost two years since I’ve hopped on a plane. That’s two years too long for this girl who has traveling in her DNA.

Any advice on how to survive my first trip away? And, any advice for pumping on the road? I’ve got a battery pack for my pump, steam bags for the hotel, a dozen storage bottles and pump parts, and an ice chest for the travel home (Suitcase weight limit? Whatever dude.). I think I know what I’m doing, but if you’ve been there and have some good tips, I’d love to hear them!

———————————————-———————————————-

il_570xN.553634680_5tueHave you seen my newest print in the shop?

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

by Bethe

On why 4-6-month-old babies are the absolute best

1507884_10151838173936120_1717596174_n

I’ve figured it out. My mom used to tell me that if childbirth was that bad, everybody would just have one kid. Meaning, it’s not that bad and that’s why people keep having babies.

But I know the secret. The reason people keep having babies is because one day they wake up and their baby turns four months old and they become SO MUCH FUN that they want to have 10 more.

I knew being a mom would be a blessing, but I had no idea just how fun it would be. To all of my friends with newborns who are dealing with sleepless nights, and heaven forbid, colic, I have encouragement for you. Four-month-old babies are God’s reward for all of the stresses of having a newborn. When they’re four to six months old, they are like Christmas and your birthday rolled into one, every single day.

Wrenn is almost six months old , and here’s some of the things I absolutely love right now:

She talks. All the time. She coos and grunts and makes a tooting noise with her mouth that she finds to be hilarious. Maybe it’s because I do it back to her and next thing I know we’re making funny sounds at each other and we’re having our own conversation in our secret language. I think we’re going to have a big talker on her hands (takes after her parents).

She laughs. I waited forever to hear that precious little laugh, the one that sounds just like mine, and I will do anything – and I mean ANYTHING – to make that baby laugh. It’s the best part of motherhood.

Except for the kisses. Baby girl loves to give open-mouthed, slobbery, wet kisses. I didn’t think there could be anything better than hearing her laugh, but getting a big, slobbery kiss on the mouth or cheek from her is the best feeling in the whole world. She’ll plant a few kisses on me, then hug me and nuzzle her head into my shoulder, then sit back up and give a few more kisses, then cuddle again. Oh my goodness, I want to have a dozen more babies if it means more of this.

She has discovered her hands. And she stares at them, turning them over, moving her fingers as she studies them and then smiles in delight at these strange things attached to her body. The only thing more interesting than those hands… is her feet. Which she can now put in her mouth. If only I was half as flexible as she is. I love watching her play with her hands and her feet.

1546453_10151839042286120_91915957_n

Actually, I love watching her discover things. First it was her hands and feet, now it’s the whole world. She studies people intently. She looks for the dog. She is fascinated with textures – I recently took her grocery shopping and I let her touch every item as I put it in the basket. She sits in her exersaucer and plays with all the toys and you’d think she was conducting some elaborate science experiment. Watching her learn about her world and the endless possibilities it contains is one of my great joys.

The only thing better is to see the way she looks at her daddy. When Mr. Right walks in the room, everything else stops and she gets a big grin and can’t take her eyes off him. She makes eyes at him, smiles at him, talks to him. If I’m feeding her, she stops every minute or so to look to see if he’s still there. If she hears him rustling around in another room, she has to search him out to see if it’s him. She looks at him like he hung the moon. She has no idea how much he loves her yet. I don’t know that she’ll ever fully comprehend it.

Yep, four to six months is the best stage. I don’t know how it could possibly get any better than this. (Winking, because I’m pretty sure things are about to get even better.)

Mamas, what age is your favorite so far?

by Bethe

How do you know when it’s time to stop nursing?

photo (8)I’ve made it through six months of this whole nursing thing. That was my goal, and I did it. It may have been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – I tell people it’s a lot like when I trained for my half marathon. Every single day you wake up and you have to do it, whether you want to or not. Whether you’re in the mood or not. Whether or not you have time. Even if it means sleeping less, missing something important. You just DO it every. single. day.

Part of me loves it. Like LOVES it. There’s something so wonderful about being able to feed your baby in a way that nobody else can. To bond with her, to hold her close, to have those moments in the still parts of the night when everyone else is sleeping and it’s just you and that beautiful, chubby-cheeked baby cuddled together.

photo (9)

Mr. Right and I have been talking about weaning lately. My goal had been six months, and then I said I’d reevaluate. My new goal is to make it nine, (basically until the end of cold/flu season) then throw in the towel, you know, before she gets any teeth. But there are moments when nursing (or pumping, really… this working mama does a LOT of pumping) is starting to infringe on my sanity. Most days I’m fine, and then there’s a day where it feels like I HAVE DONE NOTHING ALL DAY EXCEPT FOR PUMP/FEED/PUMP/FEED/STORE MILK/THINK ABOUT PUMPING/CLEANING PUMP PARTS/DOING MATH IN MY HEAD TO FIGURE OUT WHEN I HAVE TO PUMP NEXT and there is no time for things like showering, eating, getting to church on time, actually leaving the house at all. It’s hard.

I’d quit, but once I do, there’s no going back. I see the health benefits (like three weeks ago when she had RSV – I really believe her case was milder because I was nursing her). I see the bonding benefits. And there’s a small part of me that knows that this may be my only time to ever get to do this. We want to adopt other kiddos, so this may be my only chance to experience this part of motherhood.

Quitting is just, so… final.

photo (10)

And then there’s the allergy meds. I fantasize about the day I can take just ONE Advil Cold & Sinus. Or one of those amazing Claritin Ds that you can only buy behind the counter. They keep the good stuff behind the counter, the stuff I’m not allowed to have.  And because of that I haven’t been able to breathe through my noses since I got pregnant. I kind of miss that.

I just can’t decide, and so while I wait, I nurse. I may end up being one of those mamas who nurses her kiddo until she goes off to college with a stuffy nose as red as Rudolph’s.

Fellow mamas, what about you? How did you know when it was time to throw in the towel and ween? And no judgement here, whether you went one day or one year. We’re all on the same team. Only loving and encouraging comments please.

————————————————-

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

by Bethe

Has she disappeared?

1475994_10151805531056120_652706870_n

Y’all, I don’t think I’ve ever neglected my little blog for this long before. It is so precious to me, chronicling the stories of my life for me to go back and enjoy later. I’ve been doing it for almost eight years now (since way before blogging was cool) and there are few things more precious to me than this little corner of the world.

But one of the great lies of our age is that as women, we can be good at everything. The perfect mother who never gets overwhelmed from the crying (oh, the crying!), or fears her baby’s first fever or every once in awhile thinks that if she doesn’t just get ONE uninterrupted night of sleep she might lose her mind forever. The perfect homemaker, who bakes everything from scratch and has a hand-made wreath on her door and a gorgeous table setting in her dining room. A woman who entertains regularly in her frilly apron and pearls, who never gets frazzled or tired or stressed. Whose baseboards have never seen dust and whose drawers have never seen clutter. Oh, and throw in being an employee who beautifully balances everything while wearing the newest (thrifted) Pinterest-inspired outfit (with a scarf – there is always a scarf) and has nary a drop of spit up anywhere on her person. And, of course, she is a perfect wife who is always patient with her husband, looks just as polished when he comes home from work as when he left, who cooks him dinner every night using the groceries she bought with coupons and keeps his closet continuously stocked with freshly ironed shirts. And every night they go to bed together on freshly ironed sheets and dream of the adventures that tomorrow will bring.

presentY’all, that ain’t me. I ironed my sheets once after we got married and then realized that it was a colossal waste of my time considering after one night they were a rumpled mess. Now I’m just happy if they’re clean. And I used coupons once, but then lost interest and now have a drawer full of ones that expired in 2011. And sometimes I have a Pinterest-inspired outfit, but honestly they never do look quite the same as they do on the 5’10” 110 pound fashion blogger. I made a wreath once, two years ago, and that same wreath still hangs on my front door, faded and covered in dust and looking a bit ready to retire. And at any given moment there is very high likelihood that there is both spit-up in my hair and on my clothes. Oh, and the last time we entertained guests, well, we ordered pizza.

Being able to do it all, to have it all, TO BE ALL, that’s a myth. And that’s the main reason why I have neglected this blog. Because at this very moment in my life, in this season, my priorities are being a mama, being a wife, and being a good employee. That’s all I can handle right now. There have been many evenings where I intended to write something, but there was a baby to snuggle, and then feed and put to bed, and then a husband to snuggle, and then let’s face it, it’s time for bed because we’re both sleep deprived and an early bedtime is one of the most necessary parts of being a parent.

And so the minute I wrap up work each evening, the first thing I do is put the laptop away and shift my focus to my family. It’s what I’ve got at this very moment, and if I can only do a few things well, then I want to do wife and mama well. There are small pockets of time to craft and bake and entertain and write, but I’m trying so very hard to keep my top priorities my top priorities.

And you want to know a little secret? I am absolutely loving this quieter, slower pace of life. My tendency is to live life as a sprint, and I feel like, much of the time (not all the time, mind you), instead these days I’m sort of meandering through this season of life, and it is so, so refreshing.

So stick with me, friends. I have big plans and blog ideas swimming around in this head of mine (of course I have extra time to think since I’m usually up at least once or twice a night feeding that wide-eyed baby of mine), and hopefully they’ll find their way onto my computer page so that I can continue to make memories for later. Thanks for waiting it out with me. It’s just a season.

by Bethe

One year ago today…

11225_10151748509636120_2017957548_n

It was exactly one year ago today that I found out I was pregnant. It wasn’t nearly as romantic as it seems – the same day I took my positive pregnancy test we ended up in the ER because it looked like I was having a miscarriage. But my Little One was a fighter, and God had big plans for her. There were several points over the next few weeks where it looked like I might lose her, and I spent most of that first trimester on my knees in prayer. It was scary and humbling.

One year later? I have the cutest, snuggliest, most beautiful baby I could ever imagine. I can’t believe I get to be her mama – she is my answer to prayer.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

by Bethe

You know you’re a mama if…

14151_10151622246611120_897061811_n

-You can nurse a baby while curling your hair, answering email on your phone, drinking a cup of coffee and listening to the radio.

-You open up your closet and realize you have nothing to wear. Not because you’re picky, but because everything is covered in spit-up and needs to be washed.

1383613_10151690144221120_2006895022_n

-Your baby is better dressed than you are.

-Sleeping through the night until 5:30 a.m. feels like you’re back in college sleeping ’til noon.

-You feel a twinge of guilt for accidentally falling asleep with your baby monitor on mute, but MY GOODNESS IT WAS THE GREATEST NIGHT OF SLEEP IN YOUR LIFE. And everybody survived.

64224_10151668399236120_1162859930_n

-There is a pair of baby bloomers  and one tiny baby sock in your purse. Extra points if there’s also a bottle of breast milk and a nose plunger in there.

-You go into a meeting, look down, and find dried spit-up, dried milk, or dried  (fill in the blank – the possibilities are endless) on your pants.

1374810_10151692543951120_2030715275_n

-You find that clothing with “just a little” spit up is perfectly wearable. However, when there’s so much spit-up that it drips down and fills your pockets, well, it’s time to change clothes.

-You’re juggling two bags and a baby carrier and you feel like your load is light.

-You’ve passed some sort of sickness back and forth between yourself and your baby. Bonus points if it was something too embarrassing to admit in public.

1385790_10151708572996120_1463767690_n

-You bring a breast pump on a date. Bonus points if you’ve used a breast pump in the restroom of a major sporting event during half time and then had to carry the bottle of milk in your jacket pocket the rest of the game.

-You define a good day by the number of naps your baby took.

-You can fold a stroller with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back.
1390712_10151676353891120_1768524824_n

-You are juicing more than Alex Rodriguez or Lance Armstrong, only your drugs of choice happen to be lactation supplements.

-You will do anything – and I mean ANYTHING – to make your baby smile. Including performing strange interpretive dances, singing off-key, making up words to songs you can’t remember, or making funny noises with your mouth.554180_10151702431416120_164531768_n

-You feel like it’s a personal victory if a poopy diaper stays contained inside the diaper. And if it’s not, you’re an expert stain removing ninja.

-You have that one place on the side of baby’s neck where you love to bury your nose and snuggle her close.

-When ordering at a restaurant, you choose foods that can be eaten one-handed while you tend to baby with the other one. Extra points if you order something that will taste good after sitting out 30 minutes, since the chances of you eating a hot meal are slim to none.

603984_10151712220871120_1432385771_n

-You realize that the milk you’re drinking has been expired for a week, and you go ahead and drink it for one more day because you REALLY need something to put in your coffee.

-You see the irony that it is possible to be out of milk, even though you spend every waking moment producing, pumping, storing, measuring, warming, and serving milk.

-The thought of wasting or spilling milk is almost as bad as the thought of missing Christmas. Which you did back when you were pregnant and down with morning sickness, but that’s another story.

1390594_10151677543786120_1396372780_n

-You know every wrinkle, dimple, and freckle on those tiny legs and feet, and you get a little sad, and a little excited, every time you notice they’ve grown.

-You are willing to go in for a big, sloppy wet kiss, even though your baby is covered in drool.

-You continue to lift your baby up over your head like Super Man because it makes her squeal with delight, even thought you know there’s a 99 percent chance that spit up or slobber will come raining down on your face. It’s still worth it.

1441166_10151703452996120_879538780_n

-You know what it’s like to desperately need a few hours to yourself – ALONE – without the baby, and yet once you get out of the house – ALONE – you desperately miss your baby and can’t wait to get home to see her.

-Someone asks you what you want for your birthday, and you reply, “A nap.”

by Bethe

I’m her mama

sick1

My baby girl was  sick for the first time in her life this week. What a blessing that she’s been healthy for four whole months – I don’t take it for granted. But these were a rough couple of days for my little one – a good fever, sore throat, trouble eating, trouble sleeping. No fun.

And I won’t lie – I was exhausted. She woke up four times the first night and five times the next two nights. Every time my head hit the pillow, she would begin to cry and I would go back to try to soothe her once again. I was quickly brought back to her newborn days of living on the edge of delirium. It’s not easy.

But you know what? As I fed and rocked my baby over and over and over the past few days, I was overwhelmed with what a huge privilege it is to be her mama. When I was a little girl, I wanted my mama to hold me and comfort me and make everything better. And now, I’m the mama. I’m the one she looks to for comfort and that feeling of safety.

Little one, I am the one who is blessed. You are more than I deserve.

sick2

PS- Today she is finally back to her normal feisty, hungry, chatty, bubble-blowing self.

by Bethe

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Breastfeeding Club

Breastfeeding isn’t for the faint of heart. Or for a person without a sense of humor.

It’s beautiful, yes. Kind of. It’s also awkward, lonely, requires a crazy amount of planning, a ton of (pumping) parts, ice chests, storage containers, car adapters, supplements, special teas, and late nights nursing or pumping when everyone else is in bed.

And yes, special. But a ton of work.

I’ve been having trouble figuring out how to balance nursing at church, which cuts right through several feedings. Of course, no matter what time I wake up and no matter how I try to wiggle our schedule, Baby Girl always decides she’s hungry right as we’re walking in the door of the church – so go ahead and queue the meltdown. I’m that mom, toting a screaming baby into the nursery with a giant bow on her head, trying my hardest to fake a smile and pretend like everything is fine.

I’m sure they love us.

The first two Sundays I felt too guilty dropping off a screaming, hungry baby, so I went ahead and took her to the nursing room and nursed her. And missed most of the service. Our nursing room doesn’t have a video feed from the service, so I basically spent three hours getting baby and me ready so that I could sit alone in a room and nurse.

I strongly considered giving up. I mean, what’s the point? I did get to go to Sunday School, but I had to leave early to pick her up, which meant I never really got to sit through anything. Not to mention I just felt frazzled. Baby missed her naps and came home incredibly cranky. There was a lot of crying. I may or may not have cried. Twice. Okay, three times in three weeks. But whatever.

And then my friend told me the secret. All the girls nurse at 11:00, the start of the second service. I could drop my screaming baby off at the nursery with a bottle, go to the worship service, then scoot on over to the nursing room for what turns out to be a party.

Oh, that first Sunday was good for this mama’s soul.

There were about eight other moms with their babies. Someone brought lactation cookies. Someone else brought water bottles. There was laughing, and encouragement, and understanding nods as moms shared stories about the ups and downs of life with a baby. There were new mamas who looked extra tired, and experienced ones to remind them that eventually they WILL sleep again. And did I mention there were cookies?

It was the very picture of what a community group should be. A bunch of people in the same stage of life, speaking encouragement and love and truth to each other.

It was all I needed to keep going. You know, that, and the cookies.

by Bethe

Happy Two Months Wrenn!

***Note: Wrenn turned two months old on September 10, but I went back to work two days later, and am just now getting around to posting this because all I want to do in the evenings if come home and snuggle my baby girl. Her photo is from the two month mark and it’s amazing how much she has changed since then! Stay tuned in a few days for her three month post!

Wrenn - two months-blog

Dear Wrenn,

Oh baby girl, I can’t tell you how much I adore you. This month, around week 5, you started smiling at me. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the whole world – I will come in to your room to wake you up at 7:00 each morning and you greet me with a big grin as if to say, “Oh hi mama – I’m so happy to see you!”

You are definitely a morning person. You have fallen into a routine of going to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 and waking up at 7:00 each morning. Most nights you only wake up once, which has been a treat for your mama. You still love to be swaddled and it’s the only way you’ll sleep in your crib, but it works like a charm.

You’re such a talker already. It makes sense, seeing as both your daddy and me are quite gabby. You talk and coo and have long conversations with me, smiling and singing. You have the sweetest little high-pitched voice. Sometimes I’ll repeat your coos back at you, and you smile like you think it’s so funny. I love our little conversations.

We took you on two road trips during your second month – the first to a family lake house – just the three of us – in Oklahoma, and the second to Midland to celebrate the birthdays of cousins Ella and Jack. You are a good traveler, sleeping most of the way. But packing for a baby – oh my goodness, you require a LOT of luggage! Your daddy and I love to travel and we can’t wait to show you the world.

You still have colic, which made for some tough moments this month, mostly because as your mama I hate to watch you suffer. Toward the end of the month things improved a little, and in the meantime we continue to give you Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water after every feeding and try our best to console you as you cry. I can’t wait for you to feel better.

Your favorite color is red. You get so excited when you see something red from across the room and get a big smile on your face and stare intently. I’ll admit sometimes I wear a red shirt just because I know you’ll like it. You love to sit up like a big girl – with our help, of course – and can hold your head up for long periods of time. You don’t like to be cuddled up to our shoulder – no, you like to see what’s going on around you. I have a feeling you’re going to be quite social as you grow up.

You’re becoming more observant. You love to lie on the floor under this toy/play-thing and kick at the toys dangling above you. You don’t yet know what to do with your hands, but those little feet of yours have great aim. You are a wiggly little thing.

You’re still long and lean. You started the month in preemie clothes and finally got too long for those and graduated to newborn clothes. Even though you’re a skinny little thing, you’re a great eater and the doctor says you’re quite healthy, which we are so thankful for. And you have the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen on a baby – everybody who meets you comments on how beautiful they are, and how alert you are. I could stare at them for hours.

I got to stay home with you again this month and went back to work just a few days after your two month birthday. This second month was so much easier – we seemed to know each other better, I was able to anticipate your needs better, and I just loved getting to play with you, cuddle you, and tote you around. You are such a fun addition to our little family. Sometimes your daddy and I look at each other and wonder how God could have chosen us to be parents of someone so wonderful.

Baby girl, you are a delight and an answer to my prayers. It is an honor to be your mama. I love you, Wrenn Olivia!

-Mommy

Check out Wrenn’s One Month Post

Wrenn - one month

by Bethe

Back at work… And the winner is…

44701_10151622250736120_1198715178_n

Reflections on my first week back at work…

1. I miss my baby girl. That goes without saying. However, I survived my first week away from her. We both made it, and each day it got a little easier. I mean, sort of.

2. Man alive, packing for a newborn and a nursing mom each morning is like packing to go to Europe. I’ve got a check list for both of us, and I think between the two of us, there are at least five bags a day, plus a bouncy seat and car seat that travels with her. Each day has gotten easier – the first night it took me an hour to pack, and now it takes us about 10 minutes.

3. Pumping at work is a bit of an adventure. It’s like having one of those “if they only knew what was going on behind this closed door” moments. Frankly, it’s strange. But I’ve started to get my system down… thanks to a hands-free pump I don’t miss a beat with work, other than a very elaborate set up-tear down if you know what I mean. The strangest place I’ve had to pump so far was in a patient room in the ER after an event.

4. Speaking of pumping (man, this is turning into a women’s only blog, huh?), I’ve been trying to go to the gym on my way home from work (Mr. Right picks up Wrenn so I have a window of time before they get home), but it’s been blazing hot in Texas and I’ve been afraid to leave that precious milk in my car, even if it is in a cooler. And so, every night I carry my little cooler with me into the gym and leave it next to whatever machine I’m doing cardio on. Again, it’s one of those “if they only knew what was in this bag” moments.

bag

I guess motherhood is full of secret “if they only knew” moments. Like, “If they only knew there’s dried spit-up on this shirt” or “If they only knew that I was covered in poop 30 minutes ago” or “If they only knew that I haven’t washed my hair in three days” or “If they only knew I’ve been awake since 3:30 this morning.” On second thought… I bet they do know. Whoever they is.

5. I really missed my coworkers. It was so fun to get to see them after 10 weeks. I work with some really great people.

office

6. I had 4,500 emails waiting for me when I returned. A week later and I’m down to just 2,000. In my defense, I didn’t have access to emails the first two days I was back, so technically I’ve plowed through 2,500 in just four days. I’m a machine.

7. Mr. Right called me Friday afternoon to tell me that he had bought me a 90-minute deep tissue massage for that evening. Like seriously, he’s the best husband ever. What a perfect way to end your first “week” (as in, two days) back at work.

8. While I was getting my massage, my masseuse told me, “I wish there were more people like your husband in this world. I agree, Ms. Masseuse. I agree. He’s obviously a client of hers too – he’s actually won over everyone who works there. I’m a proud wife.

9. I’m thankful for family who have watched Baby Girl while I worked. My sister, my mother-in-law, and Mr. Right have each take turns keeping her. And they send me pictures like this, which make it easier to make it through the day… (Wrenn with her cousin, who adores her. And do you recognize the quilt I made him? That vintage reproduction fabric is some of my favorite I’ve ever worked with.)

photo-236

For the record: cute babies + my quilts = me very, very happy.

9. Yeah… not sleeping so much. Wrenn had a growth spurt that coincided with my first two days back and woke up several times during the night, and then this week I’ve had two mornings where I woke up at 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. and never went back to sleep. That makes for a long day. As I wrote on Facebook the other day, I’m making it thanks to a little bit of coffee and a lot of denial. I can’t complain when she only wakes up once a night, I just need to learn how to go back to sleep even when I only have 45 minutes before my alarm goes off for the day.

10. The best feeling in the whole world is when I wake Wrenn up in the morning, and she looks up at me with this big smile, like she’s saying “Oh hi mama – I’m so glad to see you!” I get the same smile when I see her after work. Oh my goodness, how it makes me melt.

1237543_10151615815351120_930546799_n

One week down and we’ve all survived. I think we’re going to make it.

By the way – thanks to everyone who left the sweet comments on my last post. I realize I’m not the first – or last – girl to be a working mama, and it helps to have friends who have walked that road before me, and stay-at-home friends who have offered to fill in whenever we get in a bind. I am truly a very blessed girl – thank you.

I’m so excited to announce the winner of the Be Still print give-away.

be still - winner

Congrats Kelly! Email me at bethe@texaslovely.com with your address and I’ll drop your print in the mail. For anyone else who wants their own copy, it’s available in my shop as an instant download here. That means you could have it in your hands TONIGHT. What a great reminder to all of us to “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among all the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

PS–I’m very VERY close to getting my 30,000th hit THIS YEAR on the blog. When that happens, expect another give-away. Tell your friends and maybe it will happen even sooner!