Category / Texas Lovely

by Bethe

Letter to my 6-month-old

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Dear Baby Girl, You are six months old. It feels like just yesterday you were doing jumping jacks in my belly, and now you’re here and it’s like you’ve always been here my whole life. I feel like I was created to be your mama. You have changed my whole world and I am so grateful. You are a fun little thing. You talk constantly – communicating in squeals and grunts and funny noises, and we carry on long conversations this way. I can already tell you have a sense of humor, and your face shows me that you are full of JOY. And you fill me with joy, too, sweet girl. Like I have never known before. photo (13) One day I could leave you on a quilt on the floor and do chores around the house, and then the next day you were suddenly mobile. Now you can roll across the floor and lie on your back and scoot backwards on your head (it’s hilarious), and I can’t leave you unattended for five seconds because I don’t know where you’ll end up. But it’s wonderful because now your whole world has opened up, you’ve gained a tiny bit of independence and there’s a world of adventures ahead.

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Did I mention you can stand by yourself, leaning on our ottoman? No? Well, you can. You’re a bit wobbly but every day you get stronger, and tonight you stood for 30 seconds on your own before I had to give you a hand to steady you. You looked so proud. You are going to be such an independent little thing, I know that for sure. Strong-willed, which means that when you’re older I bet you’ll do great things that others won’t think you’re capable of. And I will be so proud. We started feeding you baby food and you love it. Except for green beans, which I don’t particularly like either. Wait until I make them for you and I can add bacon and then you’ll at least be able to tolerate them. But until then, I’m fine with you having personal preferences since you’ll eat peas so at least there’s something green on your list. It seems your favorites so far are sweet potatoes and bananas – two of my very favorite foods. You have always been a good sleeper – you sleep 11-12 hours every night, and I am so appreciative. Your napping is a bit less predictable – most days you nap a total of 3-4 hours, but occasionally you go on a nap strike and get a little irritable, just like your mama does when she’s tired. But at night, dear baby girl, I have never seen someone SO HAPPY to go to bed. As I start swaddling you, you get so excited, and you almost never cry when I put you down for the night. I’d keep the swaddle on until you left for college if I could, but seeing as you can now turn over, we’ve been weaning you off, and you’ve been a champ, but I think we’re both a little bit sad to see it go. photo 1 (2) You still look just like your daddy, but I see glimpses of myself in you at times. Like when you laugh – your belly laugh sounds just like me. And you’ve got my chubby cheeks and long fingers and bits and pieces of my personality. Baby girl, I can’t believe it’s already been six months. I’m going to blink and you’re going to be a year old and I really want to freeze time and keep you small for as long as possible. And yet I can’t wait to watch you grow bigger and stronger and to see what type of woman you’ll become. But for now, I’m going to enjoy breathing in your six-month-old scent and kiss that little bald spot on the back of your head and stare into those big eyes that change color almost daily and thank God that you’re mine. Happy six months, Wrenn Olivia. I am so blessed to be your mama.

by Bethe

Happy Anniversary to my Beloved

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Three years ago today was one of the best days of my life. After 30 years of praying, I finally got to marry Mr. Right. And thus began the next chapter of our adventure together.

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Marriage is the hardest, most wonderful, most humbling, thing I’ve ever done. To have someone know all those things I spent my whole life trying to keep a secret from the world, and even with a front-row seat to all my flaws… he still chooses me. He tells me repeatedly that his goal is to help me to thrive.

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We have laughed and cried together. We’ve seen each other through lengthy illnesses (me), three broken bones (him), two major job changes, countless house projects, a difficult pregnancy and now the early days of parenthood. We’ve also had some of the most wonderful adventures, had deep discussions during road trips and late night talks under the covers.

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I always knew Mr. Right would make an incredible father, and after getting to watch him in action for the past six months, it makes me realize I am even more blessed than I could have imagined. I knew on that cold January day, three years ago, as I walked down that aisle and saw the man I would marry, that I loved him.

But really, I had no idea just how much.
189511_10150109187471120_6609560_nMr. Right, here’s to three wonderful years, and hopefully 75 more.

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.

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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.

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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.

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

by Bethe

I want to dream BIG in 2014

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Free download from Texas Lovely

My goal for 2014 is to dream big. The past few years my goal has been to rest, to pace myself, to slow down, to not overdo. And in those seasons that was what I needed because my life was filled with work and stress and growing a baby and then having a baby and learning how to be a new mom.

It was an amazing season in my life. And now it’s time for a new season. In this season I want to get back to doing something I feel like I haven’t done in a few years.

I want to DREAM.

I want to think and plan, not just for this week or this month or this year, but for the future. I want to try things I’ve never done before, to experience thrills, to conquer fears. To live with reckless abandon. To do things BIG.

To worry less about failing.

To worry less about what others think.

One of those things I want to do is to grow my little blog. Would you help me? I’m offering this print as a free download – would you tell your friends, pin it on Pinterest, and help share the love? You would make this girl very, very happy.

Keep dreaming, my friends.

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

by Bethe

Has she disappeared?

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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

You know you’re a mama if…

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-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.

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-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.

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-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.

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-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.

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-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.
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-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.

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-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.

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-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.

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-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

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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.

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

by Bethe

Christmas Bunting – In the shop!

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I’ve got brand-new Christmas bunting in the shop, and I’m offering free shipping for the next few days. It features some of my favorite Christmas fabrics without being TOO Christmas-y. I mean, nothing says Merry Christmas like a little gray zebra print, right?

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This makes me so excited to decorate for Christmas. When do you start your decorating? I like to have mine up by the weekend before Thanksgiving, because that way I can enjoy Thanksgiving and my time off work and not run around working on things. I realize there’s those “nothing ’til after Thanksgiving” purists, but I’m not one of them. My biggest goal is to be able to relax and enjoy being at home with my family.

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I keep thinking back to last year’s Thanksgiving. I found out I was pregnant the Tuesday before Thanksgiving – Nov. 20 – which was also just two days before my birthday. That week was so special (and stressful – I was high risk and in the ER the day we found out I was pregnant), and I keep reliving those moments over and over while staring at my beautiful baby girl. I knew all along she would be amazing, but really, I had no idea.

So this year as I decorate for Christmas, I’m going to be extra thankful, and joyful. My little family has been so blessed.

by Bethe

Is it Christmas yet?

Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s taking every ounce of my being not to turn on the Christmas music, get down the decorations and just START my Christmas. I’ve already finished about 80% of my Christmas shopping, thanks to many middle-of-the-night feedings where I perused blogs and did online shopping on my iPhone right after Baby Girl was born. I had a lot of extra time on my hands back during those first few weeks when I was up 21 hours a day.

Man, I don’t miss those days.

My goal for this year is to check all of my to-do items  off the list early so I can just sit back and ENJOY Christmas. I tend to get so busy that I sprint through Christmas, doing and going but not always stopping to breathe and be thankful. Or, there was last year, when I was newly pregnant and so sick I could barely eat crackers, so I sort of missed the entire holiday season (along with New Year’s, Valentine’s, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter…). This year, I kind of want to stroll through the month and relish those “firsts” with my growing family.

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One of the things I am most excited about is taking Baby Wrenn to see Santa for the first time. A few years back we found this AWESOME picture of my dad’s first visit to see Santa. As you can see… it was a classic.

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I experimented with Christmas bunting last night, and I’m so pleased with the result! I’m thinking about adding it to the shop. This one is already spoken for, but I plan to whip up some more soon – if you’re interested in some, let me know – I’m just going to make a limited quantity. I plan to use some for my mantle and bring a strand to decorate my new office.

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I’ve also got a few quilted Christmas pillows available. I love this star pattern (I recently finished a star quilt top that I can’t decide if I want to list in the store, or get greedy and keep for myself).

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And the back of those pillows – which just so happen to match the bunting.

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I’ve also got Christmas prints – this one sat proudly on my Christmas mantle last year, and I also used it as a hostess gift.

What about you? Are you ready for Christmas, or are you closing your eyes and pretending like it’s a long, long ways off? What part are you most looking forward to?

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.