Great Article, My Honest Reaction

Welcome back! So, how is our mandatory thirty-minute playtime going, mommies? Honestly, ours is going quite well! We have played blocks, and I learned that my son can stack them...didn't know that! We've played "put the blocks back in the basket," and I learned that my son is somewhat learning how to clean up! I've pushed the riding fire truck around the house over and over, and I've learned that now my son would much rather be pushed than make himself go. Oh well :-) The point of the exercise is to get us to interact intentionally with our children, something that goes to the wayside so easily when the myriad of other tasks pile up throughout the day for SAHM. Keep at it, though, and watch the blessings happen over the next month.

Last night, I came across a fantastic article posted by my friend, Jayme, on Facebook. Click below to read it:

The Mom Stays in the Picture

How often is this the situation at your house? I would bet you have hundreds of pictures of your children, and even lots with your children and your husband. But other than a professional shoot, how frequently do you put yourself in the picture? It may seem like a small thing that will go unnoticed in years to come, but just like the mom in the article, I love looking back at pictures of my mommy when I was growing up. I want my son to have the same opportunity. He certainly won't have it I keep up my current practice of capturing his precious self with my phone and purposefully leaving myself out of it. And, no excuses, my phone can do the flip-around thing allowing me to get both of us in one picture.

This article came to me at a great time. Today, at my check-up, I was told that I am officially back to my pre-baby weight! Pretty cool! More than pretty cool. I've struggled hard with this over the past fourteen months, and while I will forever have a scar on my stretchmarked belly, I can feel good about the fact that I'm back where I started. If I keep it up, I could reasonably lose fifteen more to be at my ideal weight...love that!  Fourteen months ago, that number seemed completely unattainable. Now, not so much! Caleb fluff is no longer a reason to stay out of his pictures!

Weight hasn't been my only desire to stay out of his pictures for the last year...it's actually not my main one. Those of you who know me personally have seen me struggle with an odd health issue over the past ten months. For those of you who don't know me personally, I have been reluctant to share this oddity for a variety of reasons. Last December, over the course of two days, the right side of my face slowly stopped working. Eventually, I had no movement. I couldn't blink with my right eye, I couldn't smile with the right side of my lips, I could hardly kiss my husband or our son, and I was totally mortified. I looked awful. It was totally a vanity issue (other than the vertigo that went with the syndrome), but it was horribly embarrassing to do my normal life while looking the way I did and sometimes drooling out of the right side of my mouth! A variety of doctors have all had a different opinion ranging from Bell's Palsy to Ramsey Hunt Syndrome (we've agreed that this is the winner) to Multiple Sclerosis. It has been a rough year with scary tests checking for strokes and brain tumors, difficult physical therapy to encourage movement in my face, and the realization that my face will probably never recover 100%. It is far better than it was, nearly a year later, but you can still tell something isn't quite right. The syndrome which caused these odd symptoms of paralysis, intense vertigo, and blisters was actually a strain of the chicken pox virus that took root in my nerve controlling my inner ear and face. No one knows why it happened, and I just pray it doesn't happen again! Tomorrow, we visit one more neurologist to, hopefully, totally rule out Multiple Sclerosis. There is still some question as to whether or not that may be developing in me, but we are praying specifically against that diagnosis and any other debilitating disease. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, but we are also commanded to pray without ceasing, and He will give us the desires of our hearts!

I say all of this to be honest with each of you, and to hopefully encourage you to keep doing what you love for the Lord even as you go through scary trials in life. They will come, but that doesn't mean we should stop loving our life given to us by the Creator of all life. On the flip side, I am learning that it is important for our children to not just see pictures and memories of us on our best days. During the first year of my first son's life, half of my face didn't work. Okay...he should be able to remember that! I'm his momma. No matter what I look like (Caleb fluff, funny face, or even a little drool!), he needs to know that I loved taking our pictures together, and I was still loving our life. I'm so grateful to this woman for sharing her story. It was a fantastic inspiration to me, and I hope it can be to you. Today and everyday, be blessed! And if you run out of blessings to give thanks for, thank Him that your face works :-)

MMSM #50

Start visiting Walmart on Tuesdays between now and Christmas. They started a promotion this week called "Toyland Tuesday" featuring great deals on popular toys each Tuesday from the beginning of October through December 25. Toys for our babies are so much more fun to give when they were purchased at a great price! Happy shopping!

Tip #37

You know those things that have to sit out, but they are just really ugly? I'm thinking of tampons, dryer sheets, keys, K-cups, etc. I've found a new way to make me smile! Get cute wicker baskets at thrift stores or garage sales and use the baskets to store those less than lovely items. My laundry room looks cute, the bathroom looks better, and our kitchen counter is more organized. It's the little things that perk up any house!