Just a minute

I have been wrapped in my thoughts alot lately. Thoughts of am I doing all that I should be doing? Is there something that I’m missing? How can I make an impact today? And as I’m wrapped in my thoughts I’ve been reading a book called “Just a minute”  by Wess Stafford. This book talks about the impact a minute can have in a positive or negative way. That a child’s dream can be built or torn down in just a minute, sometimes less. Wow. Really?! Yes. And that children can be impacted as early as two years old.

There was a story that I read about a little boy who was maybe two, that managed to open the fridge to pull out his bottle of milk. When he reached it, the bottle dropped from his little hands, and he was surrounded by a puddle of milk. The little boys mom came into the kitchen, and instead of scolding him said the following, “Did you drop the bottle?” The little boy nods. The mom says with a smile on her face, “This is quite a puddle. I have never seen a puddle of milk quite like this.” “Would you like to play in the puddle?” And so the little got down to play in it. Then the mother said, “Sometimes we make messes, and then we have to clean them up. Will you help me clean it up?” The little boy and his mom clean up the puddle, and the mom tells her son, “Don’t ever be afraid to make a mess.” He carried this motto through out his life, and grew up to become a famous research scientist.

So, in my day to day, I have to remind myself that I can make an impact in certain  2year old’s day, and those around me. On days that I feel: is there more I should be doing? I remember to make each minute count, and I try to be a part of more good minutes than bad.

Lessons

Becoming the woman God designed me to be is not always an easy task. I am constantly having to change the way I think, the way I speak, act, and the list goes on. It is so important though, that I remind myself daily to seek God, and do the day God’s way. And not always knowing what that means, it’s important for me to seek God everyday.

Especially since I was given the responsibility of raising a little girl. She watches and hears everything. And I am her biggest influence at this time in her life. She is a reflection of me. So, what am I teaching her? At 19 months?  To be patient. That means I have to be patient with her, especially when she refuses to go to bed. To be gentle. So, I must speak and act gracefully with those around me. And to not get easily frustrated. So, I am learning to let go of the small stuff. After all most of it is small stuff.

Are these big lessons to be teaching my child at 19 months? Oh, I think not. I understand she is a still a baby, but you can never start too soon to teach them good. And you can never start to soon to refine yourself.

A Child’s Compassion

My sweet baby girl has a heart full of compassion.

A week or so ago, we were sitting down playing or reading books, and she stopped and turned to me, with very concerned eyes. She pointed to a diminishing pimple on my chin, with her very precious little finger. She said, “boo boo” (for the first time). And then she kissed my chin. Wow.

I was left laughing and admiring the compassion of my 18 month old.

Then there was the time i was having a really hard day and sat on the stairs to cry. And she walked up to me, and gently looked at me and hugged me, and held me. Yes, in that moment I felt like I was being held my 18 month daughter. It was by far the best cry and hug.

God gave my daughter a compassionate heart, and she’s been so gracious to share it with me. How blessed I am to know such a sweet girl. And how privileged I am to be able to learn from her.

 

 

The Long Awaited Post

It’s been a few months. Gosh, almost a year. And as you can imagine ALOT has happened. The biggest I can think of is that in a blink of an eye my baby became a toddler. A girl with a mind of her own. How does time go by so fast?

Yesterday was Aliza’s first movie theater experience. It was so much fun!  We went to watch Winnie the Pooh, and she enjoyed it much. Dancing during the songs, and watching closely to the characters on the screen. At one point of the movie, maybe she had seen some of the characters hugging. I’m not sure. But she turned around to face me and gave me the biggest best hug ever. These are the moments.

I love, love having a little girl. She is so fun. We hang out. We’re buddies. How good God is that he has given me a friend in my daughter! And she’s only 18 months. I can only imagine as she talks more and grows more how much our friendship will deepen.

I am enjoying watching my daughter grow up.  I am taking her hand as she leads me and teaches me to see life through her eyes. How beautiful it is, even on the tear-filled I’m so tired days. I am learning to forgive quickly, dance and laugh often, and not worry about what tomorrow may bring. It’s gonna be a good day, no matter what.

At Last.

It’s been well over two months since I’ve written here. And quite frankly, even though there was so much to write about I contemplated if I should, that, and not having time to write a blog, or not being motivated and instead spending whatever free time I have browsing Facebook. Seriously, why do I do that. I have so many other things I could be doing than logging on to Facebook. But, I do it anyway.

So, what has happened in the last two months? Where do I start?

About Aliza:

1. She has been eating a variety of solid food and is now moving on to finger foods, pancakes, raw fruits and veggies, baby crackers.

2.She is now crawling. She just started last week. She now gets into everything. Seriously, I need to start baby proofing. Her favorite is to chase after the dogs favorite ball, and after the dog.

3. She takes a few steps with help and really likes standing.

4. She cut her first tooth. Yesterday. 🙂 So exciting. Today she has spent the day rolling her tounge over her tooth, trying to figure it out.

5. She sleeps through the night. For real now. She goes down anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 and stays asleep until 5:30 or 6 am. I nurse her for 30 mins, and she sleeps again and wakes up around 8 or 9 am. Good deal. 🙂

6. She says mama and dada. Started about a week ago.

7. Still enjoys baby story time.

8. Her personality is really showing. She is a happy, excited, miss independent kind of girl. Sometimes she’s shy. When she meets someone for the first time or hasn’t seen someone for a while. She tilts her head, smiles and looks away.

9. She is about 16.5 lbs. Not sure her height, but when she stands next to me she comes up to my thigh.

10. She is such a blessing in our lives. God reveals his goodness in her daily.

About my Hubby:

1. He is in Firefighter Academy. He is learning alot, making new friends, and enjoying the field more and more.

2. He is starting a new full-time job on Monday. This is the first time in a year since he’s worked full-time outside of home. So, prayers are welcomed for him (and I).

3. He continues to enjoy being a father. Aliza and him have so many similarities and they are the cutest when they are together.

About Nuka (our pup):

1. She has adjusted quite well with the baby. She enjoys giving her kisses and is really gentle with her. If Nuka has a bone and Aliza comes up to her, she will turn away from her bone and give Aliza a kiss.

2. She is healthy. For a while she was a little sick, but thank the good Lord she is now well.

3. She is celebrating her 2nd birthday on Monday. *tear* I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since we’ve had her. We got her at 6 weeks old.

About Me:

1. Hmmm…I am working on time management. I am trying to figure out how to take care of an 8 month old full time, sometimes over time, and do my daily household chores (which always seem to add up), be a good wife, maintain a social life, and take care of just me. Oh, and take care of our dog.

2. I am taking a break this semester from working outside of home. I thought I would go back to culinary work, but it seems that with the hubby’s full time job and part time school, it will not be feasible.

3. God is teaching me daily on how to be the type of person he wants me to be for him and for my family.

4. I am greatful for my beautiful family.

Some of my faves this past month:

Ensuring Baby’s Well Rested

Breaking habits is hard. And my baby has gotten into the habit of being nursed or rocked to sleep. No bueno. The past week we have been trying to break her of the habit, but last night was really tough. She woke up at 1130 pm and 4 am and at 630 am and finally at 8 am. And we tried the she’ll cry and soothe herself to sleep, well no such luck she cried or shall I say yelled for 30 mins. Yes, my baby has learned to do REALLY high pitched shrieks.

And her crib is in this nook right outside our bedroom.

I really thought last night was going to go really smoothly because I had her in bed by 8 pm.

Well, I guess it’s a work in progress.

She has been napping the past couple days for about 1.5 straight. And it does require me leaving her in her crib awake for a few minutes, but usually after 10 mins she’s off to sleep.

Anywho, is there any mom’s out there that have any recommendations on getting a baby on a good sleeping schedule? Please leave your comments.

Oh my Aliza’s in VA!

So needless to say that I have been busy. Preparing for Aliza’s first road trip and her first time away from home.   The drive here was quite the adventure. We drove through Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. It took about 14 hours of driving, 4 hours of stops, an overnight stay in Pennsylvanina. And now here we are!

Kris joined me the first 5 days, but drove back home on Monday for job training. It was really nice to have him here. The past couple days has been diffirent taking care of Aliza by myself. I do try to recruit my family to help me out. My brother David is really good with her, and my brother Jason can make her laugh. And she just loves spending time with her grandparents. 🙂

It has been nice for my family and Aliza to get aquainted. 🙂 She is deffinetly enjoying them, as they are her. And after 2 years of being away from my hometown, I am enjoying being back surrounded by the things I grew up with. Aliza enjoys being in a new place and spending time surrounded by my Hispanic roots.

Even though it has been ridiculously hot here, in the mid to high 90s, she still is so smily and giggly. 🙂 I have often been told of how joyful she seems. And, well, Aliza does mean joyful.:)

Anywho, just wanted to write a quick note. I realize it had been a while. I’m finding myself so busy lately, but still would like to keep writing.

Well, I hope to report some more during our trip here in VA.

Sweet Baby Dreams

 

Aliza took a 1 hr nap. About 2 seconds after taking this she woke up. I think she’s up to 9 1/2 hrs of sleep today. Still 2 1/2 hours less than yesterday. She is cranky and tired. Pray that our sweet girl may have more rest.

Naps!? No way!

My 4 1/2 month old daughter is having THE hardest time sleeping. Last night she slept 7 hrs only. Maybe 7 1/2 at max. And it was not uninterrupted sleep. I put her in her crib at 9:55 pm, hoping see would stay asleep for at least 6 hrs. She was up at 1:50 am. So, husband got up and bought her to me and I feed her for about 1/2 hr. Put her back in her crib at 2:30 am, hoping she would sleep until 6 am. She was up again a little before 5:30 am. So, husband bought her to me and I feed her again. I was so tired that I didn’t realize she was still latched on until almost 7 am! *Deep sigh* So, dad attempted to take her to her crib, but she was having none of it. She cried for a while and was up, so dad took her downstairs for two more hours while I tried to get some rest. At 9 am I went downstairs, she had just fallen asleep, and stayed asleep for about 25 mins. So, I had a quick bite to eat, nursed her, changed her diaper, gave her a morning snack of rice ceral, nursed again. All in hopes that she would nap by 11 am. And so she did fall asleep nursing at 10:50, only to wake up at 10:54. I left her in hopes that she would fall asleep again, but its now 11:30 and no such luck.

I really feel like she isn’t getting enough rest. She is constantly rubbing her eyes, but she just won’t stay asleep. Does anyone have any advice out there?

Being the Mom I am called to be

I was reading today in Psalms 37 and this is what stood out.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

It has been the desire of my heart since I found out I was pregnant, that I be the best me for my child. As I am sure that that is the desire of most parents. Since I’ve had Aliza, I have noticed alot of things about myself that I must work on to change. Like being easily frustrated or not letting things that bug me go. Gee, I sure don’t want Aliza to pick up on that and think that it is okay. Plus, I need to change these things to not easily get stressed. I deffinatley desire to not be a stressed out mom.

As I read and re-read this passage, it dawned on me that if I simply spent time with God, lived my life according to His word, and trusted in him the things that I desire in my heart from smallest to biggest, in all aspects of my life He will give me. Wow.
Then, as I spent some time just talking with God and being still, I realized just in the same manner that I want to spend time with my daughter, so does my heavenly Father want to spend time with me. I cannot imagine not talking to Aliza and her not interacting with me. And so how does God feel when I don’t take the time out of 24 hrs to sit down and converse?

Sure I pray throughout the day, but you know the quick kind of prayers. God help me do this. Give me strength here. Thank you for this food. Give me patience. Thank you for my child. But, the truth is that in the busyness of momhood, I do not take 30 mins a day for just me and God. But, I should.

Honestly, on those long restless, teething days having those 30 mins would be me recharging my batteries. Every mom needs to recharge daily. No we are not the energizerbunny. Society may make you think we are supposed to be that way. But, yes even the energizer bunny will need to be recharged. And, I would rather recharge before hitting the sack. So, I am going to attempt to take some time every day. Yes, I said every day. And that may be hard at first, but honestly my family will be better if I do this.

I am recruitting my husband to watch the baby every day for at least an hour so that I can have this time to myself. I find that doing this before dinner, around 4 pm works for me.

If you are exhausted with the many to do things on your list, try to take 30 mins. Journal, read your Word, pray, meditate. Stop thinking, listen.

I find that this is how I can begin to be the best mom I am called to be.