Category: A Simpler Motherhood

Friends, this baby is almost here. I am presently writing this post in a Starbucks after my 38 week appointment. I am dilated 2.5 centimeters, but baby still hasn’t dropped. The current plan is to induce on August 1, assuming baby makes his way down before then.

And I am ready. Ready to get things rolling. Ready to meet our son. Ready to sleep on my back again. Ready to experience the beautiful birth process for the fourth time.

Here are my random pregnant thoughts (that are almost completely useless), but here they are nonetheless…

My body is sore all the time. It’s as if I’m attending a Cross Fit class every day, but in reality I’m sitting on my couch eating Italian ices and taking naps while the kids have ‘rest time’.

I love being pregnant and having babies. I take the good drugs at the hospital, so the birth process isn’t too terribly hard on me. I sometimes joke if every birth was like Lily and Jude, I could have babies for a living. However, being pregnant this time around hasn’t been a walk in the park and I think it might be my ‘magic’ age which classifies this pregnancy as a geriatric pregnancy. I had a good friend remind me to enjoy all the kicks and movement because once he’s out, he’s out.

Gelato and decaf cascara lattes are two of my favorite things at the moment, both of which I will probably have to cut out sometime soon.

When people call me ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’ I am tempted to roll my eyes because I don’t feel cute when I can’t tie my own shoes. And then I remember how kind these people are and how cute I think pregnant women are. I am learning to take those sweet words as encouragement and sit in them a moment instead of completely shooting the compliments down.

I would really love to go into labor on my own. I went into labor with Lily without any help and it was a bit magical. I have realistic expectations about being induced, but it would be a special treat for it to be a surprise.

I’m not sure what I would do without slide sandals at the moment. They are pretty much saving my life. Kevin and I took Luke to the zoo on a hot afternoon and he had to put on my socks and shoes and tie them. I’m not sure he has ever had to do that with any of our other babies. This babe could be a big one, friends.

Kevin is my better half and I say that whole heartedly. I can’t count how many times he has done things for me these past 9 months that I couldn’t do for myself. He is my biggest supporter, caretaker, and loves me in a big way. I feel so lucky to have him by my side through this whole shebang.

I’m a little nervous about the sleep situation when baby gets here. We have survived three newborns, but for some reason not sleeping much has me biting my fingernails. The rock in play recall has initiated a lot of my anxiety, but I’m hoping the bassinet we purchased will be sufficient those first several weeks.

I have THE best friends. I have girlfriends checking on me, praying for me, filling my freezer, gifting me cute baby things. I am blessed beyond measure to have a whole crew of women ready to love on me and baby when he gets here.

I can’t wait to see my kids with this new babe. Luke and Lily really grasp we are having a baby and they have kissed him, named him (Toto, Blue Berry, and T-Rex are my favorite), and prayed for him. It will be an adjustment, but I can’t wait for them to meet their brother.

Since it’s hard for me to get in and out of the bath, hot showers have been my go-to. It’s part of my nightly routine I have enjoyed these past few months and I have a feeling it could go away once babe is here.

Sleeping is laughable at this point. I can’t wait to sleep on my back again, even if I am getting up every few hours. I know, be careful what I wish for.

Sometimes I am in awe of the love and support we have from our families. Even though this isn’t our first rodeo, they are literally helping us in big and small ways and I couldn’t be more grateful. I know our bigs will be well taken care of while we are in the hospital and our families will love and dote on the new guy when he comes home.

I will miss a lot about being pregnant (like the gelato and back rubs), but I will have the prize of a baby in my arms when it’s all said and done. We are ready for you little man.

The past several months I have been writing a few things I’m thankful for (almost) everyday. Ann Voskamp‘s book 1,000 Gifts Devotional helped me in this endeavor and it has changed my everyday perspective. Every morning before the kids wake and I heat up the oatmeal, I scribble a few things I’m thankful for in Ann’s devotional book. I just finished up 1,000 things a few days ago and it seems so big and so small at the same time.

I have way more than 1,000 things to be thankful for in this life. But, it has been a start, a way of remembering, noticing, and taking a moment to say ‘thank you’ for the good things all around me. It has helped start my day in a hopeful way. Noticing the branches outside swaying in the wind or the fuzzy blanket on my toes or the pink and red sorbet sunrise has allowed me to focus my mind on the good and the beautiful and the worthy.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Even though the lines in my devotional book are full, I believe I will keep this habit going. I’m not sure if it will be in a notebook or in the Notes app on my phone, but I believe there is power in the noticing and naming of the gifts.

Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done some research on the topic of gratitude. In one of their studies, they asked participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.

One group wrote about things they were thankful for that had occurred during the week. One group wrote about daily irritations and another group wrote about events that had affected them. After 10 weeks, those who wrote about what they were thankful for were more optimistic and felt better about their lives.

It seems there is no reason for me to give up counting and noticing the gifts in my life, as it can contribute to my overall happiness and well being.

Tell me, do you set aside time to be grateful on a regular basis?

Summer is officially here. Cue the swimsuits and flip flops and casual everything. Summer seems like an ideal time to implement a capsule wardrobe because everything is a bit more laid back and there are just less clothes to be worn. And who wants to spend time thinking about what to wear when the sun is shining?

My summer closet looks a bit different this year since I am in my third trimester with Baby #4. Luckily, I have some pretty stylish friends who let me borrow some maternity pieces, so I’m not scrambling for something to fit over my ever-expanding belly.

Here is my Summer Maternity Capsule:

1 sweatshirt

1 jean jacket

1 zip up jacket

1 long sleeve top

5 t-shirts: Thank you ‘cool mom’ friends!

1 casual tank top

2 cardigans

1 kimono

3 casual dresses: 2 purchased from Pink Blush and 1 borrowed from a friend

1 ‘dressier’ dress

3 long tank tops

3 pairs of running shorts: Thank you elastic waist.

1 pair of ripped jeans: They make me look way cooler than I am.

1 pair of Spanx maternity leggings

1 pair of cropped leggings

1 swimsuit top and bottom: The top is a Motherhood Maternity tankini and the bottoms are regular bottoms.

2 pairs of slides: Target and Birkenstock

1 pair of tennis shoes: These are only worn when hubby is around to tie them.

Honestly, I find myself wearing running shorts and t-shirts most of the time and dresses when I want to look a bit more put together. Slides have been a necessity and they may be the best money I have spent on something to put on my body this year.

Tell me, are you implementing a capsule wardrobe this summer?

Summer is officially here and with it brings (super) long sunshiny days and a million fun things to do outside. Meal planning can be put on the back burner when there is sunscreen to apply and play dates to attend, but I have found it to be a worthwhile use of my time. And it absolutely doesn’t have to be complicated.

Over the past 12 years of being a wife and the past 6 1/2 of being a mom, my meal planning strategy has changed and evolved. Cooking a meal for two is drastically different than cooking a meal for five, especially when little people are involved.

This year at MOPS a super smart mom talked to our group about meal planning. Jayme writes over at Mom Saves Money and had so many great ideas, but my one big takeaway was to make a list of go-to meals. Life-changing. That go-to meal list is the master list I use to meal plan each week. Jayme gave us permission to repeat meals and encouraged us to do what works.

I ran with her wise words and created my own list of go-to dinners for the spring and summer. The list is comprised of 10 meals (mostly) everyone in our family will eat and I can prepare almost all of them without a recipe. And it is saving my life. Here is my current meal planning strategy:

1. Make a list of go-to dinners

I am thinking I will do this seasonly or whenever we get in a rut. I asked my family what they enjoyed and added the recipes to the list. I keep my list in the back of my planner so it is always handy. The list eliminates a bunch of decision fatigue. I only have 10 meals on my list, but if you need more variety go with 15-20. I tried to brainstorm meals when everyone was happily eating and Kevin and I weren’t begging our kids to take just ONE bite.

My Current List of Dinners

Tacos

Peanut Butter Chicken

Change Your Life Chicken

Steaks and veggies

No peek beef and noodles

Burgers and veggies

Pork loin and veggies

Korean beef burritos

Spaghetti

Pork Carnitas

2. Use the list and a calendar to meal plan

I like to meal plan on Thursday or Friday for the next week so I’m not thinking about it over the weekend. It doesn’t matter when it gets done, just that it gets done.

I choose a dinner for each day of the week based on our calendar. Sunday nights is always pizza and one night is always leftovers. If we will be out of the house at night, I usually opt for something easy in the crockpot, a picnic, leftovers, or take out.

3. Make a grocery list

While I am meal planning for the following week, I also make a grocery list in my Notes App on my phone. Sometimes I even put in my grocery order while I am meal planning to take out a step. I use the Wal-Mart Grocery app because it’s super easy and I have found I save a lot buying the bulk of my groceries there. We currently are involved in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), so all our veggies from the week come from the share we collect each Monday. We also purchase a quarter of beef a few times a year from a neighbor, so much of our meat is already in our freezer.

You might have noticed many of the meals on my go-to list are meat and veggies. There are two reasons for this: 1. Because my kids like meat and veggies are just the natural accompaniment. 2. The CSA lends itself well to this type of meal. I can have the meat ready and use whatever veggies we get for the week.

This meal planning strategy is simple and only requires a bit of work on the front end to compile the list of go-to meals. My time spent on Pinterest has decreased immensely because I am not searching and clicking on new recipes each week. I still find new recipes occasionally, but I am doing it out of enjoyment and not necessity.

Tell me, what are some of your go-to meals? I would love to add them to my list!

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” -Oscar Wilde

Summer is (almost) here and reading specific books is something I aim to be intentional about in each season. I love to compile a list and get through as many as I’m able. Making a reading list helps me with decision fatigue when I finish a book. Amen. When I don’t have a book list at the ready, completing a book feels hard and almost not worth it because I don’t know what I’m going to read next.

As a momma of three with one on the way, reading happens in the nooks and crannies of the day. Sometimes in the early morning before the kids wake, sometimes when they are playing happily on the swing set, many times after they have gone to bed at night. Reading is something I enjoy, so it is a priority for me to fit it in when I can. Maybe it isn’t for you and that’s a-okay.

Since Baby #4 will be arriving in early August (and reading will inevidtably come to a startling halt), my list isn’t as long as in the past. Here is what I am hoping to read this summer:

Nonfiction

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Fiction

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa Wingate

If you make a book list, what is on it for this summer? I am always looking for more to add to my list!

Remember those friendship bracelets we tied and knotted and gifted when friends were just about as important as breathing? Me too. I made a lot of them growing up. I would knot them around my ankles in the summer and give them away to my BFFs.

Friendship bracelets date back to Central America Indian crafts and there are even some knotted bracelets that date back to 481 to 221 B.C. China. They didn’t make their way to America until the 1970s, but they haven’t really left. (Side note: Everything from my life as as a 7th grader is on the streets: scrunchies, Tommy Hilfiger, Doc Martens, friendship bracelets.) A friendship bracelet is given as a sign of friendship and is tied onto the wrist of a friend and meant to be worn continually as a sign of friendship.

About a week ago, there was a slew of young girls and mommas knotting and braiding bracelets in my kitchen. It was not intentionally thought out, but these bracelets were a sort of small celebration of the friendships created the past five years. You see, it was the last playdate with my sweet friend, Nicole, and her girls (at least for awhile). Her family is moving across the country to California. As I sat there watching everyone braid and chat and weave, I thought about the friendships formed and nurtured in this group. How God can take different people with different upbringings and backgrounds and lives and intertwine them together, exactly the way one would braid a bracelet.

As the morning turned into afternoon and everyone packed up to leave, I thought about how it has been such a gift to love and do life with these people. It was not lost on me that I have experienced friendship in a real, pure, profound way. The way God intended. And 1,600 miles won’t change that.

Friends have always been important to me and through the years I have made friends, loved friends, moved away from friends, and had friends move away from me. But you know what? I am close to many of them still today. And I know that will be true with Nicole and her family. Forever friendships are the kind you know, even before someone does the leaving, that time or location won’t change anything. It will be just as it was when coming together again. Apart, but not separated.

Even when the leaving and saying ‘see you later’ hurts, I know it isn’t final. It’s just a new beginning…of doing friendship a little differently.

Here’s to friends…the forever kind. May we have them. May we love them. May we have known them in a way that saying ‘see you later’ seems impossible and hopeful all at the same time.

Celebrate: acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity

On May 26 Kevin and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. The last 12 years are definitely some of my best. If I would of known what I was getting myself into 12 years ago, it would have been an even more enthusiastic ‘I do’.

We have grown up together in a way, starting our life together straight out of the college gates. We bought and sold our first house together, learned how to budget together, traveled together, learned how to cook together, landscaped and completed DIY projects together, grown in our faith together. We have made big life decisions side by side, started jobs, changed jobs, moved home to the farm (and the very place we said ‘I do’). And the most magical thing we have done together is make three beautiful babies with another one arriving in just a few short months. We have found a rhythm, a sweet spot, where we do life day after day after day together. Some may think it to be monotonous, but I find our life together comforting, beautiful, and all I have ever wanted.

If my math is correct, we have been doing this married thing for over 4,000 days and I hope to do it together a whole lot more. And what do they say? Life is like a fine wine, it gets better with age… I see Kevin and I’s life together in just that way. Each and every day we get to work together, raise babies together, laugh and cry and tend the house together are the sweetest gifts. And every year I look back and praise God for the marriage and man He gave me because life gets better year after year.

At our house, we like to celebrate. For our anniversary, Kevin and I really try to take time to remember and be together, just the two of us. If we can get away, we do. If not, we enjoy dinner together and remember where we started and where we are today, without distraction.

I believe celebrating can be a holy thing. Just look in the Bible and celebrations are sprinkled throughout like confetti. The Bible celebrates family milestones: birth, stages of life, marriage, even the return of a prodigal son. God loves a good party! And I believe He wants us to pause, remember, and celebrate the good gifts in this life.

This year Kevin and I are taking a day to simply be together. We will probably grab coffee at a local shop and chat. We have an ultrasound scheduled to see our littlest peanut. And it will end with dinner out celebrating our relationship and our family. It isn’t a trip to Hawaii (although we hope to do that someday, too), but you better believe we will still be celebrating us.

How do you celebrate big milestones or events? Do you believe life is a bit sweeter when we celebrate?