Category: stay-at-home-mom

Well, after 3 1/2 years of motherhood I heard a sound on Thursday night I’ve never heard before while lying in bed.  It was so strange and scary when I realized that it was coming from my 7 month old son’s crib.  It sounded like a seal barking over and over.  I went and got my upset baby and soon he repeated the crazy “cough” and I knew instantly it would be a long night.  Then in the morning it felt like the Dr.’s office would never open.  Finally they did and gave me 20 min to dress, get him and the girls dressed in the car and over to the office (only 2 blocks away, but still have you ever put a 3 year-old, 2 year-old and 7 month old in a car and gotten them out?) .  Well thankfully my sweet hubby stayed home to help me and we got there with about 90 seconds to spare!  Fearing the worst like I tend to do I had been watching you tube videos of whooping-cough all morning and researching as many medical sites possible looking for similarities.  He had the exact same cough but no strange whistle-like gasp at the end.  The dr. (who is amazing and I trust very much) heard the “bark” as she called it and informed me that without the gasp at the end of his fits it was just the Croup.  Well being that I’ve never had another child with it, and done no research on this, I at first bombarded her with about 100 questions.  Thankfully she is patient and kind enough to sit and explain it all to me and help me know what to do to help my barking but otherwise happy baby. 

Well after “tenting” his crib with a humidifier (which I should have already thought to do that Thursday night, since Jeannie taught me this last year when Belle was coughing so much) he improved.  Then he started showing signs of what we call in our house velcro syndrome, when your child cries every time you put them down and the only time they seem half-way happy is tightly snuggled in your arms because they just feel yucky.  So I knew he was still not ok and had to cancel small groups on Saturday night and miss church on Sunday, since he was telling me he needed 100% of my attention indefinitely. 

Monday morning now and the barking is all but gone, his little scratchy voice seems to be the only reminder of the croup…  well now after all this my official review of the croup is that I am not a fan at all.  Glad my girls never went through this and found myself praying during my quiet time (a relative term in a house with 3 kids) this morning that Noah never does again either!  Thankful for our friends and family who prayed for him (and me).  Now after an adult-free weekend that Eric worked a total of 27 hours (fri-sun with a lock-in), I NEED some adult time.  Hoping to see some of that today or tomorrow 🙂  Happy Martin Luther King Day, especially for all you gov. workers, school workers/kids and phillips workers that don’t have work or school!

Today I found myself turning on Christmas cartoon specials and rushing around cleaning, cooking, Christmas card making, and generally stressing about our yearly open house.  Katie yelled, “POTTY!” and I yelled back, “just go and let me know when you’re done!”  So I continued rushing around forgetting I had sent her up to the bathroom. I finally recognized the lower volume brought about by one less child and went to check on her. When I got there I saw what was taking her so long, she was happily floating some rubber ducks in the toilet. I tried to contain my frustration with this non-productive detour in my well planned day. So I calmly asked, “honey, what are you doing?”  My sweet three year old grinned and said, “look mommy its me, you and dadda.”  My heart was instantly convicted and this small person’s point of view has been on my mind all day.
We live in such a fallen world its much like a toilet bowl and unfortunately we are floating in it. Thank goodness Christ came to save all of us “ducks” from the “toilet”.  Oddly enough this made me remember the reason for the season and quit everything I was planning for the day and teach my children about what we are celebrating and snuggled them.  I totally relaxed in the knowledge of my saviour’s love and sacrifice and shared that love with my family.
The house is a wreck, the cards aren’t done, nothing is baked…. but I feel blessed and refreshed. Bring it on December!  

OK, I finally figured out this blog thing, I think 🙂   I’ve been encouraged by several friends and family to start a blog about my crazy but definitely blessed life.  So here it goes…

I want to use this as a way to journal my thoughts, reach out to other stay at home moms, encourage and be encouraged.  Some days life gets lonely as a stay at home mom of three 3 and under.  Sounds ridiculous I know but it does.  A lot of  times my only conversations are with toddlers or an exhausted husband.  Most days the only TV I see is Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora or Agent Oso.  My daily lunch time has become more feed kids, give Noah a bottle, clean kids, clean dining room, put kids to bed while I grab a cracker and pass out too.  I find myself answering the question, “how was your day?” with, descriptions of play dough creations, tutus, semi-disasters, getting the dishes done, which toy got broken and my least favorite bodily functions.

Now all that said, I wouldn’t change my life as a stay at home mom or my kids for ANYTHING!  I love the crazy mess I’ve been blessed with and I thank God everyday that he counted me worthy of such an amazing life.  The only thing I would add, would be the desire for more adult interaction.  You may judge me and think I’m being selfish but after the third child, I don’t care if you disagree with me.  I give every waking (sometimes every non-waking too) moment to my husband and children.  I love them to death and would gladly do it until I die, but I’ve come to the conclusion I’d be a better wife/mom if I could figure out how to take a few minutes here and there to recharge.

Even though its the holidays I’m on a mission to do just that, find some time I can be with adults or myself.  I’m always looking for ways I can improve myself and this is the one I’m commiting to work on for now.  I’m open to any ideas on how I could work on this, I love advice!