30 minutes

For a couple of weeks now I've been waking up early and starting my day in prayer and in the Bible. I've always wanted to and although it has taken me years, I finally decided to set my alarm and drag myself out of bed. I am not a morning person and sleeping is by far my favorite activity these days so it is not the best time for me to do this. However, it is the only time I have to do this.

Since I became pregnant, I have noticed a change in my attitude. I have less patience, more anger and am just all around grumpier than usual. One day, I realized I needed help when Mya and I got into it and she came out of her room where I'd sent her a minute prior to tell me that there was a spider in her bed and she couldn't possibly sit in her bed with a spider. I screamed at her to go deal with it and she screamed something back and started wailing uncontrollably. I realized I was being completely unreasonable and out of control and quickly apologized to my poor 5 year old for my behavior and silently vowed to start my day in prayer the next day.

I also talked to my sister-in-law the day before and she informed me that she normally woke up at 4:30 in the morning in order to have tea with my brother, pack his lunch for work and spend time with the Lord before her 4 kids woke up. She is way busier than I am. She home school's. I figured if she can wake up at 4:30AM, I could most certainly wake up 30 minutes earlier than I normally do. 

I cannot tell you the difference between those days when I wake up at 5:30 and the days when I wake up around 6:00. It is night and day. I am disgustingly chipper when the girls come down. They are greeted with a good morning hug rather than a grumpy remark about not having snacks before breakfast. I feel rested and ready to start the day rather than hurried and flustered. I feel encouraged by the things I've read and supported by the Holy Spirit. I have a can-do attitude rather than an attitude of defeat and exhaustion. 

I still don't get up early every morning because the temptation of sleep is too great sometimes and I surrender to my pillow but then I quickly regret it later when I'm snapping at everyone. It is really hard to get up early every morning. Really hard. And I'm not saying I'm an angel when I've started my day in prayer but if I am going to have any chance at all of having a good day, it's a no-brainer. And I have to say that it is so nice when the house is quiet and the sun is coming up. It's very peaceful.

I've been reading the One Year Bible. It breaks up the bible into sections so every day you read some of the New Testament, Old Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. It's only about 10-15 minutes of reading per day. I think that's totally doable. I find that I keep on reading if no on wakes up. The stories in the Old Testament are fascinating and the New Testament is full of awesome teachings and great reminders as to how Jesus wants us to live our lives. Each day, I learn something new. And this isn't the first time I'm reading the Bible. I use an easy translation too. My cloudy mommy brain needs all the help it can get. I have tons of questions so I keep a notebook where I can write them down and look them up later. I also make a note of my favorite verses. 

I strongly urge you to try it. Maybe just give it 7 days and see if you notice a difference in your day. I've never heard anyone say that they wished they hadn't woken up early and spent time with the Lord, however ;) And if you are not a Christian and you've always been a little curious about the Bible, why not poor yourself a cup of coffee or tea, download an ap and check it out? I promise it will not disappoint.

PJ's

Usually I yell, "Get back in your bed!" after the girls have come out of their room for the umpteenth time an hour after I put them to bed. This time Winter came out for a band aid for a two day old scratch on her arm... but how does one say anything to this?

boy

Dan and I went in for our ultrasound Monday. We got to find out the sex. We weren't really excited to find out because we just assumed it was a girl and thought it would be pretty cool if it were a boy too, but were sure it was a girl. And we love girls. They are awesome. We mostly just prayed everything looked good and the baby was healthy. So when the tech announced that it was a boy, we were pretty shocked. 

We are both super excited to have a boy and also nervous about this uncharted territory. Dan finally gets to use the name he's been wanting to use since I was pregnant with Mya. She actually has a onesie that says, "Almost Angus." The name is growing on me. I don't know if I can call a baby Angus though... I may just call him buddy, little man, or boy. You've probably already seen this pic on Facebook. I had no idea how excited people were going to get about the little guy. Dan originally got the name from the guitar player, Angus Young from ACDC. It's a pretty cool name for a rocker I suppose...

Yep, there's no mistaking it...

ER

Well we managed to get ourselves back in the ER Monday night. This time it was Addie. She had croup. We're pretty familiar with it since Mya has had it every year around this time. It is still no fun. But our awesome ER nurse friend was able to help us get in pretty quick, get a breathing treatment and a steroid and back to bed by 11:00. This is me trying to entertain her as she gets her breathing treatment. Looking at herself on the phone is always the best distraction. 

mom of the year

If people knew what went on in my home, I may be ashamed. But seeing as I have a blog to share my dirty secrets, I thought I'd confess something... This is privileged information by the way.

Mya is into drinking tea these days. She tried my peppermint herbal tea with honey a few months ago and then again a couple of weeks ago. Now she asks for it daily. Tonight, she left her mug on the coffee table to cool down and went upstairs to get into her jammies. 

I walked into the room to Winter smiling and yelling that the doggie likes tea too! "Ugh, did Otter drink her tea?" I asked Winter. "Uh huh!" She said laughing. I could see the drops of tea all over the table and it looked like she had about 1/3 of the cup. I grabbed a wet wipe and cleaned off the table and sent Winter upstairs to get her jammies on as Mya came back to drink it. 

I didn't say anything and she grabbed the mug and took a sip. "Yummy" she said. I just smiled and asked nervously "You like it?" She would NEVER drink it if she knew the dog had already had some. She's my germophobe. She won't even eat a cookie after Winter has taken a bite. She loves cookies. I'm a horrible mother.

too cute to throw

Every day, more and more, I am really starting to think that kids start out really cute because they are so flipping frustrating that sometimes you kind of see why there is so much child abuse out there. 

I think God made Winter really cute for her own protection...

trade-off

I read a blog the other day that really stuck with me. (Tried to find it but can't) I love (and hate) that I still have so much to learn with my 4th on the way. The writer was talking about all the things we don't have time for with little ones... basic things like eating, showering, going to the bathroom and sleeping. 

Eating breakfast becomes a bite here and there while running around packing lunches, feeding dogs and getting the baby a bottle. Showering is a hurried, stressful time wondering what the girls are getting into with the baby banging on the glass and fussing because she wants to be in there with me. Bathroom time is always the best time to ask Mommy questions and tell her your big problems like a missing shoe or the new scratch on your arm, probably because she's cornered and has to listen. And again, the baby is banging on the door because she wants in. Sleep is never more than a few hours at a time and is more interrupted the more kids (and dogs) you have.

The blogger kept saying we'll have our turn later. We can eat later, we can sleep later, we'll have time to put on make-up later. There will come a time in our lives when we will have time to ourselves to take care of the basics we always took for granted before we had kids. 

What we won't have, however, are those moments with the little ones that seem like an eternity when you're in them, then they fly by and you're left wondering where the time went. She was saying basically, it's a trade-off. We are trading in our sleep, leisurely meals and uninterrupted potty breaks for sticky kisses, belly laughs, tiny hands, hundreds of I love you Mommys and memories with those little people that become our world from the moment we see that positive pregnancy test. I've tried really hard to have both and you just can't. Eventually you realize that it is futile and stop trying. Why have I never thought of it that way? I gave those things up when I became a mommy. I traded them in. 

Now is the time to enjoy my little ones and devote every last bit of my time and energy to them because it takes everything I have to meet their needs and love them the way they need to be loved.

This is something that helps me keep a better attitude when I'm annoyed that I can never have more than a sip of hot coffee or a piece of toast that isn't hard from sitting in the toaster for 20 minutes while I tend to everyone else's needs. It's a trade-off and it's worth it. If it wasn't, we would have stopped at Mya ;)

And every once in a while if I'm not too tired, I do get to take a shower in peace...at night after everyone is asleep ;)