Friday, May 20, 2011

A Non-dairy Mama

Mothers Day was my last day to indulge in anything that had dairy in it, and indulge i did. With a large chocolate malt to be exact.
Choosing to go non-dairy has been a long time coming. Since Isaiah was born i've wondered if he had any allergy to something, and his doctor seemed to think he was, but was giving me no direction. I have had slight eczema since as long as i can remember behind my arms that will come and go every now and then. Isaiah has had the same since he was born, but has never gone away.... until now! Its been a little over a week now and both of our eczema has cleared up, and our skin seems softer all over. To my surprise it has been so easy to find alternatives to dairy products that we were eating before, and i really don't feel like it has been a big change to our meals. Over the last couple years i have learned so much about health and eating a whole, and balanced diet. I feel so good when i choose to eat healthy and organic food verses eating GMO'd, chemically enhanced and food full of antibiotics. Good not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. I feel pride and confidence when i make the decision to feed my family and myself meals that will not only impact their state of health, but their health in the future. God has given us only one body on this earth, and has told us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength" and i truly believe that means taking care of our bodies the best we can.
Anyways, obviously eating healthy and organically is something i am passionate about, but its about more than just me.
I was recently connected with a local Mama via Eats on Feets on Facebook. She has been in need of a non-dairy milk donor for her 7 month old. My heart lept at the idea of being able to help her out. I have wanted to donate milk ...for a while now... but i really didn't know how to go about it and didn't want to just give it up to any random hospital. We are talking about my liquid gold here. It may sound funny to someone who has never nursed before... or maybe even to someone who has, but i don't take for granted my ability to nurse my son. It is amazing to me that God created us women to be able to beautifully feed our children something that is SO GOOD for them!
Anyways, this local women and i have been chatting back and forth and i am hoping to connect with her in the near future to give her some of my milk. Her daughter has been through a lot, and in turn it has been a difficult year for her parents, but i have only seen pure faith and trust in God in this women.
So like i said it isn't just about me, or Isaiah, but about a sweet little girl who is in need of non-dairy milk to help heal her body, and i am so excited to be apart of that!

Here are some pics of my 3rd Mama's Day, i'm so proud to be a Mama.
My Mama, and my best friend. ♥

A very inspiring mama in my life!

The only picture of my baby and i :-( He had just woken up from his nap.

My hubby is a real daddy: sporting the baby bottle haha!

Isaiah with his Auntie Christy

Twirling with my Niece

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Toddler bed!

About a week ago i found an awesome deal on a toddler bed, and an Organic mattress. I was thrilled! Isaiah's crib doesn't change into a toddler bed, so i knew i had to find something. This toddler bed was exactly what i had been looking for. On Sunday evening i took down Isaiah's crib and put his new bed up in his room. It is soo cute! It's so tiny, and makes his room feel larger, which could never hurt. He seems to have fallen in love with it as much as i have, and didn't act fazed at all that his crib was gone.
So i got him ready to go "Ni-night" and we curled up in his little bed. I couldn't help but watch him as he slept, and a little part of me was sad as i left his room that night. I am so proud of Isaiah and how independent he has always been. I feel as if he has led his own way in taking the next steps in infancy and toddler-hood, which are small ways of giving me confidence about his future.
Anyways, Sunday night Isaiah slept until 5:30, but last night he slept all through the night! It was amazing! There have only been about a dozen times that Isaiah has naturally slept through the night on his own since he was born, but i have always been confident that he would begin when he was ready. Hopefully last night was the beginning of something lovely. :-D
If not, oh well, he is sleeping in a toddler bed, and i am so proud of my little guy. He is only 21 months old, and still nursing, and so if he wants some liquid gold in the middle of the night, that is perfectly fine with me.


So happy!

He was telling Bear that he needed to go Ni-night.



Monday, May 16, 2011

Mandy's Kentucky Derby Bridal shower!

On June 11, 2011, which is exactly 25 days and 619 hours away (aah!) my best friend is getting married! Sometimes i still can't believe it, we were just in high school together!
I am her matron of Honor and i cannot wait to be standing beside her on her wedding day! As usual we have to have a couple parties to celebrate this happy time so i threw Mandy a bridal shower. May 7 was the date of her shower as well as the date of the Kentucky Derby, and since Mandy is in love with anything Kentucky (since her family lives there) it turned out perfect.
I made a couple fun things for the party, and had a blast preparing for it, and decorating the club house.
When the guests began to arrive i had them each take a photo with Mandy wearing a Derby hat, and holding a big yellow sun umbrella. The photos were taken with a Polaroid camera that i borrowed from a friend, (thank you Leslie!) The Polaroids were sent back on the cover of Thank You cards that i had made for each of the guests.
We then played a couple games, ladies won some prizes, we ate some Very yummy food, and watched Mandy open all her lovely gifts. It was a wonderful afternoon, and it felt so good to be able to bless the beautiful Bride To Be in that way. Enjoy the pics of the shower!



Greeters Table

The banner read "Mandys Run for the Altar"



The amazing Derby Pies, SO good!




 
The "brides" with The Bride.
opening her gifts!
Mom, and Mom to Be

beautiful Kara, one of the other Bridesmaids!
I love you Mandy!!

 I can't wait for the big day!!!  ♥♥♥

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Infections and Impatience.

This past week has been a bit rough for me.... not to mention Isaiah.
Last Wednesday Isaiah started wheezing and coughing so bad that i had to take him into the doctor. He had been up most of the night before and had coughed so hard that he threw up twice. Both my older brother and i have struggled with asthma, so i didn't want to take a chance with Isaiah. He was really struggling to breath Thursday morning and i was starting to get nervous. Luckily, we were able to see his regular doctor. Isaiah hates the doctors office. As soon as they called us back and wanted to weigh him he began to cry and cried the entire office visit until we left... which made him loose his voice. The doctor said he was extremely congested and seemed to be suffering from allergies of some sort which was flaring up the asthma. Sadly, he can't be tested for allergies until he is 3 or 4.
As soon as we got home his eyes started looking a bit different: more red, watery, and swollen than usual. By Saturday his eyes were so bad that i was almost certain he had pink eye. Both Friday and Saturday he had woken up unable to open his eyes from "drainage".
(sorry if this post grosses anyone out)
Saturday afternoon i had to take him BACK to the on-call doctor. She said he seemed to be suffering from a Viral Infection which could be causing the eye drainage, but since he has been recently exposed to pink eye she prescribed him some eye gel to clear up any bacteria. Now any one who knows me knows that i am not one to take an offer of Antibiotics. I don't even take pain meds. I truly believe in the bodies ability to heal itself, and chemicals put into the body seem to be more of a disruptor of that process that anything. I am nothing close to a doctor, but i believe God knew exactly what he was doing when he created us and our immune systems. Isaiah may seem to get sick often (at least he does to me) But he always seems to get over his colds/Flues very fast, which has always given me confidence in his immune system. Call me a "Crazy Crunchy Mama" and i'll wear the title proudly. :-D
Anyways, it has been almost a week now and Isaiah's eyes have been slowly clearing up and his cough seems more loose than it was. He still is coughing pretty hard, which Dan and i think popped a blood vessel in one eye. The other afternoon he also bumped his OTHER eye on our coffee table which left him with a nasty bruise ..... so as of now he pretty much looks like he was recently beat up... my poor baby boy!!
It has felt like a very long week, which has left me feeling very impatient. I feel like lately i have been constantly asking God for more peace, patience and grace when it comes to parenting. There have been some days where i feel so inadequate to be a Mama and i know that is exactly what satan wants me to believe. He wants me to raise my voice, roll my eyes, and speak a condescending word. He wants me to fail and lead Isaiah down a crooked path... he wants all my worst fears to come true. That is so not the case with God who is cheering for me every single day, all day long. The days that i feel the most impatient are the days that i have failed to go to God with all my needs. I can't expect myself to be a perfect parent but if i humble myself and consistently lay my broken heart before God i know that He will give me what i need, when i need it, He always has! Parenting was one thing that i never wanted to mess up, because i know how much it can hurt a child's heart. I need to also remind myself that i am a sinner and even if i mess things up God has the power to heal what I have broken.
So these are just a couple things that i have been thinking about, praying about, and dealing with. If your a Mama, i am sure you know exactly how i feel, and on those days that you tend to lose your patience you can think of me and remember that your not alone either. :-D


The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him. ~ Ex.15:2


A few pics of Isaiah looking a bit under the weather....





He found a robins egg in our yard.