Mommy Contract

In my short time as a mother I have noticed a few traits that most, if not all, mothers share. I have jokingly come to refer to these as part of the "mommy contract". This contract is one that you unknowingly sign the moment your child is born and your world no longer focuses on yourself, but on that precious little love. A few components of the mommy contract. . .

Your food is not yours

Sorry, friends, but that plate full of delicious food that you lovingly prepared (or ordered if it's been a rough day) isn't yours. It belongs to the mini-version of you in the high chair next to you. And don't even think about trying to give them something of their own (even if it is the exact.same.thing.) because they will want it directly from your plate. Fact.

You will never sleep again

Remember those easy weekend mornings where you lazily puttered around in your pajamas? Or how about those glorious nights of uninterrupted sleep? I hope you enjoyed them because you will never see them again. Or, at the very least until your youngest is out of the house but even then you'll probably lay awake at night wondering how your offspring are doing in the great big world. Even if your child does sleep well through the night, the slightest bump, paci drop, or cough will wake you and send you running to check that all is right in the world.

Caffeine is your friend

Caffeine is amazing. Fact. Whether it comes in the form of coffee or soda, it is a necessary part of child-rearing. See above clause for further explanation. 

You can't do it alone

You can't do this mommy this alone, so don't even try. Find a community, whether it's a face-to-face group or one via Facebook, find a community. These women will be your lifesavers when you feel like you are drowning in spit up and screams.

Books can't parent your kid

I love to read and I love to read about kid stuff and what's coming our way next, but all the books in the world can't teach you how to parent your child. Only you can do that.

You will never figure your kid out

Your kid is constantly changing so just as soon as you think you have them, their personality, and their nap schedule figured out they throw you for a loop. 

You will never love the same

Hold on tight because the love you have for your kid is different than any kind of love you've ever known.

Stealing Joy

I often feel like I am juggling a bunch of different things in my head (Is my kid's behavior normal? Am I going to have time to complete X, Y, and Z today? Will supper be ready in time? Can I run to Target between naps? Did I remember to call so-and-so back? Am I going to have time to check Pinterest for that? How did she get her kid to do that at that age?). I am not very good at silencing everything around me and taking in the moment so when one of the mentor moms at a recent MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) meeting asked us to discover what what stealing our joy I knew I needed to pause and search my heart for what is keeping me from full submission and rest in the Lord. 

What is stealing your joy today?

What is causing you emotional (or physical) discomfort? What is causing you to pause and proclaim, "I'm so stressed!"? Is the perfect family on Facebook with their 2.5 polite kids and dog that never runs away or barks? Is it Pinterest with its unattainable perception of reality? It is greed over what your friend has that you don't? Is it a to-do list a mile long with unattainable tasks? Is it the family whose toddler seems to always listen and never pitch a tantrum? I ask again, what is stealing your joy today?

I was convicted by this question. It seems like an insurmountable obstacle some days to find that peace, but she challenged us to seek what is stealing our joy and replace it with God. So now I am challenging you to pause and ask yourself, what is keeping you from full rest and joy in the Lord? How are you going to eliminate that from your life and find more rest in God? 

What is stealing your joy?

Cabinet Makeover

I just realized it's been over two weeks since my last post-eek! Sorry to anyone who actually reads this thing! Between settling into the house and David's crazy work schedule this blog has definitely taken a backseat. Hopefully now that our bigger projects are done on the house I'll have more time, though I'm not making any promises with a busy toddler running around!

What do I mean when I say "big projects"? While the house was in pretty good shape when we moved in, it still needed some work for it to be considered "home". It's hard because when you move you leave a house that you spent years making the perfect home and then you end up starting from scratch all over again. Some people enjoy the thrill of starting over, and while I do to a certain extent, this type-A mama wants to be settled and done! I keep having to remind myself that "Rome wasn't built in a day" and the house won't be settled overnight.

I did decide very early on that the dated maple cabinets in the kitchen had.to.go. They didn't match the tile the previous owners had laid down and weren't what we had in mind when we were looking for the house. After some research and a few price quotes (helloooooooo, expensive) I decided I could tackle this beast on my own. I headed to Home Depot where I found a kit from Rust Oleum that provided all the tools I needed to DIY this thing!

My parents were in town for the weekend helping with a few other things (you don't realize how incredibly helpful garage door openers are until you don't have them!!) so my mom and I tested the kit on the bathroom vanity. It turned out great! After that success story I decided I could tackle the kitchen on my own. David took down the first set of cabinet doors and there was no looking back!

First step was to degloss all of the cabinets with the handy-dandy deglosser they included in the kit. You wait an hour before you move onto the next step of bond coat. This takes 2-3 coats and requires 2-3 hours of wait time in between each coat. The final step is the top coat which requires a 12-hour dry time before you can rehang the cabinets. That is it. I propped the iPad up and watched quite a few episodes of Gilmore Girls to keep me from getting bored and went at it. 

The Before.

Preparing for the base coat.

 First part of the kitchen.

Gotta keep going. . . 

. . . and going. . .  

The After!

Please excuse the messiness-we have a toddler, aka certified mess maker.

It was a process. Oh, was it a process. But I'm definitely glad I did it. There were quite a few steps required to get it done, but in retrospect the steps I did were a lot less than a lot of other methods I Googled. It opened up the kitchen and really makes it feel bigger. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!

See You Later, Summer

Today marks the unofficial end of Summer across the board. School is in session and pumpkin spice is back on the shelves. The air is cooler (I use the term "cooler" loosely here in North Carolina) and the light-filled evenings are getting shorter. This summer brought us many changes as we moved to an apartment and then found a house. Our sweet gift celebrated her first birthday and continued to show us a love without limits. 

It's been a good season for us, but we're ready for what's to come. . .