Toilet to therapist's couch

In my quest to start potty training (or at least learning more about it), I have come across very, very strange ideas. One of those is that being potty training before two is a sure fire why to send your child into emotional distress and thus leading to mental therapy later in life. Another (and obviously my favorite) is that diapers are made better and better nowadays and thus we should take advantage of them until the child is entering school (approximately 4-5 years old) and must be potty trained in order to attend. Umm... no.

Now I realize that I have never, ever potty trained someone. I imagine it is difficult and trying on both the mother and child's patience. I can only think that there is a level of self-discipline that moms are called to (in taking the child every 20-30 minutes all day, every day) that I have never known. I am also realistic that potty training doesn't just "happen", especially if the child is very young, and that some children take longer to "get it".

But saying that Julia will be emotionally scarred from the experience, or that I should just let her decide when she is ready, seems bogus to me. I mean, sure, if you are pushing them, making it a horrible experience, I can see the downfall in that. However, if, like all parenting should be, you act in love, patience, gentleness, I would see the experience as enjoyable and even fun. Well, as fun as pooping and peeing can be.

I am currently planning on starting potty training come the spring. I thought that we could start sooner, but that would mean keep the house really warm during the day, and for me to have my act together. I am a little doubtful on that last part. Seriously, if I can let my clean laundry sit in a basket for nearly a week, I don't think I'm ready for a new adventure.

Julia Mabel

One year ago today I set out on a life changing course. I became the mother to a wonderful, beautiful daughter. Our first months together were rocky, actually, that might be an understatement. I had no clue how to feed, clean, change or care for this tiny life that expected everything from me. Then there was the crying. Endless crying. I mean, I can't totally blame a person for being upset when they have gas, especially when they have never actually used their internal organs. But still, crying babies aren't fun. I don't care who you are, they just aren't. It's a proven fact. And to top that off, if you've read any post on my blog you are all too familiar with our anti-sleep rules. Technically, they aren't Jonathan and mine's, but Julia's. So, roll together complete ignorance, complete dependance, raging hormones and emotions and you will get a new mother.

I can remember thinking that everyone around me seemed to "get it". All the other moms seemed to have their lives together, knowing beyond a doubt what each cry meant, what each grunt would or would not lead to. I felt like I had stepped into a final totally unprepared, with a sense of utter failure.

But God is good. Oh so good.

One year has past. I will never say that I am a perfect mom, but I will say that I am the best mom for Julia. I can read her almost better than I can myself. I know when she is tired, hungry, angry, happy, or frustrated. I understand her "signs" for more, food, and all done. I know that certain situations will delight her, while others upset her past consolation. I have become her mom.

Through this past year, learning who Julia is has not been my biggest feat. More than that, has been learning who God is through me. I am continually humbled and amazed at who God is, who He has called me to be, and how that relationship reflects on my parenting.

I always thought it silly when people said that God wants to be in control of every area of your life, every area of your parenting. But I have come to learn that it is so true. I can tell when I am in control and when the Holy Spirit is in control. I know the difference between Sarah-led Parenting and God-led Parenting. And in those moments I realize that there is no way I can make it without God. There is no way that I can produce a kingdom building, God loving, selfless daughter unless I am that way. And I can't be that way unless I center absolutely everything on Christ. Funny how that circle works.

My life is blessed. My daughter is a blessing beyond what I could imagine. She has been a true delight this past year and I am looking forward to many, many more.

In celebration today, we will be having poppyseed chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and chocolate cake. This is my birthday dinner each year and I am passing it along to Julia. :)

My life in two years

Today I got to watch my friend, Leah's, almost 3 year old girl, Belle. It was a lot of fun, and gave me a good insight to what my life will look like in two years with a 3 year old and *gasp* 18 month old.

Here are just a few of my favorite moments:

*Choices*

Me: Belle, what would you like to drink? Milk or water?

Belle: Apple juice.

Me: We don't have apple juice. Just milk or water.

Belle: Lemonade.

Me: Water it is!

*Where's your daddy?*

Belle: Where's Jonathan?

Me: He's at work.

Belle: Why?

Me: Well, he works during the day just like your daddy.

Belle: You mean Jason.

Me: *laugh* Yes, Jason.

*Animal or food?*

Me: Belle, do you know what that is? (pointing to a gorilla in a picture book)

Belle: No.

Me: It's a gorilla.

Belle: I eat granola!

Me: *laughs* No sweetie, I said gorilla, not granola.

Belle: Well, it sounds like granola. I eat granola.

After that, I don't think I will ever be able to eat granola again without thinking about gorillas. They really do sound alike!

*Obeying*

Me: Belle, thank you so much for obeying and cleaning up!

Belle: My mom obeys me.

There was more to this conversation (don't worry Leah! I think she was a little confused as she later said she obeys you), but I was rolling on the floor at this point.

Ahh, things are going to get interesting in the Windham household!

Wordless Wednesday - Peanut butter face

See more at Wordless Wednesday.

Uh-oh

Every time Julia accidently drops something, hits something or falls down, I always say "uh-oh".

Yesterday she threw something down, I heard it crash, followed by "uh-oh". Totally precious.

Now all morning she's been walking around saying "uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh". I can't help but laugh.

Potty training

More and more lately I have considered potty training Julia over the next 6+ months so as to have her out of diapers by the time Dubya Dos arrives. In all reality this is a long shot, but some part of me is hopeful that it could be done. And here's why... gory details and all.

A couple of weeks ago Julia was taking a bath. I was sitting next to the tub reading, when she stood up along the side to start interacting with me. I was still half reading, half playing when I realized she was acting a little, well, strained. Immediately I asked "Are you pooping?". Obviously, she gave no answer but a grunt was enough to confirm what I expected. I picked her up, sat her on the toilet where she did her business. A few days later, during a diaper change I caught her pre-poo and dashed off to the bathroom.

Then again tonight we had another random success. We allow Julia to have naked time sometimes after she's just had a diaper change. So tonight during NT I noticed that she was needing to using the bathroom. I sat her on the toilet and she did her thing. Pretty impressive for a 11 1/2 month old. At least I think so.

With these "victories" under my belt, I can't help but wonder if I could feasibly potty train a 1 year old. I've heard about elimination communication, but mostly viewed it with an upturned nose. Now I'm starting to reconsider my stance on EC and toying with the idea of having a few diaper free days, to assess the situation. Hmmm... This might require laying down some plastic all over the floors, or scheduling for Robert to come clean our carpets the following day! We'll see. I always have grandiose ideas that don't pan out exactly as I imagine, and this could just be one of those.

Truthful Thursday - Galatians 5

"Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian." Galatians 5:23-25

One of those days

You know when you have one of those days. A day where you are counting down the hours and minutes until you can crawl back into bed, white flag waving. Yesterday was one of those days.

Julia and I both are suffering from our first "winter" colds. Poor little girl (and poor mama!) woke up at 12:30 am because she couldn't breath through her nose, didn't go back to sleep till close to 1:30 and woke up for the day at 4:45 am. Not quite how I wanted to start my day.

But, in all things rejoice.

As a way to love and support me, Jonathan surprised me last night with:

a bag of M&M's
a hand written love note
a bouquet of flowers
and....


a roll of Christmas wrapping paper.

He's the best.

Truthful Thursday - Luke 21

"But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives." Luke 21:12-19

My apologies for not posting more on Truthful Thursday. It's not as though there isn't enough truth to post, as there is more than I will ever discover, but just a lack of time on my hands. Today's truth resonated in my mind about losing my "rights" as a Christian. I say "rights" in the terms of how this world defines it. The idea of losing my "right" to free speech, to voice my beliefs is concerning, but Jesus has already told me this would happen. He didn't promise peace on earth, but betrayal, anger, fear, hate, evil. However, he did promise that not a hair on my head would perish (I take this to mean, I will be saved from hell, not that this earthly body will go unscathed). I read this and some part of me, perhaps the daring, fighting Sarah, wants to say "Bring it on, when you mess with me, you mess with God", and I gain reassurance that this world is not my world, this home is not my home. I am merely biding my time until I can go home and see my Father.

But I thought women loved shoes

Last winter and spring Julia never wore shoes. She was barely sitting up on her own, so I figured there was no need. Then the summer rolled around, she started crawling, pulling herself up, and walking with assistance. Still, I figured it was too hot to wear shoes (as I hardly even wore them) so we went shoeless.

Fall has fully arrived and with it comes the need for shoes. However, convincing Julia that she needs them seems to be a daunting task. Every time she wears her shoes she screams for a good few minutes, tugging at them, nearly begging for them to come off. Eventually she is distracted and doesn't seem as bothered by them, but without fail, she will at some point notice them and freak out yet again. Hmm... This was not an issue I foresaw when doing research on when to introduce shoes.

My one and only post on the election

You can be a Christian and a Democrat.

You can be a non-conservative and a Republican.

No matter what you think about each candidate, we have an amazing privilege to choose our country's leaders. And for all you women out there - your privilege is even more sacred. Your foremothers did a lot in order to ensure your right to vote and for your voice to be heard. Make sure to live up to their sacrifice, make sure your voice is heard. It doesn't matter if who you want to win wins, what matters is that you took the steps to voice your opinion, to voice your choice.

“Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes - goodwill among men and peace on earth.” Albert Einstein

Tired, so very, very tired

We are finally working on Julia's last feeding time during the night. Which means that for the last couple of days, we've been waking up between 4:30-5:30, and dealing with lots of crying and very little sleep. Blerg. However, I am hopeful that we are near the end. That once we get through this last time we are at least on the up and up (hopefully, hopefully, hopefully!) and will be enjoying a few months of peaceful rest before the next babe arrives.

The funny part about it all, is that already Baby Dubya Dos is keeping me up. While, even as I type, my body is completely exhausted, I can't sleep. It seems that during the middle of the night, early in the morning and occasionally during the evening "morning" sickness sets in and keeps me so nauseated that I can't sleep. Total bummer. I try to nap as much as I can during the day, as I have found when I do I don't get as sick. But when that isn't possible night time sleeping seems a little more difficult.

Fletcher just made a Sprite run (ahh! I know it has HFCS, but I'm desperate!) in hopes that it will help settle my stomach. It's done a pretty good job, but I'm gonna need to find a better (and healthier) alternative for later.

Well, here's to trying to get some good sleep tonight!

Wordless Wednesday AND Truthful Thursday

"Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!" Psalm 71:6

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:13-16

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates." Psalm 127:3-5


Go here, for more Wordless Wednesday.

Info on the blog above

Jonathan and I found out Thursday night that we are indeed pregnant! I am only about 5 weeks along, so things are just beginning. We have our first appointment with our midwife on October 24th. Over the last few days, I've been experiencing morning (rather, all day) sickness and fatigue. I can't say that the fatigue is just because of the new baby, as much as the fact that Julia is becoming more and more mobile and keeping me on my toes.

Please keep us in your prayers: that this pregnancy goes smoothly and babe and I stay healthy, that any fears that might arise in me stay at bay, that our family continues to trust in God through all things.

We'll keep you updated as Baby Dubya Dos progresses!

War. What is it good for?

I must say that I've been known to be a politically charged person. Being that I am very opinionated, the two go hand in hand. But, if by the title of my post you were hoping for my opinion on this year's election and how I view the Iraqi war, I'm sorry to say you will be disappointed.

However, if you were hoping for something a little more enjoyable, then I have good news.

I recently got Grandma's Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked from the library. The idea behind the cookbook is to show you how our grandmothers cooked while having their food rationed. I must say I am loving this book!

I just made Swedish Meatballs last week that were an absolute hit. All of the recipes call for items that you most likely already have tucked away in your pantry or fridge, making dinner time just that much easier.

Now, I will let you know, these recipes aren't necessarily "health friendly", given that the desserts call for corn syrup and most of the dinners call for vegetable shortening. However, you can easily replace these items with olive oil, honey, agave or such. Mainly, the idea is to cook with what you have, use all your resources and be mindful of what you eat.

While I enjoy going through different cook books each month, I might be persuaded to make this one a permanent item. It's pretty much the greatest.

Swedish Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1 cup day-old bread crumbs (about 3 slices) - *Just process the bread to make the crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening - *I used olive oil
1 1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350*F.
Combine ground beef, bread, egg, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, allspice and pepper. Shape mixture into 24 meatballs.
Heat shortening in a 3-quart Dutch oven. Add meatballs and saute until brown on all sides; remove to bowl. Add 1 cup milk to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Stir remaining milk and flour together, add to boiling milk mixture along with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Return meatballs to sauce. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Serve from Dutch oven.

Some variations that I made: I don't have a Dutch oven, so I just browned the meat in a regular pan. Then I moved them to a small baking dish. I made the sauce in the pan I used for the meat, then poured it over top the meatballs, covered with foil and baked.

Cha-ching!

Sometimes I wish I was more frugal. That's not to say that I spend money like a crazy woman, but I don't cut coupons or actively search out good deals. Take clothes shopping. I'm not a super big fan of shopping, so if I find something I like and it's on sale, I'll buy it. However, Jonathan wants to make sure that he is getting the absolute best deal. If there are a pair of jeans for $2 less at another store, he will get those - even if they aren't his favorite brand/color/best size. Me, I don't really care all that much. I just want in and out as fast as possible.

This last weekend, my friend, Leah, sent out a coupon for $1 off organic canned tomatoes. This particular brand is at Wal-Mart for $1.49, but, this month the co-op had them on sale for $1.29 (normally $2.29) - since the co-op runs their sales on a monthly basis (1st-30/31st) I sometimes forget their prices. So, this afternoon I ate lunch at the co-op with Jonathan and saw that the cans were an even better deal there with my coupon than at Wal-Mart. I didn't have the coupons on me, so decided to come back after Julia woke up from her afternoon nap.

I printed off 19 coupons (random number - I thought I had done 20) and went to pick up eggs, milk, yogurt and my discounted cans.

I must admit I felt a little weird with so many cans and using so many coupons. Not sure why, just like I was putting out the cashier or what not. But, the end result was worth it.

19 cans of organic diced tomatoes not on sale - $43.51

19 cans of organic diced tomatoes on sale - $24.51

19 cans of organic diced tomatoes on sale with coupon - $5.51

Total money saved - $38

Sarah's new found joy of saving money - Priceless

I waited 4 years, for this?

It can't be denied, that when you wait for something, it tends to pay off. Sometimes, sometimes, however, it back fires.

I haven't eaten McDonald's for four years. I went on a McD's fast/boycott after watching Super Size Me. Then from there, I slowly cut out more and more fast food restaurants.

Until this past weekend.

Jonathan, Julia and I went to Tennessee. On Saturday we woke up and decided to grab a good filling breakfast. Now, I haven't been to Tennessee in a few years, but I could have sworn that there were a few breakfast places in town, yet we could not find a single one.

We went to Wal-Mart resolved to pick up some fruit, yogurt and juice. As we passed by the in-house McDonald's Jonathan remarks on stopping there. I flatly said no, we'd surely regret it. But, by the time we were leaving (good foods in hand) we decided we'd just get one of their chicken biscuits.

One bite. That's all it took. One bite to ask myself: I waited four years, for this?

The biscuit was dry, the chicken overly greasy - as it shot grease on the side of my face when I bit into it. Complete let down.

Lesson learned. Now, not only do I boycott McDonald's because one morning sandwich is 20 grams of fat (perhaps that's why I felt sick all day?!), but they are also fail in the tasty category.

So long McDonald's. Fare thee well, may we never meet again.

Truthful Thursday - Proverbs 20, Romans 12

"Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter."

Proverbs 20:22, NLT

"Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,“I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord."

Romans 12:19, NLT

Wordless Wednesday - Wait... Am I naked?! A story.

See more at Wordless Wednesday.

Ah, how I have missed you, sweet sleep

If you remember, I posted some time ago about Julia and her lack of sleeping. By the end of August, we were waking up every two hours, each time resulting in me feeding her, as this seemed the only thing that would get any of us back into bed.

About 2 or 3 weeks ago (time escapes me), we went back to letting Julia cry - which mostly means that Jonathan and I went into the situation both agreeing on what/how/why we were training her. Oh boy. I have to say, I would rather deal with loads of dirty diapers, complete melt downs and just about anything more than crying it out at 2 in the morning. Ugh. Anyways, since Julia was waking up so frequently, we thought we should tackle the first wake up time and then over the course of a few weeks tackle the others.

The first night had everyone up for a good 2 1/2 hours. But, eventually she did manage to fall asleep without being nursed. And granted she woke up like 2 hours later, at least the first session was over. Each night for about a week went pretty much the same, with the crying becoming a little less each time (a little, meaning only an hour and a half). Once we felt we had finally tackled the first wake up time - as Julia was finally not waking up at that time - we decided to start the second one. But of course, she got sick. So everything we had slaved for flew out the window. Bummer. Thankfully, however, once we were back on track, she seemed to either sleep well past her first wake up time, or is easily consoled back to sleep.

She is still waking up twice a night to nurse, around 2 and again at 5. I had set out last weekend to help train her out of the 2ish wake up time, but then realizing that since we are going to Tennessee this weekend, everything will get thrown out of whack, I didn't want to waste my time (or sleep). Once we get back, I fully plan on getting her down to just waking up at 5ish, and then try to break her of that one before she turns 1. Ha! With that last sentence, I am reminded of Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

The other day I realized that I haven't had a full night's sleep in a year and a half. From the time I got pregnant, I would wake up needing to use the bathroom and then couldn't fall back asleep because I was too nauseated. Then, obviously, once Julia arrived, she kept me up. I look forward to the day that I can sleep 8 hours straight. Part of me thinks this is wishful thinking, especially if I have any more children. But one can wish can't they?