MomLife

Hey moms! This group is super close to my heart because it's something I really struggle with. You see, all my life I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Obviously I did not know the difficulty of it, only the rewards! Now, I can still see the rewards, but the difficulty and struggles creep up on me daily. I have to be reminded to choose joy, which I NEVER thought I would need, I mean, aren't moms just joyful about their "jobs" every moment of every day because we are so uber- blessed?? And we NEVER have weak moments where choosing joy is hard? And we always act as if we have the best job in the entire world?? Not really, we get stuck in the trenches of daily battles and it happens to ALL of us, so there's no need to feel shameful.

WHY SHOULD YOU BELONG TO A CHALLENGE GROUP LIKE THIS?

1. ACCOUNTABILITY! Oh man, this is a biggie. If no one sees what's going on in your Momlife on a daily basis, who is holding you accountable to be joyful? Imagine this, you're at church. You're little darling is acting up. You are SO careful about the way you handle the situation because there are people watching!!! Your kid is LUCKY that you aren't home! You still discipline, of course, but in a more mindful way. You've had that experience and so have I. We act differently at home. Not because we are fake, but because we can give into the struggle when no one sees it. Sometimes we just lose it! So, being in a group like this holds us accountable to be joyful in our homes. We'll check in daily and be reminded to choose joy amidst the chaos. Of course our children will still get "the eye" and discipline, being joyful isn't about not disciplining, it's about loving on our kids the way God intended. And we'll dig into that in the first week!

2. NEW PERSPECTIVE AND IDEAS. You and the other moms in this group are good moms, you've already proved it by seeking to be in the group. No more proof is necessary. We can share ideas with other moms here, because when we are left alone with our ideas for too long, they become stale.

3. SUPPORT. Hallelujah. Being a mom can be an isolating lifestyle, whether you're a stay at home, work at home, or working mom. It's lonely. And sometimes you may feel like no one "gets" you. Just hearing that other people share the same struggles can be really reassuring. This group will have a zero tolerance policy on judgement. You already know judgement is for Jesus, not for us. You aren't here because you'll never again have a struggle or a moment where you completely lose it. You're here because you want to challenge yourself to be more fulfilled as a mommy! Plus, while it's helpful to receive support, it's also a powerful source of happiness to provide support to others.
Also, not everyone has the means to attend a mom's group at a church. My vision for this group is to make it sort of a virtual mom study.

4. FUN! It's fun to belong to a group, meet new people, try something new! It's especially enjoyable when you're talking about a topic that is so important and intimate as being a joyful parent.

To JOIN IN, CLICK HERE

Superwoman Status

Sometimes, I'm reminded that even though I think I'm a hot mess, my family really thinks I'm superwoman. Now, I could let this annoy me, their unrealistic expectations of my abilities, or I could take it as a compliment.

The scenario: its Sunday morning, 6:45. I've slept in... yes, 6:45 on a Sunday is sleeping in. Take a moment to let the gravity of that really sink in... and remember that I'm not a morning person!

So, I get up, hubby is sleeping in a bit longer. I make my daughter breakfast, nurse my son, make some coffee (thank God that He gave someone the knowledge to create this Heavenly Elixir) and start making a breakfast casserole for after church. You see, my husband, Ben, enjoys really tasty breakfast on the weekends.

Then, I head upstairs to shower and get ready, baby in tow! I get Isabella ready, bathe Nixon and get him ready and I'm trying to get myself ready too. Nixon decides, as he usually does, that he would like to be held. So as I'm holding him, attempting to do my makeup, realizing that we have ten minutes until we need to get our butts in the car so I will be sporting my "wet hair" look, my husband asks if I can iron his shirt. I mean really? So many choice responses going through my head. And of course each one is sarcastic. I'm holding my son, doing my makeup, can I iron your shirt too? No, I cannot. I only have two hands. I did tell him I cannot, I am a woman who knows her limits, afterall!

And that's when I realized it. My family thinks I'm flipping amazing! What Mom can do all that?! Apparently, me!!!

I do so love that my family relies on me to care for them. And that they think I have magical superpowers. I wonder what super powers I'll be displaying this week?

Workout partner

 

GUT CHECK MOMENT HERE! 

I have been failing miserably at working out. The queen of "how to find the time" couldn't find the time. Or the motivation. I think some people think I love working out. I don't. Gasp! I really don't love it. I love the way it makes me feel. I love the way it makes me look. I love the health benefits. I never regret a workout. But I don't jump outta bed ready to pump iron. I regret not working out. And that regret has been taking a toll. 

So my game plan was, workout in the morning when Nixon takes his nap and Isabella's at school. Fail! I wasn't doing it. I was barely getting in 3 workouts a week. And that was even because Health Bet required it. I was trying to stay accountable, cause whatever I ask of my challengers, I better be doing too!!! But I was failing. No sleep & bigger priorities were taking up my time. Clean house anyone?!  But geez, if I don't make my health a priority, who the heck will?

Then, I realized, I was missing my accountability partner. Isabella!!! This girl LOVES working out with me. She'll often ask me to workout, and lately she's been telling me she misses working out with me. 

Lightbulb! It's been a little difficult for her and I to get quality time lately. Don't get me wrong, she's a priority, and I've been working on making her even more of a priority than I had been. But I've got an infant who needs me all the time. Then she needs me too, but in a different way. 

Can we say MOM GUILT any louder? 

So yea, my workout partner is a 5 year old. She's probably better at accountability than I am! And we are going to try to make this an after school thing everyday! My ME time just turned into US time. And I think this could be the best idea ever. 

Try it with your kids. Don't feel like you're taking time away from them to get to your workout, involve them. Maybe they'll love it as much as my little partner does. 

How do you guys spread yourselves between your kids? Isabella's been the only one for years, from 8-3, it's just her and I. Quality time. And now we don't have that. It's messing us both up!

Clean Eating Lactation Cookies

I'm pretty proud of myself! I am NOT a baker. Cooking, yes, baking, no! But I wanted to boost supply a bit with some lactation cookies, and every recipe I found was a hodge podge of unhealthy ingredients. One even claimed to be clean but contained brown sugar and white flour! So since I've been cleaning up recipes for myself for about two years, I decided I could totally tackle this clean eating baking recipe like the boss that I am!!! Hint: Go into anything with that kind of confidence, and you're unstoppable!

These are soft, flakey, and kid/husband approved! And you don't have to be nursing to enjoy them! Think: delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie!


Ingredients:


1/2 cup REAL butter, softened (I microwave for about 20 seconds cause I'm impatient)

16 Oz of Peanut Butter

1 1/2 cups coconut sugar

1 Tbs maple syrup

2 teasp vanilla extract

3 Eggs

3 1/2 cups of rolled oats

1/2 cup coconut flour

3 Tbs ground flax seed (You can use up to 1/2 cup, depending on how much supply you want to boost. If you use 1/2 cup, back down your flour to 1/4 cup)

2 teasp baking soda

1/2 teasp sea salt

1 cup dark chocolate mini chips

1/2 cup of chopped or slivered almonds. I just tossed a handful in my food processor and chopped them up!

*Optional: if you're supply is really lacking, you can add 2-3 T of Brewer's yeast (Not nutritional yeast!) You can find it at a health food store or on Amazon (Of course, what do they not have?)



Directions:

Mix the butter, coconut sugar, peanut butter. Then add the other wet ingredients and mix well.

Bakers, you know you're supposed to mix the salt, baking soda, flour, and oats first, then add. Truly, I never do this, and I've yet to run into a big bite of unmixed salty-ness. But if you're a baker, mix your dry ingredients first then add them, if you're not, then you're like me, just add them in and hope for the best!

Finally, add the chocolate chips and almonds.


Preheat oven to 350.

Scoop a two inch ball out of the very sticky dough, place in on an ungreased cookie sheet and press it down to flatten it a bit.

Bake for about 9 minutes.

This recipe makes a ton! But your family is going to gobble them up, so that's okay.

And in the morning, if you decide to have cookies for breakfast, add a little almond milk and start dunking, guilt free, because they are clean and delicious! Rock on, mama!

Love the journey

 

Confession. I've not been a happy camper. I've been so focused on getting back to how I was, I've been forgetting to just love how I am. 

Before I got pregnant, I felt in really great shape. I was proud of myself for looking good after baby #1, it took a lot of hard work! And I wasn't just thin, I had some muscle, some stamina in my workouts, and I was healthy on the inside. Fast forward to plus 50 pounds from a difficult pregnancy, and now, 3 months post partum via c-section. 

My post pregnancy journey has been a slow one, as it should be!! I had a c section and I'm nursing so I need to be careful with losing weight. And, confession, I just feel huge. I can't get over the fact that I'm buying medium and large clothing. I don't want to shop for myself, I'm convinced I won't be at this point for long, so why buy clothes? I'll tell you why, because I have to have something to wear in the meantime! But everytime I buy a large piece of clothing, I'm mad. My husband told his friend last week "my wife doesn't even look like she had a baby." And I'm too consumed with how awful I feel, I can't even accept that amazing compliment from my guy! 

I've also been avoiding photos! Yesterday, I took a photo with my niece on her 1st birthday, cause I couldn't NOT have a photo with my babygirl! And much to my surprise, I don't look so bad! Sweet friends of mine are even giving me compliments, which this mama needed. 

So I'm here to tell you that I completely failed at loving myself. Completely failed at giving myself time. Completely failed at respecting the complete shit storm that my body has gone through (excuse the language, there's no other way to put it). I've been so focused on getting back to picture number 1, the destination, that I'm forgetting that this is a journey. A fun one at that- with dedication, accomplishment, struggle, and reward. With encouragement from friends, with love from family, and with a learning experience for me! So I'm just gonna stop. I'm just gonna love where I'm at, cause I'm doing well! And I look just fine!! It's about the journey!!