Mobile Mama

I’m a project manager. It’s what I do and a big part of who I am. I take the vision cast by a dreamer and I put legs on it. While he doesn’t necessarily “need” my help, the visionary I wake up thinking about is my husband. How can I help him fulfill the plans God laid for him?

Last year at this time (shortly after I began MobileMama), I told you about Cleve’s new ministry and how stinkin’ proud I was of him. As it turns out, proud isn’t the right word. It’s more like profoundly humbled.

I’ve seen the months of blood, sweat, and tears that go into the preparation, and this week, I get to join Cleve on the second annual Creative MIssions adventure (kids in tow). I have assisted as much as I can from home, but now I’m experiencing the excitement, sacrifice, and generosity of so many people that it takes to make this week happen.

I prayerfully believe that at the end of this week, there will be 15+ churches throughout NW Arkansas and SW Missouri who have renewed hope. With that hope and encouragement, they will have practical and sustainable tools that will help them to continue and better reach their communities for Jesus; they will be empowered with communication tools they don’t have at this very minute nor the resources to attain.

I’m overwhelmed that I not only get to be a part but that I get to follow Cleve in this. With his discernment and strong convictions, I would follow him anywhere.

Like our marriage vows say, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:15)

He obviously doesn’t feel good. Something is hurting him. You wish more than anything he could just tell you. So, you take him to the doctor assuming she’ll be able to tell you what’s wrong. Dead end. Nothing “seems” to be wrong.

Help me.

Here’s what we know:

• 14-month-old boy
• No ear infection
• No strep (or apparent red throat to the doctor)
• No congestion (slight clear runny nose but seems to be more from the extra crying)
• Does not seem constipated (though haven’t fully ruled this out)
• Less appetite than usual
• Not teething. He has all of his teeth until 2-year molars.
• No fever except an occasional very low grade one (99 degrees on Saturday and 99 degrees late yesterday).
• Not napping well at all. Waking up 7-8 times a night crying but not needing/wanting consoling. Actually, by the time I get upstairs, he’s usually back to sleep soundly.
• Grumpy; out-of-character whining and crying.
• These subtle symptoms have been on and off for 5 days.

Any thoughts? Potential diagnosis? Does his throat hurt even though no strep? Tummy? Viral? Bacterial? Next step to figure it out? Would love some input.

P.S. I love our pediatrician. She is a wonderful doctor, and she did everything she could for us yesterday. If everything doesn’t get better pretty quickly, we’ll be seeing her again later this week.

It’s very small at less than 3’x3’.

It’s a place where I can daydream. It’s a place where I can gather my thoughts. It’s a place where I can pray. Some days it’s the only place I can do these things.

It’s somewhere no one can tattle-tale or cry (besides me, if needed) or beg for something. I get to adjust the temperature exactly as I want it.

It’s the only place I know where I can be separated from everyone - even if for only ten minutes a day. I come away refreshed and renewed - every single time.

It’s my shower. There’s nothing glamorous about it - at all. Just a simple small square that’s all mine for a few fleeting minutes every day. 

Where I can get rid of the grime of the day - including any leftover banana mush or dirt from playing outside.

A few things I’ve managed to write down over the past couple of months.

Cy: “When I die, I go to heaven.”
Me: “Yes, and mommy and daddy too.”
Cy: “Yeah, baby!” … “And when charlotte and warner die, they’ll go to heaven.”
Charlotte: “I’m not going to die.”

“What does Jesus like to watch on tv?” -Cy

“Look at my foot, mommy. I need a bandaid. You know why? Somebody shot me… In my bed… While I was sleeping.” -Cy

“I’m really good at making my name out of macaroni.” -Cy

“I know why my nose was bleeding. Because I ate ketchup.” -Cy

“Cy, you need to be patient.” -Charlotte

Me: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Cy: “Because I didn’t want to get in trouble.”
Me: “So why did you do it anyway?”
Cy: “Maybe I don’t have a brain.”

“Never touch your winky when you dance.” -Mommy

Cy: “Hey little hamsters”
Me: “Cy, those are lobsters”
Cy: “I know, but I don’t know how to say Lobsters” (saying it perfectly)

“Why do men hurt women, mommy?” -Cy, after seeing a preview for a new tv show :-(

Cy: “Charlotte, stop singing that song. It’s making me nervous.”
Cleve: “Is it getting on your nerves?”
Cy: “Yes, that’s why it’s making me nervous.”

Cy: “Are those guys in jail?” (Referring to the men on orange stripes on the news)
Me: “Yes, they are in jail, buddy.”
Cy: “Why? What did they do?”
Me: “I don’t know what they did. They must have done something pretty bad.”
Cy: “Oh… Did they tickle somebody?”

Cy: “Charlotte, you’re a genius! How did you do that?”
Charlotte: “Yeah, I’m a ge-nus.”

And last and most appropriate is Charlotte’s new favorite phrase:

“That is all.”

We’ve almost made it. We’re not quite there yet. And we still have one more to go.

Charlotte will be 3 in May.

We’ve now experienced the second year of life as parents twice.

All experienced parents know what I’m talking about. That second year is hard. But it’s also one of the most fun. I’ve never wanted to scream louder or laugh harder than during this precious year of growing pains.

Charlotte, like most two-year-olds, has gone from saying a few words and phrases to telling elaborate stories. Her imagination fascinates us, and her ability to manipulate her brothers (and her father) is brilliant! Girls are born with a completely different brain than boys. She’s got us all wrapped around her little finger with her beauty, intelligence, and just-plain-cuteness. But growing doesn’t come without a few pains.

During this year (or 18 months), kids have new impulses but don’t know how to control them yet. Thus, tantrums are normal in addition to saying “no” and “mine” often and refusing to cooperate. Patience is so important (and I run out quickly too fast).

As I watch my kids during these limit-pushing times, I have to remind myself God only lets us borrow them. They are his. This independence and desire to make their own decisions is how he made them. I’m just so overwhelmed that I get to help shape and nurture them - it’s intimidating.

A wise co-worker once told me the goal in handling these situations in parenting is to break the will, not the spirit. Help them learn and grow - even if it’s a battle at times.

A couple of emergency tips that help me through each day:

Allow Cy and Charlotte to make their own decisions based on choices whenever possible. This saves many tantrums and arguments. When they don’t have anything to say “no” to, it eliminates a fight and enables independence at the same time. 

Earlier this week, I knew Charlotte would demand to wear her nice, pink sandles, but she was going to be playing outside and getting dirty, and I knew that would be a bad idea. Before she could even think to ask, I offered her a choice between two other pairs of shoes. On this morning, that worked.

Distractions! When Cy was two, and he’d throw the kind of tantrum that would last forever (and by forever, I mean like 30-45 minutes), I could tell he wanted a reason to stop crying. He would keep crying until I gave him a reason not to.

For instance, if he was pitching a fit because I took something away from him, his violent fit could go on for a long time. Then there would come a point (that I learned to recognize) that I knew he wasn’t crying over the object anymore. Our inclination is to offer another toy or object that is safe to play with, but that doesn’t work most of the time; it needs to be a completely different experience. Try snack time or a tv show or going to play outside. This works much better.

This season is short. Pediatricians say it ends by about the third birthday, but in my experience three-years-old is just  a bit better - still quite a bit of testing the boundaries. But when Cy hit four, it was like magic! Something clicked.

Enjoy the good but be prepared for the bad!

I’ve always been terrible at trying to lose a few pounds. When I was a freshman in college I tried to lose some weight before spring break away with friends. I couldn’t fathom going to the beach with my new friends looking like I did. Thinking back, I laugh; I would love to be that weight again. I busted my tail for months to only lose a measly six pounds.

Then a few years ago, before I had kids, I said, “I’m going to lose ten pounds before I get pregnant so it will be a little easier to get back to that weight afterwards.” Of course that never happened either. 

This Time
I insist on shedding the weight and keeping it off so that I’m not living in perpetual diet-mode forever. So that means I’m not doing a drastic diet where I eat things I wouldn’t normally eat or try to lose it fast. I should also probably mention that I’m incredibly cheap. I don’t want to pay to lose weight.

I’m doing this the old fashioned, proven way. I’m following my sisters’ lead and counting calories. My sister, Heather, has been doing this for months and, I’m guessing, has lost at least three pant sizes already. My little sister and I are doing this together. We all use myfitnesspal.com (site and app) to enter and count our food.

I’m cutting back on the foods I eat everyday to keep myself within my limits and hopefully learning invaluable life skills (that I’ve never really learned) like self-control and self-discipline. 

So far, I’ve been doing this for a few weeks and lost about 4-5 pounds (not that I can really tell yet). 

Goals
Weight to lose: 18-20 lbs
Sizes: 2 jean sizes
Rate: 1 lb per week
Date: I’ll be ecstatic if it happens by July 4.  

Expected Hurdles
Travel: During this time, I know I’ll be going on at least two trips. It will definitely be harder to keep up during those two full weeks.

Eating out: As I mentioned, the point isn’t to change our lifestyle, and we eat out a lot. That means being very intentional and resisting some temptation while we are out. It’s been a fun challenge so far to look at menus more wisely.

Tools
I’m sure this list will grow immensely over the next few months, but so far, these are the helpful resources I use nearly everyday:

LiveStrong.com - They have a huge database of comparisons. Like if you know you’re going to treat yourself with a milkshake, compare different fast food places at one time to see which is the least bad for you.

myfitnesspal.com - Simply plugging in items I want to eat and seeing if I can come up with a combination that keeps me within my daily limit is fun. There are very few restaurants I haven’t been able to find in their database and no home/grocery items I haven’t been able to find so far. The app also lets you scan barcodes of groceries to add them to your record.

@eatthisnotthat - I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve learned by following Eat This, Not That on Twitter. I make far wiser decisions because of the tips they share. 
 

“Sling me,” Cy says.

I walk into the playroom to see Charlotte push Cy as hard as she possibly can (not all that hard) into their slide/sports climber structure. Cy laughs hard as he hits the side of the ‘building’ and dramatically crumbles to the floor. 

“What are you doing?!?!”

Cy giggles back, “We’re playing Angry Birds!”

“No, I don’t think so,” I say. “We are NOT playing Angry Birds… Ever.”

“My turn, my turn,” Charlotte exclaims. 

And before I could get to them to stop this insane game, Charlotte is ‘flying’ through the air squealing, “Bock, bock, wweeeeeeee!”

As funny as it was, the game ended immediately. 

“Do you know why you can’t play Angry Birds?”

“Well, I like playing with Charlotte, but she might get hurt. Can I just play by myself?”

“No, son, you may not.”

It’s been almost two weeks since Warner’s first birthday and our celebration at my parents’ in Georgia. First birthdays are special. My mother was responsible for taking photos, and unfortunately, they are still in Georgia, so here are some mobile photos I grabbed in the middle of the chaos…

It was another combo party with a cousin. Christen is turning 4, and she had a very specific request for her cake. :-)

Warner’s homemade cake: Yo Gabba Gabba’s MUNO and smash cake (Thanks to aunt, Laura.)

Christen’s mermaid cake:

Cake eating fun:

When Rachel moved out and Chandler moved in on Friends, Monica defined an era as “a significant amount of time”.

It’s the end of an era at our house. Warner is one year old. My last baby isn’t a baby anymore. I’ve spent the past 5 years and 3 months either pregnant or nursing.

I’ve been unexpectedly emotional about Warner’s first birthday. It’s certainly bittersweet. On one hand, I’m ready to move on to the next phase of our family’s life. I’m ready for more adventurous family vacations and that “golden age of parenting” that comes after potty training and learning to take a solo bath… when your kids can do things for themselves but still love you and need you. No more worrying about how the medications I take or food I eat will affect a baby.

On the other hand, I’m going to miss getting up in the middle of the night to nurse a baby. I’m going to miss hearing newborn cries and sweet first giggles. I’m going to miss taking mid-afternoon naps without needing an excuse. And I don’t think you’re allowed to call those extra few pounds “baby weight” when there aren’t any babies.

So now, we’re trading the infant carrier for a front-facing big boy car seat. And we’re buying extra sippy cups.

In a few weeks, once I’ve finished the cleaning out, there won’t be any traces of infancy. All the bottles and breast pumps will be gone. The infant carrier will be given away, and any clothes smaller than 12 months will be at consignment or Goodwill.

I’m so excited about the life ahead for Warner; I’m just sad for me. I love that first year of life so much!!! 

I heard a wise working mom say, “Just because it’s on Pinterest and you have the talent to make something yourself doesn’t mean you should.” I couldn’t agree more! 

This was not one of those projects for me. 

The kids and I took a few minutes last week to get started on Valentines for their preschool class.

Cost: $3 per child
(pretty much exact same as the character-themed cards)

Time: About 15 minutes (seriously)

While we were at the park last week, I took a couple of pictures on my phone of the kids holding their hands up like they were holding on to a balloon. Then, I used picnik.com to add a couple of effects and the greeting. Picnik.com is closing in a couple of months, so right now all of their premium features are FREE.

Sidenote: I’m not a graphic designer; this is a “craft” project because I’m not that crafty. 

After printing the photos at Walmart, the kids helped add the suckers through little cuts made above and below the hands. It was fun! It’s not too late. One-hour prints are $0.18 each.