Mommy Confession Monday

Ok, so here goes nothing.

1. Michaela watched entirely too much TV this week. I believe she watched at least 30 minutes a day and sometimes up to 2 hours (not consecutive). I'm just really feeling that last weeks of pregnancy and I let that get the best of me. Oh well, at least it was "educational" TV. ;)

2. We really didn't do any planned activities. Like I said, the last weeks of pregnancy can be tiring, especially when you obsess about having an organized, clean house before the new baby comes. Most of our activities were sporadic but she still loved them anyway. The important thing is that we still spent time together, even if it wasn't on the calendar.

3. We've started talking about Potty Training. Michaela will now tell me when she has to go "poo-poo". I sat her on the toilet and like always, she didn't really need to go. I tried to explain that maybe she should grunt to help her poopie come out. Unfortunately, it only helped a fart come out. She looked at me wide eyed and exclaimed, "I farted!" then threw her head back and laughed. I have to confess I thought that was hilarious. For some reason we tend to think of bodily functions as funny, not rude. We might need to work on this for public outings though.

Alas, we are not perfect around here!

Mommy Confession Monday

Have you ever felt that the other Mom's in "blog land" are perfect? Of course, we all know that no one else is perfect and they don't have it all together but sometimes it seems that things go so smoothly in their home. Their children always do activities just as planned, they have clean clothes and fixed hair, and Mom has made a meal completely from scratch. We all know that this is not the case. No one wants another other mom to feel inadequate. Most of us blog to encourage one another and share great ideas, not to brag about how great we are.

This is why I'm going to start a new weekly post: Mommy Confession Monday. This can be a time that we confess things to each other that didn't go as planned during the week. We can also share funny stories about children. Or maybe we can be serious and confess an area we need to work on. It may help to have some type of accountability in our struggles to raise children to love God. These are just a few ideas because I'm sure there are many, many things that happen each week that keep us humble.

I pray this weekly post will help to show us that no one else is perfect and has it all together. God made each of us differently so we will all have different strengths and weaknesses. Now let's have fun laughing as we confess together.

Getting Ready for Tot School

I have been bit by the Nesting Bug...bad. I think a lot of it started while reading 1+1+1=1. I had this sense of urgency to get things organized before the new baby comes. I haven't really been doing a lot of "formal" school activities with Michaela during this pregnancy. I think part of the reason is that I haven't had a designated area for her supplies. I think it would be so much easier to plan if everything was organized.

I decided to take a couple cabinets in the kitchen that were not being utilized efficiently at all! Look at what a mess they were:

Before

After

Before
After
Ah...Organized Bliss

Daddy was also an angel this weekend. He watched Michaela while I got to enjoy 3 hours of shopping all by myself. It was a much needed break. I picked up a few more supplies for school.

I found these pails at Target in the Dollar Spot.

These are a great, inexpensive tool for sorting activities.

New Blog that I absolutely LOVE!

I was going through a friend's blog roll and I stumbled across a new blog that I absolutely love. 1+1+1=1.blogspot.com is a great site for helping to teach your toddlers. I really like the learning style of Montessori, but I have had difficulties finding activities that are geared toward children under the age of 3. While this website is not technically a Montessori based site, she believes in the idea and is very similar. There are tons of pictures, she writes very well (which is not my strong suite at all!) and is very clear with instructions.

The best thing about this site is the fact that she is very down to earth. After reading some blogs about teaching children I feel completely incompetant. It seems like the Moms never have a glich in the schedule or if you do something contrary to their beliefs you are wrong. I don't believe you will feel that way about 1+1+1=1. If you are looking for ideas in educational play for your tot, this site is awesome!

Sleeping in the Big Girl Bed

Corbin, our second child, is due to be here in about 5 weeks. We have set up Michaela's new room but we have a slight problem. She has toys, a organized closet and a "big girl" bed-that she refuses to sleep in! I have tried to get her to take a nap in here but she cries and gets right back up. After every failed attempt, I wait about a week before I try again.

I wanted Michaela to be in her room before Corbin arrived so she wouldn't feel like he was taking her room. That is clearly not going to happen. I would like to try to get her to at least take naps in here so she can work toward sleeping in her bed all night. Thankfully, he will sleep in the bassinet in our room for a few more months so I don't have to have this situation fixed this month.

Do you have any tips or suggestions on getting your little one to transition to the big bed? She is almost 20 months old right now.

Cleaning your Microwave

I hate to clean the microwave! It always takes a long time and too much elbow grease. I have found the solution:
If you steam the microwave before you clean it everything comes off with just a few wipes. To do this heat a small bowl of water on high for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes you should be able to wipe away all of the food that has accumulated on the inside. The steam from the water loosens up all of the particles.
This works for me!

My 100th Post

According to blogging tradition, your 100th post has to include 100 things about yourself. I think this may be harder than I thought but here goes nothing.

1. My middle name is Brooke.
2. I have had 2 maiden names but I have only been married once. (I won't put them on here for security purposes though.)
3. So you are probably confused. I had my Mom's name first but when my parents married later in life my name was changed to my Dad's last name.
4. I would have had the same name as a famous person if I had my Mom's name.
5. My parents got married in Hawaii when I was 8.
6. Supposively, I was the flower girl even though I didn't get to be there. I'm confused about that to this day.
7. My parents got a divorce when I was 11.
8. I have 2 younger sisters.
9. I have an older stepbrother and an older stepsister.
10. I have moved many times in my life. Too many to count.
11. I always had a boyfriend in high school.
12. I regret always having a boyfriend in high school.
13. I was a "flag twirler" in the band.
14. I had no idea that flag twirling had anything to do with band until the first day of practice!
15. I was mortified after I found out because I thought I would be automatically labeled as a band nerd before I even started school.
16. I am so glad that I am not in high school anymore!
17. I started drinking and using drugs when I was 13.
18. My usage really increased when I was 15.
19. By the time I was 19 I had been in jail twice and had 2 DUI's.
20. I am an alcoholic.
    
21. I am thankful for the consequences because it helped me get my life on track.
22. My mom was killed in an car accident when I was 19.
23. I still miss my mom on a daily basis.
24. ...Especially now that I am a mom.
    
25. Being a mom makes me wish I could go back and talk to her about her experiences with me.
26. I now understand everything she tried to tell me as a child.
27. As hard as this is to say, God has truly made her passing a blessing in disguise.
28. Please don't hear that wrong: I wish it could have been ANY other way though.
29. It led me to Jesus, eventually.
30. If I could say just one thing to her now, it would be to thank her for that gift.
31. She made the greatest sacrifice to help me find that gift: her life.
    
32. After my second DUI, I finally realized that the lifestyle I was living was not working.
33. I needed new friends, so I called Chris.
34. Who is now my husband.
    
35. I asked him if I could go to church with him. I needed new friends.
36. I had no idea that I really needed Jesus.
37. We hung out for a few weeks and I went to church with him.
38. I loved his friends.
39. But I was still kind of new to the "sober thing" so they seemed a little strange as well.
40. I was received Jesus as my savior on January 18, 2004.
41. The whole in my heart left by my mom's passing was finally filled.
    
42. It was almost exactly 1 year after she died.
43. The first time I ever felt God speak to me was on the 1 year anniversary of her death.
44. I opened my Bible and Psalm 118:34 which says, " This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
45. I had now idea where to find that verse, but God led me to it immediately.
    
46. Chris and I started dating 2 days after I was saved. January 20, 2004.
47. We dated until June because he broke up with me.
    
48. I was shocked but God knows what he is doing.
49. I grew so much in my relationship with Christ during that time. I am very thankful that I formed my identity as a believer apart from Chris.
50. We got back together in October 2004.
51. We were engaged in February 2005.
52. I got to marry the man of my dreams on January 7, 2006.
    
53. We adopted our first puppy, Baxter, the following April.
    
54. We weren't sure we wanted children right away.
    
55. We got pregnant 7 months later in November 2006.
    
56. We had our first child on August 8, 2007.
57. Her name is Michaela Grace.
58. She is named after my mother, Michelle.
    
59. Their name means "who is like God."
60. We chose Grace because we realized that just as we did not deserve the grace we received from God, we did not deserve to be entrusted with this precious child.
61. I am so thankful that God decided to give her to us for awhile though.
    
62. We got pregnant with our second baby, a boy, in August 2008.
63. Corbin Isaiah's due date is April 18, 2009.
64. To most people we have the 'perfect family': Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother.
    
65. I am also thankful that God has changed our minds about children.
    
66. We always talked about the number of children we wanted to have.
67. Then we realized that we had to let God control that area of our life just like we have to let Him control every aspect of our life.
    
68. Children should be considered a blessing from God, not an inconvenience. (Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. ha ha)
69. My husband also struggles with addiction problems.
70. The first few years of our marriage have been trying.
    
71. I am so thankful that he is in active recovery now.
72. I am also thankful that God has been a solid rock to help us through the past few years.
    
73. To be honest, I'm not sure if we would still be married if it wasn't for God.
    
74. I would not change anything about my life experience because it has shaped me into the exact woman that God intended for me to be.
75. I don't think I would appreciate the good times in our marriage, if I didn't have to experience the bad times. We are on the brink of better, healthier, and 'richer' instead of worse, sicker and poorer.
76. God has always shown himself faithful.
77. I don't know when this turned into my life story so I will give you random facts about me to finish this list.
78. We have a house.
79. We really want to sell this house!
80. I have been to 4 colleges in my life.
81. I do not have a degree.
82. My favorite color is pink.
    
83. I have new found love of reading.
    
84. Raising children is harder then I ever imagined.
85. I stink at doing laundry. I never get stains out and I never fold it when it first comes out of the dryer.
    
86. And I can't use an iron that well.
87. I love to scrapbook.
    
88. I want to learn to sew.
89. I wish I had naturally blond hair. I can't afford the upkeep.
90. I love staying at home with Michaela.
    
91. My husband and I dated for a few months in the 7 grade.
92. I did the breaking up that time.
    
93. I am slowly learning to cook. I was trained on box meals, so it may take a while.
94. My biggest struggle in my relationship with God is my prayer life.
95. I loved the Twilight saga, even though it was about vampires and werewolves.
    
96. I am right handed.
    
97. I am not a worrier at all. Sometimes to a fault.
98. I have never been further west then St. Louis.
    
99. My favorite job was working at American Eagle as an Assistant Manager.
    
100. This was actually easier then I thought it would be.