I would say that this post is about things I'm loving right now. Except I read a book several years ago that called me out by saying you should love people and use things. It's stuck with me all this time. So instead, this is a list of things I love to use at this stage in life.
From the day we moved Chica out of her crib and into her toddler bed the rule has been that she's not allowed to get out of bed without parental consent. I decided that if she needed something I'd rather go to her than for her to suddenly appear when I least expected it. Few things would freak me out more than to open my eyes in the middle of the night to see a small child standing by my bed. Whether she's my offspring or not, that's just unnerving.
It became routine for her to wake up in the morning, yell from her bed, "I'm ready to wake up now!" and for one of us to go in and get her. This worked well until Baby Sister arrived on the scene. Now she wakes up a little before Chica and is well into breakfast before her older sister starts to stir. You can imagine what would happen next:
"Mama, I'm ready to wake up now!"
From my room as I'm feeding the baby, "Ok baby, you can come out!"
"I'm ready to wake up now!"
"Ok, you can come out!"
"I'm ready to wake up now!"
"COME OUUUUTTTT!"
Our rooms aren't that far away, but Chica likes to listen to music while she sleeps, thus making our yelling that much less affective.
Enter, the stop light alarm clock. My mom heard about this clock from a co-worker and it is just what we needed to end the dueling wake up calls and preserve the baby's sense of hearing. Red light means it's not quite time to wake up. Yellow is an optional night light. Green means let's get this party of a day started people! There is much rejoicing by a certain 3 year old when she wakes up to find that the light is green. :)
My mom gave me this bag when Sissy was born and I'm using it as her diaper bag. If we're walking somewhere and my hands are full all I have to say is, "grab the Reesie handle!" She can reach it easily even when I'm wearing it over my shoulder. She loves it and so do I.
We started incorporating this book into our family worship time. It details the spiritual needs of every country in the world. Each night we read about and pray for a different country. I can't yet convey what this process of intercessory prayer has done to our family, but its effects are seeping deep in our hearts and lingering in our minds long after we've put the book away.
4. Baby Jeggings/Pajama Jeans (according to Dan.)
My friend Alex tipped me off to these $5 baby jeggings at Target. They're soft, stretchy, look like regular jeans and best of all, they go with everything.
When Reesie was a baby Dan would joke about how much he loved her plain white onesies. Whenever he was in charge of getting her dressed for the day he would sift through the closet until he found the white onesie. Why? Because the plain white onesie went with every skirt, pair of pants and set of shorts we owned. Hopie's jeggings are the plain white onesie of bottoms. They go with every top she has. By slipping them on under dresses we've extended Reese's old summer outfits well into the fall.
Last weekend I went to the pre-conference of this event. I loved every session I was able to attend.
Vicki Courtney was one of the speakers and she warned about parenting from a place of fear. Whoa nelly a big red flag went up in my heart because I so see myself struggling with that. Great, great stuff. I can't wait to get my hands on the audio of the sessions I missed.
6. Maternity Clothes
My baby was born nearly three months ago. I am still rocking my maternity clothes. Judge me if you will, I cannot part with them yet. There is no explanation except that I love maternity clothes. The shirts are nice and long. And the jeans with that soft stretchy panel on the top. Simply divine. I know some women can't wait to pack up their maternity clothes. Not me. I'm holding on.
So there you have it. Just a few things I'm using to help those I love most. Have a great night!
