Temper Tantrums

As Ginny gets older she's becoming an expert at tantrums. Today was a doosy. She hadn't really napped. Falling asleep for a few minutes on the way home from co-op and just refusing to resettle once she was in the door. I rocked her asleep, laid her down and she screamed. After awhile I got her up and she played happily for a bit. 

Then it happened...

she leaned over for a toy, lost her balance and knocked her head on the bench. 

ouch!

Under any circumstance this would have caused tears, but the overtired Ginny, just couldn't control herself. She LOST IT COMPLETELY. Nothing could calm her down. After about 30 minutes of screaming I took her up to her room and rocked her. Another 20 minutes and she was sound asleep. So I tried to lay her down. Immediately her body became stiff, rigid and the tears started to come. I tried to lay next to her in my bed and the kicking and crying continued. 

Finally my mom intervened and somehow we got her calm enough to continue on with our day. Over an hour after the crying had begun...let's be honest, close to an hour and a half!

While holding this screaming baby and willing her to sleep, I couldn't help but wonder about myself. I've been having a bit of a tantrum lately. A disagreement with God if you will. He seems to think our lives should go down one path...I seem to be perfectly content continuing along the path already laid out for me. 

I wonder if He looks at me, His creation as I was looking at Ginny as she screamed. Telling her to just give in, rest in my arms and go to sleep...to trust me that I knew what was best for her. 

I felt a little silly. Don't think all my fears are gone about this new path or any of my apprehension really, but I wonder if my tear streamed face looks at all to my heavenly father the way Ginny's did to me today. 

Does He find it silly that I'm fighting Him when He knows the end and knows that I will be better off with His plans over mine? I may want to continue with life as I know it, but He knows life will be infinitely better if I just rest in His arms and follow His plans. 

Oh how I love when God speaks to me through my children...I'm not quite sure I'm done with this tantrum just yet...but I'm beginning to see it for what it is...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Wordless Wednesday

3 in a tub!

 

Gretta Muffin

One of my very dearest friends had a baby just over 2 months ago. Since before her arrival I've been thinking of what cute and unique baby gift I could send without spending a lot of money (hello...we live on a budget). Anyway, I hadn't thought of anything and every once in a while I'd get that pang of guilt that I was an awful friend. Enter a conversation with my friend where she explains they've been calling their baby "Gretta Muffin" so they want her to be a muffin for Halloween  Problem being, muffin costumes aren't easy to find and she doesn't have a sewing machine. Problem solved: a super cute, fun and useful gift I can create for this sweet baby Gretta! 

I used this as an inspiration, but tweaked it. I may still make a headpiece, but for now...here's the Gretta Muffin!


I liked the "picket" type wrapper the inspiration had, but thought that sewing would add a little more dimension so we picked the most "muffin wrapper" stitch and went up and down the fabric. 

I used a 3 month shirt from when Murray was a baby to measure the shawl part and chose to only hot glue on the blueberries. I sewed the suspenders in the back and safety pinned them in the front so Mama can adjust to fit Gretta as needed. 

Here's the costume hanging...can't wait to see it on sweet baby Gretta!

One more of it together! The shawl can be trimmed if it's too big for Gretta and I used velcro as an enclosure for the back! 

 

I LOVE IT!! Can't wait to see pictures of little Gretta in it and I just wished we lived closer so I could take a bite out of the Gretta Muffin! 

Loved getting the creative juices flowing today...and I especially love I wasn't keeping my hubby from his homework while he entertained the kids (they were making their own "brand" of IPA while I sewed). 

Mackinac Island

Here are a few of the pictures from Mackinac Island. We really did have a fun time. All the kiddos on the bench are our friend's family minus their baby and of course Ginny. All in all we walked around the island with 7 kiddos most of the time, we were quite the crowd!

We walked up and saw the Fort Mackinac. We were sad it was closed, but enjoyed seeing it from the outside and it was a good hike up there. 

Of course we visited Murray's Fudge and brought home some sweets from there...I think I'm in LOVE with the mint fudge and the kids picked the orange cream. Yum! It was beautiful and cold as I said before and except for Monday morning we didn't take too many pictures...when I was with the kiddos we were too busy chasing kids around and on Wednesday morning when we wandered around town it was just too cold! The kids loved everything about the island though, the boat ride over, the no cars (although we were thankful to have borrowed a double stroller so they could take breaks from walking) and all the sights were lots of fun. 

Lucy did hike up to Skull Cave and was a little disappointed she couldn't go in and that it didn't actually look like a skull. (I'll have to get that picture from Mendy of her at the cave).  


 

Trying to Get Back

I haven't written in quite some time. I could say it's been because life has been super busy (it has). I could say it's because I have 3 kids demanding my attention and by the time I get them all in bed for the night I struggle to complete thoughts (this is true). I could say it's because I keep starting ideas to write about and then struggle to follow them through to the end (oh wait...that's sort of what I just said). I could say it's because I've been struggling with life in general these days, homeschooling, getting my husband through his final masters class and raising my kiddos while keeping up with a house and all it entails have just seemed overwhelming (it is!).

All of these things are true. 

We just spent 3 days on Mackinac Island for a Pastor's conference. I'd like to tell you how beautiful the scenery was, how refreshing it was to get away and how I'm rejuvenated for life again, but really while we had a wonderful time; it was exhausting! I fell asleep by 9 most nights and missed out on lots of the socializing because I was doing fun things with my kiddos. I LOVE them! I love the fun things we did and I am SO incredibly thankful a friend also brought her kids so I had a companion through it all, but it was not refreshing. The scenery was beautiful and it was COLD!

I am thankful we went. I am thankful for the times in the car when Nick was taking a break from his final project and conversation happened. I'm thankful for the music we listened to and the family time we had. I'm especially thankful for the friends I did see and get to connect with in person. 

I came home realizing while I'm still exhausted and overwhelmed as Nick makes this final push to finish his class and we regain a piece of him we've been missing for the last 8 weeks, it's time for me. 

I'm not one to say that. I love giving myself to my family. I would rather do something fun with them than by myself any day, but as I've struggled through the past few weeks I've realized that I've lost something. I've given up a chance to be creative, to think the thoughts that are in my head and to just stop and listen to where the Lord wants me to go. 

Decisions I had made with conviction are now being second guessed, ideas that once helped define who I was as a wife, mother and woman have been left by the wayside and it's time to get those creative juices flowing. 

So...I apologize if the next few blog posts are incomplete or make little sense, but I'm going to hit post before I can second guess them. I'm going to shut the door to the extra bedroom on Saturday while Nick and the kids rescue princess Zelda and I'm going to create a princess tooth pillow, a pirate tooth pillow and a muffin costume. 

Then...Saturday Night I will go out alone with my hubby and have a complete thought and slowly I'm hoping to regain some pep in my step and stay up past 9 pm. 

...and then we'll wean the baby...