An Attitude of Gratitude

I am grateful for sleeping on my stomach. Standing up without the need for leverage. A bladder that holds all night. Slouching. No more congestion. Non-maternity jeans. Wearing shoes other than my tennis shoes. No more weekly appointments with midwives or chiropractors. No more small talk with every person I meet with all the same questions. And so much more.(Picture taken by Jana- 36 weeks)

Some people love being pregnant. I am not one of them. Nine months is entirely too long. The anticipation kills me. I hate surprises. Once I decide I'm ready to have a kid, I am ready to have it. I don't want to wait.

I am definitely grateful not to be pregnant anymore. But I am most grateful for a body that is able to create and sustain life. (Seriously... think about it. That is AMAZING. We're all little miracles.) I am grateful for the strength I have to endure labor and delivery. I am grateful that both my pregnancies and deliveries have been complication free with no room to complain... except for that the anticipation KILLS me.

Some humor for you-

Every time I caught a glimpse of myself this day I thought I looked like the latest wife to join the show Sister Wives.

I will not be saving this maternity shirt or pairing plaid with this hair style ever again.

I was 39 weeks in this one.

For Arizonans

Last night I had a good discussion about nurturing the rising generation while visiting teaching. Considering the amount of time I spend every week teaching families how to nurture their own children, I could not narrowly focus on my responsibility to only nurture my child(ren).

A mother and father teaching, living, and modeling the gospel is a family's best defense against the ills of the world. But I can not ignore the sad realities of children all around me in my community. Or be ignorant to the fact that what they are being taught, or not being taught, will effect my family. I don't follow a belief system that encourages you to only protect your own. I feel a sense of responsibility to all of the rising generation- not just to those who call me Mom.

Have you seen this video?

"Investing" as the video calls it can have many faces- parenting, teaching, babysitting, volunteering, etc. But we (Arizonans) have an opportunity staring us in the face to continue to serve the littlest among us. We will decide if we want to repeal our 2006 decision to use a tax on tobacco to fund early childhood programs. Lawmakers seek to attain this money to help remedy the state's budget shortfall.

I admit most of my political convictions are emotion based BUT a lot of thought on this proposition has taught me that this isn't (just) an emotional issue. This is about a government's ability to bully voters, and repeal decisions that they make. In 2006 voters, thru their vote, said, "Early childhood is important to us." And now our legislator is asking us to put the funds that we set aside for early childhood into the black hole that is the state budget. (Mark, not being one for emotion based politics, also has thoughts on if the money isn't going to be used for the original intent- then it should be returned to those who spent it... in this case the smoking tax payers. But my simple mindedness has not quite wrapped my head around what he means. Mark's got A LOT of opinions on taxes -which are constitutional, which are not, what they should or shouldn't be used for, etc, etc, etc,- most of which I dont understand.)

Because of my passion for serving children and families it is also about a government's willingness to sacrifice the future generation. Since Feb 2009 2.1 billion dollars have been cut from the state budget, 1.6 billion of that has been to health, human services, and education.

Now I've spoken my peace for the day.

For more information on Proposition 302 go here: http://www.no302.com/

Worms

Parker can do the worm!

Or just look cute trying.

Advice Welcome

I need help! Go easy on me, because I'm ashamed that I am graduate level educated but can't figure out my grocery budget.

In the last 2 weeks I have spent $320 on groceries (madness, I know.) Our usual budget is $450 a month. (Including diapers, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, etc.) This 450 has worked for our family for a LONG time. I used to be able to stick to it. Last 2-3 months... not possible. And there's only 3 people in my family!

Menu planning used to really work for me. But that also has led to my downfall. When I plan menus I get more intentional about what I'm making... and that leads to planning intriquite meals. I need simple/cheap dinner ideas to mix in with our more exciting meals. I also need help with lunches! With Mark and I both working 9-5:00 and neither of us enjoying preparing lunches, I find myself buying expensive pre-made things for us to just grab and go. (That are still cheaper than eating out and a little healthier.)

Kids snacks are expensive too!

How do I avoid filling my family's belly with either boring tasting foods or foods that are chalk full of pesticides, corn syrup, or refined everything but not spend a small fortune doing so??What works for your family?

The Things

I love :

how he says, "Bye dog. Love you. Have a good day." Everytime we leave the house.

how every farm animal says "moo" or "roar".

how he says "night cars, love you" just before he pushes them out of his crib to go to sleep.

I could do without

"no". "mine". "don't". "stop it". "go away".

This language thing really is a blessing and a curse.

The donkey licking all up on his ear, never got a "stop" or "dont".

But when I try to get close to the bowl of popcorn I'm quickly met with a

"no, don't, stop it, mine!"(in that order- every time- without fail.)

Introductions.

On Friday I took my team hiking in the Superstition Mountains. I had so much fun and it really helped me to realize I need to enjoy all aspects of my job before its gone. (Yes, funding has become really volatile... again.)

My team is stellar! I got the rare opportunity of getting to hire and hand pick my whole team. Which has allowed me to avoid some of the issues I faced with my first team... when I was younger than them, had worked in the program less time than they had, and had to come in an re-train them on how to do their job.

These ladies I work with now are just so FUN. I feel honored to get to spend everyday with them and can't believe the changes they're helping people make in their lives. They do some hard work and they handle it all with class!

There's Danielle, Priscilla, Tara, & Bernadette. I still have one opening on my team... its been hard to find someone that can live up to these guys.

I tend to get most of my local news from azcentral.com and tonight I was clicking around and saw this article about the Child Abuse Campaign me and a co-worker have been involved with. Work has been REALLY busy with things that don't always seem work related but reading this gave me a little boost. It helped me to remember it matters. That people- families-children- community- it all matters.