These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

YOU GUYS.

Y'ALL.

Whatever you wish to be called...

Toddlerhood is serious business.

#amiright

I mean, between wiping butts and figuring out the most effective disciplinary tactics, my days usually pass in a blur. Add in a 5 month old that's starting to CRAWL and a lot of days I feel in over my head.

BUT.

But! There is hope.

I've always been a big advocate for relishing the small, seemingly ordinary, moments in life. In high school, I used to have a sheet of paper where I wrote down these things in a list. I used to call them "Sparkle Moments".

Look, nobody ever accused me of being cool.

Whatever.

ANYWAYS.

Examples of these things are:
 *Getting into a hot bath after you've been cold for a while
*The few moments at the end of the day I can spend laying in bed reading a book
*Finding the perfect pair of jeans that feel like they were molded to your body
*ETC

You see what I mean?
*SPARKLE*

When I became a mom, a lot of these things had to be sacrificed. I now have to sneak baths in after the kids are in bed otherwise Cali wants to join and while she's cute, she's not relaxing. And most of the time I'm so tired that if I start to read before bed, I am lucky to finish a paragraph before I doze off. And the perfect pair of jeans? Well, seeing as how my lower half will never be the same, they're a lot harder to find than they used to be.

My hips don't lie.

Apparently neither does my butt or stomach or boobs.

But, whatever.

I'm getting off topic. Back to sparkle moments...

With kids in the mix, my list of favorite things (Julie Andrews fan, anyone?) has shifted to include my children. Some things make my life easier (HELLO COLD BREW COFFEE) and some things make my life (kids) cuter. Either way, I consider them SM (Sparkle Moment) worthy.

 Here are some of those things:

1. COLD BREW COFFEE MAKER

Coffee is a given. I get that. I wouldn't make it past 8am without coffee. BUT I use this genius cold brew system that you can find here. If you haven't heard of cold brew coffee, you're missing out. Something about the slow brew is supposed to make the coffee less acidic and therefore it has less of a bitter taste. It's great. You can buy it from grocery stores but it's like $12 for 8 oz and I drink that in a day. Look it up.

2. CUTE KIDS' CLOTHES
Everybody has their own taste. I get that. But I think we can all agree that when we can get it together enough to make it out of the house with our children dressed cute, it feels great. But then again, maybe you're the type of person who ALWAYS leaves the house with you and the kids looking cute. I, however, am not. So this is worthy of taking notice. One of my favorite brands is Milkbarn Kids. Not only are their clothes SO STINKING SOFT and durable, they donate a portion of their profits to support Exile International which is dedicated to "restoration to rescued child soldiers and children orphaned by war in DR Congo and Uganda". How amazing is that??

3. Fizzy Tub Colors
Baths are how I get things done in this house and so I try to make them as fun as possible so Cali wants to stay in there as long as possible. The longer the bath, the more I get done. These tub colors are awesome. They not only make her bath water really cool colors but they also are teaching her about mixing primary colors to make other colors. Win/win.

4. THESE AMAZING TATTOOS

We're big fans of self expression around here. From (temporarily) coloring her hair crazy colors, to constantly having tattoos all over her body, Cali is always looking a little...punk? Anyways, I'm so stinking tired of Frozen tattoos or "body jewel" tattoos and was SO EXCITED when I found this amazing kid tattoo company, Ducky Street. These are great. They're super cute, easy to use, and easy to wash off when you're ready for them to come off. And they have allllll kinds of super cute designs. I let Cali get on their website and pick out her favorites and this sheet (above) is only one of the ready cute themes that they have. 

5. TARGET "WIRE WASTEBASKET"

Hi. My name is Whitney Gustafson and I have a basket addiction. I use these baskets for EVERYTHING. Seriously. I have a million baskets all over my house but these are *BY FAR* the ones I have the most of. I find them in the Target dollar section even though technically, they're $3. BUT STILL. Three dollars, people. This one is beside my couch and holds my Bible and junk that accumulates but I have one in my fridge for Cali's snacks, one for Nash's toys, one for our dog's toys, and on, and on, and on. I love them. 

6. NOODLE & BOO
This is another company that donates a portion of their profits to good causes. They have a few charities that they donate to including St. Judes and Compassion International. Baby skin is so sensitive and these products are perfect for that. Natural and gentle, I don't worry about what I'm exposing my kids too. AND you can get a free sample on their website right now here.

7. FLINTOBOX ACTIVITY SHEETS

Guys, these are so cool. I'm not that organized mother that has a designated learning time every day for my toddler. Crap. I am lucky if I have a designated "get dressed" time. But these activity sheet printables from Flintobox make it fun and easy WHILE they're learning. Sneaky, right? And the best part? They're FREE. I've posted the links below based on age groups:

2-3 Year Olds - HERE

3-4 Year Olds - HERE

4-8 Year Olds - HERE

They also have a short but interesting read on their blog here about the brain development of a child and how the parents can help.

8. BOON SOAK

I know there are a million baby bathtubs on the market and I've mentioned a couple on here before. But this tub is perfect for the bigger baby and as they grow. There's 3 stages so it adjusts as your baby grows. I fill it up and let Nash just kick around in it for a while. The blue insert turns to accommodate when the baby can sit up but it still keeps them contained. You can get it from BuyBuyBaby here. 

9. K'TAN

I. KNOW. If you've ever read my blog you have probably read me raving about the K'Tan. It'd ridiculous my love for this thing. In the above picture I'm wearing the black one. I bought this when Cali was about 2 weeks old and it CHANGED MY LIFE. Maybe not that drastically but still. I'm serious. If you have a baby, get you one of these. EVERYWHERE I go, people stop to ask me about it. It holds like a wrap but it 1000x easier to use. Go read about it here and do yourself a favor and go get one. You're welcome.

Soooooo that's about it for now. These are things that make my life easier and my days a little happier. I hope there was at least one thing on here that does the same for you! Let me know if you try any of these things and what you think!

Lately. In Pictures.

It's been a while since I've done a picture update. Sure, I've thrown some random pictures in here and there but I thought it'd be nice to document a rough timeline of the past 4 months in pictures. So here we go.

This was the night before Tim left for Boston for 10 weeks. 

TEN. WEEKS.

I won't even lie. It was freaking hard.

A 4 week old and a toddler by myself in a new city. I nearly lost my mind some days.

BUUUUUT it was the little moments like these that kept me going.

She started ballet.

And loved it.

Nash kept growing.

Cali kept loving him.

Her personality kept developing.

She's getting so big and independent and has been a huge help.

We used the time while he was gone to visit (a lot) with family.

Cali is such a great sister. 

When she's easy with him.

THEN.

ALL OF A SUDDEN.

(Not really. 10 weeks seemed like a year. BUT it finally happened.)

IT. WAS. TIME.

TIM WAS COMING HOME!!!

AND WE WERE SOOOOOOO EXCITED.

Cali waited in the driveway for an hour.

And their reunion was PRECIOUS.

It made me cry.

Then they were inseparable.

We took full advantage of him being home and explored and enjoyed our new city.

I missed him so much.

I was VERY happy to have my BFF home.

And watching him with our kids was amazing.

Cali soaked up every second he was around.

Daddy/daughter dates.

THEN SHE TURNED THREE.

THREE. PEOPLE.

How did this happen???

I swear. I know it's cliche but it goes by so stinking fast.

We love our new town.

Picnics in the park.

I feel like I live in Stars Hollow some days.

If you don't understand that reference, I'm so sorry.

For you.

Not for making it.

We became a minivan family.

Yes. Yes.

I know.

Embarrassment.

(But I secretly LOVE it)

Cali had her first dentist appointment!

And ballet recital!

(She's on the far left. This was as good as the pictures got. #mediocremom)

Guys.

Look how big she's gotten! 

I am so very proud of her.

Most days.

:)

And this guy!

So handsome.

She also got her first professional haircut.

Such a big girl.

Her personality is as crazy as ever but it's so fun to watch.

And this guy's trying to crawl!

I'm in trouble when that happens.

So is Cali.

He'll be bigger and fast than her. For sure.

Well, guys. That's it. That's the last 4 months in our first real home. Our first real town. 

I won't lie.

Travel fever maaaaaay have hit me a bit a time or two. I'm not used to roots! But I know this is where we're supposed to be and I know we'll eventually (hopefully?) make life long friends and figure out exactly how our family fits here. We've found a great church and a great preschool for Cali. I'm very excited to see what God has in store for us!

Later, gators.

My Experience With Sleep Training

If you've ended up on this page exhausted, bleary eyed, and shaky from so much caffeine, I understand. 

I, too, have been there.

When I first found out I was pregnant with Cali in 2012, the first thing I did was go buy 17 more pregnancy tests to confirm. The second thing I did was go buy every "baby sleep book" the bookstore sold. 

It's one of the first things you hear when you tell people you're pregnant... "Good luck. Get ready to never sleep again". 

Well, of course, I was going to be different. MY kids were going to sleep because all you have to do is put a little effort into it. The people whose kids don't sleep? Those people are lazy and they've just never taught their kids to sleep.

Just watch me, people. I'll show you how to do it.

What's that? Oh. You want to know my secret? Sure. I'll share it with you. Here is all of the "sleep training" advice I received and followed to a T.

Here we go...

1. Put the baby down in their crib "drowsy but awake".

This is the big one, guys. Simply rock (and rock, and rock, and roll your eyes at, and rock, and sing to, and walk around, and sing to some more, and rock some more, and sprinkle magic unicorn dust on) the baby until they're drowsy and tired but NOT yet asleep. Then lay them down in their crib and they'll drift off peacefully all by themselves...

What will probably happen next is the baby will scream their bloody head off until you pick them up again and rock (and rock, and roll your eyes at, and rock some more, and sing to, and bounce some more) them back down to their drowsy state. What's that saying? "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, again". Keep at it, folks. They eventually will put themselves to sleep.

2. Don't nurse/feed them to sleep when they have midnight wakings.

I'll be honest. I didn't/don't follow this rule 100%. I'm about 50/50 BUT if what they say is true, that should be ok. Half of the time my kids go back to sleep without being nursed. 

3. Keep the lights low on midnight wakings and don't engage the baby.

Pretty self explanatory. Don't make eye contact. Don't speak to them a lot, Don't make waking up at ungodly hours of the night fun and interesting.

4. Use white noise.

Guys. It's like a wind tunnel in our bedroom. We've got so much white noise that it drowns out my thoughts. I'm not entirely sure if it's supposed to drown out sounds for the baby or drown out the baby sounds from me. Either way, this is one sleep rule we've never had a problem following.

5. Swaddle. 

Sure. OK. Done. Baby's wrapped up so tight if they're ever admitted to the psych ward, the straight jacket will feel familiar.

6. Make the room as dark as possible.

Not only do I have black-out pull down shades. I've got black-out blinds AND curtains. Yes, people, I have THREE FREAKING LAYERS of black-out paraphernalia on my windows. No stray of light left behind. Or let in. Whatever. 

So those are the main "rules". And I followed them. For realz, y'all. And you know what happened?

You can probably guess. I mean, ALLLLLL the books and people say "if you just follow these 'simple' (this word is very relative) rules from the beginning, you'll have a perfect sleeper."

So I listened to them. I DID. I spent hours trying to find that elusive "drowsy but awake" stage. I spent even more hours of my precious hours patting my babies butts and "shhhhh'ing" them back to sleep to help them self soothe. I did/do this so much my back hurts from bending over the crib so much.

AND GUESS WHAT.

My babies (yes, both) woke up and cried and wanted me. And woke up some more crying. Aaaaaand woke up again. On and on and on and on and on. No matter how many times they put themselves back to sleep. No matter how many times I didn't nurse them. No matter how tightly they were swaddled. No matter how dark the room is. NO MATTER WHAT I DID, they just want to know I'm still there. They want me to pat them, shhhhh them, just wake up from my peaceful sleep and let them know I'm there. 

Sure, I'm not nursing them 100 times a night and technically they can put themselves back to sleep without me picking them up, but I still have to get my butt out of bed and make them aware of my presence. 

It's great. 

*eye roll*

I haven't slept in 3 years.

BUT. 

But there is light at the end of the tunnel! 

Cali is now 3 and last night she slept 6 hours straight without waking up!

Woooooo-hooooo!!!

Look, OBVIOUSLY this post is (mostly) sarcastic and in jest. I really did follow these rules and I really do still have bad (horrible) sleepers. So, I honestly can't help you if your kid doesn't sleep. Trust me. I'm literally the last person you want to take sleep advice from. BUT just know that if you, too, have followed all the rules and you're still a zombie because your kid STILL doesn't sleep, you're not alone. I'm tired with you! And you're not doing anything wrong.

Do you need to hear that again?

You're not doing anything wrong.

It took (and is taking) me a very long time to convince myself of this. Because, truth be told, you probably run into a lot of women who's kids seem to have their sleep shish together. They're rockstars. 12 hours straight by 12 weeks and they never look back! Woo!

Well, good for them. 

I have no idea how they did it.

Go ask them.

All I can give you is my sympathy.

And encouragement.

Keep on keeping on.

I mean, they eventually have to sleep. 

Right?

RIGHT??

RIGHT?!?!?!?!

Please, God. Tell me they eventually sleep...

Midnight Ramblings & Sanctification

 

 

Oh. Hi there.

 

Yes. It's 3:30 in the a.m. and I'm blogging. But sometimes, when I've been woken up 5 times in 6 hours, my body says "You know what? It's easier to just stay awake". And so it does.

 

And so I am blogging.

 

(((Also, DISCLAIMER. Yes, I'm aware that I have more than one child and No, I haven't forgotten about Nash. Mainly because he won't let me. He's the reason I'm awake at this ungodly hour, blogging. But this post is mostly about Cali. Though my thoughts and feelings will probably be the same when Nash is a wild and crazy toddler.)))

 

 

 

I've been thinking a lot these past few days about how sanctifying parenting is. From the very first second that the doctor put Cali in my hands I've said that God created newborns to drive us to our knees to him on a consistent basis.

 

For realz, y'all.

 

Newborns are terrifying.

 

And as Cali grew, the sanctification process only got harder. And scarier. When God created Cali - my sweet, loving, determined, independent, wild, smart, beautiful, Cali - he gave me a task too monumental for me to do well on my own.

 

Seriously. She's too much for me to handle by myself.

 

 

 

I am constantly in prayer over her. Her well being, how to raise her, how to discipline her, how to love her. When I feel like being honest I can admit she is so much like me.

 

Quick story.

 

I distinctly remember in elementary school forming a cheerleading club at recess. I charged the girls a certain amount of money so that I could "buy us matching bloomers and skirts". These kids gave me their lunch money for an entire week, guys. And what did I do with it? I bought candy. And didn't even share.

 

And so I pray. A lot. Because I'm terrified Cali is too much like me.

 

But when I look at her? God, my heart aches from loving her so much. A literally, physical, ache. I have so many hopes and dreams for her. And not the Harvard - Doctor - Straight A Student - All Star Athlete kind of dreams. My dreams involve more of her heart and her spirit. I want so badly for her to remain strong and independent. I hope to God she never loses her desire to push boundaries and explore things for herself. Some may disagree but I love that she questions "Why?" when I tell her to do or not to do something. I admire that she wants to check things out for herself and not just take my word for it. I hope she stays determined and persistent. That she never loses the ability to set her sights on what she wants and to go after it.

 

 

 

 I don't view these as a bad things. I don't see these qualities as ones that need to be "fixed" or corrected. I just hope that they're paired with a love for people, an open mind to those that are different from her, empathy for the hurting, an ability to see her flaws and then do something about them, the ability to recognize when she's wrong and offer a swift apology, a desire to step in and stand up for those that can't/won't stand up for themselves when being wronged, and a love for Christ so fierce and deep that she reeks of it wherever she goes.

 

But therein lies the problem...

 

I have no idea how to teach her these things.

 

Thus, the sanctification process of relying minute by minute on God's grace.

 

One of my favorite authors on parenting, L.R. Knost, writes that "It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless". LOVE.

 

 

 

Also, Jen Hatmaker writes in her Book For the Love, "If they don't love Jesus and people, it matters zero if they remain virgins and don't say the F-word. We must shepherd their hearts, not just their hemlines."

 

YES. YES. YES. AND AMEN.

 

amiright?

 

I'll be the first to admit to you that I do a lot of things as a parent that other parents look at and don't agree with. I'm OK with that. I've been blessed (cursed?) with the ability to not care what other people think. For instance. I let Cali sleep in our bed.

 

*Gasp!*

 

I know. But I'm here to say we love it. She is not cuddly by nature and one of the only times we get to cuddle on her is at night. When she's sleeping. And so she's in our bed.

 

Another thing? We encourage her to question our rules and the way things are done. If she wants to negotiate? We're up for that.

 

Yeeessss. I know. I'm aware. I can just hear you all now. "But you're the paaareeeents." But don't worry those pretty little heads of yours. We are firm believers in discipline and boundaries. When we put our foot (feet?) down, it (they?) stay down. But until then? We want to foster an environment where she learns to actually have a relationship with Christ and get to know him and not just follow rules because we say so. We want to teach her that no one (even YOU, Judgy McJudgerson) is right all the time and that we're open to compromise and change. We want her to know that she has a voice and be confident in using that voice.

 

(Though, trust me, I am fairly certain that will NOT be an issue. She LOVES to use that voice.)

 

We want her to see that perfection in any human is not attainable. If it were, the cross would've been unnecessary. We want our parent/child relationship with her to reflect the Father/child relationship we have with Christ.

 

 

 

Are we doing things 100% right? I can guarantee you we are NOT. That's just my guess. But I can also guarantee you that every. single. thing. we do for her is very intentional and is grown from a love so big for her and a desire to help grow her into a woman that loves God as fiercely as she can.

 

That's all I want, really. For her to love God. Deeply, truly, fiercely, love him. Because if that happens, everything else that blossoms from that love will be beautiful.

 

And the parts that aren't so beautiful? Well I just pray that God gives her a child just. like. her. one day so that she can be sanctified too. :)