5.5 Month Schedule

I haven't posted a schedule in awhile, and some say I may want to refer back to this someday. That is, if my husband agrees to have a second child. In all seriousness, we definitely will. As a mom, it's hard to imagine loving another one as much as I love Micah, but I know it's possible. You never hear moms say, "Well, I really love my first born and the other one is just o.k."

Here's Micah's Ideal Schedule at 5.5 months old (that means we follow this about 22% of the time):

6am - nurse + solids
7:30am - nap
9am - nurse
10:30am - nap
12pm - nurse + solids
1:30pm - nap
3pm - nurse + snack (sometimes)
5:30pm - power nap
6pm - nurse + solids
7:30pm - bed
9pm - dream feed

Micah's waking up around twice a night for his passy or just to chat. Sometimes I think about not introducing a passy to the next child, but they sure do come in handy! I also think about letting Micah learn to fall back asleep at night without the passy (this would involve a good deal of crying), but within 1-2 months he'll be able to retrieve it himself. So I may just go with it for now.

Not Me Monday

I did not have this conversation at Bojangle's last week:

Woman: Ma'am, you dropped something on the floor.
Me: Me? Oh where?
Woman: Right there.
Me: I can't see it. (Looking around, over and under Micah and the table.)
Woman: Under.
Me: (Still looking)
Woman (whispering in my ear): It's a tampon.

I did not tell the eye doctor that my son was home with a baby-sitter so that my appointment wouldn't drag on forever. My son was not actually home with his father. (In my defense, Jamie did not have to get back to work ;-)

Micah is not waking up 2-3 times a night now for his passy or just to chat. Jamie did not tell him at 5am Sunday morning that he would be an only child.

And that's all for today because Mr. Micah did not just wake up from his nap :-)

Flesh-y

I had heard that motherhood is a very selfless job, but I don't think I could fully comprehend how much until Micah was born. He and I are together nearly all the time, and while I love being his mom, there are moments when I want it to be about me. Yesterday was one of those. I really just wanted to have a peaceful shopping day. Our family of three plus my mom drove to Smithfield to hit up a sale at the Carter's store. Micah has more than enough summer clothes already, but that's beside the point ;-) He also has a knack for acting up the minute I walk into a store to shop for him. In fact, the ladies at the Gymboree store in Greenville laugh about it. So anyway, Micah did great on the car ride, but as soon as we walked into Carter's, he started to whine. And I had a mini tantrum inside my head as I thought, "Why now? Why can't I just shop once in peace? Why do I always feel rushed? Is your life that bad? Is eating, sleeping and being pushed around in the stroller your idea of a rough day? Grrrrrrr."

And then later I felt bad (convicted) for having those thoughts. Afterall, he's a baby on a schedule. He doesn't like disruptions, and he doesn't nap the greatest out of his crib. I can't fault him for not playing along with mom's plan. I've actually been studying "fleshness" - the need to be in control and have everything be about me - in my weekly Bible study, Freedom for Mothers. At times I ask, "God, is this stuff really sinking in?" But then I realize it is as He gently holds up pieces of my life for me to see that are very flesh-y.

***

On a side note, we discovered something absolutely delightful yesterday at Cracker Barrel. When we pulled up for lunch, my heart sank when I saw all the people hanging out the door. We were all hungry, and I could tell this would not be good with a baby in tow. Anyway, we go to put our name on the waiting list, and when the host saw the stroller, he ushered us to our seats straight away. No wait! Turns out, Cracker Barrel does not make babies wait. Love. It.

Fotogenic Friday!

I know all parents think this about their children,
and I know I'm biased,
but I really think he's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Freedom

I'm doing a Bible study right now called Freedom for Mothers (actually, Micah and I are doing it together because he hasn't taken to the church nursery yet. Today he set a new record. They paged me to come get him before the class even started :-) Anyway, I experienced another kind of freedom today because I resigned from my job at Covenant. Don't get my wrong, everything about this job has been a blessing from the moment I was hired 3ish years ago. I've developed wonderful friendships and got to realize a dream of mine, which was to work at a church that had such a profound impact on my faith journey and my personal life (I met Jamie there). They even allowed me to work from home after Micah was born.

But during the last several months, Jamie's computer consulting business has really taken off, and he's been spending a lot of evenings and weekends working on administrative stuff. He was contemplating hiring someone to help him a few hours a week, but after considering this, we both decided he should just "hire" me. So, that's why I'm resigning from Covenant, to become an "associate" of Orr & Associates. This is freeing for me because I really want to do a good job, and I know that I haven't been at the top of my game with the Covenant website since I had Micah. And, by helping Jamie, he will be freed to spend more time with us and Micah will get more of my attention during the day. It's really a win-win for our family, and we're so grateful to God for how He's blessed us with work.

Wordless Wednesday (a day early because I'll forget tomorrow)

5-Minute Face!

My life was revolutionized recently while watching "What Not to Wear" as I rocked my son to sleep. I learn a lot from that show about how to assemble outfits, what looks good on certain figures (and what doesn't...I have a lot of those pieces) and also makeup. During this particular episode, makeup artist Carmindy was dealing with a no frills gal like myself. So, she told her about the 5-minute face. Wow! Usually I only have about 4 minutes to do my face before a certain somebody wakes up early from his nap (and no kidding, just as I typed that my monitor lights lit up), but still...Carmindy's all about helping women accentuate their natural beauty. If you use her tips to apply makeup, you should still look like your "regular" self...just better. Makeup is something I try to do most days, even if it means the dishes stay piled in the sink. I just feel better about myself the rest of the day, and if I have the opportunity to leave the house, then I'm more apt to do it if I have my face on :-)

So yeah, the 5-minute face. I think she wrote a book about it so maybe I could get in trouble for copying her secrets here. But basically here's what you need: foundation, one eye shadow that highlights your eye lid and brow line best, mascara, liner (except I'm afraid of it and don't use it), blush and lip gloss. You can figure out the rest ;-) Love me the Carmindy.

5-Month Update

Busy week for us. So busy, in fact, that I have to use bullets (not the kind in guns) to cover everything. This week:

• We started Kindermusik. Micah really seemed to like it. Part of me is like, "I could totally do this at home...for free!" But I probably wouldn't, and we both enjoyed meeting other moms and babies.

• I started the Motherwise: Freedom for Mothers Bible study and Micah lasted a whole hour in the nursery! After that, he hung out with me and the other moms and visited with his friend and neighbor, baby Joshua.

• Micah had has 5-month weight check on Tuesday. He gained almost a pound since last month and now weighs 13.8 pounds. Doctor says he's doing fine.
  

• Micah dropped his 9pm "dream feed" and is now eating 5 liquid meals a day. Three of those include solids. He has not rejected a single food yet...so unlike his mother ;-) Right now I buy his food, but my neighbor gave me a great book on how to make it myself, so I might try that.

• Not to be cryptic, but some job changes are in the works for me. I will share more once the affected parties are notified :-)

• We planned our first summer vacation. My in-laws own a time share that they graciously share with us. Since I'm not a fan of flying right now, we opted for the Myrtle Beach location in June. We are planning to go with some good friends and their little boy. I cannot wait to introduce Micah to the beach!
  

Baby's First Snow

I was sitting here this morning feeling bummed because our snow pictures did not turn out. Then it occurred to me - the snow is still here!

Mommy's favorite!

Not too sure...

Hi Mommy!

Not Me Monday

My husband did not make macaroni and cheese and forget the cheese. I did not call him on this, and he did not respond with, "It's white cheddar cheese so you just can't see it."

We did not leave Micah playing under his baby gym while we made dinner. He did not roll off the gym mat and under the coffee table. We did not leave him there so we could take a picture.

I do not pick my son's nose.

While at work recently, Jamie did not find one of my nursing pads stuck to his shirt.

I did not look at my outfit twice this week and think, "Clinton and Stacy would kill me." Clinton and Stacy are not the stars of TLC's "What Not to Wear."

Micah is not wearing 9 month clothes. He does not start Kindermusik tomorrow. He is not growing up too fast.

I did not set my DVR two weeks in advance to record "19 Kids and Counting: A Duggar Special Delivery." I do not love this show. I have not seen every episode.