Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Julie from Sweetness and Happiness! Her post I drove the Wrong Car to Work is a classic example of the drama of motherhood and how hectic it can really be. 

A big welcome to our guest host for this week. She is a faithful contributor to the Mommy Moments Link Up every week so you may recognize her cute little blog The Everyday Momma!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 
Guest Host: The Everyday Momma 

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

When It Rains, It Pours

There's nothing like being kicked when you're already down. 

The hubs needed to get some things from the basement yesterday, and to our dismay, when he went downstairs and found water in the basement. Well, we thought it was just water...turns out it was something way way worse. It was backed up sewage. Yeah. Nasty. Not something we wanted to see when walking downstairs. Standing sewage water. All throughout the basement. The worst part: a lot of it went into the washing machine. Disgusting.

So this is all discovered yesterday and we have to vacate the house. We have no use of the bathrooms, which is a problem. Thanks to my mom and dad for putting us up for the night.

Let me tell you that my husband is amazing! He went to work right away getting things out of the nastiness and sucking up the water while I took the Bug and ran went to the parents' house. 

Unfortunately, all of these complications with our sewage more than likely means that we need our septic tank flushed. That costs money. Money we don't have because it apparently you have to jump through more hoops than a circus to get your business license here. But this morning we found a "fall special" online and we knew we could make that work.

One problem, our septic tank wasn't full. 

It was a clog. 

That wasn't a part of the "fall special." 

But it had to be fixed. It had to. We kind of need to use our dishwasher, washing machine, and bathrooms to live. So we had to dip into savings and use what we had to get fixed. 

And it hurt. We don't have the income coming in. It has been extremely difficult to get the hubs's business started. And extremely expensive. It's borderline ridiculous and extremely frustrating. We're trying to figure out how to gather the money and get things started, because we believe that once things get started, God is going to do wonderful things. But the problem is getting the ball rolling. There have been so many things stopping us and redirecting us and curve ball after curve ball have been thrown in our direction. 

Today, I posted on my Facebook page asking for people to share with me their favorite "God will provide" verses. Here is what they gave me:

1 || 2 || 3 || 4

Pretty good verses to meditate on. 

Now the trick is to trust those verses. So I go to bed tonight trusting that God will provide all we need. We will wake up tomorrow with a new day and will trust that God will give us exactly what we need, no more and no less. 

And tomorrow brings a much needed date night with the hubs! 

9 Months! (better late than never)

(Bug was officially 9 months on the 17th...hence, the better late than never)

weight: 20 lbs 10.5 oz       

height: 28 1/4 in

eating: nursing 4 times a day and 3 meals of solids a day  

floor time: crawling, standing, getting into everything

happiness: for the most part, she's a happy, happy girl, unfortunately she has her first ear infection and hasn't been quite herself lately.

loves: her mommy, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, peek-a-boo, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, music, her piano, standing, and eating

sleep: we're down to two naps a day and still sleeping through the night!

first word: MAMA! second word: DADA!

She's such a cutie pie! I'm so blessed to be her mommy! I feel like she's growing like a weed and I'm ready for her to slow down.

She got her first major boo boo this month. Her first black eye. It was so sad! I turn my back for one second, she slips, falls, and collides with the foot of a table at church. I was amazed at how quickly it bruised! She must have hit it just right. 

We took a family day and went apple picking up in North Georgia. It was wonderful walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Another fall tradition is the Apple Festival. We wandered around and hung out with some friends. It was good seeing everyone and laughing.

My girl loves finding windows and looking out. We've had beautiful weather here in Georgia and have dutifully taking advantage of it! Of course, right now it's in the low 50s with the low tonight is in the mid 30s and extremely windy (tomorrow night the low is in the 20s...in October...in Georgia...WHAT IS THIS WEATHER!?). But we're still taking advantage of the fresh air. I'm hoping it'll help Bug get better quicker.

You can tell here that she wasn't really feeling well. Bug has her first ear infection. Sunday night on our way home from the Apple Festival she started coughing just a little. When she woke up Monday morning we could just tell something was off. My poor girl. She's such a trooper though! I would have never guessed that she had an ear infection!

I love my little girl so incredibly much! I can't believe in just 3 short months (really less) she'll be one year old! I'll have a toddler! What is this about?! I can't really think about it without crying. She's just growing up so quickly!

Dear Bug, 

Girl, you are such a trooper! I am so proud of how you've dealt with all the bumps and bruises that have come your way! They might make this mama cry, but you take it all with a smile on your face. You're personality continues to blossom and amaze me more and more every day! I love watching you grow up, though if I had it my way, you'd slow down just a little bit. 

Gitchee gitchee goo,

Mommy and Daddy

"Don't Name Your Kid Phone!"

"I really love you, Mom."

Life Hacks: Cooking With Baby

(Introducing a new series: Life Hacks! Little ways I've found that make life easier when living and doing life with a baby.)

Life Hack #1: Cooking With Baby

(mostly an active baby) - I've got to give my mama credit with this one, she's one smart lady!

Let's face it, cooking or doing anything in the kitchen isn't easy when you have a baby. It got to where I wouldn't cook (or eat, for that matter) until after Bug was asleep. It was just too much trouble to deal with a moving baby and cooking food all at the same time.

So what to do? You can always strap them in their high chair and let them eat or play with toys. But then they throw the toys off and you have to go get them or they are running out of food. So you're caught running back and forth between food and high chair. And, if your child is anything like mine, they hate to be cooped up for any length of time.

That is when I introduced the drawer (or in my mom's case, cabinet). This drawer is filled with Tupperware and measuring cups that aren't being used. Everything is baby proof and can make lots of noise (something that Bug loves). Plus, there's a cool drawer that she can open and close, open and close, open and close as many times as she likes.  

This drawer has changed my life, and Bug's too for that matter. She loves playing in the kitchen while Mommy is cooking. The best part, if she loses a "toy" she can crawl after it and bring it back. It keeps her busy and let's me cook. It's been a lifesaver. 

Photo taken via iPhone. Follow me on Instagram {at}alliw009

Don't let this face fool you, she loves her drawer. She just got stuck and couldn't figure how to get back off the drawer. 

Do y'all have any life hacks that help with cooking? 

Does your little one have their own drawer or cabinet that they love to play in?

What do you have in your baby's repertoire of kitchen toys?

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Becky from My Sweet Moose and her post The 1st Ultrasound. I'm sure many of you clicked on this link hoping for a sappy movie moment ultrasound story...but Becky was full of surprises and laughs as she prepares her readers for the horrors of transvaginal ultrasounds. Yup. It's a real thing!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Growing Pains

Teething has been rough. Very rough. Who knew the top two teeth were so much worse than the bottom teeth.

But there is an upside to this teething.

Last night, Bug woke up upset and clearly hurting. She needed her mommy to help her sleep. It has been a long time since she has needed me to help her sleep. She's been all independent as of late at night time. I've missed rocking my little baby to sleep. All of a sudden, she was a "big girl." 

But last night. She needed me.

I spent an hour rocking her and holding her and comforting her. She just nestled right into me. I could feel her relax. And I just soaked it all up. 

There is nothing more precious than this time I could share with my girl. 

Then, this morning, she just wanted more cuddles with me. A rough night leads to a nice morning for me and my girl. It's a nice cool day, and Bug and I just cuddled and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally. Once again, she just relaxed into me. 

I want more than anything for these cuddles to last. She's growing up way too fast!

{{source}}

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Sarah from Special Moments and her post The Silver Lining of Infertility. This was a hard post to read but also very touching. Thanks for linking up Sarah!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

High 5 For Friday - Random Edition

as captured on Instagram (follow the crazy antics @ alliw009)

One: Bug has been teething this week, so it's been full of ups and downs. Today, my poor girl wasn't at her best. She as happy, but you could tell that she wasn't herself.

 Two: This week has been filled with open windows and the breeze blowing through the house! I'm loving this fall weather!

Three: Naps are a must this week! I don't know if it's because I haven't been sleeping well, or what. But nap times have been a necessity!!

Four: The hubs is starting a new business this week! More on that later...but we're really excited about where things are heading for us!

Five: The Dawgs better not give me another heart attack this weekend! I don't know if I can handle all the stress!

Nursery Redo

For those of you who know me well, know that I get very antsy when it comes to design (which is why I keep changing up my blog design so often. I've got to get the ants out somehow!). I love rearranging furniture, changing out artwork, and repainting. If I had it my way, I would change my home decor and everything else with each changing season. As of now, we have lived in our house for two years and all that has changed are the curtains, the furniture (thanks Mom and Dad!), and the mantle. I am itching to make some changes around here!

As I sit here in the living room, I desperately want to repaint this red wall. Now don't get me wrong, I love my red wall, but it's been red ever since we've moved here and I am over it. But this change won't happen for a while.

The first thing I have permission to change is the nursery. Right now, it's a beautiful yellow. I love the yellow. But I'm tired of it. Can you see that I get tired of things easily? It's the sad truth. The room has been yellow since we've moved in (we painted it with the knowledge that it will eventually be our nursery). So now, I've been scanning Pinterest in hopes of inspiration for Bug's new room. 

One thing that will stay the same will be her red crib. I love her red crib. To go with it, we will be repainting her room a light brown color. I don't know the name yet, but once I do, I'll let y'all know. Along with the repainting of her room, we'll be painting her trim white and I'll be making new curtains as well. 

The "theme" or direction I'm going with is kind of a woodland theme. I want to base it off of this print: 

I love this print. 

So the room will be filled with foxes, deer, and all the little woodland creatures you can imagine. I'm excited about the new direction and I can't wait to get started!

This is another print I want to include in her room. 

I think it'll be a fun project and mostly, I'm just looking forward to some change in this house!

(And then this red wall is getting painted over! Bring on the grey ;) haha)

Minivan Mom

That moment I realized I was a minivan mom:

I was driving home one afternoon, when I looked over at the car next to me and saw a young girl (teenager or young college age) texting on her phone. Now, I have my daughter in the back seat and all I can think of is all of the bad things that could happen with someone driving and texting. So what do I do? I honk my horn at her. She glances over and I then proceed to wag my finger at her and shake my head at her and mouth the words "no ma'am." She just looked at me. Then...she put her phone down! 

Does that officially make me a mom?

Just thought I'd share a comical story for your Wednesday.

Also this:

WHOOP WHOOP!

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Tenns from New Mama Diaries and her post Postpartum Healing Pads. All new mamas or mamas to be should definitely check this one out!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

High 5 for Friday! - October Edition

This edition of H54F is brought to you by all this October y'all!

One: I have been waiting and waiting for October y'all! Bug has the cutest Halloween outfits to wear and now she can finally wear them! ...Once the weather cools down again, it's back up in the mid 80s here in Georgia. Where'd my fall weather go?

Two: We're starting our very own fall family traditions now that we have Bug! This week we went and visited an apple orchard to pick our very own apples! It was a lot of fun! Next up is the Apple Festival and pumpkin farm!

Three: We've been teething this week. Those top two teeth are killing us! Poor girl isn't sleeping well, she's drooling, and she's fussy. But those top teeth are coming, whether we want them to or not. I just hope they don't make us wait too terribly long before they pop on through!

Four: Neftlix has finally updated! I now have new episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress", "Parenthood", and "the Office"! This mama is happy! (For those of y'all who don't know, we don't have cable. We couldn't justify the money, so my parents gifted us with Netflix streaming through our Wii. Soon, we hope to adding an antenna to our house sooner than later. This way we can watch some football at our house!)

Five: Football has been rocking it! Did y'all see that UGA win last weekend? I think my heart skipped a few beats in those last few minutes of the game! Hopefully we can keep it going and beat Tennessee this weekend! Go Dawgs!!

So Blessed

Thank you everyone for your sweet words. I am so blessed. I know I am. I just have to look at my sweet girl's face and a see my wonderful husband to know that I am extremely blessed. So thank you. Life is hard, but I know God has a plan for us. 

So today, to get out of the house and forget about our troubles (plus we had some extra cash given to us for something special), we went to an apple orchard in Ellijay, just up the road! 

My girl loves her some apples!

And I love me some squishy cheeks!

She couldn't get enough!

I love wearing my baby girl. It's so nice to have her close to me!

Flying baby!

She was only happy with Daddy when he was playing with her.

This is the "Mommy, I want you to hold me" look. She wasn't happy with me today. I left her with her daddy for a few hours yesterday, and today she wasn't leaving my side!

I just love her faces! She's so stinking cute!

Struggles

I like to claim that I am a positive person. I like to picture the glass half full. Most times, more than half full. I find myself to be a dreamer. A person filled with hope. I like looking at the bright side of things.

So when things get dim, I start to struggle.

Things are dim. Things are worse than dim. They're getting dark. I know I need to focus on the good, and the fact that God will provide, but right now things are looking dim in my normally bright world.

I find myself looking at others and seeing into their lives. People I see who are buying new homes that are twice the size of mine. People going on vacation. People buying new things. Nice things. Things that I can't afford.

The hubs and I can't go on vacation. We can't buy new things. Our small home will have to last us for a while. Heck, we can't even afford to go on a simple date right now.

I find myself coveting things. Wanting things. Yearning for things. 

As of now, we are living on a very strict budget with enough room to pay for our house and utility bills (including phone and internet). We have little left over for food (but there is money for food..we're not going hungry) and gas. It's tight. The hubs's job will cover that and my part-time job will help out with medical bills. But I work for a non-profit, so if the money doesn't come in, I don't get paid. It can get stressful. 

It's getting stressful.

I don't like this "cup is half empty" thinking, but I do seem to go there a lot lately. Especially when I start thinking of all the things I would love to do with my family. 

But it's in the midst of all of these stressors that God likes to whisper in my ear. 

picture and words added by me

How encouraging is this?! God knew that I would have trouble, so He sent His Son to overcome the world. For me. Me. How amazing is that? 

Tonight, I am clinging to this verse. Tomorrow, I will cling to this verse. For the next few weeks, months, years, or however long it takes for us to get back on our feet, I will cling to this verse.

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I share this with you in hopes that you see my struggles. It's hard to be the cup is half full girl. I'm trying to be. But it's not easy. Especially now when it's the first of the month and bills are due and I'm seeing how we're going to struggle. But I'm taking heart because my LORD and Savior has overcome this world. Also, I want you to see just how amazing my God is and how He takes my struggles and works them for His good.