Happy Mother's Day

I think this picture says it all.

It's days like today...

...that I realize just how blessed I am.

Thank you, LORD for this amazing little girl and the amazing family you have blessed me with.

Friday's Letters

From a sewing shop at a transition home in Moldova. 

Dear Friday, I'm glad you are finally here. Though I'm not quite sure I'm ready for the weekend. It's going to be a very busy weekend filled with a friend's graduation, family visits, Mother's Day, baby dedication at church, and I feel like I'm forgetting something major. Needless to say, it's busy. Dear Master Bath, Can you be finished yet? I'm glad I can finally shower at my own house, but I'm also ready to use my own bathroom and sink. Dear Hubs,  You are working so hard and I am so proud of you! Thank you for all you do! You are truly amazing! Dear Bug, You are getting so big! Please slow down! Next week you will be four months old! Where has the time gone? You've started grabbing things and picking them up. Also, you make new sounds every day. It's amazing watching you grow up! But seriously, slow down! Dear Weather, Thanks for finally turning into spring, but do you really have to rain again this weekend? We finally have a lawn mower to mow our lawn and you're going to rain! Also, we still need to paint. So please get your act together. Thank you.

Ramblings from a New Mom

A while ago I wrote this guest post. I don't know how many of you were able to see it, so I'm sharing it with you now :)

Going from this

to this

in the matter of nine months takes a lot more work than originally thought.

Or rather, than I originally thought.

But this is the best kind of work I could possibly imagine.

It's hard to believe that a little over six weeks ago we brought our daughter home. In a way, it feels as if she's been with our family for years, and in another, it still feels surreal, like she's just hear temporarily. However, I can say that during these past six weeks, I've fully been initiated into motherhood...

My boobs have doubled in size and are now leaking like crazy. I can just hear a baby cry or see a full baby bottle and oops, I sprung a leak. Heck, I'm starting to leak right now just thinking about it...For those of you who are leaky like me, I fully recommend Lansinoh's breast pads. They are lifesavers! But I wouldn't trade the leaky boobs for the world. It means that I get to nourish and feed my daughter, something that I have come to treasure.

To go along with the leaky boobs, I constantly smell like soured milk. From her messy eating and my constant leakiness, the smells just compound. I'm surprised the hubs hasn't run far, far away or made more comments about it. I guess he is a smart man. No matter the number of showers I take, the smell just comes right back. But again, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Then there's the spit up. I don't know about everyone else with kids, but my daughter spits up and the most random and ill-opportune times. And it's not anywhere near a time when she last ate! Say she eats at 2 and won't eat again for another couple of hours, I burp her when she's done feeding and think "the coast is clear."  I either continue to hold her, put her in her swing, or lay her on her play mat. Sometimes she falls asleep, but more recently, she's staying awake. She seems to be doing just fine playing and then all of a sudden, hello spit up. This is around an hour or hour and a half after she's last eating! And it's not like I've moved her or anything, she just decides to keep me on my toes when it comes to this sort of thing. Now, because her spitting up comes out of the blue, I have been doused numerous times. Just the other night, for example, I was getting her ready for bed and as I was walking into my bedroom to feed her she let it all out and down my shirt it went. I admit, she does have some pretty good aim. Getting spit up on, of course, just adds to the smell. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

And of course, there's everyone's favorite: getting pooped on. That moment when the diaper can either hold no more or the force of the blowout is just too much for the diaper to handle and you just get covered. Let's just say I'm used to this by now and it just comes with the territory. When I hear it coming, I know longer flinch. I just accept my fate and try to minimize the damage as much as possible. I mean, better it to be me than our dry clean only duvet cover (she got that too once, needless to say, we're on the hunt for a new duvet cover that isn't dry clean only). But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

There's so much that comes with being a new mom. So many new experiences. Who would have thought that I would be okay with breastfeeding out in public? A year ago I would have laughed at the thought. But now I don't hesitate to feed her. I may still cover myself, but I don't go lock myself in a bathroom (not that there's anything wrong with that...I just choose not to). I remember the hubs telling me that diaper changing was going to be my job and that he was staying away from poopy diapers. When she was born, he volunteered to change the first one! You know, the one with all the tar-like poop. Yeah, I was shocked. And now it's not a big deal for him to change a diaper. 

We're still getting into the hang of this whole being parents thing, and yes there are a lot of "dirties" that come with the job. But they all are outweighed by the smiles I get and the cuddles and the overwhelming love that we share. I love being a member of the mommy club and I fully accept my role as mommy. In fact, I wouldn't trade that role for all the diamonds and money in the world.

Wednesday Hump

Here's something to get you over the Wednesday hump and through the rest of your week!

I know I've posted this before, but I'm seriously missing me some football! Just 16 more weeks!

"An orange peanut? For me? Wow, an orange peanut! Well, I accept you."

One Year Ago

One year ago today, I was staring down at this:

And telling the hubs like this:

And getting ready to celebrate here:

And took the first "I'm pregnant" picture and only slightly freaking out:

That was a year ago. 7 May 2012.

This is today. 7 May 2013.

It's amazing how things change in 1 year, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thoughts and Questions!

I've had quite a few people ask me questions about cloth diapering. That being said, I've been thinking about doing a Q&A about all things cloth diapers for those who have questions. 

So, if you have any questions about cloth diapering and need someone to ask them feel free to email me @ beautifulfamilyaffairs{at}gmail{dot}com. If you're reading this from my Facebook link, feel free to private message me.