our family grace

05 June 2014

Oh the places you will go...

Traveling with a baby or toddler is in an art form in and of itself. It's not easy. You basically have to pack up the whole house and take it with you. At least that's what it felt like for us.

Here are some quick tips that I have for when you have to take a trip with your little one:

make a packing list - I searched on pinterest before taking our first road trip with Bug for list ideas. Our first trip long road trip with her was when she was 6 months old, not exactly a toddler, but it holds with the same ideas.
travel by night - We typically travel by car whenever we go places and have yet to travel anywhere by plane. So for traveling by car, we love to travel at night. Why? No stops because the Bug sleeps through the whole trip. Of course this isn't the best on the hubs and me. I personally hate traveling by night, but for the Bug it works out great.
plan multiple stops - If you do travel for the day plan for multiple stops. Our second trip out to Texas, I couldn't handle driving through the night again. So we decided to take the 14 hour trip during the day. This was hard on all of us, but with lots of stops, we were able to hold off any major tantrums. I recommend searching out parks or fun restaurants for your little one to run around at. My favorite stop we made was at the Mississippi bridge at sunset. Bug was able to get out and crawl around on the quilt I brought. It was such a wonderful time and I highly recommend finding parks for your kids to get out and run around in.
start during nap time - We're going to the beach in a couple of weeks. This will be about a 4-5 hour drive without stops. In order for us to get the best start, we plan on leaving right before Bug's nap. So we'll eat, and then head out. Now her nap won't last the whole trip, so we'll have to stop and let her run around once she gets up, and then it'll be back in the car with Little Einsteins to distract her.
don't be ashamed of resorting to electronics - Bug loves the iPad or iPhone. Her favorite shows to watch is Little Einsteins or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I am not ashamed to tell you that we have let her watch multiple episodes of these shows. Happy mommy makes for a happy baby and a happy trip.

Waking up in Texas at 6 months old!

Like A Morning Cup of Coffee The Not Quite Military Wife

From Here To Eternity Words About Waverly

Pardon My French Beautiful Family Affairs

My Delicious Adventure The Life Of Faith

Running From The Law The Olive Tree

May 8: Taming the Temper Tantrums

May 15: Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk

May 22: Dealing with Mommy Guilt

May 29: When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it

June 5: Traveling with your Toddler

June 12: How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all

June 19: How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood

June 26: Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)

An InLinkz Link-up

04 June 2014

Ch ch ch ch changes

Whenever I think of life changes, this scene always pops into my head. Gotta love Shrek.

Well, it looks like BIG changes are coming to the beautiful family affairs family.

First, I've got to brag on my amazing husband! After his job being terminated last September, he has been doing everything possible to provide for our family and working his tail off. Well, starting next week he'll be going to school full-time! I'm so stinking proud of him for deciding to go back to school! He'll be studying automotive collision repair, a two-year degree program, as well as getting other certifications along the way!

This decision was not one that was taken lightly. We explored option after option at what to do after his job ended, but God continued to lead us back to school. So we started pursuing this new dream that the hubs has. The first step was to pass the COMPASS test. Now, my husband wasn't the best in school and never did any more schooling than high school, so this test caused a lot of anxiety in our household. But he knuckled down and PASSED everything! I was - and am - so proud of him for doing that! So the next step was getting accepted, which he did! Yay! Another cause for celebration! Then...came for the finances. Let me tell you, we struggled with this, but you know what? God always provides and he got a full ride! That's right, y'all! My husband's tuition has been completely paid for! God is good all the time!

So that's the first big news! Starting next week, the hubs will be a full time student and I couldn't be more proud of him!

The next big news has a lot to do with the first. Because of all the changes that were going on with our family - the hubs starting school and a new member joining our family in August (um...hello third trimester where did you come from?!) - I had to leave my position as preschool director at our church. I felt that I needed to put more effort into my family and caring for them, especially with the added stress that school brings.

With that being said, new opportunities have arisen for me. With the hubs starting school, I knew that I wanted to find something I could do from home, where I could set my own hours and be my own boss, to help out financially where we need it. I had been looking at different things, when I saw my friend posting all these new things about Norwex on Facebook. It caught my attention right away and I just had to figure out what it was all about. I fell in love with the product and mission and I am now proud to announce that I am a new independent consultant for Norwex!

What is Norwex? Norwex is a new way to clean without chemicals! All you need is water! A great way to go "green" in your living. If you're curious about our products you can check out my website:

www.alliwoody.norwex.biz

or feel free to attend my Facebook launch party:

https://www.facebook.com/events/541551355945979/

or you can email me at:

beautifulfamilyaffairs@gmail.com.

I'm so excited about what this company has to offer and their amazing products! I would love for you to check it out and join us. You'll be hearing a lot more about Norwex in the coming weeks.

But yeah, that's about it...big changes are happening over here. We're trying really hard to not be overwhelmed by it all, but above all else, we're confident in where God is taking us.

02 June 2014

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 had some awesome links last week as usual.

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

The top viewed link this week was actually The Life Of Faith's post titled "Are You A Guilty Mom?' from the Thursday One Year and Beyond Link Up that a few of us from the Mommy Moments crew are a part of. The topic of dealing with mom guilt is not an easy one, but in this post I break down the guilt into two types, rational and irrational and share how I deal with both!

If you aren't following along with our Thursday topics, stop by and check them out!

The Life Of Faith

The Not Quite Military Wife

Beautiful Family Affairs,

Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Now, 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!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends!

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

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!

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

29 May 2014

Opinions are like belly buttons

Isn't that how the saying goes? "Opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has them."

And for some reason, people feel it is their duty to share their opinions with new moms, old moms, and pregnant ladies. Once that bump starts to show, it's as if it's the magic key to opening up the flood gates and letting those opinions flow.

A couple of my favorites:

Don't put your hands above your head, it'll wrap the cord around the babies neck.
(in response to an upset newborn) Have you tried feeding them?

There are plenty more that I've heard over the past year plus. They always come in the most random ways. In fact, I had someone share their opinions with me in line at Kroger today. The lady first applauded me for buckling my daughter into the grocery cart, apparently a grandma had let her grandson stand in the cart and he flipped out and landed on her head recently. Then she decided to give me some advice: have someone come play with baby while you nap or shower. Okay, that makes sense and isn't too harmful, so I just smiled and nodded and said that we already do that if I needed it. Then she goes to tell me about how she paid her son for his good grades instead of an allowance. Starting in first grade...Uh okay? I don't know how I feel about paying my kids to go to school, and if you do this then whatever works for you, but why are you sharing that with me?

My go to response is just to smile and nod. And then forget the advice just given., baby brain is really good for forgetting things like that. People mean well, they truly do. Yes, the advice that they share isn't the best advice and doesn't really pertain to what you're going through, or the advice might just be ancient and old news, but in their ignorance they really do mean well.

What are some opinions and advice that you've been given?

Like A Morning Cup of Coffee The Not Quite Military Wife

From Here To Eternity Words About Waverly

Pardon My French Beautiful Family Affairs

My Delicious Adventure The Life Of Faith

Running From The Law The Olive Tree

May 8: Taming the Temper Tantrums

May 15: Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk

May 22: Dealing with Mommy Guilt

May 29: When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it

June 5: Traveling with your Toddler

June 12: How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all

June 19: How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood

June 26: Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)

An InLinkz Link-up

27 May 2014

Without music, life would be a mistake. - Friedrich Nietzsche

I always knew that I would play music for my littles when they were in my belly. It worked out well when I was pregnant with Bug. I spent most of my day in a little office tucked away in the back of the counselor's suite at my school where I was alone most of the time. I hate silence. I like lots of noise and work better with lots of noise. So to help the day seem not so lonely, I listened to Pandora. I would go back and forth between different playlists: Disney, Mumford and Sons, Jack Johnson, and Tyrone Wells. Sometimes I would throw in some Backstreet Boys and N*Sync just to liven things up.

As I was listening to these songs, I was avidly listening to one that would become "Bug's song." Listening to Tyrone Wells one day in my little office, when his song "Beautiful World Beautiful Girl" came on. Immediately I knew this had to be her song. Something with the lyrics just made sense. So from that moment on, every night we would play this song for her and let her listen to it.

It's amazing what music does for her now, and specifically, that song. She was less than a day old and we were still in the hospital and she was extremely fussy. The nurse was trying to do the hearing test and she just wasn't having it. Nothing would soothe her. So what did I have the hubs do? I told him to play the song and let her hear it. Within the first measure of the music, she calmed down. It was amazing what one simple song could do for her. It was as if she knew that everything was going to be okay because she knew that song and it was familiar to her.

Still today, if she's extremely upset and won't calm down, I'll play that song for her and it'll soothe her like nothing else will. It's amazing.

Now, we've got another on the way and I knew that I wanted to do the same with him. I wanted him to have his own song to love and be comforted by. I always joke that he's gonna love the songs from Frozen the best. "Let it Go" will be his "go to" song. That wasn't going to happen. So I went to my go to guys: Tyrone, Jack, James...that whole crew. It's much more difficult to find a song for a boy than for a girl. Bug's song just came to us, I had to look for little guy's. But I finally stumbled upon the perfect song for him. Like with Bug's song, it just fit. It felt right.

I'm hoping this'll have the same effect on little guy as it did with Bug. It's also the song that I hope to play right after he is born. I hope that it'll help ease his transition into the world (does that sound as cheesy as I think it does, oh well).

If you are pregnant, or planning on getting pregnant, I highly recommend finding a song for your little one. If you already have a little one, did you have a specific song that you would play for them before they were born?

25 May 2014

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 had some awesome links last week as usual.

The top viewed link this week belongs to Casey and Alexis from This Crazy Cass Life and her post Panick Attack 1: Being A Mom Is Hard! I'm not surprised that this was the top viewed post, after all! We all know that seasons of motherhood are especially hard and it's always nice to read about someone else's fears and struggles along the way. Thanks for sharing Alexis!

The Life Of Faith

The Not Quite Military Wife

Beautiful Family Affairs,

Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends!

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/mommymoments" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank">http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/cfa5ba11752f4e898055d03d33cf24e0.jpg

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!

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up