church, 1st service, where I would watch a touching slideshow honoring the moms who had babies this year (including me)
brunch at my favorite local spot, Swami’s Cafe
a walk by the beach, or if nice enough, an afternoon at the beach
a delicious dinner of rotisserie chicken (from Sprout’s), corn, CA salad, and scalloped potatoes
What really happened (the not-so-good):
Last night Brody threw up right before we left my brother’s house (an hour away from home); he slept fine all night but we opted to stay home from church anyway (plus Hallee has a cold and I have a persisting sore throat).
Hallee was up all night (or at least it felt like it). She was bothered (maybe a sore throat, too?) enough to not even nurse at times. My physical therapist urged me not to lay down and nurse her anymore though anyways because of my shoulder so the part of the night spent nursing, I spent part of the night sitting up like a zombie.
I awoke to the sound of complete meltdowns from Brody and Hallee and various complaints from Gigi.
We stayed home all day, and in fact, I am still in my pajamas at 4:25 pm.
It was foggy most of the day (May Gray and June Gloom are my nemesis).
What also really happened (the GOOD):
David made me eggs, toast and tea for breakfast. Yum.
He played with kids so I could catch up on reading blogs and updating our photos on the computer and family blog.
Kids quietly and contentedly watched Mary Poppins.
He made me lunch (tuna melts!) and we enjoyed some El Nopalito chips and salsa (THE best).
I received Parenthood Season 1 (yay!) and a beautiful art book that the kids will draw/write in every year for me (I requested this and LOVE it).
David ran to the store to get the chicken. We’re scrapping the potato dish but he’s currently putting together my favorite salad ever (see below).
Hallee caught up on sleep a bit with 2 great naps. Brody took a marathon nap and kept all his food down today!
Gigi picked me flowers from the yard and drew me odd combinations of letters and a drawing.
Two days of resting my shoulder means it actually feels better today.
Lessons (re)learned? Finding beauty in the ordinary, blessings amidst the bummers, it’s really all about perspective.
I hope Mother’s Day treated you sweetly.
Want to try out my favorite salad? It’s based on one from a restaurant I worked at in college.
Mix up these items for a delicious California Salad, courtesy of GidgetGoesHome.com.
Lettuce of your choice (red leaf is my favorite)
Sliced red onion
Generous crumbles of goat cheese
Plenty of avocado cubes
A sprinkle of chopped walnuts
{optional} strips of chicken
Top with raspberry vinaigrette (I love Trader Joe’s). Enjoy.
P.S. I took a little time today and revamped the blog a bit. If you’re in a reader, won’t you click over and take a look?
Thanks for visiting! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe by email.
In the trenches of motherhood, I often find myself craving time with the Lord. Uninterrupted, quiet, devoted time seems like such a treat, and it’s just not something I get much of these days. So any tool that helps me to soak up bits of His word throughout the day is a welcome one.
When I received this unique devotional, I set it up on my desk, right by my computer, and I love having a Bible verse and short encouragement staring back at me when I’m sittin down for a few quiet moments. Plus, it’s cute, too, so that’s a fun bonus. Read on to learn a little about the Cravings devotional and how you can help author/creator Carey Bailey celebrate its release.
About Cravings
Cravings is a collection of card-size devotionals based on the Psalms. They are written to help mothers develop their relationship with God in the midst of motherhood.
Each card contains a scripture for the day, a “thoughtlet,” and an action idea. As moms crave the sweet morsels from God’s Word, they can draw a card from a delectable Cravings holder—a pink cupcake!—that also displays the daily card for hands-free viewing. Versatile enough to fit with any feminine décor in a dining nook, a prayer closet, a kitchen–wherever you‘d want Scripture at your fingertips. If you find you need Cravings around the home, just one may not be enough!
Cravings can be a mom’s daily devotional, a supplement to her regular quiet time, or even doubled up during the day. The set of 40 cards offers over a month’s worth of Cravings in whatever way serves the spiritual needs of individual moms.
About the AuthorCarey Bailey is a recovering perfectionist, wife, proud mama and Family Life director for her church in Surprise, Ariz. On the side she loves party planning, crafting, and pursuing her dream of writing. She has a degree in religion from Westminster College and writes at her blog at www.carebaileyonline.com. “When I became a mom I lost my God time,” says Carey Bailey. “I couldn’t figure out how to fit it in, since everything but that time was a priority. So I made note cards that I set around my house with scriptures written on them. Even when my arms were too full of babies, laundry, and diapers to pick up a Bible, I could easily read God’s words of encouragement that I was starving for.” And Cravings–The Devotional was born. Celebrate with Carey by entering her Minute-for-Mom Giveaway!One grand prize winner will receive:
$50 gift card to Erin Condren Shop (Your one-stop-shop for all things awesome!)
$50 gift card to Victoria’s Secret® (For something pretty.)
$25 gift card to Bath & Body Works® (For a little spa treatment.)
2 Sets of Cravings – The Devotional (For you and a friend.)
Scentsy Plug In and 2 Bars (A lovely scent for your space.)
Hurry, the giveaway ends on 5/12/12. The winner will be announced 5/14/12 on Carey’s blog!
Just click one of the icons below to enter! Tell your friends about Carey’s giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.
Thanks to Litfuse for providing the devotional for review!
I’m working my way through a shoulder injury. It’s really hard to “rest” a shoulder when you have a nursing 10-month old and a beefy 2-year old.
That little injury has done some good though. It has enabled me to receive some amazing little (and not-so-little) gifts and glimpses of what real community looks like. (Then again, some of these gifts have nothing to do with my shoulder and everything to do with God knitting together His believers into a loving, fellowship of DO-ers of the Word.)
Gifts like a community group potluck that refreshes the tummy and the soul.
Gifts like friends who come over and pull weeds and mulch and build garden fences… when they could be working in their own yard.
Gifts like a sweet friend and neighbor who takes my kids for the afternoon and evening so I can enjoy Opening Day with my hubby (for the first time ever!).
Gifts like a friendly guy wrangling my 2-year old for me from escaping the lunch area at our community meal when I couldn’t pick him up.
Gifts like a soul sister friend vacuuming my house… while holding my baby for me. And loading my kids into car seats for me. And lifting my stroller in and out of my car for me whenever she’s around.
Gifts like my dad stopping by on a tough day just to help entertain my kids for a bit and break up a day at home for us. And picking up my CSA box for me. And bringing me yummy chips.
Gifts like my husband taking a day off in the midst of a busy week to bear a bit of the physical burden that is parenting these little ones all day. And taking the 2-year old to his yearly well visit. And grocery shopping for me. And bringing me a green tea freddo and a Peet’s gift card. (Not all on the same day, but pleasantly spaced out over the last couple of weeks).
So I’m just really grateful, and humbled. Focusing on that today (and not on the eggs I cracked on the floor and the three-hour deep cleaning visit that I had to schedule with the dentist after my cleaning this morning).
I’m so excited to announce that Simple Organic is now Simple Homemade! The new branding is such a good fit for me as editor and although we won’t be veering away from green/natural living at all, we’ll be adding more of the DIY/crafty/homemade stuff that I love.
I spoke about this a bit in the latest Simple Mom Podcast, which you can take a listen to if you want. I love podcasting with Tsh– it’s like chatting with a friend over a virtual cup of coffee, and it was especially fun to tackle some of our readers’ questions.
Those of you who’ve been around since the beginning… remember when Tsh was my blogging idol and I stared at an empty Google Reader just waiting for Simple Mom to have a new post? Sometimes it’s still hard to believe that now she’s my boss and my real-life friend. I’m still so honored to be the editor of one of her blogs.
In other news, I’m now thirty-one years old, I have tendinitis/a strained supraspinatus in my shoulder, and we’re inching forward in progress with Gigi’s attitude, thanks to this simple yet brilliant idea from my friend Julie at Joy’s Hope.
A few even more random thoughts…
I made homemade pizza dough tonight but realized I’m out of sauce and most of the toppings that I usually use. Sooooo, I’m going to have to get creative.
How do you respond when people ask how you’re doing? My answer is usually something along these lines, “Uhhh, life is crazy. Good, but totally crazy.”
Hallee is 9 1/2 months old and has slept through the night approximately 5 times. I’m a bit ready to be done with that mess.
I totally took 10 on 10 photos this month, but alas, they are still hanging out in iPhoto, so I may get them posted before the end of the month. We’ll see.
My husband is officially a blogger now. We used to have a family baseball blog, but he recently resurrected it as his own nerdy space. It’s awesome. Even though the statistics/analysis are a bit over my head, I love that he found something he’s passionate about to write about, because he’s a really good writer.
And yes, I realize the header says “fall 2011″ on it. That’s how I roll these days….
See ya around, peeps. Thanks for being here just in case I get a minute to type up a few words in this space.
I have this friend. She lives a half a country away now, although she used to be just a few minutes away.
And we were never that close when she lived here, although I’ve always admired her as a mama and been encouraged by her faith. She is the type of person that you can’t talk to without being encouraged to go deeper with the Lord.
She’s someone I think I would have grown even closer to if she had stayed here, but alas, she moved away… and now we stay in touch by reading each other’s blogs. I might even say I feel closer to her now, as she has poured out her own heart and struggles on her blog, and as I’ve gleaned from her ways in parenting, teaching, having courage and finding contentment.
Funny thing is, as she as grown as a writer and in her walk with the Lord, I find myself leaving her posts unread when I open up my Google Reader. It’s like, deep down, I know that her words will speak to me with the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
And sometimes it’s easier to sort through the reader for the eye candy and the fun and the creativity and the yumminess, and to skip the deep (which also often includes bits of all that other good stuff).
So they sit there and pile up, and then finally on a day when I feel a bit bored by everything else I’m reading online during the kids’ quiet time, I open up the folder of her blog’s posts and I take a deep breath, and I ingest them.
Slowly, carefully, with a smile on my face, I enjoy them. I miss my friend. I see her precious treasures’ smiling faces. I’m encouraged by the way she speaks truth into her kids’ lives. The way she lives out the gospel with her family.
I have other real-life friends that make me feel like this. A handful of them that I hold dearly and feel refreshed after I spend time with them.
But this one friend… she’s got this heart-laid-bare blog. And sometimes I need to see the words in front of me because I’m such a visual learner.
Reading her blog makes me want to be a better gospeler to my children. She spurs me on like friends should. I feel inspired to dig deep and focus on what matters most in our home.
And to make my blog even meaningful. The blogosphere, such a wonderful “place” in many ways, can be so distracting. I think it’s time for me to rethink things a bit around here.
I’m a few days late in posting, but here are my shots from February 10th… just a little glimpse into the ordinary beauty of my day. Cheating a bit here with a few collages… shhhh, don’t tell! …my new tea kettle is warming up some water for my coffee! …did a little organizing in Brody’s [...]
A friend posted this quote on Facebook that she found in her BSF Bible study on Acts. Boy did I need to read it. “Let us not pray for easier lives but for greater power to bring blessing out of every pressure and trial.” Add to that this verse in Isaiah (40:11)…. He will tend [...]
We’ve been struggling a lot with Gigi the last couple of months. Mainly through the hustle, bustle and excitement of the holidays, but even since then, we’ve been seeing some behavioral and anger issues in her that we want to start working though now, so as to hopefully prevent the development of a pattern in [...]
UPDATED 1/2/12: Visit his new Facebook page to leave messages for the family! Here is the latest update on Simon from Rena: Simon rested well through the night with stable stats. They might give him an MRI today to give them a better idea of where damage might be. Our neurosurgeon read his latest ct [...]
Just wanted to share one of my current favorite passages. On the rare morning, like this one, where after a rough night with little sleep, the babies are sleeping in {thank you, Lord}. I open my Bible and I consider reading ahead in John, the book I’m studying in CBS and at church… but then, [...]
