All The Un-Cool Moms Are Doing It.....

It's official. I've joined "the club". You know...the one where all the lame-o mamas hang out.

I'm a mini van mom now.

oh YES. That's right. I have 1.5 kids and already I've traded in my sexy sports car (YEAH RIGHT) for the super lame, totally un-hot ride that is the mini van. Well, at least that's what everyone else may think.
But to me SPACE is sexy. Having LEG ROOM is so hot right now, don't you think? How about knowing that if you get in an accident, mama ain't gonna bite the dust because her face and the dashboard are way too close? Oh now THAT is super hot.

I have secretly wanted a mini van since the first time I had to put W in the car, then wrangle the stroller into the trunk AND somehow fit groceries in our Altima. I stared like dufus at those moms who just pull the door open, shove all the CRAP in, and breezily get into their HIGH front seat without breaking a sweat.
I didn't think it would happen so soon. But my Altima decided it hadn't yet caused us enough grief. And so we said GOODSTINKINRIDDANCE to it, and swaped it for a super sweet, parent friendly ride.

Ain't she fabulous. It's a she. ALL cars are girls, didn't you know? I think I'll name her Stella...or something chic and cute like that. Because I love her, and I want her to feel special. Who cares if the world thinks the's un-sexy and momish....in my eyes she's Heidi flipping Klum.

Check out W trying to drive the new "caaw". He even got his hands on the spare "KEIIII"..thankfully it doesn't actually START the car.

                               Trying to lock mama out so she doesn't interfere with driving plans.

                                                      I know this is where the key goes!

                                                                         And........it's in!

                                                                 But "caaw" still won't "go!"

He asks to drive every time we get in. He also particularly enjoys that we are keeping the third row seats out for now, as it gives him a place to jump around like a nut. I like that I have somewhere to confine him while I clean out the car!

DISCLAIMER: I so do not leave my kid alone in the car. That's just retarded.
(In above pics I had the side doors both wide open and the actual keys in had to keep him from locking himself in the car!)

Now stand back and marvel at my momness.

Love (Mommyhood) is a Battlefield

Yes, I'm quoting a cheesy 80's song that really has nothing to do with my post. Ok maybe it does...a little.
You see this morning, as I was sitting in church, listening to the offertory, I was thinking about the little boy who was just taken kicking and screaming out of the sanctuary. Yeah..that kid everyone looks at. Oh wait...that would be MY kid. And I was thinking about the kicking that was going on that moment INSIDE my stomach by my violent and already opinionated little girl.

And I was remembering something that my wonderful Pastor and his wife had told me recently, and how much I needed to remind myself of it, over and over, especially RIGHT NOW. 

Satan is after me. 

Whoa lady...where did THAT come from?!!?
Bear with me. I'll try to make sense of it.
You see it's easy for us ladies in general, but especially moms, and especially moms of little ones to forget the BIG picture in the everyday. Oh sure we think of our kid's 401k's, and their college applications as they sit before us pooing in their pants (lovely picture ain't it?!)...but we forget SO EASILY the REAL big picture that there is in life. The SPIRITUAL picture. What those little ones will do for the KINGDOM. What these little toddling, screaming, demanding beings will one day do to bring eternal glory to our Lord. It's easy to forget, when we're getting spaghetti thrown in our face, or changing the 5 billionth disgusting diaper blowout, that what we do right now matters SO MUCH.
We think because we're not out in the working world, or we're not reading to orphans in China, or even able to ladel soup at a homeless shelter...that we're not doing anything for God. So we don't see our struggles as mothers as being spiritually significant.
But i've heard it now, from several people, in many different ways...that RIGHT NOW Satan is trying to take me down as a mom. He is trying desperately to derail me ANY WAY HE CAN. He wants me to be a mom who looses her cool MORE than she prays for peace. He wants me to be the mom who is constantly trying to get away from my child (ren) instead of drawing them close. Because HE knows even better than I do right now how important this part of a child's life is.
What we as mommas do RIGHT NOW, with our defiant two year olds, and even our precious little non-sleeping newborns WILL affect the person they become.

WHAT?!

So that means when I've HAD IT UP TO HERE with W's constant overreaction (and we're talking jerseyshorerealhousewifesofOCscreamin'and weavepulling overreacting) to EVERYTHING, and instead of getting on my KNEES and begging God for the grace to get through this, I BLOW UP and scream back.....The devil scores one. He can't HAVE me, and he can't HAVE my babies, but he can derail ME and in turn derail what MY babies will do for Jesus.
Yikes huh?
But as I sat there thinking about this in my pew,  I was also reminded that GOD knows what Satan is up to. and HE knows even BETTER what our influence over our tiny children will ultimately do for His Kingdom. I don't know about you, but that brings tears to my eyes. Maybe it's my mushy-pregnant emotions going at full tilt, but the picture of God cheering me on as I struggle to discipline my unruly toddler, or as I throw up in the sink multiple times, because HE KNOWS what will come of this....makes me feel like i could take on the freakin' world!
HE values this battlefield I'm on more than anyone else can. He knows the people that will be reached through my children, who first learned of God's love through little, tired, stretched-out me.
I feel like I need this TATTOOED on my arm. So that when W is hitting me for asking if he'd like juice (true story!), or when my little bean of a girl is trying to give herself more space by hammering my organs, I can remember...that God sees that I am fighting. And that He wants me to fight ....for HIM.

keeping up. . .

When i decided to re-start blogging, I promised myself I would post REGULARLY. Like more than once a week. I don't want to break that promise, even though I've been stretching it already. I  did want to focus this blog towards crafty/thirfty things and I still want to do that. I have SO much I want to share with everyone. Things I've done already, things I'm working on, and stuff I dream of doing! I have this dream of one day making regular tutorials on cool crafty things that all the kids will want to make!
Right now things are just a TAD overwhelming. W thinks he IS the center of the flippin' UNIVERSE. He also thinks that since he is my only child (for NOW little boy) he should make up for the lack of other children by being as insane as several children all at ONCE. I wish i was being dramatic. OK...maybe i am a little. but AS i'm TRYING to type this he has sat on my computer and deleted the whole post once, then sat his incredibly pointy little bottom RIGHT ON MY KIDNEY, then stuck it IN MY FACE, then laid on my lap and shoved his foot repeatedly into the screen while shining a little flashlight RIGHT in my EYE. Yeah. That's the MILDEST of what he can do.
He's also not sleeping. Yeah apparently he's making up for...um nothing..he's always been a horrible sleeper. He varies between mind numbing brain imploding screaming during the night and sense dulling moaning. The moaning is when he's "happy". Right now we're putting him a in a sleep sack to keep him from climbing out of bed. I can't take any more of the little hands under the door and screaming for 3 hours!
So woe is me, i KNOW. If anyone is reading this you're thinking "Seriously, just stop WHINING girl." Sorry. But this IS my blog, and unfortunately this is the reality of my life. It's not like so unbelievably horrible. But this is why I can't muster up the motivation or energy to even take pictures of the things i've done (most of which are actually still IN PROGRESS since i can't stick with one thing for too long).

But wait it's coming. . .  . . . .