productivity

This week, my first week as a stay-at-home-mom, has been one of the most productive weeks. of my life. Seriously, let's take a look:
(not listed in order of importance)

1 Obviously you in the blogging world have had some attention. Although most people would say that time on the computer is not always productive, I'm glad to be able to have some time (albeit a little too much time) to spend doing computer-y things I love: blogging, pinteresting, facebooking. You can't honestly be mad that I'm back. Or maybe you can.

2 I have gotten to cuddle, tickle, kiss, hug, kiss, smooch, poke, kiss, touch, SOAK IN my baby... in ways that I was never able to before. Before I returned to work she was still a little too young to really be playful and enjoy my presence, and once I was at work, I barely had time to get 2 words in with her. But now, oh now, I am overwhelmed at the possibilities of time we have together. I could just talk to her for eternity and be completely smitten. [However, I really do want her to keep her ability to play by herself on the floor, so I have to remember to put her down and leave her alone every once in a while.]

3 I have spent time with God. Honestly, this was lacking. a lot. I kept on making excuses about how busy I was with work and the demands of home. And probably a lot of it was true, because I was seriously busy, but no excuse is good enough. And I have loved being refreshed with time in prayer and time in the Bible this week. I can feel myself getting closer to the heart of God. I am so, very thankful for the opportunity to sit in silence (when Nora decides to nap) and meet God in my very home. It. feels. great.

4 I ran three days this week. Before this week, I had only ran once since Nora was born. Running wasn't easy this week, but it was really good. I was in so much pain for a lot of it [obviously my lungs didn't get the memo that they should be able to last more than half a mile] but afterward, when I took my cold shower and stretched out, I knew I was doing something awesome with my body. I am so excited to be able to get back into running. (And thankfully, Nora doesn't mind the jogging stroller... one day she even slept for half of the run.)

5 Remember those cloth diapers I started back in... July 2011? Yeah, it's almost July 2012. But guess what: yesterday I finally finished them. A set of 20 cloth diapers are done (praise the Lord) and ready to be washed today...and if they dry overnight, worn tomorrow. Our baby is going to be a convert!

6 There has been so much "housework" that I'm sure I was able to get to before when I was working, but I can actually feel like I have a handle on it now. I got ahead in bill paying, wrote a letter to my grandma (a little late on that one), crossed off many of the eventually-to-do list items (that had been piling up over the past month or so), and am going to get a new laundry/cleaning schedule started today that will have me doing little things everyday (rather than one Saturday a month I do absolutely every chore in the house and hate myself afterward for letting it get that bad.)

If you couldn't tell, I am overjoyed to be at home. Even if it was just for this one week, I would be thoroughly satisfied to enter back into the working world. But I have the blessing, as I wait for a teaching job to find me this fall, to stay where I am and live fully in this moment, in this house, with my beautiful daughter. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. (Although, wouldn't it be just grand if Mr. Allen could be home with us all day too? :])

planes, trains, and automobiles

I've tried them all: planes, trains, and automobiles. I've even tried a boat and bicycle here and there. But yesterday, as I was riding the train to Michigan from Chicago, I realized how much more I prefer the train.

If I could, I would turn this into a large three-element Venn diagram (see there is a teacher in me deep down inside even though she's been deprived of her real capabilties for a while now) and really show you what I mean. But I'm not that worried about you figuring it out, nor do I want to spend the time designing that Venn diagram, so here it is in words.

Trains: ...go fast. (Planes and automobiles do this too.)
Trains: ...don't have seatbelt lights/rules. Shoot, they don't even have seatbelts. Getting up and walking around is ... awesome, and it's more than necessary when pregnant (especially when the doctor told you this week you shouldn't be traveling anymore since you're over 34 weeks. Whoops.)
Trains: ...have outlet plugs. (Some automobiles do, and I'm sure there are planes that do, but I've never experienced them.) This feature saves me big time: Cell phone dead (because I played to many games on it out of boredom)? No problem - plug it in. Want to watch a movie on your laptop and not waste away your battery? Plug it in. Have crazy-bad back pain because of a wee-little one in your stomach (or in your life)? Plug in that heatpad and soak in the goodness of relief.
Trains: ...have a food cart. Yesterday was the first time I think I have ever not taken advantage of this feature. Sure, I know that all the food and drinks are overpriced (and frozen to warm in about 30 seconds), but how convinient are they to be ready at the drop of a hat, not slowing down your trip to stop and pick something up, and there's no need to pack extra snacks for the ride.
Trains: ...are not dependent on the weather nearly as much as the other two. Snow does not stop the train from traveling fast (cars can't say the same) or landing safely (planes are guilty here). I'm sure there are times when the train suffers from the woes of bad weather, but I know that it is my go-to method of getting home if the weather turns a little iffy.

All this being said, put me on the train every time. Please. I love being able to have a relaxing ride to wherever I'm headed. And when Amtrak gets wi-fi, trains might compete with heaven. What could be better?

Oh yeah, having possession of Hermoine's Time Turner might be nice to just go appear in places. Maybe someday I will really master the art of Harry Potter-ness, but I'm still struggling with Lumos when I'm laying in bed late at night. Our pesty apartment light just doesn't know the spell.

when the dog bites, when the bee stings.

...because earlier this week, the bees stung and the dog bit. And sometimes, I just need to look past ignore completely those bludgers [Harry Potter reference] and think of the goods things in life.

[when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad.]

Nieces and nephews that squirm and smile,
Going home when it's been a while.
Christmas tree lit, the house all a-glow,
Snowflakes falling when there's no where to go.

A little baby girl waiting to arrive,
Her kicks and punches and nose dives.
Getting little-Christmas-somethings for the people I adore,
A yummy cookie, or two, or three, or four.

still counting.

I haven't just written in a while, so I thought I would take some time today... and just write what's on my heart.

Can you believe that just 2 weeks ago we were celebrating thanksgiving? I was between 2 houses in 2 different cities within a matter of a few hours, which meant lots of food and lots of family. Now those 2 weeks have passed, and are you still counting your blessings? I sure am.

I mentioned just over a month ago that I was losing my job. It was a tough spot to be in. But only s month later, and I'm working for a new family in a completely different part of town, with a little baby that is nothing like Henry. And I am thankful. Adjusting to the new job, new commute, and new work environment is a little hard, but I am so thankful for what God provided so quickly.

One benefit of this new job is that I get every other Monday off. This Monday was my first, and I got to spend it shopping all day with my mom. She drove into the city just so week could keep our yearly shopping-extravaganza tradition going. And how much I love a day with her. As much as I want to be an independent woman, I love to run back to my mom and tell her about everything and laugh with her about nothing. I am thankful for my Monday off, but more so for a chance to refresh the relationship with my mom.

In other news, I am so ready for Christmas to arrive. I am loving al the advent activities that give me a little bit of Christmas each day, but as I stare at the presents under the tree and think about family back in Michigan (and other parts of the country) I get so eager for days in the 20s of December... It will be time to celebrate soon! :) 17 days until the 25th!

In other news, this baby bump (which I promise I will show you all again soon... maybe featured with some second ultrasound pictures :]) is growing and growing, and as far as I can tell it is huge. Yet, I get these comments from people, when they ask how far along I am (almost 6 months), saying how small I look. Yes, our baby is tiny; at least that's what we've been told. But my question is, if this is small, and I'm supposed to look like a complete whale... am I supposed to just live in whale form for the next 3 months o my life?! Are you kidding me? So, I will be thankful for my "small" size stomach. [I can't even see my feet, people, I am not small. ... and yet, I'm sure I will regret thinking I am big now in a few months when I can't fit through doorways.]

with peace (in a time in my life that peace isn't simple.)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for TOMS' Blake Mycoskie's book! It ends the 11th, and entries are low.

not the only one.

I really need to be more diligent about posting twice a week. I have so many post ideas bouncing around in my head that I lose one before I have even fully thought through the next. But good news, I think you all might be getting lucky this weekend with another one. :]

A spill of some of these aforementioned ideas...
(Does Baby feed off of my brain too? If so, I'm so sorry, Cubbie, for this overload of thoughts going seemingly non-stop lately, especially when we just want to sleep.)

Sometimes I just want to sloooow down life. I mean, there are moments that are so sweet, so beautiful that, at normal speed, I just don't get to grasp a hold of for long enough. Example: I absolutely love the few minutes before bed when Mr. Allen and I laugh and pray and talk and share our souls and I think that maybe we shouldn't go to sleep so soon after all, because it's just that good (even though we are so, completely beat from the day.) I want to slow those down. I want to cuddle and giggle and talk... for not just moments, but for hours (the ones that don't drag on.) Or another example: Henry gets really cute sometimes (all the time) and there are these rare occasions when he's so cuddly (this boy does not like to cuddle - what baby is like that!?!) I so want to slow these down. I want to fully live in that moment when he wants to be snuggled next to me. Oh, how wonderful that boy can be. (I'll forgive him for all these crawling-balancing-toppling over-crazy moments he's been throwing my way lately.)

Let me get one thing straight -- I don't want to freeze frame these moments. No. I want to enjoy them in such a way that I can truly "suck all the marrow" out of them.

I know I can't be the only one that think life moves too fast sometimes.

This morning, as I headed out the door for work, I stopped by the mailboxes to find my Lulu Wrap package. It was like Christmas! Better yet, Elle sent a handwritten thank-you-card for the entry to the giveaway (lack of purchase I could call it.) Is it so bad that I might want to keep this card forever? Is it so bad that I wish we were real friends? Is it bad that I hope that, because I will carry Cubbie in a Lulu Wrap, he/she will turn out just as cute and wonderful as Elle's beauties? Is it so bad that I want to be just like idolize her?

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one stuck in this weird-transitional-lacking-a-best-friend-and-need-to-act-like-I-have-some-slump that I can currently be found in. (My small group tries to tell me it's "normal." All I know is that it's not normal for me. And I'm about done being normal if it is.)

Let's talk about Sundays. They are usually my favorite day of the week (depending on how stressful or completely uneventful my Saturday was, because I'm not a fan of either.) Sundays are beautiful: a day set aside to gather together in community, worship our Lord, and be reminded of truths. Sunday afternoons are almost that good too: crafting hour, light reading, mysterious bowl of snick-snacks, long naptimes, walk in the park... Yes, I could live in a world of Sunday afternoons.

But then there is this utterly awful stigma that Sunday afternoons brings with it -- Monday. No matter how hard I try to ignore the ugly, gray rain cloud hanging over Sundays, sometime midafternoon it hits me, and no longer can I fully enjoy that Sunday-bliss feeling. I'm caught in angst and dread as I think about getting back into the real world when the morning comes. No longer am I free to bask in the sunshine coming through the large front window (a favorite pastime from growing up at my parents' house,) because now I have to think about a to-do list and a what-I-hate-about-Mondays list. And no one wants to be stuck there.

Am I the only one who can't shake off that shadow Monday casts upon Sundays?

Alright, we'll cover Mondays real quick too, because now I feel bad for all the awfulness I've thought about them. Mondays can't help themselves really. They don't want to be there any more than most of the world want them to be. I bet, if you asked, they would gladly change places with Friday. So here's my pitch - let's change our Monday attitudes. (Obviously I need to do so. I'm guess you do too.) I can often be found celebrating Fridays. My way of celebrating: a Starbucks in hand with a cute dress upon my body to "get me to the weekend." And it helps. Boy, it sure helps. What if I celebrated Mondays instead? What if I decided to spend the beginning of the week primping myself in hopes of a week well-welcomed? Here's the deal - I will do it this coming Monday, then I'll report back and see how it affects my day and then again how it affects my week. Want to join? We'll call it Occupy Monday. We'll sit and make up stats like "1% of people enjoy Mondays." It's going to be a revolution. (Sorry, it's so simple to pull a quick Occupy joke lately.)

I might be the only one crazy enough to start trying to enjoy Mondays.

Well, those are the thoughts for now. I'm sure there are more, but I'll leave you to these few to mull over and decide if I'm the "odd woman out."

I wrote this post this morning on my ipod (yes, I was that desperate to get a post out/find an outlet for my thought overload) and then when I tried to publish, blogger lost it. Utter disappointment. I'm glad I got it rewritten and now published. Lesson learned: no more ipod posts.

with self-control. (...well I'm working on it as I clear my head and attempt to organize my thoughts...)