Turning to the bible!

It seems like in times of trial or need I always come back to writing, or blogging rather. Why have I not been like that with the bible? 
I have always felt that getting my thoughts out on to "paper" helps to calm my mind. But since I have recently started bible study I thought "Wait, go read the bible!" (I have always been a Christian but haven't always been active in going to church or reading the bible-that's new.) since I am new to the reading the bible part of being a Christian I don't know scripture well enough to know which book of the bible to turn to when I need Strength vs comfort ect. But what I do know is that today I was feeling lonely, weak, and sad and I just opened the bible and started reading. I read 1 John and 2 John and it had nothing to do with what was happening in my life but after I was done reading it I felt better. I am also trying to pray more and pray on my knees as Daniel did. I am not anywhere close to as committed to this as I should be - I tend to pray a lot when I am driving- but it's a start.
I have also noticed how God has perfect timing. He knows when we need a little extra. On Tuesday I was feeling pretty stressed out, I had a cranky baby, and that made me cranky and at just the moment I thought I was going to break down I got a little message from just the right person. In that moment I knew God was taking care of me! Then again today I started to get down and sad that my husband is out of town and we can't talk on the phone and I got a Facebook message from a college friend. She had no idea what I was doing, that I was down, or even that my husband is gone and her message had nothing to do with any of that but just someone to talk to about nothing was just what I needed to take my mind off things. 
As I said I recently (August) started going to bible study! I thought I was going to hate it. Being so new to studying the bible I don't know scripture and I don't know where to look things up in the bible yet I feel like it is where I am supposed to be. The people there don't judge or care that I don't know as much as they do they just treat me the same!  Only once has someone said something like "We all know the story of Daniel and the Lion'a Den from when we were little" and I was thinking this is the first I have heard of Daniel haha. But that didn't discourage me. It made me want to learn it more so that I can teach Morgan while she is young like all their parents did them! 

What is your favorite verse?

single parentling is for the birds

Hats off to the single parents. I have no idea how single parents do what they do ALL the time. My husband has been out of town for two weeks and today I had a very grumpy baby and it was very hard to handle all day as a 'single parent.' I miss him all the time but today I missed him even more. While I know his job is very important and I know I am more than capable of managing on my own I just wished he was here so bad today. I wanted his support, I wanted his love, I wanted his help, but most of all I wanted his hugs. He did send 1 voice mail and 1 video for each of us! I play them multiple times a day for Morgan and watch her smile so big when she hears her daddy! We have been working on Da Da Da Da with no luck. I am trying to get her to say it before he comes home so she can say it to him right away. Yesterday our conversation went like this:
Mama "Da"
Morgan "Goo"
Mama "Da"
Morgan "Waa"
Mama "Da"
Morgan "ah ooh" 
haha It's silly and I love it!
2 weeks down, 3 to go! 


Okay enough of the downer talk...

Amidst all the grumpyness Morgan had tonight I tried to put on a set of Jamberry nail wraps. This doesn't work well when as of now apparently Morgan is afraid of the blow dryer (which you use to adhere the wrap to your nail)...it used to put her to sleep! I got two nails on when I realized this was not going to happen tonight. So, I took those two off and will just have to have bare nails until I can get some mama pamper time when my mom comes to visit the start of next month. Ohhh I will also be getting a massage while she is here and I couldn't be more excited. I had a sore neck since Morgan was born six months ago. I know, I know I stare down at her too much. But, how can I help it when she is so stinkin' cute!

Baby Morgan had peas for the first time today! She loved them! I think this is great because peas are my favorite! 
I read on a question board today that a pea is in the same family as a peanut because it comes in a "pod".....FALSE a pea is a lentil. Named from the lens shape of its seed. I really wish that people wouldn't post things like that online because for a few minutes I actually believed it. In my defense they did state that their doctor told them that. But, upon very little research it was clear they are wrong. 
In the process of discrediting this source I did learn that peas are high in fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, and lutein. GO PEAS! 
Hmmm, what to try next? Green beans or avocado? 3 days to figure it out!

I am also trying to get Morgan to sleep in her crib instead of in the bassinet in our room. I know 6 months is a little late to be doing this but eh that's what we decided to do. I have found we are NOT a cry it out family. I didn't like the idea of it from the start but I gave it a try for half a night and it was very clear to me that it was not going to be for us. So on the second day we started the no cry method. Instead of leaving a baby to cry you go to them when they cry and comfort them, rock them back to sleep, and then put them down again. As many times as it takes. Though it is a lot of picking up, putting down, picking up, putting down it was so much better for us. Morgan went to sleep comforted and it was no stress on me. I really didn't like the idea of her going to sleep upset, scared, frustrated, alone...whatever she was feeling couldn't have been good thoughts. 
Any tips are welcome! 

Lane

my new normal

Wash the bottles, load the dish washer, clean the kitchen, dust, clean the floor, vacuum, laundry, change diapers, feed the baby, cuddle the baby, play with the baby… this is why I never have anything to write about! But, shhh the baby is finally sleeping, the laundry is done, bottles are washed, the house is clean and the dish washer is running!

I got Morgan to sleep by 8:30 picked up, waxed my eye brows, and painted my nails by 10:00 and I feel like I accomplished some great challenge!

It’s really hard to find inspiration to write when the only thing I do is clean and take care of Morgan. I don’t know if it is just me but I feel like when Morgan was born that was the end of Laney and the start of Morgan’s Mama. I feel like I have lost myself and I need to get at least a little of me back and since  it’s a new year – YAY 2015- and I am trying to learn to make some time for myself. What great timing I have, I decide to start right when I hear the words every wife wishes they never had to hear “See you later.” This is not the first time I have heard this and it for sure won’t be the last and in the grand scheme of things 5 weeks really isn’t that long right? WRONG! To me 5 weeks feels like forever. Forever when it is the first time I have been apart from James for more than 10 days in 2 years and it’s the first time I will be alone with Morgan for that long. Let’s also not forget that my husband is my best friend and being apart from him for 5 weeks, not able to talk to him for 3 weeks is FOREVER. But that is what I have to do. That is what I agreed to when I married James. I knew going into this that his job is demanding and will take him away from me many times for varying amounts of time. What I have to remind myself often is that this is not forever. It is a blip in the course of the rest of our lives and it will only make me more independent and us stronger. Distance makes the heart grow fonder right?

So it begins 5 weeks! We are one week in and though I am not a fan this week did go by faster than I anticipated it would. I managed to say see ya later and drive away before the tears fell and while Morgan is too little to know why daddy isn’t here it is obvious that she does know. She does not, I mean DOES NOT, want to go to bed at night. I think she is trying to wait on daddy to come home. But luckily James recorded a voice mail and a video for her so I play those back to her often. I have been trying to fill up my days with things to do to keep me busy but there is only so much you can do with a tight budget and a 6 month old haha! I am lucky enough to have great friends (neighbors) that want to come over a lot and I just updated my Netflix Queue with some movies that are supposed to be really good!

Back to finding time for me- The past two days I have managed to do a little something for myself each day.

Yesterday: After Morgan went to sleep for the night I took a nice long, hot bath with a nice lavender candle burning on the side of the bath tub.

Today: After Morgan went to bed for the night I waxed my eye brows and painted my finger nails.

I am finding a theme here and it looks like me time starts when Morgan’s day ends.  I do have a massage scheduled for February 2^nd! Eeek I can’t wait for that!

I bought a Women’s Health magazine thinking I would read it and get some motivation to work out but really all I did was look at the pictures and think “How do people with babies have time to work out?” and “When did Brittany Spears get back to looking like that?” I guess I could be working out right now…hmmm

I would really like to find a Mommy and Me yoga or aerobics class. I think that would be fun for me and Morgan would love it! Add that to the growing list of things on my  to–do list

I guess my biggest challenge right now is to find balance. A balance between being Morgan’s Mama and being Laney without giving up the quality of either one.

Calling all Mamas! What do you  do to make time for yourself? Leave me a comment and let me know!

-Laney