Feeling blah..

So here we are again- Sunday night. It doesn't have the same feeling as it used to.. the dread of a new work/school week. Usually not really because it was so awful, but just because the weekends are just great and relaxing! Yesterday I was in a grumpy mood. I was trying out my new skill of not complaining ( thanks to my Bible study..) so therefore I was very quiet for most of the day. Kinda like the old adage "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." It was gray and rainy out, so that didn't help my mood. Everything I thought of to do entailed money and/or going outside. I was just weighed down with the stress of being couped up and with Bella 24/7. So, I pretty much just laid around most of the day. I was a little frustrated thinking about my younger sisters. They were both having great weekends! See- that's the problem when you compare your circumstances with others! I knew that I should have been focusing on the great things that I have now. Jacob pointed out that when we got married we had some exciting times like they are having now. It all comes around. One sister got married in August, the other one is getting married this coming June. Poor Jacob, he tried his hardest to cheer me up. I was just in a mood! I didn't even know exactly what I wanted. I think that was biggest part of the problem. If there was really something I wanted to do or something that was bothering me, I could have found a way to try and fix it.

I started to listen to a fiction book on cd. So far I'm in the middle of the 3rd cd out of 18. I can listen while I'm playing with Isabella or cleaning and doing random things around the house. I try to make sure the TV is not on the whole day, but it gets too quiet around here otherwise. Finally it was time to go to church. Singing worship songs and the sermon turned my mood up. Jacob made dinner and I got Bella ready for bed. Then we had nice night together. We watched a movie and then played Scrabble. Sounds quiet and boring, but after my day- it was fun! It was a mini date night at home. Sooner or later, I'd like one out too!

Today was much better. This morning, we went to a class on understanding scripture at church. The weather had cleared up by the time we got out of church. It was a little cooler today. It's really starting to look like fall now. I love it! I went to do some errands. I decided that I am going to make some hoodie towels for gifts (Isabella included!). I hate to say it because I feel kinda shallow- but going to the store and buying some stuff made me feel better. We've had a good day at home. I made some homemade cinnamon rolls. We had fun playing with Isabella. She has been a little fussy lately. It doesn't help that she is getting ready to walk, so she is constantly bumping her head into something- usually the coffee table!:( She has a little walker that she pushes around. It's so cute. She's not completely independent with it yet. She's doing pretty well for just shy of 9 months though. All in all a pretty good weekend. Sorry, this is a boring blog post! To make up for it, I'll put a little video of my darling practicing walking:)

Counting my blessings

I am enjoying a quiet weekend that is sadly coming to an end. Most of my days have been very quiet around here (with of course the intermittent screaming or crying from Isabella..). I feel like my life is so wrapped up in taking care of Isabella that I have slowly given up on me. I have noticed this lately and am trying to do something about this fact. I want to use my time wisely and count my blessings. One of them I guess I have now is time. Since I have time, now I can read, volunteer, spend time with God and of course enjoy watching Isabella grow and change everyday!

I started going to a women's Bible study on Thursday mornings. I love it so far! I love the time with adults for 2 whole hours. Isabella goes to childcare. I love the study- it's called "Lord, Change my Attitude" and that in a way it "forces" me to make some time for me and God. I have tried to do devotions on my own- it doesn't work out too well for me. So this way, I have the "student" mentality and I have to get my homework done. Accountability is a good thing.

I have been able to get more reading for fun in. Today I finished my Karen Kingsbury book. This one wasn't as good as her's usually are. Tomorrow I'll go to the library and find another..

I am half heartedly looking for a part time job, but one that I can either take Bella with me or not be away too long- which is a tall order! Therefore, there's not much. I was looking into possibly nannying. It's hard to believe but I miss teaching. The reason why I say "hard to believe" is because when I was teaching, there were many days that I was ready to pull my hair out and days that I longed for quiet time. I miss getting out and feeling helpful and interacting with more people on a daily basis. To foster a little of my "teacher-ness", Jacob and I are volunteering to teach the Kindergarten class at church next month. Now I have time that I can use my interests and abilities to help find additions for the kindergarten curriculum already in place with our children's ministry.

I've been feeling more crafty lately, but unfortunately it's only in my head and nothing is getting done quite yet! I dream of these cute ideas and opening up an etsy page. But that takes some inventory of many crafty items- of which I have to make! ( and purchase supplies..) I might get ambitious and make Bella a hooded towel. I've found some directions online. I really like the ones with animal heads on them. A baby or small child is the absolute cutest thing when dressed up like any animal! I haven't found directions for that yet though..

My mind going a little numb hanging out with an 8 month old all day. Jacob and I do have some devotional time together alternating between 2 different books or the Bible. We get a few good thoughts and conversation about those. One book we are reading is about making traditions in your family. We are striving to make a meaningful, Christ centered life for our family. We want our children to know the love that we have for them and to know the love of our savior, Jesus. We want to make everyday and holidays special in our home. The little things are the things that I cherish the most about my childhood. The other book we are reading is about having a strong Christian marriage. We haven't been married that long but we realize that it is a gift. We want to build it up on a strong foundation.

Random thoughts

Well I'm certainly not bored anymore! I have been going all day today and yesterday. I am in the middle of about four different projects. I'm trying to finish curtains for Bella's room, finish laundry, cook dinner and clean out the closet! All this while Isabella is getting a painful tooth up on top. So I've had to take some breaks just to cuddle. When this tooth comes in, I think she'll look like a Jack O'lantern;) Speaking of Jack O'lanterns and halloween, that has been an on going debate for Jacob and I the last few days. I'm for halloween in moderation- no scary things! Jacob doesn't see the point of celebrating a 'non-holiday'. We have been making some thoughtful decisions about how our family will celebrate upcoming holidays. We have found many Christ centered ideas to make part of our traditions. Maybe around Christmas time I'll tell you more about them, and how they are going. Actually I probably won't know tell Isabella is like 6 and we see if she is excited about doing these traditions..What are your thoughts about halloween and how to celebrate holidays in a Christian focused way?

Now it is Thursday- I was too busy on Tuesday to even finish this post! The weather this whole week has been absolutely perfect! Sunny but not too hot. Bella was a disaster this morning. Screaming and bumping her head in to everything! I was trying to get ready. I thought it would take me about 10 min. I should have known by now that everything takes longer. At one point Isabella was eating tissues out of the garbage! Lovely! I thought I was being good by bringing her in the bathroom with me while I put on my 3 min. worth of makeup. I almost gave up on going out at all. After we got there (she fell asleep on the way) then she was in a great mood. So I finally got to playgroup, it was at a nice park. Bella was walking around holding a short bench and had fun in the swing. Now she's sleeping again. I'm trying to be productive while she is napping. So far I got the prep work for dinner done and I'm in the middle of making some baby food. Tomorrow we are going out of town for a bridal shower that I am throwing for a good friend. I'm looking forward to that and most importantly seeing parts of my family!

This has been a fast week. Very busy and productive. I love it! But it also makes me sleepy! Speaking of sleeping.. this is kinda weird- last night I found 4 straight pins in my bed! Thankfully I didn't get stabbed with any of them. How did they get under the covers?! I cleaned out my sewing box on Tuesday when I was finishing the closet. But that was on top of the covers. Oh yeah, when I cleaned out my closet I made a box of stuff to try and sell. So far I've made $15. Doesn't sound like much, but I'm pretty excited. Little things like that, I see God in. We normally budget just enough for gas for Jacob to go to work and me once a month for errands. Since we are going out of town that $15 will get us half a tank of gas. That's what we need to get there. I think I might put a couple other things on craigslist and see what happens. Ok, I think that's enough random rambling for now.