Mistakes.
We all make mistakes. We all have to learn from those mistakes. I have been making a huge one. Over and over again I've made the same mistake. It almost cost me big time and I'm just thankful that my family loves me enough to forgive me. That is where the changes come in... Changes. I have a lot to work on. I have a lot of praying to do & a lot of forgiveness to earn. I have made the decision to no longer be a general partner for Naturally You. I need to take this time to seek forgiveness from God & the ones that I love. I am using this time to seek Christ and to grow in my relationships. This has not been an easy decision by any means, but it is a necessary one. From now on I will be focusing 100% on my family and their needs. I will no longer be working outside of my home. It is super easy to get caught up in our wants that we neglect general needs. I will not make that mistake again.
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It's Spring!
This year has been one of those crazy whirlwind years that make you question everything you are doing and wondering how you are going to keep your sanity. This has been my first full-year homeschooling my oldest. He is 10 and this has been a huge adjustment for both of us. Charlotte Mason, A Delectable Education, Teaching From Rest, For the Children's Sake, etc have all become a part of everyday life here and we are finding our new normal. Trying to make education a lifestyle has been a struggle. I never realized how bad my sons attention span was. Seriously, that kid could tune out a nuke! We have a lot of habit training to work on. A LOT! I never realized just how much he tunes out when I'm speaking to him. Add in a newly three, "threenager" and you have the recipe for a chaotic house that would make Gandhi pull out his hair (if he had any). Even as I type this I am being climbed like a spider monkey at 12:25 am by a toddler who refuses to go to bed. My eyes are crossing and caffeine isn't helping. Lets help he decides to go to bed, SOON... In other news, this past week was Landon's third birthday. I don't know where time has gone. My little 9lb bundle of cuteness is now a big boy speaking in full sentences, fighting bad guys like he's batman, and he's pretending he is a power ranger the rest of the day. He had a blast at the park with a few friends for his "party" and he racked up on more toys to throw all over my house...SCORE! This weekend was also Easter. The boys got new helmets and Sissy (grandma) got Brycen the kayak he has been begging for since he could say the world. TeTe (other grandma) saved the day and bought a new life jacket to go with that gift. We spent the morning at Church where we celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Savior, came home and napped before going to my Aunt's house for Easter dinner with the family and egg hunting. It was an amazing day and my boys had a blast. Next weekend will be CAMPING. Since the weather is changing and things are warming up it is time to get out the dirtbikes, side by side, and camping gear. We have a great time with family and friends riding around and the kids are getting some much needed vitamin-d. We truly are blessed with a beautiful community and amazing friends. I can't wait... Everyone has struggles. If someone says that they are not struggling they are lying. We all have moments when we don't feel up to par. Moments when we feel like nothing we do is right and we are useless. If we were perfect at everything, what would be the fun in that? What life lessons would we learn? My most recent struggle is with simply being good enough. Am I a good enough mom? Am I a good enough wife? Am I a good enough Christian? Am I a good enough friend? There are many different answers to those questions that make me feel like I am failing. My son is nearly always late for school and I yell at him because he doesn't seem to "get it" when I tell him to hurry. My infant has decided that he wants to wean when he is not even a year old. I get irritated with my husband over trivial things and jump to conclusions. My house is a disaster area and it seems like every step forward is met with 4 steps back. I have more questions about my faith than I have answers. I haven't seen my best friends in person in months due to various reasons. I literally hate talking to people on the phone & don't even get me started on answering text messages. Do people really message someone back? I tend to answer the message in my head and completely forget to "send" it. I have all of these short comings and questions. I know that I have a purpose and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that purpose is. I know that God has a reason for me & I'm trying to find that reason. What is my ministry? Where is my mission field? How can I serve him? These are all questions that I struggle with & I'm trying to find the answers....
There are so many different types of cloth diapers that it could make your head spin. Gone are the days of pins, flats, and plastic pants (unless you prefer that route). Modern cloth diapering is as versitle as the day is long. There is something that will fit every budget and it can save you upwards of $2,000 from birth to potty training. Here are some of the different types of cloth diapers.. Diapers that need a cover The following diapers require a waterproof cover. They are simply the absorbent layer of the diaper. These are some of the cheaper options ranging from around $0.97-$24. Flats Like the Orange Diaper Company Bamboo Terry Square pictured above, these are the original cloth diaper. They can be made of cotton, bamboo, hemp, or any blend of the above. They are one large piece of fabric that can be folded different ways and secured on your baby using a snappi or diaper pins. They wash easily, and dry quickly. These range in price from $4.88/5 (Flour Sack Towels at Walmart...in the kitchen section) to upwards of $14, like the large size of the Orange Diaper Company. They are a great option for people who want to cloth diaper on a budget & an excellent way to recycle your cotton flannel receiving blankets. Prefolds Like Flats, prefolds are an old option in cloth diapering. They were probably what your grandparents used to diaper your parents. They are a flat piece of fabric with more absorbent layers sewed into the middle. These, too, can be fastened to your baby using pins or a snappi. They can also simply be folded and layed into the cover. They range in price from $1.50 each to $6 each. The GroVia cotton/bamboo prefold pictured below is my favorite. They are super soft, absorbent, and easy to wash & dry. Fitteds A fitted diaper looks like a diaper. It is shaped like a typical diaper and typically has snaps to hold it onto baby. You still need a waterproof cover for these diapers, but they require no folding or fasteners. They are made from natural fibers and are very absorbent. Many people use them as nighttime diapers. Fitteds run more pricy than flats or prefolds, but there is a lot more work involved in the production. You can find many work at home makers, or most well known cloth diaper brands, like GroVia, will make a fitted. They will range in price from $15 to $50 depending on the maker and material. All in One (AIO) Diapers All in One (AIO) diapers are exactly what they sound like. They are a one piece diaper that contains all of the absorbent layers with an outer waterproof layer. You change this diaper just like you would change a disposable. They are the most user friendly of all diapers that I have found. Since they are so similar to a disposable, they require the smallest learning curve. AIOs range in price from $10 to $30+ depending on the brand and materials they are made from. They can also have different closures. Some have velcro (hook & loop), some have snaps across the front, and some (like the GroVia) have side snaps. All in Two/Hybrids An All in Two (AI2) is a 2 piece diaper. It consists of an inner layer that snaps (or lays) into an outer waterproof shell. The outer shell can be used more than one time per day (unless they get poop on them) cutting down on diaper laundry. The Hybrid option comes in because they have a disposable option. GroVia, Flips, and gDiapers are the most popular brands that come to mind. They are typicially less expensive than an AIO but slightly more than prefolds or flats. Another plus of an AI2 is that you can use it as a cover for your cheap flats & prefolds cutting down on the overall cost of cloth diapering. You also won't need as many covers as absorbent layers. Pocket Diapers Pocket Diapers are a 2-piece system. They consist of a waterproof outer layer lined with a stay-dry (microfleece or suedecloth) material that has an opening at one end. You stuff an absorbent layer into the opening to make the full diaper. You can stuff the pocket with anything from a microfiber insert, to a folded flour sack towel. They are easy to customize the absorbency and range from $5 to upwards of $30 depending on the brand and inserts you use. Wool Wool!!!!!! (I had to overstate my excitement about this) I love wool, LOVE it. It is natures answer to a diaper cover. Wool is warm, it is cool, it is perfect. A wool cover, properly lanolized, can last up to a month without washing it! They are soft, cute, breathable, and very water resistant. Pair a wool cover with your flats, prefolds, or fitteds, and you are almost garanteed a leak-proof diaper. Wool is expensive, but it is something that 1) you dont need many of, and 2) will hold resale value very well. I use wool all the time and I absolutely love it. There you have it! This is a general overview of the most popular types of cloth diapers. Next, I will be posting about the different cloth diaper acessories & what I feel is necessary & what is a luxury. This post contains links. I am not compensated for providing these links. These products are simply products that I believe in and want to share with everyone. I cloth diaper. I LOVE my diapers & washing them doesn't bother me in the slightest. The thing that does kinda get on my nerves is that my amazingly awesome diapers take 2 cycles in my dryer to dry. The weather has sucked this year & rainy days has made it nearly impossible to hang my lovely fluff on the line. I started looking around at my options & realized that I already had my solution--RECEIVING BLANKETS!! That's right, using receiving blankets as flat diapers. They are one later of fabric & they wash & dry super easy. I started looking up the different folds online & I AM HOOKED! Receiving blankets & $0.98 flour sack towels might be the answer to all of my problems. I simply fold one, put it on baby, add a cute wool cover (or an awesome GroVia Hybrid Shell) and we are set for a few hours. I can even use 2 flats & The baby man slept for 10 hours without a single leak!!! How awesome is that?? He isn't nursing as often through the night, and now I don't have to change his diaper at random times, YAY FOR SLEEP. I can't tell you about this amazing discovery without showing you the awesomeness, so you are welcome..... Here we go.... It is the first week of July and I am thinking, HOMESCHOOL. Yep, I have decided that I definitely want to homeschool my oldest son, Brycen, for the upcoming year. I have given myself a short-term goal of Christmas Vacation (public school) to see how he likes it and how he responds. If he decides not to listen, or if I feel like I am hindering his education in some way, I will re-enroll him into public school 2nd grade. I know that people are going to think I am insane, I am going to get flack from well-meaning family members, and I am going to have my work cut out for me, BUT I feel like this is best for him. I have an incredibly smart/funny/entergetic/crazy/wacky little firecracker of a boy & he is B-O-R-E-D with the traditional education model. He wants to explore and be an active learner...I want to facilitate that for him. Brycen is a Tiger Cub and LOVES Cub Scouts, so I decided, why not work in the requirements for his merit badges into his school work? I am currently writing our first ever unit study that will help him earn his Geology, Geography, & Map&Compass beltloops. *Fingers Crossed* it will take us about 2 weeks to do the book work and then we get to take a weekend hike as a family, with him navigating. Now, I say this is going to take 2 weeks, but it could turn into something MUCH bigger. After he is finished with this overview unit, we will see where he wants to go, does he want to do a more in-depth study of rocks, landforms, cartography? Does he want to move on to something else & go more in depth with it? What does his little 7.5 year old mind want to explore? We shall see. Wish us luck. ....off to the library We went to the public library and ^^THIS was our haul. I do believe that we got every book on rocks and landforms that was available in the kids non-fiction section. I have one week to finish getting this unit together. I am starting class on July 9! I better get busy. I have one excited little boy to teach. I am still on cloud 9. Riding that oxytocin wave that only comes after giving birth to a precious little miracle. I don't want to forget a minute of this amazing experience, so I figured I better get started writing this story now. On April 13, 2014 at 5:00 am my husband was leaving for work. I was feeling a little crampy, but I didn't think anything about it and went back to sleep. Just a couple of minutes later, I felt my first contraction in weeks. I timed it & started timing the others that followed. My midwife lives 3 hours away & I wanted to make sure this was the real thing before I woke her up at 5am. After a couple of contractions (about 5 minutes apart) I decided to get in the bath. These were nothing like the braxton hicks I had been feeling over the past few weeks, they were really strong and uncomfortable. I timed them for another hour or so in the tub until I just couldn't handle the feeling of the water anymore. They were constistently 5 minutes apart. I decided that it was time to call my Midwife, Jo. I woke her up & sent her an email of my contraction history & she was on her way. This was it! I then called my amazing doula (& best friend), Cristin, to give her a heads up...she has 3 little ones that she had to arrange care for. Cristin beat Jo to the house so we decidec to take a little walk, it felt better to walk through the contractions. Our little walk turned into a mile to & from my mother-in-laws house. By the time we got there, my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and lasting a minute each. We hurried back home (as fast as I could manage to). By the time we got back to my house, Jo had arrived. She was sitting on the couch starting my labor chart. She said the contractions were definitely real labor, but that I was still not in active labor just yet. I decided to sit on my ball for a little while and see if we could get things going a little quicker. I sat there for a couple of hours and then was so uncomfortable I needed to move to the bath. In the tub, the water felt amazing! The warmth was just enough to take all of the pressure off of my tailbone & help me to focus.......at first. After a while, I couldn't take the heat anymore and had to get out. I moved to my bed & my body was in transition. Jo checked my cervix and it was only 6 cm. I was progressing---it was not. After a few contractions in my bed, my water broke. It flooded my bed & my doula's hand. Things really got intense from there, but I was still not dilating. Jo decided to manually dilate my cervix with contractions because my body was telling me to push & it was all I could do to fight that urge. I screamed, scared my poor husband, and asked Jo to kill me. It was HARD! I started questioning my sanity & literally begged for a nap in between sobs for over an hour. After fighting the urge to push and attempting to blow through the contractions for almost 2 hours (with the help of a little oxygen for the anxiety) it really was time to push. My little Landon was exhausted & his heart rate started dropping----LOW. I was pushing constantly (even when I wasn't having contractions) to get him out, quickly. His head was born and he stopped. He was STUCK and stuck good. I immediately was ordered to flip over on to my hands and knees so that my midwife could work to free his shoulders. It took almost 3 minutes to happen. I was scared to death when he came out, I knew exactly what was going on when she told me to turn over, I knew that meant that he was having a hard time. When he was born, he was immediately screaming, what a welcomed sound of relief. She laid him on my chest and waited for his cord to stop pulsing. I couldn't believe how perfect he was, bruised but perfect. I got to hold him for a little while & then Jo took him to the foot of the bed to do his newborn assessment. We were all shocked. We expected a 6-7 lb baby and he surprised us all by weighing 8 lbs 14 ozs (the scale said 9 pounds but it had to be adjusted for the weight of the sling baby was laying in). He was a little bruised from all of the excitement & he was definitely tired, but he was PERFECT & healthy. The fun wasn't over there, I had a mild hemorrage that was easily managed and stopped quickly. It was just enough to make me lightheaded. After everything was said and done, and big brother got to hold his baby brother, baby and I decided it was nap time. FINALLY, I got my nap that I had been begging for, for the past 3 hours. Everything is still so fresh in my mind, I am replaying every detail from my doula's Harry Potter ringtone (which she said I would remember forever & she is right...because it is awesome), to the immediate urgency to get him earthside, safely & quickly. I will cherish every precious, perfect moment of bringing this baby into the world. I know I couldn't have done it without my amazing birth team & my solid rock--my husband. He held me through all of the rough patches when I just *knew* that I couldn't do it anymore. They were all perfect & they made Landon's arrival perfect. We are blessed! A very special thank you to Carolina Weatherford for taking the amazing pictures. <3 To Cristin Stanley-Potter for being the most amazing doula and helping me keep my sanity. To Jo Davis for being, well just amazing, there are no words to describe this awesome midwife. To Carmel for driving so far to help out & helping with my post-natal care. To my amazing rock of a husband for being everything I needed you to be & then some. Most importantly, to God, for allowing the birth of my son to be safe & healing. It had some scary moments, but I know that everything is just as perfect as it should be, because of you watching over it. Thank you all, I will never forget you! I am super new at this blogging thing....I am not very good at it, and I keep forgetting to post. Things have been very rocky the past couple of weeks, but I am definitely keeping my faith. I know that no matter what gets thrown my way, as long as I lean on my creator, he will help me through anything. I never thought for one second in my life that I would be this calm in the face of adversity. It will all come together and it will all be okay. I am confident in that. On to a more positive note, I am 25 weeks pregnant, today! In just a few short months, I will be welcoming a new little blessing into my family. Words cannot describe how that feels. Knowing that I have been entrusted with the caring of a new human life is absolutely amazing. It is an astonishing blessing. I am a simple girl from a simple place. I live in Eastern Kentucky and have my entire life. I am surrounded by mountains and everything is peaceful (for the most part). I am a working mom (48+ hours a week) and I own my own business...which you can visit, here. Things around here get really hectic & in the mishmash of everything, I feel like I am losing part of who I am. I am very secure in my faith and I hold strong to my beliefs, but that is just about the only thing I am sure of.
I have a very active soon-to-be 7 year old little guy who I struggle with from time to time. He is headstrong and stubborn. I try to be gentle with him as I know he is growing and learning everyday. There are times that his rambunctiousness is EXTREMELY difficult & I find myself losing my temper with him. I yell at my precious child & he doesn't understand why. I am trying my hardest to make it a point to have conversations with him about why his good behavior is important & how his life will be impacted by the choices he makes. I try to help him to become a Godly Man and show him God's grace and love through my actions. How can I do this if I am yelling? God doesn't yell at us. He is gentle with our mistakes and covers us in his grace. I find myself getting short with him very frequently & want someone to help hold me accountable for that. I think by blogging my frustrations & reading my shortcomings, I can become a better parent & person. I want to do the best I can for my little guy & for my future little guy. Children are a blessing and in the spring when we welcome our newest little blessing, I want to make sure everything is just perfect. I want to make sure my sons have the best possible experience with me as their mother and that they always feel blessed and loved. I want them to know that they can count on me for anything. That is where this blog comes in....I want to post my struggles so that I might get help with becoming more gentle, more graceful, and more of the mother that I feel God wants me to be. I want to be slow to anger and quick to love. There are also some other areas I need help with. Being a busy mom, my house is NEVER clean and organized. I need this to change. I want my home to be a haven for my family & right now our "stuff" is taking over our lives. I need to become more organized & I honestly am lost at where to start. I am also struggling with food. I am an incredibly picky eater & I don't try new things very often. I want this to change. The health of my family is super important to me and we all need to start eating cleaner. I try to purchase mostly organic foods (which is incredibly hard in my area) and shopping with a budget is even more difficult (at least it is for me). I want to be a meal planner. I want to eat better & spend less money doing so. I want to try to eliminate the processed-chemical-filled junk that lines my cupboards. I have so many plans for this little space & I hope I can make myself a better parent & person by having this place to help keep me accountable. |
AuthorAmber Varney is a mother from Eastern Kentucky. She is co-owner of a natural products store. She is the wife of Scott and the mother of two amazing boys, Brycen & Landon. Archives
April 2017
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