Alayna's Adventures

I now know why some animals eat their young.  It's because they won't take a nap.   There are only two things on this earth (at the current moment) that make me angry, one is stupid drivers and the other is my son when he won't take a nap.   Being a mom is really hard and quite taxing.  I feed, change, clean up, correct, help, and love on my little ones all day from the second they wake up, and often times all night too.  Come two o'clock or three o'clock in the afternoon, I need a break.  I need to be alone for five minutes.  I need my house to be quiet.  I need everyone to stop crying.  I need to enjoy coffee or iced tea or ice cream in peace, alone.  I need to attend to my disaster of a house.  I need to not have to say, "Please be nice to your sister" or "Please put on your clothes" one more time.  I need to pee, ALONE.   My children both need naps, every single day.  My chance for aloneness....

I am mother of the year.   Yes, I'm not bashful.  I'm just letting you know.  And why am I mother of the year this time?  (Oh yes, I have deserved this award many times over, by the way.)  Let me just tell you a little Mother's Day story to help you see why I deserve this honor - yet again.   Just this week, Isaiah and I had a wonderful afternoon that included copious amounts of baby powder on the living room floor, spread around generously by my sneaky three year old while I was attempting to make dinner.   When I discovered that he had emptied 36 ounces of baby powder on the living room floor and was swimming in it, I did what any good parent of my generation would do...  I took a picture of it.  Then I followed some very small baby powder footprints up the stairs to see what my daughter had gotten into, as she was also way too quiet.  It turns out that she was emptying a package of diapers onto her floor to accompan...

It’s almost Easter.   One of my favorite parts of the Easter narrative is the story about Lazarus.   He is one interesting character.   His claim to fame may just be that he died – twice.   Crazy, I know!   There is of course a back story here, and it can be found in the Bible, in John 11.   Go ahead and read it – it’s an amazing story with quite possibly one of the most amazing miracles that Jesus performed.   I always love this miracle for what it evokes in my own life and mind.   First, let me retell the story… Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, who lives with his sisters Mary and Martha, is sick.  His sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus is sick and at death's door.  While the message is still in transit to reach Jesus who is staying a day’s travel away, (remember no email, cell phones, or carrier pigeons) Lazarus dies.  His family is in mourning.   They readied his body for burial by wrapping him in graveclothes, and they ...

So if you tuned in for my initial foray into *somewhat* extreme couponing , you may have had some of the same thoughts that I did. Why did I spend more than $3 for $75 worth of product?? Why wasn't everything free? Isn't extreme couponing getting lots of stuff I don't need, for free?!  So what did I do wrong? Well, maybe you didn't have any of those thoughts, and maybe you didn't even read my blog into *somewhat* extreme couponing .  That's okay, there's still time!  :)  But just in case you did have those questions, this is an update to share what I have learned.  In my first blog about couponing, I attempted to purchase too much.  Honestly. I spent more on my first "coupon trip" to CVS and Rite Aid than I spent in many follow up trips, and have learned a thing or two about getting some sweet deals since then.  I have decided that a few of the essential tips and tricks to couponing are as follows:   1) Get as many products as you can f...

As a blogger, I struggle sometimes wondering why anyone would ever want to read what I write.  There are so many bloggers out in the blogosphere and I don't feel as though I am as (insert adjective here) as most of them. Not as deep and poignant as this blogger, not as funny and witty as that one, not as holy and wise as that chick, and not as heartfelt and raw as that other blogger.  I'm not fishing for compliments, but, instead, letting you in on one of my biggest insecurities.  I am intimidated by other bloggers.  I'm insecure about what I have to say.  Sometimes, I'm scared to write.  Scared that it won't be received well, or won't be received at all.  That no one will see what I write, no one will care, and no one will be moved and changed.  Even blogging for Deliberate Women, talk about intimidating, right?!?  I'm not Beth Moore or Elizabeth George or Joni Eareckson Tada.  What do I know about God?  How can I s...

Do you ever feel like you just CAN'T get your act together? The house is *still* a mess. The four bushels of clothes to fold and put away are staring you down. Your body is screaming at you because you haven't done anything even remotely close to exercise in two months. You just want to hide from your kids, watch an entire season of Friends, and go to the bathroom alone. Oh, and you haven't showered in days.  Do you feel me? I started this year with gusto and goals.  I composed many lists, things to accomplish, an everything to do list, a blog topic list, and even a "great ideas" list.  I subscribed to a blog about decluttering.  I was even working on an organizational wonder, my "homemaking" binder, which I promise is not as ridiculous as it sounds.  It is meant to be one spot to have meal plans, family calendars, to do lists, idea scribbles, and blog jottings.  How do you think that is working out for me?  Is my life or even my house organized y...

Two thousand and twelve was a year of adjusting for me.  I t was a year that began with me quitting my job and finding my new "work" at home.  I knew when God nudged me to begin my blog shortly before Annika was born, that my job title would change from HR to SAHM plus something more.  God has stretched and encouraged me in blogging in this year, and has more for me in writing in 2013.  My fodder to blog about has been life, period.  My loves, my fears, my passions, my God, my kids, and my hubby - life as an adventure.  And two thousand and twelve was an adventure, a pretty good one as a family...  We had mostly ups and only a few downs, all of which I'll recount for you here.  Annika turned one.  Isaiah turned three.  They both are exerting their independence in various ways, ones that can sometimes drive this momma mad.  But it's part of growing up.  Life is a separation process from the time that the umbilical cord is cut...