5QF

It's time for Five Question Friday. I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to get the picture to be the link to her blog. So just in case that doesn't work, CLICK HERE see 5QF's post. :) Enjoy and Happy Firday! 

1. Do you wake before the alarm or stay in bed until the last possible second?

You mean my 3 1/2 month old baby girl alarm? If that's what you're referring to, then I sleep past the alarm and get up at the last minute. Like, wait until she's about to get really mad and start screaming- then I dart in her bedroom to shush her before she wakes up big brother.


2. Who should get a baby shower? Is it just the first baby or all babies?

Since just having 2nd baby, my views on this have changed. I used to frown on those having showers for the 2nd baby - especially when they're close together- but now I completely understand the necessity. I wasn't given a baby shower for MissPriss and if it weren't for a sweet nurse @ work giving me lots of clothes, then she'd have been stuck wearing lots of boy clothes. 
And there are just other necessities that are needed for each baby- especially if they're different genders.

At the minimum, a diaper shower. That would have been helpful as well.

3. How will you spend Memorial Day?

Oh I'm so very excited! I just hope things go as planned in my "perfect world". My
Parents are coming up and we're all planning to go to the park and hang out. We took EJ and MissPriss today and he loved it! I'll have to post pictures of the most awesome playground ever next week.

4. Do you have a Storm/Hurricane/Tornado/Fire plan for your kids, house..?

Not really. Last time there was a tornado warning for our area, TheHubs & I loaded the kids up last minute and headed to none other but Walmart. We walked around with the kiddos in the buggy for a little while, then they made everybody go to the back of the building and stay until the warning passed. 
Very entertaining, I might add.

Growing up, our plan was very similar. Wait until the tornado has been reported down a few miles away, then jump in the car and hall tale down the street (a few miles) to the friend's basement. Then stay until it passed. 

Maybe we should develop a plan better than Walmart....

5. What is your favorite morning drink?

Water. Yep, H2O. Either that or milk. But I only drink milk if I'm eating breakfast. Ever since giving up soft drinks in high school (long long time ago), I have been a water girl. Seriously, I feel all groggy and tired if I haven't had my ice cold glass of water.
Don't judge. =)

The Joneses

Keeping up with the Joneses. What does that mean anyways?

Wiki says this:
"the comparison to one's neighbor as a benchmark for social caste or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating social-economic or cultural inferiority."

Phrases.com says this:
"Strive to match one's neighbors in spending and social standing."

10 years ago...even 5 or 6 years ago, your neighbors were those with whom you had direct contact with on a day to day basis. People you worked with, people you lived near, people you went to church with, friends, family, etc. However, today your "neighbors" (the Joneses) can be anybody on the planet. Thanks to the internet, mainly social media, we are bombarded with "the Joneses" in ways we never imagined.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Keek, Path...and the list goes on.

We consume ourselves with social media. We feel the need to post every move we make so the world can see. Pictures posted within seconds, tweets tweeted as soon as an event occurs. We sleep, eat and breath social media. Sometimes literally.

Let me be the first to say I found myself buried deep in the pit of this chaos. My thoughts were often status updates on Facebook, I snapped pictures of my kids' every adorable move to post to Instagram. I never got in to the rest of the stuff, but mainly because my addiction was consumed enough with what I already had.

Sadly enough, I was checking fb at 2am when I would wake briefly to put MissPriss's paci back in her mouth. I was waking 1st thing in the morning to see if anything had happened since that 2am fix. I had my phone by my side 24/7 looking at it constantly. I was looking at other people's profiles and finding myself subconsciously (and a lot of times consciously) rejoicing in other's failures, and being angry or jealous at their successes. It's very humbling to even admit to some of this stuff.

It wasn't until TheHubs & I were talking one night about why I had begun a spiral of depression that I realized and vocally stated what I felt was the culprit. Nope, it wasn't post-partum-depression (which was what he had initially blamed it on)...it was social media consuming me.

It was me trying to "keep up with the Joneses". I was jealous at the moms who were taking their kids to the park everyday, or the wives getting to have a lunch date with their husbands. I was jealous at the flowers and beautiful gifts ladies got on Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, and "just because". But at the same time, I was laughing at divorces that were taking place and "stalking" others to find out the gossip of who was having an affair with whom. And smirking at such sin, such filth taking place.

I was consumed. Big time.

I felt like I wasn't good enough if I didn't take EJ on a walk everyday, or have good fruits and vegetables for him to eat everyday. (And unless popcorn chicken and chips count, then I'm a big fat failure on those standards.)

I felt angry about having to work weekends instead of getting to spend it with my family like everybody else.

I dreaded each holiday as I knew everybody would post wonderful pictures of all they were getting to do, when I knew me and Thehubs were just lucky to see each other or be off work together.

My emotions could go from good to bad with just one post by someone...

As TheHubs and I talked that night, he agreed that I was consumed.  So after I said that I probably need to "quit", he quickly agreed. So we got the lap top, sat on our bed and I ever so slowly "deactivated" my account. No warnings for my friends...no big announcement or anything. I just did it. Because I knew if I didn't do it then, then I never would. Even as we were in the process, I was making up excuses for why I shouldn't. Wondering what I would spend my time doing now, or how I would know what's going on in the world.

But I (we) did it.

Yep, I've been "sober" from Facebook for almost a week and it's actually been quite nice. I haven't asked TheHubs, but I hope he would say my depression tendencies and sour attitude has diminished. I am no longer having stuff thrown in my face to be jealous at.

After all, who puts the dirt and grime of their lives for the world to see anyways??

I will say I've chosen to keep my Instagram. I feel like I have more control over that, and plan to dwindle it down to only close friends and family who I follow and who follow me. Simply to keep up with our lives a little better.

Freedom. Exhilaration. Relief.

So now the hard part of staying focused- keeping my eyes on Jesus and being consumed by Him each day begins.


Ephesians 6:10-18
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. "

....

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."

Adventures of EJ

Where in the world does the time go? It seems like yesterday I was giving birth to my firstborn. Then I blinked a few times, and now I'm sitting here with my (almost) 3 month old in my lap, and an (almost) 18 month old in his bed sleeping. Seriously...life is surreal.

Let me just talk (write?) about Mr. EJ and catch up on what all he has been in to here lately. He is absolutely a mess pot. Nothing he does surprises me; I just have to laugh at most of it to keep from having a melt down and crying.

About a month ago, I was determined to take both of the kids to library toddler story time. What in the world was I thinking, I don't know, but I did it. We get there (all in one piece) about 10 minutes before story time, so I went and plopped down at the back of the rug-which I assumed would be the back of all the other people that would come later. Well, you know what happens when you assume things....

MissPriss did great- she just looked around everywhere in her car seat and didn't make a peep. EJ on the other hand, well he had to go check out the cabinet at the front of the room that contained music equipment and open and close the doors a few times. He also found an outlet protector thing, which he loves to play with at home.
Story time started, and I was just hoping he would somehow miraculously sit still and be good. WRONG! He did like the song they sang at the beginning. All the other kids and mothers knew the words and motions, and I went right along with it, helping EJ do the motions and pretending to know exactly what was going on. Well, I was never really good at pretending...

So EJ then decided he needed to go look out the door that was at the front of the room, and he sorta kinda wanted to help the teacher, but was scared to get to close to her. So he just kept going to the front of the room back to the dog-blessed cabinet.  I kept getting up and weaving through mothers and their goody-two-shoes little "toddlers" to get my child.

 (By the way, shat kind of toddlers sit still for 20 minutes? NOT MINE!)

After about the 3rd time of retrieving my son, I decided it was time for us to go. So I made my way back through the MIDDLE of the crowd of 25-30 mommies and their oh-so-perfect children, and got my daughter (whom I may have just left in the middle of the room) and we left.
Needless to say, the librarian at the back of the room gladly held the door open for us as we made our grand exit.

I laughed on the way home thinking about how great of a story I have to tell.

We haven't returned.


Here's another good one for you. And trust me, I don't make this stuff up.

One morning I went to get him out of bed only to find that he had taken off his pants & diaper. I walk in to find a 1/2 naked boy grinning from ear to ear. A drenched diaper and some poo in the floor. Yep, had to laugh....

Going to church has been yet another adventure. He now knows where we are when we walk in the door. He wraps himself entirely around my leg, as I attempt to walk, all the while also carrying MissPriss and her suitcase bag. I'm afraid before long, he's going to figure it out when we drive up, and refuse to get out of the car.

He hates it. Which, I understand because it's the only time he's away from family. I mean, we just drop him off and run for it. He screams bloody murder as he ladies so graciously take him and care for him while we go to the service. They have informed me that he is doing a little better. Thank God! He apparently let them change his diaper without screaming. (Didn't know he had gave them a fuss about that...) She also said he stops screaming a little sooner each week, which is progress.

This past week, they got out play-dough for the kiddos to play with. Well, EJ apparently found it more entertaining to play with the containers, making sure each of the lids were on them. He put the lids on and off the entire time instead of playing with the play-dough. Poor child....

Some of his "normal" favorite things to do here lately are turning on and off the light switch, throwing toys over the safety gate into the kitchen, opening and closing any kind of container, and of course closing any and every door in the house.  He's also started taking wipes or napkins and "cleaning" things. That's pretty adorable actually.


I swear he's OCD....if he sees that I've left a door cracked, he has to ruuunnnnn real quick and close it.

We now have a bedtime routine down pat. I'm sure everybody's routine goes as follows:
Go into bedroom, he has to close the door behind us (of course), pick up all of his stuffed animals and throw them into his crib one by one (takes for.ev.er.), closes closet doors, then gets into bed. Before we leave the room, he's trowing out his stuffed animals until it's just him and his blankey. The beloved blue blankey. Heaven forbid when that thing starts to deteriorate. Good thing we have 2 that are just alike!


Every day is certainly an adventure. I often say that if DHR gets called on us from something happening to MissPriss, that I promise it will be from the abuse she received from EJ not me or TheHubs. She has been hit, slapped, stepped on and sat on...and survived it all so far. She's one tough cookie. More on her (and her high maintenance prissiness) later.

Until then...