Living an Intentional Life
She was conducting the ultimate test: What will fit in my mouth?
Today, Tatum was caught chewing on her fist! It started with a binky. She then graduated to her index finger; then three fingers. Now, it’s the whole darn hand!
To her chagrin, it would not fully fit. Therefore, we figured she may be starting to teethe. Enter teething beads. My mom put a bit of Tylenol drops on a bed in case she was in any pain. The result? She loved it!
But then…The fist ultimately won.
So, I know this is on its way, so I want to remember these tips from Scottsdale Mom’s Blog
http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/2012/11/20/teething-baby-must-haves/
I know every child is different in terms of how they handle teething, or really, how they handle any situation, but man, teething sucks!
My little man just finally had his first tooth break through, and it took a while. I felt like I always heard friends say that one day their baby’s gums were red, and the very next morning they had a tooth fully popped through. Well that? That was definitely not our case. Bray started drooling and shoving his fist in his mouth as early as four months, then had swollen gums for a week or two, then had the slit in his gums for about a week, thenyou could finally feel the tooth. It took another full week and a half for the tooth to really be visible. So what’s that, a month? Not exactly the overnight magic like I had heard of!
Since our process was drawn out, I really have had time to learn some things to help make the pain of teething a little more easy for our sweet babe. Here are my top 5 life-savers (no sponsored stuff in here – just my mom-to-mom recs):
Baltic Amber Teething Necklace:
No, I am not a fan of my son wearing a necklace all the time…but I am a HUGE fan of what it does for him. This is not a necklace for them to chew on, which many people think is the purpose. The amber beads {get unpolished over polished} naturally release succinic acid, which helps with inflammation, controlling drooling, and helps heal the wound. It is all natural and has been around forever. For more info on that, read here. During the day I keep it around Brays neck {and he has never noticed it being there} and at night I wrap it around his ankle, which is in his footie jammies.
This is our favorite teething toy ever. He chews on all parts of it, and the squeaking entertains him…and our dogs! It’s also super is to clean, which is always nice for toys that go in the mouth.
Habba Wooden Toys and Munchkin Ice Ring:
These two teething toys are our next best options. The wooden toys is great for his gums, and the way the wood slides and clinks together, he loves banging it around! The ice ring is fabulous to cool and numb the gums, whether its taken out of the freezer or refrigerator.
These tablets are completely natural, and completely awesome. If Bray is being extra fussy and I can tell a tooth is about to break through I pop a few of these in his mouth {they melt under his tongue} and usually within minutes he is back to his chipper self. Love them!
CVS Infant Tylenol:
When all else fails, Tylenol. We tried the Little Fevers brand first since it is dye-free, but Bray would literally spit it out. Then we tried the CVS brand, and he eats the stuff like its the best tasting thing he has ever had! We’ve only had to use this a few nights before bed time, but it sure did the trick!
AAAH>>the 2 E’s! I cannot believe how hungry I have been since this injury. Ironically, I was exercising THREE times as much pre-ATI. To move just across the room takes so much more effort that I must be exerting so much energy, hence hunger! But, on the other hand, I’m sitting on my ‘arse’ THREE times more so it does not compute.
What am I doing to at least try to stay in some sort of shape? Upper body weights are helping. I’ll work on back, chest and biceps one day, and then the next day, I will do shoulders and triceps. I have to keep my core strong also because my back is getting so much more stress put upon it with all the awkward motions I must make with these darn sticks attached to my body! My lower body is not getting the workout it is used to, but I guess hopping around is helping. My left leg will be the only part of my body which will look ridiculous vs the rest of my body.
Swimming used to be my “drug of choice” for getting my heart rate up and my muscles worked. Now, it’s not an option, but I have discovered that once my incision is healed, I can begin. I won’t know how it is doing until they remove my splint. I receive my cast on Monday, the 25th of Feb for which I cannot wait.
I seem to be craving peanut butter lately. Man, I could easily down a jar of this creamy delight in one sitting. I just bought a jar of creamy vs crunchy and it is so much better. Also, the sugar and additives make it taste so much better! Forget nutrition when it comes to this stuff. Heck, if you are eating peanut butter, you might as well have the full monty.
MEAT. I also have been craving MEAT! Last night, I created the perfect burger. Take some ground beef and chopped onion and mold it into balls. Then add some A-1 Steak Sauce, salt and pepper, and fry it up! Dang..these were so delectable. I did use super lean beef so they fell apart quite easily, but they still melted in my mouth. Add some ketchup (low sugar), lettuce , tomato and more onion for a wrap, and you have yourself a tasty treat. Definitely healthy too, I might add.
What does this all have to do with ATR? Well, you have to learn to enjoy the little things in life when you are laid up. Making these burgers for my family made them happy as well as me.
Exercise became WAY too important, and so also I am trying to find the balance in this as well….. So, I am learning to appreciate the small things, balance the big things, and find the center in all of this.
None of this is possible without TONS of prayer and my relationship with God. He truly gives me the strength I need because seriously some days, I just want to throw up my hands and crawl in a hole. Then I look up and say HELP ME JESUS! Poof.. .”I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13)
In my laid-up/leg-up position, I’ve been made me keenly aware of the world of blogging. Not only that, but I’m just hungry for information, ideas, inspirations, ideals and interconnectedness:
Tim Challies Blog: http://www.challies.com/about
Personal Finances: http://christianpf.com
Desiring God: John Piper: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog
Albert Mohler: http://www.albertmohler.com
Good Commentaries: http://www.easyenglish.info
Serious lifting advice! http://www.leangains.com
Overall health and fitness: http://fitbottomedgirls.com
Overall and just fun recipes too: http://www.pbfingers.com
Well done and beautiful: http://101cookbooks.com
Beautiful site + a Christian with great recipes: http://www.eatliverun.com
Just like the magazine: http://www.eatingwell.com
Gluten Free and healthy: http://www.elanaspantry.com
Although I’m not Paleo, this is great: http://nomnompaleo.com
Local! http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/about/
Lisa Belkin/Motherlode: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com
Parenting Mag: http://www.parenting.com
Cup o Jo…She is just a great read..everything: http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com
Getting Things Done! http://lifehacker.com
General: http://www.edutopia.org
General for ENGLISH: http://www.ncte.org/middle
http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html
Independent School blog Peter Gow http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/independent_schools/
WRITING!: http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com
More Writing/Program:http://www.bravewriter.com/program/home-study-courses/the-writers-jungle/introduction
The title of this blog should not be a snoozer. In fact, I used to wonder how to get through this book because it’s so filled with details for which seem a bit non-sensical. Can I say that about God’s Laws? Trying to digest the ideas of each offering and the significance is like trying to understand the intricacies of my indoor plumbing. Not only may it be a bit boring, but it is so hard to try to remember it all, my brain just wants to skim and move on. However, I came upon a wonderful commentary for which not only explains the whole book of Leviticus, but gives me a sense of appreciation, wonder and LOVE for the book. Moreover, I see this precious book point to Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice.
Much of this will be from http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/index.htm.
The *Jews called the Book of Leviticus ‘wayyiqra’. This is actually two *Hebrew words, ‘way’ and ‘yiqra’. They mean ‘and’ and ‘he called’. It’s a Latin word for about the Levites. One of Jacob’s 12 children was Levi and they were destined to be priests. Leviticus is the way the Jews were to *Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness’. ‘ In other words: ‘love and obey’. *‘*Holiness’ means that people always try to please God. God always thinks that this makes people beautiful!
How can we worship Him being the “sinners” we all are? By our own efforts, we cannot please God. But God has provided a WAY so that we can *worship him properly. For the *Jews, that method was *sacrifice. Leviticus details how they would give to God parts of the animals or the whole animal that they killed. The priests would burn the gifts/animals/offerings on the altar in His house and this was their act of love/obedience/worship. “The animal had suffered death so that the *Jews could live as friends with God.” (there had to be a sacrifice for them to have fellowship)
For us as Christians, that method or way is also *sacrifice, but it is not death of an animal, and it doesn’t need to be repeated each year for various sins committed. God made it simple as he provided His precious son, Jesus, to be the perfect *sacrifice. His sacrificial death deals with every *sin ever committed. This equals freedom from sin’s power so that we can have fellowship with God without the need for a priest. In other words, we get to *worship the *LORD in the beauty of *holiness. So we can all please God because of Jesus’ *sacrifice on the *cross.”
Below is a nice overall look at each book of the Penteteuch: (http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/leviticus-1-7-lbw.htm)
The first 5 books of the Bible tell us about several periods in the life of each person. If that person is a Christian, then the books mean this:
Genesis … *Sin makes a person into a slave of the devil. *Sin is when we do not obey God. Everybody is in this group of people. ‘Everybody has *sinned’, Romans 3:23. We *sin when we do not obey God’s laws. Genesis also tells us about people who tried to obey God, including Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
Exodus … God makes people free. So they are not slaves. They are like the *Jews who came out of Egypt. Christians are free. In other words, *sin does not still control them like slaves. God makes them free when they first believe in Jesus. They believe that Jesus died to save them from the devil. Now they are not the devil’s people. Instead they are God’s people. We call this ‘conversion’.
Leviticus … God wants his people to be friends with him. This is a special type of friendship that we call ‘*fellowship’. God brought the *Jews out of Egypt so that they could have *fellowship with him. And God frees Christians from *sin so that they can have *fellowship with him. This is what God wants very much. Leviticus tells us that we can have *fellowship with God. We can have *fellowship with God because Jesus died for us! That is why Leviticus is important for Christians.
Numbers … God’s people look for the *Promised Land. For the *Jews, it was the country called Israel. For Christians it is Heaven and the New Earth. Heaven is the home of God. We call this the Christian’s ‘walk’ with God. God shows his people the way to go. We often call this ‘guidance’, because God is guiding his people.
Deuteronomy … God’s people have reached the *Promised Land. They are ‘home’! Here are the rules that they must obey while still on this earth. There are no such rules in Heaven.
The whole Bible is one big STORY of the road to Jesus and freedom. It’s our hope. It’s our truth. It’s our foundation.
What a joy. This really is, you know. I never thought I would be grateful for this injury, but I am finding the positive in this. “In all things, God works for the good for those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28) Perhaps I’m pulling this verse out of context, yet this is my favorite verse because it reminds me that there is a blessing in all that happens to us. God allowed this to happen to teach me some lessons. Although He did not CAUSE it, He definitely blessed me with this obstacle.
I’m reminded of the tremendous pain I felt one week ago. Once the nerve block wore off, I was acutely aware of the tear for which overcame me. Slowly, I learned to alter my life and discover new ways to cope and adapt. This is truthfully analogous to His workings in our lives. There must be treacherous storms before beautiful flowers. There must be a piece of molded clay thrown into the fiery kiln before it can be shaped and painted into a masterpiece. It’s a LAW…His grace is sufficient and He always gives us a way out when the pain becomes unbearable. My perception and CHOICE to look at the blessings in this vs. becoming bitter and angry is part of His grace and mercy.
I happened upon a tremendous support blog, http://achillesblog.com/ which carries countless stories and information to encourage others. It encourages me!
This is more of a “The Glass is Half Full” list, but it’s true. Let’s look on the bright side:
One things for which is shared is THE BRIGHT SIDE of ATR!
Next week looks good for more rest and visits from friends. One week from Wednesday, I receive my cast! I’m counting down the days until I can swim again.