Mama Monday... {Sarah}!!!

 

Tell us about yourself:

I am first and foremost a child of God, I am married to the love of my life, who I met on a blind date and I am very happy and blessed that I am a stay at home mommy to our beautiful energetic Little Man. In my past life I was a full time RN, I have worked in trauma, ICU, ER, you name it, if there is something exciting, I want to be a part of it. I now work a couple times a month in the ER

 

Husband love:

As I mentioned, I met my husband on a blind date 5 years ago, we started dating in August of 2008, were engaged in December 2008 and married in May of 2009. We haven't looked back since. Life is so much fun when you are married to your best friend. I truly enjoy being with him, my heart is at rest when we are together. He has an amazing heart for God, other people and he loves me and our baby. Watching him with our son is amazing, it is making me fall more and more in love with him every day.

 

Mama love :

I have always wanted to be a momma. I knew when I was a little girl that babies were going to be in my future. When my hubby and I found out we were pregnant we were so excited, it was perfect. I found out I was pregnant, I was turning 30 and my parents were coming in to town, life was awesome! Then on May 20th 2011 we had a miscarriage and lost our precious baby. I believe that it was a girl, and know that she is resting in the arms of our savior now, but it doesn't make the pain any less. I went through many tears, doubts and prayers. God gave me peace knowing that there is nothing that I could have changed, and nothing that I did to cause us to lose our precious baby. This pain and sorrow that I have felt has allowed me to have many conversations with many hurting women. I believe that everything that we go through can be used for God's glory. This story has a happy ending. :) a few months following the loss of our precious baby girl, we were pregnant again, this time with our handsome baby boy. This pregnancy was totally different and problem free. On May 15th 2012 we were blessed with that birth of our sweet baby boy. He has changed our lives so much. I knew I would love being a mom, but I never knew it would be this amazing!

 

 

Challenges in my momma journey :

As I mentioned one of the challenges to my momma journey is the loss of our sweet baby girl. The feeling of inadequacy and loss made me nervous the first few months of my pregnancy, fear that I would lose this one too, fear that I wouldn't be able to have a baby of my own. Then, I gave birth to our precious baby boy and a whole new feeling of inadequacy and confusion set in :) . I wanted to be the best mom that I could be, yet I didn't know what I was doing :) I realized that God had placed Little Man in my life to show His love for us, His unconditional, getting up at 1am, nursing at all hours of the day, worry at all hours of the night and day, fear that I am not doing enough, fear that I am doing too much, love. Being a mom has changed me at my core, my sister told me that having babies changes everything, that having him is like "having my heart walk outside of my body" Nothing could be more true. With all the negative voices in the world telling mommas what we should be doing and what we shouldn't be doing. I have chosen to surround myself with women who I can be vulnerable with and we can help each other along this momma journey with laughter and positivity.

Momma advice for surviving the tough days :

Everyone has tough days, I have said a number of times when I don't know what to do about nursing, or what my little one should be doing at this point, or what he should be eating. That back in the day they didn't have internet, or any of the new advancements, women relied on instinct, their moms and their sisters. Then, I remember that I am his momma, he is my son and the best person who can communicate his needs is Little Man. I also take a moment each day to have a quiet moment with God, this seems to set the tone for the whole day.

Simple pleasures: 

Morning snuggles with my baby man. After I nurse him in the morning I bring him into our bed so we can wake up Daddy and we have family snuggle time. It is one of the most precious times. When he is finished nursing he will point to the door and say "Dada!" he knows the routine. :)

Money saving tip:

Now admittedly my husband is the money guy in our household, but I have found that I always have to make lists when I am going to the grocery store. If I don't make a list I just buy what I want, but if I plan and write a list I buy what is on the list and in the end save a lot of money.

 

Health and fitness:

I am not the biggest fan of working out, but I do love taking walks, going to the park, just being active outside. Once little one gets bigger I can't wait to all go on bike rides together. I do watch what I eat, before I got pregnant I was eating whatever I wanted and not paying attention, as a result I put on an extra 20 pounds, then I got pregnant, not a good combo. Since having little man, I have committed myself to being healthy, I want to be the mom who can play with her kids and get down on the floor and wrestle, run, jump,and have fun. So watching portions, eating more fruits and veggies, and getting out at least once a day to do something active. (breastfeeding doesn't hurt the waistline either ;) )

 

Good read:

I always find that the most enriching reading I can do is of God's word. The Bible is the best "bang for the buck". I don't have a lot of time to read, so when I do, I want to read something of value. :)

Beauty secret:

I love to get pedicures, massages and manicures. I don't get to do this often, but when I get the chance, I feel like a new woman. It is the little things.

Recipe :

I have been trying to find recipes for little man that we would enjoy as well and I recently found a recipe on pintrest for apple chicken nuggets. SO GOOD. :) I may even make them for little man's first birthday party, if I don't eat them all. :) I got this recipe from Thriving Home

1 apple, peeled, cored, and grated (I used two small ones)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, minced (I subbed maybe a 1/2 tsp onion powder)
1 T minced fresh parsley (I subbed 1/2-1 T dried parsley)
1 cup fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs (I made this with two pieces of wheat bread in food processor)
1 T concentrated chicken stock (I read other recipes that said just plain “chicken stock” will work)
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
whole wheat flour, for coating
olive or canola oil, for frying
1) Spread the apple out on a clean dish towel and press out all the excess moisture.
2) Put the apple, chicken, onion or onion powder, parsley, breadcrumbs, chicken stock, Parm cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper in food processor and blend until well combined.
3) Spread the flour out on a plate. With wet hands, divide the mixture into 20 mini portions. Shape each portion into a ball (or a mini burger using several of the portions) and then roll in the flour.
4) Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the balls for 5-8 minutes, rolling them occasionally so they brown on all sides. When done, they should be golden brown and juices should run clear (no pink inside). Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot, or cold for lunchbox.

Dessert:
Funny I am cooking a cake for little man's birthday tomorrow as I am typing, and it smells so good. But, my favorite is carrot cake, so delicious and because there are carrots in it, I can almost convince myself that it is good for me. :)

Closing thoughts :
Becoming a momma has changed me from the inside out. I never really thought of myself as selfish, then I got married and realized that yes indeed I am selfish, but then I had little man and I realized yet again just how selfish I am, who needs sleep anyway? I never knew that I would be so in love with a little person that it really wouldn't matter that I get up in the middle of the night. Yes, I am tired, but it also is a special time for just the two of us. I also realize more and more every day, just how much God loves us unconditionally, no matter how many times he has to tell us no. I think God has babies come into the world so helpless to give us a tiny glimpse of His love for us. That He would do anything for us, just like we would do anything for our helpless little precious baby.