Putting On My Big-Girl Pants...

I often find that I'm getting ahead of myself... My thoughts and ideas and plans move faster than real life. I can get a bit extreme. For example, when I thought about starting to write, in my head I moved from Instagram/Facebook posts to an exploding blog to thousands of followers to a book deal, all in the span of a few months. Ha. EXTREME. I've returned to the place where I am writing for myself and if others are encouraged in the process, then great! But I am taking the pressure off. If my writing stays between me and just a few of you, that is ok! If nothing else, I've got these two super fans spurring me on... ;-)

That said, I am open to more people reading my words. Honestly, this makes me a bit nervous... I've mentioned I'm somewhat scared of the internet, so this is a big step. But I'm trusting that there are ears that need to hear, so I'm going to speak a little louder, if you will. I've set up a Facebook page for my blog. Here it is! This is so that people can more easily follow along without having to personally know me or one of my people. Plus, it can be shared more simply and openly. Again, tempted to start biting my nails and stress-eat all the graham crackers and gummy bears... But I'm putting on my big-girl pants and going for it. I've been so inspired and encouraged by a few others who were brave enough to speak to a wider audience, so I'm taking the plunge myself. 

I'm going to start by way of one of my love languages: giving gifts! It's one of my most favorite things to do, so I've gathered together a few of my other most favorite things to share with one of you lucky people. I'm doing my first giveaway! I, personally, don't love when bloggers do giveaways by making readers 'like' and share a million things a million different places.. I get why they do it, but I'm just not techy enough to figure out how to do all of the things! So I'm going to make this really simple... 'Like' my Grace and Graham Crackers Facebook page. Right here! That's all you have to do, and I'll put your name in the hat. (Yeah, we are not sophisticated enough yet to use a fancy online drawing generator... The good old names-in-a-hat trick will have to do!) Plus by following the Facebook page, you'll be the first to find out when I post to the blog and I may just do more giveaways because I LOVE GIVING GIFTS!!! This will also be an easier way to share the blog with others, if you feel so inclined. 

So, here's what one lucky follower will get:

- Weekly planner: I love these! It's a simple pad of paper making it easy to plan out my week. Meals, reminders, plans... It can all go right on there and they tear off making it easy to post the week on the fridge. And they are cute. Thank you, Target Dollar Spot!

- Grateful notecards: I also love these. They can be used as Thank You notes or as a sweet way to let someone know how grateful you are for them. Also, Target Dollar Spot. 

- Gretta's Goats soap: My parents gave me a bunch of this goat milk soap for my birthday and I LOVE it. So I'm sharing a sample because the world needs to know about Gretta and her goats and their soap. 

- Peppermint and Wild Orange Lip Balm: This is my fav lip balm. It smells amazing and works great! And it's made with essential oils, so WIN. 

- The Lotion Company hand lotion: This is a local company here in Muncie that makes some amazing products. Very popular with the residents and sold at the hospital. 

Thanks for all of the ways that you all have encouraged and pushed me to keep this up. You have all been so kind with your comments and messages and I'm so thankful for the connections that have been made just by you reading the things that I've written. I'm so excited about the possibility to reach more people with some encouraging words. So, 'Like' away, my friends! I'll pick a winner sometime early next week and mail this fun little care package out to one of you pronto! ;-)

Sarah

"Mama! Butt All Messy!"

I recently read this blog post, written by a fellow Chick-Fil-A loving mom. My own mama had recommended it, saying it had made her laugh out loud. Now, my mom typically reserves her laughs for true hilarity, so I knew it must be good. I read. And I laughed. Hard. And I thought to myself, "Wow! We haven't had any really good poop stories since we became parents". Sure, we had a few newborn blowouts... One particular disgusting one that happened our first Sunday at church after she was born... In the sling... In the middle of the sermon... Without us knowing... But we had never had a really good deserving-of-its-own-blog-post poop story. UNTIL NOW.

The night had started like any other night... We went out for hamburgers with Lyla's very best friend. We burned off some energy at the playground. We came home and did her bath (the first one of the night...). We went back out to walk a friend's dog. And then came home and put our girl to bed. 

We were picking up the house and getting ready for bed, all the while listening to her sing in her crib (tonight "Oh Where is My Hairbrush" was her song of choice...) Daddy happened to walk down the hall and, passing her room, took a big whiff of the most horrendous smell. He opened the door and took one look and yelled for me...

Upon entering I, too, experience the stench and see a clean (CLEAN!!!) diaper lying on the floor next to a small pile of poo. Lyla standing in her poo-covered pj shirt in her poo-covered crib next to her poo-covered Bagoo water bottle (sorry Uncle Bagoo...) Surprisingly very little was on the sheet... Hmm... Moments later, I've got the girl standing in the bathtub and I'm spraying her down, when I hear Daddy holler again. This time louder. He had pulled the crib out from the wall and found an even bigger, more disgusting poo surprise behind her bed. 

***Enter all the choice words here***

She knew she wasn't supposed to poop in her diaper (we are loosely potty-training right now...) so she must have taken it off and squatted so that the majority of the mess would fall right out of her bed. Brilliant. If nothing else, we are raising a very SMART GIRL. Who would want poop in their actual bed!?!?

So, we got her cleaned up... Mama cleaned the girl. Daddy cleaned the EVERYTHING ELSE. The natural, homemade cleaning supplies traded for the big guns because POOP. The bedding changed and laundry started. The diffuser run with lemon and lavender oil to help with the smell and sleep. And then we sat down together and had a long, very repetitive, chat about how we DO NOT take diapers off and we DO NOT poop in bed. We laid her back down and listened to her sing ("Jesus Loves Me", this time) until she fell asleep... 

And I thought to myself, "Self, there's your very own blog-post-worthy poopy parenting story". Because surely someone else out there needs a good laugh. So, there you have it... No deep thoughts. No metaphors or lessons. No profound insights. Just a good poop story to make you laugh. Right now there is so much crap (ha. pun intended.) being spread around, especially social media. Gossip. Fear-mongering. Lies. Deceit. STRESS. And it really stinks (haha. pun very-much intended). So, hopefully this was the opposite of all that... A real-life story of real-life people doing their best to raise a real-life little girl... Poop messes and all. 

24 Hours of Gratitude

I have countless things to share... Lots of thoughts and ideas strewn about in notes on my phone and computer, but none seem quite right for today. This happens often, actually. And the best solution I can think of is to share some gifts... Simple, yet profound things that I have collected over the last 24 hours. Beautiful reminders of goodness and grace. So, here is my list. And let this be my first official blog invitation to you to make your own. Gratitude is oh. so. powerful. 

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Listening to bath time... Daddy washing away the day's dirt and sticky, settling meltdowns and worshipping all at once... Oh, and now there's some guitar. Daddy's playing guitar. During bath time. Does it get any better? Rock star dad. 

Countless cherry toms on the two plants out back... Slowly but surely turning from green to red and yellow... Miraculously not yet picked by a curious toddler. 

A sweet pup following close behind while thirsty plants are quenched with recycled pool water... Carrying around a treasure. A golf ball found in the bushes where she has also found an outdoor bed. ON the bush. Not beside it. She lays ON TOP OF the bush, people. Oh Scout. Whatever works for ya, dog. 

Lyla in awe and wonder at the ant crawling around the pool and then up her arm and then into her hair. "Ant pretty". Yes, dear one... Even the tiniest of creatures is beautiful. Thanks for the reminder. 

A collection of nature treasures... A leaf, a rock, a flower and some buds. Small, insignificant finds that my girl deemed valuable enough to collect and save. 

Frankincense oil for a sun-kissed face and ever-feeling heart. A sweet scent to calm and refresh and remind. 

The way she 'nods' along to songs... Making sure that mama is watching. Amazingly along with the beat. Any music will do... Jingles from toys. A ringtone. Daddy's phone music. Currently "Good good father" playing. The song ends and I hear a frantic "mom more feek (music)". Sure, girl. I can't get enough of that one either.

A cool, yet still sunny morning. A welcome break from multiple 90 degree days. Fresh air breathed in and no sweat in sight. 

An unexpected FaceTime chat with Thailand. In the midst of chaos. Cereal dumped on the floor, dog-vacuum at work while toddler cries over her snack's misfortune. Even chaotic, five-minute, virtual visits help to encourage and build up an otherwise already (at 9 am) worn out toddler mom. 

Play dates with new mama friends... Sharing stories and babies and hearts and coffee and hospital cafeteria scones and life. Toys strewn across every inch of carpet proving that two happy toddlers did some good learning and sharing this morning. 

Leaving daddy with little miss to do bedtime.. Driving all alone. Enjoying a much-needed impromptu fro yo date with a new friend... Some alone time away to recharge and reflect... And to raid Hobby Lobby clearance.

Lyla asleep before 9:00... For the first time in I-don't-know-how-many days. Finally some good rest for a busy girl... And her tired mama. 

Grateful.

Sarah