For the days you feel insignificant...

Today, I woke up exhausted. We've been blessed with babies who sleep through the night, but teething hell is our current situation in the Harmon House. x2. Just as you get one baby down and get back to sleep yourself, the other wakes up. 

So I'm starting my days in exhaustion. With a near 2 year old who's eager to play and be entertained. With two 7 month olds who need me for everything. With a house that needs cleaned, meals that need cooked, and errands that need to be taken care of. 

I look around... 

& all I can see is what needs to be done.

& all I can hear is "Mommy play. Mommy mommy mommy. I want you to help me. Mommy I want drink. Mommy I need you. Mommy mommy mommy."

& all I can feel is the headache from yesterday that crept into today. 

& all I can smell is diapers. Diapers that desperately need to be changed. 

Hours pass.

Sippy's have been filled. Diapers have been changed. Meals cooked. Snacks made. House tidied (no way it's getting actually cleaned). Several hugs, several kisses, several break downs, & several tears have come and gone. 

I look around...

& all I can see is happy children. 

& all I can hear is "Mommy play. Mommy mommy mommy. I want you to help me. Mommy I want drink. Mommy I need you. Mommy mommy mommy."

& all I can feel is gratitude. Pure gratitude. 

I start and end my day in exhaustion. But somewhere in the middle, sometime during all the errands, mommy tasks, wife tasks, and life tasks- I find enjoyment. I find peace. I find perseverance. I find happiness. I find self worth. I find the reason for it all. 

& everything I do, I know I'll do tomorrow. 

& there are days when my days seem insignificant...when I'm not bringing home a paycheck and no one tells me what a good job I'm doing. I don't get promotions. I don't get vacation days. No one thanks me for the meal I worked hard on. No one thanks me for the laundry I washed and folded. No one thanks me for changing diapers, making bottles, or rocking them to sleep. There are days when I don't feel like anyone knows what I do to keep this house running the way it should. 

& then my children smile at me. They crawl into my lap. J gives me Eskimo kisses. Jessa clings to me like someone's trying to yank her away. & Joey, my sweet little man, he leans his head into my chest and looks up with just his four little teeth shining...and with that look, those actions, I realize they're saying , "Thank you mom."

& everything I thought was insignificant vanishes in that moment. Because nothing- not one word, one kiss, one bottle made or one meal cooked- not one thing I do as a mother is insignificant.

XOXOX, 

Harmon Housewife 

Hi Jesus, I love you!

Recently, my sweet J has decided that she wants to talk to Jesus. She tells him, "Hi, Jesus! I wuv you!" everytime we walk outside. I'll hear her playing in the playroom and just giggling and I'll ask, "What are you doing Jorgia?" The answer is usually the same (unless Jessa is playing with her) "Playing with Jesus momma. You come?" The best Jesus moment however, was definitely when she told her daddy, "I'm going to go tickle Jesus!" (Procedes to run away with tickle monster gloves on). 

Why am I telling you this? 

Because it's amazing. 

She's talking to Jesus. 

I don't care what she's saying, and neither does he. I guarantee you, all of the words and phrases she says right now that I can't fully understand - he does. And I have no idea what he says to her because she can't tell me. But what I do know, is that my daughter will be 2 in 2 weeks, & I'm in complete and utter awe at her child sized faith. 

From the moment we found out I was pregnant, the very night, Joe prayed. He prayed for me all day and he prayed to my stomach and for our "Jbaby". He prayed for many things and has continued to pray for many things during our sweet babies lives but he always ends with, "....and we pray that these children run to you and become men & women of God." Everytime. 

I'm not saying J is like this simply because we prayed. That wouldn't be true. I know that she's like this because of our actions. But, watching J, it is pretty obvious to me that my 2 year old (might as well call her that!) has stronger faith than I. 

What? Did I just say that??? 

Yes, I did. No error. You read that right. 

More faith than me? Yes. 

Why? Because I've spent my entire life at church. I've spent my entire life hearing bible verses, being prayed to, being prayed for, going to church camps, youth groups, and having God's word chirped in my ear. And although this has happened, I strayed. And although this has happened, I only recently started talking to God like he was a person. Just talking to him daily as I would any other person. 

And here she is, my sweet J, beginning her relationship with The Lord. And talking to Jesus more than I am. 

And I know, I know, relationships with God are not a competition. 

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying I look up to my daughter. 

That faith, that faith to trust me, to trust her father to lead her in the right direction, to trust us when we tell her that He is good, that faith is flawless. That faith is beautiful. That is the faith I strive for. 

& really, isn't that the type of faith we should all strive for? A faith that is not shaken, that doesn't question, only wants more. More knowledge, more worship, more of Him. 

One day she might ask questions, wonder, stray. But here's what I know - it's not my job to raise a Christian child. It's my job to model how a Christian woman should be. What they choose later in life will be completely up to them. But I will be encouraging her faith along the way, guiding her. So that when the day comes that her faith does raise a question, she can stand firm. 

I'll remind her of these days for the rest of her life. How her child faith inspired me to keep going, keep reaching, keep learning. 

I am incredibly blessed to be her momma. I can not wait to see what God had planned for her. 

XOXOX, 

Harmon Housewife 

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Okay people, before you totally disregard this recipe as I previously would have - I'm telling you, TRY IT. 

I have never, I repeat, never tried a turkey meatloaf recipe that was even decently to my liking. Until tonight. 

I'm honestly not sure if I'll even go back to beef because of how much my crew enjoyed this recipe! I had a pound of ground turkey & I really just wasn't in the mood for Mexican food (what I usually use ground turkey for). So I stepped outside my cooking comfort box & made this. So, so, so, so, so, so, so glad. & as always, this recipe is toddler approved :) 

Are you ready for the best turkey meatloaf ever? Hope so, cause here it is! 

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground turkey 

1 can rotel 

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup quick cooking oats

4 tsp beef bouillon 

8 tsp minced onion 

1 tsp onion powder 

1/4 tsp minced garlic 

Directions: 

--Preheat to 375 degrees. 

1. Combine all listed ingredients and mix well. As my J says, "Work it girl! Work it!" -You want to work that meat mixture until it's totally combined! She's my favorite cheerleader :) 

2. Once your ingredients are well mixed, grab a little from the mix & roll into a ball. Put in a muffin tin. (I didn't measure the size of my "muffins" I just put them in and they reached the top of the muffin tin). My mix made 12 perfectly sized "muffins".

3. Bake for 40 minutes. 

4. Top with ketchup glaze of choice. 

5. Bake for additional 10 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

Try this, doooooo it! 

If you still need to be convinced, here are the nutritional facts from this recipe- before ketchup glaze. This is for 1 muffin! 

XOXOX, 

Harmon Housewife 

Supermom Doesn't Live Here

I've been made fun of many times for the schedule I keep my household running on. I've been judged for choosing not to breastfeed my twins. I've been given the look (you know the look) at parks while my toddler screams for a drink of soda she's not getting. I've hid in the bathroom to enjoy a fudge round by myself. I don't cosleep. Some of you who are reading this have just lost interest in this blog because you're reading that in actuality, I'm no supermom. 

Supermom. I hear that comment daily. & although, yes, it's a compliment. It's also a burden. Yes, it's a burden. Who can live up to that? Not me. I yell. I cry. I play. I question. I love. Just like you. 

Are you supermom? What makes a mother a supermom? 

Is it because I have 3 kids under the age of 2? That can't be it. There's probably thousands of mothers who have kids this way. 

Is it because I do planned activities with my babies? That can't be it. There's also thousands of mothers who do this. 

There's also thousands of mothers who work all day long and come home after a long day and still try and interact with their babies educationally. Exhausted. Frustrated. But present. They look forward to those few hours all day at work. Are they supermom? 

I can tell you this- not once have I heard a working mother be called a supermom. Not once. 

Do they not love their kids just as much as a mother who stays home? Do they not juggle the same amount of motherly chores, wifely duties, and life stress as mothers who stay home? 

I'm really wondering what YOU define supermom as? 

Because I can tell you, supermom doesn't live in this house. 

A real mom does. A mom who loves. A mom who yells. A mom who plays. A mom who sleeps. A mom who dreams of her prepregnancy body & who has not fully accepted the marks my sweet babies left behind. A mom who does no cosleep. A mom who does not breastfeed. A real mom lives here. A mom with flaws, dreams, and fears. 

A mom who does her best every day to keep it together. 

Supermom doesn't live here. I don't believe she lives anywhere. But I do believe there are super moms that love everywhere. 

XOXOX, 

Harmon Housewife

Fall Plans

So, in the fall I'm planning on working with J and my babies. I do daily but for J, I'm ready for set lessons/activities. A friend of mine is planning on doing this as well, she's the one who approached me about it! We will work with our girls & get together with them for more learning opportunities. She has a teaching background so educational play is very important to her & her family as well. We don't have set plans yet but we have discussed a few things. I'm a total freak about planning so I already emailed her a "unit" plan. She is coming up with things as well so it will be a group effort. I just want to get your minds thinking about our plans so that if you're looking for something for your sweetie, maybe you can get ideas from my weekly post about our "homeschool". 

This is not school. Our kids are not "school age". But any age, is learning age! & we're taking full advantage. 

I couldn't find a curriculum I liked. & frankly, I don't like "curriculums" because I don't like being bound to only certain things. But, I do like having a plan. So I write it out curriculum style and go with the flow as time passes. Each week, I'll load my plan & let you know what did/didn't go as planned. I browsed Pinterest, Google, bing, and all over the internet to get ideas and start thinking and have a great first couple of weeks lined up already. Are you ready for a brief glimpse? Read on. 

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Here's how our week will look: 

One day I will have moms group. Two days we will work intentionally on activities/subjects/projects. And two days will be free days but I will have manipulatives that are topic related set out. She'll also have the option of these manipulatives the day we have moms group, but moms group usually takes up our entire morning with travel, play, naps, etc. So that's the basic breakdown. 

Here's an example of topic/activities:

Topic - Creation - "Self & Environmental Awareness" 

Examples of we will do for activities/projects: 

-nature walks

-visit zoo and/or aquarium

-grow plants

-discuss friends

-discuss families 

-books related to self, family, nature, etc.  

-cook family recipes 

-discuss feelings

-discuss body parts

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I have certain objectives I want to meet for J. I will share those & a more detailed plan with activity/projects when I share the full schedule. Here's the thing, just like I modified ideas and plans to make this, you can modify my plans to make yours. Every child needs different learning opportunities and different objectives depending on their developmental level. Use these, tweek these, omit these. Whatever fits your family. I'd love to see you do some of my plans with your littles so if you do decide to, make sure and tag me @harmonhousewife on Instagram or post to my Facebook page directly.

So my twin sweeties won't be ready for set lessons in the fall. & that's exactly why each week I will post a bonus section with play ideas for 6-12 month olds. 

I do hope you'll follow our year & hopefully get some ideas or at least your creative juices flowing! 

XOXOX,

Harmon Housewife