Mom Fail.

Every night when I put Isaac to sleep, I pray that he comes to know his savior, Jesus Christ, that he feels the love of God and of Jake and me and that God gives Jake and I mercy for the mistakes we make as parents. Today I needed that mercy. It was an accident, but I still felt a "bad mom" moment. Today Isaac hurt himself- a full on face-plant. The main reason I feel it deserves my first "mom fail" is because it drew blood. The worst part is that I was watching him and had him positioned so that if he should fall over he would land on the bathtub rug/mat, but gravity worked diagonally and suddenly Ike fell to the floor and smacked his sweet face. I picked him up and cuddled him. Then I took him outside since he loves the plants and he quickly quieted down. Then I noticed his lip.

I really blame the little cut lip on his top two teeth. Either way I felt like I failed him. There was also a time today when I realized he hadn't been changed in awhile and found he was in a soaked diaper. What makes me feel worse is that earlier today Jake was half way home when he got asked to do  a "junior man" trip (meaning a trip that he would get paid double for). Since we'll be traveling this month, we decided it would be best for him to take the trip and come home late tomorrow. So he got on the next flight back to Las Vegas from Phoenix to work. So here we are, Jake: the hard working husband, bringing home the bacon and then there's me: the mom who's injuring their son. Oy vey. Tonight's prayer included the words, "Thank you Lord that your mercies are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). It also helps that Isaac has been happy, smiley and fun all day. I hope he's this forgiving when he's older!

Some other pictures from today:

Which topic? MEPS

Which item to talk about? Today was a good day. I say that because in comparison the last couple days have been less than good. It had nothing to do with Isaac, he has been wonderful. I simply haven't been feeling super happy lately. So there's that topic. There's the learning curve of essential oils that I am beginning to dabble in. And there's planning for our Michigan trip that's happening at the end of this month. I think those are the main items. For today's post I think I'll focus on the first topic of emotions. One way that I evaluate my mood and an overall "how I'm doing" is through a process called:

MEPS

Have you ever done MEPS? It's one of my favorite self-assessment tools. A friend of mine introduced me to it in college and every now and then I use it alone or with others to get a better idea of how they are really doing. This is how you do it: go through each adverb and pick the first word that comes to your mind that describes how you are feeling at that moment. There are few boundaries to this exercise as the words do not have to be adjectives (though they can be). The word can be whatever you want as long as you can explain it. So pick a word and then explain why you chose that word. Now it sounds simple, but for some (like my husband), thinking and describing your feelings abstractly can be difficult. Sometimes Jake can find words easily for some and not so easily for the others. For those times I usually give him a scale and that can help. For example, if you are getting stumped with "Emotionally," you can think of it this way- on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being horrible and 10 being amazing) how are you feeling right now. "Mentally" can be on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being feeling dumb/bored/mentally uninterested in anything and 10 being mentally engaged, learning, etc.) how are you feeling. Make sense? I did it during my walk today with Isaac and this is what I came up with:

Mentally: together. 

I've been learning about essential oils and there are things about the business side that frustrate me and have been keeping me from really understanding and figuring out how to best use them. Today I finally feel like some of the information is coming together. I am also enjoying planning our family's trip to Michigan and those plans also are coming together.

Emotionally: better.

As I mentioned earlier, the last few days have been a little rough for me emotionally; nothing big, but a little extra heaviness. Today has definitely been better. I think it's because I was able to get more things done, like exercising, putting clothes away, etc.

Physically: good.

Deep words, huh? haha. Sometimes my words really aren't that deep, but that's the beauty of this exercise, they really don't need to be. Physically I feel good, mostly since I got to exercise. I downloaded the "7 MWC" app and have been using that to exercise once in awhile on top of my daily walking. It stands for 7 minute workout challenge. It's been good, but I'm sure I need to do it more often to continue to lose weight! I no longer look like I'm pregnant, but I can definitely still lose a few pounds. Overall, I feel good.

Spiritually: beginning.

There are times in my walk with God that I feel like I'm going back to the first part of our relationship. Recently I got to sit in on a conversation between my brother-in-law, Adam and my old youth pastor. It was fun. It's been awhile since I've listened to or participated in a theological sparring. One of the things that excites me most about the body of Christ is how different we all are and how each individual's gifts combine to serve in remarkable ways. (reminds me of power rangers!) I always pray and acknowledge Christ in my life, but I'm feeling the push to take more initiative in my relationship with Him, even it if just means reading one scriptural passage a day.

So there it is- MEPS. Give it a try!

Isaac has been so fun these last few days. He's smiley and sweet and cute. Jake has been away working, so here are some pictures I have taken of Ike for him:

 

 

 

Love this kid.