Martha Metzler.com

Sorry I’m a bit late on this. We had Bud’s 6 month check up yesterday complete with vaccinations and the past 2 days have been a nightmare. Please don’t judge me for the size of my glass of wine last night after Bud went down for the night…. or that I debated having one at 10am this morning. Don’t worry, the chocolate chip cookie won me over and I chose him instead.

Week 3 went GREAT as I got to buy coffees for a nice older couple standing behind me at Starbucks. They looked at me like I was nuts and asked me, “Why are you doing this?” and I just told them that I wanted to bless them and what do you know, they paid for the person behind them. LIKE GLORIOUS DOMINOS PLAYAZ! Then I undid all of my good deeds by saying “playaz”.

So Week 4 Challenge is in honor of Mr. Rogers…. do something for your neighbor this week! It can be bringing them baked goods, raking their yard, inviting them over for supper, whatever is your heart’s desire. I’d love to hear how it goes!

We had a great night last night as our house was filled with friends, laughs, and good conversations. We had a giant slumber party with folks from the neighborhood without power and I went to bed with a smile on my face as our house was being used as it should be. I’m going to snuggle with the man of my dreams and watch movies on the We channel… yeah its happening.

Warning: You are about to experience cute overload. I’m not the only one that enjoyed having our house full of people…

Yall it’s gotten cray cray around here. Snow has turned to ice and the power is out everywhere! We prayed like crazy all day and all night and thank the Lord we still have power. It kept flickering off and on but came back after a minute each time. Half of neighborhood (not an exaggeration) doesn’t have it so we know its a huge blessing that we’re able to keep our little family warm. We have an open house and Sam almost went on a little rescue mission last night for a friend but she got her gas logs to work. It’s nuts yall! We have our flashlights ready, hotel numbers in our fully charged phones just in case, and warm outfits and blankets for Bud. I’m having faith we won’t need it and our power stays on.

Good news is we got some good play time in with Bud before the snow turned into ice. Pray our area gets the power back on soon! No heat + freezing temps = cold families which is no good at all. If anyone in the Dupont area reads this and needs a warm place to come, shoot me an email: marthabmetz@gmail.com

My sweet Bud is 6 months old! There have been so many fun things happening this month. So here are some stats for my boy.

Sweet Bud, you popped your first 2 teeth! You have adorable bottom teeth and while you are drool machine and were a bit fussy when they were coming in, you still have been such a happy baby. You weigh almost 17 pounds and are 27.5 inches long. You still have a huge dome-piece and are in the 75% for head size… way to go pal. You are also sitting up all on your own like a champ. Still no signs of pulling up or crawling but you love just sitting and playing with your toys. You have officially developed a sense of independence and we’re seeing your personality coming out. You don’t like it when Mama leaves the room and will just whine away until I come back. You also showed your first sign of the “gimme tude” I call it. I took away one of your toys the other day because you kept hitting yourself in the face (genius child) and you looked at me with the biggest stink eye and just started crying away. Oh great, this shiz has officially started. You are nursing every 4 hours, eating 3 little meals, and sleeping 12 hours. Oh 6 months, I am a fan. You are such a chill and happy baby but the only times you decide to do your best Gary Busey impression is when I turn the blender or vacuum on.

You have totally stolen your daddy’s and my heart and we are completely smitten. We could just stare at your sweet little blue eyes and rub your sweet little round head for hours. We will deny it to your face when you are 15 and trying to sneak out of the house and drink Busch Light and smoke cloves but right now, we think you are kinda perfect.

I mean, how could you NOT stare at these eyes forever?!

Oh no big deal, just sittin here

6 MONTHS!

Yall we have like 12 inches of snow outside right now. IT IS AWESOME! Not only because I love snow because it ultimately means I will be eating my weight in snow cream but also because it means my Bud will look like an adorable marshmallow in his snow outfit. We had the greatest weekend together filled with a date night to an AMAZING french restaurant, a night out with some friends, and some time playing together as a family. We spent our mornings in PJs and playing music together while Bud just stared at us with his big ol’ heartmelting blue eyes. We have been so blessed that Sam and I just sit back and feel like we’re drowning in Grace.

Music time in the mornings

Date Night!

imma put dis rattle up in my mouf

my snow dude

my snow dudes

cute photo idea FAIL... daddy had to do some giant head catching

I’ve heard from some of you about donations you’ve made from Week 2 Challenge and its brought a giant smile to my face. The whole point of this challenge and my heart behind it was to bring a bit of spice to my life and hopefully to others’ lives as well. I wanted to show people the joy that can exist in life, we just need to pursue it! Plus, lets be honest, sometimes going from working full time and then going to mommyhood full time can be an adjustment. I didn’t want to lose my spirit or my drive for a others outside of our home. I know my most important ministry right now is with Bud and showing him what Love and Grace looks like. But I think a lot of that lesson will be showing him that we are supposed to love others, our neighbors, and everyone we pass on the street.

Now, I’m inching us all into this year-long challenge. SO, this week’s challenge is to get rid of all of your belongings, live on the street, and give everything to the poor. What? Too soon? I kid, I kid. This week’s challenge is to “buy one, give one free”. Worst deal ever? Maybe for you but not for the person behind you in line. Let me explain. Whether you are in line at Starbucks or your neighborhood coffee shop, Subway or sandwich shop, or even the movie theatre… buy your coffee/sandwich/ticket but then pay for another one. Tell the guy at the counter that you’d like to purchase _______ for whoever comes in line next.  It’s that easy. You’ll be seriously making someone’s day and who knows, maybe inspiring them to do the same, and the next person, and the next (you get the idea). So lets do it folks, lets buy one and give one free!

Here is the picture of stuff I got rid of last week. I gave those extra diapers away, went through my closet and Bud’s toy chest and got rid of some things that could really help a brotha out. I even added 2 more coats to the coat bag this week!

Put down your swords, let your walls fall down, take a breath and watch this with an open heart and open ears.

*Disclaimer: Please don’t let the first few sentences turn you off no matter where you stand politically. It’s not a political video, it is a video about faith. There are plenty of religious and non-religious democrats AND republicans. However, the duck-billed platypus is always religious… self-righteous creature.

Hey yall, my girl Kristin blogged about the Information Blanket today and I had to share. It’s a great product that essentially is a blanket with instructions of proper baby care. This may seen dumb to you but lack of education is the reason behind a lot of infant mortality especially in other countries. So, go to their website, take a gander, and consider making a purchase. With every English language blanket you purchase, another blanket is sent to a mother in need in another country. Pretty amazing.

Go to their “Buy to Give” page. Buy one for yourself or for a friend or hell,  complete Week 2 Challenge and buy one and donate it to local charity. You’d be helping a local mom and a international mom!

You know what I’ve realized? Baby books are awesome for giving guidance but not answers. You see, my baby is not a textbook. I keep reading these great books expecting him to be just like the babies that the authors write about. But you know what? He isn’t and that’s totally ok. He’s our Bud and I’m glad that he’s an A + B = C baby. And oh my gosh, he’s the happiest, weirdest, and chill baby so in spite of us… he totally rocks.

Sleep: We follow Babywise but obviously modify it to what Bud needs. He is on a Eat, Play, Sleep routine and he takes great naps. He takes a morning nap, afternoon nap, and sometimes a 40 minute catnap in the evening. But about every 2 months, right when we think we’ve gotten his sleep down perfectly… he changes! He has been sleeping through the night since about 2 months but every now and then will just wake up STARVING at 4am. It hasn’t helped that at his 3 month growth spurt and 6 month growth spurt/teething we flew him across the country and added 3 hour time difference to the mix. Luckily he’s back on sleeping 7:30-6:30 or 7 but I’m certain as soon as he’s gotten that nailed, we’ll run into something else. Isn’t that how it always goes?

Eating: We have officially switched to a 4 hour schedule and my little man did it on his own accord. I was still nursing him every 3 hours and I noticed he just wasn’t that hungry when I went to feed him. So I started stretching his awake times and he slid right into a 4 hour schedule and seems much happier. I have realized I can’t follow other people’s schedules or timelines. Bud will let me know when he’s ready to go to the next “chapter” and it’s a lot smoother that way. He is loving solid foods and I made a few batches of pears, bananas, apples, and sweet potatoes to last us for awhile. I’ll do another post about making your own food, it’s actually pretty dang easy!

Awaketimes: We are having the best time now that he’s awake for longer stretches. I told Sam last night that I officially felt like a mom though because I spent the day picking toys up, catching Bud’s head so it doesn’t slam into the floor, trying to do laundry and put away laundry in between naps, and dreaming up different activities to keep Bud entertained since we had more time. Plus, we’re a one car family this week (Sam’s truck is having issues) so we’re stuck at home which means no random trips to distract us. So we’re reading, taking walks, dancing to music, practicing sitting up and inevitably falling down (I made a crash landing pad out of blankets and its actually fun to fall now… probably not the best idea), playing with toys, pulling Roy’s tail, and eating. It’s a really hard life as a baby.

I keep reminding myself that there are seasons as a mama and we just need to enjoy each one as they come. There will be moments that seem so amazing that your eyes fill with tears of joy… and the ones that make you run for the coffee pot (or Pinot Grigio). And there will be moments that just don’t make sense no matter how many books you read. We need to trust our babies and the signals they give us even if they don’t always line up with what the books say. We have been designed to connect with our child and react to his or her needs. It’s one of the most innate things about us. That, and not wanting to waste that little bit of ice cream in the bottom of the carton.

Its that time again peeps. Thanks to all of you who linked up, commented, and I saw a bunch on facebook. I loved seeing yalls lists! Yall are awesome. So, onto week 2’s challenge.

DONATE SOMETHING!

Donate something this week. It can be big, it can be small. I’m talking something tangible. When we moved out to WA I did a huge purge of crap I wasn’t using in my house and it felt awesome. Need some suggestions?

I have a bunch of diapers that are too small for my Bud’s budunk-adunk. There’s a place on post that takes donated diapers for soldiers who need them. Easy as pie and it really helps someone out.

Go through your closet and clean out stuff you don’t wear. (Yes, even those jeggings that you swear you thought you’d look as good as the tween next to you in Target would) Take them to Goodwill or the Rescue Mission or a family you know in your neighborhood that could use them. Coats? There are people freezing that would kill for your old fleece. There’s also an organization I used to work with called Dress for Success. If you have any old work clothes that you aren’t going to wear (retirees, SAHMs, or Jennifer Hudson who has a lot of clothes from her previously bigger days ) then donate them to Dress for Success who outfits people who are interviewing for jobs for the first time and need professional clothes. I have witnessed my clients who I took to DFS and the look on their face when they try on a suit for the first time is pretty life-changing. There’s a look of confidence that takes over their whole demeanor is completely awe inspiring.

Kitchen stuff, toys, non-perishable foods in your pantry… all things that shelters and rescue missions could really use. There are half-way houses full of young women with children who would LOVE some new toys or clothes.

Donate old lamps or items from your apartment or house you’re just storing in your garage. That could help outfit a recovering addict’s very first apartment. Your stuff could start filling their very first home as they start their new life over.

These are such easy things that take one afternoon of cleaning through your house and dropping them off to a place that your heart goes out to. So easy and it will make the biggest difference to someone. Lets actually play a role in changing the world, even if its just changing one person’s day. If we all participated in this, it could be a pretty kickass week for our cities.