Why We Shouldn't Compare Ourselves to Someone Else

 
My sister and I, with our four kids each, occasionally think back to our one-child or two-child selves.

"Remember when we each had just one baby, and we thought that was hard?!?"

"Hahaha, remember when we only had two kids each and we thought that was hard?!?!"

*incredulous laughter*

But you know what?  It was hard.  When I think back to when I only had one child, I think about how difficult it was to adjust to life as a mom, how new everything was to me, and how much I worried.  It was hard. 

Experiences Tube Feeding In Public

About a week ago, I shared my experience tube feeding in public for the first time.  I thought it would be interesting to ask other tubie moms what kind of experiences they've had while tube feeding in public as well.  Here are some of the responses I received:

It Takes a Village: When You Need Help

I'm on my own a lot.  Hubby works full-time and farms with his dad so he's pretty much home to eat (occasionally) and sleep (sometimes).  He tries to help me out when he's able to, but the guy works so hard that he spends his small amount of time at home either relaxing on the couch or playing with the kids to try to make up for the fact that he hasn't seen them in two days.  So for the most part, I'm doing this whole parenting thing by myself.

The Best and Worst News of My Life

My whole life, I thought I was the biggest wimp alive.  Until one day, when I was commiserating with my sister about how we have more aches and pains now that we're in our 30s. I explained how much pain  and fatigue I have each day, fully expecting her to say something along of the lines of "Yeah, me too!"

She didn't.  Instead, she looked at me and said, "Wow. I couldn't deal with that everyday."

Etsy Finds: Mother's Day

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

Welcome to my first Etsy Finds post!  Enjoy!

 

My First Time Tube Feeding in Public

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

The first time I had to tube feed Davy in public, I was so nervous, I was shaking.  3 month old Davy had had an appointment with his GI specialist that day at the clinic 45 minutes from our home.  After we were done, I stopped at Target to pick up a few things and realized that it was time for Davy's next feeding.

Confession: Adult Coloring Books

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

Unless you have your head stuck in the sand somewhere, you've probably heard about the latest trend of adult coloring books.

How to Keep Kids From Using Too Much Toilet Paper

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.  

This morning, our sweet little Anna filled the toilet bowl with toilet paper after going potty, flushed it repeatedly, and flooded the bathroom.  In the afternoon, she did it again.  After the day's events, I thought it would be a good time to resurrect this post that originally was published on my previous blog, Supermommy!...Or Not.  Enjoy!  I'm off to buy some stickers! 

Kids (and some adults!) are notorious for using too much toilet paper.  More than once, I've caught my kids happily unrolling about 2 yards of toilet paper for one wipe.  That's kind of a money waster.

Why Sunshine and Spoons?

So why did I name this blog "Sunshine and Spoons"?

Sunshine reminds me of children, playing and happy, without a care in the world.  Sunshine is a lack of clouds. 

And then there are the spoons.  People with chronic illnesses often refer to themselves as "spoonies" in reference to the Spoon Theory by Christine Miserando.  Although we may appear weak, we're anything but.  We fight each day just to live as normally as we can and live with more pain and fatigue than most people can imagine.  "Spoons" make me think of strength and perseverance.

I think this graphic explains the Spoon Theory pretty well.

Miserandino

Miserandino

Miserandino

A Little More About Me

For those of you who are new here and didn't follow me at Supermommy!...Or Not, I thought I'd do a little more in-depth intro.

As you probably already know, I have four littles of my own.  I also babysit for my sister, who has four kids right around the same ages as my own, and for some friends from church, who also have...you guessed it...four kids who are in the same age range as mine.  I only babysit for each of them 1-3 times a week, but every once in a while, the days overlap, and I end up with 12 kids after the big ones get home from school.

In addition to babysitting, I work as a freelance reporter for the local newspaper which I LOVE.  I write 6-8 articles a month.

I also sub occasionally at the local library (where my mom just happens to work as the most awesome library director ever!)  She doesn't know it, but I'm angling for her job when she retires *insert evil laugh here.*

Because those three jobs just don't keep me busy enough, I also own my own online children's boutique, for which I make all of the products myself.  I specialize in designs for little ones with special needs which is obviously something that is close to my heart.  I opened Annalie's Baby Boutique in August, 2010 and have loved being able to be creative while still staying home with my children.      

How It All Began...

Updated August 3, 2020

Welcome to Sunshine and Spoons!  This is a place where you can learn more about living with or caring for someone with medical or special needs, find parenting stories and tips, share your story, and more.

I'm Hannah, a mom of four who loves Jesus, reading, writing, sewing, and chocolate.  I used to blog at Supermommy!...Or Not, but this is my new blog home. I'm also the owner of Sunshine and Spoons and have a fabric shop. After a lifetime of looking for answers, I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome in March, 2016.  I also have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Eosinophilic asthma, eczema, acid reflux disease, and PTSD.