July 24

Quick re-cap of the week:

-We started off rocky when Eleanor got a few shots Monday. I always feel sick about it. I don't feel any option I have is good enough and our selective/delayed schedule is barely good enough for Bill, our pediatrician and myself. I felt lousy and guilty, even though she did great.-I finally finished Adeleine's waldorf doll. It was intended to be a birthday present, but better late than never, right? She won't name her, which kinda bothers me. If she doesn't pick one soon, Abbie will do it for her. So far we have "Sparkle", "Diamond", and "Jason Jack", all curtesy of Abbie. I was very glad to fininsh it. I plan to make Abbie one for Christmas. Then everyone will have their own, and maybe we can get rid of the cheap plastic dolls made in China. Now I can move along to some Christmas knitting too!

-Miss Nora Jane has been spending some time in the highchair while I'm in the kitchen. No food for her yet, but she enjoys the commotion that we call dinnertime. She's really starting to feel like part of the family.


-Dinner with the family tonight was a trip "up the hill" as my Grandma would say, to our local mountains for dinner. The food wasn't great, the restaurant was super outdated and smelled funny, but the animal heads on the wall made up for it. Bison, deer, moose, elk and a "cantaloupe". Jameson was talking about antelope but kept saying cantaloupe and we all had to hold back the laughs. I have learned to enjoy the precious, fleeting moments when Carly is home. It doesn't really matter where we spend them...even stinky restaurants!

Meet John

John is the very beloved pet of Jameson. After many months of snake talk around our house, we decided to indeed get a baby cornsnake. We read books before we would commit to anything, making sure that we knew what we were getting into. I am hoping that he will be pretty low maintenance, the only difficulties being remembering to lock the cage door and watching him eat day-old mice. EEK! Jameson is over the moon about him, and in a weird way, he feels older and more mature to me. I do have creepy visions of him becoming the grown-up reptile enthusiast that I saw in the reptile store, with the snake tattoos all over his arms. For now, he's still my little boy with his first very own pet.

My Evens

A few firsts

Just as spring arrived and the weather turned simply beautiful, wouldn't you know that we would be plagued with sickness. Abbie was first with a high fever, headache, Jameson followed a few days later, Adeleine got lucky and escaped with a nose that still has not stopped running, Eleanor got congested, and Bill and I got the worst of it, ironic isn't it! After waking up with a scratchy throat, I proceeded to go to gymnastics and ballet and came home with chills, headache, and bodyaches. My fever reached 103.5! It was during this time when we experienced a first. While all 5 of us (minus Bill since he was not yet home from work) were bundled on the couch watching the Sound of Music that for the first time since having 4 children they were all crying at once. I don't even remember now why, although I am sure that each one had a different reason. Within a few minutes I had everyone calm and quiet and we were back to the von Trapps. It was quite a scene, one that I hope doesn't repeat itself anytime soon.

And today...a beautiful sound was heard at our house! Eleanor laughed for the first time. All the kids were so excited. It truly is the most beautiful sound. I am so blessed to have another little voice in this house, and I can't wait to hear more from her.

9:59 am

Beds made, dishes still to be done, baby sleeping and the Sound of Music being acted out for me (So Long, Farewell). I want to remember this.

Weekend

My Monday got off to a late start. There was so much to do. Dishes to wash from a lovely dinner with family, laundry to do, and kids to ready for activities (gymnastics and ballet today) I just wanted to rewind to the weekend, where the pace is slower. There is so much more there. More patience, more time, more conversation. It was a good one since Carly is home for the week. So this week there will be more sister to enjoy all it all with.

Motherhood.

So I have wondered what my first post after a long hiatus would be about. With so much happening in the last few months (the biggest being pushing out another human in a Rubbermaid tub in my bedroom) I didn't know where to begin. After the timing of finishing a humbling book and it being lent and all, I knew where I was to go with this. Motherhood.

I really try to look the part. I try to be the mom that has the clean, cutely dresses kids. The mom who has the healthy, yet yummy snacks. The mom who is patient and always kind. The mom who is on time. The mom who has it all together. The mom who is happy.

I have lots of parenting books that offer all kinds of advice. How to get your baby to sleep, how to discipline...oh how I love my discipline books, how to be a great parent, how to parent boys, how to parent girls, how to talk to kids, yada, yada, yada. But none of them can prepare you for motherhood really and truly.

I would like to think that I am managing 4 kids well. We have mostly good days with a few not-so-good moments thrown in occasionally, but this. is. really. hard. I have always said that keeping a child alive (fed, clean, out of danger) is really not the difficult part of being a parent. It is being there emotionally, mentally, spiritually and nurturing that little person into a decent big person, and in the past few weeks I am finding motherhood even harder because I am a selfish person. Aren't we all? Isn't this what caused the fall of man? I am certainly no different that Adam and Eve when it comes to being a sinful person. The moments when I start to think about what I can't do because I have 4 beautiful children are not good moments for me. They are reminders that I live a very blessed and rich life filled with smiles, hugs, laughs but I sacrifice to have them. Isn't that what motherhood is all about? The days of sleep and impromptu trips are over! We sacrifice every day, hour and minute to give our children all of us. The demands of motherhood are unrelenting, and can wear on you, until you see a smile, hear a laugh or dry a tear. I am slowly working out of this selfish place and opening my eyes to see the beauty and gift that I have right in from of me, because isn't that what motherhood is all about?