Of Re-adjusting

We in this house are huge supporters of the book On Becoming Baby Wise.  We have implemented the proposed scheduling plan on all of our children since Micaiah was a week old and we would swear up and down it has been so key to learning to handle life with babies - particularly to keeping our sanity (which we don't always succeed at, but it has nothing to do with that book).

I've noticed there are some misconceptions about the Baby Wise plan as some presume the idea of scheduling implies denying my baby food when he is ready, when, in reality, the good doctor actually emphasizes the ideal schedule to be one in which the clock and the mother's intuition work together - so, even if it's not been "long enough," I still have the right to determine if he really does need to eat again or if he just needs to be encouraged to get some more rest.

As a result of our flexible scheduling, our children have done well in the sleep department and have all been happy babies (unless they missed their nap or are just plain hungry) who had no problem gaining weight (seriously, they're chunks) - this third is no exception.  We love it.

Here's the problem: Joey has actually started sleeping six hours at a time at night - starting at 7pm.  Which means by the time we're ready to sleep, I'm convinced, every night, he's just about to wake up to eat, so I should wait.  Until 1am.  When I have to wake him up to feed him.  Ok, so he really just lasted that long for the first time last night, but he has been inching further along in the length of his sleeping and I knew it was coming.

So, how to get him to have his sleep-time coincide with ours so I can have six straight hours of sleep without going to bed at 7pm?  That's what we're trying to figure out.

I'll let you know how that goes.

1,000 Gifts:
85. Sharing the final slices of homemade bread with the kids who love it so much.
86. Washing a tiny one clean.
87. Time around the table, patiently waiting for meat to cook in the fondue pot, being a family.
88. Chopping carrots to prepare the cooking style for that same fondue pot.
89. All of Mr. Potato-head's pieces (or most of them) back together for the first time in awhile.
90. Losing track of time eating breakfast and doing "homework."


Taking Time for Play: Details
These tiny fingers are not letting that paci go.

And just because he's cute . . .

Of Celebrating Pi Day

With the date being 3.14, the nerd in me hates for it to pass unnoticed.  Thus, for the second time (though not in a row, sadly), I opted to make a pie in honor of Pi Day.  And since I was going to go to the effort, I decided to make Philip's absolute favorite - chocolate pie.  But not just any chocolate pie - the recipe passed down from his great-grandmother.

I have avoided this index card in my little white recipe box for over five (nearly six!) years now because, as one can imagine, it is a daunting task to be trusted with such a treasured family recipe.  Seriously, you need to hear Philip talk about this chocolate pie.  It's like his holy grail.  There are over 20 people who gather for holidays at his grandparents' house and they still make one whole chocolate pie labeled as "Philip's pie" (it's honestly deemed as such because they make his without the accompanying meringue and though they say anyone can have some, the threatening gleam in my husband's eye typically says otherwise, or maybe I'm the only one who sees that).

This pie is a big deal.  And for some reason I had in my mind that it was finicky, easy to mess up.  I could not bear to go about presenting my husband with a less-than-perfect chocolate pie.  

Thus, rather than risk learning from my mistakes, I put off making my husband's favorite pie in the world.  For years.  I do have my not-so-smart days (or years).

So, today, Pi Day 2012, I was going to rectify my error.  And if I made it wrong, at least I'd know for next time.  

I dusted off ye old recipe card, began to read through these finicky instructions - but there were only three.  The essence of which was: combine the ingredients, add to hot milk and let cool.  

Seriously?

This couldn't be the complicated dessert of my fears.  Plus, wasn't there supposed to be "boiling" in there anywhere, or even mention of a crust (though, really, I had the crust made already, but still)?  Thus, a quick text to my wonderful mother-in-law (who, apparently, is still working on mastering this puppy, too - ok, I tease, she's made it a time or two, but has been having issues with the eggs the past couple go-arounds) and an e-mail later and I was back in business.  

And I was an idiot.  

Really?  Five years avoiding a pie that took me about ten minutes to make?  Can a girl get any more ridiculous?

Either way, my husband was grateful and it was a wonderful Pi Day for everyone involved (including my aforementioned mother-in-law who got to make her own impromptu pie to be sure she gave me the most accurate instructions - that's dedication).

Happy Pi Day to all! (And, yes, I am such a nerd that I carved the figure in the pudding before it cooled so the filling would set that way.)

1,000 Gifts:

79. A little girl finally napping after nestling her head on Daddy's pillow rather than her own.

80. A little boy sleeping in as I dress his sister and gather their breakfasts for the quick trip to church.

81. A little boy found staring at the ceiling, calmly waiting to be fed, rather than fussing because we'd been away too long.

82. A Bible Study that speaks to me right where I am.

83. Curls on the little girl I don't deserve.

84. The knowledge that He is with me, even in the mundane.

Taking Time for Play: Candy

Nestled in with candy, popcorn and our 3D glasses for date night with my man!

Of Homework

It makes me smile to know that one day I will be able to tease our daughter about the time back when she used to say things like, "Can I do my homework?!" or "Homework?!  Yay!"  I'm not even sure where she learned the concept of homework (probably Sid the Science Kid, it's where she learns all her school-related vocabulary, including the concept of drawing in her "journal"), but from the very first day I printed off some worksheets for her to color on and practice tracing she has dubbed these activities "homework."  So, today, when I told her we got to do homework, this girl was practically jumping out of her chair.  And, of course, her copycat brother was pretty happy about it, too.

It won't always be this easy, but I'll take it as long as I can.

1,000 Gifts:
73. Lasagna fresh from the oven (paired with yet another loaf of homemade bread - marvelous)
74. Three babies finally asleep after a long day of refusing to do so.
75. A room filled with clothes handed down to us for our sweet boys.
76. A rainbow of markers.
77. A tub of unexpected ice cream.
78. A blue, glittery ball rolled back and forth across the floor by a formerly cranky toddler.


Taking Time for Play: Outside
Tonight's Sunset.

Of Comparing

One month was never so short (except for maybe twice before).

It's hard to believe that he's been in our lives a month already but at the same time it seems he's been here all along.  Funny how kids do that.

And because it's fun to compare - my other two children at their one-month meeting with Jemima Puddleduck:

Which of these is not like the others?  Yes, that would be our Master Chunk, aka Emmett.  Notice how similar, not just in build, but in facial features, Micaiah and Joseph are.  They're practically twins (ok, maybe you can't see it as much because of the difference in angles in these pics, but trust me, looking at all of Micaiah's early photos, it's like we slapped a bow on the baby currently not-sleeping in the other room).

I'm very interested to see how this one develops.

1,000 Gifts:
67. A perfect amount of breeze on a perfectly weathered morning for drawing with chalk.
68. Trying a new recipe (and loving it!)
69. Fresh, soft bread dipped in melted cheese.
70. Knowing "this too shall pass"
71. Weary cries in the other room.
72. Children who sometimes love to play more than they love to sleep.


Taking Time for Play: Friends
These three are the best of friends (well, Joey doesn't seem to show much preference, yet, but the other two would definitely claim him as one of their best pals).

Of Home Church

Don't tell anyone, but we skipped church this morning.  Shhh!

One of our primary justifications was that Strep has been going around our circle of friends and, being particularly prone to the virus, I wanted to be cautious (which is rare since I am typically not even close to being germophobic - but after getting bloody tonsils from my first infection fifteen years ago and multiple times after, I don't mess with Strep).

There may have been some other justifications, but for whatever reason, we weren't with our church family.  So, instead, we had family church - which, of course, was tailored to its audience.  This meant we watched the VeggieTales version of Daniel in the Lions' Den before reading it out of their children's Bible and then putting together the wooden puzzle their great-grandmother made for them with the same theme.

Though, we've realized coordinating our home church service with animated vegetables may have been an error, as Micaiah's answer for the rest of the day to the question of, "Why didn't the lions eat Daniel ?" was, "Because they eat pizza."

Not exactly - but we have time to work that out.

1,000 Gifts:
61. Bible verses repeated from the tongues of my babies.
62. The multiple voices my husband appropriates to Dr. Seuss characters for bedtime stories.
63. Reading, with my two oldest babies nestled in my lap, the children's Bible storybook my daughter pulled from her shelf all on her own (before Family Church).
64. A washer-full of cloth diapers - the children who fill those are such blessings, even if the messes aren't.
65. Preparing breakfast for my hungry baby birds.
66. Early-afternoon baths after a late-morning romp in the mud puddles.


Taking Time for Play: Colorful
I wasn't sure how we'd fill this category, but fortunately I have a daughter with the memory of an elephant who, even though she hasn't even seen this game in over six months (at least) asked out of the blue to play the color-circle game this evening.  So, play, we did - and I made sure to photograph those color-circles for today's theme.  The final photo was the winner for me.

PS  I may or may not have eaten this ENTIRE bowl of homemade kettle corn by myself this evening (pretty sure that's about 6 quarts of popped corn) - I think I let the fact that I was back in my pre-pregnancy jeans last Sunday - only three weeks after giving birth! - affect my eating habits, maybe.  Or maybe I just love kettle corn.

Of Motivating Ourselves

New Cleaning Motivational Tip (for us anyway): We should clean before going to bed every evening as if the midwives could stop by in the middle of the night.

Hey, it worked before the baby came.

1,000 Gifts:
55. A game of tag bundled in giggles.
56. The sound of laughter from behind the closed door across the hall as the kids climb all over Daddy (who is trying to keep them quiet so Mommy can nap).
57. Secret giggles when they should be going to sleep (but are doing puzzle in the middle of the floor instead).
58. The gift of rest.
59. Friends in Christ re-connecting.
60. One in Whom I can rest my worries and be anxious no more.


Taking Time for Play: Favorite Drink
This is my "mug" - it's the one given to me by the hospital after Micaiah was born and it's the one Philip is still asked to fill with water at least three times a day.  The logo has been well-worn to the point of non-existence.  The inner and outer parts are mostly separated and the lid is cracked but it all still works and is never far from my side.  Love it.

Watching TV with all three of my precious ones, freshly bathed and ready for bed.

Of Going Awry

We waited all week-long for this event - a good, old-fashioned Sunday School cook-out, complete with ALL the kids, the likes of which we have not seen for some time.  I spent the afternoon preparing side dishes and giving thanks that Joey had timed his feeding schedule perfectly to allow for him to eat just before we left and be able to last until we got home.  Things were looking great.

It didn't register to me, when I heard the kids through their monitor as I chopped vegetables for the pasta salad, that the older ones had woken about a half-hour earlier than the time allotted for their minimum two-hour nap - a full hour and a half earlier than they'd been waking at the beginning of the week.  Had I noticed the time, I might have put on my mean-mommy face and demanded they go back to sleep.

But it just didn't register.  Not until we were sitting in the living room of our teachers' home, surrounded by friends and their well-behaved, happy children, while we attempted to calm our snot-nosed, bleary-eyed elder son who was just not having it.  Not having what, we weren't sure, but whatever it was, he wasn't having it.  All he was having was a fit.

We managed to make it through dinner - well, Micaiah and I did - she and I even ate ourselves to flat-out, belly-aching stuffed - Philip, however, got the basics he could shove onto his plate as quickly as possible and the meager piece of cake his wife cut for him to share with tantrum-boy as they exiled themselves to the hall.  After eating, though, I found myself packing up our things as quickly as possible while Philip consoled our son on the front porch and we high-tailed our embarrassed selves out of there and put that cranky boy to bed.

It was rough, but I was ok - heading home was better than listening to his cries or hanging out inside while my husband was relegated to the darkness, away from everyone else, just so I could socialize.  What I didn't think about, though, was the impact it was having on him, that wonderful man of mine who had been willing to sacrifice adult-conversation for the need to calm our son.

See, I get adult conversation quite often.  Every Wednesday morning I participate in a women's Bible Study with my fellow stay-at-home moms.  On the rare occasion, I get to enjoy a play-date with these same wonderful women and their children.  Last Sunday, I attended a baby shower with, again, these same wonderful women (and those who don't get to enjoy the weekday rendezvous) and spent the afternoon free of toddlers, just drinking mocha punch and downing mini fruit pizzas.  So, truly, heading home early tonight was no big deal.

And then there's my husband, who spends his days heading to work, where 99% of his conversation is about coding and nothing more.  He comes home to a wife who has spent all day with kids and just needs a break, so, because he's a wonderful husband, he grants her that break, playing with the kids and keeping them out of my hair as I cook dinner.  He tries to talk to me about the things he cares about, his games and his painting of miniatures, but I'm generally too busy getting things done to hear, and when I do hear, I just can't relate.  He converses on-line with men who share his interests, but that's if they're available - most of his conversations happen via e-mail or as comments on forums.

So this night of adult-interaction was big for him.  Really big - bigger than I'd taken the time to realize, unfortunately.  And our fussy son kept him from getting a moment of enjoyment out of any of it.

Sometimes it's really important to remember that these days, these days of not going out because it's so much easier to stay in, these days of toddler tantrums and searching for baby-sitters so we can have a moment's respite, these are fleeting - they are but a whisper in the grand time-line of our lives.  This, too, shall pass.  And when it does, we'll miss these days where our greatest frustration with our kids was when their nap was cut just a little too short.

1,000 Gifts:
49. Time to check things off my list.
50. Fresh vegetables to chop.
51. Checks in the mail.
52. Bacon-wrapped jalapeños, even after you think you've already eaten too much.
53. A husband willing to watch the older children while I accompany the youngest on a routine doctor's visit.
54. Perfect timing from a nursing boy - both at the doctor's office and at home.


Taking Time for Play: Happy.


Emmett, in happier times - as in the time just following that too-short nap when the tiredness hadn't yet kicked in, disobeying by sitting on sissy's dresser, but being darn cute while doing so.

Again, just for kicks and giggles, look who got to wear jeans and shoes for the first time today.  What a big day!

He may look tiny with Daddy holding him up, but this big boy weighed in at 11lbs at the doctor today - and he's 22 inches long, nearly two inches longer than he was at birth!  He's still in the 84th percentile, though, which, compared to his siblings when they were itty bitty, is actually small-ish.