normal days

Jack is my home-body.

In the mornings he gets up, gets himself dressed, and comes downstairs to smile and coo at Katie.

Then he wants to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and spend the morning playing cars and playing "temple run" on my iPod (he's quite good actually), and making "valentines", which look like this:



And though he likes to play with his friends, when it is time to go, he is happy to go and usually is ready to leave before I am.

We stay home a lot. And though we are quite happy with this every day routine, it doesn't provide for many interesting blog posts.

Katie is in separation anxiety mode. I walk up the stairs or leave the room and she is in tears. Even if Daddy is around. And if I am around, she wants to be held. So I carry her around or stick her in the high chair with a graham cracker (where she can see me, of course!) and try to get something done.

Ana continues to love school, but doesn't like to be woken up in the morning. She is reading and it is a lot of fun to listen to her. I have her read to me every day and I am so proud at how good she has gotten. She also loves to write and do any sort of art project. She started soccer and loves it!

Dave is spending at least 60 hours in the hospital each week on his surgery rotation. He is learning a lot, is exhausted each night, and doesn't think he wants to be a surgeon.

I continue to be too far behind in my housework. But I am the proud owner of THIS stroller. (I found a super good deal on craigslist.) I am very excited to have it.

These normal days are good. So, so good. The weather is warming up. My tulips are getting ready to bloom. The sunshine has indeed been good for my soul. And though I still am a little frazzled by the end of the day, I know that there will be a day when I will look back and say, "those were the good days."

The days are long, but the years are short.



(click to enlarge - the last 3 Easters.)

bath time!

Katie loves bathtime!




She doesn't like to sleep through the night or leave Mommy's hip.

But she is quick to smile and brings us so much happiness.

happy easter

This is the first year I made Ana's Easter dress. I always wanted to, but somehow it never happened. Katie got a cute dress when she was born and it just happened to fit her now so I made Ana's dress to match. But then it was too short, and I ran to the fabric store on Thursday night to get a strip to lengthen it. I love how it turned out. I also made Jack's tie.

Trying to get 3 children to all look at the camera and smile their best at the same time is tricky. Especially when you are walking out the door for church.









Apart from cute children in new clothing and baskets full of candy, we watched THIS video as a family.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

paradigm shift in parts

When my babies hit 6 months, things get complicated. The baby isn't sleeping as much during the day, mobility increases and so does the need to interact. And then I can't seem to get anything done. It doesn't help that it hits in the midst of my winter blues. I've been feeling overwhelmed the last little while.

*As women we have a tendency to compare our weaknesses with other women's strengths. Some women have immaculate homes. Some are very creative. Some are good at seeing others' needs and serving them. The fact is, everyone has something very important to them. For everything that one woman does, there is something she does not do.

I do things that others do not.

*A few weeks ago I asked my good friend and mother of 3 how she keeps it all together. She told me as much as she loves cooking, she only makes dinner a couple times a week. The other nights her family eats sandwiches, breakfast food, leftovers and other (healthy) quick fixes. The next day I asked my sister, "How often do you make a good dinner for your family?" "Probably 3 times a week," she answered.

I do not have to make dinner every night.

*I get down on myself sometimes. I get in a pattern of negative thinking - focusing on all the things I am not good at or things I don't do that I wish I did or things that I do that I wish I didn't. I decided to fight it while I mopped my kitchen floor.

I am good at things. I sing. I write. I am interested in a lot of different things. I really try to be a good, deliberate mother. I have talents.

*I have wonderful friends.

I am feeling better.

i don't get enough sleep at night

I have a list of things to write about.

Like how two weeks ago I got our van stuck in mud and had to get towed.

And how Jack's current obsessions include making valentines and cuting, coloring and taping pictures to the window.

Also how I have come to a breakthrough in the way I see things. I'd like to write about that too.

But Katie isn't sleeping well at night, and my sleep-deprived brain can't form two coherent sentences. I also have a hard time being pleasant.

So, I'll have to get back to you on those other things.

current obsessions

There are 3 things Jack likes to do if given a choice of activities.

#1: play cars

#2: make "valentines"

#3: color pictures that I print off the web, cut them out and tape them to our front window.

Man, I love that boy.

i like to wear my baby

Jack: 6 weeks old




Katie: 10 days old.



Katie: 3 weeks



Katie: 5 weeks


Katie: 2 months



Katie: 7 months



If you don't have a sling/wrap/baby-carrier-of-some-sort: get one. I like my sling for quick things and my Moby for longer trips. I have also transferred a sleeping baby from the car into my sling, and back into the car without her waking up. You can nurse in them, mop the floor in them, (though not at the same time) and many other things.

I like to "wear" my baby.

step 1 (of a million)

Right before we left to go home, Dave took a "big test." That's what we told the kids. Specifically it was USMLE Step 1.

He got his scores back this week and he did really well. Of course, this is just the first of a long line of exams and hoops to jump through prior to being a practicing physician. But it does put him in a competitive range for basically any specialty he could want. I am so proud of him.

In celebration of finishing the exam, we had a party of sorts. We took his Step 1 study guide, now completely useless and tore it to pieces. Jack thought this was great fun. Ana was a little concerned about destroying a book, until we told her that we would recycle the paper so it could make more books.

strawberry shortcake

Katie loves strawberries.

Ana loves Katie.

in like a lion

February and March are no good to me.

The past several weeks I have been crabby, snappy, depressed and overwhelmed. I have been frustrated in my relationships and my responsibilities on every level. Frustrations quickly turn to irrationalities, and being the writer (as in: one who likes to write) that I am, I wrote in my journal. (I do still do that sometimes, but I reserve it for my more intimate thoughts. In other words, that is where I complain.) "My children are disobedient. My husband is thoughtless. I don't like myself. My house is a disaster." (That one is not quite as irrational of a thought. My house really is a disaster.)

After I finished my writing session, I began skimming through the past year or so, and I came across an entry from last March: same feeling. A couple years before that: same feeling. Only that year (2009) I mentioned how I get this way every year around this time.

I thought perhaps since this winter was so mild that it would skip me. But even though the temperature has been,mhh higher than last year, it was still a very overcast, dark winter.

Perhaps this is my body's way of saying that it is time for a Spring Cleaning. Time to get rid of the stuff I've no use for, open the windows, and reorganize. Not just my house (though that certainly needs to happen) but my soul as well. The guilt and negativity have no place here. I need inspiration like I need fresh air. I need a new routine and a fresh outlook.

I bought a new pair of shoes too. That never hurts either.