Thursday, January 28, 2010

A Wet Fish

Fish has decided to potty train himself. But, only when Ben is home. Aaaaaaand we are into RA selection season so Ben is rarely home. Oh, this child may just be the death of me.

Patience, Lord, patience.

On Sunday there is an "alternative worship service" at our church. We are attempting to fill a need that was spoken (5+?) years ago. I jumped on just before Christmas and have been trying to find my niche in the group. For the first couple of months, I felt like I left every meeting asking myself why I was doing this. I was satisfied with our "normal" church service . . . well, as satisfied as I can be as a Presbyterian attending a Quaker church. The changes I would make to the service would probably get me thrown out of the church, or at least whispered about:)

Anyway, I digress.

Recently I found my position. I may not be hip to all the young kids' music or be able to contribute significantly to the message or have the patience to hold kids in childcare, but I can make food. Hence, the baking of bread. Today was stock day. I made roughly 2 gallons of vegetable stock for a black bean soup. Again, I worshiped in my kitchen and it was good. It got me through the peeing off the chair (and onto bedroom carpet), the peeing on the couch during "rest time," and the nibbles my Pillbug takes whilst nursing.

God is good!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The To Do List, She keeps Growin'!

Well, Pillbug does indeed have something more serious: kidney reflux. Life is never dull, eh?

These days my list of things to get done just seems never ending. Especially when throwing in days of Fish taking A LOT of energy and a teething babe. Fish is sitting into his two-dom very nicely, thankyouverymuch. There are many tantrums throughout each day due to his stage in life. I respect that he is growing and developing. Really, I do. Somedays I just wish that growing and developing would happen a little more quietly is all.

I'm in the middle of baking bread for our alternative church service this weekend. I find baking (especially bread, but anything will do really) very centering. In many ways, baking and being in the kitchen is a time where I can meet God in ways that singing and being around a large group of people cannot provide. The time in my kitchen is so precious, so focused on the task at hand, so worshipful. Having my hands in bread dough or mixing batter of some sort brings me a sense of warmth. I provide nutrition for my family and/or friends as well as nutrition for my soul.

My prayer is that I can cling to these rare moments where I can be in the kitchen while the kids are occupied upstairs (or sleeping in her crib) and utilize the energy given to be a better, more patient Mama. Lord knows I need all the help I can get:)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Two

It is a simple number. Small, unobtrusive. I have good memories of the number two. Once there were just two of us in this family of ours. At another point, we had only two little guys sharing our space.

And then Pillbug entered the picture. "Two" took on a whole new meaning.

Two is:
the month in which we discovered a severe ear infection in her left ear.
the number of antibiotics we used to get rid of said ear infection
the number of kidneys my little girl has
the number of visits to her doctor this month to treat her tiny kidneys holding a very big infection
the number of shots of a strong antibiotic to get the infection under control
the number of antibiotics since then that she has had to take: one strong one for 10 days, another lesser, preventive one until . . .
the number of tests that need to be ran on Pillbug to see if she has something more serious going on in her urinary tract
the number of times I was peed upon in an attempt to get a urine sample to make sure the infection is gone

So, two? Doesn't seem so small anymore.

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Challenge of Vacations

We have three weeks at the end of each year for 'break.' The students are gone for winter break and the holidays are upon us. Ben took two weeks of duty this year and so our break didn't actually start until Saturday. He kicked it off with a Lord of the Rings movie marathon (extended editions) while I did some cleaning, cooking, and chatting with friends. It was a good beginning for both of us.

We rolled through a normal Sunday (church, lazy afternoon, evening together reading, etc.) and then Monday hit. We aren't supposed to have the crazy-Monday-syndrome while on vacation, you know? But, somehow we managed to do just that! After each of us taking a time out and refocusing, we came back together and made a plan for the week. I think it'll go a bit more smoothly now that our expectations are set.

Now, I'm off to look over some home school books at our church to see if I can get some ideas as to what I'll need for the upcoming year.

Friday, January 1, 2010

A New Year

2010 is here. I wonder what this year will hold. We have had a pretty crazy end to 2009. To sum it up: A significant head injury (Treefrog), bladder spasms (Fish), and a UTI that turned into a kidney infection (Pillbug). Yep, all within 5 weeks time.

I'm not necessarily one for resolutions, but there are a few things I would like to see happen this year. One, exercise more (doesn't everyone say this?!). Two, blog more. Three, make a point to play with my kids more.

There are many things that I could do better, but I would just like to focus on these three. I think keeping it simple, using broad terms, and allowing myself the freedom to shape the goals as time goes on will help make these things happen this year.

Signing off for now and hoping to be back sooner rather than later:)