Good Reads: Posts I’ve Enjoyed

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Organizing Junkie: When Kid's Play Spaces Take Over YOUR Spaces! - We have to deal with this in our living room because it also contains all of John's toys. We have a toy box, but I also like the activity mat idea in this post.

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Catholic Icing: Lenten Navigation Page - Good source for living out the Lenten season with kids.

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Karen Edmisten: A Meaningful Lent - Long but good post about having a meaningful Lent for the whole family!

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Mama Natural: 10 Tips for Flying with a Toddler (video and text)- We're not planning on flying anytime soon, but these are good tips for the future!

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Star of the Sea: Fr. Lappe's Homily on Marriage - I wasn't able to hear this in person, so I'm glad it was put online!

Almost three

John is my sweet, pouty, imaginative, know-it-all, sensitive, strong-willed, friendly, clingy, compassionate, moody, honest, loving almost-three-year-old. This morning he got up at about 7:20am and immediately wanted me to fix his little airplane that hangs from the ceiling in his bedroom. Whenever I hear John's door open I always quickly (slowly and carefully) get out of bed because I am afraid that John will come up in our bed and wake up Peter. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to snuggle up with John, but let's just say he is very squirmy when he snuggles.

I whispered to John that we will fix the airplane after Daddy and Peter wake up. He instantly dropped to the floor as though my words pierced his heart. I went to the bathroom and he sneakily climbed in our bed. Picking him up ever-so-gently, we went into the living room where he announced to me that me that he no longer loved me and my hair smelled bad (pretty sure he was smelling my morning breath...). How do you respond to a blow like that? I simply told him that he hurt my feelings and made me very sad. About two minutes later he hugged me and said "I DO love you!"

That is life when you live with a pre-schooler... all these emotional ups and downs all day long. Sometimes he says the sweetest things and then he'll turn around and defiantly say "NO" when I ask him to do something. It pulls on my heart strings, and I wouldn't trade him or this time with him for anything in the world.

 Currently one of John's favorite toys. This thing has chugged miles around our house!

He stole my scissors for this cutting session, but he is getting pretty good with his small safety scissors! He is also very interested in puzzles. I'm amazed at his spatial skills.

I found this idea to do with John during Lent. It's a bean jar. Every time he does something good, he gets to put a bean in the jar. On Easter the beans turn into jelly beans. However, at his age, we are going to turn the beans to jelly beans on Sundays. Also for Lent, I'm hoping to get him to make the sign of the cross. He says the words but doesn't do the gestures.

This is a very formative time for him and for me as a parent. Right now Andrew and I are laying a foundation, whether we acknowledge it or not, that will support John as he grows in maturity. I have bad parenting days for sure and I try to read books that will inspire me to be better. And when I have even a moment to reflect on the whole situation, I realize that John will be a man someday. Obvious, I know, but I think it's easy to forget when you're in the trenches of parenting. Right now, I have two boys in my house who will be grown men in a relatively short time, who have specific vocations, who will impact the world, who may have children of their own someday, and who have eternal souls that have been entrusted to my care. I forget all that when faced with a blowout or a yelling child.

John Quotes ~ Vol. 4

The morning after we set up the Christmas tree - talking about a van ornament:
John: "Look at that car we have!"
Me: "It's a van."
John: "My hold it?"
Me: "It's breakable, Johnny..."
John: "My be really careful with that ban!"
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I was tickling John and he wanted me to stop. He said, "Stop tickling, Mama. That's not a toy, that's your finger!"
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Me: Are you pooping?
John: No
Me: I think you are.
John: I think I not are.
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After spinning around:
"I'm spin-zy"
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Me: I'm so glad your my son!
John: I'm glad your my son too!
Me: John, am I your mom?
John: I am your mom!

Lenten Beginnings

Yesterday was the beginning of the season of Lent. Andrew asked me if I was excited... "yes?" I replied. It didn't sound convincing. I guess Lent is always hard because it forces me to examine my life in light of who I am meant to be. What is off in my life? How can I be a better mother, wife, and daughter of God? These are challenging questions. It's easy to lose track during the rest of the year and develop bad habits. This is why Lent is so necessary!

In college, I was in a group of people who were pretty hardcore in their sacrifices. Some slept on wooden boards, ate only liquid foods, gave up sarcasm, makeup, or looking in mirrors. One year I tried giving up electricity. My parameters were I never turned lights on, I took cold showers, washed my clothes in cold water, washed dishes by hand. It was kind of fun... for about a week! Then it became pretty challenging - especially taking cold showers! Finally someone knocked some sense into me: Why are you doing this? How will this sacrifice bring you closer to Christ? These questions made me realize that I might be doing it for the wrong reasons. Namely, to get a taste of the romanticized olden-days that I've so often longed for in my youth.

Now I am more careful about choosing my sacrifices and examining my motives. This year I have on my heart to focus on being a better wife and mother through prayer and spending quality time with my family. I've been reading the 10 Habits of Happy Mothers and it's giving me a lot to think about and at least one good idea for Lent. Which is calling at least one friend once a week, or better yet, going to visit with a friend. This will help me to reach out socially and connect with people I care about.

This sounds silly, but one struggle I have is getting dressed in the morning. This really impacts my day in a bad way. I feel like I am so busy taking care of everyone else, that I don't take care of myself. It doesn't feel good to stay in pajamas all day! I'm sure all the stay-at-home-moms out there with little kids can relate! During Lent, I am going to work on this by getting dressed before 9am.

As a family, we are going to give up TV. This should free up some time in the evening for more blogging! =) Andrew pointed out to me that I took a month off between January and my post yesterday. Ooops.

Another sacrifice I am going to do is to clean one part of the house each day that will likely go unnoticed. Shhhh - don't tell Andrew! I think this will help me to pay more attention to the little things around the house and clean without seeking praise. At Mothers' Group someone mentioned saying "Hail Marys" while scrubbing the toilet! HA! Maybe I can incorporate that into my cleaning too!

Happy Lent to you all!

Ladies and Gentlemen...

...we have a tooth! Yesterday Peter Julian cut his first tooth (bottom right)! Last week was a long week for me with this little guy and his big brother. There were two nights in particular where I was feeling pretty down about my parenting skills. But it was encouraging when we realized that Peter was teething. Maybe that's why I was having a rough week. However, that doesn't explain John's misbehaviors... Who knows what's up with that almost-three-year-old! He's a different story! I'm pretty sure Peter is working on cutting another tooth, so I'm expecting another crabby week for him.

{Update: Today, on 2/23, his second tooth broke through!}

It's hard to capture a picture of the tooth itself, so I got this video of him where you can kind of see the tooth (FYI - you won't see the tooth until the very end of the video):

Today Peter is officially four months old! A few weeks ago, we decided to try him out in the crib. Here is our new routine: He falls asleep in our arms in the living room. We coax him into a deep sleep in the glider. When we think he is in a deep sleep, we transfer him to his crib and wait it out. By golly, the first night we did this, he slept in his crib from 10:30pm to 3:30am! The second night from 10:30am-6am!!!!! Since John slept in our bed until he was a year old, I was kind of sad with the prospect of Peter sleeping on his own at such a young age. The first couple of nights were lonely for me, but if he is ready, then I don't want to hold him back. Plus, when he wakes up I bring him to our bed and we sleep/snuggle for the rest of the early-morning. He usually sleeps in our bed until about 8:30.

Here is a cute video of Peter that I took today. He is quite the jumper!

John and Peter are interacting a lot more. John always wants me to put Peter in the Jump-a-roo so that he is at his level. Peter is very content watching John play and I can see in his eyes that he wants to jump right in and join him! That will happen soon enough! John also loves to make Peter laugh. Here is a great video of the giggling duo:

Our First Weekend!

For two years now, Andrew has been working six days each week. It's been hard, but I really admire and appreciate him for how hard he works to support us. With him working an extra day, we've been able to work on Dave Ramsey's "Baby Steps" and hopefully we will be able to buy a house this year.

Last Saturday was Andrew's last day working at Star. The sign pictured above welcomed him home! We are SO happy that we will have real weekends with Daddy!!!!!

We are proud of you Daddy! This weekend is going to be great! =)

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On a different note - notice that John is actually trying to color parts of the picture instead of scribbling on the whole page. This a little milestone for him! Now we just need to work on staying in the lines...

Snow!

We got about five inches of now last Wednesday! I'm just glad I was able to go to the store on Tuesday to stock up on groceries for the week. Cabin fever is setting in, so I am kind of glad that rain washed away most of the snow last night. We are going to get out of the house today and go to our Bradley class reunion. All of the women in our birthing class have had their babies, so it will be great to see everyone and hear their stories.

On Wednesday, we were able to get out in the snow with John for some fun! We went sledding on come corrugated plastic board because we didn't have a sled and we (aka Andrew) build a really cute snowman. It was pretty cold out there and the top layer of the snow was icy, so it didn't roll very well - but that doesn't matter to a 2 year old!

Hot coco + whip cream + crushed candy cane + chocolate sprinkles = the best post-snow play drink!

Peter Stats

I took Peter in a few days ago for his belated 2 month check-up. It confirmed what we already knew - we've got a big baby! 15lbs 11oz, 25 inches long, and 17 inch head circumference = 97th percentile on all counts! At least he is proportionally large!

On Monday he went to his 3rd chiropractic visit. She told us he was perfect! So now we don't have to go in again. I'm so glad the adjustments worked and he is all better.

He used to be pretty crabby, but over the past month or so he has calmed down and is generally very happy. I remember when I was in the hospital the day after he was born and he started to fuss. My friend Becky was holding him and asked me, "What does he want?" I shrugged my shoulders and said "I don't know, he is like a stranger to me." She gave me a weird look, but it was true - when you have a new baby you love them and have a strong bond to them, but it takes time to learn what their different cries mean. I'm happy to say now that he is no stranger! He is my little side-kick and I love being able to read his signs.

He is now approaching the three 3 month mark and I am really enjoying his age. His big past-time right now is sucking on his right hand (I wonder if that means he will be right-handed...). He is even getting a little rash on his chin from his drool. His sleeping patterns are starting to set in, which means I am able to keep up with some daily routines. At night, he usually only wakes up once to nurse and is a sound sleeper the rest of the night. I'm thankful for that!

Peter in his Jumperoo

I brought this jumperoo in from the garage after I took down the Christmas decorations. I figured that Peter was just about the right age for it. Sure enough, he loves it! And so does John! ;)

Until Next Year...

We had a good run, O' Christmas tree, but the time has come to say good bye. It's bitter-sweet. Sweet because your departure means that I can get on with organizing and cleaning the house. Bitter because it means Christmas is over and you won't return for another year.

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As a grown up, a year doesn't seem that far away, but when I think that my boys will each be a year older - that seems crazy! Peter will probably be walking! John will be even more eloquent, independent and potty-trained (please, oh please!). A year is a long time in child-years.

Today as I laid by the tree with John, I realized that I will only have 16 Christmas' left with him living in the house. Might seem like a lot, but I know it will fly by.  I'm going to cling to these years like Pooh Bear to his Hunny Pot.  It's been a sappy day for sure.  To top it off, "What a Wonderful World" played on my Pandora station while I was rocking Peter to sleep.

So tomorrow is the day, I will pack all the Christmas decorations away. Probably during John's nap. I don't want to traumatize him with de-decorating!

More to come later about all the festivities. For now, here is a picture of the boys cuddled up in matching PJs (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) watching the Grinch.