The New Normal

Well, we have started life at home with our four beautiful children. It is so nice to be home; all together. The New Normal.

And it is the old normal. I got the two older kids to school - both on time! :-) Unfortunately it was pouring down rain in the afternoon to pick up the kids. I haven't been out in that hard drenching rain for quite some time. (My shoes were not adequate for the rain and had water running through my toes, eww!) Good thing I had both the car seat and the stroller to protect Baby Might Mouse from all that rain! But I do see I need to ScotchGuard both canopies.

Grammy left around noon today, sob. She got lunches ready then had to catch the ferry. Big D was at work all day today catching up after getting home from Seattle, but all was well with the kiddos and baby so the day went well. I am feeling extremely tired right now and am hoping to go to bed after the 7pm feeding/8pm meds.

Still, I am feeling "ahead", I guess because I am coming home with a 10 day old baby instead of a 2 day old baby. That is nice. We were able to get good feedings right away at the hospitals without interruptions (read: refereeing the other kids, etc.) He is already on a fairly good schedule - approx. 3 hours between feedings, except after the meds at 8pm where he does get pretty sleepy and goes more like 4 1/2 hours between feedings - fine with me - more sleep time!!

I wonder what tomorrow holds? (Maybe some picture posting... no promises.)

School Starts... Blogging Stops?

Is this how it works? I was wanting more "schedule" in my day, but is this it? Is there really a schedule? Ummm, where does blogging fit in???

Maybe I'm just not there yet. I was having the B man get his shoes on a whole hour before we were supposed to leave to get the H girl yesterday... totally messed up on time. (Granted it takes him a while to get them on, but a bit extreme in this case!)

I am not settled into a routine for sure. The kids are getting closer to it, though it has been a transition for B to go to school on different days than last year (M,W,F instead of T,TH). He gets confused with that. H seems to like going everyday.

And they are so tired! This PM kindergarten/preschool stuff is hard on us! The kids need naps still, but doing them when we get home is too late, too close to bed time - not that they would do it at 4PM anyway... And after being babies they have not napped before lunchtime so that is out of the question now. A couple times I have gotten B to sit with me for some quiet time on the couch with his blanket before lunch, but never H.

So we are working on it.

It just seems like we are spending our mornings just waiting for lunch to come around so we can go to school. There isn't yet any real defined activity times that we do things in the morning except the TV goes off by 8/8:30 depending on what time we are done with breakfast... then get dressed and then free playtime with a small snack around 9:30 and then lunch around 11:15/30 (so we can get toys put away, ready to leave for school around 12:05.)

So writing it out here, it looks like I could (if I really wanted to/had the energy to/really obeyed what I should do...) put in some kind of Mommy&Kids activity between 9:30 and 11:30. I have thought of a "chore jar", or some Christian homeschool curriculum (just something light and fun since H is in public school now not Christian preschool anymore), or some other form of activity.

Here are some thoughts now that I am sitting in the quiet (yes, older two are quietly playing together and lil'D is napping...) and thinking...

Maybe one day is "game day" to play board games or outside together (Monday?);
another a "learning day" for worksheets or special Bible reading, etc. (Wednesday?);
maybe two days of the "chore jar" (Tues/Thurs);
and what for another day?? "Art", "Kids choice"? ...hmmm, those scare me a little! :)

(I would love to hear some more ideas from anyone here...)

Not to mention filling in the time with the things I need to be doing like dishes, laundry (I have already noticed that I am not hanging out the laundry as often because of the time crunch...bummer), other cleaning, figuring out dinner.

I have already been able to determine I am not going to get through this (hmmm...life?) without a meal plan for the week, and I am not going to be able (usually, depending on the meal) to get away with "starting dinner" after the kids get home from school (3:30-4 ish.) There are too many needs/wants the kids all have during that time that I just can't focus on the kitchen stuff...which is usually a disaster by that time anyway. I feed the kids a small snack when they get home and we talk about their day, but with lil' D being awake also, he isn't willing to sit for as long as the other kids, and then "the chase is on."



It is so hard not to turn on that TV and "plug them in" for awhile... but I am doing really well so far at not until I "have to" to get through. (Oh, yeah, yesterday was a bad day, I was quite a grouch from 3 'till 6 ish...headache, mean, tears, ask for forgiveness, etc..) :-{ So, when the older two are at school, I need to get any errands done while in town, then come home, entertain lil'D (because he rarely has a nap after the morning one... ...gee, he has a bit of a strange schedule, but it seems to work for him), give him some "Mommy time" - he loves sitting and reading books then- and trying to get what I can going for dinner while chasing an 18 month old out of the kitchen. Fun, fun! :-)

And, looking at it all from this vantage point, it is fun.

Or at least like mostly fun,
should be fun,
except the tough parts,
and that is my call to reach out to God for help.

I am reading a great book right now, really inspiring, called Passionate Housewives Desperate for God and it is really helping me to see God's vision for women/mothers. It is a quick read; unless you want to look up every verse referenced for context, and then it will take you f-o-r-e-v-e-r! There is a lot of Scripture packed in there - it would be a great book to pass along to young Christian wives/mothers, maybe for Christmas? It is far from being about perfectionism - since there is only One who is perfect! But real. Written from the vantage point of real women who have been there, who are there, who have lived to tell about the blessings.


So, as it goes, we are working on it. I am working on it. A life in process. Hopefully progress!

For I am confident of this very thing,
that He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

First Day Picture

Pictures from First Day of Kindergarten

Grammy's camera

(before I realized my camera was totally broken,

not just out of batteries

...and I didn't get to take any pictures at school!!) We have to take pictures in front of the piano. It is a good height guage.

"Posing" like all 5 year old girls do, right?

The backpacks were requested to be big enough to hold 10" x 14" papers.

I think hers will do that!! :-)

(And would you quit taking pictures already Mama??)

Wow, can it be?

Wow, can it be Friday already??

School started for H and B this week; Thursday for H and today for B.

It is going to be crazy figuring out this Kindergarten (everyday) and preschool (M-W-F) schedule, especially with the Kinders having "early release" every Monday - which for us being PM means going in early and getting released early.

It is unusual for our family to be going in the afternoons since we have always been morning people - forced by kids getting up so early every morning!! Figuring out what to have the kids do for the first half of the day - waiting for school to come - will be the hard part. I've already heard "I'm bored." I thought they only said that in summer when there wasn't much going on??!

Not to mention getting this all figured out now, only to have our home "schedule" be changed by having new baby in a month and a half!!

So, we are on our way with school now. Next week is the first full week and that will help the routines settle in. I'll post when I know what I'm doing!! :-)

End of Summer: less than 3 weeks!!

It has been hot... wait, h-o-t here the last few days. I am excited that this morning it is raining and yesterday and last night we had thunder (I love thunder!) Maybe it only feels h-o-t to a 30 week pregnant person, but I think most true Northwesterners would agree, for a couple days, it was h-o-t!!



I am happy to see the rain. I am ready for fall. Well, at least the weather. I am ready for the kids' school on one level - at least it will get us back on some sort of schedule here... not that we know what that is yet. I can't believe we don't find out if H will be in AM or PM Kindergarten until 3 days before school starts!! That doesn't give me much time to get everyone in the "swing of things." If she is in PM, I will need to see about moving B to the PM preschool class also so I am not running to town four times a day (especially when new baby comes in 2 months!!) I am praying that God has it all worked out and things will fall into place the way He wants.



I am ready for lots of fall things (like not being pregnant, though I am enjoying having just 3 kids right now, but I'm sure the 4th will blend right in - you know kind of "fall into line".) I want to rake the leaves again. That is a fun "cleansing" experience... at least for an hour and then the wind blows more leaves off the big maple tree and it looks like you haven't done anything.



Here are two pictures from the last two weeks. D put up the baby swing (finally out of storage) and li'l D seems to like it, but he doesn't like to stay in it forever like the other two did.






And here is the "grown-up" B-man (standing up on his toes - he really isn't bow-legged like that!) My goodness, he looks "old" in this new birthday outfit, and so handsome! He loves wearing his new "Rookie" stuff! (Thanks Grandmas!) He is really stepping out and becoming more and more a little boy. It will be interesting to see him interacting with the other kids at preschool this year. Last year he was kind of quiet and hung out with the teachers more than anything. I think this year he will be right in the middle of it all.


Enjoy your week!