Blanket Break

Today was an absolutely beautiful fall day, not too hot, not too cold, not too windy...just perfect. So, I decided that even though I had a TON of things to do inside, we would spend some time enjoying the great outdoors. Normally, I would tell myself that "tomorrow will be just as nice and we will do it then" but then, of course, something comes up and it never happens. Then I stand at my window a few short weeks later and watch the snowflakes fall and realize that I have let the opportunity pass me by again!

I have also been realizing anew how lightning fast kids grow up (Dresden is just about a week away from being FIVE months old!) so I am conciously trying to grab more moments with my kids, even if it does mean skipping a load of laundry or not getting the schoolroom organized as quickly as I would like. So, after school and after lunch, we headed outside to our little yard with a blanket, a couple of books and the dog. We read a couple of chapters in the American Girl book we are reading now and then Alley and Liam played on the swingset and just ran around getting some of that energy out! Dresden and I hung out on the blanket and I read some of my book, too. We ended up being out there for about two hours and it was a much needed break. I know that my kids might actually remember days like this where I was outside with them, even if I read and they play for part of the time, much more than they will remember that I spent the afternoon vacuuming and lining up workbooks on a shelf. Being a homeschooling mom of three kids, I have to always remind myself that there will never be a day when there is NOTHING to do so if I am going to make memories like this, whether it is sitting on a blanket under a tree or sitting under a blanket on the couch, I have to make choices. I'm not saying housework and things aren't important but when you step back and do something more important once in awhile, your priorities seem to fall into place on their own.

Belly Laughs

One of my very favorite things is hearing (and watching) a baby belly laugh. Dresden has been doing it more and more over the last few weeks and it is so much fun! It is rewarding to see her paying enough attention to what is going on around her that she finds certain things funny. A couple of weeks ago she laughed alot at her cousin, Grant, who was just sitting on his mommy's lap wearing nothing but a diaper. He wasn't doing anything really but she found it hilarious!

I knew that Alley and Liam would be the source of many of her laughs and this week they have figured out that if they jump up and down in front of her, she starts giggling and then it turns into a full-fledged belly laugh. She has done it about 3 times now and it is so much fun to watch her! She is 4 and a half months old now and the newborn hard part is over and the up-all-night-fussy-crying-teething baby part hasn't started yet so we're enjoying every minute!

Homemade Baby Wipes

Today I made a "batch" of homemade baby wipes. I have made them several times in the past but this is the first time since Dresden has been born. It is a little more work than just opening up a package of store bought wipes and I'm not exactly sure of the savings since at times you might need to use two where you would have used only one of the other kind but they are also handy for wiping the spaghetti-stained faces of 4 year olds and you don't have to think of it in terms of "wasting" a wipe! (You also get to have wipes with pictures on them...mine have Charlie Brown raking leaves!)

Anyway, here is the recipe I use but in the words of a friend, "a recipe is just a guide!"

• 10 cup capacity round Rubbermaid or other plastic storage container
• very sharp knife (some people use an electric knife, I have never tried that)
• strong husband (possibly not needed if you use electric knife)
• 2 and 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 and 1/2 TBSP baby oil
• 1 and 1/2 TBSP baby wash (I use 1 TBSP so it's not too soapy but this is adjustable)
• 1 roll Bounty or other strong paper towels

First, purchase or gather all supplies and then ask your husband to cut the paper towel roll into two equal halves. Be prepared for a strange look to cross his face at this request the first time...don't worry, he will get used to it! This does take a little time and some effort. (I read a suggestion to keep the plastic on the roll if you are using an electric knife.)Keep one half for a refill and place the other half in the plastic container. Heat the water (doesn't have to be boiling) and then stir in the baby oil and wash. Pour this mixture over the papertowels in the container. Set lid loosely on top and let sit for a few hours or overnight. You will need to pull out the cardboard tube either before you place the lid on or after it sits. You will pull the baby wipes from the middle of the roll to use.

And just for a laugh, today I heard Liam singing "Hunky Gunky sat on a wall, Hunky Gunky had a great fall...". I realized that "Hunky Gunky" sounds like something that definitely would not break even if it did fall off a wall!

Thanksgiving in September

We've all heard of "Christmas in July" when stores have special sales or churches take a special offering for missionaries or whatever but this weekend we had Thanksgiving in September. My sister, Jana, is pregnant and is due just days after Thanksgiving and will not be able to travel to visit family then so we had an early family Thanksgiving dinner last night. We were all there (all 13 of us, including the unborn baby) for a turkey dinner with (most of) the fixins. We even used mom's special "turkey" dishes. It was very good and it was fun to take some time to be thankful on a different day of the year.

Alley and Liam really got into this "fake" Thanksgiving, as Alley said in her prayer at the table last night! ( There were quite a few of us struggling to maintain our composure throughout the remainder of the grace! ) Alley asked me earlier in the day why Uncle Jeph was WORKING on THANKSGIVING! It was equally amazing that people were having yard sales and the bank was open!

One of the highlights of the evening was the "Pilgrim Play" put on by Alley and Liam. Last year, my aunt Jane made them paper Pilgrim hats and they used them to entertain us last Thanksgiving and they were pulled out again yesterday. Alley was in charge of the costumes and they practiced throughout the day to be ready when we were all there together. They did a great job and it helped it to really feel more like a "real" Thanksgiving. I enjoy watching them be so creative...it's one of the best blessings of parenthood. I knew as I was watching that eventually they would be too old for little holiday plays so I did my best to take it all in and turn that moment into a memory.

One of the other highlights of the evening, in case you were wondering, was the pumpkin pie! It's always the right time of year for that!

Potato What?

Alley just told me that a "potato split with butter and cheese and sour cream" sounded soooo good to her! I tried not to be outwardly amused because I could tell that she really thought that was what it was called. And the more I thought about it, I realized that's exactly what it should be called! I can see it now....Veggie Queen for supper, Dairy Queen for dessert!

Sick

I am suffering from a pretty bad cold. Liam is getting over it and Dresden is a day or so behind me. So far, Alley and Michael have been spared. The hardest part about this cold is that my job of taking care of a 4 month old is harder when that 4 month old has a runny nose and a fever and harder still since I absolutely don't even feel like doing the job even if it wasn't extra demanding right now. Needs go up and strength goes down. I have been up for about 2 hours in the middle of the night the last two nights trying to console a feverish, fussy baby just when I could use some extra rest. I am not saying all this to complain :), but it has reminded me of some things. First of all, it reminds me that God gives us strength even when we know we don't have it. We are weak, He is strong. This, of course, is true in many more situations than a common head cold but it's good to be reminded of it.

Also, it reminds me of "agape" love or "love in action". I don't feel like being up in the night with the baby but I love my baby so I do it anyway and when I am actually carrying out my motherly duties, I am able, at least to a degree, to stop thinking about myself and my own needs and concentrate on loving in deed my precious baby who can't do anything to make herself feel better. Mothers learn this very quickly, as we are "on duty" 24/7, sick or not, tired or not. And even though this may sound like a burden, we actually find great satisfaction in doing what God made us and called us to do and we would want it no other way.

I am also reminded as I look around my house, that I need to do the important things and the dishes and laundry will be there when I feel better and my children feel better.

It is also nice to know that God planned for me to have this cold at this time for any number of reasons, many of which I may never know. I know the Puritans believed that we should be thankful for even small trials as they prepare us to be more understanding and compassionate when others experience similar things. This is important but I am also thankful that my current "trial" is just a cold and not something much worse, possibly requiring me to be sitting at the bedside of my sick child who is in the hospital. It is good for me to remember that it can always be much worse and all I can do is trust God. Somehow, as I remember these things, I don't feel quite so bad.