Well, our 'new' baby is now 6 weeks old and I'm beginning to remember why it's so hard to have an infant and still get everything done in the day. Especially in the summer, when I spend most of my time doing last minute things with friends, garage saleing and taking random drives in nice weather.
However, I have found that I've got a few minutes of peace and quiet right now, so here we go.
Daddy is still at church, Elia is sleeping in the bouncer, Lars is sleeping in his new toddler bed and Eden is outside in the sandbox, waiting for me to come out and finish painting her doll house. Painting her doll house is conditional on getting the garage cleaned out enough to GET to the doll house, which I dug out of the storage unit on Tuesday, something she has been asking me to do since the week before Elia was born.
The doll house was purchased (garage sale) when Eden was just a baby. I fell in love with it, couldn't wait to fix it up, and immediately saw many future hours being spent playing pretend with it. It came complete with several pieces of doll furniture, something that will come in handy for a 5 year old's birthday next month. It's been in the garage since Friday when Daddy brought it home and she's spent much of her waking moments playing with it, in the midst of it's massive renovation.
In good news this week, Eden began swimming lessons and will continue with them another week. She's done surprisingly well thus far and is enjoying herself immensely. I even saw her go under the water without force! It's worked out most mornings that everybody gets up and around, eats breakfast and gets into swim suits. With Daddy at work, I get snacks and drinks together, then throw everybody in the stroller and walk the 1.5 miles to the pool. Eden swims, Lars plays with a cup on the side of the kiddy pool and I feed Elia for the half hour time slot, then we load back up in the stroller, grab the snacks and walk back home. I'm hoping the sweat that pores off me is taking the baby pounds with it!
In bad news this week, the Buick had a very costly trip to the maintenance shop, coming home just in time for the Ford to begin making 'a weird noise' under its hood. Whatever it is, it's not going to be good, so it's hoping to go to the shop on Monday. Now Al tells me another warning light came on in the Buick. Am I the only one who thinks Britain's public transportation service would be welcomed in America??
The weather has been hot all week and is forecast to be hot all next week, as well. With all the water we've had, the heat has made mosquitoes breed in triplicate. Lars is covered with bleeding and swollen bites, but he refuses cream or band-aids, so I've been washing sheets and clothes frequently to get the stains out. Is that just a boy thing?
Can't believe it's already the end of June. Summer is half over here. I better get out and enjoy today before it, too, disappears!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
I love you, Donkey
"they came to sit and dangle their feet off the edge of the world and after awhile they forgot everything but the good and true things they would do someday...." (brian andreas)
Congrats to Cousin Ali and new Cousin-in-Law, Dan, on their new adventures of married life!
Since we couldn't travel to Michigan for the wedding at the Detroit Zoo, we sent our kids in the form of a life size drawing on big roll out paper. The kids had fun coloring their clothes on. I told Lars to color his pants and I walked away, only to find that his blue jean shorts were covered in blue marker. Kids are way too literal.
Had a busy but fun week. I am loving this summer much more than I thought I would. Al has been able to work from home a little bit, giving me an opportunity to keep the grass mowed and the gardens looking decent, as well as helping change diapers. He's not in the midst of a building project, which has lessened my stress tremendously, as well. The older two are adjusting to life with a newborn and are really enjoying her. They have learned to stick together and get along better because of it, I think. It's going quickly, but I'm hoping to love the rest of the summer, too.
Spent the weekend at the LWML convention in Gering, showing off our three adorable children, and passing the baby around for all to drool. We joked that we were starting her off early in LWML and the ladies liked that. While Daddy had several responsibilities at the convention, the kids and I did nothing other than eat the chocolates off the table and shop at the CPH table, picking out the perfect tie for Father's Day.
We also nabbed an older child from one of the other pastor's and spent a chunk of Friday at the Riverside Zoo and Splashpad, soaking up the sun, playing on the playground, and feeding the ducks. We saw the occasional animal, but they were mostly hiding in the shade. Lars fell in love with the petting zoo, especially a donkey, whom he hated to leave when it was time. He spent quite a bit of time petting and hugging this little donkey, saying at one point (unprompted), "I love you, Donkey". It was so sweet, he's such a compassionate little guy, really.
On Saturday, we spent a couple hours at the Gering Pool. While Eden enjoyed playing in the kiddy pool, as well as trying out the big pool, Lars kept to himself on the side, leaning over to fill his bucket repeatedly and throw it back in the water. He almost put a foot in by himself, but changed his mind at the last minute. He did dip his feet in when he was sitting on my lap, however, but it was short lived. He also enjoyed his car and trailer at the pool's edge, laying on the concrete, pushing it around and ignoring everybody else. Elia slept the whole time in the stroller. She's so content in almost all circumstances!
Enjoying a sunny day today and trying to get up the ambition to do some laundry. We'll see.
Congrats to Cousin Ali and new Cousin-in-Law, Dan, on their new adventures of married life!
Since we couldn't travel to Michigan for the wedding at the Detroit Zoo, we sent our kids in the form of a life size drawing on big roll out paper. The kids had fun coloring their clothes on. I told Lars to color his pants and I walked away, only to find that his blue jean shorts were covered in blue marker. Kids are way too literal.
Had a busy but fun week. I am loving this summer much more than I thought I would. Al has been able to work from home a little bit, giving me an opportunity to keep the grass mowed and the gardens looking decent, as well as helping change diapers. He's not in the midst of a building project, which has lessened my stress tremendously, as well. The older two are adjusting to life with a newborn and are really enjoying her. They have learned to stick together and get along better because of it, I think. It's going quickly, but I'm hoping to love the rest of the summer, too.
Spent the weekend at the LWML convention in Gering, showing off our three adorable children, and passing the baby around for all to drool. We joked that we were starting her off early in LWML and the ladies liked that. While Daddy had several responsibilities at the convention, the kids and I did nothing other than eat the chocolates off the table and shop at the CPH table, picking out the perfect tie for Father's Day.
We also nabbed an older child from one of the other pastor's and spent a chunk of Friday at the Riverside Zoo and Splashpad, soaking up the sun, playing on the playground, and feeding the ducks. We saw the occasional animal, but they were mostly hiding in the shade. Lars fell in love with the petting zoo, especially a donkey, whom he hated to leave when it was time. He spent quite a bit of time petting and hugging this little donkey, saying at one point (unprompted), "I love you, Donkey". It was so sweet, he's such a compassionate little guy, really.
On Saturday, we spent a couple hours at the Gering Pool. While Eden enjoyed playing in the kiddy pool, as well as trying out the big pool, Lars kept to himself on the side, leaning over to fill his bucket repeatedly and throw it back in the water. He almost put a foot in by himself, but changed his mind at the last minute. He did dip his feet in when he was sitting on my lap, however, but it was short lived. He also enjoyed his car and trailer at the pool's edge, laying on the concrete, pushing it around and ignoring everybody else. Elia slept the whole time in the stroller. She's so content in almost all circumstances!
Enjoying a sunny day today and trying to get up the ambition to do some laundry. We'll see.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Ten things I've forgotten
Ten things I forgot about having a newborn:
10. You don't have time to do all those little things you used to have time for
9. You don't have time to do any of those little things you used to have time for
8. You don't have time to do some of those little things you used to have time for
7. You don't have time to do even a few of those little things you used to have time for
6. You just don't have time
5. Ninety minutes of uninterrupted sleep will serve as an 8 hour stint for normal households
4. Closing your eyes while the baby nurses as you sit propped up is considered good sleep
3. Older children can do whatever they want at all times of the day & night and get away with it
2. Daddy will not come home sooner if you cry louder
And, last but certainly most important,
1. No, dinner will not be served on time. And sometimes, not at all.
Now that I have that out of the way, I can sum up the last few weeks in a few short sentences. Just let me go swap the laundry out first.
Ok, now what was I saying? Hold on, Eden needs me.
Alright. Rain. We have had some rain here in Bridgeport, as well as up in the hills north of town, which has caused flash flooding all around here since Bport was built right on the Platte River. I have since learned that the houses on our block are the lowest point in all of the city (even the river is 7 feet higher than this block), and therefore, all the water and garbage flow this way. Which is why our sidewalk disappeared into a slow moving river on Friday night. All the flood pics were taken within about 5 mile radius of our house. It amazes me how flash floods can happen in such a dry climate, even when we're not getting the rain. In this case, several storms hit about 15 miles north of us in a matter of just a few days, along with several local tornadoes, and a series of dams broke open, flooding everything down stream in what are normally dry crick beds, on their way to the Platte. Cars were washed away, trees up rooted and roads washed out, making travel difficult, as most of the streets are dirt to begin with. One man we talked with lost 2 vehicles while he was getting his 21 horses out of pasture as it filled with water. The pasture was a rushing river when we arrived.
I have also learned that where our house sits is a natural water channel, and since the Platte is not a banked river, but a channel river, the whole town is more suitable for swamp land than city structure, which is why we have problems with flooding here. Bport is also the lowest elevation of all the towns 90+ miles in any direction. Think gravity and it all makes sense.
Hold that thought, somebody needs to eat....
Yesterday, the LWML hosted a baby shower for Elia here at the parsonage. Since we already have a boy and a girl, we were more in need of disposables than clothing, so we were showered with diapers, wipes, soaps & lotions, as well as a nice blanket and a couple of cute summer outfits. I think everybody who came had a good time and it was very nice to chat and visit inside on a cloudy and cool day.
Ok, nap time for the other one, be right back....
The rest of the week was spent doing a lot of laundry. Adding one child has added twice the laundry for some reason. Didn't help that I was in bed puking all day Monday, as was Elia. Thank Eden for that one, she had it the day before. As it were, the preacher had a funeral on Monday and could not stay to help me out, so he called Laura, who dropped Lexi off after swim practice and she nursed us back to health all day until Pastor could come home. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and they were outdoors for the most part.
Ahhh! Who's crying? ...
Not much on the calendar, but there doesn't need to be in this house, especially when summer is in full swing. We seem to make up things as we go along and stay busy, regardless. Tuesday after OT and Speech, the kids went with Daddy to story hour and they met at the beach, built sand castles and dug for sea shells. Wednesday, Eden got her hair cut. Friday, we spent the day shopping in SB and the races were called off that evening because of the rain.
Ok, the kitchen timer is going off and the washer just beeped....guess that's my cue to wrap it up. Until next week, happy trails!
10. You don't have time to do all those little things you used to have time for
9. You don't have time to do any of those little things you used to have time for
8. You don't have time to do some of those little things you used to have time for
7. You don't have time to do even a few of those little things you used to have time for
6. You just don't have time
5. Ninety minutes of uninterrupted sleep will serve as an 8 hour stint for normal households
4. Closing your eyes while the baby nurses as you sit propped up is considered good sleep
3. Older children can do whatever they want at all times of the day & night and get away with it
2. Daddy will not come home sooner if you cry louder
And, last but certainly most important,
1. No, dinner will not be served on time. And sometimes, not at all.
Now that I have that out of the way, I can sum up the last few weeks in a few short sentences. Just let me go swap the laundry out first.
Ok, now what was I saying? Hold on, Eden needs me.
Alright. Rain. We have had some rain here in Bridgeport, as well as up in the hills north of town, which has caused flash flooding all around here since Bport was built right on the Platte River. I have since learned that the houses on our block are the lowest point in all of the city (even the river is 7 feet higher than this block), and therefore, all the water and garbage flow this way. Which is why our sidewalk disappeared into a slow moving river on Friday night. All the flood pics were taken within about 5 mile radius of our house. It amazes me how flash floods can happen in such a dry climate, even when we're not getting the rain. In this case, several storms hit about 15 miles north of us in a matter of just a few days, along with several local tornadoes, and a series of dams broke open, flooding everything down stream in what are normally dry crick beds, on their way to the Platte. Cars were washed away, trees up rooted and roads washed out, making travel difficult, as most of the streets are dirt to begin with. One man we talked with lost 2 vehicles while he was getting his 21 horses out of pasture as it filled with water. The pasture was a rushing river when we arrived.
I have also learned that where our house sits is a natural water channel, and since the Platte is not a banked river, but a channel river, the whole town is more suitable for swamp land than city structure, which is why we have problems with flooding here. Bport is also the lowest elevation of all the towns 90+ miles in any direction. Think gravity and it all makes sense.
Hold that thought, somebody needs to eat....
Yesterday, the LWML hosted a baby shower for Elia here at the parsonage. Since we already have a boy and a girl, we were more in need of disposables than clothing, so we were showered with diapers, wipes, soaps & lotions, as well as a nice blanket and a couple of cute summer outfits. I think everybody who came had a good time and it was very nice to chat and visit inside on a cloudy and cool day.
Ok, nap time for the other one, be right back....
The rest of the week was spent doing a lot of laundry. Adding one child has added twice the laundry for some reason. Didn't help that I was in bed puking all day Monday, as was Elia. Thank Eden for that one, she had it the day before. As it were, the preacher had a funeral on Monday and could not stay to help me out, so he called Laura, who dropped Lexi off after swim practice and she nursed us back to health all day until Pastor could come home. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and they were outdoors for the most part.
Ahhh! Who's crying? ...
Not much on the calendar, but there doesn't need to be in this house, especially when summer is in full swing. We seem to make up things as we go along and stay busy, regardless. Tuesday after OT and Speech, the kids went with Daddy to story hour and they met at the beach, built sand castles and dug for sea shells. Wednesday, Eden got her hair cut. Friday, we spent the day shopping in SB and the races were called off that evening because of the rain.
Ok, the kitchen timer is going off and the washer just beeped....guess that's my cue to wrap it up. Until next week, happy trails!
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