Finding balance

Life with a newborn is unpredictable.

Life with a newborn is unpredictable.

Life with a newborn is unpredictable.

I'm hoping that if I keep saying that to myself, I'll cut myself a little slack. That somehow, I'll really and truly believe that the above applies to me.

There are going to be messes that I can't get to right away.

I won't always get uninterrupted time to work on lesson plans. I can't keep a spotless house all of the time. My to-do list will not always (or often, or usually) get done. I need to be flexible. I need to bend. I need to, temporarily at least, lower my standards. I am only one human being. I am not imperfect, or invincible.

I must, MUST keep my eyes (and my attention) on what is important. Making memories. Crafting a childhood for my children that is worth remembering. Communicating to them that they - not the housework, or the bill-paying, or the grocery shopping - are important.

It's such a struggle for me. Maybe it's my perfectionism. I like to be able to point to results and say, "I did that." It's easy to look at a clean kitchen floor, or a basket of folded laundry, or a perfectly balanced checkbook and feel that sense of satisfaction. There is a measurable end, a quantifiable result. Not so with the relationships that I'm trying to build with my children. That is more amorphous, less concrete. But so much more important.

I read so many blogs about women who rhapsodize about the afternoons they spend with their children: crafting, adventuring, creating memories. (I know, don't compare the inside of my life to the outside of someone else's. Yeah, yeah.) It seems those women are always bemoaning their lack of housekeeping skills. That they have all these unconquerable messes. Laundry is taking over the house, junk mail is piling up, the kitchen floor hasn't seen the business end of a mop in more than a month, etc. I envy them their ability to let go of their housekeeping expectations. That's never been my problem. I can keep house just fine, thanks. Sure, I get behind every once in a while, but for the most part, my house can be company-ready in five minutes or less. The facet of life I struggle with the most is being present.

I know that I need to slow down, to savor this time in my life, when my littles are are little, when I have a baby to snuggle. I know that I shouldn't beat myself up about the dust that's gathering on my windowsills, or the fingerprints on the TV screen, or the baseboards that desperately need to be painted in the living room. The most important thing is to soak this in. Soak in the sweet smell of a new baby, the enthusiasm of a new reader, the unending riddles of an eight-year-old. I should play princesses more often. I should read Go Dog Go and Old Hat New Hat. I should build forts and play Play-Doh.

should. should. should.

Stop, breathe deep.

Let the housework go.

Hug your kids.

Go outside.

Smile.

Be.

Random

I've been putting off updating my blog for a bit, because I didn't have anything earth-shattering to say. So to break my writer's block, I'm just going to put a hodge-podge of pictures up here, and let you peek at what we've been up to.

First up: last day of school, breakfast of homemade crepes. Oh. My. Word. These are sooo good.

Joey "reading" to Gracie in her room, before bedtime:

This is what the kitchen table looks like when we color Easter eggs. Notice that Hubby is brilliant, because he gave the kids Easter coloring pages to work on while they waited for their eggs to finish dying.

Gracie played soccer this spring. This wet, muddy, cold spring. I missed watching a couple of games because it was too cold for me to sit at the field with Sam. (The new baby... we named him Samuel Patrick.)

Joey, with his t-ball medal. He was so proud! He's worn that medal around the house randomly for a couple of days.

Blessed...

Battling cabin fever

We have had some real weather this winter. More (and earlier) snow than usual, and now an amazing ice storm. My university actually cancelled classes! (I've had loads of free time this week, which has been wonderful.) I'm quite impressed with what Mother Nature has thrown our way.

But the weather has kept us indoors more than usual. Fortunately we hadn't yet decorated for Valentine's Day, so I was able to find some interesting projects for the kiddos to do, to keep them busy.

Nienie inspired me to try Crayon Hearts.

I regret to say that I enjoyed making them a lot more than the kids did. But they are pretty! (Not as pretty as Martha's, I guess, but I don't have a staff of people just to cut things out for me.)

Hubby cut out some paper heart mobiles that the kids decorated. That went over much better.

I have to say that I'm getting a bit stir-crazy, and more snow is expected this weekend. (For those of you who don't live in the Midwest, snow on top of ice is BAD NEWS.) I have started nesting (6-ish weeks to go until baby!) and I wish I could get down to a good spring cleaning. However, I don't think I'll be opening any windows any time soon. I'll just have to settle for washing cute baby clothes and purging things we don't need.

Frugal Cloth Wipes

I know you've heard me wax poetic about cloth diapers in the past. I love my cloth diapers: frugal, earth-friendly, and so much prettier than nasty plastic diapers. To keep with the theme, I also use cloth wipes. It makes no sense to pay out money for the equivalent of chemical-laden paper towels, and it's just not practical to throw a diaper in the pail and a wipe in the trash. (Not to mention, they can get pricey.)

I knew that I needed to replenish my stock of cloth wipes - the ones I have are threadbare after being washed, over and over, for years. This time, instead of shelling out $5/dozen for some WAHM-made wipes, I decided to make my own. I kept my eyes peeled in the paper for a good sale/coupon at JoAnn Fabrics, so I could make my wipes as cheaply as possible.

And then, guess what I found on Craigslist? A dozen flannel receiving blankets for $5! Just what I needed: cheap flannel! I pounced on those blankets, you can bet! Two of them turned out to be made of something other than flannel, but no worries.

Originally, I tried to cut my wipes 8x8 inches, and only zig-zag the raw edges of two squares together. That didn't work - too much fraying. So then I cobbled this method together:

1. Cut wipes to desired size. (In my case, that's 8 inches x 8 inches.)

2. Enlist the help of a five-year-old to do my seam ripping. (Not that I make any mistakes, mind you!)

3. Sew squares right-sides together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Leave an opening to turn wipes right-side-out.

4. Snip the corners to reduce bulk.

5. Turn wipes right-side out, and sew as close to the edge as possible, all the way around.

6. Enjoy the finished product: 38 wipes for $5. (Quite a savings!)

Gracie's birthday

Gracie's birthday is a few days after Christmas, and a few days before New Year's. Making the day stand out on its own is challenging, but I give it my best shot.

Behold, the princess cake. Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart!

Here's the Birthday Girl, being sung to. Notice the big smile on her face? LOVED the attention. That's the difference between being the first child and the fourth, I guess.

No activity at our house would be complete without LEGOs in there, somewhere. We have an embarrassingly large collection of LEGOs. Now, we've even got a LEGO game.

It's called Creationary, and the boys got it for Christmas. They love it. Me? I'm just not very good at building. So I keep score. Uncle Jeff and Shannon graciously offered to play with the kids so I wouldn't have to embarrass myself.

Christmas Catch-Up

Here is a little snapshot of our Christmas baking frenzy. We like to do it all in one day. So much fun for the kids to measure, mix, and bake. (Okay, and I like it, too!)

These are the legendary homemade marshmallows. LOVE THEM.