You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2009.
Woke up at 2am and 5:30am with the baby…. 3am with Zach…
Made zuchinni muffins with Zach at 6:30….
Cleaned the kitchen and unloaded the dishwasher…
Put Arlo down for a nap…
Did two loads of laundry, watered the garden, dressed Zach, packed the car and showered while the baby slept…
Then packed the kids up and spent a few hours at the county fair…
Came back home for the baby’s nap…
Did an exercise video (with Zach!) while the baby napped…
Worked on Zach’s Halloween costume for 3.5 minutes before the baby woke up…
Played with the kids and did two more loads of laundry…
Cleaned up Zach’s crap in the dog yard…
Made the kids dinner and then took out the trash and the compost…
Gave both kids baths since dinner concluded with popsicles…
Put Arlo to bed…
Made a nice dinner for my hubby and packed everyone’s lunch for tomorrow while Joe put Zach to bed…
During which time the exterminator arrived to get rid of the yellow jacket’s nest on our porch…
Had a quiet dinner with my hubby…
Took the dog for a walk around the lake….
Worked on Zach’s Halloween costume until my brain no longer functioned…
Wrote this post…
Went to sleep… I need to be well rested for “work” tomorrow…
I’ve been having a rough time lately- the kids and work are exhausting and my fragmented sleep is starting to take its toll. Arlo has fussed most of his waking hours for the past week, and I finally discovered the culprit, a huge molar waaaaay in the back of his mouth is cutting in from the side. I’m not a huge believer in teething making babies fussy, but this week I’m am! Zach is tough too right now, always wanting the opposite of whatever it is he needs to do. But every once in a while, Zach says something to remind me that we are on the right track, even if that track seems so hard right now.
Yesterday- Zach stripped down at the public beach. So cute and fun for a bit, until his body reminded him it was only about 55 degrees and the water is FREEZING! Then we shed some tears…
A few days ago, we took the boys up to Hurricane RIdge. Zach of course would not walk or hike, but demanded to be carried. Most of his little buddies are great hikers, but Zach likes the view from Mom’s back. (The dangers of attachment parenting three years later- they are still attached!) I pointed out to him the glade of trees on Hurricane Hill, where we had sat and nursed several times when he was a baby, and then he said “Mama, next time when I’m a baby, let’s do that again”. It was almost like he remembered how special those trips were when he was a baby. Those were some of the best moments of my new motherhood, sitting in a meadow on a mountain, nursing a baby. I know he doesn’t remember, but I do think it is imprinted somewhere in his brain and I’m glad he too recognizes how fleeting and amazing those moments are.
At Hurricane Ridge with Zach when he was 6 weeks old.
Then yesterday, he got stung in the face by a bee. He hadn’t napped and he had a major freak out. Like crying inconsolably for almost an hour. Nothing I could think of to help or distract him seemed to make a difference. He finally passed out on the floor of his room and slept for twenty minutes or so in my lap, even with the baby crawling all over him. When I woke him up, he was a total mess and I held him for another hour. I felt so helpless to explain to him why it hurt so bad and help him deal with the pain. Later, after the baby had gone to bed and he was having a bedtime snack, he said “Momma, you tried everything to help me, but I just cried and cried.” And then I almost cried, with thankfulness for his validation.
I will hang onto these moments when things are hard, to remember I am trying everything, that my kids love me and appreciate how I am raising them, with attachment and never-ending affection.
Arlo enjoying his first popsicle
While your 3-year-old is on the floor sweeping up the microscopic pieces of quinoa he spilled everywhere, and the baby is in the backpack on your wife’s back because he has spent the last hour screaming despite being fed, napped, nursed and dry, when your wife has a homeade pie crust rolled out and is just about ready to add the blueberries she and the baby picked at the u-pick earlier this week after you said you wanted blueberry pie for your birthday, it is not the time to say….
“Honey, I don’t really feel like pie tonight. Can you make it tomorrow?”
I love you, Joe. All 47 years of you. Happy Birthday!
I love summer. All I want to do is be outside playing with the kids. I’m too tired to write much, just wanted to post some pictures from the past week.
Zach in the sprinkler
Arlo loves cherries… his diapers have been oh so much fun to change after he binges..
At Dungeness Spit
Mmmm, I like to eat gravel almost as much as cherries. The gravel comes out in my poop too!
