When I Got Schooled (One of the Times)

So I've been gone a little while. Ahem. A while. But the other day I went to get my hair done....I needed it badly! I went to a beauty school. Not like the one at the local community college....it's affiliated with a national name, but nonetheless....it's a beauty school. Which sort of means that I take my chances when I go, but I only pay about half the normal price. Sounded like a deal to me!

It's been a little while since I've been there, and I kind of forgot that in addition to only paying about half the price, it actually takes about twice as long (at least) to highlight and cut my hair. So after I went through what I brought to read and read through the selection of well-worn celebrity magazines that were there, I started reading my phone. E-mail, facebook and...oh, yeah, my blog! Centuries ago I wrote here, I think.

I read and read and was so glad that I had written down those stories. Some of them I had completely forgotten! I laughed. I cringed. And I cried. The poor student doing my hair probabaly thought that I was having serious issues! (But after 5 hours, we had become pretty good friends, and I filled her in!)

I so needed that. My kids are 2 years older now than when I last posted. Two years in a family with children is an eternity. A lifetime, really. In some ways, my children are not the same people they were two years ago. In some ways, I am not the same person, and neither is my husband. I hate that I've missed putting down all of those stories. They're important.

But more than that, I hate that I've missed out on a frequent opportunity to refocus, to see the bigger picture. Somehow when I write a post/journal entry, I am able to see things in a way that I can't in the heat of the moment. And the next day I can more fully appreciate those moments, be more present.

I'm afraid that I've missed a lot of moments over the past couple of years. Life has been so fast, and I have often operated on the idea that if I can work a little bit faster and harder for the next couple of days, things will be better, smoother, and I can function at a normal pace in that environment. I can read stories at bedtime, play with my kids, have a moment to breathe it all in.

But you know what's happened. Those couple of days never quite got it done. There was more and more to do, and I would tell myself to push a little harder a little longer.

And then I went to the beauty school. And I realized that I have missed out. And I think my kids (and maybe my husband) have missed out. Because I couldn't focus on the moment.

I don't know how to do it all....isn't that everybody's struggle? I don't know how to have the house in pristine condition and still be able to have those moments in which I look into my son's eyes and smile. And still homeschool a high schooler and a kindergartener. And take care of a toddler. And feed my gluten-free, cassein-free family only homemade foods that they love. And take my fourth grader to school and pick her up. And take kids to our homeschool choir functions. And do laundry. And be the loving wife that my husband deserves. Oh yeah, and bathe little people. And sometimes myself.

So something has to give. HAD to give. And up til now, it's been this blog.

I'm rethinking that.

And Some More of My Girl.....

First Communion

I Want to Be Just Like Him

Fresh

Wonder

Love

Seven Months and Sixteen Days

More of My Favorite Things....

Chasing

It's what sisters are for.

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, Mimi thought we had a small family.....

(That was before she met the two on her lap in this picture.)

When I was born, my oldest sister was away at college. She sent a telegram home to my parents. It read, "Happiness is warm blanket with a new little sister inside."

Ditto.

Don't Hate Me Because.....

Before our sweet littlest sister arrived, I prepared myself for baby life...You know, sleepless life. In fact, what my husband and I both really prepared ourselves for was him on the couch for a while and me in bed with the baby girl nursing all night. That's the way it was with the Little Guy, and we were prepared to go there again. Really, I was looking forward to so much snuggle time.

But this time is different than ever before. Way different. Way.

Really, I have to preface the difference with, "Don't hate me because my baby sleeps...." I mean, I might have felt that way with my three previous babies. I might have really had a hard time liking you if you told me that on your third or fourth week together your baby was sleeping through the night.

That's the first thing that most people ask me these days..."Are you getting any sleep?" And I can see that they're just trying to rib me about how much my sweetie cries, eats, won't sleep, etc. But then I have to tell them this....

"Actually, she's slept through the night since about 3 or 4 weeks. I mean 5-7 or 8 hours or so. But before 6 weeks, she was sleeping all night. Every night. I mean 10-12 hours. Sometimes, I've had to wake her. And she naps."

Yep, she's all that. (And more...)

Relaxing

Fall Visit

Rememeber that I told you about our great friends who usually visit our house every three months or so? We had a great weekend with them (okay, it's been two weeks ago now....).

The littlest little sister got to meet two of her three godparents. Parrain(godfather) cooked delicious Italian sausage spaghetti and taco salad, and we feasted on his guacamole until they left on Sunday afternoon.

Of course, everyone was sad to see them go, but we look forward to the next visit and to them coming back soon for our little girl's baptism.

Six Weeks

Love this girl....

First Four Weeks.....

I admit it. I love the smell of breast milk. And spit up on my shoulder. I'm not planning to wear either of them (yet, perhaps I will) out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary, but I love the smell.




It gets sweeter with each new life that comes into our family. Because I have more memories. That smell reminds me of each warm, little head that I held in my hands, each small body that curled into mine, each child that gradually worked his or her way into my heart...the way that a shoe string is drawn tighter little by little until it is finally so tight that it is tied together.



And that is what has been happening around our house lately.

Baby of Mine

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

She's Here!

She's finally here! And she wasn't even that big! 8 pounds, 8 ounces! I'll post more about what happened soon.