As much as I hate to admit it, Esther seems to be starting the long process of dropping her nap. That's in sharp contrast to her older brother, who napped daily til past the age of three and a half and still occasionally (like today) falls asleep during his afternoon "rest time."
About an hour after I put Esther to bed today I heard the sounds of a little plastic piano being played upstairs. I went up and found two things: Esther with a poopy diaper and evidence of almost every toy in the room having been played with. I changed the diaper and sternly told her to stay in bed. A bit later I heard more noise from upstairs. This time when I opened the door I saw her pulling wipes out of the container and wiping her baby doll's bare bottom. "Purple baby was poopy; I change him" she told me seriously. I just had to laugh.
She's downstairs with me now, looking at catalogs while I blog about this sweet memory I want to hold on to. Sure, she needs to learn to obey mommy and stay in her bed, but it's hard to be too upset when she gets up to do such adorable things.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Ten Things I Love About Esther Today
A little note: I had some pictures I wanted to put in this post but I am up to my storage quota, apparently. So no pictures for now; we are deciding on a solution.
1. Esther loves necklaces, hair clips, "pretty dresses," etc. Even though I am not a super girly girl, it is so fun to have another female in the house to share in these feminine things.
1. Esther loves necklaces, hair clips, "pretty dresses," etc. Even though I am not a super girly girl, it is so fun to have another female in the house to share in these feminine things.
2. Esther loves to role play. "Pink baby" and "Purple baby" are her two babies and she feeds them, takes them for rides in the stroller, wraps them up "so snuggly" in her arms, and puts them to bed in their little crib with cozy blankets tucked around.
3.Esther is not limited to traditionally girly roles: yesterday she requested a screwdriver so she could fix a (really) broken toy truck. I got out the toy tools and she spent twenty minutes fixing that truck. I love this girl's imagination--I could watch her play all day.
4. Esther randomly announces things like "I a cat! Mow mow!" or "I a el-phant!" {insert elephant noise--how do you spell such a thing?}
5. Esther does things like put on the tiny yellow glasses and say "I Misser Tato Head gasses!" It's just so cute.
6. Although she is quite comfortable going up and down the stairs, Esther prefers to hold my hand.
7. Esther asks "Where Austin?" a lot while he's at school. After I tell her where he is and that he'll come home at lunchtime, she goes around the rest of the morning saying "Austin come back" (meaning Austin will come back). I love that she misses her big brother!
8. Esther is just as much of a bookwork as Austin. She looks at books on the floor, on the couch, in her bed, and she "reads" them out loud. Her attention span is pretty remarkable for a two year old, I think.
9. When Esther sees the TCU logo (which is pretty often around here) she reads "T-C-U" and then automatically says "Go Frogs!" We're training her up young. :-)
10. Esther often smiles and says "My mommy!" when she sees me, like when she wakes up in the morning or when I pick her up from the playroom at the Y. She is the most snuggly of my children and often burrows into my lap when I'm trying to change her diaper or her clothes. She says "I love my mommy" a lot. I love my Esther a lot, too.
3.Esther is not limited to traditionally girly roles: yesterday she requested a screwdriver so she could fix a (really) broken toy truck. I got out the toy tools and she spent twenty minutes fixing that truck. I love this girl's imagination--I could watch her play all day.
4. Esther randomly announces things like "I a cat! Mow mow!" or "I a el-phant!" {insert elephant noise--how do you spell such a thing?}
5. Esther does things like put on the tiny yellow glasses and say "I Misser Tato Head gasses!" It's just so cute.
6. Although she is quite comfortable going up and down the stairs, Esther prefers to hold my hand.
7. Esther asks "Where Austin?" a lot while he's at school. After I tell her where he is and that he'll come home at lunchtime, she goes around the rest of the morning saying "Austin come back" (meaning Austin will come back). I love that she misses her big brother!
8. Esther is just as much of a bookwork as Austin. She looks at books on the floor, on the couch, in her bed, and she "reads" them out loud. Her attention span is pretty remarkable for a two year old, I think.
9. When Esther sees the TCU logo (which is pretty often around here) she reads "T-C-U" and then automatically says "Go Frogs!" We're training her up young. :-)
10. Esther often smiles and says "My mommy!" when she sees me, like when she wakes up in the morning or when I pick her up from the playroom at the Y. She is the most snuggly of my children and often burrows into my lap when I'm trying to change her diaper or her clothes. She says "I love my mommy" a lot. I love my Esther a lot, too.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Ten Things I Love About Austin Today
1. Austin loves his family and is very affectionate. He has not yet outgrown sitting in my lap, snuggling against me while we read, or giving random little boy hugs. He shows equally enthusiastic affection to his siblings, who may not always appreciate it, but I think his intentions are good.
2. Austin loves to read. He is a little bookworm. Lately he and I have been spending afternoon time while (one or hopefully more) siblings are asleep reading Little House in the Big Woods. Then we research things we're not familiar with like "salt rising bread" and watch videos about how maple sugar is made. This is so fun and makes me look forward to more formal homeschooling next year.
3. Austin loves to learn. He and I have been slowly working through Phonics Pathways for awhile and he is starting to really take off as a reader. He points out words all over that he knows. I have loved watching him grow in this way.
4. Austin likes things to be organized. Just like me, not coincidentally. He helped me organize the pantry one afternoon a few months back and I thought, if he's this much help as a four year old just imagine the projects we'll be able to tackle together when he's older!
5. Austin loves to help me in the kitchen. This is kind of a love/hate thing for me, actually. It makes for slower, messier cooking, but I love to cook and bake and passing on kitchen skills to my kids is important to me. So I am learning to just relax and enjoy working with a little sous-chef.
6. Austin has become a really good eater in the last few months. It is so nice to make dinner and know that Zach and I will not be the only ones enjoying it. He is not a fan of spicy food but otherwise he'll try, and usually like, just about anything I cook.
7. Austin shares things with me, like candy from his Halloween treat bag. And just now I witnessed him offer Esther a bite of his Three Musketeers. He can be so sweet and generous.
8. Probably as a result of all the reading we do around here, Austin uses phrases like "to and fro," "it so happens that," and "in spite of."
9. Austin asks a lot of questions about God. Sometimes his heart seems so hard and I get discouraged, but then he asks a question, I do my best to answer, and I remind myself that God is at work and I must be patient.
10. Austin is learning to tell jokes. He likes knock knock jokes in particular because Gran and Pops have been texting new jokes to him every few days. He thinks he can take the beginning of a joke like "Knock knock, who's there, boo, boo hoo..." and then add any ending he likes, such as "why did you call me an owl in a tree?" Then he laughs hysterically. It is certainly funny, albeit not in the traditional way.
Ah, my firstborn! What a gift--a challenging, make-me-laugh, make-me-cry, beautiful gift.
2. Austin loves to read. He is a little bookworm. Lately he and I have been spending afternoon time while (one or hopefully more) siblings are asleep reading Little House in the Big Woods. Then we research things we're not familiar with like "salt rising bread" and watch videos about how maple sugar is made. This is so fun and makes me look forward to more formal homeschooling next year.
3. Austin loves to learn. He and I have been slowly working through Phonics Pathways for awhile and he is starting to really take off as a reader. He points out words all over that he knows. I have loved watching him grow in this way.
4. Austin likes things to be organized. Just like me, not coincidentally. He helped me organize the pantry one afternoon a few months back and I thought, if he's this much help as a four year old just imagine the projects we'll be able to tackle together when he's older!
5. Austin loves to help me in the kitchen. This is kind of a love/hate thing for me, actually. It makes for slower, messier cooking, but I love to cook and bake and passing on kitchen skills to my kids is important to me. So I am learning to just relax and enjoy working with a little sous-chef.
6. Austin has become a really good eater in the last few months. It is so nice to make dinner and know that Zach and I will not be the only ones enjoying it. He is not a fan of spicy food but otherwise he'll try, and usually like, just about anything I cook.
7. Austin shares things with me, like candy from his Halloween treat bag. And just now I witnessed him offer Esther a bite of his Three Musketeers. He can be so sweet and generous.
8. Probably as a result of all the reading we do around here, Austin uses phrases like "to and fro," "it so happens that," and "in spite of."
9. Austin asks a lot of questions about God. Sometimes his heart seems so hard and I get discouraged, but then he asks a question, I do my best to answer, and I remind myself that God is at work and I must be patient.
10. Austin is learning to tell jokes. He likes knock knock jokes in particular because Gran and Pops have been texting new jokes to him every few days. He thinks he can take the beginning of a joke like "Knock knock, who's there, boo, boo hoo..." and then add any ending he likes, such as "why did you call me an owl in a tree?" Then he laughs hysterically. It is certainly funny, albeit not in the traditional way.
Ah, my firstborn! What a gift--a challenging, make-me-laugh, make-me-cry, beautiful gift.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Ten Things I Love About Zach Today
Okay, it took a few days but here is my second top ten-style post, inspired by Ashley. I realized when I read her posts how easy it is for me to focus on the challenging parts of my marriage and parenting when I'm in the middle of the daily grind. The old sinful self rears its head in complaining and dreams of a perfect easy life. But in reality I am blessed beyond measure by my husband and children and I think it's good to remind myself of all that is wonderful about them. So let's start with my dear husband of 10 years.
1. He is the one person on earth around whom I can be 100% myself. No putting on a front, no pretenses, just me. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm fake around everyone else--I think no matter how genuine you are, there are always things you hold back from people. But not Zach. Zach gets me. He's my perfect complement.
2. No matter how busy he gets with work, I find Zach up early at the kitchen table reading the Bible. Usually on his ipad. :-)
3. No matter how busy he gets with work, Zach finds time to spend with me and the kids. Family is a high priority to him.
4. Zach is good at playing little boy activities like cars, trains, and pretending to be bears. I am not so good at this so our sons are blessed to have him!
5. Zach tolerates my desire to have a neat and organized home and the purchases the pursuit of such a home entails. Like when I came home with a shoe rack for the front hall along with my groceries from Aldi, he smiled and assembled it for me. And now he puts his shoes on it every day.
6. He is a really, really talented musician. I am so proud to be married to someone so dedicated to his craft.
7. Zach and I have lots of interests in common when it comes to entertainment for our child-free time. Watching Mythbusters, The Amazing Race, even Jane Austen movies (this man is practically perfect!), doing the mental_floss quiz, or discussing the Sherlock Holmes we've read lately...all good stuff we enjoy. And he doesn't give me a hard time about not liking 24 or Midlake or Bon Iver like he does.
8. Zach does fun daddy stuff like making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into the kids' initials. (True example from Sunday's lunch.)
9. Zach enjoys delicious food as much as I do. In particular, he has a sweet tooth to match mine. So he is always willing to indulge in a little dessert with me.
10. Zach listens to me. A lot, because I talk a lot. And he's not just indulging me, he makes intelligent conversation back. He likes to tell me what's going on in his work life, too. His experience as a musician and growth as a teacher and my past experience as a (much more amateur) musician and as a teacher give us a neat set of overlapping interests. We enjoy talking together about that stuff, or just about anything else. We just enjoy life together.
1. He is the one person on earth around whom I can be 100% myself. No putting on a front, no pretenses, just me. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm fake around everyone else--I think no matter how genuine you are, there are always things you hold back from people. But not Zach. Zach gets me. He's my perfect complement.
2. No matter how busy he gets with work, I find Zach up early at the kitchen table reading the Bible. Usually on his ipad. :-)
3. No matter how busy he gets with work, Zach finds time to spend with me and the kids. Family is a high priority to him.
4. Zach is good at playing little boy activities like cars, trains, and pretending to be bears. I am not so good at this so our sons are blessed to have him!
5. Zach tolerates my desire to have a neat and organized home and the purchases the pursuit of such a home entails. Like when I came home with a shoe rack for the front hall along with my groceries from Aldi, he smiled and assembled it for me. And now he puts his shoes on it every day.
6. He is a really, really talented musician. I am so proud to be married to someone so dedicated to his craft.
7. Zach and I have lots of interests in common when it comes to entertainment for our child-free time. Watching Mythbusters, The Amazing Race, even Jane Austen movies (this man is practically perfect!), doing the mental_floss quiz, or discussing the Sherlock Holmes we've read lately...all good stuff we enjoy. And he doesn't give me a hard time about not liking 24 or Midlake or Bon Iver like he does.
8. Zach does fun daddy stuff like making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into the kids' initials. (True example from Sunday's lunch.)
9. Zach enjoys delicious food as much as I do. In particular, he has a sweet tooth to match mine. So he is always willing to indulge in a little dessert with me.
10. Zach listens to me. A lot, because I talk a lot. And he's not just indulging me, he makes intelligent conversation back. He likes to tell me what's going on in his work life, too. His experience as a musician and growth as a teacher and my past experience as a (much more amateur) musician and as a teacher give us a neat set of overlapping interests. We enjoy talking together about that stuff, or just about anything else. We just enjoy life together.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Ten Ways to Tell the Twins Apart
Inspired by my friend Ashley's recent posts about her favorite things about her husband and sons, I think I will write a little series of "Ten" posts. I'd like to think I'll do one a day for several days in a row, but let's get real. I'll just try to do it by the end of 2012, okay? Attainable goals. I am busily pondering all the things I love about my hubby and kiddos and writing lists in my head for those later posts, but I'll start with something more concrete tonight because people ask about it all the time. Identical twins are, as it turns out, fairly identical. Our babies' heights are the same and their current weights are within four ounces. But as time goes on we are seeing more and more differences. So...
10 Ways to Tell Joshua from Jude
1. Jude has the giraffe paci, Joshua has the monkey. If their clothing has a giraffe or monkey on it, use the animal cues as well.
2. If one baby is dressed in blue and the other in pretty much any other color, Jude is the one in blue. (I follow this pattern as much as possible.)
3. Joshua has a red birthmark on his left side, Jude has one on his left eyelid. (They are less prominent than a few months ago, though.)
4. Joshua has a little freckle on his right ankle.
5. Jude's hair sweeps out to the left and right along his hairline more dramatically than Joshua's. Alas, though, I think Joshua's is starting to look more like Jude's every day.
6. If one baby is crying, it is probably Joshua. Really--by using this clue alone you could guess the twins' identity with about 90% accuracy.
7. As long as they're not crying (see #6) Joshua has a sweet, pleasant look most of the time while Jude tends to look concerned. Their faces do no match their personalities.
8. If the babies are asleep, Joshua is the one on his tummy and Jude is the one on his back.
9. If the babies are eating, Joshua is the one who spits out most of what goes in his mouth. (As of today. I really hope this doesn't last long.)
10. Um...can't think of anything else really good...so if all else fails, ask Joshua and Jude's mommy or daddy who is who. That usually works. :-)
10 Ways to Tell Joshua from Jude
1. Jude has the giraffe paci, Joshua has the monkey. If their clothing has a giraffe or monkey on it, use the animal cues as well.
2. If one baby is dressed in blue and the other in pretty much any other color, Jude is the one in blue. (I follow this pattern as much as possible.)
3. Joshua has a red birthmark on his left side, Jude has one on his left eyelid. (They are less prominent than a few months ago, though.)
4. Joshua has a little freckle on his right ankle.
5. Jude's hair sweeps out to the left and right along his hairline more dramatically than Joshua's. Alas, though, I think Joshua's is starting to look more like Jude's every day.
6. If one baby is crying, it is probably Joshua. Really--by using this clue alone you could guess the twins' identity with about 90% accuracy.
7. As long as they're not crying (see #6) Joshua has a sweet, pleasant look most of the time while Jude tends to look concerned. Their faces do no match their personalities.
8. If the babies are asleep, Joshua is the one on his tummy and Jude is the one on his back.
9. If the babies are eating, Joshua is the one who spits out most of what goes in his mouth. (As of today. I really hope this doesn't last long.)
10. Um...can't think of anything else really good...so if all else fails, ask Joshua and Jude's mommy or daddy who is who. That usually works. :-)
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| Jude: sporting a giraffe bib, with a slight look of concern; if you zoomed in you might see the birthmark |
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| Joshua: sporting a monkey bib, looking pretty chill, probably about to spit out some cereal |
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Pictures of This and That
This and that meaning my kids being cute, of course. Because that's what they do best. (Or maybe making messes is what they do best. Hmm....)
Esther likes to play with toys in unconventional ways.
Austin does not usually amuse himself very well. A bit needy, that child. Unless you give him the big box that a highchair came in and license to do with it as he will. Forty minutes later...
Esther likes to play with toys in unconventional ways.
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| Not supposed to be a riding toy. |
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| Meant for babies of the non-real variety. |
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| "Stickers are for paper," we say a lot around here. |
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| Hey, this is pretty close to what the stroller is meant for! |
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| My oldest and my youngest. |
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| Grandmas's first morning here, so naturally the kids were checking out all the goodies she brought. Esther tried on the big girl panties Grandma brought her. (No, not potty trained yet. Maybe over Zach's Christmas break.) |
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| Grandma and Joshua. |
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| Jude got a little too comfy in Daddy's lap. |
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| All dressed up for church. |
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| Austin's class went to the pumpkin patch and we all went along. It was the coldest day of the year so far but we had fun. |
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| Grandma and I each toted a baby. |
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| A four year old was used but not harmed in the taking of this picture. The twins love their big brother. |
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| Joshua close-up |
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| Jude close-up |
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| Grandma and Grandpa took the big kids to a park just to play in the leaves. Our yard has no deciduous trees. Cedar needles are just not the same when it comes to fall fun. |
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| Grandma and Jude. You might notice a pattern...Jude is much more likely to quiet down and fall asleep in your arms, the swing, etc, than Joshua. |
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| The grandparents are attempting to brainwash our children into becoming MU fans. It's okay with us. I probably would have gone there myself if I wasn't a small-school kind of girl. Everyone around here will just assume the kids are wearing Steelers gear from the colors. |
Last Warm Days
This has been a beautiful October week, a warm and mostly sunny break from the colder weather. With each warm day I think, is this it? Is this the last day of outdoor comfort before the long long winter? With snow forecast for next week I definitely wanted to get my kids out to run around in the backyard for awhile today.
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| I told them to run off some energy. Run they did. |
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| Sometimes with a lawn mower. |
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| Mom, do you see that Esther is playing in the dirt? Yes, yes I do. Go ahead and join her. :) We made time for a bath while dinner was in the oven. |
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| Jude watched the goings on from the bouncy seat on the porch. |
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| Joshua watched the goings on from my left hip. Took a lot of tries to get a decent shot, holding the camera out to my side as I was. |
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Milestones
We reached a few significant milestones at our house this weekend.
First, with the twins just a few days short of six months we decided to give them their first taste of cereal this morning. Although we haven't been good at all about taking videos of the twins, we did think to pull out the camcorder today. After watching it, I almost decided against editing and posting the video but then I figured, maybe some of you have wondered just what kind of craziness goes on in our house. Grandpa was manning the camcorder, Grandma was taking still shots, Austin and Esther were being their usual busy, let's-get-in-the-middle-of-everything selves, we were Facetiming with Gran in Texas...and oh yeah, we fed the babies. Just a day in the life. :)
The twins were a bit upset at first because they were hungry but they both settled down and ate pretty well. We weren't sure how they'd do since their adjusted age is only four and a half months but I'd call this first feeding a success. So--gulp--here we go with solids. I remember from my other kids just how much time it takes to feed babies in the early days of real food and that was just feeding one! I'll be spending a lot of time in front of those highchairs in the weeks to come!
So the second milestone: Esther climbed out of her crib. You could say she finally crawled out of her crib. We'd seen her swing one leg over the rail a few times but yesterday she finally got brave and went all the way. Austin came downstairs to tell Grandma about it during "naptime" (yeah, obviously not a lot of napping was happening) and then she and I went upstairs and made Esther give us a demonstration. And naturally today I had to get it on video. Austin never climbed out of the crib--Esther is actually getting a "first" all her own!
Zach pulled the toddler bed out of the basement this morning so Esther is upstairs in it now. I'm not sure if I can say she's upstairs sleeping in it right now; I have heard lots of noise from that quarter despite it being over an hour past her bedtime. But she has only gotten out of it once so far (that we know of). Not bad for her first night.
First, with the twins just a few days short of six months we decided to give them their first taste of cereal this morning. Although we haven't been good at all about taking videos of the twins, we did think to pull out the camcorder today. After watching it, I almost decided against editing and posting the video but then I figured, maybe some of you have wondered just what kind of craziness goes on in our house. Grandpa was manning the camcorder, Grandma was taking still shots, Austin and Esther were being their usual busy, let's-get-in-the-middle-of-everything selves, we were Facetiming with Gran in Texas...and oh yeah, we fed the babies. Just a day in the life. :)
The twins were a bit upset at first because they were hungry but they both settled down and ate pretty well. We weren't sure how they'd do since their adjusted age is only four and a half months but I'd call this first feeding a success. So--gulp--here we go with solids. I remember from my other kids just how much time it takes to feed babies in the early days of real food and that was just feeding one! I'll be spending a lot of time in front of those highchairs in the weeks to come!
So the second milestone: Esther climbed out of her crib. You could say she finally crawled out of her crib. We'd seen her swing one leg over the rail a few times but yesterday she finally got brave and went all the way. Austin came downstairs to tell Grandma about it during "naptime" (yeah, obviously not a lot of napping was happening) and then she and I went upstairs and made Esther give us a demonstration. And naturally today I had to get it on video. Austin never climbed out of the crib--Esther is actually getting a "first" all her own!
Zach pulled the toddler bed out of the basement this morning so Esther is upstairs in it now. I'm not sure if I can say she's upstairs sleeping in it right now; I have heard lots of noise from that quarter despite it being over an hour past her bedtime. But she has only gotten out of it once so far (that we know of). Not bad for her first night.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
What a Difference a Year Makes
One year ago today we learned that twins were on their way to our family. In a moment we went from our assumptions that children would continue to join our family in an ordinary, approximately-every-two-years fashion, to the realization that we would have four children under the ago of five. Shocking and a little scary. There was no longer any discussion of having three or four children; four it would be.
This year has been the most challenging, crazy, busy, beautiful year of my life. From the six months I spent (knowingly) pregnant with the twins to the six months I've spent raising them so far, they have dominated my life. Twins are all-consuming.
But that's a good thing in its own way. I am so easily distracted by the things of the world. The temptation to neglect my family and pursue my own interests (think Facebook and fluffy reading material) is strong, but the simple matter of keeping the twins fed, dressed, and in clean diapers takes a lot of time. My focus has been rightly redirected toward my family since the twins' birth.
If I have grown one way in the last year, it is in my understanding of the sovereignty of God. Or perhaps I should say, in my understanding of the mystery of God's sovereignty. So many questions: why did He choose us to have twins? Why were our twins healthy when some suffer from TTTS? Why did He think I could handle four children so close in age? More recently, why oh why will they not sleep well at night? :) But as there are not easy answers, I've been learning to trust more and question less. To use some biblical language, He is the potter and we are the clay. Twins are how He is molding our life and I trust He will use them to make us more beautiful vessels.
Pictures to come soon. I have taken some but need to transfer them to the computer.
Pictures to come soon. I have taken some but need to transfer them to the computer.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Sunday Pictures
Just a few more pictures. And Esther is included this time. :)
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| Getting better at smiling on cue. Man, I love this kid more every day. |
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| This girly does not sit still! She was up and down, up and down, up and down the stairs as we took pictures. Have I mentioned how much I love having a daughter? |
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| The "big kids." When I look at this picture I understand why people are always telling me Esther looks like her brother. |
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| This is how far we've come: Zach took this picture while I was out, I looked at it for the first time this morning while he's already at work, and I will say with complete confidence that Jude is on the left and Joshua on the right. (Hint: look at their hairlines.) |
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| Adorable pile of twins. |
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| Jude says let's be fair; now it's my turn to lean on my brother. And Joshua smiles anyway. |
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Pictures
Hmm, haven't posted any pictures in a while. Haven't been great at taking them, either, but I think I can find a few. In honor of the twins' five month birthday, let's say.
I love love love the following series of pictures. Jude was in the swing a few weeks ago and we realized he was making one crazy face after another. Perhaps he saw himself in the mirror on the other side of the little butterfly?
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| Grr, blurry, I know. Someday I would like to learn how to really use the nice camera we bought. I do not know how to get two babies in focus together. Obviously. |
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| (Lack of photography skills apparent again.) But aren't these the most awesome shirts? I love geeky humor. |
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| Austin's first day of Pre-K4. Yes, we still plan to homeschool, but we decided that this year, with the twins severely limiting how much we get out and do stuff, it would be best for him to go to school. He loves it so we're quite happy with our decision. |
And finally, a video Zach put together (on his iPad, nifty!) from the sports class Austin took this summer through our local parks and rec department. I love it. Classic little boy stuff.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
On My Side
"The God of the universe is on your side!"
Gina, a friend from church (and mother of five, including twins) spoke those words to me a month or two ago and they have been bouncing around in my head ever since. This parenting twins thing continues to be hard hard hard. I could go on at length about the latest challenges we're facing here, the sleeplessness, etc, but I'll spare you the details. There's always going to be a challenge (haven't noticed my big kids becoming suddenly easy to parent) but good news: The God of the universe is on my side.
Ponder that for a minute. Unworthy as I am, as prone as I am to make selfish decisions, react to the kids in impatience, fail to pray as I ought...God is still on my side. The unimaginably powerful God who created the entire universe cares personally for me. And He did not give us twins so He could sit on the sidelines and laugh at our failures. He gave us twins because it was His good and perfect plan for our family. To bring Him glory. To make us more dependent on Him. To sanctify us. And I have to believe that He is actively helping us through each and every hard moment. Easy to forget sometimes, at 3am when we're listening to a baby or two cry again, but then Gina's words come back to me. God is on our side.
Many mornings following hard nights I have gotten up and sought and found comfort in the psalms. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) "How blessed is he whose help is the god of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God," (Psalm 146:5) "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13) I have been on the brink of despair over and over these past few weeks but I am ever thankful that God will not let me go.
Gina, a friend from church (and mother of five, including twins) spoke those words to me a month or two ago and they have been bouncing around in my head ever since. This parenting twins thing continues to be hard hard hard. I could go on at length about the latest challenges we're facing here, the sleeplessness, etc, but I'll spare you the details. There's always going to be a challenge (haven't noticed my big kids becoming suddenly easy to parent) but good news: The God of the universe is on my side.
Ponder that for a minute. Unworthy as I am, as prone as I am to make selfish decisions, react to the kids in impatience, fail to pray as I ought...God is still on my side. The unimaginably powerful God who created the entire universe cares personally for me. And He did not give us twins so He could sit on the sidelines and laugh at our failures. He gave us twins because it was His good and perfect plan for our family. To bring Him glory. To make us more dependent on Him. To sanctify us. And I have to believe that He is actively helping us through each and every hard moment. Easy to forget sometimes, at 3am when we're listening to a baby or two cry again, but then Gina's words come back to me. God is on our side.
Many mornings following hard nights I have gotten up and sought and found comfort in the psalms. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) "How blessed is he whose help is the god of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God," (Psalm 146:5) "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13) I have been on the brink of despair over and over these past few weeks but I am ever thankful that God will not let me go.
Friday, August 31, 2012
A Bit More About the Meal Planning
One or two people have expressed curiosity about my monthly meal plan so tonight I figured out how to share it; click the image below and you should get to a Google doc that is big enough to actually read. You'll see that I made several little notes to myself, like a reminder that the Italian sausage I need for one dish is in the freezer (because we had extra when we cooked sausage for pizza). I try to be efficient with my ingredients and this month especially I tried to use up older freezer and pantry stuff when I could.
We are already a bit off what I planned; we have lots of leftover pasta sauce from our annual Tubaphonium Back to School party last night. So we'll eat pasta an extra night or two; might not eat soup from the freezer this next week. No big deal. It's been nice to look at the plan and know that 95% of the ingredients are in the house and I don't have to worry about when to fit in a trip to the store.
On the topic of efficiency/saving money like you were wondering about, Megan, I think the number one way I'll save money by planning and shopping monthly is that I did the big shopping trip at Aldi. So many staples are so much cheaper there but often in the past I haven't gone because I wanted to go one place and get everything I need. But now I know I can get most things at Aldi once a month, then the stuff Aldi doesn't have in our quick trips to the regular store for milk and produce.
If anybody out there wants to try this kind of shopping, I really recommend going to Raising Arrows and reading her posts about monthly shopping. I made my own master grocery list and despite its massive size, I found it easy to use and helpful for making sure I didn't miss anything at the store that we would need during the month.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Mommy Thoughts
It is the time of year that always fills me with a bit of sadness and a bit of anxiety: Zach's return to school. His summer is gloriously long and although he does quite a bit of work from home, there are so many hours for playing with the family that sometimes we almost forget that he has a job. But Indiana has filled up overnight with college students, our evenings are accompanied by the sounds of the IUP Marching Band...it definitely feels like school time again.
I know I have been unusually blessed to have had my husband home so much in the twins' early months and I have always known that that would come to an end, of course. The end of each summer with a new baby has been filled with thoughts of "how will we do without Daddy?" but naturally things seem a bit more extreme this time around. But as I was saying to a friend at church this morning, this is just the start of a "new normal." It may take us awhile to figure out exactly what the new normal should look like, but we'll make it somehow.
Practically speaking, lots of things have to be different in our new normal. For example, it is all but impossible to take four kids grocery shopping when two of the kids are four month old babies. I suppose if I was really desperate I could put one baby in my Baby Bjorn, the other in his car seat in the cart, and have Esther and Austin walk...sounds a little crazy to me. (I have visions of Austin and Esther gleefully chasing each other around the store while I stare at the shelves unable to remember what I want because I'm so distracted by my crazy kids.) So weekday shopping like I've always done will probably not be part of our routine anymore.
I found a blog called Raising Arrows a few weeks back that has been enormously helpful as I've been thinking through the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our new season. Amy, the mom who writes it, has more children (and wisdom) than me and her blog is full of good advice for managing a large family and keeping Christ at the center of it all. One specific idea I've gleaned is monthly meal planning and shopping. I have a few friends who do this but it had never seemed like a good idea til now. I dislike after-bedtime and weekend shopping so the thought of always shopping at those times depressed me, but one big weekend trip per month...that I thought I could handle. So I spent part of a few evenings planning and yesterday was the big shopping day. Now my pantry and freezer are stuffed, the month's meals are posted on the fridge...we'll see how it goes! We'll still need to make some small trips for stuff like milk of course but I don't mind running out in the evening for that.
The other thing that's been on my mind is my cleaning routine, or rather lack of a routine. Last year I made a neat little schedule with tasks for each day and I was actually pretty good at sticking to it. That lasted a month or two, then I got pregnant with the twins and all semblance of a routine ended. I can now tell you definitively that nothing really bad happens if you go a long while without dusting. Or cleaning the bathroom. Or mopping the kitchen. :) But to be serious, I desire a clean home and I want to get back into a routine that will help us achieve a clean home. So I ordered a pocket chart and am making a chore chart that will include myself and the two big kids. I have felt for awhile that it is time to give Austin a few more responsibilities but I haven't felt good at coming up with age-appropriate tasks. However, I taught him how to Swiffer Vac the dining room and kitchen the other day and he loved it. Score one for me and the house! Esther's part will mostly be stuff like putting away her pajamas and brushing her teeth, but with the craziness of twins going on, some days I need a reminder to even take care of the basics like that.
Sigh. It is getting late and Zach and I are hoping/needing to get up earlier tomorrow. So off to bed I go and so begins the new normal!
I know I have been unusually blessed to have had my husband home so much in the twins' early months and I have always known that that would come to an end, of course. The end of each summer with a new baby has been filled with thoughts of "how will we do without Daddy?" but naturally things seem a bit more extreme this time around. But as I was saying to a friend at church this morning, this is just the start of a "new normal." It may take us awhile to figure out exactly what the new normal should look like, but we'll make it somehow.
Practically speaking, lots of things have to be different in our new normal. For example, it is all but impossible to take four kids grocery shopping when two of the kids are four month old babies. I suppose if I was really desperate I could put one baby in my Baby Bjorn, the other in his car seat in the cart, and have Esther and Austin walk...sounds a little crazy to me. (I have visions of Austin and Esther gleefully chasing each other around the store while I stare at the shelves unable to remember what I want because I'm so distracted by my crazy kids.) So weekday shopping like I've always done will probably not be part of our routine anymore.
I found a blog called Raising Arrows a few weeks back that has been enormously helpful as I've been thinking through the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our new season. Amy, the mom who writes it, has more children (and wisdom) than me and her blog is full of good advice for managing a large family and keeping Christ at the center of it all. One specific idea I've gleaned is monthly meal planning and shopping. I have a few friends who do this but it had never seemed like a good idea til now. I dislike after-bedtime and weekend shopping so the thought of always shopping at those times depressed me, but one big weekend trip per month...that I thought I could handle. So I spent part of a few evenings planning and yesterday was the big shopping day. Now my pantry and freezer are stuffed, the month's meals are posted on the fridge...we'll see how it goes! We'll still need to make some small trips for stuff like milk of course but I don't mind running out in the evening for that.
The other thing that's been on my mind is my cleaning routine, or rather lack of a routine. Last year I made a neat little schedule with tasks for each day and I was actually pretty good at sticking to it. That lasted a month or two, then I got pregnant with the twins and all semblance of a routine ended. I can now tell you definitively that nothing really bad happens if you go a long while without dusting. Or cleaning the bathroom. Or mopping the kitchen. :) But to be serious, I desire a clean home and I want to get back into a routine that will help us achieve a clean home. So I ordered a pocket chart and am making a chore chart that will include myself and the two big kids. I have felt for awhile that it is time to give Austin a few more responsibilities but I haven't felt good at coming up with age-appropriate tasks. However, I taught him how to Swiffer Vac the dining room and kitchen the other day and he loved it. Score one for me and the house! Esther's part will mostly be stuff like putting away her pajamas and brushing her teeth, but with the craziness of twins going on, some days I need a reminder to even take care of the basics like that.
Sigh. It is getting late and Zach and I are hoping/needing to get up earlier tomorrow. So off to bed I go and so begins the new normal!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Another Month Gone Already?
Goodness, I was doing so well at blogging for awhile and then what happened? Got on a roll, I guess, and then off it again!
So what have we been up to? Let's see...Zach took the big kids to the zoo. I stayed home with the babies because I would have spent about 50% of the trip nursing. Not worth it. But apparently it was a good trip.
There have been several more attempts at group shots. This one is a little blurry but otherwise not bad.
In the last couple weeks I feel like I've started seeing differences in the twins' faces. When I pulled this picture up tonight, I guessed correctly who was who.
Probably our most significant activity of the last month was a weekend trip to Virginia for a wedding, that of Zach's longtime friend James. We stayed in a nice Homewood Suites that had plenty of room for us and all four kids. (Napping twins in one room, playtime in the other--awesome!) Zach was away with the other groomsmen for part of Friday so the kiddos and I were left to amuse ourselves. Good thing we had a hefty supply of stickers.
Then Daddy came back and more hotel fun was had.
And finally the wedding. It was a beautiful, Christ-exalting ceremony and a fun, family-friendly reception. James and Kat, we are so happy for you!
Then it was back to Indiana with Zach's parents and grandfather, who had come out east for the wedding. Our visit was unfortunately marred by nearly all of the adults spending some time under the weather (and perhaps explaining why I have no pictures of Pops--he had it pretty bad), but the kids stayed healthy and loved every minute they could get with their grandparents.
So that, more or less, is what we've been up to this month. Zach goes back to work for real next week and I will be responsible for these four little people 8+ hours a day. Gulp.
So what have we been up to? Let's see...Zach took the big kids to the zoo. I stayed home with the babies because I would have spent about 50% of the trip nursing. Not worth it. But apparently it was a good trip.
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| Elephant in the background. I wonder what Esther is looking at. |
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| The aquarium was the real highlight of the day. |
In the last couple weeks I feel like I've started seeing differences in the twins' faces. When I pulled this picture up tonight, I guessed correctly who was who.
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| But in case you didn't, here's the cheat sheet. |
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| Here is how Esther plays with stickers. 1) put stickers on paper. 2) take them off and put them on legs or feet. 3) take them off again and put them on the floor. |
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| Soccer-bowling with duplo pins--it's the next big thing. |
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| The reception was getting started right around naptime so Esther found a nice spot for a snooze. |
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| Gran made hats for everyone! Esther especially loves them and sees them as all-weather apparel. |
So that, more or less, is what we've been up to this month. Zach goes back to work for real next week and I will be responsible for these four little people 8+ hours a day. Gulp.
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