Friday, December 12, 2008

7 Quick Takes-Or Why You Haven't Heard From Me Lately

Jen at Conversion Diary has started hosting 7 Quick Takes on Friday. I love the idea because it allows me to share a few things going on around here without writing a full post. These days, that's all I have time for, and here's why:

1. Advent-We are definitely enjoying Advent around here, but trying to set aside time to be reflective while preparing for baby and Christmas is proving to be a challenge. Let's just say I have new respect for my mother and mother-in-law and anyone who ever had a baby near Christmastime. It makes things much crazier!

2. Nesting-As noted above, I am pretty busy getting ready for this baby. After three nights of contractions that were just a little too long, I finally got my husband to bring the baby things down from the attic. Now I am busy washing and folding tiny clothes, shopping for things I will need and trying desperately to get my house in some sort of order. It is amazing how much more chaotic it seems around here than usual.

3. Cold season-Around our part of the country, this is the worst cold season I've seen in a while! All of my friends have had multiple illnesses descend on their homes. Around here, all four of us have had a nasty cold and cough thing for nearly a month. Both boys have had pink eye and ear infections, and now we are fighting another little cold. I am considering quarantining us until after the baby is born.

4. Hobbes-We have been getting him evaluated for speech therapy over the past month. Turns out that he skipped a major developmental stage in his language...you know, the one where kids learn to make the basic consonant sounds. Thanks to his verbally advanced older brother, he jumped right to complicated sentences and vocabulary that we, unfortunately, cannot understand. Can I tell you how excited I am about finding time to do therapy with him with a newborn?

5. Calvin-Seems he decided to hit another difficult development phase right before things got busy around here. It has been a rough month, to say the least. But we seem to be coming out of it. Today he has been helpful and cheerful and downright cooperative. Let's pray it continues!

6. Sleep-I am sooooo tired these days that whenever I have time to write, I have to choose sleep instead. My body will do nothing else. Is it child neglect to put your four-year-old in front of a movie or computer program while you nap with the two-year-old? If so, I am in big trouble.

7. Gift shopping-I am actually enjoying having the excuse to scale down the gift shopping this year thanks to the baby. I finished all of my shopping in one day, thanks to my mother-in-law watching the boys. We are doing a few presents for immediate family, and even many of those are "gifts" through charitable organizations' gift catalogs. It is so freeing to give gifts that help someone instead of searching for the perfect something that someone doesn't really need!

So there you go. Not too exciting, but at least you know why I have been silent lately. Really, I am mostly just moving inward as I meditate on the changes to come. For once, I am not finding writing helpful at all for reflection. Maybe there will be some time for that in the days to come, once I get the external things a bit more organized. I do need time to get the thoughts in my brain a little more organized, too.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Z started OT when the baby was a few weeks old, so I feel your pain!

Heather said...

I like the quick takes

I had both my babies around Christmas and that's what my mom did with all three of hers.I found it really made me have to slow down and choose my priorities which is a good lesson at this time of year anyway.

Uh, as far as the child neglect thing...when I had my 2nd I put my 2 year old in front of movies while I napped with my newborn so I think you're in the clear with your 4 year old. I think you do what you have to do in our society where everyone lives as a single family unit.

Elizabeth said...

Glad to hear a few snippets of what's going on in your world. I've been thinking of you lately... and looking forward to seeing you relatively soon.

Farrah said...

It is not child neglect.... it is mama-preservation!
Love you and am praying for your fam as the day draws near...

Rachel said...

hi friend,
oh i love you! hang in there!
nathan's been in speech and feeding therapy for 6 mths now, and will continue after our 3rd boy comes too. i will say both boys LOVE our therapist. as a rule, these people totally get kids and make "therapy" so fun. they can't wait to see what treats and toys she has in her bag... literally and figuratively. i'm definitely not worried about juggling the actual time when she's here, b/c it honestly feels like a break already! however, she always suggests "homework" for us to do w/him and therein lies the hard part! hopefully they'll just keep dumbing said homework down for us tired mamas! love you! still dreaming about that getaway w/you and our bebes sometime in the summer maybe?!

TwoSquareMeals said...

Thanks for the prayers and support. I think this pregnancy has been the hardest parenting phase of my life, so I am not sure what to expect when the babe arrives.

Rach, it is definitely the "homework" part of therapy that worries me. Apparently with this particular problem, the only way to make really good progress is with lots and lots of parent/child activities slowing down speech and such. Great! I will definitely be up for a getaway with babes sometime!

Anonymous said...

I liked peeking into your busy life! No wonder your tired-but I'm glad you're handling it all and getting ready for that joyous baby!