A Day in the Life

Dana from mamalogues had the wonderful idea to post pictures from various moments throughout her day. She issued an invitation for others to join in the fun, so I thought I take a few of my own photos. Some of them capture things I see or do on a daily basis, but that I pay little attention to as I go about my day. Take my disorganized organizer, for instance.

Like most moms, I ask the kids on a daily basis to pick up their things and put them where they belong. Most of the items they wish to keep “sacred” (i.e. away from their siblings) are put into their baskets on the shelf of this entryway organizer. I walk by this area everyday but remain in denial of its haphazard appearance. Whenever I do become aware of how overstuffed this fixture has become I tell myself, “The kids need to clean out their baskets!” However, like most of my Summer To-Do List, it just hasn’t happened yet.

Some of the photos represent peaceful moments to me. There is one of the cat relaxing in the afternoon sun that makes me want to take a nap. Though I can’t exactly explain why, this one of my kitchen windowsill is unusually soothing as well.

Other photos illustrate things or places that are all MINE. Not to sound selfish or anything, but it is sometimes difficult to claim a space as your own in a house with six other people. I can currently claim the lovely green La-Z-Boy as part of my “Nursing Nook”. I have the incontrovertible right to kick anyone out of this chair if Mr. H is hungry. Another photo shows my laptop where I occasionally spend my “free time” throughout the day. And another shows the hanging flower baskets we have in the backyard. I hung them in April and they are still looking surprisingly good! It’s amazing what a little drink of water every day will do for a plant.

Enjoy the whole set by clicking here.

Day Camp

While Miss M was getting ready for Girl Scout Day Camp this morning I was feeling a little downhearted. I was really wishing I could be a part of it again this year. I was able to help out in her unit last year, and it was such a wonderful mother-daughter experience. My other kids were a part of the “Nursery Unit” at camp, but it was really just me and Miss M from 9:00 until 2:00 every day for a week. One-on-one time is hard to come by at our house lately, and camp would have been a good opportunity for just that.

Thankfully Miss M doesn’t seem discouraged by the fact that I won’t be at camp this year. She knows all of the leaders in her unit – one is her aunt and the other two are good family friends. It’s her fourth year going so she knows what to expect and how much fun it is at camp. We had everything ready to go this morning at least an hour before she was supposed to get picked up. I was excited for her, even if I was feeling bummed for myself. I watched her leave with a sigh.

Now it’s 85º outside and I’m sweating. I was only out there for a short time pushing Banana on the swing and watering the flowers, but I’m sweating. I have been trying to convince myself that 85º isn’t bad. It could easily be 95º, and it has been 95º at camp before. 85º should feel pleasant, but I’m still sweating. And, oddly enough, I don’t feel so downhearted anymore.

A Relaxing Summer?

“Have a relaxing summer!” said the kids’ teachers on the last day of school. I chuckled at the thought, knowing that relaxing just isn’t the way I would describe my summers. I purposefully signed the kids up for fewer things than last year, knowing that it would be difficult to get them back and forth with a tiny baby in tow. I had every intention of taking it easy this summer. However, the kids won’t have it that way. When Miss M went to sleep before the first day of summer vacation, she asked, “So, what are we doing tomorrow?” I responded, “Nothing…and that’s alright with me.” Unfortunately it wasn’t alright with her.

Did you know that my kids actually expect me to have something entertaining for them to do each and every day of the summer? They don’t realize the kind of pressure that puts on a mom. I agree that summer should be a fun time for the kids, but not at the expense of my sanity. I have been trying to come up with something, even something small, to satisfy them each day. And if you ask me, we’ve had a fun and eventful couple of weeks so far. Mostly our activities have been spontaneous things, like going to the park or going to a friend’s house. But starting this weekend there are loads of pre-planned activities on our calendar.

To illustrate…
Miss M has a softball game at 9:00. Big D and C.B. have a game at 10:45 nowhere near Miss M’s game. My husband coaches on both of these teams, so he will have to count on the other coaches to get the boys’ game started. We will be home with enough time to eat lunch before I have to leave for a singing gig with the band at 2:00. My other half has been asked to videotape our transferring pastor’s last Mass and farewell reception at our church starting at 3:45. The whole family will attend the farewell reception around 5:45 and we’ll probably get home just in time for bed. And that, my friends is tomorrow.

Next week Miss M has Girl Scout Day Camp, while Big D is signed up for Basketball Camp. The following week is Vacation Bible School for the three oldest kids, and I am one of the station leaders. We have a camping trip planned over the Fourth of July weekend, and another Vacation Bible School (at which I will not be working) the week after that. Miss M has a variety of Girl Scout Larks (day trips) scheduled during the month of July, and we have another camping trip planned for the first week in August. We will then have about two weeks to get our school supplies and our acts together for the first day of school on August 18.

When I put the summer into paragraph form, it seems impossible that we will be able to fit in a trip to the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the water park, or a weekend at the “Country House”. What about the programs at the Library or the free movies on weekday mornings at the theatre? Don’t forget about things like Father’s Day, ballgames and practices that will continue through the end of July, and a joint Baptism for Mr. H and my new nephew. Then we’ll need time for visiting with my brother-in-law who has just come back to the states from Iraq, and with my grandma from Texas who will also be here for a couple of weeks.

I’m fairly confident that we’ll fit it all in somehow. It won’t always be easy, but I am sure we’ll be able to look back in August and say we had a great summer. Relaxing? Maybe not. But it should be fun.

Memoir Mixup

My husband informed me that in my last post I wrote a six word description of myself, but not a memoir. I suppose I should have done some research before hitting that “publish” button. This, my friends, is why I am not a writer. Apparently a memoir is like an autobiography, which is even more difficult to sum up in six words than a personal description. A description can change with mood swings or the weather. It may or may not have been obvious that I wrote my original description in the midst of a typically busy day. An autobiography, on the other hand, should encompass my entire life. A life which is still in the making, I might add. However, since I don’t want to break any more rules than I already have, here goes…

Mother blessed by God with family.

These are my visual aids:

Memoir Meme

About a month ago, Monkey's Momma tagged me with a memoir meme. I am finally getting around to it. The rules are...

1. Write a six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog with a visual if you like
3. Link to the person who tagged you
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play

I may be breaking the rules by using hyphenated words, but here's what I came up with for my six word memior:

Care-giving, Kid-driving, House-cleaning,
Lunch-making, Nap-taking Zookeeper

I am also breaking the rules by not tagging five more people (am I a rebel or what?) I feel like I have already seen this meme on many of the blogs I read. However, if you feel like participating, please consider yourself tagged!!

Eight Weeks Later

I can’t believe Mr. H is eight weeks old already! The time sure goes by quickly, but his increasing size is proof that he is not a tiny newborn anymore. He is starting to smile a lot more and make lots of sweet noises. He is taking notice of the toys that hang over his bed and will even grab things when they come close enough to his chubby little hands. Miss M became aware of this fact when he took hold of her hair this morning and wouldn’t let go.

Since my posts have been few and far between it must seem like I skipped six weeks of the baby’s life. I do have pictures of him, folks, it’s just that I don’t have them all on the computer like they should be. I am still behind on a lot of things like that, and I hope to remedy that soon. But I did want to get a shot of him at 8 weeks, trying to pose him like his big sister more than 10 years ago.

I thought this would be a fun comparison since so many people ask me if he looks like Miss M. What do you think?

Other People's Pictures

Creativity and time are still eluding me, so I did what any blogger with writer’s block would do…post pictures! The boys’ teachers gave me a snapshot from each of my Mothers’ Day Teas last week, and my mom brought her camera over this morning so I could take any of the pictures off of it that I wanted. I would love a photo of my new nephew to add to this collection, but my sister-in-law’s computer isn’t cooperating.

The boys and Grandpa at the Zoo

C.B. and Banana with Mr. H

Big D keeping his eye on the ball

C.B. is up to bat

Nice action shot, Grandma!

Miss M getting into the catcher's gear

Big D and me at his Mother's Day Tea

C.B. and me at his Mother's Day Tea

It Has Begun

The month of May is when things really start to get crazy around here, and this May is no exception. Things are starting to wrap up at school, so there are special projects to work on, plays to attend, field trips, etc. There are year-end events for other groups we’re involved with as well, such as Girl Scouts and Sunday School. I have two Mothers Day Teas to attend on Wednesday. And then there are the ballgames.

This year three of the kids will be playing ball. Thankfully the boys will be on the same team for this one year so there are only two teams to keep up with. However, my husband is managing both of those teams. Not only does he have two practices a week between the two teams, but the calendar often lists three games in a week’s time – sometimes four. On a couple of Saturdays Miss M and the boys have a game at the exact same time, in two different places of course. It’s going to be exciting to watch him divide himself into two dads!

Baseball season was officially kicked off this morning. The boys played their first game at 9:00 in their long pants and long sleeves. It was only 54 degrees, which is why Banana and I stayed home with Mr. H. That’s just too chilly for the little guy. Besides, there will be plenty of other warmer games for us to watch before the season is over in July.

Here are some of the highlights from this morning’s game…

Big D stepped up to the plate and impressed Coach Dad with his stance and his attitude. I know he played last year, but he really looked confident. He hit a nice pop fly and ran like the wind to first base. Unfortunately, a player from the other team was able to catch it.

This baseball season marks C.B.’s first foray into organized sports. Any type of ball he has played thus far has been in our backyard. I am proud to say that he managed not to strike out during any of his at bats this morning. He did ground out, but at least he made contact with the ball.

When the boys came home I asked them how the game went. They each responded with a variation of the word COLD. It turns out they actually called the game early because the kids were freezing. I am glad I stayed nice and warm at home with the little ones.

Miss M’s softball season will start on Tuesday evening. Details of that game to come.

Validation

I have a love/hate relationship with Banana’s hair. It is extremely curly, yet soft and fine and very difficult to comb. She and I both dread the daily combing routine. She dreads the pain of the tangles and I dread the pain of her shrieking. When it is combed, however, it looks adorable.

The hair-combing routine is somewhat time-consuming as well. When I was getting ready for the hospital and knew that the grandmas were going to be taking care of the kids for a while, I composed a list of instructions. The longest and most detailed bit of information was about how to comb Banana’s hair. I knew they were going to dread it even more than I do because it is tough on a grandma to do something her grandchild dislikes. But they did what they had to do, God love ‘em both.

I have always regarded my children’s appearance as an outward sign of my mothering skills. You know, like you make them change if there are holes in their clothes, or you ask them to wipe the jelly off of their faces before leaving for school. I am particularly aware of the state of Banana’s hair when we are out and about. At an Adoption Workshop about transracial families I once attended, hair was one of the topics of discussion. One of the fathers there said he felt like his ability to parent his bi-racial child was often judged by others based on how his child’s hair looked. The woman who was giving the workshop was an African-American and an adoptive mother. She stated without mincing words that the man was right. White parents are judged by the way their African-American or bi-racial children’s hair is cared for, especially by other African-Americans. I know that every parent wants their child to look their best, but I feel like this information added even more pressure for me to keep up with Banana’s hair.

Which is why it was so encouraging when I was stopped in the hallway at the doctor’s office this morning by an African-American mother who wanted to know how I got Banana’s hair to look so nice. She told me that her daughter’s hair was just like Banana’s. She said it looked great when it was wet, but she couldn’t seem to keep the curls looking soft after her hair dried. I was actually able to give her advice! It was so refreshing I just had to share it here, especially for the grandmas’ sakes.

Health Update

Mr. H had an appointment at the pediatrician’s office this morning. She is closely monitoring our little once since he gave us such a scare at the hospital. He is doing wonderfully well. He is a mere ounce away from weighing ten pounds, and has not had any reflux related episodes since leaving the hospital. He has not spit up at all and he has not set off any of the alarms on the respiration monitor. However, the doctor would like to keep him on Zantac and she’d like us to continue using the monitor until he is two months old.

I asked the doc to take a look at C.B. while we were there because he still has that darn fever. Since I gave him Motrin this morning he did not have temperature while we were in the office. His ears looked fine, blood pressure was good, they took a urine sample which was also fine, and they even did a rapid strep test which was negative. (Although I’m not sure how much I trust those since my husband’s rapid test also came back negative, but he actually did have strep!) Anyway, it appears he just has a fever, and we’re just supposed to watch for other symptoms to possibly emerge. The good news is that nobody else seems to have gotten whatever C.B.’s got…YET!