Our Times

Hello from long ago! Boy, what a lousy blogger I’ve been since baby #5 made her debut. It feels like that was ages ago too. I now have a darling 10-month old chunk crawling around my house, making cute sounds, and delighting in the attentions of her four older siblings. She continues to be a good baby, pretty easy going and easy to please. She’s still a baby, mind you, but a good one.

The sun is shining beautifully and I was getting so excited to run in warmer weather and lighter days, but I think I dashed all those dreams today with one stupid move made in anger. I think I broke my foot. (Insert the biggest frowns face emoji you can imagine here.) i’m too embarrassed to tell you what I was mad about; I find it embarrassing enough that I threw a fit and kicked a wall. Boy, was I mad! And it hurt so bad(ly)!!! So now my dreams of chasing down a 7:30 pace half marathon are probably gone. That is kind of sad for me, but what really bums me out is that I was finally back in shape and even starting to lose weight, and now I’ll get squishy and weak again. So when you feel mad, just take a breather. Let yourself de-escalate. If you need to kick something, kick a pillow. But if your situation is like mine, all that anger isn’t even worth the situation from which it arose. Anger is probably my biggest failing. Sigh. Maybe “slow to anger” should be a mantra for me.

Update: I am home from immediate care and I just have a sprain, we think. Hooray!!! All things considered, this is the best possible outcome. I have to wear a boot 24/7 for a week, then taper it down for the following two, and hopefully I can slowly get back into running activity thereafter. But I should be able to start swimming next week, so that's good. And maybe doing a stationary bike, though biking is not my fave. But for a week or two, I will take it. :)

Enough about me! Onto the family. My kids are cute and I like them a lot. Big Sis is so insightful and thorough in her speech, sometimes it makes me laugh. For example, we took her to the doctor yesterday and the doctor asked if she had had any problems with this thing before. A simple “yes” or “no” would have sufficed, but not for Big Sis! I can’t remember everything that she said, but the phrase “never in my life” was used in there, I know. The three oldest did swim lessons over spring break and she moved up a level already; I'm so proud of her.

The kids have a different responsibility around the house every week and I see some benefits being reaped already, besides the obvious learn-how-to-do-this-thing. The four areas are food prep (everyone's favorite), house duty (cleaning), dishes/kitchen, and Baby A. Big Sis does not appear to be a naturally nurturing creature, but as she has had her weeks taking care of Baby A, I've seen her grow closer to her and more interested in her baby ways. It's cute.

Middle Sis started tumbling and trampoline (TnT) gymnastics in January and has already moved up a level. She is naturally very coordinated and strong and has a lot of energy, so gym is a good fit for her. I remember after picking her up from the first couple of classes she would say, "I wish gym were seven hours long!" It is so great to find a thing you love and run with it. She also moved up a level in swim lessons, fun!

Little Man is growing up. It was funny to update the blog pictures because my kids looked so little in those old ones. He loves preschool and playing with friends, so we arrange a lot of play dates for him so he can have some boy time. We need to get him a bigger bike because he can fit Middle Sis's bike, but Barbie is not the best look for him. He recently had a double ear infection so we are back to speaking loudly to him so he can hear. It truly is like talking to a person who is hard of hearing. It's funny and annoying.

Little Sis is almost three and becoming so precocious. She is so cute though, the way she plays and talks and runs around in only underwear for most of the day. She is also potty training and usually doing well, but sometimes not doing well. So it goes.

And baby is growing up and doing all those cute baby things she does. i love her big eyes and rolly arms and thighs and little lips, especially when she shapes them into an "o." My days are filled with cuteness and potty needs of three little people. This is both good and bad.

Enjoy some pics of the past ten months!