Amazing what going to bed and to sleep before 10pm can do for a person!
This morning I got Paul out of bed at 6:30, he promptly went back to sleep in my bed and I went through the morning readings and prayers.
Praying for New York and hurricaine Irene not to hurt my family in the Bronx.
Praying for continued vomit free days for Paul
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
First Day - Postponed
Tomorrow was supposed to be the first day of school for Paul. And then last night happened. Vomit. Lots of vomit. Every sheet and blanket in my house was affected between 1:30 and 8am. I have had a quiet day of doing laundry, reading email, skype and television. We have remained vomit-free since 8:30, but I am unsure if I am ready to give Paul real food in real quantity for dinner.
As it is, I have restricted his intake to things I was willing to clean up on rejection. Cinnamon applesauce, toast.
In other news, there are invited Ants in my house! My DS gave Paul an Ant Habitat for his birthday. After putting off the inevitable as long as possible, we succomed to the pressure to order ants via mail. 25 harvester ants arrived in a test tube yesterday. This morning we moved them into their new home. Pretty amazing. Captivating actually if you find yourself sleep deprived and non-energetic.
And Hurricaine Irene is enroute for the east coast..... hoping we get some rain, not damage.
Morning prayer happened with a quiet persistence. Yesterday, not so much prayer - but 3 Hail Mary's as I walked into the hospital. It was a lovely day.
Paul's first day of school will be Monday.
Hoping we remain vomit free.
:)
Sara
As it is, I have restricted his intake to things I was willing to clean up on rejection. Cinnamon applesauce, toast.
In other news, there are invited Ants in my house! My DS gave Paul an Ant Habitat for his birthday. After putting off the inevitable as long as possible, we succomed to the pressure to order ants via mail. 25 harvester ants arrived in a test tube yesterday. This morning we moved them into their new home. Pretty amazing. Captivating actually if you find yourself sleep deprived and non-energetic.
And Hurricaine Irene is enroute for the east coast..... hoping we get some rain, not damage.
Morning prayer happened with a quiet persistence. Yesterday, not so much prayer - but 3 Hail Mary's as I walked into the hospital. It was a lovely day.
Paul's first day of school will be Monday.
Hoping we remain vomit free.
:)
Sara
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
July was a busy month. The Grove Park Inn was wonderful and the time away for Mark and I was really what we needed to reconnect with each other. It was great to meet the "work family" that Mark is a part of, and to get to know other wives within the organization. To know that I share a reality / lifestyle with others was somehow very comforting.
Immediately following (actually overlapping) our weekend at GPI, family was in town for a summer visit. Mary, John, Miriam, Cyprian and Kate were all down from New York. We met up at the Discovery Place Kids Museum. Paul, Miriam and Cyprian all had a grand time. The whole family gathered at my parents home on Sunday evening for dinner. There were 12 people around the table! Mary had baked me a carrot cake as an un-birthday present (yum!).
On Monday we went to Monkey Joe's with the kids. It was also fun, in a non-educational sort of way. It was sensory overload and although the staff was present physically, they weren't nearly as interactive as I would hope. Minimal referee activity. Definately challenging with a toddler who wanted to join the big kids and big kids who didn't care about small child safety.
Tuesday, Mary and I dropped the kids off at Clemmie's for a mom's day out. We ate lunch together - sushi - our favorite! And we went shopping for school supplies for Paul, and then clothing shopping for ourselves. Meanwhile, our house had a new roof applied. The workers arrived at 7am, Mark came home at 7:30 or 8ish with biscuits for the workers and a few more parts that were needed to start the work. It was pretty incredible - by 10am the guys on the roof - there were at least 7, perhaps 8? - had removed all the shingles and started in on application of the new roof. By 6pm our roof was done, by 9pm, the giant container of rubbish had been hauled out of our driveway. It was incredible.
On Wednesday, the entire family drove down to Myrtle Beach, SC. We stayed in 3 hotel rooms at Monterrey Bay Resort. I definately prefer the resort during off season. Peak summer season was a bit too zoo-ish for me, but we still had a good time. Kate stayed with Mark, Paul and I. It was so good to have quiet down time with Kate to talk. Kate and I sat out on the balcony both nights and chatted about life, the world and everything that is happening for us right now. No problems solved, but certainly better understanding of position was gained.
The beach was awesome. Water was cool and clear and mostly calm. Calm enough that we got Paul out into the water. It was the first time we had all been in the water together. It was hot on the beach but we rented an umbrulla and mom and dad had a sun umbrulla that we set up and we all had at least a sliver of shade. No sunburns to speak of - hooray! And afternoon naps were enjoyed by many of our party.
Saturday, we all scattered. The Welsh's headed back north - driving from Myrtle Beach up to Washington DC to visit a friend. The Johnsons and Kate went to a sculpture garden in Myrtle Beach before returning to the greater Charlotte area. Kate left for NY via airplane on Sunday late morning. Mom and Dad drove home on their own, and we Mundays went to play a round of minature golf and go on the giant Ferris Wheel (aka The Sky Wheel) before driving home to Gastonia. We stopped for dinner enroute. We were lazy bums when we got home. Although we did rescue the dog from the kennel on Sunday and went back to pay the bill on Wednesday.
Sunday was mass at 11:30 and a quiet day together.
Monday was a return to ordinary life with all of its attendant busy-ness. Mark and I both had to work, Paul was at Clemmie's.
Tuesday was the longest day of my life at work to date - 15 hours! And 15 couplets seen.
Since then, days have been much slower - I don't think I have worked except for teaching two breastfeeding classes, & witnessing a radiation drill. I've been home. Enjoying these last halcyon days of early childhood with Paul.
Trying to get Paul adjusted into an earlier wake-up routine so that he can be up, dressed, fed and out of the house to school before 8am. He is not an early riser by nature. So this two weeks is good practice. Monday he was up at 6:30 and into my bed where we promptly went back to sleep - until 8:30.
Tuesday we got up, had a friend over and then I drove the three of us to the zoo.
Today - we started waking up at 6:30, but I didn't get him out of bed until 7:20.... at least we are getting up. I've ended up spending the morning on the computer.... writing and skyping with my dear friend, Sandra.
While the vacation was short, and the visit with Mary much too short, it was overall good.
The downside to all of this is that my morning routine has gone to chowdy howder. (read: hell in a handbasket). The routine is changing because I am now looking to get Paul up in the morning as opposed to letting him sleep in the morning. Big change. Before we were preparing for school, I could get up, get Mark out, read the day's mass readings (scripture passages), pray and then either go back to sleep or get up (my choice). And usually, I went back to sleep, waiting for Paul to come climb into bed and snuggle to get my day started. We have started off nearly every day that way since he was an infant. He would wake up, I would go get him. When he moved out of the crib, he would wake up and come join me and we would snuggle in my bed and talk about the start of the day - what the days plans would be etc.... Work days, I would get up, get myself together and take a sleeping child to the babysitter where his day would get underway without me. Or Mark would take him if I had worked overnight.
In February, I had started the prayer routine. So yes, in the great scheme of routines, this was a relatively new one. Previously, my prayer life was much more haphazard.
Now, I need to figure this out. How / Where do I incorporate prayer into my morning routine? Do I get up and read the day's readings while Mark is in the shower and then get moving? (Perhaps the easiest thing) Do I wait until Paul is off to school and I have a quiet house to myself? (Will I ever really get to it?!?) I know it is important. I know I see a difference in my life and actions on days when I do read scriptures and pray versus days when I do not.
All I know is that for the last two weeks, my morning routine has been anything but routine. I have managed to go running 3 days/week. Usually before 10am. A couple of times I have found that I read the readings and then ended up remembering that I needed to pray while I was running, so I prayed then. Not the most peaceful way to pray, but definately productive. And it wasn't particularly quiet since I had the ipod blathering away about whatever I was supposed to be doing on the Cto5K training program.....
I keep thinking I should be gentle about this transition. But then I think I am confusing 'gentle' with 'spiritual pushover'.
Am I passively aggressivly trying to get God to listen to me by not talking to Him? That doesn't make any sense.
Am I grieving the last days of Paul's early childhood even though he isn't dying he is going to Kindergarden?!? Probably. He will still be my little boy, (who isn't that little) I just have to share him with others. Daily. And no, I will not be one of those weepy, clingly mothers at school! I am not that.
Am I embracing the reality of my small family being my whole family? As well as I can. The Holy Family only had three members. Can I help my family to be holy? Can I embrace my role as wife/mother fully? It is a daily struggle. Which leads me back to how to incorporate prayer into my daily life. Period. It MUST become the foundation for the rest of the day to be built upon.
So there is the update.
I suppose I should post pictures of Paul, his friend Landon and I at the zoo yesteday. We really did enjoy our day at the Riverbanks zoo. Fed Giraffes, lorakeets and goats. touched rabbits, opossums, monitor lizards. Rode carosel, train and tram. Ran all over everywhere. It was a fun, hot day.
Must go - it is now 12:20, I am still in pajamas, I haven't prayed or run or anything today. Must pray, take care of ADL's (shower, get dressed etc...) make a grocery list, do laundry and make the most of my day as it stands.
Prayers welcome.
Immediately following (actually overlapping) our weekend at GPI, family was in town for a summer visit. Mary, John, Miriam, Cyprian and Kate were all down from New York. We met up at the Discovery Place Kids Museum. Paul, Miriam and Cyprian all had a grand time. The whole family gathered at my parents home on Sunday evening for dinner. There were 12 people around the table! Mary had baked me a carrot cake as an un-birthday present (yum!).
On Monday we went to Monkey Joe's with the kids. It was also fun, in a non-educational sort of way. It was sensory overload and although the staff was present physically, they weren't nearly as interactive as I would hope. Minimal referee activity. Definately challenging with a toddler who wanted to join the big kids and big kids who didn't care about small child safety.
Tuesday, Mary and I dropped the kids off at Clemmie's for a mom's day out. We ate lunch together - sushi - our favorite! And we went shopping for school supplies for Paul, and then clothing shopping for ourselves. Meanwhile, our house had a new roof applied. The workers arrived at 7am, Mark came home at 7:30 or 8ish with biscuits for the workers and a few more parts that were needed to start the work. It was pretty incredible - by 10am the guys on the roof - there were at least 7, perhaps 8? - had removed all the shingles and started in on application of the new roof. By 6pm our roof was done, by 9pm, the giant container of rubbish had been hauled out of our driveway. It was incredible.
On Wednesday, the entire family drove down to Myrtle Beach, SC. We stayed in 3 hotel rooms at Monterrey Bay Resort. I definately prefer the resort during off season. Peak summer season was a bit too zoo-ish for me, but we still had a good time. Kate stayed with Mark, Paul and I. It was so good to have quiet down time with Kate to talk. Kate and I sat out on the balcony both nights and chatted about life, the world and everything that is happening for us right now. No problems solved, but certainly better understanding of position was gained.
The beach was awesome. Water was cool and clear and mostly calm. Calm enough that we got Paul out into the water. It was the first time we had all been in the water together. It was hot on the beach but we rented an umbrulla and mom and dad had a sun umbrulla that we set up and we all had at least a sliver of shade. No sunburns to speak of - hooray! And afternoon naps were enjoyed by many of our party.
Saturday, we all scattered. The Welsh's headed back north - driving from Myrtle Beach up to Washington DC to visit a friend. The Johnsons and Kate went to a sculpture garden in Myrtle Beach before returning to the greater Charlotte area. Kate left for NY via airplane on Sunday late morning. Mom and Dad drove home on their own, and we Mundays went to play a round of minature golf and go on the giant Ferris Wheel (aka The Sky Wheel) before driving home to Gastonia. We stopped for dinner enroute. We were lazy bums when we got home. Although we did rescue the dog from the kennel on Sunday and went back to pay the bill on Wednesday.
Sunday was mass at 11:30 and a quiet day together.
Monday was a return to ordinary life with all of its attendant busy-ness. Mark and I both had to work, Paul was at Clemmie's.
Tuesday was the longest day of my life at work to date - 15 hours! And 15 couplets seen.
Since then, days have been much slower - I don't think I have worked except for teaching two breastfeeding classes, & witnessing a radiation drill. I've been home. Enjoying these last halcyon days of early childhood with Paul.
Trying to get Paul adjusted into an earlier wake-up routine so that he can be up, dressed, fed and out of the house to school before 8am. He is not an early riser by nature. So this two weeks is good practice. Monday he was up at 6:30 and into my bed where we promptly went back to sleep - until 8:30.
Tuesday we got up, had a friend over and then I drove the three of us to the zoo.
Today - we started waking up at 6:30, but I didn't get him out of bed until 7:20.... at least we are getting up. I've ended up spending the morning on the computer.... writing and skyping with my dear friend, Sandra.
While the vacation was short, and the visit with Mary much too short, it was overall good.
The downside to all of this is that my morning routine has gone to chowdy howder. (read: hell in a handbasket). The routine is changing because I am now looking to get Paul up in the morning as opposed to letting him sleep in the morning. Big change. Before we were preparing for school, I could get up, get Mark out, read the day's mass readings (scripture passages), pray and then either go back to sleep or get up (my choice). And usually, I went back to sleep, waiting for Paul to come climb into bed and snuggle to get my day started. We have started off nearly every day that way since he was an infant. He would wake up, I would go get him. When he moved out of the crib, he would wake up and come join me and we would snuggle in my bed and talk about the start of the day - what the days plans would be etc.... Work days, I would get up, get myself together and take a sleeping child to the babysitter where his day would get underway without me. Or Mark would take him if I had worked overnight.
In February, I had started the prayer routine. So yes, in the great scheme of routines, this was a relatively new one. Previously, my prayer life was much more haphazard.
Now, I need to figure this out. How / Where do I incorporate prayer into my morning routine? Do I get up and read the day's readings while Mark is in the shower and then get moving? (Perhaps the easiest thing) Do I wait until Paul is off to school and I have a quiet house to myself? (Will I ever really get to it?!?) I know it is important. I know I see a difference in my life and actions on days when I do read scriptures and pray versus days when I do not.
All I know is that for the last two weeks, my morning routine has been anything but routine. I have managed to go running 3 days/week. Usually before 10am. A couple of times I have found that I read the readings and then ended up remembering that I needed to pray while I was running, so I prayed then. Not the most peaceful way to pray, but definately productive. And it wasn't particularly quiet since I had the ipod blathering away about whatever I was supposed to be doing on the Cto5K training program.....
I keep thinking I should be gentle about this transition. But then I think I am confusing 'gentle' with 'spiritual pushover'.
Am I passively aggressivly trying to get God to listen to me by not talking to Him? That doesn't make any sense.
Am I grieving the last days of Paul's early childhood even though he isn't dying he is going to Kindergarden?!? Probably. He will still be my little boy, (who isn't that little) I just have to share him with others. Daily. And no, I will not be one of those weepy, clingly mothers at school! I am not that.
Am I embracing the reality of my small family being my whole family? As well as I can. The Holy Family only had three members. Can I help my family to be holy? Can I embrace my role as wife/mother fully? It is a daily struggle. Which leads me back to how to incorporate prayer into my daily life. Period. It MUST become the foundation for the rest of the day to be built upon.
So there is the update.
I suppose I should post pictures of Paul, his friend Landon and I at the zoo yesteday. We really did enjoy our day at the Riverbanks zoo. Fed Giraffes, lorakeets and goats. touched rabbits, opossums, monitor lizards. Rode carosel, train and tram. Ran all over everywhere. It was a fun, hot day.
Must go - it is now 12:20, I am still in pajamas, I haven't prayed or run or anything today. Must pray, take care of ADL's (shower, get dressed etc...) make a grocery list, do laundry and make the most of my day as it stands.
Prayers welcome.
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