I’ve been thinking about numbers.
Last week I went to my 6-week followup visit. This is the visit where the doctor says that magically now you are ready to do everything that you haven’t been able to (i.e. swim, have intercourse, etc) I smiled smugly to myself thinking about all the things that we have done this summer and feeling proud that I have been able to give both Charlie and Jackson all these fun experiences (even though they are both under three and I personally don’t have any memories until age six) and that I haven’t let this baby slow me down. Besides what other six-week old do you know who’s done so much?
3- The number of family reunions he’s been to (one was they day we came home from the hospital)
2- The number of times he’s been boating and out to Flaming Gorge
3- Trips to the pool
2- Parades he’s attended
3- Trips to Lagoon
2- Weeks old when he was first babysat by Grandma so I could start working
2- Days old when he first went to church
8+- trips to the park, the museum, in a sling, in a carrier (the only thing I haven’t tried yet is the bike carrier…)
The other day Laura came to visit and we walked down to the park with our neighbor friend Joey. While Laura held Charlie, I decided to get on the playground and chase Jack and Joey around and teach them hide-and-go-seek. Jack’s face was so happy and I could tell that it meant the world to him that I was playing rather than sitting on the bench nursing or saying I was too big to play. He even said, “Mommy, you not too big” He was so well behaved all day and I know that it was just this little bit of one-on-one attention that made him feel special. I knew that is how it worked, I read somewhere that when you put little investments of time and attention in their “piggy banks” kids are happier and better behaved- but why don’t I do it on a daily basis? Maybe because I get too caught up in making sure my boys are experiencing everything. Have I overdone it?
1- Very bad cold attacked me last night. I always get sick when Im stressed, it waits until I have a day off then gets me.
2- The number of sudafeds Adam gave me last night (today the pharmacist said I could take anything BUT Sudafed because it dries your milk up)
3- boxes of tissues I’ve gone through
3- Hours of sleep I've been averaging this week
1- Call to the lactation specialist- after being a very good nurser for six weeks, I suddenly have large bleeding cracks and don’t know what to do. I have a feeling it might be from thinking I was a pro and trying to nurse in odd places and odd positions, that or Charlies experiencing nipple confusion because he has to take an occasional bottle when I’m working.
7- The number of keys affected by a little squirt while I was trying to type this and change a diaper at the same time- (talk about sticky keys..)
I’m feeling like my whole philosophy is off. While I’ve been exhausting myself trying to do everything, work 20 hours, be a full-time stay at home mom, and give my boys all these fun experiences, the times that Jack is the happiest is when we’re home digging in the garden, reading books, swimming with Mommy or swinging on the swing. Often we are out doing fun things so late that we come home and don’t have time to read a book or do a bedtime routine, and then I feel like a mean mommy telling him we can’t read books and needs to go straight to bed. Charlie’s growing up so fast, he’s already doubled in weight, am I missing it because I’m still too focused on Jack? After a long battle with myself, I decided not to enroll him in pre-school even though I want him to have more social experiences with other kids. He doesn’t start kindergarten for 3 years. If I send him to pre-school now will I feel like I missed this year, is he ready? If I’m not working full time so that I can be home with Jack, shouldn’t I spend all the time loving on him as I can?
I feel like I need to slow down, but I’m not sure how. The numbers tell me I have to work and in consequence, I try and jam our lives full of fun to make up for the time I’m gone. Anyway, "Isn't it about time?" j/k Does anyone else feel this way? Just how important are all these numbers?
The past few weeks, I'm not sure whether it's because things are finally starting to settle down a bit after our adjustment period or whether I just don't know what do do with myself since I'm not working full-time and I have issues that I need to feel productive in a non-taking care of kids way. Last Saturday, I participated in a little fashion show with my friends Pumpkin and Sally. It was quite fun despite the fact that Jack was running all over the room hiding under all the clothes racks, closing the jewelery boxes, and Charly wouldn't be put down. We strutted down the center aisle of the store and then they gave us 60-70% off our clothing purchase. Fun times, especially the girl talk and the great news about Rachel that I'm not sure if I can post yet.
Here we are looking stylin. Jack was my escort down the runway the first time and Charly the second. I love our fall colors, maybe we'll get a family picture taken when the leaves change. That would be fun.
Since I am easily influenced as I discussed in a previous post, My friend Chelsea painted on some canvas for her baby Josh's bedroom and they turned out so cute, it made me want to try it. Last week my Mom took Jack for the morning and so I wanted to be productive- I wanted to paint (After the blue room incident, we all know know that Jack should not even be allowed to see me painting). First I painted a wall of Charlie's room, then I went to the craft store, bought paints and a canvas, borrowed an eisle from my cousin Dallas and went to town. I had all my paints out and was trying to mix the right colors (being the amateur that I am, I kept mixing too little paint and when I needed more and tried to mix it again I got a new color) So I ended up with these "modern art" pieces (I wanted to call it modern so that noone could tell that I don't really have talent) They turned out o.k. except for one of my squares is extremely crooked- It looked straight when I was painting it on the table but when I held it up to the wall it was crooked. My favorite part was slathering on the paint really thick so that you can tell it's real and not a print... I hung them on the wall in my kitchen and I like my new "Modern Art."
Another project that I copied off someone was these bracelet/watches. My cousin saw them at a Farmers Market and started making them and selling them for about $40. I liked them, but thought, "Hey I bet I could make those for less..." So I've made quite a few and they are really fun because you can switch out the colored bands to match your outfit. I made the orange, red and yellow one to go with my outfit I bought at the fashion show. So if you have a birthday coming up, I'm taking requests... :)
