Redeeming the Time

I have often wondered why it is that when we our stressed, worn out, exhausted, however you want to put it, we so easily become self-absorbed, focusing only on our own agendas and not paying nearly enough attention to the needs and wants of others around us.  As a mother of three small children, I can assure you that this scenario happens much more frequently than it should.  Obviously I know that there are going to be the occasional times when I just "need a moment."  That should not be the norm for me as a wife and mother though.  My first priority in those roles should be meeting the needs of my family.

I've been thinking lately about how fast time seems to go by.  It is so hard for me to believe sometimes that Michael will be turning five this year...in five days, to be exact.  On the other hand, as I've mentioned before, some days I feel every bit of those five years!  Now that Lexi and Leah have arrived on the scene, things have gotten a little more hectic around here, not that I would trade that for anything.  But I do wonder sometimes if Jon and I as parents have done the best that we could have in regards to teaching and training these little ones so far.  Having been a parent now for five years, I'm fairly confident that at some point every parent probably asks themselves this same question.  It's not like babies come with user manuals!  :)  Every child is different and comes with different "issues" for lack of a better way of putting it.  For instance, I can tell you that Michael is the most stubborn of my three children to date, Lexi is an instigator, and Leah...well, she's still mommy's little angel of course!  :)  I'm still trying to fully figure out her personality, not to say she doesn't occasionally cause trouble-an art I'm sure she will learn to perfect.

I wonder what things will be like around here when Michael starts school in the Fall.  Sure there will be less noise during the day, less running around probably, and less baseball throwing around the TV while our backs are turned (that I'm sure I'll miss!).  Because of the way our schedules work out, Jon and I are able to work full time and still be home all but one or two days a week with the kids, and on those days our sister-in-law keeps them for us.  So far we have been able to control the environments that they have been in, so you can imagine my hesitancy to turn over the reigns of my child's education to a complete stranger who knows nothing about him.  That is where I have been reminded that what a child is taught in the home is so important at this age, hence leading me to the question:  How have I redeemed the time that I have been given to instruct, correct, and nurture?  What do we need to work on in the next several months specifically?  How can I take the focus off of myself and apply it to the needs of all three of my kids, not just Michael?  I have come to the stunning conclusion that my life is not all about me.  I know that may shock some of you...some people find it funny that, even though I sometimes love some attention, I despise being in the real spotlight.  And yet it it so hard sometimes to be the same way personally.  I don't want to be in front of a group of people to save my life, but I can put myself on my own little pedestal in my heart and that's ok?  It may sound obvious, but in order to focus my efforts and attention on others they can't be on me.  I would love nothing more than to be able to look back at this short time that we have with our kids while they are young, and be able to say that we have done our best redeeming the time that we have been given.                       

What a Week!

This has without a doubt been one of those weeks that anyone would look back at and wonder how we all managed to survive.  We were again able to pay the pediatrician's office TWO visits this week.  The first was for Leah's follow-up appointment for her ears.  I am happy to announce that miraculously her ears looked perfect, so for now we have decided to wait on the ENT consult and hope that she doesn't have another infection anytime soon.  Due to some sickness she had over that weekend involving fever and a terrible cough the doctor put her on albuterol nebulizer treatments for the time being until the wheezing is resolved.  Have any of you every had to give nebulizer treatments to a 14-month-old??  Let's just say, I'm soooo glad that she finally warmed up to the idea!  Thankfully the treatments have been helping quite a bit with the coughing, allowing us all to get some much needed rest over the last few nights :)  The second visit we paid the pediatrician was for Michael who was also struggling with high fever and a cough so bad that he was throwing up.  Of course his was viral and they couldn't really do anything for him.  So after waiting that out he is now doing better for the most part.  So far Lexi has yet to catch anything miraculously! 

With this past week behind us and with Spring officially here, there seems to be so much more responsibility on our plates.  Between kids, work, church, baseball practice, more work, family time, and yard work starting already there is never enough time in the day to get everything done.  I find myself thinking that since it's still daylight out that I've got plenty of time to finish up with supper and get kids to bed...then glancing at the clock I am reminded of the recent time change and wonder where in the world the evening went.  Part of me loves the time change because it means that we have more daylight in the evening when I get home from work to enjoy with the kids.  It also means that pretty soon the temperatures will be getting warmer and warmer. Bring on summer is all I have to say!  :)

Diapers and Dimples

This is my little man Michael Andrew.  Sometimes it's hard to believe that he is almost five years old already, but then I remember that I've had two other kids since then so it's a little more believable.  It's the times when I'm so exhausted that I feel every bit of those five years.  This little man of mine has turned into my little helper more than ever recently.  Those of you with kids know exactly how nice it is to have older ones around to help with different things around the house and with the other little ones.  Michael has definitely turned over a new leaf recently and has become that helper.  He is learning about initiative and finishing jobs properly and how to be a huge help to mommy. :)  We have our rough patches every so often but I love this little guy to death!  He is changing in so many ways everyday, and before we know it he will be going to school...ahhh!  That will be a whole new experience for all of us.  And then there's Lexi...

This child, Alexis Brianne Karis, my "troublesome" child, is another one of my little "angels."  She is three years old now and sometimes I think she is far too smart for her own good.  And then she goes and gets into trouble...again.  She is the child that it takes two seconds flat to find something to mess with, tear it up, then blame someone else.  I hope this is no indication of how her teen years are gonna go...I'm also pretty sure that she will be the one to cause my hair to gray prematurely.  I don't know quite how else to describe this little child of mine sometimes.  She is a complete klutz and probably more of a tomboy than a "girlie girl," (shocking, I know since she is MY daughter).  She enjoys having her nails painted and picking out her own hair clips and ties and stuff , but other than that she's definitely not "miss priss" I guess you could say.  Either way she's my little girl, and of course I love her to death also.  She is so cute sometimes that, even when I feel like I'm going to pull my hair out, I can't help but laugh at her. :)  She is my "Shunshine," my "Leki", my "Precious."  And last, but not least, Leah Hope...

   

This is the latest addition to our family.  At 14 months of age as of tomorrow she weighs in at the smallest percentile for her age group I'm sure.  At the doctor yesterday she was a whopping 21.5lbs fully clothed and wet diaper included. :)  Leah has not gone without her fair share of health problems since she has arrived, but I'm thankful to say that nothing she has been through has been truly life threatening by any means.  She did have one episode of difficulty breathing, but that turned out to be nothing to be concerned about.  This little girl has been walking for quite a while now so she has pretty much mastered getting into stuff also.  Obviously that is to be expected when you have toddlers so we just correct and instruct when necessary.  I'm not one of those parents that rearranges the entire house to keep kids out of stuff (with the exception of chemicals and cleaners, of course).  My theory is that it is a perfect teaching opportunity even for these little babies to learn boundaries.  It is never too early to instruct our children to obey.  Just this morning little Leah was "helping" me pull laundry out of the dryer.  I prefer to fold laundry as I'm taking it out of the dryer because it saves a couple steps.  I have an area in my laundry room to fold and hang so Leah and I were "doing laundry."  Every time I would pull something out of the dryer Leah would close the dryer door.  Finally I corrected her because it was driving me crazy mostly.  At that age all it takes is a stern "NO" but pretty soon she will become more stubborn I'm sure...(just like her daddy)  :)  Anyways, Leah is my little cuteness that I can't imagine life without.  She has definitely changed our lives again in so many ways, and we can't wait to see her grow up and spend her life with us.

This is a little bit about my first full-time job.  This family is my first priority.  I accept payment in the form of hugs and kisses.  :)  I love my babies!!

  

Lightbulbs and Thermostats

When I was originally considering starting a blog I asked Jon for some ideas for a title.  After several suggestions he came up with this one claiming it was "the one" because described me perfectly.  I have to admit that I am constantly going through the house turning off lights, opening blinds to use the "natural" light that is free instead of what we have to pay for, and checking the thermostat to make sure we aren't keeping it too warm or too cool.  I must get it from my mom whose idea of "cranking up the heat" is turning it up to 64!  (sorry mom--haha!)  I would call it being frugal, but Jon thinks I'm a little obsessed sometimes.  I have to wonder though what would happen if I didn't perform this sometimes hourly routine.  I have envisioned a $300 power bill or even worse for the gas bill.  This is the first winter that we have had gas heating, and I must say that I've been pleasantly surprised.  I've always loved gas heating because I think it's better but I have been afraid of what it would cost us honestly.  I was totally convinced that we would have a HUGE gas bill since I knew so many people that constantly talked about how much they had to pay every winter.  Fortunately it has been very reasonable even with it being a pretty cold winter for NC.  Part of that I would attribute to my "obsession" of course. 

Anyways, you can imagine my dismay when, after having the heat turned off for about 2 weeks with the exception of a few nights, I had to turn it back on for the little "cold spell" we have had over the past couple days.  It has been cold and rainy and pretty much plain nasty out.  I am soooo glad that tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and we are supposed to reach almost 60 degrees again!  I will also add that I'm SO glad I don't have to heat a home in MI where I grew up.  Now THAT place is cold, and my jaw would probably hit the floor with the first bill!  It's no wonder my parents keep it so cool. 

I cannot go without saying though that, without a doubt, we are truly blessed to have a nice home that we can afford to heat.  There are so many people that struggle so much during these cold months just to make ends meet and don't always have heat.  We are very grateful for all that we have.  

Also, my husband can call me crazy all he wants, but I will continue checking all the lights and the thermostat. :)

Feeling Lazy...

Today is the start of my three day weekend, only not really.  I usually get a three day weekend every other weekend since I don't work Fridays, but since we have several people out at work this week I will be going in for a few hours tonight.  As luck would have it I am completely unmotivated.  Some days I wake up ready to get stuff done and full of energy, but today is not that day. 

So here I sit at almost 1:30pm and have yet to do much other than start some laundry and watch movies with the kids.  That's ok though--that's part of life too sometimes. :)  We have a fun-filled weekend ahead of us though, so hopefully tomorrow I will wake up a little more motivated.  Now it's time for lunch then off to work, and maybe I will have movie night with the kids tonight since Jon has to work---we will see.  In a family with three small kids plans always have to be flexible.  :)  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

A New Leaf

So this Winter has been somewhat difficult, to say the least, for our family regarding health issues.  We have battled ear infections, shingles, chicken pox (despite the vaccinations), migraines, stomach bugs, eczema flare-ups, you name it we've had it.  It has been quite an eventful season for us you could say.  So many times I've wondered how in the world I've managed to avoid most of it even though I've been surrounded by it (could have something to do with all of the antibiotic powders I inhale while mixing them at work I suppose...).  At the same time I can feel that it is wearing on me.  It seems like at any second I could come down with something.  However, I'm convinced that the definition of motherhood specifically includes that no mother can never be sick or worn out, and if she starts feeling that way she needs to get over it.  There are far too many responsibilities for a mother to deal with for me to get "worn out."   So I keep plugging away with the hope of rejuvenation in my near future. 

While we were sitting at dinner tonight, Jon and I commented on how well Leah was eating.  It was really shocking because we gave her seconds and thirds and she was still eating!  It seems odd I'm sure that it would be a big deal, but she has had a very difficult time the last few months with several ear infections and random colds, and has not eaten well this time around in about a week.  For any typical baby this would be ok because they can always make up for it later, and they usually have plenty "stored up" so it really doesn't matter.  However, Leah is barely on the growth charts as it is so I tend to worry about her getting enough to eat.  I know she is just going to be my petite child, but it still makes me crazy that she doesn't gain weight very easily.  She will be thankful for that problem later in life I'm sure :)  But anyways, as I was thinking about her sudden increase of  appetite, I was also thinking that with Spring right around the corner hopefully we will all be turning over a new leaf also.  We have currently dumped the chicken pox on the cousins (sorry Dawn), Leah will be finishing her antibiotic this week and is showing signs of improvement, and I haven't had a migraine in about a week.  Things are looking up, thank goodness! :)  So to Spring, here we come and we plan to enjoy it!