Saturday, May 7, 2013

Outside my window...is glorious sunshine. All over town yellow, pink, purple, and red flowers are blooming. Trees in seemingly every shade of green are gracing the sides of the road, distracting one from the purpose of driving! Its beautiful spring!

I am thinking...about how much I want to go disc golfing now--even though I know I'm going to be awful because its been so long since I played. We went out exploring yesterday, and discovered a new park area that has a fun tree house, assorted trails, a rock climbing rock, and a fabulous disc golf course that will push both my walking and my throwing skills to the limit! Very excited.

I am thankful for...friendship. Due to the nature of our job, I find myself often feeling like I live in a very small bubble. Being able to call on friends far away as well as developing new friendships here is life saving sometimes.

From the learning rooms...[or in our case--the learning brain]...Baby Q has discovered his hands and is finding that he can move things (like Daddy's thumb) into his mouth with his own hands. Little Miss Blueberry just continues to grow in words and ideas and play at a rapid and sometimes overwhelming pace. A few days ago it was a big discussion about going to Little Rock--or as she was calling it, Big Rock. Every rock along the way was "Look! It's big rock!" Full sentences, complete with subjects and verbs and the occasional preposition are flowing out of her mouth. And, oh my, there is much to discuss and share and talk about. All day long. From the minute she gets up until the minute she goes to bed. 

From the kitchen...comes GF chocolate chip cookies--which I haven't made in FOREVER. So tasty.

I am wearing...a brown skirt and a green, short-sleeve nursing top.

I am creating...castles in the air. We did some number crunching a few days ago, calculating our debt and how quickly we're getting it all paid off. We're on track to get the next part paid in full by August and after that we're getting down to the end (relatively speaking). Very exciting. I cannot wait to owe no penny to no man or company or government.

I am going...to go try out a cupcake place this afternoon that supposedly makes some gluten free cupcakes! Fingers crossed that (a) this rumor is true and (b) the cupcakes taste good. Not that I need gluten free cupcakes, but it would make me happy nonetheless.

In my mailbox recently.. .came several new nursing tops (I was getting desperate for some new ones). My favorite is this one:

 

I am reading.. .The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy again. Its been many years since I've read these books, primarily because the LOR movies irritated me so much with their destruction of several of my favorite parts and characters. However, we recently watched part I of the Hobbit that came out. I was pretty pleased with it, and inspired to read that book again. Of course, I can't just stop with The Hobbit, so here I am deep in the lore of the elves and hobbits and the green valleys of Rivendell. 

I am hoping...to return some phone calls today! We'll see how that turns out :)

I am hearing...Baby Q beginning to squeak as he wakes up from his nap. Blueberry is running back and forth between the couch and fridge with cries of, "Look at me! Look at me!" I run fast!" Which makes the process of typing this take forever as I'm stopping and starting regularly.

Around the house...is a large pile of laundry that I've been struggling to get put away. Well, admittedly, not really struggling. More like avoiding. I really do need to get it taken care of though, preferably today as I despise going back to work with my house messy.

One of my favorite things...is being asked for cuddles from my 2 and a half year old. She randomly came up to me today holding doggy, blanket, and asks in a very quiet, almost sad voice, "I need cuddle." So we cuddled and read some stories and life was sweet.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Well, we are back "on duty" starting tonight. Got a bunch of meetings and appointments to run the next few days. This weekend I hope to go out to a park or something with our girls. Apparently we're going to be down to just three, so that will be fun for some quality time with them.

Here is picture (or more) for thought I am sharing...

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The Problems of Being a "Foster" Mom

I'm sort of a foster mom, and sort of not. Either way, a lot of the training we receive around here is the same as foster parents receive. We are currently studying something called The Connected Child. The primary author is a woman called Karyn Purvis. This isn't the first training I've received based on her work, and frankly, she is fantastic. If you are or know someone with an adopted or foster child, this is a great practical, scientific, Christian resource: The Institute of Child Development.

Any ways, I digress from my point. The problem with being in a position like this is that your parenting is constantly on show. To a large degree, the success of the children in our care is based on our success. Take your normal mom fears about whether or not you're doing a good job raising your children, etc, and blow it up. Add in there the fact that not only is your spouse and probably friends and family are watching how you parent, but your boss and co-workers are as well!

Reading through this current resource, I've been both encouraged as a parent and discouraged.

Discouraged because I see some of the things I should be doing and don't always take the time to do or naturally turn towards doing. However, a lot of these things are just ideas that I can practice putting into place. Habits to form, per say.

The encouragement side is the research on the stages of development and how appropriate early connections make such a difference. I find it fascinating how science has proven that not only can obvious things like early neglect, hunger, drugs, alcohol, or abuse affect the development of children, but the very stress levels of a pregnant mother can have a huge impact on the future neurological development of an unborn child. The cortisol levels of a newborn can be measured as much higher than normal when the mother's stress levels have been high prior to birth.

Makes you wonder if this might be the unstated connection to colic in babies, since doctors can't seem to find a reason for it in many cases? Just a random thought of mine.

How is this all encouraging? Because as I type this (well, at this point--not when I started), I sit with a healthy, generally happy little 2-month old boy in my lap. He just spoke to me for a good ten minutes about the state of life--demanding and receiving my full attention to his punch lines and observations. I have a two year old little girl, happily munching on chips and avocado, who is secure in knowing that if she needs a cuddle, all she needs to do is ask and she shall receive. She also knows boundaries and manners and other important, interpersonal skills.

My home may not be in perfect shape (definitely needs a good sweep--dog hairs), but the two children who I have been blessed to grow within me and raise from the very beginning, are doing okay. So therefore, I can't be doing that bad as a parent. I hope.

Now to translate that into my other current five daughters who definitely all have some of those poor beginnings that now make life so difficult for them.

Call the Midwife

Not for me--don't worry, Mum. I just took the advice of several people, and watched Season One of Call the Midwife through Netflix. Am now watching Season Two because I thoroughly enjoyed Season One.

I find the show fascinating. Everything I have read of the post World War II era in England is beautifully represented in the shows. The births are definitely very realistic (Chris says its to traumatic for him!), but the variety of situations and the well-interwoven personal stories of the midwives are intriguing and often thought provoking.

My thanks to everyone who told me I should watch it. You know me well.