Changes

Manu lives in India

1. My mom suggested that maybe oatmeal was the cuplrit for Ian's diaper woes. I think she was right. Thanks, Mom! He still goes #2 more than is "normal," but at least it's more normal in other ways (which would fall in the category of TMI). Hopefully this means we can keep the diaper rash at bay. I hate seeing him have a bloody bottom!!!

2. Nadia was wearing a dress yesterday that I got for 50 cents at a yard sale last weekend. Ian liked it too as it had a poodle on it. I had no idea he knew the word "poodle!" What surprised me is that it is size 4 (not 4T) and fit her perfectly (as in probably won't fit her next spring/summer). I am confused. How do these sizes work??? I thought she'd go from 3T to 4T to 5T and then size 4, 5, 6, etc. What is the difference between 4T and 4 (also 5T and 5)? I changed out the fall clothes a big prematurely though. On Sunday it got really warm. We were way overdressed for our photo shoot. That should have prompted me to check the weather on Monday, but I didn't. My poor boy was at the playground (while Nadia was in ballet) wearing a long sleeve shirt and courdoroy pants and it was 86 degrees out. OOPS! It had been a lot cooler last week. Yesterday the temps dropped back down again (although it's still warmer than last week). Probably Monday was our last blast of summer weather. I like fall weather though (60's/70's), presuming it stops raining at some point so we can do things like go to the park and mow the lawn again sometime in the near future.

Carmen lives in Peru

3.As I mentioned in my last post (which I wrote Monday night), I've been feeling overwhelmed lately. Yesterday morning on the way to Bible study I almost had a total meltdown. I think the problem is that I've been signing up for activities like I did last semester when I wasn't teaching. I didn't participate in MOPS or ladies Bible study or take Nadia to ballet (etc.) when I was teaching full-time last fall.  I decided to make some changes that hopefully will lead to me feeling less frazzled. At first I was tempted to really swing the pendulum too far the other direction and cut out as much as possible. I was thinking of giving up the ladies Bible study, but I was really blessed by the study again yesterday, and Nadia told me all she learned about Moses. There are only 5 weeks left of it. I am planning on quitting MOPS though. I can always change my mind (since I already paid the dues), but as of right now I'm going to assume I'm not returning. I also was thinking of taking a little break from gymnastics and the Wednesday morning library time after the current session ends on 10/12. Part of my reason for considering that is that it's really hard to control Ian in gymnastics. However, we had a really nice time at gymnastics and the library this morning, so I am leaning towards continuing those although I haven't signed Nadia up for the next session yet. It was easier to control Ian today because there was a yard sale at the gym. I got the kids more books and clothes. I am so grateful for yard sales! During library time today I had fun with Ian, I read him books, he played a computer game, etc. It's nice to have that one-on-one time with him, and I think it's good for Nadia to participate in the storytime (on apples today). The ballet teacher requires payment for three months at a time so I didn't give any thought to quitting that. The Sunday night Bible study ends in 3 weeks, so I'm going to finish that as well. Choir and AWANA are not options in my mind. I'm not giving them up! I'm also teaching Sunday School half of the year, but my turn won't start until December.

 I'm feeling a lot better today about my schedule/to do list in part because Gabby came over yesterday afternoon and watched the kids for 90 minutes. The girls hadn't come over to babysit for two weeks (except for on Sunday night when I went to Bible study while Paul was in Italy). What a blessing. I'd rather have been playing with the kids, but since I need to work, I need that help now and then. I used the time to grade and also finish writing a conference proposal. I also found out after making some phone calls that I don't need to write a tenure report this week. The professor going up for tenure was confused about the deadlines. Whew. Big sigh of relief. One thing that has been a huge blessing is the size of my classes. My two classes put together this semester have an enrollment that is almost exactly half of the size of my classes this summer. That makes the grading much easier to keep up with. I've been staying up-to-date with the grading.

4. I've also decided to make 10pm my typical bedtime and get up at 6am since I usually wake up around 6am anyhow (I've been staying in bed until 7am most mornings lately). Paul has been going to bed before 10pm most nights so it would help him out if I went to bed earlier as sometimes I wake him up when I'm coming to bed (although I try to be as quiet as possible). My plan is to shower and do my Bible studies in between 6-7am. That plan was foiled this morning as Ian got up much earlier than normal, but if he goes back to sleeping until 7am then I think I'll get more out of the studies if I do them at that time of day rather than at say 10pm. Yesterday I cooked dinner during Nadia's nap while Ian was playing. I am going to try to make this a habit. It's definitely a blessing that Ian can play by himself, especially since some days he doesn't take a nap in his crib (like yesterday because he took one in the nursery while I was in Bible study), and other days his nap is only 10 minutes long.

5. I discovered today that I can check out books from the library we go to on Wednesdays. (So sorry, Jenn, that I had you get books for me - I could have gotten them after all!). This library is MUCH larger than ours. I checked out books today with my new library card, but I think it will get confusing to check books out from two libraries. So my plan is to only check books out on Wednesdays, and to check out discovery packs on Fridays. Our library has these really neat backpacks you can check out that are on a theme (ex. the one I checked out last Friday was on shapes). and the backpacks contain various things related to that theme - books, puzzles, games, flashcards, stuffed animals, etc. Hopefully this way I'll be able to keep the stuff straight. It's already tough enough to keep the library books separate from the books we own. If in the future I have time to read again, I'm sure there will be many books I would enjoy reading at this library also!

6. The Sunday night Bible study (by Max Lucado) is focusing on what we can do to help those in need (physical and spiritual needs). I felt compelled to do something more. I've sponsored a girl through Compassion for more than 15 years. She graduated, and they recently assigned me Carmen, who will be 6 in January. Yesterday, I decided to also sponsor a boy. I picked Manu (who will be 7 in December) because he shares Ian's birthday. When the kids get a little older, I want them to be a part of my correspondence with these children who live in Peru and India. Whenever Carmen leaves the program, I'm going to try to select a girl born on 6/24, and I've decided that if we have any more children, I'm going to keep sponsoring more children so that we'll sponsor as many kids as we have in our home. I'm excited about this. Hopefully the Lord will lead me in other ways that I can make a difference in someone's life.

7. Paul installed a device on the lightswitch in our half bathroom, which means Nadia is now more independent with going to the bathroom as she can turn the light on and off herself! The only thing I help her with now is wiping after she goes #2.

8. I've revised my DVD in the car rule. My rule had been to only allow the kids to watch something if we were traveling at least one hour (one way). Now I make exceptions and turn it on #1 when I'm yard sale shopping with them and #2 when Ian is falling asleep in the car. He fell asleep in the car around 11am this morning. I jiggled his leg to wake him up and turned on the dvd. I'd rather him watch a little extra VeggieTales than to take his only nap in the car. When I put him down at 1pm, he cried for 30 minutes and then slept for 35 minutes. I greatly appreciated having some time while both kids were in their beds. Sometimes rules need to be flexible. :-)

9. On Saturday I revised Ian's bedtime/naptime routine. I used to sing two songs, pray, and put him down (the first song has always been "Jesus Loves Me" and the second song varies from day to day). Since Saturday I've been reading him two books before singing the songs and praying. I am not sure why I waited so long to add reading to his getting ready for bed routine. Better late than never! Before I take him up at night I always have Daddy and Nadia give him hugs and kisses. I have to say that watching Nadia give her brother hugs and kisses is one of the highlights of my day, especially as she often says something like "I love you, buddy" of her own initiative. Priceless!