Wordless Wednesday

Summer is officially here!

Welcome to the 3rd trimester!

I am finally 28 weeks into this pregnancy! That means the beginning of the 3rd trimester. I'm pretty excited about that, because summer has already seemed long and hot, and I keep forgetting that it is only May! In some ways I want to hurry up and be done and meet this darling little boy... but I'm not in THAT much of a rush! :-) I am just now realizing what a nice, manageable age my other children are: Sophie is 3, and Danny is 1 and 1/2. That means they can both walk when we go somewhere, and I don't need to carry a diaper bag around (just keep a few diapers in the car for longer outings). They can play together (with supervision and occasional time-outs) and entertain themselves for 15 or more minutes at a time, while I do chores or even read a book nearby. They can express themselves, feed themselves, and the oldest can even dress and bathe herself-- with some assistance. Both kids sleep all night long, and during afternoon naptime too. Now that I am no longer a full-time student, this Mommy gig is actually pretty easy... some days! I'm not saying they don't try my patience on a daily basis, and make more messes than I would like, but life right now is nothing compared to the craziness we will face with a newborn. When I think about those months of sleep-deprivation, when the baby continually cries, nurses, and then cries some more--well, I feel a bit exhausted just imagining it! We have just 3 more months before our lives change completely, so I want to make the most of this time, and try to relax and enjoy my time with just TWO kids as much as possible!

Treasuring Mommy-hood

I had a terrible dream last night. Surprisingly, not about my husband, since it was his first night away in a while. Instead I dreamed that both our children died. No terrible incident or gory event. We were just driving along, they were in their car seats, and they never woke up. Next thing I know I'm at their funeral, burying both my kids, and crying uncontrollably. It was horrible! Of course when I woke up I was relieved that it was just a dream, but the first thing I did was rush to their rooms and make sure they were ok. It was already morning, so they were awake, and those good-morning hugs and kisses were so sweet!
I resolved to treasure this day, and not to have a bad attitude about being a temporary single-mom. And you know what? We had an AMAZING day! The kids were great at church, then we enjoyed donuts afterwards. There is a carnival on base, so we went to that for a while and they had a great time on the Carousel and other rides. Then they took long naps, I relaxed, made dinner, and we had a quiet evening watching home videos and playing together. Sweet and beautiful.
Mommy-hood might be a tough job, but I woke up today realizing what a truly WONDERFUL job it is. It is a gift that can be taken away at any moment. People are always saying that kids grow up too fast. I confess that for the past few months I have been hoping mine would grow up just a little faster. With the new baby coming, I am eager for the oldest to learn to dress herself, and for the youngest to learn to feed himself, so that I do not have 3 helpless children to take care of! But no matter how helpless and frustrating they are, I am lucky to be their mom, and would never give them up. I am hoping to hold onto this positive attitude at least for the next month that we are on our own. I resolve to not sweat the small stuff, and to truly treasure my time with my great little kids. :-)

Treasuring a beautiful day with the kids.

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