Friday, March 27, 2009

Miscellaneous

I'm not quite sure how this post is going to turn out... lots of thoughts and little organization...

Today Chuck, who is superdad, took all three boys to the aquarium in Virginia Beach while I was at my mommy group. (I don't have the guts for such outings, but Chuck does!) Noah and Samuel LOVED it. Chuck said that they were totally into everything, but when they got to the sharks they were bouncing-off-the-walls excited. And they called all the fish Dory. They love the movie "Finding Nemo." Dory is obviously their favorite. Chuck bought a family membership so we will definitely be going there again soon. Chuck learned that we can watch them feed the sharks and he is looking forward to taking the boys to see that.

I have been struggling lately with a few things. The first is this general sense of not having much to look forward to. I am an introvert, so I get energized by being alone. Completely alone. In the quiet. With no TV or radio or noise of any sort. When I'm in the car by myself I like to have the radio off. I do get out of the house a number of times during the week, but it is always for group gatherings. I feel like I need a specific time alone that I can look forward to during the week. The other thing I'm trying to figure out is when I can shower. The obvious times - early morning and late at night - don't work for me. I'm still nursing so I need to feed Tristan before I shower in the morning or I'm a mess and it's really no use that I just showered. I can't shower before bed because I can't sleep with wet hair (and our house is too small for me to use my hair dryer that late). So, I grab showers when I can and just quickly wash my hair on the days I don't shower. It's not that I can't shower during the day - it's just hard to fit in. Yes, we are home all day, but between nursing Tristan and meals and snacks and naps it is just hard to fit in. I'm just not sure what to do. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Another thing I'd like to add to my days is exercise. We joined the YMCA, but I've since cancelled our membership because the boys won't stay in childwatch. They did for about 2 weeks and then they decided they were done with it. Samuel would say "no joue" (no play) as soon as we pulled up and then would freak out once inside. So, I'm also trying to figure out when I can exercise. I can't wake up before the kids to do it for the same reason I can't shower before nursing Tristan. I think I can do this at about 8:00 a.m. with all three kids awake. Tristan hangs out in the Jumperoo and the boys do the video with me. They are funny to watch.

The boys' English just keeps exploding. They truly understand everything we say. And they are speaking it! There are still some things they say in Creole, but they know the English words, too. Often they are just too tired or excited to use the English. They surprise us everyday with how they are using the language. They make us laugh a lot, too.

I started to gather up our tax stuff to send to the accountant. I'm way late on this - mainly because I've been dreading getting all the documents together. I made a good dent in it today and with a little more time by myself I'll have it all together soon.

Last weekend some friends from church came and helped us put up a fence and they got our swingset started. We are so grateful for that help! Chuck was out in the rain today working on the swingset. I can't wait for it to be completed and for the boys to be able to play out there.

Tristan is sitting up like a champ and army crawling all over the place. It is just so amazing to watch as a newborn grows and develops. We missed all of this with Noah and Samuel and I'm amazed every day by how quickly a baby grows, develops, and learns. It's just incredible.

That's all for now...

2 comments:

kayder1996 said...

No thoughts on how to fit it all in...I can't get it all in and I've just got one. I think those struggles with time for me and time to do the things we want and need to do like exercise are just part of Mommyhood. Yep, you're home all day and you're exhausted at the end of the day but as my friend Laura put it, "Don't ask me what I did all day because I honestly couldn't tell you." So much of my days feel unproductive even though I feel like I'm always on the go. And I'm the opposite of you in that I need people around. Not all the time but I have that need for conversation and company or I start to go a little nutty. Right now D's coaching so he usually has games 2-3 nights a week so he doesn't get home until after Kenson's bedtime and that makes me a single parent on those nights. And he has practice too so he doesn't usually get home until after six most nights. So the things we usually do together like our small group are out. Kenson and I try to go the games if they get over at a decent time and the weather isn't too bad but it's not the same as hanging out with my normal groups. Plus, I'm a go go go person so this slow down in life, the rearranging of life if you will, has been, at times, hard to get used to. Anyway, I didn't want to write all that just to complain. I just wanted to let you know from one newbie to another, you're not alone in struggling to sort out all those eelings. Wouldn't trade my time at home for anything, but it does take some adjusting and some navigating as you try to get it all done.

Anonymous said...

I think most Moms struggle with the shower issue (especially new Moms), but hang in there, things will get better. If they all take a nap at the same time, my suggestion would be to take that time to have your alone time and shower. It may not be a "typical" time of day, but right now you just need to find what works for you. Maybe when Chuck gets home would work better, if it's not dinner/bath/bed time. Or even sometimes if it is... If I haven't had a shower all day (and that does still happen some), when Roger comes home, I'll sometimes say, I'm sorry, you'll have to eat dinner without me tonight, but I HAVE to take a shower now. And he understands that I just need a little time to myself, so I don't pull all my hair out. Just remind yourself that it is only for a very short time. I know it doesn't seem like that when you're in the middle of it, but believe me it's a blink of an eye! I'll talk to you soon about when we can get together. Looks like it will be after the 15th. By the way, make sure you get all your adoption credits--you guys should have a HUGE deduction for that. Not to mention the regular child credits. :)
Love, Aimee Brown