A Long Obedience ...

I have a confession to make, and hopefully putting it out here will make me accountable to do something about it. My devotional life has been very much lacking since Hannah was born last year. Since then I've had a hard time settling into a routine, something that I find very important in order to keep up a consistent quiet time, and with another baby on the way I am worried that it will only become worse. Soooo ... I've made it my goal that by next year at this time this will no longer be something I struggle with. I will have a consistent quiet time and it will be something I look forward to with anticipation most days (I could say all days, but I know that's unrealistic).

I wanted to choose a motivating devotional book to pair with Scripture to get me started. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, by Eugene Peterson, is a book I have turned back to multiple times over the years. I bought it when I went to Urbana in 2000, and since the topic obviously relates to my current struggle I'm planning to start with it. If I remember correctly, each chapter deals with one of the ascension psalms (not sure if that is what they are actually called) that the Israelites would sing on their way to Jerusalem. Again, I'm a bit fuzzy on the historical details, but they are laid out in the book so they should become clear again within the next few days :)

I'm going to pick up a new journal this afternoon and get started. I'm still unsure of the best time, but I'm going to try scheduling it for early afternoon. Right after Hannah goes for her nap and Nathan goes for his rest time I'll plan to have my quiet time. I think one of my roadblocks has been that I have this vision in my head that I want to have my quiet time first thing in the morning. Ideally, that is true, and I've always had this notion of getting up before my kids and them waking up and finding me in my quiet time. However, at this stage in my life and given my personality and Peter's work schedule, I really have to give up on this bit of perfectionism and realize that it's more important to actually build my relationship with Christ than to worry about what time of the day I am devoting to quiet meditation. Since Hannah's nap happens at the same time 99% of the time, I figure it's one constant in our schedule that I can count on.

Nathan - 3 1/4 year summary

Wow, I just looked back at my 3 year summary of Nathan and it was very detailed! I doubt this one will be as long-winded, but I only have to cover 3 months instead of a whole year this time.

Nathan has adapted very well to our new town and new way of life. He loves when Daddy is home in the day to play with him. His favourite activities with Peter are wrestling and hockey. Could he be a more typical boy? I have really seen his sense of adventure and his willingness to take risks expand this summer. I think it's healthy and most of the credit for this goes to Peter, too. I tend to be really nervous when he tries new things (like climbing monkey bars) but Peter encourages him to try.

Potty training is still going well. He has very few accidents overall and tells us more often than not when he has to go. Unfortunately he still can't get up on the toilet or pull his pants up very well without us. He can get his pants and underwear off, so that's progress.

Nathan continues to test his boundaries, but I do think he is obeying a bit more than he was 3 months ago. That may just be wishful thinking on my part, and he still oversteps his boundaries with Hannah more than I would like, but he seems to be playing better with other children.

We tried putting Nathan in swimming lessons this summer. We started out with a class where he would go in by himself. He can touch in the shallow end of the pool and loved swimming with Peter and I, but when it came time to go in with his class he screamed and cried very hard. We tried every morning for a week to get him to go with his class, even going so far as getting in the pool with him, but he would not budge. Halfway through the two-week session we switched him to a class where I got in the water with him. Although the content of the class was a bit below him (it had kids from 6 months - 3 years old in it), he did much better socially.

His swimming skills have dramatically improved over the summer. With Peter's schedule and the close proximity of the pool to our house, we have taken the kids to the pool many, many afternoons this summer. Nathan has become a little fish. He loves to go underwater and even enjoys challenging us to see who can stay under the longest. He can do a front float and will open his eyes underwater and has started trying to do a sort of doggie paddle when Peter prompts him. I think the next thing he needs to work on will be a back float ... probably next summer. We will try swimming lessons again next summer, too, and hopefully they will go better.

We also enrolled Nathan in a local VBS (not the one at our church as it was for ages 5 and up). He went with one of his best friends and the first day was rough. Peter ended up staying the whole time. The second day I went with him and stayed, but was out of sight for about 90 minutes out of the 2 hour timeframe. Wednesday he stayed on his own but by Thursday Nathan was really tired. I think all the 'new-ness' was really exhausting for him and he just broke down when we got there on Thursday afternoon. We ended up coming home after the opening time on Thursday and then he stayed on his own on Friday afternoon. I'm glad he did a few days on his own. It gives me hope for him in the future!! I see so much of my own reticence and shy nature in him it's scary. I really hope it's something he can overcome as I am only too familiar with the limitations it places on a person.

We have gotten out of any kind of structured learning time for Nathan this summer. It is something I want to start up again, though, so hopefully with fall right around the corner I can get myself organized.

Nathan seems to be excited about the new baby. He will often come up and hug or pat my belly and say what the baby is doing inside my belly. It is really cute. I hope he's as excited once the baby gets here!

One of Nathan's new favourite words is 'irritating.' A strange word for a 3 year old (and he often uses it incorrectly), but it must be something Peter or I say with some sort of regularity. There's another one, too, that I can't think of right now.

Nathan is no longer napping. It was a fairly easy decision once he started laying awake in bed until 9 or 10 every night. As soon as we cut out the naps he started falling asleep promptly at bedtime (somewhere between 7 and 7:30). I found it really stressful when he was taking so long to fall asleep at night, so losing the afternoon time is worth it to me. He still has 'rest time' in the afternoon, where he can take a few toys and books into our bed for an hour. He seems to enjoy that time to unwind and it gives me a chance to rest, too. The reason he is in our bed is because very soon (within the next week) he and Hannah will begin to share a room. Since Hannah is (obviously) still napping in the afternoon Nathan has to have his rest time elsewhere.

To work on in the next three months:

• Establish at least 30 minutes of learning time per day, 5 days a week.
• Teach Nathan to undress and dress himself. It may not be perfect but it's something I've been slacking on.
• Establish a few (maybe 3) daily chores that he is responsible for. At the moment I'm thinking - making his bed, brushing his teeth (in the morning - we do it at night), and tidying up his room before bed.
  

Pregnancy summary - Week 34

I know I don't look very happy in this picture, but at least it's a recent one that shows how massive I'm getting! I am always surprised by how big I am by the end of a pregnancy. I think I'm just concentrating in this picture - hence the serious expression.

I've seen the obstetrician twice since my last update. I really like him so far. I haven't asked how they work delivery schedule so I'm not sure what my chances are of him actually delivering the baby.

At my appointment yesterday I hadn't gained any weight (yay!!). I am still within the recommended 25 - 35 lb weight gain range. I think I gained about 70 lbs with Nathan and 50 lbs with Hannah, so I am feeling really good about this so far. I really wonder how much moving to the small town has helped - both with the amount of walking we've been doing and with the limited selection of unhealthy restaurants (the only chain fast food restaurant in town is Subway). I ate at McDonald's in the city yesterday since my appointment was at noon and it didn't even taste good. Could I have broken my addiction? Haha. We'll see. I wonder if there are any places to live that don't have access to diet coke ...

My blood pressure was good (120 / 70), so nothing to note there. The doctor did an ultrasound in his office and it was so neat. He said I wouldn't be able to see as much as I could at the 20 week ultrasound but I think he meant as far as getting the overall picture of the baby. I'm terrible at interpreting ultrasound images anyway, so I found the one yesterday much more informative than the earlier one. The doctor showed me the spine, heart (very cool to see the 4 chambers), kidneys, and face. He also measured the baby's abdominal circumference and femur length. He said the baby is positioned perfectly at the moment and that the measurements all looked good.

The worst part of the appointment? There was sugar in my urine so they are making me do the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. Ugh. My veins are small and they roll, so getting 2 or 3 blood draws in one day is not an attractive prospect. Thankfully I can get it done here in town and will do so early next week. I'm not too worried about gestational diabetes simply because I've had sugar in my urine with all three pregnancies and never had a problem. This is the first time for this test, though.

The only thing I'm not so sure about with this obstetrician is he seems to push the epidural quite a bit. Although fentanyl is not an option at this hospital, I'm not sure I'm ready to say yes to the epidural right off the bat. I told him I'd like to play it by ear when the time comes.

Stitching update ... finally!

My stitching progress has slowed down throughout the summer. Lately there has been a feeling of fall in the air and I can tell by my renewed desire to stitch! I finally finished this rotation so, without further ado, here are some updated pictures.

I feel like I'm moving very slowly on this one for some reason. This picture includes 2 hours of work for the next rotation, too, so the next picture will show less progress.

I am really enjoying working on Celtic Summer :)

This piece is much prettier in person. Still working on this tiny little piece of the overall puzzle.

The reason there are two extra hours on Carousel is because I got stalled on this one. Until this rotation I was still stitching this off the original pattern. When I got to it this time I was unwilling to do any more until I got a photocopy of the pattern so I stitched on Carousel until I was able to get it done. The reason I did the little ribbon on the dress is I like to work it in tiers. Next rotation I will be working on yellow, yellow, and a bit of brown ...

Handy Oatmeal Cookies

Peter left yesterday for a week of training and should be back Friday night. Looking at the chaos around me last night and feeling quite overwhelmed I decided it might be worth getting back on the Flylady bandwagon. So far the first 24 hours have been a rousing success. Since I tire easily at the moment - using 10 or 15 minute blocks for cleaning interspersed with lots of rest has helped me make it through the day.

It rained most of the day so the kids and I spent the whole day in the house. To give Nathan something fun to do this afternoon we decided to make cookies. I looked in the fridge ... no eggs. Thankfully I remembered I had this recipe for oatmeal cookies that doesn't require eggs. The recipe is from Vicki Lansky's Kids Cooking.

Here's the recipe (it makes a lot of cookies - probably 4 dozen or so):

1 1/2 c butter
3 c oats
1 1/2 c flour (I wanted to try whole wheat but, again, we're out ... guess I'll have to get some groceries soon!)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Put all ingredients in a big bowl and mash it all together with your hands. Keep mixing until it is a uniform consistency and everything sticks together. Drop in balls on baking sheet (I think it's best to flatten them a bit). Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.


They're actually pretty good cookies considering how few ingredients are in them. Probably not in my top three cookie recipes or anything, but they'll do in a pinch :) At least they're nice and chewy.

4 more days until Peter comes home ... :)

Bathroom renovation - plumbing, electrical, and drywall complete

I didn't realize it had been so long since a renovation update! We gutted the downstairs bathroom completely, and Peter spent many hours becoming familiar with how to fix up plumbing and electrical. While he was working on the downstairs bathroom he decided to add an outlet to the upstairs bathroom (neither bathroom had an outlet when we moved in). What a great hubby! It is wonderful to be able to dry and straighten my hair in the bathroom now.

Once Peter got the plumbing and electrical downstairs straightened away (he installed a new fan, outlet, and switch for a light that used to be on a pull cord) a friend came over and they installed the drywall. After about a week for crack-filling, Peter was able to prime the room yesterday and painted the ceiling tonight. It is finally starting to come together! Today I painted the door and the trim before we install them. It is really nice to be doing one room at a time and be able to do things at a more leisurely pace. Painting trim before installation is something we regretted not doing at our previous house. Hopefully it will make touch-ups after installation go much more quickly.

The pictures don't look like much at this point but I'll post them anyway.




I can't wait to get some paint on the walls (still have to decide on a colour) and get the rest of the fixtures installed :)

As for the next task on our list - we will be tackling the downstairs bedroom. The plan is to create a walk-in closet by combining the super-narrow closet with a tiny (and useless) storage room. We will replace the paneling with drywall, install new trim, lights, and eventually flooring (but that will be done when we do the rest of the basement). We'd like to have the bedroom and bathroom completed before the baby arrives ... that date is getting closer!

ETA: I just realized I haven't posted a picture of the floor. Peter tiled and grouted the floor. It looks great!

Sorry folks ... another garden update :)

The garden is still doing well. I took some pictures over a week ago but have yet to post them. The most exciting part of the garden at the moment is watching the vine plants grow. I finally got up two of the three supports I need and it's fun to weave the vines in and out of the netting.

Here is a picture of my middle box. The squash plant in the back is taking over, as are the tomato plants!

As you can see by the difference between the left and right sides of the box, Peter got the weeds done on the left-hand side and not the right. Hopefully that will change soon. He did it so much faster than I am able to at the moment! The beans (in the third row between two tomato plants) definitely need to be tied up a bit. I just need to take out some string.

Here is my biggest cucumber (as of July 31st). I'm hoping to make pickles so I planted 6 plants. I need a 6 quart basket of cucumbers ... anyone have any idea how many cucumbers that would be approximately?

And our first harvest of carrots and beans. There weren't enough of either one ready to eat, but we combined them. There is nothing like carrots straight from the garden :)

That's it for today. Our apples are growing and it looks like we will have enough to last the winter from our McIntosh tree - yay! I am enjoying gardening immensely and already looking forward to next year.

Hannah - 16 month summary

Doesn't she look like a little girl in that picture?? Where's my baby?

Hannah has learned to shake her head and nod in response to questions this month. It's kind of funny, because her default is to shake her head, then she figures out what you asked and changes to a nod if her answer is yes. I tested her a few days ago to see how much she understands. I was folding a load of diapers in the living room. I handed on to her and said, "Take the diaper to your room, please, Hannah." Right away she started her bum shuffle to her room, diaper in hand. It was so cute to see. It surprised me, too. I didn't think she would understand that clearly. I guess I will have to up my expectations for her!

Hannah's newest unprompted word this month is 'shoes.' This makes me laugh all the time because it makes me think she's a true girl! She is mimicking many of the words we say. Pretty much anything is fair game. 'Poopy bum' is one that stands out as being common. I guess it's something I say often.

The soother has reappeared this month. I just gave in and started giving it to her again at nap times and bedtimes. She no longer needs it to get to sleep, but she does get to sleep more quickly when she has it.

One other skill Hannah has been working on this month (no, it's not walking ... sigh), is sitting up from laying on her back. Most mornings and nap times I find her sitting in her crib. It's also nice that she can sit back up when she falls over on the floor now, especially as I am finding it harder and harder to bend over :)

Hannah is pretty much down to one nap. Unfortunately it's not as long as I would like, but she does not have any problem staying up until her nap just after lunch. She does sleep wonderfully at night - at least 13 hours at a time - so I really can't complain.

Hannah got one new tooth on the bottom this month for a grand total of 9 teeth. She can eat just about anything now :)

ETA: I finally started giving Hannah a spoon to eat with this month. They asked me about it at her 1 year appointment, so I am obviously behind. I only started this month by accident. We were at a friend's house for dinner and there was a fork in front of her place. Hannah went nuts wanting that fork! We were having rice with our supper, so it was a bad choice to try for the first time, but she had a good time. I've since given her a spoon several times with various types of food. Tonight she even ate some of her spaghetti with a spoon. I think starting later with this (as with most things) means fewer messes to clean up (we noticed this with potty training Nathan around his third birthday).