Tunnel Vision

Well, here it is quarter 'til midnight, and I'm sitting at the computer because then my back is turned to the DISASTER LURKING BEHIND AND ALL AROUND ME. There, that feels better.  No secrets here.  Everything out in the open. And when I say everything, I mean everything.  Like all of the boxes that we moved from the old house (that is a slight exagerration-a lot of the kitchen boxes were unpacked right away.  But everything else...lurks).  And all of our towels because I haven't been able to get the bathroom shelves clean yet.  And the toys.  And the books.  And the clothes that have not made their way into closets, dressers, or armoires (for the record, moving has not solved my clean-laundry-problem; you could read about that elsewhere on this blog if ever your heart desired to be informed of such a thing).  There is a tripod keeled over right behind me.  I need to put that away before it is broken (I'm sure we have no use for a bi-pod).  There is a cute little lamp peeking out from behind some boxes, waiting to be perched somewhere, in order to offer a tiny spot of light.  There is a broken doll table I've been meaning to fix for a couple of months now; it survived the move without further damage.   There are garbage bags of toys that were hiding beneath furniture over there.  Bathroom boxes, plastic Easter eggs, shoes. My kitchen is cleaned up, though. See, I have to keep telling myself,"Look at what you did do."  Otherwise, I would be so sad.  The regular, everyday stuff takes so much time.  And I am not even managing to get those things done well, either.  It can make a person feel...inadequate. Then there is a rush of folks saying,"Don't be so hard on yourself!  Look at what's going on all around you!  You have so much on your plate!" I wish I had a piece of chocolate cake on my plate; how about that? I know there is a lot going on.  Mike is busting his buns to get everything out of our old house and over here, as well as helping get this house clean (which, if you know me, you can understand what a ridiculous task that is-I know I make things complicated...but that's me).  I'm trying to keep Eliana out of the bucket of cleaning water while cleaning shelves (this house has three thousand built-in bookshelves, and I want to clean them all-that takes time, you know?), feed Michaela, because she wants to eat something small six times a day (who told her about that eating plan, anyway?), play games with Christian while Eliana naps in the afternoon so that he gets some attention and has a positive thing to do... I feel like normal people can do all these things while unpacking, redecorating, organizing, gardening, grocery-shopping, planning and cooking large and nutritious meals, making meals for the folks in the community or church who are in need, remembering all the things they need to do for the stuff going on at their kids' school, getting the laundry done and put away, feeding the homeless, teaching their children good manners, cleaning the toilet regularly, ironing the clothes, picking up the dry cleaning (on the way to the grocery store, because these people are efficient), mending the holes in pants and socks, building a new coffee table and headboard in their spare time, and painting their toenails on top of all that. Um, did I brush my teeth today?  Yes!  I did do that. I know that there is a light at the end of that tunnel.  But the tunnel seems so long.  Can I borrow a flashlight for now (ours is in a box somewhere...)?

Yogurt Is Good For You

I feel good about our choice to feed Eliana yogurt every day, and it is one of her favorite things to eat.  She has had yogurt as the main part of one meal (almost) every day since she was six months old-she loves whole milk, plain yogurt. Most people know there are many healthful benefits that come from eating yogurt daily.  The good bacteria that yogurt is famous for, those "live and active cultures", helps with a host of different things.  You might hear about microflora, probiotics, and healthy immune systems.  Beyond the strains of good bacteria you'll find that yogurt is also a good source of protein (for energy and muscle growth), calcium (for bones and teeth), vitamins B-2 and B-12 (cellular stuff, brain and nervous system benefits), potassium (for muscle performance, fluid balance, heart and kidney function), and magnesium (important for bones and muscles).

Additional research is under way on the, so far, lesser studied effects of yogurt, those that don't get as much press.

The yogurt facial, for example. Does it leave the complexion smooth, evening out wrinkles and fine lines? Does it aid skin's natural elasticity, tightening and firming around the eyes and mouth?

What about the benefits for hair; does it increase volume and shine?  Does it maximize growth potential, or possibly delay the growth of gray hair?

This is an ongoing study and all helpful results will be publicly disclosed as soon as they are attained and adequately substantiated. While there are many proven gains from eating yogurt, its additional values are yet to be definitively understood. This research shows, however, that science is at work to reach that understanding.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

I feel like we are going backwards with Eliana and her sleeping patterns...at the beginning of this year I could put her down at night and leave the room and she would go on to sleep.  It was so nice (and early!  7:15 or so) and I had plenty of time to get my other kids ready for bed and read to them, before beginning my nightly clean-up and anything else I had in mind to accomplish. Somewhere along the line (it's always fuzzy, that somewhere place, isn't it?) she became very clingy at night and I stupidly lovingly obliged her sweet hugs and stayed in the room with her until she fell asleep in her bed.  This was fine and I still could get the others to bed, but over time the whole bedtime thing just got later and later; it took longer and longer. Now she can make herself stay awake forever, and she wants me to hold her ("Hold you!  Hold you?"she says over and over, and it's pitiful), and she'll scream and she's sad and she's mad, and I think,"What should I do?" Many might say,"Just leave the room."  Well, we've just moved.  We're in a new house, and things are not in their proper place yet.  We've had late evenings.  My parents just left.  There are some things that are very unsettling in her little life, and I don't want to do something that will cause her great fear or anxiety (athough I did put her through swimming/floating lessons...).  I want her to eventually like lying down in her bed and getting cozy with her blanket or bear or doll. Sometimes she will lie right down and look at her books in her bed, and talk to me a little.  She might want me to hold her for a minute, give me a big squeeze, a little kiss, and then she'll snuggle in.  I never know on any given night which way it will go. Tonight it was the crying, clinging route.  I held her for a while and told her how sleepy I she was, and all the sweet things I always say at bedtime.  She didn't buy any of it.  Her money was on dragging this out as long as she could.  She fussed; I got exasperated.  Things weren't going well... So, I sang.  I'm no Julie Andrews but my kids like it when I sing.  I started singing Jesus Loves Me and she got very quiet and put her forehead on mine.  When I finished the song she said,"Jesus?"  I asked if she wanted me to sing it again and she said,"'gain."  So I did...and as I softly sang those simple words I listened to them myself.  "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to him belong; they are weak, but he is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so." Those words, so simple but so powerful, calmed my own spirit down.  My tension eased a little.  I held Eliana as I sang her those words, and listened with my heart to their beautiful message.  I needed that reminder myself.   I am little, he is great; I belong to him.  I am weak, he is strong; I can rest in him.  And yes, he loves me.

I'm Doing Laundry

Whose clothes these are I think I know,
The pants and socks cast to and fro'.
They will not see me stooping here,
To pick the dirty piles up so.

A looker-on might think it queer
With machines so very near
That I myself would get and take
The clothes dropped by my kids so dear.

The washer spins and gives a shake
As if to say it's going to break.
I hope it won't for I would weep-
The laundry then would overtake.

The bed is cozy, I could sleep
But I have laundry that's knee deep
And piles to go before I sleep,
And piles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost I am not...but I was inspired.

Digging Deep

There are plans around here to improve our backyard.  Mike and the kids are going to plant some new grass, some pretty wildflowers, and maybe other flowers as well as vegetables.  Right now, however, it's pretty much dirt, with a few blades of grass here and there.  Our three moles children have been digging in this dirt for days now, and loving every minute of it. Eliana discovered early on that although her shoes have holes in them, those holes are not made for dirt...

More than once I had to rescue her toes from her self-inflicted dirt-attacks. Christian, true to form, enjoyed jumping on the shovel.  He liked to see how much dirt he could get on it at one time. He also liked to dig a little here, and then move over and make a hole there.

He's a little guy, but he's strong. He had a lot of fun with that shovel and took great pride in his digging.

Michaela had a plan for her hole. She would dig, and then fill and pat.

Three, so different, yet so much the same...