Brain Dump

This is just going to be some scattered memories of the last 10 days- the first 10 days of being a family of 7.  Of course, I was going to get things done this evening, but baby girl wanted to cuddle, so who am I to say no?

The more kids I have, the more I remember that this newborn stage is so short.  Some nights can feel like forever, and I know it sounds cliche- but little newborns grow and they grow fast!  Everyn already looks bigger in her carseat than she did on the day we brought her home. I am really trying to enjoy this time.  If she wants to be held, then I hold her (although I am trying to be very disciplined about her sleeping in her own bed at night).

Earlier today I was busy helping a very stubborn Berean get ready for bed.  She was tormenting her brothers and not obeying very well.  I decided that it was time for bed- as I could tell that the boys patience with her was very thin - and besides that it was 7:30.  I took her upstairs where she proceeded to tell me "no" to every song I wanted to sing to her.  We read her books (one about Mowgli from the Jungle book, Barnyard Dance and a book about babies going to bed.  Somehow I managed to avoid her favorite- Tarzan.  No, seriously, she loves Tarzan.  Noah reads it to her and explains to her how best to pick out a husband).  Deacon came up with Everyn, "she needs to feed, Mom".  I told him that she was going to need to wait a minute (the girl did not look starving to me) and he responded with, "didn't you hear her?  She was screaming for you".

"Deacon", I replied, "I don't think that was screaming.  It sounded like she whimpered once and you picked her up." (Noah was downstairs with them and confirmed this).

That is the life of Everyn.  Her brothers can't stand to hear her cry and it is somehow greatly magnified in their ears- or else it is minimized in mine?  Who knows.  Deacon is a big help with her (he does much better when he is just home with us and not trying to show off!) and will just sit on the couch holding her and talking to her while he reads to himself or listens to me read.  Roman likes to hold her while I read his school stuff to him as well.  It is a nice treat for the boy who is having to do schoolwork.

Yesterday morning I put Berean and Lincoln in the bathtub, sat next to the tub and while monitoring bathtime and nursing Everyn managed to supervise Deacon's science and reading lessons.  Yup, I had him bring his books into the bathroom and we worked in there.  It was a good half hour of school and Berean and Lincoln got clean and had fun too!

Berean has been rather difficult during school.  She wants to be right there and in on the action.  The first couple of days of having Everyn at home Berean was mean to her and always trying to hurt her.  Now Berean just torments the boys and essentially ignores Everyn.  She does still give a running commentary on everything Everyn does, so I know she is keeping an eye on the situation, but at least she is staying away from her a little more.  I hear, "baby crying", "baby sleeping", "baby eyes", "baby eating" multiple times a day.  Speaking of language, Berean's language is exploding.  She copies everything I say, sings little songs to herself around the house and babbles long sentences that I don't understand.

I was reviewing Lincoln's Awana Cubbie motto with him, "Jesus Loves Me".  Of course, Lincoln was being noncompliant, but Berean was right in there trying to say the words with me.  I mentioned the word "ruckus" today while on the phone with Noah, and she cocked her little head to the side and repeated it.

Oh!  2 items of great news- 1) our missing harddrives have been found!  We still can't access anything on them, but it looks like the odds are good that someone should be able to recover the files, we will just have to be willing to pay the price.  2) the kitchen is coming along and by the end of the weekend I should be organizing cupboards instead of working around "oven islands".

Friends from church have brought meals this week which has been such a blessing.  The week has been going well, and I know that in large part that is due to not having to deal with supper (feeding 5 kids breakfast and lunch already feels like plenty of kitchen work) and the fact that we haven't had to go to our normal places!  Next week co-op, basketball, and swimming all start back up.  We are done with speech therapy, however, so that will ease up the schedule.  Oh, and next week too I have to go into work for a few hours and I think we have 2 doctor appointments scheduled.  It will be hard to get into the swing of things again, but it will be good too.  Next week is also the week that I am going to start running and expedite the poundage removal...

Today Lincoln went back to preschool (he goes one day a week) and it was the first day he rode the bus!  This was a hard decision for me to make, but he seemed to like it and it will be much easier then me driving him and hauling the other 4 along for drop off and pick up in the dead of winter.  He seemed proud to get on the bus, especially since his brothers are somewhat jealous about the situation.

Well, that seems like plenty of information for one night.  It's time for me to catch a little sleep before it is time for the next baby snack time!  One thing I have learned is never count the hours of sleep you may get...it only makes you feel worse!