May Bits

• I have a new addiction: Baby Tobin in cute cloth diapers.

Tobin loves them too, as you can see.

Here: Econobum one size cover, Indian unbleached cotton prefold inside.

It took me a while to figure out my cloth diapering style.

I figured out I'm a cover and prefold kinda gal.

I love Flip diaper covers.  I just got this Econobum cover in the mail today

and so far, so good.  They are super economical too.  (Thus, the name)

I think my favorite combo is going to be the Econobum prefold 

with a Flip cover.
I know you're all dying to know so I'll keep you posted.

Thirsties covers are a thumbs down for me.

Leakage.

(FYI: Cottonbabies is having an awesome sale on Flip covers right now!)

• These girls have great fun with each other lately.  When they're not hitting each other.  

Sibling relationships both delight and boggle me.  I was an only child most of my life and I love to see friendship developing between my kids - different from any other relationship in life.  It also boggles me as I figure out how to manage their disputes, concerns, etc.   I am completely inexperienced.

• My garden is growing so nicely.  I love the spring and the green that it brings.  A mix of sunny days and rainy days.  Just right for me.  

   

 

• I chuckled last week as I realized the things we congratulate each other for around here. 

For example:

Xochi from the bathtub: Mamaaaaa!!!  I have to go potty!
Me: Poo poos?
Xochi: Uh huh.
Me: Good job not going poo poos in the bathtub!
Xochi: Thanks Mama!

or

Xochi with the blocks: What color is this, Papa?
Justin: Red
Xochi: What color is this one, Papa?
Justin: Blue
Xochi: Good job, Papa!  You know your colors!

or

Me after seeing Steele pick his nose: Good job, Steele.  I saw you pick your nose and not eat it.
Steele: Thanks.  I was actually just scratching it.
Me in my brain: Yah right.

Things I'm Learning

An unfinished list.

1. Wash, wash, wash clothes.  Don't stop lest the mountain get out of control.

2. Wash.  Then put away.  Immediately.  Or it will never get put away.

3.  Re-stock diapers, wipes and burpcloths before you go to bed.

4. Don't buy or store too many clothes.  (See #1)  Or anything, for that matter.  (Except maybe food)  Adhere to this principle before there are 6 people living in your house. 

5. Clean the kitchen after every meal.

6. Do a quick pick-up of toys, books, etc. before every sleep time.

7. Enforce this rule: Play with one thing, then put it away.

8. Prep and plan meals ahead of time whenever possible.

9. Sleep when you can.

10. Eat when you can, as much as you can.  Because you never know when you can again.

11. Keep the baby swing.  Even if you've had 3 children who didn't use it.

12. Run the dishwasher every night even if it's not completely full.  Because getting behind stinks and then you won't be able to accomplish #5.

13. Get yourself ready first.

14. Purge!!  Purge everything in your house as often as you can.

Xochi learning how to put away dishes

Justin and I were married for 5 years before we had kids.  We'd go garage sale-ing.  I'd buy things "in case" and for "someday" if they were a good deal and I thought I could refinish, paint, etc.  I'd let laundry pile up for a couple of weeks and it wasn't uncommon for me to go several days (a week!) without cleaning the kitchen or doing dishes.  I'd keep clothes and shoes for years and sometimes I'd get around to wearing them again.  It wasn't that bad when it was just the two of us.  Even when we just had Steele and probably even after we had Adia, I'd think about whatever food I was craving that day and then quickly run to the store for the dinner ingredients.  But for some reason, probably hormones (I blame everything on hormones), the moment I got home from the hospital and there were now SIX people in my family, all I wanted to do was purge everything out of my house.  Keep the bare minimum and throw everything else out.  Organize closets.  Rearrange the house to function more practically.  Stock meals up in the freezer.  Clean!  But of course, I couldn't.  I was, after all, recovering from pushing for 3 hours (yes, I know I have not written my birth story yet) and a c-section.  All I could do was sit around and try to not feel swallowed up by the chaos. 

Adia learning how to shush Tobin to sleep

But now?  Now, things are getting better.  I'm healing.  Tobin's schedule is more predictable.  I'm not feeling quite so hormonal.  So in the last week I have cleaned/sorted/organized: my clothes, Justin's armoire, Steele's clothes, Adia's clothes, Xochi's clothes, two hallway closets, one bathroom closet, one kitchen drawer, the kids' bedroom closet and bins and bins of baby clothes.  I also hung a clothing rod in a hall closet for Justin's dress shirts, made room for Tobin's crib in our bed room, sorted through our storage for garage sale items and actually HAD a garage sale.  (ok, Justin mostly did that) And finally, switched out Tobin's newborn clothes for his 3 month clothes.  *sniff*  (How does that happen so fast??)  Ahhhhhh..... much better.

It was a lot of work.  My days are filled with a lot of work.  But, I cannot tell you how many times over the course of my life that I have prayed for diligence and repented of my laziness.  These days there is no time for laziness.  If I sit for a moment too long things quickly get out of control.  God has answered my prayers.  And it's good.  I'm learning.  

Steele learning.. uhhh...how to take a bazillion pictures

of his legos and random family portraits. 

 

 

Easter

While being a firefighter's wife has a lot of perks, (like Justin being off for 3 weeks after Tobin was born) it also has it's share of challenges. Example A: the garbage disposal never breaks and the kids never start vomiting until Justin leaves for his 24 hour shift.

One of these challenges is that I also have to spend a number of holidays and Lord's days without him. I don't generally mind since we are blessed to have him home so many other days of the year but it is teaching me to be more creative in my planning and preparation. Like, just what do I do with my 6, 5 and 2 year old if my 6 week old needs to eat or starts crying in the middle of the service? Leave them alone in the pew? File them all out of the sanctuary with me? Fortunately, my parents and brother and sister attend church with us and on mornings when Justin is gone the kids are happily managed by their aunt and uncle or grammy and groompa if I need to step out.

So today was Easter and it was one of those days. It was busy and a little chaotic at times but we had a wonderful, worshipful day. Even if I did come up with the fabulous (crazy) idea to stay up until 2 a.m. and sew Adia a navy and white dress so all the kids would match. I mean, Tobin was going to wake up and need to eat anyway so why not stay up and sew? Seemed like a totally rational thought process at the time...

After celebrating Resurrection day with a service and brunch with our church family, we went to my aunt's house for all of our traditional Polish food and an egg hunt. As I went back and looked at these pictures, I was so thankful I thought to hand my sister, Abbey the camera. I was inside nursing Tobin and missed the whole egg hunt. Looks like everyone had a great time!

So sad Tobin didn't get in any of the pics.
He was either sleeping or eating.
He matched too though!

Steele and Uncle Gabe

Steele and Mimi

Xochi and Great Aunt Terri

Little Adia Foo Foo
Adia's dress:
Summer Vacation Dress
Pattern from Dana at Made

Still Pictures

The days are rushing by.. such is life with a newborn. Life with young children, really.

They flash by in a series of still scenes that I wish I could capture in my mind forever. Sometimes I miss them if I'm too busy or feeling too harried.. or not paying attention to them. Little voices, little looks, funny little sentences. And in too short a time, those moments are past.

Here are a few moments I want to capture this week.

Steele, coming in from outside yesterday: Those girls did something to my ear!
Justin: What girls?
Steele: The chickens!

Justin walked into the schoolroom yesterday and found Xochi planking.
Hilarious.

Some little friends came to visit and see Tobin last week. One of the boys (age 5) said to Justin: I'm not used to the smell in your house.
Justin: What smell? Bacon?

We laughed and laughed.

We're going to hire a personal hair stylist for Tobin.


I looked outside yesterday and saw this scene.
Xochi helping Justin work on the edger wearing her princess dress
and black rubber boots. Love.

Introducing..

Tobin Baker Jobes

Born: February 25, 2012 4:52 a.m
Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz
Length: 21 3/4 inches

Tobin: meaning "God is Good"
(and this little guy is a testimony of that truth!)
Baker: After our favorite place, of course!

I apologize that I have not posted sooner. I felt especially bad after sweet Wilma commented asking if we were all ok. I cannot express to you how much your concern meant to me, Wilma! As things seem to go with a newborn and little ones, the hours roll into days and the days roll into weeks before you know it. As Justin and the big kids tromped off in the rain to church this morning, I decided to rest at home for one more week and determined to write this blog post. I promise, a full birth story will come - for now, I'll share that I'm recovering from a c-section so the first week, especially, is kind of a narcotics-induced blur. But we are all recuperating quite well and are loving this little guy even more than we could have imagined. Nursing is going great. We seem to be easily settling into a nursing and sleeping schedule. Big brother and sisters are enamored with their newest teammate. And so many unexpected blessings... God is truly good and He knows what is best for us! The timing of Tobin's arrival could not have been more perfect for everyone.

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Winter 2012 Edition

Finding pictures of Steele's lego creations on my camera

How Steele thinks my spicy pico de gallo is the best ever

Cheesy grins on Xochi's first ski day of the season

Had to come back and edit..
how could I have forgotten Xochi's self-cut bangs??

This picture my husband took of the french toast he secretly ran
and got me just because I was craving it.
Even though he thinks gluten is evil.
(So do I except, apparently, during pregnancy..)

Happy kids on the first snow day of the season.




My ready-for-church-33-weeks-pregnant-self.
Even if I do have chipmunk cheeks.
Evidently, the only things that expand on me during pregnancy
are my ankles, my belly and my cheeks.
My thighs have mysteriously shrunken - no joke.


Xochi with her little two and half year old voice,
chubby body and pink princess jammies
watching chickens out the window.

Ahhhh...

That's me. Sighing a sigh of relief. Today feels a little better. Yesterday, by 8:30 in the morning, I had already driven through Starbucks and McDonalds and I may or may not have had tears streaming down my cheeks. But today? Today I feel more emotionally stable. My hormones feel more under control. I'm more rested. I've eaten healthy food. I have discomfort but no pain. I feel like I can manage my childrens' behavior more patiently and consistently. For this moment, at least. God's grace for today. I'm thankful for it. I'm going to make good use of it.

After the drive-through incident my husband came home. He always makes things better. We went and got our Christmas tree in the afternoon. Aside from a little crying breakdown in the car when I was ravished and could not find food (Yes, this is a true story. I was irrationally crying because I was hungry. I knew it was irrational, I kept telling myself that and still, I could not stop crying.)... we had a great time. We always go with my parents and my grandma comes along. We found our tree quickly. Not the most stunning tree we've ever had but I still love it. We took some beautiful photos. We went to dinner and came home to a clean house courtesy of Pam the house cleaner who our families have so generously helped to pay for during this time. We decorated while the Polar Express played in the background. It was good.

The sun is shining into my Christmas house today. When I'm done here I'm going to finish my coffee, school my children, direct a thorough bedroom cleaning and then perhaps relax with some knitting and crafts for the rest of the day.

Hunting

Loving (after some sister strangling..)

Smiling

Great-grandma-ing

Topping

Honoring

Enjoying

Creating

Shining

Brightening

This Morning

My son woke up at 4:45 a.m. (I will now join the ranks of social media users complaining about daylight savings)

My daughters woke up at 5:30 a.m.

Adia puked in my bed at 5:45 a.m.

I may or may not have been seen on my hands and knees in nothing but undergarments scrubbing the floor with Lysol disinfectant wipes. Hey - I needed to get back to the bedroom to get dressed and the only way through was to take on the mess. Half way through, Adia came out of the bathroom and I got a whiff... at which point my husband came and rescued his gagging, pregnant wife.

At approximately 6:05 a.m. I poured myself some coffee topped off with eggnog and downed a couple of spoonfuls of glutenous pumpkin cake that a woman from our church dropped off yesterday.

I also implemented a new plan in which Steele may only play with Xochi until he learns how to treat her with kindness, gentleness and patience. His new Lego set that he ordered off of Amazon arrived yesterday, which makes this training opportunity a little harder for him to swallow.

It can only go up from here?

Stuff

Just a quick post this morning because I'm feeling especially exhausted and nauseous. There is an "issue" that will not leave my brain though... so I'm dumping it here temporarily in hopes that someone out there might be able to impart some solace, empathy, tips? And at the very least, to be able to stop thinking about it for a little bit.

It is the issue of STUFF.

This is the current state of several areas of my house:

hat, apron, gift, Steele's money, paint sample, papers, 2010 Christmas cards
phonics readers, catalog, kitchen light, Xochi's jeans, money
fertility clinic info, tea, cds, pencil sharpener, seeds, mail etc etc

special card, Bible cds, necklace, tax stuff, Bible, sewing supplies, knitting needles,
external hard drive, coffee, jazzercise notes, hand salve, telephone,
receipt, air sprayer thingy, etc. etc. etc.

knitting supplies out of reach of little hands,
adoption tax stuff, sunglasses a friend's son left here, more cds, lint stroller, pencil sharpener
frame waiting for picture, non-functional ipod

Steele's shoes, miscellaneous toys, library book, advent notes
laundry, playmobile spear

sewing supplies, elastic thread, Netflix movie that they weren't supposed to send
since we downgraded, Knitpicks catalog, spring table runner,
National Geographic mag, Voddie Baucham cds

Do you see the trend here?? It's stuff!!! STUFF everywhere! Stuff that doesn't have a home, stuff that I want to keep, stuff I wish I could throw away, stuff that other people gave me, stuff I need to keep for a little bit, stuff that I'm working on, homeschool stuff, craft stuff, kid stuff, stuff that I left out, stuff that others left out. Too much stuff!!

It's driving me batty. I'm embarrassed by it. I'm irritated by it. I don't know what to do about it. I don't have the energy to do anything about it. It seems that every time I clear stuff off, it just piles back up again. And the worst thing? Sometimes I put stuff away and then when I need it, I can't find it again.

At the core of it all, though, is a desire to live simply. To have my life, my home and my brain uncluttered. To not live in excess, but to live contently. I do want my home to be warm and charming - I'm not a minimalist. But it is a difficult balance. Can you relate? A little? A lot? What have you done about it? What would you like to do about it? What do you do with all of it?