No Sleep

When I was a baby, I learned I could sleep any time, any place.
As a kid, it was a competition with my parents to see how late I could get away with staying up.
And getting up at the crack of dawn to practice violin before school was almost unbearable.
I learned to live with that.
I learned to live with staying up all night at camp with the kids I was counselling talking about God and the future.
I learned to live with pulling all-nighters studying or writing essays or practising in college
or taking the trips to the ocean at sunset and staying there until sunrise.
I learned to live with 20 or so college girls at the Onyx House and our late-night runs to Safeway and Midnight Breakfast.
I learned to live with the all-night jitters the week before my wedding (and after!)
and the late-night "discussions" and "make-ups" the first year of marriage.
I even learned to live with the pregnant peeing 10 times at night
and the charley-horses and midnight green olive cravings.
I learned I can listen to my firstborn's breathing pattern all night long through my sweet husbands snoring.
I learned to live with a 19 month-old moving to his new bed and nursing a newborn at the same time.
But you would think after learning so much, you would learn not to take away the pacifier from the 2 year old.
Oh well, sleep is overrated, right?

Nelson

So while Tim is in Montana this week preaching to 250 Jr. High kids, I thought I would drive 8 hours, just me and the boys, to visit my parents. I had a feeling it would be fun because they have this beautiful house right on the lake but little did I know just how great it would be...it's been 32 degrees (about 90 degrees American), sunny, the lake is actually warm and Ben has learned to swim, Joey has been a constant source of entertainment for his Oma and Opa, and I have read two books and admired how fun my kids really are.
So this has been my schedule for the last 4 days: wake up, eat breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake, swim, nap, eat lunch, swim, nap, eat dinner,one last swim or coffee on the dock watching the ospreys, beavers, one teenage black bear (if he lets himself be seen), sleep. Of course having my sister here has been super(it's fun to try and remember how we used to dance to ABBA songs in the lake). Ahhh...I am blessed!

Turning the Corner

If I was going to write a book about parenting, it would be called "Turning Corners" (let me know if one already exists). This is what I call it when one of my kids has a "personality" shift.
For instance, for the last while Ben would say "no" or "but ma-ahm" every single time I asked him to do something. Then today he said "okay" every time! Jekyl and Hyde have nothing on this three year old boy!
And not that long ago, I would ask Joey (who will be 2 in September) to do something and he would just cock his head and look at me like "what? I don't get it"...and today I asked him to throw something in the trash and he did it. And then I asked him to go get a diaper and he actually said "okay mama." Yes!
I'd love to think he will stay this way all the way through his second year of life only saying "yes mama" and "okay" and "I love you", but without corners, it would be a pretty straight and boring journey don't you think?

We finally were able to get away for a few days for summer vacation and had an amazing time exploring the beautiful state of Washington. We tented most of the time with the highlight being the hiking and fishing at Mt. Baker. It is so wonderful that such amazing mountains are right in our backyard. Ben caught 5 fish while fishing in a glacier bowl with his dad and uncle Nate and cousins Colette, Luke and Garrison (Joey and Sam ended up going for a little drive and back to camp to make dinner with Aunt Jennie and me). There is nothing like being outside 24/7 for 9 days...it was good for the boys, good for our marriage (staying up late under lantern-light playing cards and talking-it was like we were friends again! I highly recommend it!) as well as good for my back and my skin (days of dirt and sweat along with wind and lake water does wonders for the pores ha ha). When we got home, we managed to keep the TV off for 48 hours but then...I needed to have a shower and do laundry and there aren't any lakes or hiking paths in our backyard hence the one hour (I've now made a strict limit) of "kid shows" as Ben puts it. But I am definately determined to spend more time "out"side and less time with my "the-house-needs-to-be-cleaned-must-vacuum-bathroom-wiped-down-laundry-dust-etc." side.