Finally an Update

Well, finally I am going to give an update.  Adding the third baby to our family has gone very well.  This was the easiest birth for me, and I recovered very quickly.  I guess the hardest part has been adjusting to having less time (temporarily speaking) for the older kids.  But once I realized this, I have figured how to spend quality time with them better.  Up until recently, Doodlebug was a very good sleeper and quickly went from 2 night feedings to only one, and even sleeping long stretches like from 10 to 3:30 or 4:30, which is huge in the way of feeling rested.  However, the last few nights, she has woken up at 2:30 or 3ish and then wants to stay awake for a while.  Maybe her schedule is off somehow.  I think she will get back on track soon.  I was reminded on fb to pray for her to sleep according to our schedule.  Sometimes, I forget that God cares about that kind of thing, but He does and I should be faithful to ask for my needs in that way.  {I do need to have enough sleep to give quality care to ALL 3 kids.}  So Doodlebug is a very good baby, even with the sleep setback, and she appears to be gaining weight as she should.  She is almost 6 weeks old already.  Time flies!

Princess just finished her first year of school, and for the most part, she thrived.  She loved her teacher.  She loved the routine of it.  She enjoyed being around the kids on a regular basis, and art was her favorite subject, of course.  :)  She had some playground drama and has some social issues to work on.  I was given some great advice on fb about different things to do to help her out.  And I am proud that she was able to express her feelings to me.  I would love to homeschool my kids, but I'm not sure it would be best for them.  Maybe I just don't want to let go of them yet.

Speed Racer is mostly potty trained, and he took to the potty very quickly.  He even occasionally stays dry at night, which is impossible for Princess to do yet.  I realize that she was and is a late bloomer in this area, and that's just that.  He even goes to the potty when he wakes up, and even that is still not natural for her.  He is my explorer.  He is wild and just cannot help but to get into trouble.  He recently found some nail polish and painted our bathroom upstairs.  He got up after we had put him to bed to do this.  He still naps when I put him down for one, but then he cannot relax at bedtime when he does.  So I don't put him down for a nap every day, but at the same time, he's not ready to give it up completely.  The lack of sleep builds up and he gets cranky.  

I don't know if we had been lax on our parenting, but we've had to "lay the law down" on both the kids for their lack of respect.  Maybe it is still their testing the waters on life with a third sibling.  But I am constantly reminding them to respect people (because they are valuable) and to respect things (because they are God's gifts).  All the other rules go back to those two main rules.

As for me, I have recently made some self discoveries (with no therapist - ha).  I like to dream, and I honestly never thought of myself that way.  But I like to go on adventures, and adventures come from dreams.  I dream big dreams, I dream small dreams, but most of the time, my dreams remain just that - dreams, which leaves me longing for the future when the dreams will come to fruition.  I realize that because I dream a lot I live for the future and don't always appreciate the good things I already have.  I covet and get jealous of most everyone because most things can tie to some kind of dream I have.  I need to appreciate the gifts God has already given me and submit myself to my husband's leading, instead of trying to lead him, which I want to do sometimes.  I cannot be married and live the life of a single person too.  I am choosing to let God reign instead of letting my self reign.  So, I'm letting go of all my dreams, even the relatively small ones, and I am simply following.  I like to have a plan, but now my plan is to have no plan (of my own).  Following might just mean staying in the same place.  So now I wait, and I learn to pray anew.  I hope to have Godly desires in my heart.  I've probably blogged about this before someway or another.  Here's to hoping I follow through this time and to learning to be content in every circumstance.


Alas, I will not be replacing Jacob in protecting the island.  But in all fairness, I don't want that job, and I think that's the point.