I'm still here. And no, I didn't give up blogging for Lent. I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post! I have some unexpected time this morning since Tommy's speech therapist just called to cancel our appointment, so I decided that I should quickly blog while I can.
I feel like I'm a broken record, so perhaps that is part of why I haven't blogged lately. How many times can I say, "I'm busy," "I'm tired," "I'm stressed," etc. Thankfully I'm not feeling quite as stressed lately. I realize that I need to make choices about what can or cannot get done in my life right now. And more importantly I need to refocus my attitude/expectations about this stage of my life with two little ones.
All of the cliches that people say about the time flying and the kids growing so fast are true. I have certain things that need to get done each day/week, but I want my priority to be the time with my kids. They are such a precious gift and I want to enjoy them and soak up these moments. Only God knows if we will have more children and I am so grateful for these two blessings.
I have been praying for some families who are going through difficult times with their young children, and that helps me appreciate even more the precious gift of life. As I have mentioned,
baby Riley is still going through a long, slow recovery. She (and her twin brother) will turn one in just a few days. Please pray that her family is given the strength they need to help her recover.
I recently learned about a high school friend who's baby had been very sick since birth. He passed away at just 9 months old. It was her first child and I cannot even imagine going through something like that. We haven't kept in touch for many years, but I still sent her a Mass card. I simply can't imagine the grief.
Another family I know will have the funeral for their son tomorrow. He was just 14 months old and suffered from SMA. His amazing family lovingly cared for him knowing that his life expectancy was uncertain. They used
this blog to write letters to him and have touched so many lives. I'm sorry for all the sad news in this post, but it has definitely helped me keep perspective.
So what else is going on around here?? Obviously it's Lent. My Lenten goals this year are rather small and simple, but I figured that was all I could actually accomplish. Both kids wake-up times have been unpredictable, but I'm really trying to have at least a little prayer time in the morning. I'm happy if I can get through the daily readings and the Magnificat reflection. I'm also praying the Memorare daily for my friend J in my women's prayer group who is taking her grad school comps next month. And I have a couple of simple fasts and acts of charity as part of my Lenten offering.
It's my busy time of year because of the play I direct at school. This year we are doing Annie, Jr and I'm really excited because I love that show. We are in the middle of auditions and hopefully the cast will fall into place. It's one of the hardest parts of being the director, especially since we cast all 60 students in 7th and 8th grade.
Both Tommy and Molly continue to grow and change. We decided on a preschool for Tommy to attend in the fall. I'm so excited that I had hold myself back from immediately buying him a backpack and lunchbox. :) He will go two mornings a week and I know it will be good for him. We have not officially started potty training, but it just sorta happened that he started pooping in his little potty last week. It's adorable how proud he is of himself. I guess he's ready!
Molly is now 6 months old. She is such a happy sweet girl. And she's a big girl! I can't wait to see her stats at her upcoming doctor appointment. She's currently wearing 9-12 months clothes. :)
We are making some progress with her physical therapy, but she still has some work to do. Thankfully her torticollis and flat head are seemingly gone. But she still has not yet rolled over. It's hard to know if it's related to her other issues or if it's because she didn't get enough tummy time early on. Her neck/back muscles have gotten stronger, but for some reason she doesn't push up on her arms. Hopefully she will continue to get stronger and make progress.
Molly has been a great sleeper, for the most part. She loves to be swaddled and we have been laying her down awake since about 4 months old. Usually she will fall asleep quickly/easily as long as we have timed it right. :) Recently though she has been getting out of the swaddle and wakes herself up in the middle of the night. Those of you that swaddle your kids... how long did you swaddle? And did you have to do sleep-training (cry-it-out) to transition out of it? I have the worst memory and can't remember when we stopped swaddling Tommy. I think it was probably around 5-6 months. Thanks for any advice!
