true boy tales: Splish Splash

Monday, April 2, 2012

Splish Splash

Embarrassing Fact: Channing will be 5 weeks old tomorrow and today he got his second bath. No, not his second bath of the day. His second bath ever. I know there are some moms reading this that are horrified right now. Frankly, it doesn't really bother me all that much. Its just embarrassing to admit it :)

Ugh, I'm so in love with these sweet cheeks. I try not to think about the fact that I only have a few more weeks with a newborn and then he'll turn into a real baby.

I'm feeling more and more comfortable with our daily routine. I'm learning little tricks to keep everyone happy and on schedule and a certain 2 year old out of trouble (like locking him into my bedroom with me while I'm feeding Channing so he can't get into something in another room!). He also really likes to play with toys and books in his crib and will stay in there for a good 30 or 45 minutes, so I use that time very strategically.

Dawson had to take a turn in "the boat" as he dubbed it:

So even though I can keep everyone fed and changed and I can go to the park or the library with all three without any [major] meltdowns, I have absolutely no clue how to keep up with the housework. I'm pretty sure I've only done laundry twice in these 5 weeks (Jon does ours, I just do the boys'). The dishes pile up very quickly and the kitchen's constantly a cluttered mess. My bedroom is a dumping ground and is totally Out. Of. Control. My van could also use cleaning out in the worst way. (I guarantee Jon's thinking right now, "How is this any different than it's always been???" Come on honey, its not usually this bad, right? Right?? :) So anyway, I guess I (and my husband who cares about a clean house way more than I do) just have to accept the fact that in the long run this will just be a short season of life. Eventually Channing won't be nursing every 3 hours and Dawson won't be two forever and dump out every toy in sight while he's playing. Eventually we'll have much older boys who don't kiss us as much or cuddle as much or need us as much; boys who want to hang out in their own room instead of in ours. So maybe we need to put blinders on to the mess (and lack of baths) for a short while and just soak up these last fleeting weeks of newborn-ness. We'll never have them back. Ever.

4 comments:

Iowa SunshineApril 2, 2012 at 11:23 PM
i'm certain you are tackling the important things (which doesn't include washing or cleaning). you are right that soon enough you will be in the next stage. i'm impressed that you and the boys leave the house : )
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Elisa ClarkApril 3, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Great perspective! You're completely right.
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mandaApril 3, 2012 at 11:48 AM
Oh my, Channing is adorable!!!!
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AllisonApril 4, 2012 at 6:41 AM
Letting go of the mess is probably the best thing you can do to enjoy those babies of yours right now. Great attitude! That is still hard for me too, but I am seeing more and more how a clean house is not as important as loving on my family. And babies don't need a lot of baths...at least not until he is playing in the sticks and mud with his big brothers :)
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.