Observations from the past week

1.  Hank continues to be the source of a number of gems, such as "I slept so good I thought I skipped a day."

2.  When travelling, it might be less of a hassle to pack nothing and just buy what you need when you get there, since a certain mega airline never bothers to deliver the luggage with the passengers.

3.  Does Chris Colfer have a twin?  And if so, is he a Catholic seminarian in Texas?  I was seated at a table with this guy and kept wanting to refer to him as Kurt.

4.  My efforts to get Mackenzie to "use her words" instead of screaming are being undermined by allowing her to watch the birth scenes in the BBC series Call the Midwife with me.

Limbo: How low can you go?

“You know, the key with us is we set the bar low.  That way we got a pretty good chance of winding up happy.”

That quote was at the tail end of a video snippet of my favorite author, Michael Perry, explaining his family’s approach to farming, available here: http://video.wpt.org/video/2365286449/

It pretty much runs counter to what we’ve always said, right?  Aim high, set stretch goals, exceed expectations, do your best!!!

He said that with farming, given his travel schedule and unpredictable Wisconsin weather, he’s happy if they can just grow a little corn to feed to the chickens, so his family can have fresh eggs.  Maybe they can raise a few pigs, and take care of the land they own.  He’s not trying to make a living as a farmer, or grow state fair prize winning vegetables.  Low bar = happy with the results.

I think we need to keep most of our bars high – succeed in school, figure out a career path, manage your money, treat others kindly.  Don’t forget about the low bars, though.  The daily successes will give you the motivation to attack the bigger goals. 

What low bar triumphs have you had lately?  Today, I scrubbed a bathroom, made phone calls and typed this while two babies took naps, and enjoyed a healthy lunch with Mackenzie.  All in all, a good morning.

Week 2

Mom.  Mom!  MOM!  Yes, Dodge?  Did you know that the baby is asleep on the bathroom floor wrapped in a towel?  Of course, that's where I left him, and wherever he wants to sleep is fine with me!  Dodge's concern was particularly amusing because at least once a week he wakes up at o-dark-thirty, takes a shower, and then goes back to sleep on the bathroom floor wrapped in a towel.

When he's not dozing on the floor, Wyatt is usually found in his sling, which always raises a lot of questions when we go out.  Everything from "where can I buy one of those" to "can he breathe in there?"  Or, oddly today when he was dressed in a blue and gray onesie, three strangers asked how old "she" is.

The sling keeps my hands free for cooking, and here's a new recipe that I tried today for lunch.  Half of the family appreciated it! 

Mushrooms and Spinach with Couscous

6 ounces mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in olive oil with garlic
Add 6 ounces of spinach, a cup of uncooked couscous, half a cup of water, and a bit of basil.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 4 ounces of cream cheese.  That's it!

Week 1

Pardon my absence last Wednesday as I was preoccupied with Wyatt's arrival early that morning.  The Friday before that I attended a lunch during which one person recounted a story of working with a pregnant colleague, and during the time they worked together, he would periodically get distracted and comment to her "You're growing a human right now!  Wow!"  Indeed, wow.  

During the time that I was growing a human, I worried about a number of things - people's reaction to a mom of five who also works outside the home full time being near the top of the list - but I worried most about how Mackenzie would react to being replaced as the baby of the family so soon.  So far, so good.  In fact, she has taken on the role of big girl by giving up her pacifier, adding a couple of words to her vocabulary, and drinking from a regular cup all in the past seven days.  She is still taking a long afternoon nap, giving me time to study for my enrolled agent exams.

The rest of us are working on how to function efficiently as a unit.  For example, we have to load the car in a different order now, and so that means people have to be ready to go when it is their turn.  We have to work more on our menu planning to identify healthy choices that everyone will eat so that we don't waste food or time preparing multiple meals.  I'm all ears on suggestions for getting everyone to pitch in with the laundry.  We get it washed and dried, but rarely put away.

More words to come next week...