Long, wonderful days

This is one of those mishmash posts. Ay yi yi, there is so little time for blogging these days! I wrote the birth story of our sweet baby R out, but need my husband to proof read and fact check it before publishing, because so many details are blurry! I will say that it was a wonderful labor, delivery and hospital experience. God has been so gracious to us! Here go the random things on my mind:

1. Life with four: Mercy. We are loving it, but tired. Going from one-to-two-three had their own challenges for us, but were not super difficult--HOWEVER, four has been the kicker. Our little R has certainly had us scratching our heads at times and wondering what in the world was going on. After one crazy, trying day, I was blow-drying my finally washed hair at midnight if only to feel human long enough to crawl into bed. : ) Recovery has been more challenging, getting things back in order and keeping the family in somewhat order has also kept us on our toes. I'm thankful for my grandmother who has stayed with us a good bit and helped me get desperately needed rest. Also thankful for: casseroles from our SS class, a loving husband, and sleep training (I say this as I duck my head and wait for people to start screaming at me through their monitors--but rest assured there's little crying and lots of eating going on now that we are sleep training).

2. Life with four: Bliss. As challenging as these days have been, they have been so, so sweet. We have savored and reveled in these newborn days, because by now we are really understanding how fleeting the time is. T and I will just stare at Little Bit after her last feeding, soaking it all in and hating to put her down. We are also enjoying the big kids as well. J is SIX and I can hardly believe it. A is loving being a big sister and Mr. O has become exponentially more cuddly and fun. They are all crazy about R and love to hold her and keep informed of her activities.

3. Life with four: Disasters---the house is on a rotating wreck schedule. If I were to divide homekeeping into four quadrants (upstairs, downstairs, laundry and exterior/auto),   I can safely say only 1/4-1/2 of the quadrants are acceptable and the remaining ones are chaos. I'm outnumbered and nursing and have to confess that I stayed in my bedroom a little bit more today than I should because the upstairs was at it's best and the remaining 3/4 were sketchy. We have also left home with shoeless children and suffered embarrassing crying sessions in department stores.

4. Life with four: Aging. I need intensive moisturizers on my face, my hair is drying and I'm not sure if the lightness is highlights from the summer or premature gray that graces the women in my grandmother's family.

5. Life with four: Homeschooling. I LOVE homeschooling--even in the midst of all the madness. : ) Our days are a bit more helter skelter than last's year's orderly mornings, but the kids are doing fine, learning lots and there is more independence in their work this year. Miss A is flying through her Sing Spell Read and Write. I'm trying to keep up with her.

 Additionally:

6.Thomas the Tank Engine is a lifesaver---O has taken to it like wildfire at just the right time! Whoo-hoo. He has a nest behind the couch where all the track is stored and it keeps him busy. The Take Along track is the best!

7. Whatever happened to staying in the hospital/bed for two weeks after baby arrived? I vote we bring that back. Hospitals should have a spa/swingbed unit. Amen?

8. I'm really pondering turning the kids rooms topsy turvy and creating a play/school room and having them all in the other room with clothes storage. T is ordering wood for bunkbeds today.

9. Although he's about to have knee surgery, if you ever need something built, I highly recommend my husband. He does great work and can make just about anything!

10. I'm reading the Odyssey as part of an online classical bookclub. I'm usually a speed reader, but old Homer is slowing me down.