Updates Shmupdates

We are sleeping… enough. Every 2 hours is sustainable. I have gone on a dairy free diet…. two days now…. accidentally ate some really scrumptious scalloped potatoes today though. Oops. So starting over! Maybe that will help my baby be more comfortable and sleep longer at night?

We’ve been house-shopping. Looking at houses from $150K-$400K…. though obviously, less expensive is better. Now we’re thinking about car shopping… minivans don’t really have windows that open in the back… ours less than most. (one is broken) And only one of the rear vents work. And the A/C doesn’t work. So I’m dreading putting kids back there this summer. But – cars are expensive. Don’t know how much we want to spend. Because, you know… if we spend money on a more expensive car, then we’ll have less money to put down on that house. hmm. I had no idea cars could cost more than $10K. Ok, I did…. but cars on craigslist? I think the most expensive car we’ve bought was $2K…. $4K after repairs.

We pulled Jordan out of pre-school. It’s not an easy decision. He does well at preschool and he was learning new skills. But the bus would have taken too long (30+ minute drive…. and it’s only 2 miles from our house). And driving him and picking him up is a pretty big interruption here at home.

Been bothered by some things lately. By people disrespecting our parenting decisions. An example – today we got two responses at the church we visited… at the toddler room… to our request that Jordan not sit on laps or snuggle with anybody. One wonderful woman agreed and supported us. One infuriating man had that gall to judge us and say we were being ridiculous. (I don’t know what his actual words were – Brian relayed this experience to me) The sweet woman tried to defend us. Hey – if you don’t understand…. trust that the kids parents have a reason for what they’re doing, k?

Jordan is going through some developmental phases. I’m not exactly sure what they are, but they require constant supervision and the removal of his person from every no-no in the house. It’s pretty frustrating, because I feel like I’m just spending the day getting him in trouble. But it’s not all bad… because I know that this new level of need from him means a new level of understanding from him. Thanks to everybody we spend time with – yes, I know he gets into everything and likes loud noises, banging on stuff and slobber. But we are pretty proud of him and think he’s a star… I don’t think I would be as brave as him if I had his background.

Sometimes I feel like the opposite of a super-mom. Often I see people around me and friends of mine… and I feel inadequate. I see all the things I don’t do. I see my failures. I am not as good at most things as most people. This last week was a difficult one, but you know what? God met me. This week would typically have brought out the tired, drained, grumbling side of me. But God, in his mercy, granted me a positive attitude. It’s been wonderful to remember joy and love even when… well, even when.

One day, we’ll look back and wish we could experience these days again. But maybe we’ll want to experience them with more sleep. That’s my guess.

Look who’s sitting!