We Live

Yes. It's true. We are all still here.

I have lost so much time, to go back and attempt to recap would be merciless. I can't blame it on any grave catastrophe taking up my attention; no enormous life changes that have stolen my time; no great change in philosophy that would cause me to push blogging to the back burner. I've actually composed some marvelous entries - in my head. Somehow getting them to the screen ceased to become as important.

The boys are growing.

They loved Vermont, as we always do. Peanut in particular was finally old enough to understand the vast difference in place and culture. Two weeks, however, was enough for me to realize how blessed we are to live somewhere where they can be outside for most of the year. I am not sure how mothers of small children in cold climates survive with any grace. Mine wore thin. But this was partially due to the fact that our "home" up there does not have much in the way of child-friendly activities. And the fact that my eldest, energetic son does not "do" indoor things with much enthusiasm. I can be happy as a cricket all winter between drawing, writing, knitting, sewing, etc. My kids, not so much.











We are now gearing up for Christmas.

And this is hilarious, apparently.

We're celebrating Advent this year, not something we've done before and it's rather haphazard since we're "winging it", so to speak, not having any specific church-officiated rituals surrounding it. But as a way of injecting some more meaningful traditions into our family celebration, I'm enjoying it. We made the conscious decision to limit gifts for the kids, and will have a small, early Christmas at home before heading up to my in-laws'.

Pregnancy is proceeding according to my usual pattern.

Baby # 3 is a girl.

(No, this pic doesn't show that, but come on.)

There was a time this would have warranted a rosy, ecstatic blog posting, and there has indeed been plenty of rosy ecstasy, but once the announcement was facebooked further commentary seemed superfluous. (I kind of hate facebook for this reason.) We had the scan done last month and I had to immediately run out and buy something pink. Since then I've received so many pink hand-me-downs that I'm actually a little sick of the color, and have begun hunting madly for baby girl clothes in other hues. This has proved more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Since one of the fun aspects of dressing girls is that they can wear ANYthing, unlike the narrow range of acceptability to which boys are restricted, I am rather disgusted when I walk through the girl clothing sections now. They are starting to look like explosions from a Pepto-Bismol factory. It does, however, give me an excuse to make a lot of her clothes myself, to which I am looking forward.

On that note, I finally learned to knit by hand. It's something I had picked up and laid down many times over the last several years, but something finally clicked, and I've now cranked out three new diaper covers in preparation. The first came out huge, and fits Deuce. I actually frogged his old crocheted one to finish this, because I LOVE that yarn.

The other two are newborn. I will post pics after I charge the camera battery. Or maybe once baby girl is modeling them, given my updating frequency.

Anyway - I will not pretend that every stitch is perfect, but I have learned ribbing, stockinette, garter stitch, how to make an eyelet row, and various types of increase/decrease. Another cover or two and maybe I will feel bold enough to graduate to things with sleeves. Or to do something in the round.

In prep for having a nursery to decorate again, Deuce has been moved to Peanut's room as of last weekend. We decided at the last minute to experiment with transitioning him to the toddler bed rather than moving the crib, and although I was anxious, remembering the battle we had with Peanut, it has turned out extremely well. Although he still gets up once or twice a night, he does not fight being put back to bed, and I'm not averse to hearing little feet pitter-pattering to my room instead of angry squawks over the monitor. It makes me strangely sad to see his little round form snuggled in a real bed, complete with pillow and blankets - he is still so much the baby, and is shortly going to lose that position to his sister, going to become the "middle child" with all its associated challenges. I had an sudden, fiercely protective sensation toward him when we found out we were having a girl - partially driven by the enthusiastic congratulations of friends and family. Folks had not, to my memory, been as excited about a second boy, and I know many took their cues from me and was overwhelmed with guilt. I look at him now and think how wonderful it is that prayers are not always answered as we hope; for had we had a girl after Peanut, we would have been "done", and my sweet second son would not exist. 

 

Imagine this, not existing. What a tragic thought.

So. This is life currently. I herd, I launder, I teach, I wash, I create, I comfort, I guide, I discipline, I cook. Not always terribly well, and not all at once. But not alone. I am blessed, and I am happy.

Peace and Joy to all in this season.