Changes

The photo in the frame is his school photo, taken less than a year ago. How is it possible that he looks so much older?

More and Less

So, I've been working more and posting less these days. I've been facilitating support groups for new parents since last summer. It used to be two days a week, and then right before Christmas I picked up another group and then right after New Years I started one day a week as a Children's teacher for another baby group. (Hanging out with babies four days a week. Tough life I know.) 

That combined with the extra day at preschool that Brixton picked up means our schedules have really changed in the past few months. Now we look more like the two-working-parent model, even though my work is part time and somewhat flexible. So mornings have that get up and eat and pack the lunch box song and I find myself doing the carpool shuffle and the homework saga more often than the long walks at the zoo. Except for the blessed weekend of course. 

A few months ago, I read the book "All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenting" by Jennifer Senior and it really resonated with me. There are tons of books out there about the different stages your children go through, but this book is about the stages that parents go through. I found that she described them really well- the chaos and loss of control that comes with having a young baby and the wonder and curiosity of an exploring preschooler. When she talks about the elementary years, it was about the shuttling around to activities and the full calendar. (This is a limited perspective of course, to the US and people with some means, which she also talks about in the book.) I feel like all of a sudden these past few months, we've suddenly gone full speed into that chapter.

It's not surprising, my kids are older and this is where we are now. It's just different, and I'm still getting used to our new normal. 

Ch-ch-ch Changes....

 

One of the advantages of leaving home for a few days is that you get to see it with fresh eyes when you come home. After the kids had spent six days sharing a room in Arizona, we decided they are ready to do it full time. This was always my long-term plan. I have fond memories of sharing a room with my brother and the games we used to play at night when we were supposed to be sleeping. One of them involved throwing stuffed animals from the top bunk to the bottom. Another was called "Radio Station" and it involved me singing loudly until my brother yelled "switch" and then I would starting singing a different song. We were always so surprised when our parents came up to see why were still awake. But how did you know? we'd ask.

 

So, I'm looking forward to a good six years or so of all that. I'm also looking forward to Chris and I moving out of our little cold "temporary" bedroom we've been in for almost three years and into a room that will be warmer, if not any bigger. But first, we had to do some rearranging and purging and cleaning.

 

We got rid of some rickety old furniture and got a new storage unit to better organize toys.

Unity was a champ in helping put it together.

                                         And...organized! Chris predicts this will last six months.

We decided they are not quite ready for bunk beads yet, so the beds are

side-by-side for now.

                                              Blankets by Grandma Cindy.

 

Happy New Year y'all.