Friday, May 16, 2014

Spring in the Blue House

Life is flying by. I can't believe it's May already. My sweet Rosamund is now 3 months old, and we'll be celebrating Lavinia's second birthday next week!

People often ask me how I'm adjusting to life with three children. It's hard to know how to answer -- it's not like things were easy, and now they're hard. Having a baby has certainly added a different element to life, but it's no more or less demanding than it was before. I'm still caring for all the needs of my children and household, with some different needs thrown in now.

Baby Rosie - 3 months

Rosamund is actually a pretty "easy" baby in most ways, so she is fitting right in to the rhythm of our lives. She started sleeping all night long much sooner than my other two children, which is a great boon to me because if I ever needed good sleep, it's now! I didn't do anything special to try to encourage her to sleep through the night, she just started on her own. She just recently "discovered" her fingers and loves to suck on her middle two fingers, in a sort of inverse Vulcan hand salute. I like to think it's genetic because my dad says that's how he sucked on his fingers, too. At any rate, it's made her even more contented and happy.

Baby Rosie - 3 months

I have been working a very part-time editing job from home since a few weeks prior to Rosie's birth. I do my work in the early mornings, before the rest of the household is up, so I get Rosie up for a morning feeding, then she keeps me company while I work (falling back asleep somewhere in there). She is so happy and smiley in the mornings -- it's sweet to have that special time with my baby. The older kids wake up right around the time I finish and then we hit the ground running.

Baby Rosie - 3 months

If I'm completely honest, I feel pretty overwhelmed by it all. It is so easy for me to feel like a failure each day because I never accomplish everything I'd like to do. There are so many balls in the air -- cleaning the house, cooking meals, doing laundry, errands, bills, household projects, spending time with my children, spending time with my husband, nursing the baby, getting myself (and three other little people) dressed and presentable, exercising, reading, working, church activities, investing in friendships -- and I haven't even thrown homeschooling into the mix yet (eeeek!). It seems like I can do one or two of those things well, on any given day, but never ALL of them! I know that I'm deep in the trenches of motherhood right now and that things will change and perhaps not get easier, but they will be different, so I persevere as well as I can. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by encouraging voices from family and church family. And I'm always looking for ways to "double up" on those tasks, to get more done, which I may share about on the blog from time to time.

I have not felt like doing any sewing at all. Someday my enjoyment of it will return, I'm sure, but right now it just feels like one more thing on the "to do" list. So I'm giving myself permission to take a break for a while. Instead of sewing, I ordered matching dresses from Boden for my two girls to wear on Easter, and funnily enough, I got asked so many times, "Did you make them?" So why sew when you can fake it?! ;-)

Well, here I sit when there's breakfast to be made, children to be dressed, and a day to start -- until next time, friends!

12 comments:

  1. Your daughter is adorable. :) Congratulations.

    There are seasons. I didn't start sewing again until my youngest of four was about 18 months old. I haven't sewn much in the past year because life has been too crazy. It's ok. It will be waiting when you return. :)

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    1. Thanks, Janel -- I have definitely noticed an ebb and flow with my sewing (and other hobbies) over the past couple of years. As you say, it's okay! Life happens.

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  2. I agree with the above Janel. When something starts to feel like a burden, just step back. Boden in a lovely substitute anyway, ;) and there are more important things in life than trying to be and do everything. By the way, Rosamund's printed top is simply the sweetest.

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    1. Thank you, Janel! Actually, what she's wearing in the photos is her special little Boden dress. :) I love the print, too.

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  3. Rosamund is just beautiful. Those blue eyes are amazing! Congratulations !!!

    Traci

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  4. Rosie is so cute! I'm glad she's sleeping well for you and slotting in with your older two - what a considerate baby ;-) Boden is great, they have some lovely things, particularly for little girls.

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    1. Thanks, Rachel! Yes, I enjoy drooling over their catalog -- it's worth a splurge from time to time, especially when there's a great sale. :)

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  5. By the way, the previous comment was from me!

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  6. Whew, can I ever relate to this post!! I had Baby Number Two last month and though he too is an "easy" baby, I am suddenly a bit overwhelmed with all the balls in the air too. I am not used to cutting myself slack, but I have definitely learned to relax on some things in recent weeks. That doesn't mean it doesn't bother me when I see how badly the kitchen floor needs mopping, but I know the time for that will come when it comes.

    Long ago, Anna at Pleasantview Schoolhouse posted some advice to young mothers and one of her bullet points was to try your best to do a little something creative every day. This has been echoing in my head so I DID manage to make myself some floral hair barrettes with dollar store flowers and grocery store barrettes, and wow did I feel accomplished! But I think she also means activities like just making a pretty arrangement of wildflowers in a vase, for example. The creative itch can be scratched many ways!

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    1. Ashley, I don't know any moms of little ones who don't feel overwhelmed most of the time -- it comes with the territory. I like the advice to make a little time for the creative; it's certainly therapeutic to some degree!

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  7. You're doing an incredible job! It's not easy, I can only imagine. Your sewing days will return. I once took a several year old break from scrapbooking and just started again this year :) Boden has such cute stuff, too. I've never ordered, but love what they do have- and especially the kids clothing!

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