A Rare Update

I feel like it's been forever since I've posted anything. I'd say the highlight of the recent weeks was my camel ride. :) We visited a local library that was hosting a traveling petting zoo and it included a camel ride. I couldn't pass that up. I've never even ridden a horse, much less a camel! I assumed Benjamin would chicken out once he got up to it, but I was determined to ride with or without him. To his credit, he got up on it without hesitation and rode like he'd done it a thousand times before. It was a lot of fun. And check out the guy leading it! He looks like he should be leading a tiger, not a camel! Total teddy-bear of a guy, though. My favorite quote of his was in response to a little boy's question of how he got this job - "This is what happens when you don't finish school. Go to college!"



Isabella turns 7 weeks old today. She's now sleeping anywhere from 6-8 hours at a time at night. It varies from night to night. It's been nice to get some longer stretches of sleep. She's just like Benjamin, though, in that she hates to nap. If I can get 20-30 minutes of sleep at a time during the day, I'm happy. It's the price I have to pay, I guess. It's worth it. Here's a picture of Benjamin's latest offering to the goddess Isabella. I'm just glad to see it's not sharp like the tongs.


It's been raining every day here and the downpours have been fantastic. I love Michigan storms. The rain falls so hard and fast. It makes the most amazing noise on the roof and looks so beautiful. Benjamin wanted to be the first to try out our new umbrella. I'm sick of my usual itty-bitty umbrellas that fold up and fit in your purse. Those are convenient and fine if you live in a desert, but out here (and with kids that need to fit under it), I needed an industrial size umbrella. So far this one has proven worthy as long as the wind isn't too strong. It got blown inside out yesterday. Less effective.

Where does the time go?

Isabella is already 5 weeks old. The days are packed and yet often as I fall exhausted into bed at night, I wonder, "what did I do today?" Often the only answer is "survive." I can't say I'm a fan of the infant stage - the round-the-clock feedings, idiopathic crying, and diaper blow-outs get tedious, but I must admit, she is getting really cute! To her credit, so far, she's had 3 nights where she has slept for six hours at a stretch. She's also started to smile in response to my smile. There is nothing more endearing than a little baby's toothless grin.

To speak candidly for a moment, this last month, the biggest challenge for me has come as I've tried my best to be a good mom to both my kids and play the balancing act as best I can between kids, home, and church responsibilities. There have been days (yesterday for example) when I've felt like I haven't fulfilled any of them very well. I was trying to prepare sharing time for primary and I had Bella in one arm as she screamed for some unknown reason, Benjamin on my other side urging me to read to him, and my computer in front of me, idle, because I didn't have a hand free to type on it. I didn't know where to begin. I finally pushed the computer aside and left sharing time for later, read one book to Benjamin while Bella cried, and then spent some time trying to get her to stop. Quite often, I've felt that I've neglected my kids, yet have nothing else to show for it either. That frustrates me terribly. I have tried to incorporate Benjamin as much as possible in the every day tasks regarding Bella and the household, but he also just needs time to play toddler games with me and she really needs time to just be with mommy being cuddled. They are at such very different places in life right now. I look forward to when their age-gap will no longer be so dramatic. Right now, no matter who I'm with, I'm feeling guilty that I'm not with the other. I don't want to wallow in misery and defeat. I know I'm not alone in this dilemma. Does anyone have tips how they balanced their attention between a toddler and a newborn and everything else life requires?

Anyway, we're honestly doing better than I had expected. I had braced myself for all out pandemonium here, yet so far, things look quite controlled, at least on the surface. :) Here are a few pictures of our recent weeks.

Help me! I'm the victim of a home hair cut by a sleep-deprived mother!



I'm constantly finding the oddest things in Bella's crib. Benjamin will hear her stirring and decide to share his "toys" with her. At this moment he'd been carrying his stuffed animal around by its tail with the salad tongs, so surely, she must want to play too.


Just hanging out on the couch.





Some cute Isabella photos: