3 in 30: Not Such a Good Week

I didn't do as well this week as I did last week. There are lots of things on which I could blame my inability to accomplish my goals, but in all honesty, it was just my lack of discipline. *Sigh*

• Back exercises. I did these three days this week instead of the five I intended. I guess that's not too bad. And if I remember to do them tomorrow, that'll be four!
• Playing outside. Can I blame it on the weather that I didn't take my children outside all week? It was cold and then rainy and then wet from the rain. Does that make me a wimp? Hopefully, today it won't rain, and we can go outside.
• Unpacking boxes. Once again, I didn't unpack a single thing. *Sigh*

I hope that I do better next week. In the meantime, I will console myself with the knowledge that my family were fed well this week, and they have clean clothes to wear.

Finished Object Friday - A Blanket for Mary

Although I have already made two blankets for Mary (you can see them here and here), I wanted to make one that would fit in her car seat and swing. She seems to have started enjoying her swing as much as her brother and sisters which is a good thing sometimes and sometimes not.

The pattern for this blanket came from Classics for Baby by Alice Hyche, but I made it a little smaller. I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn, the pink which actually has two strands of pink and one of white giving it a kind of uniform-variegated look. (Does that make sense?)

Mary seems to enjoy her blanket which is a good thing because she's getting a lot of use out of it!

What have you been working on lately?

This post is linked to Finished Object Friday at Fresh from the Chari Tree.

Book Review: Then Sings my Soul Book 3 by Robert J. Morgan

Then Sings my Soul Book 3 by Robert J. Morgan is the latest, and probably the last, in his Then Sings my Soul series. This book is different than the previous books in that it doesn't just have little snippets about the history of each hymn. This book starts with a short history of hymns divided into sections on Biblical hymns, ancient hymns, etc.. After the "snippets," Morgan tells the expanded stories behind six popular hymns such as "Jesus Loves Me." To finish the book, Morgan gives different ways that we can use hymns to worship both in public and in private.

I really enjoyed this book. While I haven't read the first two in the series, I didn't feel like I had missed anything by reading this one first. The history in the beginning was very interesting, as were the stories behind the hymns. I especially enjoy singing hymns, so I found the stories behind them fascinating. I recommend this book if you enjoy hymns or would like to discover more about them.

I want to thank BookSneeze for my copy of this book, but my opinions are my own.

Harried

This picture is from our old house, but it illustrates well how I feel these days.

You may get the impression from my blog that I have it all together. If you know me in real life, you may think that I can get it all done. But that is far from the truth.

Most days, I feel like I'm just barely keeping my head above the water, that I just need one more finger to plug the dike. There always seems to be something that needs to be done immediately. Today, for instance, when I walk into the kitchen, there are the breakfast dishes that need to be washed. When I make my way into my bathroom, first I see the bed that needs to be made and then the trash cans that need to be emptied. The living room couch is full of towels and sheets that need to be folded. How am I to get it all done? I don't know. Honestly, I feel harassed by the housework. It's always there, always demanding more from me.

Then there is school. And Daniel and Rachel need some time. And, of course, Mary needs to eat.

I feel like I never quite catch up, although some days are worse than others. Honestly, I wish I could toss all of the "need-to-dos" into a closet so I can't see them. But I don't think that's a good place for dirty dishes.

I know that something needs to give, but I don't know what. Home-cooked meals? Laundry? A tidy house? Blogging? But I enjoy it so much! Feeding Mary? I don't think so! Spending time with my children? No.

Do you feel this way? How do you handle it?

Our Exciting Weekend

Well, exciting may not be quite the right word, but it sure was fun!

As you know, Daniel's birthday was Sunday. In order to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, we scheduled Mary's baptism for the same day, hoping that both sets of grandparents would be able to be here for the events. And it worked! My parents drove down from Georgia, and John's mother and her husband came over from Louisiana, and we were thrilled to have everyone here!

Here we all are.

Here is just our family, but you can get a better look at the christening gown.

A word about the christening gown: my mother made it for our children, and it is beautiful! All four of our children have worn it to be baptized, and Sarah Beth will get it when she has children. I feel so fortunate to have such a gown for this special occasion.

We celebrated Daniel's birthday Sunday night for supper. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday meal, he couldn't think of anything, so I started listing things that he likes. Pizza? No. Spaghetti? No. Chili? No. Meatloaf? Yeah! Yeah! I want meatloaf! So we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and sugar snap peas for supper. (Do your children like meatloaf? Is mine strange?)

We've been talking for a month or more about what kind of cupcakes to make for Daniel's birthday. Sarah Beth gets strawberry cupcakes (her birthday is during strawberry season), so Daniel wanted blueberry cupcakes. Blueberry muffins? Yum! Blueberry cupcakes? Not so much. We decided on chocolate cupcakes with blue icing. The icing was actually peppermint buttercream, and there's just something not quite right about eating something blue that tastes like peppermint.

Then we opened presents. Poor Rachel thought the presents were for her since she got to open some for her birthday just three weeks ago.

Do you see Daniel's black eye? It's not his first.

Playing with the legos that Grammy gave Daniel.

We had such a good time with our visitors, but I have to admit that it's nice to have our house back to ourselves again. What did you do this weekend?

Mary is Two Months Old!

Mary is two months old today. She's not doing much more than she was at one month except for one big thing: she's SMILING! But it's very hard for me to get a picture of her smiling since I'm the one who can get her to smile the best, so you'll have to settle for a half smile.

We think that Mary is turning the corner of her fussing. Our other children started fussing at six weeks, and it continued until they were three months. Mary started fussing earlier, and it looks like she's going to stop earlier as well. I'd better knock on some wood, though, don't you think?

Mary has also started sleeping through the night...I think. She still occasionally gets me up, and we had a couple of bad nights last week. While I don't mind getting up with her once a night, getting a full night's sleep is wonderful!

We all really enjoy having Mary around, but Rachel seems to think that we have gotten her a new play toy. She loves to play with Mary, and Mary is a pretty good sport about it. I can't wait to see the relationship that develops between these two of my daughters!

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Today is Daniel's fourth birthday. We love having Daniel around for many reasons, one of which is that you never know what he is going to say. He is our comedian. Along with saying silly things, he likes to do silly things, especially when we're trying to take his picture.

Daniel is also a big helper. He loves to help me unload the dishwasher, and he has just discovered how much fun it can be to help me fold clothes. (I just didn't realize that it was that much fun!) When I get home from the grocery store, he wants to help bring the groceries in. Sometimes, he's not big enough to help, and that makes me sad. I want to encourage his desire to help.

Daniel is all boy. Yes, he has three sisters whom he loves dearly, but he also has the typical boyish traits. He loves to run and jump, play with balls, and shoot his guns. He enjoys taking things apart to see how they work, and he hasn't met a button that he hasn't wanted to push. Oh, and he loves to play golf so it's really nice that we live on a golf course.

Daniel has a sweet spirit, as well. If you're sad or lonely, he will try to make you feel better. If one of his sisters wants something that he's playing with, he is likely to give it to her. He loves giving kisses, and I love receiving those little boy kisses.

But don't call him a "little boy." He will correct you each and every time because he is a "big boy!"

Happy birthday to my "little" Daniel-boy!