Too Busy

Life's been busy since Tuesday, so I'll just recap in list form.....



1) The day after the last post was very smooth. Mimi couldn't work that day so I stayed home with R & C until noon. Katee Castleman came to babysit from noon to 2. I came home from 2-3. Pat kept them from 3-6. So, I had to get myself ready, get Ryan and Charley asleep before Katee got here, pump, and have snacks for Ryan upstairs as well as milk for Charley (it's easier for the babysitter to have snacks already prepared for when Ryan wakes up b/c she has a hard time waking up from naps and does best if she can slowly wake up....since a babysitter was going to be here, i was going to let her watch tv after waking up and have a snack). So, although that sounds crazy it was fairly calm and all went as planned. I got them both to sleep and as I pumped I prepared grapes and chopped up cheese. The rest of the day went well, too.



2) Thursday was one of my 10-hour days. I got home after 6:00 and Pat delayed R's bath since I had just gotten home. She has been having a hard time going to sleep. She says she is scared of monsters. We've never talked about monsters. When we asked who told her about monsters she said Mimi did. Hmmm. So, for about the last week Pat has been standing in the door of the bathroom with the light on with Ryan's door open so she can look up and see him there. He has a handheld Yahtzee game that he plays. He also plays it while doing other "things" in the bathroom (sorry, Pat). On this night, Pat let her take a long bath and the bedtime routine went on forever. Then, it took her until 9:00 to fall asleep. I was exhausted and irritated. Charley is still being held until Pat goes to bed. So, once Ryan falls asleep he will hold her while he watches t.v. I usually go to bed. When we get back from Phoenix in early March we are going to start putting Charley down at bedtime (we don't want to change things b/c we know she'll be in our bed there so we don't want to go through the transition twice). To recap and highlight the problem, I worked 10 hours and then didn't get kids to sleep until 9 p.m. Nothing has been picked up in the house and it looks like a tornado. I was too exhausted to do anything.



This day did have a sweet sidenote (as most probably do if we just pay attention): When Pat got home from work on this day, he was holding Charley and Ryan started crying and was very upset. She was mad and went into the other room crying. She came back and said she was "OK now". She sat in the chair with Pat and Charley and said "I miss you Daddy." So, we decided to have my parents keep Charley Saturday morning while I went to a meeting so she could have Daddy and Ryan time.



3) I think that evening Ryan got up for an hour and Pat ended up sleeping in her floor so she wouldn't get used to him being in her bed. She used to go back to sleep if we would come in a pat her for a second. Not now. So, when Pat gets out of bed Charley immediately wakes up and wants to nurse. To top it all of, Madison (the dog) is on Lasix (a diuretic) and has to go outside a couple of times in the night. She's also wheezing in the night sounding like she's on death's doorstep. Good times.



4) I wake up feeling well-rested (ha) on Friday morning and have to work 8-1, drive to LR for my first Arkansas Psychology Association board meeting, have dinner, and drive back. It was a decent day. I didn't care for walking into the meeting and immediately having to mysteriously disappear into a back room without explaining (I had to pump). I enjoyed being with other psychologists since there aren't many here in Batesville. I enjoyed listening to music in the car going to and from LR. But I didn't really know what to do with myself because I hadn't been alone with my thoughts since Charley was born.



5) I had to go to a several hour planning meeting for Family Violence Prevention on Saturday. My parents kept Charley in the morning and Pat, Ryan, and I went to Kelly's before my meeting. Ryan was SO HAPPY to have our undivided attention. Her eyes just sparkled. She ate pancakes and eggs. I've never seen her eat so much in my life. I think she was delaying leaving because she was having so much fun with us.



During Pat and Ryan time, they went to Lyon and looked at the fish in Pat's building. Ryan got to write on and erase the whiteboard, throw a ball down the halls, and run up and down the stairs. Pat said he let her do whatever she wanted. They had lunch with Susan, Tim, and Ethan on campus before going home.



Later, I was so happy to get home from my meeting and be with the family. Pat took Ryan with Kirk and Logan to West Elementary's playground. It was too cold so they came here and had hot chocolate and ordered pizza. Ryan was not in the best mood and didn't want to share. They ended up watching Dora the Explorer and not interacting very much. After Logan and Kirk left I told Ryan that I was happy to be home with her, Charley, and Daddy. She said "Me too-me happy." During prayers tonight, Ryan clasped her hands and said "Dear God, Bless Baby Charley....cuddle with Daddy." I wish I could bottle up this sweetness. Tonight she also wanted to read her new Jesus Storybook Bible. It's really too advanced but she was interested in the story Pat read her.....I want God and faith to be a huge part of her life but I don't want to be overbearing and pushy. I think she needs to know that God is a part of everything and she won't know it if we don't talk about it. I imagine, though, she will get sick of it when she's older. I guess I'll figure it out as I go....



So, for tomorrow-we need to get caught up after me being gone basically Wed through Sat. Lots of laundry, grocery shopping, Bible study catch up, Bible study, and work reports to be done. I'm always torn--Ryan and Charley need my attention more than any of that needs to be done....but it does have to be done. I'll feel guilty no matter how I spend my time. In fact, I sort of feel guilty for blogging except I think R & C might enjoy these little details about their lives at this point when they are older. It's also therapeutic. Not therapeutic enough to get rid of Deanda, though.



Night night.