To the Doctor We Go

I took Jane (now 10 months) to the doctor's last night, after hemming and hawing for a while. She had a fever on and off for 3 days, was terribly fussy at intervals, and was not sleeping great. When she woke up from her nap yesterday afternoon, she nursed as she normally does, but then as has been normal for the past few days, as soon as she pulled off (which was after the usual length of time) she started losing her marbles and bawling. What in the world? Teething? Why would she have nursed so well, and then fussed? So, that was the deciding factor in our visiting the doctor.

However, in my experience with doctors, and it is holding true for my kids as well, there is never any excitement. No one is ever hurt, there is no mysterious allergy causing a mysterious rash (if I had been posting a couple years ago I would have posted about Lucy's red spotty rash- it was just a a viral thing that eventually went away) and no one is ever sick. We never have ear infections or vomiting (well, okay, Lucy had the stomach flu once, but not a bad strain) and in the case in particular Janie showed absolutely no symptoms.

I know I should be grateful for a healthy family, and I really am, but sometimes I just want a diagnosis. Jane is fussy, therefore she is sick, and she needs this medicine. Boom ba da boom. Instead, Jane is not sick and it may be just teething, therefore take her home and give her Tylenol. Well, we did that and she is still a horrible wreck. But, that could just be because the tylenol wears off and I don't realize it... How is a parent to keep track of all this stuff? If I try, I get made fun of (by DH- lovingly, of course), and it's a heck of a lot of work to do. Who ingested what at what times, who pooped and peed at what hour of the day in which toilet, who is cranky because they missed a nap, who is cranky because they were woken up too early, who is cranky because they need my attention, etc etc etc. Now, I don't actually keep track of any of this on paper (at least most of the time) but if I don't at least try to do it in my head, then we are left not knowing exactly what is going on.

Anyway, Jane is sleeping now and for that I am truly grateful. Gotta go.

Triathalon here I come...!

Brendan and I are training for a triathalon this summer! I have wanted to do one since I was in college, but never actually considered it since life was full of school, getting married, having kids, etc. And then a few months ago Brendan told me that he wanted to do one. So I have been training the last few weeks with him (well, "with him" in spirit...it's practically impossible to actually work out together) and have discovered a few things along the way:

#1 I can run! I did track for one season in high school and was a sprinter. If I ran longer than 100 meters, I (silently) complained. I have always hated running long distance, and questioned how in the world my sister could run a marathon (twice!). The secret, for me, is running by myself. I am accountable to myself, and to a triathalon training book. I have no one pushing me, which usually makes me wimp out and just stop running. So, as a result, I have run up to 4 miles the last few Sundays, and last night I went out running after a full day of being with the kids, and ended up running almost non-stop for an hour. Pretty cool.

#2 I love working out "by the book". When the book says to do something, I do it. I decided to see how well I can do an actual triathalon if I do the training for it. It would be too easy to skip a day (or many days) here and there, or do a shorter workout, and then blame a wimpy triathalon race on that fact. If I am going to invest any time, energy, and money into this then I had better give it my all. I am definitely feeling optimistic right now, but I know life will come back with a vengeance and then I may feel differently.

What makes me feel better...?

"Take some time for yourself" is something people like to say to young moms, or moms of young kids. But how to do that is the question. And, I'd like to counter it with another question: is it always necessary? Case in point: I'm sitting here with a lot of things to get done around me. The kitchen needs straightening after lunch, the laundry needs changing, the kitchen floor needs washing (the chore I do on Thursdays), dinner needs starting, etc. I have 45 minutes till the first kid will wake up, and all I feel like doing is going outside to enjoy the sun and read a book. It sounds just wonderful. However, if I do that, I know from experience that I will come in and feel worse than when I went out (however much I enjoyed the time outside) because nothing that I was supposed to do got done. The house will be messy when the kids get up, I'll fret about what to make for dinner, etc. And so, I ask again: is taking time for oneself always the best way to cheer up? What about just sucking it up and doing the stuff we're supposed to, serving our family and in the process serving the Lord by loving our neighbor. I always feel better (albeit a bit more tired perhaps, but that is nothing new) by doing what I have set aside for myself each day. And, with that end in mind, I need to leave this computer and go wash the dishes!

Sharing a Room- Pros and Cons

We have had Gene and Lucy in the same room since before Janie was born, and right now I am very frustrated with it. It's another one of those things I grew up thinking was great- sure, have all your kids share rooms...they'll learn how to share their stuff and their space...I did it for my younger years at least (we had three girls in one room for a while)...it will be good for them. What they don't tell you is how extremely frustrating it is when they are young and both in there together! They wake each other up in the morning, taking turns being the first to wake, and the result is at least one less-than-100% kid for the rest of the day (at least until nap time). We have a fan in the room to make some white noise, but it doesn't seem to matter. Am I just wanting too much? Kids have a much better chance of having a good day if they get enough sleep, but also if they are allowed to wake up on their own. Just think how you feel in the morning hearing the alarm go off, and how much different it is to wake up slowly and listen to the birds (just starting to come back to Michigan...though the first one we've heard is a crow...) I want the same for my kids, but I guess it just isn't feasible right now. Or, as a friend of mine does with her kids, I could train them to stay in bed absolutely quietly until I come to get them...I wonder if I could...?

Crafting and Mass

We've been doing craft projects this week- teaching the kids how to glue things onto other things...quite fun. We made some smocks from Brendan's old work shirts, threw an old sheet on a bench, and went to work. Tissue paper, colored pasta, and shapes cut from construction paper were transformed into dazzling "projects". Gene has a short attention span for anything crafty, but he gave each project a good 10 minutes or so before he had to go take a quick look in the mirror at his "smock turned alb"...and then the project was a goner. He had to say Mass. Lucy stuck with it a little longer- she loves to do anything crafty, but then she had to say Mass too. Now she is walking around the house singing alternately "Glory to God in the highest" and "God bless America", handing out corn chex. So I'll just go put the projects on the table to dry... they've forgotten all about them.

Back to Sanity

A much better day today...I don't quite know why. What defines how a day will go? Is it the amount of sleep I get? (I didn't sleep well, woke up very tired) Is it the amount of sleep the kids get? (They did sleep in a little, till 7). Is it what I have planned for the day, and how getting it done is progressing? (I washed the kitchen floor, and actually washed the bathroom floor, which I usually have a heck of a time getting done these days, don't ask me why) . Is it by God's grace? (I skipped my prayer time this morning, because DH went to an early meeting, so I wasn't exactly deserving of grace today, though I know it is "God's free gift to us") Somehow all these factors boiled down to one happy mom and three pretty happy kids by the end of lunch. I'm so grateful! Thank you Lord!

Catching Up

Hard to believe my last post was in May...since then we have HAD A BABY and she is now 4 months old- Jane Colette Cousino. She is great...smiley, sleeps well, eats fairly well, and an all-around good baby.

As for the rest of the family, we are all going stir-crazy. It's January, too cold to play outside much, and we're stuck at home so Jane can nap. That is my choice, to have her take good long naps instead of going out and have her take short car naps. But it makes the older kids and I rather restless.

No, I'll rephrase that. I am going CRAZY, and feel like I'm suffocating sometimes. I walk around the house picking up toys and refereeing squabbles, feeding kids and putting them down for naps. And back in their beds when they wake up too early (6 am this morning- what were they thinking! All three of them!) I get all the basics done, but that's it. The basics. Food, laundry, an occasional book-reading session. What about cleaning? What about exercise? What about quality time- with anybody?

I know this will change as it gets warmer and we can get outside. Jane won't sleep as much, and all in all at least parts of life will be easier. I am thinking of this part of my life as the great Hibernation...though we can't just sleep through it. And I don't want to sleep through it. The kids are fun (well, when they aren't cranky). Gene is 4 and learning more about letters, on the verge of reading. Lucy is 2 and just learning everything. I love being with them, it's finding the time to do it that's the challenge.