Random thoughts

~Sometimes getting out the door with 3 kids seems impossible... Or impossibly slow. Somehow I need to turn into a morning person so I can be up before my kids. I know that if I went to bed earlier that would help... :) One of the bonuses of Silas going to preschool in the fall is that I will be forced to get up earlier, which I will hate and love at the same time.

~Eliana has still been using a pacifier (or "Bop" as she calls it) for nap time and bed time. This past week I decided that we needed to do away with it entirely. We went cold turkey- and it went so much better then I expected. There were some tears initially. The biggest downside is that it takes her longer to fall asleep now, so she talks and talks to Silas every night at bedtime... And they both end up falling asleep later as a result. Hopefully that will improve over time. Tonight was the best night yet! Next up: Potty Training.

~Levi had his 2 month check-up on Friday. He weighed 12lbs 6oz and is 23.5" long. So he has gained 5lbs since birth! I took Levi to the doctor alone and loved having time with just him while we waited for the doctor. We "talked" and smiled and he giggled. I loved it. The appointment went great- and then came the shots. Now normally I don't stress about shots. Of course, I don't like them- I don't like to see my babies cry. But I don't lose sleep over it either or spend days dreading it. So he got 2 shots and just screamed his little head off. Both Silas and Eliana would cry when they got shots too- but normally they would be be done crying by the time we got to the car. Well he cried and cried and cried. I had to nurse him just to get him to stop crying. He fell asleep on the way home. When we got home he woke up. And guess what? He cried more. Finally we both fell asleep for about 2 hours. I was hoping when he woke up, he would be his happy self. No. Such. Luck. More crying. More nursing and some tylenol. And he finally stopped crying. Seriously, my heart was breaking for him. Thankfully, Saturday morning came and our happy boy was back to himself.

~This afternoon our house was getting hot. It was 79 degrees inside and in the 80's outside. I decided that it was time to turn the air conditioning on for a couple of hours for some relief. So I turned it on and set it to 72 degrees. I waited awhile. The air coming out of the vents did not seem that cool... Luke was on his way home so I decided to just wait until he got him to let him know that there was a problem with air conditioner. When he walked inside he said, "It's hot in here!" I said, "I know! The air conditioning doesn't seem to be working... I guess we need to call Stan (our landlord)." Luke looked at me and said, "We don't have air conditioning!" I guess the "cool" option on the thermostat is there just to fake me out... :) We both had a good laugh about that.

~Tonight Silas and I were making cookies and I asked Luke if he could get Eliana into the bathtub. Silas looked at Luke and said, "In case Eliana has a bad attitude, after her bath she will have to go straight to bed. No books." I almost busted out laughing! He really likes to "help" us parent Eliana. :)

~I started working out at the Y regularly a few weeks ago and love it! I have been going three times a week and the kids go to the childcare program during that time. There is a great childcare worker who seems to be there every time we go. She knows the kids by name- and I really appreciate that. I feel like they are not only be cared for, they are known. They aren't just numbers when they are there. When I used to work in Children's Ministry it was a goal of mine to know people's names- I feel like it helps people feel noticed and valued. And now that I am on the receiving end of that with my kids, I am reminded that simple things like knowing someone's name can really make a difference.

~Being that it's summer and I am out of Bible Study, it's so easy to let me personal quiet time slide. And I hate that. When I make time to read my Bible, journal, and pray, my whole day is different. I am more patient, I worry less, and in general, things just seem to go smoother. Both Luke and I just started reading the New Testament, a chapter a day, five days a week. I like that we are doing something separate but the same. One of my biggest goals for the summer is to stay on track with my quiet times. I saw this on Twitter, and really liked it... posted by Tony Evans, "What you see God do FOR you is dependent on what God is doing IN you. Eph 3:20."