Life and Lola

I feel as if I haven’t said “hi” to y’all recently. I’ve posted a few things here and there, but no real update on life in my world. There hasn’t been much time for blogging lately, or picture taking and editing, for that matter. But I’m going to cram in a long, exceedingly random chat about life along with 300 million pictures of Lola in one ginormous post to make up for it. What do you think about that?

Every once in a while, I think about life two years ago. I was all ready to move on to a new phase of life. One in which I had everything together and under control (HA!). A life focused on my boys and on education. A life in which everyone worked together, did tasks independently, and I had some breathing room. A nice and tidy life. (Ha! Again.) Then I found out we were expecting a baby.

I didn’t know how I could do it. I was already stretched thin. Whisper thin. Parenting these boys is no Sunday walk in the park. But to add early pregnancy exhaustion and nausea? And then lose physical energy and agility (what little I had, and which is a crazy big deal when raising young boys)? To make it to all those prenatal Dr. appointments? To feel claustrophobic and want to live in a silent cave without anyone touching me (which is how I feel when pregnant)? Then go through labor, birth, and recovery? To go through the no-sleep, breastfeeding-around-the-clock early days of newbornhood? While parenting said boys?! And to haul diaper bags and baby carriers. Extra well-baby (and sick baby) Dr. visits. To constantly trip over the exersaucer thingy in the middle of our one little living space. More sleepless nights, teething, highchair, baby food, learning to crawl, getting into everything….

Then {POOF} we’re here. (Okay, it wasn’t exactly {poof}, but can you believe she is almost a year and a half?!!!)

We’ve been through a lot, including my husband losing his job just weeks after Lola was born. But God has been here every step of the way. Even Russ’s job (or absence of one) has been a blessing. We LOVED having him around when he was home. I NEEDED him home. And now his new job makes it possible for him to get off early enough to take the boys to the pool for swim practice and lessons three days a week. He is also able to work from home one or two days a week.

And Lola, oh, Lola. Lala, Loli-bug, Lolli, Lovey, Doll Baby. She gives us all endless joy. Every day. The boys live to adore her. Her daddy is her favorite person in the universe. And me—I can’t even describe what she is to me. She is just plain FUN.

She is 17 months now. She is a go-getter. She is opinionated, silly, and FAST. She sits still for nothing. She LOVES attention, but don’t get in her space. She won’t look at the camera. She rides down the stairs in a sleeping bag with her brothers. She climbs on things, gets into drawers and cupboards, turns every knob and pushes every button, goes through every open door. She doesn’t really play with toys, but she just discovered clothes. She LOVES writing (on paper, her hand, walls….) Her shoes never stay on. She still removes all hats and headbands.

Lola’s down to one nap a day. {sigh} And it’s usually only an hour and a half. {double sigh} She sleeps 10-11 hours at night…often straight through. Cutting four molars while having back to back colds wasn’t very fun, though. We’re glad to be past that.

She doesn’t say much, but we’re working more on a few signs. She has please and thank you down. I’m telling you right now, it is almost impossible to resist an angelic little face while she is signing please for something. We sing ‘her’ song all the time (“Whatever Lola wants….”), because it is so true. At some point we’re going to have to stop spoiling her, I suppose.

I know it’s hard to believe, but I do have three other children! The boys are their crazy, loveable selves. Levi is really enjoying swim team, and Luke and Leif have been doing swim lessons twice a week, as well. Russ takes them (Levi practices three times a week), deals with all the parent meetings and volunteer duties, and even gets in the pool himself a couple times a week! I think swimming is a valuable activity, but the time and effort commitment is most definitely extensive. I’m so thankful Russ is available to participate and spend that father-son time.

Swim practice and lessons have made our schedule rather full. I am also involved in three separate book clubs that meet monthly. One is our parent-child book club which I host and co-lead every month. Russ has had some projects that have taken extra hours and out-of-town travel. Luke is still taking piano lessons weekly.

While Lola is so. much. fun, she certainly adds to the chaos at home. The boys are easily distracted. I am TERRIBLE at multi-tasking. If I’m keeping the house clean, that is ALL that is happening (and sometimes I spend the day cleaning the house only to have not made any progress at all). If we have a productive day of lessons, we eat Little Caesars pizza for dinner.

I’ve started staying up very late at night because I CRAVE the silence. That, and whatever I get done STAYS done…at least until the kids wake up in the morning. And then I’m tired in the morning and can’t get out of bed. I love saving up the laundry and ironing and whatever else can be done in the living room so that I can watch television at the same time. I just finished the first season of Downton Abbey, and I LOVE it. I had just watched North and South, and my beloved Nicholas Higgins is Bates in Downton Abbey. I adored him from the first second I saw him, and he only gets better. {grin} He reminds me so much of Russell Crowe.

Russ and I just celebrated our SIXTEENTH! wedding anniversary last month. I posted our love story a couple years ago. I am amazed at the life we’ve lived together and I am looking forward to our future together!

Speaking of anniversaries, February also marked FIVE years of Mt. Hope Chronicles! How many of you have been around for five years? Four years? Three? Can you believe Leif was only 6 months old when I started blogging?! I really should do a cool give-away or party or something. Hmmm. I’ll have to think about that one.

January and February (and often March, too) are so dreary around here. It is dark. And wet. And cold. And sloppy. I never feel like taking pictures during these months, especially inside where it’s extra dark. On the plus side, the fields are such a lush green and the sheep are out grazing. I enjoy the scenery even if I don’t feel like taking pictures.

I’m spending a few days with my sisters and mom this coming weekend. We are going out of town for a girls’ weekend. I am so looking forward to time away. We enjoy each others’ company so much. I haven’t had a night away since Lola was born! All three of us girls share the birthday month of March, so we have an excuse to party!

Speaking of nights away, I have a fantabulous trip coming up. I can’t wait to share all the details with you. Soon, I hope! I don’t know when I’ve been so excited about something!!

Hmmm. What else? We only have five weeks of Classical Conversations left for this year. We continue to love the experience, and feel doubly blessed by the incredible families with whom we have the opportunity to be in community. I think I am going to take advantage of the opportunity for parents to become Memory Masters this year! It is a bit of a daunting task, but I enjoy a challenge and hope to rise to the occasion. As much as I enjoy CC, I admit to looking forward to May when we aren’t out of the house one day each week with time spent on Sundays gathering all our stuff, finishing up tasks, and getting the boys’ presentations ready.

I guess that about wraps it up. My house is a disaster, I need to go grocery shopping, and I have a huge pile of laundry with my name on it. So many days this life feels like a ‘five steps forward, four steps backward’ sort of process. But we’re making progress, and forgiving, and learning, and loving and embracing grace in the midst of it.