"Children grow so fast!"

Anyone that has had children in their life knows how quickly their little bodies change and their intellect grows! Here are some pictures from this passed week. =)

It has been a crazy week. Six days ago, we began the big move out of our little Townhouse apartment, and into the Master Bedroom Suite of the three bedroom house we are renting and sharing with family.

The children have been amazing. The first day we moved most of the bedroom and bathroom things. Just what we would want over the weekend. The kids have each of their beds, some toys, movies, and a whole new house to explore! They have taken everything well in stride, which made the transition MUCH easier on me!

Ireland is two and a half, deviously destructive, and fiendishly clever. Scotland is nine months, and exploiting his new found crawling, climbing, and standing skills. Michael is still working nights as a courier, while doing his translating work on the side.

I have greatly enjoyed my time as a stay-at-home mom. It has been both trying and a blessing. Many times I have wished I could "clock out" from being the full-time Wife and Mommy 24/7. My demanding little cherubs are exaughsting and downright mean to me sometimes (can anyone say 'Parental Abuse'?).

But at the same time, I have enjoyed countless hours snuggling, nursing, and discovering the world through their bright child eyes. We have laughed and played, and I can't get enough of their big grins or their kissably tiny toes.

They have grown tremendously.

But, as soon as this move is completed, I hope to get started with Culinary School. In a year or two, I hope my husband can take some time to be a Stay-At-Home Dad, and work more on his writing. And I hope to spend my days crafting towering, edible works of art. :D

So, I just wanted to document a bit of our life right now. Because it will all change in the next blink of an eye. Hopefully, for the better.

"My Little Dare Devil"

When we moved into our new house over the weekend, we inherited some hand-me-down furniture, including a new King-size bed. I absolutely love it!

If you were to read my previous blog post "I want my own bed", you'd know we were having issues before. Well, it turns out that a bigger bed made all the difference.

We noticed the very first night that there was room in our bed for my husband and I, the baby when he was nursing, the two year old that wouldn't stay in her bed in the middle of the night, and the cat who would inevitably join us! Wow!

So, what does this have to do with Scotland? Well, the benefit of our old bed, was that it was just a couple mattresses on the floor. That was a convenient height for both of our children to easily climb up and down. Falling off the bed was also not a big deal.

Our new bed has an actual bed frame, and sits much higher off the ground. This hasn't posed too much of a problem for my 2yr old. But, my 9mo old can certainly not get up and down by himself. This is very frustrating for us.

I still do not know what the best solution is. But here is my point:

I was lying in bed after nursing, and my 9mo old was crawling around, looking for toys or mischief. He apparently decided to get down on the floor. Instead of falling and getting hurt, which previous experience had taught him was no fun, he tried a more daring approach.

Scotland crawled to the edge of the bed, peered over to get his bearings. Then swung his legs over the edge. I, of course, panicked that he would get hurt. Before I could come to his rescue, I noticed he wasn't falling. He was holding himself up by gripping onto the bedding.

He stayed suspended in midair, gripping the bedding, his body facing the bed. He totally paused with a "Hey, Mom! Look at me!" grin on his face. Then slid down the blankets to the floor with a safe gentle bump. After a brief moment to revel in his own genius, he crawled off in search of more fun.

I sat there, amazed.

But, with nothing else to do, lay back down and relaxed. As I kept a sleepy watch over my toddling son, I couldn't help but feel thankful that he is starting to be able to take care of himself.

One day, I won't have to keep a constant vigil over him. I long for that freedom! But, I'll try to remember to enjoy these small moments for now. *grins*

"Breaking"

I wrote this one evening as I had reached my limit, dealing with my stressed husband trying to rush off to work, and dealing with my two demanding, screaming, sometimes downright abusive and mean to me children.

I know my kids are small, and I need to try to teach them to behave nicely, but that task is soooooooo overwhelming sometimes. How am I supposed to teach something that I don't always master so well myself? I try to cut myself some slack, and point out that any parent is only human, and we are all failable. But I still want to be the very best parent, person, and Dalyn that I can possible be!!! And that much stress is bound to make a person break down at times.

This was one of those times. Not only did everything seem like it was falling apart, but I felt trapped in this hostile situation. I even felt guilty for longing a bit to return to the days when I was a newleywed without children.

And all that stress,
hostility,
guilt,
longing,
pressure,
and overwhelming sadness,
is enough
to make anyone
feel like they are breaking
a little bit inside.



"Breaking"
By: Dalyn K. Roney

The pain is tearing me up inside.
The madness is forcing me to cry.
And the noise is screaming in my brain.

The tragedy of freedom past.
The insanity of chaos massed.
The anger and the torment never relent.

I feel the conflict eating me whole.
I sense the danger of losing control.
I fear the consequences unknown.

But I am at wit's end.
And I don't know where to turn instead.

I feel like I am breaking.

Puppy Dogs

After recovering from the shock that I was pregnant with my second child, I got excited about having another girl. I envisioned the baby dresses I could un-pack from storage. I purchased a pink Baby Book. After already having one daughter, I felt sure I could handle a second.

When I found out my second child was going to be a boy, I knew that things would be very different. I was entering un-known waters. But I tried to keep an open mind and get to work.

First, was to go through all the baby clothes and hand-me-downs. I boxed up what was "too girly", and set aside the generic stuff for baby two to wear.

I noticed right away that most boy clothes were either covered in sports themes, puppies, or dinosaures. I was even given an outfit with a dinosaure playing sports! (Which was my favorite outfit until he grew out of it...)

I like dinosaures, so that was good. I've never been very into sports, so I gave most of those items away. And then came the puppies....

What is it with boys and puppy dogs? I'm a cat person myself. My daughter had several cat themed outfits. But all the cat clothes seemed too girly for my son. So, I resigned my little man to having a few puppy things, but that was it.

Until he was born.
Then the puppies flooded in.

First was a fuzzy blue dog from the hospital gift shop with the words "My First Puppy" stitched on a paw. Too cute! So, that was a keeper. Then came more puppy clothes, more blue dogs, and even a miniature of Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Not only that, but any time my daughter came across a toy puppy she'd automatically hand it to her little brother (awe!), thus re-enforcing the puppy thing.

It was quickly apparent that it was out of my controle. Which turned out to be okay, since my son seems very athletic, and likes all the puppies. So I guess they are here to stay.

"For One Small Moment"

I wrote this for my husband one night...
I thought it was too tender to not share.
It's nice to show when we get along at times. *grins*

"For One Small Moment"
By: Dalyn K. Roney

For one small moment
Everything is right with the world.
The children are sleeping
And the husband is home.
We're lying in bed together
And he just holds me.
No one between us.
No children with their toys and blankets,
Or the cat with her fickle claws.
Just my husband and me
Snuggling close
Under the blankets.
He's already asleep.
But I'm content
To steal this moment
And fix it in my mind.
So, next time we're seperated
By Life's madness,
And the kids are all screaming,
And I look up to the Heavens
And think, "why me?",
Then I'll have this small moment
To remember how great it all is,
How worth it, and wonderful.
And even if I feel too lucky
That you love me
And I wonder, "why me?"
Out of everyone else on this earth.
I snuggle closer in your arms
And thank Heaven for this
One small moment
We have
Together.
*kiss*