Sunday, January 18, 2009

Growth

Last night we had something of a milestone reached in the form of Reed taking a shower.

That's right. He just stood there and laughed crazy-happy while the water poured down. And Jaxon decided it looked fun, and still thought it was fun when he got a turn!

What's happening? They're growing way too quickly! I HATED showers until I was 15. (That is to say--I took baths whenever I could and hated showers unless a bath was impossible.) Actually, sometimes I still hate showers. (Because I love baths that much.)

Anyway, tonight, I decided to put Savvy in the shower, too. She sat on her tiny hiney and quietly enjoyed the steam and the spatter of water nearby, but was furious when I stood her in the actual stream. (Go figure. She's only 19 months--the crazy-happy laughter will take some time, I suppose.)

It cut our bedtime routine in half. And made it easier. And the kids were cleaner.

They're just so.....growing.....fast. (sigh)

Speaking of growing. Phill leaves for the second half of BNCOC (Army training that Phill has to complete to have a chance of being promoted) starting tomorrow.

He'll be gone for six weeks.

I've been pondering ways that I can grow during this little while, as opposed to regressing and turning into a cranky hermit. (As I seem to do when he's gone.) I'm making myself a list of tips, because I become lazy and overwhelmed and forgetful when he's gone, instead of doing the things that I know will make his absence less difficult. (Mostly.)

Take the kids somewhere each day or at least every other day. The park. The post office. The library. The grocery store. On a walk. To a friend's. Anywhere! Just not at home all day every day, while they beg to "do something" or "go somewhere". This isn't good for any of us.

Ask for help when it's really necessary, but just buck up and do it when I can. *I have a hard time with this one. I am either too afraid to ask for help, even when it's really necessary, or I cease to function under the incorrect and uber-dependent assumption that I can't do anything without Phill.

Do something good for myself each day. This usually falls under reading my scriptures and working out, but I need to work in Girls Night In or Go Take Photos more often. I get so destructively detail-oriented ("Reed, please put your shoes in the drawer facing the other way," I've heard myself say....) when I don't take some good old down time, or even just the pre-requisite scriptures/workout/shower/makeup routine.

I did just come off of a little break in the form of going to Payson to be in the temple with my cousin, who received her endowment. So at the moment I'm not necessarily hungry for an escape. I'm tanked up and ready to go, so to speak. I'm just being mindful of the way things tend to go, which is why I'm making myself a list.

Feel free to add on your own advice!

10 comments:

Lara Neves said...

Bria still refuses to take a shower. I think maybe the bathing is totally a girl thing, as I still prefer baths, too. I just take showers because they're faster. Unfortunately.

Good luck while Phill is gone. Want to meet up for lunch on Saturday?

Kelly said...

Hi Rae,
Long time no see! Hope your Christmas was fab. I love your blog. I especially liked what I read about a...girls night...? Woo-hoo! We need to get together. I have missed our chats. This week is busy though. But you might be interested in going with us to McD's Playplace on Miley's B-day (Wed). We'll buy Happy Meals for the kids! Let me know by Wednesday morning.

Unknown said...

that is a great list, i hope you do it because it sure will help. and definitely make sure you take some time for you, even if it is just the scriptures, workout, and makeup, it sure does help.

Emnacnud said...

okay, i was signed in as joe my hubby sorry, that last comment was from me not him.

Andrea said...

My kids love the shower. I was afraid of bathing Zoie when she was a baby, so more often than not, we stuck her in the shower with one of us. It can be tricky when they're all soaped up because they're slippery, but you learn to be very careful (I never did drop her, but I thought we were close a few times). Anyway, I found that the shower was way faster and easier to "bathe" the kids. Jonas loves the water (shower or bath), so now it just depends on how much time we have. If we're running behind and the kids need a bath before church, they end up in the shower. I'm not sure how much longer this will work since Zoie is five now. We stopped putting her in with Matt quite awhile ago--just didn't seem ok with her getting bigger, but it's probably about time that she wasn't in with me anymore either.

Abby said...

Cute! I keep reading your posts in reader and haven't BEEN to your blog for some time. I like the layout right now. Is that a font or did you scan it?

I love you!! I'll be calling soon. :)

Kate said...

I remember when my kids were little Mike would get in the shower and I would pass them into him so it would get done faster, and now they all shower. Crazy how time flies. I wish you luck on the next six weeks, and my heart truly goes out to you. It is so hard and it never gets easier at least it never did for me. I wish I lived closer, we could go play or just talk, sometimes that is all you need.

camilla said...

I can't BELIEVE Phill is gone again! And for 6 Weeks! That is so dumb!
My kids totally love showers too! They get them alot at the gym after we go swimming. Izzy stands there and covers her face and giggles sometimes. it's fun.
Any advice for being alone w/out Phill? I say the advice i give myself...
you don't want to lose 6 weeks of them being small and loving them. Believe it or not, someday our kids won't like us very much, and might actually think that they hate us. Just make sure you love them while they are little and fit on your lap..

Jenn said...

Oh how cute (and helpful) that they loved the shower! You are doing so well! You can do this, you strong, wonderful creature.

Anonymous said...

I guess I haven't read your blog in a while because I completely missed this one! Either way, I really loved the part about your showering kids. Made me laugh reading it. We used to put the dog in the shower with us to bath her. I took a picture once and Marc got mad.