Monday, May 24, 2010

Life Force Energy


There is something about a new baby, a new life, a new chance to start again that inspires me to be my best self. My daughter turned 7 months old this weekend and my mind can't seem to accept it. She is still a tiny newborn in my mind, still 2 weeks old. I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital. Yet, at the same time I know her so much better now. She is a sweet, gentle baby. She is so content and happy, she delights in watching her brothers antics and laughs with glee at their silliness. She is their best audience! She waits for her Daddy to arrive home and squeals and coos to greet him! And she is my baby doll for sure. She sees me walk into her room and her eyes light up and her whole body moves with an amazing energy. She laughs, knowing I am going to scoop her up and kiss her chubby cheeks! Every time I see her sit up on her own, reach for toys, roll over, get ready to crawl, I am impressed with her strength. She really demonstrated that strength when she took Luccio's glasses right off his face!! I think that was the "ah-ha" moment where we all realized the mushy newborn is gone and in her places is a baby girl absorbing everything about her world.

I think because I had the twins first, I am relishing Isabella's babyhood in a way that I would not have appreciated without that experience of raising two babies simultaneously. With Isabella it is so different because I can sit and nurse her and not feel rushed that another baby is screaming for food or I can hold her and cuddle and not feel like someone else isn't getting their fair share of snuggles. And when the boys are at school or sleeping, I have time with her that is just us. Quiet moments to see her play and appreciate her for the baby that she is. I don't have the same anxiety of questioning when and if she will walk, talk, dance, read, etc. I feel like I can just enjoy her because I know she will do it all and on her own time. In fact, I have tried to keep her a tiny newborn for as long as possible and she has hit all the milestones despite me, LOL!

As my Princess is growing I have really been reflecting on what it means to be a woman and to raise a woman in our society. I feel like I want to strive to be the best person I am capable of being and reach my fullest potential in all I do while at the same time balancing that with a sense of contentment and appreciation for the life I have. No small feat for sure!! Especially when sleep deprived for 7 months, LOL!!

At the end of the day I know I can always do better. And with 3 kids I feel like I am always trying to catch up on something, the laundry piles, the dishes, the yard work, the paperwork, bills, grocery shopping, nose wiping, diaper changing, meal making, snuggles, etc. There is always something I have forgotten or didn't do well.

I often have to stop and remind myself of the mantra that my good friend, Father Bob, once told me, "You have enough, you do enough, you ARE enough."

Monday, May 17, 2010

I Like You


The boys are starting to get the difference between love and like. They went through a phase where everything was LOVE. I love you , I love pizza, I love Elmo, I love crocodiles. Luccio quickly realized that "I love You" gets results. So he would say, "I love you Mama" at bedtime, then at random times throughout the day. He saw how happy I would get, so he kept saying it. And now when he does something he KNOWS he is not supposed to do, he will look at me and say, "I love you Mama." At first my heart would melt, then I caught on to the fact that I am being emotionally manipulated by my 3 year old and it lost some of the cuteness. But I have to hand it to that Bear, it really works like a charm even though I know better!

The other day we were driving in the car and Luccio randomly says, "I like you Mama. I really, really like you." I was ecstatic!! Who doesn't love to hear they are liked?? So I replied, "I like you too! I really like how sweet you are and how you make me laugh and how much fun we have together." He said, "Yeah Mama. I like you a lot."

I was sitting there feeling pretty good about myself. Thinking, "ok, I must be doing something right. I may not get it all perfect, but I have kids that love me, like me even. At the end of the day that is what I am thankful for."

And then from the way back seat, Cenzo chimes in. He said, "Yeah. I like you too Mama. I really like it when you yell at us."

Ahhhhh....so much for my Mother of The Year Award!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Back to Bloggin'


So it's been while since I have updated. With 3 1/2 year Twin Tornadoes and a 6 month old Princess it's as if someone hit the fast forward button on my life somewhere back in October and I am just now starting to slow it down again.

The Tornadoes aka Cenzo and Luccio are doing fantastic, but they are busier than ever! Busy has taken on new meanings this year. First of all they are busy in the sense that they wake up talking and exploring at 7 am and go on and on with new conversations and adventures until they pass out at bedtime. They are also busy growing in leaps and bounds. They have gotten so much taller and their vocabularies are expanding constantly. They amaze me every day with how much information they can absorb and understand and relate to. And they have developed social lives that keep us all busy!! They have friends at preschool so we have been invited to birthday parties and play dates, etc. Its funny because they have their own friends now instead of only playing with the children of my friends. We still do that a majority of the time of course, but to meet new friends through my kids is such a surreal experience!! I feel like such a "Mom." LOL!!

My Princess is almost 7 months old, it's crazy to me how fast time has gone by. I feel like I was just pregnant with her. It seems like overnight she has gone from a sleepy newborn to an active infant. She started solid foods a couple weeks ago and had tried using a sippy cup, she rolls over, sits on her own, and seems ready to crawl soon! How can this be??? I am trying to preserve every moment of her babyhood I don't want it to rush past me like it did when the boys were this age. I feel like because she is a "singleton" I can sit with her and appreciate her in a way I wasn't able to with young twins. But, it's still going faster than I would like.

However, everyone is healthy and happy and I couldn't ask for more! And they keep life interesting with lots of stories to blog about! Now if I can just find a way to get the Princess sleeping through the night so I can have the energy to blog on a more regular basis...well wouldn't that be a great trick, LOL!!