Summer Fun

7 Quick Takes on summer fun at casa warrillever

7 Splendid Children

To think it was only a few short months ago that I worried about how much time I was spending on the computer...now finding a single spare moment to read the newspaper online is a rare occurrence.

The past two months have been a tizzy of activity. With the Agents, three foster children, and the Cousins, our house is never (not even at 3am) quiet.

I love it though.

Love them.

So today's "7 Quick Takes" will be quick updates about the children in my life.

1. Agent 002: My bunny forever and always. Need I say more?
   
2. Agent 004: She is growing so quickly. She will start kindergarten in the fall, and is so excited. She has risen to the challenge of being a big sister. She gently guides Foster Toddler and Foster Baby.
   
3. Cousin F: Fiercely protective of her little brother, Cousin F has had a hard time accepting the Foster Agents. Now that everyone is settling in, she and Foster Preschooler (who is only one month younger than her) have become great friends. They are playing Candyland together as I type.
4. Foster Preschooler: The big brother misses his parents so much, but really does love living here. He has made great friends -- he and Agent 002 have so much in common, and he and Cousin F have complementary personalities. His mere glance can make his sisters smile. We are trying to get him into preschool for the fall so that the transition home (if and when it happens) will be a little more smooth.
5. Cousin P: Once the youngest, Cousin P has probably had the hardest transition to life with the Foster Agents. He and Foster Toddler are so close in age, size, appearance and personality that everyone asks if they are twins. P alone had me on my toes all the time; teamed up with Foster Toddler there is a constant destruction zone going in my house. Double the fun, right?
6. Foster Toddler: This little girl has come so far. The first few weeks with her was some of the toughest parenting I have ever done (matched only by the first few weeks with Agent 002). She is our Jekyl and Hyde, giggling one moment, seething the next. She is enamored with mr warillever, and beams when he walks in the door.
7. Foster Baby: My sweetheart grows every day. She has gone from a lovable lump of baby to a crawling machine. She now has two teeth, and can make it from room to room in seconds flat. If only for the 3:25am wake-up call she gives me every morning, I just might call her the perfect baby.

Don't expect to hear too much from me over the next few weeks, but once school starts I will try to update on a regular (weekly?) basis.

Warillever Madness

1. I have been finding it a whole lot easier to stay off of the computer since we had three foster children move in with us a couple of weeks ago. Three children three and under -- a baby, a toddler, and a preschooler.
   
2. Yes, that means that we have five small children in the house. Wanna do the math on what it's like when the Cousins are here? I'll give you a hint -- when Agent 002 is at school, there are six children four and under in the house...
   
3. We went to a birthday party today, and I didn't realize until the host was counting out goody bags that exactly half of the children in attendance had arrived at the party in my van. Heh. My husband and I always dreamed of having a family large enough that we culd have multiple boxes of cereal open without worrying that one would go stale before we could finish eating it.
4. Despite the cacophony, this has been a lot of fun. The kids are getting along famously, and it has been a tremendous period of maturation for the Agents. Agent 004 has been doting on the baby, and Agent 002 finally has a gearhead to pal aroundwith in the preschool boy.
   
5. As much as part of me wishes that the kids could stay forever, I am pleased that the situation should be temporary. They have started visiting their home several times per week, and it appears that they will be able to return for good soon.
6. Mr warillever has continued to read the Chronicles of Narnia to the children at bedtime. They are currently reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is still their favorite.
   
   Me? I have been reading all of our favorite board books.
   
7. Life is good, but I need some sleep. So I am going to slack on my 7th "Quick Take."
   

7 Quick Takes

1. Last Thursday we still had a small snowbank in the shady part of the yard; as of today all of the fruit trees are in bloom! It hit 90 degrees on Tuesday, but the past three days in the high 60s have been WONDERFUL.
   
   
2. With all of this good weather the garden has been taking off. I planted lettuce, spinach, beets, chard, turnips outdoors, and started tomato, eggplant, melon, summer squash and herbs indoors. I also transplanted a few blackberry cuttings and bought four blueberry bushes. Once I pick up my apple trees, we will have a true backyard farm.
   
   I'd show you a picture, but my camera is broken.
   
   
3. No camera means no pictures of the girls' first swim lesson. It is Agent 004's first group activity ever, and she did wonderfully.
   
   
4. So my worries that she would not be ready for kindy in the fall? Groundless. She is very excited about school
   
   
5. ...but she is even more excited about her new glasses. We found out at her regular checkup that our baby is near-sighted. That explains why she always grabs the book from me to study the picture! Maybe I'll post a picture (if I ever get the camera working).
   
   
6. I have been keeping myself busy with my book club (with whom I am plodding through Theology of the Body) and a slow-pitch softball team. I don't like being out of the house so often, but once games start, I'll bring the kids along to softball. Would y'all think less of me if I admitted that my body aches from a few practices?
   
   
7. No art gallery photo today :(
   
   I will, however, leave you with some snapshots from a birthday party.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   A truck and princess party for the birthday buddies F and 002.
   

Ironic List of Links

It looks like everyone else is blogging about not blogging so much.

How's that for irony?

Then again, what is blogging for if not to share ideas?

The stifling nature of connectedness seems to be on everyone's minds these days, even the big bloggers:

• Scribbit considered quitting (but didn't).
• Shannon has wondered what her place should be in the online world.
• Crystal Payne is cutting back on Biblical Motherhood as her family grows.

At least I know that I am not alone in struggling to find balance!

Don't worry -- this is the last you'll hear from me on this topic, at least until I think of something else to say about it.

I'll be back tomorrow with "7 Quick Takes" and good stories.

I promise -- I might be more quiet, but I am not going away.

For now at least :)

Being Offline has Worked for Me

Works for me Wednesday is usually a time to share household tips, tricks-of-the parenting trade, or methods of increasing your blog traffic.

I've shared some good stuff with y'all in the past, like setting up the coffee maker ahead of time, my homemade personal planner, and preschool ideas.

I don't have any tips for you today.

None.

I will tell you what has been working for me, though -- staying off of the computer!

It started out as a Lenten sacrifice -- an embarrassingly difficult sacrifice for me. The first few days were brutal. My eyes would drift to the screen as I walked past; my fingers would graze the keyboard. When the computer was on for necessary tasks, I would find myself reading email and blogs before I even noticed the transition.

These slip-ups offered a great opportunity for prayer and reflection. Why was I online anyway? What did I gain online, and what were the corresponding costs? Over time, I found myself enjoying this break from the internet. It was calming, relaxing, and even FREEING. There was no longer an obligation to read through every post, no feeling of inadequacy that I wasn't doing enough. I also found myself being more attentive to the children's needs. There was more time for the here-and-now.

On Easter Monday (Dingus Day for all of you back in South Bend), I went right back to the computer with glee. I read the paper; I checked every blog.

Then, the next day, I heard a crash from behind me as I read "just one more" email. One of the children had knocked over a tray of tomato seedlings while I was distracted by the computer.

That was enough for me; I resolved to be more responsible in my computer usage. I am still struggling to find my exact limits, but for now I have started by abandoning Twitter, reducing blogging, and marking all blogs as "read" before I turn off the machine at night. I feel no obligation to visit every blog every day, or to post the minute details of our every day.

I am enjoying some time online, but nothing like I used to. The cost, however, has been the companionship that I had been getting online from other stay-at-home moms. I will try to build some time into each day for correspondence, because it is important to stay in touch.

Has anyone found a balance that really works for them?

There is a blog post somewhere

We talk a lot about creating habits, but we rarely talk about falling out of a habit.

I just don't have time to blog. Not that I am too busy, but it has been so long since I have written for this blog that it is no longer a part of my routine.

Consider this a "test post" in the new blogging routine.

Real content coming soon.