I've been trying to establish some sort of a routine the last three weeks. One week into it, Jackson decided to change his routine, which meant that I had to change things up a bit. It hasn't been easy! My goal is to spend time in God's Word every morning before Jackson wakes up and before I start my day. I've also been trying to exercise consistently...something that I love to do but haven't done in a really long time. After I do those two things for myself, I've been trying to figure out how to best organize all of the other demands (playing with Jackson, spending time with Jace, cleaning, cooking, laundering clothes, shopping, maintaining friendships, etc.) and yet still leave room for the unexpected. I must confess that it's been a lot harder than I thought it would be and I am trying very hard to learn what is/is not important.
Well, due to all of that, I've put huge restraints on my computer time - it can be such a time stealer - which is why my blog has suffered lately. To catch you up, I'll just post a few random things that have been occurring lately:
Last Saturday, Jason put Jackson down for his nap while I ran errands and had some solo time at my favorite health food store. I never get to go alone, which makes it difficult to read and translate labels. I bought some wonderful food (quinoa, couscous, lentils, tahini, miso, flaxseed...), great tea (my new indulgence), and a germinator. I'm so excited about the germinator and am currently sprouting a mixture of radish, mung bean and wheat seeds to add to a salad. When I came home, this is what the boys were doing:
Later that night, Jason was giving Jackson a bath. Jackson always has to go to the bathroom right before his bath. If we aren't quick enough, he'll pee right on the floor. Otherwise, he just pees in the tub and then we have to drain the water and refill. Does this happen to anyone else?? Well, we decided that this would be an opportune time to put him on the toilet. We aren't trying to potty train. We just want him to be comfortable with sitting on the toilet. Normally, he never goes, but Saturday evening he actually did. I heard him, grabbed the camera, and got this shot:
When Jackson was little, he didn't seem to mind grass. Once he reached the stage when he could actually play in the grass, we were in Germany and it was way too cold to enjoy being outside. Spring rolled around, but from lack of exposure, he did not like the grass. He didn't even want to walk on it with his shoes on. If he touched it with his hands (accidentally, of course), he would pick up his hands really fast and whine while looking at his palms. I'm happy to say that those grass fears are gone:
Tuesday, Jackson and I were talking to my dad on the phone. We were in the guest room that we're in the process of changing to a study. I had to run to the kitchen to check on the bread, so I left Jackson sitting on the couch. When I came back, this is what I found:
Wednesday was a cleaning day. We vacuumed and mopped most of the house. While the floors were drying, we cleaned out Jackson's drawers to make room for his summer clothes. He loves to pull out and put away clothes. I gave him all of the old clothes and he put them in a big pile. I then gave him a basket to put them in. I went into another room to mop. I went back to check on him and he was still playing with his clothes so I continued cleaning. I'm not sure what he was doing, but it entertained him for a long time. He kept putting the clothes into odd places - like the bookshelf where we keep some of his toys and books. He'd stuff them on the shelf, then pull them back out, then put them in the basket, then try to put something on, then put them back on the shelf, etc. I really wish I could peek into his mind at times like that.
