Land of Nod

So we're having a little trouble dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning these days...

Especially yesterday when we had to get up and get to church...  Maybe it helps to go cold-turkey on the jet lag, though.

My chickens, on the other hands, seem to be up bright and early laying eggs!  I'm so thrilled, because those buzzards haven't been producing eggs at all.   The animals are all thinking about spring, even though it is still very wintery (big, giant SIGH.  Ugh.  But at least I got to miss all of our Michigan February!  Bliss!).  Birds sing in the mornings, and one of our ducks hatched four ducklings a few days before we got back.  Only one survived, and even that is surprising considering the cold wind and snow.

So we're trying to get back to real life.  It's been a long time since we've had real life...  But we've actually done some house-cleaning, laundry, school, and today I'm planning to start my tomato and pepper seeds (except... now I hear Evan awake from his nap... that complicates matters).

Evan is so happy to be home it's almost hilarious.  He's been checking everything out making sure it's all just as he left it.  Toys... check.  Daddy's tools... check.  Mommy's dishes... check aaaaand broken.


I, however, am really missing the baby-holders I've enjoyed for the last month.  Samuel, where are you when I need you?

I was told recently that with your third child, all your standards go out the window.  I'm afraid this might be true.  I've always been very anti-babystuff, preferring to have as little baby equipment as possible in this modern day and age.  I have particularly avoided standing-up baby entertainment like walkers, johnny-jump-ups, and excersaucers.  I just don't really think those kind of things are good for a baby's back, pelvis, and leg development, and besides, it's just more stuff.

Well, guess what?

Yeah, that's right, I borrowed an excersaucer for Andrew.  This Mommy needs to get some stuff done!  Andrew loves to be held, and I carry  him around a lot.  (And babywearing... yeah, yeah, I know.  But now he's grabby and wiggly so now babywearing only works for talking walks.)  I also put him on the floor to play, but he doesn't last long that way.-- he wants to be entertained.  So an excersaucer, and yes, even a baby swing, gives me some more options for putting him down without crying, so I can do some things baby-free now and then.  As for his development, he's more sitting in it than standing, other than to kick his feet down just like he loves to do in my lap, and he's not in it more than ten minutes at a time anyway.  He has lots of tummy-time and holding, so I'm pretty sure he's just fine. 

And that's an extra ten minutes here and there for me to attempt to catch up on real life...