What’s New: Whirlwinds and Tornadoes

The whirlwindiest girl, Skyping with her beloved daddy.

I was putting Elliot down for his nap when I remembered I had hoped to change the sheets yesterday. Thinking a bit harder, I realized I had hoped to change them on Sunday, and today is Wednesday. I lost three days. It’s absolutely crazy to me how the clock goes from noon to 4pm in the span of what I swear is 20 minutes, and whole weeks disappear, just like that. Life with two busy, young children is lightning fast, and being homebodies does not seem to help that a bit. It really does feel like a whirlwind.

This week has been especially wacky, with a 2.5 hour, inconsolable crying bout from the little guy last night, followed by a rare night waking by the big kid, who crawled into bed with us 30 minutes after her brother’s screaming finally stopped and woke for the day around 6:15. Elliot showed no signs of illness – no fever or symptoms of any kind, really. I was afraid I’d offered him some food he’s allergic to, but then this afternoon I noticed an accumulation of gunk in his ear, so I’m thinking he got water in there during bathtime, or had a bit of an infection. So far so good today, so we’ll see how he looks tomorrow. Of course there was no writing for me last night, or dish washing, or even tidying up. Nevermind putting up of feet. Poor sweet boy, poor tired mama. Thankfully the feet are up now and I’m enjoying the best that New Belgium has to offer. I’m just crossing my fingers that tonight’s tornado watch doesn’t turn into anything. It will be lovely if the power stays on!

Really life is so good, though, when things slow down enough to give me the opportunity to savor it. Elliot’s naps have taken on a much more predictable pattern, which allows me to count on more focused time with Annabelle. Every time I stop and watch her, I am struck by the autonomous person she has become. Seeing this girl, who once spent most of her waking hours in my arms, holding her own in interactions with all sorts of people, and in the discovery of all manner of new things, is absolutely surreal. Until recently, everything she said was something I could remember exposing her to or telling her directly. I could listen to her words and watch her actions and know precisely what her influence was for most all of them. These days I’m seeing how she’s influenced by a much wider circle, absorbing information from all around and using it in ways I would never expect. Fortunately she still comes back to me for snuggles, reassurance, and much more.

She misses her daddy like crazy. It’s not that I didn’t think she’d miss him – I knew it would be hard to have him away. I just figured she’d eventually settle into a routine of life with him traveling. She hasn’t, though. She asks for him at all hours of the day and tells me how she wants her daddy to come hooome, “to hold me, and snuggle me.” Once this week, we had an emergency lunchtime Skype because I just didn’t think she could hang on until our usual evening chat. When our calls are over, she always says, “Bye, dad. See you soon, dad! Love you, dad! Bye! See you soon! Bye! Love you!” It melts your heart and breaks it in two all at the same time.

Elliot seems to be getting used to the idea of riding in the car, slowly but surely, and I’m thrilled to bits! I really don’t care for the car myself, but I do like knowing I can go places that are not convenient to the Metro, if I so desire. We got home from an outing early this week and I almost didn’t want to take him out of the car because he was having such a splendid time making faces at himself in the mirror (click for adorable video). He’s been a bit more keen on being worn, too, which is nice when I truly do need to get something done. As much as he and Annabelle are in love most of the time, it isn’t safe for me to leave them within reach of one another when I’m not watching closely, so being able to bring him along when I need to leave a room is helpful, to say the least. He continues to think of Annabelle as the coolest person who has ever lived and almost never takes his eyes off her when she’s around.

His smile is the widest, sweetest thing you have ever seen. He smiles, not just with his lips, but with his brilliant, bright eyes and his delicious cheeks, too. Those two bottom teeth peek right out over his bottom lip when he smiles, too, and it just kills you. All you have to do is make eye contact to be rewarded with those dancing little eyes. He loves to interact. Getting outside is always a joy for him, too, and seems to calm him when he’s feeling unsettled. In the picture at right, he’s completely focused on a single blade of grass. Such a little treasure, that guy.

As for me, I’m doing my best to pace myself through this whirlwind, and to stop and feel the gentle breezes that come in between. I’m learning to cross a thing or two off my to-do list each day if I can, and to push two or three to the next day or the day after that if I need to. We do what we can, and there’s no use fretting over what we can’t, right? Getting things running smoothly in our classroom has been a tremendous amount of work, but it is such a joy for me. It’s fantastic having the ability to do something I love without compromising my desire to be with both children for the majority of my time. I am so happy with our set-up! I finally got a new lens for my Nikon yesterday and started to take photos of the room, but it was hard to do with even just my two underfoot and by the time I got my settings just so, it was time for the other children to start arriving. I’m going to take advantage of my babysitter time to get over there all by myself later on this week, so there’s a full tour coming!

What has been happening in your household? Do your children seem to make your life more faster, or more slowly?  What’s your best tip for finding time to slow down and savor your days together? Linky below, of course…