Brotherly love

Michael has decided it's fun to hit people on the head with hard objects. He takes great pleasure in it! Poor Hamish has copped a few whacks lately thanks to his little brother.

Last night, Michael got him with a toy spanner, and laughed. Quick as a flash, Hamish grabbed the spanner and returned the favour. The nice thing about it was, that he hit Michael quite gently. More of a tap than a whack.

Was quite sweet really.

Meanwhile...

Michael is unwell, and Hamish appears to be coming down with the same bug.

My heart sinks when I first realise they are getting sick - it means snotty noses, even less sleep than usual, panadol, snot, fess, tissues, snot, etc etc. And of course, that they don't feel well!

It also means you can't go out as much as usual, and cabin fever is never far away. I definitely get a strong case of the 'woe-is-me's at these times.

But I was thinking this morning that sickness is not an interruption to life, it is just part of life. It means switching parenting gears a bit, but it's not an inconvenience, it's part of the main game. A chance to look after my kids, re-prioritise, and simplify as much as possible.

We had our church mum's bookclub last weekend, and a great point came up - God gave us our particular children, for us to look after, and to deal with whatever issues this may bring. They are best off with us, in other words, and we are ideally equipped to look after them, even if we feel inadequate or overwhelmed at times.

I'm not sure if I've expressed that properly, but I've found it a comforting thought this week.

Big Day (week, month, year...)

Hamish turned 3 today. We had lots of fun and he was very excited by all the activity.

I made him a Big Red Car cake - which turned out well, although I should say it looked better than it tasted!

I also wrote him a special prayer. I've printed it out and will hang it up in his room. I think it's important that he know he's special and that that means more than just getting presents and eating cake, and I suppose this is a way to show him, and remind him once the birthday is over!

A Prayer for Hamish on his 3^rd Birthday

Dear God,

Thank you for our beautiful boy Hamish. We're so glad you brought him into our family three years ago.

Thank you that he is so energetic, inquisitive and fun.

As he grows this year, please help him learn to trust you and to live your way.

Help him learn to do the right thing, and to seek forgiveness when he needs to.

Please protect him and keep him safe, and build him up in his knowledge of you.

Thank you that you love Hamish even more than we do, and gave your son Jesus for his sake.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Mr No No

This is a recent conversation I had with Hamish:

Me: Ok, we're going to get up and have breakfast.

H: No.

Me: Do you want toast?

H: No.

Me: Porridge?

H: No.

Me: Oh well. Can you put your dressing gown on?

H: No.

This pattern repeats itself a number of times, until I say:

"Is your name No No?"

H: No!

Brain dump

I had vague plans to come on here this evening and write a few things, but now I'm here I'm drawing a big fat blank. So here is a random brain dump of the thoughts I've had swirling around my tired mind today:

Old friends are such an encouragement. I've had a good long chat with an old friend this week, and another has started blogging, and there's just something special about reconnecting with people who've known you for a long time. I should make the effort more often to keep in touch.

I need to reassess (again!) what I think is realistic around the house. I think I should be able to manage a house, but really - with two kids, both demanding my attention more often than not, it's hard going sometimes. So my new plan is to relax about the housework, and enjoy spending time with the kids more. Let's face it - I never get all the work done anyway, so I can either be stressed about it, and not get it done, or relaxed and not get it done! Second option sounds better to me.

Social expectations (real or imagined!) have a lot of power. Can be hard to weed them out. Current ones I'm negotiating include how much to spend on birthday presents for my kids, how clean my house should be, and what to aim for with sleep expectations for the kids. I lack confidence sometimes, even though I do usually make the choices that suit me best.

Not sleeping at night

I can really relate to this post, and it's quite funny too. It's not identical to what goes on here (eg Adam is a light sleeper) but the kids, and the cats...all sounds very familiar!