Huh?.....Wha..?

The middle-of-the-night incoherencies uttered by the adults in our household are attributed in large part, these days, to our older child, or, as James and I have begun referring to him at 12, 3, 5 a.m.: "YOUR son". We have entered into a realm of parenthood that I had blissfully forgotten from my own childhood: the "scared of the dark" phase. This started several weeks ago, maybe as far back as a month or two, but last week things started to go downhill. We were able to appease him in the beginning with the door left slightly ajar. When this wasn't good enough we moved to keeping the hall light on, and this worked for a couple of weeks. Jeran's fear has progressed to the point where night lights are a no-go, and he's not satisfied with anything less than his bedroom lamp being fully on. The poor child has been hysterical without it. Even at this he was starting to wake several times a night seeking comfort. What's a parent to do? I vascillate between the compassionate mom I should be, acknowledging that this is a real fear (apparently of a doggie under Ben's crib - a little creepy. He insists it's there), and the tired, impatient part of me wants to continue pointing out that there's nothing to be afraid of, and he just needs to GO...TO...SLEEP! At this point I'm on the lookout for an extremely low-wattage bulb and an ounce of perseverance to get us through this stage. In the meantime we are open to any and all advice and are happy to announce that at least we have gotten through the last 2 nights with a full amount of sleep (well, except for that crazy Ben waking up to eat at 4...but I'll take it as opposed to the alternative!).



A few pictures: the first is of James and Jeran after a particularly bad "scared" evening. I came
home late last week Friday night to find them on the couch like this. Pretty sweet, huh? The second is just plain for fun. Baby Ben after bath time.








Grrrr...I'm a lion!

Hugs

My heart is so full right now. Is there ANYTHING better than three-year-old hugs and an "I love you, Mom" or "I need a hug, Mom" said in that sleepy little bedtime voice? I tell ya...amazing.

Speaking of hugs.......we were pretty nervous that, with Jeran's temperament being what it is, Ben's arrival might provoke some actions of hostility. Completely the opposite. We feel our younger son is quite literally at risk of being killed with kindness. May we present to you the mounting evidence......

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Those of you who have been on the receiving end of Jeran's painful hugs will understand our concern. Clearly, Jeran is greatly in love with his little brother, which is wonderful but at the same time scary because he doesn't QUITE grasp that concept of "gentle". Anyway, we're grateful that it's this painful love he exhibits and not outbursts of jealousy. And for now we will maintain the rule of "No touching Ben's head" and continue to hope that their brotherly love only grows as they do.

Procrastinators Unite.....Tomorrow

Ok, Gunnink/Berghoef family, upon which of you can I place the blame for the defective procrastination gene, or, as it is referred to in medical circles: procrastinitis? It really is a rather debilitating condition, except that I thrive so completely on it. From the far reaches of my mind I can pull up memories of last minute homework projects, all-nighters in college, and everyone knows of my penchant for leaving at the last possible second to get anywhere (usually about 5 minutes after I REALLY should have left). Because I am aware of this dysfunctional state of mind in which I live, it should seem quite obvious that I CHANGE it. Leave earlier, begin projects in advance, etc. etc. Oh ho! Easier said than done my wise inner voice. I don't know if it can be narrowed down to an inability (unwillingness?) to prioritize or distractions that are just out of my hands (at this point in life they would be called Jeran and Ben), but I am feeling, quite simply, resigned to the fact that I will never be an "on timer". Case in point: here I am on spring break with an entire week at my disposal with which to catch up on grading, as I seem to have buried myself in writing assignments and worksheets in the first 2 weeks of being back to school. So, let's count them: Saturday - Sunday, ok remove Sundays as a day of rest: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days which could be used to catch up with and get ahead of myself. But noooooo...here we are on Saturday and I have made VERY little headway. I joke about this and yet I do get frustrated that I continue to make the same mistakes. Who said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? Well then, is it any wonder I'm a bit cuckoo? In any case, I do embrace this as a part of my personality that seems resistant to change (a weakness, if you will: see my other blog at www.pursuingtruepeace.blogspot.com - I know, another blog; like I need another excuse to be on the computer?). I would like to see myself wise up, though, and not make myself and those around me so crazy when it comes down to crunch time and I'm once again unprepared. Graded papers is small in the grand scheme of life, but I'd hate to see this spilling over into larger areas and, even worse, pass on this lifestyle to my children. And so, I will buck up and do the hard work necessary to create a plan that will keep me ahead of the game of life.........tomorrow.

Cute photos of the day: "Baby Ben", as we are addicted to calling him around here. He has discovered his thumb, as you can see. While this should be cause for alarm, seeing as I sucked mine into middle school (I guess this blog just turned into "True Confessions"), I have to admit that we're elated since this will mean no interruped nights of sleep to go in and grope around for a missing "pipie" (as with Jeran).

The boys went to the doctor today, so here are their stats:

JJ: 31 lbs. 371/2 inches tall

NOT a fan of having his ears looked into, and seems to be lacking a filter as he let our doctor in on the family secrets (ie: the excessive intake of chicken nuggets and juice and serious lack of green veggies (or veggies of any color for that matter).

Ben: 15lbs. 5 oz. (what a chub!) 25 1/2 inches long

Took 5 shots to the legs today. What a trooper - he only cried for about 10 seconds, but it was a heartwrenching cry, nontheless.

Aaaaaaaaaand...ACTION!

Soooooooo.......okaaaaaaay....this is a little like stage fright. The spotlight has been turned on and someone is standing behind it yelling, "DO SOMETHING!"
This blog is an attempt to keep you, our family and friends, up to date with life here in the Chicago Louwerse's household. So many of you we don't get to see often and let's face it, if you haven't figured it out already, I'm crappy with the phone. The nice thing about a blog, too, is that you can read when you want IF you want. Plus I guess it's a vain way for me to "journal" the days our family experiences.
DISCLAIMER: There are no guarantees made that this will be in any way worth your time to read. But we will entice you with photos of our charming offspring. So hopefully this blog will also keep me accountable to putting up photos more often. Which I guess means I have to take them. Darn.
Well, here we go. Life inside the brain of the J. Louwerse fam's matriarch (I recognize that I should probably be a few decades older to bestow that title upon myself). It could be scary in here.......... enjoy.