Family O Lindyhoppers: The not-so-doldrums of January

January always seems like such a let-down after the holiday season. This year however it hasn't seemed so. Maybe it is because of Pherse, maybe it is because of my refocused goals for our family, maybe it's because Clay is home more with us and we are thoroughly enjoying him, maybe it is because Cash is in school.... Either way, January hasn't been as dull as it usually is.
For New Years we took a drive to the coast. One of the best things about the coast is it's less windy and more temperate in the winter. Go figure. We enjoyed a scenic drive and dropped into Bodega Bay to enjoy some fish and chips and bread bowl clam chowder. Yum! Then we hit the beach and Clay supervised the kids running wild.

I don't know if you can see the ridge behind Tupp, but that's where the tidal waves hit. There's so much wood debris that kids were building caves into the sand ridge and then using the wood to reinforce and continue structures outside of the hole. Cash even got to go in and tour one. :)

Here you can see the ridge better.

We were actually playing where the river meets the ocean so we didn't have to worry so much about the waves. Tupp is so enthralled with whatever Cash is- in this case sticks. And sticking it in the river. And she's so bold we have to keep a careful eye on her.

Speaking of bold, or bravery, we went to the park the other day. I turned my head for a moment and Tupp had taken it upon herself to climb this thing entirely be herself, no spotters, for the first time. While I'm proud of her for being so ambitious and capable, I confess I'm slightly horrified at what other dangerous opportunities she might attempt to do solo.

She loves her baby Pherse. Almost too much- I try to keep the kids from touching his face and hands, but the both just want to kiss him all over and love him up. But who can blame them?

We wanted to thank Elsa for her lovely hand me downs. Tupp adores this dress and another pink and white one that were sent. She wears dresses every day. The hardest part is getting her to choose only one. As soon as you get one down she decides she wants another one. Having her pick between two in no way alleviates the problem. All decisions with Tupp are like this. She wants to choose, but I'm not sure if she really is indecisive or just wants to be contrary. It is a great source of tears and grief in our household. No matter how it swings, she never gets it her way and melts down in anger and tears. There are no winners in this game of hers. :(

Cash is getting so proficient on his scooter. He's also mastered the balance bike and has gotten brave enough to start riding his regular bike. I think it's almost time to take the training wheels off! He'd probably be farther along, but I confess we don't get out as much to do those kinds of things since given our neighborhood it can be tricky for me to keep an eye on him and the other littles at the same time.

Johny Appleseed fun. Actually, I never realized that my circulon pans from when I got married are annodized aluminum. I was horrified! So now they're sitting in the goodwill pile. Having pans but now pots can make cooking dinner rather... challenging. Luckily my friend Cazra said her mom had some brand new ones she was getting rid of. Unfortunately, they are ginormous stock pots. Not really ideal for regular usage. Oma and honey have lent me one and so now I'm on the hunt for more that are an affordable price. Some of them can be outrageous- eek!

Our winter garden is humming along. I threw out the broccoli and asparagus plants- they weren't producing and were getting infested first with worms and then aphids up the wazoo. I decided to just throw the baby out with the bath water and shuffle around some plants. So now one barrel is carrots, another is sweet onions and the third I transplanted the strawberries into since they had run out of room and were starting to die back. Pretty soon we'll have to start planning for the spring.

It's been really cold here, but now and again we'll have days where, for a couple of hours, it reaches the high 60's or even 70. Yesterday was one of those days so Cash and I went out and soaked up some sunshine while Tupp was trying to take a nap and Pherse was actually sleeping.

It was especially enjoyable since we haven't set foot outside since Thursday. Cash came home sick from school with what turned out the be the flu. He shared so abundantly with us that Tupp came down with it Saturday afternoon and I on Saturday night. Thankfully it was after I cleaned up Tupp after she threw up. It's not a tummy bug, but she always gets sick with high fevers and she was at 103-104 for almost two days. I actually got the first fever I've had in forever, and along with that chills, aches and pains, headache, blah, blah blah. Clay did such a good job taking care of all of us. The kids recovered quicker, probably because they rested and slept. I, however, was unable to sleep for over 24 hours due to Pherse and not being able to breath.
I was at my wits end- no patience left for the kids or baby, so angry and so tired, so unbelievably miserable feeling with no end in site as the fever kept coming back and re spiking to 103 after seeming like it was disappearing, Clay was losing his steam and was starting down that road of sickness- the prospect of having no healthy capable adult to take care of the sickies and the kids. Overwhelmed is an understatement. Sitting in bed, wondering what to do I happened to look upon the scriptures and I realized I hadn't asked for help yet. I hadn't' played the ace up my sleeve, so to speak. I am grateful for tender mercies and answered prayers. I am grateful for the reminder to call upon my Heavenly Father rather than trying to tough it out alone. And that night I slept. I think I only slept a couple of hours and when I awoke to feed Pherse I felt well, happy, patient- everything I needed to be a good mother again. There will be more gigantic moments of crisis in my life, but there will be many more small ones such as this. I am grateful that He's there for me in those small moments just as he is for the big ones. That he truly hears and answers. That he sees my anguish. That he loves me and my family. I am not ashamed to let my children see me cry in heartfelt prayer, for I know that when we are blessed they can share in my joy as they have in my sorrow. Though life's down times can be ever so tough, the highs that come after can be some of the greatest joy we'll know. I've thought on this lately for not only myself but for so many of those around me who have had struggles.

On a more happy note, Pherse smiles! He's been very slow to smile and very sparing. In fact, until today he'd only smile at me (he smiled for Cash today too). And even then it wasn't a whole lot. He usually starts with a half smile until you get him warmed up and then he'll do a couple and then he's like "I'm done." He's a funny dude. Love him to bits. I think his hair is kinda red and his eyes are still blue, though very dark. He turned two months on the 26th and at his doctors appointment yesterday he came in at 10 lb 15 oz and 22'' long. I think he's longer than that, but you know how they scrunch up when they're angry. ;)

And this is my solution to keep her hair clean so I don't have to give her a shampoo after every meal. She is such a ragamuffin. And as exasperating as she is, I love her to beyond the moon and back again.