In Transition

I’m still here.

It feels like a really long time since I’ve posted anything.  I have started a couple of posts but they aren’t finished yet.  I’ve been busy and blogging wasn’t as time sensitive as other things so it got postponed.

It seems that spring has finally arrived.  There are plans for many changes around here and some things have changed already.  We’ve said good bye to some of our friends – we wish them well as they move on to new adventures – we’ll miss them.

Last week TWO new babies began attending.  I didn’t originally plan it that way and admittedly there have been a few times I looked in the mirror and silently screamed “What were you thinking?”

We’ve all been getting to know each other.  The ‘old’ baby – who’s not really a baby anymore – has had a little difficulty adjusting to not being the youngest one anymore.  Otherwise everyone is getting along very well.

Naptime has been the big issue.

I had already moved the ‘old’ baby to a cot for naptime so she had time to adapt to the new nap routine before the ‘new’ babies arrived.  That went quite smoothly at first but now she sometimes takes advantage of the times I’m preoccupied with the younger ones – creating disruptions when the others are trying to fall asleep.

There was one day last week that for the five hour period from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm  there was at least one child sleeping but never all of them at once.  Everyone is out of sync and some barely sleep at all.

None of them are cranky when they are up – so many fun things to do, they just don’t want to miss any of the action.  Sometimes I think it might be easier to just keep them up instead of trying to persuade them they need a nap.  However, it’s their parents that suffer when the babies are exhausted and inconsolable by supper time.

It’s only been a week – I know it takes time, we’ll get better.  We’re still in transition and once we get better acquainted we’ll work out a schedule that works for all of us.

Our Week Outdoor - Day Three

The children have settled into a comfortable ‘all day outside’ routine.  Day three was very similar to the other days — chalk drawing, ball games, tag, a walk through the neighbourhood, gardening, digging in gravel etc.

The baby has surprised me.  He has absolutely no difficulty being outdoors all day.  The biggest difference has been nap time.  He actually stays up a little longer – not falling asleep earlier but definitely sleeping longer.  His naps have been about 3 hours each day.  Even though I have his playpen set up in a high traffic area between the back door/upper deck and the lower deck/yard he is not disturbed by our passing by or by the various sounds in the neighbourhood – including lawnmowers and sirens!

Probably the biggest change for me has been the lunch menu.  Tuesdays are always sandwich days so nothing had to be modified for that day.  Many of the other days had lunch items that required cooking and since I don’t have access to the stove I had to modify the menu this week.

Monday should have been ‘French Fries and Meatloaf’ but instead we had ‘Potato Salad and Garlic Sausage’.  Wednesday would have been ‘Mexican Chicken with Rice’ but in the morning I made ‘Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas’ before the children arrived.  They were served cold and the children have declared that they would like them added to the regular menu.

Today would regularly be ‘Ham and Mozza Biscuit Bake’ but instead I will be baking biscuits this morning and add cheese and ham when I serve lunch.  Tomorrow would be ‘Sausages and Parmesan Pasta’ but I have a pasta salad recipe that I am going to try.  We’ve never had a pasta salad on the menu – mostly because I don’t like cold pasta – so this will be a new experience.  I’m very curious to see how it goes over with the group.  Maybe we will be making some permanent menu changes.