Cloud Nine

I am bouncing with joy today. I got to see a picture of our newest little "peanut" today at the doctor's office. According to ultrasound, I am due April 9th.

We've known for a few weeks, but because of our past bouts with miscarriage I always hold my breath until I can see that little heartbeat! I felt so silly, it took the technician to point it out to me. You would think I could see it on my own by now. Of course, one never stops worrying... Brennan is 7 and I still worry about one thing or another.

I keep referring to the baby as him out of habit. Brennan and Nicholas actually want a sister, as they don't have one yet. Time will tell!

Anyways, just wanted to share our latest "big news"!

Olympic fever

I love watching the Olympics. So much so that I even guilted my dear husband off of our sole TV the other night for the first time ever in our 10 years of marriage. Poor guy is enjoying a riveting game of Pacman after a hard day at work and I come in the room with a "Can't we watch the men's gymnastics? It's only on every four years, after all." Shameless isn't it? And my sweet, sweet guy let me have the remote. Did I tell you he is wonderful or what?

The down side is that it has been seriously cutting into my sleep. I had been hitting the sack at 10pm until the last few nights, and boy am I suffering now. Coverage has been lasting until midnight, and then who can sleep after such excitement!

I haven't looked to see what is on tonight. I really hope it isn't something I really care to watch. I am exhausted. Of course I could be an actual adult and just not turn on the TV.

But this only happens every four years, right?

Afternoon Agenda

I have been in a bit of a quandary as of late. Concerning toys, but of course. Up until now, we have pretty much had "community toys". Aside from the first day after receiving a new gift, everything was up for grabs - first come, first serve. Great way to teach sharing. But I worried that I was not also teaching the very important lessons of "asking permission for things that do not belong to you" and "taking extra special care of those items". Also older boys like their newly configured toys to be left somewhat intact. Quite impossible with little, curious and eager hands around.

So I have decided Legos and Playmobils can be personal toys. Legos are pretty easy - most are Brennan's, and Philip and Nicholas each have a set they purchased last week with their own money. Playmobils are presenting a problem.

I thought that the boys and I could divide up their sets. After all, we knew who each set "belonged" to. But the individual pieces in each set? Very much under dispute right now.

So I, as judge, have decided to spend the afternoon looking up parts lists on the internet and correctly assembling each set.

If this doesn't settle any disputes over Playmobils for the next few weeks, I may just throw them out! Would that be so horrible?

The Moral Compass

I love watching each child develop. I find it fascinating to see each persons' personality come into its own. And I love watching them "get" that conscience. It really hits that this is not just a person, this is a soul I am raising.

With Brennan, his conscientious awareness seemed to grow day by day. He always had a special sense of empathy for those around him, and the sphere just kept getting bigger as to what he understood.

Then my dear Nicholas. The one who I from time to time wonder if he will ever "get it". The one who I lock into what seems a daily battle to pull him out of that egocentric world of the baby and into reality with the rest of us. Yet I have seen him grow by leaps and bounds in just the last few weeks. Each time an altercation occurs, he has been connecting the "good choices/bad choices" thing with something tangible to him - the Star Wars universe.

He summed it up perfectly in a conversation this morning. "Anakin was a good boy, but made bad choices and became Darth Vader. But then he changed and helped Luke Skywalker. That was a good choice. I need to make good choices like he did when he helped Luke. And if I make a bad choice, I can still change and make a good choice."

He may not be using the vernacular of "do what Jesus did", but he's got the general gist. It's a start. And a huge leap from where this guy was just a few months ago.

And who knew Star Wars could be so "Catholic" with this idea of one person's moral journey taking place over an entire lifetime? I never had thought about that before!