Life Lately

I've had so much to write and so few words lately.  I can never quite say what I want to, but I figure that writing something is better than nothing.

Life has been busy lately and I really thought July would be "slower".  What was I thinking?  With two little ones, I feel like I'm just trying to keep up with the naps, feedings, diaper changes (and potty breaks for Eliot), and squeeze in fun time before Chris goes to work out around 3:00 pm followed by dinner and bedtime at 6:00 pm (for Jack) and 7:00 pm (for Eliot).  We're always going, going, going, but I think we're doing a pretty good job.  We've had fun days at the beach, splashed around in the pool, started going for morning walks, and took trips to the park.

Chris's parents rented a beach house at the Outer Banks, NC for a couple of weeks.  We went for a few days of each of the two weeks.  We walked to the sound and splashed in the water.  On my birthday, Chris took me out to dinner and then we watched the sunset on the sound.

Now we're back home and getting back to normal.  I really need to go to the grocery store....  But, we started taking Eliot back to his soccer class.  We started going last fall.  He really loved it, but he had trouble following directions all of the way.  He would get so excited about one game they were playing that he'd have trouble listening to instructions and moving on to the next game.  It was frustrating because I'd have to go tell him what to do or remind him that he had to listen or we'd have to go home.  Also, if he lost his ball (which happened a lot since he was kicking so hard), he'd get mad at whichever kid took it.  And kids would also take his ball without him losing the ball too.  And it didn't work out.  So, we took a break to focus on summer fun.

We went back this week and it was a completely different experience.  Eliot listened and followed along.  I didn't have to go correct his behavior once.  If someone took his ball, he got another one.  In fact, a couple of times he and another boy would be going for the same ball, but Eliot would step back and let the other boy have it.  I was so proud of him.  Also, he wasn't just doing big kicks, but controlled and dribbled the ball. (Just as a note, these are non-competitive, team-building games using soccer skills, so I'm not trying to make him into a push-over in sports by getting him to "get another ball" if someone steals his.  It's not really like a full-on, competitive soccer game with score and goalies and all.  Picture red light-green light with soccer balls.)

There are times when, as a parent, I look at my kids and wonder if I'm doing OK.  The day-to-day can be hard.  Are we making progress?  Are we growing?  Am I disciplining and loving in the right ways and providing a good balance?  It is hard to gauge that daily.  However, when you take a step back and notice how your kid has grown over six months, you know you're doing something right.  Maybe he is getting better at sharing, listening, and controlling his excitement.  I can't wait to take him back to soccer next week.  I never looked forward to it before because it was so hard (and he was the youngest, which is also difficult).  Now, though, it was the highlight of my week.