Our little Sebastian has been more than a handful lately, as he struggles through a case of the "teething blues". At 7 months old he is still toothless, although his overly swollen, sore-looking gums suggest that a tooth or two may be working it's way to the surface now. The "teething blues" have pretty much taken over his sweet disposition, leaving in it's place a grumpy, fussy, restless and sad baby. His nights have been borderline horrible, as he wakes up a minimum of 2 times - sometimes more! - screaming in pain. Sometimes a quick smear of Orajel on his gums will do the trick to settle him down but most of the time I end up giving him some Tylenol and/or a bottle to get him comfortable enough to fall back asleep again. My sleeping routine has been completely jumbled; the constant trips up and down the stairs during the early morning hours have drained me of my patience and left me feeling like a zombie! I think what makes things especially difficult right now is the fact that Sebastian is also miserable during the day so I don't get any kind of a break from the craziness. He screams and cries....and cries and screams....and most of the time there's very little I can do to comfort him. Several times through-out the day I have no choice but to just let him cry for a while. After all, "the show must go on"..there are 3 other kids who need my attention, meals to be prepared, chores to be done, and let's not forget Miss Lucky who looks forward to her daily walk so much so that even if I wanted to skip it I couldn't because I'd feel too guilty!!
But as exhausting and frustrating of a time this is, I know - all too well - that before long this will be nothing more than a memory in my parenthood rear view window... In 11 days my baby will turn 8 months old. 8 months...
I had told myself that once the baby was born I would need to slow down. Less activities. Less running around. HAH! Apparently my brain read the memo wrong! Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Karate, Dance and other misc. activities scattered here, there and everywhere have brought a whole new meaning to the term "stay at home mom" for me!...BUT, I have no regrets AND a lot of things are coming to an end for the summer months.
Girl Scouts has actually been a lot of fun for both me and Bella. Is it a lot of work for me? Yes. When you're a volunteer there is a lot of "behind the scenes" work that often goes unnoticed. But it's also very rewarding to see how much the girls enjoy the various activities we do at our meetings and out in the community, too. On Saturday we are going to a local beach/park to participate in an Earth Day Clean-Up project followed by a potluck picnic. That will mark the official end of our first year of Girl Scouts. I *may* have one last "hurrah" over the summer for the girls, but we'll see how ambitious I'm feeling! In the meantime, our weekly meetings on Tuesday nights are over for the summer - and not a moment too soon..
Boy Scouts will also be coming to an end for the summer soon. Jim and Kyle are going on their last camping trip with the Scouts this weekend and after that I believe there are only a few more meetings before they break until September. I have to say that, thus far, Kyle has had a wonderful experience with the Boy Scouts. I think the weekly meetings can sometimes be a bit boring, but the monthly camping trips compensate for those times! He's experienced camping in a cabin during a rainy/snowy weekend as well as camping outdoors during near frigid temps - and he's loved every second of it! This weekend they are going to canoe to their campsite in Bridgewater, MA! Jim has gotten to know all of the leaders quite well and feels comfortable in allowing Kyle to go camping without him now but Kyle said he would prefer if Jim was there, which is absolutely fine; Jim enjoys camping with him!
The girls had their "end of the year" Dance Recital last Saturday, so now they're on break until September. They really enjoyed dancing with their class on Friday afternoons! Miss Diane - their dance instructor - is amazing. She does such a great job with the girls! Their recital was adorable - it was awesome that they were able to showcase all of the dance moves they've learned through-out the year and each one of them got to be in the spotlight, too! Best of all (in the girls opinion!), they received their very first trophy!
Now that Kyle is on the demo team, he attends Karate 3 times a week. Demo practice is a bit more challenging than Kyle anticipated, but for the first time since joining the team everything fell into place PERFECTLY for him just last night! He had all of his moves down pat and his instructor (Dan) was quite pleased by his performance..which is HUGE as Dan is not easily impressed! I think Kyle was in need of a motivational boost and boy did he get it last night! It's amazing what some encouraging words and a handshake can do..
With the majority of activities coming to an end for a while (except for Karate/Demo) I am very much looking forward to enjoying a whole lot of lazy summer days! It will be nice to take a break from everything and do little more than enjoy the sun, pool and backyard.
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