WayfaringStrangers

Ah, springtime. Windows open, St. Patrick's Day, Easter. Flowers blooming, birds chirping, garden dreaming. My favorite time of year. I do love autumn, too. But spring is just so fresh. It wins. The boys are outside much of the time. We are walking back to the creek, on the lookout for toads and turtles. And they pick me flowers. I love my little, loving boys. We all worked together to dig up some of the garden last weekend. So far we planted spinach and carrots. I bought a bunch of new seeds and am eager to get things going. I told myself not to get too ambitious- I'm about to have a baby! But it's so fun, I can't help myself.  Plus, Behn  is helping and the boys are learning so much. We will see how the garden goes this year. My induction date is in exactly a month. Behn set up the crib, all blankets and tiny clothes are washed. Bag is packed. I'm ready to meet this little guy. The last couple months are the hardest, especially this tim...

The last few weeks, I've been spending more time with my little nephew, Jack. He is 8-9 months old and so cute. I love that age- sitting but not yet crawling, yet very interactive. I was able to babysit him both last week and the week before. Patrick reading to Jack: Being around a baby makes me realize how far we've come. Now, I know my guys are only 5 and 3 (and still a bunch of work), but there is such a big contrast when paired with a baby. I have 2 big boys out of diapers. Talking. Sleeping. In preschool. Riding bikes. Building forts.We just signed Graham up for his 2nd year of t-ball. Graham is also sounding out words and doing math in his head and engineering legos. Patrick counts and sings and plays with puzzles independently. Each stage is so fun and so challenging. When your baby won't nap or sleep at night, that is so hard. When your kid won't potty train, that is so hard. When your 5 year old still won't eat meat (ahem, Graham), that is s...

Back in the summer of 2014, we 5 Cathey ladies (my mom and the 4 of us daughters) all got together and spent a long weekend away. It was so fun, and we knew we wanted to go for it again. This time it was winter, not summer, but we still had JUST as much fun. Big thanks to my mom for her sweet generosity and my sister Emily who really helped with the planning. This time we ventured to Alexandria, VA on the coldest weekend ever. We started by meeting up for lunch and then shopping at the Outlets near National Harbor all day (Saturday). Being 30 weeks pregnant, I didn't buy any clothes, but really enjoyed everyone's company and watching my pretty sisters try on clothes. Later on, we got to our hotel and then took the complimentary shuttle to a fun Mexican restaurant. It was freezing out, so afterwards we pretty much just went back to the hotel for the night. Next day we took the shuttle to King Street for a long day of walking and shopping. There were so many fun boutiques, ...

The wind bore down harshly Friday night. It was the worst kind of wind, strong and from the North, bringing with it frigid temperatures and a loud howl. Our house is on a hill, our road a bit of a valley; the wind pushes hard against both our bedroom and the boys bedroom windows. I'm always awake at night now. I'm uncomfortable most of the time, and every time I use the bathroom, turn over in bed, or wake up to heartburn, I sigh and look at the clock. This time the wind woke me, though. 3:30 a.m. Two minutes later the boys come in. "The wind is scary. Can we sleep with you?" Behn and I divide and conquer. I go in with Graham and Patrick snuggles with Behn in our room. Graham is tired and tries to fall back asleep. We lay in the dark, listening to the wind pound the house. My stomach growls. After 15 minutes, Graham whispers, "Mom, if a billion is bigger than a million, what is bigger than a billion?" "A trillion," I mutter. I'm always s...

February, to me, is the longest month. March sure can stretch on, too, but at least the crocuses are coming up in March. A few things lately are helping me keep my sanity. And they are... 1. Early bedtime. Like, 8:30 or at least by 9:30. I just never know how many times I'm going to wake up for roll myself over (because, belly) or get up to use the bathroom. It's hard to feel rested, and I know it's only going to get harder after the baby comes... 2. Tea. I started drinking tea a few years ago, and have really enjoyed it this winter. The perfect afternoon pick-me-up (even though decaf) or evening wind-down. What's your favorite tea? 3. These books: A sweet friend gifted me with The Quiet Place by Nancy Leigh DeMoss for my birthday and it is a refreshing devotional. Highly recommend. I ordered Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy recently and am enjoying that book as well. It's her testimony of the first year living in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse, and t...

From my doctor's appointment today: I am now over a week into the third trimester. Baby boy constantly reminds me of himself with his squirms, hiccups, and kicks. I found myself tearing up at my doctor's appointment today, thinking of how blessed we are to be doing this again. I've had more conflicted emotions this time around. The boys are out of diapers and in preschool. I'm a little older. We still have a very tight budget. And yet, I get to do this again: carry life. Any sadness I felt about not having a daughter has dissipated as I look forward to my son. I love, love little boys. We are not ready yet, though. His nursery has been a dumping ground for stuff we were selling at a yard sale at the kids' school. The yard sale is over, so now we need to take down the twin bed and bring in the crib and a dresser. The room was painted last year, so it's pretty much set. We need tiny diapers and to wash the baby clothes I have stored away. The carseat n...

It's one of "those" posts...I'm a jumbled mess and just trying to type out all the feelings and thoughts. I am tired. Patrick wiggled his way into our bed at some dark o'clock. He kissed me and then laid quietly. I looked at the clock: 5 a.m. "Oh good," I thought, "he'll go back to sleep." 5:15: He's still laying awake. "He will go back to sleep." 5:25: Still awake. "5 a.m. cannot be his wake up time." 5:40: Still awake. "5 a.m. cannot be his wake up time." 5:55: Still awake. "I feel like death..." 6:10: Now he's whispering about cheerios. 6:15: Thankfully Behn got up with him. 6:16: Graham wiggles into bed with me. And so. I am tired. I am also 2 days away from my 3rd trimester, which is another tiring factor. Growing humans is serious business, folks. I am full on waddling now, and had quit all my part time jobs because I just can't anymore. I feel fairly depleted and yet ...