Life

What's new? Not too much. BJ is really busy with work right now, preparing for some kind of security audit, and I am doing the same old stuff, working a bit at the clinic and taking care of things at home. Gabe just turned 9 months old last week and- get this- cut his 7th tooth. I am completely serious. Where did all these teeth come from?! I was talking with a friend of mine this morning whose daughter has 7 teeth also. But she is a year older than Gabe. Hmmm. I hope he doesn't have teeth crowding problems like I did. Other than being somewhat cranky from teething, Gabe has just been delightful! He is in such a fun interactive stage. He loves to growl, and he has started giving real hugs where he either puts his little chin over your shoulder or lays his cheek on your cheek, and wraps his arms behind your neck and strokes your hair. Precious! He is loving table food, and is quickly tiring of baby food. However, Cheerios will probably be one of his favorite foods for a long time. He is so good with his pincer grasp now, he pops those Cheerios in his mouth with no trouble. He does take a couple of naps per day- sometimes they are each only 30 minutes or so, but sometimes he'll sleep for over an hour. He is very curious and wants to learn and be entertained. He loves to play with (aka yank on) zippers, earrings, necklaces, and watches, so watch out!


Lately, I have been crafting a ton as well. I get a lot of satisfaction out of making things and trying to be creative. I don't know if other moms out there have felt similarly, but sometimes I feel guilty when I spend time on stuff like that (hobby stuff) when there are a zillion other things I think I should be doing (i.e. laundry, picking up toys, dishes, etc.) However my little projects really seem to rejuvenate and relax me and give me a sense of accomplishment, AND I enjoy myself without feeling like I just wasted half my day (I was feeling that way a few months ago when I was searching for something to do and would end up turning on the TV to watch shows I didn't even like much). Then today I read a quote my cousin Cami posted on her blog which really helped me understand why it was ok for me to have personal time and interests. It is from a conference talk by M. Russell Ballard:
"Sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don't allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."
-M. Russell Ballard, "Daughters of God," Ensign, May 2008, 110
I read that and I thought to myself that this is really true. I have noticed that when I take time to develop my own personality and work on hobbies and projects that I am interested in- even if it is only for 15 minutes a day, I am in general happier, more productive with monotonous tasks, and can take care of BJ and Gabe more unselfishly. So while I try to maintain a good balance between personal hobby type stuff and domestic duties, I have found that they complement each other nicely!