My Back Won't Always Hurt Like This
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Saturday, August 11, 2012
When Camilla was a newborn she screamed for hours. Starting when she was three weeks old our evenings were filled with it: pacing, rocking, bouncing, driving around the neighborhood at midnight. We’d try anything to get our precious child to calm down.
During that time I read somewhere that infant fussiness peaks at six to eight weeks and I thought despondently, “We will not make it. That is a forever... READ MORE
Cling to Your Spouse
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Marriage on Friday, July 06, 2012
Last weekend we were supposed to go visit our parents in our hometown 100 miles away, but we stayed home instead.
We’d had a busy week, and the thought of travelling was stressing me out. Our parents understood, so we cancelled our trip and settled in for a couple days of minor household chores and as much relaxing as we can manage with four kids under six.
At some point during the weekend I said... READ MORE
Just Enough
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Faith on Wednesday, June 06, 2012
This little food-for-thought post over at Bearing Blog has had me pondering for a few days now. “The decline of grace” discusses the idea that God giving us the grace we need to handle our lives’ challenges means that when our we pass from a more trying state of life into an easier one, the grace we receive also diminishes. We’re given exactly as much as we need, is the idea. No more.
The theology-major... READ MORE
Talking Truth
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Just me on Friday, May 25, 2012
Jennifer Fulwiler, who recently witnessed a horrific accident, writes at her NC Register blog about seeing a Catholic counselor to help her process her traumatic experience. She had doubts - would therapy be “misused as a replacement for prayer and trust in God”? - but explains in her piece how she overcame those doubts, and how seeing a counselor is helping her heal.
As someone who has greatly benefitted... READ MORE
(Finally) Loving the Moment
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Saturday, March 31, 2012
-300x258.JPG)
You’ve heard the term “babymoon”?
For me, it brings to mind a mother snuggling her newborn, blissed out on cuddles and oxytocin. Maybe she’s got dark circles under her eyes and hasn’t left the house in days, but she’s falling in love with her just-born baby. The happiness is unparalleled.
I’ve never had one of those.
Oh, I love my children, but I think I’ve mentioned that I don’t enjoy the newborn... READ MORE
A 2012 Try
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Just me on Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Are you a perfectionist?
I am, of the frustrated sort, and it makes the start of a new year difficult. On the one hand, I’m tempted to make exhaustive lists of ways to improve myself this year. On the other hand, I dread the guilt I’d inevitably feel as the resolutions fell, one by one.
In recent years I’ve sidestepped this problem by avoiding particular resolutions in favor of more general ones.... READ MORE
Babies Up!
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Our twin babies were six months old in November, and we celebrated. Half a year. We’ve made it half a year. Phew.
(We figure with two babies, we’ve done a full baby-year, so six months is like a first birthday in those terms.)
What’s even more exciting than our babies being six months is what they’ve newly started doing.
See that picture? It’s Linus on the left, Ambrose on the right, both of them... READ MORE
Can I?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, September 01, 2011
A friend of mine mentioned that her five-month-old has recently ramped up his night wakings. He’s her third child, and she’s baffled. Shouldn’t she have the hang of this by now?
I dunno, I told her. I have four kids, and I certainly don’t feel like I have the hang of things.
Later, I realized that’s both true and untrue.
Four kids in, I’ve concluded it’s impossible to “get the hang” of babies in general.... READ MORE
Big Kids Come
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Monday, January 10, 2011
When my daughter was a newborn I could not imagine having more than one child.
I’d wanted a big family, but as soon as I discovered how much work it was to care for an infant, I realized I was going to be lucky if I survived the first time! The idea of doing it again (and again and again) was out of the question.
But the first few months of a new baby’s life are no time to be making decisions about... READ MORE
It Bites
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, February 18, 2010
Several times a day I hear Camilla shriek suddenly: “Mama! Blaise BIT me!”
I come running to see her looking outraged and her brother looking toothily unconcerned. Even if he hasn’t left bite marks, I know she’s telling the truth, because I myself am often the victim of those eight sharp little chompers. The baby sinks his incisors into the nearest available surface whenever it pleases him. And boy,... READ MORE
