Clothing dilemna

Today I was trading out Joseph's 0-3 month clothes for his 3-6 month clothes. Even though he is only 2 months old, he is like my other boys in that he outgrows his clothes early. This was bittersweet for me. After having 4 boys we feel our family is complete. Barring any surprises that God could have in store for us, we don't plan to have any more children. So, this is the last time that I will ever pack up those 0-3 month clothes. This time I'm not putting them back in the attic knowing that I'll use them again.

This feels so strange and a little sad to me. At the same time, it also signals the start of a new chapter in our family's life. Once Joseph has moved through the baby stage, we will be done completely with that stage, never to experience it again. And, I suppose the sweet part of this new chapter is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel of sleep deprivation, diapers, and nursing. As precious as each moment is, there is also the promise that someday my body will be my own again, my husband and I will be able to have a complete conversation, and I will be able to rediscover things that I enjoy as my children become more and more independent.

So, what do I do with these clothes, now that we are done with them? Many were hand me downs from friends to start. Plus, now four of my own children have worn them. Many things are stained or worn or just outdated. There are still some nice pieces. Do I save them for my sisters for when they have their own children? (Of course there is no guarantee they'll even have boys). Do I bag them up and take them to Goodwill? Do I wait until the summer months & have a yard sale? Or, do I hang on to them in case we ever do have 'a surprise'? (My husband's answer to the last one is a resounding "No!") It remains to be seen.

Lent Update (Day 8): I am actually noticing a difference in the way my body feels since banishing candy & dessert from my diet. I feel pretty good! I notice that I'm not having the mid-afternoon crash that I had been experiencing. And, I feel lighter. Unfortunately, the scale hasn't really moved down yet. But, it has stopped moving up! Sarah over on Clover Lane has an interesting post today on sugar detoxing. She has eliminated sugar almost entirely from her and her family's diet. I'm not sure I could carry it out to the extreme that she has, but her post definitely had some great points. While you're over there, she also had a post yesterday on how she initiated healthier eating overall with her family. Good stuff.
Oh, and Facebook? I miss seeing other people's posts. But, I really haven't been missing the virtual zoo & fish games we were playing ( they ate up most of my time too!). My boys miss the games though. They've asked several times if we could log on to facebook so they could play. I think they are slowly getting used to the idea that my answer will be 'no' until 40 days have gone by. Maybe they'll even forget about them by then.


Some topics I'm thinking about including in some upcoming posts are 'Frugal Living & what that means for our family', 'The Rambunctiousness of Boys. Help Me!', 'How Much TV is too much?', 'How to Encourage our children to take part in family chores.', and 'Gardening Fever'. Stay tuned, because I'd love to read you comments & ideas on each of these topics as well!