Ok. My last post was a failed attempt at getting back to blogging. Obviously. Over a year ago. Pathetic really.
Not a lot has changed, however, except the girls getting bigger and bigger and me getting older and older. I am back into the preschool routine with Hayden. She is going four times a week - Monday through Thursday - and still loves every minute of it. So, just for fun, here is how are school mornings go...
5:30 AM - Mommy wakes up and has an hour to wake up, make tea, ease into the day with a little Facebook time. Just a little calm before the storm. Sidenote: I am not "allowed" to wake up Hayden or be woken up by Hayden if I am tired in the least. It really causes a ruckus and doesn't kick off the day right. So that is another reason I try to get up at least an hour before she and I have our first encounter. Peppy morning Mommy is a requirement...every day.
6:30 AM - I wake up Hayden with a skip in my step and a twinkle in my eye. I must call her Rainbow Dash twice while she is under her covers. I have to say it a very certain way and then she will kick off her blankets and the morning begins. She grabs her favorite of all favorite friends - Baby Jaguar (who is actually a small stuffed tiger) and her milk cup (yes, she goes to bed with milk) and I typically carry her very tall and growing four year old body down the steps. Another reason I need to be especially awake at this time.
6:45 AM - She lays on the longer couch with a certain pillow and I cover her with a Steelers blanket (gold side up) - GO STEELERS. I proceed to turn on PBS morning shows and make her chocolate milk (which is actually her breakfast in disguise - Carnation Breakfast - since she doesn't typically eat breakfast).
7:00 AM - Wake up Emma if she isn't awake already. Change diaper, fix her milk, start her breakfast.
7:15 AM - I begin the countdown to doing her "morning checklist" which is a play by play of what she needs to do to get ready for school. A very detailed play by play. 15 minutes and counting...
I also start packing lunches - for Hayden, Emma and me. It is a lot to juggle but I make a list the night before of what I am going to pack so that helps the process a bit.
7:25 AM - I give the five minute cue and this begins the battle royale starting with "another five minutes please?" Or "can I skip brushing teeth?"
7:30 AM - Time for checklist. As long as I keep my voice positive, turn it into a game or use some sort of bribery - this can go fairly well up to the brushing teeth part. Every morning she says she has an icky taste in her mouth so she rinses many many times before I finally have to physically place the toothbrush in her hand. This is the part I allow so much time for.
8:00 AM - The time we must leave to get to school on time. Or at least the time I want to get her there. She can arrive anywhere between 8 and 8:45. Class begins at 9 AM. We are pretty consistent at getting there right around 8:45. I would love to get there at 8:30 so she has more time to play. However, with the routine above and the drive time (a good thirty minutes), 8:45 AM seems to be more our "speed" so to speak.
8:45 AM - Hayden is successfully dropped off and I sign her in. Whew, phase one of my day is complete. Now off to the gym.
Emma and I go to the gym after dropping off Hayden. Emma plays in the play area - her original reluctance to do this has since diminished. She seems to be pretty confident that I will return for her. I feel this is such a good thing and will help in a few more years when I drop her off at preschool.
Emma and I stay on that side of town to save gas mostly but it also allows her and I to have some one on one time which is nice. Sometimes we run errands - groceries, Costco, etc. But some days we head to one of the parks close by to Hayden's school - one of which is pretty nice and never too crowded. We have our "picnic" lunches in the car (to keep her confined so she will eat) and then we go play. At 12:30 we pick up Hayden and head on home so everyone can relax a little. Monday is a crazy day because Hayden has dance at 3:30 so there is very little time in between school and dance.
Afternoons are when I do my "chore list". I have an awesome app that I got from Motivated Moms website http://www.motivatedmoms.com/ that keeps my chores manageable and keeps the house looking clean and organized. Well, other than the typical toy explosion that happens no matter what. Toys are put away and organized after bath time. I will give a rundown of our night time routine tomorrow. I don't want to overwhelm you right out of the gate. ;)
So that pretty much sums up the day up to dinner time. I find it interesting that some people think stay at home moms have it easy or we just sit around and don't do anything. Couldn't be further from the truth. I think I sat around more when I had a job in some ways. I think about all the countless meetings and desk time. I am always moving now. And, although the park with a two year old sounds like recreational time, I assure you it is hard work. Chasing, negotiating, correcting, etc. Precious time without a doubt but definitely not effortless.
Why am I back to writing? Every day something seems to happen or I learn something new and I start "writing" a blog entry in my head. So why not click it out on the keyboard to keep my mind active and fresh?
When I was first blogging, I was part of blogging groups of other moms and it was a very nice community so I thought I would do that again.
Eventually it would be nice to find my niche. Maybe help other moms with ideas, strategies, briberies and other tips and tricks - of course knowing that things that work with my kids may not work for others.
Blogging may take more of an effort with two kids during the day and absolutely no energy to even open my computer at night but my goal is a post a day. Hopefully with fun tips, funny stories, current event topics, new recipes I've tried, craft ideas and other topics that fly around in my head during the day.
Tomorrow...our night time routine and (hopefully) an update of our "family" tab.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
As I try to return to the outlet of writing, I hope that I can keep up a steady influx of useless information about my crazy life so that my family and those who are insanely bored (or nosey - haha)! I started all of my blogs so that my family who are physically far from my day to day can keep up with the excitement. But I am realistic. I have been known to visit many blogs that the writer is unknown to me personally but one I can relate to like I have known them forever. So I am always honored and open to others reading my thoughts if they help them feel more "normal" or if they have similar experiences they would like to share. Especially in the field of motherhood! We are all in this together ladies!
Ok, back to my poor, stagnant blog. I have definitely left it to wilt for way too long. But life of a blog is eternal and it has been sitting here waiting for me to get motivated to write again.
And here I am.
Without a single doubt, things have changed over the ridiculous amount of time I have been absent and I think my eyes would cross if I tried to get you caught up from my last post to this one. Let's just summarize by saying; I have an amazing NINE year old stepdaughter (Tay) who is quickly going on 16 and absolutely beautiful beyond a Glamour magazine! I have the smartest, funniest and sweetest three year old I have ever known (H) - and I should add spirited. You know when she walks into a room! And we recently, just over 7 months ago, welcomed our newest baby girl (E). She is has proven to be an old soul with the unique beauty of dark hair and blue eyes - different from the other girls!
Ok, somewhat caught up.
I thought I would start my posts with any interesting highlights of my day. Today, I used all ten toes to push my butt to the gym. After missing Monday due to Easter cleanup needs and Tuesday, which I always miss due to H's gymnastics class - I was half tempted to skip the rest of the week and resume next week. Add to it that T needs the car Friday morning, it would only be a two day work out week which doesn't even seem worth it. But I went.
After the gym, the girls and I went to Eegees, a local "deli" - I use that term very lightly - fast food joint that locals ADORE. I have grown to enjoy it. I think it is something you must adopt if you live here.
The one that we frequented today has the largest line for a drive thru almost all day long. After waiting quite a while to place and then receive our order, I realized as we drove away that they forgot to give me my tea. The only real thing I was looking forward to! The challenge then is having a three year old and a baby in the car. I used my hands as a scale - pulling both kids out to go in and get my tea or skip it. More times than not, I would have just moved on and tried not to think about how much I wanted that tea. Today, I wanted that tea!! So I went back through the drive thru, had a few laughs with the employees and enjoyed my tea!! H even cheered for me as we drove away "yay Mommy, yay Mommy!" Gotta love having your own cheering committee!
Then grocery shopping. This isn't a simple process with two kids. Especially when you get half way through the store and your recently potty trained daughter cries out that she needs to pee. That is when you run down Grandma Nelda and the big man in the grocery go cart to get to the nearest bathroom that is nowhere near "near". And then you have to unload the baby, grab the diaper bag, oh don't forget my phone in the cart, pull out the three year old and lug everything into the big stall of the bathroom. Then there is the balancing of the baby while you help the three year old unsnap her jean shorts (what was I thinking with those)...oh it goes on.
Let's say that a short shopping list ended up being a two hour trip (a two hour trip).
Once home, my favorite part (insert sarcasm here) of unloading the car, getting the old out of the fridge to make room for the new and the rest of the fun of putting away groceries. Right in time to make dinner! It was a busy day but at least something was accomplished.
A lot was accomplished including an epiphany I had at lunch.
I have been pretty bummed lately about working out so hard and eliminating so many things from my diet - some of which are things that make me happy and help me make it to five o'clock everyday. I feel like I am making sacrifices that are greater than the benefits I am seeing. I know it takes a while to lose weight but here comes the epiphany...I am a 41 year old mom of two babies (well 3 and 7 months). I have never had the body of a supermodel and never will. No matter what I do. Add to that, my body has been through it with two pregnancies. It will never be the same as it was before kids...or even before Emma.
Life is short. I want to keep working out because I enjoy how it feels. And I will watch my portions. At least most of the time. But I am not going to define myself by lbs lost or by new concepts on how to eat, not eat, what to eat, what not to eat, just eat grass and an ounce of chicken...it just isn't my style. Or the style of my family. I am going to enjoy food. Real food. In moderation. Or not if it is a special day of the week. Or days of the week.
It felt like a weight had lifted. I need to love me for who I am right now. Not some skinny chick I envision myself to get to. Ain't gonna happen. Even if I lost the weight, I am sure I will be trying to find ways to hide the dangling skin that would remain. As a woman, I will never be satisfied with my body. Therefore, I should live freely so that I have something to grab ahold of - other than fat and flabby skin.
On that note, I will end my first post with my 2013 goals I put together at the beginning of the year:
My lifetime goals:
On the menu tonight was...spicy chipotle black bean patties, couscous with sundried tomatoes and feta and a small salad.
Until next time...
Ok, back to my poor, stagnant blog. I have definitely left it to wilt for way too long. But life of a blog is eternal and it has been sitting here waiting for me to get motivated to write again.
And here I am.
Without a single doubt, things have changed over the ridiculous amount of time I have been absent and I think my eyes would cross if I tried to get you caught up from my last post to this one. Let's just summarize by saying; I have an amazing NINE year old stepdaughter (Tay) who is quickly going on 16 and absolutely beautiful beyond a Glamour magazine! I have the smartest, funniest and sweetest three year old I have ever known (H) - and I should add spirited. You know when she walks into a room! And we recently, just over 7 months ago, welcomed our newest baby girl (E). She is has proven to be an old soul with the unique beauty of dark hair and blue eyes - different from the other girls!
Ok, somewhat caught up.
I thought I would start my posts with any interesting highlights of my day. Today, I used all ten toes to push my butt to the gym. After missing Monday due to Easter cleanup needs and Tuesday, which I always miss due to H's gymnastics class - I was half tempted to skip the rest of the week and resume next week. Add to it that T needs the car Friday morning, it would only be a two day work out week which doesn't even seem worth it. But I went.
After the gym, the girls and I went to Eegees, a local "deli" - I use that term very lightly - fast food joint that locals ADORE. I have grown to enjoy it. I think it is something you must adopt if you live here.
The one that we frequented today has the largest line for a drive thru almost all day long. After waiting quite a while to place and then receive our order, I realized as we drove away that they forgot to give me my tea. The only real thing I was looking forward to! The challenge then is having a three year old and a baby in the car. I used my hands as a scale - pulling both kids out to go in and get my tea or skip it. More times than not, I would have just moved on and tried not to think about how much I wanted that tea. Today, I wanted that tea!! So I went back through the drive thru, had a few laughs with the employees and enjoyed my tea!! H even cheered for me as we drove away "yay Mommy, yay Mommy!" Gotta love having your own cheering committee!
Then grocery shopping. This isn't a simple process with two kids. Especially when you get half way through the store and your recently potty trained daughter cries out that she needs to pee. That is when you run down Grandma Nelda and the big man in the grocery go cart to get to the nearest bathroom that is nowhere near "near". And then you have to unload the baby, grab the diaper bag, oh don't forget my phone in the cart, pull out the three year old and lug everything into the big stall of the bathroom. Then there is the balancing of the baby while you help the three year old unsnap her jean shorts (what was I thinking with those)...oh it goes on.
Let's say that a short shopping list ended up being a two hour trip (a two hour trip).
Once home, my favorite part (insert sarcasm here) of unloading the car, getting the old out of the fridge to make room for the new and the rest of the fun of putting away groceries. Right in time to make dinner! It was a busy day but at least something was accomplished.
A lot was accomplished including an epiphany I had at lunch.
I have been pretty bummed lately about working out so hard and eliminating so many things from my diet - some of which are things that make me happy and help me make it to five o'clock everyday. I feel like I am making sacrifices that are greater than the benefits I am seeing. I know it takes a while to lose weight but here comes the epiphany...I am a 41 year old mom of two babies (well 3 and 7 months). I have never had the body of a supermodel and never will. No matter what I do. Add to that, my body has been through it with two pregnancies. It will never be the same as it was before kids...or even before Emma.
Life is short. I want to keep working out because I enjoy how it feels. And I will watch my portions. At least most of the time. But I am not going to define myself by lbs lost or by new concepts on how to eat, not eat, what to eat, what not to eat, just eat grass and an ounce of chicken...it just isn't my style. Or the style of my family. I am going to enjoy food. Real food. In moderation. Or not if it is a special day of the week. Or days of the week.
It felt like a weight had lifted. I need to love me for who I am right now. Not some skinny chick I envision myself to get to. Ain't gonna happen. Even if I lost the weight, I am sure I will be trying to find ways to hide the dangling skin that would remain. As a woman, I will never be satisfied with my body. Therefore, I should live freely so that I have something to grab ahold of - other than fat and flabby skin.
On that note, I will end my first post with my 2013 goals I put together at the beginning of the year:
- Lose 50 lbs by Dec 1 - I will be happy to just drop one size. I'm not going to stress about it. Instead I am going to buy a wardrobe to flatter my mommy body.
- Exercise more...eat less - this is actually happening compared to how much I exercised and ate last year.
- Healthier meals - here and there
- Become more organized - this is ongoing I'm sure and will probably be more perfected when all kids are in school. Since that is a ways away, I will try to organize one area a week and report back here.
- Be more cost efficient - this is definitely in the works. T and I came up with a budget for groceries and I am trying very hard to come under every month. I will post more about our new menu and grocery plan tomorrow.
- Weekly menu with a new recipe each week - I am actually doing monthly menus with a new recipe peppered in there probably every week or every other.
- Keep car clean - working everyday on this but, with the size of our family...it isn't easy. But H loves the car wash so the outside stays looking pretty nice!
- Send more cards & homemade items from the kids to family - total slacker here but definitely hope to ramp this up.
- More date nights with T - we've had a couple but still not enough! Progress needed!
- More time spent with friends - definitely sucking at this unless you count play dates. I miss my single or kid-less friends. I feel it is definitely my responsibility to reach out and, with the days flying by before my very eyes, I have to hit pause on my video and make some much needed plans with my friends!
- Do one craft project per week - I think I meant either on my own or with the kids. I honestly haven't done either. Need to work on this. Noted!
My lifetime goals:
- Be a GREAT wife - I do my best as busy as we are. I feel T and I are an amazing team. We have our unspoken roles that we fit into very well. But I know I could always improve as a wife.
- Be a GREAT mom - or the best I can be. I work on this everyday and only time will tell.
- Be positive...no matter what - I have my moments but I think I am very positive (with a little help from my tiny friends Lexapro
- More patience - H has taught me tons of patience and I feel like I have come a long way. Again, Lexapro has to take a little credit too.
- Drink more water - there's water in beer right? No, I have been drinking more water. And tea.
- Play hard! - My favorite of them all! I am probably the best at this one!
On the menu tonight was...spicy chipotle black bean patties, couscous with sundried tomatoes and feta and a small salad.
Until next time...
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Long time, no chat...
...but not as long as it has been!
As usual, it has been a very busy and exciting time around the Spencer household - and not all of it good. Easter has come and gone followed by a nasty flu bug biting H. She was out of commission for about a week while she battled a 103 temp, runny nose and horrible cough. I was lucky enough to catch it - and still have it - but I don't have the fever. My body, as old as it is, recognizes this as the common cold and doesn't bother raising my body temp to battle it. My body just says, welcome back...wreak your havoc and then move on. Thank you.
The bummer about catching anything, especially the common cold, when you are pregnant is that you can't really take much to combat it. You can mix and match some low end, low grade, barely has anything to touch it meds and hope that you get a little sleep but the truth is...you really just have to ride it out. But I am an old pro when it comes to colds. They are so close to the allergies I experience year round that I know how to work through it. A cold, however, does have the power to bring your energy level to a hault, leave your nose red and raw and bring on a cough that sounds like you have smoked for 80 years.
Because H was down and out, we missed gymnastics and swim last week. I also chose not to do our daily preschool so that she would, instead, just relax and heal. But this week, even with the abundance of tissues in my front pocket, we are back in the saddle. We had day one of preschool yesterday - starting on letter D this week. Today was gymnastics and the next two days will be swim lessons (tomorrow's being a makeup class). I will definitely be working in some school time over the next few days as well as getting her practicing for the wedding she will be in this weekend. Walking slow and following directions. We shall see how THAT pans out! ;)
Today was a fun first time! H and I went to the library. She has been to libraries before for story time but this time it was to check out books. The library by us is really nice and has a room just for kiddos that separates their madness from the adult quiet areas. There are even little activities for the kids to do which is super cool and had her totally entertained! As did the other kids. She made three friends while we were there. One little girl - probably about 6 years old - played with her for more than 15 minutes. They were making up games and I was impressed with H's ability to follow what she was wanting her to do (she was talking very fast) and her ability to converse back. **Brag moment** I am asked a lot how old she is because of how well she speaks. That makes a momma very proud.
Some pics from library time:
In other news, we are getting ready for baby girl number 2. Still tossing around names and getting the room ready as well as starting our stockpile of clothes. Something new we are doing this time around is trying our hand at cloth diapering. I am not very granola (although I do try to recycle as much as possible) and I don't think my not using disposables on baby 2 is going to make THAT big of a difference in the landfill, however I would like to find an area where we might be able to save some money. Especially since we have decided to exclusively formula feed versus nursing. I know there are chemicals in disposable diapers to help them remain dry longer but they have never hurt...or even affected H...in the least. And it isn't that we couldn't afford diapers...T wanted me to be clear that, if cloth diapering isn't my thing, we are more than capable of going back to disposables. And that's nice that the option exists but this is something I really want to try! A challenge maybe. Something different (as H would say).
I have already bought a few things I have found through Craigslist to start my cloth diaper stockpile. However, I have a long way to go and a lot more research to do to truly understand what I am doing. But I really can't imagine it being that hard. And the laundry? Well, I do loads and loads of laundry everyday so one more load won't break me. I say all this before I have had my first poop blowout that I have to get my hands in and clean. Wish me luck.
The other big news about baby 2 is that we will be transferring to another OB so that I can deliver closer to home. This was a HUGE and very hard decision for me because I love my OB so much. However, I feel like I am breathing easier (except going up the steps) knowing that I will be delivering 20 minutes from home versus one hour!! My OB was very understanding and the plan is that I will visit her again post baby for all of my annual needs. Luckily, she highly recommends the OB I will be going to for the last half of my pregnancy and it sounds like other Moms in this area highly recommend the entire practice. Sounds like all the docs there are solid. So this is all a relief to me!
After this busy week of H's activities and a wedding, next week H and I will be traveling back to Louisville to visit my Dad and my Grandpa (along with other family I hope!). We will be there for about 5 days experiencing a very small part of the Derby Festival season! I am excited to take H to the balloon glow and balloon race the Friday and Saturday we are there. She watched hot air balloons land behind our house from time to time and is very fascinated by it! I think she is going to have a great time! And she gets to hang out with her Papa and Mimi for the majority of the time which will be awesome! I am also going to get some Derby party shopping done while I am there since you will be hard pressed to find anything Derby out here.
Sidenote is that T and I have lightly tossed around the idea of doing our big RV trip next year in April instead of around July 4th. We have chatted about doing our cross country voyage and then making it to Louisville in time to experience all that is Kentucky Derby Festival with the grand finale being going to the Derby itself! We would still go to Louisville around the 4th for my Dad's big party but we would probably just fly in for that for 2013. We will see how it all pans out. I am pretty stoked about the possibility of sharing the most exciting time in Louisville with my family though!
If you're interested in the festival and what happens the two weeks leading up to the big race, here is their website: http://kdf.org/
In other news, I have started my own playgroup under the Tucson Moms header for 2012 babies and pregnant mommas. It has been a slow start but I am still excited about it. I am also volunteering to be the newsletter editor but that won't be official until I am voted in at the board meeting next month. I am excited to use my brain in other areas other than being a momma. And I love to edit!
That's all from here for now. So glad that my nugget is feeling better other than a lingering cough and hoping that I will feel better before the wedding this weekend. Hey...posting this is a start back to a routine! We will see how it goes.
As usual, it has been a very busy and exciting time around the Spencer household - and not all of it good. Easter has come and gone followed by a nasty flu bug biting H. She was out of commission for about a week while she battled a 103 temp, runny nose and horrible cough. I was lucky enough to catch it - and still have it - but I don't have the fever. My body, as old as it is, recognizes this as the common cold and doesn't bother raising my body temp to battle it. My body just says, welcome back...wreak your havoc and then move on. Thank you.
The bummer about catching anything, especially the common cold, when you are pregnant is that you can't really take much to combat it. You can mix and match some low end, low grade, barely has anything to touch it meds and hope that you get a little sleep but the truth is...you really just have to ride it out. But I am an old pro when it comes to colds. They are so close to the allergies I experience year round that I know how to work through it. A cold, however, does have the power to bring your energy level to a hault, leave your nose red and raw and bring on a cough that sounds like you have smoked for 80 years.
Because H was down and out, we missed gymnastics and swim last week. I also chose not to do our daily preschool so that she would, instead, just relax and heal. But this week, even with the abundance of tissues in my front pocket, we are back in the saddle. We had day one of preschool yesterday - starting on letter D this week. Today was gymnastics and the next two days will be swim lessons (tomorrow's being a makeup class). I will definitely be working in some school time over the next few days as well as getting her practicing for the wedding she will be in this weekend. Walking slow and following directions. We shall see how THAT pans out! ;)
Today was a fun first time! H and I went to the library. She has been to libraries before for story time but this time it was to check out books. The library by us is really nice and has a room just for kiddos that separates their madness from the adult quiet areas. There are even little activities for the kids to do which is super cool and had her totally entertained! As did the other kids. She made three friends while we were there. One little girl - probably about 6 years old - played with her for more than 15 minutes. They were making up games and I was impressed with H's ability to follow what she was wanting her to do (she was talking very fast) and her ability to converse back. **Brag moment** I am asked a lot how old she is because of how well she speaks. That makes a momma very proud.
Some pics from library time:
In other news, we are getting ready for baby girl number 2. Still tossing around names and getting the room ready as well as starting our stockpile of clothes. Something new we are doing this time around is trying our hand at cloth diapering. I am not very granola (although I do try to recycle as much as possible) and I don't think my not using disposables on baby 2 is going to make THAT big of a difference in the landfill, however I would like to find an area where we might be able to save some money. Especially since we have decided to exclusively formula feed versus nursing. I know there are chemicals in disposable diapers to help them remain dry longer but they have never hurt...or even affected H...in the least. And it isn't that we couldn't afford diapers...T wanted me to be clear that, if cloth diapering isn't my thing, we are more than capable of going back to disposables. And that's nice that the option exists but this is something I really want to try! A challenge maybe. Something different (as H would say).
I have already bought a few things I have found through Craigslist to start my cloth diaper stockpile. However, I have a long way to go and a lot more research to do to truly understand what I am doing. But I really can't imagine it being that hard. And the laundry? Well, I do loads and loads of laundry everyday so one more load won't break me. I say all this before I have had my first poop blowout that I have to get my hands in and clean. Wish me luck.
The other big news about baby 2 is that we will be transferring to another OB so that I can deliver closer to home. This was a HUGE and very hard decision for me because I love my OB so much. However, I feel like I am breathing easier (except going up the steps) knowing that I will be delivering 20 minutes from home versus one hour!! My OB was very understanding and the plan is that I will visit her again post baby for all of my annual needs. Luckily, she highly recommends the OB I will be going to for the last half of my pregnancy and it sounds like other Moms in this area highly recommend the entire practice. Sounds like all the docs there are solid. So this is all a relief to me!
After this busy week of H's activities and a wedding, next week H and I will be traveling back to Louisville to visit my Dad and my Grandpa (along with other family I hope!). We will be there for about 5 days experiencing a very small part of the Derby Festival season! I am excited to take H to the balloon glow and balloon race the Friday and Saturday we are there. She watched hot air balloons land behind our house from time to time and is very fascinated by it! I think she is going to have a great time! And she gets to hang out with her Papa and Mimi for the majority of the time which will be awesome! I am also going to get some Derby party shopping done while I am there since you will be hard pressed to find anything Derby out here.
Sidenote is that T and I have lightly tossed around the idea of doing our big RV trip next year in April instead of around July 4th. We have chatted about doing our cross country voyage and then making it to Louisville in time to experience all that is Kentucky Derby Festival with the grand finale being going to the Derby itself! We would still go to Louisville around the 4th for my Dad's big party but we would probably just fly in for that for 2013. We will see how it all pans out. I am pretty stoked about the possibility of sharing the most exciting time in Louisville with my family though!
If you're interested in the festival and what happens the two weeks leading up to the big race, here is their website: http://kdf.org/
In other news, I have started my own playgroup under the Tucson Moms header for 2012 babies and pregnant mommas. It has been a slow start but I am still excited about it. I am also volunteering to be the newsletter editor but that won't be official until I am voted in at the board meeting next month. I am excited to use my brain in other areas other than being a momma. And I love to edit!
That's all from here for now. So glad that my nugget is feeling better other than a lingering cough and hoping that I will feel better before the wedding this weekend. Hey...posting this is a start back to a routine! We will see how it goes.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Just as I feared, life got in the way of my blog again! How dare it! Geez!
Well, tonight I am making an extra effort to take a moment to say hello and to update you on what's going on in the ol' household.
H is absolutely LOVING her pre-school time. We are doing the letter B this week. She walks around singing our B song (it is to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus but goes "the letter B goes buh buh buh..." you get the idea). I made it up but it seems to work so far with the two letters we have done. We have gone back and started with A and then go to B with the song. She has definitely learned the B sound and will think of other words that start with B. She will go "buh, buh ball" or "buh buh Boots" which happens to be the monkey on Dora - one of her favorites! Needless to say, momma's proud.
Speaking of proud, and while I am gloating a bit on the brilliance of H, today we were in Walmart and she was taking a potty break (which is really going well by the way...I will discuss more in a bit). I had told her about a week ago about the toilets, soap dispensers and paper towels that flush or dispense on their own. I told her that they are "automatic" because they do these things on their own.
Today in Walmart, she hopped off the potty seat and the toilet flushed. She told me that the potty flushed on it's own so that you don't have to...it is automatic. Whoa! Um yeah. It is. She amazes me sometimes. Well, actually, all the time!!
Potty training. Going great. Pee in the potty was somewhat of a breeze but poop was a completely different ball of wax (or a ball of something else). Her first poop in the potty "hurt" and was bigger than Rhode Island so I think it traumatized her quite a bit. She got to the point of telling me she had to go but then not going when we sat on the potty. After taking her off and putting her pants back on, no more than 3 minutes would go by when she would come to me saying she was "ready" but the poop was already making a mountain in her shorts. "Just dump it in the potty mommy." SO not the point. But today was a break through that has given me some hope. She pooped on the potty and it was a normal kiddo size and no drama at all. She was so proud of herself! I was proud too. Hope it continues!
I have been asked to lead a new playgroup within the mom organization that I am a part of. I am pretty excited to be starting a new playgroup! I will still be taking H to the playgroup we have been involved with for a year but this will be an added playgroup under the same organization that will be for new 2012 mommas - both with babies born in early 2012 and pregnant mommas like me who will be having their babies in 2012. Should be pretty fun but will also add to our already full (yet fun) schedule!
Here is our current schedule:
Mondays - home school preschool, new 2012 playgroup
Tuesdays - home school preschool, gymnastics
Wednesdays - home school preschool, open for some pool time/outdoor time
Thursdays - home school preschool, swim lessons
Fridays - home school preschool, 2009 playgroup
All this and my daily chores as well. I have a list a day to do and I always try to do at least two or more loads of laundry to stay on top of things. Errands to run, meals to fix, games to play and pictures to color...it definitely makes a day fly by! I used to always try to do a craft a day with H but our preschool time makes up for that a bit. I do still try to do some sort of craft on Friday with her at the very least.
Whew - that all just made me exhausted.
Add on top of that getting the house organized, spring cleaning (I am bound and determined to clean our blinds and windows this season), getting a nursery together and finding the time to shower...well, aren't you tired yet??
This Friday is the big day for little mystery meat. Even though my doc got a pretty priceless shot of the goods (or lack thereof) at my last appointment and gave us her 97% prediction that we are having a girl, Friday is my 20 week ultrasound when we will know for sure. That is, if she doesn't turn shy all the sudden. But we are pretty confident that doc wouldn't have even gone there if she wasn't more like 100% sure. Sorry T...you're going to be surrounded! Thank goodness for the 5 cent wine sale once a month, huh??
And if this one is as beautiful as Tay and H....oh man....I am just going to sit back during the teenage years and quietly sip on my cocktail as the girls prance down the steps in their smaller than small skirts. Poor daddy!
April is a full month for us - I can't believe it is already here!! This weekend I am going to a wedding shower for my step sister in law who is getting married in April. Sunday we are excited to get H and her cousin (5 months older) together to paint Easter eggs and decorate cookies. The next weekend is Easter, then the wedding two weekends after that followed by my trip to Louisville with H at the end of the month. I hate that life is flying by so fast but I must say that, even though I should be enjoying my last pregnancy since it will be the last, I am also pretty excited to have our new little one and attempt to get my body back (and, yes, have a beer again!!).
A friend of T's posted a great comment on my homeschooling vs traditional schooling entry and had a great resource I wanted to share. www.greatschools.org. I haven't gone to it yet but will after I am done here. Apparently, it rates local schools so that you can make a more "educated" choice for your kids. Thanks Dem! He had some other great tips and resources in his comment. Just find that post and take a look!
I guess that's all for now. I am all caught up and ready for H's school time tomorrow (she typically asks to do it after breakfast) so that's done. After her school time we will hit swim lessons and then hit a few errands after lunch. Another full day...
Well, tonight I am making an extra effort to take a moment to say hello and to update you on what's going on in the ol' household.
H is absolutely LOVING her pre-school time. We are doing the letter B this week. She walks around singing our B song (it is to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus but goes "the letter B goes buh buh buh..." you get the idea). I made it up but it seems to work so far with the two letters we have done. We have gone back and started with A and then go to B with the song. She has definitely learned the B sound and will think of other words that start with B. She will go "buh, buh ball" or "buh buh Boots" which happens to be the monkey on Dora - one of her favorites! Needless to say, momma's proud.
Speaking of proud, and while I am gloating a bit on the brilliance of H, today we were in Walmart and she was taking a potty break (which is really going well by the way...I will discuss more in a bit). I had told her about a week ago about the toilets, soap dispensers and paper towels that flush or dispense on their own. I told her that they are "automatic" because they do these things on their own.
Today in Walmart, she hopped off the potty seat and the toilet flushed. She told me that the potty flushed on it's own so that you don't have to...it is automatic. Whoa! Um yeah. It is. She amazes me sometimes. Well, actually, all the time!!
Potty training. Going great. Pee in the potty was somewhat of a breeze but poop was a completely different ball of wax (or a ball of something else). Her first poop in the potty "hurt" and was bigger than Rhode Island so I think it traumatized her quite a bit. She got to the point of telling me she had to go but then not going when we sat on the potty. After taking her off and putting her pants back on, no more than 3 minutes would go by when she would come to me saying she was "ready" but the poop was already making a mountain in her shorts. "Just dump it in the potty mommy." SO not the point. But today was a break through that has given me some hope. She pooped on the potty and it was a normal kiddo size and no drama at all. She was so proud of herself! I was proud too. Hope it continues!
I have been asked to lead a new playgroup within the mom organization that I am a part of. I am pretty excited to be starting a new playgroup! I will still be taking H to the playgroup we have been involved with for a year but this will be an added playgroup under the same organization that will be for new 2012 mommas - both with babies born in early 2012 and pregnant mommas like me who will be having their babies in 2012. Should be pretty fun but will also add to our already full (yet fun) schedule!
Here is our current schedule:
Mondays - home school preschool, new 2012 playgroup
Tuesdays - home school preschool, gymnastics
Wednesdays - home school preschool, open for some pool time/outdoor time
Thursdays - home school preschool, swim lessons
Fridays - home school preschool, 2009 playgroup
All this and my daily chores as well. I have a list a day to do and I always try to do at least two or more loads of laundry to stay on top of things. Errands to run, meals to fix, games to play and pictures to color...it definitely makes a day fly by! I used to always try to do a craft a day with H but our preschool time makes up for that a bit. I do still try to do some sort of craft on Friday with her at the very least.
Whew - that all just made me exhausted.
Add on top of that getting the house organized, spring cleaning (I am bound and determined to clean our blinds and windows this season), getting a nursery together and finding the time to shower...well, aren't you tired yet??
This Friday is the big day for little mystery meat. Even though my doc got a pretty priceless shot of the goods (or lack thereof) at my last appointment and gave us her 97% prediction that we are having a girl, Friday is my 20 week ultrasound when we will know for sure. That is, if she doesn't turn shy all the sudden. But we are pretty confident that doc wouldn't have even gone there if she wasn't more like 100% sure. Sorry T...you're going to be surrounded! Thank goodness for the 5 cent wine sale once a month, huh??
And if this one is as beautiful as Tay and H....oh man....I am just going to sit back during the teenage years and quietly sip on my cocktail as the girls prance down the steps in their smaller than small skirts. Poor daddy!
April is a full month for us - I can't believe it is already here!! This weekend I am going to a wedding shower for my step sister in law who is getting married in April. Sunday we are excited to get H and her cousin (5 months older) together to paint Easter eggs and decorate cookies. The next weekend is Easter, then the wedding two weekends after that followed by my trip to Louisville with H at the end of the month. I hate that life is flying by so fast but I must say that, even though I should be enjoying my last pregnancy since it will be the last, I am also pretty excited to have our new little one and attempt to get my body back (and, yes, have a beer again!!).
A friend of T's posted a great comment on my homeschooling vs traditional schooling entry and had a great resource I wanted to share. www.greatschools.org. I haven't gone to it yet but will after I am done here. Apparently, it rates local schools so that you can make a more "educated" choice for your kids. Thanks Dem! He had some other great tips and resources in his comment. Just find that post and take a look!
I guess that's all for now. I am all caught up and ready for H's school time tomorrow (she typically asks to do it after breakfast) so that's done. After her school time we will hit swim lessons and then hit a few errands after lunch. Another full day...
Monday, March 19, 2012
Pulling useless thoughts out of a massive headache!
I can't believe I am even here writing a thing! I have such a huge headache - which has become pretty common in the evenings over the course of this pregnancy. I was going to play hookie today and not do a post but felt that would start a bad trend of being lazy about it every night.
Other than this hammer thumping in my head, I've had a pretty good day! H and I were going to do our grocery trip this morning like when we usually do our errands but the weather was just crap and I didn't have it in me to fight the wind, the rain, the cold and the potty training before lunch. But we did have our first day of "pre-pre-school". I was a bit hesitant - not sure how H would take to it. I went into it with somewhat low expectations and just wanted to try to make it a fun thing for her and I to do together.
What a success!! I asked her if she wanted to do "school" with me and she was so excited! I sat her at the dining room table (which we don't sit at often) and started loosely following the curriculum that I had found on that amazing blog! She was totally into it! Today was the letter "A". We sang a song about the letter A and what sound it makes. She did a color sheet where I helped her trace an uppercase and lower case A and then she got to creatively color the apple tree on the page. She decorated the cover of her "ABC binder" where we will put a couple of activities from each letter to look back on later. We talked about days of the week and the weather. We played a floor game to help with her number skills - she did perfect but that's to be expected. She has her numbers down pretty well. Then I added my own idea to our "A" day - H's first collage. We looked through magazines and found anything that started with the letter A. I cut it out and she got to glue it on the paper wherever she wanted. She LOVED it!! We wrapped up our "school" hour with the A song again and that was that. She even sang it herself and then sang it again at the grocery - which we finally accomplished well after lunch!
Tomorrow we will continue with the letter A with some other new projects. I am going to try to do everything after breakfast and before her gymnastics class.
Here are some pics from our school day!
So I get sucked into that show Intervention. It makes me feel pretty damn good about my life! It also makes me realize how very important it is to create and maintain a stable home and life for your children! Holy cow!
So now a tribute to mystery meat. I said that I was going to use this blog to update about our new addition and I don't feel I have done that enough. Baby is definitely moving around in there. Nothing to feel on the outside but I can definitely feel it on the inside! I felt very pregnant today. Hard to explain what I mean when I say that. I just felt very front heavy today. The sweetest thing...H and I were cuddling while watching her last Elmo's World before bed. She gently rubbed my belly and said "my baby sister in your belly?" I said yes. She gave my belly a kiss. OMG...took my breath away. She is truly going to be the best big sister ever! She is so loving. It makes me very proud to be her mommy.
That's all for tonight. Gonna take a couple of Tylenol and try to get some sleep.
Other than this hammer thumping in my head, I've had a pretty good day! H and I were going to do our grocery trip this morning like when we usually do our errands but the weather was just crap and I didn't have it in me to fight the wind, the rain, the cold and the potty training before lunch. But we did have our first day of "pre-pre-school". I was a bit hesitant - not sure how H would take to it. I went into it with somewhat low expectations and just wanted to try to make it a fun thing for her and I to do together.
What a success!! I asked her if she wanted to do "school" with me and she was so excited! I sat her at the dining room table (which we don't sit at often) and started loosely following the curriculum that I had found on that amazing blog! She was totally into it! Today was the letter "A". We sang a song about the letter A and what sound it makes. She did a color sheet where I helped her trace an uppercase and lower case A and then she got to creatively color the apple tree on the page. She decorated the cover of her "ABC binder" where we will put a couple of activities from each letter to look back on later. We talked about days of the week and the weather. We played a floor game to help with her number skills - she did perfect but that's to be expected. She has her numbers down pretty well. Then I added my own idea to our "A" day - H's first collage. We looked through magazines and found anything that started with the letter A. I cut it out and she got to glue it on the paper wherever she wanted. She LOVED it!! We wrapped up our "school" hour with the A song again and that was that. She even sang it herself and then sang it again at the grocery - which we finally accomplished well after lunch!
Tomorrow we will continue with the letter A with some other new projects. I am going to try to do everything after breakfast and before her gymnastics class.
Here are some pics from our school day!
So I get sucked into that show Intervention. It makes me feel pretty damn good about my life! It also makes me realize how very important it is to create and maintain a stable home and life for your children! Holy cow!
So now a tribute to mystery meat. I said that I was going to use this blog to update about our new addition and I don't feel I have done that enough. Baby is definitely moving around in there. Nothing to feel on the outside but I can definitely feel it on the inside! I felt very pregnant today. Hard to explain what I mean when I say that. I just felt very front heavy today. The sweetest thing...H and I were cuddling while watching her last Elmo's World before bed. She gently rubbed my belly and said "my baby sister in your belly?" I said yes. She gave my belly a kiss. OMG...took my breath away. She is truly going to be the best big sister ever! She is so loving. It makes me very proud to be her mommy.
That's all for tonight. Gonna take a couple of Tylenol and try to get some sleep.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Drinking urine?? Really??
Today has been a long but fun day and tonight was very productive as well. I have all of my worksheets ready and laminated for tomorrow's "school time" with H. Of course that will have to take place after my usual chores and errands for a Monday including grocery shopping (yuck). I am pretty excited to get her started on these lessons. I really think she will have fun with the projects!
The weather has been more than crazy today. We went from 80 degrees to 50's/60's with rain, wind, hail and snow. H and I actually got caught in a hail storm trying to go into a store today. You would think that would make any two year old potty trainer pee their pants. Nope! Only one accident today and that was because Mommy took too long getting a couple of bags out of the car.
Speaking of crazy...have you checked out the Strange Addiction show? Ok...there have been some weird stories on this TLC show - a woman who eats dirt, a man who has a relationship (yes, even sexually) with his car....and now this. A woman who drinks her own urine. Not only through her mouth but through her nose and her eyes. She brushes her teeth with it. Rubs week old urine on her body. Ummmmm....WTF?
I apologize for a less than exciting blog tonight. All the printing, laminating and cutting out has really crossed my eyes. I am going to watch the rest of this show about this nutty pee drinking woman and then I am going to crash for the night. I will be sure to take and post pics tomorrow of H and I's school time together. Wish us luck!
Goodnight all!
The weather has been more than crazy today. We went from 80 degrees to 50's/60's with rain, wind, hail and snow. H and I actually got caught in a hail storm trying to go into a store today. You would think that would make any two year old potty trainer pee their pants. Nope! Only one accident today and that was because Mommy took too long getting a couple of bags out of the car.
Speaking of crazy...have you checked out the Strange Addiction show? Ok...there have been some weird stories on this TLC show - a woman who eats dirt, a man who has a relationship (yes, even sexually) with his car....and now this. A woman who drinks her own urine. Not only through her mouth but through her nose and her eyes. She brushes her teeth with it. Rubs week old urine on her body. Ummmmm....WTF?
I apologize for a less than exciting blog tonight. All the printing, laminating and cutting out has really crossed my eyes. I am going to watch the rest of this show about this nutty pee drinking woman and then I am going to crash for the night. I will be sure to take and post pics tomorrow of H and I's school time together. Wish us luck!
Goodnight all!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Education at it's finest
That was the correct form of "it's", right? No, I know that it is. I am a stickler about those grammatical elements for sure! Editor at heart.
This post is about my internal battle between homeschooling my kids versus sending them to the best school I can find in whatever area we live in at the time they attend.
Please know this...I know people who are definitely trying homeschooling and I have absolutely NO problems, issues or arguments about that decision. First, in this day and age, what parent doesn't think about the idea of keeping their kids out of schools that are ridden with bullying, abuse of some sort and a growing trend of less than stellar educators? Second, what parent doesn't want to have more control over their child's education so that they know exactly what they are learning - both from books as well as their peers!
I was definitely in the homeschooling mindset when I first looked into H's eyes and fell madly in love. Keep her out of harms way at all costs. Never let her out of my sight. Hang the first boy that breaks her heart by his grimey toenails out a five story window.
As the two years have gone by, I have sat back, done some research, consulted with T and done some major soul searching to determine that we will send H and her future sibling to school. Here is what I came up with and I know T would agree with my lists.
Why I would like to homeschool:
1. Obviously...protection. Protect the most precious things in our life. If they are at home with us, they are not being bullied, abused by somebody in the school that slipped through the background screening, they are not being pulled into trouble by peer pressure, etc.
2. Organization and structure are not only part of my zodiac sign but should also be my middle names. I would love nothing more than to put together a classroom setting, lesson plans and field trips. It would be an interesting spin-off of my former career as a planner and production manager!
3. I know that I could properly educate through my education (albeit my education via public school!) and that T and I could provide priceless real life experiences that would supplement any book education we could teach.
4. I can monitor the level of education H and her sibling would receive and make sure that they are always challenged and never bored.
Why we feel strongly about sending the kids to school:
1. I want them to have the experience. The experience of the first day of school, of making friends on their own, of respecting authority other than that of their parents.
2. H is a very independent kid. And very social as well. I want her to have her own time, away from me and her home, to explore real life in a social environment. I want to pick her up from school and see her run to me telling me all about her day, what she learned and what she made me! ;) I want her to have HER time. Not on my hip but on her own.
3. I realize that all the news we hear about bullying and abuse is scary but, after working in news, it is also sensationalized. Not every school is perfect but not every school harbors sexual predators. And I am sure there are bullies in most, if not all, schools but I have confidence in myself that I can teach H confidence in HERSELF so that it doesn't affect her so negatively that she feels she can't go on.
4. I have many educators - both current and retired - in my family and I respect them greatly. Sure not everyone is perfect and H may have some teachers that aren't up to par but I will be sure to take it upon myself to determine if H should change classes, schools or just supplement her education at home while helping with homework. Saying this, there are many educators who have wanted to teach children since they were children themselves. They have gone to school and have done a lot to get to where they are...unfortunately they aren't paid what they should be by far...but the good ones don't look at it that way. They are in it because they love kids and they love what they do.
5. I want H to experience the fun parts of school (I was the geek that thought learning was the fun part) like Daddy/daughter dances, ring ceremony, prom, pep rallies, spirit weeks, school pride, sports/recreation activities (these are very rare and hard to find in homeschooling - according to the research I have done at least). And, of course, the end-all be-all best part of school...GRADUATION CEREMONY (and the parties that follow).
6. According to my research, there are many universities that don't recognize homeschooling as proper education. I definitely don't agree with that and think that they should be more open-minded in this respect. However, I definitely don't want H to be limited in her college options. (For the record, many homeschoolers prepare their high schoolers to take the necessary assessment tests to make admission a bit more possible but scholarships are very limited).
7. If our decision to send them to school puts them in harm's way, isn't productive or doesn't meet our expectations, we do always have the homeschooling option to fall back on.
Again, let me state that I have absolutely nothing against homeschooling and think that, for some, it is a great solution. I don't think that kids that go to school are any smarter or any better than those who are homeschooled PROPERLY AND THOROUGHLY.
As a matter of fact, I have decided to do a little pre-school school time with H now that she is showing so much interest in learning! I found a great blog by a homeschooler who posted a curriculum and workbooks for a "letter of the week" lesson. H and I will be starting on Monday. It won't be hours of learning but it will be fun projects, games and exercises. She already knows the entire alphabet both by song and by recognition (of capital letters). Now we will be moving on to lower case letters and the sounds that they make. Teaching her the pledge of allegiance (even though I don't agree with all of the wording but that is a completely different post that I may avoid all together), weather, days of the week/calendar and seasons. Like I said, it won't be hours of her sitting down and taking it all in...it will be a little in the morning and a little in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. I asked her tonight if she wanted to "play school" with me and she was super excited. We did the pledge and she repeated it with me. She is just so eager to take more in.
I will let you know how it all goes. I am actually going to purchase a laminator and some other basic "teacher" tools to assist me with this new endeavor. I also read about some other cute ideas and books that will be a great asset to our little school time. Can you tell that I am just as excited as H??
Feel free to let me know your thoughts about homeschooling vs traditional schooling. Or any tips/ideas you have for my little mini-preschool that I will be opening on Monday!
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