The Third Time

Today is the third time I have been alone with all three kids. A combination of family, holidays and an aquaintance of a friend who is training to be a post-partum doula means that even though Audrey is just over a month old, I have had tons of help. More than I want sometimes!

Today has gone a little better than the previous two times I had all three. I managed to put away a load of laundry (and there is one sitting in the washer and one in the dryer that I'm going to pretend don't exist...), I unloaded the dishwasher, made grilled cheese for lunch, paid a few bills, and planned dinner (I haven't actually started cooking it yet, and may not end up cooking it, but still, it's planned).

However, I haven't showered. Or brushed my teeth. Or my hair. And we won't even talk about the mascara that I didn't remove before bed last night.

And homeschool? What is that again? I don't think I can remember.

Still, I'm pretty encouraged by the progress we're making. By the time she's three months old I may be showered. The laundry may still be sitting in the washer and dryer, but hey, at least I won't stink!

Christmas Traditions

Since our kids are just getting to the stage where they can really understand Christmas, there was a lot of talk in our house this year about what kind of traditions we want to establish. You know, those really important details, like:

Where should we put the stockings?

Do we open the stockings before or after presents?

When should we open the presents?

On Christmas Eve he brought up all the presents and got the room ready for the kids while I sat with a baby attached to my chest for FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT...but that is another post entirely...

When said baby finally fell asleep and I got a look at the room, I was surprised to see that each person had their own pile of gifts neatly organized by size. I had just assumed that all the presents would be in one big pile under the tree, and Chloe would pass them out one at a time, most likely while wearing a darling and very photogenic santa hat. Doesn't everyone do it that way?

One thing we had agreed upon was that we wanted the kids to appreciate each gift and not just tear through them as fast as possible. To me, this means you ooh and aah over each one and take a good look at it...then you set it aside for later and move on to the next present.

To my engineer husband this meant that you open every box of Geotrax (of which there were FIVE thanks to Grandma), open up all the packaging in all five boxes of Geotrax, and then set up all of the pieces in all five of the boxes of Geotrax.

Did I mention there were FIVE boxes? And that this had to happen in the middle of the present opening? Do you know how long Chloe and I had to wait to finish opening our presents because Luke and the engineeer were building FIVE boxes of Geotrax?

Let me tell you, there wasn't a whole lot of goodwill to men going on in my heart. Maybe next year we'll get all those important details straight. Because you just don't interrupt the present opening!

Snorty McBoogerson

Baby Audrey has caught the cold that everyone seems to have.

And I just have to say...

Breastfeeding a really snotty newborn?

Not one of those moments where you marvel at the beauty of God's creation.

More of a yuck moment.

With some ick factor thrown in.

Just so you know.

The girl has a big heart

Our church is participating in Operation Christmas Child, where you fill a shoebox with items for a needy child. I thought this would be a great way to introduce Chloe to serving others, so we decided to make a box for a little girl and headed out to Target.

I explained to her that some kids don't have any mommies or daddies to buy them Christmas presents, so we were going to buy the presents for the little girl. Chloe picked out so many things that I knew she loved for herself, but never once asked to have them. (She doesn't know it, but she's getting a lot of them in her Christmas stocking, since she was so good and didn't ask for anything!)

When we were all done, Chloe said how she was going to give the little girl all the presents and that she had lots of extra pillows so the little girl could share Chloe's room with her.

And then she said that since the little girl doesn't have any brothers or sisters, Chloe and Luke and Audrey could be hers.

And then she said that Isaac and I could be her mommy and daddy.

And then she asked when we were going to get her.

I tell you, it actually hurt my heart to explain to Chloe that we couldn't get her, we could only mail the shoebox. She kept asking, "But what if she never has a mommy or daddy? Can't we be her family?"

Isaac and I have always thought that we would adopt a child someday, and it looks like God may be preparing the hearts of our children for that!

Introducing Audrey

 

Audrey Nicole arrived 11-24 at 6:32 pm.  She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.  This is her at one week old.  She is just the sweetest, most mellow baby, which is good since she has her big brother and sister loving on her all the time, and two-year-old boys aren't the gentlest of huggers :)

 

My labor this time was sooo different from the other two.  Chloe was induced 7 days late, and the entire process took about 6 hours.  I think the actual labor was about 4.5 hours.  Luke came 9 days late and only took 4 hours.  I went from 3cm to pushing so fast that the doctor didn't make it and Isaac thought he'd have to catch the baby!

 

This time I woke up on Thanksgiving (a week and a half before my due date) having irregular but strong contractions and some light bleeding, so I knew I'd go into labor soon, and we expected it to be fast when it happened.  I cooked all day and didn't nap or anything, expecting to go into labor any minute.  But my contractions didn't get regular until midnight!  And then they were still 10 minutes apart.  At 5am on Black Friday I called a friend to drop the kids off because the contractions were 5 minutes apart.  At 8am they were still 5 minutes apart, and I was dilated to 3cm!  I had expected to be almost done by then.  At 10am they had lengthened to 8 minutes and I was still only about 3cm, and I took a shot of Stadol to help me get some sleep (a mild narcotic and the only alternative to epidurals at thsi hospital.  It wears off in about an hour, and makes you feel kind of light-headed).  I had been up and contracting irregularly for over 24 hours at that point.  Finally at about 2 the doctor broke my water.  I was up to 5cm.  At 4 I was dilated 6 cm.  I had one contraction that hurt my lower back so badly that I considered asking for an epidural, but I felt pressure at the next contraction, and when the doctor checked, it was time to push!  Just 3 pushes and she was out.  I love the feeling of the shoulders coming out, it is such a relief and rush.

 

Even though it was the complete opposite of what we expected, this was the labor I enjoyed the most, since I felt the most in control and also the most like a team with Isaac.  I actually really enjoyed the time with him.  He read jokes to me, rubbed my back and feet, and put pressure on some pressure points during the more painful contractions.  I felt so loved by him as he served me all day.

Click on over...

Seeing as how I dragged my 38-week pregnant self, my still-healing fractured ankle, and two sugar-laden kids (Lucky Charms for lunch?  What a great idea!)  through both the Navy Exchange AND Commissary this morning, I am beat and can think of nothing to say.  However, this post by Antique Mommy cracked me up today.  I want to have the patience and creativity of her mom!

Conversations with Chloe- Birthday Edition

Since my birthday is in a few days, and we just celebrated Luke and Chloe's birthdays, Chloe is big into surprises...


C: Mommy, I helped Daddy wrap your birthday present! I put the tape on!

Me: That's great! Thanks for helping him.

C: But I can't tell you what it is, because it's a surprise!

Me: Oh, that's ok, I don't want to ruin the surprise.

C: Ok. But I think it's a bracelet! But I won't tell you!

Before and After

Things I did before I had kids...

• Brush my hair more than once a day
• Check my appearance (instead of the diaper bag) before leaving the house
• Shave my legs more than once a month
• Use lotion (on myself) every day
• Take long relaxing baths (without a toddler in the tub with me)
• Scrapbook daily
• Choose restaurants based on things other than their kids' menu
• Listen to music that didn't come from a cartoon character

Things I never did before I had kids...

• Pick cheerios out of my hair
• Pick cheerios off the floor
• Pick cheerios off my socks
• Eat cheerios

Things I would have missed if I never had kids...

• Spontaneous hugs
• "Wuvoo Mommee"
• Sibling love...
  
  

Conversations with Chloe

C: Mommy, why is Luke wearing a band aid?
Me: Because he hurt his chin and it was bleeding.
C: Why did Luke hurt his chin and it was bleeding so he needed a band aid?
Me: Because he fell.
C: Why did Luke fall and hurt his chin and it was bleeding so he needed a band aid?
Me: Because he was running and he fell.
C: Why was he running and he fell and hurt his chin and it was bleeding so he needed a band aid?
Me: He was just playing. And he fell. It just happened. It was an accident.
C: Why was it an accident?

Do you feel like banging your head against a very hard object? I sure did!

*************

C: Mommy, why is there traffic and there are a lot of cars on the road so we can't go fast or else we would bump into them?
Me: Um, yeah. What you said.

*************

C: Dear Jesus, I hope you don't die. But if you do, it's ok, because you'll come back to life. Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Lukie. Amen.

That just makes all those questions worth it :)

Just me whining

I have been looking forward to next week, thinking that my ankle would be basically normal again and I could resume being more than a mediocre mom, and preparing for the new baby.

But we found out Monday that my ankle could take up to 2-3 months to completely heal. I can walk on it now- at times it just hurts some but is bearable, other times it feels like I have shards of glass in there. I am still supposed to be elevating it and icing it, and only doing activity as I can "tolerate" it. Still, it's not fun to limp AND waddle at the same time!

Since we found this out I have been having such a hard time feeling like me. I just can't get back in the groove of things. There is so much to do before the baby comes, and while I technically still have 7 weeks, I have also been having a lot of contractions this week, and I think the baby has dropped, too, so I'm not counting on this one being late anymore.

I just don't know how to feel like me in the midst of third trimester pregnancy and a fractured ankle.

You'd think I'd be happy for the forced break from dishes and laundry!

They found a fracture

I had a follow-up on my ankle today. I still can't walk on it and have a lot of pain. They re-did my x-rays, and this time found a hairline fracture! So, another few weeks to recover!

A forced break from blogging

Just so you all know, I am in the middle of a forced break from blogging. Last week I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle! It is still quite an atrocious purple color and twice the size of my other ankle, and I am still on crutches...the crutches are to be followed by an air boot thingy, which is to be followed by physical therapy.

But the baby is fine, and if I hadn't landed on my ankle, then I would have landed on my stomach. And since I heard cracking when I landed, I am very glad that it is just sprained and not broken!

Since the computer is downstairs and I am currently limited to the upstairs unless I am forced to go to the doctor for yet another follow-up, it will be a few more days before I get back to the copmuter again. I haven't given up blogging, and can't wait to catch up on all my regular reads when I'm mobile again!

Would you trust this doctor? (Chloe update)

We had our appointment with the (one and only) pediatrician today. He was a 50-ish Asian man. Maybe he's really experienced and has seen a lot of kids with transient tics. Or maybe he was really patronizing. I'm not sure.

I told him that Chloe had been blinking a lot for the past 6 weeks, and showed him a video we took when it was at its worst. I said that I have a cousin with Tourette's and that her blinks looked a lot like his.

He guaranteed me that it is nothing (he literally said guarantee). He said we should relax and have fun and it will go away. He said it absolutely will not turn into Tourette's and it's very common (according to my internet research, up to 20% of kids experience some sort of tic while they are growing up). He didn't ask any questions. He didn't ask how often she did it. He didn't examine her at all. He said it can be stressful for her to have a little brother, since they carry on the family name.

HELLO! She's not even 4. She doesn't even know what a family name is.

So I asked if we should have her re-evaluated after a certain length of time if it doesn't go away. He said no, he wouldn't give me any time limit because if he did then I would stress about the time and that would make it not go away. He said moms are for worrying.

He did look at her chart. He said that her immunizations are up to date, and is the first doctor not to comment on the fact that she has not had the chicken pox vax.

So was he trying to be reassuring from his experience, or was he talking down to the mom he saw as overly worried and stressed out?

FYI, our plan is wait another 3-4 weeks, and if she is still ticcing, then we will fight to get a second opinion and probably even to see a specialist. I'm sure it will be a hard and stressful fight since this doctor is obviously not going to give us any kind of reccomendation to see a specialist!

If you don't know, just ask the girl!

Friday night Isaac and I really wanted to relax and watch a movie. He's been spending all his free time studying for his upcoming Professional Engineer's exam, so we haven't had much time together. We had three new movies from Blockbuster.com to choose from, but we couldn't find them anywhere.

We searched for over an hour. We even dug through the trash. Finally at 10:30pm, Isaac said, "We could ask Chloe if she's seen them."

Despite having been in bed for over 2 hours, she was still awake and singing her own version of "I just can't wait to be king" from The Lion King.

Isaac went in and asked her.

Her response?

"Yes, Daddy! I disappeared them today when I was helping Mommy clean."

She went right into the cupboard and pulled them out for us.

Of course, it was way too late to watch a movie, but now we know...when we can't find something, just ask Chloe!

Mood Swings!

After the emotional day I had yesterday, today I am energized and ready to go! And I haven't even had any coffee yet (because I never washed the dishes yesterday and my kitchen is just too messy to make coffee in!!!)

We got the entire upstairs of the house cleaned and we are now getting ready to put together our new bookshelves and finally organize all our homeschool stuff. It's been driving me crazy that half is upstairs and half is down!

The kids are even happily helping me clean! Woohoo, thank God for a good day!

Those mean librarians made me cry...

Well...kind of.

Ok, maybe they weren't that mean. Maybe they were actually very kind and understanding.

But I am 7 months pregnant and somewhat, um, emotional, these days.

So Chloe, Luke and I went to the Preschool Storytime today. It just started back up again for the year, and Chloe loves it. She really does learn there and gets to be around kids her own age-something that is lacking since all of her friends have just started preschool except for her.

But Luke couldn't quite get with the program today. He wasn't bad. He's just almost 2. Every other kid was sitting down and quietly listening to the story. Luke was standing, and calling out the names of the animals in the book the librarian was reading.

Of course, he was standing right in the middle of the front row.

And then he stepped on some kid's fingers. Not on purpose. Just because he was the ONLY CHILD STANDING.

I kept subtly pulling him to the side dragging him away, but he was a bit distracting. And let's face it, so was the pregnant woman who had to keep gracefully stepping around crawling through the other kids in order to reach him. Finally I took him to the back of the room by the door since he was protesting a bit a lot ok, he was screaming.

And then the horrible mean nice librarian interrupted her story to say, "It's ok if you take him out of the room to calm down."

But I ask you, how would that help? When I brought him back in would he suddenly say, "Oh, sorry I was standing up and having a good time, mom. I realize the error of my ways. I will now act like all the four-year-olds in the room and sit quietly."

No, he'd still be almost 2, and would want to stand up and clap and yell out all the animal names. So I took Luke in to the hall, and had Chloe come with me, since I know that she would fuss at me leaving her alone in a room full of 50 strangers.

If I wasn't 7 months pregnant, and somewhat emotional, this would have been fine. But I am. So I valiantly fought back the impending storm of tears while Chloe asked, "Why are we leaving? Is storytime done? Are we going? Where are we going? Is storytime done?"

And then, do you know what that horrible mean librarian did? She actually poked her head out the door and snidely very kindly said that they'd keep an eye on Chloe if she wanted to go back in while I helped Luke calm down.

At this point I completely lost it and all I could do was wave the librarian away. I had planned to let the kids play a bit and get some books, but I just couldn't stop crying, and was trying to hide it from the kids.

So we went to the park. And I couldn't stop crying.

So we went to Starbucks. And I got the kids a healthy snack giant cookie and me a nonfat sugarfree caramel macchiato (and possibly a pumpkin cream cheese muffin, but we won't talk about that) and kept on crying.

It took me 3 hours to stop crying.

And all because of those mean kind and understanding librarians. I mean, really. You'd think they'd know better than to be nice to a pregnant woman when she's fighting off a storm of tears!

Thanks to those who prayed!

The baby moved just enough to keep us from calling the doctors, and this afternoon she/he finally started getting some good, hard kicks in again! Even had the hiccups for a while :) We don't have another scheduled dr's appointment for a week and a half, but we'll have an ultrasound and find out whether it's a girl or a boy then!

Thanks so much for your prayers and encouraging words.

Scary Moments

Last night around 9 I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I had felt the baby move! With my last two pregnancies, when that happened I just drank something and laid down for about an hour, but usually within 20 minutes the baby was active.

Last night, nothing.

Isaac and I prayed, and then I expected to feel something immediately after. Do you ever think that way? Like prayer is some magic wand that will fix everything. But there was nothing.

So Isaac made me some hot chocolate and we decided to watch a movie. If by the end of the movie there were still no movements, I would go to the ER.

Stinkin' baby didn't move until the final credits were rolling!

I've felt some movements today, but they're still not as strong as I'm used to. But according to the books, at 26 weeks the baby is not actually neurologically developed enough to have a regular pattern of movement. So I'm taking it easy today and paying attention to how often I feel movements, just in case.

If you get a chance, pray for us today!

The Downside of Military Life

I think almost any military wife you meet will tell you that the hardest part of military life is constantly saying goodbye to our friends. Someone is always moving to a different part of the world, and there are no guarantees that we'll see each other again. Twice I've had my best friends move within a month of me giving birth, losing some of my greatest support.

But this is worse.

Much, much worse.

I had to find a new hair stylist.

I LOVED my last stylist. I could say "surprise me" and she'd do a beautiful job every time.

So when I moved here I looked around at all the moms I had met, and asked those with cuts that I really liked to give me a name. I wasn't even nervous.

Little did I know...

I went in and told my new stylist that I was tired of growing out my bangs and wanted to cut them, and to update my layers a bit. She seemed to know exactly what I wanted.

After she was done, there was just something off about the cut, but I figured once I had washed all the gunk out and styled my hair myself, then I'd like it.

So I washed it.

And I dried it.

And OH MY GOODNESS pass me a can of Aquanet because I have 80's bangs!

I spent enough of my youth torturing my bangs into a giant frothy wavy mass and then spraying them into submission while using enough aerosol to wipe out any ozone that had survived the previous day's shellacking.

I DON'T WANT 80'S HAIR!!!

I don't want skintight jeans, legwarmers, neon clothes, anything that tapers (and hence shows how wide my hips have gotten since the 80's). And I definitely do not want mile high bangs.

Please excuse me while I go use my non-aerosol, ozone-friendly, flexible hold hairspray to try and fix this problem.

Leper Girl and the Grumpiest Boy in the World

Today was supposed to be our second day of homeschooling.

It's a good thing I'm really unstructured and can't stick to a schedule to save my life. Our first day went beautifully yesterday. We went to gynastics in the morning, then came home and had a snack, and then went downstairs to the playroom. Luke played while Chloe and I did our reading. Then we had lunch, and I read them their Bible lesson and we talked about how we can't see God. Then Luke took a nap, and Chloe and I did workbook pages for 15 minutes, played Little People for 15 minutes, then off she went to her bedroom.

Beautiful.

I knew from the moment Luke woke up that today would not be beautiful. I went to get him, and he greeted me with, "poopoo!" Thank God it was still in his diaper and not spread around the room. He had a total tantrum and a half when I tried to change his diaper. I think the only words he said for the next hour were no, mine, and more. He had morphed into his secret identity- The Grumpiest Boy in the World. This happens occasionally when he is teething. Unfortunately, it has been known to last for weeks, until we are praying that it is not a permanent change and are ready to muzzle him.

Since he was into throwing everything he could find and screaming, I figured some time outside might mellow him enough that he'd play by himself for a while and Chloe and I could do school.

Nope.

I fed him a snack.

Still Grumpy.

So I put on some music and suggested the kids dance. Chloe said, "Ok, I'll go be Leper Girl!" What this actually means is Slipper Girl. She likes to dance in her slippers because she can slide around.

But you try to explain the difference between Leper and Slipper to a not-yet-4-year-old!

So The Grumpiest Boy in the World and Leper Girl are dancing and mommy is drinking coffee and blogging.

And you know what? It doesn't bother me at all. I'm off to assume my alter ego...The Hip Dancin' Preggo Mama...

The Grumpiest Boy in the World in his superhero dancin' clothes...

Menu Plan Monday

 

Well, with kids getting sick last week, we ended up with takeout several times, and I forgot about the large roast in my fridge and had to throw it away :(  Oh well, these things happen when we get sick!  Here's my plan for this week, with a few carry-overs from last week!

 

Monday- Cheeseburger Casserole, Salad

Tuesday- Salmon Burgers (using canned salmon), roasted potato wedges, carrots

Wednesday- Meatloaf, noodles, broccoli

Thursday- Leftovers

Friday- Crockpot Chicken of some sort, rice

Saturday- Enchiladas, black bean and corn salad

 

To participate, head over to Laura's website and sign up! 

(Re) Starting School Tomorrow!

I think we're finally ready to start school again.  We actually started a few weeks ago, but the curriculum I ordered for Chloe didn't work out.  We received Winter Promise's "Animals and their Worlds" last Friday, and the kids were so excited that we did most of the first week over the weekend.  Since it is based around animals, Luke is even into it, although he mostly looks at the pictures :)  But he is still learning!

I have our stuff organized, but right now it is split between the two stories, and I think that will end up bothering me!  We have all the books upstairs in the bookcase in the dining room, and all the arts and crafts stuff in the playroom.  I have a feeling that we'll end up doing most of our schooling in the playroom so that Luke has toys to occupy him.  When we're upstairs, he just wants to watch tv if Chloe isn't playing with him.  Oh well, it's our first year of homeschooling, so I guess it will be a learning process for us all.  And since the Navy has said we are moving anytime between next January and next September, I don't want to buy any new organizational stuff.

I'm excited to really begin, but nervous, too.  I just pray that my unstructured nature doesn't get in the way of Chloe's learning.  The girl begs to do school!  I don't mind being relaxed about it, but I can see myself letting it slide, and not really doing anything.  Lord, please bless this year!

You know you're a parent when...

Your child gets that look on their face, opens and closes their mouth a bit, and then you know, you just know, that they are going to throw up.

And since the seconds always stretch into millenia in emergency moments you have time to consider your options:

I could put him down. But he really needs me for comfort and if I put him down he'll just throw up all over the carpet and then I'll have to scrub it and it's already getting uncomfortable for me to bend down and do stuff with this belly and he'll just want up as soon as he's done anyway and then it will get all over me.

I could face him away from me. But then he'll throw up all over his bed and I'll have to take off the sheets and mattress pads and put on new and he'll probably cry the entire time I'm doing that because he needs me for comfort and do I have any other clean sheets in the house anyway?

I could just let him throw up on me. It will save the most time and I can comfort him while he does it and it will contain the mess since this belly is practically a shelf anyway (not to mention the chest!) and then I can just put a changing pad on his bed and a towel on the floor in case he throws up again and I won't have to do any scrubbing or change any sheets.

I thought I was the only one who thought this way until the other day when my sweet hubby faced this situation for the first time, and came to the same conclusion I did- It's easier to let them throw up on you.

That's when you really know you're a parent!

Telling others about the decision to homeschool

Jeana started a post about hidden messages in homeschooling conversations on her blog.  Part of this "conversation" really struck me:

Me: We homeschool.

What I meant: We homeschool.

What (oh let's just call her a she, even though sometimes it's a he) heard: We homeschool because we think that public schools are the spawn of Satan and private schools are his stepchildren. I think my kids are infinitely more Godly and righteous because of our choice, and any parent who does not homeschool is sentencing his/her child to eternal torment and, at the very least, exclusion from any playdate that involves my perfect offspring who by the way just this morning memorized the entire Bible while I multi-tasked by grinding wheat with one hand and handstitching a dress with the other while I gave birth to my forty-seventh child.

Her: We don't homeschool because (fill in the blank)

To fill in the rest of the conversation with what I usually feel-

What I hear: Your kids are going to be freaks with no social skills, and you're over-controlling and over-protective, and need a life of your own.

     *We awkwardly end the conversation and drift off to talk to someone else.

I am the first to admit that I am defensive when it comes to our choice to homeschool.  As soon as someone asks, "Is your daughter in preschool?" I'm preparing myself to be judged.  It often feels like getting past this conversation is the first step to making a new friend. 

I really don't think homeschooling is for everyone.  We personally feel that God has called us to it, not as a trial, but as a committment, unless He possibly shows us something different.  Whether someone else homeschools, or does public or private school, I respect it as long as it is a decision that was thought through and prayed through and the family feels like it is God's will for them.

But how do you get past the fear of being judged?  How do you get past the awkwardness that I feel so often when meeting a new mom?  How do you make the conversation comfortable for the other mom?  I'm sure she must feel it, too.

What do you do in this situation?

What did your parents do right?

Lately I have been reflecting a lot on my own childhood. I never remember being yelled at by my parents. Of course, when my mom got angry, she often wouldn't speak to us for days, but that is for a different post! My mom never yelled. I don't remember her getting impatient with all my questions. The overall sense I have of my childhood is that they just let us be children, and they enjoyed us. They put out the effort to do special games like treasure hunts with maps and clues all over the house. They surprised us with fun trips and games. They provided some really great memories.



I really feel that my biggest failure in parenting is in patience. I get sooo tired of the constant questions and talking. I often have my quiet time when the kids are taking a nap. While there's nothing wrong with that, I remember hearing Beth Moore speak once in college. She was saying that no matter what time of day you have your quiet time, you still need to choose God first thing when you start your day. If you fail to choose God each day, then you are making a choice for depravity. I certainly don't intend to choose depravity. But I often don't stop to choose God first thing, either. And I think it is reflected in my lack of patience with my kids. I end up spending most of my day walking in the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit. So today I choose God. I choose to be a godly example for my kids. I choose the fruit of the Spirit. I choose to follow this example that my parents set for me and not get frustrated over the endless talking and questions, but instead to just enjoy my children.

Menu Plan Monday

Check out orgjunkie's blog to participate in Menu Plan Monday!

Well, Luke started throwing up today, so I am going to try and keep things simple this week in case the virus goes around the family...I already have several of these meals in the freezer since I often make double and freeze one.

 

Monday- Grilled chicken, broccoli and rice casserole

Tuesday- Chicken Tetrazzini and salad

Wednesday- Chicken Fajitas

Thursday- Salmon Burgers and something

Friday- Hamburger and Cheese Casserole

Saturday- Beef Enchiladas

 

And if I end up getting the virus, then we'll be eating Mac n Cheese and McDonald's all week, LOL.

I may have made a slight miscalculation...

My son loves animals.  Especially lions.  And roaring like a lion.  Last week in Sunday school he scared a 4-year-old by roaring at her.  He's not even 2 yet.

So I opened up the San Diego Zoo website to let him look at the animal pictures and hear the animal sounds...I will never have peace again.

Every time I sit at the computer now I hear a little voice beside me, "a-ni-mools?" Then he tries to climb into my lap (of which there isn't much, being almost 6 months pregnant) and asks somewhat more insistently, "a-ni-mools? line? el-pant?"

I won't even mention the sticky fingerprints all over my computer screen.

I'll never blog in peace again...

Smoke actually came from my computer...

I went to turn it on yesterday morning, and the kids and I got a scare when there was a series of loud pops and a burning smell. I actually backed the kids up because I was afraid it was going to catch on fire! I went through withdrawals all day. I count on my computer for so much of my adult interaction that I just felt kind of lost at times. Thankfully it ended up being the power and was easily replaced. And much cheaper than buying a whole new computer! And we are back online today and reconnecting!

We returned our first curriculum...

It was a pretty intimidating thing to do! After all, we are just starting this whole homeschool thing, and we were all so excited about that box of books. But it just wasn't meeting our needs. We ordered Animals and their Worlds from Winter Promise, and we're all excited about this one, too. I really pray that this one works out. I know we don't need to buy a full curriculum, but since it's our first time, and I tend to do things more spontaneously, the planning just doesn't get done when it's left to me. Or if I do plan, then by the time I'm ready to do the lesson, it doesn't appeal to me anymore! A friend who has homeschooled for several years encouraged me by saying that whatever I decide on will be perfect because God has called me to do this, and given me wisdom and insight into my children. I have to remind myself that if I'm seeking God and obeying Him in this, then I can't fail!

Menu Plan Monday

Head over to OrgJunkie's site to participate in Menu Plan Monday!

Monday- Chicken Parmesan Burgers (using leftovers from last week), Salad

Tuesday- Beef Pepper Steak and Rice (we ordered pizza instead of eating this last week)

Wednesday- Crockpot Chicken

Thursday- Sloppy Joes, Salad, Corn

Friday- Beef Enchiladas, Black bean and corn salad

Chloe's opinion on homeschool...

Me: Chloe, tell Daddy what you did for school today.

Chloe: But Mommy, we didn't do school today!

Me: Yes we did!

Chloe: No we didn't! We read some books and we did some workbook pages, but we didn't do school! We just played and had fun.

Just not sure what to do about curriculum!

I am so torn about continuing with the curriculum we have (Sonlight PreK) or getting a different one. My dd is just going through it so fast. It's not like I'm pushing her either! I have to stop her from continuing on in her workbooks after she's done an entire week's worth of pages in one sitting. We also went through an entire week's worth of reading in one day. I guess I could just order a phonics program and add it in and read the stories in our current curriculum multiple times. But I'm just not sure it would last long enough for me to feel we got our money's worth out of it. I think I need to find some more experienced homeschoolers and get their opinions!

Three Things

Luke was tagged by his friend Moriah to answer these questions:

3 things that scare me

- The immunizations office

- When Elmo turns into something else on Elmo's World

- Really loud thunder

3 people that make me laugh

-Mommy

-Daddy

-Chloe

3 things I love

-Balls

-Playing in the water

-Throwing things

3 things I dislike

- Any meat besides Chick Fil A chicken nuggets

- All vegetables

- Diaper changes

3 things I don't understand

-Why I can't sit in Chloe's car seat

- Why I can't play outside when it's 105 degrees

- Why mommy and daddy leave me in the nursery on Sundays

3 things on my craft table

It's not a craft table, but there are crayons, stickers and paper on a table

3 things I'm doing right now

-Taking a nap

-Probaby sucking my thumb

3 things I can do

-Push the button to open the van door

-Play peek-a-boo really well with anyone who will look at me

-Turn the tv on

3 ways to describe my personality

- Loving

-Energetic

-Playful

3 things I can't do

-Open the baby gate

-Open my bedroom door

-Go outside whenever I want

3 things I think you should listen to

-My favorite Bible Songs CD

-My favorite Bible Songs CD

-My favorite Bible Songs CD

3 things I think you should never listen to

-Anything that is not my favorite Bible Songs CD

3 foods I love to eat

-Bananas

-Yogurt

-Popcorn

3 things I wanna learn

-How to open the baby gate

-How to open my bedroom door

-How to turn on the cable box so that I can actually watch tv after I turn it on

3 things I drink regularly

-Water

-Milk

-I get juice every now and then

3 shows I get to watch every now and then

-Go Diego Go (my favorite)

-Little Einsteins

-Dora the Explorer

3 other babies I tag

-Anyone who wants to!

The Fate of the Fedex Man...

Today is what has come to be known as "box day." All of the books that we ordered from Sonlight are supposed to be delivered today, and we are positively giddy with excitement.

However, the Fedex man has been known to come as late as 8:30pm, well after the kids are in bed! I think Chloe will riot if that happens! But this is such a great place to be. I mean, who would have thought that we'd get this excited over a box of school books? (ok, 35 pounds of books, but still!)

Is this just a beginner's thing? Or do you still get this excited even when you've been homeschooling for years? I know there are tough days when you want to give up homeschooling, but I'd love it if some of this excitement stayed with us throughtout our homeschooling journey.

Menu Plan Monday

I saw this idea on grace4today's website, but it originally started with orgjunkie.  She is hosting "Menu Plan Monday" and since I usually have a few dishes in mind for the week, but don't really plan them, I thought I'd try it out!  Here is my menu for the week...

Mon- Chicken Tetrazzini and Salad

Tues- Beef and Broccoli with Teriyaki Bown Rice

Wed- Hopefully leftovers if dh doesn't eat them all for lunch!  I also have to make a dessert for our small group that night

Thurs- some kind of crockpot chicken and potatoes.  I need to find a recipe

Fri- Baked Chicken Parmesan with Salad and Strawberries (from the menus4moms website)

Sat- Beef and Peppers with rice

If you've never seen it before, menus4moms posts a free weekly menu with recipes.  Check them out!

Thanks to orgjunkie for starting this!!!

Knock Knock

Chloe (3) "Knock Knock!"
Me "Who's there?"
Chloe "Turkey!"
Me "Turkey who?"
Chloe "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Luke (1) "Na Na"
Me "Who's there?"
Luke "nana"
Me "Banana who?"
Luke "Na Na"
Me "Who's there?"
Luke "nana"
Me "Banana who?"
Luke "Na Na"
Me "Who's there?"
Luke "nana"
Me "Banana who?"
Luke "Na Na"
Me "Want a cookie?"

Feeling like a real homeschooler now

We just ordered our first curriculum and are waiting for it to come, and for some reason, I haven't considered myself a "real" homeschooler until now. We have done lots of activities and teaching, but I've just thought of those as things all moms do...something about spending over $300 makes me feel official, though! I'm so excited to get started, and hopefully having lesson plans will help me feel more accountable, too. We've been pretty hit-or-miss on doing lessons, and my dd Chloe just loves them. I feel like she's been missing out because mommy is disorganized! I want to give her God's best every day!