Ever since I became a Baby Buncher (http://www.babybunching.com/baby_bunching/), I have just not been the same person that I was pre-baby bunch.
One thing that has suffered immensely is my brain (and my level of patience for situations that challenge my patience = my sanity) when my children are with me.
Tonight was one of those times.
Picture this .... soccer party and awards ceremony with inflatable activities, foods, drink, hot sun, little shade and a stage where awards were to be given out at 6 p.m.
At 6 p.m., a very long speech began, given by an associate minister, and my 2.5 and 3.5 year old began to fidget in their seats within minutes (all inflatables had been deflated mind you and the audience was relatively quiet.) My youngest child crawled under the table and got cookie pieces mixed up with loose black top and I became unsure of what she had in her mouth ... and bent under the table to investigate.
We were asked during the speech to consider Jesus in our lives and our commitment to him all the while that I began to pray that my children and I would make it through this ceremony peacefully and successfully. After all, dh could not attend due to the need to spend 20 hours this weekend (yes, 20) working on my mini-van, 2-3 hours this weekend working on work he had to bring home from his place of employment (for which he will get no additional pay), and the 1.5 hours of lawn mowing that needed to be done before he returned to work on Monday.
Of course I wanted my oldest child to shine in the honor that was his for completing this soccer season, but I was also mindful that this was a set-up for potential disaster for myself and my kiddos (aka baby bunch) at this awards ceremony/party.
I picked my youngest child up from the ground just as my 3.5 year old spoke out loudly and clearly, "Mommy, I HAVE to make poopy!" At the same time, my youngest child became agitated because of no longer having the cookie (or the loose black top that I was no longer allowing her to put into her mouth.)
So, I had little choice but to leave my 11 year old in his seat and take my baby bunch to the bathroom (whispering as we walked that we would pick up a cookie for my youngest on the way back to our seats and hoping I wouldn't miss the awards part of this program for my ds.)
It took forever for us to reach the bathroom, where both girls delighted in seeing the sink and the little step stool this bathroom had that allowed them to reach the sink easily on their own. Quickly, they began to turn on the water and wash their hands .... I hurried my 3.5 year old into the stall to do her #2 ....
Then my youngest said "Pee Pee is coming!" So, I let her finish washing her hands in the sink while my oldest finished her duty in the potty. Then the girls traded places .... one still at the sink and one still at the potty who would then need to return once again to the sink when done .... and all of this felt like it is was taking forever and I felt sure that I would miss something important that would disappoint my 11 year old ....
We finished up with hand washing and throwing paper towels into the trash. Then we left the bathroom only to find there was a water fountain directly in front of the bathroom. And of course both girls were "REALLY thirsty mommy!!!"
So, one at a time, they each got two turns at the water fountain ... then ....
"It is TIME to go out to see your brother now girls!" I said (feeling anxious and tired inside of all the chaos thus far and wishing we were home already and hoping not to have to make another trip to the bathroom later.)
Of course, we had to pass the playground to get back out to the awards ceremony (the playground is by both doors that lead into the building where the bathroom is) and my 2.5 year old began to scream "I want to SWING! I want to SWING!"
Nobody was swinging and I know from many, many weeks of spending hours on this playground during soccer practices that once the swinging begins, it is very hard to get my little ones away from there .... plus, my 11 year old was sitting alone at his award ceremony .... my little ones were too young to swing alone, unsupervised ...
So, I picked up my wriggly 2.5 year old and heard the associate minister STILL giving his speech! Inside I sighed and I prayed and I thought to myself that I was really good with God, personally, and could we PLEASE just get on with this because we might not make it to actually see this award take place and my ds might feel slighted from missing this big moment since so many things are about his sisters these days .....
I grabbed cookies and water and we returned to our seats. It was hot and my 2.5 year old crawled back under the table. (I began to wonder why I never noticed before how much the loose black top looked like Oreo cookie pieces ...) I thought to myself how much I was really wanting this "ceremony" to end before my 2.5 year old had a meltdown or began to choke on concrete. I felt like I must be crazy to see so many other families with their children sitting perfectly sanely through this. And I wondered to myself why anyone would ever want to listen to anything so long ever really and what were the people thinking who scheduled this lengthy ceremony?
We were told by the speaking minister that our relationship with Jesus Christ crosses denominations and does not have to do with what we wear or what church we attend and that it was personal and I was thinking 'yes, yes, yes, I know, know, know, know ... and Lord, I do totally know this because I do have a relationship with God and I do NOT attend a church weekly right now and I know the Lord does not want or need me to wear special clothing to have a relationship with him, etc.' I thought to myself that I know where I stand with the Lord and PLEASE could we just move on to the award part of this ceremony ....
Finally, the coaches were called up to present the awards and ..... would you believe? They had something very special planned:
Starting with the youngest team, each child was to be called up to the stage area and something about exactly how they were special and how they played on the team would be said about each child ....
'Oh my!' I thought to myself as this began. I totally felt like I wanted to cry inside. It was very special and thoughtful and wonderful to say these nice things about each child, but COME ON already .... this was going to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R! (What were these very kind and thoughtful people who scheduled this thinking?!!)
My 2.5 year old decided at that point to try to head on over to the playground on her own ... she giggled with delight and ran off ...
I left my seat to chase her but grabbed my purse before I left the table and knocked over my paper dishes .... cups, plates, napkins and food began to blow off with the light breeze that must have been at ankle level since I had been unable to feel it on this hot day while sitting there in the audience doing chair aerobics ....
I retrieved my 2.5 year old and .... needless to go on at this point as you are getting the scenario, right?
The whole thing lasted one hour and 15 minutes ....
The nice thing is that just before the last 15 minutes, I finally found new seats for myself and my three children. We were able to obtain these seats because people who had previously sat in this area (shaded by a large van) had left (escaped?) and I somehow managed to get my motley crew moved just in time for ds's team (oldest age group) to go to the stage.
WHEN, a pregnant woman sat down next to me and began to converse with me.
"A little bit too long for the young ones," she remarked.
I said, "my little ones were done when it started and it has been VERY long."
(The new seats gave my youngest child an area to run a bit where she was not disruptive and I was still able to see and hear the microphone and speaker.) My oldest child was about to have nice things said about him and I had been waiting this long and listening to so much other stuff and dealing with so much chaos while waiting that I was NOT going to miss this .....
The pregnant woman looked at my youngest child running in circles with her daughter of similar age and asked "how old is your daughter?"
Inside, I thought for a moment, 'I have two daughters and this question is not simple and I do not wish to talk at this point because I am trying to listen to what is happening on stage and watch all three of my kids at the same time who are currently located at 12, 3 and 9 if you were to put them on a clock as to their current locations and God did not give me three eyeballs that move freely in three different directions.'
Ds's coach began to speak.
I just said to the pregnant woman, "I am sorry, I want to listen to this." (Yes, it felt like I was being unfriendly, but what could I do?!)
And I did feel bad inside a bit, but this is my job, ya know? These are my kids and this is what I do (I am a parent and my job right now is to be a stay-at-home mom). I love my kids. I want what is best for all of them. But sometimes this means I just can't make small talk or chit chat or appreciate pastoral speeches or the intricacies of long, drawn out ceremonies. My brain just can't get a handle on all of it and I lack the outward grace of being a mixture of both June Cleaver and Mary freakin' Poppins at this time in my life ... it's just a balancing act and my children have to come first.
To conclude this blog entry, I won't even go into the tantrum my youngest had that happened when the award ceremony finally ended and it was time to leave.
I will also leave out the part where I had to wrestle my two year old into her car seat twice and had to remove both of her shoes because the back seat of our newest car is much smaller than my minivan (being worked on still), and my daughter's shoes were hurting me during this wresting match ...
I will also leave out the part where I handed the shoes to my sweet and understanding ds and told him to put them "somewhere, anywhere" and he looked at me like 'o.k, strange, but this is my life and it's normal, whatever, o.k.'
And I won't mention how I then began to drive the car as my two year old released herself one last time from the car seat and practically threw herself into the front seat of the car sobbing ...
And I will certainly leave out my feelings about this really wonderful ceremony and party that I am sure so many wonderful volunteers so carefully planned but that I HATED with every piece of my body and soul at that point ...
I also won't go into how I had to stop the car one last time and replace my two year old's shoes in return for her sitting nicely and safely in her car seat, but how the car next to me had its passenger door half opened and the person holding it open was totally unaware that I needed to OPEN my freakin' door and was having some kind of discussion with her head pointed in a completely different direction ...
And I will REALLY leave out the park about what I was thinking during that moment ....
FINALLY, in the car, I recited out loud (for myself and my sanity) the Lord's Prayer and the Serenity Prayer. I turned up the radio and I prayed silently that we would make it home quickly. Ds just looked out the window calmly as if this was all just perfectly normal.
Halfway home, I began to talk to ds and told him how proud I was of him and how nice the awards party and food had been (because this really was for him and not about me, and people with good intentions and good hearts planned and executed this event that was actually a very thoughtful event in many ways.) Ds agreed the event was very nice and smiled while looking through the bag of goodies his coach had given him before we had gotten into the car.
When we arrived home, I felt like I was dizzy and had been mauled by a dog ... dh was exhausted from all of his work during the weekend too ... but all three of our children were happy and we all smiled and went for a family swim ... and somehow I felt like it was a successful outing after all.
A-men!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Making Decisions
Why are some decisions super easy to make even though they are huge, whereas other decisions may be much smaller, but seem to consume much more time and energy?
Sometimes decisions come to me quickly and I feel certain about them ... like the times I moved my son to different schools. Other decisions I just labor over and over and over about and drive myself nuts about ....
Soooo, I make a list of pros and cons about some things and that doesn't even clarify the answer sometimes. Sometimes it isn't about logic; but you think, what is this decision really about, ya know?
Other people sometimes seem like they make certain decisions much easier than I do. I think that is probably just my view though of them and not necessarily their reality. I really do believe that we all have different things that might take more thought to decide than others and that not everyone is the same when it comes to which decisions come most quickly.
What is decision making like for you?
Sometimes decisions come to me quickly and I feel certain about them ... like the times I moved my son to different schools. Other decisions I just labor over and over and over about and drive myself nuts about ....
Soooo, I make a list of pros and cons about some things and that doesn't even clarify the answer sometimes. Sometimes it isn't about logic; but you think, what is this decision really about, ya know?
Other people sometimes seem like they make certain decisions much easier than I do. I think that is probably just my view though of them and not necessarily their reality. I really do believe that we all have different things that might take more thought to decide than others and that not everyone is the same when it comes to which decisions come most quickly.
What is decision making like for you?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Just one more day!
Just one more day of school to go for my ds! I honestly don't know why I am so excited about this ... it isn't like I will get to sleep in for at least four weeks due to the schedule we are now on (early a.m. swimming lessons, then 9 a.m. Summer camp for ds for a week).
But, I am excited nonetheless!
One of my biggest challenges with ds in the past during a school break is giving him too much freedom ... such as allowing 3 a.m. bedtimes simply because, I too, am a night owl. This honestly did not used to be a problem until last year when he began pushing beyond that bedtime limit and then became backwards in his daily schedule. Any bed time after 3 a.m. for him works out very badly. This backwards schedule he acquired last Summer was hard to fix, so we are starting out with an early schedule this Summer and I hope to keep it fairly regular like that. (It doesn't always have to be really early, but by 10 a.m., I would like for us all to be heading somewhere or at least dressed and doing something most days of the week this Summer ... this probably sounds easy to many of you who may be reading this, but it just has not been our typical MO in the past ... so we begin fresh with a newly energized way of doing things this year ....) Gotta keep my preteen from getting lazy, ya know?
So, here's to Summer! I hope everyone has a great one, regardless of whether or not yours starts right now, or much later. I do like how the days won't be chopped up by the bus bringing ds home at 2:45 p.m., and then having to be sure he gets his homework done and is in bed by a certain time, with certain papers signed, etc. ... the days seem more leisurely in the Summer due to having more freedom over our daily schedule. They also have the potential to become long as I deal with three people needing things from me all day, every day, all Summer long.
We'll see how it goes!
But, I am excited nonetheless!
One of my biggest challenges with ds in the past during a school break is giving him too much freedom ... such as allowing 3 a.m. bedtimes simply because, I too, am a night owl. This honestly did not used to be a problem until last year when he began pushing beyond that bedtime limit and then became backwards in his daily schedule. Any bed time after 3 a.m. for him works out very badly. This backwards schedule he acquired last Summer was hard to fix, so we are starting out with an early schedule this Summer and I hope to keep it fairly regular like that. (It doesn't always have to be really early, but by 10 a.m., I would like for us all to be heading somewhere or at least dressed and doing something most days of the week this Summer ... this probably sounds easy to many of you who may be reading this, but it just has not been our typical MO in the past ... so we begin fresh with a newly energized way of doing things this year ....) Gotta keep my preteen from getting lazy, ya know?
So, here's to Summer! I hope everyone has a great one, regardless of whether or not yours starts right now, or much later. I do like how the days won't be chopped up by the bus bringing ds home at 2:45 p.m., and then having to be sure he gets his homework done and is in bed by a certain time, with certain papers signed, etc. ... the days seem more leisurely in the Summer due to having more freedom over our daily schedule. They also have the potential to become long as I deal with three people needing things from me all day, every day, all Summer long.
We'll see how it goes!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
When surgery is a vacation
I had to have some wisdom teeth removed. I had been told 1.5 weeks ago that I had an infection in the bone and that at least one tooth needed to be removed pronto. I am a big baby when it comes to surgery (like most people probably are) and I tried and tried to strategize my way out of having to do this. But the day drew near and then it was the night before. I did the six hours with no food or drink thing, slept, and then off dh and I went for the big day.
The oral surgeon showed us the x-rays and pointed out how close two of my teeth were to the nerve tissue. This posed greater risk than if they were not and he recommended that only one of the bottom wisdom teeth come out at this time (fine by me as I wanted to keep them all!) But, I admit I was scared. The oral surgeon spoke of possible numbness there for the rest of my life and such things should the nerve be damaged during surgery.
So, I let dh make the final call (since I was apt to back out of the whole thing) and two of the scheduled three teeth were to be removed in moments. Terrified, I allowed the nurse to put the gas mask on me and within minutes I have no recollection of what occurred. The next thing I knew, I was awake and somewhat dizzy, in no pain, with dh at my side. Within moments we were back in the car and off we went back home.
I had no pain, some amazing medicine and the opportunity to spend the entire day (until 9 p.m. that evening) fulfilling no demands from anybody. Nobody expected anything from me and I slept and I just recovered and ate jello four times that dh made and served to me at appropriate intervals. It was just heavenly, gals, to be able to rest and recover and serve no one. It was so nice to have someone bring me medicine on schedule and be sure I was taken care of.
Not that I want to have surgery of any kind again, but what does it mean that this was just a wonderful and restful experience for me? How does it get to be that surgery feels like a vacation?
The oral surgeon showed us the x-rays and pointed out how close two of my teeth were to the nerve tissue. This posed greater risk than if they were not and he recommended that only one of the bottom wisdom teeth come out at this time (fine by me as I wanted to keep them all!) But, I admit I was scared. The oral surgeon spoke of possible numbness there for the rest of my life and such things should the nerve be damaged during surgery.
So, I let dh make the final call (since I was apt to back out of the whole thing) and two of the scheduled three teeth were to be removed in moments. Terrified, I allowed the nurse to put the gas mask on me and within minutes I have no recollection of what occurred. The next thing I knew, I was awake and somewhat dizzy, in no pain, with dh at my side. Within moments we were back in the car and off we went back home.
I had no pain, some amazing medicine and the opportunity to spend the entire day (until 9 p.m. that evening) fulfilling no demands from anybody. Nobody expected anything from me and I slept and I just recovered and ate jello four times that dh made and served to me at appropriate intervals. It was just heavenly, gals, to be able to rest and recover and serve no one. It was so nice to have someone bring me medicine on schedule and be sure I was taken care of.
Not that I want to have surgery of any kind again, but what does it mean that this was just a wonderful and restful experience for me? How does it get to be that surgery feels like a vacation?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Update
DD#2 will also play T-ball and dh will be their coach! Yay! This will make for some cute photos! The girls are sooo excited. They watch their big brother play soccer and want so much to be on a sports team too :)
Monday, May 18, 2009
Summer Plans
I am getting excited! Slowly but surely I am pulling together our Summer activities. Here is what we have so far --
DS is going to Camp Invention for a week.
Family Trip to Kings Island
Both DD's will play T-ball and are sooo excited (and dh will be the coach!)
SEVEN Kid's Day Outs scheduled for the girls (Or maybe these are scheduled for me, but 7 Wednesdays this Summer!!!) with DS's former preschool teacher who runs an awesome Summer program ... this one is lucky for us that DD#2 is potty trained .... and the girls get to be together (always makes me just feel better) and they get to practice being away from ME (to get ready for preschool AND to help me work toward sanity!)
Family swimming in our backyard (often)
Maybe a Summer Kindermusik class for the girls (just 30 minutes of music and instruments and singing and movement) .... this one is cost depending and age depending ..... it is just SO hard to take one girl somewhere cool and have the other one sit something out. So, I am hoping this works out because we need to stay busy or I will surely perish this Summer at home all day with these three adorable kidlinks of mine!
Family cookouts (at least 2 with extended family)
Duckpin Bowling (this is just on my idea list for dh's two weeks off this Summer) ... since the balls are small, I thought the girls could do this fairly easily ....
Picnics (at least 2)
Check out small playground nearest to our house (maybe take a short hike)
Roller skating? (As a family maybe during dh's two weeks off .... )
At least two visits to Jump-N-Play
At least five visits to McDonald's Play Place
Possible Jr. Lifeguarding class for ds (if I can find one that works for his age and our schedule)
Friends over to play for DS
Cousin sleepovers (at least two)
Evening Canoe Trip with ds ($5 per person!)
Insect program at city park (attend at least one and visit the playground afterwards ... might be a good picnic site).
Complete last two coaching classes (me)
Lots of walks
Children's Museum (at least once)
Still working on this list ..... but what do you think? Does it seem too busy? Does it seem balanced enough between activities for all of my kids? Am I missing anything really cool that you would like to suggest for my list? What are your Summer plans?
DS is going to Camp Invention for a week.
Family Trip to Kings Island
Both DD's will play T-ball and are sooo excited (and dh will be the coach!)
SEVEN Kid's Day Outs scheduled for the girls (Or maybe these are scheduled for me, but 7 Wednesdays this Summer!!!) with DS's former preschool teacher who runs an awesome Summer program ... this one is lucky for us that DD#2 is potty trained .... and the girls get to be together (always makes me just feel better) and they get to practice being away from ME (to get ready for preschool AND to help me work toward sanity!)
Family swimming in our backyard (often)
Maybe a Summer Kindermusik class for the girls (just 30 minutes of music and instruments and singing and movement) .... this one is cost depending and age depending ..... it is just SO hard to take one girl somewhere cool and have the other one sit something out. So, I am hoping this works out because we need to stay busy or I will surely perish this Summer at home all day with these three adorable kidlinks of mine!
Family cookouts (at least 2 with extended family)
Duckpin Bowling (this is just on my idea list for dh's two weeks off this Summer) ... since the balls are small, I thought the girls could do this fairly easily ....
Picnics (at least 2)
Check out small playground nearest to our house (maybe take a short hike)
Roller skating? (As a family maybe during dh's two weeks off .... )
At least two visits to Jump-N-Play
At least five visits to McDonald's Play Place
Possible Jr. Lifeguarding class for ds (if I can find one that works for his age and our schedule)
Friends over to play for DS
Cousin sleepovers (at least two)
Evening Canoe Trip with ds ($5 per person!)
Insect program at city park (attend at least one and visit the playground afterwards ... might be a good picnic site).
Complete last two coaching classes (me)
Lots of walks
Children's Museum (at least once)
Still working on this list ..... but what do you think? Does it seem too busy? Does it seem balanced enough between activities for all of my kids? Am I missing anything really cool that you would like to suggest for my list? What are your Summer plans?
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Infant Swim Resource
It has been a tough road having two little ones and a back yard pool. I don't really recommend the combination in general. It's dangerous and scary, even with a fence around the pool.
However, many of you know that I first signed the girls up for special swimming lessons when Katie was only just 9 months and Ellie was just 1.75 years old. They have gone back annually for updates and I consider their skills to still be a work in progress since they don't normally demontrate them in our pool.
But tonight, my 3.5 year old was helping her father fish bugs out of the pool (getting it ready for Summer). Dh and I were both out there and both girls were fishing bugs out of the pool. Neither dh or I saw it happen, but we heard the splash. DD#1 fell in the pool fully clothed, including her shoes.
I rushed to where she was when suddenly up pops her head and her hand grabs the side of the pool! This exact skill has been practiced repeatedly at her swimming lessons at ever lesson update. The kids are tested at the end of their sessions to swim to survival fully clothed in attire for every season. It is important to not get over confident, but I am so thankful that my dd has learned this skill enough to rescue herself at age 3.5!
Here is the link for information about Infant Swim Resource http://infantswim.com/. This program is just incredible.
However, many of you know that I first signed the girls up for special swimming lessons when Katie was only just 9 months and Ellie was just 1.75 years old. They have gone back annually for updates and I consider their skills to still be a work in progress since they don't normally demontrate them in our pool.
But tonight, my 3.5 year old was helping her father fish bugs out of the pool (getting it ready for Summer). Dh and I were both out there and both girls were fishing bugs out of the pool. Neither dh or I saw it happen, but we heard the splash. DD#1 fell in the pool fully clothed, including her shoes.
I rushed to where she was when suddenly up pops her head and her hand grabs the side of the pool! This exact skill has been practiced repeatedly at her swimming lessons at ever lesson update. The kids are tested at the end of their sessions to swim to survival fully clothed in attire for every season. It is important to not get over confident, but I am so thankful that my dd has learned this skill enough to rescue herself at age 3.5!
Here is the link for information about Infant Swim Resource http://infantswim.com/. This program is just incredible.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The Smoke Is Clearing
I have been in a fog, maybe a funk ... and it is clearing now. I feel so blessed. It is way past time, but here are five today for my gratitude list --
1.) I am thankful for quality children's programs that meet our needs
2.) I am thankful for my kids and my family ... they are everything to me
3.) I am thankful for neighbors and a wonderful backyard
4.) I am thankful that when I do get time to myself, I truly cherish it
5.) I am thankful for good friends who love me even though I am a nutcase :)
1.) I am thankful for quality children's programs that meet our needs
2.) I am thankful for my kids and my family ... they are everything to me
3.) I am thankful for neighbors and a wonderful backyard
4.) I am thankful that when I do get time to myself, I truly cherish it
5.) I am thankful for good friends who love me even though I am a nutcase :)
Friday, May 8, 2009
Found One!
I did it! I found one! I found a preschool that will take both girls next year at the same time! It is affordable and it is of amazing quality. It is a bit further away than I wanted it to be, but I am hardly going to argue with a 17 minute drive for a 4-hour preschool day!
The school is designed to be 1-4 times per week depending on openings, the needs of the parents/family and the age groups of the children. My girls could technically go twice per week, but right now there is only an opening for both to go at the same time once per week. This is actually a good thing for my budget.
Now, Dd#1 could go twice per week if we choose to sign her up for that at a later time, but I decided to keep this at one day per week for now. If the girls love it and another day opens up and works out for one or both girls, then we may add it .... but always, always, always we have to think about our budget ... ugh! Right now I am not exactly sure what that will look like in August for taking on additional preschool days.
(I am sooooo not used to making educational decisions about my kids in any way related to budgeting or monetary control, but it must be done because now we are living the Dave Ramsey way, and though we aren't perfect about it, we do live within our monthly means now and that feels pretty good from a security mindset, although it is also sometimes just a bit stifling... lol!)
Let's see, to find this lovely little preschool gem of a place, the girls and I have looked at a total of 7 different preschool programs! Whew!
But yikes, we are now signed up with four of these schools! (Since I had wanted to keep our options open; now, we are like signed up everywhere!) Oh well.
And yes, I am a bit nutty about preschools. But I just think it is the best learning fun of all the school years and I was looking for something very exact. This is not to say that all of the other programs I looked at lacked in some big way, but there were just so many factors at play here with having the two girls just less than one year apart (and then crazy me who needs a break desperately). Ah sigh ... crazy stuff! (And then that budget stuff too complicated it all ... ick! No fun!)
But I finally found it and this one is sure to work out very nicely! Whoo Hoo!
The school is designed to be 1-4 times per week depending on openings, the needs of the parents/family and the age groups of the children. My girls could technically go twice per week, but right now there is only an opening for both to go at the same time once per week. This is actually a good thing for my budget.
Now, Dd#1 could go twice per week if we choose to sign her up for that at a later time, but I decided to keep this at one day per week for now. If the girls love it and another day opens up and works out for one or both girls, then we may add it .... but always, always, always we have to think about our budget ... ugh! Right now I am not exactly sure what that will look like in August for taking on additional preschool days.
(I am sooooo not used to making educational decisions about my kids in any way related to budgeting or monetary control, but it must be done because now we are living the Dave Ramsey way, and though we aren't perfect about it, we do live within our monthly means now and that feels pretty good from a security mindset, although it is also sometimes just a bit stifling... lol!)
Let's see, to find this lovely little preschool gem of a place, the girls and I have looked at a total of 7 different preschool programs! Whew!
But yikes, we are now signed up with four of these schools! (Since I had wanted to keep our options open; now, we are like signed up everywhere!) Oh well.
And yes, I am a bit nutty about preschools. But I just think it is the best learning fun of all the school years and I was looking for something very exact. This is not to say that all of the other programs I looked at lacked in some big way, but there were just so many factors at play here with having the two girls just less than one year apart (and then crazy me who needs a break desperately). Ah sigh ... crazy stuff! (And then that budget stuff too complicated it all ... ick! No fun!)
But I finally found it and this one is sure to work out very nicely! Whoo Hoo!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Preschool
I have gone back to do more research on local preschools. It probably has something to do with a friend of mine reminding me how preschools can be good for moms too. I began to think once again that perhaps I can find a preschool for both girls that is both affordable and convenient after all.
Plus, the elementary school sent home another flyer about their new preschool program. So, I had to check it out.
And in the last week I have found several new preschools that I did not even know existed before. Today the girls and I visited three new ones. There are many options; however, there are few affordable ones that offer something for both girls during the same time frame.
But I found two more and I checked one out today. The other two we looked at today were for dd#1 only (one was cheaper than where I currently have her signed up and the other was the new public school preschool that I mentioned above). I will check out the other preschool option for both girls soon and see what it offers. Hopefully tomorrow we can check it out. There are so many factors to consider and they go far beyond just having a time slot for both girls in one preschool. The school has to fit our budget, cannot be too far away and must fit into a time frame that makes sense for our lives. Also, the girls seem to be attracted to the schools with the most interesting playgrounds, so I think that is pretty important as well too.
Anyway, it has been fun to see all the new and latest options out there for preschools in this day and age. It honestly makes ME want to go to preschool!
Plus, the elementary school sent home another flyer about their new preschool program. So, I had to check it out.
And in the last week I have found several new preschools that I did not even know existed before. Today the girls and I visited three new ones. There are many options; however, there are few affordable ones that offer something for both girls during the same time frame.
But I found two more and I checked one out today. The other two we looked at today were for dd#1 only (one was cheaper than where I currently have her signed up and the other was the new public school preschool that I mentioned above). I will check out the other preschool option for both girls soon and see what it offers. Hopefully tomorrow we can check it out. There are so many factors to consider and they go far beyond just having a time slot for both girls in one preschool. The school has to fit our budget, cannot be too far away and must fit into a time frame that makes sense for our lives. Also, the girls seem to be attracted to the schools with the most interesting playgrounds, so I think that is pretty important as well too.
Anyway, it has been fun to see all the new and latest options out there for preschools in this day and age. It honestly makes ME want to go to preschool!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
It's getting easier!
With the weather turning warmer and the need for excessive layers of clothing having ended, life seems to be getting a little easier with two little ones less than one year apart.
I think it is more than that though. I think it is their ages too. My youngest is 2 1/2 now and she is eating less things in the house. She and my older daughter, who is 3 1/2, are playing together now and not just fighting or playing only side by side.
The two girls are also much more confident and steady on their feet and tend to be very independent by nature. While this has been a bit painful to allow to develop due to all the messes that have been created by their desire to do things "myself," I can see the payoffs. DD#1 actually cut up a banana and divided it into two bowls of cereal the other day for she and her sister! Later in the day, she poured her own milk from a half gallon jug while I stood ready for a terrible mess that didn't happen (I think this one was luck). But, wow, it is amazing what these two can do already.
I still think early potty training is overrated. DD#2 potty-trained a whole year earlier than DD#1 because she simply was not going to be the only one left in diapers. But with the two girls out of diapers, the bathroom just gets soooo messy. DD#2 is capable but much messier than DD#1 in the bathroom, so that gets a bit old. But I guess I am saving money on diapers, although I still buy them for nighttime and they are still costly!
The best part of having two children close in age like this has been that they have been able to build a friendship and I don't have to arrange play dates for them to have fun with another little one during the days.
But then I also loved raising my son for eight years before they were born and I totally enjoyed the ease with which he and I could hook up with other mothers and their kids .... and I adored the daily one-on-one with him too for all those years. That was pretty special in and of itself and something much, much harder to accomplish with two little ones close in age.
My youngest dd is my cuddle bundle. I guess I am especially thankful for her because she is my little hug baby. DD#1 is 3 1/2 but she thinks she is as old as my DS, who is 11. She doesn't tend to be a cuddle type by nature so if DD#2 had not come along, I might be missing the cuddles big time.
Do you find traits in your different children that tend to be more like you or more like other family members? I find this particularly fascinating. DD#1 tends to be a lot like me by nature. This has been interesting to watch develop. My DS tends to be a blend of both my husband and myself. But I think he tends to be most like my dad, his grandfather, for whom he was named. That makes me smile.
DD#2 is a combination of her dad and her Nana, my mother. This little spirited child is full of energy and will not be left behind. She is active and unafraid of most anything, full of bounce and physical activity. Yet, lovable and cuddly at the same time ... an odd thing to say about someone who never stops moving, ya know? Both of my two girls have traits of their other grandma, my MIL also.
Anyway, I am totally glad that I had these two younger ones so close in age. It has been harder than raising only one child so far. Much, much harder. They do fight and that is hard for me too as I tend to like a more peaceful household. But, they also play and are the best of friends too. And they play with their older brother quite a bit too which really makes me smile.
Probably the hardest thing of all though is having the wide age spacing while also having the close in age spacing between my kids. This makes thinking about being at home with them all for the entire Summer more difficult. It would be easier to plan activities around either an older age child or younger age children. It is hard to plan things for the wider range in ages and makes the Summers much more difficult to plan.
But, Summer is coming soon, so we will see how it goes this year. The nice thing is that everyone shares a love for the pool and we do have one in our backyard. I hope that continues for many years, although DS doesn't tend to enjoy swimming with just anybody in the pool. He prefers to swim with just our family members in there or if he has a friend over, he enjoys it. But he tends to want to go inside when the pool is full of others who are friends of mine or friends of the girls ... so this might be a challenge as well .... ahhh kids .... it can be tough even when it gets easier!
I think it is more than that though. I think it is their ages too. My youngest is 2 1/2 now and she is eating less things in the house. She and my older daughter, who is 3 1/2, are playing together now and not just fighting or playing only side by side.
The two girls are also much more confident and steady on their feet and tend to be very independent by nature. While this has been a bit painful to allow to develop due to all the messes that have been created by their desire to do things "myself," I can see the payoffs. DD#1 actually cut up a banana and divided it into two bowls of cereal the other day for she and her sister! Later in the day, she poured her own milk from a half gallon jug while I stood ready for a terrible mess that didn't happen (I think this one was luck). But, wow, it is amazing what these two can do already.
I still think early potty training is overrated. DD#2 potty-trained a whole year earlier than DD#1 because she simply was not going to be the only one left in diapers. But with the two girls out of diapers, the bathroom just gets soooo messy. DD#2 is capable but much messier than DD#1 in the bathroom, so that gets a bit old. But I guess I am saving money on diapers, although I still buy them for nighttime and they are still costly!
The best part of having two children close in age like this has been that they have been able to build a friendship and I don't have to arrange play dates for them to have fun with another little one during the days.
But then I also loved raising my son for eight years before they were born and I totally enjoyed the ease with which he and I could hook up with other mothers and their kids .... and I adored the daily one-on-one with him too for all those years. That was pretty special in and of itself and something much, much harder to accomplish with two little ones close in age.
My youngest dd is my cuddle bundle. I guess I am especially thankful for her because she is my little hug baby. DD#1 is 3 1/2 but she thinks she is as old as my DS, who is 11. She doesn't tend to be a cuddle type by nature so if DD#2 had not come along, I might be missing the cuddles big time.
Do you find traits in your different children that tend to be more like you or more like other family members? I find this particularly fascinating. DD#1 tends to be a lot like me by nature. This has been interesting to watch develop. My DS tends to be a blend of both my husband and myself. But I think he tends to be most like my dad, his grandfather, for whom he was named. That makes me smile.
DD#2 is a combination of her dad and her Nana, my mother. This little spirited child is full of energy and will not be left behind. She is active and unafraid of most anything, full of bounce and physical activity. Yet, lovable and cuddly at the same time ... an odd thing to say about someone who never stops moving, ya know? Both of my two girls have traits of their other grandma, my MIL also.
Anyway, I am totally glad that I had these two younger ones so close in age. It has been harder than raising only one child so far. Much, much harder. They do fight and that is hard for me too as I tend to like a more peaceful household. But, they also play and are the best of friends too. And they play with their older brother quite a bit too which really makes me smile.
Probably the hardest thing of all though is having the wide age spacing while also having the close in age spacing between my kids. This makes thinking about being at home with them all for the entire Summer more difficult. It would be easier to plan activities around either an older age child or younger age children. It is hard to plan things for the wider range in ages and makes the Summers much more difficult to plan.
But, Summer is coming soon, so we will see how it goes this year. The nice thing is that everyone shares a love for the pool and we do have one in our backyard. I hope that continues for many years, although DS doesn't tend to enjoy swimming with just anybody in the pool. He prefers to swim with just our family members in there or if he has a friend over, he enjoys it. But he tends to want to go inside when the pool is full of others who are friends of mine or friends of the girls ... so this might be a challenge as well .... ahhh kids .... it can be tough even when it gets easier!
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