I wonder if after you have a certain number of kids you start to suffer from the Peter Pan syndrome. Meaning that they never grow up in your eyes. I can remember when Monkey was a baby how I could see her growing and getting bigger. I watched her change from an infant to a toddler to a young girl. I never felt like we were stuck in one moment of time.
Now with Toots and Baby Girl I look at them and still see them as little ones. Course the fact that Toots is almost 2yrs old and is still pretty tiny for his age probably doesn't help. At his 18 month check he was 22lbs. I can still get him into some of his 6-9 month onsies. Anything bigger than 12 months in shorts and they fall right off of him or look like high water pants. Thats even in cloth diapers where it's expected to wear a size up to accomodate the diaper.
Baby Girl will be 3 months old in less than a week and I still see her as an infant. Yes I can see where she has grown a bit and she is developing in other ways. She smiles all the time and coo's/talks to us. We even got her to start giggling which is the best sound ever. But when I look at her I still see a baby face.
What made me think of it is I recently saw another baby who is less than 2 weeks older than Baby Girl and it seemed like she actually looked like an older baby. So I started actually paying attention to other babies/toddlers and they all do. They just have a more "grown up" look to them then when I think of my own.
So I'm wondering if I suffer from a sort of Peter Pan syndrome where in my eyes my kiddo's will never grow up. Course we know they will but I still, how long will they be babies in my eyes? Forever??
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Daddy's Day!!
I know it's now almost 10pm but I figured better late than never right??? So HAPPY DADDY'S DAY!! This goes out to my dad, my hubby, and all the other daddy's out there.
Unfortunately my hubby wasn't able to spend the day with us so that we could pamper him. The boat managed to steal him away yet again. Such is the life I'm told. We did get to talk to him briefly this evening which was better than nothing I suppose. Oh well, at least we got to take him out to dinner last night to celebrate.
Unfortunately my hubby wasn't able to spend the day with us so that we could pamper him. The boat managed to steal him away yet again. Such is the life I'm told. We did get to talk to him briefly this evening which was better than nothing I suppose. Oh well, at least we got to take him out to dinner last night to celebrate.
My latest Project
I'm always looking for new things to try and make and tonights was rather interesting. It took me forever cause I was trying to plan it as I went. Overall though I like how it turned out!
I've been making and selling wetbags for a little while now. We cloth diaper and they come in handy for when we are out and about. Rather than using a plastic bag I can use this reusable one that is waterproof and keeps the smell in. Plus I can make them so it's super cheap to have several of mine own.
Tonight a friend suggested making one in a backpack style. We frequent the beach and water country and having one we can just carry on our back seems like a great idea. So I took on the challenge and came up with this.
This is it opened up and showing the straps.
A close up and the straps shortened. See how the bottom folds up and makes it shorter in eneral. Great for if you only have a couple things to carry.
And finally me wearing it. I stuffed 3 regular size towels inside and there is still plenty of room for swim suits or changes of clothes.
I have a couple change I'd like to make. Like having the zipper more on the front of hte bag instead of at the very top. Just have to work out placement. Other than that It's a nifty bag to have! And isn't the print just too cute!
If it was only a week...
Brandi over at Excess Baggage posed the question "Only one week to live...where would you go?" on her blog.
Where would I go? My first thought is to say home but well, we all know I don't really care for home. There isn't much to see really in the good ole 'Fort. Well there is the children's zoo but thats not exactly a high priority when you only have one week left.
Hmm...Maybe Europe?? I've always wanted to go to Italy. Then again it just seems like way to much work even to get there because you know I'd be dragging Mr. X and the kiddo's along with me.
No, I think I'd rather stay right near the water. We would get a cottage with a bedroom whose window overlooks the ocean so that every morning I could wake up with my hubby to watch the sunrise. I'd spend my days laying beside Mr. X while watching the kids play and laugh in the sand and water. We would eat anything and everything our heart desired. The idea being to totally live in the moment and savoring each and every single one. For once there would be no cellphone or laptop. My hubby and my kids would have my undivided attention.
Just like Brandi I'd want to be right there with my family, enjoying them, savoring them, loving them.
Where would I go? My first thought is to say home but well, we all know I don't really care for home. There isn't much to see really in the good ole 'Fort. Well there is the children's zoo but thats not exactly a high priority when you only have one week left.
Hmm...Maybe Europe?? I've always wanted to go to Italy. Then again it just seems like way to much work even to get there because you know I'd be dragging Mr. X and the kiddo's along with me.
No, I think I'd rather stay right near the water. We would get a cottage with a bedroom whose window overlooks the ocean so that every morning I could wake up with my hubby to watch the sunrise. I'd spend my days laying beside Mr. X while watching the kids play and laugh in the sand and water. We would eat anything and everything our heart desired. The idea being to totally live in the moment and savoring each and every single one. For once there would be no cellphone or laptop. My hubby and my kids would have my undivided attention.
Just like Brandi I'd want to be right there with my family, enjoying them, savoring them, loving them.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Trying Not To
Ever since we saw the specialist on Monday I find myself constantly inspecting Baby Girl's eyes looking for any change. I told myself after the appointment that I wouldn't focus on that because I don't want to imagine something that isn't there. It's like when you take a pregnancy test, if you stare at it long enough your gonna see a line. Even if it is an imaginary one. In my case....I really don't want to see it.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Cloth Diapering Savings
I've been asked if cloth diapering really does save money and is it really worth it. I think a lot of people, like myself at one time, can't get past the initial start up cost while doing cloth diapering. I mean spending a couple hundred $$ at once on diapers when a box of Huggies is $20 at Walmart can be hard to get past. What they also may not know is that there are cheaper ways to start up rather than going all gung ho with the big name brand diapers.
So here is how I figure the breakdown of savings for us. Currently I have 2 kiddo's in cloth diapers exclusively. There's not a single disposable in my house that doesn't belong to one of the daycare kiddo's. Starting up I have spent just under $250 which gives me enough diapers for both kids and allows me to do the washings every other day. I prefer the pocket diapers with the occasional personally made cover with a prefold. My pockets consist of Bum Genius, Nubunz, and a handful of Kawaii Baby. The nubunz were bought brand new but the others were bought 2nd hand or off ebay at a discounted price. Surprisingly cloth diapers have a really good resell value.
Now, with 2 in diapers I'm estimating we would have spent approximately $80 a month on disposables. In addition based on our most recent water bill with the extra washes there was an increase of $5 per month. Nothing else in our life changed in the last month so I'm pretty sure thats from the extra laundry loads. Based on those numbers in just over 3 months we would have broke even. That means going into month 4 we would be having a savings of $75 a month. In a years time (I'm pretty sure Toots won't be potty training anytime soon) that is a savings of $900. Now this isn't taking into account swim diapers or the fact that we probably won't need diaper rash cream since rashes aren't common in cloth. Plus they are well made diapers so they last a long time so I'll be able to use them for baby #4 if we are blessed with one so the savings just continues.
Is it worth it?? For me it is. Cloth diapering really isn't that difficult. Yes it means I have a couple extra loads of laundry to do each week and but really how hard is that? You wash them, hang them to dry and your done. Even Mr. X has not found it too difficult to deal with of course I do all the stuffing for him and take care of the poopy dipes but still, its no different than a disposable to him he just doesn't throw them away. And quite honestly, one benefit is I have actually kept on top of the regular laundry instead of letting it pile up and doing it all in one day. Thats one thing Mr. X definetely won't complain about now.
So here is how I figure the breakdown of savings for us. Currently I have 2 kiddo's in cloth diapers exclusively. There's not a single disposable in my house that doesn't belong to one of the daycare kiddo's. Starting up I have spent just under $250 which gives me enough diapers for both kids and allows me to do the washings every other day. I prefer the pocket diapers with the occasional personally made cover with a prefold. My pockets consist of Bum Genius, Nubunz, and a handful of Kawaii Baby. The nubunz were bought brand new but the others were bought 2nd hand or off ebay at a discounted price. Surprisingly cloth diapers have a really good resell value.
Now, with 2 in diapers I'm estimating we would have spent approximately $80 a month on disposables. In addition based on our most recent water bill with the extra washes there was an increase of $5 per month. Nothing else in our life changed in the last month so I'm pretty sure thats from the extra laundry loads. Based on those numbers in just over 3 months we would have broke even. That means going into month 4 we would be having a savings of $75 a month. In a years time (I'm pretty sure Toots won't be potty training anytime soon) that is a savings of $900. Now this isn't taking into account swim diapers or the fact that we probably won't need diaper rash cream since rashes aren't common in cloth. Plus they are well made diapers so they last a long time so I'll be able to use them for baby #4 if we are blessed with one so the savings just continues.
Is it worth it?? For me it is. Cloth diapering really isn't that difficult. Yes it means I have a couple extra loads of laundry to do each week and but really how hard is that? You wash them, hang them to dry and your done. Even Mr. X has not found it too difficult to deal with of course I do all the stuffing for him and take care of the poopy dipes but still, its no different than a disposable to him he just doesn't throw them away. And quite honestly, one benefit is I have actually kept on top of the regular laundry instead of letting it pile up and doing it all in one day. Thats one thing Mr. X definetely won't complain about now.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Her Beautiful Eyes
First for the easy stuff. Baby girl had her 2 month well check today and she is getting to be a big girl! She is now 11lbs 5oz and 23 1/4 inches long.
Now for the harder stuff. I have been putting off telling people about baby girl's eyes because I wanted to know what was going to happen first. I figured it would be easier that way plus I would have some answers of my own instead of having to say "I don't know".
Going back a bit when she was born she had a lot of dark spots on her eyes and forhead. We had figured that it was bruising because she was rather large and born pretty fast. At her 2 week follow up though the spots over her eyes had not faded away as a bruise would have and showed no sign of doing so. The pediatrician referred us to a specialist just to be safe. She had her first appointment with him a month ago and he confirmed there was definetely something going on. What though was the question. He said that he thought it was a hemangioma which is a growth. You will see these on other parts of the body mostly. Since it's around her eyes it would have to be treated or she would likely have vision damage. The decision was made to wait a month and watch how it grows to see which would be the best way to treat it, either laser or steroids.
Today we had our 2nd appointment with the specialist and it didn't go at all like I had thought. At this appointment he said that in fact it does not look like a hemangioma, that it is actually a vascular malformity. I think I spelled that right. Anyways, what it boils down to is she will have to have surgery. He wants to try and put it off until she is closer to 5 or 6 months since she will have to be put under and should handle the procedure better than if we were to do it now. Plus she will have more skin and area to work with so it will be easier for the surgeon to do what he has to do. He also said that if it is not obstructing or causing visible problems then he may want to wait a little longer than that and take it month by month.
So again we wait. We'll get a call in the next week for when she will need to go in for a CT scan. This will tell them just how deep it is and an idea of size and what they are dealing with. She'll then be scheduled for sometime in August when she is 4 months to see the specialist again so he can check the growth progression again and then make the decision from there.
In the mean time while at home we just have to keep an eye on it. If her eyelid starts drooping, looking like it's puffier, or if her eye itself doesn't move as it should we'll have to take her in right away and the whole process will get moved up. The other side of it is once they do the surgery it won't be the end of it. She'll have to have check ups for awhile afterwards to make sure that they got it all and that it doesn't start to grow again.
Whats really sad is it's very likely that Mr. X won't be here when she gets the procedure done. So goes the military life I suppose. I'm thankful though that I have several very good friends who I know will be there for us if he isn't able to. I know he'll be worried about his little girl though and hopefully there won't be a huge delay in communication for us. We shall see though.
Now for the harder stuff. I have been putting off telling people about baby girl's eyes because I wanted to know what was going to happen first. I figured it would be easier that way plus I would have some answers of my own instead of having to say "I don't know".
Going back a bit when she was born she had a lot of dark spots on her eyes and forhead. We had figured that it was bruising because she was rather large and born pretty fast. At her 2 week follow up though the spots over her eyes had not faded away as a bruise would have and showed no sign of doing so. The pediatrician referred us to a specialist just to be safe. She had her first appointment with him a month ago and he confirmed there was definetely something going on. What though was the question. He said that he thought it was a hemangioma which is a growth. You will see these on other parts of the body mostly. Since it's around her eyes it would have to be treated or she would likely have vision damage. The decision was made to wait a month and watch how it grows to see which would be the best way to treat it, either laser or steroids.
Today we had our 2nd appointment with the specialist and it didn't go at all like I had thought. At this appointment he said that in fact it does not look like a hemangioma, that it is actually a vascular malformity. I think I spelled that right. Anyways, what it boils down to is she will have to have surgery. He wants to try and put it off until she is closer to 5 or 6 months since she will have to be put under and should handle the procedure better than if we were to do it now. Plus she will have more skin and area to work with so it will be easier for the surgeon to do what he has to do. He also said that if it is not obstructing or causing visible problems then he may want to wait a little longer than that and take it month by month.
So again we wait. We'll get a call in the next week for when she will need to go in for a CT scan. This will tell them just how deep it is and an idea of size and what they are dealing with. She'll then be scheduled for sometime in August when she is 4 months to see the specialist again so he can check the growth progression again and then make the decision from there.
In the mean time while at home we just have to keep an eye on it. If her eyelid starts drooping, looking like it's puffier, or if her eye itself doesn't move as it should we'll have to take her in right away and the whole process will get moved up. The other side of it is once they do the surgery it won't be the end of it. She'll have to have check ups for awhile afterwards to make sure that they got it all and that it doesn't start to grow again.
Whats really sad is it's very likely that Mr. X won't be here when she gets the procedure done. So goes the military life I suppose. I'm thankful though that I have several very good friends who I know will be there for us if he isn't able to. I know he'll be worried about his little girl though and hopefully there won't be a huge delay in communication for us. We shall see though.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Running out of Room
I don't think I have any more room for titles at the end of my name. There's bound to be more though that I haven't thought of. Now I get to add "nurse". In the 2 1/2 years Mr. X and I have been together he has never been sick. Well he's had a minor cold I think once but it passed very quickly and wasn't a bother at all. Now....I've got one very sick man on my hands.
He came home really early from work and immediately changed into his favorite pajama pants and retreated to his man cave. When I went to check on him and say hello he tells me he's running 102 fever and isn't feeling well. Just swell right? So I quarantined him to the room to avoid spreading any more germs and lysoled where he had been when he came home. I wasn't too concerned about prior to that since he had duty last night and hadn't been here for mroe than 24 hours at that point anyways.
Now he's been home about 12 hours, taking tylenol every 4 hours for the fever and it still hasn't broken. We're doing cool wash clothes for his head cause he has a headache too, and lots of water and fluids. Well as much as I can force into him anyways. He has no appetite at all but thankfully he hasn't been to demanding.
Needless to say it's going to be a long night though as I'm up/down to check on him, make sure he gets his next dose of meds and changing that wash cloth. Hmmm....wonder if the favor would be returned if it were me that was sick??? He is a man after all.....
He came home really early from work and immediately changed into his favorite pajama pants and retreated to his man cave. When I went to check on him and say hello he tells me he's running 102 fever and isn't feeling well. Just swell right? So I quarantined him to the room to avoid spreading any more germs and lysoled where he had been when he came home. I wasn't too concerned about prior to that since he had duty last night and hadn't been here for mroe than 24 hours at that point anyways.
Now he's been home about 12 hours, taking tylenol every 4 hours for the fever and it still hasn't broken. We're doing cool wash clothes for his head cause he has a headache too, and lots of water and fluids. Well as much as I can force into him anyways. He has no appetite at all but thankfully he hasn't been to demanding.
Needless to say it's going to be a long night though as I'm up/down to check on him, make sure he gets his next dose of meds and changing that wash cloth. Hmmm....wonder if the favor would be returned if it were me that was sick??? He is a man after all.....
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Just a Snoozin
You know you have awesome friends when they will remain friends with you even after you fall asleep on them. Not literally "on" them....actually more like when your having a conversation with them.
A few nights ago I invited a good friend over for some girl time. We'll call her "K". Mr. X had duty which means he is gone all night and the kiddo's go to bed early so it's just me all by my lonesome. After so many days of nothing but kid talk I was more than ready for some adult conversation.
So K comes over after the kids are in bed and we're chatting away. She brought some yummy chocolate caramel candies and we're catching up on various craft things we have been working on. K does some amazing work with items you would never even think of! Before I know it it's like 11:30pm and the sleepiness hits me like a brick. Course I had been up since 5am and running circles with the kids so I was bound to be tired. I didn't think this tired though!
The next thing I know I blinked....or what I thought was a blink. It was a blink that was just a split second too long and my eyelids were glued shut. I could still hear K talking but I was definetely on the fast track to dream land. Until I jerk myself back to the real world totally embarrassed. K is still chatting on and of course I've gotta decide to I pretend like I didn't just doze off on her or not. LOL She paused and sat up like she was getting ready to leave and I just blurted it out..."I totally just dozed off on ya with out meaning to".
Of course she saw it and thankfully she doesn't totally hate me for it either. At least I hope!! So K.....I'm sorry for falling asleep while you were talking!! I swear it's not because your boring or anything like that. I was just having a battle with my eyelids and unfortunately for just a moment they whooped my butt!
A few nights ago I invited a good friend over for some girl time. We'll call her "K". Mr. X had duty which means he is gone all night and the kiddo's go to bed early so it's just me all by my lonesome. After so many days of nothing but kid talk I was more than ready for some adult conversation.
So K comes over after the kids are in bed and we're chatting away. She brought some yummy chocolate caramel candies and we're catching up on various craft things we have been working on. K does some amazing work with items you would never even think of! Before I know it it's like 11:30pm and the sleepiness hits me like a brick. Course I had been up since 5am and running circles with the kids so I was bound to be tired. I didn't think this tired though!
The next thing I know I blinked....or what I thought was a blink. It was a blink that was just a split second too long and my eyelids were glued shut. I could still hear K talking but I was definetely on the fast track to dream land. Until I jerk myself back to the real world totally embarrassed. K is still chatting on and of course I've gotta decide to I pretend like I didn't just doze off on her or not. LOL She paused and sat up like she was getting ready to leave and I just blurted it out..."I totally just dozed off on ya with out meaning to".
Of course she saw it and thankfully she doesn't totally hate me for it either. At least I hope!! So K.....I'm sorry for falling asleep while you were talking!! I swear it's not because your boring or anything like that. I was just having a battle with my eyelids and unfortunately for just a moment they whooped my butt!
Sneaking Up
It seems like Mr. X just got back from the last deployment and here we are talking about the next one. I know he warned me way back in the beginning that they are always gone a lot but I don't think you really understand what that means until you actually deal with it. I got spoiled by the fact that in the first 2 years we were together he was only gone just over 2 months. And that was at the very end of those 2 years. Now it's looking like he won't even be here for our 1st wedding anniversary. Something I know every single military wife has the possibility of but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.
So now we are moving into preperation mode. Yes, it's still a few months out but waiting till the last minute means we're sure to forget something important. Like last time when I didn't have access to his bank accounts and it caused a huge problem with buying our current house. Thankfully it all worked itself out in the end but I'd like to try and avoid those stressful situations if I can. Being seperated is hard enough with out adding stuff like that.
The first part of that to-do list is things around the house that need done before he leaves, like looking into replacing our ancient heating/ac unit to getting ceiling fans installed in the remaining rooms. Getting power of attorney (the right one this time), and making sure any bills he normally takes care of I know how to access and handle. Some are big some are small but all things that need to be taken care of.
The second part of it is things I'd like to do while he's gone to help pass the time. The things I know I can manage on my own. Like sanding down the kitchen cabinets and replacing them. Painting the rooms in the house like we've been saying we'll do for almost a year now. All those little home improvement projects that we won't do this summer cause instead we are going to the water park or having a BBQ. I just hope he likes what I've done when he gets back!!
On top of that we have to try and squeeze as much family time as possible into an already crazy schedule. He's already going to be gone a good bit as they do work ups and "suffering" through duty days. I guess one positive to the time right before deployment is it's like trial runs for me to make sure I really can survive on my own with 3 kids, a huge house, a home business, and everything else I have going on. Thats just assuming that I haven't managed to get knocked up again by then.
Needless to say I should have lots and lots to blog about in coming months and beyond. I just hope that I don't get so busy that I forget like last time!
So now we are moving into preperation mode. Yes, it's still a few months out but waiting till the last minute means we're sure to forget something important. Like last time when I didn't have access to his bank accounts and it caused a huge problem with buying our current house. Thankfully it all worked itself out in the end but I'd like to try and avoid those stressful situations if I can. Being seperated is hard enough with out adding stuff like that.
The first part of that to-do list is things around the house that need done before he leaves, like looking into replacing our ancient heating/ac unit to getting ceiling fans installed in the remaining rooms. Getting power of attorney (the right one this time), and making sure any bills he normally takes care of I know how to access and handle. Some are big some are small but all things that need to be taken care of.
The second part of it is things I'd like to do while he's gone to help pass the time. The things I know I can manage on my own. Like sanding down the kitchen cabinets and replacing them. Painting the rooms in the house like we've been saying we'll do for almost a year now. All those little home improvement projects that we won't do this summer cause instead we are going to the water park or having a BBQ. I just hope he likes what I've done when he gets back!!
On top of that we have to try and squeeze as much family time as possible into an already crazy schedule. He's already going to be gone a good bit as they do work ups and "suffering" through duty days. I guess one positive to the time right before deployment is it's like trial runs for me to make sure I really can survive on my own with 3 kids, a huge house, a home business, and everything else I have going on. Thats just assuming that I haven't managed to get knocked up again by then.
Needless to say I should have lots and lots to blog about in coming months and beyond. I just hope that I don't get so busy that I forget like last time!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Half Way
Today marks 6 months since Mr. X and I got married! I remember that day and thinking that even the 6 month mark seemed so far away. And yet here we are! Since I had fallen off the blogging wagon back then here's a copy/paste job of how it came to be since the whole thing was very short and sweet and to the point.
Friday, December 4, 2009 at 3:51pm
Yesterday Mr. X and I were out looking at furniture for his new "man room". We stopped at Olive Garden for lunch and as we were leaving he asked me if I wanted to have my anniversary present early. We had an hour to kill and our dating anniversary is tomorrow. Of course I said sure cause I suck at waiting for anything. Well he drives to the jewelry store and tells me we're looking for my engagement ring! Course my 1st thought was FINALLY!! LOL We looked around and didn't find anything that we could really say was it and we needed to get to my doctors appointment. So we left and said we would discuss some more and then come back after.
On the way to my appointment he tells me "I've been thinking..." and goes on to say that he thought it would be really neat to get married on our dating anniversary but since the courthouse wasn't open on Saturdays how did I feel about Friday. I pretty much was stunned. My 1st response was "but thats tomorrow!" LOL And so the plan was hatched.
After my appointment we went to a different store where he said he had found a set he really liked previously but wasn't sure if I would. Of course it's the one I love and we ended up buying it. We bought his as well while we were there so we were all set. I posted about the engagement ring about 4pm last night and of course everyone was so excited about it. I think the common response was "It's about time!".
So this morning we got up, got Monkey dropped at school and took Toots to our previous sitters house. Went down to the courthosue and by 10:30am we were married! To which of course I posted "Yesterday he gave me my engagement ring...today he gave me his last name". So it's all official. Still seems a bit unreal but honestly, I'm happy with the way we did it. It's exactly as I always said I would get married actually.
He has no family at all and I really have nobody I would want to invite that could make it. So a big wedding really wasn't in the cards for us. We're talking about maybe doing a destination get away after his next deployment and taking a couple of our very good friends with us to celebrate that way. Course that will be awhile but still something to look forward too.
Thats the story though.....very short....but sweet!
Friday, December 4, 2009 at 3:51pm
Yesterday Mr. X and I were out looking at furniture for his new "man room". We stopped at Olive Garden for lunch and as we were leaving he asked me if I wanted to have my anniversary present early. We had an hour to kill and our dating anniversary is tomorrow. Of course I said sure cause I suck at waiting for anything. Well he drives to the jewelry store and tells me we're looking for my engagement ring! Course my 1st thought was FINALLY!! LOL We looked around and didn't find anything that we could really say was it and we needed to get to my doctors appointment. So we left and said we would discuss some more and then come back after.
On the way to my appointment he tells me "I've been thinking..." and goes on to say that he thought it would be really neat to get married on our dating anniversary but since the courthouse wasn't open on Saturdays how did I feel about Friday. I pretty much was stunned. My 1st response was "but thats tomorrow!" LOL And so the plan was hatched.
After my appointment we went to a different store where he said he had found a set he really liked previously but wasn't sure if I would. Of course it's the one I love and we ended up buying it. We bought his as well while we were there so we were all set. I posted about the engagement ring about 4pm last night and of course everyone was so excited about it. I think the common response was "It's about time!".
So this morning we got up, got Monkey dropped at school and took Toots to our previous sitters house. Went down to the courthosue and by 10:30am we were married! To which of course I posted "Yesterday he gave me my engagement ring...today he gave me his last name". So it's all official. Still seems a bit unreal but honestly, I'm happy with the way we did it. It's exactly as I always said I would get married actually.
He has no family at all and I really have nobody I would want to invite that could make it. So a big wedding really wasn't in the cards for us. We're talking about maybe doing a destination get away after his next deployment and taking a couple of our very good friends with us to celebrate that way. Course that will be awhile but still something to look forward too.
Thats the story though.....very short....but sweet!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Adding Another Title
Now you can call me teacher! We started talking last fall about the possibility of homeschooling monkey as of the 2010-2011 school year. We bought an amazing house at the end of October however it came with a not so amazing school zone. I found out recently that they are going to close that school after the current year ends however instead of rezoning and distributing the kids they are moving the entire student body to another local school. Then rezoning and distrubting those current kids. So, new school same problem which is really low test scores and a horrible crime rate. The crime rate baffles me though since the school sits right next to a police department but who knows.
We tried, and failed, to get her into the magnet program which would have sent her to a better school. The thing with those is after kindergarten its apparently impossible to get in because all existing kids and their siblings have priority. So that put us back to the homeschooling option.
I've been searching and searching trying to find something that would be a good fit for us. I mean, not only would I have Monkey, Toots, and Baby Girl home all day with me...I'd also have my daycare to run which will consist of 7-8 other kids! Yes, I have an assistant starting with me so that would help but I would still have to make time for Monkey's schooling too.
Then I found www.time4learning.com and it looks very promising. Actually I'm almost certain this is the program we will go with. The provide a complete curriculum based on grade level which we have to submit to the schools here. It's online activities, learning, testing for her based on her grade level. It can be customized to her needs as well which is nice since she is advanced in several areas. It provides online progress reports and completion reports which are needed to show the school system that she is in fact learning. I can even pull information from it to do home activities that tie into what she is learning and depending on what it is can incorporate it with the daycare kiddo's too for a fun activity. I'm actually considering signing up for it with 2 kids so I can get the preschool curriculum as well specifically for the daycare. We'll see on that part though.
So, I guess now I can add the teacher title to ever growing list. It should be a fun and interesting adventure. I've talked to Monkey about her staying home to do schooling and in some ways she seems excited but in others sad too. Mostly for the social aspect but with our local mom's group and all the people we now know we should have no problem keeping her busy and socialized.
We tried, and failed, to get her into the magnet program which would have sent her to a better school. The thing with those is after kindergarten its apparently impossible to get in because all existing kids and their siblings have priority. So that put us back to the homeschooling option.
I've been searching and searching trying to find something that would be a good fit for us. I mean, not only would I have Monkey, Toots, and Baby Girl home all day with me...I'd also have my daycare to run which will consist of 7-8 other kids! Yes, I have an assistant starting with me so that would help but I would still have to make time for Monkey's schooling too.
Then I found www.time4learning.com and it looks very promising. Actually I'm almost certain this is the program we will go with. The provide a complete curriculum based on grade level which we have to submit to the schools here. It's online activities, learning, testing for her based on her grade level. It can be customized to her needs as well which is nice since she is advanced in several areas. It provides online progress reports and completion reports which are needed to show the school system that she is in fact learning. I can even pull information from it to do home activities that tie into what she is learning and depending on what it is can incorporate it with the daycare kiddo's too for a fun activity. I'm actually considering signing up for it with 2 kids so I can get the preschool curriculum as well specifically for the daycare. We'll see on that part though.
So, I guess now I can add the teacher title to ever growing list. It should be a fun and interesting adventure. I've talked to Monkey about her staying home to do schooling and in some ways she seems excited but in others sad too. Mostly for the social aspect but with our local mom's group and all the people we now know we should have no problem keeping her busy and socialized.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Eight
Baby girl is now 8 weeks old!! Has it really been that long already? I swear with every baby we have the time just goes by faster. Course that could be because I have more to do as the day goes by.
Here she is, our pretty baby girl...
Here she is, our pretty baby girl...
And one to show her personality....her goofy face...
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