I did it. I registered the older two boys for public school last week.
No, we still haven't sold our house. No, we haven't moved. (yet.) We have a contract building a house in the new district so we can send the kids there before we physically move.
I'm nervous and relieved about it.
I ventured up into the attic last night, because half our stuff is packed away up there, to find their back packs.
You guys, it's a mess up there. There are empty boxes, full boxes, holiday decorations, extra "stuff" and just... it's a mess. It's not organized. It's not neatly stacked. It's FULL.
The house down here looks nice and neat all the time, but that attic is how our life really is right now. Chaos.
It's shoved where no one can see it, so as to make a prettier picture for the world.
I'm exhausted trying to sell this house. I'm so tired of being grumpy about the kids messing stuff up and so sick of losing my temper trying to get them to clean it up. I feel like the attic. Messy on the inside and in the dark corners. Chaotic. A disaster.
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I started this journey two + years ago as a very reluctant homeschooler. I've been both pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed it and horrified at how much I wanted to stop doing it. Sometimes both in the same day.
D & O are doing off to public school this year and they are excited. I am excited, nervous and all the feelings rolled up into one. C (1st grade) & Miss L will still be at home this year, so it will be nice to have a little more time with them.
I hope they like it. I hope *I* like it.
Showing posts with label and then there were 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label and then there were 6. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Vacation, VBS, colds/hot
Our vacation was amazing! I enjoyed 7 full days of not worrying about cleaning this house. (We had zero showings while we were gone, unfortunately.) That happiness lasted about 12 hours after we got home - right up until the point we had to go out again.
Oh well. On the upside, we also enjoyed 7 full days of the beach and pool! It was lovely. Not too hot, not *quite* as crowded as it might have been and the kids had so much fun. We rented a house with another family, and we cooked every meal at home except for when we swapped date nights and the morning we left, so we saved a lot of money that way. It's so nice to have someone to watch your kids too, so that you can have a date night! I had *2* dates that week, and that's more than I've had all year up to this point! We celebrated our 12 yr anniversary while we were there and also D's 34th birthday. All in all, a lovely week.
Once we got home, it was back to the grind. We had VBS this week and although having to get the kids and house show ready and be gone by 8:30 AM every day was challenging, it was WORTH IT. I was kid free every day from 9-12. Of course, I ran errands, took the dogs to the vet, finally got my hair cut, etc, etc. However, I also went to Target (TWICE!) by myself. I was able to meet a friend for coffee! I even read a book! During the day! And no one bothered me!
Several of us are down with a summer cold right now, including me, so this week will probably be mostly staying at home until everyone is feeling better. Also, summer temps are here to stay. It was already in the mid 70's when we woke up at 6AM. We'll probably break out the water slide again soon.
Some vacation pictures:
Oh well. On the upside, we also enjoyed 7 full days of the beach and pool! It was lovely. Not too hot, not *quite* as crowded as it might have been and the kids had so much fun. We rented a house with another family, and we cooked every meal at home except for when we swapped date nights and the morning we left, so we saved a lot of money that way. It's so nice to have someone to watch your kids too, so that you can have a date night! I had *2* dates that week, and that's more than I've had all year up to this point! We celebrated our 12 yr anniversary while we were there and also D's 34th birthday. All in all, a lovely week.
Once we got home, it was back to the grind. We had VBS this week and although having to get the kids and house show ready and be gone by 8:30 AM every day was challenging, it was WORTH IT. I was kid free every day from 9-12. Of course, I ran errands, took the dogs to the vet, finally got my hair cut, etc, etc. However, I also went to Target (TWICE!) by myself. I was able to meet a friend for coffee! I even read a book! During the day! And no one bothered me!
Several of us are down with a summer cold right now, including me, so this week will probably be mostly staying at home until everyone is feeling better. Also, summer temps are here to stay. It was already in the mid 70's when we woke up at 6AM. We'll probably break out the water slide again soon.
Some vacation pictures:
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| Searching for shells was O's favorite. |
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| The world is my sand box... |
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| It rained several afternoons while we were there. It only really changed our plans once though, and it never lasted too long. |
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| These two love riding the waves! |
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| Shell Island |
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| C was worn out after boating all day. |
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| St. Andrew's State Park - my favorite of the places we went! |
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Miscellanous
* D's been gone a couple days this week for his granny's funeral. She passed away last week at the ripe old age of 103. She would have been 104 in March. She lived a long, happy life and she'll be missed. The kids and I didn't get to go to the funeral since it's in Texas and we'll be traveling there in a couple weeks. The first picture is the last time we saw Granny, late December last year.
D sent me this picture from today. It's of him (far right), his (twin) brother A, his younger (the tall one) brother C and his sister and grandparents. His grandparents are the absolute best people in the world. SO sweet and lovely.
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* Christmas shopping, shipping, card mailing, wrapping, baking, ETC is all DONE. I hope that I can relax now. I gave the teachers their gifts and mailed my last packages today.
* I bought some awesome boots on Amazon last week and I am in looove with them. I got light brown for only $27! They come just up to my knees and are beautiful!
* The dogs are booked in the kennel, the plans are made, and we're headed to Texas in a couple weeks. We'll get to see all our favorite people and also some of our "Oh, has it only been a year?" people, but hey that's family for you. It will be good, it will be bad, it will be long, it will be an adventure.
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* Christmas shopping, shipping, card mailing, wrapping, baking, ETC is all DONE. I hope that I can relax now. I gave the teachers their gifts and mailed my last packages today.
* I bought some awesome boots on Amazon last week and I am in looove with them. I got light brown for only $27! They come just up to my knees and are beautiful!
* The dogs are booked in the kennel, the plans are made, and we're headed to Texas in a couple weeks. We'll get to see all our favorite people and also some of our "Oh, has it only been a year?" people, but hey that's family for you. It will be good, it will be bad, it will be long, it will be an adventure.
Monday, December 02, 2013
And then there were 6...
... and no more.
“A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out.
You examine every turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world.
But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through your life when there will be no more coming after–oh, that’s love by a different name.
She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she’s gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up changed and fly away.
So instead you rock by the window, drinking the light from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. ”
-Barbara Kingsolver
(Thank you to Semi Desperate Housewife for that poem!)
Four years ago today, at 10:51 AM, Miss L came into our lives. She was 7 lbs 15 oz of sweet baby girl.
Now, my baby is four. This fat, bald, adorable baby is now a four year old with a teenage attitude and a huge heart.
That first year was rough. The steroids, the medication to shrink the hemangioma on her eye, the NO sleep (thank you steroids!), the constant spitting up and specialist appointments, the worries that her eyesight would be affected, and my shamefully vain worry about her missing eyelashes. Do I care? No. But, I worry that she might. Someday.
Oh I gained a lot of perspective! What a blessing to have a child who is healthy! This was such a small issue in the grand scheme of things. A few missing eyelashes is nothing at all.
The past four years have flown by faster than I would have wished. Soon baby turned into toddler. She's a fun mix of tom boy and girly girl. She will play in the mud in her princess dress any day of the week. She pushes her babies around in a dump truck and does her level best to keep up with her big brothers.
“A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out.
You examine every turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world.
But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through your life when there will be no more coming after–oh, that’s love by a different name.
She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she’s gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up changed and fly away.
So instead you rock by the window, drinking the light from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. ”
-Barbara Kingsolver
(Thank you to Semi Desperate Housewife for that poem!)
The final child. The only girl. The baby sister.
Now, my baby is four. This fat, bald, adorable baby is now a four year old with a teenage attitude and a huge heart.
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| Oh. I miss this baby. |
Oh I gained a lot of perspective! What a blessing to have a child who is healthy! This was such a small issue in the grand scheme of things. A few missing eyelashes is nothing at all.
The past four years have flown by faster than I would have wished. Soon baby turned into toddler. She's a fun mix of tom boy and girly girl. She will play in the mud in her princess dress any day of the week. She pushes her babies around in a dump truck and does her level best to keep up with her big brothers.
Now she's a little girl. I can't call her toddler anymore, but I will continue to call her my baby. She will always hold a special place in my heart.
Happy 4th to the little girl who will ALWAYS be my baby.
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
Ups & Downs
The washing machine broke last Thursday, when I was on my 1st load of three. A family of 6 needs a washing machine! Six days now and it's not fixed...
The part we ordered came yesterday and was already broken when we opened the box! Now we have to send it back and they won't pay for shipping. I fail to see how it's my fault, but shipping is $5 and the part is $55 so I feel stuck. I ordered a new part from a different company today, and hopefully it gets here SOON!
I've hand washed a few necessities and broke down and bought Miss L new underwear yesterday. Totally worth it.
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D & I went on a date last night, thanks to VBS that runs for 2 hours in the evenings. We went to my favorite restaurant and I had my favorite dish (Chicken Panang). We even had time to go to the grocery store and get frozen yogurt! Plus, we had a coupon for dinner and VBS is free. Cheap date night!
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I got lost this morning on the way to a play date, which should no longer surprise me. Luckily, I have very recently joined the world of smartphones (I know, finally!) and could look up the directions (again) and find it!
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I happened to be lecturing the kids on not distracting me while driving (fighting, asking for help with things) and we came upon a wreck that was blocking our exit to home. We went on the next exit and there was yet another bad accident with a smashed up car. I think I scared them to death since we had been talking about not distracting me so I don't get into an accident and then BAM! Smashed car. (Not sure if this is an up or down.)
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D had to work all day Saturday, and the last week has been pretty much non-stop rain, but Sunday we escaped through the rain to Nashville and went to the zoo until it got too hot and then we went to the science museum. The kids had a blast and I enjoyed spending time together. (Am I crazy that I don't find most children's museums fun in the least? D always seems to have fun as much as the kids.)
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I'm still chugging along with trying to lose weight. It's slow going.
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The SPAM comments on this blog have gotten out of control. I'm getting more SPAM comments than real comments by far. This bites so I'm taking away the anonymous commenting option.
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We're planning a trip to see my family and I'm glad to be seeing everyone again. I haven't seen any of my family since Christmas, and most of them since Thanksgiving. It's been a long time since they've come down. I'm glad to be seeing them soon though; I hate living so far away.
The part we ordered came yesterday and was already broken when we opened the box! Now we have to send it back and they won't pay for shipping. I fail to see how it's my fault, but shipping is $5 and the part is $55 so I feel stuck. I ordered a new part from a different company today, and hopefully it gets here SOON!
I've hand washed a few necessities and broke down and bought Miss L new underwear yesterday. Totally worth it.
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D & I went on a date last night, thanks to VBS that runs for 2 hours in the evenings. We went to my favorite restaurant and I had my favorite dish (Chicken Panang). We even had time to go to the grocery store and get frozen yogurt! Plus, we had a coupon for dinner and VBS is free. Cheap date night!
--
I got lost this morning on the way to a play date, which should no longer surprise me. Luckily, I have very recently joined the world of smartphones (I know, finally!) and could look up the directions (again) and find it!
--
I happened to be lecturing the kids on not distracting me while driving (fighting, asking for help with things) and we came upon a wreck that was blocking our exit to home. We went on the next exit and there was yet another bad accident with a smashed up car. I think I scared them to death since we had been talking about not distracting me so I don't get into an accident and then BAM! Smashed car. (Not sure if this is an up or down.)
--
D had to work all day Saturday, and the last week has been pretty much non-stop rain, but Sunday we escaped through the rain to Nashville and went to the zoo until it got too hot and then we went to the science museum. The kids had a blast and I enjoyed spending time together. (Am I crazy that I don't find most children's museums fun in the least? D always seems to have fun as much as the kids.)
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I'm still chugging along with trying to lose weight. It's slow going.
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The SPAM comments on this blog have gotten out of control. I'm getting more SPAM comments than real comments by far. This bites so I'm taking away the anonymous commenting option.
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We're planning a trip to see my family and I'm glad to be seeing everyone again. I haven't seen any of my family since Christmas, and most of them since Thanksgiving. It's been a long time since they've come down. I'm glad to be seeing them soon though; I hate living so far away.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Novels & other stuff
I love to read, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy a romance novel now and again. I recently read the first in a historical romance series by Eloisa James, (The Essex Sisters) and then promptly gobbled up the subsequent three. If you look down on me for reading romance novels I'm OK with that. I need a feel-good, easy read every now and then and her heroines are much less insipid than most. It's not for the racier parts either, as I often skim those, but the love and romance and happy endings... *sigh* I'm a sucker for such things!
Now, I'm a practical person by all accounts, but reading these stories made me have odd mental conversations and irritation with my husband and myself.
Why isn't our love like that? (Was it ever? This is called a fantasy for a reason.)
Why doesn't he look at me with stars in his eyes? (WTH does that even mean?)
Do his eyes darken with lust at the mere thought of me? (No)
I think I'd like to dress like these women. Those giant dresses could hide so much... (But, think how hot you'd be. Also, being a woman kind of sucked back then.)
Would he rescue me? (?!)
Why doesn't his thumb caress my cheek in a way that makes my stomach roll with butterflies? (Because this is real life you idiot. The only thing rolling around here is our eyes.)
So, um, Ms. James is a very convincing writer apparently and I'm sure I'll be reading more of her books in the future but perhaps I should read something first with a crappy husband so that I'll feel better.
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For Mother's Day the kids (D) got me a cute little sign for the kitchen, but my favorite thing was the keychain thing he got me. It's a large ring with 4 little kid figures on it, and has two clips on it. I can clip one side on my purse ring or zipper and attach my keys to the other side. I am FOREVER losing my keys in my big ass purses so this was genius. He thought it up all by himself too, so while he may not be a hero in a historical romance novel, I think he's right up there.
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The puppy? She's growing! She's more than doubled her weight since we've had her and her coat is no longer the soft fluff that it once was. She's still soft but her hair is much curlier and thicker now. She's too smart for her own good and causes mischief left and right. She and Miss L are the first suspects for most things that happen around here...
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We spent some wonderful time at the beach despite jelly fish and ridiculous-for-May-in-Florida weather and ICE COLD ocean water. As with every ocean trip, I spend the next week wishing for the funds for my own personal beach house. (ha!)
Now, I'm a practical person by all accounts, but reading these stories made me have odd mental conversations and irritation with my husband and myself.
Why isn't our love like that? (Was it ever? This is called a fantasy for a reason.)
Why doesn't he look at me with stars in his eyes? (WTH does that even mean?)
Do his eyes darken with lust at the mere thought of me? (No)
I think I'd like to dress like these women. Those giant dresses could hide so much... (But, think how hot you'd be. Also, being a woman kind of sucked back then.)
Would he rescue me? (?!)
Why doesn't his thumb caress my cheek in a way that makes my stomach roll with butterflies? (Because this is real life you idiot. The only thing rolling around here is our eyes.)
So, um, Ms. James is a very convincing writer apparently and I'm sure I'll be reading more of her books in the future but perhaps I should read something first with a crappy husband so that I'll feel better.
===
For Mother's Day the kids (D) got me a cute little sign for the kitchen, but my favorite thing was the keychain thing he got me. It's a large ring with 4 little kid figures on it, and has two clips on it. I can clip one side on my purse ring or zipper and attach my keys to the other side. I am FOREVER losing my keys in my big ass purses so this was genius. He thought it up all by himself too, so while he may not be a hero in a historical romance novel, I think he's right up there.
===
The puppy? She's growing! She's more than doubled her weight since we've had her and her coat is no longer the soft fluff that it once was. She's still soft but her hair is much curlier and thicker now. She's too smart for her own good and causes mischief left and right. She and Miss L are the first suspects for most things that happen around here...
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| Penny's 9th birthday is coming up! Piper is 19 weeks. |
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We spent some wonderful time at the beach despite jelly fish and ridiculous-for-May-in-Florida weather and ICE COLD ocean water. As with every ocean trip, I spend the next week wishing for the funds for my own personal beach house. (ha!)
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| We went with another family, but I don't want to post pictures of her family here without her permission. |
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| One of the best parts of going with another couple was that we swapped date nights/babysitting! SWEET! |
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| This pose has become sort of a "thing" for us. We have 2 canvas prints from previous years hanging in our dining room. This one will join them. |
Friday, April 05, 2013
The Village
People are fond of saying, "It takes a village..." in regards to child rearing. I can't say that I necessarily disagree, but what of those of us whose natural "village" is nowhere around?
I know I'm far from alone in the fact that I have no family anywhere near here, but I've never been more jealous of those that do. Of all the children on both sides of my family, my children are the only ones who do not live less than 30 minutes away from at least one set of grandparents, not to mention aunts/uncles/cousins and extended family.
There are many reasons I wish we lived closer. For one, I would love for my kids to have a closer relationship with their cousins, their grandparents, and the rest of the family. If we see them at all, we see most of our family members only once a year, a few twice, and very few are able (or willing) to make the trip to visit us. It's not enough for me, and certainly not enough for my kids to develop strong relationships with them.
Secondly, selfishly, I would love to have some help. I'm not going to lie; parenting is hard. I'm feeling the strain this week more than normal with D working overtime again, and playing rugby and soccer/gymnastics for the kids.
Yes, I have amazing friends who are more than willing to be there when I really need them. However, it's not the same as asking the grandparents to watch your kids so you can go to the store or the doctor or on a date, or have the kids spend the night on a random Saturday, or have them over for Sunday dinner or for your kids' birthdays.
Third, I just miss them. Well, most of them.
I believe we've hodge-podged together a nice little village for ourselves here, but it will never be the same as family for me. Not because I don't love my friends like (and oftentimes more than) family, and not because I can't count on them (I totally could) but it just isn't the same. As much as I love my friends here, they also have small children, jobs, lives, and all the same sort of struggles we do. We can vent together, hang out together, have fun together, and even rely on each other - and that's nothing to sneeze at so I don't mean to discount it. I just selfishly want more. I want the friends I love, the place I love, and the family I love all near each other.
Perhaps I'm romanticizing it a bit. I know my family well enough to know that we'd get on each others nerves often enough. Still... I've started questioning if I can really live my whole life never again living near family. We can't keep on visiting two far-away states several times a year, especially when the travel is so one sided. (Well, perhaps we can, but I'm weary of it. The other alternative is not seeing family, and that is also not a good option.)
Will I be sorry later, when my children don't have the relationships with family that are built at a young age? Then again, how could I move them away from the home we love, and the people we know and love? Moving & starting over doesn't appeal to me, not in the least.
So, village-less parents, how do you manage? And can someone round up my 15 closest family members and make them move down South?
I know I'm far from alone in the fact that I have no family anywhere near here, but I've never been more jealous of those that do. Of all the children on both sides of my family, my children are the only ones who do not live less than 30 minutes away from at least one set of grandparents, not to mention aunts/uncles/cousins and extended family.
There are many reasons I wish we lived closer. For one, I would love for my kids to have a closer relationship with their cousins, their grandparents, and the rest of the family. If we see them at all, we see most of our family members only once a year, a few twice, and very few are able (or willing) to make the trip to visit us. It's not enough for me, and certainly not enough for my kids to develop strong relationships with them.
Secondly, selfishly, I would love to have some help. I'm not going to lie; parenting is hard. I'm feeling the strain this week more than normal with D working overtime again, and playing rugby and soccer/gymnastics for the kids.
Yes, I have amazing friends who are more than willing to be there when I really need them. However, it's not the same as asking the grandparents to watch your kids so you can go to the store or the doctor or on a date, or have the kids spend the night on a random Saturday, or have them over for Sunday dinner or for your kids' birthdays.
Third, I just miss them. Well, most of them.
I believe we've hodge-podged together a nice little village for ourselves here, but it will never be the same as family for me. Not because I don't love my friends like (and oftentimes more than) family, and not because I can't count on them (I totally could) but it just isn't the same. As much as I love my friends here, they also have small children, jobs, lives, and all the same sort of struggles we do. We can vent together, hang out together, have fun together, and even rely on each other - and that's nothing to sneeze at so I don't mean to discount it. I just selfishly want more. I want the friends I love, the place I love, and the family I love all near each other.
Perhaps I'm romanticizing it a bit. I know my family well enough to know that we'd get on each others nerves often enough. Still... I've started questioning if I can really live my whole life never again living near family. We can't keep on visiting two far-away states several times a year, especially when the travel is so one sided. (Well, perhaps we can, but I'm weary of it. The other alternative is not seeing family, and that is also not a good option.)
Will I be sorry later, when my children don't have the relationships with family that are built at a young age? Then again, how could I move them away from the home we love, and the people we know and love? Moving & starting over doesn't appeal to me, not in the least.
So, village-less parents, how do you manage? And can someone round up my 15 closest family members and make them move down South?
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Vacation
D worked the weekend, and until almost midnight last night, so to say that I'm ready for our upcoming vacation is an understatement! We've also been staying home a lot... so we're all ready to go out and have some fun.
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The last two weeks' weather was interesting. First, it rained, and rained, and rained some more. Then, it got cold, sleeted, and then snowed. Then the sun came out, melted everything and we had 55 degree weather.
Thursday:
Friday:
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The kids are SO. EXCITED. about going to Disney World. I've been a little apprehensive, but I figure we'll see what we can see and go take a rest if anyone is too crabby. We'll be there long enough that we can space our days at Disney out too, so that should help.
D & d are both most excited about riding the big rides and rollercoasters. Miss L desperately wants to see Cinderella and her castle. O is most looking forward to the jungle safari and the Lion King show. C wants to see cars, so he should like the race track. The biggest thing I'm excited about is a whole week of vacation and seeing how happy the kids are about Disney.
If we're not too busy or exhausted, I'll try to post updates and pictures while we're gone!
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The last two weeks' weather was interesting. First, it rained, and rained, and rained some more. Then, it got cold, sleeted, and then snowed. Then the sun came out, melted everything and we had 55 degree weather.
Thursday:
Friday:
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The kids are SO. EXCITED. about going to Disney World. I've been a little apprehensive, but I figure we'll see what we can see and go take a rest if anyone is too crabby. We'll be there long enough that we can space our days at Disney out too, so that should help.
D & d are both most excited about riding the big rides and rollercoasters. Miss L desperately wants to see Cinderella and her castle. O is most looking forward to the jungle safari and the Lion King show. C wants to see cars, so he should like the race track. The biggest thing I'm excited about is a whole week of vacation and seeing how happy the kids are about Disney.
If we're not too busy or exhausted, I'll try to post updates and pictures while we're gone!
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Traveling With Kids
I can't promise that reading this will make you WANT to travel with kids, and I can't profess to necessarily be good at it either. I do, however, have lots of experience on road trips with young kids, so I will share my "wisdom" with those of you who have ever thought you might want to take a vacation at some point in your parenting career.
I should start out by saying that we have always traveled multiple times a year (I did not say we always wanted to, or enjoyed it) since our kids started coming along, and so any good behavior on their part NOW is probably simply because they have become used to being strapped into their car seats for an entire day several times a year.
For us, for a successful road trip, these are MUST HAVES:
* Movies and DVD player (obviously)
* Snacks, snacks and more snacks. Also, snacks. (It helps if some of them are treats!)
* Minimal liquids, but not NONE (The key to a successful road trip is dehydration.)(I KID!)(Mostly.)
* Something fun. It could be a tablet, books, video game, coloring... something your kid(s) likes A LOT.
* Plastic bags, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and an extra change of clothes per kid.
* Optional: Headphones. Maybe for the kids, definitely for you.
Random tips for the road:
Do you have a newly potty trained or potty training child? A child who still wears a pull up at night or nap time? A child who gets car sick? A child who has wet the bed any time in the past 6 months? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you should always make sure you have some Chux pads or Piddle Pads in the car. After having to wash or attempt to dry a nasty car seat in the middle of a road trip - many times - we started putting chux pads under the child or children in question. Accident? No problem, just throw the thing away, change clothes, (here's where those plastic bags come in handy) and go on your way.
We keep a portable potty in the car as well, although we very rarely use it anymore. You can buy their refills or just use a plastic grocery store bag and a diaper. It saved us many times as some of our trips have us out in the middle of nowhere.
We usually have LONG trips planned, so we try not to give them a ton to drink. Yes, we let them drink, but usually just water and not a gallon at a time.We do let them have juice boxes sometimes, as a treat, but if I gave them juice boxes all the time they'd drink it all in 10 seconds and have to stop to pee (again) in 5 minutes.
Speaking of pee (like all these other tips...), when one has to go, make EVERYONE go. Yes, it's a giant pain in the butt to get all 6 of us out of the car and use nasty gas station bathrooms, (hand sanitizer!) but it's worth it if you don't have get all buckled in and hear, "I HAVE TO GO POTTY NOW!" in approximately 3 minutes down the road. For that matter, we also always get gas when we stop to use the bathroom, even if we don't really need it. Less stops = faster trip and for us we usually just want to get there.
I used to think taking your time would be much more fun on these trips, but the two trips we make most often have very little fun to be had along the way so now we just grit our teeth and try to get there as quickly as possible. The last two trips to Texas we decided that it was less torture to spend 13-15 hours in the car in one day than it was to spend the night in a hotel with the kids. If your kids don't make hotel rooms into a torture chamber then you don't have to worry about that. I do suggest packing just one overnight bag with pajamas, necessities and a change of clothes for everyone in it so you don't have to unload all the suitcases for a one night stay.
If the weather is nice, I suggest getting take out from somewhere or packing a lunch if possible, and looking up a local park in your GPS. We've found some very nice little parks (and some not so nice) this way. The kids usually would rather play than eat, but we just let them play until we're done and then they eat theirs in the car. It works for us!
It's a whole different story when you have kids under 3, or nursing babies. They need to stop more often, and they just don't understand the whole thing so it can be ... challenging.
There's a member of my family who rode back from a beach trip in our car with a baby O who screamed almost non-stop (as he always did in the car) and a little d who had the stomach bug. I imagine that provided some pretty good birth control! (I was already pregnant with C then so it was too late for me.)
Once you get there:
It depends on where you're staying/going and if the trip is visiting extended family or a vacation with just your little family. When we're visiting family, we try to make sure the kids get enough sleep so that they still want us to come back but not stick so strictly to their schedules that they think we're drill sergeants. It is vacation, after all.
Also, when we're in certain places I try toescape go to bed early too even though I'm reading in bed. Grinding my teeth, biting my tongue and letting as many little things slide as possible get me through.
If you're going on a REAL vacation, like the beach or Disney World, well... may I suggest a high adult:child ratio?
1:1 is really most successful, as we learned on our first trip to the beach when Miss L was only 6 months old. (4 children who couldn't swim + 2 adults to watch them...)
Everything is really so much easier with an extra grown up around, but that's not always possible. We are doing Disney with just our little family of 6 and I know it's not going to be as easy as having another set (or two) of hands and eyes there, but it can be done!
First of all, if you're staying in a hotel, bring extra clothes. LOTS OF THEM. Perhaps it's because my kids are still young, but it seems like you just can't EVER have enough underwear and pants. They have dozens of pairs each (except the oldest) and I bring them ALL on vacations where I'm not sure if we will have access to a washing machine.
Secondly, we try to save as much money as possible on food. (Plus, eating out with 4 kids who may or may not be overtired, wired and/or cranky is not all that much fun.)
Feeding this crew already costs a small fortune so we try to eat out no more than once a day on vacation. We always try to get a room with a fridge & microwave at the very least and a full kitchen at best. We hit the grocery store and stock up on easy stuff we'd buy at home, paper plates and plasticware, and plenty of snacks too. We typically eat breakfast and dinner in our room and lunch out because we're usually out and about then, and lunch is cheaper than dinner. (Plus by dinner the kids are usually tired and less likely to behave in a restaurant.)
Third is hardest for my husband. RELAX YOUR EXPECTATIONS. Yes, we're on vacation, but we don't have to being going, going, going every second of every day.
We don't have to see everything.
We don't have to do everything.
If the kids really want to lay around and watch cartoons one morning rather than go play another round of mini-golf? Oh well, at least it's free, easy, and they are contained to one room for awhile! I totally get the pressure to have The.Most.Fun.Ever. and "get your money's worth!" but vacations are really more fun if you can actually relax for a second.
Most important to me is to stay together. My kids are still young, so I am super paranoid about someone getting lost, snatched or left behind and I am hyper vigilant about keeping us all together when we're out and about, especially in crowds. (Yes, the thought of Disney World* is giving me minor panic attacks. Are we having fun yet?) I'm planning to order these temporary tattoos, just in case.
The long and short of it is that traveling with kids (especially a lot of them) can be a lot of work, a headache, expen$ive, and sometimes? Just not even worth it. (Don't even get me started on the torture of sleep or lack thereof, on vacation.)
However, it can also actually be FUN and rewarding. One of our personal biggest goals as parents is to give the kids experiences and memories; not just things.
So... I'm sure there's more but this is long and that's about all I can think of, for now. If I think of more later, I'll add it in the comments and if YOU have some travel/vacation trips, please share!
*After Disney I'll update with whether that trip was a good idea or not. ( I'm scared. )
I should start out by saying that we have always traveled multiple times a year (I did not say we always wanted to, or enjoyed it) since our kids started coming along, and so any good behavior on their part NOW is probably simply because they have become used to being strapped into their car seats for an entire day several times a year.
For us, for a successful road trip, these are MUST HAVES:
* Movies and DVD player (obviously)
* Snacks, snacks and more snacks. Also, snacks. (It helps if some of them are treats!)
* Minimal liquids, but not NONE (The key to a successful road trip is dehydration.)(I KID!)(Mostly.)
* Something fun. It could be a tablet, books, video game, coloring... something your kid(s) likes A LOT.
* Plastic bags, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and an extra change of clothes per kid.
* Optional: Headphones. Maybe for the kids, definitely for you.
Random tips for the road:
Do you have a newly potty trained or potty training child? A child who still wears a pull up at night or nap time? A child who gets car sick? A child who has wet the bed any time in the past 6 months? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you should always make sure you have some Chux pads or Piddle Pads in the car. After having to wash or attempt to dry a nasty car seat in the middle of a road trip - many times - we started putting chux pads under the child or children in question. Accident? No problem, just throw the thing away, change clothes, (here's where those plastic bags come in handy) and go on your way.
We keep a portable potty in the car as well, although we very rarely use it anymore. You can buy their refills or just use a plastic grocery store bag and a diaper. It saved us many times as some of our trips have us out in the middle of nowhere.
We usually have LONG trips planned, so we try not to give them a ton to drink. Yes, we let them drink, but usually just water and not a gallon at a time.We do let them have juice boxes sometimes, as a treat, but if I gave them juice boxes all the time they'd drink it all in 10 seconds and have to stop to pee (again) in 5 minutes.
Speaking of pee (like all these other tips...), when one has to go, make EVERYONE go. Yes, it's a giant pain in the butt to get all 6 of us out of the car and use nasty gas station bathrooms, (hand sanitizer!) but it's worth it if you don't have get all buckled in and hear, "I HAVE TO GO POTTY NOW!" in approximately 3 minutes down the road. For that matter, we also always get gas when we stop to use the bathroom, even if we don't really need it. Less stops = faster trip and for us we usually just want to get there.
I used to think taking your time would be much more fun on these trips, but the two trips we make most often have very little fun to be had along the way so now we just grit our teeth and try to get there as quickly as possible. The last two trips to Texas we decided that it was less torture to spend 13-15 hours in the car in one day than it was to spend the night in a hotel with the kids. If your kids don't make hotel rooms into a torture chamber then you don't have to worry about that. I do suggest packing just one overnight bag with pajamas, necessities and a change of clothes for everyone in it so you don't have to unload all the suitcases for a one night stay.
If the weather is nice, I suggest getting take out from somewhere or packing a lunch if possible, and looking up a local park in your GPS. We've found some very nice little parks (and some not so nice) this way. The kids usually would rather play than eat, but we just let them play until we're done and then they eat theirs in the car. It works for us!
It's a whole different story when you have kids under 3, or nursing babies. They need to stop more often, and they just don't understand the whole thing so it can be ... challenging.
There's a member of my family who rode back from a beach trip in our car with a baby O who screamed almost non-stop (as he always did in the car) and a little d who had the stomach bug. I imagine that provided some pretty good birth control! (I was already pregnant with C then so it was too late for me.)
Once you get there:
It depends on where you're staying/going and if the trip is visiting extended family or a vacation with just your little family. When we're visiting family, we try to make sure the kids get enough sleep so that they still want us to come back but not stick so strictly to their schedules that they think we're drill sergeants. It is vacation, after all.
Also, when we're in certain places I try to
If you're going on a REAL vacation, like the beach or Disney World, well... may I suggest a high adult:child ratio?
1:1 is really most successful, as we learned on our first trip to the beach when Miss L was only 6 months old. (4 children who couldn't swim + 2 adults to watch them...)
Everything is really so much easier with an extra grown up around, but that's not always possible. We are doing Disney with just our little family of 6 and I know it's not going to be as easy as having another set (or two) of hands and eyes there, but it can be done!
First of all, if you're staying in a hotel, bring extra clothes. LOTS OF THEM. Perhaps it's because my kids are still young, but it seems like you just can't EVER have enough underwear and pants. They have dozens of pairs each (except the oldest) and I bring them ALL on vacations where I'm not sure if we will have access to a washing machine.
Secondly, we try to save as much money as possible on food. (Plus, eating out with 4 kids who may or may not be overtired, wired and/or cranky is not all that much fun.)
Feeding this crew already costs a small fortune so we try to eat out no more than once a day on vacation. We always try to get a room with a fridge & microwave at the very least and a full kitchen at best. We hit the grocery store and stock up on easy stuff we'd buy at home, paper plates and plasticware, and plenty of snacks too. We typically eat breakfast and dinner in our room and lunch out because we're usually out and about then, and lunch is cheaper than dinner. (Plus by dinner the kids are usually tired and less likely to behave in a restaurant.)
Third is hardest for my husband. RELAX YOUR EXPECTATIONS. Yes, we're on vacation, but we don't have to being going, going, going every second of every day.
We don't have to see everything.
We don't have to do everything.
If the kids really want to lay around and watch cartoons one morning rather than go play another round of mini-golf? Oh well, at least it's free, easy, and they are contained to one room for awhile! I totally get the pressure to have The.Most.Fun.Ever. and "get your money's worth!" but vacations are really more fun if you can actually relax for a second.
Most important to me is to stay together. My kids are still young, so I am super paranoid about someone getting lost, snatched or left behind and I am hyper vigilant about keeping us all together when we're out and about, especially in crowds. (Yes, the thought of Disney World* is giving me minor panic attacks. Are we having fun yet?) I'm planning to order these temporary tattoos, just in case.
The long and short of it is that traveling with kids (especially a lot of them) can be a lot of work, a headache, expen$ive, and sometimes? Just not even worth it. (Don't even get me started on the torture of sleep or lack thereof, on vacation.)
However, it can also actually be FUN and rewarding. One of our personal biggest goals as parents is to give the kids experiences and memories; not just things.
So... I'm sure there's more but this is long and that's about all I can think of, for now. If I think of more later, I'll add it in the comments and if YOU have some travel/vacation trips, please share!
*After Disney I'll update with whether that trip was a good idea or not. ( I'm scared. )
Monday, January 07, 2013
Disney!
We told the kids we're going to Disney and here are their reactions:
C's funny response
O & d
L & Cinderella
So... Disney! In less than 3 weeks, by the way! They have homeschool days twice a year there and between utilizing that and a great deal on an on-site property, we saved SO much money over going later that we decided to be spontaneous-ish and go before the end of the month! The kids are so excited!
C's funny response
O & d
L & Cinderella
So... Disney! In less than 3 weeks, by the way! They have homeschool days twice a year there and between utilizing that and a great deal on an on-site property, we saved SO much money over going later that we decided to be spontaneous-ish and go before the end of the month! The kids are so excited!
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Oh my, where to start? Let's see.... Christmas at home was awesome. I love my little family and our traditions. The kids were all fully invested and believing this year, and I don't know how many more years that will happen.
After Christmas we headed out on the road to Texas. It was a long, excruciating day, but the kids were fairly good and there were no major mishaps. I'd be lying if I said the trip was all fun. At times, it was disappointing, frustrating and exhausting.We missed seeing some people and we may not have a chance to see them again until next Christmas, if I can be convinced to make the trip. Somebody is going to really have to sweet talk me into it. It's so much effort (we put 2000 miles on the car in a week, if that gives you an idea...) and when things go wrong it makes me want to cry because there's no re-do. For the moment I just can't think about it. (Give me a few months!)
Huge highlights were seeing my nieces and my new (ish) nephew. It's enough to make me want to face the daunting task of moving to Texas. (I'm not saying we're moving, but the topic does come up every year during our trip. If we didn't have such an amazing family of friends here, we might have moved already.)
The kids were practically angels on the ride home and though my tailbone screamed at me hours 10-13, I guess we're no worse for the wear. In any case, we're home now and it's the new year.
I'm weary at the thought of making resolutions this year. I don't even want to look at what I resolved last year and see how I did. My one and only goal for this year is to accept myself. I'm tired of the long-running litany in my head. That's not to say that I won't change, or do new things or make new goals, as the year progresses.
I just want to love myself for who I am for once in my life because I've decided that no matter what that voice in my head interjects at every turn; I'm actually pretty OK.
After Christmas we headed out on the road to Texas. It was a long, excruciating day, but the kids were fairly good and there were no major mishaps. I'd be lying if I said the trip was all fun. At times, it was disappointing, frustrating and exhausting.We missed seeing some people and we may not have a chance to see them again until next Christmas, if I can be convinced to make the trip. Somebody is going to really have to sweet talk me into it. It's so much effort (we put 2000 miles on the car in a week, if that gives you an idea...) and when things go wrong it makes me want to cry because there's no re-do. For the moment I just can't think about it. (Give me a few months!)
Huge highlights were seeing my nieces and my new (ish) nephew. It's enough to make me want to face the daunting task of moving to Texas. (I'm not saying we're moving, but the topic does come up every year during our trip. If we didn't have such an amazing family of friends here, we might have moved already.)
The kids were practically angels on the ride home and though my tailbone screamed at me hours 10-13, I guess we're no worse for the wear. In any case, we're home now and it's the new year.
I'm weary at the thought of making resolutions this year. I don't even want to look at what I resolved last year and see how I did. My one and only goal for this year is to accept myself. I'm tired of the long-running litany in my head. That's not to say that I won't change, or do new things or make new goals, as the year progresses.
I just want to love myself for who I am for once in my life because I've decided that no matter what that voice in my head interjects at every turn; I'm actually pretty OK.
Saturday, December 01, 2012
3!
Dear Miss L,
You are three and I don't care how cliche it sounds... it's happened so fast! You were just born and then BAM! you're three. Three. 3!!
You yell at everyone who says you are a little girl. "NO! I BIG!"
You are mischievous and naughty and defiant in the way only a three year old can be. You are so loving, and randomly tell me you love me. I will never, EVER, tire of that. I know it will end too soon.
I'm so glad you're here with us, my sweet, beautiful daughter. You have three big brothers who love you. Love to boss you, tease you, and take care of you. You are a lucky girl, and I love how you can stand up to them and give them what-for. You're no pushover!
It hurts a little to know that you're my last baby and that you're getting so big. There's no cure for that, and nothing I would change. I'm just trying to remember it all, take it all in, and love every second. It's easier when you're not coloring on couches and dumping water on the floor and screaming at me, but even that will be replaced with breaking curfew and dating (gah!) and well, probably still screaming at me.
You love your brothers, and your daddy and ME! You are a mama's girl - big time - and it makes my heart sing.
You love animals, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, getting dirty and dressing up in pretty much anything. You can go from dog to princess to superhero in a matter of minutes. You are a strong minded, soft hearted girl.
You stole my heart from the first moment I met you. And now you're three. I love you L.
You are three and I don't care how cliche it sounds... it's happened so fast! You were just born and then BAM! you're three. Three. 3!!
You yell at everyone who says you are a little girl. "NO! I BIG!"
You are mischievous and naughty and defiant in the way only a three year old can be. You are so loving, and randomly tell me you love me. I will never, EVER, tire of that. I know it will end too soon.
I'm so glad you're here with us, my sweet, beautiful daughter. You have three big brothers who love you. Love to boss you, tease you, and take care of you. You are a lucky girl, and I love how you can stand up to them and give them what-for. You're no pushover!
It hurts a little to know that you're my last baby and that you're getting so big. There's no cure for that, and nothing I would change. I'm just trying to remember it all, take it all in, and love every second. It's easier when you're not coloring on couches and dumping water on the floor and screaming at me, but even that will be replaced with breaking curfew and dating (gah!) and well, probably still screaming at me.
You love your brothers, and your daddy and ME! You are a mama's girl - big time - and it makes my heart sing.
You love animals, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, getting dirty and dressing up in pretty much anything. You can go from dog to princess to superhero in a matter of minutes. You are a strong minded, soft hearted girl.
You stole my heart from the first moment I met you. And now you're three. I love you L.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Point B is Kansas City, where we went to Union Station and the science museum and then over to Great Wolf Lodge, where the kids had probably the most amazing time of their lives. Again, all 6 of us were in one room but at least it had a half wall partition so we managed OK. (Why do these kids hate sleep? I swear they will pay for this when they are teenagers.) We met up with family there as well, 2 nights in a row, and went to a cool restaurant where the kids were so enthralled with dinosaurs and fish tanks that they forgot to torture us (much) during dinner.
Point C is my parents' town and we spent the rest of our time there, visiting with various other family members and having a fantastic Thanksgiving meal and trying to
We did get to go out on a very rare date. We went a vineyard and had a nice time. We were back in less than 2 hours... it's sad that we can never think of things to do on dates anymore. We always end up at the grocery store (we did this time too).
Then it was time to head home, and the kids must be getting used to car rides because aside from car sickness, it was pretty smooth sailing. Thank goodness! In exactly one month, we're going to be driving to Texas, so it's a good thing they're getting used to it.
9 days, 1400-ish miles, 3 bottles of wine, too much turkey and not enough sleep and here we are: home sweet home.
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Here's the thing(s)...
Thing the 1st:
I've been feeling terrible lately. Probably a combination of stress, poor eating/sleeping, extreme busy-ness and, because of those things; anxiety. I've decided to cut way back on caffeine (I've been drinking 2-3 cups of regular coffee a day. I'm trying to cut back to 2 or less cups of half caff or less/day, then down from there.) and... sugar. Sugar makes me feel like crap. And yet, no joke, I can't seem to stop eating it. I want it. I need it. I crave it. I love it. Feel like crap? Eat something! Sad? Eat something! Lonely? Eat something.
*sigh* I'm on just over 24 hours with very little sugar (I did have creamer in my half caff) and I have another terrible headache, just like yesterday. Wheeee!
Sugar and caffeine detox right after Halloween and before Thanksgiving? Sure, no biggie.
Thing the 2nd:
Homeschooling doesn't make me special. It doesn't make me a better or worse parent. It's just something that was right for our family and I felt strongly compelled to do. Now that I am doing it, I can say, unequivocally, that there is no reason to be scared. Of course it's not always easy, but lots of things aren't. There's good and bad with everything.
All I'm saying is; I was scared. I was pretty much dragged to homeschooling kicking and screaming. I kept saying NO and kept being told YES until I finally decided to listen to that voice.
Honestly, if *I* can do it, anyone can. Truly.
(I'm NOT saying everyone should want to homeschool, I'm just saying if you DO want to, -and I'm not saying you should- don't be scared!)
Thing the 3rd:
In less than a month my very last baby, my only baby girl, will be officially too old to call a baby. She won't even let me call her that now, actually. Every time I look at her I'm both thrilled and melancholy at how grown up she's getting. Three is still little, and when she's 13 I'll reminisce about her at 3, but for now it seems so old for my last baby.
She's funny and sweet and independent and strong willed and although she makes me bang my head against the wall on a daily basis, I know she's going to be an amazing woman someday.
I hit the jackpot with these kids you guys. They are amazing, fantastic, infuriating little creatures! I don't even want anymore because I can't imagine having another one so wonderful*.
The thing is... they keep growing. And, you know, you want them to. But, it hurts juuuuust a little.
*I'm sure I'd change my mind if I did have another one. Which I'm NOT.
I've been feeling terrible lately. Probably a combination of stress, poor eating/sleeping, extreme busy-ness and, because of those things; anxiety. I've decided to cut way back on caffeine (I've been drinking 2-3 cups of regular coffee a day. I'm trying to cut back to 2 or less cups of half caff or less/day, then down from there.) and... sugar. Sugar makes me feel like crap. And yet, no joke, I can't seem to stop eating it. I want it. I need it. I crave it. I love it. Feel like crap? Eat something! Sad? Eat something! Lonely? Eat something.
*sigh* I'm on just over 24 hours with very little sugar (I did have creamer in my half caff) and I have another terrible headache, just like yesterday. Wheeee!
Sugar and caffeine detox right after Halloween and before Thanksgiving? Sure, no biggie.
Thing the 2nd:
Homeschooling doesn't make me special. It doesn't make me a better or worse parent. It's just something that was right for our family and I felt strongly compelled to do. Now that I am doing it, I can say, unequivocally, that there is no reason to be scared. Of course it's not always easy, but lots of things aren't. There's good and bad with everything.
All I'm saying is; I was scared. I was pretty much dragged to homeschooling kicking and screaming. I kept saying NO and kept being told YES until I finally decided to listen to that voice.
Honestly, if *I* can do it, anyone can. Truly.
(I'm NOT saying everyone should want to homeschool, I'm just saying if you DO want to, -and I'm not saying you should- don't be scared!)
Thing the 3rd:
In less than a month my very last baby, my only baby girl, will be officially too old to call a baby. She won't even let me call her that now, actually. Every time I look at her I'm both thrilled and melancholy at how grown up she's getting. Three is still little, and when she's 13 I'll reminisce about her at 3, but for now it seems so old for my last baby.
She's funny and sweet and independent and strong willed and although she makes me bang my head against the wall on a daily basis, I know she's going to be an amazing woman someday.
I hit the jackpot with these kids you guys. They are amazing, fantastic, infuriating little creatures! I don't even want anymore because I can't imagine having another one so wonderful*.
The thing is... they keep growing. And, you know, you want them to. But, it hurts juuuuust a little.
*I'm sure I'd change my mind if I did have another one. Which I'm NOT.
Friday, November 02, 2012
November!
November is always a busy month; it seems as soon as Halloween is over we start the downhill slide to Christmas. However, Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. There's no gift pressure, you can just get together and have fun with family members and eat a good meal. The weather is usually more or less decent too. I don't participate in the Black Friday madness because I'm usually mostly done with Christmas shopping by then, I hate crowds, and I prefer online shopping. So, November is usually a good month as well as busy.
This year we are going on a special trip before Thanksgiving. In two weeks we'll be finishing up our second school session of the school year, and then we're heading to the Great Wolf Lodge! D's wanted to take the kids forever, and we got an amazing deal on a 2 night stay! After we spend our 2 days there, we're driving to my parents' house, which is a few hours away. We'll spend Thanksgiving there and head home the next weekend. (Notice I'm ignoring the hours upon hours of driving we'll be doing to drive up to St. Louis, over to Kansas City, down to my parents' house and then home.)
When we arrive home, L's 3rd birthday will be the next weekend and then we'll decorate for Christmas and attend all those parties and fun holiday things that take place that time of year! Before we know it, it will be Christmas!
November list:
* Take pictures for family Christmas cards.
* Make Christmas cards.
* Get ready for L's birthday.
* Plan/ready for our trip. (short sentence for a massive undertaking)
* Finish Christmas shopping.
* Lose 5-10 more pounds before I have to see my entire family. haha
* 2 birthdays.
* 4 classes for the bigger boys. (not including catechism every Sunday)
* 1 hour 1st reconciliation meeting for D & I to attend.
* 3 hour 1st reconciliation workshop for both of us to attend with d, on the day we were supposed to leave for vacation.
* Preschool special Thanksgiving lunch/program for C.
* Plus, you know... life. Oh, and D informed me he will be working extra overtime before we leave. Fabulous. (I'm rethinking my above statement about liking November...)
(I'm definitely going to be praying that no one gets sick!)
For those not my Facebook friend & not sick of seeing Halloween pictures:
This year we are going on a special trip before Thanksgiving. In two weeks we'll be finishing up our second school session of the school year, and then we're heading to the Great Wolf Lodge! D's wanted to take the kids forever, and we got an amazing deal on a 2 night stay! After we spend our 2 days there, we're driving to my parents' house, which is a few hours away. We'll spend Thanksgiving there and head home the next weekend. (Notice I'm ignoring the hours upon hours of driving we'll be doing to drive up to St. Louis, over to Kansas City, down to my parents' house and then home.)
When we arrive home, L's 3rd birthday will be the next weekend and then we'll decorate for Christmas and attend all those parties and fun holiday things that take place that time of year! Before we know it, it will be Christmas!
November list:
* Take pictures for family Christmas cards.
* Make Christmas cards.
* Get ready for L's birthday.
* Plan/ready for our trip. (short sentence for a massive undertaking)
* Finish Christmas shopping.
* Lose 5-10 more pounds before I have to see my entire family. haha
* 2 birthdays.
* 4 classes for the bigger boys. (not including catechism every Sunday)
* 1 hour 1st reconciliation meeting for D & I to attend.
* 3 hour 1st reconciliation workshop for both of us to attend with d, on the day we were supposed to leave for vacation.
* Preschool special Thanksgiving lunch/program for C.
* Plus, you know... life. Oh, and D informed me he will be working extra overtime before we leave. Fabulous. (I'm rethinking my above statement about liking November...)
(I'm definitely going to be praying that no one gets sick!)
For those not my Facebook friend & not sick of seeing Halloween pictures:
Friday, October 26, 2012
Allergy Update
I probably should have titled this post NO Allergy Update, because that's basically what the doctor said! Miss L was tested for 9 different environmental allergens this morning, including cat and dog, and was negative for all of them! So, we're bribing this guy to stay:
The doc said right now he thinks her hives are non-allergic, with an unknown cause. Her body is just producing histamine like crazy, and apparently it's pretty common. We are giving her Zyrtec for 2 weeks, and then as needed. He feels 95% certain the hives will be gone before the 6 week mark, but if we not we have to go back. We were all SO relieved! When we stopped at the store to get Zyrtec I promised Miss L we could get a treat for her and one for the cat. (He's been shut out on the screened in porch since Monday and he was NOT happy about it!)
Pip's treat is above, and Miss L's is below:
I thought the cupcakes she chose were quite fitting!
The doc said right now he thinks her hives are non-allergic, with an unknown cause. Her body is just producing histamine like crazy, and apparently it's pretty common. We are giving her Zyrtec for 2 weeks, and then as needed. He feels 95% certain the hives will be gone before the 6 week mark, but if we not we have to go back. We were all SO relieved! When we stopped at the store to get Zyrtec I promised Miss L we could get a treat for her and one for the cat. (He's been shut out on the screened in porch since Monday and he was NOT happy about it!)
Pip's treat is above, and Miss L's is below:
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
ch ch ch changes...
I was looking through old picture albums on Facebook and Miss L has changed so much since last year! She'll be 3 in less than 2 months, and it's getting hard to deny that she's no longer a baby.
Last Halloween:
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D and I were discussing future plans last night. We've been feeling lately like our house is suddenly really SMALL for us. It is not that small, but it certainly feels like we're running out of room. I work on decluttering all the time, but all the decluttering in the world isn't going to grow a bathroom or another bedroom. We were discussing our options and there's a lot to think about. Should we move? (I hate the idea, the work, the showings, the moving... ugh)
This location is ideal for D's job, and we have an amazing lot and love, LOVE, this house. (er, minus the need for another bathroom.) On the other hand, we could move into a bigger house, and into a better school district if we decided to go that way. However, we're considering homeschooling indefinitely, although that certainly isn't set in stone. (high school! Eeek!)In that case, moving seems rather pointless.
We could make our play room into a bedroom, and add on a bathroom in L's current, small, bedroom and still have room for a small office/playroom. I'm rambling now...
So many options! Move? Stay and deal with it? Remodel? I wonder if I hang out at Lowe's or Home Depot long enough if one of those house crashers from HGTV will find me and "fix" my house.
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A change in antibiotics was apparently what I needed because I'm finally feeling better. I felt well enough yesterday to go on a walk for the first time since early September. Pneumonia sucks. Try not to catch it!
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Last Halloween:
 |
| Still a baby. |
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D and I were discussing future plans last night. We've been feeling lately like our house is suddenly really SMALL for us. It is not that small, but it certainly feels like we're running out of room. I work on decluttering all the time, but all the decluttering in the world isn't going to grow a bathroom or another bedroom. We were discussing our options and there's a lot to think about. Should we move? (I hate the idea, the work, the showings, the moving... ugh)
This location is ideal for D's job, and we have an amazing lot and love, LOVE, this house. (er, minus the need for another bathroom.) On the other hand, we could move into a bigger house, and into a better school district if we decided to go that way. However, we're considering homeschooling indefinitely, although that certainly isn't set in stone. (high school! Eeek!)In that case, moving seems rather pointless.
We could make our play room into a bedroom, and add on a bathroom in L's current, small, bedroom and still have room for a small office/playroom. I'm rambling now...
So many options! Move? Stay and deal with it? Remodel? I wonder if I hang out at Lowe's or Home Depot long enough if one of those house crashers from HGTV will find me and "fix" my house.
-------
A change in antibiotics was apparently what I needed because I'm finally feeling better. I felt well enough yesterday to go on a walk for the first time since early September. Pneumonia sucks. Try not to catch it!
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Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Nevermind
I'm having a really hard time lately, and I've been struggling with what to write here. Everything is so... complain-y. So, yeah, some things suck. On the other hand, I have some wonderful people in my life, and a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which are my four lovely children.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Unattainable Goal of Balance
I've spent all my 7ish meager years as a parent trying to figure out how to balance what my kids want and need with what I want and need. I have finally come to the conclusion that THERE CAN BE NO BALANCE. I don't believe you writers out there who write about balance as if you have achieved it.
(If you really have, teach me how. Please! I'm begging!)
HOW can there be balance when the children are so many and their needs outweigh mine by a truckload? And? Don't even get me started on the house! If it was just the kids, I think I'd be OK, but there is always more laundry, always more dishes, pet care, cleaning, and always bills to pay and errands to run and it's someone's birthday and I forgot to get a present and worse - I will have to go to the frickin' frackin' post office to mail it because everyone lives so damn far away!
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In addition, I think the transition to homeschooling is really starting to weigh on me. It's not the school work, but there is never any time for myself. My husband works too much, at least right now, and we are always busy. We are hardly home, so it's not like we don't get out, but I'm starting to feel really isolated. It's weird now, going to play dates when everyone else's kids are in school. I feel like people are starting to pull away, because I always have my kids with me and can't do a lot of things anymore. Plus, I *do* have to teach them and that takes a lot of time and energy to do it the way I want! (The feeling of isolation is completely irrational, by the way. In the last week I have had coffee with a friend, had friends over for a movie night, had a lovely friend bring me a dish, went on a playdate and lunch with another friend and spent a morning at the pumpkin patch surrounded by wonderful people. What is my problem, anyway?!)
I've joined a homeschool group but I'm NOT good at meeting new people. Huge new group of people + lots of new places = very uncomfortable situation for me!
I get very intimidated and it's hard for me to open up right away. I'm a slow bloomer at friendship.
I will keep at it, and hope that it gets easier. I have to find a couple people I click with, but so far I haven't.
Having the kids with me all the time has some great upsides too. They are learning so much, and we are having SO much fun! I'm closer to them than I was, and I think homeschooling was absolutely the right choice for them. I didn't want to do it at first. At times, I'm as overwhelmed as I feared I would be. However, I rarely feel convicted, but I could practically hear the voice in my head screaming that this is what I was supposed to do. I couldn't ignore it anymore.
That's a whole different topic...
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Anyway, back to balance. How do you find it when one side of the scale holds a truckload of bricks and the other side holds a cup, just begging to be filled? Is this one of those times when you just stop complaining, and put your head down and plow through it? I'm good at that; I've got experience there... just grit your teeth and keep going. But, I have to know that it's the only option. Is balance as unattainable as it feels?
(If you really have, teach me how. Please! I'm begging!)
HOW can there be balance when the children are so many and their needs outweigh mine by a truckload? And? Don't even get me started on the house! If it was just the kids, I think I'd be OK, but there is always more laundry, always more dishes, pet care, cleaning, and always bills to pay and errands to run and it's someone's birthday and I forgot to get a present and worse - I will have to go to the frickin' frackin' post office to mail it because everyone lives so damn far away!
BALANCE.
It can't be done.
In addition, I think the transition to homeschooling is really starting to weigh on me. It's not the school work, but there is never any time for myself. My husband works too much, at least right now, and we are always busy. We are hardly home, so it's not like we don't get out, but I'm starting to feel really isolated. It's weird now, going to play dates when everyone else's kids are in school. I feel like people are starting to pull away, because I always have my kids with me and can't do a lot of things anymore. Plus, I *do* have to teach them and that takes a lot of time and energy to do it the way I want! (The feeling of isolation is completely irrational, by the way. In the last week I have had coffee with a friend, had friends over for a movie night, had a lovely friend bring me a dish, went on a playdate and lunch with another friend and spent a morning at the pumpkin patch surrounded by wonderful people. What is my problem, anyway?!)
I've joined a homeschool group but I'm NOT good at meeting new people. Huge new group of people + lots of new places = very uncomfortable situation for me!
I get very intimidated and it's hard for me to open up right away. I'm a slow bloomer at friendship.
I will keep at it, and hope that it gets easier. I have to find a couple people I click with, but so far I haven't.
Having the kids with me all the time has some great upsides too. They are learning so much, and we are having SO much fun! I'm closer to them than I was, and I think homeschooling was absolutely the right choice for them. I didn't want to do it at first. At times, I'm as overwhelmed as I feared I would be. However, I rarely feel convicted, but I could practically hear the voice in my head screaming that this is what I was supposed to do. I couldn't ignore it anymore.
That's a whole different topic...
----
Anyway, back to balance. How do you find it when one side of the scale holds a truckload of bricks and the other side holds a cup, just begging to be filled? Is this one of those times when you just stop complaining, and put your head down and plow through it? I'm good at that; I've got experience there... just grit your teeth and keep going. But, I have to know that it's the only option. Is balance as unattainable as it feels?
Monday, September 17, 2012
ha. ha!
Until last week, we hadn't been to the beach in over 2 years. We eat up a lot of D's vacation time (and our money) traveling to Missouri to visit my family or Texas to visit his/mine, so we don't get to go on beach vacations that much. (first world problems... I know. )
Anyway, I have been having a rough time with D working 12+ hour days for weeks on end, no weekends, homeschooling, no time to myself, etc, etc. To say I'd been looking forward to this vacation is HUGE understatement. So, of course I got sick before our vacation... of course I did.
And then, I got MORE sick while we ON vacation. I had this hacking, nasty, smoker-sounding cough and no voice for all of our days at the beach. Oh, and a giant headache. I took a lot of Ibuprofen and I have to admit that my visions of the beach included margaritas and NOT cherry flavored cough syrup. Gross.
Anyway, I still had fun! How can you not have fun when you're on the beach?! We went mini golfing, went to a mini carnival and D and d rode dune buggies. D and my dad (because my parents were awesome enough to come with us and increase the child:adult ratio!) went scuba diving, and we spent a lot of lovely time with our toes in the sand. D & I even managed to go on two little date nights to celebrate our 15 years together. (the 20th is the 15th anniversary of our first date) Despite my hacking sexiness, he still wanted to take me out. ;) The trip was too short, as always. My parents have gone home now, D's back at work, our fall break is over and we started school back up today, so today is definitely a BIT of an adjustment day.
Anyway, I have been having a rough time with D working 12+ hour days for weeks on end, no weekends, homeschooling, no time to myself, etc, etc. To say I'd been looking forward to this vacation is HUGE understatement. So, of course I got sick before our vacation... of course I did.
And then, I got MORE sick while we ON vacation. I had this hacking, nasty, smoker-sounding cough and no voice for all of our days at the beach. Oh, and a giant headache. I took a lot of Ibuprofen and I have to admit that my visions of the beach included margaritas and NOT cherry flavored cough syrup. Gross.
Anyway, I still had fun! How can you not have fun when you're on the beach?! We went mini golfing, went to a mini carnival and D and d rode dune buggies. D and my dad (because my parents were awesome enough to come with us and increase the child:adult ratio!) went scuba diving, and we spent a lot of lovely time with our toes in the sand. D & I even managed to go on two little date nights to celebrate our 15 years together. (the 20th is the 15th anniversary of our first date) Despite my hacking sexiness, he still wanted to take me out. ;) The trip was too short, as always. My parents have gone home now, D's back at work, our fall break is over and we started school back up today, so today is definitely a BIT of an adjustment day.
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