A New Routine

As I've mentioned we started this school year sending Wyatt to second grade & Edison to afternoon Kindergarten.


Our school offers an extended-day kindergarten program to children who need a little extra help.  And, over the summer the recommendation was made to put Edison into this program.


We had also been offered this for Wyatt when he was in Kindergarten and we passed for various reasons.


 - We knew Wyatt's personality.  He's much like me in that change is difficult for him.  So, we wanted him to have the year to adjust to school.  And, half-day seemed much more do-able for him.


 - We felt like the expectations placed on Kindergarten students were much higher than they needed to be.  Kindergarten used to be a fun place to learn your letters and numbers and some basic school skills.  Now that so many children attend Pre-K or daycare (none of ours have), children are expected to come into Kindergarten practically ready to read. 

 - We had some issues with teacher who taught the extended day part of the kindergarten session.  We loved Wyatt's Kindergarten teacher for the afternoon, but a different teacher would have had him in the morning and we questioned the wisdom of letting Wyatt go to that teacher.


 - We felt Wyatt would benefit most from us continuing to work with him at home and help him 'catch up' with  where the school thought he should be.


For some of those same reasons we passed when the extended day program was offered to Edison this summer.  And we tried to work with him at home (although if I'm honest here - I didn't do nearly as much one on one practice with him as I would have liked).  


Then Edison's teacher approached us recently and again offered the extended day program for him.  After some thought and prayer we decided to let him participate.  


 - His personality is completely different from Wyatt's.  He thrives on social interaction and is task-driven.  He's been talking about full-day kindergarten all school year and was very excited to go.  We figured we should tap into that enthusiasm.

 - The teacher we had an issue with is no longer there and we feel very comfortable with this year's extended day kindergarten teacher.


 - Edison is less focused at home when John or I try to work with him on his learning skills.  But, we know he picks things up very quickly at school and would benefit from the extra help they are offering.  Even though we still feel the expectations are unnecessarily high we also know he is eager to learn.


So today Edison got on the bus in the morning with Wyatt and he will be there the whole day!

Can I just say that it has been a treat to be able to focus on my little two this morning?  I almost feel guilty saying that.  But, this has given me the chance to give Charlie and Joseph the attention they crave.  Charlie has been a much happier little boy without his big brother her to fight with.  And, I have also been able to tackle some of those household chores that usually get pushed to the backburner so I can play referee.


Oh, and the big change?  Now I can really help Charlie with his potty training.  He really WANTS to wear his underwear.  And, before I'd put it on for awhile but end up putting him back in his diaper.  I wasn't able to direct him to the potty on a regular basis.  I'd forget.  He'd forget. And, we would have accidents.  


He still had an accident this morning but it was poopy not pee (my boys always take longer to learn the poop in the potty part).  Other than that he stayed dry all morning.


So, this change in routine could be exactly the change, the break that I've been needing.  And, I'm hoping that when my big boys come home in the afternoon I won't be as stressed and ready to give them some of my undivided attention.


We shall see....

I Am An Aunt!

Congratulations to my sister, Lorinda and her husband Jason who just had their first baby!  And, in the process, they made me an aunt for the very first time!

Their little boy is a bigun'!  He was 21 1/2 inches long and 10 pounds 9 ounces!!!!   All I can say is WOW!  They named him Evan Chase.  Mom and baby are doing well.  Evan is spending a little time in the NICU so they can observe his breathing.  He had some fluid on his lungs and a bit of raspiness at first.  But, when I saw him last night he looked wonderful!

 The future linebacker

The Proud Daddy with his son!

The Proud Momma

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Lorinda holding Evan yet.  The above picture was actually taken while she was still in labor.  After laboring all night long they decided to do a c-section.  So, she is quite sore & since the baby is in the NICU she only has gotten to see him and hold him once so far.  Please pray that they'll release Evan to be out of the NICU and in her room today.  

Monday Ramblings

It's a rainy, chilly day.   And, I just feel like curling up and taking a nap with my children.  But, there's too much to be done.  So, I'll make this quick today.

• Wednesday night last week we had a storm and our landline phone and internet conked out for a few days.  It took a call to the phone company (they came out - not an outside line problem) and a little troubleshooting of our own to figure out where the connection was bad.  What I learned about myself?  That first day of no internet access was really hard.  I was in some serious withdrawal.  But, after that?  I actually felt kinda free and a bit more focused.  Am I ready to do away with our internet?  Maybe not.  But, I have been challenged to spend less time on the computer.
• We are in the final countdown to having the downstairs apartment in our rental unit rented out!  October 1st there is a woman who is moving in.  My husband is almost done with the last bits that need done in the apartment.  And then I'm hoping life will get a little more back to normal.  Whatever normal may be...still busy but maybe a little less so.
• My sister is about to have her baby!  Any day now!  She's due the 29th.  I've been on the phone with her almost every day.  Since I've had four, I guess I'm her childbirth 'expert'.  Ha!  Anyway, I'm super excited to finally become an aunt.  And, my boys will finally have a cousin (they've got tons of second cousins, but this will be their first first cousin)
• I've been feeling a little blah, a little overwhelmed, a little grumpy.  Oh, who am I kidding? I've been kinda miserable lately...and for no good reason.  I could attribute it to lack of sleep, or the insane pace our life has been going lately, or that I rarely get any breaks from my kiddos.  But, I need to recharge, refocus, refresh.  I've been praying!  And, I've been trying to make reading scripture more of a priority.  So far I haven't really snapped out of my funk.  But, I'm working at it!
• I went to a huge yard sale this Saturday with my friend Jamie.  And, I found some things that I am using to help jazz up our 'master' bedroom.  (I always feel funny using that term.  It's just our bedroom.  Nothing fancy.  And, not any larger or more grand than our other 2 bedrooms.)  I'm working at making our bedroom more of a retreat and less of a dumping zone.  I'll share pics later this week.

Hope you are having an awesome Monday!

If I See Another Apple....

Our apples did well this year.  Usually they are small, misshapen, and wormy.

We don't do anything to our ancient apple tree.  We don't spray or prune or any of the stuff you are supposed to do if you want a nice crop of apples.

image found here

But, this year, they're lookin' pretty good.  My in-laws also have multiple apple trees that are doing well this year.

John picked five 5-gallon buckets for me so far.  And, that's just scratching the surface.  

So, for the last 2 days I've been making and canning applesauce.  And, I'm only about halfway done with what he's picked me so far.  He asked if I want him to pick me more.  

The part of me that hates to see them go to waste thinks he should.  The other part of me.... the exhausted part... thinks not.

So, if you know me and you know where I live, come on over and pick yourself some apples!

When Husbands Are Busy

We are going through a season right now where my husband is particularly busy and not at home very much.

 His job is going through a busy spell and he is putting in longer hours there (a year ago we were praying for more work at his job because at that point things were slow...what a difference a year made!)

Also for approximately the last 2 months he has been working on one of the apartments in our rental building trying to get it ready for new tenants.  We bought this property earlier this year and it came with a number of issues.  Fortunately my husband is very handy and is able to do the work himself.  But, it has been very time consuming.

On top of that are some of his other committments and responsiblities - a part time job (occassional weekends) teaching motorcycle safety, odds & ends around our house - mowing, cutting wood, winterizing our home, van & motorcycle repairs, etc. etc.

The fact is, we haven't seen much of him lately.  Now I will say that we are fortunate that his work is right down the road.  So, he comes home for lunch everyday.  I look forward to that short break midday where we can see each other (even though it's often just briefly).  Then, he comes home for a quick supper and is off to his next project for the evening.

I'm exhausted.  He's exhausted.  We're ready for a little break.  For me it's hard to be alone with 4 boys most of the day.  And, lately it seems the boys have been testing me and my waning patience even more.  (I am not sure how single moms & military moms do it on a regular basis!)  For John, he never feels like he's able to get done everything he has to get done.  And, I know he's frustrated that he hasn't been able to spend more time with his family.

I am happy that I have a husband who is driven and motivated.  No-one could ever accuse him of being a slacker or lazy.  It's hard to keep up with him though sometimes.  He just seems to have so much more energy than I do.

So, I'm actually going to end this post with a question.  Has your family gone through a time like this?  Do you have any suggestions on how to keep things running smoothly?  To keep our sanity?  I would love to hear any thoughts/ experiences you all have had.

A Short (Unsolicited) Commercial

Some of you remember the giveaway I had from Sally Belle Designs a while back.


Sally doesn't even know I'm posting this, but I had to tell you about my new favorite cards that she's designed.  


It's a vintage toy card set and they are fabulous!  Check out a few from this new set...

I think they rock.  If you like them too, you should really go visit her site.


And, now my short unsolicited commercial is over. 


Have a fabulous weekend!

Your Favorite Song is What?

We had back to school night this week.  My husband sat in on the presentation for Edison's class.   He has the same teacher Wyatt had for kindergarten.  And, I sat in on the presentation for Wyatt's.  I was excited to meet his second grade teacher.


After her little talk she encouraged us to look around the room and in the hallway where our some of our children's work was hanging.  


Here's what Wyatt had to say on his "My Favorite Things" paper


Favorite food:  Peanut butter and fluff (hmm - how does reflect on me as a mother?)


Favorite thing at school:  Recess


Favorite tv show:  Tom & Jerry  (oh great - so I'm a mom who feeds my child food of questionable nutritional  value and I let him watch a show where a cat & a mouse are constantly beating up on each other)


Favorite song:  Creek Balls of Fire  (Um son...I think you mean Great Balls of Fire.  Is it odd that my children are more familiar with music from yesteryear than of today?)