It's very quiet in my house right now. Part of me loves the peacefulness and another part of me misses all the chaos that goes on when both kids are here playing. Matthew will be getting off the bus in a few hours and Brianna will be awake from her nap by then so the chaos will happen soon enough so I better suck it up and enjoy my quiet time. I have so many plans and things I want to accomplish every day during the few hours Brianna naps while the guys are in school and work. House cleaning is a must and being able to do it without any distractions or having a little one making more messes makes it easier. I'm also planning to reorganize almost every room in the house. Yard work is a must as well! I'd also love to put the finishing touches on Matthew's baby book and update Brianna's. I also have started an exercise routine every day during this time as well. And yes, blogging! Maybe I can find more time to sit here and write. It helps me to unwind and as I always say, it's a great outlet.
Matthew loves school. LOVES it! This morning he was at the door by 8am begging me to take him to the bus stop. The bus wasn't going to arrive for another 17 minutes so when I told him we had to wait he just whined and whined. He rushes onto the bus with a smile and waves to me as it takes off. He comes off the bus in the afternoon with the smile still on his face and a lot of stories to tell. A lot of parents tell me their kids don't want to talk about the day they had in school so I'm soaking up the fact that my son does. I know he pays attention too because he tells me things the teachers say about certain things. He's a smart boy and I know he will do well. Two days a week he goes to baseball practice. Sometimes I pause and think ... school ... baseball ... when did my baby boy grow up? It's bittersweet.
Brianna has been slowly adjusting to the new routine. Today seems to be going better but for the first few days she was very grumpy and always asking when the bus was coming. It was sweet this morning when he leaned down to kiss her before getting on the bus and she patted him on the head and said, "have good day Matthew, okay?" That moment melted my heart. I love my kids.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Hello Kindergarten
Whew! I've been rushing around all day and finally have time to sit. Well, there still is so much to be done but I'm forcing myself to stop for a moment and take a breather.
I had very little sleep last night and have been walking around like a zombie today. I still have enough energy to get by, with help from coffee, but I know at any moment I may crash. I'm sure I'll sleep good tonight.
What kept me awake? Possibly the thoughts, fears, as well as excitement of the fact that my son was going to get on the school bus for the very first time and start his first day of school. It's been an incredibly difficult thing for me to fathom. My son, my first-born, is now in elementary school. He's been practically attached to my hip every day since he was born and now I have to send him off for eight hours. Am I ready to let him have this independence? Certainly not. I worry about him. Is he okay? Is he having fun? Is he crying at the moment? Is he making friends? Is he being bullied? Is he scared? Is he happy? Oh the thoughts that have run through my mind all day. However, I can't let it beat me down. My kid is growing up just as it should be. This is life. I didn't bring children into the world so I could hold onto them forever. I have to let them go at some point. Yes, it's not as if they are adults leaving the nest ... yet ... but going off to school is almost as frightening. My son is no longer a baby needing my attention every moment of the day. He's growing and learning and as much as it makes me sad it also makes me happy. A bittersweet experience for sure.
Once I took him to his two hour orientation yesterday my mind became at ease. I saw how much the staff and teachers cared for the kids and how hard they tried to make the school a safe and comfortable place for everyone. It also helped Matthew become excited for this new milestone.
I feared he wasn't going to want to get on the bus but he happily followed a neighbor friend onto the bus and found a seat next to another friend he had. He smiled at me from the front seat and at that moment I knew he'd be okay. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would but the emotions were there. I took a moment and prayed, thanking God for giving me this child and for taking care of him. I realized that God will always look after my kids even when I'm not around them. I felt better knowing that.
In a few hours I'll be ready and waiting to get him off the bus and I can't wait to hear all about the first day. I'm sure he'll be tired and may not want to say much but I just can't wait to give him a hug and see that he's safe.
The blue visor has his name on it. The colored visors are a way of the staff knowing which teacher they go to after getting off the bus. I like the idea.
He's still my baby, always will be. I look at him and see how grown up he's becoming but yet he still seems so small. Too small to be in school. I can't fully accept it but I am sure I will eventually. It's time to let my baby bird spread his wings and fly.
I had very little sleep last night and have been walking around like a zombie today. I still have enough energy to get by, with help from coffee, but I know at any moment I may crash. I'm sure I'll sleep good tonight.
What kept me awake? Possibly the thoughts, fears, as well as excitement of the fact that my son was going to get on the school bus for the very first time and start his first day of school. It's been an incredibly difficult thing for me to fathom. My son, my first-born, is now in elementary school. He's been practically attached to my hip every day since he was born and now I have to send him off for eight hours. Am I ready to let him have this independence? Certainly not. I worry about him. Is he okay? Is he having fun? Is he crying at the moment? Is he making friends? Is he being bullied? Is he scared? Is he happy? Oh the thoughts that have run through my mind all day. However, I can't let it beat me down. My kid is growing up just as it should be. This is life. I didn't bring children into the world so I could hold onto them forever. I have to let them go at some point. Yes, it's not as if they are adults leaving the nest ... yet ... but going off to school is almost as frightening. My son is no longer a baby needing my attention every moment of the day. He's growing and learning and as much as it makes me sad it also makes me happy. A bittersweet experience for sure.
Once I took him to his two hour orientation yesterday my mind became at ease. I saw how much the staff and teachers cared for the kids and how hard they tried to make the school a safe and comfortable place for everyone. It also helped Matthew become excited for this new milestone.
I feared he wasn't going to want to get on the bus but he happily followed a neighbor friend onto the bus and found a seat next to another friend he had. He smiled at me from the front seat and at that moment I knew he'd be okay. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would but the emotions were there. I took a moment and prayed, thanking God for giving me this child and for taking care of him. I realized that God will always look after my kids even when I'm not around them. I felt better knowing that.
In a few hours I'll be ready and waiting to get him off the bus and I can't wait to hear all about the first day. I'm sure he'll be tired and may not want to say much but I just can't wait to give him a hug and see that he's safe.
The blue visor has his name on it. The colored visors are a way of the staff knowing which teacher they go to after getting off the bus. I like the idea.
He's still my baby, always will be. I look at him and see how grown up he's becoming but yet he still seems so small. Too small to be in school. I can't fully accept it but I am sure I will eventually. It's time to let my baby bird spread his wings and fly.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Look Who's Two
Our little girl, the last baby, has turned two this week. Such a bittersweet feeling watching children grow up, isn't it? I love having a daughter and I thank God for her every day, and her brother too. It's fun watching her explore and learn new things. She has a sweet personality but she's also a tough girl too. She's not afraid to make demands and if she doesn't get her way she'll throw a fit. Typical toddler for sure and we'll work on that. Her tantrums are few and far between though and that is great. She's a happy little girl who loves to play, dance, run, climb and just about anything a two year old can do. She's also very smart. Already knows most of her A B C's and can count to 13 (missing a few numbers here and there). She loves to sing and her favorite is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and she loves ... I mean LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba. She's obsessed with the show. They only show the episodes on the weekends but thanks to DVR we have a ton recorded. So every day she asks to watch it and she would just sit and watch them all day if I'd let her. No, I don't let her.
She also loves Disney Princesses but she also likes to play in the dirt and steal her brother's toys. She already knows and uses her manners quite often saying, "please, thank you, no thank you," and "excuse me." She also asks to "pway" before eating every meal. Her big brother learned the "God is great, God is good ..." prayer in preschool and he recites it before dinner every night. She has learned most of it and wants to say it before she eats. Sometimes even in the middle of a meal she will say, "let's pway!" She can't recognize her colors but she does say "yellow, geen (green), boo (blue), pinked (pink) and red." She can say many words and speaks in sentences. And everything is, "mine!" even if it's not. Of course, I'm not bragging. Jotting down her accomplishments is for my benefit.
I'll find out her height and weight at next week's doctor appointment but I know she is short for her age, just like her brother. She can still fit into some size 18 months clothes, most 24 months and 2T clothes but still a lot of 2T sizes are too big. She picks out her shirt every morning. At this point she wants to try and do everything like putting on her clothes and things like that, but she's unsuccessful. Of course, she will get there. I'm just so happy to see her wanting to be independent.
She also loves Disney Princesses but she also likes to play in the dirt and steal her brother's toys. She already knows and uses her manners quite often saying, "please, thank you, no thank you," and "excuse me." She also asks to "pway" before eating every meal. Her big brother learned the "God is great, God is good ..." prayer in preschool and he recites it before dinner every night. She has learned most of it and wants to say it before she eats. Sometimes even in the middle of a meal she will say, "let's pway!" She can't recognize her colors but she does say "yellow, geen (green), boo (blue), pinked (pink) and red." She can say many words and speaks in sentences. And everything is, "mine!" even if it's not. Of course, I'm not bragging. Jotting down her accomplishments is for my benefit.
I'll find out her height and weight at next week's doctor appointment but I know she is short for her age, just like her brother. She can still fit into some size 18 months clothes, most 24 months and 2T clothes but still a lot of 2T sizes are too big. She picks out her shirt every morning. At this point she wants to try and do everything like putting on her clothes and things like that, but she's unsuccessful. Of course, she will get there. I'm just so happy to see her wanting to be independent.
And she loves to smile just like this.
My husband took off work for her birthday, as he does every year for all our birthdays. We met with my parents and some friends at the amusement park we like to go to. The weather was beautiful but the park was too crowded. Brianna doesn't do well in crowds so after riding on a few rides she was starting to get cranky. It was also lunch time and her usual nap time at the point we decided to leave. I hated to skip out like that since we had friends there. We ate lunch at Applebees and we considered going back to the park but as we passed we saw the parking lot was full and decided against the idea. Too bad. We'll definitely be there again before the season is over. We stopped at my parents' house so she could open her gift from them there. A Barbie Jeep and a Barbie and Ken dolls.
Then we headed home so she could open all the gifts from us. We spoiled her! She loves her new play kitchen, which in my opinion, is something all little girls should have. She also has pots and pans, plates, silverware and lots of food to go with it. And of course, more gifts too.
After presents we enjoyed a delicious cake. And since our little girl loves Yo Gabba Gabba and wanted a special Yo Gabba Gabba cake my very creative husband made one for her.
If you're familiar with the show you'll know exactly who this character is. Rob did a fantastic job!
It was a good day for our little girl; however, while we celebrated her birth we learned that a good friend went Home to be with the Lord after battling cancer. He was my father-in-law's best friend and someone my husband knew since he was a little boy. He was a good man. Very funny and always joking. He was loved and he'll be missed.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
First Hair Cut
Yes, I did it! With only one week to go before our little girl turns two my husband and I both decided it was time she gets her very first professional hair cut. Her hair was growing in her face and covered her eyes and was very uneven in the back. I tried doing it myself at home but she wouldn't sit still. Plus I don't trust myself with a pair of scissors and someone else's hair.
From the moment of deciding to get it done up until the time she sat down in the chair I was so nervous. Brianna is usually very clingy to me when we're in unfamiliar places. I was expecting her to grab onto me refusing to let go while crying and throwing a fit. I can so happily say that didn't happen. Whew! She was a perfect angel. She sat still the entire time and wasn't bothered by what was being done to her. She even spoke to the hair dresser saying things like, "Mamoo (Matthew) going to school. I wanna go school." It was cute. I was definitely proud. I wanted to cry tears of joy but I kept it together pretty well.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Fitness Blog No More
I made a hasty decision to shut down my fitness blog. No, that doesn't mean I've given up on exercising. Oh I love working out! I just didn't see a need to have another blog which only focused on my work outs. I wasn't updating much. I don't even update this one often. So I might as well combine the two on here. Once a week ... once a month ... twice a month ... I'll talk about my fitness goals and achievements.
The last few months I did a squat challenge. It was good although I admit last month I grew lazy with it in the last few weeks. I'm still doing squats. I love squats! In a few months (even with not being consistent with the daily challenge) there's already a difference in my butt. This month I'm working on an ab challenge, while still doing my squats among other things. If you're interested in joining in our curious to see what I'm doing here it is.
Little one is napping and it's pouring outside. Perfect time to get Day # 6 started!
The last few months I did a squat challenge. It was good although I admit last month I grew lazy with it in the last few weeks. I'm still doing squats. I love squats! In a few months (even with not being consistent with the daily challenge) there's already a difference in my butt. This month I'm working on an ab challenge, while still doing my squats among other things. If you're interested in joining in our curious to see what I'm doing here it is.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Monday Musings
Here we are! Another week is upon us. I'm sitting here sipping the last cup of coffee and watching an Everybody Loves Raymond rerun. I love that show! Parts of it remind me of my family. I just laid Brianna down for her nap. Matthew is laying next to me napping as well. He doesn't nap anymore but today he isn't feeling well. It happened suddenly. He first complained about a stomach ache but then said his head hurt. He's making all sorts of grunting noises and is twitching around. I keep asking him if he's okay, if he feels like throwing up, etc. but he's not telling me. He just wants to sleep. I hate not knowing exactly what's going on with these kids because then I don't know how to help. Brianna has developed these spots on her body. At first is started with one, then another. They look like mosquito bites and I thought that's all it was but each day she wakes up and I find more. I washed her sheet, Lysol'd the bed. Not sure what's going on.
So anyway, the weekend went by too quickly. On Saturday Matthew and I went school shopping. He picked out a backpack and I purchased some new clothes for him. School shopping! School! Yikes! In a little over two weeks I'll be putting him on the school bus and sending him off for kindergarten. It doesn't seem possible. My mind keeps going back to the image of when the nurse first handed him to me in the hospital. With the hospital cap on his head and the hospital blanket wrapped around his body like a burrito. That moment stays in my mind. I'll never forget it. Now almost six years later he's starting school and will be gone all day, five days a week. Part of me is sad and another part of me is excited for this new adventure. Plus, I'll have one on one time with Brianna during the day so we'll get to have a special bond. Bittersweet.
Sunday, as previously written, we went to church. I had a long conversation with my mother-in-law over the phone and then my father-in-law and his wife came over for a visit. Rob cooked a delicious meal with barbecue chicken, smashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Yummy! Thanks for spoiling us, honey!
Now here we are. Another week. It's always hard seeing my husband off to work on Monday morning. The kids and I dropped off some library books and then headed to the playground this morning for awhile. They loved playing but it was starting to get too crowded so we left. Once we arrived home that is when Matthew started acting funny. He's still laying on the couch, now with the sniffles. If he's okay this evening after dinner Rob wants to take him down the street to the baseball field to practice hitting balls. Speaking of which ...
We signed Matthew up for baseball in the fall. He did well in the spring and wanted to keep playing. Fall Ball isn't as popular as it is in the spring so there is only two teams in his age group. Rob was asked to step up as head coach and he's excited about it. There's a huge bag of equipment sitting in the foyer and he's always busy emailing all the parents and getting things ready. Hopefully practices can start next week. We are playing against our neighbor's team so this should be fun.
In other news Brianna's second birthday is next week. I can't believe it. Another milestone. We decided not to have a big party this year. It's too much work and we have a lot going on. So we may spend the day at the amusement park and then have a little something with just immediate family. They say time flies when you have children and that's the truth!
I guess that's all I have for today. I'm hoping Matthew feels better so we can enjoy the beautiful weather. It's in the 70's today. That's so unusual for August but I'll take it! The rest of the week is calling for rain but the forecast hasn't been very accurate lately. Enjoy your week ya'll!
So anyway, the weekend went by too quickly. On Saturday Matthew and I went school shopping. He picked out a backpack and I purchased some new clothes for him. School shopping! School! Yikes! In a little over two weeks I'll be putting him on the school bus and sending him off for kindergarten. It doesn't seem possible. My mind keeps going back to the image of when the nurse first handed him to me in the hospital. With the hospital cap on his head and the hospital blanket wrapped around his body like a burrito. That moment stays in my mind. I'll never forget it. Now almost six years later he's starting school and will be gone all day, five days a week. Part of me is sad and another part of me is excited for this new adventure. Plus, I'll have one on one time with Brianna during the day so we'll get to have a special bond. Bittersweet.
Sunday, as previously written, we went to church. I had a long conversation with my mother-in-law over the phone and then my father-in-law and his wife came over for a visit. Rob cooked a delicious meal with barbecue chicken, smashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Yummy! Thanks for spoiling us, honey!
Now here we are. Another week. It's always hard seeing my husband off to work on Monday morning. The kids and I dropped off some library books and then headed to the playground this morning for awhile. They loved playing but it was starting to get too crowded so we left. Once we arrived home that is when Matthew started acting funny. He's still laying on the couch, now with the sniffles. If he's okay this evening after dinner Rob wants to take him down the street to the baseball field to practice hitting balls. Speaking of which ...
We signed Matthew up for baseball in the fall. He did well in the spring and wanted to keep playing. Fall Ball isn't as popular as it is in the spring so there is only two teams in his age group. Rob was asked to step up as head coach and he's excited about it. There's a huge bag of equipment sitting in the foyer and he's always busy emailing all the parents and getting things ready. Hopefully practices can start next week. We are playing against our neighbor's team so this should be fun.
In other news Brianna's second birthday is next week. I can't believe it. Another milestone. We decided not to have a big party this year. It's too much work and we have a lot going on. So we may spend the day at the amusement park and then have a little something with just immediate family. They say time flies when you have children and that's the truth!
I guess that's all I have for today. I'm hoping Matthew feels better so we can enjoy the beautiful weather. It's in the 70's today. That's so unusual for August but I'll take it! The rest of the week is calling for rain but the forecast hasn't been very accurate lately. Enjoy your week ya'll!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Sunday Church
Hello! Hope the weekend is treating you well! I don't usually blog on Sundays because it's our family day but I have a moment to myself so I thought it would be a good time to come on here and say hello. Brianna is napping and the boys went to the store. These quiet moments don't happen too often so I enjoy them but then I never know what to do with myself.
We went to church this morning. We used to attend church every Sunday but since the kids were born we haven't been consistent. When I prayed to God to give me a child I promised that I would raise my children to know God and to always keep church and prayer in their lives. I hate to admit that I haven't been doing such a great job. Matthew knows about God, we put him in a preschool at a church that taught him a lot, he says the prayer before dinner and he talks about Jesus a lot. I have never taken the time to tell him why we pray or how to pray aside from what we do at the dinner table. And church. Wow! I should be taking the kids every Sunday. But we haven't. It's just so hard with two little ones. The church offers programs for children of all ages but neither kid enjoys it. I'm not sure why. If I put them in the nursery and Sunday School room I will get called back to get them because they were crying. I've always told Matthew that if he sits quietly in the chapel he can stay with us and for the first five years he's done well. Even as a baby he never gave us an issue. The people who sat around us would always comment on how well behaved he was. That made going to church easy. Although with our little girl it's a different story. She doesn't sit still, not even for 5 minutes, so how can I expect her to sit still for an entire hour? She wants to talk, wants to fuss, wants to walk from one area to another. It reached a point where I just didn't feel like putting in the effort so we stopped attending church. I realize I should have kept going anyway and done whatever I needed to in order to teach these kids the importance of going to church and how to sit still ... or go back to the Sunday School room and nursery until they were used to it. My faith had also been shaky at times so that was also a reason why I made no effort.
I want to get back into it. I need to.
Instead of the 11:00 Traditional service we decided to try the 9:30 Contemporary service. Both are so different. The 11:00 is in the chapel and is much more conservative. The 9:30 is in the bigger part of the church with a lot of people, loud music and not conservative at all. It was nice. So much easier dealing with the kids when it's loud. The half hour sermon was the biggest challenge trying to listen to the pastor speak while Brianna kept talking, pinching her brother and begging for food. No one seemed to mind. At least I don't think so.
And trying to listen to the sermon while controlling an almost two year old is an issue in itself but I did hear most of it. The pastor spoke on rejoicing in the Lord even through the hard times. It's amazing how the message I hear in church or even while listening to Joyce Meyer on TV has some significance to what I am going through at the time. I'm so glad we went and can hopefully keep this going weekly.
We went to church this morning. We used to attend church every Sunday but since the kids were born we haven't been consistent. When I prayed to God to give me a child I promised that I would raise my children to know God and to always keep church and prayer in their lives. I hate to admit that I haven't been doing such a great job. Matthew knows about God, we put him in a preschool at a church that taught him a lot, he says the prayer before dinner and he talks about Jesus a lot. I have never taken the time to tell him why we pray or how to pray aside from what we do at the dinner table. And church. Wow! I should be taking the kids every Sunday. But we haven't. It's just so hard with two little ones. The church offers programs for children of all ages but neither kid enjoys it. I'm not sure why. If I put them in the nursery and Sunday School room I will get called back to get them because they were crying. I've always told Matthew that if he sits quietly in the chapel he can stay with us and for the first five years he's done well. Even as a baby he never gave us an issue. The people who sat around us would always comment on how well behaved he was. That made going to church easy. Although with our little girl it's a different story. She doesn't sit still, not even for 5 minutes, so how can I expect her to sit still for an entire hour? She wants to talk, wants to fuss, wants to walk from one area to another. It reached a point where I just didn't feel like putting in the effort so we stopped attending church. I realize I should have kept going anyway and done whatever I needed to in order to teach these kids the importance of going to church and how to sit still ... or go back to the Sunday School room and nursery until they were used to it. My faith had also been shaky at times so that was also a reason why I made no effort.
I want to get back into it. I need to.
Instead of the 11:00 Traditional service we decided to try the 9:30 Contemporary service. Both are so different. The 11:00 is in the chapel and is much more conservative. The 9:30 is in the bigger part of the church with a lot of people, loud music and not conservative at all. It was nice. So much easier dealing with the kids when it's loud. The half hour sermon was the biggest challenge trying to listen to the pastor speak while Brianna kept talking, pinching her brother and begging for food. No one seemed to mind. At least I don't think so.
And trying to listen to the sermon while controlling an almost two year old is an issue in itself but I did hear most of it. The pastor spoke on rejoicing in the Lord even through the hard times. It's amazing how the message I hear in church or even while listening to Joyce Meyer on TV has some significance to what I am going through at the time. I'm so glad we went and can hopefully keep this going weekly.
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