Monday, May 24, 2010

Homeschool/Baby/Summer Preparations

I have soooo much on my mind. I am worried about starting to officially homeschool Alyvia in preschool starting in Aug/Sept, I'm worried about having another baby in July and I'm worried that this beautiful summer weather and atmosphere will turn to fall (and then winter) way too fast.

For now I am collecting resources, setting goals, and trying to be realistic with my expectations for homeschooling. I know that everything that I "plan" could end up being scrapped by Oct. I know that getting into habits and setting schedules is difficult for one person and I am going to try to make and perfect a homeschool schedule that will meet the needs of not just myself but also Alyvia (the guinea pig of sorts) Wyatt (who I feel will be just as interested in "school" as his sister) Mazlyn (who will have needs that I will have to meet while maintaining a structured day) Tom (who will be supportive in his own way, but will also be the voice of reason and sensibility when I get stressed or expect too much.) On top of trying to figure out a good schedule for homeschooling I will also still need to do all the regular household chores. I know its not impossible I just feel that it is going to take time to figure everything out and I am a person who likes immediate results of perfection. Within the next few days I am going to set an official start date for Preschool at the Fuchs Academy. Let our journey begin. I know that we will get it right by graduation. (Joke~Completely)

As for baby preparations, we had a delivery of baby clothes and our old infant car seat just yesterday. Jennifer was nice enough to bring back all of Wyatts old clothes we had given to them for their son and so I spent some time going through them and sorting them by size. We don't have many 0-3 month clothes for Mazlyn so we are going to be going to babies~r~us this afternoon to fill in some gaps of his wardrobe. We are also going to buy him a new swing.

And lastly we have some things we need to get and do for summer. The weather is beautiful and should be all week. We are looking to buy an air conditioner so that the kids and I aren't miserable all summer long in the house. We also need to buy the right materials to fix our make~shift outdoor spicket so that we can fill a pool for swimming. I'm planning on spending time outside as much as my pregnant body will allow. We are also buying an umbrella clothes dryer for the yard so that I don't need to run the dryer in the house and we can take another step towards a greener lifestyle. Of course this project will involve time, energy and cement so although I really want to be able to hang my laundry outside I'm not overly excited about the project that will make it possible. (Speaking of laundry, I am so behind AGAIN. My first goal for this week is to get it back under control and then I just need to keep it under control. 1 or 2 loads a day is a lot easier than 15 at once when I get behind.)

We are also on the hunt for two new bicycles. Alyvia has outgrown her 12 inch that her Aunt bought her just last year and of course it was pink and white so Tom and I don't really want to pass it down to Wyatt. So we are looking to buy Wyatt his first (and only) *NEW* bike. And for Alyvia, after a considerable amount of convincing, we are looking to buy her a new boys 16 inch so that from now on we will only need to buy one new bike of every size and it will hopefully make it through all three of our children. She will get the bike new but it won't be pink and tassled with butterflies and stars. I feel it makes it fair to everyone. Just my theory but I've convinced the Daddy now too.

So, I guess we have a lot going on. I can't believe I have a four word title that actually encompasses all of this stuff. I'm excited though, for Mazlyn, summer and starting the homeschool process that I have been talking about for years now. We are finally going to start the next phase of our lives. Wish us all luck!!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Been Busy!!

We have been busy just enjoying life. Wyatts Birthday party on Mothers day actually worked out better than I had anticipated. We made his cake ourselves and I was very pleased with how it turned out.


It was rainy and crummy outside so we spent the entire time in the house but it worked out great because the guest were spread out just right to where we weren't ever feeling crowded. Toms brother and his girlfriend and daughter spent a lot of time here which was really nice because we don't get to see them often. We got to enjoy company from 1-9 and we actually got to socialize and enjoy our time with everyone.


I started my "job" scoring at a local dirt track that is about ten minutes down the road on Saturday. It is totally different from scoring the asphault races but I really enjoy how close the track is to home. I also enjoyed being away from my kids (as terrible as that sounds) but, I don't ever get any time to myself around here so... I will take it even if I have a job to do while I am gone. I also made $50 so I feel like a positive contributer to the household.

Sunday we spent the entire day outside. We played with toys, got the flowers and plants for our garden planted, Daddy mowed the lawn, we went through and threw away a ton of stuff that we no longer need in totes under the house and we even got the outdoor spicket project started. I really enjoyed the fresh air and as soon as we came in both of the kids crashed on the couch leading to some Mommy and Daddy alone time. Talking and snuggling while watching some tv together. Very nice.

The week so far has been okay. I'm so tired and we still have 7 weeks left of this third and final pregnancy. But, I am just trying to rest whenever I can. The problem is I can't trust my children for a second. So needless to say I am not able to nap or even rest during the day. Not to mention my house that has gone to you know where. I'm waiting for the whole nesting phase to kick in so that I can get this place cleaned to within an inch of its life. Lets just say we have A LOT to do before baby comes. We need to clean clean clean in general but then we have our bedroom to move around and organize and I want all the cupboards cleaned and organized and yet I have no energy to take on these projects at this time. Maybe next week.

We will get it all done and we will bring Mazlyn home to the perfect home. I have faith.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Lyvi amazes me daily (nightly).

Now I will be the first person to admit that Tom and I made the BIGGEST mistake of our parenting careers with Alyvia. We co~slept with her from day one and paid for it till about a year ago. Getting her out of our bed was torturous to say the least. Bad habits are hard to break especially for a 3 year old. She had a toddler bed that worked for a few days and then she ended up sleeping on the couch for months. She would fall asleep on the couch but still end up in our bed before nights end. Then we traded her toddler bed for a twin size bed, made a huge deal out of her picking her own sheets and how "Big" she was having a "big girl bed". We also started working on changing our routine. Trying to get her to sleep at 9 instead of 11 and putting her to sleep in her own room. We have had pretty good luck and she only ends up in our room when she is sick or when she is "scared".

So all this is just leading up to the punch line of last night. I was having a HORRIBLE night. I couldn't get comfortable for the longest time and then the brownie I ate before bed started giving me the worst heartburn ever. I was too hot and then I was too cold and I had a headache (probably from the heartburn) that I could hardly bare. I had finished my prescription for my Zantac yesterday and I really needed some so I woke Tom up and asked him to go outside to my van to get my other bottle of meds. Him being the ~perfect~ husband that he is actually got up and went out in the pouring rain to get me my medicine. He brought me a glass of water and my pill and then crawled back into bed.

Now I was sitting up in bed waiting for my medicine to kick in and basically falling back to sleep when around the corner in the hallway comes........

I don't know if Tom woke her with the door when he went out to get my medicine or if she had a bad dream or if her allergies woke her up but, who knows how long she was in her room "playing beach". She found her bathing suit and put it on over her underpants and was so proud of herself. I was completely baffled. I just let her climb in and go back to sleep. What a silly kid!!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wyatts Birthday!!


I am so excited for Wyatt Thomas' 2nd Birthday today!! I feel that I have been so blessed by him because he is so perfect and well mannered. He loves to snuggle~buggle with his Mommy and he is just so incredibly good. {God please let Mazlyn be just like Wyatt.}

We don't have much planned for the day. A trip to the store for a few different things and then we will be coming home to wait for Grandma and Grandpa Winter to come for a Birthday visit.

Wyatt has gotten a ton of Birthday wishes on Facebook so we know how popular he is. And we are waiting for the Birthday phone calls to start rolling in, starting with Daddy momentarily. I really hope we can make today special and then continue to prepare for his Birthday party on Sunday. Loving my Birthday boy more and more everyday!!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Loving my life!!

Todays post is about how grateful I am for this life I have been given. I have these two perfect children that actually love to snuggle with me, the perfect husband that shows me affection at all the right times and who knows his responsibilities to this family and continues to help out around the house even after he goes to work everyday to support us. My Mom is amazing and I consider her my best friend (tied for best with my little sister actually). Speaking of her, she is so smart and unique. I love the person she has become over the last 19 years. I am so grateful to still have my Daddy here after the scare last year and I am glad that my parents are still happily married and giving Tom and I something to look forward too. Also, I have this extremely busy baby in my tummy. I know he will just complete this family.

We have a home and two vehicles and tons of other family that love and support us. We have plenty of food,clothing, toys and books. A dog that is actually moving out of the puppy phase (I think) and lots of LOVE!!

This is all coming from the morning that we have had. It started with Tom getting up to get ready for work. He got dressed and then actually picked up the living room for me so I didn't have to do it before the kids got up. Then as I was laying in bed Radar actually came in and barked to tell me he needed to go outside. I took him out and then I came to my clean living room to watch the news. As always there was nothing great reported but, shortly thereafter Wyatt came down the hallway. He saw me and ran to my lap. I picked him up and sat him under the blanket with me and he told me "Love you Mommy". My heart melted. Then we changed the channel to PBS and watched together for an hour till his sister came out of the bedroom and took over my other leg. I sat for about 40 minutes just thanking God for blessing me with these two perfect babies. I teared up thinking about what I would do if anything ever happened to one of them and then I just started thinking about everything in my life that I have to be grateful for.

Happiness is everything and I have happiness galore!!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Busiest Weekend

We had so much to do this weekend and only half of it got done but, we spent it all together so who cares right?? Friday night we went to the Grange Anniversary party and enjoyed time with family and other Grangers. Saturday morning started early as it always does with gymnastics. Wyatt and Daddy participated in their session and then Wyatt and I left and headed to the doctors office.

I have been concerned about him playing and messing with his left ear (that he had an infection in 3 weeks ago) so after two weeks I finally made an appointment and took him in. He is so well behaved. He acted a little shy at first (just like his Daddy) but, then he did an awesome job. We didn't see our regular doctor but the lady that we did see was very nice. She checked out his ears and then removed a ton of wax from his left ear which was the one I had been concerned with. She said it was a little red but no infection. She then checked his throat and that was also a little red so she asked to do a strep culture. It came back negative so she just told us to go on with his allergy meds and if he spiked a fever to call again. We are going to try using mineral oil to lessen the amount of wax buildup inside his ear. I clean around the outside of his ears 2-3 times a week but, I don't feel comfortable cleaning inside of them. Who knows??
We got home about the same time that Daddy and Lyvi did and we then played outside for a few hours while Daddy mowed the lawn and fixed the lawn mowers. We ended up with two little ones with sand all in their hair so it was off to the shower. We then had to head out to Lyv and Wys cousins 6th birthday party. What a trip. I'm terrible in crowded places with my children and this place was more than crowded.


The kids had fun but, Tom and I did not. Lyvi got trampled and banged up and I was ready to leave about 10 minutes after arriving but we survived the whole two hours and then left. All the cousins were going to play in the sandbox where Uncle Jason works so we decided to head up there so the kids could play and Tom could ride go~karts and hit golf balls at the driving range. I was just excited to have social hour with the fellow Mommies.
Sunday morning we all slept in till 10am. Then we got up and lazied around for two hours and then we headed to Lowes for some needed supplies. When we got home Wyatt was napping so Lyvi had a chance to do her new Dora puzzles. She did such a great job and was so proud of herself. I love watching her try and succeed at new tasks. That is something that I am looking forward to with homeschooling. Hopefully my kids will enjoy it as much as me.

We had a late night last night because Wyatt had napped so long but, altogether we had a good nights sleep and Daddy is now at work and here I sit. I'm looking around at all the things that need to be done before my parents come for Wyatts birthday on Wed and then the birthday party on Sunday. I better get going.