Mild Monday

I took a much more relaxed approach to today than I did all last week. This meme captures exactly how I was feeling.

I clung to the feeling of being needed to give me purpose and direction in such an uncertain time. Nathan reminded me more than once that there is no such thing as a distance learning emergency and if I’m not glued to my computer the entire day, the teachers and students will survive.

So after a quick check of my email this morning, I took the time to do a zoom CG workout with Nathan. We pulled the cars out of the garage and told the kids to get started on their school work and not to disturb us. If they didn’t understand something, they were to move on to something else and we would help them when we were done. It worked! We got our full workout done with no interruptions! Of course, now my wrist and elbow have been hurting all day, but that’s a different matter.

After showering and helping Monkey Boy with his work, I did get a phone call from a teacher needing help. When I finished that phone call, we went to the park for “recess.” We played PIG at the basketball court and had a great time (I won twice!).

Unfortunately, just as we were about to leave, I noticed that there was a sign, pointing the opposite way than how we approach the basketball court, that said that it is closed to the public. Oops. We truly didn’t see the sign. And when we did see it, Monkey Boy got super upset. Basketball has been the one thing that he’s enjoyed about this whole thing and now he doesn’t have that either. I have never wished more that we had a trampoline or place for a basketball hoop to give him some stress relief. 😢

At lunch, Monkey Boy said he wished I would just give him 2 choices like at school. So that’s what I did and it helped. I think I may make a menu of lunches for the week for him to do his “lunch count” like at school.

For Specials, it was art day! We enjoyed watching Mr. Cherry’s video and then the kids drew their favorite snacks!

Monkey Boy’s snack

They both worked on their AIM projects and then put in some more effort on core classes. While they did that I worked on a digital collection for 3rd grade, recorded myself reading a couple of books, and helped a teacher do a recording and email it to parents. I almost didn’t realize what time it was until the kids came in to find out how to get onto zoom with their friends (we’d scheduled it over the weekend). I took that as my cue to be done working and shut down my computer.

Monkey Boy chose our Family Time tonight and he wanted to watch Jumanji. So Nathan made a yummy ramen meal and we ate in front of the tv. Overall, it was a nice day. I just wish MB didn’t feel like everything he loves is being taken away. 😢

Materials Deployed

This morning was busy and emotional.

I went to the school to help with getting students the materials they will need for learning from home. I stayed inside and did not get to interact with any of the families (Nathan and our nurse felt that would be a bad idea for me), but those that took book boxes out to the cars took pictures and the messages of support brought tears to my eyes. 🥰

I came home just before lunch. Everyone was having a lazy day (no schedule on Saturday). Nathan started talking about what we will do if he has to take care of any COVID-19 patients or if any of us come down with it. We both had a hard time keeping in the tears.

I know this situation has Nathan worried. I’m trying my best to put my faith in a God that can use this situation for good. I’ve turned to my Bible more in this last week than I ever have. I’ve even gotten the kids to start a Bible plan in the Bible App. It really has helped me to keep a positive outlook.

I have no idea what will happen over the next few weeks or months. But I know we are very lucky to be living in a world where technology makes it possible to spend time with the people we care about while still being apart. I look forward to getting to see my students, even if it’s on my computer screen.

Quick Summer Summary

Yes, we’ve been busy. Which might be part of the reason I haven’t posted practically all summer. Or it could be that I just was too tired to post when I did have the time. Either way, you’re going to get the quick version of our summer so that I don’t feel bad. Then tomorrow I can post about our first week of Homeschool!

June–
June is always super busy because of birthdays. The first weekend of the month we went down to Houston for their cousin’s 6th birthday party (at a dinosaur museum! Coolness!). Then the following weekend the family all came here to celebrate Kyla & Lucas’ 4th birthday. I believe I did write that one up, so I won’t go into detail.

N and I actually got to go out of town for our anniversary (12th) this year. We went to Fredricksburg. We were only there 2 nights, so we didn’t have a lot of time, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Before you ask, no we did not do any wine tours. Instead we got gypped by the main street shops! LOL We bought way too much wine and the real kicker was when N found almost everything we bought there for WAY cheaper here at home. Ugh! Oh, well. Fun was had anyway, so that’s the main point.

The kids and I then went to San Antonio with my sister and her 3 kids (ages 6, 22 months, and 22 months at the time). We stayed in a cabin and did a day at Sea World, rode a train through a petting zoo, rode a glass bottom boat, went swimming, and just spent time together. Overall it was a lot of fun and I know the kids enjoyed it. My sister and I were, of course, ready for a vacation from our vacation, but we knew it would probably be like that going in. I love how close in age our kids are and that they get to see their cousins frequently. The best part, though, was that after all that time spent together, her twins and I bonded. 😉 They used to be kind of afraid of me, but now the immediately recognize me and play our own little secret games. I love those little guys!

To cap off the month we got to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday swimming in his new pool! The kids have become amazing swimmers now that they have Papa’s pool to play in! They are such fish!

July–
July started out with a fun 4th of July celebration with N’s cousins and their families. We don’t get to see them very often, but N was close to his cousins all through growing up and feels like they are his brothers more than cousins. The kids got to see fireworks on the way home and still talk about it!

Kyla started taking a ballet/tap class at an actual dance studio and really enjoyed it. She says she really wants to be on stage. Part of me would love for her to try it, but at the same time I’m pretty sure she’d freak out when it came time to preform.

The kids had their first ever dentist appointment. Our insurance makes us use a primary dentist (who won’t see them until they are 4 unless there are problems) and if we want to take them to a pediatric dentist we have to get a referral. Thankfully, they seemed fine with the regular dentist, so unless there are problems later we’ll just stick with them. Neither of them had any cavities! Woohoo! They took them both at the same time, which was great for neither getting bored waiting on the other one, but meant that I was in the hallway between the two rooms trying to catch what was going on in both at the same time. I felt like I must have missed something, but the kids did great, so that’s the important thing.

I got to spend time with many of my pre-kid friends in July, which was great. I don’t see any of them nearly enough (maybe once a year if we’re lucky). I feel like such a bore, though, because all I have to talk about is my kids. LOL Thankfully, they all like hearing about them (or at least, they pretend they do), so it’s not too bad. 😉

August–
The first day of August was very different for me this year (compared to the last 4). I went to work. Sort of. I had substitute orientation. I’m still waiting to get the go ahead to set up my SubFinder account, but in theory I’ll be subbing for the local school district this year. I should be able to work at least 2 days a week. More if I can find a sitter on days N works. Of course, if I never get that darn email…

The kids and I all had VBS the second week of August. This year was very different for us. I was asked to do the preschool story time this year (I did the K-3 story time last year) and the kids were finally old enough to be in the actual VBS classes and not just the nursery! Of course, with me doing the preschool groups, that meant they came to me every day. I was nervous about that at first, but it worked out fine and I enjoyed seeing how they behave in that sort of setting. The other part that made it different is the fact that we now have friends at the church that we hang out with outside of church! We actually went out to lunch with a huge group of moms and kids 3 out of 5 days. I know we all loved that.

Right after the last day of VBS we got in the car and drove down to Houston for the “little twins” birthday. We got to spend Saturday with my mom, sister, and her 3 boys, then Sunday we celebrated the birthday at Chuck E. Cheese and got to see my brother, his wife, and their two girls. I’m not generally a baby holder, but I did enjoy spending time with my littlest niece (5 months old). Big sister (2 years old) had never been to CEC before and absolutely LOVED dancing with the mouse! It was adorable. And the even better part is that she’s finally warming up to other people and not clinging to her parents like she used to. She came up to me! 🙂

We had to head back home right after the party because Lucas was signed up for sports camp the following day. He spent 3 hours playing games and learning various sports Monday-Thursday. He loved it. Kyla, on the other hand, was not so fond of being away from her brother for that long. I tried to come up with fun things for us to do while he was busy, but even sitting in a movie she whispered to me “Can we go get Lucas now?” And while we were at their friends’ birthday party she cried for her brother rather than going to play with the other kids at the party. The one day that she didn’t ask about him was when we went to get a mini/pedi (her first) and then had a tea party with N’s grandmother and aunt. Can we say girly-girl?!

We got to go see a children’s theatre performance of Alice in Wonderland, which both kids thoroughly enjoyed. For days afterward they pretended to put on a show (usually Alice in Wonderland) and have both said they want to be on stage. As thrilled as I am, I think they may need to wait a few years.

Things looked like they were going to wind down, but we still seemed to find ourselves with something do do almost every day. Play dates, trips to the movies, family visits, and more! Is it sad that on the few days we didn’t have anything to do my kids asked “Where are we going today?” and when my response was “nowhere” they cried? They love to be out and about. But sometimes Mommy just needs a PJ day!

Coming up–
Kyla ended up deciding she didn’t want to continue in the ballet/tap class she was taking. I’m pretty sure it was because she is so shy. But I let her try out the ballet/jazz class one of her friends is in and she decided she liked it, so she’ll be doing that this year.

Lucas wanted to be in soccer with his friend (the twin of Kyla’s dance friend), but the teams were already full. So instead he’ll be playing soccer through the church.

They start speech again September 3rd (2 days/week) and are enrolled in the whole series of Zoo School this Fall which starts September 12th (I’ll have to fill you in on that in a later post).

Because we still can’t afford to put the kids into preschool I decided I should buckle down and get more serious about our homeschool efforts. I’m trying to plan literacy, math, dramatic play, art, science, and social studies activities each week around a theme. I’ll try to post at the end of each week what we did and how it went. We’ve already completed our first week (which I’ll post about tomorrow) and I’ve got weeks 2 and 3 pretty much planned as well as themes through the end of October. I’m really hoping I can stay on top of this and that the kids will stay as interested as they have been this week. They keep saying that today is the “last day” of homeschool, even though I’ve told them it’s just the last day of this theme. Hopefully they won’t be too upset when we start up again on Monday! LOL

This “quick” update has ended up really long. Sorry about that. But at least now you know I wasn’t lying about being busy! 😉 As we fall into our school year rhythm I hope to be better about posting again. Thanks for sticking with me through the dry spells!

A Year in Review {Letters to our Children}

Since another birthday has passed, I thought I’d focus this month’s letter on how far you two have come in the last year. Here you are on your third birthday:

Happy Birthday, Pirate and Princess!

And here you are on your fourth birthday:

You Wrecked it!

Everyone loves an adorable winner

Not only have you grown physically (we’ll know how much when we go to your four year check up June 27th), but you’ve come leaps in your language, motor, socialization, and cognitive development!

Language
You started speech two days a week in November. At that time I had to translate just about everything you said for people, including your dad a lot of the time. I found it interesting that you had such different problems with articulation. Kyla, you put all of your consonants in the front of your mouth (example, /t/ for /k/) and Lucas, you put yours in the back of your mouth (example, /k/ for /s/). In the 6 months you attended speech with Miss Nitchy you have worked so hard and mastered ALL of your goals!! You both are self correcting more often and everyone says you are getting easier to understand (ignore Aunt Erin. I think she just doesn’t listen. 😉 ). I am so proud of you.

Fine Motor
You are both able to write your names (you kind of have to know what you’re looking for, but I totally see it) and have written lots of other things when I tell you how to spell them. You’re working on scissors skills (you love to use them, but I haven’t really worked with you on control just yet) and have come a long way in your coloring and drawing. You still don’t stay in the lines necessarily, but I see more control than you used to. And you’re suddenly starting to actually draw things that are recognizable, not just scribbles! You are both starting to draw your own versions of people.

Gross Motor
Lucas, you’ve started showing an interest in baseball, so we’ve been playing “catch” with lots of different sized balls. You’re getting pretty good at both throwing and catching, though I wouldn’t say you’re a star athlete in the making just yet. I think you’re pretty much average with other 4 year olds (though I don’t really have anything to compare you to). I asked you the other day if you’d rather do t-ball or a class with lots of sports and you said “lots of sports.” Then I asked if you wanted to do lots of sports or gymnastics and you said gymnastics. So now I need to get you signed up for that when I figure out our July schedule.

Kyla, you love to dance and you like to show us how you can spin around on one foot. You’ve asked to take ballet again, which I’m happy to do if we can find a class that will work for us. You both took swim lessons in the spring and it amazes me what a little fish you’ve become. Lucas has come a long way as well, but it’s clear to me that you really love it. Lucas hesitates a little, but you have no fear when it comes to water!

Social
You both surprised me when we went to Disney in January and you had no problems going up to every character we met to give them a hug and get an autograph. Yet, when we came back home, your usual personalities came back.

Kyla, you still shut down around new people, hiding behind anything that is convenient. I wish I knew how to help you. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure you get it from me. Yes, I’ve gotten better as an adult, but I usually have to call upon my theatre background to get through it.

Lucas, you don’t necessarily walk up to total strangers and strike up a conversation, but you’re definitely more comfortable around new people. You love to make people laugh and have even started telling jokes. If you get even one laugh, you will tell it over and over and over again. You have also started trying to learn songs so you can sing them on your own. So cute!

Cognitive
You both are SO smart! A year ago you were still working on the alphabet song, recognizing letters, and counting to 10. Now, you’ve got the alphabet song down, you know all of your letters and can even write most of them, you’re starting to tell me what letters words you hear start with and can sound out words with help, can count to 15 consistently (still working on higher than that), and can even do simple addition and subtraction! I’ve stopped doing focused lessons with you and just let learning happen naturally, which doesn’t seem to have slowed you down any! Of course, you’ve got speech class, which exposes you to letter sounds and hearing the individual sounds in a word. You’ve also attended Zoo School, which has developed your knowledge and love of animals. So the formal learning is still there, just not being done by me.

Every day you both amaze me. I can’t believe that I got so lucky to be the mom of such great kids. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year brings. Though, to be honest, I’d like it to go by a little slower so we can enjoy every moment. I love you both so much!

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Some of my friends in my moms group and I have decided to create a blog circle where we will share monthly letters to our children. Please check out my friend, Carolyn’s, beautiful letter to her children here and then follow our circle around until you get back to me.

Four Year Olds

Really? I have four year olds? How did that happen?

This past month has been busy busy as we’ve finished up the school year in speech and zoo school, played with visiting family, traveled to Houston for W’s 6th birthday, and prepared for K & L’s Sugar Run birthday party. Things won’t slow down for a few more weeks, but I wanted to at least post something about their birthday.

Back in March the twins decided they wanted a Wreck it Ralph birthday party. They’ve been seeing Daddy run in obstacle races, so we thought it would be fun to have a race for the kids at the party. It fit well with the theme, since Vanelope von Schweets is a racer. Granted, she has a car, but close enough. 😉 We decided to host the party at a park. I handed the task of race planning to N and he really ran with it. I’ll admit to thinking he might be going overboard, but in the end I think he did an excellent job and the kids really had a blast.

We’re gonna Wreck it!

Candy Cane wickets

Kit Kat bridge

Candy Slolam

Jaw Breaker toss

Life Saver Shake

Gum Drop Cross

King Candy attack

Cybug egg stomp

Ooh! Water balloons!

Everyone loves an adorable winner

You Wrecked it!

Cupcakes by Aunt D

After the race: ring fun

Present time!

Thanks for all the presents!

Diet Coke and Mentos Beacon

The whole party was a success and much less stressful (for me) than previous years. This is the first year that we’ve had organized activities for the kids and they did really well. The ages ranged from 2 years to 6 years old. I think we’re going to have to set up the race in our back yard to continue the fun!

Friendship {Letters to our Children}

It’s that time again! Time for another Letters to our Children Blog Circle.

Dear Kyla and Lucas,

As you get older you are developing more in your ability to play with others and create friendships. I love watching you with your friends. Sitting back and just watching your personalities and how you tackle play together is so telling about who you are as individuals.

Playing with friends.

Reading with friends.

We’ve been trying to go to the rec center’s Open Gym every week (though we haven’t been the last couple of weeks, due to illness) and I see you reaching out to the other kids and playing less with one another. It makes me both happy and sad to see this. I love the bond the two of you have, but I’m glad to know you are able to branch out and make new friends.

Lucas, it seems to be easier for you to approach new friends and start to play than it is for Kyla. You fit in right away and play with enthusiasm. It worries me a bit when other kids start saying “No girls allowed” and you follow suit. I hope you understand why I tell you that you should not say that. Your sister feels left out all too often with your cousins and I hate for her to ever feel like you do not want her around. I know you’re just trying to fit in, but remember that she will always be your sister. Those boys won’t always be your friends. You’re going to need to be her protector. Take care of your sister and give her the help she needs to make friends.

With Cousin Wyland

Kyla, you may have a hard time approaching new people, or even responding when they approach you, but you give your whole heart once you do. Hearing you talk about your new friend “Anya” for two weeks after you met her at the park almost breaks my heart. Not because you hold onto that friendship so tightly, but because I didn’t think to talk to the child’s mother and arrange to see her again. You are so much like me and have a hard time feeling like you fit in. It’s hard for me to hear you say “Nobody likes me” when I know it isn’t true. At only 3 years old you already feel so intensely. I know that is going to stay with you, as I still feel that way now. I suppose the reason we butt heads so often is because we are so much alike! I want for you to have confidence in yourself and your ability to make friends. You’re so likable and kind. There’s no reason for anyone to not like you!

I look forward to seeing your friendships grow over the years. I hope that some of the friendships you have now will continue throughout your life. But even if they don’t, I hope you are learning from them how to be a good friend.

Friends (and Mom). Kyla is the photographer.

I love you always, always!
Mom

Some of my friends in my moms group and I have decided to create a blog circle where we will share monthly letters to our children. Please check out my friend Carolyn’s beautiful letter to her daughter here and then follow our circle around until you get back to me.

Peer Pressure

I thought the days of peer pressure were over. I mean, high school was a LONG time ago, and I’m really over the whole “everyone else is doing it” thing. I never would have suspected that I’d be getting peer pressure as a mom. But that’s what it feels like.

The kids are three. And every time I run into someone I haven’t seen for a while the first question they have is “So did the kids start preschool?” And they look at me with shock when I tell them we’re not sending them to preschool. There are several reasons. One of which (and the easiest to offer to people to get them to drop it, usually) is financial. With only one income, we just don’t have the money to send two kids to preschool. But really, the main reason is that I want them with me. Is that so wrong?

Why is it that so many parents these days can’t wait to get their kids into school? I have stay-at-home-mom friends that enrolled their kids in preschool two days a week before they were even two! Seriously? They say it is so they can have a break and get things done without the kids. Do I occasionally need a break? Sure. But two or three days a week? I would miss my kids! Yes, that week of VBS I am apart from them for a few hours 5 days in a row. But I volunteer, so I’m busy the whole time we’re apart. I don’t know what I’d do with myself. Everyone keeps saying “Oh, you’ll find stuff to do!” But it’s not like I’m incapable of going to the grocery store with my kids, or finding someone to watch them while I go to a doctor’s appointment. Why do I need preschool to be able to do that?

The worst, though, are the ones that look at me like I’m depriving my kids. “They love school.” “It’s so good for them.” or “At the kindergarten curriculum meeting…” Blah, blah, blah. Look, it’s not like I stick them in a room and let them pick their noses all day long. I teach my kids. I socialize my kids. I’m not in any way, shape, or form concerned about their academic or social readiness for kindergarten when that time comes (which, people look at me funny when I say I will be waiting until they are 6 for THAT!). My kids already know more than a lot of kids their age. They are three, people!

Why do we need to push them away from us so early? Why can I not enjoy the time I have with them, when I am their teacher, and I am the one they look up to, and I am the one they ask when they want to learn more? What is so wrong with that?

There is only one area that I have any concern about, and that is their speech. So in August I called our local school district and talked to them about getting them both evaluated. Today I spoke to the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) at our local elementary school and have been emailing with her this afternoon. We will be talking more tomorrow afternoon. I’m hoping we can get them evaluated soon so that if they qualify we can get them started in Speech Therapy as soon as possible. And even this makes me nervous. I know it would be good for them and I have no doubt that they would love it. But I hate not being a part of it. Does that make sense? Every time I’m away from them, I feel like I’m missing a chunk of their life. Maybe it comes from having to miss out on so much when they were gestating, I don’t know. But I want to miss as little as possible for as long as I can. Is that so wrong?

Happy Birthday, Babies (that won’t let me call them babies anymore)!

How is it that 3 years have gone by? It just doesn’t seem possible. I want it to slow down, but at the same time I’m loving watching them grow and learn. They’ve come so far in the last year.

Language and Communication
Wow! They are talking up a storm these days! We still have to translate for people most of the time, but the sentences are definitely there. And I do believe we’ve entered the “Why” stage with Lucas. It happened overnight a few days ago. Now, any time I tell him something he responds with “Why?” again and again, no matter how many times I answer the question. Thank goodness Kyla’s not doing it (yet). Though I’m sure it’s only because she’s just letting Lucas do it for her (like almost everything else). It amazed me Wednesday when N and I decided to each take a kid as we ran errands, then swap mid-way. The constant chatter from each of them is astounding. I’m used to it from Lucas, since he talks all day long, but when I had Kyla it was surprising how much more talkative she is without her brother doing it all for them!

Gross Motor
I really, really want to get them each into a class. Kyla wants to do ballet and Lucas wants to do gymnastics. Unfortunately, because of N’s schedule, it was impossible to work it out. But now that they are 3 I think there are drop off classes available so I wouldn’t need N to be home. I’ll have to wait for the next round of classes in the Fall, though. It’s fun watching them “do ballet” or “do ‘na’tics.” Lucas can do a full somersault on his own! Oh, and we got a new wooden play set for the back yard Thursday (Thanks, Mom!) and both kids are already pros at climbing the rock wall.

Fine Motor
We’ve been working on writing a little lately. Nothing serious, just trying to give them an idea of how to hold a pencil (crayon) and the basic form for letters. Every now and then they will accidentally write a letter and get so excited. Thursday we played with chalk outside in the rain (it was only sprinkling) and Kyla squealed “M for Mommy!” Sure enough, she’d scribbled what looked like an M. They don’t really have the skills to write on their own yet, but when I give them a worksheet with a letter to trace they are getting pretty good.

Cognative
Let’s see. They know all their colors and shapes, can count to 10 consistently and sometimes as high as 15, can sing along to the ABC song (not quite ready to sing it on their own), sing several other songs on their own (like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Row, Row, Row Your Boat), can recognize MOST letters (we’re still stuck on about 6 of them), are recognizing that letters put together make words… When we stop at a stop sign they tell me “S-T-O-P, Stop!” and they can recognize that Z-O-O spells zoo. I’m constantly amazed at the things they pick up. Like the time Lucas told me it was going to rain. I asked him why he thought it was going to rain and he said “Because there’s clouds.” What a smart boy!

Social
They both have their shy moments, but they’ve become much more social than they were. I noticed in April when we had several large gatherings to attend that they were much more willing to separate from me and play with other kids and adults. When I went to volunteer at my coop I was able to send them off to play on the play ground and they only came to me once or twice. The rest of the time they were having fun with the “big kids” as they say. It’s been fun watching them play with their 5 year old cousin the last couple of weekends, too. They really have a lot of fun.

We haven’t been doing as many play dates as we used to. Mostly because schedules are harder to coordinate than they used to be. Especially with summer traveling and whatnot. I’m starting to wonder if I should join another group, perhaps a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), so that they have more opportunity for social interaction. The MOM group I’m in doesn’t seem to do many play dates anymore, and the ones that do happen aren’t always shared with the whole group, so we haven’t played with those friends in a long time. We still try to get together with E & N as often as possible, though we haven’t gotten to in a couple of weeks because of illness and traveling. They talk about them constantly, though, and said they wanted them to come over and be pirates and princesses with them. I love how much they enjoy using their imaginations!

Eating
We seem to have come to the point in their eating where they are just like any other kid, regardless of how they were introduced to food. Lucas will eat just about anything (usually), but Kyla will tell us she doesn’t like something before she tries it, even if she’s had it before and loved it. They also have gotten to where they throw a fit if they don’t get the food they wanted (even if it’s not what they asked for). We had quite the ordeal at a restaurant yesterday when Lucas changed his mine 3 times and when the food came Kyla decided that what she’d asked for was not what she wanted after all. What a mess! However, I can’t complain too much. They really do eat pretty well and the coop we’ve joined has gotten them to eat a wider variety of fruits and veggies than we’d been exposing them to before. As a matter of fact, Kyla loves to eat lettuce! Who knew? And raw bell peppers (mostly red, but she also likes the others as well). Lucas loves vegetable soup, carrots, broccoli… Like I said, he’ll eat almost anything!

Sleep
I’m still pushing to keep their nap the way it is. They really do need it. There are times when they fight it hard. And times that no matter what I do, one or both of them just won’t sleep. But when that happens, we’re almost certain to have a horrible night’s sleep with night terrors and other sleep disturbances. The last week and a half has been crazy busy with all the birthday festivities, so their nap and sleep schedules have been off. Which has resulted in multiple terrors from Kyla. It’s a pain, but at least MOST of the time we’re able to keep them on schedule and we do pretty well. That doesn’t mean we always sleep through the night without incident, but they sleep pretty well. I’m not fond of the 6:30 wake up time (though we make them stay in bed until 7), but I suppose it could be worse. We’ve also had issues with them not wanting to go to bed either at nap or night time, so we tried a sticker chart to get them to stay in bed and be quiet. It didn’t really work. It’s hit or miss on whether or not we’ll have to go into the room and quiet them down. Which is pretty annoying, but probably pretty typical.

Affection
Lucas continues to tell us “I love you” multiple times a day. I think he’s figured out that it helps him look cute and maybe get his way. One day I was getting onto him about something and he looked at me with his long eye lashes and said “Mom. I love you, Mom.” It was hard not to relent, but I said “I love you too. But you still need to make better choices.” Or something along those lines. Kyla doesn’t give out the “I love you”s as freely, but when she does it makes it even more special.

Kyla still has her baby (and several others) that she will play with, feed, and sleep with. And when a real baby is around we have to be careful that she doesn’t knock them over or smother them with affection. Actually, that’s true of Lucas as well. They really love babies! LOL

Discipline
The time outs are not working as well as they used to. Most of the time there’s not a lot of reason to need to put them into time out, but when there is it’s becoming less effective. They just say “I’m sorry” to get out of it or tell me “I calm down now.” I’ve been working on finding other ways to deal with some of the issues we have occasionally, but haven’t really found the magic wand. I’m ashamed to admit that we have resorted to spanking, which I hate. I feel badly afterward every time. I want to change that, then find myself losing patience and we’re right back where we started. And N is more apt to spank than I am. It bothers me, but I don’t know how to change his reactions to situations if I can’t even control my own. This is definitely an area of parenting that I need improvement in. I’ve been praying about it, but I still haven’t found my answer.

Potty Training
I can pretty much say that both of them are fully day trained. We do have occasional accidents, but that is usually when they are busy playing and don’t get to the bathroom quite fast enough. There was an incident last week where Kyla peed on the floor at my sister’s house (I was not there) and everyone blamed Lucas, even though his pants weren’t wet. They thought he had taken his shorts down and peed on the floor. It wasn’t until I came home and Kyla got on my lap and I said “Why are you wet?” that the truth came out. 😦 However, to be honest, Kyla has had next to no accidents in months, including night time, so I might not have checked her either. Lucas still has a hard time staying dry at night, but he does occasionally, and he has had a few accidents here and there. Most of the time we’re great, though.

Check Up
We had their 3 year check up today and here are their stats:

Kyla
Height- 36.5 inches (35%)
Weight- 31.2 lbs (55%)
Apparently they don’t measure heads anymore.

Lucas
Height- 37.5 inches (49%)
Weight- 31.2 lbs (44%)
Yes, they weigh the same. LOL

I thought it was weird that Lucas is no longer in the 70% for height. We changed practices (same doctor, different office), so this office didn’t have our previous records yet. When I voiced concern the doctor said it could be because they switched from laying down to measure to standing up. She suggested we try again next time we come in, just to check.

No shots this year, which was great!

This year has gone by so fast. I’m amazed at how much they’ve learned and developed. I love seeing them take everything in. For their birthday they got a ton of dress up clothes and their imaginations are going wild. I love it! I am looking forward to seeing what the next year brings.

Happy Birthday, Pirate and Princess!

Long, tiring week

I apologize for going missing for so long. The kids and I did some traveling and I’ve yet to catch up to myself. I feel like I’m barely treading water with all the things on my to-do list. However, I wanted to take a moment to try to catch up on what we’ve been doing (which doesn’t feel like much, but probably is more than I suspect).

Thursday, March 22nd, the kids and I drove to Houston. The drive (miraculously) only took 4.5 hours. The DVD player my mom got us (and N jury-rigged so both kids could see it at the same time) helped considerably. We stopped for potty breaks about 4 times, but we used the potty in the car (I keep a little one in the back for just such occasions) so that we wouldn’t have to find a place with a clean restroom and get everyone in and out (when my sister saw the potty in the back she decided this was genius and wished she’d thought of it when potty training my oldest nephew. Though I cannot take credit for the idea!).

When we arrived at my mother’s house the kids gave Grandma an enthusiastic hello, then disappeared into her toy room (used to be my brother’s room) and played nicely for the next hour or more! I actually had the opportunity to sit and talk with my mother without interruption. It was amazing!

Friday Mom and I decided to stick close to her house. We knew it would be the only day the kids were even remotely likely to get a nap. We hit up Babies R Us to hopefully find Easter outfits (that could also be used after Easter), but didn’t find anything we really liked, so we didn’t buy anything. Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese. This was my mom’s suggestion. It’s where she goes with her friend that has kids so the kids stay busy and they can talk. I don’t think Mom really considered the fact that my two were a bit young to run around on their own, so I spent the whole time trying to follow behind two kids that were going opposite directions and wanting to do completely different things. Kyla wanted to rid on everything, but Lucas got scared anytime they started to move. At one point I couldn’t find Kyla only to discover she’d gone up into the disgusting tube thingy above our heads. She started to freak out a bit, so I directed her to the slide. Only to realize AS she was coming down the slide that there was a puddle at the bottom. Someone had apparently spilled something down the slide and Kyla wiped it up with her pants. Ew! I’m really okay with never going back to Chuck E. Cheese, thankyouverymuch.

Saturday was my niece’s first birthday party. My dad was staying with my sister, but my sister didn’t have room in her car for a 6th person, so I had to drive to her house to pick him up, then go back the opposite direction to get to the party. Despite not sleeping AT ALL (even in the car!), my kids did surprisingly well. Unless you count the meltdown Lucas had because I got him the wrong piece of cake. It was also nice to be able to let them go play on the playground outside (with other adults supervising, of course) and not have to follow them around everywhere they went. I can’t say all my conversations were uninterrupted, but at least I got to have some!

The kids got to hit their first pinata at the party! They had just seen an episode of Go Diego Go with a pinata, so they knew just what to do. Lucas couldn’t wait!

Lucas vs Pinata

Kyla vs Pinata

After the party was over around 5:30 we had a 45 minute drive to get my dad back to my sister’s house. The kids fell asleep at that point, of course. Then woke up when we got there, so we took them inside to potty before driving 30 more minutes to my mom’s house. We gave them some quick food and promptly put them to bed.

Sunday we met my sister, dad, and oldest nephew at the Houston Zoo! The morning was pleasant with only a few pouts from my nephew (he isn’t used to catering to what other people want to see at the zoo). All the kids had fun, though. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with my sister.

What a wonderful trip to the zoo! (Can you tell my sister and I are related? 😉 )

That afternoon the whole family met at my sister’s house for a late lunch. It was mass chaos with six kids ranging in age from 7 months to 4, but totally enjoyable. The best part was watching my kids play with their older cousin. They played outside for hours and I got to pay lots of attention to my little nephews. 🙂

The chaos of 6 kids under the age of 5 in one living room!

Monday we drove home. This time with an extra passenger. My dad came with us (I had to pick him up, of course). I was glad we’d have the extra hands to change out DVDs. But it wasn’t necessary! They slept the WHOLE WAY! I was getting nervous about gas, though, because I had thought I’d stop when they woke up, but it never happened. When we were about 20 minutes from the house, Kyla did wake up wanting to pee. I pulled into a gas station and let her go potty while I filled up the car.

On Tuesday we had to drive my dad to his house in East Texas (a 3 hour drive, one way). Let me just say that I am NOT planning to drive much for a while. My poor butt is tired of being in that car! We spent about 2 hours at my dad’s place before heading back home. He and his wife live on a large property on the lake. The kids got to try fishing in a real lake (no fish, unfortunately) and feed the rabbits they are raising. My dad’s wife made “bugs and worms” for lunch. The “bugs” were deviled eggs with various veggies to make eyes, wings, and patterns on them, and the “worms” were spaghetti served in a “log” of garlic bread. The highlight for the kids, though, were the pink, yellow, and blue drinks. (Yeah, she pumped sugary drinks into my kids just before I got back into the car with them for 3 hours!) I thought it would end up okay, as they fell asleep pretty soon after we got on the road. Unfortunately, my dad called to tell me we’d forgotten to take his stuff out of my van, so I pulled over in a parking lot and waited for them to catch up to me. Twenty minutes later, my opening the door to get the stuff out woke Kyla up and she never went back to sleep. Lucas woke up after about an hour. However, we all survived and were quite content to stay close to home the next few days.

That concludes the “travel” portion of our busy week. I’m immensely pleased with how well the kids did on this trip. They really are growing up, I guess. Aside from some some screaming from Kyla at night (possibly terrors), the whole trip was very enjoyable. I have high hopes for some family trips in the near future!

I’m linking to {Focus} on Mom.

Tot School- Food Groups

This week we’ve been focusing on the food groups and eating a variety of foods. On Monday I pulled out the food magnets from our Fudoo Board and divided their white erase board into 5 color coded sections. When they got up I had them match the food magnets to the correct group. They had a lot of fun.

Food Group sorting

We talked about the different food groups and the foods that belong in each as well as why we need to eat them. Then we played with our Play Dough Ice Cream Shop and talked about how some foods are “sometimes foods” and shouldn’t be eaten all the time.

Ice Cream Play Dough

For lunch I had them pull a magnet from each food group (two veggies) to make their Muffin Tin Meal for the day. They ate really well and Lucas even tried cottage cheese for the first time and loved it (Kyla, did not even try it).

Olives, Pineapple, Bread, Cottage Cheese, Hot Dog, Green Beans

Throughout the week I would quiz them on what food group foods we ate or passed at the grocery store belonged in. They surprised me with how well they did. Every day we’ve put the magnets for the foods we eat onto our Fudoo Board and checked to see if we were getting the right number of servings for each group. Kyla’s still avoiding veggies, but we have found some that she’ll eat. Thankfully, Lucas is willing to eat pretty much anything, so at least I know it’s nothing to do with me! 😉

We also went to the zoo on Wednesday. It was a full, but fabulous day. I even worked in our food groups lesson when I’d read what the animals ate. The highlight of the day was feeding the giraffes lettuce and crackers!

Feeding a girrafe

On Thursday we went to our friends’ house to play sports. At least, that was the intention. We were both pretty tired and the kids hadn’t seen each other in weeks, so we just let them play outside and get super dirty. It was a beautiful day and we all had a good, relaxing day.

Kyla loved the trikes!

Baseball Lucas

I’m linking up to Tot School. To see more activities for little ones, visit Tot School.

To see other Muffin Tin Meals, visit Muffin Tin Mom.