Organization Underway & Meal Planning

Yesterday was another day in our PJ's until lunchtime.  We ended up eating a late breakfast and afterwards we went straight into the playroom to clean up.  It was past time . . .

Don't judge!!  But seriously, how in the world does it get this bad?!?! Wait, I know.  I have a 2 year old that doesn't know how to pick up after herself yet.  Haha!!  And some of it is probably Jase too, but the majority is definitely Allyson.  And this is probably over a time span of 2-3 days.  I was texting a friend and told her to call one of those organizational shows and sign me up!! Me and the kiddos probably spent 2-3 hours in there sifting through stuff, throwing things away and reorganizing the room.

Much better after it was all said and done.  I am hoping this will last us a few weeks or until Finn's arrival would be nice.  Shawn said they are not allowed to play in it anymore! ;-)

Today was a productive day.  Shawn and I rode out to IKEA to look for some things for the house.  We have basically moved all of Jase's furniture (2 dressers) out of his room to use in Finn's nursery downstairs.  So, that was leaving him with nothing, plus he really needs some organizational help for his Lego's.  We ended up getting him a dresser, an 8-cube shelving unit and a new table for his Lego's.  He has a Lego table (our old dining table) in there now, but is round and doesn't really work in the space, and we found a good/cheap one ($35) that matched his new dresser and cube unit, so we are excited.  Shawn finished putting together the dresser tonight and we are happy with it.  We went with a black-brown finish for all of his furniture and maybe at a later date we will go back and get him a matching headboard.  Hopefully tomorrow we will putting together the rest of the items and get him all set-up!  I'll post pictures once everything is put together and cleaned up.  I hope Jase loves it in there! :-)

We also bought an 8-cube shelving unit for the homeschool room.  We are fine in there right now on storage, but I think I will need something else very soon, plus it is nice and matches the other furniture in that room (birch finish).  The only thing we did not get that was on the list, were chairs for the homeschool room and Jase's Lego table.  I'll have to keep looking around for something that we really like; I didn't want to just buy something today and end up not happy with them.

Allyson lately has been a little toot at the dinner table.  She will turn her nose up at anything new and will even do it to food that you know that she likes.  If it's not fruit, bread and butter or a PB&J, then you have no idea if she will eat it or not.  Tonight I made them macaroni and cheese (I went all out!) and she kept pushing her plate away from her.  She kept telling me she wanted an ice cream sandwich . . . don't we all!?!?  I told her that if she doesn't eat all of her mac and cheese then she would not be getting an ice cream sandwich.  She kept pushing it away from her and I continued to explain to her that she would not get one if she did not eat all of her dinner.  And of course I have Jase sitting next to me, telling her to "watch Ja-Ja, he's eating like a big boy".  Haha!  Something finally clicked and she ate every piece on her plate!! She NEVER gives in, so this was a major breakthrough tonight.  She got rewarded with her ice cream sandwich (and Jase too) and loved every minute of it.  We also had some cupcakes that Aunt Alisha had brought over: super chocolatey with chocolate and peanut butter nutty bars on top . . . can you say HEAVEN?!?!  The kids split one after their ice cream sandwich and thoroughly enjoyed them!

Speaking of food, I have one more thing.  For years now, I've heard of people meal planning a week or a month out and it all sounded great, but I never really gave it any thought or effort to follow through.  Now sometimes I will plan out a few meals to cook each week, but if I'm being completely honest a lot of the time it is 4:30 pm and I'm looking in the pantry and freezer on what I can cook . . . not very efficient.  And it's not just dinner when this happens.  For breakfast I'll ask the kids what they want or I'll look in the panty and 30 minutes later we're finally eating.  As for lunch, we can get into a rut and they will eat the same thing every day, and I doubt they care, but I'd like to add a little variety for them.

With the baby coming and us starting up homeschool, I know we will be very busy.  I will be the first to tell you that I am not the most organized person in the world.  I know where things are, but they are not in an orderly fashion like I would love for them to be.  {I am really working on this.}  So, one of the things I will be trying for the month of July is a Meal Planner.  This past Monday I sat down with the kids and we talked about what they liked for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner and I made a list.  Then I used this template I found on-line and filled in our own meals.  For Monday - Friday we have breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner planned for the month of July.  I am super excited about this!!  Now it took me a couple of hours from start to finish, but this was my first time doing this and I do not foresee next month taking this long since I will already have a lot of our meals in place.  I am really hoping this will take all of the thinking out of daily meal planning since I did it ahead of time.  Now if plans change and we have to move things around, no biggie we will adjust.  And I did not plan for the weekends this month since they are usually busy and we are not always home.  Now when Finn arrives I'm sure we'll be home much more and I'll incorporate some weekend meals.  I also scheduled a leftover night each week and it landed on a Thursday or Friday.  We usually always have food leftover each night, so I didn't want to cook M-F and have way too much food.

Tomorrow I am going shopping for the first week of July and am looking forward to seeing how it works for us.  I really hope it is a hit for our family.  I'll keep you posted!

Baby Finn Update - 34 weeks

On Monday I was sitting down, making a schedule for July and could not believe that this was the last week of June.  The older I get the faster time flies by.  You would think the value of a minute/hour has gotten smaller, but I guess that just isn't possible! Haha!

So on Monday I didn't get out of my pj's until probably 2:30.  Jase kept asking me when me and Ally were going to get dressed! Ha! Jase will either get dressed on his own or if I ask him, then he will go upstairs and pick out his own clothes and get dressed.  And they usually match too . . . I've trained him well! ;-)  It was a very relaxed day and much needed.  I think we only left the house to check the mail!

Me and Sis lounging together - she can be the sweetest!

Yesterday afternoon we spent some of the afternoon picking up the middle bedroom upstairs.  We have quite a bit going on right now with that room, Jase's room and Finn's nursery downstairs.  Tons of things to do, but not tons of time.  We are making some headway and the majority of it is going through stuff and finding a new home for it in the house . . . fun!! Yesterday I was putting all of my punches up and I showed the kids and they LOVED them!! They spent the next 30-40 minutes punching out paper and making a mess, and I didn't mind because they were having fun.

And last night after dinner we went up there again to continue cleaning up and they probably spent an hour with markers, paper, pre-punched letters and gluesticks.  Did I mention these are my kids?!? I have always been a sucker for school supplies . . . still am!! 

Today I had a doctor appointment and all went well.  I am 34 1/2 weeks (35 on Friday) and feeling pretty good.  About the only thing I am tired of, and I'm not usually a complainer, is the comments from people.  Hello . . . didn't your mother teach you, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!" Most of the comments I get are around being due in August.  Here are some of my current favorites: "oh I bet you're hating this weather", standing in line at Dollar General a stranger asks "are you miserable or what?", "when are you dropping your load?"  Just lovely!  I usually respond with "no, I am feeling fine and the summer is not too bad.  We usually stay inside or we are at the pool." I am so thankful to be pregnant and to have a healthy pregnancy, that why would I focus on the negatives?  That's just not me!  I'm sure I will become uncomfortable in a week or two, but for now, so far so good.

Anyhow, I'll get off my soapbox.  ;-)  Doctor said the baby is head down and positioned just right, which is great.  Heart rate is starting to slow down (as it should) and is 140 BPM.  Blood pressure was fine at 110/60; my bottom number has been low the past 4-5 months.  I haven't posted much about weight gain lately because I am right at my max of where I wanted to be.  These past two weeks I ended up losing a pound, but not on purpose I promise.  I'm actually surprised of the drop in weight with the amount of Blue Bell's Dutch Chocolate I've had lately.  Ohhh, it's so good!!

Yesterday I came across a breastfeeding pamplet when cleaning out the bedroom upstairs and started reading it for a refresher.  Seems like that was ages ago, but I guess it was a little less than 2 years ago and I was nursing Ally.  She is very much attached at the hip and Shawn joked yesterday and said that I'll have one on each side: Finn and Ally.  Don't worry, no tandem nursing will be going on here.  She was weaned off at a year old and that was plenty long for me and her as well.

Last night I came across a pregnancy journal I kept when I was pregnant with Jase.  Awe, it melted my heart.  I wrote down something nearly weekly about how I was feeling, craving, and my progression towards the end.  When I went in for my 36 week appointment, I was already 2 cm dilated and had began effacing as well.  Then the next week I was 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  I ended up going into the hospital at 39 weeks (per the doctor's request), they broke my water and I went into labor on my own and had him about 6 hours later.  Then with Allyson I assumed it would be the same, but I think I was only 1 cm dilated at 36 weeks and stayed that way the next week as well, and ended up delivering her at 41 weeks.  I went into labor at home, the day I was supposed to go to the hospital to deliver her.  So that was definitely the day she was supposed to be born on.  I was in labor for about 6 hours with her as well and actually had to hold off on delivering while waiting on the doctor to get to the hospital.  Every pregnancy is different for sure.  I'm curious to see how this one compares to the other two.  I am getting super excited!! :)

What a week!!

Sunday evening and I am pooped! This past week the kids had swimming lessons from 10-11 am and then Jase had British Soccer Camp from 7-9 pm every day.  And I think Tuesday was the only day we did not do anything in between the two activities.  Jase did great at swim lessons and improved so much.  We need to keep him in the water this summer to make sure he continues to practice swimming so it sticks with him.  As for Ally . . . not a fun experience at all.  I thought we were out of the blue when she did great on Tuesday, but that was basically the only day where I would label a success.  I think it is a combination of her being a little too young and not good with new people.  We talked about being brave and not scared all week, we prayed several times and took a lot of deep breaths.  I'm glad she finished the week out, even though she cried through most of it . . . we are not quitters!  Maybe next year.

As for soccer camp, I have mixed feelings about it.  The first night was great and was looking forward to it building each night and get better with each day.  Tuesday night ended up being cancelled due to the rain.  Then Wednesday night Jase missed due to an unplanned dental procedure (keep reading for details on that).  Also on Wednesday the guy who was coaching Jase's group got bit by a spider and actually had to go to the emergency room Thursday morning and he ended up being out of commission for the rest of the week.  So between Thursday and Friday night we had 3 new coaches work with the kids and while they did their best, the first coach really connected well with the kids.  All and all Jase had a great time and it was a good refresher for soccer in the fall.

The Wednesday before last, Shawn took Jase to the dentist to get two cavities filled and I took Ally with me to my doctor appointment.  Even with laughing gas, it was still very traumatic for Jase.  There was not a lot of space in the room, so Shawn could not be in there; he had to wait outside the room.  Well, his top tooth was still hurting him this week and he would not let me floss next to that tooth.  After 4-5 days I knew something wasn't right.  So this Wednesday morning I called the dentist and set up an appointment for him that afternoon.  They did x-rays on it and the dentist said it was fine and maybe it was his molar that was coming in that was applying pressure on it.  Before we left I had her floss in that same spot and she agreed that it was not right; it should not hurt still.  In the process of flossing it she chipped the filling and she said that she will need to fill it again and asked if we could do it today.  She explained to Jase that it would not be a big deal and showed him the white composite liquid she would use in the filling.  No problem.

We waited for our turn and then we walked back to get him all set up.  Of course since I am pregnant I could not be in the room or even right outside because it was not safe.  By this time my phone was completely out of battery and I do not have a car charger (on the list to get), so I could not text Shawn or anything.  The dental assistant who was setting him up with the gas told me that the dentist said if the filling doesn't take, then they would have to put a crown on . . . WHAT?!?!?  I guess he has already had this tooth filled twice (once last week and another time at a previous dentist).  I got so emotional with him not being comfortable laying on a stretcher and already crying and now the crown info, it was bad.  On our way to the waiting room I took Ally in the bathroom and just cried my eyes out like a big baby, I felt so helpless.  I pulled it together somewhat and we went to the car to get a snack and went back into the waiting room.

About 20 minutes later they called my name and Jase was standing there, still crying and really shook up.  I asked if he was finished and what he had done and she said they had to put a crown on.  I had no idea they were going to start or do the crown without letting me know.  I asked the dental assistant if he had been crying this whole time and she said yes.  I lost it again . . . this is my baby.  She asked me if I was ok and I said no.  And of course as soon as he saw me, he lost it even more.  ;-(  I asked if she needed anything from me because I needed to leave.  I was free to go, free of charge, and we headed home.  Both kids fell asleep on the way home and my mind was thinking about all sorts of things.  I know that this was just a crown, but I hate seeing my kids in pain or hurting.  I started thinking about what if this was a major operation or what if I lost him.  My emotions were everywhere.  Needless to say I was pretty shook up the rest of the evening.  So, that was an unexpected, not very fun, 2 hour dental visit.  Jase now tells everyone that he sees that he has a silver tooth.  ;-)

Saturday afternoon we took the kids to the Astros game.  This was our first family game this season (Jase went on opening night with Aunt Alisha and Uncle Joseph).  I spent the first half of the game explaining nearly every play to Jase and walking him through the scoreboard.  I enjoyed that!  He is a little sponge, soaking it all up.  From the moment we walked in to the stadium, Allyson was not having it.  In the last month or so she has not been doing all that great with new places with a lot of people.  I'm not sure if this stems from Disney World and being scared, but she did not relax until the game was nearly over.  Praying this "scared" phase ends soon, very soon.

This morning continued to be eventful.  We got the kids up this morning for church and little sister was not herself, she was pretty whiney and did not want to eat anything.  She downed 2 cups of milk and we thought that was better than nothing.  She is not a big breakfast eater anyhow.  We loaded them up in the truck and headed to Sunday School.  I dropped the kids off at their classes and went to mine.  I'm in our room for maybe 3-5 minutes and I get a message that Allyson threw up and it was quite a bit.  I rush over to her and my poor baby is sitting there wrapped up in a towel.  She had thrown up all that milk and it had curdled and all.  I felt bad for the teachers cleaning it up and very thankful at the same time.  Shawn was teaching Sunday School, so Alisha drove me home and I gave her a bath and settled her on the couch.  After Sunday School, Shawn and I tag-teamed and he came home and I went back to church.  I needed to teach the lesson to the preschoolers during our main service time.  I was a few minutes late, but it all worked out.  No more throwing up for Allyson, but she did have a loose bowel movement this evening.  We prayed for her tonight and hope the worst is behind us.

After church today, I drove out to Spring for a friend's baby shower.  Kristi is due a couple of days before me and is expecting her first child, a boy, Kasen James! :-)  Kristi and I met back in 2002 while working at Reliant Energy.  She was my best bud while I worked there for 6 years; we ate lunch together more times than not and always had great conversation.  I am so excited for her, her husband and the family on the arrival of her baby boy.  When a new baby comes into a family, it is such a special time; a true blessing from God!!

Tomorrow we have ZERO plans and boy are we excited, Jase included!  I might stay in my PJ's all day . . . Shawn, you have been forewarned! Haha!!

Reward Time

Today (Thursday) Allyson was successful on the potty 3 times, so she got to add 3 more stickers to her Potty Poster. That also meant that she hit #5 and got a prize. I gave her 2 sheets of stickers: Disney Fairies and Disney Princesses. She loved them!!

We have been away from the house quite a bit this week with swimming lessons, British Soccer Camp, and normal errands, but I think she has been doing great. And it is not hard to get her on the potty when we are home, she will sit there for a long time. And if you are by her then you better be prepared to read her a book. I think I have read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs over 5 times in the last 2 days.

Let's Try This

Last night I was talking to a friend and she said that her daughter was doing great with going tee-tee in the potty, but would not poop in the potty.  She ended up doing a reward poster with her and after she pooped in the potty 5 times then she would get a prize.  I had actually bought a pink poster board on Saturday and had planned on doing a Potty Sticker Poster for her, since she LOVES stickers, but wasn't really going to do a reward, bust just allow her to randomly put a sticker on the poster if she tee-tees or poops in the potty.  Well after talking with my friend, I decided to do a reward after she is successful in the potty every 5 times.

I made a little chart and explained to Allyson about getting a prize every time she puts a sticker on number 5 or 10.  Today before her nap she pooped in the potty so she was able to pick out her own sticker (fairies, princesses and ballerinas) and put it on the chart.  I am still trying to explain that she only gets to add a sticker if she goes on the potty.  She thinks I should just give her a sticker just because, but I'm sticking to my guns!! I am hoping this will make her excited about going in the potty more often.  And it's not that she doesn't like to sit on the potty, she was probably on it today for over an hour . . . not kidding.  If she gets up and I ask her if she went in the potty and usually she tells me "I didn't" then I will take her back in there and sit her down.  She will stay there for 5 or so minutes and then repeat and repeat.  Tonight Shawn said "just put a pull-up on her already".  I told him we have been doing this all day and we have to keep at it.  This WILL pay off!!

As for swimming lessons . . . MUCH better today.  Allyson only cried for 5 minutes or so and then was great after that.  In all seriousness, I know God heard our prayers for little Ally.  And Jase did great too!  He was jumping into the deep end and swimming, then floating on his back and then doing the back stroke . . . all on his own!!  So big!!  Here are a couple of clips of them today (if you're interested); I mainly take them for Shawn, since he is at work and I know he wants to see how the kiddos are doing.

Swimming Lessons - Day 1

I signed Jase up for swimming lessons over a month ago and after talking with the swimming lesson man I decided to hold off on Ally because she still might be a little too young.  Well, after watching her in the pool a few times, she is really fearless (with her floaty on) in the pool and will even put her head underwater.  So, I called back and added her to the list.

I've been prepping the kids for swimming lessons and explaining to Allyson that I will not be in the pool and she will not be wearing her floaty.  She seemed to ok with it all.  We have been praying as a family the last few nights about lessons coming up and for God to calm their nerves.  Last year Jase had a rough start and cried at least 2 of the days.  He swam through the tears, but it was very emotional for him.  So, I was worried about him and Shawn was worried about Ally.

I get the kids up this morning and Jase is already crying.  :-(  He is scared and doesn't want to sink to the bottom of the pool.  Poor guy.  I explain to him that the teachers are there to keep him safe and Mommy will be by the pool too.  The crying goes on for probably 20 minutes.  We say a prayer and get in the car and head over there.  On the way he watches 2 videos of him from last year swimming, I am hoping this will pep him up for the lesson and it did.  I asked if he wanted to call and talk to Daddy and he said no.  As soon as we pull up to the house his anxiety sets in and the tears start flowing again.  I reassured him he would be fine and that was enough crying.  He stopped before we got out of the car.

We get to the backyard and he does fabulous! They sit by the edge of the pool and wait for instructions and listen to the rules.

The instructors work with the kids and group them according to their current swimming level.  Jase ended up in the most advanced group and was doing awesome.  Here is a clip of him swimming for the first time this morning.

Allyson on the other hand, she was not a fan.  You can actually hear her crying a little in this video.  She worked one-on-one with an instructor and also screamed and cried the entire hour!!  At one point I went over to the instructor and asked if this was a lost cause this year.  She said that she was a little young, but did not mind working with her.  I told Allyson to be nice . . . she can get a little feisty!! The instructor suggested maybe if I go to the driveway where she could not see me, it might be better.  The screaming continued.  I would peek around the corner every so often to check on her and she was putting her head in the water on her own and was holding onto the instructor's hands and gliding through the water.  She would do this for 2-3 seconds at a time.  Every time she would come up for a breath, she would cry for me, Jase, or Daddy.  :-(  I stood out in the driveway for probably 40 minutes of the lesson.  I came back in for the last few minutes to watch her.  Poor baby, her face was all puffy from crying.  As soon as she got out of the pool she was fine and told me "I put my face in the water and I was crying."

I felt bad for Jase too because I was unable to watch him the majority of the lesson, but from the 4 or so times he swam at the end, he was doing great jumping in and swimming on his own.  I asked Allyson if she was going back to swimming lessons tomorrow and she said yes.  We shall see.  I do know that I will be bringing a chair for the driveway and pray that my little girl does better tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to make something for Shawn for Father's Day, something simple with the kids involved of course.  I found this cute picture online and thought I could replicate it.  On Thursday we got out the washable markers and I wrote We <3 You Dad on the bottom's of the kids' feet.  It was so funny writing on the bottom of their feet, they are so ticklish!  The hard part was getting them to be still and getting at the right angle so I could see their face and feet.  Plus with my high-end camera (haha) the lightening was not that great.

I made a little collage out of the photos, printed an 8x10 and bought a nice black frame to put it in.  All and all it turned out wonderful and Shawn LOVED it, so that's all that matters.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!!  We love you!  Thank you for the wonderful, godly example you are setting before us. 

Homeschooling it is!

For the past two years I have felt like the Lord has really been laying it on my heart to consider homeschooling our children.  I have also felt the devil trying to work his magic and put doubt and fear in my thoughts: “What will people think? You can’t do this. Your kids will be socially awkward.”  There were periods of time where I could not stop thinking about it, the task seemed so daunting and I just did not have a peace about it, one way or the other.  2 Timothy 1:7 states “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

We continued to pray about the situation and it wasn’t until these past 2-3 months where I have felt at peace with our decision.  I made up my mind and decided that I was going to do this and give it my best shot.  Shawn and I attended a small homeschooling conference and it was a blessing for sure.  To sit down and listen to people who have done this for years or someone who is currently homeschooling was very beneficial.  Also, to pick their brain on our current situation and get curriculum advice was priceless.  Other than a handful of people, I am not familiar with homeschooling whatsoever and am very new to the scene. So, we are going to take this one day at a time.  I do not have a Kindergarten through 12th grade plan yet and we will continue to do it as long as we feel called to do so.  That may be 1 or 2 years or through high school; I'm just not sure.

I sat down one evening and documented for myself on why I wanted to homeschool.  On paper, on purpose.  This way I can look back in 6 months or 2 years or when I'm having a bad day and remind myself why I decided to do this.  I know it will not be an easy journey, but that was not a deciding factor in whether to do it or not.  {Please note: I realize that people have different reasons for their schooling choices, but these are OUR reasons for homeschooling, so only positive comments please.}

Why we are homeschooling

1. God. First and foremost, I feel the Lord wants this for our family.  While I am no bible scholar by any means, I want to base my decisions on the foundation of the Lord.  Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  As a mom, I want to instill godly values and morals in my children.  Romans 12:2 states “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” I had a revelation that I do not answer to the world, but to Christ. If I am completely honest, I am a little nervous about stepping outside of the box, but at the end of the day I know the Lord knows my heart and he will put His blessing on my efforts.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 states “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” This verse really jumped out at me while reading a book this past month.  How am I supposed to teach them the ways of the Lord if I am only with them a few hours of the day? Dinner and bedtime just do not seem sufficient for this vital task.

2. Time. It passes by so quickly and before you know it, the kids are grown and have moved on.  I want to be able to soak up each and every minute with them that I can.  I am very excited that we will have many more family time opportunities with homeschooling.  When my kids are 7 or 13 I want to have a great relationship with them; I want them to feel comfortable telling me anything: their fears, their likes and dislikes, everything.  Being able to spend more time with my children will allow our relationship to grow and give me the opportunity to learn all I can about them.  Also, how awesome that Jase and Allyson (and soon to be Finn) will have the time to learn together.  Jase has such a helping heart and who better to help than his younger siblings.

3. Academic. While this was not an initial goal or concern, I am definitely on board with the academic benefits of homeschooling.  My children will be able to have mastery of subjects and work at our own pace.  They will also get one-on-one (not one-on-twenty+) teaching and I can modify the curriculum to fit their needs.

4. Social. This word has brought probably the most doubt when it comes to deciding on whether to homeschool or not.  Jase is very social and loves being around other people, so the last thing I wanted to do was to do him an injustice.   Then I started really thinking about it and thought about what socializing would look like in Kindergarten or 5th grade or even in high school.  And honestly, how much of this “socializing” will have a positive affect on him? We will not be locking him up in the closet when we homeschool, don’t worry.  He will have plenty of interaction with me and his younger siblings and not to mention Church three times a week, sports and other family and friends.  And if you think about it, when he gets out in the “real world” he will have to interact with people of different ages; he will not work with everyone his age.  So our homeschooling environment should prepare him in this aspect as well.

5. Our Goals. We want our children to depend upon the Lord for everything.   While Shawn and I are far from perfect, we strive to put our trust and faith in the Lord in all that we do.  Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."  Having bible time every "school day" will increase their bible knowledge and thus grow their dependence and love for the Lord.  We want them to be respectful, have good manners, honest even when it is hard, passionate in everything they do, and humble in spirit.  The fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) are wonderful virtues to model yourself after (myself included).  We realize these will not be easy goals to achieve, but we trust and believe that God will work through us, rather than depending upon a stranger at school.

Lastly, I honestly feel that kids are exposed to too much at such an early age.  As a public school teacher for 2 years, that was a huge eye-opener for me.  So if I can protect their innocence just a little while longer, then I am on-board.  While I do have a college degree and have taught in the public school system, I feel like my best qualification to homeschool my children is that I’m their mother.  I have their best interest at heart and will be completely vested in them.  For as long as I can remember I've always aspired to be a MOM!  I never really had a dream of becoming famous or being a business woman, but just a simple mom.  As I am getting older, I am realizing that my dream is being fulfilled by being blessed with two (almost three) precious children and the shaping of their future is in our hands.  We do not want to take this task lightly and thank God for entrusting us with them.

Jase knows that he will be starting Kindergarten this fall and we will doing school at home and honestly he seems excited about it.  Today he was talking about his school, a local elementary, and I told him, well you're school will be at home and he said he knew.  Then I told him that we will have to give it a name.  Here is how the conversation went:

Me: We'll name it French Academy.  No, French Christian Academy and call it FCA.
Jase: No, I just like French Academy.
Me: Well, we are followers of Christ, so that's why I suggested French Christian Academy.
Jase: Let's just call it Jesus Academy.
Me: We'll have to see.
Jase: We can learn about letters, numbers and Jesus.
Me: You got it Jase!

Round 2 of VBS and Reading

Today Jase finished up Vacation Bible School where he attended school this past year.  They put on a VBS solely for preschoolers and do another one next week for school-aged kids.  The pastor said they had 81 kids and 29 volunteers. The parents were invited back 30 minutes before pick up today to watch them perform all of their songs they learned this week.  Everyday when Jase came home he showed me all of the moves he had learned that day.  What can I say, he LOVES to dance!!

This week he learned to:
Depend on God
Dare to Care for others
Claim Jesus

When I was picking him up, his group leader said that Jase was the only one in his group that could quote John 3:16 word for word.  I wish I could take all the credit, but they have been practicing this bible verse for memory in Sunday School.  We practice at home as well, but a lot of thanks goes to Mrs. Patricia.  I was a proud Momma when they told me.  :)

Here is a short clip of the group performing one of their songs.  See if you can spot Jase in the video!

Lastly, this evening we were sitting on the couch, reading books before we went to bed and Jase wanted us to read Go, Dog. Go! to him.  I told him that he could read it and I would help him.  At first he didn't want to do it, but then he agreed to try.  {We have really started working with him on reading and trying to sound out words and also recognize sight words.}  This book doesn't look that long, but for a beginner reader I thought it would never end for him.  He did so awesome!!! Most pages he needed minimal to no help with words.  I was even able to explain a little about an exclamation point, period and question mark to him.  He is getting so big!

Mommy & Me Time

This week Jase is attending Vacation Bible School during the day for a few days, so it is a perfect time to spend some time with my little girl.  Yesterday morning Allyson and I went to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and to visit with friends, then we headed over to my dad's to visit for a few minutes before picking up big brother.

Today I decided that we would get our toes done together.  She picked out her own color and had hers painted.  She was so big and sat right next to me while I got a much needed pedicure . . . I almost took a picture of my big toe after she took off my old nail polish, but it probably would have turned a stomach or two; it was ridiculously long!  GAG!  Hahaha!!

Duck Dynasty

Tonight Shawn and I were in the garage and as we were leaving I saw a poster hanging up on the back of the garage door.  I did a double take and had to laugh.  If you read my post last month about naming Finn and Jase, then you know that we are very familiar with the Robertson family and Duck Commander and now the new show "Duck Dynasty".

Shawn said that it probably came with his first mail order he received when he a purchased a VHS tape and a duck call years ago.  You might be a redneck if . . . 

I would not trade my redneck for anything though! :-)

Scrapbook and Pool

Wow, I can't believe it is already June 11th!  Crazy!  And we have been home from Disney for 2 weeks now.  Speaking of Disney, I still have yet to print out pictures or layout photos for their autograph books or a family scrapbook.  :-/  It's like that scrapbook that I never finished from when Shawn and I were dating.  I had this master plan to start it from the time we started dating up until our wedding.  Then after that we would have family scrapbooks and then some of the kids.  Yeah . . . ain't going to happen.  However, last year I switched over to digital scrapbooking and have had some success.  I ended up scrapping the first 2 years of Jase's life in the matter of days.  It was rather addicting at first, but I enjoyed it and I really loved seeing the results.  My end goal is the print all the 12 x 12 pages out and put them in an album.  I found a place online to print them for $1.99 a page and I've read great reviews on the quality of the prints.  One day!

This morning I was getting the kids around to go to the pool and Jase was in my bedroom spinning around.  He ended up falling and his face landed head-on in my nightstand.  I immediately rushed over to him and he was crying pretty hard. I looked in his mouth and he had blood sitting in there.  His bottom teeth had broken the skin of his bottom lip and he ended up with a nice busted lip.  Poor guy.  Once he calmed down, I moved him into the bathroom.  I had 3-4 spots of blood to clean up on the carpet.  And yesterday as we are walking into church his nose starts to bleed.  I hope this trend of blood does not continue tomorrow.

We ended up staying out at the pool today for almost 4 hours.  The kids had a good time and a friend from church ended up showing up with her two kids, so Jase had a little friend to play with, which he enjoyed.  I even had some potty training success at the pool today.  Allyson told me she needed to go to the restroom, so I took her.  She sat and sat on the potty, but nothing.  Then about 5 minutes later she told me she needed to go again.  Off we went to the restroom again and right when I sit her on the potty she went tee-tee!! I was so proud of her!

This evening we met Shawn's parents and brother at Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  The kids were excited to see Grandma and Grandpa.  Is it just me or do you always wish there was an extra nugget or fry left after you finish eating?!?  Maybe just me!  It is ooh so tasty there!  And I love their diet lemonade!! Quenches my thirst every time!

Engagement Pool Party

This afternoon we went to my cousin Ian's engagement party. He is marrying Dana, whom he met in Livingston and she is too sweet and cute. I am very happy for them; what an exciting time of their life.

The engagement party was at Dana's father's home in Pasadena. You walked out in the backyard and it was like a little oasis. They had a huge and I'm talking huge Tiki Hut off to one side and a beautiful pool to the other. I should have taken more pictures! Haha!! But seriously, the pool was the nicest I have ever seen. It had a beach entry, which was great for the little ones. And material used in the bottom of the pool was very cool too, like a rubberized material that did not tear up your feet. It had an awesome slide as well. And it was saltwater, you should have seen Ally's face after getting her first drink! Haha! The water is much softer than chlorine. Anyway, it was pretty cool, I could go on and on! :)

Operation: Clean House

Today was a great day.  Jase and I got up together and started the day off wonderfully.  We got to eat breakfast and read the bible together.  We do a nightly devotion, but I want to get in a routine of being in the word together more.  Since we normally eat breakfast together, I cannot think of a better time to do it!  I started off in 2 Peter since Jase has had a fascination with that book lately and I read a couple of chapters.  Then he said go to Mark 15 and I read from there until the end of the book.  It was great and it definitely got my mind ready for the day.  Sister Sue woke up shortly and it was bath time for all.  Jase took his shower first and then the girls took one together.

I told Jase and Allyson that the TV was not coming on until the living room and kitchen table were clean.  Confession: the house has not been in that great of shape probably since Jase's party.  I mean we've picked it up here and there, but the life-size Darth Vader has still been hanging out in our living room!! I put my iPhone on shuffle and we listened to music for a couple of hours while cleaning.  I just love hearing the kids sing about Jesus and of course when a Mickey Mouse song comes on, they dropped everything and ran into the living room on the rug. Haha!  Jase was a big help today cleaning up. He picked up his room and made his bed, helped pick up the living room and play room and even helped clear the table . . . if you could have seen it.  This is terrible, but we just have been moving stuff out of the way to eat a meal at it.  He still had his new Lego set that we built at one end, Disney World maps on it, books in the middle, bibles, VBS goodie bags from this week, happy meal toys . . . you name it, it was probably on our table.  I'm happy to report that is no longer the case. Hubby will be happy when he comes home tomorrow! :)

Tonight we ate dinner before 6:00, which hasn't happened in a long while.  When Shawn is home we always wait on him so we can eat as a family and that is usually around 6:15-6:30 and sometimes later.  While I'd rather eat with him, it was nice eating early and having the rest of the evening open.  Tonight I recruited Jase to help me with the dishes and clearing the table.  He always takes care of his plate, but for some reason I have never had him load the dishwasher or clear the table.  HE LOVED IT!! He told me "when Daddy doesn't help you do it, just ask me and I will do it!" I washed the dishes off and I showed him how to load the dishwasher.  I think he really felt big doing it on his own.  Then I handed him a rag to wipe the table off with and he comes back into the kitchen and told me that I really made a mess, that there were crumbs all over where I sat!! I just laughed!!

The car did not leave the driveway today, but it was a great day.  After Ally woke up from her nap, we were sitting in the living room and I can't remember what we were doing, but she puts her hands on my cheeks and kisses my lips, then both of my cheeks and asks me "are you happy Mommy?" I told her yes, I was very happy.  Brought tears to my eyes, she can be such a sweetie!

As for potty training today, I did not push it at all.  I did sit her on the potty after lunch with a book and she went poo-poo!! 3 days in a row! I'll take that for sure!  And before bed she went tee-tee in the potty.  She is a sticker fanatic, I think I need to start a sticker poster and she can add one to the poster every time she goes.  She is having a blast flushing the toilet on her own and telling it bye-bye!! We are taking baby steps for now and that is just fine with me.

After Jase had his shower this evening (he played outside with a neighbor friend after dinner), we made chocolate malts.  I waited for him to get out and get dressed because he wanted to help me make them.  I got out the Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate (a definite favorite), milk and Carnation malt mix.  I scooped the ice cream and poured the milk and Jase spooned the malt mix in and started the blender.  He was watching it and was so excited.  I guess we've never made malts or shakes at home before in front of him.  He said "and when we run out of stuff, we'll just go to the store and get more!" He's too funny!  All 3 of us enjoyed our chocolate malts and of course you always wish there was just a little bit more after you finished yours.  Jase ended up drinking out of mine and Ally's.  I must love him to share mine! ;-)

Potty Training Blues

I'm not sure what happened to that "gung-ho" attitude I had last night about potty training, but it has already left this morning.

We woke up, like 45 mins ago, and I sat her on the potty and nothing. Her pull-up from last night was pretty full, so I thought she must have already went this morning. I explained that she needs to listen to her body and go tee-tee and poo-poo in her potty today. I let her pick out which princess panties she wanted to wear and she went with Rapunzel. Jase tells me, just put her in a princess pull-up. I explain to him that this is what we did with him and it just takes time.

I go in the laundry room to start a load of laundry and when I walk out I ask her if he needs to potty as she is standing there with her legs squeezed together and tells me yes. I said ok, let's run to the potty. We get in there and take off her panties and they were soaked. :( Here we go I thought. I take the Rapunzel panties off of her and she throws a fit. She wants to wear them. I tell her she will have to pick another pair out and of course there is not another Rapunzel pair in the 7 pack! She is trying to grab the wet panties, so I scoop them up and tell her that I will wash them and go add them to the load I had just started. I clean up the two puddles in the living room and Jase asks what I am doing so I tell him that Ally pottied in her panties. His response "you should have just put a pull-up on her!" Thanks Jase! We go back to the bathroom and I find another big puddle! Allyson Kate!! I mean the potty splashed up against her training potty . . . if you're that close, sit on the potty!! I wipe her down again and she settles on another pair of panties. Her wipes are in a drawer in my nightstand, along with pull-ups and diapers. I am bad, I ask her if he wants to wear a princess pull-up and she says no, a Minnie one. Ok, a Minnie one it is!

I'm not sure if I am up for this!! Hopefully it's because I am almost 32 weeks pregnant and I do not have my get up and go right now. And in the back of my mind I am thinking that I will have another to potty train after her!

She is now watching Elmo Potty Time! We'll see how this goes!

Dear Lord, please give me patience.

PM update:
I did not actively continue with the potty training today.  She was content in her Minnie Mouse pull-ups and so was I.  After she woke up from her long nap, I sat her on the potty with a book and left her there.  She ended up taking a poop!! Two days in a row!! And both times she was reading a book; I think I will install a magazine rack next to her training potty!! When we were getting ready for bed I had her sit on the potty before putting on a fresh Minnie Mouse pull-up, gave her a book and she pottied . . . I see a trend here!! My mom said that when I was little I would sit on the potty and ready forever on there, maybe it runs in the family! Although now, I'm all business in the restroom . . . in and out!! Of course these days I have little ones who are in and out of the restroom while I'm in there.  ;-)  I do not have any preconceived goals for tomorrow, I am playing it by ear and basing it off of my energy level!!

Garden Gone Wild

So our garden has really taken off.  Some crops are doing better than others, but overall I am really happy with the production.  At first the squash were going crazy, but I'm not sure if the cucumbers are choking them out and taking over, but it looks like the cucumbers have really hit a growing spurt. The two tomato plants are not doing so hot.  Production has slowed down and what is left seems to rot on the vine and they are staying green.  It doesn't look like bugs are getting to them, but something else . . . maybe the heat! Ha!!  I read about what could be causing some of the decay on the way home from Disney, but I just haven't gotten around to treating them.  I planted other tomato plants from the seed and they are starting to produce now as well, we'll see how they do.

The cantaloupe and watermelon have completely went nuts and are growing everywhere.  I haven't seen any fruit from them yet though . . . until today.  I was looking at all of the plants and saw this green ball in the midst of all the cantaloupe vines.  It is a good size too, bigger than my fist.  That is the only one I saw from the cantaloupe and watermelon.

Tonight was the last night for VBS.  I had so much fun with our preschoolers this week and hope they had fun as well.  While it was a good time, this Momma is pretty tired and looking forward to some relaxation.

Jase continued to have a blast and was still going strong as we finished up the week tonight!

When we got home tonight, we ate dinner and then the kids studied the Disney maps.  They have been on the kitchen table for a few days and Allyson will look at them after every meal lately.  For 2 years old, she can tell you quite a bit from our vacation and where things are located on the maps.  I need to finish organizing our pictures and order pictures for the kids' autograph books.  I would like to do a family scrapbook, but that may be may pushed to the back burner since I still need to get around with Finn coming soon!!  There is always another project waiting in the wings!

And for those inquiring minds, Allyson did not have any accidents during her nap time today.  She actually pooped in her potty this morning . . . HUGE DEAL!!  And tonight before bed, she pottied in her potty!  I picked her up some princess panties today and I think we might put them on her early in the morning since we should be home the most of the day (doing laundry!). 

First Loose Tooth & More!

What a day, what a day!!  We had such a busy day today, I thought I'd share it with you! :)

Shawn left early this morning for the airport.  He is off to Bolivia for 5 days, returning home Saturday afternoon.  This is actually the first work trip he has made this year, so we have been very blessed to have him home so much in 2012.

I made up my mind last night that I wanted to take the kids swimming today.  The weather forecast shows rain for the rest of the week, so I wanted to make sure we got a little swim in before that hits.  I woke up and made some sandwiches and peeled some oranges to take to the pool.  I was sitting at the table studying my VBS lesson and I hear Jase walking down the stairs.  He finds me and says "I gotta lost tooth" and points to his bottom teeth.  I said "oh you have a loose tooth?"  His FIRST one!! He said it happened in the middle of the night.  So exciting!!  He went to the dentist last Wednesday for his routine check-up and the dentist showed us on his x-ray that the root was completely gone on that tooth and that the adult tooth was starting to push up.  I felt the tooth last week, but it wasn't budging at all.  It is definitely loose now!!  I explained the whole baby/adult teeth to him and he now has a clear understanding of what is going to happen.

Eating has been somewhat of a challenge.  I hope I didn't make him paranoid about it.  This morning for breakfast he wanted a hard Special K bar for breakfast and I offered strawberries instead, he then suggested apples and peanut butter.  I went back to strawberries and watermelon and he said ok.  I explained that he needs to be careful eating hard things in the front and to eat them on the sides of his mouth, in the back.  Well, all day has been a little bit of an issue in the eating department.  Although he did eat crunchy Cheetos at the pool with no problem at all.  ;-)  It has been a while since I lost a tooth, but I do remember it being a big deal.  I love looking at him while he is playing with it with his tongue!

 

 

The pool . . . I was a little nervous taking them to a public pool by myself and being this far along with the pregnancy.  I am feeling fine, I just haven't taken them by myself to the pool yet this summer and wasn't sure how it was going to go.  The kids did awesome and it wasn't bad at all.  Since both kids are a year older than last summer, it was actually easier than last summer even though I am pregnant this year.  This kids have been playing so well together lately, I just love it.  Here is a clip of them sliding down the slide together.

We were at the pool for 3 hours and I don't think that Allyson took her sunglasses off, but for 5 minutes maybe.  I guess the sun is super bright for her and she keeps them on just fine. She did the same thing at Disney World too.

Oh, when we first arrive at the pool, my son has to take a poop.  Then as we are about to leave he has to take another! What can I say . . . he is regular! :)

We picked up food on the way home and as I'm about to sit down and eat, Allyson spills her entire milk jug on the floor! 8 ounces of milk seems like a gallon I tell you!  I get that cleaned up and we enjoy our lunch.

Then I lay her down in her bed.  I'm thinking a full belly and clean clothes should equal a good nap. I have Jase lay down on the couch and he turns on the tv and I take a shower.  I get out and I hear Ally upstairs talking and saying Mommy. Not whining at all, but wide awake for sure.  I let her lay there for a little while longer while I get ready.  At this point it is about 4:40 or so.  I decide to go up and get her since I wanted to leave for VBS shortly and did not need her falling asleep at this point.

I get up to her room and find POOP in her bed!!! Yep, she took a poop in her diaper and decided to put her hand in it and get it all over her sheets, pillow, shams, and comforter!!!! GAG! I wipe her down before putting her in the bathtub upstairs.  After cleaning her fingernails, I strip the bed and begin washing the bedding by hand in the sink.  This was NOT in the plans!! I'm so glad that I got her up when I did, otherwise we would have really been running behind.  I get her ready and throw the bedding in the wash for a sanitizing cycle!

VBS was great again tonight.  Everyone has a wonderful time praising the Lord together.  Whether we are singing songs, doing our craft, having lesson time, or learning our memory verse, the preschool age group has been great all 3 nights. 

What a long, but great day we had.  Oh wait, we are not through yet!! After leaving the church, we head down the road for a sweet treat! This was mainly my pick, but I knew the kids would enjoy it as well.  While eating ice cream out is expensive, tonight I bought the kids one small and asked if they would put it in 2 separate cups.  Each kid got enough to eat and it was half the cost! Not too bad!  I let Jase pick the mixin and at first he said sprinkles and gummy worms.  I told him, no only 1 and he ended up choosing m&m's.  He immediately told me he would chew them on the side! Ha! I said ok, if you think it will be fine to eat with your tooth; he didn't see a problem.  How convenient! And for the record, I got a double dark chocolate malt . . . super tasty.

Kids are now snuggled next to one another in my bed.  A little treat since Daddy is gone. :)

Kicking off VBS

Tonight we kicked off VBS and the kids had a blast!! Our church had a couple of bounce houses before VBS got started and they really had fun playing in them.


When things got kicked off inside and the music started playing, Jase was in his element. He did not miss an opportunity to dance tonight. Here is a video of Jase singing and dancing to The BIBLE:

Here is a short video of Allyson dancing with her buddy. It was too sweet to watch them.

Great night tonight and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.

31 Weeks

Hard to believe I am over 3/4 finished with this pregnancy. I am 31 weeks today and went for my check-up on Wednesday. Since the kiddos are no longer in school, they joined me on this office visit. Don't worry, these visits are pretty straight forward and I will not be checked until 36 weeks.

We were in the exam room and I sat the kids on the bench in the corner and they were watching a PBS kids program on my phone. The nurse came in, checked my weight (GEEZ), took my blood pressure and then it was time to check the baby's heart rate. I asked the kids if they wanted to come listen. Jase jumped right up and got on the stool next to the exam table . . . he was pumped!!! As for Allyson, she was not putting down the phone, which was completely fine since I'm not totally convinced she knows exactly what is going on since she tells me she has a baby in her belly too! ;-)

The nurse found the heart beat and Jase had a smile from ear to ear! Melted my heart to see him so excited about his little brother's heart beat. The nurse showed him the hand-held machine that was measuring the heart rate and told him it was beating 149 beats per minute. He thought that was the neatest thing. I'm so glad they joined me on this visit so he could experience that!

Afterwards, we were able to meet Daddy for lunch, which was a great treat for all 4 of us. I will now have an appointment every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, then it will go to every week until Finn arrives! :)

I have been feeling great, and all the walking at Disney was not a problem at all. I am carrying this baby pretty low and he is definitely out front, which my doctor told me I probably would. You should have seen all the looks I got while on vacation . . . people thought I was about to pop! And when I told them I had 10 more weeks they could not believe it.

I have been so blessed with healthy pregnancies and I am praying for a safe delivery in the next couple of months.