Not much to say really. Just felt like I hadn't posted in awhile and going through a bit of blog withdrawal. We are trucking along as usual. Here's the latest scoop of each of us.
I am plugging away doing the daycare. Calls for new kids have been few and far inbetween. The new baby started last week and filled the spot we REALLY needed to fill, the rest of the spots we can be patient on so to God be the glory for that. I figure if he wants them filled, he will fill them. I got really sick for one day last week, but somehow managed to continue to watch all four kids and make it through the day with a fever, chills, body ache, head hurting and all. I pretty much knew I had caught what all the kids had already had so I wasn't too worried about the kiddos. Thankfully the next day I was doing much better aside from all the cold symptoms that seemed to linger for several more days. I still have bouts of coughing each day.
Brennan has yet another ear infection and her nose stopped running for all of two days. Now it is running full blast again. She is on another antibiotic. I've just started to accept that being sick is just going to be a way of life around here until summer. I give up hoping for anything better than that. Aside from being sick, she really is in good spirits. She seems to be overnight turning into a big kid. She can eat at the table with the rest of us. I have started teaching her how to use a normal cup. She is coloring, playing with playdough, finger painting, etc. She has started to say Mama a little more and even has attempted "nana" for "banana." She is starting to get pretty quick and steady on her feet. I still love watching her walk everywhere. She's a kid on a mission, unable to sit still for longer than 10 seconds. Busy, busy, busy. I especially love watching her carry her little purse around on the crook of her arm, and I especially love asking her to give me kisses which is basically her leaning her whole body into your head.
Last weekend we started the first of two birthday celebrations for Kadyn. She got to go with a friend, who's birthday is only one week apart from hers, to build a bear. She made a pink unicorn she's been eye balling for some time. She also got to go out and eat and have the staff sing her happy birthday. It was funny watching her wake up the next morning with an adult sized t-shirt on (she got that at the home show last the weekend before) which went down to her ankles, holding her old teddy bear, her new pink unicorn, her two birthday balloons, and wearing her birthday crown. This weekend we do celebration number two. We will be taking her to a circus for the first time ever. We will then come home to cake and icecream and a few gifts with just the four of us. It should be a good time. Pics of the festivities to come later. Her real birthday is this Saturday.
Jeff is busy plugging away at work. Seems he's usually gone either one night a week or on the weekends doing something work related. I wish I could say business is great. It's not bad, it's just.....slow. It's been a bit of a disappointment, but we still hold out for better times. I can't even allow myself to think of the "what if's" when it comes to his job, or I go crazy. So for now, we are not allowing any "what ifs", only whens.
Jeff's family will be visiting us over Easter. It is soooo nice to have family around during holidays. It just makes things seem more holidayish. So besides this weekend's festivities, I have something new to count down for. Looking forward to seeing Brennan hunt for eggs for the first time ever. Although, I'd love to do it outside, I'm afraid she'd roll down the hill looking for them, so we will hunt inside this year. It should be a good time.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Week 10: score and moving on
Ten weeks in and I weighed in at my exact goal this morning. I only had a half a pound to go, and that's all I lost. I was a little disappointed it wasn't more, but can't complain that I actually made it. I have to admit part of my disappointment was because I had cheated and weighed myself yesterday after having a fever most of the night. I know that usually when people are sick they loose a bunch of weight. I was curious. The scale showed 1.5 pounds lighter than it did this morning. Guess it was all water weight from all that sweating I did.
Anyhow, I'm glad I made it. I'm thrilled it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I can't believe I have been meat free for two whole months (with the exception of one frozen pizza). It's nice to feel better in my own skin. Overall, this has been a very positive experience. I am closing my weekly weigh ins for now on the blog since I do consider myself in a healthy weight range now, but I do plan to move forward with my diet by loosing another five pounds. Hopefully I can get that done by my birthday. What's crazy is that if I do loose another 5 pounds I'll actually be the exact weight my driver's license says I am. I remember looking at that number these last few years thinking there was no way I could ever get that low again. How nice it will be to go in to renew my license and tell them not to change my recorded weight. Awesome!
Anyhow, I'm glad I made it. I'm thrilled it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I can't believe I have been meat free for two whole months (with the exception of one frozen pizza). It's nice to feel better in my own skin. Overall, this has been a very positive experience. I am closing my weekly weigh ins for now on the blog since I do consider myself in a healthy weight range now, but I do plan to move forward with my diet by loosing another five pounds. Hopefully I can get that done by my birthday. What's crazy is that if I do loose another 5 pounds I'll actually be the exact weight my driver's license says I am. I remember looking at that number these last few years thinking there was no way I could ever get that low again. How nice it will be to go in to renew my license and tell them not to change my recorded weight. Awesome!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Parents as Teachers visit
Our Parents as Teachers lady came to visit and screen the kids today. Kadyn, as I suspected, tested way above level. She was testing at a 4,5, and 6 year level on most everything. After the lady got done, she said and I quote, "Just speaking under the table, she's not normal. I have 5 year olds that can't tell me this stuff." Of course it's hard to not just beam with pride when you hear this as a Mama, but there are also concerns with having an exceptional child. I worry that she won't be challenged enough in school, or that she won't get any one on one with teachers because the challenged kids will get most of the attention. I suppose that's why I have an important roll in making sure she gets the stimulation she needs at home. I have struggled with the idea of Kadyn being gifted because I've never been really sure if she is gifted, or just is simply the product of a mother who takes a lot of time to teach her these things. However, after working with other children her age I am now realizing she is very bright indeed, although I won't really know if it is gifted until she gets older. What takes other children a long time to comprehend, takes Kadyn only a short while.
I'm always having to think of new and creative ideas to move her to the next level and keep her stimulated. I'm so proud of her and hope she realizes how blessed she is that she gets things so easily. I was never like that as a child. I really really hope this does not make her lazy. Sometimes when children get things easily they never learn how to work really hard towards something.
Brennan tested at level for everything except speech. This was basically what I was suspecting her results of the screening would be. She only says three words Dada, Uh oh, and grrrr. She barely babbles at all. Her receptve language is very good. She can point to many body parts and identify many things in her picture book through the use of her pointer finger. She also can follow simple commands and she knows and uses four baby signs. Her lack of trying to speak though does concern me. Brennan seems to be plagued with ear infection after ear infection and both the parent educator and I feel this may have something to do with it. As she put it, we have to repeat things twice as much for Brennan to really cement it in her brain because she hears words two different ways, with an infection and without and infection.
When she did the hearing test she noticed Brennan failed to turn her head in the direction of sound with her right ear. This is the ear she had an infection in two weeks ago, and I kind of suspect she may still have. She has a well visit coming up soon, I'm a little nervous about what they will find with her ears. I think we are headed quickly on a path towards tubes. She has had 4 ear infections so far in less than a year. I'm so ready for my baby to get better and stay better. She has been plagued yet again with another cold which is why I am suspecting another infection. This is our third cold since January. She almost always gets an infection with every cold.
Anyhoo...I love those visits. It's good to hear someone say your kid is right on target, or if you're lucky, ahead of the game. I will admit, Kadyn did fail only one part of the test. Apparently she's a little challenged in the physcial department when it comes to catching a small bean bag. That may just be because we don't do a lot of that kind of play around here. I suppose I should get on top of that. One thing is for sure, I in no way feel guilty for not placing her in preschool. I get irritated with people that ask me if shes in preschool and then act as though I'm doing her a disservice by not placing her in one. She knows more than most preschoolers and she is very well socialized. I don' t know how many times she comes out of sunday school proclaiming she has a "new best friend." Any time I take her to a park she befriends the closest kid within 5 minutes. I know my kid and I know what my kid does and doesn't need. I don't like being made to feel guilty because I didn't put her in preschool. OK I'll get off of my soap box now. It's late and I need to get to bed. I just wanted to share because I'm proud of my little ladies.
I'm always having to think of new and creative ideas to move her to the next level and keep her stimulated. I'm so proud of her and hope she realizes how blessed she is that she gets things so easily. I was never like that as a child. I really really hope this does not make her lazy. Sometimes when children get things easily they never learn how to work really hard towards something.
Brennan tested at level for everything except speech. This was basically what I was suspecting her results of the screening would be. She only says three words Dada, Uh oh, and grrrr. She barely babbles at all. Her receptve language is very good. She can point to many body parts and identify many things in her picture book through the use of her pointer finger. She also can follow simple commands and she knows and uses four baby signs. Her lack of trying to speak though does concern me. Brennan seems to be plagued with ear infection after ear infection and both the parent educator and I feel this may have something to do with it. As she put it, we have to repeat things twice as much for Brennan to really cement it in her brain because she hears words two different ways, with an infection and without and infection.
When she did the hearing test she noticed Brennan failed to turn her head in the direction of sound with her right ear. This is the ear she had an infection in two weeks ago, and I kind of suspect she may still have. She has a well visit coming up soon, I'm a little nervous about what they will find with her ears. I think we are headed quickly on a path towards tubes. She has had 4 ear infections so far in less than a year. I'm so ready for my baby to get better and stay better. She has been plagued yet again with another cold which is why I am suspecting another infection. This is our third cold since January. She almost always gets an infection with every cold.
Anyhoo...I love those visits. It's good to hear someone say your kid is right on target, or if you're lucky, ahead of the game. I will admit, Kadyn did fail only one part of the test. Apparently she's a little challenged in the physcial department when it comes to catching a small bean bag. That may just be because we don't do a lot of that kind of play around here. I suppose I should get on top of that. One thing is for sure, I in no way feel guilty for not placing her in preschool. I get irritated with people that ask me if shes in preschool and then act as though I'm doing her a disservice by not placing her in one. She knows more than most preschoolers and she is very well socialized. I don' t know how many times she comes out of sunday school proclaiming she has a "new best friend." Any time I take her to a park she befriends the closest kid within 5 minutes. I know my kid and I know what my kid does and doesn't need. I don't like being made to feel guilty because I didn't put her in preschool. OK I'll get off of my soap box now. It's late and I need to get to bed. I just wanted to share because I'm proud of my little ladies.
Starting a new day
Today I will be starting a new little one. We are all excited because it will be the first girl I have ever babysat. She is younger than I had hoped to find. She is 7 months old. However, Kadyn and the other little boy I babysit are 9 months apart in age and play together beautifully. I figure in time, it will be the same case for Brennan and this little one. It sounds like her schedule is very close to Brennan's schedule which will make things 10 times easier for me. Her mother performs in 3 different shows down here. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it almost made me feel as though I was babysitting a famous person's kid. Laugh if you must:)
Anyhow, she won't be here for the full 10 hours each day, but long enough to be considered full time. We are all excited to add a little more estrogen to the house. I wonder how Brennan will react. I guess we'll find out in an hour and a half from now.
I am still trying to fill 2 more spots. The calls for these openings have been far and few in between. I have posted an ad in Craig's list. I have put up a sign at the entrance to our subdivision. I have notified the church of the openings in case anyone asks for a referral, and I will be sending flyers to all the moms of the PM MOPS group. Jeff was kind enough to set up a website for me. I felt this was a must to up the level of professionalism, and it would help me advertise a little bit better. If you are curious you can check it out at www.tinytoes.us. He did a fantastic job, although he thinks his work is amateur. I think it's perfect! We still have to add two testimonials, but after that it will be complete. I think I have one more sign to post, and then we can just sit back and wait to see what God brings our way.
Last week was a trying week. I really REALLY needed to fill the the little guy's spot who left us this week. I barely got any calls. I was clinging to prayer and scriptures about God's provision and purpose in my life. I commited one to memory. I tried to lay it in his hands and know he would provide somehow and quit worrying. It was hard. Just when it seemed we were going to start this week minus one child, I got a call from the 7 month old's mother. We met Sunday night and plans were made to start today. My Mom has always commented how God likes to do things last minute. I suppose this is to force us to cling to him and commune with him. I suppose he got exactly what he wanted because that's exactly what he did and.....he came through for me like he always does time and time again.
So...here's to a new start with a new child. Thank you sweet Jesus for new beginnings and provisions. I pray that we will a blessing to her and her family as I know they will be to us as well.
Anyhow, she won't be here for the full 10 hours each day, but long enough to be considered full time. We are all excited to add a little more estrogen to the house. I wonder how Brennan will react. I guess we'll find out in an hour and a half from now.
I am still trying to fill 2 more spots. The calls for these openings have been far and few in between. I have posted an ad in Craig's list. I have put up a sign at the entrance to our subdivision. I have notified the church of the openings in case anyone asks for a referral, and I will be sending flyers to all the moms of the PM MOPS group. Jeff was kind enough to set up a website for me. I felt this was a must to up the level of professionalism, and it would help me advertise a little bit better. If you are curious you can check it out at www.tinytoes.us. He did a fantastic job, although he thinks his work is amateur. I think it's perfect! We still have to add two testimonials, but after that it will be complete. I think I have one more sign to post, and then we can just sit back and wait to see what God brings our way.
Last week was a trying week. I really REALLY needed to fill the the little guy's spot who left us this week. I barely got any calls. I was clinging to prayer and scriptures about God's provision and purpose in my life. I commited one to memory. I tried to lay it in his hands and know he would provide somehow and quit worrying. It was hard. Just when it seemed we were going to start this week minus one child, I got a call from the 7 month old's mother. We met Sunday night and plans were made to start today. My Mom has always commented how God likes to do things last minute. I suppose this is to force us to cling to him and commune with him. I suppose he got exactly what he wanted because that's exactly what he did and.....he came through for me like he always does time and time again.
So...here's to a new start with a new child. Thank you sweet Jesus for new beginnings and provisions. I pray that we will a blessing to her and her family as I know they will be to us as well.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Week 9 weigh in
Well I was a little surprised when I stepped on the scale this morning. I'm down another 3 pounds. My second biggest weight loss in one week to date since I started. I guess last week's disappointing weigh in motivated me quite a bit, although last Saturday I cheated....a lot. The girl's and I went to Chucky Cheese and I ordered a small veggie pizza. They are soooo expensive, but their pizza is sooooo good. I really didn't want to carry a take home box, my diaper bag, and Brennan back to the van and then let it sit in the van for who knows how long until we were done with our errands and on our way back to Branson. I certainly couldn't bring myself to just leave leftover pizza at Chucky Cheese, especially pizza that tasted that good and was so expensive. That left me with only one option, eat everything the girls didn't eat. Kadyn had two pieces, Brennan had one piece, I (gulp) had the rest. At least they were small pieces. Anyhow, I digress.
So needless to say, I was very happy to see it didn't thwart my efforts to loose this week. This leaves me with only .5 pounds to go until I reach my goal. Seeing as how my deadline to reach my goal was supposed to be May 13th, it seems I have plenty of time to make a new goal and reach it. So...today I want to declare that I will loose yet another 5.5 pounds. This would put me at my college weight (my early college days anyhow). I felt good during that time, I was confident in my own skin. I don't see a need to go beyond that unless my body just decides to do that on it's own. I certainly don't want to look wafe like, but I figure as long as I'm not walking around hungry all day, I'm still healthy. It'd be nice to be a little lower so that if I do have a splurge I have some room to wiggle. I really want to have a big ol' Andes frozen custard but I don't want to screw up all my efforts this close to my goal.
Although I'm not working out, I can tell my endurance on everyday things has gone way up. Not carrying around all that extra weight really does make a difference in energy levels. I even feel lighter on my feet. It's amazing how differently I feel with only having lost 16.5 pounds. This may not feel like a lot to some people, but it certainly feels like a lot to me judging how differently I feel. I have gotten sick about 3 times since I started my diet. Two of those times the sickness was very mild. I kept thinking I would get worse but it just stayed mild and then left. I often wonder if my new vegetarian diet has made an impact on how well my body reacts to being sick.
I have two pairs of stretchy jeans. I LOVE stretchy jeans, and dislike them somewhat too. They are so comfy. I put them on and they are snug. By the end of the day they are loosened up quite a bit which requires me to put on a belt. Lately, I've had to cinch up my belt so much that the fabric is starting to bunch up and look silly. I've had to roll up the bottoms and yank them up all day long. It's almost time to go down a size. I'm so thankful I didn't throw away my skinny jeans. I almost did after Brennan was born. I remember holding them up thinking I'd never be that skinny again. I told myself I wasn't allowed to even try them on until I reach my goal. Here's hoping I get to try them on next week.
So needless to say, I was very happy to see it didn't thwart my efforts to loose this week. This leaves me with only .5 pounds to go until I reach my goal. Seeing as how my deadline to reach my goal was supposed to be May 13th, it seems I have plenty of time to make a new goal and reach it. So...today I want to declare that I will loose yet another 5.5 pounds. This would put me at my college weight (my early college days anyhow). I felt good during that time, I was confident in my own skin. I don't see a need to go beyond that unless my body just decides to do that on it's own. I certainly don't want to look wafe like, but I figure as long as I'm not walking around hungry all day, I'm still healthy. It'd be nice to be a little lower so that if I do have a splurge I have some room to wiggle. I really want to have a big ol' Andes frozen custard but I don't want to screw up all my efforts this close to my goal.
Although I'm not working out, I can tell my endurance on everyday things has gone way up. Not carrying around all that extra weight really does make a difference in energy levels. I even feel lighter on my feet. It's amazing how differently I feel with only having lost 16.5 pounds. This may not feel like a lot to some people, but it certainly feels like a lot to me judging how differently I feel. I have gotten sick about 3 times since I started my diet. Two of those times the sickness was very mild. I kept thinking I would get worse but it just stayed mild and then left. I often wonder if my new vegetarian diet has made an impact on how well my body reacts to being sick.
I have two pairs of stretchy jeans. I LOVE stretchy jeans, and dislike them somewhat too. They are so comfy. I put them on and they are snug. By the end of the day they are loosened up quite a bit which requires me to put on a belt. Lately, I've had to cinch up my belt so much that the fabric is starting to bunch up and look silly. I've had to roll up the bottoms and yank them up all day long. It's almost time to go down a size. I'm so thankful I didn't throw away my skinny jeans. I almost did after Brennan was born. I remember holding them up thinking I'd never be that skinny again. I told myself I wasn't allowed to even try them on until I reach my goal. Here's hoping I get to try them on next week.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The many faces of Brennan
This video cracks me up because of the faces Brennan makes. She has this look of just sheer dislike that can come in a split second. You'll see it. Like I've said before, she's an emotional child. Click the pic to see the video.
On a different note. I'm excited that Brennan has moved on from trying to chew the crayons to actually coloring with them. She really does enjoy it now. I was impressed with this particular coloring session. It's elementary for sure, but it's a Picasso to me. Our Parents as Teachers lady says to get them doing this kind of stuff very early because they need to build the muscles in their hands up for school. I have always done this stuff from a very early age with my children (mostly because I think it's fun) so I didn't really understand this until I recently saw 3 year old child complain that his hand hurt after only holding the crayon for a minute.
Brennan has also started taking a big interest in books. I have always tried to read to her, but her interest was limited. She has finally found a love for reading and now sifts through our shelves of books, picks one up, tosses it on my lap, turns around and backs her booty up to my lap, plops down and expects me to read right that second. I am so glad she finally sees a love for reading.
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On a different note. I'm excited that Brennan has moved on from trying to chew the crayons to actually coloring with them. She really does enjoy it now. I was impressed with this particular coloring session. It's elementary for sure, but it's a Picasso to me. Our Parents as Teachers lady says to get them doing this kind of stuff very early because they need to build the muscles in their hands up for school. I have always done this stuff from a very early age with my children (mostly because I think it's fun) so I didn't really understand this until I recently saw 3 year old child complain that his hand hurt after only holding the crayon for a minute.
Brennan has also started taking a big interest in books. I have always tried to read to her, but her interest was limited. She has finally found a love for reading and now sifts through our shelves of books, picks one up, tosses it on my lap, turns around and backs her booty up to my lap, plops down and expects me to read right that second. I am so glad she finally sees a love for reading.
Growing up; it started with a spoon.
This morning it dawned on me just how much Kadyn has grown up. She can dress herself, brush her own teeth, go to the bathroom without assistance, sit at the table without a booster chair, I rarely have to cut up her food and just this week she has started bath herself completely without my help. It is such a freeing feeling knowing that I am raising a child who is so self sufficient. I remember many times having to hold myself back from helping her knowing that at some point she had to learn how to do these things. It's hard to hold back help because you know you could do these things ten times faster yourself. I'm very proud of Kadyn and the young lady she is becoming. It's all bittersweet.
Now I begin this whole process again with Brennan. It starts with learning how to use a spoon. I catch myself wanting to just do it for her, but then I remind myself of how good of a feeling it is to see my child be able to do things for themselves. It's this weird feeling of knowing that your child will be OK without you. It makes it easier to leave them with other people should you ever want to get out once in awhile. Yes, it is a long, patience testing process, but it is all worth it.
I really love this age Kadyn is in. She has become more mature and we can actually have conversations that go beyond peekaboo or Sesame street. It is the budding relationship of what I hope will one day become friends as she grows into a young adult. I am really excited about the years to come with my girls as they age. I will miss the little baby stage of course: the cute things they say, the bow legged little body wobbling around the house, the innocence of taking everything I say literally, the snuggling in the rocking chair together for naps or when they are sick. However, what I'm about to gain in the future with my children will make saying goodbye to those times all worth it.
I've said this before but I hope to be able to do this all one more time, but not for the reasons one might think. I don't really enjoy pregnancy all that much. Raising an infant and a toddler can be exhausting and hair raising. However, the thought of having one more person to be in our family unit, one more person to share laughter with, hugs, kisses, tears. One more person to create memories with. One more person to go through my journey with. One more person to guide and nurture. Then getting to see what they become... that all makes the idea of one more so inviting.
We shall see. It's in God's hands.
Now I begin this whole process again with Brennan. It starts with learning how to use a spoon. I catch myself wanting to just do it for her, but then I remind myself of how good of a feeling it is to see my child be able to do things for themselves. It's this weird feeling of knowing that your child will be OK without you. It makes it easier to leave them with other people should you ever want to get out once in awhile. Yes, it is a long, patience testing process, but it is all worth it.
I really love this age Kadyn is in. She has become more mature and we can actually have conversations that go beyond peekaboo or Sesame street. It is the budding relationship of what I hope will one day become friends as she grows into a young adult. I am really excited about the years to come with my girls as they age. I will miss the little baby stage of course: the cute things they say, the bow legged little body wobbling around the house, the innocence of taking everything I say literally, the snuggling in the rocking chair together for naps or when they are sick. However, what I'm about to gain in the future with my children will make saying goodbye to those times all worth it.
I've said this before but I hope to be able to do this all one more time, but not for the reasons one might think. I don't really enjoy pregnancy all that much. Raising an infant and a toddler can be exhausting and hair raising. However, the thought of having one more person to be in our family unit, one more person to share laughter with, hugs, kisses, tears. One more person to create memories with. One more person to go through my journey with. One more person to guide and nurture. Then getting to see what they become... that all makes the idea of one more so inviting.
We shall see. It's in God's hands.
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