I feel kind of like I'm in a relatively new stage of my life. With two kids in school and a toddler (who STILL stubbornly refuses to toddle) at home, my life is very different than it was when I had a kindergartner and a toddler at home, or a second grader, a preschooler still at home and an infant... I was more home based then. I didn't volunteer much with the school, I was a stay at home mom with very small children. Especially because for all of Sam's life, I've had an extra kid or two here with him, because I was babysitting for Jordyn and Harrison. My days revolved around naptime.
But now - I've both my big kids out of the house during the day. And Marc is still home during the days, so I've also got someone here all day who loves my baby as much as I do. Added bonus is that Julianna adores her daddy, so I've been feeling very ... free. I've volunteered for a LOT at the school, because I've got three kids at the elementary school, Jessie, Sam and my stepdaughter Sarah. Which means, if I volunteer for one class, I feel obligated to volunteer for all three of them.
Today, I had two library classes to cover. I left for the first one and came back about an hour later. When I left, Julianna was sitting on the floor and she started to fuss as I left, but I knew she was fine. She's a daddy's girl, it was before her nap time, and I knew she'd be fine. I didn't worry about it. With Jessie and especially with Sam, I was always reluctant to leave them. But I really thought Julie would be fine.
When I got home, she was curled up asleep, in just a diaper, up against Marc and under a blanket, and he said that she had cried so hard, she threw up all over herself. I felt... like the worst mother in the world. The fact that she had been that upset broke my heart, and picked her little naked self up and brought her into the bedroom, snuggled her until she drifted back off. The whole rest of the day, every time I left, I dragged her along with me. She came to pick the kids up, to drop off at Brownies, to pick up at Brownies and to drop Sarah off at home.
I had been so cavalier about how easy it is now - because she is such an easy baby. Because she is so relaxed and happy with her daddy and so very social. But she still needs her mama - and yesterday I realized that all over again.
Julianna is such a different kind of baby from the other two. One of the obvious things you shouldn't do, with more than one child, is to compare, and I know that, but do it all the time. Julie is just so much more social than either of the other two. Especially Sam, but even Jessie was relatively timid with strangers. We were waiting at pick up at the Brownies yesterday, and Julie started a conversation, with hand gestures and grunts, with a total stranger. She showed her the socks on her feet, and then pointed to her shirt and then her pants. Waited after each one until the woman commented appreciatively, and then moved onto the next item. She kissed Marc's friend Mike before going to bed last night. It was only last year that I could get Sam to talk to Mike when he was over.
Showing posts with label Julie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie. Show all posts
Friday, October 7, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
October Update
Starting from the top... Jessica is doing really well in third grade. She really likes her teacher and her papers coming home have been consistently in the 90-100 range. I'm really pleased by this - and have now decided to consider second grade just an aberration. I think the combination of it not being a great fit, personality wise, between her and the teacher, plus the fact that she took a little longer than most to stop reversing and transposing numbers was what led to her difficulties there. She seems happier socially as well, which always makes things easier. She's such a big girl - she's so much help sometimes. The past two days, I was running the day care room at the synagogue with my mother, and when Jess was in there, it was like having another adult in there to help with the kids... She still fights with her brother pretty consistently - but even that seems to be getting better at times...
Sam is doing great at school. Just freaking awesome. The first week was utter hell, but after that, things gradually started to improve. He's so much better about going in the mornings now, getting out of the van on his own. He's entering an easy stage, I think. He's just a calm, relaxed, easy kind of boy. Although, with the exception of the massive separation anxiety, he's always been a breeze.
Julianna Ruth is STILL not walking. Just not doing it. She can balance fine, standing up by herself, but at this point, I think it's a mental thing, she's so used cruising along stuff that she won't walk independently. But she's so much fun, all singing and charm. She's getting so big in so many ways - but still so little.
Sam is doing great at school. Just freaking awesome. The first week was utter hell, but after that, things gradually started to improve. He's so much better about going in the mornings now, getting out of the van on his own. He's entering an easy stage, I think. He's just a calm, relaxed, easy kind of boy. Although, with the exception of the massive separation anxiety, he's always been a breeze.
Julianna Ruth is STILL not walking. Just not doing it. She can balance fine, standing up by herself, but at this point, I think it's a mental thing, she's so used cruising along stuff that she won't walk independently. But she's so much fun, all singing and charm. She's getting so big in so many ways - but still so little.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Checking in
All is delightful in my little world. Miss Jessie and Sam danced off to Hebrew School happily enough. There's a famous quote by some rabbi that Marc quotes all the time, something about if you want a child to love Torah, give them candy. Which is a good theory - and I'm happy to report that it works wonderfully well. The Education Director dispenses Israeli bubble gum - and you'd think it was solid gold from the way my children react. Sam literally didn't hesitate, he got dressed and bopped out the door, throwing a kiss back at me.
School is going so much better for him - he's MUCH better in the mornings, getting out of the van on his own. He never seems delighted to go, but he doesn't panic anymore either. I've even gone into his classroom and been able to leave without him crying. He still won't sit on the carpet with the class, strangely enough, but his teacher has a little chair set up right next to the carpet and he's happy as can be to sit there.
Jessie took Rebecca Rubin to Hebrew today. She actually brought her to school yesterday too - I'm REALLY glad that we bought the doll for her. She wanted it so desperately a couple of years ago, but they're SO expensive. We made her earn money, farming her out to grandparents and other family members to polish furniture or rake leaves, so that she'd pay for at least part of it. It was partly that it was so expensive, but I'd like think even if we were independently wealthy, we still would have do it this way. I wanted to make sure that she'd really appreciate her, and it definitely worked - she loves that doll. But I was shocked the other day when I went into her classroom for lunch, because almost all of the little girls had brought in their American Girl dolls and many of them had more than one. One kid had SIX. And there were several girls that had four of them. These dolls literally cost close to one hundred dollars. That's so much money - on a doll. Granted, Jessica does truly cherish the doll, and she's well made and pretty - but still. I can't imagine a parent actually spending that much money on dolls. Six American Girl dolls, plus all the clothing, furniture, books, hair care accessories (because if you're paying in excess of six hundred dollars on just the dolls, why not get all the other crap that goes along with it?). We're talking easily a month's rent on just toys for one child. Baffling... but also - really glad that my daughter has at least one doll so she can play with the other kids - and also glad that we were smart enough about it to make her really value the thing.
Speaking of valuing dolls - Julianna also adores Rebecca. To be fair, she also adores the six other baby dolls that she has managed to steal from her older sister. Jessie, at this point, can really only claim to have our beloved Poopado (her baby doll that she loved to death) and Rebecca as "her" dolls. Because Julianna has taken over the rest of them, and screams unmercifully if Jess has the audacity to try and play with one.
School is going so much better for him - he's MUCH better in the mornings, getting out of the van on his own. He never seems delighted to go, but he doesn't panic anymore either. I've even gone into his classroom and been able to leave without him crying. He still won't sit on the carpet with the class, strangely enough, but his teacher has a little chair set up right next to the carpet and he's happy as can be to sit there.
Jessie took Rebecca Rubin to Hebrew today. She actually brought her to school yesterday too - I'm REALLY glad that we bought the doll for her. She wanted it so desperately a couple of years ago, but they're SO expensive. We made her earn money, farming her out to grandparents and other family members to polish furniture or rake leaves, so that she'd pay for at least part of it. It was partly that it was so expensive, but I'd like think even if we were independently wealthy, we still would have do it this way. I wanted to make sure that she'd really appreciate her, and it definitely worked - she loves that doll. But I was shocked the other day when I went into her classroom for lunch, because almost all of the little girls had brought in their American Girl dolls and many of them had more than one. One kid had SIX. And there were several girls that had four of them. These dolls literally cost close to one hundred dollars. That's so much money - on a doll. Granted, Jessica does truly cherish the doll, and she's well made and pretty - but still. I can't imagine a parent actually spending that much money on dolls. Six American Girl dolls, plus all the clothing, furniture, books, hair care accessories (because if you're paying in excess of six hundred dollars on just the dolls, why not get all the other crap that goes along with it?). We're talking easily a month's rent on just toys for one child. Baffling... but also - really glad that my daughter has at least one doll so she can play with the other kids - and also glad that we were smart enough about it to make her really value the thing.
Speaking of valuing dolls - Julianna also adores Rebecca. To be fair, she also adores the six other baby dolls that she has managed to steal from her older sister. Jessie, at this point, can really only claim to have our beloved Poopado (her baby doll that she loved to death) and Rebecca as "her" dolls. Because Julianna has taken over the rest of them, and screams unmercifully if Jess has the audacity to try and play with one.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Unloading the dishwasher
I'm somewhat of a laissez-faire sort of mother. If it doesn't hurt anyone or anything, I'm probably going to let it slide, at least for a while. This is somewhat challenging for my beloved husband, who's a little more... particular than I am. Case in point is the toilet paper. At some point in every child's life, they discover how much freaking fun it is to unroll a roll of toilet paper. This stage doesn't last long, and I sort of accept it like I do spitting up. I don't enjoy it - but it's a normal stage they go thru, and the best you can do is just soldier thru and hope it ends soon. Marc hates it - he keeps trying to take the toilet paper and put it up where she can't reach it, on top of the toilet, the sink... in a variety of places and it inevitably ends up getting knocked into the potty, dramatic sigh. I just roll it back up and resign myself to wrinkled toilet paper.
Right now - Julianna loves plastic dishes. Cups, plates, bowls, sippie cups - you name it, she adores it. I've got a cabinet where I specifically keep stuff the kids can't break. As luck would have it, it's perfectly positioned for her to go thru it. She also has a thing about hiding stuff, which is somewhat frustrating, as it takes me a while to realize that I don't ever seem to have any clean bowls, and then hunt them down and find them in the bottom drawer of the stove, along with a set of keys and Jessie's necklace.
But I digress... she's also really, really into unloading the dishwasher. To be fair, she's also more than willing to load, but she's even worse than I am at stacking things neatly (and I'm terrible at it, just ask Marc :-). But I let her unload the dishwasher all the time. It makes her so happy, she gravely takes each plastic item out and stacks them up in some sort of system that makes sense to her. And it entertains her for at least twenty minutes. Twenty whole minutes when I can vacuum or fold laundry, or even pee by myself. It's well worth it. At least that what I tell Marc when he comes home and is perplexed as to why ALL of the plastic-ware is strewn gleefully all over the kitchen floor :-)
Right now - Julianna loves plastic dishes. Cups, plates, bowls, sippie cups - you name it, she adores it. I've got a cabinet where I specifically keep stuff the kids can't break. As luck would have it, it's perfectly positioned for her to go thru it. She also has a thing about hiding stuff, which is somewhat frustrating, as it takes me a while to realize that I don't ever seem to have any clean bowls, and then hunt them down and find them in the bottom drawer of the stove, along with a set of keys and Jessie's necklace.
But I digress... she's also really, really into unloading the dishwasher. To be fair, she's also more than willing to load, but she's even worse than I am at stacking things neatly (and I'm terrible at it, just ask Marc :-). But I let her unload the dishwasher all the time. It makes her so happy, she gravely takes each plastic item out and stacks them up in some sort of system that makes sense to her. And it entertains her for at least twenty minutes. Twenty whole minutes when I can vacuum or fold laundry, or even pee by myself. It's well worth it. At least that what I tell Marc when he comes home and is perplexed as to why ALL of the plastic-ware is strewn gleefully all over the kitchen floor :-)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
I do have other children....
I know Sam's been monopolizing my blogging world lately - and I'm happy to report that today was the best day so far. No tears at all until we got into the classroom, and even then he was just a little misty, and his teacher immediately sat down and started engaging him in conversation. He was so brave... he said "Goodbye Mama" just like a big boy. Granted, he was talking in that sad, sad little voice, and it broke my heart just a little that he was being so grown up and big about it...
In other news - Jessie is loving third grade. Really. She didn't like second grade, and I'm very happy that this year, she seems to have really clicked with her teacher and feels a lot more secure at school. She's been bopping off happily enough to school and doing homework with a minimum of nagging.
Just to go back to Sam for a minute :-), we've also really succeeded in adapting their sleep schedule. Sam has always been such a solid sleeper, a good 11-12 hours every night, and now that he's getting up earlier, he goes to bed easily and early - which means that Jessie is going to bed easier as well. She's even getting to stay up later than he does, which delights her.
Julianna isn't walking yet - and I'm beginning to wonder if she'll just crawl her way into kindergarten. She's missing the kids during the day, but overall, seems to be adjusting to being the only one at home very well. She's teething again - and the poor kid is just miserable with it. Runny nose and much sadness - but in between times, she's still so delightful and happy. She's just a happy kid. Very into board books and blocks and baby dolls (I don't intentionally limit her to B toys, it just works out that way).
In other news - Jessie is loving third grade. Really. She didn't like second grade, and I'm very happy that this year, she seems to have really clicked with her teacher and feels a lot more secure at school. She's been bopping off happily enough to school and doing homework with a minimum of nagging.
Just to go back to Sam for a minute :-), we've also really succeeded in adapting their sleep schedule. Sam has always been such a solid sleeper, a good 11-12 hours every night, and now that he's getting up earlier, he goes to bed easily and early - which means that Jessie is going to bed easier as well. She's even getting to stay up later than he does, which delights her.
Julianna isn't walking yet - and I'm beginning to wonder if she'll just crawl her way into kindergarten. She's missing the kids during the day, but overall, seems to be adjusting to being the only one at home very well. She's teething again - and the poor kid is just miserable with it. Runny nose and much sadness - but in between times, she's still so delightful and happy. She's just a happy kid. Very into board books and blocks and baby dolls (I don't intentionally limit her to B toys, it just works out that way).
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Bags, D&D, and can you have PMS when you're eight?
Julianna loves bags. Lunch bags, backpacks, little girl pocketbooks, you name it, she'll crawl (yes, she's still not walking) around the house with it. We did the back to school shopping and she's delighted by Jessie's new multicolored lunchbox and thrilled to death with Sam's Super Mario Brothers lunchbox. She's fascinated with Marc's big backpack full of D&D books and one of her favorite activities has always been going thru my pocketbook.
I think I'm finally getting better. Day 2 with no Sudafed.
Sam is playing little kid Dungeons and Dragons in the dining room with Marc and the two teenagers from across the street. I'm 99% sure he has no idea what he's doing, but he's holy moly into it. As is Marc. I got a whole geek fest going on in there. I made them cupcakes.
Jessica Mary - my precious little angel love bug, she's been in the throes of something unpleasant as of late. Call it hormones, call it crappy attitude, call it end of summer misery and back to school anxiety. I've called it just about everything, and have yet to come up with a solution yet. She's weepy and miserable and mean and nasty - interspersed with these glimmers of angelic behavior. I'm struggling with how to best deal with her behavior - and reminding myself that it doesn't actually get any easier as your kids grow up, it just gets more complicated.
I think I'm finally getting better. Day 2 with no Sudafed.
Sam is playing little kid Dungeons and Dragons in the dining room with Marc and the two teenagers from across the street. I'm 99% sure he has no idea what he's doing, but he's holy moly into it. As is Marc. I got a whole geek fest going on in there. I made them cupcakes.
Jessica Mary - my precious little angel love bug, she's been in the throes of something unpleasant as of late. Call it hormones, call it crappy attitude, call it end of summer misery and back to school anxiety. I've called it just about everything, and have yet to come up with a solution yet. She's weepy and miserable and mean and nasty - interspersed with these glimmers of angelic behavior. I'm struggling with how to best deal with her behavior - and reminding myself that it doesn't actually get any easier as your kids grow up, it just gets more complicated.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
We have a bit of a problem
In an effort to share parenting duties, Marc has, from the very beginning, assumed command of feeding Julianna solids. And since he wasn't much of one for baby food, she started on regular food pretty early on. The only snag that is that now, she really only eats consistently when Daddy feeds it to her. Case in point - I put her in her high chair, give her food I know damn well she loves, and she'll refuse to eat it. I'm not clear how this will resolve itself - will she be seventeen, still waiting for Daddy to preapprove all food, cut it and put it on a fork for her? Probably not - I'm assuming that eventually she'll start eating the food I give her, but sometimes I wonder....
I'm healthy -mostly
We've all been sick, to one degree or another, since last week. First Marc and Sam got the cold, then I did, and Jessie still seems to have it. I feel so much better than I did the past two days, even though I'm not all the way, I'm close enough that I'm cheerful about it. No slamming migraine, no sore throat - I can handle a little chest congestion and stuffy nose. That's nothing compared to how crappy I was feeling.
In other news... all is delightful in my world. My landlord has randomly decided to remain in FL and would like us to stay here for the foreseeable future (guaranteeing thru the school year) so we've suspended the search for housing and I'm very pleased with that.
We're starting to gear up for school - Jessie starts on 8/31 and Sam starts the following Tuesday, after Labor Day. Jessie is filled with all the first day of school anxieties, she's convinced that all of her friends will be in other classes, but I think she's mostly excited about starting back up. And Sam is actually almost kind of enthusiastic about it. He seems to be at the very least, resigned to the idea of attending school, and I take that as a major improvement.
Miss Julianna is still a crawling girl, with nary a step taken. She just has absolutely no interest in walking and seems honestly perplexed with people telling her that she should be walking. She's a champion crawler - and I'm thinking she may in fact be crawling when she starts kindergarten. She's fast and efficient, she crawls slowly sometimes, super cheerfully (with an appealing little head bob that's adorable) and has the super fast crawl. She's chattering more and more, and standing up and leading herself along furniture. I don't worry that there's something wrong with her, because she can stand up, she's just a crawling girl still.
Off to the Ecotarium today :-)
In other news... all is delightful in my world. My landlord has randomly decided to remain in FL and would like us to stay here for the foreseeable future (guaranteeing thru the school year) so we've suspended the search for housing and I'm very pleased with that.
We're starting to gear up for school - Jessie starts on 8/31 and Sam starts the following Tuesday, after Labor Day. Jessie is filled with all the first day of school anxieties, she's convinced that all of her friends will be in other classes, but I think she's mostly excited about starting back up. And Sam is actually almost kind of enthusiastic about it. He seems to be at the very least, resigned to the idea of attending school, and I take that as a major improvement.
Miss Julianna is still a crawling girl, with nary a step taken. She just has absolutely no interest in walking and seems honestly perplexed with people telling her that she should be walking. She's a champion crawler - and I'm thinking she may in fact be crawling when she starts kindergarten. She's fast and efficient, she crawls slowly sometimes, super cheerfully (with an appealing little head bob that's adorable) and has the super fast crawl. She's chattering more and more, and standing up and leading herself along furniture. I don't worry that there's something wrong with her, because she can stand up, she's just a crawling girl still.
Off to the Ecotarium today :-)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Different kids, different ages, different needs
I planned on having all of my kids. Which doesn't make me better than anyone else, merely points out that the spacing between them was deliberate and well thought out. And overall, I like the three to four year gap. It gives each child a chance to really be a baby, by the time the next one was born, the kid was really transitioned well into the preschooler stage. And the nice thing now is that I have three very different kids, at very different stages in their lives.
Jessica Mary is eight years old, and about to enter third grade. She's in the throes of peer pressure, but not in the scary peer mode. She worries about not having any friends, not about her friends pressuring her to drink or have sex. Not that it's not hard, I don't mean to minimize it, but it's not scary for me yet. She's pulling away from me a little, watching television shows that are a little more grown up, and wouldn't be caught dead watching Dora. I think, for Jessica, because she and I are so very close, and so linked in so many ways, the separation between us is challenging. For both of us, really, but more so for her, I think. She's still my little girl in so many ways, still snuggles up to me at night and first thing in the morning, but more and more, I'm seeing her as her own person, dealing with feelings and emotions and challenges that I don't always understand. Which is, in and of itself, scary.
Sam is five, and about to start kindergarten. This is such a huge milestone for any kid, but for Sam, having never attended preschool, I feel like it's so much more of one. After September 4 - a big part of his day, five days a week, is going to be spent with people other than me. And I'll be honest, I'm sad and wistful and so lonely already. It's not any easier to send your second child off than it is to send your first, as much as I wished that it would be. I can't imagine him at school - can't imagine it. And honestly, can't write too much more about it without getting teary eyed - he's been at my side for the past five years, and I can't fathom what I'll do without him during the day.
Oh yeah - that's what I'll do - Miss Julianna Ruth. Julie is very much a Mommy's girl, not that she doesn't adore her daddy (because she definitely does - she's much closer to him than either of the other two were at this age), but she's very, very attached. She's my girl - and she's a part of everything that I do. Even when I'm not with her, I'm always aware that she's missing me. She's on the brink of so much - almost walking, starting to talk. Her world, in so many ways, revolves around me. It's not that I love her more than the other two, and it's not that she loves me more than they do. But right now, she seems to be at the forefront a lot, just by virtue of her age.
Jessie's world is so much more than just me. And Sam's is on the brink of opening up into this huge whole world. And Julie - so much of Julie is still me. I'm thinking today about having three very different children, and how each one requires such a different level of parenting. Jessie is so much more complicated - she doesn't need to be held and coaxed into eating but what she needs is so much more patience and understanding and reassurance. Julie's needs are so much simpler - but easier to meet, she just needs me. I don't even have to do all that much, just my presence is enough for her. Sam is still caught right in the middle - he's not old enough to be a big kid, but so much bigger than a little kid.
Jessica Mary is eight years old, and about to enter third grade. She's in the throes of peer pressure, but not in the scary peer mode. She worries about not having any friends, not about her friends pressuring her to drink or have sex. Not that it's not hard, I don't mean to minimize it, but it's not scary for me yet. She's pulling away from me a little, watching television shows that are a little more grown up, and wouldn't be caught dead watching Dora. I think, for Jessica, because she and I are so very close, and so linked in so many ways, the separation between us is challenging. For both of us, really, but more so for her, I think. She's still my little girl in so many ways, still snuggles up to me at night and first thing in the morning, but more and more, I'm seeing her as her own person, dealing with feelings and emotions and challenges that I don't always understand. Which is, in and of itself, scary.
Sam is five, and about to start kindergarten. This is such a huge milestone for any kid, but for Sam, having never attended preschool, I feel like it's so much more of one. After September 4 - a big part of his day, five days a week, is going to be spent with people other than me. And I'll be honest, I'm sad and wistful and so lonely already. It's not any easier to send your second child off than it is to send your first, as much as I wished that it would be. I can't imagine him at school - can't imagine it. And honestly, can't write too much more about it without getting teary eyed - he's been at my side for the past five years, and I can't fathom what I'll do without him during the day.
Oh yeah - that's what I'll do - Miss Julianna Ruth. Julie is very much a Mommy's girl, not that she doesn't adore her daddy (because she definitely does - she's much closer to him than either of the other two were at this age), but she's very, very attached. She's my girl - and she's a part of everything that I do. Even when I'm not with her, I'm always aware that she's missing me. She's on the brink of so much - almost walking, starting to talk. Her world, in so many ways, revolves around me. It's not that I love her more than the other two, and it's not that she loves me more than they do. But right now, she seems to be at the forefront a lot, just by virtue of her age.
Jessie's world is so much more than just me. And Sam's is on the brink of opening up into this huge whole world. And Julie - so much of Julie is still me. I'm thinking today about having three very different children, and how each one requires such a different level of parenting. Jessie is so much more complicated - she doesn't need to be held and coaxed into eating but what she needs is so much more patience and understanding and reassurance. Julie's needs are so much simpler - but easier to meet, she just needs me. I don't even have to do all that much, just my presence is enough for her. Sam is still caught right in the middle - he's not old enough to be a big kid, but so much bigger than a little kid.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Stress and frustration
I realize in the overall scheme of things, my problems aren't really that big. Everyone's healthy and happy, and we will have a roof over our heads, regardless. It's just the constant tension over WHICH roof. Do we stay here, do we move? This is what I've been doing, constantly searching for an apartment and agonizing over whether or not I need to look at all. Our landlord, while lovely, is horribly indecisive and I don't deal well with other people's indecision. I actually don't deal well with my own indecision, but someone else's is even harder. Especially because he is such a nice guy, and I don't want to hurt his feelings by screaming "I'm leaving, I don't CARE what you want to do!"
In other news - Julianna is still not walking. Going on fifteen and a half months, and still not a step taken. She is, however, getting actual callouses on the palms of her hands from constantly crawling because she's all over the place. She communicating more and more, and just recently starting standing independently on purpose (as opposed to accidentally). She's such an agreeable baby, very little irritates her, unless you try to take what she's playing with, in which case, she'll bellow furiously.
Samilicious Boy has spent most of the summer in his underwear. He'd be naked, but Julianna is a little too curious, so I insist on at least underwear. It's been a good summer for Sam, and I'm optimistic that he'll adapt well to kindergarten. Truth be told, I'm terrified of him starting school, but pretending that I'm not. He'll be fine, right?
Jessica Mary is fighting summer reading HARD. And finally, I got so irritated with her (bitterly ironic that I have to fight to get my daughter to READ), that I told her that she was cooking dinner all this week, and one of her book reports could be on recipes. She's made chocolate chip cookies, homemade spaghetti sauce and fresh chicken nuggets. I sit at the table (with a book) and am available for questions and gentle reminders (because left to her own devices, she gets distracted easily).
Canobie Lake today - very excited :-)
In other news - Julianna is still not walking. Going on fifteen and a half months, and still not a step taken. She is, however, getting actual callouses on the palms of her hands from constantly crawling because she's all over the place. She communicating more and more, and just recently starting standing independently on purpose (as opposed to accidentally). She's such an agreeable baby, very little irritates her, unless you try to take what she's playing with, in which case, she'll bellow furiously.
Samilicious Boy has spent most of the summer in his underwear. He'd be naked, but Julianna is a little too curious, so I insist on at least underwear. It's been a good summer for Sam, and I'm optimistic that he'll adapt well to kindergarten. Truth be told, I'm terrified of him starting school, but pretending that I'm not. He'll be fine, right?
Jessica Mary is fighting summer reading HARD. And finally, I got so irritated with her (bitterly ironic that I have to fight to get my daughter to READ), that I told her that she was cooking dinner all this week, and one of her book reports could be on recipes. She's made chocolate chip cookies, homemade spaghetti sauce and fresh chicken nuggets. I sit at the table (with a book) and am available for questions and gentle reminders (because left to her own devices, she gets distracted easily).
Canobie Lake today - very excited :-)
Monday, August 1, 2011
first year molars
My tiny Julianna is cutting all four of her first year molars. One is already in, and the other three are just poking thru. What makes this remarkable is not that she's cutting all four at once (how unfair is that??) but that I HAD NO IDEA. What kind of mother has no clue that her child is cutting FOUR molars? This kind, in case you were wondering. I thought she was a little crabby...
In other news - apartment/house hunting is going well. I finally feel like we're making progress, I've seen two places so far, and have appts to see two more later on today. I liked the first one a little, liked the second one more, and am really hopeful about the next two that I'm looking at.
In other news - apartment/house hunting is going well. I finally feel like we're making progress, I've seen two places so far, and have appts to see two more later on today. I liked the first one a little, liked the second one more, and am really hopeful about the next two that I'm looking at.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Moving, moving, moving
Which is an especially apt post title, as I'm thinking about moving and about my baby girl not moving.
First, the move. We still don't know where we're going - and my stress level is not adapting well to this. I'm okay with moving, I'm not thrilled about it, but I can handle it. What I can't handle is not knowing where we're going. So after a week and a half of solid, unending nagging, Marc has managed to get me an appt with the real estate chick and we're going out searching tomorrow morning. I'm bringing Annie with me, as my mother is booked with party planning and an extra pair of eyes will definitely help.
I'm working my way thru de-cluttering again. I declutter all the livelong day, it feels like, and yet am constantly surrounded by crap I'd rather have gotten rid of. Today's big project is the girls' room. I'm blessed with a ridiculous amount of clothes - I buy them clothes (although not a lot) and their grandmothers buy them clothes. I also get a LOT of hand-me-downs, so they've got TONS of clothes. I've already given a bag away to Jordyn, and am working on a bag for Becky's daughter Abby, and I've got one bag already ready to donate to the local Savers. And I'm not even close to done going thru their stuff.
In other news... my Julianna Ruth is still not walking. And she's fifteen months old today. She's a busy crawling little girl, and climbing up and down off the couch. I consulted babycenter, and they contend that the problem is that she either spent too much time with lazy parents sticking her in a stationary walker (we didn't even have one for her) or she's too catered to - having everything handed to her and gets carried everywhere (she's the youngest of three, I don't have the time or capability to cater to and carry her - even if I wanted to). I think she's just very deliberate. She's capable of getting around and getting what she wants crawling, why stress out over walking? I'm, by nature, kind of lazy. I'd rather sit than stand, and rather lay down than sit. She is her mother's daughter, after all.
I'm trying to be all zen and relaxed about it - and Jessica didn't walk consistently until she was closer to 18 months. But she had taken her first steps at 11 months, and Sam was a running boy by the time he was 13 months. Julianna is developing fine in all other respects, sleeping, eating, talking... she's just NOT walking. She's kissing the computer as I'm typing, so she's developing well emotionally well :-)
She's so stinking cute.
First, the move. We still don't know where we're going - and my stress level is not adapting well to this. I'm okay with moving, I'm not thrilled about it, but I can handle it. What I can't handle is not knowing where we're going. So after a week and a half of solid, unending nagging, Marc has managed to get me an appt with the real estate chick and we're going out searching tomorrow morning. I'm bringing Annie with me, as my mother is booked with party planning and an extra pair of eyes will definitely help.
I'm working my way thru de-cluttering again. I declutter all the livelong day, it feels like, and yet am constantly surrounded by crap I'd rather have gotten rid of. Today's big project is the girls' room. I'm blessed with a ridiculous amount of clothes - I buy them clothes (although not a lot) and their grandmothers buy them clothes. I also get a LOT of hand-me-downs, so they've got TONS of clothes. I've already given a bag away to Jordyn, and am working on a bag for Becky's daughter Abby, and I've got one bag already ready to donate to the local Savers. And I'm not even close to done going thru their stuff.
In other news... my Julianna Ruth is still not walking. And she's fifteen months old today. She's a busy crawling little girl, and climbing up and down off the couch. I consulted babycenter, and they contend that the problem is that she either spent too much time with lazy parents sticking her in a stationary walker (we didn't even have one for her) or she's too catered to - having everything handed to her and gets carried everywhere (she's the youngest of three, I don't have the time or capability to cater to and carry her - even if I wanted to). I think she's just very deliberate. She's capable of getting around and getting what she wants crawling, why stress out over walking? I'm, by nature, kind of lazy. I'd rather sit than stand, and rather lay down than sit. She is her mother's daughter, after all.
I'm trying to be all zen and relaxed about it - and Jessica didn't walk consistently until she was closer to 18 months. But she had taken her first steps at 11 months, and Sam was a running boy by the time he was 13 months. Julianna is developing fine in all other respects, sleeping, eating, talking... she's just NOT walking. She's kissing the computer as I'm typing, so she's developing well emotionally well :-)
She's so stinking cute.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wow. So this is what it's like with just one child
I obviously have had just one child before - in fact, for three years and seven months, that's all I had. Then
Samilicious came along and now that Julianna is here, I'm a busy mom of three. One of the things I've been thinking about lately (along with stressing over the upcoming move, fears I'll be living under a bridge down at the park, etc) is that in September, I'll have just my one little girl at home during the day. I spend a lot of time thinking about Sam starting kindergarten, and how he'll adjust and how I'll do without him - but there's the other side of it, which is that I'll have all this time with just my baby girl. She's never had that before, from the beginning, she's shared me with Sam and Jessie.
After Sam was born, I started watching a couple of other kids during the day. Sam was not the kind of child that could be sent to daycare, the incessant crying and breastfeeding would have made it impossible. We needed the income I brought in, so I was thrilled when I found a couple of other moms with babies who needed care. I've had the three of them, Sam and Harrison and Jordyn at home with me since then. It was crazy busy a lot of the time, but I kind of like chaos, so to speak, and now that they're all old enough for kindergarten, I don't know what I'll do with all my free time.
Jessica is out with Marc's mom, at the movies, and Marc just came home from work and took Sam to go see Captain America. And it's just me and little Miss Julie - and I just realized that this will be my life in a few months. Marc'll be at work all the time, and the two older ones will be at school seven hours a day. Just me and Julianna. Which is actually wonderful in a lot of ways, if Julianna ends up being my last baby, I'll be bookending mothering small children with time alone with a little brown eyed baby girl with beautiful brown curls. My kids aren't identical, but they all seem to have the same basic face, and Julie and Jessie have the same hair as well - so there are many moments when I feel this sense of deja vu holding baby Julie.
Anyway - it's calm and quiet here. Julie is nibbling her hot dog and sipping her ice water (holy moly is it freaking hot here). She's also just (like, within the past ten minutes) mastered the shrug, so she keeps shrugging at me and grinning :-)
Samilicious came along and now that Julianna is here, I'm a busy mom of three. One of the things I've been thinking about lately (along with stressing over the upcoming move, fears I'll be living under a bridge down at the park, etc) is that in September, I'll have just my one little girl at home during the day. I spend a lot of time thinking about Sam starting kindergarten, and how he'll adjust and how I'll do without him - but there's the other side of it, which is that I'll have all this time with just my baby girl. She's never had that before, from the beginning, she's shared me with Sam and Jessie.
After Sam was born, I started watching a couple of other kids during the day. Sam was not the kind of child that could be sent to daycare, the incessant crying and breastfeeding would have made it impossible. We needed the income I brought in, so I was thrilled when I found a couple of other moms with babies who needed care. I've had the three of them, Sam and Harrison and Jordyn at home with me since then. It was crazy busy a lot of the time, but I kind of like chaos, so to speak, and now that they're all old enough for kindergarten, I don't know what I'll do with all my free time.
Jessica is out with Marc's mom, at the movies, and Marc just came home from work and took Sam to go see Captain America. And it's just me and little Miss Julie - and I just realized that this will be my life in a few months. Marc'll be at work all the time, and the two older ones will be at school seven hours a day. Just me and Julianna. Which is actually wonderful in a lot of ways, if Julianna ends up being my last baby, I'll be bookending mothering small children with time alone with a little brown eyed baby girl with beautiful brown curls. My kids aren't identical, but they all seem to have the same basic face, and Julie and Jessie have the same hair as well - so there are many moments when I feel this sense of deja vu holding baby Julie.
Anyway - it's calm and quiet here. Julie is nibbling her hot dog and sipping her ice water (holy moly is it freaking hot here). She's also just (like, within the past ten minutes) mastered the shrug, so she keeps shrugging at me and grinning :-)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Ugh
We're moving. Again. Not happy about it. Our landlord, who is lovely and kind and a truly nice man, is moving back up from FL and we need to find another place to live. He's giving us tons of notice, and is apologetic and sweet, but bottom line is that nine months after moving in, we're moving out.
I've moved a lot, I like moving. I do. Up until I started school at age six, I moved pretty much every year, and I've always liked settling into a new place. Once my parents split up, we were pretty stable, and though we still moved every three or four years, my mother made sure that we stayed in the same town so we didn't have to change schools.
But this move - I don't WANT to move. I like this house, I like this neighborhood and I really don't want to. Marc and I have moved five times since we got together, and every single move has been my idea. I've pushed it, wanted it, but this time, I don't want to.
I am, though. And I'll be sunshiney happy thru it, because if I'm unhappy about it, it's nothing compared to Marc. Nobody, and I mean, nobody hates moving as much as my husband does. I don't know of anything that bothers him as much - he's flat out awful about. So I know that all the packing and deciding what to keep, what to throw away, unpacking, etc is all on me. It's enough that Marc will actually do it. I can't even get mad at him (or at least, I try not to - I'm sure I'll end up screaming at him eventually for not helping me enough), because you can tell that moving is that hard for him. He'd be much happier if we could just get keys to a new, empty place and then get all new stuff. It's odd because he's more than happy to help other people move, it's just us that he hates moving.
In other news... Julianna had her first temper tantrum yesterday. It was adorable. If you could get past the fact that she was really, really furious. She had been woken up too early from her nap - generally she naps for at least three, sometimes four hours in the middle of the day, but Jess and Sam had come screaming down the hall and woken her up. She had had just enough sleep to want to get up, and since I'm not a fan of clubbing them to make them fall back asleep, I just let her get up. I carried her into the living room and plopped her on the floor and she was devastated. Went from happy baby to screaming disaster. Jessie tried to pick her up and she crawled screaming to hide behind the rocking chair. Then she crawled, still screaming, in a circle around the table and then into the dining room. Wouldn't come to me, was furious at even the prospect of me. I let her scream, because really, what else could do, for a few minutes and then finally just picked her up, ignored the thrashing and screaming and laid her head on my shoulder. I took her into the bedroom, nursed her for a few minutes and rubbed her back. Thank goodness for nursing, because it calmed her down immediately, and she was sunshiney happy soon after.
I've moved a lot, I like moving. I do. Up until I started school at age six, I moved pretty much every year, and I've always liked settling into a new place. Once my parents split up, we were pretty stable, and though we still moved every three or four years, my mother made sure that we stayed in the same town so we didn't have to change schools.
But this move - I don't WANT to move. I like this house, I like this neighborhood and I really don't want to. Marc and I have moved five times since we got together, and every single move has been my idea. I've pushed it, wanted it, but this time, I don't want to.
I am, though. And I'll be sunshiney happy thru it, because if I'm unhappy about it, it's nothing compared to Marc. Nobody, and I mean, nobody hates moving as much as my husband does. I don't know of anything that bothers him as much - he's flat out awful about. So I know that all the packing and deciding what to keep, what to throw away, unpacking, etc is all on me. It's enough that Marc will actually do it. I can't even get mad at him (or at least, I try not to - I'm sure I'll end up screaming at him eventually for not helping me enough), because you can tell that moving is that hard for him. He'd be much happier if we could just get keys to a new, empty place and then get all new stuff. It's odd because he's more than happy to help other people move, it's just us that he hates moving.
In other news... Julianna had her first temper tantrum yesterday. It was adorable. If you could get past the fact that she was really, really furious. She had been woken up too early from her nap - generally she naps for at least three, sometimes four hours in the middle of the day, but Jess and Sam had come screaming down the hall and woken her up. She had had just enough sleep to want to get up, and since I'm not a fan of clubbing them to make them fall back asleep, I just let her get up. I carried her into the living room and plopped her on the floor and she was devastated. Went from happy baby to screaming disaster. Jessie tried to pick her up and she crawled screaming to hide behind the rocking chair. Then she crawled, still screaming, in a circle around the table and then into the dining room. Wouldn't come to me, was furious at even the prospect of me. I let her scream, because really, what else could do, for a few minutes and then finally just picked her up, ignored the thrashing and screaming and laid her head on my shoulder. I took her into the bedroom, nursed her for a few minutes and rubbed her back. Thank goodness for nursing, because it calmed her down immediately, and she was sunshiney happy soon after.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sleep issues
There aren't that many actual parenting rules that I live by - I think I'm pretty flexible about most things, but one thing I know for certain - it's never a good idea to get used to anything your child does, because as soon as you do, they'll switch it all up. Case in point, my tiny little Esmerelda baby. She used to be the easiest child to put to bed. She'd even gratefully agree that it was bedtime and snuggle up next to me while I nursed her and watched Grey's Anatomy repeats. It was lovely... but now - now, it's a whole different story. She fights it, climbs all over the place and fusses. I have to keep laying her down until she eventually gives up and just drifts off. She's developed an attachment to receiving blankets (after three kids, I have a ridiculous number of them) and likes to have many, many of them draped around her. She's got one in particular that she loves, with little fat fairies all over it.
She just woke up from her nap, she slept for almost three hours and is so cute. She's munching on some hot dogs and water, I tried to give her tuna fish and she was horrified. Sam is outside playing with Glennys in the pool and eating popsicles and Jessie is out to the movies and chinese food with Marc's mother.
All in all, a pretty perfect kind of summer day ;-)
She just woke up from her nap, she slept for almost three hours and is so cute. She's munching on some hot dogs and water, I tried to give her tuna fish and she was horrified. Sam is outside playing with Glennys in the pool and eating popsicles and Jessie is out to the movies and chinese food with Marc's mother.
All in all, a pretty perfect kind of summer day ;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)