I try to get to the library once a week. We don't always manage to make time for it, but I like to have a new selection of books for the kids to read (and sometimes I get something for mommy too!) I will admit that my poor David has been deprived of the library since he started walking. I had visions (and I'm pretty sure they were correct!) of him either screeching like a baby dinosaur or running away through the shelves while I tried to keep track of both him and Danae.
In the past couple of weeks, David has become a lot better at listening and following instructions so yesterday when I had a day off I put on my big girl underwear, took a deep breath, and took both of my children to the library. It went SO WELL! They stayed in the children's area, looked at the fish, played with the stuffed toys, picked out some books, listened to a few books and had a wonderful time! We were there for about an hour. They even left without visiting Melt Down City. I must admit I was quite proud of them.
I am so glad to have this as an option for something (free!) to do when I am off and in the evenings now that it's nice we can walk to the library. Maybe I'll get brave and try story time on Thursday mornings with the daycare kids too. Maybe. :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Preschool Year One: Complete!
We started our preschool adventure last April and that year came to a close this past week. We are taking some time off and then beginning our next year in May.
For Danae's 3 year old year, we did Sonlight's P3/4 program, which is basically a bunch of really wonderful children's books with extension activities. We discovered stories that we will read over and over and over again as the years pass. They are truly wonderful books. About a quarter of the way through the year, we added in Handwriting Without Tears PreK, which I am happy to say is also a wonderful curriculum. Danae thought handwriting time was play time, which is the goal for me at this age. She loved the wood pieces and her very own tiny chalkboard. I am so glad that this program is out there!
Danae requested that I teach her to read last summer, so we started working slowly through the Explode the Code workbooks. She enjoys these, but only in small doses so we are working very slowly. She knows all of her letters, upper and lowercase, and all of their sounds. I can't say that Explode the Code taught her these things, though. She learned her letter sounds from http://www.starfall.com/. She loves playing with that program.
We had a math program that we worked through and although I love the manipulatives it came with, I didn't love the program. It is Hands On Standards PreK/K. I found that it jumped around a lot and Danae would totally understand one thing and be totally clueless in another subject. We spent a lot of time just playing and learning with the manipulatives once we made it through the book.
David became interested in Danae's story books about 3 months ago, so he's been along for the ride for the past few months. If he wants to sit still, he sees the pictures. Otherwise, he's just playing in the room. Any seatwork we do has to be done during David's nap or we would get nothing accomplished!
I look forward to beginning Sonlight's P4/5 Program in May! Those books are sitting on the shelf begging me to read them!
For Danae's 3 year old year, we did Sonlight's P3/4 program, which is basically a bunch of really wonderful children's books with extension activities. We discovered stories that we will read over and over and over again as the years pass. They are truly wonderful books. About a quarter of the way through the year, we added in Handwriting Without Tears PreK, which I am happy to say is also a wonderful curriculum. Danae thought handwriting time was play time, which is the goal for me at this age. She loved the wood pieces and her very own tiny chalkboard. I am so glad that this program is out there!
Danae requested that I teach her to read last summer, so we started working slowly through the Explode the Code workbooks. She enjoys these, but only in small doses so we are working very slowly. She knows all of her letters, upper and lowercase, and all of their sounds. I can't say that Explode the Code taught her these things, though. She learned her letter sounds from http://www.starfall.com/. She loves playing with that program.
We had a math program that we worked through and although I love the manipulatives it came with, I didn't love the program. It is Hands On Standards PreK/K. I found that it jumped around a lot and Danae would totally understand one thing and be totally clueless in another subject. We spent a lot of time just playing and learning with the manipulatives once we made it through the book.
David became interested in Danae's story books about 3 months ago, so he's been along for the ride for the past few months. If he wants to sit still, he sees the pictures. Otherwise, he's just playing in the room. Any seatwork we do has to be done during David's nap or we would get nothing accomplished!
I look forward to beginning Sonlight's P4/5 Program in May! Those books are sitting on the shelf begging me to read them!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Iowa Weekend
This weekend the kids and I traveled to Iowa to attend a wedding of one of my dear friends. We were not sure the wedding was going to take place (due to circumstances beyond the bride and groom's control) until 2pm on Thursday. I had been packing a bit here and there, but at 2pm I got the magic text that said the wedding was indeed on. I wanted to be out of the house by 4pm. The daycare kids were leaving at 3pm. I cannot tell you what I did in those two hours, but I know both of my kids cried at least once, the daycare kids were looking at me very bewildered and the dog whined. the. entire. time. I cannot say how many times I ran up and down our stairs and how many times I went into a bedroom and realized I had no idea why I was in there...only to remember again when I was in the garage or some other odd place.
Anyway, we got out of the house by 4 with everything we needed and drove past Chicago that day and then made the rest of the trip Friday morning. The original plan was to leave Ohio on Friday morning, but the forecasted snowstorm sent us out early.
The car ride here was good. My kids are such great car travelers and I am so thankful for that. The trip has been good. The wedding was lovely and I have had nice visits with family and friends...BUT! It is SO HARD to be a single mom! It is so hard to do all of the planning, herding of children, breaking up of fights, and all of the rest by myself. I miss my husband and am so glad to go home to him tomorrow.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and more appreciative!
Anyway, we got out of the house by 4 with everything we needed and drove past Chicago that day and then made the rest of the trip Friday morning. The original plan was to leave Ohio on Friday morning, but the forecasted snowstorm sent us out early.
The car ride here was good. My kids are such great car travelers and I am so thankful for that. The trip has been good. The wedding was lovely and I have had nice visits with family and friends...BUT! It is SO HARD to be a single mom! It is so hard to do all of the planning, herding of children, breaking up of fights, and all of the rest by myself. I miss my husband and am so glad to go home to him tomorrow.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and more appreciative!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Baby twins = Love :)
My friend had twins and I got to see them for the first time today. They are beyond precious! So tiny and perfect. :) We are undecided about whether or not we are going to have a third baby and I am not sure I would really wish twins on myself, but oh, they were so much fun to cuddle...and give back!
I really look forward to watching them grow up!
I really look forward to watching them grow up!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Chores
Chores. I do lots of chores. As a (basically) stay at home mom, all domestic responsiblities fall onto my shoulders. On Facebook the other day we were talking about chores we like/dislike. Here's my list.
Dislike:
I hate to vacuum. I think this one tops the list. I don't like to dust either, but I hardly ever do that so vacuuming wins. I hate it for several reasons. One, the word is hard to spell. Every time I spell it I have to think really hard and sometimes use spell checker just to make sure I have it right. Second, I don't like to deal with the cord on the vacuum. Cordless/rechargable vacs never make it in my house for some reason so a cord is inevitable. I hate having to unwind the thing, move outlets at least twice, and then wind the thing back up. Third, I hate that no matter how much I vacuum, the carpet never seems clean. Lucas bought me a Dyson three years ago for Christmas. It was then that I realized I was a domestic goddess - that vacuum MADE MY DAY! But even with top of the line equipment, I dislike this task. A lot.
I don't like to dust either, but I really (this is terrible) only dust before company comes...and my parents do not count. I like the way the house smells so clean afterwards, but I don't like having to move everything in order to get all of the dust. It never looks right when I put it back.
Scrubbing the bath tub is another chore I don't like, but again...I must admit I rarely do it, which is probably why I hate it so much. If I didn't allow scum to cover the entire thing it wouldn't be so hard to deal with. That is another company's coming chore. I don't like to clean the bathroom, but I do it often or it gets icky. I don't know anyone who actually likes to clean a bathroom.
I am counting grocery shopping/meal preparation/menu planning as a chore. I would not mind this work if it wasn't so expensive. Lucas tells me to "have fun" when I leave for the store to get groceries. I do not know what he thinks is fun about buying food we have to have with money we don't have, but I guess he (mainly because he is male) thinks shopping is shopping and since I love shopping I should love purchasing groceries. Ummm...no.
I used to like yard work, but then I had two kids and my yard size more than quadrupled. Yard work is a never-ending task that I sometimes get enjoyment out of, but it more often than not just overwhelms me.
Likes:
I LOVE to do laundry. Yes, I know that qualifies me for a psychiatric evaluation. But really, I like laundry. The machine does 90% of the work. All I have to do is sort, fold and put it away. I fold straight out of the dryer since we do not own any laundry baskets (on purpose!) so it doesn't pile up. I do laundry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday without fail so it doesn't get overwhelming. I enjoy seeing those piles of clean clothes all stacked up and then put into drawers.
I like to clean my kitchen. Sorta. It's just so much more pleasant to have a clean kitchen and since I feel like it's the room I spend the most time in, it's nice to clean it so that it is pleasant to be in there.
I like to make beds...for basically the same reason as the kitchen. I like getting into a bed that has straightend covers. I like looking in my bedroom and seeing my bed all neat and nice.
I like to garden. Gardening is very different from yard work - you get to EAT when you garden! Last year, we planted a square foot garden and I enjoyed picking the veggies out of it and I enjoyed planting. This year that will be even more fun because Danae will really enjoy seeing everything grow. David will still just enjoy eating the dirt out of it.
I also do not mind flower gardens, although the weeds begin to overwhelm pretty quickly, which makes it a little too close to yard work!
I also like to organize. When I'm bored I clean out kitchen cabinets or the garage or the toy room or a closet. Again, I probably need an evaluation.
Dislike:
I hate to vacuum. I think this one tops the list. I don't like to dust either, but I hardly ever do that so vacuuming wins. I hate it for several reasons. One, the word is hard to spell. Every time I spell it I have to think really hard and sometimes use spell checker just to make sure I have it right. Second, I don't like to deal with the cord on the vacuum. Cordless/rechargable vacs never make it in my house for some reason so a cord is inevitable. I hate having to unwind the thing, move outlets at least twice, and then wind the thing back up. Third, I hate that no matter how much I vacuum, the carpet never seems clean. Lucas bought me a Dyson three years ago for Christmas. It was then that I realized I was a domestic goddess - that vacuum MADE MY DAY! But even with top of the line equipment, I dislike this task. A lot.
I don't like to dust either, but I really (this is terrible) only dust before company comes...and my parents do not count. I like the way the house smells so clean afterwards, but I don't like having to move everything in order to get all of the dust. It never looks right when I put it back.
Scrubbing the bath tub is another chore I don't like, but again...I must admit I rarely do it, which is probably why I hate it so much. If I didn't allow scum to cover the entire thing it wouldn't be so hard to deal with. That is another company's coming chore. I don't like to clean the bathroom, but I do it often or it gets icky. I don't know anyone who actually likes to clean a bathroom.
I am counting grocery shopping/meal preparation/menu planning as a chore. I would not mind this work if it wasn't so expensive. Lucas tells me to "have fun" when I leave for the store to get groceries. I do not know what he thinks is fun about buying food we have to have with money we don't have, but I guess he (mainly because he is male) thinks shopping is shopping and since I love shopping I should love purchasing groceries. Ummm...no.
I used to like yard work, but then I had two kids and my yard size more than quadrupled. Yard work is a never-ending task that I sometimes get enjoyment out of, but it more often than not just overwhelms me.
Likes:
I LOVE to do laundry. Yes, I know that qualifies me for a psychiatric evaluation. But really, I like laundry. The machine does 90% of the work. All I have to do is sort, fold and put it away. I fold straight out of the dryer since we do not own any laundry baskets (on purpose!) so it doesn't pile up. I do laundry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday without fail so it doesn't get overwhelming. I enjoy seeing those piles of clean clothes all stacked up and then put into drawers.
I like to clean my kitchen. Sorta. It's just so much more pleasant to have a clean kitchen and since I feel like it's the room I spend the most time in, it's nice to clean it so that it is pleasant to be in there.
I like to make beds...for basically the same reason as the kitchen. I like getting into a bed that has straightend covers. I like looking in my bedroom and seeing my bed all neat and nice.
I like to garden. Gardening is very different from yard work - you get to EAT when you garden! Last year, we planted a square foot garden and I enjoyed picking the veggies out of it and I enjoyed planting. This year that will be even more fun because Danae will really enjoy seeing everything grow. David will still just enjoy eating the dirt out of it.
I also do not mind flower gardens, although the weeds begin to overwhelm pretty quickly, which makes it a little too close to yard work!
I also like to organize. When I'm bored I clean out kitchen cabinets or the garage or the toy room or a closet. Again, I probably need an evaluation.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
TV
I consider myself to be picky about what the kids watch on TV. Some kid TV just isn't valuable (*cough* spongebob *cough*) and I try to have the programming we watch be either educational or at the very least have a moral. The one show I really wanted her to get into was Backyardigans. She hates it. It scares her. Sigh.
So we have gone through the phases of Dora the Explorer and Diego (when Danae knew more Spanish than I did), Kipper (when she ran around speaking with an English accent), Barney (when she sang the CUTEST songs all day long - the purple dinosaur might have an annoying voice, but he does teach cute songs!), and Blues Clues. She was on a total Blues Clues kick when we began planning her birthday party next month so they are having a Blues Clues party. And then came Busytown. Danae. loves. Busytown. I liked Busytown for the first 10 episodes. Now I'm SO tired of it! Soooo, along comes Max and Ruby. I was so glad to leave Busytown, I'm letting her watch it, even though Max and Ruby is not my favorite show in the world.
So now she is on a Max and Ruby kick and we only own one Max and Ruby DVD and have no cable so we are limited to what Netflix offers on instant download. The powers that be at Netflix do not have Max and Ruby on instant download, which means they should get a personalized thank you note from me. BUT I decided I could handle two days of Max and Ruby, so I went and borrowed a couple of DVDs for her from the library. Yes, she is happy and yes, it is driving me insane. I have all the normal questions - where are the parents? why is Max allowed to be so naughty? why is Ruby in charge? why doesn't Grandma or Bunny Scout Leader call child protective services about these neglected children?
I hope the Max and Ruby phase is short-lived. I'm ready to take a trip back to Busytown.
So we have gone through the phases of Dora the Explorer and Diego (when Danae knew more Spanish than I did), Kipper (when she ran around speaking with an English accent), Barney (when she sang the CUTEST songs all day long - the purple dinosaur might have an annoying voice, but he does teach cute songs!), and Blues Clues. She was on a total Blues Clues kick when we began planning her birthday party next month so they are having a Blues Clues party. And then came Busytown. Danae. loves. Busytown. I liked Busytown for the first 10 episodes. Now I'm SO tired of it! Soooo, along comes Max and Ruby. I was so glad to leave Busytown, I'm letting her watch it, even though Max and Ruby is not my favorite show in the world.
So now she is on a Max and Ruby kick and we only own one Max and Ruby DVD and have no cable so we are limited to what Netflix offers on instant download. The powers that be at Netflix do not have Max and Ruby on instant download, which means they should get a personalized thank you note from me. BUT I decided I could handle two days of Max and Ruby, so I went and borrowed a couple of DVDs for her from the library. Yes, she is happy and yes, it is driving me insane. I have all the normal questions - where are the parents? why is Max allowed to be so naughty? why is Ruby in charge? why doesn't Grandma or Bunny Scout Leader call child protective services about these neglected children?
I hope the Max and Ruby phase is short-lived. I'm ready to take a trip back to Busytown.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Joy of Amazon
Amazon.com is my friend. They probably like me too because I am pretty sure I financed their webhosting fee for the month with all of the things I have purchased in the past few weeks. I am a careful shopper. Especially with big purchases, I go into hardcore research mode. I recently purchased a sit and stand stroller. I have been researching this purchase for over a year, reading reviews, thinking about it, reading more reviews, thinking some more. I ended up not purchasing from Amazon because another site had a better deal, but I find the reviews so helpful! Reviews from real people who have actually used the product are simply wonderful.
I did end up purchasing a tricycle for David for his birthday through Amazon and I think we are really going to love it. The tricycle purchase leads me to the other reason I like Amazon, or any other online retailer - MAIL TIME!
"Here's the mail, it never fails, it makes me want to wag my tail! When it comes I want to wail: MAAAIIILLLL!" Blues Clues is a regular part of my life ;) But I must admit...
I. love. getting. mail. I think this stems from when I did daycare in Iowa and I would get MONEY in the mail twice a month. Money is a huge incentive to mail excitement! But so are packages!
Anyone wanna send me something? Ya know it makes me happy! :)
I did end up purchasing a tricycle for David for his birthday through Amazon and I think we are really going to love it. The tricycle purchase leads me to the other reason I like Amazon, or any other online retailer - MAIL TIME!
"Here's the mail, it never fails, it makes me want to wag my tail! When it comes I want to wail: MAAAIIILLLL!" Blues Clues is a regular part of my life ;) But I must admit...
I. love. getting. mail. I think this stems from when I did daycare in Iowa and I would get MONEY in the mail twice a month. Money is a huge incentive to mail excitement! But so are packages!
Anyone wanna send me something? Ya know it makes me happy! :)
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