While it seems that New Year's day was ages ago, it still feels strange to already be saying farewell to the second month of the year. Just a little over a month until my birthday and then 6 weeks later it will be Lily's. Ack!!
Ben turns 10 today. TEN! I remember when he was younger than Lily and now he's nearly as tall as me and seems to become more mature every time we see him. He's certainly begun to grasp reality in a way that eluded him just months ago. I hope he stays as positive as he currently is because there's an awful lot of reality to grasp in the next few years.
Today is tax day for us. I'm glad I didn't have to go along for the appointment but I don't like not knowing what's going on or when Chad will be back home. He's planning to check on the other house after the appointment so I'm hoping we only get good news today.
There's a homeschooling book fair in Irving in May and I'm thinking about going. I would love to get some real guidance on how to start homeschooling the girls. With 2 years between them, there's a lot of stuff that I feel Lily wouldn't learn yet but I want to teach Izzy... however, coordinating lessons and playtime for both of them is super challenging to me. Do I let Izzy go without structure a while longer or do I impose more structure on Lily's day? Anyway. If I can get some good info out of the bookfair, I will feel so much more confident about being able to teach them at home, at least through the elementary years.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Maybe I missed my chance to go to school and become a child psychologist...
Yesterday was like most days. We played in the morning, made some fun cards, watched a little kid-tv. But Izzy didn't nap. After 2 hours of her not sleeping, I took the girls to the park... it was nice if a bit blustery out there. We did great right up until we actually got to the park. Izzy stopped watching where she was going and fell down, skinning her leg a bit. Lily played on the slides but didn't want my help climbing on things so I tried letting her just walk around and explore. She belly-flopped onto a sidewalk and chipped two teeth while skinning the bejeezuz out of her chin.
I should have known then that the rest of the day was gonna be a write off.
We went to dinner and Izzy maintained a facade of normalcy. I think seeing her favorite people (Justin and Sunny) helped. But after we got home, it all continued to crumble. She completely flipped out about getting in bed. She usually tells me she doesn't want to go to bed but doesn't make a big deal out of it if I just tell her "I'm sorry but it's bedtime so you have to be in your bed." This did NOT work last night. She refused to take off her shoes, insisting she wanted to sleep in them. When I tried to help her take them off, she resorted to spitting and screaming about it, demanding to do it herself. She wouldn't cooperate when it came to putting on a sleeping outfit or pullup. Scream, scream, scream. Eventually, I think she just wore herself out. She did calm down when I went up after about 20 minutes but then woke up crying again an hour later.
Today, I told her that her nap wasn't optional. We were NOT having a repeat. She agreed and actually went to sleep within about 15 minutes and took a really decent nap.
So I have no clue what has led to her completely flipping out on me tonight. She happily collected a blanket on the way up, asking to rock in a chair with me for a little bit before bed. No big deal, right? We stopped to brush teeth and as soon as I offered her the toothbrush, she yelled that she didn't want to do it so I said "ok, I'll do it for you." That's routine... sometimes she's just too tired to brush her teeth herself. But spitting and slapping at me is very much not a part of the routine.
I'm trying to remain calm. Never discipline a child while angry, etc. right? We rocked and read our bedtime book and then when I said it was bedtime, she started yelling that she wanted to sit in the hallway and be in trouble instead. WTFrick. I figure it's best not to let her control the options so I said we aren't doing that tonight and she needs to stay in bed. Scream scream, slap slap. *sigh*
15 minutes and counting of her yelling that she wants me, wants to hold me, wants to be downstairs, wants to go potty.
It occurs to me now that we'd started breaking up their bedtimes by about 30 minutes and maybe she's just not articulating that she doesn't want to go to bed at the same time as Lily anymore but good grief... could it really be THAT big a deal? They've gone to bed at the same time for months and only been sometimes going to bed at different times for the last couple of weeks.
I may or may not be drinking a margarita in the dark when Chad gets home.
I should have known then that the rest of the day was gonna be a write off.
We went to dinner and Izzy maintained a facade of normalcy. I think seeing her favorite people (Justin and Sunny) helped. But after we got home, it all continued to crumble. She completely flipped out about getting in bed. She usually tells me she doesn't want to go to bed but doesn't make a big deal out of it if I just tell her "I'm sorry but it's bedtime so you have to be in your bed." This did NOT work last night. She refused to take off her shoes, insisting she wanted to sleep in them. When I tried to help her take them off, she resorted to spitting and screaming about it, demanding to do it herself. She wouldn't cooperate when it came to putting on a sleeping outfit or pullup. Scream, scream, scream. Eventually, I think she just wore herself out. She did calm down when I went up after about 20 minutes but then woke up crying again an hour later.
Today, I told her that her nap wasn't optional. We were NOT having a repeat. She agreed and actually went to sleep within about 15 minutes and took a really decent nap.
So I have no clue what has led to her completely flipping out on me tonight. She happily collected a blanket on the way up, asking to rock in a chair with me for a little bit before bed. No big deal, right? We stopped to brush teeth and as soon as I offered her the toothbrush, she yelled that she didn't want to do it so I said "ok, I'll do it for you." That's routine... sometimes she's just too tired to brush her teeth herself. But spitting and slapping at me is very much not a part of the routine.
I'm trying to remain calm. Never discipline a child while angry, etc. right? We rocked and read our bedtime book and then when I said it was bedtime, she started yelling that she wanted to sit in the hallway and be in trouble instead. WTFrick. I figure it's best not to let her control the options so I said we aren't doing that tonight and she needs to stay in bed. Scream scream, slap slap. *sigh*
15 minutes and counting of her yelling that she wants me, wants to hold me, wants to be downstairs, wants to go potty.
It occurs to me now that we'd started breaking up their bedtimes by about 30 minutes and maybe she's just not articulating that she doesn't want to go to bed at the same time as Lily anymore but good grief... could it really be THAT big a deal? They've gone to bed at the same time for months and only been sometimes going to bed at different times for the last couple of weeks.
I may or may not be drinking a margarita in the dark when Chad gets home.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Playground:1 Lily:0
It doesn't look so bad now that it's got Neosporin on it but this is what happens when Lily forgets that not all things are cushioned. She launched herself onto the sidewalk from the playground area. :( Chipped her top middle teeth and everything. This one is gonna be the one that breaks bones.
Is it Spring already?
The sun is out, the breeze is warm. If only we had grass in the yard instead of muddy nothing...
Spending diet is going pretty well so far. We've cut back on eating out and shopping at Aldi is making a big difference in our grocery bill. I don't have a dollar amount for how much we're managing to "save" but I have been keeping tabs on how much I spend each week on groceries and I anticipate comparing this month's credit card expenditures with last month's and seeing a pretty big difference.
Of course, this small success comes when we're facing spending WAY too much on the old house. A pipe burst in the attic and by the time anyone noticed, all but a couple of rooms had caved in ceilings and standing water. All the hard work that Chad's dad and his crew put into to fixing up the house is completely obliterated. Insurance may pick up the tab but it's still a serious pain to have to deal with.
Spending diet is going pretty well so far. We've cut back on eating out and shopping at Aldi is making a big difference in our grocery bill. I don't have a dollar amount for how much we're managing to "save" but I have been keeping tabs on how much I spend each week on groceries and I anticipate comparing this month's credit card expenditures with last month's and seeing a pretty big difference.
Of course, this small success comes when we're facing spending WAY too much on the old house. A pipe burst in the attic and by the time anyone noticed, all but a couple of rooms had caved in ceilings and standing water. All the hard work that Chad's dad and his crew put into to fixing up the house is completely obliterated. Insurance may pick up the tab but it's still a serious pain to have to deal with.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Winter blues
It's hard to believe that just last week, the weather was decent and we could go OUTSIDE.
Saturday, we wandered down to the park with the kiddos after much begging from Izzy. She doesn't get out much and I know that's my fault but with the dogs and Lily, it feels like it's a hassle to get out for walks on a regular basis. Anyway, she ran and laughed pretty much the whole way to the park. Once we got there, we found our neighbor and his daughter there so Izzy was in heaven. She loves playing with Bailey. Ben walked their dog around the park for a while and the girls tried to rearrange all the shredded bark in the swing/playground area. I don't know what is so fun about it but they couldn't stop throwing it into the air.
Sunday, we went to the park again when our neighbor called to say they were gonna go and would we like to join them? It was considerably chillier but not unbearable with sweaters/jackets.
Monday, we went to lunch with Nicole and that's the last time we've been outside. It wasn't too chilly and it was nice to get out for a couple of hours. The girls love seeing Nicole and talking her ear off. Izzy's always asking if we can go to her house.
Tuesday morning, the ice hit during the wee hours and the way it pelted the windows woke Izzy up. She doesn't like strange noises at all. I laid down with her for close to an hour and we couldn't get back to sleep. Ice hitting glass is probably one of the most annoying sounds in the world! At about 5am, it was just not working to stay in their room so I bundled the kids into our bed. Not a whole lot of sleep going on there. Chad took Lily back to the girls' room and the ice finally stopped long enough for Izzy and I to drop off for about 45 minutes. She woke up and started crawling over me to go to the bathroom so we got up a little while after that.
Today has been fun. The girls woke up at 5:30 and I laid them back down only to be woken up an hour later when the power went out. Rolling blackouts. Yay! It finally came on for good at about 9am so at least the fireplace hasn't been our only source of warmth. I changed my dental appointment... hopefully the roads will look safer in the AM. I'm in such a hurry to get my rootcanal/crown over with, can't you tell? :)
Potato/corn chowder hit the spot for dinner but I think tomorrow might be chicken taco soup day. Thanks to Megan for posting about hers! :)
Saturday, we wandered down to the park with the kiddos after much begging from Izzy. She doesn't get out much and I know that's my fault but with the dogs and Lily, it feels like it's a hassle to get out for walks on a regular basis. Anyway, she ran and laughed pretty much the whole way to the park. Once we got there, we found our neighbor and his daughter there so Izzy was in heaven. She loves playing with Bailey. Ben walked their dog around the park for a while and the girls tried to rearrange all the shredded bark in the swing/playground area. I don't know what is so fun about it but they couldn't stop throwing it into the air.
Sunday, we went to the park again when our neighbor called to say they were gonna go and would we like to join them? It was considerably chillier but not unbearable with sweaters/jackets.
Monday, we went to lunch with Nicole and that's the last time we've been outside. It wasn't too chilly and it was nice to get out for a couple of hours. The girls love seeing Nicole and talking her ear off. Izzy's always asking if we can go to her house.
Tuesday morning, the ice hit during the wee hours and the way it pelted the windows woke Izzy up. She doesn't like strange noises at all. I laid down with her for close to an hour and we couldn't get back to sleep. Ice hitting glass is probably one of the most annoying sounds in the world! At about 5am, it was just not working to stay in their room so I bundled the kids into our bed. Not a whole lot of sleep going on there. Chad took Lily back to the girls' room and the ice finally stopped long enough for Izzy and I to drop off for about 45 minutes. She woke up and started crawling over me to go to the bathroom so we got up a little while after that.
Today has been fun. The girls woke up at 5:30 and I laid them back down only to be woken up an hour later when the power went out. Rolling blackouts. Yay! It finally came on for good at about 9am so at least the fireplace hasn't been our only source of warmth. I changed my dental appointment... hopefully the roads will look safer in the AM. I'm in such a hurry to get my rootcanal/crown over with, can't you tell? :)
Potato/corn chowder hit the spot for dinner but I think tomorrow might be chicken taco soup day. Thanks to Megan for posting about hers! :)
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