And so it goes. I've come to the conclusion that you can never just define yourself. As I have more children and life and challenges come to me, I have to find myself again. I don't mean religiously. I know I am a daughter of God. I mean, find ways to express myself, time for myself - find ways to be Megan, all the while being Mom.
I've found that as my days get busier with everything, this task is bigger and bigger. I find the time to work out, but I just don't have the time for expressing myself creatively anymore. I love crocheting, don't mind sewing, tolerate knitting, and dabble in a bunch of other things. but the last time I sewed was last year, the last time I spun wool into yarn was 2+ years ago. I did crochet a bit last month, I haven't knitted for at least 6 months. I did do some origami last month.... How did I find time for it? I remember my kids and house suffering for a few days. Maybe that is the answer. Not make time for it. TAKE time for it. That and I've noticed that time spent on electrical devices is a lot of wasted time. Not all of it, but a lot. I need to be more organized with my time.
Hmmm things to think about.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
We had the primary program today
I've decided I need new deodorant because I was sweating before
church even started. Ugh. No where else is this a problem. Just
primary (and associated stuff apparently).
So I ran across an article the other day. On Facebook I think. The first married Dugger girl (of 19 kids and counting) is pregnant. She was announcing it before 12 weeks and people were saying that wasn't the norm and why announce it in your first trimester? She basically said that even if she were to have a miscarriage, that even if the baby only lived for a few weeks, its life should be celebrated.
This statement hit me hard. The Baby's life should be celebrated.
There are a few things you need to know about me. I've had some issues with pregnancy. Specifically staying pregnant.
We had the girls without any problems. Mia was a terror so we decided to wait a bit before having any more. Then I had an ectopic pregnancy. That was unexpected and hard. After that, we decided we were ready for more children. Imagine our surprise when it took over a year to get pregnant. And then after all of that time, I suffered a miscarriage. It was heartbreaking after such a long wait to lose a baby around 6 weeks.
We were so happy when we found out we were having Ned. What a wonderful surprise. It was one of those crazy things. We suspected we were pregnant as we drove home from a family vacation. Once we arrived home we found the power to our freezer had gone out and we had lost a whole freezer full of meat which was now very thawed out and just putrid. It wasn't a fun mess to clean up. But Milton told me the only thing that got him through was knowing we might be pregnant.
Ned was and still is our joy. Between torturing his brothers that is :) . But he is most definitely a favorite child of the whole family. So sweet. So polite. Such a boy at times. Teasing his brothers isn't the best, but we are trying to teach him he is trying to learn and behave.
When Ned was only 9 months old, we decided it was time to try for a sibling for him. He had taken a long time to get here, so we expected a long wait for a sibling. Imagine our surprise when after just 1 month we found out we were expecting. And then at our 19 week ultrasound we found out it was twins! It was exciting and terrifying.
The twins have been a joy. We love them very much. We have been trying to decide if our family is whole. last summer (2013) we unexpectedly found out we were pregnant. There would only be 17 weeks between the twins and this new little one. We were excited but TERRIFIED. I was still nursing the twins, and I joked about eating for 4.
We went our merry way, preparing for this baby. Only to suffer another miscarriage around 8 or 9 weeks.
We were devastated. This baby had been unplanned, but not unwanted.
Once again, we got caught up in life (as you do with twins) and were trying to decide if we were done. I was uncertain. Milton was tired. So was I.
Fast forward to the spring of 2014. We found out that we were unexpectedly expecting. The boys were getting busier and busier and Milton and I didn't know how we were going to do it. After a little bit of time to get used to the idea, we were on board. We had a doctors visit and then an ultrasound to verify the due date. Milton's birthday. I teased him that this was his gift. They pulled the due date in because the baby was measuring big. I don't remember the new due date. So much has happened since then.
Just a week after the ultra sound we had a very sudden miscarriage. I was 17 weeks along and so had to go to the ER. Because of the way everything happened, I couldn't even travel the 30 minutes to my doctor or my hospital.
I was supposed to do sharing time that day and only myself and the secretary were there, everyone else was on vacation since it was the weekend of the 4th of July. I had to text our home teacher to tell her since no one else was answering texts in sacrament meeting. Poor lady had to run primary by herself and come up with sharing time in less than an hour.
The ER was a surreal experience where I reminded Milton to wish his sister happy birthday, the OBGYN on call talked about chickens and turkeys, and we saw our sons body.
I won't say we met him because he had passed away at least a few days earlier. His spirit was gone, his body was still. It all happened so fast. I was getting ready for church, and then I was yelling for Milton - who was getting the boys changed for church - to come and help me.
We later found out (after pathology) that the placenta had grown to large and my body couldn't keep up with the blood supply needed for such a large placenta. It must have been really big since I had done 2 placentas (the twins) just a few years earlier. It also explained some pretty crazy heart palpitations I had experienced in the weeks earlier. They worried me so much I told Milton there was no way I would have any more babies - it was to scary.
This was an experience that I never want to have again and never would wish on another person.
I've had a rough few months as we have processed this. It was nothing like losing a baby early in pregnancy. We had ultrasound pictures of hands and legs, and seen ultrasound of a very active baby. The body we saw in the ER was nothing like that. My poor little one's body had passed and the fingers and toes were no longer moving and waving or even looking much like a baby should.
Milton and I are doing well now, after some hard months. I think the hardest was when Milton had to go on a business trip 2 weeks after everything. I thought I was OK, but I cried the whole way home from dropping him off at the airport.
Its been a rough few months and I've found purpose in my children. Its wonderful that we have children. Especially ones that will let me hug and cuddle them when I'm feeling down.
I've been through the whys? and was it my faults? You find yourself in this situation and you torture those questions. I had a physical scheduled. I had to know if it was my fault. Was I healthy? Thankfully I was able to get those answers. After finding out the placenta formed in a way that wouldn't support life, and that I was healthy, I found some peace. When the doctor told me that the placenta was most likely at fault for my heart palpitations, I found some more peace. I am finding more and more peace everyday.
After it initially happened, we told only our girls and a few other people. We hadn't told many people about the pregnancy, so it was easy to keep quiet. I am finally at the point where I can talk about it. I don't like to talk about it. But I can.
I have been feeling the need to share what happened for a little while, but wasn't ready. After reading about the oldest Dugger girl, I can't deny my need to talk about it.
These little ones need to be celebrated. Their lives were short. They ended unexpectedly. They were wanted and desired. They were loved.
So I ran across an article the other day. On Facebook I think. The first married Dugger girl (of 19 kids and counting) is pregnant. She was announcing it before 12 weeks and people were saying that wasn't the norm and why announce it in your first trimester? She basically said that even if she were to have a miscarriage, that even if the baby only lived for a few weeks, its life should be celebrated.
This statement hit me hard. The Baby's life should be celebrated.
There are a few things you need to know about me. I've had some issues with pregnancy. Specifically staying pregnant.
We had the girls without any problems. Mia was a terror so we decided to wait a bit before having any more. Then I had an ectopic pregnancy. That was unexpected and hard. After that, we decided we were ready for more children. Imagine our surprise when it took over a year to get pregnant. And then after all of that time, I suffered a miscarriage. It was heartbreaking after such a long wait to lose a baby around 6 weeks.
We were so happy when we found out we were having Ned. What a wonderful surprise. It was one of those crazy things. We suspected we were pregnant as we drove home from a family vacation. Once we arrived home we found the power to our freezer had gone out and we had lost a whole freezer full of meat which was now very thawed out and just putrid. It wasn't a fun mess to clean up. But Milton told me the only thing that got him through was knowing we might be pregnant.
Ned was and still is our joy. Between torturing his brothers that is :) . But he is most definitely a favorite child of the whole family. So sweet. So polite. Such a boy at times. Teasing his brothers isn't the best, but we are trying to teach him he is trying to learn and behave.
When Ned was only 9 months old, we decided it was time to try for a sibling for him. He had taken a long time to get here, so we expected a long wait for a sibling. Imagine our surprise when after just 1 month we found out we were expecting. And then at our 19 week ultrasound we found out it was twins! It was exciting and terrifying.
The twins have been a joy. We love them very much. We have been trying to decide if our family is whole. last summer (2013) we unexpectedly found out we were pregnant. There would only be 17 weeks between the twins and this new little one. We were excited but TERRIFIED. I was still nursing the twins, and I joked about eating for 4.
We went our merry way, preparing for this baby. Only to suffer another miscarriage around 8 or 9 weeks.
We were devastated. This baby had been unplanned, but not unwanted.
Once again, we got caught up in life (as you do with twins) and were trying to decide if we were done. I was uncertain. Milton was tired. So was I.
Fast forward to the spring of 2014. We found out that we were unexpectedly expecting. The boys were getting busier and busier and Milton and I didn't know how we were going to do it. After a little bit of time to get used to the idea, we were on board. We had a doctors visit and then an ultrasound to verify the due date. Milton's birthday. I teased him that this was his gift. They pulled the due date in because the baby was measuring big. I don't remember the new due date. So much has happened since then.
Just a week after the ultra sound we had a very sudden miscarriage. I was 17 weeks along and so had to go to the ER. Because of the way everything happened, I couldn't even travel the 30 minutes to my doctor or my hospital.
I was supposed to do sharing time that day and only myself and the secretary were there, everyone else was on vacation since it was the weekend of the 4th of July. I had to text our home teacher to tell her since no one else was answering texts in sacrament meeting. Poor lady had to run primary by herself and come up with sharing time in less than an hour.
The ER was a surreal experience where I reminded Milton to wish his sister happy birthday, the OBGYN on call talked about chickens and turkeys, and we saw our sons body.
I won't say we met him because he had passed away at least a few days earlier. His spirit was gone, his body was still. It all happened so fast. I was getting ready for church, and then I was yelling for Milton - who was getting the boys changed for church - to come and help me.
We later found out (after pathology) that the placenta had grown to large and my body couldn't keep up with the blood supply needed for such a large placenta. It must have been really big since I had done 2 placentas (the twins) just a few years earlier. It also explained some pretty crazy heart palpitations I had experienced in the weeks earlier. They worried me so much I told Milton there was no way I would have any more babies - it was to scary.
This was an experience that I never want to have again and never would wish on another person.
I've had a rough few months as we have processed this. It was nothing like losing a baby early in pregnancy. We had ultrasound pictures of hands and legs, and seen ultrasound of a very active baby. The body we saw in the ER was nothing like that. My poor little one's body had passed and the fingers and toes were no longer moving and waving or even looking much like a baby should.
Milton and I are doing well now, after some hard months. I think the hardest was when Milton had to go on a business trip 2 weeks after everything. I thought I was OK, but I cried the whole way home from dropping him off at the airport.
Its been a rough few months and I've found purpose in my children. Its wonderful that we have children. Especially ones that will let me hug and cuddle them when I'm feeling down.
I've been through the whys? and was it my faults? You find yourself in this situation and you torture those questions. I had a physical scheduled. I had to know if it was my fault. Was I healthy? Thankfully I was able to get those answers. After finding out the placenta formed in a way that wouldn't support life, and that I was healthy, I found some peace. When the doctor told me that the placenta was most likely at fault for my heart palpitations, I found some more peace. I am finding more and more peace everyday.
After it initially happened, we told only our girls and a few other people. We hadn't told many people about the pregnancy, so it was easy to keep quiet. I am finally at the point where I can talk about it. I don't like to talk about it. But I can.
I have been feeling the need to share what happened for a little while, but wasn't ready. After reading about the oldest Dugger girl, I can't deny my need to talk about it.
These little ones need to be celebrated. Their lives were short. They ended unexpectedly. They were wanted and desired. They were loved.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
So its been a while
It has been a while since I posted. Mostly because I didn't feel like talking about some intense things that happened in my life this summer.
Anyhow, I need to blog because life keeps happening and I need to keep a record of it.
The twins turned 2 a few days ago. Where did those 2 years go? Gone in a flash!
Quinten is a thumb sucker. That one is totally my fault. See, somewhere in the twins first year I noticed that I was always giving attention to Quinten. He insisted on it. Nolan was quiet and always fine and as a result didn't get as much attention. So one day I decided to switch it up. I held Nolan for much of the day and made Quinten get down and go sit with Daddy. I did this for about a day. It didn't go over well with Quinten and as a result he started to self soothe with his thumb.
What I learned from all of this? Nolan could care less. he is just a cool calm kid. Happy to do his own thing, occasional attention from Mom is fine. Quinten is more needy. He needs lots of assurance and loves and cuddles. He wants to sit with me all the time.
Different personalities. Lots to learn as a mom of twins. I guess I can feel the guilt every time we have an orthodontist appointment later in life.
Quinten is also one who has a smile on his face all the time. Loves to climb and be active.
They both love to swing on the swingset. They swing on their tummies. Their are only 2 swings (and 2 additional baby swings) and they get fought over with Ned there also, but there is always something else to do outside, so fights don't last long.
All 3 boys love to play in the garden. They love to dig in the dirt, splash in any puddles, and be like mom. That last one is ok for the most part until they decide they need to help me harvest. We lose a lot of peppers that way.
Ned was helping me pull out old corn stalks the other day to feed to the cows and we got matching paper type cuts (what do you call them when they are from corn leafs? Corn cuts?) He loved how happy this made the cows. They love those stalks!
Speaking of the cows, a cow licked my hand the other day. I think I may be getting to friendly with the black cow the girls call skunk face. Its got a weird black and white design on its face. Anyway, we have a peach tree in the pasture that hangs over the fence from the neighbors. They don't ever harvest it and the fruit just drops. I started out by throwing some to the cows and they would eat them. But then the black cow started following me over there and I was basically just giving him some (the other cow didn't care). And then I noticed he would get really close to me before nervously jumping away. so the other day I held out a peach to him and he would have eaten it out of my hand. Except I jumped when that gross tongue touched my hand. Yuck!
Nolan is our singer. He also is our talker. Its all mumbled at this point for the most part but very definite. If you want him to start singing, just belt out "Let it Go!" (from Frozen) and he will take it from there,. Unfortunately he only knows that one line. But he is so cute.
Ned also likes to sing and will go around singing "The best 2 years! The best 2 years!" which is a movie we watch on Sundays. Today he was singing that and I remembered that on Sunday he was singing Follow the Prophet after Nursery. So I started singing that and he joined right in. To my surprise Nolan joined in. Very mumbly, but singing. So then a round of Let it go was called for so that Nolan could sing some actual words. It was all very cute.
The boys (all 3) love going outside and I don't know what we are going to do when it gets cold. The mere mention of outside has all 3 racing for the back door and Nolan saying "Side!!". They also love getting their shoes on so they can go. We may have to visit Grandma a lot this winter because taking all 3 of them anywhere by myself is nearly impossible. Maybe we can talk Grandma into visiting story time at the library with us.
For the boys birthday we had Thai food for dinner and then the girls and Dad raced off to soccer practice. After they came home we had a yellow cake (almond flavored) with lemon curd filling and cream cheese frosting. It was very good. A little home made vanilla frosting and yum! They got some new toys that light up and sing, and they were in heaven. They got a few flashlights that make noise and some new toy cars. Ned has already claimed many of the toys as his own and there have been lots of grabbing and pulling away. Luckily 2 days later it seems to have calmed down.
Cecilee has started middle school. She loves it and enjoys her friends. I think she enjoys the responsibility and is always talking about tests and which subjects she has and her locker and all that sort of stuff. I enjoy the access to the library. She has been checking out books here and there for me. I'm in heaven. We are not in a library district so don't have access unless we go with Grandma. And that is fine and fun, but it can be complicated to try and do anything with boys along. I enjoy YA fantasy (E.D. Baker, Jessica Day George, etc) and they have lots of it there!
Mia is enjoying her new teacher. He has made her a team leader which is great because she has to lead a team and encourage them to do good and turn in work, etc. Which means she is more aware of the importance of doing that herself. YAY! Its been a great motivation. She is doing well.
I get to bring both of them to the bus stop each morning and wait with them. to many crazies out there to do anything else. It has us up early since the middle school bus arrives an hour+ before the elementary school bus, but its a good time to have one on one time with my girls.
Milton and I doing well. We have been trying to keep up with these girls and boys. Soccer practice, the primary program, birthdays, school. Some day I've got to figure out how to keep up. Right now I'm taking it one day at a time.
Anyhow, I need to blog because life keeps happening and I need to keep a record of it.
The twins turned 2 a few days ago. Where did those 2 years go? Gone in a flash!
Quinten is a thumb sucker. That one is totally my fault. See, somewhere in the twins first year I noticed that I was always giving attention to Quinten. He insisted on it. Nolan was quiet and always fine and as a result didn't get as much attention. So one day I decided to switch it up. I held Nolan for much of the day and made Quinten get down and go sit with Daddy. I did this for about a day. It didn't go over well with Quinten and as a result he started to self soothe with his thumb.
What I learned from all of this? Nolan could care less. he is just a cool calm kid. Happy to do his own thing, occasional attention from Mom is fine. Quinten is more needy. He needs lots of assurance and loves and cuddles. He wants to sit with me all the time.
Different personalities. Lots to learn as a mom of twins. I guess I can feel the guilt every time we have an orthodontist appointment later in life.
Quinten is also one who has a smile on his face all the time. Loves to climb and be active.
They both love to swing on the swingset. They swing on their tummies. Their are only 2 swings (and 2 additional baby swings) and they get fought over with Ned there also, but there is always something else to do outside, so fights don't last long.
All 3 boys love to play in the garden. They love to dig in the dirt, splash in any puddles, and be like mom. That last one is ok for the most part until they decide they need to help me harvest. We lose a lot of peppers that way.
Ned was helping me pull out old corn stalks the other day to feed to the cows and we got matching paper type cuts (what do you call them when they are from corn leafs? Corn cuts?) He loved how happy this made the cows. They love those stalks!
Speaking of the cows, a cow licked my hand the other day. I think I may be getting to friendly with the black cow the girls call skunk face. Its got a weird black and white design on its face. Anyway, we have a peach tree in the pasture that hangs over the fence from the neighbors. They don't ever harvest it and the fruit just drops. I started out by throwing some to the cows and they would eat them. But then the black cow started following me over there and I was basically just giving him some (the other cow didn't care). And then I noticed he would get really close to me before nervously jumping away. so the other day I held out a peach to him and he would have eaten it out of my hand. Except I jumped when that gross tongue touched my hand. Yuck!
Nolan is our singer. He also is our talker. Its all mumbled at this point for the most part but very definite. If you want him to start singing, just belt out "Let it Go!" (from Frozen) and he will take it from there,. Unfortunately he only knows that one line. But he is so cute.
Ned also likes to sing and will go around singing "The best 2 years! The best 2 years!" which is a movie we watch on Sundays. Today he was singing that and I remembered that on Sunday he was singing Follow the Prophet after Nursery. So I started singing that and he joined right in. To my surprise Nolan joined in. Very mumbly, but singing. So then a round of Let it go was called for so that Nolan could sing some actual words. It was all very cute.
The boys (all 3) love going outside and I don't know what we are going to do when it gets cold. The mere mention of outside has all 3 racing for the back door and Nolan saying "Side!!". They also love getting their shoes on so they can go. We may have to visit Grandma a lot this winter because taking all 3 of them anywhere by myself is nearly impossible. Maybe we can talk Grandma into visiting story time at the library with us.
For the boys birthday we had Thai food for dinner and then the girls and Dad raced off to soccer practice. After they came home we had a yellow cake (almond flavored) with lemon curd filling and cream cheese frosting. It was very good. A little home made vanilla frosting and yum! They got some new toys that light up and sing, and they were in heaven. They got a few flashlights that make noise and some new toy cars. Ned has already claimed many of the toys as his own and there have been lots of grabbing and pulling away. Luckily 2 days later it seems to have calmed down.
Cecilee has started middle school. She loves it and enjoys her friends. I think she enjoys the responsibility and is always talking about tests and which subjects she has and her locker and all that sort of stuff. I enjoy the access to the library. She has been checking out books here and there for me. I'm in heaven. We are not in a library district so don't have access unless we go with Grandma. And that is fine and fun, but it can be complicated to try and do anything with boys along. I enjoy YA fantasy (E.D. Baker, Jessica Day George, etc) and they have lots of it there!
Mia is enjoying her new teacher. He has made her a team leader which is great because she has to lead a team and encourage them to do good and turn in work, etc. Which means she is more aware of the importance of doing that herself. YAY! Its been a great motivation. She is doing well.
I get to bring both of them to the bus stop each morning and wait with them. to many crazies out there to do anything else. It has us up early since the middle school bus arrives an hour+ before the elementary school bus, but its a good time to have one on one time with my girls.
Milton and I doing well. We have been trying to keep up with these girls and boys. Soccer practice, the primary program, birthdays, school. Some day I've got to figure out how to keep up. Right now I'm taking it one day at a time.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
sos
The funny thing is that I tried to type 'wow' as the title of the post. i had my hands in the wrong position and it came out as SOS. So I stuck with it. Because we have a busy month. Although, I don't know if we are at SOS.
The girls have 2 weeks of swimming lessons starting tomorrow.
The girls have 2 more weeks of softball.
Milton gets to go to Singapore for work in a few weeks for about a week.
We get to leave for the Beach on the very last day of the month.
I teach sharing time just one more time over the 4th of July weekend. Then I'm free again until September.
Does anyone else have the trouble of keeping the chairs around the table and not pushed to the cupboard to get into things (by 2 toddlers)? With one child we managed to keep up with it. With 2, its awful. One will push the chair over and then they both climb up and wreak havoc.
You could say, just keep the cupboards cleaned off.
Yesterday they took one of the burners out of the stove.
They are very curious.
I don't know how i'm going to get through this phase but i hope its over quickly.
The twins love to help put laundry away. All the boys do. So that's helpful.
They still love to be outside. We've had rainy days this week and we managed to survive. So that's good.
church is still a wrestling match. No handing them back and forth to another parent when one gets wiggly or whiny. To many kids and not enough adult laps. But they can only get older and we are working on helping them learn about church behavior.
They love nursery. The food won them over and then the music and then the toys. all the while having Ned in their with them helps also.
Ned's potty training is going ok. Most days are good. With the occasional accident mixed in. Just a few a week. So we are getting there. He had one yesterday that wasn't his fault. He locked himself in the car while we were stacking wood. He hasn't figured out how to open a car door yet.
Ned starts swimming lessons tomorrow with the girls. He doesn't like to get his ears wet in the tub, so we took them all to the pool on Friday. He was hesitant at first, but by the time we left he was going in and out of pools and sitting on the steps. he loved moving around in the 1ft pool and splashing. I think as long as his class isn't filled with cryers and screamers he should do just fine.
The girls earned the pool trip by doing their chores really well for an entire month.
The girls are maturing very well lately. When they do their chores everyday they are learning that they are easier to do. all in all the whole house is running better since they are helping out more.
We all are in charge of getting a child ready for the day. Its nice to have help dressing and changing all the boys each morning.
the girls have also been earning trips to the library by practicing their piano . they love those because they usually involve an ice cream cone.
We've been busy getting ready for winter by stacking cords and cords of wood, tons and tons of alfalfa and I use the term We loosely. Its mostly Milton and the girls with a little help from Ned thrown in here and there.
Milton is excited for Singapore and I'm excited for him. He has lost over 80 pounds now and is looking really good. I was just looking at pictures from Cecilee's baptism today and he has changed so much! He works out every morning at the work gym and is enjoying life more because he feels better.
I'm just busy. With all the help from the girls I've had to figure out how to structure my day. but for once, the laundry is regularly caught up! And dishes are done every single night, and we are having more fun! The house is looking nice and I've rediscovered the joy I had when I play around on the piano. Next up is rediscovering the joy of doing crafty things!
The girls have 2 weeks of swimming lessons starting tomorrow.
The girls have 2 more weeks of softball.
Milton gets to go to Singapore for work in a few weeks for about a week.
We get to leave for the Beach on the very last day of the month.
I teach sharing time just one more time over the 4th of July weekend. Then I'm free again until September.
Does anyone else have the trouble of keeping the chairs around the table and not pushed to the cupboard to get into things (by 2 toddlers)? With one child we managed to keep up with it. With 2, its awful. One will push the chair over and then they both climb up and wreak havoc.
You could say, just keep the cupboards cleaned off.
Yesterday they took one of the burners out of the stove.
They are very curious.
I don't know how i'm going to get through this phase but i hope its over quickly.
The twins love to help put laundry away. All the boys do. So that's helpful.
They still love to be outside. We've had rainy days this week and we managed to survive. So that's good.
church is still a wrestling match. No handing them back and forth to another parent when one gets wiggly or whiny. To many kids and not enough adult laps. But they can only get older and we are working on helping them learn about church behavior.
They love nursery. The food won them over and then the music and then the toys. all the while having Ned in their with them helps also.
Ned's potty training is going ok. Most days are good. With the occasional accident mixed in. Just a few a week. So we are getting there. He had one yesterday that wasn't his fault. He locked himself in the car while we were stacking wood. He hasn't figured out how to open a car door yet.
Ned starts swimming lessons tomorrow with the girls. He doesn't like to get his ears wet in the tub, so we took them all to the pool on Friday. He was hesitant at first, but by the time we left he was going in and out of pools and sitting on the steps. he loved moving around in the 1ft pool and splashing. I think as long as his class isn't filled with cryers and screamers he should do just fine.
The girls earned the pool trip by doing their chores really well for an entire month.
The girls are maturing very well lately. When they do their chores everyday they are learning that they are easier to do. all in all the whole house is running better since they are helping out more.
We all are in charge of getting a child ready for the day. Its nice to have help dressing and changing all the boys each morning.
the girls have also been earning trips to the library by practicing their piano . they love those because they usually involve an ice cream cone.
We've been busy getting ready for winter by stacking cords and cords of wood, tons and tons of alfalfa and I use the term We loosely. Its mostly Milton and the girls with a little help from Ned thrown in here and there.
Milton is excited for Singapore and I'm excited for him. He has lost over 80 pounds now and is looking really good. I was just looking at pictures from Cecilee's baptism today and he has changed so much! He works out every morning at the work gym and is enjoying life more because he feels better.
I'm just busy. With all the help from the girls I've had to figure out how to structure my day. but for once, the laundry is regularly caught up! And dishes are done every single night, and we are having more fun! The house is looking nice and I've rediscovered the joy I had when I play around on the piano. Next up is rediscovering the joy of doing crafty things!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Oh my goodness
When did life get so crazy?
We have been so busy with school finishing up and everything else going on.
Cecilee is off this week enjoying a few days with some fellow 5th graders at outdoor camp. They are enjoying all sorts of outdoor activities. She really wanted to go and we told her she could go if she earned half the money. And she did. We knew a lot of the chaperones and 2 of her cabin chaperones were from our ward. Her good friends were in her cabin with her also. When i dropped her off I don't even think she knew I was leaving. She was so into what was happening around her. I'm really excited she got to go and pray that its a good experience for her. She needed a little break from her family. don't we all every now and again?
Mia is happy to be done with school she is missing her sister a lot but enjoying being the oldest at home. She keeps adding things to her birthday list (that is still months and months away) and wanting to have swimming lessons and do all sorts of fun things this summer.
Ned is potty training. Most days are good days, but don't ask about poop yet. that is still a work in progress. Yesterday we were busy doing some chicken coop upgrades and he decided to take off his jeans and underwear and stuff them in the irrigation headgate area (which wasn't flowing right then thank goodness. That would have been one mighty clog) and then he proceeded to hide on the back porch and release some large , well, maybe I shouldn't tell you that story. this is a family blog after all. In the irrigation area whilst fishing out his clothing (which he was honest enough to tell us about) I also found an uprooted tomato plant and 2 butternut squash plants. the water was cool, so I think the plants will be fine. but i would never have found those plants in there without having to fish for the clothes. so I guess that was a small blessing.
The boys are still the terrible twosome. They are cute and smiley but boy they are into everything. Every time I turn around Quinton has the dishwasher open and is standing on the door. I don't understand the fascination. Nolan has recently learned to climb (a few months after his brother, he has a different build) and is constantly dragging my kitchen chairs everywhere. So THAT has been a whole lot of fun.
They all enjoy going out side and can be pulled out of any cranky mood at the mere mention of going outside. They love the dirt and water that can be found in the garden. So they are constantly there despite Milton always telling them to stay away.
They also enjoy swinging on the swing on their tummy because they can do it without help. and Quinten likes to climb up the ladder and go down the slide by himself.
Milton has been completing various big projects outside (chicken coop, irrigation pipe, garden redesign) with some help from me. I have my own projects, but am kept busy for the most part chasing children down and feeding them along with cleaning and laundry.
I'm excited for my Canterbury bells which are going to bloom in the next day or so (they are opening Laura!!!) and the first couple are going to be purple. but I see pink and white also.
I still have to figure out what to do with lots and lots of larkspur as well as a whole ton of volunteer tomato plants from our garden. ugh.
Milton and I recently went a way for a quick weekend trip a couple of weeks ago. We had a couple of quiet days in Cascade and boy did we need it. Life has been so overwhelming lately and I knew I needed a breather before summer started. Its my month to teach sharing time, so that's an added stress that I enjoy for the most part. I like the weeks that i feel the kids respond and I feel like a failure the weeks that the kids just stare at me. But I'm getting better at it and have had more good lessons than bad.
I'm so proud of Milton. He continues to actively seek a healthy lifestyle. he gets up at an insane hour and works out every morning before work. I contribute homemade yogurt (check my other blog for the recipe!) and homemade bread, as well as love and support. He is looking so good these days and has so much energy. I love it!
We have been so busy with school finishing up and everything else going on.
Cecilee is off this week enjoying a few days with some fellow 5th graders at outdoor camp. They are enjoying all sorts of outdoor activities. She really wanted to go and we told her she could go if she earned half the money. And she did. We knew a lot of the chaperones and 2 of her cabin chaperones were from our ward. Her good friends were in her cabin with her also. When i dropped her off I don't even think she knew I was leaving. She was so into what was happening around her. I'm really excited she got to go and pray that its a good experience for her. She needed a little break from her family. don't we all every now and again?
Mia is happy to be done with school she is missing her sister a lot but enjoying being the oldest at home. She keeps adding things to her birthday list (that is still months and months away) and wanting to have swimming lessons and do all sorts of fun things this summer.
Ned is potty training. Most days are good days, but don't ask about poop yet. that is still a work in progress. Yesterday we were busy doing some chicken coop upgrades and he decided to take off his jeans and underwear and stuff them in the irrigation headgate area (which wasn't flowing right then thank goodness. That would have been one mighty clog) and then he proceeded to hide on the back porch and release some large , well, maybe I shouldn't tell you that story. this is a family blog after all. In the irrigation area whilst fishing out his clothing (which he was honest enough to tell us about) I also found an uprooted tomato plant and 2 butternut squash plants. the water was cool, so I think the plants will be fine. but i would never have found those plants in there without having to fish for the clothes. so I guess that was a small blessing.
The boys are still the terrible twosome. They are cute and smiley but boy they are into everything. Every time I turn around Quinton has the dishwasher open and is standing on the door. I don't understand the fascination. Nolan has recently learned to climb (a few months after his brother, he has a different build) and is constantly dragging my kitchen chairs everywhere. So THAT has been a whole lot of fun.
They all enjoy going out side and can be pulled out of any cranky mood at the mere mention of going outside. They love the dirt and water that can be found in the garden. So they are constantly there despite Milton always telling them to stay away.
They also enjoy swinging on the swing on their tummy because they can do it without help. and Quinten likes to climb up the ladder and go down the slide by himself.
Milton has been completing various big projects outside (chicken coop, irrigation pipe, garden redesign) with some help from me. I have my own projects, but am kept busy for the most part chasing children down and feeding them along with cleaning and laundry.
I'm excited for my Canterbury bells which are going to bloom in the next day or so (they are opening Laura!!!) and the first couple are going to be purple. but I see pink and white also.
I still have to figure out what to do with lots and lots of larkspur as well as a whole ton of volunteer tomato plants from our garden. ugh.
Milton and I recently went a way for a quick weekend trip a couple of weeks ago. We had a couple of quiet days in Cascade and boy did we need it. Life has been so overwhelming lately and I knew I needed a breather before summer started. Its my month to teach sharing time, so that's an added stress that I enjoy for the most part. I like the weeks that i feel the kids respond and I feel like a failure the weeks that the kids just stare at me. But I'm getting better at it and have had more good lessons than bad.
I'm so proud of Milton. He continues to actively seek a healthy lifestyle. he gets up at an insane hour and works out every morning before work. I contribute homemade yogurt (check my other blog for the recipe!) and homemade bread, as well as love and support. He is looking so good these days and has so much energy. I love it!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Potty training!
Its finally that time. We are potty training Ned. Wow. We started Monday and have been going ever since. We've had bright shiny days where he took himself 4 times, days of ups (he pooped in the potty chair) and downs (he pooped his pants while we were outside). We are having more ups than downs lately, so thats good. He loves the control it gives him. He gets to be a big boy and be in charge of things a little more.
The other day we were in the garden and he was very helpfully pulling weeds. I said Wow Ned, when did you get to be such a big boy? and he said I go Potty! . That was really cute.
The twins are now the destructive duo, the terrible twosome, and any other name you can come up with. They are a team of destruction from sunup to sundown. I clean up and have the house sparkling and 12 hours later (the next morning) it looks like I never clean my house. We are working on no and giving them more limits since climbing and figuring out how to open things (like the dishwasher) have opened up so many opportunities for exploring these days.
They love to go outside and will cry if you try and go outside without them.
In general they are happy boys, but Nolan gets upset if someone takes a toy away from him and will cry and cry. Quinten is saying "shoe!" and Nolan will say "Hi!" and waves hi and bye.
They both love Grandma who has been coming over to help with them while potty training has been going on.
The girls are excited to be done with school next week. Its earlier than ever this year due to budget cuts. Luckily the budget is restored next year so we will be back to a normal school year.
Interesting thing I learned this year. Grades are due Friday (today), so the whole last week of school is basically pointless. Cecilee had a few hours at the local Rec center with her class today, and then she said that they made it almost all the way through "The Rookie". Hmmm.
Mia has been doing well in school and piano. I wish she would practice more because she has such talent!
They are both taking lessons from Grandma and will be having a recital June 1st!
If you are wondering where all the farm and garden stuff has gone, I've started a separate blog for it.
http://thelazygardeners.blogspot.com/
Its a blog where I will talk about all the crazy stuff I do like garden, make yogurt, cultured butter, homemade bread and cheese, etc. I'm going to learn how to make cottage cheese! Cows! Chickens! garden redesign! and things like that. This will be the purely family blog.
My other blog, http://freeldsbooks4kindle.blogspot.com/ where I post free LDS books for Kindle is also going strong. There have been a lot of good free books in the past few months and I'm enjoying helping everyone get them for free!
Anyway, enough for now. I've got to figure out what to do with 40-50 extra tomato plants...Read more at my other blog.
The other day we were in the garden and he was very helpfully pulling weeds. I said Wow Ned, when did you get to be such a big boy? and he said I go Potty! . That was really cute.
The twins are now the destructive duo, the terrible twosome, and any other name you can come up with. They are a team of destruction from sunup to sundown. I clean up and have the house sparkling and 12 hours later (the next morning) it looks like I never clean my house. We are working on no and giving them more limits since climbing and figuring out how to open things (like the dishwasher) have opened up so many opportunities for exploring these days.
They love to go outside and will cry if you try and go outside without them.
In general they are happy boys, but Nolan gets upset if someone takes a toy away from him and will cry and cry. Quinten is saying "shoe!" and Nolan will say "Hi!" and waves hi and bye.
They both love Grandma who has been coming over to help with them while potty training has been going on.
The girls are excited to be done with school next week. Its earlier than ever this year due to budget cuts. Luckily the budget is restored next year so we will be back to a normal school year.
Interesting thing I learned this year. Grades are due Friday (today), so the whole last week of school is basically pointless. Cecilee had a few hours at the local Rec center with her class today, and then she said that they made it almost all the way through "The Rookie". Hmmm.
Mia has been doing well in school and piano. I wish she would practice more because she has such talent!
They are both taking lessons from Grandma and will be having a recital June 1st!
If you are wondering where all the farm and garden stuff has gone, I've started a separate blog for it.
http://thelazygardeners.blogspot.com/
Its a blog where I will talk about all the crazy stuff I do like garden, make yogurt, cultured butter, homemade bread and cheese, etc. I'm going to learn how to make cottage cheese! Cows! Chickens! garden redesign! and things like that. This will be the purely family blog.
My other blog, http://freeldsbooks4kindle.blogspot.com/ where I post free LDS books for Kindle is also going strong. There have been a lot of good free books in the past few months and I'm enjoying helping everyone get them for free!
Anyway, enough for now. I've got to figure out what to do with 40-50 extra tomato plants...Read more at my other blog.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Charter schools. What a joke
We all have to pay for them, but have you tried to get in? Its nearly impossible unless you are one of the lucky few.
The only way you even have a chance to get in is if you are willing to do a mid year transfer when another student moves or transfers out. They have a different schedule so they start earlier than public school.
I am so over charter schools.
I still can't believe I have to pay for them yet I can't seem to get into them under normal circumstances. You know, on the first day of school.
Ugh.
Yes, just got the lottery results. No chance in that hot place. Again.
Here have some more of my tax dollars!
I just walked away from this post and I'm back and still ticked off! I have 3 charter schools within 1 mile of my home. I can't get into any of them and have to have my kids bussed to the public school which is several miles away and across a highway (not an interstate, don't want to be unfair).
And I have to pay for them anyway!
It just makes me so mad.
Charter school boundaries are not the same as normal school boundaries. One of our charter school boundaries is one subdivision. ONE. And guess how many houses are in that sub? I think they may have 3 now. It was hit hard by the housing bubble bursting. So even though I am within 1 mile of that school, I'm considered out of bounds. Just like the child 2 towns over in either direction.
Seriously. I. AM. SO.TICKED.OFF.
Ugh.
Worst is that I can't even say anything about this because I would make half my ward mad since they are on the boards of or part of the founding group of parents, or have kids in 1 of the 3 charter schools.
I really would like to send a letter of complaint about this but can't even figure out who to send it to.
The only way you even have a chance to get in is if you are willing to do a mid year transfer when another student moves or transfers out. They have a different schedule so they start earlier than public school.
I am so over charter schools.
I still can't believe I have to pay for them yet I can't seem to get into them under normal circumstances. You know, on the first day of school.
Ugh.
Yes, just got the lottery results. No chance in that hot place. Again.
Here have some more of my tax dollars!
I just walked away from this post and I'm back and still ticked off! I have 3 charter schools within 1 mile of my home. I can't get into any of them and have to have my kids bussed to the public school which is several miles away and across a highway (not an interstate, don't want to be unfair).
And I have to pay for them anyway!
It just makes me so mad.
Charter school boundaries are not the same as normal school boundaries. One of our charter school boundaries is one subdivision. ONE. And guess how many houses are in that sub? I think they may have 3 now. It was hit hard by the housing bubble bursting. So even though I am within 1 mile of that school, I'm considered out of bounds. Just like the child 2 towns over in either direction.
Seriously. I. AM. SO.TICKED.OFF.
Ugh.
Worst is that I can't even say anything about this because I would make half my ward mad since they are on the boards of or part of the founding group of parents, or have kids in 1 of the 3 charter schools.
I really would like to send a letter of complaint about this but can't even figure out who to send it to.
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