Thursday, February 28, 2013

Greenway Success

Finally a trip to the greenway where I didn't have to drag a screaming Eli out. He loves and begs to go, but when we finally get there it's hair pulling fun. Today however he made the trip successfully and little Livi didn't protest too much either.


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Helicopter Mama

I never thought I was a helicopter mama until I read this post on E, Myself and I. I mean I make fun of those mamas! We have a sign about Helicopter parenting on the front door of our school...especially for those parents that seem to think they need to walk their kid in everyday after the first couple weeks of school, put their kid's bags away and hover.

However when thinking about it I do kind of hover. Isaac has a cell phone but it's closely monitored and he can't receive any picture messages. I don't know about ya'll but all that talk about 'sexting' has me a little petrified. We have our internet locked down and our TV has parental codes for anything over PG 13. We stay involved in all his school events (he made A honor roll again!) and never miss an opportunity for  a parent conference. He gets to go to friends' houses but only people we know VERY well. Josh and I have even had to turn him down in front of a parent that asked if he could come over. There are just too many weirdos out there.

So I am protective, I want to know all that's going on. We have talks about all sorts of stuff; even the hard stuff. I definitely think a parent can be over protective and Josh and I both try to give him trust and freedom that he has earned. He is very responsible and has been that way from early on. I would have no issues leaving him home alone for an hour or so now that  he is 12 years old because he isn't like me! When I was 12, my mom came home from work and I was at the end of our driveway burying a time capsule with only a tee-shirt and undies on. She also came home to me on top of the roof on a couple occasions. Isaac would never do that...but I can already tell you Eli might be a different story. I'll let you know in 10 years.

Every decent parent wants what is best for their kid and each person has their own thoughts about what that is. People want to think it's all about school.. whether it's public, private, or homeschooling. I just don't think that's the answer. Each kid is an individual, has different needs and one way is not necessarily the 'right' way.  I went to a private school from 3rd grade to 9th grade and it was a great experience. Isaac has been in public school since pre-K and so far it has been a great experience. Even when I had to drive out of district I felt that consistency was important. He stayed at the same elementary school from PK to 6th grade. I loved teaching at his school because he could come to my classroom in the mornings and afternoons, I could say 'hey' at lunch time and I was there if he needed me. So we are going to keep on our course of public schooling while it is working. Hey, don't change it if it's not broke! Not to say that we won't ever think about other options.

 I try not to hover too much because my job is to teach him to be an independent and functional member of society without me. I've never been big on fixing their plate after they can do it (how are they going to learn how to serve themselves), or doing their homework ( I won't be there for the tests).  When Isaac was small we sat down did homework together, then as he got older I would check his assignment notebook, and now he's at the point where I don't have to ask if he has homework because I know he will get it done. It's a good feeling knowing that he is responsible enough to get it done, because one day he's going to be in college and won't have his mama asking him if he finished his work. In the mornings, he wakes up to his alarm, gets ready, and is ready to go to school before we are ready to take him. I do wish some of his 'responsibleness' would carryover to hygiene. He still needs reminders about showers and teeth brushing.

Eli needs a little more hovering right now. He still needs his heiny wiped, even though he is getting pretty good at doing it himself.  But one day he too will spread his wings and it's my job to make sure he can fly.



I like this quote, "An infallible way to make your child miserable is to satisfy all his demands." Henry Home




Even Livi gets to learn how to self feed 

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Aunt Elvira and the cemetery

My great-aunt, Elvira passed away this week. She was 94 and lived right beside my grandmother. My grandmother was the youngest of 5 girls and was the first of the sisters to pass away in 2009. There are now only two left, Aunt Lib and Aunt Helen. Aunt Lib is 96 and can walk up and down her basement stairs better than a 40 year old. She emails, walks, and is just an amazing lady. Aunt Helen is in good health as well.  All 5 sisters were/are remarkable women and I am thankful that I got to know them.



Aunt Elvira's service was at the Greenlee Cemetery, a family cemetery, where my dad and grandmother are buried. It was hard not to think about both of them as I attended the graveside service which was similar to my grandmothers'. Audra, Olivia and I walked over to their graves and no longer is there a mound of dirt on top... grass has already covered the ground in 2 short years. In ways it seems like we were just there.. mourning my grandmother's death and then my dad's. As I held Olivia in my arms and stared at his grave I thought about how much I would love to wrap my arms around Daddy's neck and kiss my Bubba's wrinkled cheek. I would love for them to meet Olivia and Camden and see how much the boys have grown. It's hard to lose a parent at 30 and I'm sure other people would say at any age is tough. Time really does help...it has gotten easier... the raw hurt and grief doesn't come as often but I still miss them both like crazy!


I love this picture of Daddy. He wore these sun glasses all the time.



Daddy at Audra's wedding


Daddy and Bubba (my grandmother) at my wedding


PJ party

I hosted a Bachelor PJ party at my house on Monday night. I invited a few girls I knew watched the show and we watched Sean on the big screen, in our pajamas, and I made some goodies off of Mix and Match Mama's (Sean's sister) blog. Josh took care of the kids.. he did the baths and bedtime so I could hang out upstairs.

The most delicious food item was the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Neiman Marcus Bars... click here for the recipe.  Ingredients include a BOX of powdered sugar, cake mix, 4 eggs, 8 oz of cream cheese... get the drift. Totally not healthy but they sure were good!


Sleep

We have put Olivia in her room... gasp! After 9 months the little tyke gets to sleep in her pretty nursery.  We haven't done any actual sleep training yet because we felt she needed to get used to sleeping in her crib first.. however we had our first success last night. She went down at 7:45pm and slept until 7:30 am without waking up! I woke up at 3, 4 and 6 am checking to make sure she was still alive. Hopefully this trend will continue and I will be a happier and much less sleep deprived mama!






Friday, February 15, 2013

V day

Look at my little Valentine. His cheeks are flushed, nose snotty, mouth has chocolate all over it and I could eat him up! 








Josh surprised me with 2 orchids and 4 cards. I get why he gave me 2 orchids....he knows my track record. I cannot keep those things alive. I guess he thought I needed a backup.





Isaac said a girl asked him out today. He told her "I'm just not dating anyone right now." I told him he wasn't allowed to date until he was 16 a long time ago and he still thinks that's true,  so I will let him go on thinking that. I'm not in any hurry for him to have a girlfriend. Who needs that drama in 7th grade. There is plenty of time. I hope when my boys grow up that I won't be a crazy MIL that thinks no one deserves her son... but I might be ;) I'll have to start praying about that now. Thinking about some girl taking away my baby boys makes me uneasy. 

Olivia is 9 months

Our little princess is 9 months old. It makes me sad to think that in 3 months she will be one! I am 98%  sure that she is our last but I still can't get rid of my maternity clothes or baby stuff. My head says that 3 is plenty.. 3 college tuitions, 3 cars... they are expensive little buggers. Josh doesn't want to make any definite decisions until she is older. The past two weeks when I could count my weekly sleep on 1 hand, had two sick needy babies, and I've been sick myself I think my percentage went to 99.99. 

Olivia's  hair is getting thicker and dark and the little bows are staying much better. I'm excited to be able to let her hair grow and I suppose I will have to learn how to do girl hair. As you see from the pictures below she is pulling up on everything and she was trying to pull her sticker off her onesie. She loves to crawl to the toy cabinet, pull up and pull toys out. Livi is weighing in at 18 lbs 3 oz (50%) and is 27 1/4 inches long (50%). She is still wearing size 3 diapers and 6-12 month clothes. 

Even though she is much smaller than the boys were, she loves to eat, and is eating soft table food and baby food. She continues to nurse during the day and most nights (I need to put a stop to the night time deal because she is definitely not hungry!).  Her two bottom teeth are through and it looks like the front top teeth will be breaking through really soon. 

She had a great report at the pediatrician, only needed one shot and aced her Ages and Stages. When the Dr came in she started saying 'dada'.. he has similar features to her daddy. Livi is a mama's girl but gets super excited to see Josh. Lately she starts squealing and crawling to get him. It's super sweet and Josh just melts when she looks at him. He has already said he's going to have a hard time disciplining this one. 

Monday, February 11, 2013

The crud

Little Miss started feeling poorly and running a temperature Monday night. I was up all night. Tuesday, still a fever, cough, crying. I was up all night - every 20 minutes she would wake up. I never hit REM. Wednesday, fever and crying continues- go to Dr. Just a virus. Blah. Up all night again. Thursday, more fever, still  no sleep. Mama is about to crack. 5:45 am sent crazy text  to hubby (who's been in guest room all week). Friday the husband took off work, I put ear plugs in and slept from 9am to 1pm. It was glorious. I guess he thought it was better to miss a day of work than be a widow. 

We took her back to the doctor on Saturday and her virus had turned into an ear infection so now we are antibiotics and she is sleeping much better. Here is to hoping the rest of the house stays healthy.. I need to break out the clorox wipes. 




Monday, February 4, 2013

What we do for the Super Bowl...


We had a party at Nana's house. We had wings, chicken tenders, hamburgers, nachos, hot dogs, pie and brownies. 


We had a stripper
Live wrestling fights and horsie rides
and yummy treats!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Pinterest disaster



This was supposed to be a healthy pancake. It was made from one ripe banana and an egg. Evidently I did something wrong. 

Hearing halo headband


Olivia's hearing halo headband came and we've been using it daily. She is getting much more hearing aids hours and doesn't seem to mind wearing it. She will turn right away to all the Ling 6 sounds and is learning new words.  She is saying, "mama", "dada", "bye bye" (and waving), "hey", "papa" (every-time she sees him!),  and "ba" (for ball- and will hold up the ball).  

She had her first Kindermusik class today and she loved it. We sang, swayed, danced, bounced, and played with instruments and scarves. There are two other baby girls in her class that are a little older. Her class is every Saturday morning so most likely I will take her and Josh will hold down the fort with the boys. He didn't appreciate my 'suggestions' on things to do while I was gone.