Family Update for Mid-April 2014

After noticing that I have been posting way too many recipes lately on our blog, I thought it was time to make a non-food post! We eat a lot. Every day, actually. Delicious food, too. And I like to share the yummy recipes that I find. But, we are more than just food.

Homeschool Planning

I have been spending a lot of time getting ready for homeschool in the Fall. My daughter will be studying a kindergarten curriculum and I am trying to plan things so that my toddler son can be included in the lessons, and for the subjects that Sugar Plum needs my one-on-one attention I need to find something to keep him entertained (without using the TV, of course). It’s actually quite challenging. He’s more at a learning-through-play age right now while she’s ready for more actual instruction mingled with learning play (there’s only so much fun that can be put into practicing handwriting or learning to read, but I am trying).

There is so much that I want my children to learn and I just don’t have enough time in the day to teach it to them. That and having school for 12+ hours a day would not be fun for them! Planning an age appropriate curriculum that will keep the kids entertained and interested is hard work! I had thought about purchasing a full curriculum, but I am not satisfied with any of them at the moment and they are far too overpriced. But I did settle on a math curriculum. This is the only curriculum that I am not going to plan all by myself, because it’s such a crucial subject that I don’t want to leave anything important out. Now I just need to budget my money to be able to afford the curriculum each year (my husband and I set up budgets for just about everything, so yes, I also have a homeschool budget to go by). I can see how homeschooling can be very expensive, but I’m going to try to be as frugal as possible.

I have come across some great resources online to help me teach them both and some blogs with advice for mom’s like me that still need to teach but also need to take care of younger children. I feel ready. The only thing I am clueless about is the temperament of baby #3, who will not be born until mid-July, just 2 weeks before the start of school! There’s a lot that we’ll have to play by ear and take one day at a time.

Getting Ready for Baby #3

Something else we‘ve been up to is getting ready for baby. I still have another 13 weeks to go but I already want to start unpacking and washing the baby boy clothes. My daughter has completely accepted that she will have another baby brother. She has fallen in love and likes to give the baby (my tummy) hugs often. Bear finally understands that there is a baby in my tummy. If I am holding him and he starts kicking and throwing a tantrum, I tell him to be careful not to kick mommy’s tummy because the baby could get hurt. When I say this, he starts crying. Really, really sad crying. Like he thinks he already hurt the baby and he feels so sorry. Then it makes me so sad because he’s feeling sad. I assure him that the baby is fine and we sit down on the couch and he gives my tummy lots of love. I am so lucky to have two tender-hearted children. They have their moments, but they really are just amazingly sweet most of the time. How did I ever get so lucky?

Other than homeschool planning and daily life, we don’t have much going on. I suppose it’s time to end this update and get back to work!

Jenny

 

Six Months Later

Something amazing happened yesterday and I didn't even realize it.

 

Yesterday, April 7th, marked 6 months since the Charmer's open heart surgery.

 

 

He is amazing. He has healed so well and that's why I didn't think of it.

 

I love his scar. It has faded a lot over the past 6 months, but I still love it. It reminds me of what he's been through.

 

It reminds me how strong he is. It reminds me of how incredible modern medicine is. It reminds me of how amazing the power of prayer can be. It reminds me how fragile life is, and how we should treasure every moment. It reminds me of how much I love being a mother.

 

I love how he points to his "boo-boo". I love how he giggles when I kiss it.

 

I could never change this experience because of how much I have learned from it.

 

I love my little heart warrior.

Welcome, Warm Weather!

Spring is here and the sun is shining!

 

It has been a long winter for us here in eastern North Carolina. Mild compared to other places in the U.S., but we're not used to that sort of thing down here. I lost count of how many inches of snow we've received. But we are so thrilled for it to be warm enough to enjoy playing outside.

The kids live for the outdoors. They both enjoy it in their own way.

 

Bridget wants everyone to look at her and what she's doing, over and over and over again. She's a bit needy, but she's cute.

 

George on the other hand is very independent. He plays with a pinecone or a stick for a few minutes, then moves onto something else in the yard, like the garden. I think he's going to be our little gardener this year. We'll need to get that started soon.

 

On this particular day, I realized something about George. The kids had been outside playing for well over an hour, but he hadn't yet broken a sweat. The temperature was 86 degrees, so it was plenty warm, but he was still dry. His hair was dry, skin was dry, and his cheeks were just a little bit pink. This is significant for us because of all that he had been through last year. He used to sweat a lot because his heart was enlarged and not working properly. This year is different. It's great. We are so fortunate to have two healthy children.

This entire week has been beautiful. We might be in for a rainy weekend but the temperatures don't seem to be getting lower than the 60s. We've waited a long time for this. We hope everyone else is enjoying this lovely weather, too!

Family Photo Bloopers 2014

We did it!! We survived family photos. With the crazy year we had last year (with George's heart surgery), family photos kept getting put off. Then we found out we were having another baby and my tummy began growing. I needed to get photos of just our family of 4 before I got too big. I didn't want George to look back and think, "oh, they forgot about me" when it came to family pictures (our last family picture was with just our family of 3). So we finally got it done today!! Some of them turned out really great, and of course there are the "bloopers".

 

 

This little boy is just adorable, and I love that little tongue sticking out. But it didn't make the cut to send to our family. But it does show his silly personality!

 

Oh she is so sweet. And super shy. It totally shows in this photo. In fact, it shows it in a lot of photos with her looking down yet still trying to look at the camera. I hope she gets over her shyness one day because she really does know how to make a great picture.



I think hubby and I look fine (I do have some hair out of place) but of course the kids are looking just a little bit off.

My husband's family apparently carries a gene (or a curse?) where they automatically shut their eyes when the camera goes "click". Bridget may have been able to avoid that gene but poor George inherited it!

My sweet little Bridget again. This would have been a perfect photo, but I don't know what in the world she was doing holding up her fingers!

 

This photo captures George's thoughts (and actions) during each little setup of photos. "Okay mom, I'm done now!"

 

That's why I say we survived family photos. Bridget was great (other than her shyness) but George was all over the place, grabbing extra props and using them as building blocks and wanting them all in his pictures. Then of course he wouldn't sit for more than 2 seconds. So I am amazed by some of the really good shots they did get of him.

 

It feels good to finally have this over and done with, and to have some updated pictures of our family to put on the wall. I've been a bit of a slacker. Now I just need to buy more frames (or save money for frames and buy them in 2015? Ha!).