Two Weeks To Go!

I am trying to get everything on my "to do" list done by this Saturday so that I can relax for a few days before the scheduled delivery (of course, this is all based on her not deciding to arrive early!) Aubrey's party is Friday at the dance studio and her Nana and Gramps are coming down (hooray!) to attend. If I work hard this week and get everything else done, after the party I should be down to the "normal" tasks with no special projects. Preparing home and family for a new arrival is certainly a lot of work, but so very exciting. One of my last projects: I am finishing a list of activity bags to prepare for the preschoolers while I am off to the hospital. Here are a few of my easiest/favorites ...

• The circulars from a Sunday paper, 4 pieces of differently colored construction paper, and glue. The kids have to find as many pictures as possible that have the same color as the paper and glue them to that paper.
• Printed paper with rows of 4 shapes in different orders (easy to do with MS Word!), printed paper with the same shapes all mixed up to cut out. The kids cut out the mixed up shapes and then organized them to look like the rows. You can then use the cut-out shapes to make different pictures in another bag!
• Printed paper with pictures of common backyard items (like a leaf, etc). The kids take the paper outside and find the items. When they find the item they can take a picture (Aubrey has a kid camera) or draw the item or simply show me.
• A deck of cards all mixed up. The kids are supposed to sort the cards - Eli can sort by color, Aubrey by number, etc. I include a list of "ways to sort" to remind myself of the possibilities.
• Construction paper, stickers, markers ... kids make cards for relatives, friends, me.
• Mystery CD - pick any music CD you want, the kids listen to the CD, pick a song, and make up a dance to go with that song.
  
• Extra photos that you have cut to make "puzzles" that the kids put together. They especially love it when they are in the picture!
• Action cards: printed pictures of kids doing different actions (such as jumping jacks, or running). The kids "pull" a card and do that action. You can also do this with cards of different animals (like a bunny) that the kids have to "act out".
• Construction - using Legos or pipe cleaners or whatever you have, build something and take a picture. Print out the picture and deconstruct the materials. The kids have to try to recreate the item with the materials.
• Other Toy Time - take a picture of toys that you have in cubbies, etc (like the collection of Tag books) and print the pictures so that each toy "set" is featured in its own picture. Then, when it is time, the kids "draw a card" and go play with those toys until the timer goes off
  

I am sure there are many better ideas - but these were a few of mine. The possibilities are really limitless and once you have the bags set up they last for a few uses!!

4 Weeks!

At most, I now have four weeks before our newest addition!! I have taken serious inventory of the things that I need for an infant. After two children, this process is much easier - and I already have many of the "essentials". What have I learned is necessary for me to make caring for an infant easier?

• First - having a supply of diapers, wipes, and several changing stations (with a DiaperGenie). We have a station in her room and in the den, so that it is never far away. We are going to transition to cloth diapers for this little one, as she won't be going to daycare, but we plan to use disposables for the first couple of weeks.
  
• Next, I love the My Breast Friend (hate the name - it is a little creepy - but the product rocks) for BF and, of course, a pump.
  
• We have a place for her to sleep (hahahahaha) at night.
  
• I am trying a different wrap this time - instead of the sling I used with the last two, I am using a Mei Tai wrap.
  
• If you have more than one child, or if you have animals, you know the need to set up "safe places" for the baby in the common areas - someplace I can set her down and the other kids will not have immediate access.
  
• I have about 10 outfits for her (which should get me through 2 or 3 days of "I didn't have time to do laundry").
  
• I also need to have several preprepared freezer meals, our clothes all washed and ready for a week or so of no/sporadic laundry, and
  
• A few busy-time bags set up for the kids (large Ziploc bags with an activity that keeps the older kids busy for 30 minutes or so).
• A journal/calendar to jot down funny/terrifying moments that can later be transferred to a scrapbook or baby book.
• A camera - charged and ready to go! - and my iPod (for moments where I really need to get away, but can't, I use music as a mental escape).
  

There is a much longer list of "hope to have's" ... but the above are what I consider essential! Next I will post a list of my favorite "busy time" bags that will hopefully help me keep my New Year's Resolution of Incredibly Limited or No TV for the kids (I still plan to late-night watch Top Chef and Project Runway and Masterpiece Mystery!!)

The Benefits of Seeing It Over and Over

My youngest (well, the youngest who is actually on the "outside") is entranced by a certain animated horse movie that stars a mustang horse and a Lakota youth. This means that I get requests to watch the movie every single day (I am pretty sure he would watch it on a constant loop if I permitted!) and that translates to actually watching the movie at least 3 times a week. Of course, I have heard many friends comment on how their little ones like to watch the same movie or show over and over. At first, this seemed a move destined to drive me literally insane, but I have come to appreciate the subtle nuances I missed the first (twenty) viewings. I like that I can time other activities by the current status of the movie. I feel zero compunction about switching it off at any point (we can always talk through the ending). And, since I have long since previewed and reviewed the content, I don't have to watch it while it is on - at all!

Scientists suggest we have a novelty gene - a gene that controls our love of new things. Many of us will only read a book one time, grow quickly irritated when our grandmother/father/friend tells us the same story for the fiftieth time, or become bored with routine workouts/meals/jobs. Yet a toddler will repeat an action, read a book, and watch a movie on an endless pattern. And while our youngest can quote lines and learn every detail, we often miss the minutia (even the word "minutia" evokes images of meaningless details). How often, though, is it the details and a thorough understanding of every part of the picture that would lend to us an advantage? How much have we missed as we seek to always experience the "new" instead of rigorously investigating the familiar?

Shared Spaces

We are down to 6 weeks before our new baby girl arrives (hooray!) and my laundry list of "things to do" seems to be getting longer rather than shorter. You would think that by the third time you greet a new child, all would be well under control!! (Or at least, that is what I thought...) One thing that is nice, is the comfort of knowing exactly what I need for "essentials" ... I plan to post on that later. But the new twist, this time, is combining the older two children into one bedroom (for the safety of all) until the new baby girl is old enough to share a room with our oldest. To making things trickier, this means combining a toddler bed and boy decorations (from our 2yo) with a "big girl bed" and girl decorations (from our soon-to-be 4 yo). I have searched and searched for the perfect bedding to make the room divided, but complementary. For some reason, I was steering away from "themed" bedding this time - I didn't want elephants, etc. I also didn't want puffy comforters. Also - I needed a site that offered the toddler sized sheets/bedding AND twin sizes - which truly narrowed the field. Finally, DH said "no repainting", so I needed things that would match the current wall color. I finally found a complementary patterned set ... but the price was astronomical. Reality check!! First, my 2yo and 4yo truly don't care what is laying on their bed. Second, I don't have the budget to satisfy my apparently high-flying tastes unless I am willing to sacrifice other, more practical items. Third, this will be a short-term design challenge and I have spent FAR too much time on the search - I need a decision!! So... I am investing the budget in two new toy storage units (from Target) and 2 new cabinets that will fit tidily into the closet (from Ikea). I am re-purposing his old bumper to make cushions that will tie the two beds together. His bed will have the large quilt from his infant set that we never used (no additional cost) and her bed will have a "girly" textile that is solid colored but includes interesting details, and pillows from his bumper as well as some more "girl-friendly" pillows to tie it all together. I am going to add some of their own artwork in frames as accents and call it a day. Whew - glad to have that decision behind me!! If you are searching for ideas for shared spaces, Pottery Barn Kids had a few, and Land of Nod (high end) and Target (lower end) had the best selection of bedding. Happy hunting!

New Floors!

We got all new floors (upstairs and downstairs) over the past few weeks! It meant a lot of schedule rearrangements, corralling children, moving closets and books, rearranging, and now the process of organizing and reintroducing all of our belongings ... in other words, it was a hot mess. However, the new floors look amazing! After 12 years of the original contractor-grade carpet, our house has been transformed. This made me think of the turns happening in my recent history - replacing the tattered but familiar daily walk of a traditional classroom teacher with the new work-from-home and increase time with our kids "floor". It has taken a lot of rearrangement and judicious paring down of things that are no longer necessary (and simply add to the clutter), but the results are well worth it! I know that when the new one arrives, another time of adjustment will begin, but for now I plan to relax and enjoy the new floors!!!

Do Children Have A "Self-Destruct" Gene?

I have come to believe my children might be self-destructive...

Evidence #1: At the beach this weekend (lovely weather, great place to stay) my 3-year-old found a pill in the corner of a room in the hotel and apparently opened it and she said, upon interrogation, she put some in her mouth. (In case you are wondering, I was changing my 2-year old's diaper at the time.) Immediate panic!! After anguished "Should we call 911?!" I decided to call Poison Control first to identify the pill. The very nice lady identified the pill as Detrol - a bladder control pill. While we were on the phone, Aubrey looked at me very solemnly (she knew I was totally beside myself!) and said, "Are you calling the police? Please don't call the police." Where do they get these ideas? If I hadn't been about to vomit myself I may have laughed. Instead, it just broke my heart. "You are not in trouble, honey, but don't EVER pick up something on the floor and put it in your mouth. This is serious." Poison control reassured us that there was no danger, especially since much of the powder was on the floor, but we should watch for signs of dehydration. Crisis over, adrenaline levels declining.

Evidence #2: On the way to swim lessons yesterday, I looked in my rear view (which I have tilted so that I can see the kids in the back) and see my son has unlatched the top harness of his car seat. At the time, I am in the worst possible place to pull over, so I start to look for a break in traffic to move over and pull over. Instantaneously, my son pulls the handle to the door. No worries, right? It is child-locked. Only it is somehow NO LONGER child-locked and the door begins to open. I am chanting, "Don't panic" (but I am panicking!) and begin to slow and pull over into the median - which is big ditch. Half-in and half-out of busy traffic, I park, leap out, and swing the door open to fix his harness, yell "No!" twenty times, and relock the door. As I get back in, I see a police officer has pulled over behind me. Now I am sure I am going to get twenty tickets and have my children removed. But this sweet, kind soul just helps me merge back into traffic! Then, two minutes later, Eli tries it again!!!! This time, though, the door couldn't open (thank goodness!), I had moved to the right-hand lane with plenty of side roads to pull into, and I was able to get out safely. Then I cranked the harness so tight I am surprised he didn't have blue arms when we got there.

Truly, it is only through the grace of God that children make it to adulthood! As paranoid as I am about safety (and I know I can be terribly over-protective), incidents like these slip through the cracks of life - and make me SO GRATEFUL my children are currently able to snuggle into my arms.

A Break from Work

Hooray! Today - and for the next week - I have no online work!!!! I am so grateful for the job, and I enjoy continuing to interact with students and engage in professional development while I "stay at home", but it is INTENSE in the summer session because it is compacted and I plan to RELISH this break. Yesterday we celebrated my last work session with fingerpainting and water play. Today we are going to do a little retail reward. But the big fun is this weekend - a short trip with the kids but NO COMPUTER TIME!! I may even leave my phone off to completely disconnect! I should probably use the time to catch up on home projects, but ... yeah, that is so not going to happen! Best of all - I am NOT having to dread going back to school this fall!!!!!!

Cleaning House

Tying up lose ends is such a satisfying feeling - whether it is the stack of correspondence, a basket of laundry, or pruning your Facebook lists. I always feel better when I can think "I finished!" Heaven, of course, is the ultimate finish line - and so I imagine this feeling must be God's imprint within us - urging us the move forward to the completion of our own journey.

A Girl!!

The newest Day will be a little girl!! I am so excited that she and Aubrey will be sisters - a relationship that I find incredibly enriching personally and for most sisters I know. I do feel a little sad that, with 3, someone was going to be "odd man out"... but I cannot really see trying for a 4th. First, I would be terrified to go for another baby at my age because if there were chromosomal issues I would feel responsible. Second, there would be no guarantee that Eli would gain a brother - he may end up feeling even more left out! Still, I have prayed that God will change our minds if that is what He desires and that any decision to move forward with a fourth child would be made for all the right reasons - and not to gain a brother or sister, not to selfishly enjoy another baby, but because God called the baby to this world. If not, if we are complete as a family, then I hope God will lay this upon our hearts as well. In the meantime, I am celebrating this new little life!!! Every day I wake and tell her "hello!" We have been focusing on names so that this time our little one won't have to wait until the day we take her home to have a name. The naming process, for me, is so serious and important that I really dwell on all the potential pros and cons of each name. We make lists, "live" with the name for a few days, and then revise. The final decision, though, will come when we see her little face ... can't wait!!

A Great Week

This first full week has been so incredibly rewarding! Even the instances I lovingly refer to as "learning curve moments" have confirmed again and again our decision to take a break from teaching full time and stay at home. I realize the hardest part remains ahead, when I go from two running underfoot to three, but I can't wait. In so many ways I can see being a SAHM being more challenging that the teaching/daycare routine, but I am already exponentially happier.

Family

Spent Saturday with the extended family, celebrating Jason's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. It is amazing the number of successful marriages in his family! His parents remain close and loving. Both sets of his grandparents provide wonderful marriage models as well. Whenever we travel and see his family, it brings back a little bit of a longing to return to the county in which many of his family lives and he and I grew up. My mother kept the kids while we went to the celebratory dinner (which was also lovely) and we were able to sit and talk. I wish that we could do that more often, although there is a great deal here in Charlotte (like my own wonderful sister and niece, friends, and our church) to keep us here. Isn't it funny how when you have kids you begin to long for the very things you once pushed away?

I Love Playdates!

We all trooped over to one of my best friend's house yesterday. She has a son who is 1 year older than Aubrey, and the kids (even Eli!) played like fiends for a few hours. Aubrey and Eli adored the horses and one of the barn cats even let my two rub him (bad security risk, kitty!) When most people in an area "stayed home" with kids, did they have play dates a lot? Or was there too much to do? Growing up we had another family living nearby with kids our age and my sister remembers our mother and theirs sitting and drinking wine while we ran wild in the back yard, but they moved away when before I entered kindergarten. I still see kids in packs running around my neighborhood, but that honestly makes me a little nervous. I wish we could have play dates more often - the company, the interaction of the kids, the new experiences - all of these things made a summer day a wonderful treat!

I often worry about losing one Aubrey or Eli. For example, yesterday Eli's lips suddenly seemed to be more red than usual. I spent at least 4 minutes convinced he was about to suffer some sort of anaphylactic shock! This devotion (from one of my favorite sites) really spoke to me! Just click on the box...

A Day at Home

Yesterday was the first official day of just "the kids and mom" at home in the new stretch of working from home. I give myself a B+... we did get outside and do some "school" and I did the laundry as well as my own online work, but I let them watch 3 episodes of Bubble Guppies (2 in the morning while I did a little computer time and 1 when I started getting dinner ready). That is about, oh, 300% more TV than they are supposed to view at this age. I will have to figure out some workable alternatives... maybe I could hire a clown? (Just kidding!) Anyway, I was physically tired (I will have to build up stamina) but so happy at the end of the day.

Today I am continuing my "let's get this long overdue house-organizing done" and working to figure out a few schedules for our day. I hope it will be as great as yesterday!

Tomorrow Starts A New Journey!

Tomorrow will be my first official day as a "stay at home" mom. I will be working part-time online, but the majority of my time will be spent taking care of my family. As an educated female living in a (relatively) liberated society, I am so grateful that I have had the opportunities and the options to work outside the home, work inside the home, and combine the two. I am very excited!!! Of course, I imagine there will be a learning curve. How long? Who knows! All I know is that I do not have a second of regret in turning away from the "working world" for a while. I can guarantee I will be working just as hard as ever, but I hope that my time with my kids will ultimately be even more rewarding. And then, in December (if all goes well), our new little one will arrive! This is going to be one crazy new adventure for our family, but I know God will provide, protect, and prosper His plans for us!