Friday, December 23, 2011

Blog Name Change?

I've been Facebook free for almost a year. For the most part, it's been just fine. I haven't been chomping at the bit these last several months to rejoin. I've pretty much enjoyed being free from the gossip (okay that's kind of a lie. I still receive the occasional juicy bit of info via text lol) and drama and mean-spirited posts. And of course, the most important reason I quit FB was to spend more time with my children. I think I've improved in that area, but I'm still not the most attentive mom I could be. It always seems like there's something to be done that takes me away from them. (Today we spent a lot of time snuggling on the couch watching Veggie Tales. That was pretty amazing. 80) )

Anyway, we're getting a new microwave. Hopefully I won't use it for every last thing. Also, I'm rejoining Facebook on January 1st. That will be a full year without social media. (unless you count blogging?) My biggest fear is that I get sucked in and addicted again. So, I need to pray for strength and self-control! I know there are many people (I can't give you a number, but I'm pretty popular, so like, a lot) that have been nagging me to get back on and that they miss me. But the main reason I've decided to get back on FB is to help the home business I'm going to be starting. Shortly after the new year, I plan on consulting for Scentsy. If I want to keep in easy contact with customers, it just makes sense to be on facebook, especially since many of my customers will be friends and family (at least in the beginning). I really hope that I'm successful! I'll definitely be blogging about it!

So this leads me to my question: Should I change my blog name? Life During Facebook? Life With Facebook? Life in Spite of Facebook? Life Trumps Facebook?

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Goose is Getting Fat

I've officially gotten into the Christmas spirit.

Our decorations are up, including our first normal sized Christmas tree! Years before, we put up a little "Charlie Brown" tree that sat on a table in the corner. Well, my parents had an extra one they didn't need, so they gave it to us. It's just perfect for our little living room! Last Thursday, Justin put it together (I understand that going out in the cold, chopping down a real tree and hauling it home is a bit more manly, but I'm content with a fake one.) and strung the lights. He also did the garland at the top of the tree and put on the star. I did the rest of the trimmings. I also put out the Nativity set and other Christmas decorations.
I made this Advent calendar for the kids, along with a bunch of little ornaments to put in the drawers. Each day they get to open a drawer and put the ornament on the tree. I don't have 25 ornaments yet. I may have to substitute candy or other treats for some of the drawers.

Don't worry, the clashing table cloth didn't stay.
 



In addition to the decorations, there are some events coming up. I know that a lot of people get stressed out and annoyed by all the Christmas/Holiday events they're obligated to attend, but I'm excited! We have a friends' Christmas party this weekend, a cookie decorating party and exchange next week. There's a visit to Ohio to see my family, as well as the Farno Christmas exchange. Later in the month, we're having our mommies group Christmas party, part of which will be here. Christmas morning will just be our little family, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Judy will come up at the end of the month, which is when the kids will have a million more gifts to open.

I'm done buying gifts for the kids - but that's easy when you only get 3 for each. I do have some more shopping to do, but I'm not stressed about it. I'm hoping to get almost everything without physically entering a store. We'll see how that goes.

Unlike the vast majority of families around the country, we do not celebrate Santa Claus. There are just a few Santa ornaments. I don't think the idea of Santa is evil, especially since I know he's based on a real guy. Plus, I believed in Santa when I was little, and I turned out all right. ;0)  I just don't want to deceive my children about anything.  Obviously, we're going to make Jesus the emphasis of the season. At the same time, I want them to enjoy the "magic" of Christmas. I want my children to be excited about the gifts under the tree, and for a few years at least, wonder who and where they came from. One thing's for certain, I don't want my kids to ever think that they get gifts because of their behavior. They get gifts because we love them.

All in all, it's going to be a wonderful Christmas!

Speaking of wonderful, I wonder when It's a Wonderful Life will be on TV. There's another tradition I'll have to start with the kids...

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Kids

I really should be better at blogging about my kids...

Josie
Josie is 2 days shy of being 3 years and 5 months old. Other than the occasional accident, she is fully potty-trained, and is even sleeping in undies at night! It's funny how awful the process was a few months ago. Looking back, it doesn't seem like such a big deal. ;0) I've also learned that it's better to reward the positive than punish the negative, at least for her. Now we keep a small container of marshmallows that I give to her when she goes in the toilet (that is, when she reminds me haha).

Josie is still seeing a speech therapist once a week. There has definitely been a lot of improvements, and she really likes Julia, her therapist. She's gotten much better at saying that she wants something instead of whining or having to show me and point to whatever it is that she wants. This would probably seem bratty for other kids to do, but Josie points to herself and emphatically says, "I want X." I know that this is her way of learning how to properly express her needs/wants, so it doesn't bother me at all. However, we are working on adding the word "please" to that sentence. She's also gotten better at making choices. One choice we give her a lot is: Do you want help or do you want to do it yourself? She has become a lot more independent, and very often says, "do it self!" We're also working on yes and no questions, as well as open-ended questions. The latter will take more time, which I'm okay with.

Josie's main issue is not her expression of language. She repeats things very well and generally speaks pretty clearly. She struggles with the comprehension of language. So, she doesn't exactly have a speech problem, but a language comprehension problem. I've had to emphasize to myself that she doesn't follow instructions because she's a bad/disobedient child, but because she just doesn't understand. She needs a lot more repetition, visual assistance and follow through than most children her age. 

In the next several weeks, Josie is going to be evaluated by a group of "experts" from the local schools in order to determine what is the next step in addressing her language delays. She'll be evaluated by a school psychologist, an early childhood teacher, a speech and language pathologist, and  social worker. Justin and I are planning on homeschooling the kids, and I really hope that I don't have to put Josie in school. I will if that's the BEST thing for her. I don't want to cause her to be delayed more than she already is. On the other hand, I would love to be able to homeschool AND receive help from the local schools. We'll see though.

Josie's speech therapist suggested that she needed more interaction with other children her age. Last Tuesday morning she had her first tumbling class. It was a parent and tot class, and I think she really enjoyed herself! There are only two other children, and they are both significantly younger than Josie, but I still think she is going to learn a lot. One thing that I think will improve is her ability to follow instructions. I also hope her physical abilities, especially jumping and standing on one foot, will improve.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it previously, but Josie got a new bad a while back. She is now sleeping on a twin bed. The first few nights were a little rough, just because it was so unfamiliar, but she has really gotten used to her big girl bed. Also, she has learned how to open her bedroom door. It's an old, tricky handle, but she's figured it out! It's only a matter of time before she learns how to operate the remote control and make her own breakfast...

Deuce
Deuce is almost 22 months old. It's hard to believe that in just a couple months, he's going to be 2 years old! He really is a sweet, sweet boy. He loves giving hugs and kisses, even to his sister! However, he has recently started utilizing some wrestling moves on Josie. I have yet to see any submission holds or much "ground and pound" action, but Josie seems to think it's pretty funny right now.

Deuce's vocabulary is definitely improving. I actually think he's a little delayed in his speech as well, but he seems to comprehend language a little better. He talks a lot, but most of what he says is a completely different language. I have yet to determine what that language is, though. haha But anyway, recently he's been labeling things a little better and even putting a couple words together. For example, he says, "Good job!" and "All done!" and "Uh oh spaghettios!" ("spaghettios" sounds more like "W") and "More milk? and "Thank you!""

I'm wondering if I should get ready to potty-train Deuce. He has seen his sister go many many times, and often sits on the little potty while she's on the toilet. And he has started informing me when his diaper needs to be changed, either by grabbing at it or saying, "poop." I think that I might need to start potty-training him soon. The bigger I get, the harder it's going to be. And after the baby is born, I'm just not going to be able to for awhile. I just need to pump myself up for it again.

The boy has definitely developed some questinable habits. For example, the very first thing he does in the morning is grab the TV remote and say, "watch watch watch?!" He also has been prone to a few more temper tantrums lately. He seems to get frustrated easily. I hope that isn't a trait that he takes into adulthood. I don't want my kids to be high strung!

Generally Josie and Deuce play well together, but they've begun fighting over their toys more. I've made a point not to emphasize what toys belong to whom, because I don't like the whole "mine!!" stage that kids go through. I rarely say, "That's Josie's toy." Instead I say something like, "Deuce, Josie is playing with that right now. You can play with it when she's done." And vise versa. Or I'll say, "Why don't you play with 'this' while you wait?" If that doesn't work, I usually end up taking the toy away entirely.

I've been working on my consistency with discipline lately. I've gotten pretty fed up with the whining, so if either of them are carrying on for more than 30 seconds, I say something like, "that's enough crying/whining. You need to be all done now." And if they don't stop, I say, "do you want to go to bed/your crib?" Or "Do you want a spanking?" Usually they'll shake their heads "no." If the fit doesn't immediately stop, I tell them they have until the count of 3 to knock it off or they get the consequence. The key is to actually follow through with the consequences.

Baby
I am about 22 1/2 weeks along. You'd never know that by looking at me, because I look much bigger than that! We had an ultrasound right around 19 weeks, and everything looked good. The baby is also measuring as expected. Oh yeah, we also found out the sex of the baby. We're having another girl! Justin was really pulling for a boy. He's not sure he can handle the stress of having more than one teenage girl. (In the words of our friend, Tim: "When you have a boy, you only have to worry about one penis. When you have a girl, you have to worry about all of them." lol) We've decided to name her Margaret, after my sister. It so happens that one of Justin's favorite aunts was also named Margaret. Her nickname will be Margo. We are not sure on the middle name yet. I have some ideas, but we'll see what we end up deciding on.

She's gotten a lot more active in recent weeks, and I just love that! She hasn't started abusing me internally like Deuce did, but I'm sure that will come in due time. Also, I have not had horrible acid reflux. I really really hope I don't have to deal with that!

We are planning on another homebirth. I really can't imagine doing this any other way. I have chosen a different midwife, and so far I like her a lot. My last midwife was very knowledgeable and good at what she does, but I want a different "bed-side manner" this time. My closest girlfriends will be there to support me, and I'm really looking forward to that. I know that Justin likes having others there to ease his stress a little bit. He is so supportive and wonderful during labor, but I know that inside he's a complete wreck. Believe it or not, I do like the process of giving birth. It's very hard, but exciting and so fulfilling! And of course, I'm really looking forward to meeting our little girl!

But anyway, now you have some updates. That should hold you over for another month or so. ;0)