Traveling
We had a really busy June. Well, at least the 2nd half was busy. In mid-June, Justin went to South Dakota for 5 days with his boyfriend, Jon. Haha I'm just kidding. They were only there for 3 days, but the drive was basically a day each way. ;0) They went prairie dog hunting, which is kinda like whack-a-mole from a long distance. He had a blast either way.
A few days after Justin got back, we drove down to Macomb, Illinois, which is where his mom, grandparents and aunt live. Plus various other relatives were in town. It was a nice, lazy visit. I read 2 books while I was there and ate so much delicious crap. We stayed from Wednesday the 22nd to Sunday the 26th.
A few days after going to Macomb, we drove to my parents' house near Toledo. More lazing around, more delicious food, and more family. The most exciting thing that happened during our visit was my parent's 100th party on July 3rd. My siblings and I planned a big bash to celebrate their 60th birthdays and 40th wedding anniversary. It was a big success! One reason that I hadn't blogged since mid June is that I was spending hours and hours working on a scrapbook about my parents' life and marriage that was to be given to them at the party. Anyway, we stayed until Tuesday the 5th, and then headed home. Justin was definitely ready to be done driving! And thank God that our van has a DVD player! What a lifesaver that was.
Josie
Last month Josie started seeing a speech therapist. I really think it's helping her, but she still has a long way to go. The therapist thinks she's about a year behind in terms of her communication. She has been repeating things a lot more, and talking in 3-4 word phrases/sentences more since starting her therapy. I'm okay with Josie being a late bloomer; I just want to make sure we're not being too apathetic about her development.
Also, she's not potty-trained yet, and that's a wee bit concerning for me, but I know that it's not unheard of for a child not to be potty-trained before 3. I do think that it'll be easier after she is able to communicate with me better. We'll see though.
Even if Josie's behind in communication and going potty, I know that she's a smart little girl. I love that she sees letters and numbers and shapes everywhere. Just about every time I give her a sandwich, cut diagonally, she holds it up and says, "a triangle!" She is learning her lower-case letters and she can count to 20, and identify almost all of the numbers. The other day, Justin showed her: ∏ and taught her that it's pi. Of course, she has no idea what that means. The first couple times after she said "pi" she said, "cake." But it's still pretty cool I think. Also, I drew a ? and she attempted to say "mystery mouskatool!" Those who watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will understand.
Deuce
Deuce is a little stud, there's no doubt about that. He is starting to say more words, but his annunciation usually isn't very good. I'm hoping that as Josie starts speaking better, so will he. His favorite word is "more," which he uses all the time. He listens better than Josie did at that age, and probably better than she did a few months ago. I also think he understands what Justin and I are saying a little better than Josie did.
Josie and Deuce are really close, and I love watching them play together. They do fight over toys, but most of the time they enjoy being around one another. I hope this doesn't change as the years go on.
Parks
I decided that I wanted to explore the parks in our area this summer. So far we've been to Sheridan (right down the street, so hardly an exploration), Grant, Saveland, South Shore and Kinderberg (that's in Germantown, so way too far away). I imagine that at some point this summer we'll go to Greene Park, as well as Pulaski, Greenfield, Kulwicki, and Zablocki. And hopefully more! I realize that for those who aren't familiar with the Milwaukee area will be totally clueless about all the parks I just mentioned.
Last Saturday, I pushed the kids in the double-stroller to South Shore Park, almost 3 1/2 miles away. It's a big park, so there was no sitting down and watching the kids play. I had to follow them around, and I was exhausted! Then we had to walk home (It took us about an hour each way). Needless to say, I was so tired when we got home! But I felt good about the exercise I got!
Yesterday, I took the kids to Kinderberg park in Germantown. We met my friend, Sam, and her 4 kids there. There was a splash pad and a big playground and a pavilion, so it's really nice. This was our first time at a splash pad, and after some trepidation, Josie really started to love playing in the water. Deuce wasn't so sure. I ended up putting on my suit (apologies to everyone else there) and running through the water with the kids. Deuce wasn't exactly thrilled with that, however. 80) I'm looking forward to finding more splash pads in the area to enjoy. Otherwise, we can always go visit our friends, the Bessas, because they have a pool in their backyard!
Growing Family
Justin and I have been trying to get pregnant since January or February. We're a little bummed that it hasn't happened yet, but I'm not worried. I just know that we have a limited amount of time, and we want 2 more. I guess we'll just keep doing what we're doing ;0) and pray.
Other Thoughts
I've been in a bit of a slump lately. I gained some weight during our travels, and I'm still kicking myself about it. I'm trying to get back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon, but it hasn't been easy. I really want to be happy with my body, but I'm so far from that. I understand that it's vanity to care about my looks so much, but I don't know how to change my perspective. I'm working on just making good choices and not being so consumed by the scale or how I look. I'm basically healthy and in decent shape, so I should just shut up about it and be content, right? (Mo just said, "Amen!" lol)
Speaking of being content, Justin still isn't regarding his job. And if I'm honest, neither am I. He's been on 3rd shift for over a year, and for almost that long, we've been hoping and praying something better (ie, during the day) comes along. For a year before that, he worked a very early 1st shift, which he hated, because he was severely micromanaged. It's been over 2 years since Justin has gone to church with us, and that just plain sucks. Both for him, not being able to be there, and for me having to deal with both kids myself.
I don't want to be a complainer, so that's all I'm going to say about that.
God is good. He is faithful. He satisfies my every need. I'm going to hold onto those thoughts.
Hopefully my next blog won't be a month from now!
lol! I did say AMEN! :)
ReplyDelete