Archive for March, 2006

Still here

We’re still here! Emma’s been dealing with a doozy of a cold this past week, and it has been a bit of an ordeal at times. She also got to experience her very first earache (poor thing!) which was really quite an experience. Luckily the pain only lasted from about 6 pm to about 1 am when I finally managed to get her to let me put some garlic oil in her ear and she was finally able to sleep. The next morning, she was pretty much fine - a little pressure in her ear, but no pain. Phew! It was incredible what the ear infection did to her personality - it was like someone had taken my wonderful, sweet, generally cheerful little girl and replaced her with a wailing banshee. It didn’t help that she was just so tired and couldn’t get to sleep. I gave her a heating pad sort of thing (a sock w/ rice, warmed in the microwave) and that helped her to at least doze, but it took the oil for her to sleep. I was beginning to think I was going to have to pin her down to give it to her, but luckily I was able to convince her that it wouldn’t hurt. I am so thankful that Gregory was happy to be with Daddy for the evening, and went down easily that night so that I could focus on Emma. I am also so thankful that she was feeling so much better the next morning! Thank goodness for strong, healthy immune systems.

Because of all this, things have been pretty quiet around here. We’re still doing our “homeschooling block” and that is going well. I’ve changed it a little bit so that on Tuesdays and Thursdays we’re doing just the Bible story, church book, a very brief reading lesson (generally just a sound review), and a chapter from our chapter book. On the other days of the week we do a longer reading lesson, another Bible story, and we’ve started a nature study sort of thing with a little bit of a creative aspect with it. This week we started a batch of bean seeds in an egg carton and made a little book to record our observations. She’s telling me what to write, and we’re each drawing a picture of what the seed looks like. We’ll do another one tomorrow and we’re both anxiously waiting to dig up seed number two to see if it has any roots yet!

I’m still running, or walking and running, I guess I should say. I didn’t run on Friday or Saturday last week as I was supposed to, so I decided to repeat a week. I accidently started on week 2 anyways, so now I’m just finishing week 2 again. The running is getting easier and I’m really enjoying doing this. I’ve started listening to an audiobook (Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin) as I run, and that increases my motivation to go out and do it since I don’t have much opportunity to listen otherwise.

I just heard Gregory - I think my typing time is up!

Emma the Kitten

This evening after Matt and Gregory went to bed (Matt was up until 5 am - hence the early bedtime) Emma decided to be a kitten. By her description I was the mama cat, and she was my little darling kitten. I was impressed at the thoroughness of her cat impression - she was clearly casting through her mind to think of all the things cats would do. She meowed for food, meowed quite plaintively when her cat toy was accidently batted under the stove, and even pretended to have a hair-ball and *ahem* expelled it. She very sweetly kept this up for over an hour, remembering every book we’ve ever read with cats in it and using that for fodder for her imagination. When it was time for her to go to bed, she put on her sleeper with the cats on it (as she remarked, “mama cat, don’t you think this would be an appropriate thing for your kitten to wear?”), brought her cat toys up to her room, and bade me carry her (pretend) litterbox up to her room. I was carefully instructed as to where to place said box, and I only hope that if the urge does strike in the middle of the night she’ll be far enough out of pretend kitty-land that she’ll remember the location of the human facilities. :-)

It is strange to think…

that just one year ago I was about two weeks pregnant (from date of conception, that is) with Gregory, and just becoming aware of his presence. And now, just a year after his conception and three months after his birth, it is hard to imagine that there was a time before Gregory was a part of our family.

Babies are so wonderful and miraculous!!

This and that

Wow, Thursday already… how’d that happen? We’re all doing well here, although I’m pretty tired and sore. I ran yesterday, and then had my walk with the Mom’s club this morning. We went further than we usually do, and I think it was just a bit too much for me. After lunch I tried to lie down with Gregory to get him down for a nap, and I feel asleep too. On the plus side I got to try out my new-to-me jogging stroller that I was lucky enough to inherit from one of the moms in my Mom’s club. I have been wanting one of these for ages, but I just couldn’t justify the cost. But free? Oh yes, I’ll take that! Someone else gave me some clothes that are Emma’s size today, so I’m doing quite well in the free department this week.

I do think I offended someone in my walking group though - I really need to remember to think before speaking, but that unfortunately is not one of my strengths. It is especially a problem when something comes up that I have rather strong convictions about (like, um, just about everything). It seems I either don’t speak much at all (because there is only so much you can say about the weather), or I totally speak my mind. I’m working on finding something in between, but it is very challenging. I also have a tendency to play the devil’s advocate in conversations, even though I know it can make people defensive. I think they think I’m trying to prove them wrong when instead I’m just trying to stimulate thought and further conversation. Besides, it just drives me nuts when I hear things like “oh, I had to be induced because the doctor said I was five days late. And in future pregnancies the doctor said that he wouldn’t let me go even that late because my baby was over 9 lbs.” What do you mean - your doctor won’t let you? It is your body, your pregnancy! It is your doctor’s opinion, not Holy Writ!! You engage your doctor to provide services to you for a fee, not to control your life without your informed consent!

Ahem. Sorry about that. Like I said, moderation is a little problematic for me. At least I didn’t say all that to her. :-) Which reminds me - do you have any idea how annoying it is to have someone tell you “gee, tell us what you really think” after you give some impassioned reply about something or other? Yeah, I really dislike that.

Anyways, onto other things. I am so enjoying this whole two children thing. Both children are wonderful, and I love watching them interact. Gregory is just starting to hold toys, so Emma’s been having a great time getting things for him to hold. He loves to watch her and gets big goofy gummy grins whenever he sees her and especially when she sings or dances for him. I wish I could get it on camera, but unfortunately the sight of that contraption causes him to stare intently at me with a slightly perplexed look. Yes, I have lots of pictures of that look, and no good smiles. I’m still trying though…

Yesterday Emma and I did something she thought was really great. We cleaned out the entire refrigerator. Her thought process was something like, “Wow, I can take everything out of the fridge and Mommy says it is ok? This is terrific!” She was very helpful and now my fridge is very clean. I’ve needed to do this for, well, way longer than I care to admit and I am very happy to have it done. Every time I open the fridge now I get a little happy feeling looking at the nice clean shelves and gleaming white sides. Yes, I’m weird - or my requirements for happiness have dropped severely in the four years I’ve been a mom. Oh well, I’m still enjoying my fridge! Besides, it is good to appreciate the little things, right?

Melissa Wiley on Homeschooling Detractors

I read this post from Melissa at Here in the Bonny Glen last night and I thought it was a very good discussion about homeschooling critics and their criticisms. I’ve already heard all of these, and my daughter is only four! I really like how she debunks each one, from the ever present “What about socialization” to the slightly less frequent “How are you going to teach subject X, you aren’t an expert in that field”.

What I really like about this post in particular is how she’s not particularly bitter or angry in it - it is a rant, but a pleasant and thought provoking one. I wish it could get a wider circulation than just with homeschooling families!

I think this quote gives you a good idea of where she’s coming from in her essay: “I just wish these folks would stop and think about what is REALLY bothering them, what their concerns really are. Usually, their objections are based on assumptions they have never seriously analyzed.”

One response I have heard from detractors that Melissa doesn’t mention (and I really don’t know what the non-snarky response should be) is “oh my goodness, I just can’t imagine wanting to be around my children that much!” Hmm… I have such a strong temptation to say, “oh, well, I actually like my kids so it isn’t a problem for me”. Homeschooling came up at my bookgroup last month and all except one had this reaction. *sigh* Part of me wants to pull out of this book group (and my Mom’s club, for that matter) and just hang around people like me (provided I can find some who live around here! lol). The other part of me wonders if it is a good idea to stick around so that the people I know through these groups will actually know someone who does all the non-mainstream things I do… at least then they can put a face to something, rather than just thinking that there is some amorphous them out there somewhere else that does these things. Besides, being around people who are different than yourself is what socialization is all about, right? ;-)

It rained yesterday…

…but I went running anyways! (yay me!) It was cold and wet, but all and all it went well. I’m glad I am just following this couch to 5K running plan - I think otherwise I would probably have pushed myself a bit too hard. Even with what I did, I’m still a little stiff and sore today, and a little more tired than usual. Trying to do a squat with Gregory in the sling prompted a violent protest from my thighs and running up the stairs isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do either! I think I am off to a good start, and I’m looking forward to running again tomorrow.

Homeschooling update and overview

Well, hmm. I’m trying to decide how to start. First off, I’d like to say that homeschooling at this point is in some ways more of an educational experience for me than it is for my daughter. I am constantly thinking about what it is that I want to accomplish, and how I can do this in the most meaningful, engaging and enjoyable way.

We started out in January at the kitchen table, squirmy almost four year old in a too big chair, book laid out on the table before us. This worked decently well at first, when the lessons were easy and the novelty was intact. Once the whole thing was no longer new and the lessons got harder, the bloom was off the rose and things got quite challenging. We had a couple days of frustrated (and irritated!) mommy and unhappy little girl, before I decided that it was time to call a strategic withdrawal in order to rethink and regroup. We took a three or four week break and I thought a lot about Dy’s comment on one of my previous blog posts. I thought about what it is that I am hoping to achieve in these “pre-school” years. I thought about one of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits - “Begin with the end in mind”. I thought about what I want my relationship with my daughter to be like. I thought about how much I dislike getting frustrated and irritated, and how much more difficult things are when my response to her squidgity-ness and lack of cooperation is simply more and more firmness. And I reminded myself, frequently, that she is barely four years old!

So, with this all firmly in mind and with a great deal of consideration this is where I’ve ended up. I still want to start doing something a little more formal with Emma, because I think it is a good experience for both of us, and because I think she’s ready for it. Also, it makes her feel like she is being homeschooled, not being kept home from school. Emma has noticed that many children - virtually all of the children of the moms in my mom’s club - are already going off to school at her age and she feels left out. I want to make sure I’m giving her experiences (park play days, field trips, a little bit of structure) to make her feel like she’s doing something special too.

I realized that teaching her how to read is not the most important thing in the world for me to be focusing on right now. Yes, I would like to help her learn how to do this (and sooner rather than later) but it does not need to be the centerpiece and the focus of all our learning time. So, in response to this, I’ve really played down the reading lessons. We also reached a point where she is just not getting that sounds can be strung together into words (well, she does get that, but she can’t do it herself) - so I see no point in following the lessons in the book until that clicks with her.

I also started thinking about how I really want to cultivate the habit of attention (can you tell I’ve been reading about Charlotte Mason? :-)). I’ve noticed that sometimes she uses us reading to her much like many people watch TV. She looks at the pictures and just sort of zones - picking up only a small fraction of what I know she is capable of catching. I want to make sure it isn’t all going in one ear and out the other because I don’t want her to be one of those children (or adults, for that matter!) who read something and can’t tell you much about what they read other than “it was good” or “it was interesting” or “I liked it”. (Which is a big problem right now in my book group, but that’s another subject entirely!)

And also (ok, this post is turning out to be really, really long - but it has been brewing for a long time!) I started thinking about how important it is for her to have a firm and solid foundation in Christianity. I want her to know the stories, have some understanding of what is going on during the church service, and most importantly to keep God and God’s love in her mind and heart. I feel weird talking about this, because I tend to be such a closet Christian (yeah, just what Christ called us to be, I know, I know) but, well, there it is. I also feel like I lack the words to talk casually about faith, having grown up in such a secular world. Sometimes I read blogs where people do talk very easily and casually about the role of God and faith in their lives, and I feel like I am translating a foreign language - one that I can read and sort of understand, but cannot speak. But now I’m really digressing.

So with all this, here’s where I’ve ended up. Everyday, we are spending about an hour on our “homeschool block”. I make sure to call it this, so that Emma can identify something concrete that we do instead of sending her off to preschool. The first change was a physical one - we moved from the table to the couch. This is so much cozier and works much better for both of us. Emma really likes to have physical contact, and it feels much more natural and comfortable for her to snuggle up against me on the couch than it does when she tries to climb on me in my chair at the table.

We read one or two of the very short chapters of Egermeier’s Bible Story Book and Emma does a very simple narration back to me. I make sure she remembers the major names in the chapter, and that she has some understanding of what happened. We’re starting at the beginning of the book and going sequentially. We also are reading one chapter, chosen by Emma, from the New Testament stories. She usually picks a gospel story. I generally do not have her narrate this story - she’ll get to narrate them when we get to them.

We also read one (short) chapter from some other religious type book - right now we are reading a children’s book on liturgy. I really love the liturgical approach to worship, and I would like Emma to have some idea of what’s going on so that she can learn to enjoy it as well. She also briefly narrates this back to me.

We then add do a little work with sounds and words. I wrote the sounds she knows on index cards, and we’ll go through them together a couple times, sometimes just sitting and sometimes jumping or moving around. We do the same things with the words. Yesterday we ran through the house, “running” the sounds together to make the word on the card. (you should have seen the look on Gregory’s face as he watched us!) She absolutely loved it, and wanted to do several cards when we had only set out to do one. Sometimes we’ll just go through the word cards and say the words slowly, with her repeating after me. I try not to do this too often, so that she doesn’t just memorize the words.

We also read a chapter from a children’s classic (or a “living book” in Mason parlance), and I ask her questions occasionally about what’s happening in the story as we read. We sometimes will do a summary together at the end of the chapter as well. Right now we’re reading Through the Looking Glass. This one is a little too nonsensical for her to make out sometimes (me too, for that matter!) but it is what she picked. I think it will be very interesting to see how her perspective on our reading changes as we re-read things in the years ahead.

*phew* That was a lot to pull together. The things I feel that I am missing right now from this are some discussion of numbers (although we do talk about this throughout the day, and Emma has been amusing herself by “discovering” addition and subtraction) and nature study. I’m still trying to think about how I want to pull these things in. I need to work with her more on recognizing numbers, so that will have to be worked into our block. I also have some neat nature books that I think would be fun to read together and perhaps use for narration. I also want to start up our nature walks again down by the creek and I would like to do it more than once a week. I also need to get better about planning field trips - it is too easy to just blow it off if I don’t plan and mentally prepare myself for it beforehand. I think twice a month would work well for that. I also want to start doing some very simple memory work. I need to do some more reading and thinking to figure out how I want to approach this and work this in.

Wow, this got long. But it feels good to have written all this out and I think this will be a valuable reference for me. I’ll have to be sure to keep a copy of this around so that I can pull it out in ten years and marvel at how simple it all was way back then! *grin*

Running

Back in December I promised myself that when I got below 140 lbs I would start running again… and I think next week I will be there. I have been weighing myself every Monday and this week I was exactly 140. I hopped on yesterday for an “unofficial” weigh-in and I was about a pound below that, so I think the time has come. There is a certain temptation to make really fattening things in order to put off the day of reckoning, but I am managing to resist. :-)

I’ve arranged with Matt a plan where he’ll take a longer lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays so I can go run (or *ahem* walk, as I’m sure that’s what I’ll largely be doing for the first couple weeks!) before lunch. (As an aside, I’d like to say how much I am enjoying having a work-from-home hubby. It really is great!) I’m also planning on getting in a running session sometime during the weekend, preferably on Saturdays. This Monday will be my first try, and I’m curious to see how it goes. I have at least been doing 10-15 min of yoga every morning, as well as walking a couple miles once or twice a week… besides all the general busy-ness that comes with keeping up with a house and children. I’m hoping it won’t be too humiliating and painful!

Kim, at Large Family Logistics (a blog I discovered sometime last fall and I’ve enjoyed and learned a lot from), had a baby a couple weeks after I did and is also contemplating her running shoes. She linked to a neat running website with a “couch to 5K” running plan, logging tools, and other great stuff that a planning and tracking person like me just loves. So I set up an account at Cool Running and I’ll be trying that out.

Wish me luck, and I’ll be sure to report back!

A household rule

One day not that long after Gregory was born, I was brushing Emma’s hair. Gregory was fussing while propped on the bed, and Emma started fussing too because I was pulling at a tangle. I told Emma, half-jokingly, that only one of my children could fuss at a time. Emma thought that was funny, and that became a running joke, especially when I would brush her hair. Recently when I was brushing her hair and Gregory was making noise, Emma asked Gregory in her best choking back the sadness sort of voice, “Gregory, could you please stop fussing? I would really like a turn to fuss now. Please, Gregory?”

It is so hard to keep a straight face sometimes!

Still Here

It occurred to me that I haven’t been posting very much these days. Not that anyone else has necessarily noticed ;-) I am so tired in the evenings recently (where recently is defined as the last 3 months) that I haven’t had the mental faculties to post anything after I catch up on my email and blogs. So either I need to stop reading blogs, let my inbox overflow, or figure out some other time to post. I’m trying the 3rd option at the moment, but I think I’m only going to have limited success. I’ve had a couple posts flitting around in my head, but I can’t seem to sit down and write them out. I am in the mood for a catch up post, so here it is: *grin*

1. I miss cheese. Since skipping dairy results in a happy baby that doesn’t suddenly and unexpectedly do an impressive volcano impression, I believe it is worth it. I wish there was a decent substitute, but even goat cheese seems to upset his tummy.

2. I like making soup. Matt alerted me to the fact that I’ve been cooking a lot of soup recently - 6 out of 7 of my meals planned this week are soups or stews. I think 5 out of 7 were soup last week. I am not sure how I didn’t notice this when I was planning my menu. I think I was blinded by the fact that I like soup. A lot. And it has been cold and rainy. Ergo, I make soup!

3. There has been snow on our local hills for multiple days now - at least a little bit since Saturday. It is really neat. It makes me feel like I live somewhere more rugged and mountainous. The patchy snow around the scrub oaks makes the oaks look like rocky outcroppings, greatly improving the whole effect.

4. I have a tired baby this evening. He’s been asleep since 3 pm! I do hope he’ll still go to bed tonight at a reasonable hour.

5. Speaking of Gregory, he’s getting really big! He went through a growth spurt over the past week or so which pushed him out of 0-3 mo clothes and solidly into 3-6. It also meant that he was waking up 3-4 times a night rather than just once (I know, poor me) It was still less than Emma though, so I really didn’t mind. Last night he only woke up at 3 am though, and that was lovely.

6. I wonder what it would have been like if I had a baby like Gregory first and then one like Emma. I think I like this order much better!

7. Gregory is just starting to figure out that he has hands, and that they might be useful for something. So far he mostly grabs things by accident, but he is getting pretty good and getting his thumb and/or fingers into his mouth, much to his delight. He also has a wonderful smile! I wish I could get a picture of it, but he only likes to smile at people, not at cameras.

8. I made vegetable stock for the first time today!

9. I made oatmeal bread yesterday, and it is good but a little on the dense side. I’m not sure what happened there, but it is always interesting to see what happens when you use a new bread recipe.

10. Ten already! Hmm… Can’t really think of anything. I think I’ll go share a tangerine with Emma, then chop the cabbage, kale, and zucchini for my minestrone soup. My mom gave me her recipe and I am currently making enough minestrone to feed an army. But I’ll freeze most of it, and it is wonderful to defrost and have for dinner on a busy day!

11. Oh, I remember something else I was going to talk about - I’ve helped start a natural foods buying club! I’m very excited. We got our first order in on Monday and we now have 22 lbs of pasta (12 corkscrew, 10 linguine), 5 lbs ea of raisins and quinoa, more apples than you can shake a stick at (organic and only 80 cents a lb! We made applesauce yesterday and still have 12 lbs left), yams, butternut squash, kale (lots of kale, which is why it is getting added to tonight’s soup even though it is not called for), a pound of cinnamon sticks for only 6.50, and a couple other things I am forgetting. This buying club has been quite a bit of work so far (eating up a fair amount of precious computer time) but I think that after another month or two it should settle down and get a little easier.

OK, now I’m done. Off to share a tangerine. Really, this time!

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