Decorations...

As I was driving Izi to school today (because of where we live, we drive her 40 minutes one way to school) I was out on a country road and was noticing all of the fall decorations. Well, Halloween decorations really. All in all, I don't have a huge problem with Halloween when kids are dressed up in cutesy costumes and there are nice Jack-o-lantern carvings. What I can't stand is when little kids especially are dressed up as evil characters and there is all this blood and gore. I know many Christian families choose not to celebrate Halloween in any form, and I can respect that. My parents did allow us to participate in Halloween activities, and we were raised ultra-conservative. My boys will be going as teddy bears and it is one of their outfits we purchased from Carters, so it's pretty harmless and we didn't spend a ton of money on a costume. But all this is a side point. What really got me is how much people decorate their homes for Halloween but do nothing for Christmas. Oh sure, they have a tree inside and buy a ton of presents, but they don't show the world that they are celebrating Christmas on the outside of their homes. I don't know about you, but one of our family traditions was to get hot chocolate and drive around to look at lights.

Needless to say, I was a little disappointed in realizing that people put more into dressing up, turning their front yard into a graveyard, stringing up orange lights, and playing scary movies than the birth of our Savior. True, many don't acknowledge that it's Christ's birthday, but choose instead to teach their children about Santa and out-do one another in maxing out credit cards on gifts. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with giving and receiving gifts, it is the spirit in which they are given that gives me pause for thought. Speaking of santa... just last week I had the conversation with Isabelle that Santa isn't real. I figured since she is 6, it's time to learn the truth. I think it's fine to pretend, but I will not teach my boys that santa exists.... just fun to pretend that he does. She handeled it very well, but I don't think she fully grasped the concept that there wasn't a little man in a red suit that delivered presents to all the boys and girls in the entire world. I did tell her about St. Nick and where the story of santa originated, which made it a little easier to take. I'm just waiting for her to tell her mom that I told her there isn't a santa and how she's going to take that... she believes fairies exist, so who knows!

We do decorate our house for Christmas, but this year I am determined to go crazy with lights!

Like Mother.... Like Daug...No, Like Son

Ok, I'll admit it.... I can be rather stubborn. In some things, and not all the time, though. See, I'm even stubbornly agreeing that I'm stubborn! Apparently this trait was passed directly through the umbilical cord to Alexandar.

Let me describe my son to you.... from birth, he was very demanding about his eating. He wouldn't nurse in the delivery room, so the nurse asked if we'd like to try a little formula. Well, he went right for that and guzzled all 2 ounces down. Only later did we learn that newborns only need about that much in the first 2 days, not 2 hours! He refused to nurse and decided he loved his bottles instead. Eating that way was faster and he didn't have to work as much. As he became aware of where his food came from, you couldn't even shake it up near him without him screaming. His pacifier had to be handy, so you could quickly exchange it when the bottle was removed from his mouth. When he moved on to solids, he was hollering for his next bite before you could get the spoon out of his mouth. And if you showed him his bottle before he ate his squash and bananas, you can forget eating, he only wanted the bottle. I believe I had successfully established that he is stubborn concerning his nutritional intake. =)

He is into this thing right now where he throws his pacifier if he is not happy with his current situation. This can include anything from saying it's time for bed giving him the wrong sippy cup. Granted, my son is NOT a morning person. We have to follow his very usual routine (turning off the stereo, unplugging the nightlight, getting his blanket, and now he likes to close the door.) or the crankiness is in full effect. We have to gently ease into the morning. Yes, I have thought ahead and do dread the school days to come.

Taken when we went to the apple orchard... a split second beforehand, he had his hand also up in protest of me taking his picture.

He does not give in easily and wants it to be his way or the highway. Case in point, two days ago I tried to put him down for a nap. He was very tired, but didn't think he should have to go down for a nap. I kept coming in to try and sooth him, but I was not going to give in and pick him up and rock him or let him come out and lay by me on the couch. This went on for 2 and a half hours. Not once did he decide to keep his pacifier instead of throwing it outside his crib and just take the nap he desperately needed!

If he is not in the right mind to stop doing something, he will continue to do so even though you keep saying no. For instance, yesterday I was putting Benjamin down for a nap, which all and all, did not take too long. Apparently, I left the salt too close to the edge of the counter after using it to prepare dinner, and he decided it would be fun to see what this does. I didn't realize the forecast had called for snow... inside my house.... because that is what it looked like. We had a large pile on the kitchen floor.... another on the rug between the kitchen and the living room, and a third on a file box I have in the living room, with trails between. As I was walking down the hall, I could see him shaking salt and said "Stop!." He said "uh oh, uh oh, uh oh...." and continued to dump out more salt. If you haven't had this experience, keep the salt and pepper shakers high because it is like sand and pine needles.... you never think you are going to get rid of it!

He did not like the way I did his cereal that morning.... not sure what was wrong with milk and cereal in a bowl and a spoon with which to eat it, but somehow that wasn't right.

Apparently the bowl and the spoon were the problem....

we'll just dump it on the tray next time.

Wow Mom, look at the mess on this tray..... guess who's gonna have to clean it up!!

This is not to say Alexandar is not a very loving, sweet, and intelligent little boy. But all of that is for another blog, another day. Now if I can only channel his strong willed spirit into the right things as he gets older, I'll consider it a job well done!

My girl is 6! (more added)

I can't believe that today marks Isabelle's 6th birthday! While I didn't know her for nearly the first two years of her life, and wasn't actively involved until she was nearly 3, I can now say I've been around longer than I haven't! I recently told her the story about the first time we met. I was in the Chicago area for Tara's wedding, and the next day was my birthday. Shawn drove down to see me for my birthday and we took Isabelle to Chicago. She was very shy at that time, and Daddy said she rarely let anyone take her that she didn't know. Well, his arms and shoulders got tired after awhile and so I took her for a bit and she actually let me carry her. She wasn't talking much at that time, but loved the Disney store and Daddy bought her a special treat! I was amazed that she went for Chinese food. When Shawn dropped me off at Tara's parents' house that evening, he kissed me good-bye and we could hear Isabelle laughing from inside the Jeep. While I'm not her biological mother, I feel we are very attached and ever since Shawn and I were married, she's chosen to call me "mom." (much to the dismay of her "real" mom) Even though I'm the step-mom, I treasure this child with all my heart and desire to see her grow to be a (I'm struggling to complete this sentence because there are so many things I want for her) strong, Christian, virtuous woman despite what she faces when she is not in our home. Shawn and I strongly desire for her to live with us 100% instead of 50% of the time, but until Isabelle is old enough to choose, it will remain so.

Happy Birthday my dear sweet girl!!!


**NEW**

Shawn picked up Isabelle on his way home from work, per our schedule. Am I the unusual one, or do you typically celebrate your child's birthday with a special meal and include family, if they are close enough to do so?? Well, she had eaten soup from a can and chips for her birthday dinner. It's not the best meal, but for a busy mom, it's understandable once in awhile. But this was her birthday!!! As she usually does, she ate a second dinner here. I had made a full meal, not anticipating she would eat with us since I thought she would do something special for her birthday with her other family, but had made plenty just in case. I asked her a few weeks back if when she went to her other house, if she ate another dinner there like she did when she came here. She said "no... I might have a piece of gum but I don't eat." I decided to take it a little further and tell her she can always eat here if she wants to, but asked why she was usually still hungry when she got here. She replied as honestly as young children do, "The food is better here." While that made me feel good, it also made me ache for her even more. That precious girl shouldn't have to deal with everything that she does. An adult couldn't handle it, and the court expects and 6 year old to thrive? Anyway, I could ramble on and on about that. I know we do and all of my family prays for her daily. Lord, protect this child as You have created her and she is dearly loved by You.

Too Big Already!

Just over 3 weeks ago, Benjamin took off crawling. He had gone backwards a little bit and was up on all fours, but hadn't gone for it yet. Once he made up his mind, he was off. There was none of this scooting or army crawling for him... oh no... we are just going to do it right the first time! About a week and a half ago, he started pulling himself up to lower objects and now he's fully standing and pulling himself up! Which means he can reach all things on the coffee table and reach nearly to the middle, so not much is safe anymore. He sometimes crawls by walking on his feet instead of his knees and can balance himself upright on one knee.

Last night for dinner, I made cheese raviolli and sausage casserole. He immediately made his way towards Shawn, who let him taste some tomato sauce. When daddy's bowl was empty, he found mommy to mooch from. I decided to let him try some raviolli and he loved it! He probably ate about two whole ones before he was full, and they are quite large.... I made a bag of frozen ones and they pretty big. Well, today at lunch I attempted to feed him his green beans mixed with cereal, but Izi and I were having our sandwhiches and he figured out he wasn't getting the same thing, and after 3 or 4 bites, was through with that. I tore off small pieces of bread with just jelly on it and then he ate another 1/2 of slice of bread and jelly. I think our baby food days, even though they just began a few months ago, are on their way out the door. Many people said that Benjamin would be slower to do things because he had brother and sister to do it for him, but I'm finding just the opposite to be true.... that he is moving much more quickly to keep up with everyone else!

Fall Is Fun!

Yesterday we (Nana, Papa, & I) took the kids for a walk down a new bike trail in the next town over, Alma. It's very nice and the colors are so pretty out right now. Round trip, we probably went around 4 miles and my Alexandar insisted on walking most of it. He is such a funny and stubborn little boy. The train tracks are close enough by that you can hear if a train happens to go by. At some point this summer, he decided he didn't like the sound of the train. I've tried to make it a little easier by teaching him the train says "chugga chugga chugga choo choo" and the arms motions that go with that. He was riding on Papa's shoulders, pumping his arms back and forth and saying choo choo! It was quite cute. His stubborness (not sure at all where that came from) came out when my monkey decided he wanted to climb a fence but was told no. He refused to leave the fence and didn't throw a fit, just stood there with a look that said, you can tell me no, but you'll have to drag me away, which is just what Papa did. Meanwhile, Izi is collecting leaves with her "Nan" (she's decided to shorten it, while Alexandar yells out "Naaa Neeyy" which is said in two separate syllables with a breath in between) and Benjamin is taking it all in, and falls asleep on our way back to the car.

Today after everyone 5 and under got their nap, we took them all outside to ride the quad and go cart. Nana and Izi decided to make a big pile of leaves in the front yard and plow through them full speed ahead with the go cart. I attempted to take a few pictures, but of course it's all blurry when there is so much movement. Shawn chased them around on the quad for awhile. Oddly, Alexandar did not want to ride, just hold on to the quad key. This is not unusual, as he typically will go straight for where it's hung up every time we go to Nana and Papa's. As soon as we see Nana and Papa's house from the road, he starts saying "quad key" or "papa quad" or quad with something we haven't figured out yet. Hopefully there is still some pleasant days ahead to get out and enjoy more fall beauty!

New Job possibility...

I had an interview today for a part time job. It certainly sounds like something I am interested in. I'll be working under DHS (Department of Human Services) and my basic job is a Parent Educator. I believe the program is called Great Start for Great Families. I will be doing home visits and working with parents on issues of concern such as discipline, child sleep patterns, biting.... essentially any concern parents have of their child ages birth to 5. A small part of my job will be keeping up the web, but that is only a few hours. What is absolutely wonderful is that it's all on my own schedule and I won't be keeping office hours! In a 2 week time, I will log 30 hours, have approximately 8 clients and so only 8 of those hours would need to be outside of home. It won't be as much as we were hoping, but it will certainly help. What is also very important is that it is something I'm very interested in. I do miss my classroom (although I didn't think I'd say that when I moved from Georgia) but I was always frustrated because I couldn't do more for the needy kids in my class. I could present to them all that the state required that I teach, but if their other basic needs weren't met first, there is no way it would sink in. If that child hasn't had breakfast or they couldn't sleep because of all the yelling, what years the Revolutionary War took place didn't make a bit of difference to them. So by being able to educate parents those kids will have such a better shot in life. I'm really excited about being able to start this new job, but still be able to stay mostly at home. What a blessing!!

First Timer

So this is my first time sharing my thoughts online for anyone to see. I attended Women's Ministries at church tonight and felt encourages to journal, and being in the younger generation, I thought I'd go the less tradional way and do a blog. Our study in WM right now is called "You Are Worth More Than You Think" by Leslie Parrott. It essentially is a published version of her journaling. I remember having to journal in college and I didn't always enjoy having to share my innermost thoughts. However, looking back on the journaling I did by choice, it is very insightful to see how I've grown and changed in those years. My goal through blogging is to not only record our families memories, but to discover more of who I am and to hopefully grow as a wife, mother, and just as a Christian woman.

Right now however, I believe it is time for bed. If I could have one and only one prayer answered, it would be that Benjamin would discover how wonderful sleeping through the night would be for not only himself, but for the rest of the family, especially Mommy who is the only one that gets up with him since he's nursing!