Homeschooling is going pretty well with Hannah, I think. Thank goodness for some fun poetry this morning. She got frustrated with her math, and she tends to have a hard time letting go when she gets upset like that. So, she didn't enjoy her spelling, but then we got into literature and she read a couple of funny poems that got us laughing. Whew, I was afraid it was going to be a long day. Although, she has gotten to a point in her art book where things are getting more challenging. She doesn't really want to take the suggestions from the author and change the way she has been doing things. She started getting mad again when she started in on her art, so I made her run around the house two times. At first she was walking in a circle around the downstairs rooms, and she was a little shocked when I told her that I meant she had to run around the outside of the house twice. She just stood there until I opened the garage door. Thankfully, she really was calmed down by the time she got back. This parenting stuff is so challenging. I wish she could see that things really are not so difficult and frightening as she thinks. It's okay to not be perfect the first time you try something. It's okay if something is hard to understand. That doesn't mean you can't learn and get better at it.
Ryan is such a good little boy. I wish I could bottle up his sweetness and pour it out on him when he starts pretending his fist is a hammer. How do you get a reluctant toddler to be interested in potty training? I'm so ready, but he very forcefully protests to using the potty. He also protests any kind of diaper change. He has done that since he was a tiny, tiny baby, but he's a lot bigger and faster and much more verbal these days. I know everybody says just don't worry about it -- they won't be going to kindergarten in diapers. Well, I'm not worried about three years from now - I'm tired right now of hearing about how he doesn't need a diaper change because Daddy already did it when I can see his diaper hanging to his knees.
Nikki complained for the first time yesterday that Ryan didn't want to play with her anymore because he gets to play with Hannah all the time. She used to be the one to play with him most, but she's right that he really is enjoying having Hannah home. I didn't really know what to say to that.
I've eaten more vegetables in the past two weeks than I have in probably the previous two months. I like to start my New Year's resolutions the week before January starts. It seems to give them more validity if I'm not just waiting until Jan. 1 to try to start something new. Ridiculous, but anyway... One of my goals for January is to organize my recipes in a menu-planning friendly way. I've seen a few ideas, and I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to settle on. But in the process of this I found a nutritious 28-day meal plan. I looked at the first three days and they seemed pretty doable, and I decided I'm in the mood to infuse a few new good recipes into my repertoire. I also decided I'm not going to substitute the only five vegetables I like into every one of the recipes or leave out everything that I just don't want to try (well, I did draw the line at goat cheese, anchovies, and beets -- this is about progress, not perfection. Okay, I usually leave out the tomatoes, too, but I did try them). I've been amazed at how many of the recipes I really like! I learned that I like avocados, cucumbers are just fine, I can eat red peppers very nicely, and blue cheese is delicious. Hannah and Nate are wondering what happened to their mother/wife. :) The down-side to it is that it takes some time to prepare every meal. Breakfast and lunch are not an in-and-out-of-the-kitchen-in-10-minutes affair. I also have lots of dirty dishes!
Last February, I started working online in the mornings as a TA for an online computer science professor. It was a cool job, but it ended up taking more of my time and attention than I thought it would. Kellee is starting to take over for me this week. I feel nervous for her. I remember that feeling of getting started with it so well! I can't believe everything she does. It makes me feel kind of wimpy for giving the job up when she already does so much else on top of it! But I don't feel wimpy enough to take it back. :) I'm actually really enjoying the extra time I have. I still get up early in the mornings. I learned last year that I can wake up early. It feels so good to actually be ready for the day by the time Nate and the kids are ready. I remember Mom always saying how much she could accomplish in the morning, and it is so true!
3 comments:
I feel like I can accomplish much more too if I get up early. Makes a world of difference for me. Hard part is we spoiled ourselves sleeping in over Christmas break. :) That was such a great, honest post about motherhood. Oh - and Amen to blue cheese!
I hear ya on everything as well.
I talked to Bob today about adding more classes to grade and post and I finally told him I also home school and have 5 kids. He said, "You're crazy!" We laughed and it was good to have a more easy going conversation with him :)
I plan on getting up early one of these days. It does help. I just can't get up too early when I don't get to bed before 1 am.
If you find some good easy recipes, let me know. If it takes longer than 15 min. to prep, it's out! :)
Potty training... I never had the problem you're having but I've heard from several other friends that it always backfired if they tried before their kid was ready. So... I guess I would say to wait. Sorry. I've also heard that boys tend to potty train later then girls although mine didn't.
Remember the red dot just above the water line at the back of the toilet, Susan? Chuck says it's the only way we were able to tinkle train our boys. They LOVED the challenge of trying to hit the red dot. I think we still have that toll of red dots--I'll send a few. (By the way, once when Jim was little he told Gary he had to tinkle--Gary (aghast) said, "Jim, boys don't "tinkle" -- you pee like a racehorse!!" I was reminded of the story last week when I excused myself because I had to tinkle and Jim said, "I pee like a racehorse!!")
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