Nakita Baby

The weekend was a blast. Nothing out of the ordinary, but just fabulous. I think I already touched on Saturday’s happenings, and Sunday was much of the same. I had a meeting in the AM with a new group I am joining with D. It’s called Gentle Circle and a group of 6 moms and daughters who are coming together, girls all about the same age (5-7 year range), to grow and cherish special times together as friends and as mother/daughters. I’m looking forward to the group evolving more as we have only had the opportunity to unite twice as mothers. There is the hope that we are able to meet a few more times before the girls join in and we plan more activities with them on a monthly basis. I have enjoyed getting to know the women little by little, but also feel that many are hesitant to share a ton with each other. I feel the sense that the women are worried or cautious about what to, and what not to, share with each other just yet, and wonder if that will evolve to closer more trusting relationships as time elapses. I do hope so, as each woman seems to bring very unique traits to the group and I look forward to learning from each of them and becoming closer friends with each.

After my AM meeting I took the kids over to the garden for some watering. Things are growing well now! I am eager to see what will flourish for us to eat in the next month! We have had a couple strawberries blossom already and the kiddos were able to share 2 of them recently : ) Since it was so stinkin’ hot Sunday I drove to our favorite Dairy Queen spot for our super duper favorite Chocolate French Silk blizzards! SO yum! Brought those over to G’pa’s and since they were melting and a mess, they had a blast running through water and eventually the sprinkler. Oh, well actually, we brought squirt guns to play with, but those just did not hold enough water. G’pa was home and dug out a sprinkler for some real water action!

Monday was Big D’s birthday and this was the same day (Memorial Day 2004) that was born on 6 years back. That was kinda fun! She had an amazing b-day and I have to add… quite pleasant. B’day’s past have not always been so much. There always seemed to be some emotional rupture of tears or what not that made her b-day kinda not as enjoyable as a mother would have hoped : ) However this year, it was quite blissful! She did receive lots of goodies that were on her wish-list and we had G’ma over for homemade pizza and cake. It was very fun. Today we went to an indoor pool in Glenview with G’pa and Subway after for her favorite sandwich. G’pa stuck candles in a cookie for her, and that was quite sweet. She had a remarkably fun b-day celebration! OH… OH… and how can I forget? She lost a tooth on her b-day as well! : )

She is just a remarkable girl I must add as well. Her growth this past year has far surpassed what I would/could have imagined. Makes a mama tear at how quickly time flies, and I get to be with her 24/7! It feels like I just blinked my eyes and yet…. AHHHH. She is amazing in her unknown beauty. Her strength and athletic ability is more than I know what to do with. She thoroughly enjoyed gymnastics this year, and I still have not figured out if it is b/c she just loves to run and throw her body around, or if gymnastic skills are what she really wants to acquire. She is hesitant to try other sports just yet. We may have gotten the nerve up to attempt soccer this fall, but still unsure if she will agree before the deadline. (This season she decided afterwards and so we decided to wait till the fall.) I wish there was someone interested in starting a homeschool track team or practice for this age as she just really truly loves to run a LOT! Basketball seems to be on the ‘maybe’ list and swimming is a definite yes… if I would actually sign her up! ; ) I am hesitant to just do lessons b/c I don’t feel they accomplish more than what she already does on her own. But if I found a team where they actually taught her technique, that’s something she’d really benefit from.

Aside from the logistics, she is just an all around sweet girl. She has her rough moments of course, and much of that stems (IMO) from the middle-child and/or only-girl syndrome. She requires lots more one-on-one in general, and not just with me. She just loves to be with people and constantly ‘doing’ with people. She loves to be busy a full 12 hrs a day and crashes hard the other 10-12. She sleeps so well… and plays so hard! She is coming into her own slowly but surely. She is a very easy-going, kinda fickle, yet not-so-much… a lot like her mother : ) And by that I mean, she finds just about anything interesting and does not fall into a certain “category” of personality type or character. I could never say she’s a girly-girl, but yet she loves to play around with make-up, nail polish and dress up and look pretty. I could never say she is a tom-boy b/c she loves all things girly despite her being a complete jock at times. She is quite smart, but at this stage in life seems to always second-guess herself. I do hope that homeschooling will provide more confidence in her own personal choices and decisions and build a stronger self-esteem (for lack of better words)…. b/c she does not necessarily lack esteem, but this second -guessing if she is right or knows certain things weighs heavily on her at times.

She is a complete giver. She loves art and is always drawing my pictures and writing to me, giving me gifts. It’s precious to see her evolving hand and heart. She is a nurturer as well. She loves her brothers so much, and cares for them as a mama-figure. She is this way with her friends as well. She is everyone’s friend and does not understand when others choose to be only one person’s friend, or is exclusive of others. She cherishes interactions with older girls. Girls Scouts was tremendous for her this year for both this and her independence boost. She is a planner and organizer. This year she enjoyed girl scouts, gymnastics, park days, gym days, clay class, girls club, and probably more that I’m forgetting. She did delve into pen pals in a way she has not before and is enjoying that interaction with kids around the world.

It is an honor to be her mama and I am eager to follow her on her path. She is and will continue to be a truly interesting soul.

Yep, my mind is drawing a blank today. Trying to keep up and keep the blog-juices flowing, but I’m am truly blank. Hmmm….. well I suppose I could mention Mother’s Day for starters. It was quite lovely and just perfect. You know, I really feel like everyday is mother’s day, and so these types of holidays seem a little ridiculous to me really. But the kiddos drew some super cool pix for me that I have plastered to the wall of my “office” (corner of one room : ) And SBJ picked up a rose and M&M’s (latest baby-craving! ; ) . So, I was really quite content with that, and feel like there is so few times a year that I feel unappreciated (namely due to my own gripey-ness) that they really did not need to do much of anything. I ran out that afternoon to drop in on mom. She was just on her way out and D, S and I caught her for just a few minutes. It was a short little visit. I cooked that evening. We had yummy split pea soup and homemade bread in the breadmaker.

This week has been been somewhat of a blur. Maybe b/c I’m recovering from sleeplessness. S got a cold late last week that lasted through the weekend, but left pretty quickly. Then K came down with it, and unfortunately missed his long-awaited canoeing at science class this week. He was up the night before claiming his throat was feeling closed and he just was not sleeping. When I stopped in to see if they were still boating in the rain, I was so disappointed that it went ahead b/c just a day longer he would have been fine to join in. When I returned home he did seem to have a low-grade fever and was still coughing, so I suppose best call made. And eventually the drizzle seemed to seize for some time, so I am sure they had a great time. K was so mad at me that afternoon. I felt horrible, but realistically, he would have felt worse when he got home and all of those mama’s would have liked to whoop my butt for sending him on boats with their kiddos ; ) Oh, such is life.

K’s finally on the mends, and S totally fine. D has gymnastics twice this week, Girl Scouts, and her first playdate on her own, in a new home, where she drove to their house in their car! Man I was on edge that whole day. I had not been in that boat before. K has never been that adventurous before and so this was a whole new one for me. She was totally fine and didn’t even want to come home ; ) She had a real blast and it was just amazing to see her that independent.

SBJ has had a promising interview and hopefully that pans out to be something exciting for him. Still keeping the search going till something is actually offered, and he’s busy at the online degree. He’s been been doing fabulous, top of his class! He seems really excited and happy about this new development in life.

I’ve been feeling baby quite a bit lately. Lot’s and lot’s. Reminds me a lot of D’s pregnancy. But I still feel it’s a boy…. we shall see. I just can’t believe we are reaching the 6 month mark already. I have felt some major growth though, this week in particluar. Well there have been these sporatic moments where I feel not much is going on, and then some days I feel like I’m growing drastically in the moment. Today seems to be one of those days! Time has flown by and I’m sad that this is the end of the baby bearing years, but also very excited about the next stage of life with the amazing kiddos.

Our garden seems to be close to submerged. Good that it’s rained a lot lately, but a little scared that if it doesn’t stop we will have dead seeds! G’pa sent a pic over showing us that the ditches between the beds have quite a bit of water in them! I hope it dries out a bit in the next few days. We plan to stop over there this weekend to check in on things. It would be exciting to see something sprout from the ground!

Two more weeks of classes, and frankly, I am so excited for the end it’s ridiculous. I probably should not be this eager, but really I am looking forward to a summer of leisure and enjoying the sunshine with the kiddos. I am feeling the nesting bug kick in again and have my wheels churning with how we will reorganize, just a bit. Mostly I need to purge a lot of stuff and I think if we host a garage/yard sale some time in June. There is enough here to get rid of, just to invite more into the house. But I have seen that much of what is here is just not as exciting anymore and it’s time to do a major overhaul and enjoy some new things. Best way to fund that is sell what we’re not using! So now is the time. Also eager to adjust a few things for the arrival of baby. Making space, digging out baby clothes, adjusting beds, and moving things around to have a ‘home base’ area in the home for our homebirth!

K’s been on this kick of watching home movies lately and Mother’s Day, acutally, he had Shea’s birth on. It was so exciting to watch again, but as I watched it I could not help feeling so excited, blessed, thrilled …. more…. that we were having a homebirth. So much about the hospital experience avoided at home, and I am just so so happy to be able to have this last baby here in our home!

Alright, so my mind was not as blank as I thought. Lot’s going on as usual!

So here I sit awaiting the banana bread to finish baking for tomorrow’s girl scout meeting, of which I volunteered D and myself to plan on of the petal activities. Like I don’t have enough going on, but that obnoxious self-inflicted guilt kicks in and of course, the complete inability to say ‘no’ to just about anything someone may ask of me. I sit and I ponder the homeschool meeting I just attended and begin to question the complete lunacy of the intensity of our schedule these days. It was resource night at EHE and as much I just love hearing about resources, I found myself in a complete disarray throughout a great deal of the discussion. Part of me wondered if I had been neglectful, yet another part wondered if I had been pushing to hard (as of late)?! And at many points in time during the evening I kept wondering what the kids might be feeling about this current life/home/schooling situation we have been living in currently. I mean quite frankly, much of the last, oh…. maybe 2-ish months or less has felt a little (well ok, quite a lot to me) routine, and really this month I am wondering just what the *$&#@ I’m doing? They have not voiced much one way or the other. Or maybe I have not heard them? Have I checked out in some way-shape-form? I certainly feel pretty routine about things and maybe I’ve left it too much to assumption recently. So often we talk about how kids will often plateau and we as homeschooling parents might start to freak out that our kids are not learning anything, or we are just not progressing enough. Maybe I’ve fallen into that category as of lately and need to check back in. Then again, maybe the kids have also fallen into the mundane and not too sure what to say, if anything at all. What I did come away from the meeting feeling was that things in our life tick so extremely different than most. I wonder if presenting something different and new would enhance or hinder. I wonder what the kids would input when I bring the subject up with them?

I am gratefully looking forward to a summer of a whole lot of unscheduled time and hope to figure these feelings out with the time available to us. I find that this summer in particular there seem to be tons of program/class options and really am quite shocked at just how much! The pressure to “do” in this community is really quite overwhelming at times. In fact, during this meeting this evening I got into much of the same discussion about the inability to just let go of the pressure and just ‘be’. The pace is just so go-go-go here that it really can become daunting if you don’t stand up and truly self-evaluate what the best balance for your family just might be.

That said, we have three more weeks of trudging through the end of most of these classes. I am eager to see the time pass quickly. And I just hate feeling that way as well b/c there is nothing worse than not just being in the present. But I will not miss the days of rushing out the door with a huge refrigerator bag full of food for the day and shuffling off from one activity to the next, endlessly, till I arrive home and realize I have no clue what to prepare for dinner. Adjustments clearly need to be made, and feel very fortunate to have this lovely season apon us to do so.

Ha… speaking of which, and to sort of shift gears. I am beginning to wonder how the vegetarian-deal is wearing the kiddos. No one has said anything quite so bluntly just yet, but I sense it coming soon. There have been side comments of questions and I wonder if they are feeling like something is missing, or just missing in general. We will see how this pans out. I quite honestly, have been having crazy pregnancy cravings as well so that’s not helping much in keeping the momentum going on the healthier side of things. Like right now I can really just taste sitting down with a burger and a beer. Go figure. I don’t even like red-meat! Beer, on the other hand ; )

Ha…. I think the banana bread is done!

Open gym is winding down this month and if you haven’t already stopped by for the ongoing park days, it’s about time you did! Park days are Thursdays from 12pm onward at one of two given locations:

This week, April 29th we meet at Lorel Park in Skokie, IL. This park is located at Lorel and Lockwood. There is a playground, tennis courts, softball field, grassy field, bike riding /scooting sidewalks and bathrooms!

Next week, May 6th we meet at Burnham Shores in Evanston, IL. This park is located at the lakefront between Dempster and Hamilton. It includes all of the same amenitied as Lorel park, minus the baseball diamond.

And then the park location alternates back and forth from there, between these two parks…. For an easy way out, email me: mommy@nakitababy.com for the location and I’ll letcha know where we are at!

Park Day is for ALL ages. We have families with infants all the way up to the teen years! It’s great for all ages and their parents to gather and enjoy this amazing weather that’s finally graced us. Come on out and enjoy!

C’ya there!

Life’s been so busy here, and yet in ‘peace only’.

That’s always a blessing isn’t it? I reflect on where I last left off and we had just celebrated K’s 8th birthday. It’s sureal how much he has grown both physically and mentally over the last 6-ish months. There have been tremendous changes and I’m thrilled to say that much of the emotional rollercoaster that we were riding along with him has seemed to be slowing down, if not to a halt. There have been far (far) fewer emotional bursts that it’s felt quite pleasant and joyful hanging out with this amazing little man. He’s a joy and a wonder. I’m so proud and honored to be able to share life with him on a daily basis.

We are our first check up with our new midwife towards the end of March (and yet another visit just yesterday). The first visit went quite well, aside from her not being able to track a heartbeat! Little buggar was running for sure and gave her a run for her money. After about 5 or more minutes of playing hide and seek she asked if she should keep looking. I was feeling pretty great and did not feel it was totally necessary to actually hear a heartbeat. And wouldn’t you know it, just a week and half later, over Easter weekend I felt the baby for the first time! Very exciting. This one is very active and much earlier than I felt the others during pregnancy. Just yesterday we had our recent visit and this time we found a heartbeat. That was super fun, reassuring and just plain joyful. We have our 20 week ultrasound is just under two weeks away and I’m really excited. On the one hand I can’t believe it’s already been 20 weeks and complete flip, I can’t believe I have 20 weeks more : )

Aside from the typical classes and such keeping us busy, K had his Princess Bride Show. Three full performances and he did such a fabulous job. He really thrived during that class. Not only in the acting department, but the social as well. He met some new people and developed some new friendships and I am so proud of all that he accomplished. He worked really hard and felt really comfortable in all that he did. It took me so long to post pix and videos to Facebook, I will have to take the time to get them up here as well. The show was fabulous and everyone did phenominal.

So let’s see, since Princess Bride ended, K’s started up natural science classes at Emily Oaks and really seems to enjoy it quite a bit. He’s got that going and a game club till the start of summer. D’s still finishing up the girl scouts session as well as two gymnastics classes, and next week starts a shorter stint clay class. All of this will be over by the end of May. And Mr. S is finishing up his lovely music class with Ms. Leah. He just loves his music class and we are really enjoying these last few weeks of class. Other than that, we have a park day on Thursdays and other random classes that we have thrown in here and there. I am feeling pretty ready for summer to come along and for us to have everything yet nothing to do. I’m feeling that hoarding feeling of family time now. I remember feeling this during the end of S’s pregnancy. The overwhelming feeling that things are about to change drastically for all and just wanting to cherrish this time right before. Not over-booking ourselves (as I feel we kinda are right now) and just cherrishing the simple times of being together. It’s all positive just a strong longing and desire to cherrish this before it changes. It is going to be a lovely summer of beaches and pools, and working our new garden at Grandpa’s house! I am looking forward to it!

Recently, D’s feeling changes a ton too. She seems to have picked up K’s emotional rollercoaster where he left off : ) Her 6th b-day is coming around the corner and she’s going through some woes of her own. Lot’s of lost teeth and an energy that can not be harnessed in any way, shape or form. She’s discovering lots of things socially she’s not too sure where she fits in to the mix and that’s a challenge as well. I feel she wants to be doing more than she is currently capable of and that’s causing frustrations for her as well. It’s been interesing to say the least. She is an amazing being. Recently we attended this annual Reptile Fest downtown and as cool as it was, I was more than happy just looking from afar. Ms. D walked straight up to several critters and held them without qualms. It was remarkable. (Yes, the pic above his her taking a snake in her own bare hands…. Yipes!) She had a blast. We all did for that matter, but all in our own ways : )

We just celebrated Grandpa’s and Grandma’s birthdays. We took each out for a special birthday meal and that was fun to see them each. With G’pa we also saw the new movie, How to Train Your Dragon and that was just incredibly good. G’pa treated us to a 3-D show and that was very fun. S even sat through the entire show! Remarkable. I also had the privelege of seeing a “grown-up” movie in the theater just last weekend as I took the au pairs to the local theater for our monthly meeting. We saw Date Night and I have to say it was incredibly, roll-on-the-floor-in-laughter funny! It was so hilarious. A must see in my book.

Probably the biggest change this month has been our families conversion to vegetarian/veganism. It’s something I’ve been on the verge of doing for myself and recently saw the movie Food Inc…. and…. yipes. That just pushed be over the edge. After having SBJ watch it as well, he was onboard with the idea and we took the plunge. Vegetarian was easy, and our family has been eating quite healthy since. Even better than before, and I thought we were all farely healthy before. But it’s been better recently. I’m working on the vegan portion as dairy is imbeded in just about everything, and the kids have some staple stuff that they just really love. I want this to feel like something they have gained and not something that has been taken away. Likewise, I don’t anticpate them being “hard core” about it either. If we are out at Subway and they want a turkey sandwich… so be it. This is not a personal, moral decision they can make just yet in their lives, but my hope is that I’m laying a strong foundation of really healthy eating choices in their lives. When I prepare at their food at home it is mostly vegan and at the very least vegetarian, and that makes me feel really good.

Anyway, what I have noticed is subtle changes. It’s still really early and this feels new to me in the way of meal preparation, but everyone has been really happy an satisfied with meals that have come to the table. That’s thrilling. But some of the very subtle changes that seem to be surfacing are the kids cravings and K’s allergies. He does not seem to be as affected lately, and them trees are still bloomin’ so I know we are not out of the woods yet. But he seems to be feeling and appearing less affected. Not totally better, but less affected. D’s habit of asking for chocolate 10 times a day has subsided as well. In fact, today, I noticed that she had not asked but once. We were in the grocery check-out and she did ask (as it was in front of her face), but when I suggested fruity Mentos instead she was totally ok with that. That would not have necessarily happened before, and I had always in the back of my mind, questioned whether she was getting the protein that she really needed for her high-energy body. I had done some reading that the craving of chocolate or sweets could potentially be linked to the lack of protein in a diet. And because she is so high-energy, I wondered if that could possibly be a playing factor. Now… eating so many more veggies in the day, on top of all of the tofu and beans that they have been very willing to try (and even enjoy eating!!) , she is getting so much more for herself and is maybe, finally heading to a more balanced self!?

Oh, time will tell on these premature discoveries. What I do realize is that everyone in general is feeling pretty great. And I am so thrilled they are onboard with “my” agenda. It’s an exciting adventure and I look forward to the point down the road where I can say we are completely vegan and thoroughly happy with the change.

Hmmm… so I feel I’ve gotten myself up-to-date, but also really need to committ to making entries more often. Shorter more frequent updates seems better to me than these long overdue ones (of which tend to be water-downed versions of things going on). I have found that Facebook is far too much of an diversion from my blog and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I don’t know that I can step away from Scrabble, but I am going to attempt to spend more time here than there!

You are asked for your password to log into blog and you not 100% you can remember it! ; )

February feels like a blur at this point. It’s been nearly six weeks since SBJ lost his job and I’d lie if I said I was not a bit worried. However, in that very same breath I can very easily say that it’s been the most precious time we’ve been given that’s it hard to not see that first and foremost. To have him here and spending this much time with us has been this unbelievable precious moment in time that we would have never had, and just may not for some time to come! Relationships have grown stronger and we’ve had so much time and laughter together. That’s just not something you are ever awarded when in the grind of everyday life.

We took the plunge and headed to the waterpark for UWWG. It was a fabulous week away and can’t believe that was 3 weeks ago! We swam our little hearts out most of the days, attended many of the workshops that were offered, and just loved every minute of the entire experience. We can’t wait till next year’s gathering and already talk about “the next time.”

Upon return from the trip it was hard to plunge back into the activities. At least for me it was. I think I’ve spent much of this month catching up from that excursion and trying to feel like I’m back in the swing of things. It is one thing being in the first trimester and already pooped most of each day, but to add that trip and jumping right back into things was rough. I have been incredibly fortunate that SBJ has been around and he’s been getting up with the kids most mornings (the ones I don’t have to rush out the door anyway) and letting me sleep in more than I’d ever get. I’ve also had the luxury of grabbing a nap here or there and that’s helped ten-fold.

Trivia is still going strong. We have 2 more weeks left of that gathering. This coming week some of the kids who have not yet finished up will get the chance to do so. The last week they will all bring their games back to play withthe others and test-run their newly created trivia games. Those trivia cards were nearly the death of me I tell ya. It was so incredible to get assistance from another family in the group in getting all of the trivia inputted and formatted, but then to take it over to OfficeMax was just the start of my problems. They somehow could not understand what I needed done and instead of calling me to ask, or say it was not completed… waited till the night before I needed them for me to come in and get them…. undone. They dork behind the counter just said he could not get them done and had absolutely no reason for not calling me during they day. So there I was at about 6pm with over 400 trivia cards to hand-cut. UGH. I came home ranting and raving that evening and of course, my awesome SBJ jumps up and offers to take them over the FedEx for me to have them cut. He wraps up the project, jump on a bus and brings them home just a short while later all cut. He even sat up with to sort them into the right piles and this was after he had done laundry in the AM, and sat with the kids all day, cooked them a really lovely dinner, and had them fed and ready for bed when I got home! Now that’s a hubby I tell ya.

I had accepted and resigned a position before even starting. I don’t know what I was thinking really. Taking on a 3rd job with 3 kids, pregnant and homeschooling. I must have been fr%#(@ing out of my mind. But maybe just feeling the stress of unemployment lingering. It would have been an awesome fit for me. I would have loved it. But it just could not fit into a 24 hour day… if I was going to get any sleep at all. So with in 2 weeks of accepting I needed to resigned. I felt horrible and I know the woman who hired is probably really upset as I never heard back from her when I did step down. But it does feel quite right as a decision. I just don’t know how I would have been able to add that to the plate.

K’s been in new drama class that he really seems to be loving. I’m proud that he’s tried a few new things lately. He’s kinda had a rough-go lately in wanting to give anything at all a try. And I feel in some sorts, I have pushed a little more than he appreciates. But in 2 specific instances he’s really ended up loving the event and wants to return. It’s that initial hurtle that’s always very hard for him it seems. (I so can relate to this feeling at times!) And of course, he’s totally in love with his Orion class. Princess Bride is plugging along and he’s just so in love the process and the class. Very cool.

D is in more activities than I can count and funny thing is, it’s still not enough for her. What a bloom from the past year I tell ya. There is no way I would have ever suspected this of her. I knew she’d eventually come out of her shell. Well, not that she’s totally out of her shell. She’s still pretty quiet around people. But there isn’t a class out there that she’d say ‘no’ to at this point. She’s loving it all. Now for my sake I need to get her to focus on a couple so that we can do a few here and a few there, and not ALL at one time! Time for me to ton things down a bit for mama-sanity.

S is just as funny as can be. I can’t even describe this emerging personality. It’s a real trip. He is saying 2-3 word sentences already. Totally communicates with everyone about everything. And is just sure he is just as big as the big kids. He plays right along and totally digs it. Today is a prime example. They had swords out and were sword fighting. K shouts, “I’m going to get you”…. and proceeds to (pretend) stroke him with the sword. S closes his eyes and falls down on the floor and everyone leans over shouting, “Oh no S… are you dead? Are you ok?” And he’s laying there for as long as possible  with his eyes totally squinting closed, faking dead. It’s hilarious. Then he was kinda taking a break to nurse and K wanted him to jump back into the game. So he says, “come on S we want you to be the monster.” And of course, S jumps up and says “OK”, and proceeds to put his arms up in the air and start growling like a monster and chasing them into the other room. Just awesome. He’s a real trip that little man. OH… and of course I can’t forget to mention his LOVE for guitar. He puts the kids guitar strap ON and holds the guitar and plays and sings for us *several* times a day. This one is bound to be a musician in some way-shape or form. He just loves it. He’s back in Kindermusik with his lovely Ms. Leah. She really digs her and her classes. And he’s also doing art class with D at the end of the week. He really digs this class too b/c he can sit and squirt bottles and bottles of glue… and paint as many pix as he wants. It’s fun to watch this little person emerge.

Hmmm… so other than that we’ve been battling a little illness. D came home from the waterpark and puked for a day. She was kinda flu-y for less than 36 hours… then back to her chipper self. But then, this past week she collected a cold from a friend and the boys were gifted with it as well just 2 days later. So this weekend went from super-duper busy to just sitting and chillin’ the whole weekend away. For me, it was well-needed. We’ve been on the go for some time now, even last weekend, I had tons of work stuff going on. So this weekend was nice that we went from super packed to just recuperating.

I was ever-so-proud of myself today. I had actually got my desk organized and threw a ton out as well as got my annual shredding project ready and in order. I feel my cleared, settled and organized to get these taxes done this week. I know that it’s going to be tough b/c I don’t have last year’s electronic file. So I have to go through and back track manually this year. Hopefully its not nearly as daunting as I’m setting it up to be in my head. But now that my desk and space has had its spring cleaning, its time for me to quit procrastinating on this and get them done already!

More stuff in the works, but I’ll update when things transpire. We are about 11 weeks along now in this pregnancy and I’m no swaying on my gut feeling of whether it’s a boy or a girl ; ) I still won’t find out though. I can’t bare to know that much in advance. Aside from tired, I feel great. It’s been a pretty easy preg, as the rest, and I am so thankful for that! I will be eager to meet this one and see if he/she is a completely different (4th) personality! Motherhood is precious. I feel blessed and excited to be on this incredible journey.

Yet again a long time running since I’ve mustered a blog entry. I can tell you all seriousness… life has been a whirlwind in these last couple of weeks. With in just days of my last posting, SBJ was laid off. A shock I was totally not prepared for, but somehow everything seems ok right now. Basically the co. decided that his position would be restructured and that if he reapplied for the newly constructed position he would be paid hourly vs. salary. Or he could take the severance package and walk. He opted for the severance package and is in the market for another job. There have been a couple interviews, lots of resumes going out, one offer on the table that is currently in negotiation. So, I guess we will have sit tight and see what pans out. In the mean time he is getting his resume out there and hopefully other things will surface soon.

Just a day after he was laid off, my very strong suspicion was well comfirmed. We are pregnant! Certainly the fabulous with the not-so-much-so. But we are just so extremely excited! It’s wonderful news. Of course, I never fully trust this theory till I actually see the first ultrasound and the little pitter-patter of the baby’s heart beat. I mean, who’s to trust this little stick you pee on that just randomly selects your are pregnant. It’s really bizzare. At any rate, today was our first appointment and first ultrasound! We saw a very strong heart beat and they tech was even able to detect the beat pattern. It was so cool. She measured us at about 7 weeks 2 days, and so we are due just around Sept. 22nd. So awesome! It really brings it all to reality seeing and experiencing all that! We are all so excited!

So the end-ish part of January we had a ton going on. I had my au pair meeting and parents social, as well as an orientation to conduct with a new au pair that just came to town. We have trivia mania and girls club going on, and that’s been going pretty well. I feel really bummed to be missing all of D’s girls club though. That’s been kinda hard to send her off into the other room and miss out on all of her fun activities. And trivia has been a learning process for sure. I feel like at this point we’ve found a pretty good groove and the really fun part of the class is about to kick off. The kids have spent the last 4 weeks collecting trivia, and the next 4 will be the game building. So that will be a ton of creative fun.

D had a girl scouts field trip to this cool bowling alley open in 1918! It was the coolest lil’ place I’ve seen and can’t believe the history still preserved there. That was a super fun event. That same week we made it out to Des Plaines for the homeschool classes they have out there. That month’s class was on fur trading which was really quite interesting. K’s started up is Princess Bride class and that’s been going pretty well. The first week he was certainly nervous being the ‘big kid class’. We did ask to push him up to the 9 years and up class, and so he has big shoes to fill if he was going to give this a whirl. He’s doing fabulously. The second week he kinda had a minor freak out the night after class. He was a lil’ overwhelmed with his role and felt that kids may be laughing at him in class. But having gone through the script with him and having watched the movie with him has calmed his nerves quite a bit. He seems quite excited now to get back to class and partake. He feels much more confident and will really do a fabulous job I am sure.

D and S really seem to love the Fri art class as well. They are enjoying working together and doing there thing. S especially has taken to it more than I would have pressumed. I suppose I just did not know what to expect with him. D just loves art, so this is totally her thing. S has really enjoyed the class and just encourages his desire to be the “big kid” like the rest of ‘em. He definitely does not want any preferential treatment! He’s one funny joe.

K took part in a science class at Emily Oaks which he really seemed to love. I think I could have easily signed him up for the whole session he took to it quite a bit. He had a few more to attend, but at sporatic times. R and I did a childcare fair at the Skokie Library which I kinda thought was going to be great, and it really did not turn out that way at all. I think we only gave away like 4 brochures and not a single was really very interested. Open gym has been sort of not been so great. K is not loving it due to a certain peer in the group and some of the games that come up during the time there. He’s feeling like they are really unfair and unwanted games and they really cross the lines of personal space and comfortability. That’s been a tough road in our home b/c this issue affects him a great deal. He’s a sensitive soul who really wants to do right by others and expects others to be the same to him. So when this type of thing is going on, it’s distraughting to him. I feel for him real bad. It’s hard to feel his hurt and try to help him through it, but also preping him for different personalities he will eventually run into in life. Talk about life lessons there!

Of course can’t forget to mention my birthday! It was a nice weekend for me. Mom cooked us a nice dinner one night and SBJ cooked for me the next night. In between, lots of spoilage and and kindness makes for a fabulous b-day weekend! This last week has felt like a blur. I’ve been dying to get to today to see this little munchkin growing in me, and trying to keep the unemployment anxiety to the way-side…. and then yesterday, in the midst of me making my bi-weekly waffle marathon batch and listening to the lovely giggles from kiddos in the other room, I get a call from my father’s fiance that he’s landed in the ER. Yipes…. what a day.

So, he had come back from Florida quite sick. He assumes this is the flu. But 9-10 days later he’s still feeling quite crappy and the abdominable pain is quite bad. He’s not shaking it, so he goes to primary care dr. saying he thinks this could be swine flu. Dr. checks him out and immediately after an ekg decides there are signs of a possible heart attack (recovering from what could have been), and sends him to the ER. He has a-fib and they feel this is just not regular. They get him all hooked up and start meds, keep track, run tests. All tests come back normal. No signs of heart attack, nor ever having one. They admit him. He is still having pretty bad abdominable pain and I, for one, can’t figure out why this is still not the focus. Yes, I agree they should track the heart, but from what these test are showing…. shouldn’t we be looking at what the cause of this abdomin stuff is (that then could be causing the a-fib!)? So I leave him last night. Great news is… not the heart. Bad news… they are keeping him and really don’t seem to have any clue as to what they are doing, nor what they are looking for.

Today’s dr’s appt for us and lil’ munchkin took us the whole day so I have not been out to see him. There is nothing more serious than a call like that that will send you into a whirlwind of emotions, and set priorities straight. Wow…. what an experience. Maybe I can delve into that more later when I can more clearly grabble my thoughts.

Ah… so K’s got princess bride again tomorrow, D and S have art, need to get some stuff done…. we are leaving town this Sunday! I was not sure this would happen after all, but things seem to be OK and we can reimburse this with my work, so we are taking advantage and going to the waterpark retreat for a full week. We are super excited and time is ticking till we hit the road. This week flew by and not much has been done to get me, personally, out the door, let alone the children I am packing for! ; ) But all will work out just fine. As long as we have our suits, we’re good to go. We have a room with a kitchen which I am SO happy about. I feel that’s the hardest part of being away from home is eating right and not feeling like crap b/c of it. So I’m psyched that we will have a kitchen and just be having a ton of swimming fun, and meeting some pretty cool unschoolin’ families from around the country! Yea!

So commences a new year. I somehow can’t believe how long this blog has been alive. Though I suppose I am not the best poster (child) for bloggers, but I vow to give it a better try this year. Today marks the third day of a horrific tragedy in Haiti. Record breaking earthquake has completely destroyed the capital and surrounding. So many disbelieving photos coming through the airways. Really has put things much more in prospective for our family. The kids have seen some of the images… lots and lots of discussions going on with each moment of the last couple of days. We have done our part and the kids seem somewhat better about being able to help children in Haiti who need it, but I also feel (and I do as well) that it just does not replace the fact that their parents are missing and/or dead. It’s just horrifically tragic there’s not much more that can be said. Hard to digest. Can’t even fathom what it might be to be living this.

My thoughts go deep into these tragedies. I ponder the ‘why’ to many of these massive life-changing events. Just a few days ago there was a full hour special on TV regarding the massive Tsunami that hit in the East. It’s daunting to see those details as well and hear from the victims and their stories. Many of them still so raw even five years later. Is this the earth’s voice to us? Is this the higher power? Is this natural fate? Why do certain people experience these things in their lives while others escape? What did they now know/see/do before this and what has changed for them now? There are just so many unanswered, and yet here it happens again.

Hmmmmmm.

Reflecting on our month so far, it’s been quite peaceful. And for this, I am feel quite lucky. The schedule will pick up soon. The classes will kick into full gear and our weeks will fly by so fast. New Year’s Day we trekked out to Wauconda to have a brunch with family. SBJ needed to work this day, so it was just me and the kiddos on this trek. I find these things challenging with out him around. But it was nice. Great G’ma was in town just a couple days, so this was to welcome her and the new year. P and J made it out there as well, and htat was nice to at least get to see them one more time before they headed back to CA. That weekend usually marks the day that we take down the xmas decorations. I always find this a catch22 day. It’s so great to get all that stuff out of the way. After 5-ish weeks of having the tree up and decorations in the window, it’s refreshing to get our view back. But on the complete flip-side if feels like “oh crap… it’s winter”. The start of winter is always so easy with the holiday stir, and then when it’s gone I feel harshly reminded that it’s winter… and… there’s still a good 3 more months of it to go. Yuck.

Ah, well, part of the reason to book the schedule though. Without the business I could very easily hibernate the whole winter. Their busy schedules gets me out of the house ; ) It’s good for all of us.

There was a fantastic EHE meeting that week. It was the small-group discussion which is always a nice way to get to know people a little more. This was after a day of sledding with friends. I think I was insane for giving into this notion. It was no more than 20… in fact windshield was probably well below. The wind wiped my face. It was painful and I had to recover from wind burn for the next 2-3 days. At least it went away! I was a little worried there for a minute.

We visited with Great G’ma again that week, our first open gym day, sledding, playdates and D’s sports classes started up. She is taking karate and gymnastics back-to-back on Saturdays at Robert Crown. She’s had her first round and just loved it. We then had a special date afterwards. Took her out for lunch and enjoyed her for a few hours to myself. Later that evening I was fortunate enough to have a special date with K as well. We went to see a fabulous show, As You Like It, that was put on by the local homeschool theater group, Thin Ice. It was fabulous and a great time with K. After that we grabbed a donut as DD and chatted for a bit before returning home. I love those opportunities to get one of them one-on-one. It’s special and I know they love it as well. It’s hard to be with everyone 24/7 and not get that time to spotlight. So that was a really special day for each of us.

I ventured to the NUG parents meeting that week and just so glad I did. It’s always been a group of really great women/families that I would love to get to know more. I need to make more effort to do so. It was such a great evening out and great conversation. Its experiences like this that make me realize how much I’m lacking in my needs in this journey and need to do something to adjust that, if even a bit.

Oh! I nearly forgot. That was our first day of our Trivia Mania class and Girls Club. Both were a huge hit, as well as the lunch afterwards. I feel it got off to a really great start, just a few nip and tucks here and there. Namely the lunch afterwards where complete chaos broke out. But the parents involved in the group are so incredibly supportive and lots of fantastic ideas thrown out about how we can change all of that. Looking forward to the next class!

G’pa treated us to a morning of bowling at this cool new place near his house. What an amazing deal for a mom/child bowling morning. Amazing $5 for per child, parent free, unlimited bowling and a buffet of fruit for the kids as well. It was a really nice time with him and Great G’ma as well. That was our last visit with her as she is heading back to FL this Monday. Looking forward to planning a trip down there to visit her … hopefully soon.

Today was our second open gym day and K is really having hard time with this class. It’s nice that it’s a free open space for them to create games and enjoy buring off some cabin fever and pent up energy. However, this too, can lead to some issues that’s harder for some to cope with. Hopefully with time and a supportive community this can change. Otherwise I can see him getting quite sick of it and dropping out as he has with other things in the past. Not to say that I can blame him much though. It’s not easy to feel like the only person wanting to play peacefully and respectfully with others, and then feeling like your friends are choosing sides (and not your own). Challenging in deed. And when I am trying relentless to help him keep his cool…. I could not blame him if he couldn’t one of these times.

Tomorrow is fun times with new friends. Feel blessed to have met them and have them in our lives. The evolving friendship is lovely and everyone here really appreciates everyone in their home. Very cool family and really enjoy spending time with them.

The weekend brings D’s sports classes again, and then Sunday brings meetings for me. I so look forward to the Parents’ Social, but it surrounded by work meetings. This makes me a bit tense. Hopefully I can help K get himself squared away for Trivia before then or Sunday could be really hectic!

At this point December is much a blur. But in a very good way. Not those kind of blurs where you are thrilled “that is over”, but one of those blurs that leaves you feeling pretty blissfully happy about life in general. Yea, that’s the kinda bliss that everyone strives for, and that’s the kind of bliss I strive for as much as my mind, body and soul will possibly allow. Heck, no one is perfect, and I don’t like the moments where the negative takes over, but deep breath. Deep breath again and you just might get back to that bliss sooner than you’d think.

So as I mentioned before the weekend after Thanksgiving SBJ is yet again sucked back into work and we are sucked head first into craft making! Oiy, oiye, yoi…. (if that’s how you even spell!) …. but yes, of course, we had known about this homeschool craft fair for months. Literally months. I think it was announced some time in the spring or summer, and here we are the week before getting ready. Of course. Such is my life. I am such a procrastinator. For me it tends to work well. I’m a muller. I like to mull these things over in my head for a long time. I’m like a crock pot! Yea, that’s it. I have beautiful end results, but it tends to always be at the very last second.

I realize, however, this is not such a great thing for my kiddos who just may not be that way. I really can’t quite figure out how K operates. He is much like SBJ, and SBJ, from what I’ve gathered, tends to stew quite a bit as well. He takes a really really long time to do things, and then just suddenly decides to do them. I see K much in the same way… not to far from what I do I suppose. D could work on things little by little for sure. She loves to do different things all of the time and really just a little bit at time as well. She’s not so great at sitting down and completing something in one sitting. But she loves to do anything you throw in front of her.

Ok. So at any rate, we are down to the wire and have one week to get it together. I had the ideas in my head, so I knew what we’d do. K and D and I had discussed them over and over and they were pretty excited about everything. We ended up making “rock dudes”:

And snow globes. Then some other little things. Painted picture frames, ornaments, put out the batiks from TG and a couple of Mei Tai’s I had not sold yet. (Would you believe I sold 2 of 3 that I brought! That was sooooo exciting for me. Really had not anticipated that. Even sold a few batiks!)

We worked around the clock on everything. All of the goods turned out fabulously and were WELL loved. We made a nice chunk of money and just had such a fun time with everyone at the fair. It was really a blast. A great experience for all!

Calculating the totals from the craft fair I was quite interested and pleased that the kids decided to save their share. They have been super duper at putting money away and saving it. I am not overly sure what they might be saving it for, but they think long and hard before money leaves their bank. It’s a great thing to see. They worked really really hard for that craft fair event and they really appreciated the wealth they came home with! It was such a great experience for us and can’t wait till next year’s!

Classes were winding down right around mid-December so things began to get quiet in that sense, but got busy with holiday stuff. D had her Girl Scout Investiture Ceremony which was sweet. She was quite proud of the entire thing and so pleased that SBJ could make it as well. She’s found herself a nice little niche there and I’m pleased that she loves it so much. It’s a beautiful group of families and their kiddos. I am quite pleased that she’s just so smitten.

Oh! But that day! They had the opportunity to enjoy a “first snow fall” just days before this. That night of the ceremony we had to drive out in this wintry, snowy, icey, blizzardy mess to get there. Wow! What timing. But it was well worth seeing her glow up there!

We had playdatesset up that week, and special time with Grandpa. He actually joined us on this Homeschool Roller Skating day that was a blast. D loved the skating. She was going to conquer it no matter what. K gave it a good try really. He is not the most sporty-type dude, but he gave it a great shot and was pretty okthat it was over when it was Then S just out-right refused to get on the floor. I got him to go around just once in his boots! He would not put on the clip-on skates, and he would not even ride in the play ride-on car they had out for the little ones. And when I went out to give it a whirl, he was pretty upset I abandoned him with G’pa. All-in-all though, he just loved watching it! He had no problem standing right up at the wall and watching the entire thing. He really seemed to have a blast doing just that. It was so much fun to have the whole place to ourselves and they played such fun music. I think we will have to give that a whirl again soon.

After that outting G’pa joined us for lunch and then showed us to Uncle J’s music shop. That was a very cool field trip. Uncle J took us in quite nicely, despite it being a big surprise visit. He showed the kids all sorts of things *and* sent us home with a flute! Very cool.

That weekend I finally got around to getting holiday cards together. It was not the easiest task this year. Time seems to be of the essence these days and I really debated on whether the effort would be put into it. I made only 15 ornaments this year, but sent out 50 cards. I think that was a pefect happy medium for me. I like doing the ornaments, but I know that it’s a ton of effort not always appreciated. So it felt like a nice balance for me. The cards were a collage of pix from the year. That was fun to paste together.

We had our holiday cookie exchange with the au pairs that weekend, as well as a gift exchange. It’s always a nice fun event. I think they really like it. They especially like the international cookies from all of the world. That’s just so much fun.

Speaking of international! I had scheduled a date for our International Pen Pal group that following week. I have started this group withhomeschooling families withthe World Wise School program withthe U.S. Peace Corps. It was a project that I participated in while in TG and just loved it a ton. It gave so much to me and the kids that I was working with. Not to mention the education and enlightenmentit provided the U.S. kids we corresponded with. So it was about a year ago that I had decided to reach out to WWS to see if they would match us as a homeschoolgroup. It was a bit unique, but they were willing. We started with a PCV in TG who is in here second year there now. And soon after I pushed for a few more matches. They then sent us PCV’s in Morocco, Armenia and Mongolia! It’s been really fun and we’ve gained a lot from it. It’s just beenreally tough on scheduling b/c we coordinate whenever we get packages form overseas…. this does not always mesh with everyone’s schedules.  But overall it’s been really fun for a core group of families and I’ve loved coordinating it.

So we had received a package from Morocco a bit before T-giving. I was waiting to see if anything else showed up in the mail and very soon after we received something from Mongolia. That’s when I scheduled our Pen Pal gathering. The day before our gathering we received a package form Armenia as well! It was fabulous. So we had all of these fabulous letters from all over the world and had fun reading them, chatting about them and writing back. The younger kids draw awesome pix to put into the packages and it’s just so much fun for all ages.

The very next day we trekked out to Des Plaines again for the homeschool classes they over there. That month it was Native American Clothing. I did not know exactly how K might take to it, but yet again, they did this amazing job on the topic and project at hand. He and D had a blast. G’pa joined us a well and he’s just so funny. When he joins us for these things he really let’s himself enjoy the event in full. It’s awesome to see him leave the “real world” and just enjoy with the kids. They were decorating (designing and dressing) their Indian paper dolls together. Sharing ideas, collaborating. It was great.

That week is still not over. We rescheduled our holiday train visit and this time around…. they said ‘hello’ to Santa! Well, I suppose I should say, “this time around we actually made it onto the train and were not interrupted by a trip to the ER!”  : D

We waited a long long time on the platform. I had looked at the schedule before we left to double check and yet when we stood there, I think about 2-3 trains came by us that were clearly not the holiday train. I was getting worried that I did not know something and the kids would be crushed yet again! AHhhhh…. the train, lights, Santa and all shows up. It’s running a bit late, but it came! Santa is hanging out on this open car in the middle of the train with a sleigh and reindeer. He waves to the kids as the board the well-lite train. Wow. They really do a fabulous job on this train. It was really pretty. We tookit up to Wilmette and got off at the end of the line. This year… K and D actually went up to Santa and shook his hand and got a candy cane! This is K’s first time ever! He has always looked from afar. D just followed suite. After he went up to him and shook his hand, he came back to me, took a DEEP breath and said, “phew…. I am just so glad I did that”. It was hilarious. We then boarded the train and rode back up to E-town. It was fun and they wanted to ride again. Alas, time slipped away fast during those last 2 weeks that we did not ride again. But we will be sure to do it again next year and this time we will take it to the city and back!

The following day we journey to the Ethical Humanist Society to see the homeschool production of the Jungle Book. It was quite cute and delightful. The kids dug out the movie when we got home, and S actually sat through the whole thing and loved it. It was quite fun. Got K’s juices flowing for the Princes Bride production (a class/show he will be doing this winter).

I again was blessed with my weekend tea with homeschoolin’ parents. It was a very nice turn out with super fun discussions on every topic imaginable. (I am very excited that another is coming up this week!)

We ventured to a new place called Jump Zone. It was really pretty fun. I was excited to get a nice discount. It would be great to be able to use that place a few more times this winter. I hope the prices are not staggering if we go again. Will have to track down a coupon or two. But they had such a blast on these enormous inflatables. It was a cool place. But hey… now that I think about… we trekked out in a blizzard to get there. What’s up with these events and the blizzards?!

We hosted xmas eve here at our place. Uncle P and Aunt J flew in from CA that day and came over. G’ma was here. It was a super delightful day. The food, company, abundance. It was warm and fuzzy. Perfect.

That night however, S woke quite sick. And this was the type of sick that sends a mama into cardiac arrest. He was having trouble breathing and pretty congested. I had heard this once before when K was just about his age, however never with S. But I jumped right into action and treated him quickly. He got better quite quickly over the next 3-4 days, so it was a very quick recovery. I think (from what I’ve gathered and researched online) is that he had a mild croup. It was quick and not quite as lengthy as it’s described. However, the “barking seal” was him to a ‘T’. At any rate that completely altered xmas day.

We woke to open all of the stuff that Santa had blessed us with. Miss D is onto the whole idea. I am fairly certain that she knows, or at least doubts. But she would never say anything. Not only b/c her brother would out-right refuse to hear of it, but b/c she would not want the gifts to stop coming K, on the other hand, is a believer in and out. He loves the mystery of how this could possibly be, and he will always believe. He is much like that of the Polar Express dude… He loves the idea that the magical, mysterious, mythological could all be real.

Oh. So druingthe Santa opening we discussed what to do with S and the plan was that I would take SBJ, K and D over to G’pa’s for xmas day festivities. Then S would most likely fall asleep in the car and I’d bring him back home. I was so incredibly sad of the idea that I would not get to be with K and D during their holiday there. It was heartbreaking. Then… S fell asleep while nursing here. So at that point SBJ and I agreed that he would stay with S and I would run K and D over to dad’s. On the one hand… thrilled I could go with them and experience their xmas withthem. The flip side… it was pretty impossible to be thoroughly present and enjoy with SBJ at home with a very sick S. Part of me thinks that we should have just rescheduled our xmas with g’pa for another day. It would have been much better. But all in all… it was just fine. I was relieved to be back home and see that S was very chipper, happy, no fever, breathing was great. He was already recovering. Our afternoon and weekend (and week after) was so much fun and…. blissful.

We opened the rest of the loot back home and this year SBJ and I agreed was the year for the Wii. We went all out and they received lots of games along with it. Along with the masses of other gifts we had as well.

Bubble Wonders dude was at Morton Grove Library that week and we had lunch with Uncle P and dragged him to the show. He seemed to enjoy it. When then challenged him to some intense Wii sports before he rejoined Aunt J in their whirlwind tour in Chicago!

One of Seringe’s customers had given him tix to the Harlem Globetrotters performance. This happened that same week as well. SBJ and K really thoroughly enjoyed it! They were laughing and enthralled. It was super cool to watch them. D probably would have felt the same, but she’s just not a nighttime person. I have come to notice that she really could careless to stay up late. She’d rather crash and get her sleep. So it was hard for her to do this late-night thing. But she enjoyed it as much as she was able to in her half-wake-state. S on the other hand was only interested in the maskcot. We called him “the guy” and I would have him search for him over and over again. This did not last very long and eventually had to take him out a few times. We had amazing floor seats and so the kids could see absolutely everything. It was so great for them all!

That same week, GREAT g’ma came into town from FL. Well, actually she was in CO before coming here, but she’s residing in FL, so this is a big deal to see her and get to spend time with her. We rushed on over the day after she got here to spend the day with her at G’pa’s. Had a nice lunch with them, worked on a puzzle (that I am overly addicted to… good thing it’s in his house and not mine). New Year’s Day SBJ of course was sucked back into work and the kids and I set out to Wauconda to visit Aunt and Uncle J’s. They hosted a little brunch for G’ma being in town and P and J were able to attend as well, Dad and O too. So it was a big crowd. We had a nice time and it was good that the kids (and I) got to see P and J before the bowed out of town.

And LOOK! I have now done a full run-down of the last few months and just about up-to-date! Today’s the 10th that write this, so I do have to pat myself on the back for that one. I will take time to reflect on the last 10 days and get back to you soon. Here are a few lovely pix from events mentioned, but you will see many more in the lovely flikr assortments on the homepage!

That’s just about what it was… kicked off with daylight savings right at the start of the month. I’m not sure who took that change harder, the kids or me? I may be still be recovering!

I always love my EHE meetings. It’s quite lovely to be able to escape one evening a month, all to myself with a group of grown ups that all homeschool their kids. It’s wonderful to have adult conversations (a lot about our kids!) and escape one single bed time routine for one night of the month. I look forward to reconnecting with people I don’t see in the regular routines, and I enjoy being a part of a larger community. Not feeling like you are the only people on the earth home/unschooling is essential to personal sanity! Fortunately, November kicked off nice and early with an EHE meeting that very first Monday. Fabulous, fabulous. Of course at the moment I struggle to recall what that month’s topic actually was! Ah… but I know it was interesting!

S was still in music class at the time, so he had that every Tuesday that month. His dear, sweet music teacher was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer over the summer. It’s been a journey we’ve traveled with her, and I find her remarkable for her endearing personality. She is always so wonderful with the children and parents alike! She has just recently taken a break from her teachings to do her round(s) of chemo. We hope to rejoin her teachings during her spring session. I just can’t quite figure out how to schedule it! S has moved up in the Kindermusik world, being 20 months now, and nearly 2 when the class is on, so the schedule changes. If I can manipulate all things, we will be there singing with her. She is a gem and I think of her, her struggles, health, and family nearly every day.

We had alternating weeks of Animation Class and Girls Club through the rest of November. I have to say… by the time November roller around, I was a bit drained by hosting these classes every week in our home. I am not sure what it was. Not really the idea of doing the class, but doing it in our home. I was definitely ready for it to end and ready for a little hiatus.

S had a well-check in November and I always find those kinda fun…. except for this time around. Somehow we did not have the ‘gee-gee’ with us (pacifier). He typically is not an all-day-er with the gee-gee, but when he’s in a new place, over-stimulation, or needing a little more ’security’… the gee-gee plays a big role in those instances. So showing up at Dr. E’s with no gee-gee…. ugh. Nightmare. Not such a pleasant visit and really not so fun for S either! He is, of course, growing immensely. I can’t get over how tall and solid he is. He is “all his own”…. I hear that a lot about him from several people. And that just seems to sum it up in a nutshell… he is ALL his own. Funny lil’ guy.

Wow…. so we did try to squeak in 2 more park days that month. I think we must have been pretty desperate to hang on to every last second of outdoor play we possible could. That very last one was the very first snow flurries and we all said, “ah, not so bad”. Of course with in 20-30 min of the flakes flying in our faces, we all headed home. So thrilled to have the open gym now to burn off that winter cabin fever at least once per week.

D had a few more sports classes left. She was doing this introduction to soccer and basketball. Each week alternating between the two. She really seemed to dig that class a lot. The only issue I had with it was that being the oldest in the class, she had to do a lot of waiting on lil’ 3 year olds that were not in the listening-mode for class. I get that they are not developmentally there yet, but I did not feel it was fair for them to accept her into the class with that being the case. She could have easily moved into the next class with the majority of fiver year olds and done fabulously. She probably would have learned more as well. What’s important is that she love it. And got to do lot’s of running! She is a great runner!

We squeezed in a lot of playdates here and there. Meeting some newer families to EHE has been really fun this year. The kids have really taken to some of the newbies and it’s been faboo for me too. It’s just always such a fabulous thing when you love the parents of the kids your kids love to hang out with! Very cool. We met people at parks, the library, and homes and enjoyed each and every visit with old and new friends.

I had an all day work meeting in the middle of the month. CCAP came into town and we met. It’s always nice to reconnect with the office staff and the LCC’s in Chicago. It’s very hard to be away from family on the weekend though! But they had lots of new developments and it was great to hear the news first hand. That was back-to-back with my au pair meeting that month. We hosted an International Potluck for a little Thanksgiving feast. It was fun to see all of the great dishes and hand out the thankful greetings to the au pairs from their host families.

That happened to land on the day of the parents’ social as well. Yet another lovely afternoon, once per month, that I get to escape for a few hours. Reconnect with friends and relieve myself of the 24/7 duty I otherwise tend to have. I feel so blessed that my hubby supports my needs to get out of the house on occasion. OK, so it’s only what, 2-3 times a month. Well…. ok 2 are for pleasure. If there’s more it’s for work. In my book, work does not count as “time out”. But I do know some that don’t necessarily have that same support. And it’s a blessing to me that he not only supports it, but encourages it. He is a gem!

We trekked back out to Des Plaines for that cool Homeschool Class they over monthly. That month was mummies and we mummified limes and built their sarcophagus! By far one of the coolest. I think that one and Day of the Dead were tied for first at this point. They do such a great job over there! It’s really fantastic to see some communities supporting homeschooling in such a large way. I see next-to-none of that here in Evanston and that really shocks me. A huge contingency of homeschooling families live around here and north Chicago and yet it’s rare that you’ll see Evanston stepping up that notion. At times, when I’ve attempted to coordinate homeschooling programs, I really feel like I am not only spoon-feeding, but *force*feeding the crews. Let me get on my soap box just to organize a homeschool story time at the library! Ick! I really get annoyed that people are so slow to bat when it comes to embracing homeschooling families and their needs.

Ah. So the week *before* Thanksgiving the kids were already pushing for xmas decorations! Yea… I gave in. And really my motive was selfish. I still had not brought the Halloween stuff down to the storage by then! Ha. Yea… it had been sitting around the back door for about a month at this point and I thought, ‘well…. gotta bring the halloween stuff dow there, I’ll bring up the xmas stuff’! But we have three large boxes of stuff, so it was not like it could just sit around awaiting for us to decorate! So, week before Thanksgiving….yep…. we are decorating the tree and putting up the decorations. That’s always SO much fun when you are doing it. It’s always so pleasant to sit and gaze at the pretty lights. Reminisce over each and every ornament on the tree. But then that single second after the presents are opened on xmas, I’m ready to tear it down and put it away! I’ve had enough…. give us back our space now. Over-well-done!

Day after we got those lights glowing SBJ was back at work. Yet again putting in a weekend day! It was a bit draining at this point, but there was at least a light at the end of this long long tunnel. He has just hired someone and was in the process of training him to be prepared to be on his own. So we were excited this would soon be over. But as much as I say that, we were bummed that we would not have him with us as we boarded the Holiday Train (L) that Sunday.

I park the car, and get all excited that it’s Sunday and I don’t even have to feed the meter! Found a spot right next to the L station and was thrilled about that as well. I’m struggling to get S in the back-pack carrier, get the camera and a couple of bucks to board the train. K and D are running up and down the Metra ramp and I’m feeling a little frazzled. It was fairly empty in terms of people traffic, so that was at least a relief. But I really did not want to see one of them topple from the grassy incline next to the walkway!

Ok… car locked, children gathered, and we take just one step from the car and the phone rings. I recognize the ring and know it’s SBJ. I let K answer and I hear K say something like “you broke your leg?” I’m thinking… what’s going on. K hands me the phone and says that daddy says we have to go get him b/c he broke his leg. I get on the phone and SBJ is in clear agonizing pain. I’m thinking he dislocated a knee (from what he’s telling me). So we stop the Holiday Train adventure, hop in the car and race off to Deerfield to get him to a hospital. We had no more than pulled up in front of the store to find he had called 911 for himself and he was being hoisted away on a stretcher. Ugh… sometimes this man just really jumps off the deep end!

We follow him off to Highland Park Hospital where he is x-rayed and nothing found wrong. They say he could have dislocated and knocked it back in somehow. That there was tearing of ligaments while this happened, but there not much more they could do at this point. They got him all immobilized, taught him how to use crutches and we were on our way. With our trip home he was feeling much better. With in 48 hours, we was not wearing the brace any longer. Go figure. He clearly did something harsh, but what it is no one knows. Workman’s Comp is now asking him to go for follow up though. So maybe an ortho will fill us in on details. But he’s back to regular usage without complaint. All’s well.

K and D took advantage of a 1-time magic class that was being offered and they seemed to have a great time in it. It was great to see them come home with all of these cool tricks that they could do for me and SBJ. That same week we dragged ourselves out to the Evanston Tree Lighting. Ha… well maybe I should say the kids dragged me out to the tree lighting! SBJ was not up for the walking/stairs with his leg recovering, and I was not 100% on board. It was *pouring* rain. Gross outside. Cold and wet…. worst combination ever. But they just desperately wanted to go! Ok… I said I’d go if they dragged along canned foods to donate to the food drive they were having over at the Rotary. They were very excited about that. They even wanted the gentleman there to tell them where the food would go and who it would feed. Quite cool. We stood out in that outrageous rain awaiting Santa on the ladder fire truck. I tell ya, Santa jumped of that truck, did his 360 around the group to the trip, flipped the switch and ran to the Rotary in about 60 seconds flat! Quite hilarious. Guess I was not the only not really wanting to be out there!

Thanksgiving was at mom’s again this year. Uncle P2 came by this year and that was a shock. A pleasant surprise, but a shock nonetheless. Nice dinner had by all. We ended up leaving kinda early b/c D seemed to have some reaction to Uncle P2’s dog. Not totally sure how/what happened, but her eye started to swell and it was not pretty. Benedryl brought everything back down, but then she was wiped out from the Benedryl!

SBJ had to work on his b-day this year. Black Friday never provides him a day off. But we drove out to pick him up and celebrated his b-day back home. That weekend was the cast of major craft making in our house. Of course 6 months notice for the homeschooling craft fair, and we wait till the weekend before to plan, organize, craft and craft! I have my children well-trained already to be procrastinators. Not sure it’s the best things in the world, but we always have fan-ta-bu-lous results when we do.

Go figure.

Awaiting Santa… in the rain

Santa’s 5 seconds of fame in Evanston!

Proof that at one time or another, D had two missing front teeth! Remember that song, “All I Want for Xmas is My Two Front Teeth”?

Happy Birthday SBJ!!!