Five for Friday: School, Sister, Sewing, and Running

It has come to my attention, again, that I am too often posting about things that happened months ago.  Sometimes months and months ago.  (Stay tuned for my post about our family trip to Edinburgh LAST DECEMBER!)  Anyway, life is busy busy, as it is for everyone, and even though I am still catching up, here are a few things that are going on right now.

1.) Jayce's school is going well.  I mentioned to Chris on Monday that a year ago that day was when Jayce had a major meltdown, and we decided to only send him for half days until he was a little more comfortable.  I know I have mentioned it several times on here recently, but it's just so great to look back on a time that was filled with stress and uncertainty and see how far he has come.  Every day we'll ask him what his favorite part of the day was, and usually he says "playing with my friends."  A year ago, he would say "when mom came to pick me up."  So yes, this is much much better.

2.) Chelsea is here!!  Just over a week ago Hannah and I were anxiously awaiting her arrival at the airport where I chewed off all of my fingernails and Hannah ran all around the arrival area.  We were so happy to see her, she's an old pro at getting around town, and she's going to do great in her program.  She is one of the easiest people to get along with and has made a pretty seamless transition into living with us, from my perspective at least, although I know she is feeling a real lack of The Bachelor/Bachelorette.  

On that note, and this is may seem kind of random, I'm not really going to write much on here about how Chelsea is doing/what she is up to, because it just doesn't feel right to me.  I certainly write about our families and siblings sometimes, but I kind of feel like the ins and outs of Chelsea's life, even living in with us, just isn't my story to tell.  If you're wondering about Chelsea feel free to send her an email and ask! :)

3.) Just before we went to the US, literally the day before, I went and traded my new but horribly incompetent sewing machine for a different new machine.  So I am back to sewing!  Since we've been back I've already made Hannah a reversible dress, 4 tops, and a shirt for Jayce that I am extremely proud of!  There was lots and lots of patting myself on the back for Jayce's shirt and I'll get some pictures this weekend.  

One of the shirts I made for Hannah was pattern testing for Kate for this pattern.  It has evolved a bit since I sewed my version, which is part of the point of pattern testing, I think.  I just got my copy of the final pattern yesterday, so I'll try that out soon as well.

4.) Along those lines, (along the lines of sewing, anyway), I have some other news.  I'm going to start selling again and I think the photo above will give you enough hints for the moment.  More on that later, but I'm very excited. :)

5.) Next weekend Chelsea and Chris are both running in a half marathon that starts at this gorgeous place.  I'll do my best to get pictures, but I don't think you can beat a shot like the one above, which was not mine but the event's photographer that got it.  Love it.   

Happy weekend.

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The Farm and the Lake: Memorable & Highlights

We left Florida and headed to Matt and Melanie's for the night, and then onto the farm for the next few days.

Highlights:

-Seeing all of the Keiths, who were temporarily all rounded up in the same place for some family pictures.  

-Jayce and Hannah getting to play with Hadley and Madeline.  There is nothing like playing with your cousins.  The friendships are instant and sweet.

-A perfect day on the lake.  The weather was hot enough that the water felt great, but not so hot that we were baking the whole time.  Sunny skies, a light breeze, not crowded, cold drinks in the cooler, everyone felt like getting in the water and playing around a bit.  It was exactly what we had wanted.

-Jayce asking to tube by himself, which spoke volumes about his confidence in the water.  It didn't last long, he immediately went under, but he didn't cry and we were impressed that he wanted to try in the first place.

-Dinner at Betty's OK Country Kitchen.  It's always been a favorite, is the perfect way to end a day at the lake, and it did not disappoint.

Memorable:

-This was Hannah's first time ever on the boat.  She wasn't nervous at all, wanted to help dad drive, and demanded to hold grandpa's hand whenever she was out on the dock.

-Chris stood up on the tube before crashing hard.  He was extremely proud of himself.

-When we were picking out where to sleep, Jayce wanted to sleep on a very narrow cot in one of the rooms.  While he was sleeping he fell out of it, and the noise absolutely scared me out of my skin. (The sound of your child's limbs hitting linoleum floor from their bed is significant.)  Chris helped him back into bed and tucked him in, and after my prompting placed a doubled-over quilt next to the bed in case it happened again.  He fell out of bed 2 additional times that night.  When I asked him about it in the morning, he sheepishly replied that he fell because he was being a wiggle worm. :)  The next night we slept in different beds, and no one fell.

-Jayce and Hannah golfing little plastic balls around the house, sidewalk chalk, swinging in the swings, drinking hot coffee on cool mornings on the back gazebo, and bare feet in wet morning grass.  Overall, just watching our kids run around and enjoy a place that we have enjoyed together for over a decade, and a place that has always been a part of Chris' life.

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Goodbye Paci

A lot of people beat themselves up about the whole pacifier issue.  Should we give them one?  Will it affect their eating ability or desire?  Will it inhibit speech or cause future dental problems?  When is the best time to take it away?  

We decided pretty early on, I think, to not really take a stance.  If the kids wanted it, that was fine, if they didn't, that was fine too.  We bought the orthopedic ones for the sake of dental whatnot, and decided that we would take it away if there seemed to be a problem, but not necessarily at a specific age or anything like that.  This is just what we decided.

Now, living the life of public transportation, I have to say that the paci has very often been a lifesaver.  Bored, cranky, annoyed, tired Hannah on the bus/ tube/ train/ airplane promptly received her paci and was quickly pacified.  Naturally.  It definitely hasn't inhibited her speech, her teeth have been fine, etc.  But she was growing increasingly demanding for her paci at random times of the day, not just bed time like we tried to do.  Also, the germ factor is pretty high with something that we tote all around town and on the bus, and that goes directly into her mouth.  So we decided that it was time.

I didn't want to give it up until we were back from our trip to the states, since I knew we would need it to help soothe her to sleep in the various different places that we were staying, keep her calm on long car rides that she wasn't used to, assist her in getting over the jet lag, and assist me in keeping her quiet on those long plane rides.  Chris was away for a conference almost as soon as we were back in the UK, but once he was home I decided it was time.

We clipped it on a Sunday night.  We had to rock her a bit that night, but overall she was fine about it and would tell you quickly was broken and in the trash.  But in true "You've got to be kidding me about the timing of this thing" form, Tuesday night she cried all night long, by Wednesday had a very runny nose and temperature, and we discovered on Friday that she had an ear infection.  Also, 2 top molars that were just through the skin.  And 2 bottom molars that were just below. (You could see them and feel them, but they weren't out.  Yuck.)  

Anyway, we contemplated getting her a new paci, just for the week, and then taking it away once the teeth and infection were gone.  But then we decided that this is the new normal around here- now if she's having a rough time settling herself down to sleep because of an ear infection, or teeth, or any other reason, we have to be the ones to help her through it.  Chris and I (and the rocking chair) are the new pacifiers.

But now we're almost on the other side of it, and it wasn't so bad.  

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And Then There Was "Year One"

Today was Jayce's first day of school.  He's in Year One, in the Rabbit Class.  

This was the source of several confused conversations while we were visiting in Akron.  Chelsea had a graduation/going away party, and it seemed like everyone had this conversation with Jayce.

Person: So, what grade are you going to be in?  Are you going into Kindergarden or First Grade?

Jayce: Uhhh… (They don't use either of those names for the grade here, so he kind of had no idea what they were talking about.)  Then he'd finish with, "I'm going to be a rabbit." and run off.

But the truth is, even though I don't really want to admit it, it's more like he's going into First Grade than Kindergarden.

Last year he went to school all day long for 5 days a week.  And it wasn't like a preschool kind of set up.  They played a lot, of course, but there was a lot of time for learning.  He already knew his letters, but every day they did some phonics and he learned to read.  He learned lots of other things too, measurable and immeasurable, but this one is the big one in my book.

(One day this summer, Jayce pointed to the word "whatever" and said, "Mom, what's this digraph?"  I told him and then asked him what a digraph was.  He said, "It's when there's two letters that make different sounds, but when you put them together they make a new sound."  Honestly, I was a little surprised by this, because, though he's pointed out different digraphs before, he's never explained to me exactly what it was.  I was just a  little surprised by the fact that he does seem to actually get it.  I wanted to go hug his old teacher.) 

Regardless of what it's called, it's the next year of school for him and he loves it.  Honestly it's just me that has the problem.  I'm still a little disappointed that I missed out on my last year with him at least partially home with me.  (Last year I thought his school was only half days and was a little surprised/freaked when I discovered it was full days, but I got on board.)  And though we had a rough patch in the beginning, things ended up working out great.  

So, yes.  He needs to go to school, school is good for him, in no way can I replicate at home what he is getting there, not even by a fraction, so to school he goes.  I just miss my little buddy while he's away, but luckily I get him back every afternoon. :)  End of random processing mom-rant.

Jayce was a great sport this morning, jumping out of bed right away, got dressed quickly, and even happily ushered Hannah around to the yard to get some before school pictures.

 He was much more agreeable during picture time than last year.

Much happier than Chris and definitely more so than Hannah.

He even wanted to take a few pictures himself.  That's my boy.

Then we grabbed the scooter, sunglasses, and were off.

And as far as I can tell it was a great first day.

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Sometimes I Feel Guilty

I just found this post from March of last year sitting in my drafts, unpublished.  I'm not sure why I didn't publish it at the time, although I would imagine that it's because I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer.  But I kind of like "crappy guilt days," or "random sad days" or "things aren't falling into place days."  They seem to balance the days where I'm soaring high and everything is perfect, and make the run of the mill normal days feel  beautiful.  

 

March 2, 2012

Sometimes I feel guilty

 

When I'm putting away laundry and I realize that there are more clean pjs than clean outfits.  Which means that week, more days than not, we didn't get dressed into "real" clothes.

But that's okay, because on those days we must have really needed to stay in pjs.  

 

When I'm putting away Jayce's clothes and I notice that he has a lot more clothes than Hannah does.

But that's okay, because almost 4 year olds put a lot of wear on their clothes.  This is not favoritism, it's practicality.

 

Then I put away Hannah's clothes and notice that she has lots more mom-made items than Jayce does.

But it's okay, because for a while he had a whole wardrobe of tie t-shirts.  And right now I'm just in a onesie re-do mode.

 

When I fix Jayce a hot dog for lunch, and I remember that he has had a hot dog for lunch every day that week.

But it's okay, because he eats the hot dog.  And the carrots, and the yogurt, and whatever else I give him.  He's going through a phase where he does eat, as opposed to the phases where he is never hungry, and if he wants a hot dog, that is fine with me.

 

When Chris comes home and the house is completely wrecked.  Usually around 4:30 I scope out the damage and tidy the worst of it, but some days I don't.

But it's okay, because when I sigh "I'm sorry the house is such a wreck..." he says, "that's alright honey, we'll get it later."  And he means it.  And later, we do.  Or we don't, and that's okay too.

 

That Hannah isn't eating "right."  Baby food, formula, bottle, nursing, table food, milk.  Your child's eating/not eating seems so personal and when it is insinuated (or verbalized) that we're doing it wrong, it makes me feel like such a failure.

But it's okay, because every child is different (blah blah) and we are figuring out what works for us and our baby.  And we have a healthy happy little girl.

 

Today is one of those "wrestling with guilt" days, that starting creeping in when I was putting away laundry (can you tell) and stuck around longer than I'd have liked it to.  But I guess that is okay too.

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Mini-Obstacle Course

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Destin, Florida: Highlights and Memorable

We were in Destin at the start of our vacation for about 10 days.  This is the longest we've ever been there, but was a wonderful place to recover from the trip and jet-lag, and it was nice to start our whirlwind month of visiting with a week or so to relax on our own terms.  

I'm not really feeling up to a recap of our trip, so I'll just share a few highlights and memorable moments. 

Highlights:

-Seeing Andy and Patsy, who the kids and I hadn't seen in almost a year.

-The beach!  Enough said.  

-Last year, Hannah was just crawling around, but this year she was big enough to run, play in the sand, and smash Chris and Jayce's sandcastles.  

-Jayce' swimming drastically improving from the start to the end of our vacation thanks to Chris' instruction.

-Chris and Jayce night swimming several evenings in the pool.

-Jayce immediately befriended any kid that was around him at the pool, playgrounds, restaurants, etc.  I guess when you are used to being in school around your friends 33+ hours a week and you are suddenly just with your parents, desperate times call for desperate measures.  But I was so proud of him. 

-Mellow Mushroom (which Hannah called "marshmallow"), Jim & Nick's Barbecue, and breakfast on the beach.

Memorable: 

-Hannah tossing her pool floaty over her shoulders and declaring "Here she comes Hannah!" as she strode towards the pool.  Every time.  Apparently she needs to be announced.

-One night we were driving to dinner and Chris made a comment about go-carts.  Hannah immediately piped up from the backseat, yelling, "Go Cards!" with her fist in the air. :)  

-We stayed on the 18th floor, so Jayce and Hannah counted up or counted down for us and the other elevator occupants on every trip.

-Often when we were walking somewhere Jayce would grab Hannah's hand, she would let him, and they would stroll out to the car or over wherever we were going together.  

-The kids playing in various fountains around the town after lunch or dinner.  At night, whenever the fountains would go from a short burst to a large towering stream of water, Hannah would run away saying, "Oh no!  Fire!  Fire!"

-One night while we were in the condo someone set off a few fireworks from the beach, which towered over the beachfront condos and lit up the sky.  We ran out to the balcony where we had a perfect view. We only saw a few, but it was Hannah's first experience with fireworks, and Jayce's first where he wasn't cowering at the noise.  It was just enough.

Whenever we were getting ready to go somewhere, Hannah would go climb into her stroller that was by the door to wait for us, since the stroller is her ride whenever we go anywhere in London.  She also climbed in a few times and asked me "Mom, stroll Hannah." and I would push her around the condo a little bit.

-That said, after about 10 minutes in the car, Hannah, who now isn't used to riding in cars, would start whining and asking to be held.  (Not that this was fun, just funny to think that my 2 year old is not used to car riding.)  However, she played games with whoever was driving by making silly faces at them in the rearview mirror.  She also called her seatbelt her click, and would instruct us all when we got in, "Mom, do click!  Dad, do click!  Mom, a Hannah click off!"

-Jayce re-discovering tv shows that he hadn't seen in a year.  The Disney Channel lineup and most of PBS' shows aren't on here, and there were a few where even Chris and I were stopped in our tracks, listening to the intro music and trying to remember the name of the show.  A strange thing.

-On the way home there was a black spec on the window beside Hannah.  She thought it was a bee, and talked to it for most of the ride home.  "Bee!  Shoo bee!  A bee doing?  Mom, a bee doing?  Mom, a bee fly!  Bee…" 

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