Homeschooling mom to be.

What do I start with?

Well, it certainly has been busy here!  My husband moves his business this coming weekend!  We are all so excited about it, but it is a LOT of extra work on Luke especially.  He can't really pack anything up before hand, since it's all in use for the business on a daily basis.  So all the packing will have to be done Friday night.  We hired movers, since there is a lot of heavy equipment to be moved.  My parents have also volunteered to come and help out, as there will a lot of organization to do at the new office after the move is completed.

We bought my oldest daughter her own little desk to start working at this year.  It's an old school desk, with the chair attached.  It's not exactly what I wanted, as the lid doesn't lift, but it'll do.  She's so excited about it, but it's in the garage until the basement is free after the move.  I also went to an Army Surplus Store, and got a Kindergarten curriculum for $6.  It's actually below Mercy's level, but I can adapt it for her, and use it as-is for Nadja, who's 3.

Well, I was pretty naive, I guess.  I figured since Mercy is only 4, kindergarten level was the logical place to start with her.  I knew she was smart, but I went along with the "standard" anyway.  I guess it just goes to show that I know my daughter better than I thought, and that you can't lump ages into one mould.  So I'll be looking for first grade curriculum, and in the meantime, I have enough resources to get her started.

We're going apple picking soon!  I'm so excited, this is my favourite time of year!  I love the cooler weather, I love everything about fall, the colours, Thanksgiving, apples.  We used to go every single year from my childhood until I got married, and now we're continuing that with my own girls.  Last year, we bought a small pumpking and made our own pumpkin pie from scratch with it.  It's such a great experience for my girls.  At least they know that pumpkin pie filling does NOT originally come from a can!

I think part of why I love fall so much is that I always have a sense of anticipation.  This year, that's heightened by knowing the business is moving out, and who knows where we'll go from here, except God!  It's a great place for me to be, I've allowed myself to be way too cynical in my thoughts in this past year.  God's really convicted me of that, especially when my 4-year-old told me every day was a bad day!  I couldn't really blame her, she's only reflecting back to me what I was showing her.  So together we've been working on choosing to be happy, and praying about it when we find it hard to do so.

We've been reading the Little House books, and today the girls made a covered wagon craft.  My girls LOVE crafts.  They're so easy to occupy, I just have to find a craft for us to do together!  All in all, it's been a very pleasant time.  The only downfall has been that we're trying to expand our family, without success, at this point.  But God has a reason for that too, so we'll wait on Him.  God bless you all, and have a wonderful week.

Mama J.

What do I start with?

Desk and Miscellaneous.

I'm getting excited!  I was looking for and found an old-style wooden school desk with a lid, and a chair attached.  I'm  hopefully going to look at it tomorrow.  My mom gave me the "Little House on the Prairie" series of books, as well as a curriculum that goes along with it.  I started reading the books to the girls, hoping they would learn to settle down and listen.  They did!  We got through the "Little House in the Big Woods" in about four days!  We're more than halfway through "Little House on the Prairie".

I started looking through the curriculum last night, and it looks like something the girls will love doing!  I'm not planning on doing any formal schooling with them at the moment, but at least this will help with my organization.  And that was why I wanted to start looking for a desk.  I'll have space for it now, because we have more news!!!

My husband is hoping to start moving his business out of the house on Labour Day weekend!  It will make our days so much easier.  If it were just my husband working here, it would be fine, but with more people coming in for work, it's been difficult.  It's been hard on the kids, too.  They are not allowed to jump, or run, or play in the house.  They can't be kids.  I can understand why, it's hard to work in a basement with noise above, but they are children, so I'll be happy when we have the house to ourselves.  I'm planning on using the basement space as a school room.

At the moment our dining room walls are plastered with posters for my four year old.  It does the job for sure, and I have no complaints, but I know it distresses my mother-in-law.  She's already been through the stage of kids having their work, or their things, all over, and now she'd like to relax and enjoy a house that is set up for her tastes.  I feel bad about her not getting that at the moment.  So that's another bonus of my moving their things downstairs.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough.  I'm taking the girls to a Children's Museum on Thursday, but I have to get my house clean before then!  Thanks for sharing my day-to-day babblings!

Mama J.

Last month of summer.

Can you believe we're into August already?  My husband and I tried to take the girls to the beach, at least once, on Monday.  It was sooo cold!  We stayed for about an hour so they could play in the sand and watch the waves, but it was a waste of a two hour drive!  Actually, I shouldn't say that.  We did get to spend some time with just the four of us, which has been pretty much non-existent lately.  That was wonderful!  We also did a "trial run" for camping.  Our dream is that next summer we can take the kids and go camping on Prince Edward Island, the most beautiful place ever!  But my husband wanted to make sure the kids would be alright, and it would work well.  It did!  I'm excited, and hoping that we can carry on with those plans next summer.

I had to get a whole lot of blood work done last week.  The doctor is looking into PCOD as the cause of some of my issues lately.  That is Polycystic Ovarian Disease.  I looked it up, it's not nice.  But I know that God knows what He's doing.  I don't know if that's what I have or not, so there's no sense worrying about it right now, right?  In the meantime, I'm just doing what I know to stay healthy.  Eating right, exercising, having fun with my family.  If you guys happen to think of me, your prayers would be greatly appreciated.  I should know by sometime this week.

My girls are getting so big.  It amazes me everytime I look at them.  But they're also big for their ages.  My four year old is 43 inches tall, and my three year old is 41 inches tall.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that they are only 3 and 4 years old!  It's easy to let my expectations get a little too high when they're so big!  But things have actually been going pretty smoothly lately.  I've been much more able to just enjoy the girls.  I'm hoping to start thinking of baby #3 soon.  Anyway, it's forecast to be a beautiful day, so I want to hang some laundry outside.  I'm going to throw open all the windows and get some music cranked up to do my housework.  I hope you all have a lovely day as well.  God is good!

Mama J.

Where did the time go?

I am finding it hard to believe we're into July already!  The summer feels like it's just beginning!  Since we've not been doing any formal schooling, I'm continuing casually with the lessons for my girls.  Mercy is such an avid learner, she is so thirsty for knowledge.  One of her favourite activities is to ask me about something and look it up on the computer together with me.  Her last one was what a xylophone is.  The first was, "how do they make couches, Mama?".  It's actually really fun!

I bought little dollar store cups with bean seeds in them.  I didn't know how well it would work, it was dollar store, after all. But we started them in the house and then transplanted them outdoors.  They grew amazingly well indoors.  Unfortunately, my husband is NOT a garden person, and planted them in the worst spot possible, where they get no sunshine at all.  However, they're hardy little things and they are growing!  I also transplanted some peppermint from my sister's garden.  She thought they were weeds!  I'm going to try my hand at drying the leaves for tea.

We have no travel plans, or even fun day trips planned, since my husband cannot get away from the business at all right now.  He's even been working longer hours in the evenings and usually a few hours on the weekends as well.  But with my mom, if we can cut costs way down, I might see if we can't find something to do.  I have heard of some really good children's museums in neighbouring cities that we might check out.

In all of this, we've had to come to some difficult decisions as well.  My sister-in-law is set to get married on August 1st.  After a lot of discussion, my husband and I had to come to the decision that our girls will not be allowed to spend the night until they are married.  At the moment, her fiance is living there part-time, and they are expecting a child in December.  I realize this may sound harsh.  My girls pick up on things really quickly.  We've already told them that people shouldn't have babies until they're married, since that what God's Word says.  It's nothing personal, which I pray they understand, but I simply cannot jeapordize my children's grasp of right and wrong for the sake of some visits.  They will still be allowed to visit with their aunt and their cousins, just no overnight stays until the wedding takes place.  It was a hard decision to make.  People make mistakes, and learn from them, and move on, but since this is an ongoing thing, we felt this was our responsibility to protect our girls from that type of exposure until they are mature enough to handle it.

Other than that, we spent a lovely day visiting with my newlywed sister on Saturday.  Her husband is in landscaping, so he was working.  We found a walking trail near her house, with some park stops for the girls to have some fun as well.  My sister and her new husband are settling into their very cute apartment nicely.  It's so nice to see the result when God brings two people together!  They're so happy!  I am so thankful that the three of us who are married, God has brought amazing matches for us!  It's so uplifting to see among a world where divorce rates are so high, and vows are conditional.

Well, I'm sitting beside my open window, listening to the birds and my girls, and it's a beautiful sound.  I hope we can add to that in the future sometime.  Things are moving very slowly with getting out of here.  I guess God is trying to teach me to be content wherever I am.  I keep thinking, "When we move I'll do this....."  But perhaps He wants me to do it now, regardless of where we are.  I hope I can learn my lesson well and not disappoint Him.  Have a blessed day enjoying the wonderful sounds of summer!

Mama J.

Oh, for stronger faith!

How do you encourage your husband when you're questioning things yourself?  My husband runs his own business.  It's been rocky since the beginning.  Even though things have improved, there are still many, many bumps in the road.  Getting from here to there has taken a lot longer than we dreaded was possible.  He's so discouraged today.  We haven't submitted our taxes yet, since we have to pay to do that, and we don't have the money to pay.  If we don't submit our taxes, we don't get our money from the government, which means we won't make ends meet at the end of the month.  He's been working long, long hours to get the business to a point where he can move it out of the house, thus created more space and opportunity for more work to come in, but it just isn't happening for him right now.

I have to be perfectly honest, there are many days when I wonder if having his own business is really worth it.  So far it has not resulted in the freedom, time, etc. that he keeps telling me we'll have.  We have no insurance or drug coverage, he works from 7:30 in the morning, and often doesn't come up for supper till 6 in the evening, and then half the time he has to return downstairs to finish things up.  I'm trying my best to be supportive of his decisions, but it's becoming more and more difficult as it feels like we're slipping further and further back.  I'm trying to put some more time into prayer about it all.  We're still here at my in-laws house, and if things don't improve, we're likely to be here for a long time.

I'm struggling a lot with where we are now, and I feel as though I'm failing in my job to encourage my husband.  I'm trying not to be unreasonable.  I have never told him I want him to get a regular job and leave his business behind.  I'm trying to show God's grace in it.  I'm trying to stay positive instead of thinking how far in debt we are and how more and more impossible it feels to climb out from under that debt.  If you guys could pray for me, I really do need it.  I don't want to add to his already big burden by complaining. 

Mama J.

Too busy or not busy enough?

I know, this probably sounds like a strange question.  However, my children do fight more when they're bored.  The problem is, I don't just want to fill their days with constant motion and activity.  I truly believe they need to entertain and occupy themselves for a while as well.  A lot of this is my fault.  Some of the things I said I was going to do with them, I never did.  For example, I was going to make them sit quietly on a rug or a chair or couch for a time each day.  They would be required to read or play quietly, NOT with each other.  This would help me get them to sit still in church, restaurants, etc.  I haven't done that yet because I know it's going to be tough.  Well, I guess I'll have to suck it up and do it!  Lol, my poor kids definitely need it.

I am starting to get my 4-year-old to count by fives.  I'm hoping by doing this to teach her time soon.  As it is now, she can look at a clock and give you an approximate time based on where the hour hand is.  So I've gotten her counting up to 30 so far.  It's a lot of repitition for her, and I don't mind.  Believe it or not, when I was in school, we were never required to memorize multiplication tables.  I am going to make my girls do that, because I believe it's invaluable.  My girls learn so much by repitition, memorization, it is worth it.

I guess my challenge comes with my 3-year-old.  She doesn't sit still, she's on the go all the time.  For the most part, I don't consider this  a bad thing.  But I think before I can begin to really teach her much, she must first learn that there are times to sit still, and that will be difficult.  I think the child moves unconsciously!  Actually, it's very funny.  If music starts, and there's any beat to it, she starts moving, even if she's in the middle of crying, or falling asleep!  But as funny as it is, there is a downside to it.  So I've got quite a challenging week ahead of me!  But I hope it'll make our lives easier and more peaceful.  I know kids have to be kids, and they play, and get noisy, but they do have to have limits, I believe.

I love my kids, and I want to equip them with all they'll need when I have to let them go.  It might seem like I'm being "mean" for a while, but it is necessary, and as long as I keep reassuring them of how much I love them, I think it'll be good.  That and a lot of prayer!  Well, my little munchkins are out in the sunshine playing, so I'm going to go enjoy it with them.  God bless.

Mama J.

Sibling Rivalry.

I don't know about you guys, but my home feels like a battle zone lately.  No exaggeration, my two girls can't even look at each other without fighting.  I have no idea where this is all stemming from, but I'm not sure what to do about it.  I talk with them every day about the importance of being kind, treating each other as they want to be treated, etc.  I have had a lot of people suggest I separate them.  I've done this for up to two hours, but as soon as they get back in the same proximity, they're at it again.  It's very tiring.

We made cookies yesterday.  I'm hosting a bridal shower for my sister on Saturday, so our house has been a whirl of activity preparing for it.  It's so exciting!  It's been dragging out the process a bit because every time I settle into something, I have to go separate the girls again.  This is really baffling me.  I have no clue what to try next.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

My husband's business has been looking at some commercial spaces for rent.  If they could move it out of the basement and to a space, that would really be an answer to prayer!  Of course, it would also mean a lot more away time for Daddy for the first little while.  It would increase the number of jobs coming in, but they wouldn't be able to hire someone to take on the excess for a while anyway.  But that's ok, if it means the business is growing and actually has a chance of making it.  Please pray for us in that regard!  Well, I'm off to finish wrapping shower gifts.  My little sister is getting married in two weeks!!!!!

Mama J.

Like a kid in a candy shop!

My mom just gave me two boxes of school stuff!  Things she had used for my youngest siblings in the past few years, and I'm getting excited to use them for my kids now!  I spent this morning organizing them into a very small space, but it was great fun sorting through it all!  I am so excited to see how my kids are going to do with it all!  Some of it is still above them, but it really does amaze me how quickly they learn.

This came at a great time, as well.  I've been pretty much doing only reading with my 4-year-old, and was really starting to feel like I needed more for her.  I had bought a few little math workbooks, but this is great!  My mom gave me a whole set of math "toys" to use with her!  Plus, things that I know would be below my 4-year-old, I can do with my 3-year-old.  I'm so anxious to get started, but I'm sure it'll be piecemeal for most of the summer.  My sister's wedding is next month, and we have the showers to host for her as well.  Not to mention family birthdays, dress fittings, anniversaries, etc.

I'm still praying about finding another place to live.  It's difficult, though admittedly not impossible, to get school work organized while confined to such a small space for my use.  We had come across an ad that seemed too good to be true.  A large home well below our price limit.  The fellow said he and his wife were missionaries to the U.S. and the house was already paid for, so they just wanted to rent it out to help with their costs.  However, when we drove to the address to check out the exterior, it was already occupied.  We found out that the fellow is asking anyone who replies to his ad to send him approximately $1400 for rent and damage deposit, etc., and he doesn't own the house!  He's got the same ad in several other Ontario cities as well.

You know something, my husband always makes fun of me for being clumsy, but I think he's rethinking that lately.  He played in a racquetball tournament last weekend and pulled a muscle in his thigh.  When that finally started to feel better, he stubbed his foot on his desk yesterday, and his second-to-last toe is all purple and swollen this morning.  I just told him the girls come by it honestly, since they seem prone to tripping over flat surfaces.  It's raining out here today.  I think I got quite a bit accomplished with organizing, but there's much more to do.  I'm going to visit my mother this afternoon, I have a doctor's appointment and a dress-fitting for my sister's wedding, so my mom has kindly offered to watch the girls for me.  I do hope the rain lets up by then, since my girls can get quite noisy.  But I do like rainy days!  Well, I used to like them much more when I had the time and freedom to curl up with a good book to while away my rainy days with!  Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day!  God bless you.

Mama J.

Many Tough Lessons

Have you ever had people complain about your kids, just for being kids?  I'm there right now.  My kids are not bad kids.  We take great care to make sure our children behave as much as we can.  The thing is, they are still 3 and 4 years old, and they behave as 3 and 4 year olds do.  But apparently this is a big problem.  It's so discouraging.  I've never prayed so much in my life as I have since I became a mother.  It's really scary in some regards, knowing the huge weight of responsibility that we as parents have.  But then to have people complain about them on a regular basis, people whom my children are supposed to love and trust, I worry for them.

My kids are genuinely feeling it, too.  The other day, I told my older daughter to do something, and she cried.  When I took her aside to talk to her, and asked her why she was crying, she replied, "everyone gets mad at me all the time!" and this is from a 4 year old!  Doesn't that say a lot about the extent of the complaining going on around here?  I wrestle a lot with it.  I feel like if we don't move soon, our family is going to start coming apart at the seams.  And yet God seems to keep the doors closed for us to move right now.  I admit, I get upset that God won't allow us to move, and that He won't give me His reasons for keeping us here.  I'm trying my best to be patient, but I feel like I'm losing ground on a lot of issues that we had had fully under our belts before.

I'm trying my best, also, to handle this in a way that will be an example to my kids.  I tell them to respect elders at all times, but they don't see the disagreement.  I can't use that as an excuse, and so I feel like I'm being used as a door-mat.  I'm at a very frustrating place right now.  My poor husband, I don't want to complain to him all the time about it, but I truly don't think he realizes the extent of things either, since he works all day.  I just really need a lot of prayer.  I have my back up against a wall and I'm still being pushed. 

Mama J.

My brother is now a married man!

It was a GREAT wedding!  I'm so glad we were able to go!  My new sister-in-law is Swiss/German, and a cool tradition they have is to have brothers of the bride (or other familial men) ring big swiss bells as a send-off.  Since the reception was at the top of the mountain, it was really awesome!  I'm so excited for the two of them, and now they're enjoying their honeymoon in Montana.

My brother was always the type of person who never showed any emotion.  He assumed any type of sentimentality was a sign of weakness.  If his mom or one of us sisters would hug him, he'd just stand there stiff with no response.  He's changed!  When we arrived in Quebec to see him, he gave us all great big hugs (which he'd also done the past coupel of times he'd come home for a visit).  But the best part was when his bride walked into the church, his lip trembled and he teared up!  I'm so glad to see how much he loves her!

So now we're back at home and getting back into the swing of things.  Please, continue to pray that we can find a place of our own very soon.  Thanks, I hope you all have a wonderful week.  God bless.

Mama J.

We're leaving next week!

Thursday of next week, we're leaving for the only vacation we'll get for a few years.  It'll be a four-day trip to Quebec for my older brother's wedding.  I'm so excited!  My sister and I are singing for his wedding, so she's coming with my hubby and I.  I'm really looking forward to it.  We're leaving here a day earlier than the rest of my family so we can have at least one day to do a family thing.  My poor husband is such a hard worker.  We went to New Brunswick in September, and that was the first time off he'd taken in three years!

My brother's wedding is next week, and then my sister's wedding is in June.  So I'll be busy planning showers, etc.  Not to mention that all four of us (my immediate family) are in the wedding!  It's so exciting!  My sister was one of my bridesmaids, and now I'm one of hers!  I love my sister dearly, and she's so strong, and she's made a very wise choice for a marriage partner.  They've still been in constant prayer about it, so it's a good start to married life, prayer is.

Anyway, other than that, I'm having daily pitched battles with my 3-year-old.  You know, so many parents have told me to just work on one thing at a time so I'm not always fighting with her.  I don't have a choice, because that's how she makes it.  She's very, very strong-willed, and independent.  A very challenging combination!  But she's just like her mama was, so I guess I can't complain.  I was really discouraged yesterday, but I think as long as I'm consistent and gentle, she'll eventually grow out of it......right?

Well, my dad has to patch the roof of his house today, since they have a leak in their bedroom.  I'm going to be "on call" in case he needs things from the hardware store.  I think I'll get my kids out to enjoy the sunshine until that time!  Hope you all have a wonderful day!  God bless.

Mama J.

Reorganization.

I've got a lot of work ahead of me.  My house-mate decided to rearrange the dining room over the weekend.  The problem was, all my homeschooling stuff is in here.  It all got moved, and in a none-too-orderly manner.  I had all the items I use on a daily basis on the top for easy access, and the rest in drawers according to frequency of use.  None of it is where it was.  I have no idea where it all ended up, except for the piles of papers and books all over the place.

I have to go through it all and reorganize it all accordingly.  I'm a little frustrated, but I suppose these things happen.  I can't wait until we can get our own place again someday!  I don't know how soon that will be.  My husband asked if I would consider getting a part-time job for the evenings to help out with getting the needed funds for that.  I don't really want to, but if that's what's needed, I'll do it.

I was really overwhelmed this morning when I got up to do some school work with the girls and I couldn't find a single thing that I wanted to use!  I've decided that I will not start the reading program with my younger daughter just yet.  At this point, she needs to learn some discipline to sit still and quiet for any stretch of time first!

I think Nadja is too active a child at this point for something like this reading program.  I'll make some games for her to learn her letter and number recognition, but she's got way too much energy to burn to sit still doing this.  Plus, she's only just turned three.  I have a preschool curriculum that was too far below Mercy to be of any interest to her, but it will probably work wonderfully for Nadja.

I think the other issue with Nadja is that because she's go go go all the time, her brain doesn't absorb everything, because she's flitting off to the next thing before I get the instructions out to her.  So we'll work with her on that one!  Other than that, I'm enjoying this time with them.  They're getting to a much easier age.  I realized a week or so ago, that I'm always very concerned about finding things for them to do.  I do not want them to be bored and get into mischief.  But they are only young kids.  They need time to play.  They do not need me to plan every minute of their days for them.

I think some warmer weather is coming!  I plan on taking the girls on a lot of walking outings.  I need the exercise, and they need to burn off steam.  I told my husband we'll pack picnic lunches and walk to my grandmother's, or my mom's.  We don't need to worry about being back in two hours, so we can take our time. I'll bring the wagon, because Nadja especially tires easily, she's just got short little legs.  I'm actually really looking forward to it!  Well, I guess I'm off to start the rearranging!  I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Mama J.

Blooming where you're planted.

Well, our temporary living arrangements, are becoming more permanent than I 'd like them to.  We were supposed to be moved out by now, and it doesn' look like we will be in the next couple of months.  I don't know exactly what it is that God wants me to learn through this, but I'm going to keep looking and listening until I learn it.  It's been really, really tough.  However, it's made me realize how much I need to keep up on my self-control. 

I have excuses for things, but my children will not understand that there are times when it's justified, and times that it's not.  They just know what I tell them, and if they see me doing otherwise, it's not setting a good example for them.  Also, it's forced me to keep my mouth closed.  I complain too much, I realize that now.  Yeah, it's tough, but that's not all people want to hear from me, and it's not what my kids should have to listen to every day either.

Other than that, my husband's business was supposed to move this summer, but according to their strategy meeting, that'll be put off for three or four months as well.  I am praying so much these days.  If we can't move, that was going to be at least one source of relief, that the kids and I would at least be on our own during the day when the others all left for the office.

Today, I'm taking my daughter to the mother/daughter tea.  She was so excited that she woke up at seven and got into her dress before leaving her room.  The tea doesn't start until noon!  My youngest is going to stay at home with Daddy.  He's going to take her swimming for some one-on-one time.  My older daughter is more of a daddy's girl, but it'll be great for Nadja to be able to build a deeper relationship with him as well.  I'm so blessed with how involved my husband is!

Our family weddings are coming up fast!  My brother's wedding is only 4 weeks away!  I have lots of planning to do for the trip to Quebec.  Also, I just today received the music for the song I'm supposed to be singing!  It's a song I don't know, so I was finding clips on the internet to listen to, just so I could familiarize myself with the melody!  My head is spinning from it all, but I am so excited!

My sister is getting married in 10 weeks also.  I have pretty much everything we need, except my dress (I am an brides matron).  My husband is standing with the groom, and my two girls are flower girls.  I love weddings!  Anyway, it's time I go get my girls ready, and hope my husband is finished his business meeting before I need to leave.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I apologize for the complaints in this post.  God bless.

Mama J.

Mother/Daughter Tea.

My church is hosting a mother/daughter tea in a week and a half.  I'm so excited about it!  I've decided only to take my oldest daughter.  My youngest still doesn't sit still, and would be bored to death as there is a speaker afterwards.  Also, because she is the oldest, I tend to expect more out of Mercy than of Nadja, and as I was the oldest girl, I remember what that is like.  So I figured a special day with mom would be a good way to relax together.  The event card asked us to wear pretty hats for this. Do you think I could find a hat for her that wasn't a sloppy looking floppy hat?  So I went to a craft store, bought a straw hat that you would normally decorate and hang on your door or wall.  Mercy picked out the ribbons and flowers, and we're going to decorate it together.  I did buy a hat for Nadja as well, so she doesn't feel completely left out.

I went out today and bought a spring dress for Mercy to wear.  Nadja's dress actually came with a doll dress, so her "baby" can be dressed like her!  It's too cute!  I have to say, I am so thankfuly that my husband is so involved with our girls.  I hear all these women who say they're nervous to leave the kids with their husbands.  Not the case at all with us.  My girls have a wonderful relationship with my husband, and he gets down to their level and does all kinds of fun things with them.  It's such a joy to watch!  I think when they hit the teen years, they'll still come to talk to their Daddy about everything.  Mercy already told me she wants me and Daddy to help her pick a boy to marry!

My mom called me the other day to bounce an idea off me.  My youngest sister is just turning 12 this year, so my mom still has younger kids too.  She was reading an article on how girls have to have the chance to just be girly.  She wants us to get together and have a girly day.  Dress up in pretty dresses, do each other's hair and nails.  We would include a devotional for girls in the day, maybe go out for a meal, or cook a home meal together, and finish off by watching a girly movie together.  It sounds like a lot of fun.  My girls love dressing up.  I have to admit, I do too.  There are just not enough occasions for a girl at heart to dress up anymore!  So we're going to plan on that some time soon.  So before I sign off, I have one quick question.  Does anyone have any ideas for doing girls' hair?  Mercy's hair is wavy and down to her mid-back, so pretty long.  Nadja's is really, really curly, and to her shoulders.  I'd love to see if anyone has ideas on "old-fashioned" hairstyles!  Have a great rest of the week! God bless.

Mama J.

Another Birthday!

My oldest girl is four!  Her birthday was yesterday.  She surprised us, for sure.  We call her our honeymoon baby.  Born 3 weeks early, she was so tiny.  I'll have to see if I can upload a picture.  Let me tell you how she got her name.  I was about 12 weeks pregnant when I started spotting.  After a visit to the hospital, they told me I had a condition called Placental Previa.  I had never heard of it.  It is where the placenta attaches itself over the opening of the birth canal.  Then they told me this could be fatal.  I was thankful that I did not have to be on complete bedrest, but no aerobic or cardio work at all.  Let's just say it was a long pregnancy!  But, they scheduled a c-section 3 weeks before her due date ( I was not allowed to go into labour with this condition) and thought we'd made it through the worst.  Keep in mind this is all within the first few months of our marriage as well!  What a way to adjust!  But going in for the c-section, the doctor told my husband, "Make sure her things are in order, we could still lose them both on the table".

You know what?  We were both fine! God took us through a long and fearful time, but gave us a beautiful little girl as a blessing!  Hence, her name, Mercy.  I'm so thankful for her, and she's growing up so fast.  I hope we remember to tell her how thankful we are for her, and to tell her often.  I'm glad we chose a name that will remind us as well.  Happy birthday Mercy!

Mama J.

Happy Birthday to my Baby!

My baby, my youngest, was three years old yesterday!  It's so hard to believe it's been three years already!  She was born at 5:30am after only beginning labour 12 hrs before.  She, being the "different" child she always has to be, was born sideways and with her fist on her cheek.  Her first year of life was spent screaming for 12-16 hours a day, but once she hit a year old, she became the happiest, most cheerful child you could meet!  She still wins hearts with her endearing smile.

I now officially have two 3 year olds until the fifteenth of March, when my oldest daughter has her fourth birthday.  Nadja takes great pleasure in being as old as her bigger sister.  Mercy had a few minor jealousy issues yesterday, but she woke up bouncing with excitement that it was Nadja's birthday.  She ran into my in-laws room first thing in the morning to make the big announcement.  She can hardly wait until her big day.  We are having a joint "party" for them on Sunday.  By party I mean our families will come over and celebrate with us.  Who needs to go all out to celebrate the lives God entrusted us with?  The girls are too young to know the difference, and simple is better anyway.

The only thing we won't likely have on Sunday is a cake.  I baked one for Nadja yesterday, with homemade icing and everything, and Mercy will have one on her birthday as well.  No sense in making a third one, when most of us in this house are trying to lose weight!  On that note, I am down ten pounds from October.  It's not a huge difference, but enough of one to encourage me to keep eating right, and try harder to get some exercise.

Anyway, it was a gorgeous day outdoors today, so I took the girls out for a walk.  Mercy wanted to ride her bike, but Nadja wouldn't ride it in the wind.  I am so thankful for nice days like today!  I know we're still in for more winter before the spring takes up permanent residence ( as permanent as a season can be) so I enjoy the nice days while I can!  Now, I'm off to see what I can make for supper.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Mama J.

Priorities

Whew, I have a lot on my plate lately!  You know, I'm not worried that I won't get it accomplished, but I'm intimidated by prioritizing!  Here's what my week is looking like:

Hem my sister's dress and put straps on it for her.

Design and print invitations for my sister's wedding (the design is now done).

Work on the reading program for the girls.

Clean the bathrooms and declutter my bedroom.

Get training on the program for my husband's business.

Thankfully for me, hemming is relatively simple.  The invitations are designed, but it's trying to figure out the sizing and everything for printing them out that will be a challenge.  The reading is going really well, at least with my older daughter.  I'm not worried about my younger, though, she's young yet.  My husband asked me to start working part-time for him doing data entry.  They have hired a marketing person, but because they're using a fairly new program, the poor fellow spends more time entering the data than actually doing his job.  So they've asked me to do the entry side of things for him.  I have to do some intensive training with my husband to familiarize myself with the program first.

Other than that, my little Nadja is turning 3 next week!  I can't believe how fast time is flying.  Two weeks later, Mercy turns 4.  It's unbelievable how fast they've grown.  My brother's and sister's weddings are fast approaching, and I'm still waiting to get music for the song my sister-in-law-to-be wants me to sing.  It'll be a whirlwind, for sure!  But that's not a bad thing, I do enjoy being busy!  And on that note, my day is very full today.  Tomorrow, we'll have a bit of a break, and go to the market with my parents.  I'm looking forward to it!  God bless, and have a wonderful week!

Mama J.

Odds and Ends

Hello everyone!  Did you all have a great weekend?  We took the kids on a trail walk yesterday, it was warm enough for the first time in weeks, and they loved it!  There's something about a warmer day after weeks of freezing that just begs us to go outdoors.

This is going to be piecemeal, because I don't have a lot to report on any particular subject.  We did get a new washer, and it works just fine and dandy.  Thankfully!  You know, I have to admit, aside from destroying my hands wringing out the clothes, the rest of it was kind of fun!  The girls sure loved it!

My three-year-old ( I won't be able to say that for long, she turns four in a month) is doing great with her reading!  She's even beginning to read a few short sentences!  I'm very impressed.  However, I don't think my younger daughter will do as well with this program.  She's on the move ALL THE TIME!  I think I'll have to turn reading into some sort of game for her, or something.  My eldest is much more of a logical thinker, so it works for her!

So now, I want to start incorporating more chores into the day for my girls to do.  But I'm not quite sure how to go about it.  I don't want to punish them for not doing chores that I haven't taught them to do, but at the same time, they're old enough to do some basic chores.  Now, if I spend a few days teaching them one or two chores each, is it unreasonable to expect them to do that?  I realize they're likely to lose interest, so is it going to be a problem for me to make them see it through?  I seem to remember doing dishes at age four.  I don't know.

Anyway, other than that, we have a super busy spring/summer season.  My brother is getting married in Quebec, and my sister and I are singing in his wedding.  So we have to find accomodations for at least four nights.  That's in May.  Then my sister is getting married in June, here in town.  I am a bridesmaid, my husband is a groomsman, and my two girls are flower girls.  I have ordered my dress (why do bridesmaid dresses have to cost so much?) and my husband has his suit, he just needs new pants.  I found a lovely store that sells fancy kids dresses for really reasonable prices, so I'll go there for the two girls.  Thankfully, I have a friend who agreed to come to the wedding and sit with the girls, since my hubby and I will both be standing!

Our girls are growing like weeds lately!  I bought shoes for Mercy in October, and had to buy her new ones last month.  I bought new shoes for Nadja in October as well, and bought her new ones this month.  Then Mercy shoes me that her shoes are worn right through, so I have to buy her more again!  I told my sister I don't dare buy their flower girl dresses yet!  I have no idea how much they will grow between now and June!

My husband and I were supposed to start trying for child number three last month.  Needless to say, it didn't happen.  We're still living with my in-laws.  It was supposed to be only until the spring, but it looks like it'll be longer.  I'm sorry if it is selfish, but I just can not do it as long as we're living here with shared space!  It's too much on me, and I don't think it would work for them either.  They're getting older, getting more tired, and I don't think they'd appreciate a baby in the house now.  So now we'll just have to wait and see.  Anyway, it's shaping up to be another lovely day outside, so I'm going to take my munchkins for a walk!  Have a wonderful week!  God bless.

Mama J.

Sore hands, but clean clothes

Our washing machine died on me the other day.  I finished off my laundry at my mom's house, patiently anticipating the repair company.  My mother-in-law had only bought it six years ago, brand new, so I knew nothing fatal was wrong with it.  Well, I was wrong!  The guy came, but offered no hope of survival for our poor machine! We are now in search of another one.  In the meantime, it's old-fashioned laundry duties!

My daughters think it's the greatest thing. I dump the clothes in the tub with detergent and warm water, and let them sit for ten minutes or so.  Then (I dress in an old pair of shorts for this part) I take off my socks, step into the tub and stomp the clothes to death.  It is a lot easier than locating and using a scrubbing board, and still accomplishes the same objective.

Then I remove the clothes, wring them out a bit, drain the tub, add more water, and rinse the clothes.  Of course I never fill the tub, and it can actually be done with a lot less water than I thought.  Sometimes they need two rinses (like the clothes my girls play in) but for the most part, it is as quick as the machine, it's just me doing the work!  Thankfully, our dryer is still working, so I wring them out again, throw them in a basket, and take them down to the dryer to finish the job.

Here's the only problem, my hands get soooo sore wringing out the clothes!  My palms are all red, and my knuckles are cracking.  Oh well, I guess vanity has no place in a working home!  Anyway, I thought the girls should help me do a load or two at some point.  Even if we do get a new machine, I'd like them to experience it at least once.  It's not been as bad as I thought, either.  I'm sure it would get tedious, however, if that was the only option.  Anyway, that's my interesting contribution of the week.  Hope you're all having a lovely week....with working washing machines!  Lol, God bless.

Mama J.