We're "dipping our toes" in the home-schooling waters. It's preschool at home together with our almost 4 yr.old daughter and 2 yr. old son. Join us for journeys in the land of a princess at play, pajama melt-downs, potty-tales and lively, creative and strong personalities in this family's preschool world. P.S. Mom is pregnant (baby due Jan.10 '08). http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 4 Oct 2008 21:53:00 -0500 Sat, 4 Oct 2008 21:53:00 -0500 Well, I couldn't bring myself to blog for many months...and I think I'm going to end things officially today (this sounds like a break-up!) .........It was wonderful meeting so many faithful homeschooling moms and others on-line.  Thanks to those who took the time to read and comment on my notes! For many reasons, my husband and I have decided that our daughter would do best in a traditional school setting.  She started school "in a building" this past September and is doing really well.  I'm enjoying spending more time with "just our boys" (our three year old and nine-month old son).  I really feel that it's the right decision for this year.  We're going to take things "one child, one year at a time".  At this point, I can't imagine sending our boys to a "school in a building".   That too, could change, I don't know!  I'm not a flimsy person in my thoughts, it would just take so long to write it all out!   I don't feel led to be blogging anymore, I do know that.  There's a time and season for everything.  I might return, we shall see! I am thankful for the many blessings I have found a long the way and look forward to learning more in this parenting journey of life, with the Lord as our guide. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/600200/ Sat, 4 Oct 2008 21:53:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/600200/ The flowers are poking out from the earth and my children are spending hours playing outside... I can't seem to reconcile spending time writing on the computer with the burst of spring around. This blog will be taking a "spring recess" until May... Blessings to you as you enjoy the new beginnings and possibilities of this weather! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/513639/ Wed, 9 Apr 2008 20:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/513639/ It was, by all accounts, an ambitious plan for this morning- traveling into the city with five children to attend a free concert by the city's orchestra which was scheduled to begin by 9:30 AM.....I did the math over and over in my head in regards to when I needed to leave the house, and concluded that leaving by 8 AM should do it.  I needed to travel and drop off our two year old at one home, and pick up a friend and her three children at another location before heading to the city.....All went well, except for one wrong turn which added another 15 minutes to my drive into the city.  I'm  not sure what effect that one mis-hap had, but in any event, my 4 year old daughter made it to the orchestra on time!  For myself however, I ended up nursing the baby in a parking garage during the entire concert!  I  had dropped off the other mom with all the kids to find parking, and ended up on the 10th floor, the best location I could find.  By the time all that was accomplished, I could barely justify carrying my not quite 3 month old through the crazy corridors of the garage and the chilly streets outdoors to the concert hall to arrive half-way through.  So I sat and nursed.  When I tried to leave the parking garage, I didn't have my parking ticket paid for, as I had never actually left the garage in person and noticed this detail of procedure in the lobby.  So I parked the van illegally, prayed I wouldn't be towed, and carried the baby down to the lobby to pay for the service of sitting in their garage.  Finally I could leave, and was on my way to pick up the crew of kids! I had really been looking forward to seeing this concert.  Through my pregnancy I couldn't attend anything like this, since it was too uncomfortable to sit for longer periods of time (or any period of time!)  I thought those days were behind me, but with a newborn in tow, I have to remember that I'm not exactly up to speed in being able to do anything I would like!  Oh well, there will be many more opportunities in future....the important thing is that our 4 year old daughter came home and promptly started dancing to classical music (in our living room).  I do love to see her dance and enjoy music like that. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/506635/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:39:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/506635/ Last night I was up later at night, nursing the baby....it was after 11 pm and I was the only one in the family still awake.   I was tired, and instead of reading as I should have, I (mistakenly) turned on the TV and began watching the Headline News (CNN) while nursing.  I was very disturbed after watching a news report of police discovering and capturing a man  in Florida who produced internet video clips which gave instructions on how to molest children ages 1 month - 8 years of age.  The only graphics in the news report were some clips of the arrested man and others who also viewed this "manual".  However that alone was enough to get my emotions going!  As anyone would, the thought and reality of these acts are so incredibly horrible that it's enough to make one lose sleep thinking about it.   Even though I used to work as a child protective social worker for many years,  and have probably seen more than enough, I STILL can hardly believe it.   I really did lose sleep last night with images in mind of this one particular man (thankfully now in police custody).  There was a second CNN report, giving the results of a CNN poll asking Americans "what do you consider sinful?"   This report was CNN's attempt to pay tribute to the Easter holiday.  Apparently, according to this poll,  Americans still consider adultery sinful, but not pre-marital sex.   Among other things, one problem with this thinking (according to my understanding of Scripture) is a view of sin as merely being one type or another type of external behaviors.   How do I understand sin?  I found one part of a definition from the website of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church: "The problem is that Adam rebelled against the goodness of God and sought to use God's creation for his own glory. He loved himself more than God or his neighbor. In the fallen world (which resulted from Adam's sin) people pervert God's good gifts. God intended his creation to reveal his glory. Now people use it without any regard for him. God created everything to show how wonderful he is. But, because of sin, people use every gift without glorifying or thanking the glorious Giver (Rom. 1:20,21). Sin is truly pleasurable or people would not be so addicted to it. The problem is that the pleasure is temporary, and the addiction permanent, because sinners disconnect their quest for pleasure from their eternal Creator. He is the author of real enjoyment and true life. This is the reason he refers to us as "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). Our sin has cut us off from the Source of spiritual life. We are like trees disconnected from their roots." It's worth reflecting on sin, I think, this Easter weekend, because it's only the work of Christ on the cross that saves us from our very sinful selves!   Though I continue to shudder at the likes of the man in custody described earlier, I need to remember that every particle of my own being is infused with sin.  It's only the grace of God which redeems that which is inherently broken.  Praise to His name for the life of Christ, who has conquered death and sin!    As I look in the face of our newborn baby and see his smiles, I can only hope, because of Christ. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/503253/ Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/503253/ This past Sunday baby Owyn was baptized in our home church (Orthodox Presbyterian).  What does that mean to us? The Westminster Larger Catechism instructs us as to the basic nature of baptism: Baptism is a sacrament of the new testament, wherein Christ has ordained the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to be a sign and seal of ingrafting into himself, of remission of sins by his blood, and regeneration by his Spirit; of adoption, and resurrection unto everlasting life; and whereby the parties baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church, and enter into an open and professed engagement to be wholly and only the Lord's. (Q. 165; cf. Gal. 3:26-27; Titus 3:5; Rom. 6:3-5) Owyn wore the same baptismal gown my husband and his brothers wore when they were baptized as infants, many, many years ago.....(my mother-in-law saves everything!) Theo missed the baptism - he unfortunately was sick that day and had to stay home.  Thankfully, my sister and her husband were visiting for the weekend and my brother-in-law was willing to stay home from church to babysit. Aside from the seriousness (and joy) of the event, what was most memorable were those "mommy" moments when all my hands and feet were tied up- literally!  Owyn started crying about half-way through while the pastor was talking and our family was standing up front of the church in front of the whole congregation.  My husband was holding the baby....I put my finger in the baby's mouth to keep him quiet  (he prefers that to a pacifer).  At the same time, Sonya, who was standing up front with us, started crawling around on the floor and started lifting up my skirt!  I gave her a swift kick on her feet.  She got the point.   If Theo had been up front with us, I wouldn't have had any feet or hands left to discipline him at that moment...(there's at least a 50% chance or more he would also have been a little restless). Anyways, thanks be to God for His sign and seal of the covenant promises in this most solemn of events. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/500841/ Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/500841/ I don't know where the time is flying, but I am making sure that I enjoy those newborn snuggles while they are here! This month I've been jotting down some quotes from the older kids that might bring a few smiles.... "God can't hear me if I talk quietly."  (4 yr. old Sonya) "Babies don't know anything......" (Sonya) "Mommy, do you think you're like Cinderalla?  I think you are, because you do all the work!"  (Sonya) "Don't cry, mommy and daddy and God and Jesus and cars and trucks are close to you...." (2 yr. old Theo) "The step-sisters need a big time-out" (2 yr old Theo, referring to the Cinderalla story....) In other random thoughts, I'm not as motivated to exercise as I thought I would be post-baby.  When I was pregnant I really did work-out regularly because it really helped me sleep better.  Now that I can sleep fine when I get the chance, the more abstract notion of being skinnier some-day in the distant future is not quite as much a motivator!  Also, I've noticed that my milk supply for the baby goes down when I really work-out.  SO, I'm going to take it somewhat easy and not stress about the extra baby pounds.  They will come off, eventually..... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/497008/ Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:23:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/497008/ Last night our baby son slept almost seven hours in a row!  Under any circumstances, this would be remarkable.....but since he had spent about four weeks screaming for hours every day, this is even more unusually unexpectedly happy and welcome news.   Right now, I am feeling like I am on the verge of re-entering what can only be described as "normalcy".  This past week I was pleased and happy to find that I could not only meet the needs of the baby, but also spend quality time with the other children.   It's quite a good feeling to sense that I CAN parent three little ones under the age of five with at least some sense that it IS possible. See, don't they look happy?  Sonya and Theo are probably relieved to find out that mommy won't always be sleep deprived after-all.  As for this mommy, she's staying off all dairy-products for at least another month.  Our pediatrician recommends doing a true scientific experiment.  It's not enough, she told me, to take away the dairy and then conclude that's the reason for our son's turnaround behavior.  She wants  me to re-introduce dairy to my diet when he's three month old and "see what happens".  For now, I'm not messing with success.   But I will do what the pediatrician suggests in about a months time. Meanwhile, I'm itching for SPRING to arrive .  I'm sure I'm not the only one!  It would be nice to be able to say "bye-bye baby fat".  The best way I can do that is to be able to WALK 30-40 minutes several times a week.  This past week there's been way to much snow. Once that all clears up, I'm heading for the hills in my walking shoes..... Out here in Western Pennsylvania, there's a hill no matter which way you turn.  Hence, any walk is a major work-out, even if you don't want it to be... In the meantime, my best bet is trying to do "Pilates" or "Post-natal Yoga" with a home DVD.  However, I find that there never is really a good time to do it......and I have to laugh when I listen to the instructor say things like "take deep calming breathes and relax".  She obviously doesn't have young children tripping over her while trying to exercise! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/491148/ Sun, 2 Mar 2008 13:51:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/491148/ About two and a half weeks ago our pediatrician suggested that I go totally dairy-free with my diet to see if that might help baby Owyn.....I've also had several other folks suggest to me that I go dairy-free.   The first week that I eliminated all dairy was the week that Owyn was sick with a cough & infection, so I couldn't tell either way if it was helping (he has totally recuperated from his illness, thank the Lord!  He is in great health now). This past week was week #2 without dairy, and it has been REMARKABLE.   Owyn has transformed from an irritable, unhappy, screaming baby, into a VERY HAPPY and content baby who both naps well and sleeps well at night!  Needless to say, we are thrilled!  He has now slept well at night for eight nights in a row.  It's a definite trend.  After four weeks of hours of screaming every day, this is quite the change.   I have a follow-up visit with the pediatrician tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure she'll encourage me to stay off all dairy products for some time, with a gradual re-introduction at some point.   This is a new territory for me, and does involve really changing my regular eating habits......(more blogging on this topic in the future.)  I've really never thought too much about milk one way or the other before, and now I'm thinking about it all the time.    If it's true that our son is either dairy intolerant or perhaps has an allergy to the protein in milk, it's something I will be thinking and learning a lot about in the coming year...... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/487774/ Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:57:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/487774/ At exactly 6 weeks of age, baby Owyn has started smiling and even had a few giggles!  This has completely erased all my memories of the past four weeks of sleepless nights.  All that good mamma milk has also resulted in some really nice chubby legs, pictured above..... Owyn did give us a scare last week, with all the coughing he was doing.  This past Friday he went about 14 hours without being able to sleep at all, because every time he would finally fall asleep, he would start coughing again.  It turns out the poor little thing has a double ear-infection.  He's doing better today, and we've gone a week without any long episodes of crying!   It seems that the one benefit of his illness over the past week is that it broke the cycle of crying for long periods at night...Hopefully, this will continue.  If not, at least we have more smiles and even some giggles to look forward to.... Today we needed to say good-bye to Aunt J.  who spent the past week with us.  Not only did she bake cookies with Sonya and Theo (pictured below), but she took her turn at the night-shift with the baby when needed!  I was especially glad she was here on the days I needed to rush off the pediatrician again in the wintry weather mix.   It's a treat to have family here, as my parents and sisters & their families all live at a distance.  I wish they lived closer so that I could see them more often.... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/482616/ Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:32:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/482616/ Drive them in, fly them in, whatever it takes - keep bringing the Canadian family in!  Providentially, my youngest sister J. arrived Monday by plane from Ontario, Canada and will be here for the week.  Her husband is driving here tomorrow to join us for the rest of the week. I brought our newborn son to the pediatrician last week & was there again this week.  The best advice I received from a doctor was "you need to ask for help and call in the reserves."  Last week,  the pediatrician I talked with gave our son a diagnosis of "colic".   We've taken him off the anti-acid medication, as that didn't seem to be helping with the on-going crying.  I needed to bring the baby to the pediatrician again yesterday, as his very first cold developed into a fever.   The doctor I spoke with yesterday told me that she was comfortable sending the baby home with me, since his vital signs looked good other than the cold symptoms.  She advised me not to obsess about the reading on thermometer, despite his very young age.  I asked her about the colic diagnosis given by the other pediatrician.  She said she uses the word "fussy", not "colic".   She mentioned that different pediatricians have different understandings/explanations when it comes to the issue of a baby crying for extended periods of time for part of the day on a regular basis.  In a nutshell, there are many things that one can try when it comes to trying to console a baby.  She said  "other than waiting until they are older and grow out of it, the best thing to do is.....bring in the help from others if possible!" We've certainly needed the help this week, as I've had to spend extra time making sure Owyn nurses well.   His coughing and general malaise has made that a challenge.  There's no medication that can be given to an infant this young with a fever, and my own milk is the best healer.  Today, he seems to be doing a little better, and I think he's going to be OK.   I realize the depth of how much I love this little one when I hear him struggling with an episode of coughing.  The best thing about having my sister here for the week is that Sonya and Theo can have someone to do all the things with them that I don't have time to do.   Their aunt has taken them outside in the snow to play, baked chocolate chip cookies with them, read books to them and taken the time to work with Sonya and her interest in learning to write.   Sonya's "school-corner" is in great disarray, with books & supplies all over the place.  My "dream list" of things to do while aunt J. is here includes getting that corner organized.....Caring for the sick baby takes priority, but he continues to do better, I may even be able to start on that dream list! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/480396/ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:54:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/peterrabbitpreschool/480396/