Preschool woes

I wish I could decide whether or not to get Wesley into preschool this year. I'm so torn on the subject. On one hand I want him to go learn, socialize and have fun in a learning environment. He'd have a ball and wouldn't be sitting around here with old Mom all day, listening to his sister babble and eat her feet. I just don't know what to do with this kid all day. I know I've said that before, but I feel preschool was created because parents don't know how to entertain their 3 and 4 year old children. On the other hand, he might not be ready for preschool quite yet....after all he just turned three only weeks ago. He's doing really go in the potty training department but when it comes to number two he's just not reliable. I mean really, do I expect someone to wipe my kids butt? He doesn't know how to do that. Do the other three year olds know how to clean themselves after a BM? I have no idea. Also, I hate to admit it but my kid seems to have picked up our anti-social gene. We'll be walking into a store and an older kid will walk by and Wesley will cower behind my leg and go "Mommy??". I have no idea why he's started doing this. It worries me when I think about dropping him off at a classroom full of unknown children. The other downfall I'm finding (out today actually) is that preschools around here start on August 5th. Uhhh...that's next week. I guess I thought I had until the end of August. I'm just so not prepared. Also, they are five day a week programs. You pick morning or afternoon and they go all week. I was kind of hoping for a couple hours a day, two days a week or something along those lines. You know, ease him into the classroom environment. It just seems a lot for this little dude (and his Mom).

So I guess we'll get him into preschool when he's four and he's stuck with old Mom and Sis this year. I guess that's not so bad.

Silly

"Good morning Miss Greta!"



"What are you grinning at?"



"Oh your brother of course."



"With his underwear on his head.

Excused

A couple of weeks ago I received my first jury summons in the mail. I looked over all the paper work and filled out the form attached. Oddly enough one of the questions on the form asked if I was a breastfeeding mother. Luckily the summons came at a time when I am still (barely) a breastfeeding mother so I didn't have to lie too much. Another week or so I wouldn't have been able to mark that little "yes" box. Today I got my letter excusing me from jury duty. Thanks to breastfeeding I won't have to spend a week in a jury box earning $10 a day. Yeah!

What's New

Another sick weekend. We are on our third cold of the summer and it's starting to wear one me. I've gotten away with not getting too sick the past two times the kids did but this time I got it. Sore throat, snot, head cold, coughing...the works. Now I'm hacking up all kinds of fun stuff. The kids are almost done with it. Wesley does pretty good with colds but Greta, still being a baby, doesn't know how to blow her nose so she's up a lot at night when sick. I really hope this is the last one of the summer.

Wesley and I with our snot plugs.


I know I keep talking about the potty training but I'm just in awe at how easy it's been. I'd say in a week now he's almost done with diapers (can we all say Hallelujah?). He still wears one at night but it's dry when he wakes up. I think we might try pull ups until I'm ready to bite the bullet and let him wear undies to bed. I can't tell you how proud of this little man I am. He's a trooper. I know this is TMI (too much information) but his pooping skills are getting better by the day. He hasn't had a poop or pee accident in like five days. He gets so excited when he poos in his little potty. He runs up to me and says "I peed a big turd in my potty, YEAH!!" It's a royal hoot.

My big boy in his safety goggles.


I got a random email last week from the lady that I purchased Buddy the goat from. I got Buddy back in 2006 so this was kind of out of the blue. She has a purebred Nubian doe that she's looking to place in a "retirement" home. She's not very old (5) but she's retiring her from her breeding program because she has huge udders that are difficult to hand milk. She knew that I gave Buddy a good pet home (somewhere he wasn't going to get eaten) so she looked me up. After asking Sean and he saying "whatever makes you happy" (love this guy), looks like I'm getting a new goat! Her name is Dym, short for Dymphna, and she is a sweet heart. Always the first at the gate wanting to be scratched or brushed. I'm so excited to get her, they are delivering her this week I hope. It will be nice to let the kids enjoy a really nice farm animal as my current ones aren't too friendly. Maybe we'll breed her once just to experience the joys of baby goats and milking. Maybe not, we'll see.

Isn't she cute?


Since I can't leave the youngest member of the family out, here is Miss Greta doing what she does best....be cute. Not much new happening with Greta. She has dived head first into the land of adult food. She might get one jar of baby food a day now. She loves toast cut into strips, shredded cheese, bagels, tortillas, peas (I think she ate half a cup last night at dinner), little chunks of lunch meat and any and all fruit especially cantaloupe. That's out little foodie!

Conversations with a three year old.

Wesley: Night Night Doggie is my best friend! (his stuffed dog toy he takes everywhere)

Me: "Who else is your best friend?"

Wesley: "Daddy"

Me: "So Night Night Doggie and Daddy. Who else?"

Wesley: "Mommy"

Me: "Well that's nice. Thank you. So Night Night Doggie, Daddy and Mommy. Anyone else? Maybe Greta? Is Greta your best friend?"

Wesley: "No. Greta is not my best friend, she's my sister."


How nice.

Diaries of a Potty Training Momma pt 2

Ok, so after our nearly disastrous first day in potty training, it has been smooth sailing. Wesley just had to figure out that he didn't like urinating all over himself for it to just click in his head. He's gone four days now without an accident. I'm so proud of him! He tells me when he needs to go, or I'll just turn around and he'll be in the bathroom on his own. He even surprised me with a number two, he did that in his little potty and was so proud of himself. I feel that diapers might be a thing of the past soon. I'm really happy we waited until he was ready (and I was ready) to start this process, as it's going better than I ever thought possible. He still pees on a tree outside usually once a day but I don't have a problem with this. It's usually during Sissy's nap and I don't want his stomping around the bathroom which is right next to her bedroom. We also live out in the middle of nowhere and I'm not to terribly worried about the neighbors seeing (and so what if they do!). So here's to more smooth sailing in potty training and cutting my diaper budget in half.

Month Ten

Boy was this a big month for Miss Greta!

-She's officially sleeping through the night. It took ten long months but she's finally sleeping from 9 pm until 7 am. I forgot how simply wonderful a full nights sleep is. The key to her sleeping is nothing more than a cheap little pink fleece blanket. I started giving it to her when she was sleeping in her swing during her first cold. She developed a bond with this blanket and needs it to sleep. If the blanket is not within her grasp when she wakes up during the night she'll cry until she has it again.

-She's moved into size 4 diapers. If you would have told me that one day I'd have two children in diapers one size apart (Wes is in size 5) I would have laughed in your face. On the positive side though, Wesley is taking to potty training so maybe I'll only need to be buying one kid diapers soon. Oh happy day!

-Greta is moving into the more adventurous side of eating. I'm buying less and less baby food jars and she's trying new foods like plain yogurt with chopped up fruit in it, shredded cheese and we're going to try hard boiled egg yolk this week. We've also found that if we'd like a nice quiet dinner to just pour a pile of baby oatmeal on her tray and she'll stick her gooey wet hands in it and lick it off her fingers. She'll do that for like 15 minutes completely content. Until last week when we discovered this treat, we hadn't had a quiet dinner in three years.

-Greta is not yet crawling but she gets around. I'll set her on the hardwood floor and she'll scoot her little hiney backward with her hands. She'll keep herself quite busy doing this, moving from toy to toy. Yesterday I was at the computer and she decided to scoot herself back to the couch and then fold herself under it. I found her sobbing with her head bent down between her feet. If I hadn't been trying to figure out how to get her out I would have taken a photo as it was rather hilarious.

That's about all that happened this month, I look forward to seeing what will develop next month.

Nine Years

Nine years ago today this picture was taken. I look forward to the next nine.

Feeding Daddy

I love this age, babies are so into everything and learning so much.

Diary of a Potty Training Momma

Today was day one of big boy undies day (for Wesley not me). We got up and dressed and all was good. He went in the big potty three times without prompting. I was starting to think this might be easier than I thought! He was pumped to get new candy (gummie worms) and all went well until the first pool of urine appeared in the kitchen. He looked down in amazement at the puddle forming around his foot and declared that the dog had just peed. Poor guy didn't understand that he made the puddle. Thus instigated the second pair of undies and shorts. We then went outside during Sissy's naptime and he helped me water the flower pots with his watering can. He was chugging along going from pot to pot when I heard "Look Mom, I'm watering the ground!" I looked over to see his watering can sitting on the ground, unused, and yet another puddle forming around his foot. *sigh*

It was then that I taught my child how to pee on a tree. Not that I've had any experience in peeing on a tree or anything, but I understand the general concept. Point and shoot. He thought it was fun. On to undies and shorts number three for the day. Thirty minutes later another puddle. Now he's in a diaper and shorts number four. We'll attempt it again tomorrow. You're right Randi, it's like having a puppy in the house.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

View from the back porch. Looks like an oil painting to me.

Chicken Dance

My parents got Wesley one of those cards that plays music for his birthday yesterday. It plays The Chicken Dance. So every time he opened it throughout the evening my parents broke out doing the chicken dance. It got us all laughing pretty hard. Just thought I'd share. I think the kid had a memorable birthday.

Happy Third Birthday!

Dear Wesley,

Today you turn three years old! You are becoming quite the little man right before my eyes. You are a handful right now, still a joy but you can be challenging at times. You sure keep us on our toes. Your father and I are amazed at how bright you are and how quickly you pick up on stuff. At times it's hard to keep your inquisitive mind busy. When you aren't kept busy you tend to get into trouble easily. It's made for a trying summer, but we're all learning and things are getting easier.

This year you moved into a big boy bed and are enjoying the freedom that comes with it. I've been scared that you might try to navigate the dark stairs during the middle of the night so we've been forced to put a baby gate in front of your door to keep you in. For the most part you don't try to escape and usually play in your room if you happen to wake up before us. This was until last week when you decided you could pull your tricycle over and climb right over the baby gate. Now you have two baby gates right on top of each other. This will continue until potty training gets to the point that you need to be able to get to the bathroom during the night. So far potty training is at a stand still. You have your routine of going potty first thing in the morning and right before bed but nothing during the day. I ask if you need to go and you always say no. Next weekend we are hitting it hard core and will be placing you in big boy undies (that you picked out last weekend) and hoping for the best. I'm prepared to clean up a whole lot of urine.

I'm very impressed at how gentle and sensitive you are around your sister. You're always making sure she has toys in front of her and love to make her laugh. You are an awesome big brother. In the morning when you wake up you go over to the baby gate in front of your door and whisper (at the top of your lungs) "Mommy, I'm awake up here." You know not to yell as it might wake up Sissy. You've understood over the past 9.5 months that if Sissy wakes up too early she screams. A lot.

You are truly a Daddy's Boy. During the day you constantly ask when Dad is coming home. I come in a distant fourth, under Dad, Sissy and the dog. I'm ok with that. Your Dad is very patient with you and loves to show you how things work. My favorite thing is to go outside and see you crouched down next to him imitating whatever he's doing.... usually involving power tools.

Last but not least, I will never get over the funny things that come out of your mouth. Yesterday you were eating some chocolate chips and asked if Greta could have some. I said no, not yet. You said "When she gets bigger and turns into a boy like me she can have some." *grin*

Happy Birthday my little man! We love you!



Lovin' the electronic piggy bank. Thanks Aunt Betsy! Coins may be a good potty reward seeing as he enjoys feeding the pig.



Greta enjoying the festivities on Noni's lap.



Power tools!



Greta was fascinated by Buzz Lightyear.


Chillin' with Papa.

Complete

I'm so happy to report that the chicken coop is finished. Whew. We started the inside chicken house over Memorial Day Weekend and put the last screw in the outside aviary today. It's been a long project to say the least. It looks awesome and the chickens are super happy in it. Saturday morning I got up early and headed out to the quarry to pick up some sand to put in the outside coop. Don't want my "laydies" to be in the mud you know. I told the guy at the quarry I needed some sand for a coop and he suggested some finely ground limestone instead. It's a lot cheaper per ton than sand and when it gets packed down and rained on it forms a nice packed ground covering. So I got a truck load and even got a nice helper to unload it for me when I got home.



Sean continued to put up the "clamp boards" on the outside. These boards will sandwich the chicken wire in so that nothing is able to get in. It also provides a stronger barrier against the horses (the coop is in the horse pen). The horses like to scratch their rumps against fences and I'm sure the coop will provide a nice scratching post, let's just hope it holds up.



Then we did the grand unveiling and let the chickens out. The flapped about and were fun to watch in their new home. I have to say it will be nice to mark this off the "to do" list, and even nicer to get my husband back on the weekends! Thanks hubby for a wonderful job, you outdid yourself.

Adventures in Gardening

The garden is really starting to crank out food. Yippie! Wesley and I go out once a day to see what we can find. I pick it and he eats it. Raw green beans, heads of broccoli, not nearly ripe tomatoes, he eats it all...usually standing there at the garden edge. I did manage to sneak some inside this afternoon.



I'm so excited to have sweet corn ready to eat. I think we'll be pretty sick and tired of it in a few weeks, but for now...yummy! I know the onions aren't ready yet either but I can't wait any longer, same with the carrots.

For Mother's Day, Sean built me my strawberry bed and I planted pole beans in the top part of it. I put in some eye hooks and string to make a trellis up to the bird feeder. The beans are finally winding their way up there and it's quite striking. I think I might scrap the strawberries all together (who actually gets many strawberries anyways) and make it a pole bean garden and flower bed.



I baked my first loaf of zucchini bread (with zucchini from the garden) this weekend, which my boys scarfed down in one day. I try to pick them when they are little and sweet but occasionally one will hide behind a big leaf and remain forgotten. It will then grow to be a giant, tasteless zucchini that's only use is for bread.



I've tried several different zucchini bread recipes and this one is a proven winner. I thought I'd share:

Best Zucchini Bread

2 Cups shredded zucchini
3 eggs
1 3/4 C. sugar
1 C. oil
2 C. flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon (I use pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Add flour, powder, soda, cinnamon, salt and zucchini. Pour into two greased and floured bread pans.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Enjoy!

Blog Post 761

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe Fourth of July! We, naturally, did nothing to celebrate this fine holiday. We never do anything for the 4th. Oh, I take that back...sometimes we will go over to my parents house (while they are gone on vacation) and sit outside and watch their neighbors blow off their fireworks. These people spend hundreds of dollars on fireworks. Call me cheap. Call me frugal but I can't imagine spending much of anything on fireworks. Maybe that's something that will change with time? Maybe when the kids are older I'll magically start thinking that's a good idea. Who knows. All I know is I've never, in my 31 years, set foot in a fireworks tent and I'm ok with that.

We did stop by Jessica's parents house to let Wesley watch them set off some fireworks. He had far more fun that I ever expected and made me feel bad that I hadn't invested in some of the smaller fireworks. Next year. For sure. We also found out, after the first big POP, that Greta is scared to death of fireworks. She sobbed through the next three explosions and I decided to just leave Wesley there and take Greta elsewhere. That little boy sure had fun. Thanks Jessica for letting Wesley join in the fun, and thanks for taking pictures.




On a different subject, Greta and I are almost done with nursing. I'm thrilled to have gotten this far but she's been having issues with concentrating during nursing and she wasn't getting enough milk lately. Last week I was noticing she had dark urine and her diapers smelled really foul. I deducted that she was becoming dehydrated from her lack of interest in nursing. So she tried her first taste of formula in a sippy cup on Wednesday and sucked it down like it was the most awesome fluid in the world. We're still nursing in the morning, before nap and before bed but I'm not sure how much longer even that will go on. I have to admit I'm already enjoying the liberation formula provides. I left Greta with Sean this afternoon and Wesley and I went to see Toy Story 3. This was Wesley's first movie theater experience and he did super awesome (this is also his favorite phrase "I'm super awesome!"). I was so proud of him today. Sitting through an almost two hour movie without being all crazy even once.

On the subject of him being all crazy. That pretty much describes our summer so far. If he's not doing something constructive then he's utterly crazy. And by crazy I mean smashing a toy repeatedly into the stove, or throwing toys at his sister, or screaming and running through the house....you get the idea. I have to have projects lined up throughout the day or he drives me insane. Literally, you could cart me off to the insane asylum. The scary part is that I'm running out of things to do. We constantly go to the playground, the park, go for walks (to pick up trash, joy), we even went to the zoo again last week. That's two different zoo's in less than two weeks. We went with Jessica and her kids and Wesley had fun. It's sure nice to wear him out, I never knew how much energy a three year old little boy had. It's exhausting.






That's about all that's happening around here.

Conversations with a three year old

Wesley and I were heading up to get the mail out of the mailbox last week and his attention wandered on to something before we even got out of the garage.

Me: "You coming?"

Wesley: "Huh?"

Me: (louder) "You coming?"

Wesley: "I'm not Coming, I'm Wesley (pronounced "Fesley").


The kid's a riot.

Catch up

Another late night. It seems I'm staying up later and later these days in a desperate attempt to complete some task or another. It's either I get up ultra early before the kids or I stay up late after they go to bed. I choose the latter. I'm not an early morning person. So for the last two nights I've been heading out to the shop to finish up the never ending chicken coop (this is the weekend it will be done!). I got all the hardware installed, latches, hinges, knobs, it's all done. I got every surface coated in paint since we all know what chickens are good at doing. I hope all this paint will make it easy to clean and disinfect every so often. Sean and Wesley were out working on the outside coop last weekend and made some good progress. It's all framed out and poultry wire has started going up. The plan is to complete the poultry wire this long weekend and get the chickens in it. I can't wait.




While I'm on the subject of animals I must admit my newest pleasure. I knew gardening would be fun for us but I never knew gardening would be beneficial to the horses. I plucked a carrot out of the garden the other day just to see how big they're getting, it was about the size of my finger. Figuring it wasn't worthy for a salad just yet I offered it the horses. Man did they think that was awesome! So now I wander back to the garden and pull them some carrots every day. Next year they'll each have a 30 foot row of carrots all to themselves.

Carrot eating horse #1

Carrot eating horse #2