Little Minds Are Amazing

I may have missed out on all the of baby related things of having a child but I am so thankful to be here now. I’ve seen Older Boy develop a love for books, I’ve seen Middle Boy learn how to read and spell and tie his shoes, and as you may recall I’ve been working with Younger Boy on learning letters and spelling.

He amazed me again yesterday. I finally got him that second set of magnetic letters for the refrigerator. Yesterday he was at it spelling words left and right. And then he asked me “Does this spell Caterpillar?”

I walked over and this is what I saw: KATRPLLER



Not only was I amazed that he had attempted such a long word by himself, but he actually had used the phonetic sounds to try and spell it. I was so proud.

I told him the letters of how to really spell it and even showed him the “cat” in “caterpillar” since he already knew how to spell cat.

These little minds simply are amazing to me. I’m very excited to see what else he has picked up.

I’m Sick Again

Well I’ve been sick, and sick and sicker. The wedding is less than two weeks away and I’m here with some swollen sinuses and hacking junk out of my lungs. I’d like to thank Middle Boy for personally bringing this into the house as he had it just before I got it. Apparently not being able to sleep, being stressed out and doing too much is just asking to get sick. So that’s where I’ve been. Sick and trying to take better care of myself…Except for right at this moment because I can’t sleep.

I only have one instance of Jane to report on. We found out that she just officially was granted her drivers license back after a year of not having it. This means that she has not only been driving around with a not-so-good-functioning brain but has also been driving the boys around with her not-so-good-functioning brain and no driver’s license. To say that FH and were horrified to realize this is putting it mildly. But we can’t do much about it now. So we’ve made a note of it in our binder for safe keeping and we’ve let it roll off our backs.

Other than that things have been well here, except for half of us being sick. I hope to be able to post regularly again once I’m feeling better and for sure after the wedding on February 6th.

I hope all is well with all of you and your families. Cross your fingers for me that I can get over this nastiness before the wedding!

My Spelling Fanatic

I have created a spelling fanatic in our house. Do you remember the preschool program Word World that I recently discovered last month? Well not only is it now Younger Boy's show of choice to watch, but it always launches him into a spelling frenzy.

He’s learned a lot of words like “star” and “mat” and “bat” in addition to his favorite word ever “hat.” I can always tell when he’s really learned a word from the show because he ways “That’s a WordWorld word.”

Those magnetic letters have become one of his new favorite pastimes. We still, however, need to get another set of letters because it’s hard to spell some words when you only have one of each letter. Example, last night Older Boy and Younger Boy were at the fridge:

OB: How do you spell “daddy?”
YB: I don’t know. D-A-D.
OB: Almost. That’s “dad.” “Daddy” is D-A-D-D-Y.
YB: That’s three Ds! I only have one!

Another plus is he is also started to distinguish letters and sounds. A lot of times he will hear a word and say something like:

YB: “Bird” That starts with a B.

He also has taken up to asking how to spell words. The longer words though he sometimes re-asks if that’s how you spell it. I think all of the letters confuse him.

YB: How do you spell “balloon?”
Crys: B-A-L-L-O-O-N
YB: No it’s not! That’s not how you spell “balloon!”
Crys; Yes it is!
YB: That’s how you spell “balloon?” Well it has a lot of letters.

And lastly, for now, he’s starting to grasp beginning and ending letters. Although he does mix it up a bit, I’m rather impressed he is still able to connect the sound and letter.

YB: “Fun” starts with “N”
Crys: “Fun” ends with “N” … F-U-N
YB: Ohhh. And “hat” starts with “H.”
Crys: Yup.

I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m a proud momma.

Hello 2010

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
- Anonymous

I’ve had a hard time trying to find something to write about lately. First I was sick, and then things just started piling up. And here I am at almost 3 in the AM – and awake.

Some of you may remember that instead of resolutions I more find a mantra to follow for the year. Well, 2010 is a huge year for me and I’m already feeling it. The truth of where I’ve been is stressed out and panicking. I’m supposed to be getting married next month and I don’t know how we’re going to pay for the wedding. It’s a little hard to get all of the finishing touches going when you know you don’t have the money.

I’ve been trying to qualify for a loan. However, apparently I just don’t make enough money. I don’t make enough money at my job for the credit union to feel comfortable enough to loan me money. Basically, between college and having to be an adult and do things for myself and now having to be an instant parent and provide for children I have debt. And between what I make and the payments I’m supposed to be making (even though they’re counting things I don’t pay) I just about break even and so on their paperwork I don’t have any extra money to pay them back.

We’ve been scrambling. I’ve been scrambling to find a second job that I can handle and not completely overwhelm myself with. FH has been trying to find extra money from his paychecks to give me so I can try to pay off my debt. So please send a good thought my way that I’ve managed to pay off enough to qualify for a loan.

I called the wedding venue place that is basically the whole she-bang. They handle the ceremony, the reception, the cake, the dj, the catering, the set up, the clean up. They’re a great package. And we’ve got a great discount. But with three kids we pay for full time, and trying to pay off our debt we just haven’t been able to save up enough. Anyway, I called them to find out my options. And I got lectured about how maybe we shouldn’t have tried to plan something that we couldn’t afford.

Well, a year ago we totally thought we could save up the money. We really did. And I didn’t want to go get hitched for cheap in Reno or Tahoe or Vegas. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just I wanted a nice little intimate wedding. I figured that since I was trading in my hopes and dreams of this dream life I wasn’t getting I could at least get my small intimate wedding … right?

So here I am. Awake because I’m stressed and am trying so hard to be positive that this is all going to pull through last minute. And I’m frustrated because I’ve come to the realization that I’ve kind of lost my way. Back to the top – I’ve been trying to find a mantra for this year. What is 2010 going to be for me?

At first I thought it was going to be the Year of Tranquil Transitions. I thought just maybe if I thought about how I was going to spend the year calmly and patiently going through these crazy new transitions that it would maybe just happen; except these first few weeks have been anything but tranquil. And the reality keeps hitting me of the new transitions I’m about to go through. All of this – wife, instant mother, daughter-in-law, etc. is about to all become official.

It’s a bit frightening when you’re finally looking it in the face. So I think that 2010 is going to be the Year of Recreating Myself. I say “recreate” because every time I think I’ve “found” myself something happens and I find myself having to “find” myself all over again.

So here’s the breakdown:

2006 – The Year To Take Risks
2007 – The Year To Take Smart Risks
2008 – The Year To Be Optimistic and Think Positively
2009 – The Year Of Being A Positive Influence
2010 – The Year of Recreating Myself

And some of the few things bringing me peace are the thoughts that I’m not the only one who has found herself in this position. I can only assume that hundreds of instant parents have had to recreate themselves too. And that I will get past these hurdles. I know deep down that I’m much stronger than I give myself credit for.

Now I have to remember to believe in it over just saying it to myself.