So I am almost a month late on this. And there are still pictures I need to post, but that might need to come another night. For now, I need to repeat "Addie is 5". My baby is school-age! Goodness, how is that possible??! Matt and I have scheduled to visit 5 different schools through tours/open houses. We have heard good things about our local public elementary school, but I am not convinced that public school would be the best thing for her. So we are also viewing some private Christian schools. There is a good Catholic school within walking distance to our house, but if we are paying for a private education we would like it to better mirror our theological views. So the next couple weeks have the tours, then the weeks beyond that will have the comparison discussions, budget talks, gut feelings, talking with other parents about their experiences with the prospective schools and a lot of prayer.
Addie had her 5 year check-up:
weight: 42lbs (75%)
Height: 45 1/2 (90%)
BP: 104/62
they also noted a BMI of 14.3 if I am reading the writing correct. They never mentioned it to me, but I assume that means her body mass. I guess it is good that they pay attention to that due to the obesity epidemic.
Addie was in a really good mood for her check-up. She was jumping around like a frog, she answered all the Dr's questions, she giggled, etc. This was a welcome sign because often she tends to play the shy card and not answer questions in situations like this. She also was incredibly strong and brave when they gave her a shot and did a blood draw.
Currently she is curled up on our big cozy chair that we threw a sheet over. Etta was sick starting Thursday night with a stomach bug that also hit 8 of her preschool classmates. We thought the rest of us were in the clear but when I picked Addie up from Sunday School this morning she was laying on a mat saying she did not feel good and she wanted to be carried to the car. She has a slight fever and has thrown up a few times (Etta never had a fever but dry-heaved every 20-30 minutes for like 8 hours. ugh!). Hopefully we all get a good nights sleep and Addie is doing better in the morning!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Morning Walk
You know those people who can throw on clothes and head out the door (alone!) within 5 minutes? They must not be moms. Yesterday I woke slightly before the sun rise & thought "its not raining, I should walk Greenlake!" I joined a gym, but there is just something about a peaceful morning walk in the fresh air that can not be re-created on a treadmill, even though you can watch a nature scene on a screen in front of you.
But as I got out of bed I hear Etta in her room. She had waken, seen that her nighttime owl said it was ok to wake and she was getting clothes on. Totally fine. So I hung out with her for a couple minutes.
Then I had to go pump. As I pumped Willa started waking up. I finished pumping and Matt gave her her bottle. I went to the bathroom then heard Addie waking. I went to her room to chat with her while I got my clothes on.
Then I was ready to go! Except it was 27 degrees out and the car had to be scraped. I could have skipped the car and walked to the lake, but I thought driving would save time. Probably not when you factor in the defrost time, but I stayed warm a bit longer.
On the way home after the walk I stopped at PCC because there are always 4 things I can grab real quick (with semi-numb fingers) when I dont have kids with me.
Then home! Willa had just gone down for a nap (have I mentioned that she doesn't stay awake long?) and the girls were dressed and fed.
All this was possible because it was Thursday and Matt works from home on thursdays so he was able to do clothes, breakfast,etc with them. So although it took a while to get out the door, it was as smooth as it could possibly be with 3 kids.
But as I got out of bed I hear Etta in her room. She had waken, seen that her nighttime owl said it was ok to wake and she was getting clothes on. Totally fine. So I hung out with her for a couple minutes.
Then I had to go pump. As I pumped Willa started waking up. I finished pumping and Matt gave her her bottle. I went to the bathroom then heard Addie waking. I went to her room to chat with her while I got my clothes on.
Then I was ready to go! Except it was 27 degrees out and the car had to be scraped. I could have skipped the car and walked to the lake, but I thought driving would save time. Probably not when you factor in the defrost time, but I stayed warm a bit longer.
On the way home after the walk I stopped at PCC because there are always 4 things I can grab real quick (with semi-numb fingers) when I dont have kids with me.
Then home! Willa had just gone down for a nap (have I mentioned that she doesn't stay awake long?) and the girls were dressed and fed.
All this was possible because it was Thursday and Matt works from home on thursdays so he was able to do clothes, breakfast,etc with them. So although it took a while to get out the door, it was as smooth as it could possibly be with 3 kids.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Resolutions
I tend to avoid making goals or resolutions. Because I often don't live up to them so then I just feel disappointed in myself. Instead of goals being a positive motivation for me to do better they often just feel like these big lofty things hanging over my head. So I have some things in mind for 2013 and I am trying to break them down to concrete steps:
1) Health/Physical Fitness:
Lose 10 pounds and firm/tone my butt & belly.
Throughout the year I aim to go to the gym twice a week plus do weights/core exercise, etc at home.
I plan to start the year off strong on this by doing the 3 free personal training sessions that came with my gym membership, plus at-home personal training with a mom friend of mine who is a certified post-natal exercise specialist (thanks to a gift certificate for my birthday from my in-laws!)
A way I will accomplish that later in the year is challenge myself by committing to a class (at the gym or a morning outside fitness group).
I also need to be more more aware of what I eat. Less sweets, less salt. I can work on this by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Less processed food and carbs. More whole grains. I have not yet set specific ways to assist me in this besides being mindful. I do not know if I can commit to an online food diary. But maybe even just writing down on paper what I eat will make me more careful.
In the past I have wanted to lose weight post-baby but have not been real worried about the numbers on the scale. I have had the lazy attitude of knowing that I am pregnant, or nursing, or planning to get pregnant again so I cut myself a lot of slack. But Matt & I have made the permanent decision that 3 kids is the right number for our family. So I need to get my body in shape, since this is the body I will have the rest of my life and I do not want to be complacent and accept that this muffin-top I am sporting is permanent!
2) Parenting:
I want to spend more focused time with each girl teaching them. I want Addie to learn to write all her lower case letters and keep working on her speech sounds, I want Etta to learn to recognize & write her uppercase letters, etc.
I resolve to spend 10 intentional educational minutes each day one-on-one with each girl. I thought about saying 20 minutes per day per girls, but that adds up to an hour. And while I would really like to do that, I think I need to start smaller. If I miss a day, then I need to spend more time with them the next. Maybe I need to do some sort of app on my phone or sticker chart to keep me on track. I read to them a lot, and reading is great, but I want to see them learn & accomplish. At co-op Addie has something called "Friday challenges" and seeing her do those things has inspired me. They can be fun things that still make the kids think about shapes, relationships, word sounds, numbers, etc.
3) Social:
My goal for 2013 is to be in better touch with friends and relatives so I know what is going on in their lives (and I can see how big their cute kids are getting!)
I aim to return phone calls with phone calls when at all possible instead of just texting a reply. Even a 5 minute phone conversation makes me feel more connected.
Also, I think the time has come for me to join Facebook. I know some people questioned my reluctance to join (geez, Leah! even my grandma is on facebook!). I have noticed that people are blogging less since it seems redundant and time consuming since those pictures and thoughts are already being posted on facebook. But I do not get to see them since I am not on. Matt has a profile so I could always have him log in and I could view. But I will join (within the next week or so) and see how it goes. I still plan to blog as well. So those of you who read this, please hold me to that if you do not see anything blogged for a while!
4) Marriage: still thinking through these and they are more private.
5) Financial:
I know Matt & I need to have consistent budget conversations, especially if we want to consider private kindergarten for Addie we need to be a lot more mindful of our spending.
6) Spiritual: still thinking through these and they are more private.
I figured I should share some of these goals and make them public to help keep me accountable.
1) Health/Physical Fitness:
Lose 10 pounds and firm/tone my butt & belly.
Throughout the year I aim to go to the gym twice a week plus do weights/core exercise, etc at home.
I plan to start the year off strong on this by doing the 3 free personal training sessions that came with my gym membership, plus at-home personal training with a mom friend of mine who is a certified post-natal exercise specialist (thanks to a gift certificate for my birthday from my in-laws!)
A way I will accomplish that later in the year is challenge myself by committing to a class (at the gym or a morning outside fitness group).
I also need to be more more aware of what I eat. Less sweets, less salt. I can work on this by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Less processed food and carbs. More whole grains. I have not yet set specific ways to assist me in this besides being mindful. I do not know if I can commit to an online food diary. But maybe even just writing down on paper what I eat will make me more careful.
In the past I have wanted to lose weight post-baby but have not been real worried about the numbers on the scale. I have had the lazy attitude of knowing that I am pregnant, or nursing, or planning to get pregnant again so I cut myself a lot of slack. But Matt & I have made the permanent decision that 3 kids is the right number for our family. So I need to get my body in shape, since this is the body I will have the rest of my life and I do not want to be complacent and accept that this muffin-top I am sporting is permanent!
2) Parenting:
I want to spend more focused time with each girl teaching them. I want Addie to learn to write all her lower case letters and keep working on her speech sounds, I want Etta to learn to recognize & write her uppercase letters, etc.
I resolve to spend 10 intentional educational minutes each day one-on-one with each girl. I thought about saying 20 minutes per day per girls, but that adds up to an hour. And while I would really like to do that, I think I need to start smaller. If I miss a day, then I need to spend more time with them the next. Maybe I need to do some sort of app on my phone or sticker chart to keep me on track. I read to them a lot, and reading is great, but I want to see them learn & accomplish. At co-op Addie has something called "Friday challenges" and seeing her do those things has inspired me. They can be fun things that still make the kids think about shapes, relationships, word sounds, numbers, etc.
3) Social:
My goal for 2013 is to be in better touch with friends and relatives so I know what is going on in their lives (and I can see how big their cute kids are getting!)
I aim to return phone calls with phone calls when at all possible instead of just texting a reply. Even a 5 minute phone conversation makes me feel more connected.
Also, I think the time has come for me to join Facebook. I know some people questioned my reluctance to join (geez, Leah! even my grandma is on facebook!). I have noticed that people are blogging less since it seems redundant and time consuming since those pictures and thoughts are already being posted on facebook. But I do not get to see them since I am not on. Matt has a profile so I could always have him log in and I could view. But I will join (within the next week or so) and see how it goes. I still plan to blog as well. So those of you who read this, please hold me to that if you do not see anything blogged for a while!
4) Marriage: still thinking through these and they are more private.
5) Financial:
I know Matt & I need to have consistent budget conversations, especially if we want to consider private kindergarten for Addie we need to be a lot more mindful of our spending.
6) Spiritual: still thinking through these and they are more private.
I figured I should share some of these goals and make them public to help keep me accountable.
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