A new leaf

I keep coming back to this blog and thinking that I need to start up again. I am now goal-setting. I will post at least once a month on my family and what we are doing. No more venting over the people I encounter and allowing their negativity overwhelm me. No more listening to other people's "I can't do it"s and making their ineptitudes my own. I can do whatever I choose to do.

My mother has always told me all my life that "I can't means I won't." Well, she's right. If I choose to allow the difficult path stop me along the way or leave me incapable of seeking the help that I need, then I have CHOSEN to not do. Therefore, I can and I will be positive.

I can and I will continue to post at least once a month. These posts are for me and anyone who chooses to read this. I will ask, if you choose to read my posts, please comment. I only ask for an acknowledgement that you have been here. I like to hear from friends and family. Certainly, if you read this blog only once and won't come back, you might say something like "you are a terrible writer...I'm never reading your blog again." But, if you come back post after post and continue to read, you might be kind enough to let me know why. Make a remark about what I posted about or just say thank you for giving you a little respite from your day.

That's my wish and my plan. Committed to sticking to it!

L---

Say PLEASE Dang it!!

HELP!! Janea is going through a new phase where she won't talk. She will only grunt, whine and point at the things she wants and having screaming fits when she doesn't get it. I need advice on getting her back on track to asking for what she wants (besides the obvious of not giving in--I got that one down). Also, please recommend any children's books on the topic of saying please and thank you that you think are good. Thank you!!

 In complete contrast, Daniel is really starting to imitate syllables. I think he will start talking in a few months. He has two or three consistent sounds like Pop--popcorn, Pop-pop-Papa, and an occasional Ma or Mam-mam-mam-mam which I think is Mama, but I'm not arrogant enough to say for certain.

 Speaking of speaking, Jayden has gotten a very fresh mouth! He feels that he has the right to talk back at me at every turn when he doesn't get what he wants or when we ask him to do something or if he's hungry and feeling grouchy...actually, I don't know if there is any particular pattern to his mouthing off. It seems to be instantaneous when he turns it on and then you can see it simmer and flow out of him. Oh, sigh!

 Eliana is my angel. No complaints or issues about her today. Tomorrow may be another story. She has a dentist appointment. I hate those! :(

Bikes!!

Jayden has finally decided to ride a bike! We've given him tons of opportunity! He got his first trike at a WAY too young age from his grandma, but he loved it. He got his first real bike from us at age 3 with the cute little training wheels and everything--the whole she-bang! He loved it. At age 6 he was too big for this tiny little bike. We got him a new bike and went out and got special  training wheels to fit it so he could gain his confidence. He wouldn't have it. He just didn't want to try. Last summer, we bought Jayden a NEW bike thinking it would encourage him to want to ride. Nothing doing! He still didn't want to.

Well, this weekend was the magic weekend! He FINALLY did it! He got on his bike and rode and rode and rode all weekend long! YEE-HAW! One down, three to go! :O

WHAT?

I'm not keeping up! For shame! I try though. I think about blogging at 2 AM when Daniel is up nursing AGAIN and I'm awake because of it. Unfortunately, I don't have a keyboard in my brain or in my bed so blogging at that time of the night isn't working. You'd be so amazed with the posts I've put up in my head at that time, though. They were truly amazing works of art! :D

Today, I got inspired by a Play At Home Mom blog. I found this amazing, high-energy mom-blog through Pinterest--another new find of mine lately. These Play At Home Moms are full of great ideas on how to keep little ones busy and learning and confident and self-sufficient. I highly recommend them for ideas but not self-esteem. Reading their site made me feel like a terrible mommy. I don't do nearly as much for my children and have no where near the energy level it takes to make my household run as smoothly.

http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2012/01/rls-routine.html

Check out this routine! Although, I do have to say, I have husband support. I would absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE having someone come once a month to scrub us down. Even if it was just the bathrooms, kitchen and the hard floors, it would be a huge help!

But, oh well...this is MY life. Our routine is not a easy to define as the Play At Home Mom. We laze out of bed at 8ish. The older kids can get their own breakfast. I fix a bowl of something for Daniel and Janea depending on what we have and what they want. Gotta make lunches, comb hair, brush teeth, and rush out the door by 8:50 to get Jayden and Eliana to school by 9. When the weather is nice (and my foot is not hurting too much) I like to walk. It means leaving by 8:30 though, and we haven't done that for a long time.

Once I get home from dropping the older kids off, we have playdates on some days and go to the gym on other days. Either way, there is a mad rush to get dressed and get in the car so we can go somewhere. I think socializing the kids is extremely important for their growth. Therefore, we will not just sit at home and recluse behind our own walls.

For support in keeping our naptimes the same, I try to get home by lunchtime, fix something to eat for us all and get Daniel into bed for his nap between 12 and 1. This will give him the necessary time to sleep an hour or two depending on his need every day except Tuesday--early pick up day. Speaking of pick ups, school is out at 3:15. On Mondays, now, that means piano lessons right after school, Tuesdays is Gymnastics, and twice a month, Thursdays is scouts. Every Friday is religious school, dinner, and services. Whew!

Yeah, it's not an easy life, but we're happy. :D

Why bother?!?!

Yeah, Dave bothered to get us a nice new TV this month. He got some awesome deal with Dell on this 73" DLP fancy new TV. He was so excited about it, I think he wet his pants when it got here! To protect this blessed new machine, I put the baby gate in front of it. Why bother, you ask? I don't friggin' know! Janea had a "magic screwdriver" yesterday and it made "magic screwdriver" scratches at Janea-height all across the lower right hand side of the screen. "HOW?", you ask? "Magic", she answered!

OMG!!!!!

Christmakah is here!

This year Dave and I did almost all of our Christmakah shopping on Amazon. He has gotten several bonuses this year in Amazon dollars and where we lack funds in real cash, Amazon dollars have made up the difference. It's not how I would ideally do our gift giving, but the kids will be happy. On the first night of Hanukah, they got an Xbox Kinect. How happy are those kids now?!!  Last night, (night 2) we gave them gifts from Aunt Dori and Uncle Arnie. Ellie LOVES her Magen David necklace. Jayden was thrilled with Silly Putty; Janea was over the moon with her Dora sippy cup (yep...that's all it takes when you're 3); and Daniel got the cutest Buzz Lightyear tee-shirt! Thanks for the gifts Aunt Dori! I especially loved that they were already wrapped! :D

We have an array of other gifts for the kids. Hope they don't get lost in the shuffle. I have yet to sit down and wrap and organize the chaos. We got Janea a dollhouse that Dave had shipped to work. I hope it comes soon--like today--so he can bring it home and we can give it to her.

In the meantime, I am cleaning out our guest room which has been serving as a storage closet. I got most of the crap out of there, sorted, repacked and stashed away in a better places. Lots of crap is going to freecycle. Anyone want a f@#$ing table? We can't seem to get rid of the table that came with the old couch set. No one wants it! It's pretty big, but a good table to put between chairs or couches. Check it out.... http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/fuo/2764997109.html  Interested? I didn't think so, but you can't blame me for trying!

So, the impetus for cleaning is that Dave's 91 yr old grandmother is coming to visit for Christmas. She is staying with us and therefore we need to make a guest room out of our junk room.  I'm off to work on it.  More as the transformation unfolds!

A new look!

Blogger wanted me to update to the newest template format. So, we have a new look! Like it?

Just wanted to make an addendum to the last post. Janea's words don't always start with "T". I've noticed sometimes they start with "p".  Like "pall" for small.  Interesting, note, though, she always knows the word and chooses to continue to say it wrong even though she hears the difference when we correct her.

Daniel got another tooth in! He now has the bottom two and one on top. I hope this is the explanation for why we have been sleeping so poorly lately.  Maybe now that he broke that tooth through, the other one will come in quickly and we can start sleeping through the night! :D

Speaking of Daniel, I'm ready to wean him.  I've been nursing babies for over 8 years now. I'm so done! I'm ready to reclaim my body as my own and be done with the nursing thing. But, mostly, Daniel has taken a liking to playing with my very short hair while he nurses. It gives me the itchies and makes me pull my head down toward him. I know I will be sorry when this baby thing is all over and I will miss it terribly, but I'm tired of it. I want a break. Can I take a break now and come back to it in a couple of years when I get baby-fever?

And, can you believe his birthday is in only 2 weeks? Me either!! Should probably discuss with Dave any type of celebration we want. Whether we do it on Friday night (we have rel school and services) or wait until Sat to do it....not sure.  Will keep things updated, I hope! :D