Big Day!

Lots going on today! For a few weeks we (I) have been trying to decide the best time to transition Katherine into a big girl bed. She is starting to potty train and it seems she should be able to get out of bed to use the bathroom if she needs to. But I am also not sure I am ready for her to do that! Well today when I was taking her up for her nap she was very insistent on sleeping in Sean's bed. So, what better time than now right! I took off one railing to her crib, so it is now a toddler bed. And she did great. Looked over the edge a few time but then settled right down with her blankies (all 3!) and drifted off to sleepy town.





And not to be out done, it is a beautiful sunny December afternoon and Sean got a bike for Christmas. He did great, although we still need to work on the the foot motions. But he will get there.

Finally!

We moved into this house one year ago and yesterday I finally found furniture for the front family room. I am so excited! I love it and even better it was a great deal. I found it at a garage sale and it really looks brand new. the chairs I already had and was happy that they matched the sofas. So now I am enjoying my new sofas and for now, it is clean and free of toys : ) The same women is selling a canopy bed that I am going to go look at for Kat. If it is in the same condition as the sofas/tables I will be buying it. Even though she is not ready for a bed yet her room is big enough for the crib and the bed.


It has been a while so I guess I should update you on the family.

Sean has finished his speech therapy for the summer. I still don't know how much it helped but it didn't hurt. He has made improvements, but not sure if I can credit therapy or just his own progression. Starting in the fall he is enrolled in Countryside Montessori 5 afternoons a week and will be going to speech therapy 2 mornings a week. We will have to wait and see how this goes. I think two full days will be hard for him so we may cut back later.

Katherine is getting more and more independent and also has a bit of an attitude. She know exactly to get what she wants from Daddy, and if I tell her no she will run crying to him. She is cutting all her molars at once and has been miserable all week. Poor girl. Sean and I have been working on teaching her signs, but she has not been interested. Until I showed her the sign for shoes! She started doing that immediately. And yesterday at Meijers she saw me put milk in the cart and made the sign for milk. I love it!! Now if I could just talk Justin into letting me take the instructors course so I could teach baby signs.

Justin has been working really hard still. He is taking one class this semester and since it is a summer course it is very condensed. He has done a few "hotel buys" and no he is not buying hotels. He rents a conference room at a hotel and puts an ad in the paper that he is buying; gold, silver, coins, antiques, anything collectible. Usually for 3 days and people bring him what they have. He buys it and then sends most of it to the smelters and sells the rest on ebay or in the store. He would like to do one a month, but we will see.

I am doing fine. I went to a scrapbook class and made a mini book to display the family beach pictures that we took in Hawaii when Sean was 6 months old! I am really happy with the way it turned out. I will post pictures soon. I will be doing more of these mini books.

Well I think I am going to do some laundry.

Enjoy your day.

My helper

Sean LOVES to help me with house work and his favorite thing is to vacuum the sofa. My sofa has been very clean lately. : )

My new toy

I have been wanting a Cricut personal cutter for 2 years, and I finally bought one this week. And I loved it, until it started smoking...I tried to show it off to Justin to prove that it was as cool as I said and guess what, smoke started coming out the back and I could smell the motor burning. I had just bought it that day! Well I called the company and they are sending me replacement machine : ( I guess I have waited 2 years I can wait another 5-10 days. I tired to see if they could upgrade my model for the trouble, but they didn't go for it.

Look for some very beautiful scrapbook pages in about 2 weeks...

Kat turns 1!!

Couldn't resit taking a video of Katherine eating her first cake.


Here is a picture of Sean eating his first birthday cake, he did not dig into it they way Katherine did. He never did like being messy.

Loving life

I turned 25 today!! Holly cow, is it possible I am that old. I know, I am still a baby to most of you. So how did I spend my day. Well I finally got around to cleaning the dried up cake from Katherine's high chair, then I called around to try and get our furnace fixed and oh yeah, got up at 6:30 to take Sean to the dentist, talked to my brother who is in Italy (thanks Corey), and later the family is taking me to dinner we will be home by 8:00, put the kids to bed and hey maybe I will stop on the way home and get a nice bottle of wine. Fun right, well to me yes it is my life. And I love it. Justin and I have been falling into this trap lately of wondering what our single (they all are) friends are doing on a Friday night, or how they might celebrate their birthdays. Well today I realized that I don't feel old or young. I feel exactly how I believe I should feel today. Yes I am a young mother, yes we got married young. But I love my family and they love me. I enjoy taking care of them and I would not trade my life for anyones.

Miss K

Well my baby is not really a baby anymore, she will be 1 on Saturday and has started walking this week.

Meet Dexter

We have added a new addition to the family. Dexter is a 14 week old German Shepard puppy. So sweet and playful.

Freedom

I feel like I have always given Sean an appropriate amount of freedom for his abilities. And now that he can open his dresser drawers I have been letting him pick out what he wears, on the days that we stay home : ). And this is what he picked today...




Picking my battles. This one he wins. But when I asked if he was going swimming, "No, there is ice in the pool." Such a smart guy! *It is 23 very chilly degrees today...

Preschool

South Bend is opening a public Montessori preschool in September. I have been going back and forth all week about this decision, I need to put it down maybe that will help. : )

Public vs. Private Montessori

Public

Pros
1. F-R-E-E
2. continues through 4th grade with possibility of going through 8th in the future
3. Bussing (when he is older)
4. First year so all materials will be brand new
5. I wouldn't have to work until Kat is 3

Cons:
1. Not great part of town
2. New teachers...I have more experience than they do
3. OLD building, big debate this fall on tearing it down or keeping it
4. 20 minute drive
5. Not convinced of his safety
6. Couldn't work until Katherine was 3
7. Unknown


Private

Pros
1. I LOVE it
2. Clean
3. Beautiful
4. LOVE the teachers and know most of them
5. safe
6. Teachers are well trained
7. peaceful
8. offer financial aid
9. I would love to work there
10. They have a toddler program for Kat
11. Elementary program is excellent

Cons
1. EXPENSIVE
2. I would have to work next year to pay for it
3. No more babies : (
4. No more babies
5. No more babies

And FOUND!!

After 24 long hours Daddy found the blankie in Katherine's closest. Don't know how it got there but I am sure Sean had something to do with it. She is sleeping peacefully now. And hopefully so will the rest of the house.

Lost

Missing one pink and white tag blankie. Loved by a sweet 10 month old princess. If anyone finds it please call. Princess has trouble sleeping without it. Last seen by 3 year old brother...it could be anywhere!

Valentine Pictures

Since Sean was a baby I have refused to get their pictures taken at a studio. I have never been happy with them and it is way too expensive for something I felt like I could do myslef. So last night I decided I would take their Valentine pictures. Well, 1 hour later and 128 pictures and I still don't have one! The best one is the very first one I took. I am going to try again later maybe with Justin's help I can get them both to look at the camera.

Taxes

I did not work this year!! Hurray, no W-2's to file. We have survived as a family of 4 with one income for one year. Can we do it again? The transition to the civilian world has not been easy, but is worth it. I am learning how to manage my own health care, which is VERY expensive. I had no idea how much it would cost. I don't think I will ever forget our very first bill from a civilian doctor. Katherine's 3 month check up cost $720. We will be going to get her shots at the health department from now on, $8 a shoot. I wonder if I can apply that to my unbelievably high deducible. I may have to go back to work just for the insurance. But we are taking our vitamins and trying our best to stay healthy to avoid the doctor.

They really should update the life skills class in school, maybe they have since I was there. But it was a joke for me. They should teach you about saving money, avoiding credit card debit, the steps in buying a house, health care coverage. In Econ class we spent an enormous amount of time playing the "stock market game." But it seems like that is putting the cart before the horse. You have to learn to manage your money before you will have the extra income to invest.

Britney

I will admit that I enjoy reading about celebrity gossip. I feel like by me paying to go see their movies and buying their CDs I have helped make them millionaires, so I am entitled to know a little about their personal life. But truly, the gossip magazines have jumped over the line and are still running. Some time during Britney's many rehab stays I decided I was no longer going to watch E News and would not buy the magazines. My own silent protest. But I can't even watch my local news channel anymore with out hearing about Britney Spears! Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC have all had segments on a celebrity this week. With everything going on in the world right now Britney Spears many breakdowns qualify as NEWS!!

New Year, New Me?

Well no. I generally don't believe in making new years resolutions. Why should I wait until the new year to start doing something I should be doing anyway? But if they work for you then that is great. All the talk of the new year has got me thinking about things in my life that could change. But for me it always boils down to the lack of time in a day. Yes I would love to work out everyday, I would LOVE to catch up on my scrapbooking, keep up with the laundry, and find time to make a few baby blankets a week. But before I can turn around it is time to make dinner and get the kids to bed. Then it is time to clean the kitchen, enjoy a little time with my husband before I get some much needed sleep.

This year, I am going to find the time to do the things I enjoy for my self. Because we all need to do something for ourselves. Justin bought me a gift certificate for a crop class at a scrapbook store so that is number one on my list. I am really excited to get back into that. I am also going to be selling my baby tag blankets at the South Bend Farmers Market. Justin's mom and grandmother have a booth their and have offered to sell them for me. Who knows, maybe someday I will be as good as my mom and really could be a stay at home mom forever. Oh, I hope the sewing talent gene was passed on to me. Practice, Practice, Practice. So for me that means less time spent watching TV and more time being productive. That sounds a lot like a resolution doesn't it.

Speaking of productive, the laundry is waiting!

Happy New Year!