Preschool: Learning Letters

Now that Jillian is 3 years old, we've started more formal lessons for her in our homeschool. Many of them revolve around letter recognition and spelling her name.

Last week I came up with a simple, but effective lesson that she loved. I took out a piece of colored construction paper, wrote a capital "J" (for Jillian) on it in black marker, then gave her the paper and some small stickers. I asked her to carefully follow the lines of the "J" with the stickers. I have to say, I was impressed with how neatly she did it.

Jillian loved this activity so much, that we've continued with each of the letters of her name. Her attention span only lasts for about the time to do one letter, so we've been doing on each day.

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What are some fun ways you've taught your kids their letters?

Parenting Hack: Rest Time / Quiet Play

Back when Jena was a toddler, her body tried to drop a nap before she really seemed to be ready. And before I was ready, if I'm being honest. Trying to think of a way to encourage her to rest, I initiated what I call "Rest Time / Quiet Play". Of course back then I was working full-time outside of the home, so it was only used on weekends, but it worked like a dream. About half the time Jena would end up falling asleep.

The idea is that the child has to go to their room, door shut, for a specified amount of time. They can rest, nap, or play, but everything must be quiet.

It not only encourages rest time, but for the time that they're not quite ready to nap, it encourages independent play.

Well, recently Jillian has decided to drop her afternoon nap... and has become a terror. The lack of sleep makes her normally spirited self even more of a handful. Lots of tantrums, she started hitting & biting again, defiance, disobedience... she was out of control. Enter Rest Time / Quiet Play.

I instituted it this past week at our house, for both kids. Sure, Jena doesn't really need it anymore, being 8 years old, but she could use some encouragement to play independently. And quite frankly, I could use some non-kid time.

So far, it has been amazing. The first day it took me about 30 minutes to convince Jillian that she really did have to stay in her room. But she eventually got it.

We school in the morning, then have lunch, then from 1pm-3pm the girls have Rest Time / Quiet Play. Jillian has fallen asleep every day, which as made bedtime a little bit of a struggle, but her mental state and behavior is so much improved it's well worth it for me. Even Jena has enjoyed it, and has started asking for it!

What I didn't plan on, but am not really surprised by, is now much more productive I've been able to be around the house. Those two hours without distraction have allowed me to get more chores & cleaning done this week than I've gotten done in... forever it seems.

An additional bonus? Jena got so bored, she decided to clean her room!

It hasn't been this clean in a long time! And by having Rest Time / Quiet Play every day she has kept it clean, while still having plenty of time for watching shows, playing games, reading, making crafts, or whatever she wants!

Trip to Chicago

Last month Jason had the opportunity to attend a marketing workshop in Chicago, so we decided to bring the girls along and make it a family trip.

We started out by stopping at the Indianapolis Children's Museum on the way. This is really a must-see for any families that live in the MidWest. The exhibits are fantastic and educational. We've been several times, and our girls just can't get enough of it. This time the girls' favorite exhibit was the circus exhibit. So much to do hands on! We ended up spending most of our time there. Check out our video to see some of the things we got to see and do there.

Once we left the Children's Museum we stopped for the night in northern Indiana. The next day we made our way into Chicago. As many times as I've been there, I never get used to how crowded it is! People (and cars!) everywhere!

While we were there we were able to meet up with my best friend from college. Gaby & I have so many differences, but we have been there for each other for over 20 years now. It's amazing when we get to see each other in person finally. I love her so much!

The next day, while Jason attended his workshop, the girls & I went to the highlight of our visit: a trip to the American Girl store! Jena got one for her last birthday, and Jillian had been asking for one for months. Since Jillian's birthday overlapped with our trip, we decided to get her one as her "big" present from us. Jena too, had been wanting another one, and in fact had been saving her money for months, trying to save enough to get one.

I really am so proud of her. From her 8th birthday & Christmas she had about $40, but if you know anything about American Girl dolls, that's not even close to enough. The rest of the money she earned thru soccer and chores.

For soccer, midway thru her first season as goalie Jason had agreed to pay her $1 for every goal she stopped, but take away $2 for any goals that got thru. At the time this was maybe $4-5 per game, tops. Usually $1-2. Then indoor soccer started. Ends up indoor soccer moves at a faster pace, and strikers tend to get off more shots on goal. With our daughter being one of the top goalies in her age group, more than half of her games were shut outs. She stopped as many as 27 goals in one game, without letting a single one through! I'm not gonna lie, she cleaned up on that deal!

For chores, she earns money for chores. The amount is rather small though, ranging from 5 cents to 50 cents per chore. She worked really hard because she wanted that doll, and some weeks earned as much as $8.

She saved every dollar, and by the time of our trip had enough to not only purchase the doll of her choosing, but get two outfits for it too! I'm so proud of her for her hard work to earn the money, and the self-restraint to save it for a large purchase. That can be hard for many adults, and my little girl si only 8 years old.

Check out this video to see how excited the girls were when we told them about going to the American Girl store, and some of our time there.

We had such a nice time in Chicago. It's a lovely city, and of course I always get to see a good friend when we go.

Have you been to Chicago lately? What are your favorite sites to see there?

As always, thanks for checking in!

Oh Jillian

Random video of Jillian I made when I was trying to figure out the whole iMovie / YouTube thing.

 

PS - I'm still figuring the video thing out, LOL.

The Sad and the Happy

Well, since I'm back, there are two big updates I should let my readers know about.

First of all, the sad news.

Our beloved Buddy passed away at the age of 17. His advanced age had been apparent for the past few years, but it didn't lessen the shock the morning that he disappeared after I let him out to do his morning "rounds". Every morning he would go out and "work", running the fence line, reviewing the property. As a working breed, it was what he loved to do. That morning, he didn't come back.

I found him collapsed in some weeds, barely able to lift his head. According to the vet, with an acute collapse like that in a breed like this, it is usually a tumor on the heart that has ruptured. They are slowly bleeding out. We made the heartbreaking decision to euthanize this precious dog.

Jason & I stayed with him, I held his head on my lap.

He lived well, he vastly surpassed his expected life expectancy, and I can only hope he knew how very much we loved him.

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On a much happier note, this adorable ball of energy turned two!

It's hard to believe it's been two years since she made her way into this world. She completes our family in the most amazing way, and I cannot imagine life without her.

Happy birthday Jillian!

Hello!

Well, hello there!

What can I tell you? So much, yet so little has happened in the past two months since I've written.

Jena is doing extremely well in 2nd grade. As you may remember we are homeschooling her. My biggest struggle right now is keeping her challenged and engaged. I think I've mentioned on here before that she is gifted, and it seems like I am constantly being shown exactly how intellectually gifted she is.

By her age, she should be in 1st grade. She is instead flying thru 2nd grade. We attended a co-op during the Fall, but even even at a 2nd grade level, she was so far ahead of what was being taught that it basically ended up being purely social for her. That, combined with how hard the day was on Jillian (and consequently myself), and we decided to pull out of the co-op for next session.

Most recently I let Jena test ahead (again) in Language Arts and Arithmetic. She was able to skip 22 lessons before she got less than an "A" on the test. Twenty two. Just over a month's worth. Just blazed thru it.

Her only struggle area is handwriting, but she has improved massively since last year. It's like something just "clicked" this year, most likely her fine motor skills, LOL.

She does do enrichment classes at a local education center once per week, lots of science & art mostly. That definitely helps.

For those with curriculum / educational philosophy knowledge, we have been doing a traditional curriculum for Language Arts & Arithmetic, with Social Studies & Science being more unit studies. I'm starting to look at integrating more classical education philosophies / activities into our schooling, as I think how she learns may lean more that way. We'll see how it goes. One of the lovely things about homeschooling is that we can tailor what & how we teach to our children's needs as we go along.

Which reminds me, I need to adjust our science teaching a bit, since she recently told me that she now wants to be an engineer when she grows up, so she "can design & build machines". Truth be told, we've been saying since she was itty bitty that she would make an excellent engineer, just by the way she looked at the world. I suppose only time will tell.

Jillian (now 20 months) is growing like a weed. Recently started escaping her crib, though not regularly. Another growth spurt though and we're in trouble. She finally started walking at around 18 months. That, combined with a couple of other seemingly minor issues, and I'm beginning to wonder if she has joint issues, specifically hypermobility. Her pediatrician checked her hips & knees at her 15 mo check up because of her delayed walking and said everything looked okay, but I'm considering seeing a specialist just to make sure. My niece has EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome), and didn't get properly diagnosed until she suffered a dislocation of both knees at age 15. My sister has said they wish they'd known earlier because they could have been more careful and while they couldn't prevent the condition itself, they could have helped keep her from being in so much pain & discomfort, especially in the 2+ years she was dealing with back & joint pain before getting a proper diagnosis.

Our family business is doing very well, as evidenced by the fact that I am still a SAHM, LOL. I am so proud of Jason and the work he has done to make the business such a success. Speaking of, right now he is in Mexico on a mission trip, so please pray for his and the team's safety.

I suppose that's about it for now. Thanks for checking in.

Update on the Baby

So little Jillian is doing well. She's nearly four months old now, laughing and cooing.

We're doing well, but I have to admit there are tons of things you forget about having an infant in the house, especially with more than five years between the two. Plus each kid is different, so in some ways it's like learning all over again.

One thing is sleep. Jena used to go to sleep out in the living room, lights on, television on, sometimes even vacuum on. She didn't care. Jillian, however, needs dark quiet for her to fall into a good sleep. So much so that we transitioned her to the crib for naps much sooner than I'd intended, because she just wasn't getting good sleep being out in the main part of the house during the day.

She's taking 6 - 7 ounces of formula at a feeding, and once she gets a little more steady with holding her head up we'll start her on cereal. She sleeps anywhere from 6 - 10 hours at a stretch at night. The total is usually around 14 hours, but how it's split up varies widely.

I had starting out breastfeeding, and produced significantly more breastmilk than I did with Jena, but my supply dropped off around 7 weeks in, and I eventually stopped breastfeeding / pumping altogether. Pumping for 30 minutes on both breasts to get literally a few drops in the bottom of the bottle just wasn't cutting it.

She's an amazing little girl, and I can't believe God has blessed us again with such an angel.

Thank you

Dear Jillian,

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for being mine. Thank you for being here. Thank you for healing parts of me that I didn't know were broken. Thank you.

My Damn Phone

So the other day we ventured to the park, first time taking Jill, first time as a family of four.

At one point I was in the backseat of the car feeding Jill, Jena was playing on the playground, and Jason was watching Jena.

Or was supposed to be.

I watched as she yelled out "Watch this Daddy!", then jumped onto the monkey bars, her latest conquest.

She finished her trick, and turned back to him... to see him staring down at the phone. I saw the look of disappointment cross her face. I saw her hesitate for a minute, before moving along to the next piece of equipment.

source

And it broke my heart.

And I'm not telling you this to vilify my husband in any way.

Because the truth is I'm sure she's seen me do the same thing more than once. I'm sure that look of disappointment has crossed her face more than once because I was staring at my damn phone.

I'm telling you this because I know many of you are guilty of the same thing.

I've read the articles, seen the blog posts. But to see the look on my own daughter's face, to see how it affected her directly... well, it really makes it hit home a little more.

I know it's extra hard for Jena right now, as she's also adjusting to sharing our attention with another child for the first time in five years. So once I finished feeding Jill, I took her out of the car, handed her to Jason, and spent a few minutes following Jena around the playground, asking her to pose for pictures that I took, making her the center of my universe for the first time in way-too-long.

And I watched her entire demeanor change... for the better.

And so I challenge my blog readers to do the same: at your next possible chance, spend 10-15 minutes giving your child your undivided attention. Let me know if there's a noticeable change in their attitude. There was with mine.

As always, thanks for checking in.

Birth Story

So as I mentioned in my last post, Jillian arrived roughly two weeks ago, nearly three weeks early.

one of our first family pictures

I had gone in to see my Ob for my pre-op appointment in preparation for my scheduled C-section, but all of my labs came back borderline. Everything.

My sugar was controlled with insulin, but borderline. My blood pressure was technically high, but just by a couple of points. The protein in my urine came in just barely over what they want to see. And... I'm pretty sure they checked some other things too, but am blanking on what they were right now. The main thing is that every single thing that they checked came in as borderline problem.

So borderline, in fact, that my regular Ob didn't feel comfortable making the decision himself. He sent me home with instructions to pack my hospital bag, rest, and wait for him to call with further instructions after he consulted with other doctors in the practice. He consulted with two other doctors, then called me himself telling me they had booked the OR for me the following morning.

Unfortunately since it was unexpected, we didn't get my regular Ob, as he wasn't on the schedule for hospital rotation that day, but all of the physicians in the practice are fantastic, so no biggie really.

Jason was on shift, so took off the last 12 hours so he could come home and be home the night before. My parents met us at the hospital and stayed in the waiting room with Jena while waiting. My sister and my mother-in-law were also there.

Pre-op schtuff went as expected & planned. No worries there.

I will tell you that the spinal hurt more than I anticipated. Getting my epidural when Jena was born is one of the parts of her birth that is still blacked out of my memory, so I had no frame of reference. All I knew is that the anesthesiologist told me that after the numbing shot there shouldn't be any pain, only pressure.

Liar.

In fact, turns out where I'm feeling pain helps them know whether or not it's going in correctly. So seriously... liar. LOL.

The C-section itself was less pain than I anticipated. Everyone I had talked to - both medical personnel and other C-section mommas - had told me that I would feel so much pressure that it was painful. Not for me. No pain, and barely any pressure to speak of.

What was unexpected was how much nausea I had. The anesthesiologist told me it's from my blood pressure dropping from the spinal, and is fairly common. Yeah, I was really sick.

The most amazing, wonderful thing is that I was aware of everything and I remember everything. All of it. When they placed her on my chest. The look on my husband's face. The sound of her first cry. Overhearing the doctor's comments, the nurses' conversations. All of it. All of it is wonderful. Every second.

All of those things that I missed during Jena's birth, that I blacked out during, that the PTSD has still blocked from my memory, that I have so much guilt over not remembering, that I've always felt that I missed out on. I didn't miss them this time. I experienced all of them, and I remember it all. And that is such an amazing gift that I thank the Lord for.

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As a side note about remembering the doctor's comments: he was a bit disappointed. He really believed Jillian would break his record for the largest baby he'd ever delivered, and he fully anticipated her weighing in at 12 lbs.

She "only" weighed 10 lbs 8 oz.

The placenta weighed nearly as much.

That's right folks, I literally lost 20 lbs in the span of about 20 minutes, LOL.

Sorry I haven't been around...

... but I've been a little busy...

Jillian made here arrive roughly two weeks ago. Birth story and other details to follow. But the short version is we're all a little enchanted with our new addition.