What's Working {Food}

There have been some food frustrations around here lately.  We changed how we eat, and it continues to go well.  I'm learning more and more all the time and love being able to cook and bake for our family.  But the frustrating thing is the grocery budget.  I read online about how people are able to cut their grocery budget by couponing or cooking from scratch and I just can't seem to make it work!  Coupons are hard because now we don't buy much processed food or we have to buy a specific brand because of Matthew's allergies.  I've realized that I need to cut myself some slack and not expect our budget to be the same as other people's because some of the things we have to buy are really expensive.  Take milk for example - instead of 1 gallon of milk that is $2.50-$3.00 (we would probably use 2 of these in a week, so $6.00) we are spending almost $12 on rice milk every week!  When I want to buy chocolate chips, instead of $2-3 a bag we buy a dairy-free kind that is almost $4.00.

There are quite a few things like this, and although I'm learning how to work around some of it, I know this is just a part of our life.  The only loaf of bread I had found that was safe for Matthew was almost $3.50 a loaf, so I have started making our bread every week.  I love it!  I never thought I could do this but now that I've done it a few times it is very easy and not that time consuming at all.  I have bread in the oven right now and can't wait for it to be done!  My friend just told me she is making her own tortillas and I am looking forward to trying that, too. I've told myself that I don't have to add making another thing from scratch until I feel like it and that has taken the pressure off from doing it all at once.  Next up after tortillas: hummus!

What's Working {Rest Time}

We've entered a new season in our household - two little boys no longer nap every day!  While it was a bit of a bumpy transition at first, we have now settled into a lovely routine that is working well for everyone.

After battling with Nathan for an hour or more every day, I decided it just wasn't worth it anymore and instituted a half hour "rest time" for the boys.  They each get a pile of books and they sit in their beds reading (for the most part silently).  I put soft music on and they have come to L-O-V-E this time of day!  After lunch, Nathan starts to ask if he can go and read books in his bed!  I usually put Hannah down for her nap first and then get the boys settled in their room.  That way I get to enjoy a full half hour of silence.

After half an hour I go and get the boys.  Rest time continues in that they have to be quiet until Hannah gets up, but they are allowed to play quietly with toys in their bedroom or the living room until then.  They do a great job with this and often choose to play with trains or blocks together.

Little Miss still sleeps easily everyday after lunch for 1-2 hours.  She sleeps in her crib, but every time we put her up on the bed she climbs into our bed with her bear, ready to go!  We give her a bottle and then for naptime she is usually ready to go to sleep on me right away.  I'm thankful she does so well for naps.

I'm so glad for this quiet part of the day.  I think we all need it!  Plus it helps us get ready for the craziness that is dinner/bath/bedtime later on!  I'm so thankful this is working.

What's Working {Homeschool}

As is true of every person everywhere, sometimes there are things in my life that are difficult or frustrating.  Lately I feel like I have just been weighed down by some of the more challenging aspects of parenting and I've found it easy to miss the good.  So I thought I'd share about some of the good (and some of the frustrating, just to keep it real!) that has been going on around here lately.

I think I mentioned that we have decided to give homeschooling a try for the next year instead of sending the boys to preschool.  Matthew is one day off the cut-off date for kindergarten but honestly I do not think we would have sent him anyway.  This year with him and Nathan I plan to do a Letter-of-the-Week preschool, some theme weeks, and lots of learning through books and play.  That gives me time to look at curriculum and decide what to do about kindergarten.  Plus if we find out that homeschooling is not for us I hopefully won't have ruined him too much :)

We have been working hard to get our basement under control.  I couldn't bring myself to take a "before" picture because it was so packed full of junk and was just too embarrassing!  But believe me when I say this is a huge improvement!

I set up this little area for Hannah but have since found out that she wants to do everything the boys are doing!  She sits at the little table with us (yep, need a bigger table!) and colors, tries to write letters, does painting and play dough, and sings songs.  She sure does love her big brothers and wants to be just like them!

We are using a free curriculum from a wonderful website I discovered a few years ago called 1+1+1=1.  There are tons of free printables and ideas.  I love it!  Each week (sometimes we do it for two weeks) I change our board for a new letter.  Each letter has a Bible verse that we learn, a story we read, and a sight word for us to practice.  Under the board you can see our 9 cubbie organizer which I have had for years.  It's perfect for this!  On each tray is an activity and we do 4-6 activities a day.  They include coloring, tracing letters, learning vocabulary words, cutting and gluing, learning about shapes and numbers, playing games together, play dough, painting...all kinds of stuff really!  Each day we have been spending around an hour or two downstairs (2-3 times a week).  The bottom three cubes have open-ended toys (blocks, Mr. Potato Head, Wedgits etc.) in them for when we are done - if the kids want to play they can, or else we come upstairs and do learning games on the computer for a little while. 

Hannah loves play dough so much and *BONUS* she has stopped eating it :)

Matthew sorting and pouring buttons.

So far I would have to say this is working well!  Don't get me wrong, we have already had days that have had me calling Brad saying, "Sign them up for preschool somewhere, I can't do this!!!!".  But more often than not I am loving it and I think that maybe, just maybe, I can!

I'm Calling It a Success!

I'm a pretty visual person - there are charts and lists all over my fridge these days!  I knew when I started running again that I needed a plan if I was going to stick with it.  I found a plan online for walking/running that would get me back to running a 5k in a few weeks.  I started in May and for the most part I stuck with it!  There is something satisfying about crossing off a day, even if it was just a rest day :) I tried to add in some ab work at the end of the month but failed pretty miserably at that.  Still, I met my main goal and am back to running consistently.  I can run 3 miles pretty easily and I am planning to run a 5k on July 4th.  In about two weeks I am going to start training for a half marathon again!  I've trained for 2 and run 1 so I know I can do it I stick with the training.  I'm excited to give it another try!

Yesterday I got to spend the whole morning alone with this little {big} guy!  I'm not sure when he went from being a little toddler to a great big preschooler but it sure has happened.  He is so much fun to be around - full of joy, laughter, giggles, and silliness!  

The reason for our time together wasn't super fun - a trip to the allergist - but as it turned out to be just a check-up with no testing it wasn't too bad.  He goes back in December for testing to see if anything has changed with his food allergies.  I seriously don't know what I could do if he could eat eggs again. I've spent 3 years learning to cook without them - I'd have to start all over!

This little one just walked all the way across the room to see me!  

She is such a joy and doing so well.  We are on day three of being diaper free in the daytime and it is going really well.  She came home potty trained but could not tell us when she had to go and being so busy I couldn't remember to take her all the time so we just went back to diapers.  Now that she can sign "potty" she tells us every time!  She has not had any accidents today and I'm excited to be saying good-bye to diapers.  We have seen so many more smiles over the last few weeks and I really feel like she is letting her guard down and starting to really trust and love us.  She fills up a place in our family that I didn't even know was empty!

These two are becoming the best of friends :)

Every night before bed, Hannah waves and says, "bye-bye" and then sticks out her bottom lip - this is how she lets us know she wants to give a kiss!  She cannot go to bed until she has kissed and hugged each and every one of us!

This picture just makes me smile.  What an amazing Dad this guy is!

I must be honest and say that things have not been the easiest around here the last couple of weeks.  There has been a lot of good, that's for sure.  But we have been struggling with behavior issues with the boys and it is just so tiring.  Sometimes we feel so ill-equipped to handle it.  Sometimes I haven't a clue for how to deal with things and it wears me out.  Some days I feel like such a failure as a Mom and wife.  Exhaustion and busyness are challenging for a marriage (of course everyone faces this, I don't think these problems are unique to us!) and these days we find it hard to have time together to have real and meaningful conversations.  We've not done a good job at that but we are working on it.  I'm so thankful that through it all I know I am not in this alone - Brad is always on my side, always there to help and encourage me, and we are a team.  I'm so thankful that through the ups and the downs we are in it together!