So it is raining cats and dogs..well at least it seems like it. It took me over an hour and a half to get to work this morning. (No one in the DC area seems to understand how to drive in any weather..and I mean any..rain, snow, sunshine..you get the picture.) The kids were happy though because they get to try out their new rain coats:) A wonderful purchase at a recent yard sale.
Their babysitter called to let me know that the power was out at her place and at school. The bus still came, so she is waiting to see what the school will do. In the mean time Nicholas gets to sleep by candlelight..lol!
Last night we all hung out at the house as Wednesday is one of our non activity days. Nicholas's dad called and we called him back. I was not very happy when I overheard what he was telling him. He was asking Nicholas if he remembered his song.. "No, no, we won't go..pee pee in the potty." Nicholas told him that was a bad song and then asked Jon if he wanted to talk to his daddy. Nicholas then hung up.
After we first heard about this song that Nic had taught him in an effort to not go in the potty (for what we assume was in retaliation for us coming to get him) we discussed with Nicholas that this was a "bad" song and that he is a big boy and should go in the potty. It was discouraging to hear his dad persist with trying to teach him to stay in diapers and not be a "big boy" and not be able to do anything. (I am trying not to interfere in their conversations, but I have had to explain why some things are okay and other things are not.)
The night before I had to interject in the conversation when Nic told Nicholas "are there two scary monsters by you".. and that he records all conversations so he can keep a record of every time Nicholas says he wants to visit. (I find it interesting he tells him about the dog and cats and his toys..then asks if he wants to come see them in order to get him to say he wants to visit.) Anyway, I did say something to Nic at that point in the fact that he lives in Michigan and has to abide by Michigan Laws. Michigan law states it is illegal to record conversations without letting the other party know and get their acknowledgment.
Virginia law allows only one party consent..so it is not illegal for us to do it, but most judges will follow the more stringent law and not allow it into court as it would not be fair because of the Michigan restrictions. At that point he denied taping and went on.. I am not sure why he finds it necessary to call us scary monsters in front of Nicholas as most of the time we give Nicholas the phone and walk away. The only reason we stayed this time was because Jon had asked Nic about the poly test earlier.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Dance Company
So Seasan made the apprentice Company dance team. (What it means is that she is in training for being a future dance company member.) It also means more expenses. The good news is that they have various fundraisers that as a parent you can assist with and then they split the money between the families that help out. (Dance volunteers..here I come..anyone have a company that wants to be a sponsor..lol!)
I did manage to pick up her skirt for the dance class at Costco for $12. It is hot pink with a zebra print..and in a crinoline style. Unique to say the least. I now need to order a warm-up set for her for all the company activities where they are required to be at and in company attire. I will find out Monday what else is required at apprentice level and go from there. (Monday is Seasan's Investiture Ceremony for GS at 5:30 and then I have to be at a parent meeting for dance at 6PM) AHHHH!
Good news is all of her Irish dance items have already been bought and paid for through my ingenious budget cuts. (I am amazed at how much I can get with a limited grocery budget of $20 a week. It is actually $30, but by shaving off the extra $10 that gets piled in with the clothing envelope to cover the up front cost of all these dance costumes. I have to admit though..the reason I can do this is because of all the stuff we already have and the deep freezers of meat. Mostly I just "shop" at home and pick up some fresh fruit and veggies.
Her Irish costume should be complete today with the arrival of the cape/sash thing and headband. Now I just have to figure out how to curl her hair for this weekends performance in Alexandria. I know how to curl hair..but to get it curled and to stay while she does 1.5 hours of Irish class that morning and 1 hour of gymnastics..that is the challenge! I am thinking good ol' fashion hair curlers and then leave them in with a net until she is done with her morning activities..then remove? The problem is her hair is so fine it does not hold curls well. Eventually if she continues in Irish I will just have to break down and buy a wig. The stress relief on the time saving of the wig is probably worth what it costs : )
Nicholas continues to be excited about soccer. I think if he could play every day he would. Last night him and Jon played football at the church while we waited for the class to start. It was so cute when class got over because we went to the toddler room to pick him up and he was next door in the baby room playing with the babies. All he could talk about was when he was going to play soccer next.
I did manage to pick up her skirt for the dance class at Costco for $12. It is hot pink with a zebra print..and in a crinoline style. Unique to say the least. I now need to order a warm-up set for her for all the company activities where they are required to be at and in company attire. I will find out Monday what else is required at apprentice level and go from there. (Monday is Seasan's Investiture Ceremony for GS at 5:30 and then I have to be at a parent meeting for dance at 6PM) AHHHH!
Good news is all of her Irish dance items have already been bought and paid for through my ingenious budget cuts. (I am amazed at how much I can get with a limited grocery budget of $20 a week. It is actually $30, but by shaving off the extra $10 that gets piled in with the clothing envelope to cover the up front cost of all these dance costumes. I have to admit though..the reason I can do this is because of all the stuff we already have and the deep freezers of meat. Mostly I just "shop" at home and pick up some fresh fruit and veggies.
Her Irish costume should be complete today with the arrival of the cape/sash thing and headband. Now I just have to figure out how to curl her hair for this weekends performance in Alexandria. I know how to curl hair..but to get it curled and to stay while she does 1.5 hours of Irish class that morning and 1 hour of gymnastics..that is the challenge! I am thinking good ol' fashion hair curlers and then leave them in with a net until she is done with her morning activities..then remove? The problem is her hair is so fine it does not hold curls well. Eventually if she continues in Irish I will just have to break down and buy a wig. The stress relief on the time saving of the wig is probably worth what it costs : )
Nicholas continues to be excited about soccer. I think if he could play every day he would. Last night him and Jon played football at the church while we waited for the class to start. It was so cute when class got over because we went to the toddler room to pick him up and he was next door in the baby room playing with the babies. All he could talk about was when he was going to play soccer next.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Crazy Tuesday!
So today is what I call crazy Tuesday. At lunch today I have to go to Costco and pick up Seasan's skirt for her Company class. Then when I leave work I need to run out to pick up the kids from daycare, put dinner on the table by 5PM and be ready to leave the house by 6PM.
First we drop Seasan by her dance school where she spends the next 2 hours doing modern and ballet. After dropping her off we are on our way to the church to attend our financial class. (Dave Ramsey...all I can say is AWESOME!!) Nicholas gets checked into his class for 3 year olds where he gets to play and do sport activities and we sit down for our 13 week course in Financial Freedom.
Note: So far we have completed baby step 1 and are working on baby step 2 in leaps and bounds! It is so exciting to think we could be debt free in 2 years. (That is not counting if we eventually buy a house..this is only loans on education, cars, credit cards, ect...)
When it is all said and done, we spin by, pick up Seasan and then it is off to bed for everyone. And that is our crazy Tuesday.
First we drop Seasan by her dance school where she spends the next 2 hours doing modern and ballet. After dropping her off we are on our way to the church to attend our financial class. (Dave Ramsey...all I can say is AWESOME!!) Nicholas gets checked into his class for 3 year olds where he gets to play and do sport activities and we sit down for our 13 week course in Financial Freedom.
Note: So far we have completed baby step 1 and are working on baby step 2 in leaps and bounds! It is so exciting to think we could be debt free in 2 years. (That is not counting if we eventually buy a house..this is only loans on education, cars, credit cards, ect...)
When it is all said and done, we spin by, pick up Seasan and then it is off to bed for everyone. And that is our crazy Tuesday.
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Little Catching Up
Since the school year has already started I thought I would fill everyone in on what is going on with our kids.
Seasan
She started 2nd grade this year and loves her teacher! She is doing well with all of her math and reading, but she likes to fight us on homework. (What child doesn't?) So as a rule, she can continue in all her after school activities only if all her homework is kept up to date and is done well. Considering how much she loves her activities, this does not seem to be an issue at the moment!
Here is her schedule (or should I say my schedule for being the taxi driver!)
Mon- Every other is Girl Scouts
Tues- Modern and Ballet
Thursday- Conditioning for Company
Friday- Company dance class
Sat- Irish and Gymnastics
Yes...that is her crazy schedule. Then she tried to convince me to let her do the gardening club and take a language class. If we can work out transportation, I will consider the Language class as that would be an academic class. The only problem is that it is before school and would be hard to work out.
Nicholas-
He is keeping me on my toes. When we are not running sissy around we are taking him to places too. This year he started soccer and is pushing for gymnastics. (I think we will keep him to 1 activity at a time at his age). Last weekend we left soccer and he wanted to go back and play more, then when we got to Seasan's gym class he decided the trampoline and the bars were the cat's meow! When soccer is over I think we will look into gymnastics for him as it will keep him active. We looked into cub scouts, but that does not start until kindergarden.
He is still struggling with the potty training. I was disappointed to find out that his dad was teaching him a "we won;t go in the potty" song before he came home. I found this out from his siblings through the grapevine. He is getting back on track, but we will continue to have to work with him. The doctor said that it is not uncommon for boys to be more stubborn, so we will see how it goes.
The doctor also said he is in the 95% for weight and 75% for height. At first I was concerned, but she said it really is just his build and not a weight issue. Either way, I have been making sure to push the veggies and meat over the bread. (I swear he would eat a whole pan of biscuits with jam if I would let him.)
And last, but not least we go every Sunday to Church with the kids. We recently started going an hour earlier so Jon and I can attend the young adults bible study. This also allows the kids a full 2 hours of kids bible class. Last weekend Nicholas made a baby bible and Seasan was telling us about the stories they read. Both of them love this church, so even though the distance is crummy, we will continue to attend unless we can find a similar one closer. We are also talking about having Nicholas baptised at the church, but as Jon and I are Catholic we are not sure about how that would work. (This is a Baptist Church). We will have to talk to the Church to see what the rules are on this one.
Seasan
She started 2nd grade this year and loves her teacher! She is doing well with all of her math and reading, but she likes to fight us on homework. (What child doesn't?) So as a rule, she can continue in all her after school activities only if all her homework is kept up to date and is done well. Considering how much she loves her activities, this does not seem to be an issue at the moment!
Here is her schedule (or should I say my schedule for being the taxi driver!)
Mon- Every other is Girl Scouts
Tues- Modern and Ballet
Thursday- Conditioning for Company
Friday- Company dance class
Sat- Irish and Gymnastics
Yes...that is her crazy schedule. Then she tried to convince me to let her do the gardening club and take a language class. If we can work out transportation, I will consider the Language class as that would be an academic class. The only problem is that it is before school and would be hard to work out.
Nicholas-
He is keeping me on my toes. When we are not running sissy around we are taking him to places too. This year he started soccer and is pushing for gymnastics. (I think we will keep him to 1 activity at a time at his age). Last weekend we left soccer and he wanted to go back and play more, then when we got to Seasan's gym class he decided the trampoline and the bars were the cat's meow! When soccer is over I think we will look into gymnastics for him as it will keep him active. We looked into cub scouts, but that does not start until kindergarden.
He is still struggling with the potty training. I was disappointed to find out that his dad was teaching him a "we won;t go in the potty" song before he came home. I found this out from his siblings through the grapevine. He is getting back on track, but we will continue to have to work with him. The doctor said that it is not uncommon for boys to be more stubborn, so we will see how it goes.
The doctor also said he is in the 95% for weight and 75% for height. At first I was concerned, but she said it really is just his build and not a weight issue. Either way, I have been making sure to push the veggies and meat over the bread. (I swear he would eat a whole pan of biscuits with jam if I would let him.)
And last, but not least we go every Sunday to Church with the kids. We recently started going an hour earlier so Jon and I can attend the young adults bible study. This also allows the kids a full 2 hours of kids bible class. Last weekend Nicholas made a baby bible and Seasan was telling us about the stories they read. Both of them love this church, so even though the distance is crummy, we will continue to attend unless we can find a similar one closer. We are also talking about having Nicholas baptised at the church, but as Jon and I are Catholic we are not sure about how that would work. (This is a Baptist Church). We will have to talk to the Church to see what the rules are on this one.
Start of Family Blog!
We decided we are so busy doing activities and with me trying to scrapbook them, that I would do a family blog to help with the timeline if I need it for scrapbooking later. It will also help for friends and family to see what is going on without having to always be posting for everyone on facebook.
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