Skipping School!

Today I had the day off.  After taking D to school every day for three years, and spending the first four months of little L's life with her in my office, I was missing my girls.  Daddy gets to take them to school everyday, since their school is about 2 miles from his.  Grand Prairie ISD has a staff only daycare.  The girls go to a dual language campus.  D comes home counting in Spanish!!  They are working on letter tracing, counting, fine motor skills, and a ton of other stuff.  D is loving school.  Little L is content pretty much all of the time.  She is so busy having fun at school, that she has been catching cat naps only. This means that she comes home and crashes for almost 5 hours.

Today, I decided that the girls were skipping school and spending the day with me.  No one told Little L that she could sleep in, so she was up at 6 (darn!).  After she ate and played for an hour, she was ready for a nap.  D woke up at 6:30 (she too didn't sleep in!).  She ate yogurt and watched a Scooby Doo, which is her new favorite thing.  After the show, she and I played Lego's, then Little People, then read with her Leap Frog Jr.  She read all five of her books while I jumped in the shower.

After I was ready to go, we got D dressed.  She wanted Little L to match (which is hard since we don't have a lot of matching clothes).  D wore a shirt with flowers and Little L wore a yellow jumper with flowers.  It was as close as I could get. I packed up the diaper bag, woke up Little L, and we were off.  We drove to the Grapevine Community Center where every Thursday morning they host a Preschool Playdate.  D, L, and I went there almost every Thursday during the summer.  D ran in with her dollar in hand.  Yes, the play date costs a dollar, but it runs from 9:30-noon and includes a ton of stuff.  D immediately went to the bounce house.  There is a full sized bounce house in the gym!! 

After the bounce house, she rode a bicycle.

Then, she reunited with a friend from this summer for some climbing.



There were balls, hula hoops, a parachute, a play kitchen, a play workshop, and rolling mats too.  D had a great time. 

Don't think that Little L was left out.  She met two new friends.  A set of twin girls who are a month younger than her.  She sat up on her mat for most of the time watching everyone and smiling.

After Preschool Playdate, we walked next door to the library.  D picked out new books and Mommy even got to get a new one.  Then, we went home for lunch and nap.  Little L fell asleep in the car on the way home from the library.  D ate lunch first.  They had a very exciting morning.  Boy did they CRASH afterwards!

 

It was a great day with my girls. 

Two Left Feet and College Memories

I have always loved dancing and music.  If a song is on, I am into it dancing and singing along.  Now, I have never said that I sing well (or in tune or the right words), but I do love music.  When I was younger, I was a pretty decent dancer.  I won many a dance contest (and hula hoop contest) at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. 

Now, years later, my rhythm is off and my hula hoop falls off my hips that have grown exponentially.  I have come to grips with the fact that I will never win another hula hoop contest (though I tried when I was 8 months pregnant with D and husband was not impressed).  The dancing thing is harder to give up.  So, even though I look the fool, I still dance.  I dance to Nick Jr. with D.  I dance in front of Little L.  I dance while driving in the car (stopped at a red light of course!).  I dance.  It is who I am.

So today I realized that saying I want to lose weight doesn't make the weight just come off.  Wouldn't it be great if it really worked that way?  I have a bridesmaids dress to fit in come December and I haven't really done much (other than the mentioning of wanting to lose weight).  Our family decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.  One lap around the outside is a mile while snaking through the neighborhood is a little over 2 miles.  Now, I haven't been walking in a while and it was creeping up on D's bedtime, so we did the one mile walk.  It was hot outside, but it is Texas folks.  Then, I decided that I needed to step it up a notch. 

I decided to do a workout video too.  Now, to do a workout video, it has to be energetic and engaging.  I usually like a dancing workout video.  As I am dancing and working out, I am immediately brought back to my college days.  My college roommate and I used to "Sweat to the Oldies" and other dancing workouts.  My roommate was much more coordinated than I was and could get all of the moves.  She stuck with the workouts much better than I did, as I was a "workout dropout". 

Maybe this time I will stick with it for a longer period of time.  We can only hope.

Thanking our Sponsors

For those who know me, you know that we tried for 3 years to have our oldest daughter.  During that time, our friends and family were VERY supportive.  My husband and I are both educators, and we live on a tight budget.  Right before D was born, we became debt fee except for our house.  It took a lot of hard work and discipline, but Dave Ramsey was a life saver.  D was paid in full in cash when she was born.  There is nothing better than walking out the doors of the hospital and knowing that you owe them gratitude, but no money.

We could not stay debt free if it weren't for our "sponsors".  It all started with the baby showers.  We were showered with clothes and baby gear that we truly needed (or wanted).  Coworkers, students, family and friends showed us a true outpouring of love and support.  The nursery was fully stocked for D coming home from the hospital. 

When D was about 6 months old, a friend from CKA gave our family four trash bags full of clothes ranging from 6 months old through 2 T.  A friend from NWISD gave me all of the clothes that her blessing outgrew, which was great.  The angel is 6 months older than D and was D's first friend.  We didn't need any new clothes after that.  We were stocked up!  Our friends and family have truly blessed us.  Just a few weeks ago, my bestie donated about half a dozen tubs full of clothes for Little L.  We once again feel blessed to know the people we know and call them friends.  Without these angels, it would be harder to stay on our debt free plan and to meet our financial goals. 

So, as Yom Kippur approaches, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a meaningful fast.  May you be inscribed in the book of life.  Thank you for blessing us with your friendship for yet another year.

Healthy Family?

L'Shanah Tovah and Happy New Year.  Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged.  The beginning of school illness hit our house hard!  First, Little L got a fever and diarrhea.  Then, Husband got sick with a fever and the chills.  D had a slight cough.  So, I spent last weekend taking care of the family.  L was better by Saturday night, D's cough was pretty much gone as well, but Husband spent most of the week tired, short of breath, and worn out.  So, it comes as no surprise that I too fell victim.  I got sick on Tuesday and had to leave work due to a fever.  I came home and fell asleep for a little under 4 hours, when the rest of the family got home.  I slept most of the day on Wednesday, and was feeling fine by Thursday morning.

Little L went to the doctor this week for her 6 month check up.  It is hard to believe that 6 months ago today (at 8:40 in the morning) she blessed our family with her presence.  What a gift from God!!!  The check up went well and she took her three shots like a champ.  She is all smiles these days and laughs at D all the time.  She is rolling over, trying to sit up on her own, and scoots around on her blanket.  She will play in the exerSaucer forever. 

I can sit and watch the two girls play all day.  What a sweet bond they have.

Running on Empty

So, for the first time in 15 years, I am NOT working on Labor Day weekend.  My family had decided, after many discussions, to stay home and just enjoy the "down" time.  We talked about going to Houston to visit Gigi or going to San Antonio to see my parents, but we felt like we really needed the time at home.

We were going to take Dena swimming and to the library and to the playground.  We were going to deep clean our house and maybe start a home improvement project.  Instead, illness took over the house.  It all started Friday night when D got a little cough.  It woke her up crying, so we put Vaporub on her chest and gave her water.  Little L was running a low grade fever when we picked her up from daycare (99.1), but we thought it was because she had formula cold turkey on Thursday.

Little L's fever went up to 102.3, she had a runny nose and a stuffy nose (how can it be both?), and was poopy at almost every changing time.  She had a hard time nursing because she couldn't breathe, so we moved to bottles with her practically sitting straight up.  She also regressed back to waking up more often through the night.  So, I slept on the couch because I was getting up and down with her.

Husband got sick too (of course!).  He started off with body aches, then progressed through nausea and a fever.  I guess when it rains it pours.  So, there I was with a house full of sickies and I was doing it alone.  I barely had time to go to the bathroom or get a drink before someone wanted/needed me.  And, since Lila wasn't sleeping, I wasn't sleeping.

Saturday was a blur of exhaustion (I think I slept 4 hours, but not straight).  On Sunday, D's cough seems to be gone.  Little L is still stuffy, but is over the fever and crankiness.  Husband is doing okay too.  He still aches, but is overall feeling better. 

With one day left on our long weekend, we have NOT been swimming, we have NOT been to the playground, we have NOT started any projects.  We did take D to the library though, so the weekend wasn't a total waste.

A New Hobby...

For those who know me, you will know that I am the queen of trying out new hobbies.  I have done needlepoint, knitting, scrap booking, cross stitching, journalling, etc.  You name it and I have probably tried it.  So, in June I started yet another hobby.  Now, in my defense, I tried to get completely educated and prepared for this hobby.  Here are the facts:

• My last day at my job was June 30th, so I would have down time to start the hobby.
• I would not start my new job until August 9th, so I needed a "cheap" hobby.
• My first paycheck isn't until the end of September, so I need to "make" money if possible.
• It has to be quick and easy since I have two little ones.

So, MyDFWMommy (mydallasmommy.com) was hosting a couponing class for a randomly selected group of 20.  So, I registered and hoped to win.  I remember getting the phone call from Courtney telling me that I won and would be attending the class.  I was so excited that I rambled on and on.  She probably thought I was nuts!  I have done coupons in the past, sort of.  I cut them and then leave them in a stack on my front entry table until they expire and then I get frustrated because I don't have a coupon.  I needed a way to take it from cutting and leaving to cutting and using.

The class met at Sweet Tomatoes (YUM!) in Addison and included a free meal.  When I arrived (I was 10 minutes late because Google Maps told me to turn right instead of left), the group was in the back corner.  When I sat down, I was given an envelope full of coupons, a stack of larger coupons, and an Elmo Board Book.  I took notes like a mad woman.  I got ideas for organizing, finding, and printing coupons.

I came home and got out an expandable envelope.  My bestie came over and we created categories for my envelope.  I started sorting the numerous coupons that I had already accumulated.  I printed coupons almost daily and attacked this new hobby like I always attack a new hobby.

Now that I have been doing the couponning for a couple of months, I have settled in a little.  I only print coupons for items that we use, I go through my coupons every other week to get rid of expired coupons and to ensure that the coupons that are close to expiring are utilized.  On my last trip to Target, I saved a little over $15 on groceries.  As I was checking out, I was starting to feel bad for the woman behind me due to my large quantity of groceries and stack of coupons. 

As the cashier was handing me my change(we only pay cash), the person behind me said, "Wow.  You just saved $15.  Not bad."  I walked out of the store feeling confident and proud!

The Little Things

There is a country song called "It Won't Be Like This for Long" by Darius Rucker.  Who would have thought Hootie (or was he a Blowfish) would go country, but it happened and he gets airplay.  The song talks about a father with his daughter in all of the phases of her life from newborn to preschooler to teenager to bride.  It speaks of treasuring the moments you have (no matter how rough) because "it won't be like this for long".

So, for the past few days, D has not been the kindest creature when it comes to going to school.  She has thrown fits, cried, told us that she wants to go to her old school, and ran from us.  Husband has had to carry her into her classroom (interesting picture I am sure since he is also holding little one in her car seat and carrying lunchboxes for both) and hand her to a teacher.  At the end of the day, she has had fun and has even asked to stay longer because she is playing.  This morning we instituted a sticker chart.  She can earn up to three stickers in a day.

The first sticker is for getting out of the house without a meltdown.  The second is for walking into the classroom without a tantrum.  The third is for not being disruptive during nap time.  Today, she earned all three stickers and seemed to be in a better place about going to school.

As I was driving home from my first staff meeting and landing directly in rush hour traffic in a torrential downpour, I had to think about the little things that will change in a blink of an eye.  D asked me to lay with her for a little while.  When I asked how long, she said, "Five minutes, is that a long time?"  I said, "That is too long.  I will lay with you for two minutes."  Her response was, "How about three?"  After the negotiations, I laid down next to her and started rubbing her hair.  She flung her arm over me.  My heart melted.

It won't be like this for long.