Spring is Heaven!

Seriously, two days in a row in the low 80's--I can't ask for much more from February.  I know its not officially spring yet, but we are well into the season already. There is something about the temperature rising that just makes me giddy.  And its not just me.  We're all enjoying the warm afternoons spent riding bikes and playing in the yard, the evenings eating dinner out on the deck (and with no mosquitos!!!), and not needing gloves and a snow hat just to get to the car in the morning.

(Apparently the kids are looking forward to summer--the other day, they both drew ice cream trucks.  Bean's is on the left, Bug's, which went through the mud, is playing music on the right.)

And speaking of our mornings and afternoons, we are loving the new school schedule.  Leaving almost an hour later means the kids get to sleep a little longer and have a little longer to get ready in the morning, so there isn't as much frantic running around and yelling and crying.  And gettng home by 2:45 every day--it's incredible.  Especially since other than reading, Bean doesn't really have homework anymore.  We have so much more time and our afternoons don't feel rushed at all, which is probably why we also don't have near as much fighting and crying.  The kids get to play, sometimes for hours, before I have to drag them inside so I can fix dinner.  Or we can go to the library, or run an errand.  We can even meet up with friends.  Even just the new schedule has made the change worth it.  And then there is the actual school, which Bean is loving.  She comes home every day, so excited to tell us about what they've been working on, singing songs about Picasso and Matisse, carrying papers from Spanish class, and new books to read (real books, not the lame little readers that are written just to teach reading.)  She's just so excited and has so much more to talk about than just what she did at recess with her friends (although she talks about that, too.)  It's really feeling like a good change for all of us.

And now, if I can just get Bugaboo to go with the changes.  He went to swimming with Daddy-o last Monday, and had a fabulous class, with no tears (which was rewarded with the Taco Bell bribe--I hate using bribery to get my kids to do things, but I have been so desperate!)  So I fully expected to enjoy a great class Wednesday, but we were right back to our normal routine--lots of crying, yelling, desperate looks towards me (except I left the room so he couldn't see me anymore and just cast his injured looks towards where I was supposed to be sitting.)  We're going to try again today, and then I'm going to beg Daddy-o to get off a little early for the last 3 classes so he can meet us at the pool and hopefully keep Buggy happy. This all seems especially ridiculous because it makes Bug look like a total Mama's boy, which he isn't.  He likes me, yes, but if given the choice, he almost always chooses Daddy-o, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.  And it's not like I'm a total pushover parent either, so he thinks he can get away with it for me, but not for his dad. 

If I had to pick one good thing that's come out of swimming, I will say that he no longer fights preschool at all.  In comparison, I think preschool is a little like Disneyland and now he raves about how much he loves his teachers and begs me each morning for it to be time to go.  I hope this lasts even after swimming is over.

Just Keep Swimming

We've been missing our pool time, so I thought a little winter swim lessons might help tide us over until summer, and might push these kids past the point of being beginners where it will be a little easier to take them swimming when I have to sit on the side a lot with the baby.

 Bean is loving it, and seems to be making some progress, although she complained that her teacher won't let them swim "normal" (she doesn't get that doggy paddle isn't a stroke.)

 Bugaboo, on the other hand, well--this picture says it all.  This would be him, telling off his teacher because he didn't want to do what she'd asked.  I guess I shouldn't have thought that swim lessons would be any different than preschool.  He tells me he hates that, too, and still throws a major fit at drop off about once a week.   The kid just doesn't like doing things without his mom.  Even if I'm going to be sitting right there on the sidelines, cheering him on.

I did finally give in and give him his goggles on the 3rd day (they aren't supposed to use them in the beginner classes), which I hoped would help.  He stopped refusing to do anything, but still cried through most of the class.  For the 4th class, we tried an all-out bribe--Taco Bell on the way home if he wouldn't cry through the whole class.  We didn't even come close to getting to grab dinner on the way home. And this is my kid who LOVES the pool and can never get enough of swimming.  I'm really at a loss, but swim lessons cost too much to just let him sit on the sideline for the next 3 weeks.

Lunch With My Boy

 Bugaboo came home yesterday, excited about his turn to be the candle person at school.  They sing a little song and blow out a candle each day before lunch, and today was his turn.  So I met up with him for lunch to share his special day.

Plus, I realized that since I was sick all fall, I hadn't had lunch with him at school yet.  It's quite the experience, let me tell you.  Those kids get pretty excited, no matter whose parent has come to see them.  And the lunch conversation of 3 and 4 year olds is quite entertaining, and loud!  But we had a good time and I'm glad I got to spend some time with my bug and his friends.

Beautiful Day

In spite of the kids trying to turn Valentine's Day into a BIG holiday (requests for gifts and specific candy--it almost felt like they were making Christmas lists), we don't really do much.  We went to a dinner at the church Saturday that the teenage girls were putting on as a fundraiser for their summer camp, and that was good enough for our Valentine's date night.  I did use part of the bread dough I made yesterday to make cinnamon rolls as a breakfast surprise this morning (and I'll admit it was mostly selfish--I love cinnamon rolls and we didn't have homemade ones on Christmas, so I've been wanting to make some ever since.) But our big dinner plans for tonight--eggs and grits--kids have swim lessons and we don't get home until dinner time, so no fancy meal with red and pink decorations for us.

But it was a beautiful day.  I'll take some good spring weather in the middle of February any year.  Running errands was positively enjoyable.  Bugaboo and I loaded the bikes and dog in the car and  after we picked up Bean from school, we stopped at the greenway for an afternoon bike ride.  The kids were their typical fussy selves, but its a lot easier to deal with in the warm sunshine.  I'm just hoping that means spring is going to bring more peace and happiness to our home.

You Know You're Pregnant When. . .

the weather forcast can bring you to tears of joy.  I'm so sick of being cold and its going to be over 70 degrees tomorrow!!!!

random people start rubbing your belly when talking to you.  I always say I'm going to rub theirs in return, so maybe they'll realize that its still kind of personal space, but I always lose my nerve.

you eat things that you know are going to make you feel sick, but you're just so dang hungry and tired of not being able to eat what you want.

you can't remember how many times you got up during the night to pee.  (I'm getting scared about this since I still have 3 months to go!)

your kids keep hugging and talking to your stomach.  This one, I love.  Bugaboo likes to say good morning and good night to "baby", and checks in randomly throughout the day as well.

We're in the third trimester!  Only 13 weeks to go!  (Not that I'm counting or anything.)

No Blogging Mojo

I don't know why I can't get back into this habit, but the blogging, obviously, just hasn't been happening lately.  It's not even that I don't have time to get on the computer, but I just have no motivation anymore.  And what little energy I can muster to do things ends up getting spent on folding laundry and sorting and organizing.  And occasionally cooking for my family.  That mojo hasn't totally come back either.

But here's a summary of what we've been up to lately:

--Trying to kick yet another virus of some sort that has made its way through everyone but Daddy-o.  Luckily, the fever and aches part of it only lasted about 36 hours for each of us, but now the kids and I are going through Kleenex boxes like crazy (Buggy used an entire box yesterday, but that is due somewhat to his manner of using tissues, and me not having the energy to stop him.)

--Dealing with more school woes, but I think we've made a decision and will be moving Bean, hopefully next week, to a very small school we found that is modeled after our dream charter school that we will probably never get into.  The biggest pluses--very small class size (11 kids in the first grade), only 5 minutes from our house, good teacher/parent communication, thematic studies, and no TV in the class, so there will be no more reports of which Disney movie they got to watch in class this week (because I don't care if Lion King is set in Africa, that movie does not teach them about Africa!  And Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs doesn't teach weather, and I have no idea what Up was supposed to be teaching, but I know we'd decided to wait a couple more years before showing that movie to our very sensitive, emotional child.)  I hope this school works out for all of us--Bean was pretty excited after visiting today, and I was impressed and hopeful, but mildly wary after how our last experience has turned out.

--I'm 25.5 weeks along in growing this new little boy, and feeling every second of it.  I have never loved being pregnant, but I'm so done this time.  I'm not nauseous anymore, thank goodness, but I still feel a little bleh after pretty much every meal, and the heartburn has kicked in full force.  I just don't feel good, and I'm kind of tired of whining about it, so I just hope the last 3 months go quickly so I can stop.

--We've started some minor baby preparations.  Got the kids new dressers so theirs could be moved to the baby's room (and I immediately filled it with all the newborn stuff we have), and finally got the crib out of their room (Bug hasn't been sleeping in it for months), and I'm working on figuring out colors for the room so I can paint and get it all set up.  And I visited the birth center I want to use and have set up to switch from my doctor to the midwife group there.  Now I just have to start my Hypnobabies again--I'm guessing it will come back to me quickly, so I don't want to start too early and get burnt out on the daily practicing.

--Daddy-o has been working too many hours again.  Poor guy had to work through most of his birthday last Saturday, taking care of a little emergency.  Things have slowed down a little now, but we won't know for a couple more weeks what the long term story on this project is going to be.  He's already counting down to paternity leave.

--Bugaboo has been mostly loving preschool again.  It's a relief to drop him off without the tears and yelling about how much he hates school--we've only had one of those days in the last 3 weeks.  And school has been fun.  They've been painting with feathers, sponges, stamps, and different textured rollers, hammering into playdough, playing in their newly set up grocery store, and running up and down the new pile of mulch that was delivered this week.  He's come home really dirty and grinning from ear to ear, so I have a hard time believing him when he tells me he hates it all.

--Bean celebrated the 100th day of school (which funny enough, she'll get to do over again at the new school this next week).  She made a picture using 100 beans and pasta peices, and then got draw a picture of what she'll look like at 100, make a necklace with 100 fruit loops, build with 100 legos, and eat cake--no idea what that had to do with 100, but it seemed to be her favorite part of the celebration.

We are all surviving, hoping for the early spring the Groundhog has predicted, and counting down until Mama gets her motivation back.