July, July, July

So, here is the big news: BABY #3 IS ON THE WAY! I found out really early this time. I took one of those Early Response HPTs when I was just 3 weeks and 3 days along. Three weeks is the longest I've ever kept a pregnancy under wraps...it's hard to keep my own good news a secret :)

I am due on April 22nd, just a couple of weeks after Ethan's 3rd birthday. Wait a second, wasn't I due with Ethan just a couple of weeks after Caleb's birthday? It seems that July is the magic month for us to get pregnant :) And here's a little irony for you: morning sickness hit me hard the day after I decided to homeschool this year. Oh well, we're doing what we can for now. I should be feeling better by early October, so we'll make up for it then.

The baby is due April 22nd. It looks like all three kids will have birthdays within a few weeks of each other. Ethan's birthday is 12 days after Caleb's, and, if this baby is born at 39 weeks like Ethan was, it's birthday will be 12 days after Ethan's birthday. I love that timing because the birthdays are far enough apart that we can do something special for each child (like a family dinner or a day activity), but close enough that we can do one big party or one big trip or one big present for all three kids.

We are excited! (And we will be even more excited when this morning sickness is over!)

Super Man Costume

Over a month ago, Ethan was sitting on my lap when I selected and purchased a Superman costume from an ebay seller. He helped me pick it out (at least, he thought he did), and he was very excited when I explained that it would come in the mail in a few days. This explanation sunk in deep, because he proceeded to accompany me to the mailbox every single day for the next three weeks. After about a week, I got back online to see how much longer the package was going to take. During that session, I realized that the costume was shipping from Hong Kong (that's why it was so cheap!). After about two weeks, we got one of those little postcard slips in our screen door saying that an attempted delivery had taken place and now we could go to the post office to get our package. (Don't you love those things?) I tried sending the card back in with a request for a redelivery, since I hate, despise and abominate going to the Post Office, but that didn't work and instead I got a "FINAL NOTICE" saying I'd better come pick up my package or it would be sent back to Hong Kong. So, a full month after originally placing the order, the boys and I braved the Post Office. They were extremely good that day (the boys, not the postal workers), and Ethan was ecstatic when I opened the package and showed him the costume. He put it on right then and there and wore it for the next two days straight. And now, finally, I can go to the mailbox each day without comforting a disappointed little boy.

To School or Not To School

So, my blogging reticence of late has been due to the big question that has plagued me relentlessly for the past couple of weeks. As I've mentioned here before, we had planned all summer to send Caleb to a church preschool this fall. The class I wanted him to be in, which meets 3 days a week, was full, so we had him on the role for a class that meets 4 days a week. The closer we got to school starting, the more and more apprehensive and doubtful I was feeling. Being me, I made long lists of pros and cons for preschool vs. keeping him home, but I just couldn't make a decision.

What I most wanted to do was keep Caleb home this year and enjoy the last year (assuming I don't homeschool) for all three of us to be together all the time. Unfortunately, I live in Alabama, and there is tremendous social pressure to do things "THE WAY" (for you foreigners, this means "the way everybody else does things in Alabama"). I had moms looking at me like I was insane when Caleb wasn't in preschool at age 2, and now they look at me like I've grown horns if I mention the possibility of keeping him home at age 4.

Here are some of the favorite questions:

"How will he be ready for kindergarten?"

"How will he learn to line up with other kids and be a part of a group?"

"What about socialization?"

"How will you get anything done if you have your kids all the time?"

Although I think these are valid questions, and I have turned them all over in my mind ad nauseam, it does bother me that I get such a one-dimensional response from almost everyone I talk to. I wish there was a little more room in the culture here to do things a little differently without encountering so much resistance. Besides, Caleb did go to preschool two days a week last year, and I think he has a good handle on lining up now :)

Regardless of the self-doubt created by so many incredulous people, I finally decided that Caleb (and my housework) could survive another year without preschool. I am planning for us to do homeschooling activities 3-4 days a week, and then just go places and play the other days. I am really happy with this decision for a lot of reasons. I was dreading separating my two little buddies so that Caleb could go to school. They play so well together and love each other so much, I would hate for school to change that, especially a year earlier than necessary. I was also dreading having Caleb gone four mornings a week. If he continues to nap, that would mean that I could spend time with him before 9:00 am when we left for school and after 4:30 pm when he woke up from his nap. That's just a little bit more than Marcus gets to see him while working full time! The biggest reason that I feel very good about this choice is that there are so many more things I want to teach Caleb myself before I send him out into the "school" world. This is such an ideal time for learning, and I want more time for his good character traits to solidify and to work on more good habits and attitudes before he is bombarded with academics and competition and peer influences. There will be plenty of years in the future for all that.

So, for better or worse, we are going to be a homeschooling family this year. Below is the daily agenda I put together (modeled after a friend's who is using the same curriculum) for the days that we do school. I plan to start on Monday, August 30th, after the curriculum and other materials I have ordered come in. It seems like a lot, but the structured activities will only take 15-20 minutes each, in keeping with a preschool attention span. Plus, most of this stuff is pure fun for them anyway.

Breakfast--Practice weekdays, months, seasons, weather, address & phone numbers

Devotional--Recite Lord’s Prayer together and practice this week’s memory verse

Bible Reading--Mommy reads her Bible silently while boys look at picture Bibles

Exercise--Push-ups, abs, squats, stretch; kids participate as much as they can

Get Ready--Get dressed, brush teeth & hair, tidy room, make bed

Read--Read Five in a Row book and other books aloud

Cleaning Time--Mommy does chores for day while kids play (or help if they can)

"FIAR" Activity--Alternate subject lessons throughout week from Five in a Row

Table Time--Coloring, scissors & glue, handwriting, drawing practice, etc.

Spanish Time--Listen to Hear Say CD, look at pics and practice saying words

Games/Puzzles--Play board or card game or do a big puzzle together

Outings/Errands--Groceries, gym, outside, etc.

Lunch & Nap--Ethan & Mommy sleep…Caleb sleeps or has quiet time in his room

Phonics/Math--Alternate starfall.com reading practice & math workbook with Caleb

Swimming Party

We went to a birthday pool party this weekend, and it was a lot of fun. It was from 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening, which is my favorite time of day to swim: we can be outside and the temperature is perfect and nobody has to wear sunscreen. Caleb was willing to wear his goggles for the first time, as well, so he spent more time underwater than he has before. He is still doing very well keeping himself afloat in the water. He hasn't worn any flotation help all summer, and he is getting more and more comfortable handling himself in the water. Ethan, armed with his swim vest, is a little fish. He absolutely loves the water and has no qualms about going completely under. He loves his goggles as well. He is so comfortable in the water that he may be swimming on his own next summer. Enjoy the pictures!

It's In There Somewhere

I had the funniest and, at the same time, most rewarding conversation with Caleb the other day. It was just after his nap, and he was grumpy. He was sitting in the playroom amongst some toys with a sour expression on his face. I was folding clothes a few feet away from him, and I decided to use a little humor to cheer him up. I told him that I was glad to see that he was complying with the "No Happiness" hour I had declared. I warned him that if I saw one drop of happiness squeezing out of the corner of his mouth, he would have to go to time out. Of course, he started grinning a bit in spite of himself, so I kept going. I told him in a very sour voice that I was grumpy and I wanted everyone else to be grumpy, too. He surprised me by replying very seriously that it wasn't right for me to try to make other people grumpy with my grumpiness, and I needed to go to my room until I had a better attitude. I loved hearing one of my sermonettes from his little mouth, so I kept the game going with more phrases and ideas that he frequently sends my way.

Mommy: (glowering) I am just grumpy because nobody ever does what I want them to do!

Caleb: (very seriously) Mommy, you can't make other people do what you want them to do.

Mommy: (angrily) But I HAVE to! I will never, ever be happy again 'cause nobody does what I want!

Caleb: (very soberly) Mommy, it is your choice whether you will be happy or not, but you can't make people do what you want. (a bit more cheerfully) You can ask them nicely, and they might do what you want, if you ask nicely.

Mommy: (glumly) But sometimes I ask nicely and they STILL don't listen to me.

Caleb: That's just the way it is, Mommy. There is nothing you can do to make people do what you want all the time.

At this point I laughed out loud, and he joined me, effectively ending the role play. But I was very happy to hear him articulate so well the lessons that I'm not ever sure are sinking in. I guess this proves that they are in there somewhere!