Girl - O - Girl!

The last 5 months have been a roller coaster!

I am 20 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby girl! What energy I have left after growing a new human is being sapped by my 2 active kindergarteners and their very active, almost 3 year old not-so-little brother! (he is 41 lbs. and wearing a 4T!)

The twins are loving kindergarten and doing well at school. The little rural school is working out wonderfully, as they are teaching to the kids ability and not just their grade level. I also get to interact with the kindergarten teacher on a daily basis and with the other teachers on a regular basis. The teachers do not hesitate to call me during the day when a question arises, and are quick to let me know when someone gets in trouble. They like to have the parents as involved as possible. Very nice!

All in the Motherhood

I know, 2 blog posts in one week and its only Monday! Well, don't get used to it! I'm a hard working mom of 3 boys, then there is the dog, and the husband who brings home hay dust. Besides my usual cooking, cleaning, laundry and more laundry routine there are trips to the library, the grocery store and the park. Not to mention the unpacking from our recent move. The unpacking is not made any less stressful when I know we will most likely be packing up to move again in 12 to 18 months! Hopefully that will be our last move! Ever! We have picked out a couple of plans for modular homes and plan on building our own place that no one can ever sell out from under us! What a disaster that was! But it seems to all be working out and so I have to trust the good Lord on this one! I just don't like packing, moving all my packed belongings or unpacking! I think I'll stick with a cubist decorating motif for the next 12 to 18 months and save myself some work!
Among the monkey wrenches thrown at us with the sale of our old house (we had been renting a property just off the ranch for 18 months, so yes that will be 3 moves in 3 years with 3 little kids! Yikes!) is the boys schooling. For the last 5 years we have been driving by a wonderful little 3 room rural school with amazing teachers and a caring school board. My husband and father-in-law being 2 of the board member, well, my husband was one of the board members until we moved. He had to resign because we are about 1/4 to 1/2 mile out of district now. Which also means we need to get an inter district transfer. I really pray we are able to get the transfer without too may problems and on our knees begging. Since we are planning on building in the old district things should work out. We don't want to have to send them to one school for a year and then uproot them. If we don't get the transfer I think I will start formally homeschooling them. We are already a home that focuses on education. At 5 years old entering kindergarten the twins can read at a second to third grade level, count past 100, know all their shapes and colors (many in Spanish as well) and do basic addition and subtraction. I am very proud of them! Their little brother can say his alphabet, identify letters, count to 10 in two languages, knows most of his colors and shapes (including pentagon!) and loves to look at books! In a way I think it would be amazing to formally homeschool! It would be interesting to see how well my boys would do if I started using a classical curriculum and began their formal education! Either way, I am excited to see how the next year progresses for them, and for us as a family! So many opportunities out of what seemed like such a mess of unanswered prayers. Now if I can only find my husband's running watch, he would be so much happier. I know its in a brown box...

Still Here

I am still here, the tired and slightly less overwhelmed mother of 3 very active boys! The twins will be starting kindergarten a week from tomorrow! I am encouraged to see how excited they are about school, but there is a huge part of me that does not want to release control of the education of my children. We live in a rural county that has 9 rural schools. Our school will have 26 kids K-8 this next year with 2 teachers and 1 1/2 teachers aides (one aide is also the school secretary). The kindergarten class of 5 will be the largest grade in the school and one of the largest classes for quite some time. If we didn't have this school, I would homeschool, no question. And we might just have too homeschool! We recently had to move as the house we were renting at the edge of my husband's family ranch was sold out from under us. We tried to buy it, but the house was old, lacked a foundation and did not qualify for a conventional loan. Once we finally had financing in place we lost the house to a couple with a ton of money who didn't need to bother the bank about foundations and dry rot and wanted a project. It was a very stressful time for us, but we are settling in about 6 miles down the road and saving to build our own home on the ranch. I have a pile of floor plans here on my desk to keep me company. One of the complications of this move (besides having all my possessions shoved into boxes) is moving 1/4 mile out of district. We are going to try for an inter district transfer but we are not expecting to get it. If the appeal to the county is denied then we will be a homeschooling family. Part of me is looking forward to homeschooling. Another part of me is looking forward to 3 1/2 hours a day with just one kid! After having twins first, well I find one kid amazingly easy! I can get sooo much done with just one kid! Especially one kid who still naps and hour and a half each day! If I could get nap time and school time to coincide I would be a very happy mama! Well, the kids are off in a hay field with daddy and a nap for me sounds like a good idea. Its been a long week and its only Sunday!

Motherhood on a Tuesday

My plan is to do a Motherhood post every Monday. I don't.
I have many plans that don't come to fruition. Many.
I am struggling. Again.
I have a discipline plan. I give in because I am too tired, physically and emotionally. The plan fails. The situation gets worse. I struggle.
I have a routine for housework. I am too tired, physically and emotionally. The routine isn't followed. Mt. Washmore explodes. There is not enough clean underwear.
But in the midst off all this supposed failure are little moments that let me know I am on the right path. I am just having a hard time focusing on these blessings. Again.
I want more time to take care of myself. A half hour each day to go for a nice walk. Do some yoga. Finish reading a book. I don't want this for selfish reasons. I want it so I can be less tired, physically and emotionally. I want it so I can be a better mom. I don't know how to get it.
I need your prayers. Please.

WIP Wednesday

I have many knitted UFOs (unfinished objects) that need work. There is the back bedroom disaster and Mt. Washmore, not to mention the garage. They all need work. But right now I am trying to focus on my Home Management Notebook for 2012. My current printer isn't up to the task of printing the needed pages, so I'm doing research. I'm thinking of getting a 3 in 1 wireless printer. We shall see. As with all purchases, the budget must be consulted.
For the Notebook, I am going to go with a different idea for 2012. I found a blog (and since lost it) that showed a very well thought out Notebook that had laminated pages and a spiral binding. I am going to steal this idea and try to make it my own. The laminated pages should help cut down on printer wear and tear, which considering the number of coloring pages I print is a very good thing. It will also be less bulky then the 3 ring binder I now use, which will help with portability and accessibility. I have a huge recipe section now, which I think I will just leave in the binder.
I have yearly, monthly, weekly and daily schedules/lists that will all be pre-printed with the weekly and daily pages laminated so I can reuse them. I also have a basic daily schedule posted in the kitchen to help me get back on track when I lose focus. A lot of planning and effort go into a good Home Management Notebook, but it is all worth it! My house is definitely cleaner and more organized when I stick to my schedules, not to mention happier children and healthier dinners!
It may all seem like a bit much, but its not. Have you ever seen an Outlook schedule for a busy office professional? Not much different.

Full Hands, Full Heart

I don't understand why people think I'm crazy because I have more then 1.2 kids. Any day I take the kids out in public, I'm sure to hear the phrase "You have your hands full!" I always reply with "and my heart too!" People usually smile and tell me my kids are cute. Unless, like the lady at the grocery store yesterday, they run off in a disgusted huff before I can respond. Really? I wish I could ask people like her a few questions. Like: Why is my having 3 kids who actually know how to behave in public such an inconvenience to you? What about my kids disturbs you so much? When you were a kid, did you dislike children as much as you do now?
I value my children. I see their worth. I know that they are fully human, now at their present age. They contribute to my life and bring me joy. The inevitable sleepless nights and frustrated afternoons that come with having 3 boys under 5 is a small part of the overall blessing of being their mother. I think a lot of the problems we face in our current culture could be solved if Motherhood was respected and children were valued.

Start Again

They boys sing a song for the days of the week that goes "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then we start again!"
I am hoping to pick myself up a bit and do as the songs says - start again. I have been trying, it seems in vain at times, to follow my Mother's Rule of Life. Most days I do alright. The past few months have been better then the beginning of the year. But then its really easy to be better then awful! I have a few new ideas on how to work my Home Management Notebook. I think I am going to do as one blog suggested and have certain pages that I use over and over again laminated and have the whole thing spiral bound. I wish I could remember the site. I'd share it. Not to mention, I'd like to look at it again. Oh well! Hopefully I can recall enough useful information to put some of it into practice. I really do a lot better taking care of my kids, the house and the dog, not to mention myself, when I keep to my routines. With 3 small kids in the house routines are necessary. Its the only way anyone ever gets to wear clean underwear. Which reminds me I need to go throw my sheets in the wash and finish making the bed. Clean is comfortable!