Weekly Update Jan. 26-30

This will be short, since I just updated on Monday. Dr. appt. went well. Baby's head is definitely down and he is loving stretching right now. I don't love it so much. He is getting the hiccups alot which are quite funny to feel. The time is approaching fast. Although I am ready for it to be over, it is quite overwhelming. I feel there is so much left to do, but just doing the regular daily things is draining enough.

We've had a really smooth week of school. The kids have been really motivated to get their work done without constant reminders. We started an organized chore system again that they mark on a chart and switch every week. So the same person doesn't have to do the same jobs every week. Last Saturday, the only clean up I had to do was cleaning the bathroom. I really like the new system. Don't get me wrong, I am not breaking any child labor laws. We are just doing the basics. It's nice that the kids are a little older. They can keep their own rooms clean and help out around the house. We bought some storage bin organizers from a fellow homeschooler a few weeks ago. I put one in each of their rooms. Last Friday and Saturday, we finished unpacking Tera's room and then I organized each of their rooms. (a little nesting going on I think). It has been so much easier for them to pick up and now almost everything has a place. This really helps Daniel out alot. If things are labeled, he'll usually put it back in it's place. Tera is just like her parents- a pack rat. I have to go through her room once a month or so and get rid of paper stuff. This time we went through things and put papers she wanted to keep in folders. Hopefully we can wait two months before deep cleaning.

I said this would be short, who knew I would find so much to say.

Update

I missed Friday's update.

WARNING: Whining about to begin

I am so tired of being pregnant. My back hurts, I can't get comfortable at night, I run to the bathroom every hour or two, heartburn, and those are the things appropriate to mention on this blog. Don't get me wrong, I am so thrilled to have a healthy baby, but I am so tired. I go back to the dr. tomorrow for a check up and a "head check". I had no idea what that was until I asked. Being a former school teacher, a "head check" to me was checking for lice. That's not it (I'm sure you were worried). Anyway, they are checking by ultrasound to see if the baby's head is down. I am having a scheduled C-section so I was wondering why this info was relevant, but anyway. I have had so many ultrasounds this time around, my kids recognize the word and can tell you what it means. One positive thing, we have great insurance that has paid everytime the doctor has ordered one. Praise the Lord.

Whining over

The kids started back to Monday Fun- our homeschooling group Monday enrichment classes. Tera is taking Hands-On Science and Daniel is taking Ocean Animals. We have really struggled this year to do the extra science experiments, so these are good learning experience for both of them. They both came home telling us what they learned and saying they really enjoyed their classes. I am not teaching this time around. Every parent has to volunteer one service hour for each class hour their kids are in. I am a hall monitor, which is one of the few jobs I can handle given my physical state right now.

JP has been working on learning to speak French. He is teaching us basic conversational interactions around the table at lunch everyday. Bon Jour! The kids have really been enjoying it. This morning I heard, "Bon Jour, ma mer, sa va?" from Daniel at breakfast. That means "good morning, my mother, how are you?" To which JP has taught us how to reply and ask the other person how they are. So it's really neat. I took Spanish in High School, so this is different for me. Our teacher had us choose a Spanish name for ourselves- I was Felicidad and my good friend, Tammy was Luisa (If I remember correctly). French is a stretch for me, but that's okay.

Well, it's late. Au Revior.

Weekly Update Jan. 12-16

I haven't done an update in a while. I am 34 weeks pregnant right now scheduled to deliver Feb. 20. I am tired and so ready. I was measuring one week farther at my appointment on Thursday. I have another ultrasound on the 27th to check and see if the baby's head is down. Since I am having a C-section, I'm not sure why they are doing that, but oh well. I am feeling like Humpty Dumpty's twin sister right now.

We received a package from Grandma today with lots of awesome crocheted goodies. It felt like Christmas. We all loved our things. Daniel is really into scarfs, he loved his new green scarf. Our favorite was the baby hat. The kids watch JellyTelly and one of their favorite characters, Michael wears a hat just like it. Thank you Grandma.

School is plugging along. Tera and Daniel are doing so good. Last year I flew by the seat of my pants it felt like but this year I give them weekly assignment sheets. They know what they are doing on a daily basis and it really helps the days go smoother. We are doing Saxon Math this year. I know it doesn't work for some, but it works for us. I showed Tera a sample of another Math book she could use next year. It had vibrant pictures and really cool things in it. She said she wanted to stay with Saxon. When asked the reason, she said she liked the way Saxon reviewed the concepts again and again. It helped her keep it straight in her mind. Enough said. Last year we pulled our hair out over Math because if we left a concept she would forget it. Let's just say we are not going bald this year. Daniel is very quick to pick up Math too. I rarely have to explain a concept more than once if at all. I am truly blessed that they are doing so good.

We found out that JP's workplace is going down to a 4 day work week the whole month of February. This really would have freaked me out before, but I am seeing God providing for us. Things may get a little tighter, but we are so much better off than so many people we are hearing about. I am truly counting my blessings. I was reading in a devotion that God goes before us into tomorrow. He is already there and taking care of us. We have seen His provision throughout our lives and know that He is with us no matter what.

jellytelly.com

Here's a couple of clips from the new web based kids Christian TV show started by Phil Vischer. We subscribe for $2.99 a month and our kids watch the 20-25 minutes of Christian programming everyday. They absolutely love it. They like everything but these are just a few of their favorites.

Check it out at jellytelly.com

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