Thursday, September 20, 2007

Update....

Life has been crazy busy lately. There are definitely not enough hours in a day, but if there were, I’m not sure I could be coherent for them!
This entire year has been quite full, but with the onset of homeschooling, it’s just getting more busy. We’re plugging away with our schooling, some things are going well—better than expected in fact (not that I can mention what those things ARE right now!) and some are definitely going to require some ironing out. Savannah is incredibly smart. She learns quite quickly and is definitely above her grade level in most things. The problem is that she’s very lazy. She’s definitely mine and Jeremy’s child! “Hmmm…how can I use my brain to get past having to do this??” Unfortunately at this stage, there are many boring, dull, repetitive things to learn. Handwriting just isn’t all that FUN to learn, I’m sorry! While I’m trying to make it more interesting and fun, I also feel like I’m always at least one step behind (if I’m lucky…usually it’s more like a hundred!). With 3 children, one of whom doesn’t yet have a set schedule and needs a lot of mommy (although I have to say, Luke is definitely a wonderful little guy and gives me LOTS of slack!), I find it so hard to keep up with everything. We’ve been homeschooling for 3 weeks now and there have been at least 3 or 4 days when I just wanted to throw in the towel and send Savannah to public school and put Abby in preschool. I know that’s not what I really want, but my goodness, some days it’s just so hard. I know it’s always going to be hard in the beginning…but I read the blogs of some of my friends and it seems like they’re just having a jolly good time and plugging along with nothing but success. Not only are THEY enjoying it, but the children are just thriving! I can’t say the same here. Savannah lolly-gags through her work, she sighs and makes faces and tells me how much she doesn’t want to do her work. She acts like she just doesn’t get what I’m teaching her and I wonder if I’m pushing too hard or if she’s just being lazy. Last week we were working on math and she just was NOT getting it. I stopped and let her do some basic addition worksheets—more for the number writing practice than anything else. Then a few days later when we went back to her other math, she got it with no problem. Perhaps I’m working too fast for her, perhaps I’m approaching it all wrong or perhaps she’s just not wanting to do it yet. I wish I could put life on pause for a good long while so I could get caught up. There is so much to research and organize, but alas…that’s just not going to happen!
Have you ever noticed that everyone has a ton of advice and yet they never want to step in and walk in your shoes? It’s that whole arm-chair quarter back thing. Yes, I too could come up with the PERFECT plan, the PERFECT life and the PERFECT schedule…the problem is: I don’ t have the PERFECT life, I don’t have the PERFECT children and for heaven’s sake, I’m just about as far from PERFECT as someone can get. It’s so hard to teach someone self-control when you lack it. It’s hard to teach patience when you lose yours regularly. I tell my children not to yell at each other and to be kind to one another and then I lose it with them and yell at them… Oh to be like Jesus!! How in the world do I do it?
Anyway, I digress…sorry for the bummer, but life has definitely been a bit on the rough side lately. I’m definitely thinking that I need to step back and re-evaluate how we’re going about things. I did just purchase the Hooked on Math program, hoping that it can make something as boring as rote memorization of addition facts a bit more exciting. The handwriting is not going to stop, it’s a necessity. Reading…well, she’s a great reader, but that always seems to fall by the wayside because she’s already above her grade level and by the time we finish with math and handwriting, there are always so many other things that need to be done. I think I shall re-read some of the Charlotte Mason literature I have and construct a more nature-based study plan. I really, really want her to enjoy learning and I can already see Abby looking at Savannah thinking, “Oh dear God, I don’t want to do THAT!” and she wants nothing to do with “school”! EEK, NOT WHAT I WANT!!!
Okay, on to more simple things:
Luke rolled over the other day for the first time. Poor guy, he rolled over and bonked his head and cried and cried and cried! But it’s pretty exciting! He’s getting very big and strong. He’s SO incredibly grabby! Giving baths is always a wet, fun messy time. There is no way to get through bath time without getting totally soaked—well, there is ONE way—pawn it off on Jeremy!! Hahaha!
Luke is not the world’s greatest solid food eater. I’ve given him rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes and carrots. Most recently we’ve been doing carrots and oatmeal and he does OKAY with it, but he’s still got a pretty strong tongue-thrust reflex. My goodness, the little guy is almost 6 months old, he needs to start eating! He likes the sweeter stuff a lot better and seems to do better with oatmeal than with rice. He’s still got some time, but I’m hoping he starts eating better soon.
He’s started waking at night more recently. Some nights it’s 1pm and then 3 or 4 or so for a bottle and then waking a bit earlier in the morning—lately he’s been the first child awake! I can definitely feel something in his bottom gums, how close he is to actual teeth shall remain a mystery though. Of course he never lets me take a good look, but he LOVES having his little gummies rubbed. He likes to blow raspberries (something the girls did when they were teething), but I don’t think it’s close enough to actual teeth yet…not a whole lot of drool yet. You never know what it is that’s making them wake up, but I have to say, I’m not fond of it! I really can’t complain though, he’s been such a sweet, good baby. His naps aren’t as good these days either, but they’re still decent. He usually takes one 1 hour nap in the morning and one 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon and then usually a little 30 minute cat nap in the early evening.
About 2 weeks ago Luke discovered his voice. We were visiting at Steve and Valerie’s house (Jeremy cousin and his wife) and Luke just started squawking away. He was super loud and it was very funny. He definitely loves to squeak and talk, no real babbling yet though…I really, really look forward to that. That same day he also started shaking his head back and forth like he’s saying “NO” like a maniac. That’s what he now does when he’s done eating or when he doesn’t want his paci and we’re trying to put it in his mouth.
There is so much more I could write about, but it’s late and I’ve got another busy, crazy day ahead of me…although tomorrow I think we’re going to take it a bit easy.
One more thing I wanted to note. Last night I asked the girls to put the laundry from the washer to the dryer and start the dryer. I really didn’t think they could do it since it’s quite hard to reach into the washer…but they worked together and managed to do it! I went downstairs last night and opened the dryer and inside was a load of freshly dried laundry. I tell ya, I was BEAMING!! I’m so proud of those little girls! They’re definitely precious!

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