Our Last Day

This was my fortune the other day.  How spot on is this?  There's so much to share and talk about with you all.  Gosh so much is happening and I have a B3 update to write and big belly project pictures to share.  But today is the last day of summer for us, and I'm going to focus on spending the day with the kids. 

Tomorrow I'll have a kindergartener and a 2nd grader, and my heart will break a little that another school year has passed and I'm afraid I don't know where it went.  I'm not quite as weepy as the first time I put a child in Kinder, but I'm still nervous and anxious now for the day to just come and go. 

I'll be back to posting tomorrow so until then, have a wonderfully hot and relaxing summer day. 

P.S. don't forget to enter the Scout by Bungalow giveaway!

Just These Two

When I became pregnant with Syd, Taylor was just 18 months old. By the time he was born she was 25 months old and was the most delightful little toddler a mom could ask for.  I've said before that I felt an ache of sadness for her when Syd was born, that she was no longer our main focus of attention.  Within a few short weeks she and we adjusted as well as can be expected and really, she doesn't even remember a life without Syd.

It's different this time though.  They've been our everything for the past 5 years, and sure they are ridiculously excited for their new baby brother or sister, but I can't help feeling a bit sad again.  For surely they have no idea how crazy and upside down a house can be turned by a newborn.  At least I remember it being crazy.  Maybe this time since I'm a little older and wiser, I'll adjust better, we'll adjust better.  But this past weekend I couldn't help feel a bit weepy for them.  That pretty soon it won't be just these 2 anymore. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and I know we'll all love this little baby like it's always been a part of our family, but there's just something about the last few weeks of pregnancy that make you want to hold your guys a bit tighter.  Make sure they know how much you love them. 

So I did a lot of that on Saturday.  We spent about 4 hours in the pool and stayed up late watching the Olympics.  And on Sunday I rested my poor elephant feet while Art took the kids to the OC Fair all day.  I missed them but it was good for him to spend some one on one time with them.  Dad is their favorite for sure, made especially true by the fact they convinced him to win a goldfish.  That would have never happened with me.  I would have thrown the game on purpose.  

The countdown is on guys, and I'm nervous and excited.  I've told you about my biggest fear of all, and I'm just praying that it doesn't end up being as bad as before.  Either way I know we'll make it out on the other side just fine and this new life is going to complete this little family of ours.  As much as I'm scared, I also can't wait.

What's Keeping Me Up

(chamomile at 4 am to help me go back to sleep - so far not working)

Thoughts of inadequacies and failings often hit me late at night or in the middle of the night.  The time of night where I'm supposed to be in a solid slumber, resting up for the day ahead.  Something wakes me up, right now it's usually pregnancy hormones, and then I start thinking.  Sure I think about what I have to do and get accomplished, but I often turn to what I'm not doing and could be doing better.  Often in the middle of the night these thoughts of fear and failings seem much more scary and far reaching than they do in the light of the day.

So to give some light to these fears and make them seem less big, I thought I'd write them out here and share what currently has me up at 3 am, sipping a cup of chamomile until I can fall back asleep.

Bibles - the kids own Bibles that is.  For some reason it dawned on me right now that I should have already bought the kids their own Bible to take to church with them.  They each have their own story Bible, but neither of them have an actual Bible.  Any suggestions or thoughts?  Am I worrying too much about this too soon?

Prayer - Speaking of religion and kids, we don't pray nightly with the kids.  We say prayers together all the time and we pray for them, but we don't make it nightly ritual for some reason.  This really bothers me and we need to change that.  And I'm embarrassed by it.  I think it would help to get us on track if we had a specific prayer to say every night.  Is there a children's prayer you say with your child each night?

Thumb & Finger Sucking - Taylor has reverted back to sucking her fingers and Syd hasn't stopped sucking his thumb.  I told them both that we would get back to (and start with Syd) the yucky nail polish wearing in the summer, but summer for us is now officially half way over.  The kids start back in 3 weeks and do I really want to start now and potentially ruin the rest of our already short summer?  Advice?

Sight Words - I also told myself that I'd start sight words with Syd in preparation for Kindergarten.  I am not of the belief that kids have to be or should be reading when they start Kinder, but thought a little preparatory practice wouldn't hurt, on top of what we've already been doing with writing and math.  And again, 3 weeks away and no sight word practice.  Do I just let it go now or give it a casual go for the next couple of weeks?

Outdoor cushions - they really need to be cleaned but it seems to big of a job right now and so I refuse to add it to my to-do list, but it really should be, especially since they're nice and we invested in them and I hate not taking care of our nice things.  Makes me feel wasteful.  Is there someone I can pay to clean my outdoor cushions?

So this is what I'm mulling over when I should be sleeping and giving it up to God.  See, now that I write it out I look at this list and think "My goodness Andrea, you silly, silly woman!  There are much bigger problems and things you can be worrying about than these.  Count your blessings!  You all have your health and can feed your family and you have nice outdoor cushions to worry about cleaning!"  It's really a lesson in perspective too I guess.  What about you?  Maybe if you say what's on your mind and what's troubling you it won't seem so big and bad?

B3 Countdown - 33 Weeks

This week was about surviving.  I know that sounds dramatic and all, but seriously I felt like I was teetering on the edge for most of this week.  We managed to get the #1 most important thing checked off my list from last week, and that was start demo for the baby's room.  That alone has been an accomplishment since it required us moving everything out of 2 very, very full rooms the day after my baby shower, so they could start on Tuesday.

Between the baby shower, the maternity photo shoot, the moving and construction, I hit a wall.  Yesterday at my check up, my doctor walked in and asked how it's going and I just broke down and started bawling, saying "I'm so tired!"  To which she replied "Well yes, it appears so."  Her suggestion was to book myself in to a room at a four star resort.  Of if it were only that easy.

I don't mean to complain, I know we're blessed to be able to even do construction.  But it doesn't mean it's any less tiring or stressful.  For those interested, what we're doing is converting the office into the baby's room.  But because the office point of entry was off the dining room through a sliding pocket door, we are closing that opening off and making a new opening off a hallway.  Which means we had to knock out Syd's closet (yes, the one we just recently redid), move his closet, and tunnel our way through to extend the hallway and make a new point of entry off the hallway.  It's a lot of work for nothing exciting like added square footage or anything.  But it will end up making a lot more sense to enter the bedroom off a hallway than the dining room.  Here are some pictures of what the demo and construction looks like.  It's been a lot, even for me who usually thrives off of craziness.

Next week my goal is to just survive some more :)  No list making for next week my friends!  Take that incessant need to nest.  This momma needs rest more than anything!  Tonight the givewaway for the cute materntiy countdown t-shirt closes so don't forget to enter!  Have a great weekend everyone and please say a prayer for me.  My left foot is grossly swollen and I have to go in for an ultrasound Monday morning to make sure it's not a blood clot.  Thank you!!   

The Beauty of Boredom

I've been trying to figure out a way to write this post without sounding all judgmental or high and mighty, because I have no desire to be either of those things.  I guess I worry because I've seen posts like this written before and they always cause me to stop and take a step back and analyze the time I'm spending online and on social media.  I'm not trying to make any philosophical statements about social media here, so know that up front.  I'm running two blogs for goodness sake, so I'm hardly one to preach about stepping back and spending less time online.  But I thought I'd just share something I recently did and how it's helped ground me a bit more, so I guess take what you will from it.

About two weeks ago I removed Twitter and Facebook from my phone.  It's no huge statement like cancelling my accounts or shutting down my blogs, but it was a small step that has helped tremendously.  While I'd love to say that my sole purpose was to be a more connected, present mom and wife, I'd be lying if I said I did have some selfish ulterior motives.  The bottom line?  I noticed that I was getting more and more ADD having these social media time sucks on my phone.

I've always been a pretty focused person, good at multi-tasking and also efficient at focusing on one project at a time.  But I'm convinced that the more and more time I spend online, the more attention deficit I become, and the mobile device just adds to the problem.  While I know theoretically I couldn't or didn't want to make a rash decision and cancel my accounts, I figured by at least removing these things from my phone would hopefully help me stay a little more focused when away from the computer, and it would in turn help me when I sit down to work at the computer.  It had gotten to the point where I'd walk into the office to do something legitimate like email a teacher or pay a bill and I'd get distracted by Facebook or Twitter, spend 5 minutes scrolling through the feed, get up and walk away, completely forgetting why I had sat down at my desk in the first place.  There's just so many shiny things to see when I jump on here.  Fess up, I know I'm not the only one ;)

This same type of distracted pattern was emerging when out and about as well.  I was picking up my phone for no good reason at all, other than out of pure habit.  Refreshing my feed every few minutes just to see if anyone had posted anything earth shattering.  No one I was with ever really complained about it, and I could leave my phone at home or in the car if need be and not suffer from severe withdrawals.  But it just started to get to me.  I started to feel guilty having the kids see me constantly pick up my phone, and I got irritated with myself that I couldn't sit through a stop light without checking my phone.

So I deleted my accounts off my phone.  At first just for summer, but I am enjoying this new way of life so much that I think it will become my new normal.

A couple of days ago I had a moment alone at a family function, and usually I'd use that time to scroll through my phone and make sure I was all up to date.  But I sat there just looking around with nothing to preoccupy me.  For a split second I thought to myself "Well this is kinda boring", and if I could've slapped myself I would have.  As quick as the thought came in, I counteracted it with the statement "This is your life", and I looked around and observed my life and the people I was with and what they were doing and I realized it wasn't boring at all.  There was plenty to look at, to soak up and sink in, to appreciate, to feel grateful for, to laugh at and even smirk at.  This was, and is my life, before smart phones and the constant invasion of other people's lives into mine.  This is the only life I have to live and I better enjoy it, the fun times, the bad times, and even the simple everyday times that may seem boring and very ordinary.  All these times are ones I am grateful for.  I forgot how beautiful and simple life could be without all those other distractions. 

We went to the beach the other day.  Crystal Cove to be exact.  I held my Taylor's hands as she jumped in and out of waves, begging me not to let go.  I watched my Syd play chicken with the waves over and over and over again, trying to see how close he could let them get to his toes before he could safely outrun them.  He giggled and laughed something fierce and I saw it all.  I stopped a couple of times to take some pictures via Instagram, but there was no pausing to write 140 characters or update my status alerting everyone that I was having a good time at the beach.  I just had a good time, with only myself and my family to witness it.  And my God it felt good.  Downright glorious in fact.  I can't remember the last time I had felt so happy and energetic and even if it is a cliche of a word, present.

Perhaps something like this wouldn't work for you, or you don't find it necessary to do.  But if you've been feeling a pull to disconnect a bit more, even if just for summer when you're supposed to be soaking up life by the bucket fulls, this might just be the thing for you.  Either way, it is definitely working for me and so I thought I'd share.  Have you ever done a social media cleanse of some sort?  If so, what were your results and how did you do it?       

P.S. I just so happened to come across this post tonight that touches on this compulsory need to check in and see what's going on.

Where Do We Go From Here?

(me - happy, having fun, feeling good)

It hit me last night that this really is the last pregnancy for me, the last time I'll have a 10 week countdown to my due date.  And it makes me horribly sad and want to stop time.  I never say that, but right now it is so true.  I want to linger in the baby kicks and the belly rubs each night and dressing this pregnant belly of mine.  I feel amazing and I want to cherish and bottle up these feelings because in 10 weeks I'll just be another mommy of 3.    

This pregnancy has changed me.  While I of course have my bouts of craziness, I also haven't been this happy in at least 2-3 years.  I finally feel at peace that I'm no longer working full time and don't have a career.  I struggled with that for months after quitting and I confess that I almost called up my old boss a few times asking if I could work part time.  I feel at peace that this is the house God placed us in, and I'm going to make the most of it.  I feel settled here, even when the freeway noise is loud and crazy parents from the school across the street are blocking my driveway.  I finally feel fully at peace with the fact that my husband owns his own business and yes, it's scary at times, but I have faith that we can ride through anything and he will figure out a way to provide for us.

I was sad a lot the last couple of years, whether it was justifiable or not, I let things effect me too much.  I'm finally learning to brush things off, give it over to God and just have faith.  It's not to say that in the last 2-3 years I wasn't ever happy, I of course was, but I also had some dark moments where I hardly recognized myself, ruled by emotions.  I looked at my life list the other day, and the top 5 things I chose to try and accomplish this year, and you know what, I haven't accomplished a single one of them.  There's a group board for all of us that went to Camp Mighty and several times a week someone will post an update, an item "checked off the list", and we all rally around them and tell them good job and congratulations.  Last week someone got a book deal, a really, really good book deal.  I think a year ago it would have really bothered me that people were accomplishing things and I wasn't.  But right now, all I care about is the 5 people in this house, and how we're all doing (of course my friends and family too).  It's a good feeling to be at peace.

Sometimes I think it's effected my writing a bit here.  Some of the best posts I ever wrote were written when I was feeling sad or reflective.  But now that I've flushed a lot of those feelings away, I almost feel a little directionless.  And then I started For the Love Of and pretty much eliminated my style posts here.  So in just a few months I eliminated sad posts and style posts, and some DIY posts, leaving me feeling a little lost on what else you'd like me to write about.  Of course I can and will always continue to write about the kids, and zombies and preppers.  But this is where I'd love to defer to you friends.

For you to continue reading, what topics would you like me to write about?  Kids, kids crafts, home projects, home DIY's, pregnancy, life with newborn, journey with faith, recipes.  These are just a few things off the top of my head.  Do you guys want me to still post some style stuff over here?  How many of you actually read both blogs and want to see completely different topics?  Do you like it when I do the weekend recaps of what I wrote about over on For the Love Of?  What are some of your favorite posts of mine?  What do you want to see more of?

I know these are a lot of questions and I don't expect you to answer all of them ;)  If you have any advice or feedback to give though, it would be greatly appreciated.  There was a very very brief moment where I thought about shutting this place down, but I really don't want to.  I'd like to keep it going, but in a meaningful way that works for both you and me.  I don't want to just post and write for the sake of posting.  I want every single one of these posts to be intentionally published with some sort of purpose behind it.  I think when bloggers just start writing posts that don't serve an end purpose, they lose their way.  I don't want that to happen here, so I'm doing a little premature intervention here.  I'd just love a little help with it ;)    Thanks in advance guys.  You are the best!

And P.S. I wouldn't trade no amount of great blog posts for the feelings of peace I have right now...

Choosing DIY Projects You'll LOVE

Hi friends, how was your weekend? I do realize that it's Tuesday and I should've been asking you that question yesterday, but in case you noticed I took yesterday day off. The family and I took an impromptu trip down to Legoland on Father's Day and came home yesterday afternoon. It was too quick, but with Art's work schedule being what it is, I'll take what I can get.

With summer in full swing for most of you (Taylor still has 8 days left of school and it's only 75 degrees here), I thought I'd write a post a little different than the norm and share some thoughts and ideas on DIY'ing. I know summer is the time when a lot of you ramp up on projects or look to start new projects with the kids, so I wanted to share some tips to help you choose DIY projects that you'll love, not get frustrated with.

I spent almost 2 hours walking around Michael's on Saturday, by myself, the rarest of luxuries.  It was glorious and relaxing.   While I was browsing, my creative juices flowed like crazy and I thought of too many projects I'd love to try.  But it was good to have time to think and be inspired.  While browsing I thought up this blog post in fact!  So friends and readers have asked me in the past, "how do you decide what to make?  Where do you begin?", so today I'll take you through my creative process and how I decide what to create, and what ideas to leave on the table.

• first and foremost, start with one-three mediums and build from there.  For me, my primary mediums are fabric paint, jewelry, and paper supplies. These are the things I'm drawn to and so I focus my energy, time and financial resources on those types of projects.  I stray every now and then, but for the most part my projects reside in those areas.  Narrowing your focus down will save you time and money!
• find inspiration in places other than Pinterest.  Pinterest is amazing, don't get me wrong, but you'll be surprised what you can be inspired by when you look around.  Magazines, books, browsing Michael's for two hours, thrift stores, fashion stores, beauty supply stores, whatever.  Spending too much time on Pinterest can also leave you feeling down and like your project will never be good enough, look pretty enough as A, B or C.  So get in and get out, don't linger for hours on end.
• don't create a DIY just for a blog post (if you blog), create it because you want it or need it.  I've done this before because I think readers will love it, and I tell you, it's just a waste of time.  My most well received DIY projects are the ones I created for myself because I really did want it, or the ones I thought very few people would love (case in point this seed bead necklace and the statement necklace I created for Making It Lovely - who knew those would be such big hits?)
• know your limits and stick with your skill level, or slightly above your skill level.  It's great to challenge yourself, so if the pattern says for advanced beginner, and you're a beginner, go for it and teach yourself new things!  But save yourself tears and agony and don't go for the mega-advanced complicated pattern, no matter how cute and amazing it is.
• factor in your cost of supplies and time to decide if a DIY project is even worth it financially.  I was recently considering make baby #3 his/her own crib skirt, but after factoring in the cost of fabric plus the hours it was going to take me to sew something new, I decided to just buy the $60 crib skirt I found online.  I think I made a good call here.      

Creating DIY projects are supposed to be fun and enjoyable, not stressful and a time suck.  You shouldn't feel like you want to punch someone in the face during the process ;) I've learned this along the way, and am still learning when to go for it and when to keep it simple and simmer down on the crafting.  What are some other tips you could share or have found to be helpful? 

Thoughts of the Week

Remember when I used to consistently write Thoughts of the Week?  Yes, no?  Well I do.  There's two things I'm not the best at when it comes to blogging; responding to comments consistently (there, I said it), and being consistent with themes and series.  Seems the only thing I am consistent on, is being inconsistent.  Sorry :-/  But I do have quite a few thoughts this week that I wanted to share...

On light bulbs - we finally installed our two new light fixtures last weekend.  I love them in every way possible, but because of their vintage feel, and see-through/glass nature, regular light bulbs look too bright, blinding really.  So I ordered vintage-esque light bulbs from Restoration Hardware and $60 later, I feel like a schmuck.  $60 for 5 light bulbs?  They better look pretty spectacular when they arrive.   

On parents - mine are driving me crazy.  They're retired now and have a lot of time on their hands.  And they might be moving, so I'm fielding calls from them all day.  If they can't reach me on my home phone (which btw, they leave messages on saying "hello, Andrea, pick up!  If you're there, pick up.  Hello?????  Well, I guess I'll try you on your cell"), they immediately call my cell, and continue to do so until they reach me.  I love them, but they are driving me bananas.  Please tell me I'm not the only one whose parents drive them bonkers sometimes. 

On paranoia - remember the post I wrote on Monday about Taylor's school and high expectations and her teacher needing to realize they're just kids?  Well Tuesday, Art drops Taylor off at school and makes mention that Taylor's teacher was a little short with him.  I immediately assumed she must have seen my blog post (she knows I blog thanks to Taylor's talkative mouth), read what I wrote and now hates me and my daughter even more.  So I pulled the post.  I'm a freak.  Turns out she must have just been having a bad day because she's been perfectly pleasant the rest of the week.

On buyers remorse - I sometimes get myself in these situations at a store where I feel guilty or awkward and buy something even though I know I shouldn't or don't need it.  This happened a few weeks ago at a makeup event I attended where I was talked into buying a $50 foundation brush, even though I already have a foundation brush.  But this one was made of sable and is oh so special.  Now I've been driving around with it in my car, trying to figure out how and when I'm going to get all the way down to Orange County to make the return.  I should just grow a spine and I'd save myself a lot of time.       

On gas prices - I'm obsessed.  I think about high gas prices constantly now, and it completely bums me out.  It now dictates where I go, how I drive, what I go do.  I strategically map out my driving plan to make good use out of long drives into LA or Orange County so I can kill multiple birds with one stone.  There's a fabric store that I very badly want to go to that's 25 miles away, but I can't figure out a time when I can go so that I can also at the same time, return the makeup brush at the store nearby.  Because making two trips into Orange County to visit the fabric store and return the makeup brush would be ludicrous.  And it's also why I went ahead and paid $11 shipping to have the stupid $60 light bulbs shipped to me because I would have spent that in gas by the time I drove to my nearest Restoration Hardware.  It doesn't help that I'm married to a man that is also obsessed with gas prices and checks on why prices are going up on a weekly basis, adding fuel to my outraged fire.  A fire in Washington a few weeks ago was in fact cause for the latest gas hike to effect California.  Obsessed I tell you!  Obsessed.

Okay, off to go take a chill pill now.  I feel much better getting all that off my chest.  So what are some of your thoughts of the week you'd like to get off your chest?

How To Have A Relaxed Pregnancy

My wish for all the pregnant ladies to be out there would be first and foremost, healthy pregnancies and babies. Second after that would be to experience a relaxed pregnancy. Yes, even above a pain free labor or super fast and easy delivery (neither of which are very likely anyhow, so might as well go for 9 months of relaxation, right?).

It's no secret that I'm usually a bit of a worrier and "the sky is falling" type of person. Well then, you can only imagine how worried I was during my first pregnancy. I read too much, listened to too much unsolicited advice, researched too much, and even made too many lists. Yes, there is such a thing as too much list making. When you add "make a baby supply list" to your "to do" list, you've taken it too far. All my fretting and worrying landed me with not much more than a fretful pregnancy, multiple unnecessary visits to the ER because she didn't meet the 'kick count' criteria, and an induced labor because by 39 weeks, I literally just wanted Taylor out of me so that I could be in control of her safety and well being, not my body. That my friends, is my very first piece of advice; keep that baby cooking in there for as long as possible because they're much easier to take care of inside the womb, than outside ;)

My second pregnancy was much more relaxed. I was still working full time and traveling a ton, so as relaxed as one could be in that situation, but in terms of the safety of my unborn baby, I overall was much more at peace with my body and the process of growing a human. In fact when at 10 weeks I suddenly started bleeding profusely on the bathroom floor, I was scared, but I had a feeling that me and my baby would be just fine. And we were.

This third time around though, I am like a different person. So much so that some friends, and even my husband are amazed by my carefree, "wing it" attitude about this pregnancy. The once controlling, type A personality has been replaced by a laid-back woman I myself hardly recognize at times. I've thought a lot about how I got here, and what purposeful steps I've taken to find this balance, so I thought I'd share a few of the things I've done that have personally helped me sit back, relax and enjoy this special time in my life.

•  Don't read What to Expect When You're Expecting type of books.  Alright, if this is your first time, you're probably going to find it impossible to follow this advice, especially when every relative and friend gives you a copy.  So if you're going to read, just read the first happy parts of each section that describe your baby's growth and development, and steer clear of the secondary sections that explain all the horrible things that could go wrong.  I know knowledge is key, but too much knowledge in the hands of a pregnant woman can be frightful. 
• On the subject of books, don't read any behavior or sleep books ahead of time, because it's a waste of time.  I tried to get a jump start on my parental education by reading 2 different baby sleep books and it just confused me, it was like reading Latin.  Each baby is different, and you won't know which book and bit of advice is going to suit you and your partner's style best until you meet your baby.
• Ignore people's silly remarks and comments.  And if you can't ignore them, just agree with them because it totally throws them off.  The other day a grocery checker literally said to me "That's so weird!  I didn't know people still did that!", in reply to me when I explained we weren't finding out the sex of the baby.  After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I just said, "I know, isn't it strange?!  My husband and I are so loopy!"  He sort of just looked at me shocked, when he heard the words he spoke repeated back to him.
• Have faith, whatever your faith may be.  Millions of women and babies have gone through this process before and have come out alive on the other side.  Have faith in your body that it knows what to do, and if you believe in a creator, have faith that He has a plan for you and your baby.  
• Be wary of lists.  I laughed the other day when I looked at a "suggested baby registry list" because it was just so overwhelming, and I breathed a sigh of relief that this time around I knew what was really necessary and what to steer away from.  If it's your first time, take an experienced friend or sister along with you when registering to help you navigate through what is really necessary and what is superfluous.
• Let go of the notion that it all has to be done before the baby arrives.  With both my first two pregnancies I just HAD to have the nurseries all in check before the babies arrived, as well as 1 million house projects completed.  This time around, I'm not even sure we'll do a nursery to be quite honest.  10 weeks to go, and well I don't know.  The point is, yes, it will be crazy and hectic after a baby is born.  But there will also be down time and hopefully you'll have help.  People will bring you meals, a mom or mother in law will come and help you do laundry.  You're hands will be busy a lot, and you'll be tired, but you most likely will also look forward to having something or some project to work on and occupy your time during the 10 naps a day a baby takes.  Or maybe that's just me...;)
• Lastly, indulge yourself!  Take extra time for yourself, buy yourself that maternity dress that will help you feel pretty during this time, even if it's not practical.  Eat the extra piece of pizza every now and then, and for goodness sake don't weigh yourself!  No other time in your life should you take the opportunity to be a bit selfish and indulgent as when you're pregnant.  You're growing a human after all, and that's pretty darn spectacular.  You deserve every bit of indulgence you can afford.     

I hope this "list" is and can be helpful to you or a friend.  I can honestly say that aside from the normal emotional ups and downs of pregnancy hormones, this is one of the happiest and most relaxed times of my life.  It's taken me two pregnancies to get here, but for the first time I am truly enjoying being pregnant.  And please, if you have any other tips to add to this list, share in the comments!

This post is sponsored by Disney Baby. I'll be joining the Disney Baby blogging team next month, and look forward to sharing these kinds of stories (projects/ideas/etc) with you over there! Stay tuned for more details!

       

Choosing (and Sticking With) A Preschool That's Right For Your Child

Syd's last day of preschool was last week. It was my turn to work in the classroom so I got to be a part of all the festivities that took place that day. It was exhausting and emotional, and I'm glad I was there to be a part of it. I realize as we near the end of the school year, the last thing some of you may want to talk about is more school, but I wanted to share a bit about our experience now that I've had some time to reflect on the entire year, and hopefully some of our experiences will help you in your preschool search along the way.

We found our preschool through a friend that recommended it for Taylor.  We started Taylor at a very traditional type of preschool when she was 3 1/2, and aside for some tears in the beginning, the year was pretty much uneventful.  There weren't any real opportunities to volunteer in the classroom so I could see what went on in there, and the artwork Taylor brought home was pretty much scripted pieces of pre-cut squares and triangles that she was prompted to glue together to represent a penguin, Abe Lincoln, a snowman.   In other words, nothing terribly creative, or messy, for that matter.  But her teachers and the rest of the staff were loving and caring, so I figured I'd let sleeping dogs lie.     

As she started her second year though, minor tears turned into full fledged screaming, terrified meltdowns.  She was clearly unhappy and scared and just miserable everyday that we went to school.  After a month, we trusted our gut and what our daughter was telling us, and we pulled her out.  The last thing we wanted was for her experience before she started Kindergarten to be miserable.  We started her at The Children's Garden Preschool, and Syd continued there when it was time for him to start preschool.

With a year under our belt, I knew there were a few things I wanted for their preschool experience:

• A developmental preschool where learning through play was the philosophy.
• Loving teacher(s)
• Opportunities for parents to volunteer
• A creative environment where children were not only allowed to get dirty, but it was encouraged
• A place where he would learn the fundamentals to prepare him for kindergarten, like sitting quietly, waiting his turn, working and playing with others

The first year for him was overall a great experience.  I was working full time so never really got much of a chance to connect with the other moms in class, or set up play dates for him with the other kids.  I felt guilty about it, but when you're working, what can you really do?  I saw relationships form between some of the other moms and kids in the class and it stung a bit, but as the school year ended and I quit my job, I looked forward to the new school year where I was now going to have time to focus on fostering some relationships for my little guy.  After all, in our group of friends, he is the only boy out of a sea of girls and he was ready to start playing with boys.  

The second year started and it was a bit crazy, if you will.  Lots of boys in a large classroom with lots of energy, boy energy that is.  Since I volunteered in the class twice a month, I got to see what transpired in there throughout the day.  There was aggressiveness, some pushing, lots of well, just frustrating behavior.  My son was starting to pick up on these behaviors.  The teachers assured me they had it under control but I had my doubts.  I was hoping for some punishments, some time outs, some stern talk.  But that wasn't our teacher's styles.  I appreciated that when I wanted them to be loving and understanding when our children were having a tough day.  But being naughty?  I wanted them to be tough.  I wanted to have it both ways.

On top of that, I was trying to assimilate into the circle of moms but just wasn't getting very far.  Aside from a couple of ladies that I really enjoyed talking with and now consider friends, I just wasn't connecting with anyone else.  Our views were different, our lifestyles, our parenting philosophies, whatever.  And because I wasn't connecting with many people, neither was my son. Play dates were being made between lots of other kids in the class, but not with Syd.  I started to feel hurt on top of frustrated, and I started to take things personally.  For someone that overall makes friends fairly easily, it felt so weird and odd to be in this situation.  I started to look for a new school.

We looked into and applied to the preschool where some of my best friends sent their children.  It would be a natural fit after all.  Syd would have built in friends, and so would I.  I took Syd there one day to show him around and he clearly showed that he was not happy with this turn of events.  He said over and over again, "I don't want to leave my school, I love my school.  I love my teachers."  We talked about our possible move for a few days and tried to convince him this was the right move for him, but he wouldn't budge.     

Had we seriously felt Syd was in danger, or that he wasn't thriving at his school, despite any of his objections we would have moved him.  But the more he protested, the more I realized that this move wasn't about him, but about me and my feelings about the situation.  He didn't care that he wasn't being invited on play dates, he didn't mind that some of the kids were rowdy and rough.  Overall he was having a great time at school, and felt loved and safe and comfortable.  I realized that I had to make this decision about him, not me. 

We decided to stay.  The teachers did get things under control, through a combination of their loving way, with a bit more sternness added in.  They didn't bully the kids into behaving but taught them through example.  Within a couple of months the energy of the classroom was completely different than the beginning of the year.  I still never made any real connections with many of the women there (just one or two), but at the end of the day, it didn't matter.  His experience was the same regardless of how many play dates he was invited to or how many birthday parties he went to.

The last day of school was a carnival of fun, literally.  There were regatta races with boats the kids made, obstacle courses, art projects, and sliding down slides in boxes, an activity I'm sure would be banned at most schools out of fear of a lawsuit.  The kids made popcorn and ice cream from scratch, and they got filthy dirty.  To collect their diploma, each child slid down the twirly slide and shook hands with Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Bailey.  It was an amazing day.

Art and I texted each other later in the day and both said the same thing; we were so glad we stuck it out and kept him at that school.  Syd is now going into Kindergarten with a great set of social skills, and with the experience that learning can in fact be fun.  I couldn't have asked for anything more. 

What factors did you look for in choosing your child's preschool, and was their preschool experience what you had hoped it would be?

This post is sponsored by Disney Baby. I'll be joining the Disney Baby blogging team next month, and look forward to sharing these kinds of stories (projects/ideas/etc) with you over there! Stay tuned for more details!

Various Updates & Ramblings

This week has been a bundle of emotions for me.  Between realizing that I could no longer "wing it" with this baby, I decided to register for a few items on Amazon (you can see my registry here - how did I do?  Any suggestions?), to just feeling like I want to hurry up and get this dang school year over with, I'm tired.  Not in a complainy, whiny way.  Just in a suburbanite sort of way...wanting everything to go as smoothly and be as perfect as it can be, but then feeling silly for wishing things to be any different.  Does that make any sense?  I hope it does.  Basically, when I start to feel sorry for myself, I realize I should just shut the heck up and move on.  So moving on I shall do.

I miss you guys a bit.  I feel like the last couple of weeks have been a torrent of giveaways and sponsored posts.  Well I guess "feel" is the wrong word, since it's not just a feeling but more like reality.  My apologies if you got a bit tired with the content in the last couple of weeks.  I've always prided myself on publishing content on this site that I feel good about, and while I maintain that even the sponsored content I have put forth here is completely my voice and my opinions (I promise to never represent a brand or product that I don't use or don't like), I know some of you may not all agree with or appreciate sponsored content.  I get it and I respect that.  I hope you all understand that in order for me to keep going and be able to justify the ridiculous amount of time and energy (and even money at times) I spend on my sites, I had to start taking advantage of some paid opportunities.  It just so happened that many of those opportunities came to fruition all at the same time.  Posts like this shall slow down though in the coming weeks and I'm hoping I can focus on some fun kid and family related projects that I've been working on to share with you.

One thing I have been meaning to bring up here is my post on PPD.  After I posted my story, I received a lot of emails and comments about how brave I was to talk about this subject so openly.  The thing is it never even occurred to me that I shouldn't talk about it, or be ashamed to talk about it, and neither should any of you that have also dealt with PPD.  If I have learned anything, it's that PPD is something we can't control, only try to manage.  To think it's something we have a choice about is ludicrous, and to feel anything remotely close to shame or embarrassment is harmful and dangerous.  Please, if you ever suffer from PPD symptoms, don't be afraid to talk about it with someone, anyone that you think will help or listen or just support you.  You and your baby deserve it.

I don't want to end this post on a bit of a down note, so allow me please, to share some pictures of our recent adventures and happenings around here.  First off, this past weekend we watched Star Wars New Hope together as a family.  It was the first time the kids were allowed to watch it and naturally they loved it.  I fell asleep.  We're thinking of holding off a bit before showing them the other two because they are a bit more scary.  Any thoughts out there or feedback on when you showed the trilogy to your kids?  Much appreciated.

Last night Art brought home a Roomba.  He wanted it for Father's Day because he says he's tired of hearing me complain about having to sweep up the dog hair everyday.  Strangest thing I've ever heard.  If you ask me, being the tech junky he is, he just wanted the opportunity to own a robot at some point in his life.  Needless to say, the kids are fascinated with it and think it's their new play toy.  They've named him Tommy, or Tom Tom, but his technical name is T7S5A36A38 (all our initials and ages).  

Hoping you all are having a good week so far.  Anything fun or interesting going on?

Concert Memories & Coldplay

(The Hollywood Bowl at dusk, waiting for the show to start)

The first concert I ever attended was the B-52's and I think I was twelve and still very much in that awkward junior high stage.  Huge green glasses, crazy, big ass teeth I hadn't yet grown in to, and a die hard love for new-wave music.  I sported my vintage, thrift store grandpa cardigan and doc martens to that show and instantly felt cool, if only for a night.  Concerts have the ability to transport you someplace else, someplace where the energy and positive vibes are so strong, everyone is on an equal playing field and everyone shares a common love. 

My next concert experience was Morrissey and I was about 15 I think.  I was born a few years too late to discover, and subsequently enjoy, the genius that was The Smiths, but at least I was still able to see Morrissey in concert, my first true love.  In cleaning out the garage this past weekend I found my old photo albums, in which contains a picture of me kissing a life size poster of Morrissey hanging on my bedroom wall.  Oh teenage hormones, with your ability to rile a girl up, with an inanimate object.  Never mind that he was a celibate.   

Last night we went and saw Coldplay at the Hollywood Bowl.  We see at least 3-4 concerts a year, which isn't a ton compared to some of my friends, but it's enough to get us out of the house and keep us feeling young.  Concerts still have the ability to almost make me teary eyed with eupohoria, even when I'm 22 weeks pregnant and not a lick of alcohol in my body.  The common bonding experience of music is really just pure magic.  Everyone singing along, swaying back and forth, cheering, hollering.  It gives me chills.   

I'm not the biggest Coldplay fan.  I mean they're a great band and I respect their talent, but quite honestly I don't even own an entire album, just songs.  When we had the opportunity to buy tickets 5 months ago though I knew it was probably the only chance I'd get to see such a legendary band live.  Let me tell you they were amazing and I'm so glad we went.  The show was so electric, energetic, exciting, and just good, good, good.  They sound fantastic live and his energy is contagious.  Trust me, that's saying a lot considering my condition. 

The whole stadium received these wristbands when we entered and throughout the show at certain times they lit up in unison with the music.  17,000 light up neon wrists was a sight to see. 

Baby bean loved the music too, and we've officially taken all three of our babies to concerts in utero.  I think that's pretty cool and awesome ;)

So what was your first concert that you remember?  What was your favorite concert?  And Art and I both agreed, as much fun as the show was last night, I think I'm hanging up my concert feet for a few months now ;)