Look Out World!

I now own a laminating machine. Aaaand I've already started putting it to good use. Since we have a long drive ahead of us in a couple days, I am trying to get stuff together to keep Thing 1 occupied. He has slept through the trip in the past, but it's been a year and a half since the last time, and I doubt he'll sleep as long this time. So far I have made a chart with the number 1 through 100, and also made a grid with capital letters in a dashed font and on the back is another grid with the lower-case letters.

I also have a sheet that is nothign more than blank lines, and plan on finding a few other things on the internet to print out that he can do over and over. My mother-in-law gave him a couple books that are dry-erase, so he has markers that will work wonderfully on these "sheets".

I will also finally be able to print out all of the stuff for workboxes so that I can have a good bit of the more tedious work done before we start them. I just need to get hold of some velcro dots. (when I DO get hold of the velcro dots, I will be even MORE dangerous then!)

So Thing 1 will be entertained for the trip and Thing 2 will most likely sleep for most of it. :) Look out Maine, here we come!

Wow

Today is Thing 1's 5th birthday.

It's hard to believe that this is also his 4th birthday being celebrated with Link (2nd thru 5th so far)

We're not a big celebrating family, and we did birthday stuff Sunday at my mother-in-law's house. So today we will be doing a lot of what Thing 1 wants, most likely having pizza for dinner (or lunch, who knows, really?) and hanging out. We may bake cookies or something as a fun thing to do.

It's hard to believe he's 5 already!

Ooooo

I am now on the Workbox Blogroll over at Sunflower Schoolhouse. I have a nifty graphic over thataway --> too.

Honey has lots of brilliant ideas, and I'm sure many of them will be showing up in Thing 1's workboxes.

Other sites that I pull inspiration from (just to name a few that I frequent OFTEN):
1+1+1=1
Confessions of a Homeschooler
Homeschool Creations
What's in the Box?
Home Grown Hearts

There are a lot more, considering I have most of the blogroll either bookmarked or on my list of watched blogs here on Blogger.

Poor Kid Can't Win

Thing 1, for the fourth time in his life has a croupy cough. Head gash and croupy cough. Hopefully we can keep the cough from becoming any worse. Not wanting the spend more time in the hospital.

Boys will be Boys

Thing 1 turns 5 in a couple days and I was quite proud of myself because he's never had stitches and made it nearly 5 years.

Until last night. He was running around at my mother-in-law's house, horsing around with one of my brothers-in-law, and I heard *thunk* and "Oh my god, are you ok?"

Link goes to look and Thing 1 has his hand over his forehead. He was joking around about BIL hurting Thing 1 as I walked over, and BIL convinced Thing 1 to move his hand so he can see.

I hate blood. I also hate hearing about how the gash is wide enough it requires stitches.

Four stitches, 3 days before his 5th birthday. We almost made it 5 full years.

He was a trooper though. He didn't cry, although his eyes did well up at one point. And from what I was told, he was extremely cooperative at the doctor's. I stayed at my mother-in-law's house because I still had Thing 2 to take care of, plus I was in the midst of a panic attack. So my MIL went with Link to the doctor's.

We were over there because this coming weekend we're going out of town to visit MY family. And since we'll be gone for Christmas, plus Thing 1's birthday is Wednesday and mine is Saturday, we had a bit of celebrating to get out of the way :) (plus both of my BIL's birthdays were now too... younger one was yesterday and older one is today)



Thing 1's gash is like an inch to an inch and a half long right in the middle of his forehead at the hairline. They had to shave his widow's peak apparently because the gash went just into it enough that his hair was a problem. And he has a regular appointment this Friday anyway that was scheduled a month and a half ago, so his stitches will probably be coming out then.

Obsessions, or at least pretty darn close!

In the last year I have taken a major interest in a few different topics and enjoy researching the snot out of them. They are homeschooling, babywearing and cloth diapering.

Homeschooling is up there because, well, we plan on the boys (and any potential future children) being homeschooled. So I want to have as much information as humanly possible. I am on the Yahoo! group for the area's homeschoolers, for workboxes, for file-folder games. And also on the BabyCenter group for homeschooling.

For cloth diapering, I am not entirely sure how the idea came into my head, but I do remember Link was more dcided to do cloth before me. The big reasons behind it were that Thing 1 had horrible rashes and also potty trained later than "average". I make my own covers and will be making my own pocket fitteds at some point to use our prefolds as "stuffing" in. I am a part of the BabyCenter cloth diapering group and cloth diaper sewing groups, as well as the Kids in the Garden Yahoo! group.

Babywearing is the latest major one. I didn't get to wear Thing 1 much because he didn't particularly like it, and I didn't have a lot of information. NOW though, I am a part of the babywearing group on BabyCenter and holy cow I have learned a TON in the last few weeks. I made my own mei tai, ring sling, pouch sling, and stretchy wrap (and am making a mei tai for a friend ♥). And Link, for my birthday/Christmas present allowed me to order a beautiful woven wrap from a co-op (discount for ordering through the co-op). I have a couple "tasks" that can earn me another one. Everytime I turn around, someone on the board is showing off another wrap that is OMG GORGEOUS. So far though, my biggest loves have been Girasol Mojito (this is the one that will be here in February!), Hoppediz Montreal, Osaka and Timbuktu, and Neobulle Arthur. They're pretty! (and all different colors too!)

I find all of these to be very important for our household, and so Link isn't toooo upset with my researching. I'm sure he's just hoping I don't find something ELSE to be like this with :)

What To Do, What To Do...

My To-Do List for December:
~Make covers for my mei tai carrier so I don't have to wash the whole dang thing when Thing 2 spits up
~Extend straps on my podeagi
~Make covers for podeagi for same reasons as the mei tai
~Make gift(s) for Legend (friend of mine who is having a baby in March)
~Make pouch carrier
~Make reusable shopping bags
~Clean Living/Dining Room
~Clean Bedroom
~Get the boxes/racks/drawers/whatever for Thing 1 to start schooling in January
~Make Thing 1's kilt for sister's wedding
~Print out things for Thing 1's intro into schooling
~Make placemats and table runner for dining room
~Make keeper for Thing 1's art supplies
~Work on plan for becoming a WAHM (work-at-home mom)
~Make more covers for Thing 2's diapers

All in no particular order (because stuff like Thing 1's kilt HAVE to be done)

A Graph Kinda Gal Am I

I have developed a weird fixation with checking Google Analytics before I post on here. I just like seeing the graph on the report for traffic to this blog.


Does that make me weird?

Lots of New Stuff Apparently!

So apparently I haven't updated in almost 2 weeks.

Thing 1 still reads over my shoulder, and will even go out of his way to do so. He also tries to watch what Link is doing over HIS shoulder and that just irritates Link. Thing 1 likes to get close enough behind people while reading that if you turn in the slightest amount, you're going to end up accidentally bumping him.

Impa-puppy has claimed Thing 2's carseat as a place for her to nap because Thing 1 claimed the blanket she has been laying on.

Also on the Thing 1 front, I have been working on getting him "ready" for schooling. Helping with reading directions, FOLLOWING the directions and such. I have one of those Learn at Home books that is supposed to be a year worth of curriculum and such. I have just torn out pages to give to him to practice letters and cutting and gluing and such. He now ASKS for these worksheets almost immediately upon waking every single day. So he LOVES worksheets and I think that that will help tremendously when we start school stuff because he won't JUST want to do the non-paperwork type stuff.

We DID have an argument about how a pencil is meant to be held though. I won. I think that's only because he realised how much more comfortable it is to hold it properly.

Thing 2 slept for 7+ hours a night for almost a week, and now has hit a bumpy spot in the road. I think he may be getting ready to start teething. He is gnawing on his hands and fingers even more than before, and also shoving anything and everything in his mouth to gnaw on. I can't for the life of me remember what Thing 1 was like at this point. But Thing 2 is fussing a lot more now, too, like he's uncomfortable.

Blargh!

So I am up tonight because Thing 2 is sleeping in 30-60 minute spurts and Link needs sleep because he has to work. Woohoo.

NOT!

Yikes!

I'm not even entirely sure when the last time I posted was. Oooops!

So after I reacquaint myself with my own blog (ie, read my last post so I don't repeat anything unnecessarily) I will post.

I promise!

Good Bumps in the Road

I've been trying to get Thing 1's things chosen for homeschooling. I have run into a predicament: what do you use for reading instruction with a child who can already read?

Six months ago, this wouldn't have been an issue. I would've just gotten a phonics program and done it. However, he is to the point where he reads things over my shoulder while I'm on the computer (a habit I am trying to break, I can't stand him being right there when I'm trying to read something, now I know why my parents always got on me about doing it)

Thing 2's sleep patterns have gotten a touch more normal. Now he just goes to sleep whenever Daddy goes to work and when it's nighttime. Makes for relatively quiet days for me :) MY sleep schedule is a nightmare in itself, but at least the boys are sleeping ;)

Friday Already?!

This week has FLOWN by apparently.

Link has gone back to nights at work (1:30-10:00pm) so our days are all sorts of messed up at the moment. However, for the first time since he started his job, at no point during the week does he have to work until 10pm and then be up again at 7 or 8am the next morning. YAY!

I have been actually getting SOME sleep since our appointment the other day at the pediatrician's office. Thing 2 seems to have taken well to the sleeping at night in the dark with white noise thing. And I have gotten some sleep at "normal" times. Still only a few hours at a time, and I take a nap during the day with him, but I DO sleep at night.

Now to go figure out where my week went...

Blargh

I am EXHAUSTED. I have been up every night for a couple weeks now because everytime Thing 2 would have a rough night I'd be up anyway. Then he quit having rough nights and I managed to get myself to bed at a decent (albeit really early) time tonight.

So what does he do? Wakes up and fusses for the first time in like 4 nights. And he was not fussing in the "give me my pacifier and leave me be because I'll fall back asleep" way. It was the "OMG MOM YOU HAVEN'T FED ME IN THE LAST 20 MINUTES!" sort of way. Sooo I dragged myself out of bed, into the living room and nursed him, then laid him down in the living room and have been up since then.

FarmVille, Cafe World and Mafia Wars have been sharing my attention with BabyCenter. Which, really, is usually the case with my late nights.

Still no further progress on the apartment. I need to have one day where I can jsut empty an entire half of the living/dining room area and then reassemble it. It's otherwise too difficult to make any progress.

Something very important that has taken up some of my attention is the fact that Thing 2 may have an issue with dairy products. I cut dairy out of my diet for the most part a couple weeks ago and the symptoms he was having have gone away. Except when I do something selfish like the other night when I had pizza. I paid for that one later that night when Thing 2 spewed on me a few times in a row. I apologized and said I learned my lesson. I really did learn too.

He has his 2 month (2 months already, holy cow!) appointment today, so we will be bringing up the possibility and asking the pediatrician what she thinks. He also is getting his two month vaccines today (I don't delay vaccines and don't omit any except for the stupid flu vaccine). And Thing 1's appointment for his 5 year check up will be made today. He will not be a happy camper when that appointment comes up.

And just because I haven't posted any at all yet, here is a picture of Thing 1 and Thing 2 (and part of my arm)

Aren't they just DARLING?

Owwww

Tonight while still putting off the majority of my cleaning because Thing 2 will NOT sleep when I need him too for more than 10 minutes, I decided to do m initial test for the 200 Sit-Up Training Program. Then I decided for some INSANE reason, I would also do the 100 Push-Up Training Program and the 200 Squats Training Program at the same time. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I promise.

Well, my abs feel fine. My arms and shoulders feel fine. So I made it through the sit ups and push ups without too much trouble. My LEGS on the other hand...

Just OW.

And for the record, I did horribly on all of them. But that's the whole point of these challenges: to get better. Right?

In other news, Thing 1 decided tonight that I would not be reading to him. He called Link to read to him instead. The current theory for reasoning is that he's trying to get us to alternate. If he asks for Link next time, we know that's not the case. (sometimes I can't do it because Thing 2 wants me and only me and wants me NOW)

Baby Legs!

I am sure many many people have heard of BabyLegs, the leggings for covering a baby's legs instead of pants. It makes diaper changes a ton easier and everything while still keeping the little one's legs warm.

Well, I made some. I used a tutorial found at http://bordersbohobaby.blogspot.com/2009/07/babylegs-baby-legwarmers.html

They are super easy even the first time you make them.

I will have to take pictures of them at some point. Just like I should post pictures of my children at some point.

And Here We Have a Wall

I seem to have hit a wall in the deep cleaning of the apartment. I knew it would happen. I am currently, slowly working my way through the living/dining room. The kitchen and bathroom are still holding out though so at least I haven't backtracked.

Thing 2 sleeps through so much that I check him all of the time to make sure he's still breathing. I wonder if I could use the shredder and have him still stay asleep...

Perhaps that is an experiment best left for a day when Link doesn't have to get up in the morning.

Active Mind + Catalog = Tons of Ideas

As I mentioned somewhere on here, we are intending to homeschool the Things. I have been researching and changing my mind 8 thousand times on different things. At first I wanted to follow the exact listings in The Well-Trained Mind. Then I realized that I wanted to be able to spend more time on certain topics, which the rotation of that particular system doesn't really allow.

So I came up with my own agenda for what to study which years. I asked Link what subject he thinks needs more emphasis, and I was surprised to hear him say Science. However, he specifically stated he thinks a more hands-on approach would be better. We never got to fully ENJOY Science because we were always being bogged down with the books. Chemistry was a fun year for me because of the experiments, but I never really understood the concepts. They didn't seem connected very well. When I took Physics... well, I am horrible with Math so it was a bad time. I managed to pass thanks to a couple friends who would dumb things down for me and explain them in less mathematical terms.

At any rate, he and I discussed it a bit more. I explained how Science was laid out in The Well-Trained Mind, and he said he specifically thought more time should be spent on Biology. Because soooo many things are covered in Biology, he thought that the approach in the classical system wasn't good enough. (it talks about covering Botany, the human body and animals all in one year)

Yes, Thing 1 is just barely getting ready to turn 5, but I want things to build up a bit as he is schooled. In order to do that, I have to decide where I want him going in schooling and planning accordingly. Yes, pulling Anatomy and Physiology out of Biology may be a bit strange. But I really think that it needs to be covered in depth, and not just as a ten week unit brushing through everything. I found a Botany unit in the Rainbow Resource catalog that I really want to use.

Speaking of Rainbow Resource, that catalog is huuuuge. And gave me TONS of ideas. Just how am I supposed to make all of these ideas reality though?

The solution I have found is WORKBOXES! Yes, the system put together by Sue Patrick involves 12 boxes with assignments and fun things in them organized in the order you want them covered each day. I have been reading TONS of blogs about them, and a lot of other homeschoolers have loved that they can pull out things they've been collecting to use but never had time for.

The workboxes also allow the child to develop more independence. Because they are left with the 12 boxes and their schedule, they aren't as likely to consistently watch the clock. They are able to transition more easily from one subject to the next because everything they need is in the box. Many people have said that things get done faster now because there isn't that awful transition time between subjects where you're looking for materials.

And it will also make me accountable. As you may have guessed, I have difficulty holding myself accountable for things. If I have 12 empty boxes sitting there staring me in the face waiting for more things to go into them for the next day, I don't have a choice but to fill them. As long as I don't decide to just do a school day without the boxes and "wing it" I should be fine.


Thing 1 is already fiercely independent. He gets himself breakfast in the morning and goes about his day. If he needs something he asks (50 times in the span of a minute). I think this system will work really really well for him.

I need to get a copy of the book for myself to read all of the reasoning and everything behind the system. I can honestly say though, that even without all of the information and details, I really think this will work.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Today is Link's birthday!

I am cooking dinner tonight.

Currently I am arguing with Thing 1 about whether or not fruit snacks are a good breakfast. And continuing to avoid cleaning my bedroom, even though it's next on the agenda for cleaning. I have NEVER liked cleaning my room, and apparently that hasn't changed at all.

I AM, however, almost completely caught up on laundry! Yay!

Why?

Why am I blogging?

Because I can, and I'm bored sometimes. Honestly, that's about it ;)


Why am I domestically challenged?

If I knew the answer to that, I could more easily fix it, now couldn't I?


Why do I breastfeed?

Because I can, and it's what is best for my baby. Custom food, c'mon! I do not, however, think that breastfeeding is for everyone, and do not find it appropriate to belittle those who choose not to. I am pro-feeding, as long as it is appropriate for the age. (no fries for 2 month old babies!)


Why do I cloth diaper?

Thing 1 reacted badly to almost all disposable diapers. That is reason number 1 for me to use cloth. Cloth diapers don't have that weird chemical smell. That weird chemical smell gets worse with pee or poo, and cloth doesn't have that. That's how I can have my diaper pail literally sitting in my living/dining room and not smell it. In fact, I don't smell much of anything from the pail until I am putting everything into the washing machine.

For us, it is very cost effective as well. I make m own covers and such. The only thing "pre-made" that we purchased are the prefolds. The utilities haven't been majorly affected, so we are still doing well there for saving money. Disposables are just throwing money away. Not to mention throwing away fecal matter which shouldn't be going into the trash because it is not a proper receptacle for that sort of waste. But how many people do you know who dump the poo into the toilet because throwing the disposable in the trash?

Exactly. Ew.


Why do I plan on homeschooling?

We (Link and I) believe that we can provide a better-tailored education to our children than the public school system. While public school does very well with many man students, there are those who are either ahead or behind in different subjects who cannot get what they need to be successful. With homeschooling we can have them in numerous grade levels in the same year for different subjects. Thing 1 is currently a bit ahead in reading, and with homeschooling I can continue that instead of stalling him so others can catch up.


Why do I only ever seem to post very late at night/early in the morning so far?

Because I can't sleep. I have a tendency to end up with my sleeping schedule almost completely opposite what is SHOULD be. Really removes any hope of ever having Thing 2 on a proper sleep schedule, although Thing 1 is on one for the most part. (bedtime at the same time every night give or take 15 minutes)


Why did I do this post?

Because it's 4 am and I am BORED!

Responsibility: Thing 1 Style

Thing 1 is awesome about helping for short periods of time when I need him to. However, there are certain things he really needs to do on his own and do so regularly. One of them is picking up his toys at night. Thanks to my sister coming to visit, his room is clean. Also, by some miracle on that visit, he has developed the habit of cleaning his room before bed. I can't sit on the floor to read him a book, often bringing Thing 2 in there as well, if the floor is covered in toys.

He also keeps his toys picked up around the rest of the apartment, which is really how the nightly picking up started I guess. We always asked him to put his toys back in his room before he went to bed, and now it's habit.

Thing 1 also puts his own clothes away in his dresser. I fold them, put them into one of those pop up hamper thingies, and he puts them away. Since he dresses himself, he has his own "organization" method for his clothes, which I do not mess with. When he gets dressed in the morning, he makes sure to put his dirty clothes with the laundry now. He used to just throw them amongst the toys on the floor in his room, so when my sister convinced him to clean it while she was here, I had a TON of laundry to do to catch back up for him.

Putting his own dishes in the kitchen when he's done with them is another task he seems to actually enjoy doing. Plus he'll grab a diaper for me if necessary and keep Thing 2 company if he's being particularly socialization-needy so I can do things like go to the bathroom.

All in all, Thing 1 is quite the responsible little pre-kindergartener :) And I only see him getting more responsible from here on out.

Two Down!

So this morning I decided to sleep instead of clean more. Now, however, my kitchen is done, and so is the bathroom.

Is it overly strange that I keep walking into the bathroom just to see how it's so nice and clean while the rest of the apartment is still in chaos?

Something new and nifty I have learned in the last 24 hours: Thing 2 will sleep through the noise of the sewing machine! YAY! I can sew to my heart's content and not wake him up <3

And because I feel like it, and I can't clean the next room on the agenda because Link is sleeping in it, I am going to do a few more posts. Trying to keep things a bit organized here too, y'know?

Cleaning Cleaning Cleaning

In an effort to challenge my domestically challenged self, I have done a lot of reading on getting more organized, tackling housework, tackling clutter so that housework doesn't become overwhelming within 5 minutes.

Tonight, or this morning, however you want to look at it since I haven't been to bed yet and it's almost 8am, I tackled the kitchen. I started by putting a load of dishes in the dishwasher, cleaning my sink, and then turning to the shelving unit thingie that has all of our canned goods and stuff on it (we have no pantry). I pulled pretty much everything off of it, and labelled 3 baskets with "Momma's Snacks", "Daddy's Snacks", and "Thing 1's Snacks". Into those went our individual snack stuffs (myself having the most because I snack more than I eat meals, bad habit of mine) and back onto the shelves they went. Other than that, I had wiped down the shelves, put the cereal away, as well as the bread and organized the canned goods.

While doing that, I also had a box sitting to one side that everything that doesn't belong in the kitchen got chucked into. I checked the counters for stray items (a major cause of clutter in the kitchen) and set the box in the living room. This is all the start of a major plan for me in tackling the apartment, and hopefully continuing to keep things caught up from completion onward.

I will do one room at a time, putting things away, cleaning things, pulling things out of the room that don't belong. The next room is the bathroom... yay. Anyway, I will bring the items that do not belong all into the living room/dining room. That will be the last area done. All of the things that do not belong in that room then will be put where they belong in the proper rooms, because all of the other rooms will have been cleaned already.

It made way more sense when I was telling Link about it. Right now I'm just trying to convince myself to either go to bed or to clean the bathroom.

Everything Has a Beginning

As you can't really have any sort of story, even a "live" story, without a beginning, I suppose now is the best time for introductory sorts of things.

My name is Stephanie. I often go by the handle of Bacskocky. I play World of Warcraft, where I am often referred to by friends as Om, short for Omaula. I am a domestically challenged wife to my husband Cameron, who often goes by the handle of Link, although in WoW he's Nerm, short for Nermak. I am also mother to my two wonderful little boys, William (age almost 5, who I refer to as Thing 1) and Dorian (age 7 weeks, who I refer to as Thing 2). And owner to Impa-Puppy, who has numerous nicknames, but doesn't REALLY need an alias. This is for future reference, because I am going to use these nicknames in the future. Not that we have horribly uncommon names, I just want to use different names. I'm weird, I know.

This blog is sort of a daily happenings thing for me to share. I am, as I said before, domestically challenged. I am also a breastfeeding, cloth diapering, video-game playing geeky girl. I am sarcastic and cynical, but also love to have a good laugh and absolutely LOVE spending time with my family. I am unknown on religious fronts, because I'm not entirely sure where I fit in. I sew in some of my spare time, and have been busily researching homeschooling because that is something else I am planning on doing. So this is a blog to capture all of THAT. I have gotten a lot of joy and a ton of ideas from reading the blogs of other people, and hope to also enjoy blogging myself.

How often will I post? Goodness knows. But hopefully often enough to not be boring :)