This was the view from our front window last week. Only 5 months left.
Abbie was very excited about her new "princess coat." (After I threatened her with timeout if she wouldn't put it on--It was cold out!)
Nate did a super job at the Primary Program on Sunday. He even sang--Last year he stood in the front row and didn't move his mouth once.
I think my kids belong in a GapKids ad.
Abbie is really into princesses lately. We play princess every day. Usually Abbie is the princess and I am the firefighter. I follow her around and put out fires. Then after I'm the firefighter, I turn into a knight. I follow her around some more and rescue her from the dragons. She has a few babies that we drive around in car seats--She names her babies something new every day. She comes up with some really crazy names--Completely made up. It's really amazing to see her imagination come alive. She's really unbelievable.
Abbie also loves music. She has a knack for learning lyrics--She knows a lot of songs better than I do. She also refuses to listen to music unless it is earth-shatteringly loud. In the car, while we exercise together in the morning, while we're cooking or cleaning during the day--If I don't turn it loud enough, she'll grab the remote and turn it up to her liking. She's a real kick in the pants!
Alan has been working a lot lately. One of the 8 interns in his program was put on Academic Leave. Long story short, the guy isn't allowed to work until he has a formal review, so the other interns have to cover his work and his call. Alan leaves for work before we get up in the morning and on Monday and Tuesday, he didn't finish until around 7PM. Tonight he's on call and then he's on call again Friday. Before this week, he worked 19 days with 2 days off. The kids really miss him--They haven't really seen him since Sunday. I have also realized that truly need some alone time. Today Abbie skipped her nap and I felt like the world had collapsed. It's hard to never get a break. I feel like we can do really well, but I have no reserve. So when the kids pitch a fit or start fighting, etc., I am struggling to maintain composure. I have found myself yelling and I used to be a mom who never yelled. I can also admit to understanding how parents beat their children. I don't beat my kids, but I have had to restrain myself from expressing my anger through pain. I feel horrible saying it, but it's true. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that I have enough self-control to stop myself.
Since I can't really get a break during the day--until the kids go to bed, I need something to calm myself. I have started playing the piano. I totally suck, but it's relaxing. I love music so much and I can literally feel the stress flow out of my fingers. I'm also singing a lot more--it does the same thing for me. I'm exercising every morning now too. I got a light box from my doctor to help with the crappy winter and I put it on my elliptical while I exercise in the morning. I use the elliptical for a half hour every morning--Abbie dances around to the radio next to me, getting her exercise too. I am grateful that she's old enough for me to be able to exercise and shower during the day, while she's awake. It really makes a big difference during the day.
Nate is doing great. He's totally thriving at school with lots of friends. He is even struggling to eat enough lunch because he spends too much time talking. His reading is completely amazing. We had worked on reading a little bit before he started kindergarten, but he wasn't "reading." He knew all his letters and the sounds that they made, but we had only just started to put things together. Now Nate can read full books. Simple books, but books, nonetheless. He's so good that he can read to Abbie now. I'm so proud of him.
That's about it. We've booked our tickets to go visit my parents and little sister in Houston in mid-December. It will be so nice to get out of WI and see family! We're planning to go to Disney World with family from both sides in February, and then Alan's little sister Diana is getting married in April. We'll go to Washington DC for that.
TWILIGHT TOMORROW!!
This was the view from our front window last week. Only 5 months left.
Abbie was very excited about her new "princess coat." (After I threatened her with timeout if she wouldn't put it on--It was cold out!)
Nate did a super job at the Primary Program on Sunday. He even sang--Last year he stood in the front row and didn't move his mouth once.
I think my kids belong in a GapKids ad.
Abbie is really into princesses lately. We play princess every day. Usually Abbie is the princess and I am the firefighter. I follow her around and put out fires. Then after I'm the firefighter, I turn into a knight. I follow her around some more and rescue her from the dragons. She has a few babies that we drive around in car seats--She names her babies something new every day. She comes up with some really crazy names--Completely made up. It's really amazing to see her imagination come alive. She's really unbelievable.
Abbie also loves music. She has a knack for learning lyrics--She knows a lot of songs better than I do. She also refuses to listen to music unless it is earth-shatteringly loud. In the car, while we exercise together in the morning, while we're cooking or cleaning during the day--If I don't turn it loud enough, she'll grab the remote and turn it up to her liking. She's a real kick in the pants!
Alan has been working a lot lately. One of the 8 interns in his program was put on Academic Leave. Long story short, the guy isn't allowed to work until he has a formal review, so the other interns have to cover his work and his call. Alan leaves for work before we get up in the morning and on Monday and Tuesday, he didn't finish until around 7PM. Tonight he's on call and then he's on call again Friday. Before this week, he worked 19 days with 2 days off. The kids really miss him--They haven't really seen him since Sunday. I have also realized that truly need some alone time. Today Abbie skipped her nap and I felt like the world had collapsed. It's hard to never get a break. I feel like we can do really well, but I have no reserve. So when the kids pitch a fit or start fighting, etc., I am struggling to maintain composure. I have found myself yelling and I used to be a mom who never yelled. I can also admit to understanding how parents beat their children. I don't beat my kids, but I have had to restrain myself from expressing my anger through pain. I feel horrible saying it, but it's true. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that I have enough self-control to stop myself.
Since I can't really get a break during the day--until the kids go to bed, I need something to calm myself. I have started playing the piano. I totally suck, but it's relaxing. I love music so much and I can literally feel the stress flow out of my fingers. I'm also singing a lot more--it does the same thing for me. I'm exercising every morning now too. I got a light box from my doctor to help with the crappy winter and I put it on my elliptical while I exercise in the morning. I use the elliptical for a half hour every morning--Abbie dances around to the radio next to me, getting her exercise too. I am grateful that she's old enough for me to be able to exercise and shower during the day, while she's awake. It really makes a big difference during the day.
Nate is doing great. He's totally thriving at school with lots of friends. He is even struggling to eat enough lunch because he spends too much time talking. His reading is completely amazing. We had worked on reading a little bit before he started kindergarten, but he wasn't "reading." He knew all his letters and the sounds that they made, but we had only just started to put things together. Now Nate can read full books. Simple books, but books, nonetheless. He's so good that he can read to Abbie now. I'm so proud of him.
That's about it. We've booked our tickets to go visit my parents and little sister in Houston in mid-December. It will be so nice to get out of WI and see family! We're planning to go to Disney World with family from both sides in February, and then Alan's little sister Diana is getting married in April. We'll go to Washington DC for that.
TWILIGHT TOMORROW!!
1. A parent who says she's never yelled at her kids is a liar!
ReplyDelete2. A parent who says she's never stopped herself from slapping her kid (or hitting her with the frying pan) is also a liar.
3. I love the way you are dealing with the hard stuff AND enjoying the fun stuff, too. Way to go, Em!
4. I found a series of books for Nate called "Nate the Great." I can't wait for ya'll to get here so he can see them.
5. Abbie is getting princess books - including "The Paper Bag Princess." Remember that one? The princess rescues the prince! Yeah.
December can't get here fast enough!
Music is amazing - I am glad that you are enjoying it again. I started writing some songs after many, many years, and I love it.
ReplyDeletefirst of all...your children are the epitome of adorable. I'm not even kidding. I'm not sure I've EVER seen such beautiful kids (and ra...ben joins in the cute-kids-club too!).
ReplyDeletesecondly, i'm so, so, so very glad you've started using music as a release. how do you think i've survived so long? i had the realization a little while back that I basically see my piano, and my voice, as my therapist. strange, i know. But I can let out EVERYTHING to my piano, and through my voice. I'll NEVER be judged for a "wrong note" or a voice crack. also, i'm still very, very interested in turing one of your poems into a song. I've been co-writing with Dad a lot lately, and it's been wonderful! cannot WAIT to see you guys in just a few weeks!