Thursday, November 24, 2011
Reason To Be Thankful
Here is this year's list of reasons Heather's Growing Family is thankful.
1) Everyone is a "forever" member of the family. We all have the same last name now and are all permanent members of the family. No one is a "foster", "pre-adoptive" of temporary family member. We are just a family.
2) Jacob and Matthew are getting excellent educations and doing well. This is a huge relief for me. There is nothing more important to a child's chances at success and realizing their dreams than a good education.
3) Everyone is healthy. Thankfully, we live in a country with great medical care and we are fortunate to be able to access it.
4) We have enough food to fill our stomachs every day. Not everyone in this country or other countries has that. We are fortunate to be able to eat as much as we want every day and we are thankful for it.
5) For friends and family. Being a parent is tough at times. Being a single parent is tough at times. Family and friends make the bad days possible and the good days more enjoyable.
6) A job I love. Even my children will tell you I am much happier and less stressed now. I spent almost 10 years at a job that I really disliked for 7 years. Thankfully, I now have a job I really enjoy with great co-workers and supervisors. I no longer dread going to work or count the hours until I go home. I enjoy my job and find it much easier to balance work and family needs with a job I enjoy going to.
7) Our pets. Yes, they are expensive and get in trouble but we love them any way. After all, who better to snuggle with on a cold or sad day than an animal. Who better to lift our spirits than watching dogs run and wrestle or our crazy cat climb the ladder on the bunk beds.
8) Clean drinking water. I don't think I ever really appreciated this until I saw people living in areas where clean water was not accessible. Not just for drinking but also for bathing.
9) Education. We live in a country where advanced degrees and college educations are open to almost every one. Sure, it may cost too much and require loans and working part or full-time, but it is possible.
10) The opportunity to show my children every day that democracy works. They protested with me last winter, see the people collecting recall signatures and go to the polls when I vote. We have had many conversations about why people are unhappy and what they are doing to try to force change. Whether the recall is effective or not, the politicians have started listening and some of the outrageous bills have now been defeated. My children have seen that peaceful protests do work and that every one of us can and should stand up and make a difference in our communities.
1) Everyone is a "forever" member of the family. We all have the same last name now and are all permanent members of the family. No one is a "foster", "pre-adoptive" of temporary family member. We are just a family.
2) Jacob and Matthew are getting excellent educations and doing well. This is a huge relief for me. There is nothing more important to a child's chances at success and realizing their dreams than a good education.
3) Everyone is healthy. Thankfully, we live in a country with great medical care and we are fortunate to be able to access it.
4) We have enough food to fill our stomachs every day. Not everyone in this country or other countries has that. We are fortunate to be able to eat as much as we want every day and we are thankful for it.
5) For friends and family. Being a parent is tough at times. Being a single parent is tough at times. Family and friends make the bad days possible and the good days more enjoyable.
6) A job I love. Even my children will tell you I am much happier and less stressed now. I spent almost 10 years at a job that I really disliked for 7 years. Thankfully, I now have a job I really enjoy with great co-workers and supervisors. I no longer dread going to work or count the hours until I go home. I enjoy my job and find it much easier to balance work and family needs with a job I enjoy going to.
7) Our pets. Yes, they are expensive and get in trouble but we love them any way. After all, who better to snuggle with on a cold or sad day than an animal. Who better to lift our spirits than watching dogs run and wrestle or our crazy cat climb the ladder on the bunk beds.
8) Clean drinking water. I don't think I ever really appreciated this until I saw people living in areas where clean water was not accessible. Not just for drinking but also for bathing.
9) Education. We live in a country where advanced degrees and college educations are open to almost every one. Sure, it may cost too much and require loans and working part or full-time, but it is possible.
10) The opportunity to show my children every day that democracy works. They protested with me last winter, see the people collecting recall signatures and go to the polls when I vote. We have had many conversations about why people are unhappy and what they are doing to try to force change. Whether the recall is effective or not, the politicians have started listening and some of the outrageous bills have now been defeated. My children have seen that peaceful protests do work and that every one of us can and should stand up and make a difference in our communities.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
End of Fall Update
The leaves have fallen off the trees and we are wearing winter coats. I have purchased new snow gear for the kids and we are just waiting for those first snow flakes to fall. We actually had a dusting about a week ago but it wasn't really enough to play in and only lasted a few hours. While I'm not in a hurry for winter, it will be fun to take the kids sledding and build some snowmen.
So it appears the end of fall is here. We had a great Fall. As my previous posts discusses, school is off to a great start. The kids are enjoying it and having lots of fun and success.
Jacob's school has an active PTO and the kids have a lot of opportunities. I went with his class on a field trip earlier this year to a playtime farm and pumpkin patch. I led a group of 3 kids through the farm and we all learned a lot about being a farmer. The next week Jacob's class went to a play downtown that was a lot of fun and a nice break. We actually saw it the day before as a family but it was entertaining enough to be fun twice.
Jacob attended his first dance last week. It was the fall family costume dance and he enjoyed wearing his costume for school. The kids all had a great time running around the gym and playing games of chase and tag. It's an elementary school so there was very little actual dancing going on and the kids had a great time. I even got on the dance floor and danced a little with Jacob at the end.
Matthew's school has not been as active and unfortunately he has missed the field trips with day care because he goes to 4K for 3 hours every morning. I have tried to make up for some of it by taking him myself for some one-on-one time but I know it's not the same. It's actually becoming a little bit of a problem because he is feeling left out and frustrated. I have been trying to spend extra time with just him and am going to a family dinner at his school Monday night. It's only the second fun activity the school has done and the first one we could join. I'm hoping he enjoys it and it helps him feel a little less liftout.
Jacob finished flag football and had a great time. He really enjoyed it. He has also gone to a couple of UW-Women's basketball games with my dad which he really enjoys. My dad and Jacob are both enjoying him being old enough to do a few more things togther that they both enjoy.
Both kids are loving swimming lessons. They are both making progress and having fun. It is one after school program that they have to participate in. I want them to both be strong swimmers so they can have fun with their friends when they get older and be safe.
Life with two boys is busy but also full of blessings and fun. The good times definitelly out number the challenging ones and everyone continues to do well. I can't ask for more during this month of thanksgiving.
So it appears the end of fall is here. We had a great Fall. As my previous posts discusses, school is off to a great start. The kids are enjoying it and having lots of fun and success.
Jacob's school has an active PTO and the kids have a lot of opportunities. I went with his class on a field trip earlier this year to a playtime farm and pumpkin patch. I led a group of 3 kids through the farm and we all learned a lot about being a farmer. The next week Jacob's class went to a play downtown that was a lot of fun and a nice break. We actually saw it the day before as a family but it was entertaining enough to be fun twice.
Jacob attended his first dance last week. It was the fall family costume dance and he enjoyed wearing his costume for school. The kids all had a great time running around the gym and playing games of chase and tag. It's an elementary school so there was very little actual dancing going on and the kids had a great time. I even got on the dance floor and danced a little with Jacob at the end.
Matthew's school has not been as active and unfortunately he has missed the field trips with day care because he goes to 4K for 3 hours every morning. I have tried to make up for some of it by taking him myself for some one-on-one time but I know it's not the same. It's actually becoming a little bit of a problem because he is feeling left out and frustrated. I have been trying to spend extra time with just him and am going to a family dinner at his school Monday night. It's only the second fun activity the school has done and the first one we could join. I'm hoping he enjoys it and it helps him feel a little less liftout.
Jacob finished flag football and had a great time. He really enjoyed it. He has also gone to a couple of UW-Women's basketball games with my dad which he really enjoys. My dad and Jacob are both enjoying him being old enough to do a few more things togther that they both enjoy.
Both kids are loving swimming lessons. They are both making progress and having fun. It is one after school program that they have to participate in. I want them to both be strong swimmers so they can have fun with their friends when they get older and be safe.
Life with two boys is busy but also full of blessings and fun. The good times definitelly out number the challenging ones and everyone continues to do well. I can't ask for more during this month of thanksgiving.
1st Quarter Completed
Jacob and Matthew have completed their 1st quarter of their public school careers. I attended parent teacher conferences and was very impressed with their progress. They are both ahead of most of their peers academically. Jacob has already completed all of his end of the school year goals and Matthew has started the second quarter curriculum at the end of 1st quarter. I am hoping their academic success will continue.
Jacob has started having nightly homework. He brings a simple phonics level book home with beginning sight words that he is suppose to read three times. I know how important reading is to his future academic success so I actually make him read his assigned book and then also read a book of his choice from our home library. I am happy that he is in the top reading group for his class but that doesn't mean he gets to relax now. I want to make sure he is continuing to practice and progress and doesn't begin to slide.
Math is an area that I haven't really started to emphasize too much. As he gets older I may force him to practice it more but right now it doesn't seem to be necessary. His teacher stated math comes very easy to him and every time they introduce a new concept or ask him to do something a little harder, he easily accomplishes it. Last week he started bringing home basic addition worksheets. I will probably have him do extra math problems if he ever starts to have trouble but right now he is accomplishing math skills for the end of kindergarten or the beginning of first grade so I don't want to push him too hard at home.
Matthew also is finding school is very easy. I was told last week that he is getting to his day care in time for their 4K curriculum. That means he is getting the school district curriculum as well as the day care's which is a little more advanced. I am hopeful that it will give him a little bit of a head start for kindergarten next year. He is really excited about learning to read so I am hopeful he can continue to love reading and learning.
So far their school careers are off to a great start just as I am preparing to end mine. I have most of my work done for this semester which means I just have 2 classes, a research project and an internship to go before I graduate in August. It will feel so great to have this degree and work behind me. Now I just have to complete my licensure exams and I will be all set. I plan to send in the paperwork for those tests next week and hope to take the exam in December.
Jacob has started having nightly homework. He brings a simple phonics level book home with beginning sight words that he is suppose to read three times. I know how important reading is to his future academic success so I actually make him read his assigned book and then also read a book of his choice from our home library. I am happy that he is in the top reading group for his class but that doesn't mean he gets to relax now. I want to make sure he is continuing to practice and progress and doesn't begin to slide.
Math is an area that I haven't really started to emphasize too much. As he gets older I may force him to practice it more but right now it doesn't seem to be necessary. His teacher stated math comes very easy to him and every time they introduce a new concept or ask him to do something a little harder, he easily accomplishes it. Last week he started bringing home basic addition worksheets. I will probably have him do extra math problems if he ever starts to have trouble but right now he is accomplishing math skills for the end of kindergarten or the beginning of first grade so I don't want to push him too hard at home.
Matthew also is finding school is very easy. I was told last week that he is getting to his day care in time for their 4K curriculum. That means he is getting the school district curriculum as well as the day care's which is a little more advanced. I am hopeful that it will give him a little bit of a head start for kindergarten next year. He is really excited about learning to read so I am hopeful he can continue to love reading and learning.
So far their school careers are off to a great start just as I am preparing to end mine. I have most of my work done for this semester which means I just have 2 classes, a research project and an internship to go before I graduate in August. It will feel so great to have this degree and work behind me. Now I just have to complete my licensure exams and I will be all set. I plan to send in the paperwork for those tests next week and hope to take the exam in December.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Special Weekend
This weekend is a weekend full of fun and excitement. Jacob started us off with getting his football pictures taken and then playing a fun game of flag football yesterday morning. After that we all went to Kids In The Rotunda for a fun concert. Kids In The Rotunda is a fun series of shows aimed at preschool and elementary school aged children. The kids really enjoy the shows and Matthew has really learned to love singing and dancing. He is going to be my little musician as he gets older.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, yesterday was the only day I had free this month to take Matthew to the pumpkin farm. I went with Jacob's kindergarten class last week but Matthew's class hasn't scheduled a trip so I wanted to make sure he got a chance to go. Jacob stayed with our friends for the afternoon and Matthew and I had some alone time at the farm. It was a great afternoon and a great chance to spend time without any distractions. Matthew picked out a very bumpy pumpkin for us and an almost perfectly round pumpkin for our friends.
Today we are running again. As I am sure you can imagine, the kids were pretty tired last night. They fell asleep within 5 minutes of hitting their pillows and slept in until almost 8 this morning.
This morning we are headed to church where it is new member Sunday. We are sponsering our friends, Cindy and Aidan, as new members. Jacob and Matthew can't wait to take Aidan's hand and stand in front of the church with him. I am looking forward to it also.
This afternoon my parents bought us tickets to see a play "ImaginOcean." I am hoping the kids really enjoy it. Then we are headed home to work on laundry and cleaning before Jacob has his interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters tomorrow.
It's another full and fun weekend. Sometimes I would like to have a weekend to just hang out and relax but then I thing about all the fun things we would miss. I guess I'll just pack up the car, take a deep breath and go have some more family fun. Life is good.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, yesterday was the only day I had free this month to take Matthew to the pumpkin farm. I went with Jacob's kindergarten class last week but Matthew's class hasn't scheduled a trip so I wanted to make sure he got a chance to go. Jacob stayed with our friends for the afternoon and Matthew and I had some alone time at the farm. It was a great afternoon and a great chance to spend time without any distractions. Matthew picked out a very bumpy pumpkin for us and an almost perfectly round pumpkin for our friends.
Today we are running again. As I am sure you can imagine, the kids were pretty tired last night. They fell asleep within 5 minutes of hitting their pillows and slept in until almost 8 this morning.
This morning we are headed to church where it is new member Sunday. We are sponsering our friends, Cindy and Aidan, as new members. Jacob and Matthew can't wait to take Aidan's hand and stand in front of the church with him. I am looking forward to it also.
This afternoon my parents bought us tickets to see a play "ImaginOcean." I am hoping the kids really enjoy it. Then we are headed home to work on laundry and cleaning before Jacob has his interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters tomorrow.
It's another full and fun weekend. Sometimes I would like to have a weekend to just hang out and relax but then I thing about all the fun things we would miss. I guess I'll just pack up the car, take a deep breath and go have some more family fun. Life is good.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Jacob Is 6!
It is really hard to believe that next month will mark 5 years since I sat in my family doctor's office discussing Jacob's referral. The doctor gave me several reasons of why I should be cautious about accepting his referral. He spoke at length about Sturge Weber Disease and the small chance Jacob could have it. I knew in my heart he didn't and thankfully I was right. The doctor ended our meeting by handing me the information and stating, "I can tell that you already love this little boy and will be adopting him. I will be happy to help you care for him when he comes home." The doctor was right and over 4 and a half years ago I brought home an adorable and loving 17 month old boy.
That little boy just turned 6 on September 21. He has become a very funny little boy who loves life. He definetelly doesn't have Sturge Weber and none of the doctor's warnings have come true. I took him in to see that doctor last week for his 6 year old well-child check-up. The doctor examined him and talked to him for a few minutes. He then turned to me and stated Jacob has really settled down and is really mature for his age. I stated that I thought it was the age because Matthew is also beginning to settle down. He stated it isn't just the age. He stated it's not often he sees a child make the huge gains in maturity that Jacob has made over the past year. Way to go Jacob!
We celebrated Jacob's 6th birthday by going to a waterpark resort in the Dells last month. It was a lot of fun for the entire family. We met some friends up there and had a great weekend. It was fun watching how far all of the children have come in a very short period of time.
So stealing this idea from another blog I used to read. Here are 6 things I love about Jacob.
1) Jacob's smile. It's contagious and lights up his whole face.
2) His loving and caring personality. There isn't anything he won't do to please someone else (including his mommy).
3) How well he's doing in school this year. He's still ahead of many of his classmates and continues to learn new skills very quickly.
4) Watching him play sports. He is a good teammate and loves to interact with the guys.
5) The joy I see when I watch him work on a project with his Grandpa. There is no one he idolizes more. Whether it's cleaning out the truck, picking up sticks in the yard or walking through the store looking at tools, Jacob loves to spend time with his Grandpa.
6) Eating breakfast together. Matthew's school starts an hour before Jacob's and Matthew eats breakfast with his class so Jacob and I eat alone in the morning. It is a great time to talk about his school day and what he is looking forward to that day. We also spend that hour putting his lunch and backpack together.
Jacob is growing up quickly. Some days I worry he is growing up too quickly. He is becoming a big kid in front of my eyes. He will have his intake interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters next week. He wants a Big Brother or a Couple Match. He will make a great "little" for someone. His easygoing spirit and bright smile will be a great match for some prospective Big.
That little boy just turned 6 on September 21. He has become a very funny little boy who loves life. He definetelly doesn't have Sturge Weber and none of the doctor's warnings have come true. I took him in to see that doctor last week for his 6 year old well-child check-up. The doctor examined him and talked to him for a few minutes. He then turned to me and stated Jacob has really settled down and is really mature for his age. I stated that I thought it was the age because Matthew is also beginning to settle down. He stated it isn't just the age. He stated it's not often he sees a child make the huge gains in maturity that Jacob has made over the past year. Way to go Jacob!
We celebrated Jacob's 6th birthday by going to a waterpark resort in the Dells last month. It was a lot of fun for the entire family. We met some friends up there and had a great weekend. It was fun watching how far all of the children have come in a very short period of time.
So stealing this idea from another blog I used to read. Here are 6 things I love about Jacob.
1) Jacob's smile. It's contagious and lights up his whole face.
2) His loving and caring personality. There isn't anything he won't do to please someone else (including his mommy).
3) How well he's doing in school this year. He's still ahead of many of his classmates and continues to learn new skills very quickly.
4) Watching him play sports. He is a good teammate and loves to interact with the guys.
5) The joy I see when I watch him work on a project with his Grandpa. There is no one he idolizes more. Whether it's cleaning out the truck, picking up sticks in the yard or walking through the store looking at tools, Jacob loves to spend time with his Grandpa.
6) Eating breakfast together. Matthew's school starts an hour before Jacob's and Matthew eats breakfast with his class so Jacob and I eat alone in the morning. It is a great time to talk about his school day and what he is looking forward to that day. We also spend that hour putting his lunch and backpack together.
Jacob is growing up quickly. Some days I worry he is growing up too quickly. He is becoming a big kid in front of my eyes. He will have his intake interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters next week. He wants a Big Brother or a Couple Match. He will make a great "little" for someone. His easygoing spirit and bright smile will be a great match for some prospective Big.
Fall Fun
I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. I got very angry with my cable company (even the person who works there agreed with me about how horrible they are) and cancelled my internet service. Now, there are other companies I could go to for internet but I decided it was thirty dollars a month I could save by cancelling it. In the meantime, I am using the free internet at McDonald's and at work. I can only post on here when I am at McDonald's which means I have to find time around my school assignments and other internet needs. It is working out so far although it is inconvient so I may have to eventually find a new internet provider or go back to the cable company and order it again (Yikes!).
So what has been going on in the past month? A lot and not so much. We have been busy but yet there hasn't been anything really major or exciting (except that Jacob turned 6 year old). Here is a run down of our family's achievements the past month.
- Jacob started kindergarten and continues to love it. He is very proud of himself for learning how to read. It was wonderful to see the excitement on his face when he proudly exclaimed that he was able to read an entire sentence without the teacher's help. Yesterday he was breezing through his Kumon worksheets on writing and reading letters and stated it was too easy. It wasn't too easy when I bought it for him last Spring.
- Matthew has been enjoying 4K. He says his favorite activity is coloring which his teacher confirmed at a conference last week. He is very creative. For example, he took a piece of paper, colored a box and circles and said it was a boat. He then scooted it around the classroom for awhile before suddenly grabbing the glue stick and more paper. He made several more papers with boxes and circles, glued them together and proudly announced he had made a train. He has been working on the train for a couple of days now.
-Matthew and Jacob have both found a real interest in Legos. They are having fun creating their own boats, helicopters and other vehicles. Matthew can spend an hour playing with Legos if we don't have anything else going on.
-Jacob started his first year of flag football. He loves it. It's really the perfect game for him. He loves to chase other kids and be chased so football turned out to be the perfect sport for that. It's his first year and you can tell but he is getting better at it every weekend. Mostly, he is just having fun.
- Swimming lessons are back in full swing. The kids are both doing really well this session. Matthew is listening better and not splashing the other kids unless they want to be splashed. Jacob is able to swim the length of the pool with rotary breathing and can tread water for about 10 minutes. It helps to learn to tread when you can't touch the bottom of the pool and don't want to hang on to your mom all the time.
- I have started my last year of grad school. It was a really rough start with emergencies at work and with babysitter's but it has been better the past few weeks. I am almost halfway through the semester which is a great feeling. Now, I'm just worried about finding an internship for this spring. I have 2 places that I am sure I can do it at but I'm waiting to hear if the university will approve either of them. I have to be much pickier about where I work this time since I have to work full-time and can't take a lot of vacation each week like I did last time. I am sure I will be able to work something out though.
So that is a quick update. I'll post about Jacob's birthday next.
So what has been going on in the past month? A lot and not so much. We have been busy but yet there hasn't been anything really major or exciting (except that Jacob turned 6 year old). Here is a run down of our family's achievements the past month.
- Jacob started kindergarten and continues to love it. He is very proud of himself for learning how to read. It was wonderful to see the excitement on his face when he proudly exclaimed that he was able to read an entire sentence without the teacher's help. Yesterday he was breezing through his Kumon worksheets on writing and reading letters and stated it was too easy. It wasn't too easy when I bought it for him last Spring.
- Matthew has been enjoying 4K. He says his favorite activity is coloring which his teacher confirmed at a conference last week. He is very creative. For example, he took a piece of paper, colored a box and circles and said it was a boat. He then scooted it around the classroom for awhile before suddenly grabbing the glue stick and more paper. He made several more papers with boxes and circles, glued them together and proudly announced he had made a train. He has been working on the train for a couple of days now.
-Matthew and Jacob have both found a real interest in Legos. They are having fun creating their own boats, helicopters and other vehicles. Matthew can spend an hour playing with Legos if we don't have anything else going on.
-Jacob started his first year of flag football. He loves it. It's really the perfect game for him. He loves to chase other kids and be chased so football turned out to be the perfect sport for that. It's his first year and you can tell but he is getting better at it every weekend. Mostly, he is just having fun.
- Swimming lessons are back in full swing. The kids are both doing really well this session. Matthew is listening better and not splashing the other kids unless they want to be splashed. Jacob is able to swim the length of the pool with rotary breathing and can tread water for about 10 minutes. It helps to learn to tread when you can't touch the bottom of the pool and don't want to hang on to your mom all the time.
- I have started my last year of grad school. It was a really rough start with emergencies at work and with babysitter's but it has been better the past few weeks. I am almost halfway through the semester which is a great feeling. Now, I'm just worried about finding an internship for this spring. I have 2 places that I am sure I can do it at but I'm waiting to hear if the university will approve either of them. I have to be much pickier about where I work this time since I have to work full-time and can't take a lot of vacation each week like I did last time. I am sure I will be able to work something out though.
So that is a quick update. I'll post about Jacob's birthday next.
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