Little entrepreneurs

All summer, Nate and Lucy have been having fun making bracelets and other creations on their Rainbow Looms, which are looms used to loop little rubber bands.

Here are a couple of bracelets Nate recently made:

So Lucy decided she wanted to sell some of her creations. She made a sign and price tags, and she grouped her creations into prices (50 cents, $1, and $1.50) according to how awesome she thought the creation was. 

We set up on a blanket by the mailboxes around 4:00/4:30.

Nate held the sign (and emphatically held it out whenever a car drove by). Levi declared himself the "pointer": when a car drove by, he stood there and pointed at Lucy. That was pretty cute.

I had told Lucy to expect maybe two or three people to stop by (I didn't want her expectations too high!), but over ten people came (either walking up or driving by, stopping, and coming over; one lady shopped straight from her car). 

Now they have the bug and are already talking about the next sale. Nate told Lucy how she could improve her sign and also thinks we should make a separate sign to put out earlier in the day saying when the sale will begin. He also thinks maybe he'll sell some of his creations (I think he has a harder time parting with stuff he has made, but he can't deny the appeal of big profits... Lucy made over $18, which is 36 weeks' worth of allowance!). Lucy plans on using her money to buy more loom bands to make more creations. 

Chicks at 8 weeks

Seven

Sweet Lucy turned 7 yesterday!

Here she was telling me to wait until she finished chewing... I thought it was cute though. :)

Another hospital trip

On Monday after school, Lucy started complaining of an upset stomach. By that evening, she was throwing up. By Wednesday morning, we knew we had to take her to the hospital, because by now we recognize the signs of dehydration and her body's inability to cope.

In the ER:

After one day and one night of IV fluids and IV zofran (anti-nausea), she was doing much better:

And by Thursday afternoon, she was feeling great:

By that evening, she was begging to go home and putting on a dance show for me:

We got to go home Thursday around 7:00 p.m. This was our shortest hospital stay with Lucy (thank goodness), and we are thankful she recovered so quickly. The nurses at CHOC/Mission Hospital are so great!

Lucy's baptism

When Nate was baptized two years ago, Lucy began asking, "When can I get bath-tized?" We told her we would love for her to be baptized and would keep talking about it. The Bible tells us that baptism is not what saves us--it isn't a requirement for going to heaven. It's a public declaration that we believe in Jesus and desire to obey Him. Once we felt Lucy understood that, we said yes she could be baptized. 

Last Sunday was the day! She wanted her Grampy Ray to baptize her. She answered his questions before the church (I especially loved when he asked how the church could pray for her and she said, "That I would obey my parents.").

Kids playing nicely

On the days Janel and I don't do our carpool thing, Levi and I pick up Lucy at 12:30 and occupy ourselves in Aliso Viejo until Nate gets out at 3:00. Dinosaur Park is a favorite spot (for me too: there's a Starbucks across the street). That's where we are today. L and L have the run of the whole place and are playing really nicely together.

Update on us

I know I've been sticking with strictly photo posts lately, so I thought I'd write a better update.

House
I now feel completely settled in our home. I have a short wish list of bigger-ticket items to try to get done over the next couple of years (paint the exterior; redo our closet; have recessed lighting in living room and kitchen installed; eventually get new windows), but nearly all of the small things I'd hoped to do to help the place feel like ours again are done. I didn't want the house to be like it was when we first lived here--my tastes have changed quite a bit (I have plenty of those "what was I thinking?" moments)--I just wanted a fresh start. I love it.

Christmas and Traditions
Christmas was great. We hosted the meal for the first time. I made creamed onions, among the other dishes, but the onions were my favorite.

Christmas break was GREAT. Having a break from the everyday rush was just what we all needed.

I spent some time feeling slightly guilty for having so few family traditions. We haven't done gingerbread houses. We don't do crafts. I don't go "all out" on anything. Yes, we do the tree and we go out to view Christmas lights, but I don't make a big to-do about the tree, and I don't pack snacks and hot chocolate and put on a specially made playlist to see the lights. Then I had a miniature epiphany... I don't view my main mothering role as making my children's lives fun--or even memorable. That's right. My main role is to teach them about Christ and to train them to be independent! I should be training them to be equipped (eventually) to live without me, not to depend on me for even more. Traditions and fun things are great, too, of course but I just realized that it isn't me--and that's OK. It isn't supposed to be my main goal anyway. I thought back to my growing-up, and what I appreciate now is not necessarily the fun stuff (there was fun stuff--yes--but not obsessed-over, has-to-be-done fun stuff) but the built-in life training stuff that prepared me for being confident later in life. So there it is--a mini epiphany.

School
Jon drives Nate and Lucy to school at least three days a week now, and it is wonderful. Levi and I don't have to rush out the door, and I can focus on making sure Nate and Luce are on track. Added benefit: Lucy behaves much better for Jon re: clothing bothering her and making it to class without fussing.

Lucy doesn't have anything particular to complain about, but she generally doesn't say she loves school. I can't decide if she's just trying to be difficult or if she's truly bored.

Nate told me over Christmas break that he didn't want to go back to school because no one plays with him. :( I had gotten the impression that no one was especially nice to Nate and that he also acted pretty annoyingly toward other kids (pestering them, getting into their personal space, not keeping his hands to himself, always trying to be first). I didn't know that he was by himself every recess, though. So we talked about some strategies for him and also decided he would make an effort with Jake, one of the boys who isn't "mean." (One of the reasons he was by himself at recess was that Jake always wants to play ball and Nate didn't want to. So we decided if he wants to have a friend, he should offer to play what Jake wants. After starting school again last week, this is what Nate says he did and it worked.) I'm hopeful the rest of the school year will be positive for him.

I've spent most of a day writing bits and pieces of this update... time to publish! :)

School: one week in

The transition to school has gone pretty well! Both kids are smiling and talking about the fun they had when I pick them up.

The hardest part so far is the mornings with Lucy--specifically, the 50 feet between the school parking lot and her class, which should take less than a minute but inevitably takes much longer (one day about 25 minutes). She has a rough time with her shoes and socks (required at school), even though she need only wear them between the car and class, since they take them off in class. And yes, you read that right--one day it took 25 minutes, between tantrums in the car, tantrums in the parking lot, and tantrums on the ramp into class (and she still wasn't late--I've been arriving early since I know the meltdowns are coming). I'm pretty sure every parent and every administrator witnessed those. I was pretty close to turning around and taking her home, but then I would be stuck with her! I know that sounds bad, but she has fun in class and does well in class, and then I get a break--from the tantrums and screaming and battles. Last night before bed, we were talking about how much she screamed in the car yesterday on the way to school, and I asked if she has tantrums like that in her class. "No," she said. "I am good for my teachers. I try extra to be good for them." So I asked, "Why don't you try extra to be good for me, too, then?" She answered, "I can't." Hmm... we'll have to talk more about that one.

Nate has had nice things to say about his teacher and the other kids in his class. He loves recess best (they get two) and has been excited about the foods I'm sending in his snack and lunch. He's adjusting well!

Levi is getting used to the quieter house, especially since we still have plenty of out-of-the-house meetings, park dates, and errands to keep us busy.

First day of school

We had a great morning!

Truth be told, I teared up when Nate walked into his class. I was glad he didn't even pause to look back, though!

Lucy had a little bit of a hard time walking from the car to her class because of her shoes (there was a 10-minute delay while she took them off and put them back on a couple of times. I arrived early for this reason), so I actually didn't feel too misty-eyed when she went into her class successfully. :) Here she is with one of her new friends she met at the kindergarten park playdate last week:

And now it's just this guy and me.

We went to the school's opening ceremony together, which was for 1st through 8th graders (so we saw Nate).

Then he asked me to take this picture of him.

Now we're home and it's pretty quiet!

Back to School Party 2012

This year's party (our first) is actually called the Night Before School Party, since we aren't really going "back" to school but starting it for the first time. I wanted to make it special and fun for the kids so we can start a fun tradition that is pretty simple for me to accomplish (dinner? already do that anyway. dessert? not too hard. invitations and decorations? simple to print out and blow up.).

I bought a small gift for each child as a surprise waiting for them at the dinner table. Nate got a mini Simon game. Lucy got three new puzzles--something she has been asking for. Levi got a car.

At dinner, we took time to say what we love about each child, and Nate and Lucy also told us what they're most looking forward to at school. I told Nate I love that he is a leader and that he is a good singer even if he doesn't like to sing. :) I told Lucy I love that she is compassionate and that she loves to color. I told Levi I love that he is affectionate. Nate said he is most looking forward to playing with friends at school. Lucy said she is most looking forward to coloring.

School

As I mentioned briefly, Lucy got into Journey School! We got the call a couple of weeks ago that she'd moved up the waiting list from number 10 all the way into the class. That means that Nate is now number 1 on the 2nd grade waiting list.

Lucy and I went to a brief meeting with several of the kindergarten teachers. They asked me about Lucy's temperament, eating and sleeping habits, likes and dislikes, etc. They do this for all the children and take the information into account when dividing the classes; they try to balance the classrooms this way. I'll be very interested to see if Lucy's "home personality" comes out in the classroom. Although the teachers exchanged smiles remembering other "shy in public, crazy at home" students who reveal their "home personalities" by October or November, I tend to think that won't happen with Lucy. I think she'll save up all her tantrums and craziness for the car ride home from school each day. :)

One of the reasons I didn't post right away with the good news about making it into the school is that I've been struggling with some indecision. I do believe this is a good decision for us, but I can't help feeling guilty for giving up on homeschooling. And there are some things that are so nice about homeschooling that I know we'll miss. (For example, we've gone to the pool several times in the past couple of weeks by 11:00 or 12:00--when the kids would normally still have several hours of school left. Another "nice about homeschooling thing" we'll miss is the flexibility, especially with travel: my sister Lucy is getting married in September--yay!!!!--and homeschooling would have meant we could travel to Virginia for however long we needed/wanted. Being in Journey School will mean the children will have to go to VA for the shortest trip possible.) So, like I said, I'm still wavering. I don't think I want to homeschool; I'm just mourning the loss of the great things about it. (I think.)   :)

Hospital... again

Well, Lucy has ended up in the hospital again. She began throwing up Tuesday morning with what seemed like a stomach virus. By Tuesday late afternoon, when the Zofran I'd given her still wasn't helping, we thought about taking her in to the ER. A nurse practitioner friend said we could give her another Zofran (this was about 7:30) and see if that helped. When it didn't, we decided to take Lucy in. They admitted her and gave her IV fluids and IV Zofran overnight. They ran her CO2 levels, which measure blood toxicity (I think). In a healthy person, the number should be in the 20s. Back when Lucy was admitted to the hospital in February, her number was 12. Tuesday night, the number was 6. This was very concerning to the doctors. Today they did a couple of tests (x-rays and ultrasound) to try to figure out what the underlying issue is. Obviously, there is something more going on here so that her little body can't cope with stomach issues. The doctors don't know if it's an intestinal issue, a metabolic issue, a brain issue, or something else. The ultrasound and x-rays didn't show anything abnormal. Tomorrow they're going to do a small bowel follow-through (or something like that), which will show her digestive process to see if anything is out of whack there.

By late this afternoon, Lucy herself had perked up, ate some food, and was acting pretty good, all things considered.

It's definitely hard coordinating "life" with a child in the hospital--figuring out care for the boys, Jon needing to get in to work for a while, etc. But homeschooling definitely makes it easier (no drop-offs or pick-ups to worry about).

Though this is a stressful time, I do feel God's hand at work. After this past weekend, which was the annual women's retreat with church, I was feeling so encouraged, motivated, and joyful. I believe Satan wanted to attack that in any way possible! However, I think God was working yesterday while Lucy was sick. Normally, when one of our kids is sick I waver back and forth when deciding whether to bring him/her to the hospital. It's so hard to decide when is the point that they're "bad" enough to need to go in.... and then I convince myself they're doing a little better and we should wait until the next day to decide. However, THIS time was not like that. This time, yesterday evening, even when her symptoms were no different from times before, it was so clear: we're taking her in. Thank you, God.

Lucy is 5

Happy birthday to Lucy! Lucy is growing into a compassionate, spunky, humorous little girl. She loves to dance and be silly at home but likes to be quiet and reserved when we're out. I think "quality time" is one of her love languages; she always wants to be with me and/or doing something together.

Home

Lucy came home on Tuesday afternoon from the hospital. We are healthy and thankful!

Doing better!

Lucy is still at the hospital tonight, but she's doing so much better. She didn't want to eat anything all day today, but apparently what she needed was

In-n-Out. This was her second burger (protein style). :)

... or maybe not

I guess Lucy wasn't getting better. Here she is tonight in the ER getting IV fluids:

After a week of throwing up (which stopped I think on Wednesday night), not eating, and being really lethargic/exhausted (e.g., taking four or five naps a day, though she hasn't napped in over 6 months), she started throwing up again today. After four episodes of that, we (Jon) took her to the ER. The bloodwork came back showing dehydration (pretty severe, I think), but thankfully that's it. They admitted her overnight to keep getting IV fluids, and Jon is staying with her. Thankful for God's protection and for insurance, good hospitals close by, and a good husband/daddy.

Ballerina

I love this picture Lucy brought home from school on Tuesday.

A stream-of-consciousness update on school

I know I've been neglecting the blog lately. Sorry!

I've been thinking a lot already about next school year (2012-2013), because that's when Lucy will be in kindergarten and I won't be able to put off the where-will-she-be (home too? school?--public, private, charter?) question anymore. One thing I've learned over the past couple of months is that having one child in school (she's doing preschool 2 days a week right now) and another homeschooling makes both situations more difficult in some ways. (This was not expected--I originally thought having Lucy in preschool would be mostly helpful).

One of the benefits of homeschooling is eliminating the morning crazy rush. No matter how much I prep the night before, no matter how early I get up, if we need to be out of the house before 8:00 a.m. there is always rushing, stress, shoe hunting, unbrushed teeth, and carseat fighting (never heard of carseat fighting? It means two things: 1. children who fight their carseats because they're "too tight" and 2. children who fight each other while getting into their carseats). So, with one child in school, you have to deal with the morning crazy rush AND then come home with the homeschooling child to do all the work you could have been doing for the previous hour. Then later, you may be in a "groove" but must interrupt it to go pick up the in-school child.

So I would like, for simplicity and my sanity, to have both children in the same schooling situation--either at home or in school. And, while homeschooling with Nate is going relatively well (his initial excitement has definitely worn off, and he'd rather not do most of it, but he is learning stuff... and I had already decided at the beginning of the year not to be too intense with academics since he is doing fine in that area), I'm a little scared of homeschooling Lucy. She loves drawing and letters and projects and crafts, so the actual schooling part might be easier with her; it's the personality clashes and strong will that have me worried. And, frankly, it's the idea of even more work for me that is also worrying.

But if I "quit" homeschooling after one year, I feel like that makes me look like a failure. I value consistency and perseverance. When I think of our kids' long-term schooling lives, the picture I hate most is "a year here, two years doing this, then another year here, followed by a stint at this other place." I've always looked down on others' actions I perceived to be inconsistent, willy nilly, weak, and undependable.  I know the Lord is teaching me grace through this process (and through mothering in general), as I go through these types of decisions and realize my past perceptions were ungracious!

So here are my current options:
Homeschool both kids - I've come to the realization that to be an effective, loving, not-so-stressed-out homeschooling mom, I would need to quit my one-day-per-week/freelance job. This has been nagging at me for several months, and I've been ignoring it for several reasons. I really like this job. I really like my one day a week in the office. And we have genuinely needed the income it has provided. However, I know that if I didn't have that I-have-to-get-this-2-hours-of-work-done stress hanging over my head every single day, I would be so much freer to be more invested in and "present" for homeschooling. This is difficult for me, because this job is a nice boost to my ego and I like it. However, when I look at the big picture and my list of priorities, the job is way down on the list. But day to day, it doesn't get treated that way.


Try to get them into charter school - There is a local public charter school (Oxford) that has been around for a couple of years and focuses on addressing the learning styles of each student. I've heard great things about this school and think Nate would do well there (and Lucy too). To me, this is a much better choice than our regular local public school. The problem is there is a rather large waiting list (I heard 1,400)! I think April or May is when enrollment occurs--and the lottery after that. I guess I could get Nate and Luce into the lottery and let that be the deciding factor! Ug--but I hate to wait that long.

So there you have it: my current thinking on school/homeschool.

Gymnastics

Lucy has been asking for a while if she could take gymnastics. I heard about a good, affordable local place that is directly across the street from the Aliso Viejo library (perfect for homeschooling!). Today she took the free trial class and loved it. I think it'll be a weekly thing now! A testament to how much she wanted to do it was that she wore this outfit without complaining--and even wanted to keep it on afterward to show Jon. :)

Lucy's first day of preschool

Lucy had her first day of 2-days-a-week preschool today. She was nervous. She cried at drop-off but I think had a good time overall. I'm trying to keep my bad comments to myself regarding her attitude.

OK I'm back. With a few hours removed from the bad attitude, I can now write some more comments. :) This evening, Lucy told me the following about her day:

- she painted on a big piece of paper (not just tiny) and got lots of paint on her hands
- she made a friend named Kara (I wonder if her name is actually Kiera) and played with her on the playground, pretending to make cakes and using a sequin Lucy found as a candle
- she played dress-ups with Kara, and there were two purple dresses with sparkles
- it was pretty crowded on the playground
- she swung on the swing all by herself

I think she loved it and am hopeful she won't cry at drop-off on Tuesday.