by Sarah | Feb 10, 2009 | All About Family, Crap
Since my last post five days ago (*gasp* FIVE days?!)…here is a snippet of where we’ve been…
*Archie’s been A-OK with homeschooling…
*Archie’s been not-so A-OK with homeschooling (for Brandon)
*I posted a review over at TwoBroomsUp – get your romance on 😉
*I started making chocolate-covered cherries 3 days ago – and I’m still working on it (almost done – must finish today or they won’t be ready for Friday)
*I’ve given away our old crib (Just need to deliver it now) – and the girls are crib free…
*Which has led to a permanent time-out of sorts where they are both under strict observation
*Which has also led to near-potty-trained-ness for Angel – with Riley having no choice but to follow behind now.
*I’ve been attempting to make plans to finally get my BFF Jess out here for a visit…which should happen in the next couple of months (I hope)
*I’ve hinted at Archie that we need to go to where Jess is for a family vacay this year – after all then we could go to Williamsburg! The really long car ride is giving him pause, though (and me)
*I’ve researched membership fees to museums around here
*I gave the blog a facelift finally (you like? It’s been done for weeks – just haven’t bothered to switch it 😉 )
*I barely touched my computer over the weekend
*And yet have managed to (maybe-possibly, hopefully) convinced hubs to let me use a wee-bit of the tax refund to get a MacBook. (Hey, if we’re homeschooling we’ll need more than one comp, right?)
*We’ve had a slew of discussions w/ Brandon about homsechooling. Archie is still on the fence.
*We went out to eat as a fam, then picked up a new keyboard and mouse (wireless) for the computer. You can once again see all the letters on the keyboard!
*I spent hours researching doggies on Saturday. Archie was curious. No dog in this house yet, though.
*What the HECK is THIS? Seriously? Yes, teaching my child to grab their crotch in public is GREAT FUN!
*Because I got called out by Holly about my bias AGAINST the Twilight books – and I HATE being called out like that…I started reading Twilight last night. I’ll let you (and her) know what I think when I’m done. No opinions yet, I just started (Opinions about the PMS book, though…predictable much?)
*I’ve (re)written another chapter in my novel. Things are progessing differently, and hopefully better. I still feel like I’m lagging a bit, but the first three days are important. Hopefully it will all move much faster from here. We’ll see what happens.
*I’ve reopened my writing blog, though I haven’t posted yet. I’m working on it slowly. Real life has been so hectic.
And that’s the big slew of randomness for today. I know I’ve forgotten the past week has been so crazy-hectic. Everything is going well…just hectic!!
Time for me to go visit the blogs on my neglected list. I seriously haven’t even visited…much less commented! So off I go!!
by Sarah | Feb 4, 2009 | Crap
This was floating around a few blogs a couple of weeks ago. I responded to a couple…these are my questions from Daisy over at Compost Happens – along with my answers!! You want a turn?? Just respond to this post with an “Interview Me!” and I’ll send you questions.Â
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1. You’re busy with three kids, all high-maintenance in their own ways (as if there are any other kind!). How do you take care of yourself?
Take care of myself? I’m not very good at that, to be honest. But when I get tense I usually find some way. I enjoy a nice relaxing bath with a good book…I like to window shop and can spend hours away from home just wandering the stores (how I usually de-stress). Lately the biggest thing I do that is actually taking care of myself – and a destresser – is Yoga. I try to do 30 minutes at least every other day.
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2. Gardening is a common theme. Do you have a plan for starting a garden next summer, and if so, how will it improve on last year’s?
I have plans to attempt a garden this year again. This time I’m going to have my husband take a cue from my neighbor (or ask my neighbor to do it) and put a raised bed in the backyard. I’ve been researching gardening and hope to actually get some yield this year.    Â
3. How did you come to start blogging, and how long have you been at it?
I started blogging about a year and a half ago when we were at the height of learning about our children’s special needs. We had just learned of Angel’s CF a few months before, and were edging toward Riley’s autism diagnosis – along with her RSS. I wanted a place to express what our life was like, and Redefining Perfect seemed the best way.
4. You’re south of my neck of the woods, but you’ve still been socked with some odd weather this winter. How do you cope, and how do your kids cope with winter?
I grew up in Buffalo, New York. This weather is nothing to me *lol* That’s how I cope. No, seriously. Lots of layers. My kids are almost as blase about the cold as I am. The only time the cold gets tough is when I’m inside. I expect it to be warm there…and in a house with no insulation we don’t get that…so many blankets :D And a nice hot cup of coffee all usually do it!
5. You’ve mentioned your dance background. What kind of dance did you study: ballet, jazz, tap, or some other form?
I studied it all. I started with tap when I was young and jealous of my brother for getting so much attention for his hockey. My mom stuck me in dance to shut me up and discovered a real talent.  I moved onto jazz and then, with much grumbling ballet – which I later learned to love. I also did some modern dance in college, and I’ve performed in local theatre shows – being dance captain in all of them. I still love dance and am trying to get back into it.
That’s it! Thanks so much, Daisy! I had a great time!!!!
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The RULES of the interview game:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
by Sarah | Feb 3, 2009 | All About Learning
The process has begun. The discussions are proceeding as expected.
The effects on our family have already begun.
Homeschooling.
When Brandon was very young I heard of homeschooling and was so intrigued by the idea. At the time I was a single mother and never imagined it was possible.Â
Archie and I married shortly before Brandon started elementary school and I was working full-time. Homeschooling seemed still something that wasn’t possible. We needed the two incomes, we thought…and so it was only mentioned in passing by me.Â
There was also the fact that I have little good self-discipline. So often in the past I’ve not followed through on things. Even Archie said to me just a few weeks ago that he didn’t think I had the discipline and I agreed with him whole-heartedly.
Then I got the thought under my skin. I’ve been researching…I joined a state-wide homeschooling group. I made the decision based on situations to pull Riley out – and because she’d be ticked if Angel kept going, decided to pull Angel out as well.
The wheels are in motion for those two – and we are in discussions of pulling out Brandon as well. Those discussions are more intense, with more variables affecting our feelings and imaginings of the outcome.
But just in that time, during a week full of snow days, a change has come over our family. We are spending more time together. We are getting along better. Brandon is talking to us a little more. Riley is not beating up Angel as much, and her mood is vastly improved.Â
It’s still scary and sometimes overwhelming to think about. But I’ve made some choices about what we’ll do about curriculum, and found some great field trip places and ideas that cater directly to homeschoolers.
Riley’s last day of preschool will be Friday. Angel’s will be next Thursday. No matter what our choice, Brandon will finish out the school year.
Wish us luck as we figure out this new aspect of our lives…it’s going to be exciting, scary, fulfilling and overwhelming…a learning process for us all.
by Sarah | Jan 31, 2009 | Personal
All Related Posts
I haven’t done weekly updates, I admit…but I HAVE gotten better about posting in general *LOL* But, I figured weekly was too much. I’m sticking to monthly updates. It’s easier to keep track of the credit issues that way. So anyway, onto the goals and what I’ve done about them!
Goal #1 Body Image
1. I have lost six pounds. I’m down to 151. My jeans are fitting differently, but I don’t think it’s because of the weight so much as the:
2. I’ve started doing yoga just about every day. I did not exercise every day in January because there was the whole broken toe to deal with, and getting used to kids being home…but I did start it and really liked it. This is something I’m keeping up with.
3. I have cut BACK on my pop drinking, but not enough. I still have bad days that I drink a LOT. I’m also not drinking more water. Hopefully that will get better.
4. I have also cut back on my grazing. I still do it, but not as much – I often try to replace food with a cup of coffee, but it doesnt always work.
In all I think this goal is going well. It’s not perfect yet, but I’m happy with the baby steps I’ve taken.Â
Goal #2 Finances
1. I did start keeping a check register…
2. And we started out strong w/ the budget
3. I’m still using the debt tracker spreadsheet…
But over all this goal went kerplunk before we got more than two weeks into January. I blew my grocery budget, we only lived on ‘cash only’ for one week. We didn’t follow any sort of budget and I didn’t track the spending like I should have.Â
Our goal is refocused for February. We have our tax refund coming in, but we’re still going to live on the budget while we pay some things off, and fix our truck. Hopefully we’ll do much better this month.
Goal #3 Home & Family
1. I made vague meal plans – but didn’t write them down…
2. I blew our grocery budget within a couple of weeks (not severely, but I definitely went overy by at least $50)
3. I’ve done fairly well with starting the cleaning. The ktichen at least. I’ve done dishes almost every day, and doen a good cleaning of it once a week. I need to improve. I started doing the laundry once a wk (mostly) – but putting it away is not good.
4. And I’ve made tons and tons of breads…more than we needed some weeks.
5. We’ve had a few family game nights. Not quite every week…but we’re working on it.
On a side note about this…this goal has evolved a bit. I’ve decided to start homeschooling the girls – and am strongly considering homeschooling Brandon, too. This has led to me doing some PT-HS w/ Brandon (it’s helped that we’ve had so many snow days). So, as we approach that goal, this goal will shift and change a bit. I may end up with my own goal set aside for homeschooling. For now, I’m goign to keep on the track I’m going.Â
In all, I feel our family unit is stronger already – and that was the main goal for this…so we’ll keep working on it!
Goal #4 Personal
1. I’ve started writing again – not quite twice a week every week, but this past week I’ve gotten closer.
2. On that end, I’ve rewritten 6 chapters of the novel and am pretty happy with what I’ve done so far.
3. I’ve gotten better about posting here again, even though I’m struggling some days for posts.
4. I haven’t officially re-opened my writing blog yet, but I’m close to it…I’m just wrapping up the site’s design and adding in some pages that I think are needed.  Hopefully that will come soon.
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Total wrapup: I’m feeling mostly good about how January went. Not completely great because of the financial road bump…but over all with all four goals – I’m happy. Baby steps is the point of this…so I’ll focus on my accomplishments and just hope to do better next month!!Â
by Sarah | Jan 30, 2009 | All About Kennedy
But the situation called for it.Â
I cut Angel’s hair. Yes, I did it myself…and no, I don’t think it looks horrible. There’s a few uneven portions, but that’s what happens when you have a 2.75 year old that has NEVER sat still, not even to feed. So, anyway…
When I had girls I imagined I would never, EVER cut their hair. I would let it grow and grow and it would be long and beautiful and I would style it and life would be joyful. I never imagined I’d end up with this:
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A ratty, tangly mess that is a pain to brush out. It used to be beautiful curls and then she started going nuts when she slept on her back and the curls became dreds. Now that she’s almost three it’s just dried out, ragged, and horribly tangled.  It’s also thinning, and unstylable, and hangs in her face constantly – with no ability to pull it back (too thin).
So, after much internal struggle I finally accepted the inevitable and pulled out the scissors. In the end she looks like this (ignore the red marks – she’s been tearing apart her nose and has severely chapped lips) –
[singlepic id=29 w=320 h=240 float=center][singlepic id=30 w=320 h=240 float=center]
I’m pleased enough with it. I may have to fine tune it later on tonight…but at least it’s out of her face (I gave her bangs, oy) and it’s holding hints of her curl again.
by Sarah | Jan 27, 2009 | All About Family, All About Me
For the past three and a half years since Riley’s first sign of illness I’ve been so many things. I’ve been an advocate, a medical researcher, a therapist, a teacher, a student, a fierce tiger fighting for answers, an emotional wreck wondering what was wrong and not feeling strong enough to handle it…
But those moments…those fleeting moments…of just being…MOM. They’ve been there, but so few and far between everything else that has been happening. Today something switched. I don’t know if it was my decision (more on that forthcoming in later posts)…or just an emotional release for me…or just one of those days…but tonight. For about 3 hours…that’s all I was.Â
I was washing dishes and for the first time in years the baby gates are down (have been for 3 days!!) – and the girls are excited to have access to the kitchen. I turned around from washing dishes to see they’ve done this:
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They dragged in books and plopped themselves down at the table. Carrying on a little conversation with each other they read their books and told each other about them. They seemed so grown up…and I just grabbed my camera and started snapping. It was such a great, peaceful moment. I only wish Daddy had been home to see it (he’s got work stuff tonight and tomorrow 🙁 ).Â
For a few hours I was just a mom, and a little bit of a teacher because after the dishes were done the girls and I sat down to go over flash cards to start rebuilding Riley’s knowledge again – and work on Angel’s. Then I went over Brandon’s homework with him and asked him to do some side work for me…and I manged to finish the dishes, half the laundry and getting our new storage pieces put up and partially filled.
I think I’ll like just being a Mom and what goes with standard teaching. Maybe I need the break from ‘school’ and therapy as much as I think the girls do.
