Reagan Finished Preschool

I cannot believe one year of preschool is already behind us!  Where did the time go?  It was a really great year from Reagan and I'm happy Ryan and I chose to send him to school this year.  He seemed to enjoy going each Tuesday and Thursday and it was always fun to have him come home and (kind of) tell me about the day.  I think he learned a lot and was able to make connections from things he learned at school to his everyday life.  I also really liked his teacher, Ms Kari.  She did a great job with the kids this year.  Although it took Reagan awhile to participate, by the end of the year, he thoroughly enjoyed music class with Miss Kitty!

We ended Reagan's last day of preschool the way we started it - lunch at Chick-Fil-A!  All in all, it was a great year!

12 Weeks of Summer

A few weeks ago I started thinking about this summer and what it would look like.  I had seen lists on Pinterest before about "100 free things to do this summer" and it sparked my interest.  I then counted the number of days from when Reagan gets out of school until this first day back.  It is 87 days.  So I thought I'd come up with a list of 87 things for us to do.  I couldn't quite get that many and after talking with Ryan about taking weekends "off" I came up with a new plan.

There are 12 complete weeks of summer.  Instead of finding an activity for every single day, I decided to find an activity for each weekday - so we have 60 activities instead of 87.  Phew!!  Some of the activities I've chosen are very simple or things we would do anyway (like walk around the block or read books).  But other activities are more involved, like making homemade pizza or visiting a farm.  I've got a decent mix of at home/indoor activities as well as adventurous/outdoor activities.

I wrote all of our activities on wooden craft sticks and I'll place them in a mason jar.  Each morning, one kid will take a craft stick out and that will be the activity for the day.  I'm really looking forward to doing this with the kids because I feel they will get excited about picking the activity and it will also provide some structure during a very un-structured time of year!  At the end of the summer, I'll post a picture of all the craft sticks together for a complete list of the things we did.

The Kids - April 2015

I'm really slacking these days, but here are my notes from last month:

Reagan:

• Learned how to buckle himself
• Observing everything!  He likes to observe numbers, especially the number 4
• Can do some very basic math (2+2)
• One of his dogs is now called Max; Max eats everyday and takes quiet time and prays with us at night
• A more nurturing side is coming now in how he cares for Max
• Comes up with ridiculous stories of why he should get things (like watching a movie because he broke his leg)
• Loves all things Planes: Fire and Rescue (imaginary play is done this way)
• Wants to only read the "S is for Shapes" book 

Kyleigh:

• Can easily count to 12 and sometimes to 20, but gets confused in the teens
• Giving us attitude again :(
• Very motherly toward Rylan (wipes her nose, tries to carry her, calms and soothes her, etc)
• Eating cat food again
• Has to take off jacket/shoes the moment she walks into a building

Rylan:

• Loves to take shoes and socks off in the car
• Kinda saying mama
• Has a will and is using it!  Does NOT like when I redirect her away from the street or when we turn around to walk back to the house
• Wants to be on the ground walking; only wants to be held on her terms
• Teething again (1 more came through)
• Understands coat, socks and shoes and will point to them or walk to where they are before we leave the house
• Sometimes understands who Reagan and Kyleigh are
• When she wants something, she'll lift her arms up and wiggle her wrists (mostly when she wants me to pick her up)
• More interested in books
• Likes to put things on her head

Let Go

God reminded me today what my priority is and should be.  But I didn't accept that reminder right away; I had my plans, my ideas first.  And then I had to let go of those and return to my first priority.

A little backstory - I feel like I have a lot on my plate right now; mostly in regards to the upcoming garage sale and then work starting back up at the end of this week.  Any free moment I get is put toward organizing and prepping all our outgrown stuff for the garage sale.

When I put Rylan down for her nap today, she didn't fall asleep like normal.  In fact, she cried for quite awhile, which is very unlike her.  However, I dismissed the cries for the first 10 minutes.  After sending Reagan and Kyleigh to their rooms for quiet time, I walked into Rylan's room, held her for a few minutes and put her back down.  In my mind, I had 45 minutes before Reagan's quiet time was over to sort through clothes for the sale.  She screamed as I shut the door.

I went downstairs, quickly going through the clothes while listening to her wails.  I gave her 15 more minutes before I finally went back up to hold her.  The moment I walked in the door and picked her up, she immediately calmed down.  She snuggled her head into my neck and began to relax.  "Ok.  I'll hold her for 10-15 minutes until she falls asleep, then I'll put her back down, and sort through another stack of clothes before Reagan gets up."  I knew she was asleep so I started to put her back into the crib.  I no more than reached over the railing before the screams began again.

Here was my wake up call from God.  This is the exact text I sent to Ryan: "I guess my calling today is to hold our baby girl so she can sleep.  Let go of the things I "need" to get done and be here for her, right?"  It dawned on me after my third attempt to get her to nap today that all she needed was me to hold her.  She needed mommy's arms and the rhythmic motion of the rocker to calm her down.  I checked on Reagan because this was about the time he should be finished with quiet time and he was sound asleep in my bed.  And that's when I knew I had to let go.  Rarely do I get Reagan to take a nap, so when he does, I take full advantage of all 3 kids sleeping at once to get things done around the house.  But I didn't have 3 kids sleeping; I only had 2.  My baby girl wanted mommy time.  So instead of fretting about everything I "could" be getting done during that 2 hour window, I sat in the rocker that hasn't been used in 2 months and snuggled with my little girl who doesn't snuggle all that much anymore.  During this time I remembered why Ryan and I sacrifice to have me stay home.  It's not so we can have a perfectly clean home (haha, like that ever happens!) or gourmet meals on the dinner table every night.  I stay home to be with my kids; to be their comfort when they are out of sorts.  Today was one of those days.  Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that being Mom was more important than sorting through clothes for a garage sale.

Reagan Turns 4

This post is a little later than I'd hoped, but oh well.  I've got to give myself a little grace in some areas of my life ;)

I can't believe Reagan is FOUR!!  Where have the past four years gone?  I seriously don't know.  Ryan and I were talking the other day about how quickly these years are passing; although it doesn't always seem that way.  He's becoming such a sweet spirited and caring child.  He's definitely not a toddler anymore; he's grown up to "kid" status!

Annual photo of wearing daddy's shirt

 

For Reagan's birthday, we took him to get a donut before church at Mariano's.  The day before, the kids and Darcy made Mickey Mouse pretzel snacks for Reagan to take to Sunday School with him for their treat.  He was thrilled to be able to share these snacks with his friends.  The best part of the morning, though, was being in "big" church during singing and then going down to Children's Church for the first time.  By far, this was the most exciting part of turning four ;)

So excited to be in Children's Church with Katie as his teacher

After quiet time ended, we decided to give Reagan one of his presents: his bike with training wheels!  He was really excited, but had a hard time trying to ride it.  The weather was a little chilly, so he didn't stay out for very long.

Learning to ride with training wheels!

It was time to make dinner anyway. Reagan originally requested "meat and ground beef."  We guided him toward picking hamburgers and when I asked him what he wanted as a side dish, he said "chicken."  No question, this little guy likes to eat!!  We ended up having hamburgers and home baked french fries (so yummy!).

 

The Lehmanns and Sue came over for dessert and presents. I made him a blue square lego cake with 4 nodules on the top.  I even wrote "LEGO" on each of the nodules.  I think he really liked the cake.  He grinned from ear to ear the whole time!  Reagan received lots of Planes: Fire and Rescue presents, as well as Legos, some Thomas stuff, and some clothes.  All in all, it was a really fun day to celebrate the little man turning four!

LEGO cake!

Planes: Fire and Rescue

A Planes: Fire and Rescue tent!

 

New Advendture - Work

If you read my post about becoming debt free, then this post won't be that much of a surprise.  After Ryan and I sat down and set our debt free goals, we were discouraged with the amount of time it was going to take.  That said, we had two options: first, Ryan gets a part time weekend job or second, I get a job.  Without a doubt, the first wasn't even a real option in my mind.  So I began the hunt for a job.  I was open to working nights and weekends at a place like Starbucks or Marianos.  But the ideal position would be a work from home job. Through some really cool circumstances, I got a job that will allow me to work from home with my own hours!  I started this new adventure on Monday, April 6th, 2015.

Let me tell you about the really cool circumstances!  It's so awesome to see how The Lord works things out.  I was very disappointed when we had to cancel Rylan's one year pics due to pink eye.  Little did I know that postponing her pics 10 days would open up this opportunity.  When we went to take the pics, I was casually talking with my friend about returning to her job once maternity leave was over and she mentioned that she had just quit the day before and that she would now be working from home (insert mental note here).  Fast forward 3 weeks when I decide to start looking and I immediately think of my friend and the job she has.  I texted her and asked if her company was hiring.  My friend didn't think so, but said she'd talk to her boss when her boss returned from vacation the following week and let me know.  It turns out that the boss's daughter had just resigned and they were beginning the search to replace her!  My friend mentions me and I submit my resume and the rest is history.  How cool is that?!  If we would have taken Rylan's pictures as scheduled, my friend wouldn't have even mentioned the new job because she hadn't quit her old one yet.  God's timing is perfect!

Now, onto what I'm doing.  My official title is Data Conditioner.  To sum that up, I basically take raw files and reformat them into my company's standard format.  I also review the files for accuracy and look for anything that may be out of place, but the jist of it is reformatting so our Programmers can then do their job.  The really awesome part is that I basically only work the first 2 weeks of every month.  I currently have 4 clients (with the option of taking more in the future if I want); my work needs to be complete by the 12th of the month for 3 of those clients and the last client the work needs to be complete by the 17th of the month.  Once I'm done, I don't need to start working again until the following month.  Everything is very cyclical.  I'm paid a flat rate based on the clients, so I know how much I'll be making each month. 

My first month of work went great and I'm really excited for this opportunity.  It is the ideal situation for my family: I get to make a little extra to help us pay down our debt, but I still get to focus on my main priority - my 3 adorable kids!  Praise to the Lord for supplying my needs :)

The Kids - March 2015

I've gotten so bad at this lately :(  I seriously think it is because I'm no longer nursing, so I don't sit down with my phone in hand 4 times a day.  I'm too busy with the kids and I often think of making my notes while I'm driving and I obviously can't do that!  So, here is another month of weak note-taking!

Reagan:

• Officially in a big boy bed (removed the guardrails from the side of the bed)
• Loves to fly planes in the basement (and make awesome plane noises)
• Imaginative play is great
• Enjoyed his birthday!  His favorite part was being able to attend children's church

Kyleigh:

• Very interested in coloring
• Obsessed with the cats (follows them around the house, constantly touching them, saying 'kitty cat' etc)
• Very sweet with Rylan, especially when Rylan's upset

Rylan:

• Loves to give big open mouth kisses
• scrunches up her nose and gives a big smile
• Goes from sitting to standing without using help to pull up
• Walking EVERYWHERE!! Got more confident each day
• Four teeth came in
• Said first word "bye bye" on March 29 (although Ryan thinks it was "tattoo" on March 28, and Darcy thought it was "momma" on March 23
• Will only play with real remotes; won't even play with the grey colored old real one (she knows it's not the one we use to work the TV)
• Does a good job backing down the stairs
• Starting to play games (a favorite is peekaboo)
• Moved her to a big girl car seat
• Loves to look over the side of her car seat to the middle of the van when I put her in
• Has learned how to take off her tennis shoes (grr!!)