When Liam Grows Up

I have been having a discussion with Liam regarding his plans when he grows up. It seems he will ride a black and red motorcycle (motor-hyeal) and get a helmet. He will also drive his dad's red truck to work, but he will need to get a key.

Glad he has a plan.

Remember the Mess?

http://twinklestarsandsilvermoons.blogspot.com/2012/03/mess-and-challenge.html

That should jog your memory. I have been trying to figure out how to better organize Liam's  toys without spending a fortune, but nothing was really working for me. I finally decided I would just buy some Oak shelves from Lowe's and use brackets to put two or three up.
I was waiting to find out if we are moving or not, though, and in the meantime, something turned up!
My mom's upstairs neighbor is moving into a dorm and getting rid of her furniture. This meant free ladder shelves for me.

It's not organized or complete yet, but it's a start, and I am happy!

Tacky is okay, right?

Liam's sandals have been kicked off somewhere in the house, and his cute little plaid shoes are getting too raggedy. I like to save his navy leather ones for really nice occasions..they never really get worn.

So I headed up to Other Mothers. Sure, I could find a cute pair on ebay, but then I would have to pay shipping. That's okay if I find a great deal on a pair of Nikes or something, but really I wanted new shoes for Liam today.

I found a pair I loved, size 7 brown boat shoes with ties, and completely cute. However, near them, at the same price, were ugly Lightning McQueen shoes. To me there is nothing tackier or Walmartier than cartoon character clothing. But I also know Liam. And I am sure, he would much prefer to wear a pair of ugly race car shoes, over a cute stylish pair that had to be tied. It really would be a pain to tie those leather ties.
So..I bought the ugly shoes. I guess if you can't be tacky at two, when can you be?

P. S. This does not provide an open license for people to start buying him Cars stuff or similar. It will disappear, most likely.

I have seen various weekly meal plans. Here is another.

Affordably Organic

First day of "summer"

Yesterday was the kids'  last day of school for the year. Next year, Tierney will be a senior, Caleb a sophomore, Taryn an 8th grader. Slip, sliding away.

I woke too early. It was getting light out. I tried to get more sleep, but it wasn't happening. After I got up, I heard Liam talking in his bed, so I got him up, too.

It was about 6:24. I guess I will have to e a s e into sleeping later.

But I just realized I never did make my summer schedule. Since I want real memories this summer, and not just web-surfing, I think I really need a schedule. I will post it on the blackboard. That blackboard contact paper really works. I covered a broken picture (no glass) with it, and voila! The only bad thing is, it wasn't large enough to cover the entire picture, so there is a seam.

Homemade Blackboard

By the way, I figured out the camera problem, sort of. While the computer just wasn't reading the camera when it was plugged in, this new computer Karl's parents bought him for his birthday has an SD card slot. Pretty simple to work with!

Okay...let's plan a schedule.

6-7 Wake up, make coffee, relax

7-8 Continue to relax, web-surf, email, breakfast for Liam

8-8:20 Get dressed, put on makeup, brush hair

8:20-10:30  Activities

                   Mornings outside

                   Park

                   Walk

                   Library (Friday, 10:00 storytime at Midtown, but not this Friday, for some reason)

                   Make sure Karl's awake between 9 and 10

Well, the first quarter of the day is done, but I am tired and overwhelmed now and need to go rest on the couch. Being pregnant is so hard.

Beautiful Lives

I was searching for new blogs to look at this morning. I just love seeing how other people live. I have always been somewhat of a cyber-stalker, not so much because I want to really see a person, but it has more to do with a fascination with how other people live their lives. Yeah, I know I have a tendency towards creepiness. At my age, I have learned just to accept it.

I found this beautiful one: August Fields. Honestly her home and life just look so beautiful.

I just like the title on this one. Accidental Homeschooling. Plus her about me profile has tons of links to other...blogs! I especially loved how her post said she was going to start her kids working right away on areas they didn't score in the 90% on their achievement tests scores. While I realize that everyone is different, and obviously on normed tests, most people will not be in the 90%, what's wrong with expecting excellence when your child can achieve it? I remember borrowing a friends folder, and the shock of seeing 70th and 80th percentile scores on her 8th grade achievement tests. Wasn't she ashamed, I wondered? I didn't say anything, and now that I realize that most people score lower than that I think she did quite well, but still, it was a bit of a shock to my uneducated freshman brain at the time.  And frankly my kids don't all score that high in all subjects, but considering they were raised in poverty by a mom who was fighting depression for a couple of years, I think they are doing pretty well. I do wish I had held it together better, been more organized, and demanded higher grades, but...it's a little late for that now;o). Have to keep moving forward. I could demand no C's next year. Tierney would die. How that child is planning to make it through college is beyond me, but I suppose she has her own path to forge.

Liam is watching Caillou. He loves this show. He is also walking on the loveseat (barebutted, because he still won't pull his pullups up and down to use the potty), and making noises along with the show. It's funny. 

Fun Day!

Today  I didn't quite make it out the door by 7:30 like I had planned, but Tierney, Liam, and I were able to leave by about 8:45. I took $120 out of the bank (our grocery money for the week), and we headed to yard sales. We were looking specifically for drinking glasses, interesting books, a changing table, a baby swing, and decent clothes. We found none of these. We did find an umbrella stroller for a dollar. It's pretty rough, but it's perfect for yard sales, and it beats getting the regular stroller in and out all the time.
We also found a push toy for Liam. He calls it his lawn mower (he is all about lawn mowers and tractors right now), and has been having a great time with it. I took some pics, but the new computer isn't reading Karl's camera for some reason.

Also Tierney bought three pair of shoes for about $7. So we spent $10, which wasn't bad.

We planned to go to the farmer's market, but Jake asked Tierney to go to the hospital with him. His little sister is in town (Jake lives with his dad), and after she had been acting strangely yesterday they took her to the ER, where it was discovered she has a brain tumor. She is now being taken to Little Rock to see a specialist.

Taryn decided to go with me, and we picked up lots of greens, broccoli, tomatoes, and some baked goods. Finally, Karl and I went to the grocery store, and the house is stocked full of mostly healthy foods, with some sugar cereal because it keeps the big kids happy-and their pregnant mom, too.

So, while we didn't find any cute clothes, even the boy stuff I stumbled on was the wrong size, we had a nice time. I even got a little nap in, which is nice since I woke at 3:30.

Hopefully, we will figure the camera problem out soon! But for now, thanks Tierney's phone!

Only 40 minutes until leaving time!

I feel an edgy peace. Like everything is on the tips of my fingers, but I don't quite have the nerve to grasp.
And I am sort of okay with empty hands.

I think I am going to have to take more classes in regular education if I want a shot at getting interviews for regular ed jobs. I will have to pay out of pocket, which will hurt, but so be it.
It's sort of frustrating because I have more English classes than many who are just graduating with Bachelor's of English teaching degrees. I even have several methods classes for English/Reading. Maybe I need to put that in my cover letter? I need to really decide if I like elementary or secondary, or at the very least make two different profiles, so I seem focused. I have a year to do that, I suppose.

It's weird to be expecting a baby. I feel so.....I don't know.


Love,

Jill

Home Plans

If we don't get to buy a house this year, I already have plans for what to do this summer.
First, I am going to put an easy wall (paneling-maybe that fake brick stuff) up in the basement to make a
room for Caleb. Then we'll lay either cheap area rugs or vinyl tiles. Then find something to work as a door, paint the walls (actually we'll probably paint first), and Caleb will have his own space with easy to remove walls when we leave.

Exciting!

Potty Training

I think I can honestly say that Liam is now naked trained. Meaning if we leave his bottom half naked he will use the potty on his own (and dump it if the toilet is opened), flush and (with coaxing) wash his hands.
This is great around the house.
Now if we could just get him to a) pull his pants up and down OR b) tell us he needs to go when he is wearing pants, I would say he was fully potty-trained. Well...we have a few more months before the new baby is born.
If I practice the pants with him twice a day, that's well over 100 times to practice pulling them up and down. He thinks if he has pants on, he can just go in them (even without a diaper/pullup/underwear).


;o)