As I mentioned at the beginning of the year I have wanted to start working on preschool lessons with Z . All of his other little friends are in day care, mother’s day out, or pre k so I was a little concerned that he would fall behind by just staying at home with me. I have had several people assure me that he has plenty of time before he starts school and that I don’t need to worry. So, I am not pressuring him in anyway. He is about to be 3 and a half and has at least 12 years of structured schooling ahead of him so now is a good time for him to explore and have fun in a laid back atmosphere.

I am glad to have started the lessons at home with him though. It gives us a chance to have mommy son time, which I know makes him feel special. After our lesson he gets to put a sticker on the calendar for that day. We usually do this a couple times a week.

At the beginning of the year he could say his ABC’s and count, but he could not consistently name any of the letters, colors, or numbers with any accuracy. In just 2 months of working together on this he now knows how to spell his first and middle name. He can even write it (although it’s not always legible). He knows several letters of the alphabet and sometimes remembers what sounds they make. He can also recognize most shapes and about 8 colors.

That’s where we are at right now. I look forward to looking back at this next year and seeing how far he has come.

When SJ was about 3 months old she started sucking her thumb. I panicked, I blogged about it, and finally embraced it. Then after all that she quit at about 6 months. She loves the pacifier now, but she will ONLY take the Soothie brand. I have heard that it is the kind that they give you at the hospital (although, I wouldn’t know first hand). I had about 4 or 5 them which soon dwindled to two and then one. I had committed in my mind to never have to spend any money on a pacifier. When they are gone they’re gone, I told myself. Easier said then done. We would be up in the middle of the night looking for the paci. I would overturn furniture in desperate attempt to find the paci during the day. I literally have had multiple dreams about these coveted soothie pacifiers. I had a dream this week that I was on a beach and SJ’s soothie pacifiers were washing up onto the shore. Another time I dreamt that there were a bunch of them in the back of a drawer. Soon enough and with the overwhelming support of my husband I did go out and buy some more soothies… in every color.

Z was a paci addict too, but he took any paci we gave him. He took other kids pacis from them. He would suck on a paci while crawling around with a backup in his hand. I was worried sick that we would never be able to break this child, but when the time came (he was 16 months old) I packed them up with some of the other things I was bringing to the attic and that was that. It was so much easier than I ever expected.

However, I know this is not always the case. I heard this comedian, Dorie Mclemore tell a story about her daughters addiction and her attempt at an intervention. They called it a binky and in the middle of the night they took the binky while she was asleep. When the girl woke up she started looking for it and wanted it back. So Dorie explained “while you were asleep the binky fairy came and took all your binkies away, but look she left something under your pillow for you!” The little girl looked under her pillow to find 4 shiny quarters. She immediately cheered up and with with hope filled eyes cried out “we can buy another binky!”

I love that story. I don’t know what recovery looks like for my little paci addict, but what I do know is I am not going to worry about it right now.

Do you have any paci/binky/soothie testimonies?

Last week I said that I was going to start reading Same Kind Of Different As Me. Well, I did start it and finished it within three days. I loved this book so much I had to force myself not to read it all at once. The story is about “a modern day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together” (to steal the words right off the cover).

Just got back from spending an uneventful afternoon at the hospital. It’s been two weeks since the pneumonia/broken collar bone incident. Z had a followup with an orthopedic doctor at the children’s hospital today. It looks like everything is healing up well. He doesn’t have to wear the sling anymore and in 4 weeks we’ll go back again to see if his bone is like new.

Then last night we made valentine’s cakes and gave one away to some friends.

So as you can see we are completely back into the swing of things and Z is operating at full speed. Now I just have to figure out how to keep up with him!

With my son I did his first meal by the book and I did have some reasons for that, but with his sister she seemed to be doing perfectly fine with just breastfeeding so I held out a little over 6 months before sitting her down to spoon feed her. Not only did I wait longer this time around, but I gave her avocado as her first food.

On top of all that they are SO easy to prepare. No cooking or even blending is necessary. Just mash up the avocado until smooth and creamy, add breast milk if desired and you’ve got yourself some homemade baby food!

My little 2 year old has quite the vocabulary, but sometimes he gets ahead of himself with phrases that he doesn’t completely understand, like “Just in case.” For example he says “Let’s watch Ice Age just in case”.

Just in case!?

Just in case you break the DVD and you never get to watch it again?

I don’t understand.

Or he’ll say “I want a banana just in case.” His other one is “I was wrong about you.” I think they say this in one of the Toy Story movies, but regardless he says it to me all the time in his squeaky nasally little voice “Mama, I was wrong about you.”

What I am beginning to learn is that I was wrong about me too.

When I was a little girl I said I would never get married. No one believed me and they would tell me someday you will meet a guy, fall in love, and you’ll change your mind. At 5 years old I was disgusted by the idea and DETERMINED to prove them all wrong.
Fast forward 13 years. I got married about as quick as I possibly could. So I was wrong about me, but what did I know, I was only 5.

I used to think that photography was not an art and would say that photographers were wannabe artists that can’t draw. Now I am one, but I said that in High School so what did I know.

About 10 years ago I would have told you that I was not interested in cloth diapers, or home birth, and was on the fence about epidurals.

Anyone that knows me knows that 2 kids later I am a cloth diapering fool, and natural birth junkie. So I was wrong again. But still, I wasn’t a mom yet, so what did I know.

I have always said I would never homeschool. I have dear friends that do and do it well, but I don’t think I ever could. Then again, what do I know? Although, seriously, I don’t plan on it.

So maybe next time I hear that little voice say “Mama, I was wrong about you” I can just say, “yeah, me too” just in case.

This post is linked up with Mary at Giving Up On Perfect She used to think blogging about your life was egotistical and not something she would ever get into, but as it turns out she was wrong too!

I used to be a scaredy cat. Have you seen the show Monk?

I can actually relate to his character. I’ve never been an obsessive compulsive neat freak, but my list of phobias as a child was not normal. Fortunately I grew out of these fears around the age of twelve.

Here are the Top Ten Things I used to be scared of…

1. Claymation
excerpt from December 2008 blog post “Christmas Movies”
“Ever since I was little the clay creations scared me. These days I can tolerate them somewhat, but I still find it all to be a little bit creepy.”

2. Sloth from Goonies

3. Jesus coming back
This probably had to do with some vintage rapture movie, but I have talked to many other people that as children worried about the hour of Christ’s return.

4. Heights
This included the upper level of the mall.

5. Elevators and escalators
Speaking of heights, these two methods of “going up” TERRIFIED ME. I was always afraid they would malfunction.

6. Crossing the street in Cincinnati.
I was born in Covington, which is just outside of Cincinnati, the city overwhelmed me. A trip to the city made my 7 year old blood pressure go up.

7. High School
When I was younger we would drive past a high school and I would become very fearful. I dreaded the day I would have to go there, like it was some kind of penitentiary. I guess when you’re small the building looks like it is the size of New York city and the teenagers seem so intimidating. With their crazy punk styles and rebellious attitudes. I knew I would never survive High School.

8. Driving
Most people look forward to the day they get to operate a vehicle I dreaded it!

9. Bees
I was/maybe still am allergic to bee stings. I saw My Girl in the theater when I was 9. At the end (spoiler alert) the girls best friend played by Macaulay Culkin dies from an allergic reaction to bee stings. I freaked out, and my dad had to carry me out of the theater blubbering uncontrollably!

10. Truck Drivers
I know this one might seem justified, but stereotypes aside my best friends dad and close family friend was a truck driver and he was a great man, but he scared me.

The reason I post this is because now my little Monk-like phobias are comical to me. I can remember the fear and at that time it was very real, very sensible, but I can look back on it in retrospect and see that I had nothing to worry about. I was safe all along. I wonder how many of my current fears are just as silly. It may be time to stop worrying so much and know that God is in control.

Check out Oh Amanda for more Top Ten lists.