Settling into a New Routine

Samantha: 63 Months, Week 5
Aedan: 28 Months, Week 3

On Tuesday of this week, Aedan and I got to go to our first MOPS meeting. I had heard of MOPS before but never joined a group. MOPS seems to be the main group in Sault Ste. Marie for moms with young kids, and it meets at our church, so I definitely wanted to join it. I was really looking forward to it starting up for the year because I want to meet some new friends and find other kids that Aedan can play with as well. The morning of MOPS it was a rainy, cloudy day, and it just so happened that it poured down rain just as we were driving to the church. We pulled into the parking lot and were greeted by the pastors who were walking around the parking lot with umbrellas to help the moms and kids get into the church without getting soaking wet. It was so thoughtful of them, and just another thing that makes me enjoy this church even more. I feel like the pastors and leaders of the church really go out of their way to reach out to the people that come through the doors. You are not just another nameless face. They care about you, and they follow up with you. I'm so glad that we found a good church to call home.

Anyways, I really enjoyed MOPS that morning. Aedan went right into the toddler room without getting upset, even though he was talking to Daddy that morning, saying, "Mommy leave you" in the most pathetic, sad little voice. Going to groups like this is always awkward at first, but it will be a really nice place to go to meet other moms that are going through the same things I'm going through and be encouraged through different topics and speakers. Plus, Aedan gets to play with other kids for a couple hours (and I get a little break from him as well). The only thing I would change is having it meet every week instead of just the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays.

As I was making lunch that afternoon once we returned home, Aedan was playing a game with the sun catchers hanging on our patio door. He deliberately knocked each one off the hook. Then, he ran into the bathroom to get the step stool so that he could then hang them all back up again. Lately, I just keep thinking how cute Aedan's little voice is and how I don't have nearly enough videos to capture his language as a 2 year old, so I made sure I took a few different videos throughout this week. I love just watching him play and listening to him talk. His language is definitely developing more, and I can almost always understand him.

The other event that started for us this week was story time at the library. However, with Samantha going to school at 8:00 in the morning, Aedan and I often have a lot of time to get things done even before story time starts. For example, on this morning I was able to collect several piles of brush, branches, and weeds that we've had sitting in our yard and take them over to the composting center which is open on Wednesdays. Then, we were able to come back home for a little while before heading to story time.

Our deal for story time was that Aedan had to sit and listen to the story in order to play on the tablets afterwards. The librarian only read one book, and even though it didn't hold his attention for too long, he was able to sit still until the story was over. Then, they did a craft where they were supposed to glue yarn on paper that had a house and tree picture on it. However, Aedan was more interested in just coloring with his glue stick rather than actually sticking any yarn on. (I don't think he will be as artsy as his sister is.) After playing games on the tablet for a while, Aedan got down to play with some toys while I picked out some new books. Both kids really like the Elephant and Piggie books, so I got a few more of those. Aedan even has some of the books memorized already because we read them so much. Plus, I checked out a couple chapter books because I wondered if Samantha would find it interesting to have a chapter or two read aloud to her before bed each night. She likes to listen to books on CD, so I figured she might enjoy us reading longer books to her as well. I was excited to show them to her and see what she thought. I sat down to play with Aedan for awhile, and he busted out the little toy piano which of course meant he had to sing for me. He got a little loud as he kept singing, but it was just too cute to stop him. Plus, I got this great video of our cute little guy singing. After he was done, a few of the parents clapped and said, "Good job singing!" Apparently other people enjoyed his little concert as well. :)

Samantha continues to do really well at school. She gets so many positive points every day that I am not going to list them all. We are so proud of her and how she's being respectful, on task, and helpful at school Here are a couple pictures of Samantha from Wednesday.

In this picture Samantha said they were being tested on reading on their computers. She said that a lot of other kids were done before her, but I encouraged her to not worry about that, for when it comes to tests, she can feel free to take as long as she needs to complete them successfully. She's pretty deliberate (and slow) when she's focused on a task, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if she was a slower test taker, which is just fine.

Wednesdays are always long days with Ben being on campus until 8:00. It's a rough semester for him as well, and we all miss each other a lot on these long days. Here are the kids pretending to ice skate as I cleaned up after dinner that evening. It makes our evenings so much better when they play well together, especially when I am on my own to take care of everything. Aedan adores his Sissy and really misses her during the day, so he is thrilled when he gets this much attention from her in the evenings.

After a couple of busy mornings out, Aedan and I spent Thursday at home doing laundry and cleaning the house. I didn't get quite as much as I wanted to get done, but it was a fairly successful day. One of my goals was to re-caulk the upstairs bathtub. Ben helped me get most of the caulk scraped out around the tub, and then I finished scraping a few tough spots as well scraping along the base of the tub that needed new caulk as well. I was all set to start the caulking, but we tried to use old caulk that the previous owner had left behind and it appeared to be too dried out to work so I wasn't able to get that done during nap time like I had planned.

Lunches with just Aedan are interesting some times because he's definitely not as chatty as Samantha is. On Thursday Aedan was pretty grumpy by lunch time because he woke up too early that morning. Right before I took the following video, Aedan was crying huge crocodile tears and saying, "My Da-ddy!" He's been doing that a lot more lately when he gets in trouble with one of us. He will get upset and then call (in a very pathetic voice) for the other parent to console him and wipe his tears. In fact, he will even grab your hand and use it to wipe the tears off his face, or if you're holding him, he will wipe his tears off on your shirt. It is a really sad, but it is pretty cute as well.

Thursday, September 15th was Brielle's birthday so we made sure to sing Happy Birthday and send it to her in a message before giving the kids baths and getting ready for bed. Aunt Christy said that Brielle loved it, watched it over and over again, and tried to say hi to Samantha and Aedan and kiss the phone. Since we live too far away now to make quick weekend trips, video messages and sending a birthday present in the mail will have to do for now.

Normally on Fridays I would have taken a substitute teaching job, and I could have this week because there were actually three on the system before I realized I didn't mark Friday as a non-work day for me, but I had a doctor's appointment at 11:30 with an OB/GYN that I did not want to have to reschedule again. I did a little more cleaning that morning, and Ben just worked from home until it was time for me to leave for my appointment. As I said before, at Ben's follow-up with the urologist on Monday, he basically got the all clear for any fertility issues that may have to do with him. So now it was time for me to see if there were any physical concerns on my end. I knew this first appointment wouldn't tell me much of anything, but would mainly be a look into my reproductive history as well as a chance to figure out with my doctor what tests we would schedule. Dr. Amo was really kind and helpful, as well as sensitive in asking me questions about my history. After my general check-up, the doctor scheduled me from a pelvic ultrasound for the following Thursday at 10:00, and then I had two more tests I had to do based on when my period arrived. I was to get blood drawn to test hormone levels on day 3 of my cycle and then I was to get a hysterosalpingogram to see if there are any issues or blockages in my uterus and Fallopian tubes. I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to get to this point, that I would get pregnant before having to put ourselves through all these tests, but I was glad that things were moving pretty quickly and that within the next week and a half I would have all the testing done to see if there was something wrong with me that was preventing us from conceiving.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly once I got back home so that Ben could go to a meeting on a campus. I got Aedan down for his nap and then worked on caulking the bathtub. I watched a few YouTube videos on how to do it because I wanted to know what I was doing and have it look good when I was done. I am a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like this, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I cleaned up the surface of the tub with rubbing alcohol and even put blue painter's tape all around the edges to prevent the caulk from getting on places on the tub where I didn't want it and to give it clean lines. I even filled the bathtub up with water because I saw a video where it said that helps keep the bathtub at it's lowest place, allowing you to fill all the cracks in completely. I went slowly and carefully because some places needed extra caulk where it went back deeper. I actually had to send Ben back out to get another tube of caulk because I used up all of the first one. I wore gloves and dipped my finger in water to smooth out and press in the caulk along the seam, and overall I think it turned out really well. I was nervous going into it because I have never done anything like this before, and I wanted it to turn out well. I don't want to be a woman that doesn't know how to do any repairs or is afraid to figure things out on her own and just leave it up to the husband, so I was proud that I tackled this job and completed it successfully.

Saturday was supposed to be another cloudy, rainy day, so we decided to take a trip to Canada to run a few errands. We had to go back to Home Depot to get a little more width shaved off our blinds for our bedroom downstairs so that we could install them in our window. We also wanted to look for a replacement pendant light for over our counter in the kitchen, as well as replacement water filters for our reverse osmosis water system. The kids are never too thrilled to go on errands with us, but sometimes they just have to deal with tagging along so that we can get things we need. We were unable to find replacement pendant lights at Home Depot so we will have to look for those elsewhere. As tradition when we go to Canada, we always stop at Tim Horton's for donuts and coffee before heading back over the bridge. It is the one redeeming factor for the kids.

We didn't spend too long in Canada because our kids were both tired, and we just needed to get home, have lunch, and get them down for naps. Last weekend we had Samantha nap on Sunday, and it seemed to mess up her ability to fall asleep easily that night, so we were unsure whether to have her nap this weekend or not. However, she was just too tired, and we decided it would be better to nap on Saturday than on Sunday. The rest of the afternoon and evening we spent just hanging out and having fun together as a family. The kids put on dresses and danced around together, putting on a lovely concert for us. I love that Aedan wants to dress up with Samantha. He has this little dress that is "his" dress because it fits him so well and seems to be just his size. I love these two little kids, I love spending time together as a family, I love how Samantha is so good at playing with and including Aedan, and I love how Aedan just adores his big sister, mimicking her every move.

With how busy our weeks can be at times with late classes and school, low-key weekends are a good time to get rested and refreshed for a new week. Sunday morning we had church like usual, with the start of two services. Since our kids are always up around 7:00, if not before, the 9:00 service is more practical for us most Sundays. It gives us more time to hang out afterwards instead of just sitting around waiting until it's time to go to church.

We tried to put Aedan down for an earlier nap on Sunday afternoon because we wanted to take the kids swimming at the pool at the Norris Center, but we knew they closed at 5:00. Samantha just had quiet time that afternoon, and when it was about 3:45, I decided it was time to wake Aedan up so that we could get to the pool and swim for about an hour before it closed. This is what I saw when I walked into Aedan's room to wake him from his nap. Kids are so adorable when they are sleeping. We just gave Aedan a pillow about a week ago because there was one night that his wrap was still wet in the dryer. I tried to fend of a meltdown by offering a pillow for him to sleep with instead. At first he was a little unsure, but now he loves having a pillow, and I think it helps him feel like a big boy. I wasn't ever sure if he actually laid on it, but when I saw him sleeping this Sunday afternoon, it was pretty clear that he does at least some of the time. I also know he lays on it sideways with his whole body on top of the pillow and his feet resting on the bars by the wall. He always chooses to lay on his tummy, and you can see he still has his beloved pacifier in his mouth as well. I almost hated to wake him up because he was so peaceful and fast asleep.

After getting the kids dressed and ready for swimming, we headed over to the pool just to find that it had closed early. According to the website, it should have been open for another hour, but the lifeguard decided to leave early for some reason, leaving two very upset children crying in the lobby of the Norris Center. We were all pretty disappointed, but the kids were able to cheer up after suggesting that we play on the playground across the street instead. I told the kids we would just have to try to go again another day.

I try not to talk too much about our journey with infertility, but it is a very real struggle for me right now. With my appointment on Friday, followed by the start of my cycle on Saturday, meant that I had to schedule my next two tests. I went in first thing Monday morning to get my blood work done before Ben went to campus for the day, and I scheduled my hysterosalpingogram for the following Tuesday. With all of these reminders that I am still not pregnant, Monday was a really rough day for me. Aedan and I went grocery shopping that morning, but once we got back home I found myself crying at the drop of a hat. It's amazing how emotional this whole process is. After three times of getting pregnant rather quickly, I never imagined I would go through infertility like this. It is the most discouraging, frustrating, sad, and lonely time I have ever gone through. I am anxious to get all the tests done in order to determine if there is anything physically wrong with me that is preventing us from conceiving. That afternoon, I talked with a college friend who went through years of infertility. With just moving, I don't have any close girl friends I can talk to about these emotions that I am dealing with, and I really just needed someone to listen to me, relate to me, and comfort me. My friend Melissa was a God-send. She validated my feelings, making me realize that I have a right to be upset, sad, and angry about not being able to get pregnant. She even cried with me on the phone, and I know it sounds strange, but it meant so much to me for someone to just sit there and cry with me. During our journey of infertility, no one has ever been there for me in that way, and it felt so good. My dear friend was such a blessing to me that afternoon, and I am so glad that we have remained friends over all these years, and that even if we haven't talked in awhile, we can pick up right where we left off.

On Monday evening I decided to take the kids to the pool after dinner since they were so disappointed not to be able to go all together on Sunday evening. We had an early dinner, got everyone ready, and headed over to the pool about 6:00. Samantha and Aedan were really excited about going swimming, as we hadn't been since their swim lessons over the summer. We can get in on my guest pass, and they were thrilled to get their floaties on and swim around in the water. They jumped off the side of the pool into the water, and Samantha practiced swimming all by herself from the wall to me and back and really was doing pretty well. Then, at about 6:55 it was time for us to get out of the water, take showers in the locker room, and head back home for bed time. It was a little crazy taking the kids on my own, on a night that Ben teaches his late class so that I have to do everyone by myself, but it was a fun evening activity. It was good to take my mind off the sadness of the day, and instead focus on the two children that God has given me to take care of. We will definitely have to go back again some day soon.

(Blog about September 13-19)

Samantha's First Week of Kindergarten

Samantha: 63 Months, Week 4
Aedan: 28 Months, Week 2

This week was a big deal as it was Samantha's first week of kindergarten. We planned what we were going to pack her for lunch, had her clothes laid out, and were all ready for her first day. She was super excited, of course, and woke up before 7:00. Ben and I got up earlier as well so that we could be showered and ready by 7:00. That way we could help Samantha and Aedan get ready, make lunch, and eat breakfast together. Here are the kids playing together that morning before breakfast. 

Samantha was very excited about school, so she had no trouble getting up and getting ready all on her own. She picked out a dress to wear on her first day and wanted me to do her hair with a little pony tail braid. We decided to make a family trip to drop Samantha off at school on that first day. Here are the obligatory first day of school pictures. Man, I can't believe my little girl is in kindergarten already.

Aedan was happy to pose with Sissy. I love this cute "cheese" smile on his face in these pictures. He was excited right along with Sissy, but I don't think he totally understood that we would be dropping her off and leaving her at school, and that she wouldn't be back until after he woke up from his nap. He as definitely going to miss Sissy.

I almost forgot to have Samantha pose with a sign, just as we did for her two years of preschool. I feel like you can't see the words very well on this, but her teachers are Ms. Cornwell and Ms. Newell.

As we got closer to her school, Samantha got more and more excited. She giggled and squealed excitedly, and even started singing this cute little song. Can you tell she's excited? :)

We decided that we would walk her to her classroom on the first day and from then on we would just drop her off at the sidewalk and she could walk into school on her own. Daddy was excited to see Samantha's classroom since he didn't get to come Meet the Teacher Night. Here is Samantha standing by her seat.

It was very strange leaving Samantha at school, knowing that she would not get home on the bus until 4:10. When we dropped her off at the door to the playground, I gave her a hug and kiss and started to tear up, but I wouldn't let myself cry in front of her. (Plus, I had done plenty of crying the night before when talking in bed with Ben. I think I got all my tears out then.) However sad and strange it was, I knew that she would have a wonderful day, and I couldn't wait to hear about it when she got home.

Samantha's school has a program called ClassDojo which is a way for the teacher and parents to communicate back and forth in a safe environment. With this website/app, we are able to see occasional pictures of our kids throughout the day as well as small comments about their behavior in the classroom. Here are some pictures from Samantha's first day of kindergarten. Unfortunately, they had a very rainy first day of school so the kids weren't able to go outside and play. Samantha didn't care though because they got to have inside recess instead. Here she is doing puzzles with the little girl that sits across from her at her table.

Since Bahweting is funded through both the state and the BIA, they incorporate a lot of Native American culture in the school. In fact, the go to Culture class two days a week. Here is a picture from Culture class. You can see Samantha on the far left of the picture. She told me that she was lucky to get a seat at the very front of the class. I'm glad that she likes to sit in the front because usually the best and brightest students will sit in the front, rather than in the back where there are more distractions and you can just blend into the background. Samantha actually got two +1s on her first day for being on task, one at the beginning of the day and one at the end of the day. I enjoyed getting a little glimpse into her day through these pictures.

While Samantha was at school, Aedan and I went to a First Day of School breakfast with other moms from the area. I was glad to be invited and looked forward to meeting other moms with school age kids. Aedan did pretty well playing at a new house, as long as he could keep coming near me to show me toys or just to check that I was still there. It's definitely different going out with just one kid. It's simpler in a lot of ways, but I also don't have Samantha to keep tabs on Aedan anymore. She was always such a big helper in that way.

During our trip to Chicago, I wasn't able to rock Aedan to sleep so I just had to lay him down awake for nap time. Well, that continued for a few days after we returned as well, and it made me a little sad. I love cuddling with him every afternoon and watching him fall asleep contentedly in my arms, and I want it to continue as long as possible. Luckily, he got back into the habit of falling asleep with me again, but every day I think that it could be my last day of rocking him to sleep, making our time together that much more special. Later that afternoon I thought that he was awake from his nap. (He's so quiet sometimes when he wakes up that it's hard to tell if he's awake or not.) I went into his room to check and found him fast asleep like this, with his legs up in the air, his ankles crossed, and his feet resting on the bars of his crib. The ways that little kids find it comfortable to sleep always amaze me. I just had to take a picture of it.

We knew the beginning of school would be a rough adjustment for Samantha, and that she would be a lot more tired. However, we decided to keep up the tradition of Ben's family and go out for ice cream on Tuesday night to celebrate the first day of school. We went to a new restaurant where it took much longer than anticipated to get our ice cream. Samantha got Bubble Gum ice cream and then complained that it had pieces of bubble gum in it because she was afraid that she couldn't swallow them and would have to spit it out like normal bubble gum. Aedan chose Dreamsicle ice cream because he loves the color "n'orange" right now. Ben and I both got chocolate. It was pretty good, but we got home later than we would have liked. Plus, both sets of grandparents wanted to talk to Samantha about her first day of school. She was a little too tired and out of it to make any sense when talking on the phone, but it was sweet of them to take the time to talk to her.

With Ben teaching four classes, two of which go into the evening and Samantha in school all day, it seems like our days just fly by. Samantha had another good day at school on Wednesday, getting three +1s for for being on task and one +1 for working hard. They are concentrating on a letter a day, with Tuesday being A and Wednesday being B. Here they are practicing writing their letters. I love seeing Samantha working. She writes her letters so well. I'm amazed at how much her handwriting has improved through our work together over the summer.

Aedan and I got our grocery shopping done first thing in the morning and then had a lot of time to play outside, which is his favorite thing to do. In some ways it's hard being up and ready for the day by 7:55 because then Aedan wants to be outside playing at 8:15. Then, I have to figure out how to occupy the rest of our morning. For some reason I have gotten out of the habit of having my phone with me as much to take pictures and videos, but on Wednesday morning I took these videos of Aedan playing soccer. He specifically requested his soccer jersey that morning, and I was impressed with how well he was dribbling the ball down the driveway. I think he would really enjoy playing soccer, and he definitely has more skills than Samantha did when she played last fall. It's funny how every kid is different. Samantha has always been more cautious with trying new things physically, whereas Aedan just throws his body into things and is much more sure on his feet. It will be interesting to see how these attributes play out in their interests and hobbies as they get older.

That afternoon when Samantha got home from school, she had her first homework assignment to complete and take back to school the next day. Aedan was still napping at this point, so Samantha and I sat at the counter in the kitchen to do her homework. It was simple, just coloring shapes different colors according to the key, but I was impressed because Samantha knew all the color words without me having to read them to her. She was pretty excited to do her homework, so I took a picture of her working hard.

Wednesday was a rough night at home because Ben has his late class and then he had another meeting to go to as well, so he didn't get home until almost 9:00 at night. When Samantha is tired, she has a hard time listening and being respectful, so it was a bit difficult for me to get both the kids in bed at a decent time that evening. After they were in bed, I just collapsed, exhausted on the couch after a long day.

On Thursday Aedan and I ran some errands around town and got some things done around the house. We still have quite the list of house projects to get done, and although none of them are urgent, I'm trying to get things done when I have the time. One nice thing about Aedan is that he is good with running errands and helping me around the house because anything where he gets to be near me is fun to him. Whereas if I were doing these things with Samantha she would complain about being bored. Aedan is eager to please and often wants to be a good helper for me.

I know Samantha will get lots of papers and projects throughout the year, and I can't keep everything, so I decided to just take pictures of her first two homework assignments before throwing them away. According to school policy, they will get homework every night Monday through Thursday, to be completed and turned in the next day.

On Thursday night when both Ben and I were busy getting work done on our computers, I got two phone calls from the sub call system about a sub job on Friday. The whole process took so long, and I hadn't gotten the official email with my log-in information for the online job system, so I assumed that I wouldn't be able to take a job for that first Friday. Because of that, Ben said yes to a meeting at 3:00 on Friday afternoon. However, after getting the phone calls and then a follow-up email, I tried to think about how we could make it work for me to accept the job. I did not think I could be offered a job, and I hated the idea of turning down the first job I got offered. The sub job was for the high school and ended at 3:05, so we decided that I could take it and Ben would say he would be 10-15 minutes late for his meeting. This all happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that I didn't know what to think. I was excited about going to work but didn't know what to expect in subbing at a high school.

Friday morning came early for me, as I wanted to be out the door by 7:30 so that I could get to the high school and figure out where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to do. Since we only have one car, we already made arrangements for Samantha to be picked up by the bus on Friday mornings so that way I had the car to drive to schools if I got a sub job. It was an early morning for everyone.

I ended up subbing for a paraprofessional in the special ed room which was a little out of my element, but definitely an interesting experience. I have some experience with special needs kids through teaching Sunday School at Hill Country Bible Church to being a Special Needs counselor at Spring Hill for the summer, but it has been awhile, and I've never been with high schoolers. There was a main special ed teacher as well as four or so other paraprofessionals, so there were plenty of adults to help with the 14 or 15 kids in the classroom. Plus, every hour different high school students came in as part of the Links program where they talked with, played games with, and interacted with the students in the special ed room. I didn't know exactly what my role was to be, and they probably didn't really need me that day since they were having a more unstructured "Fun Friday," so for the first part of the day I just watched the interactions of others to get more of a sense of the abilities of the kids in the classroom. I was also willing to do anything the teachers asked me to, from helping a certain kid in the lunchroom to walking a kid to the bus. As the day went on, I felt more comfortable jumping in with the kids. I played card games, sat on the couch and tickled one boy with severe autism and limited verbal skills, and read books to a sweet boy in a wheelchair. I was amazed at how each kid could interact and communicate in their own way, even if it was different.

I really enjoyed my day in this classroom. I really enjoyed being back in a school environment around kids. Being a mom is a job where you get so little feedback about your performance which often leaves me wondering if I'm doing a good enough job. However, during this one day back in a school, I felt like I do have something else more to me than a wife and a mother. The teachers in the classroom expressed how much they enjoyed my help in the classroom, how I was easy to work with, and how, if I was willing, they would love to have me back whenever I was able. In fact, the main teacher mentioned how they actually wanted to hire someone for a permanent part-time position in the classroom and wanted to know if I'd be interested. I had to tell her that I was only available on Fridays due to my husband's work schedule and childcare restrictions, but that I would love to come back on another Friday if they need a sub. I felt so good that they were pleased with my performance enough to want me back again. I felt confirmed in my teaching abilities and my love for educating and nurturing children. Even though it's only been three years that I've stayed home, I feel like it's hard to remember what it was like to be a teacher in charge of my own classroom. I don't want to diminish my impact in being at home, and I don't know if it's because we have been trying to get pregnant for so long to no avail, but I have been feeling more antsy at home, like I don't know what my purpose is, and I'm glad that I still feel called to the teaching profession. So when I'm ready to go back to work, whether that's in the next year or so if I don't end up having another baby, or another few years from now if I'm blessed with another pregnancy, I know that I want to continue on in the teaching profession. I know that is where my gifting lies.

While I was gone subbing for the day, Ben got to hang out with Aedan. Since I had the car and Ben needed some books from campus, he let Aedan ride his tricycle around campus that afternoon since there are a lot less students on campus on Fridays. Aedan loves riding his tricycle and has pretty good stamina for riding longer distances. It's impressive.

They made it all the way down to this area with the large rocks to climb and sit on. I think Aedan enjoyed his one-on-one time with Daddy for he doesn't get that very often.

Weekends always go by way too quickly. We wanted to be sure to take it easy this weekend since Samantha just had her first week of school. Plus, it seems to always be rainy on the weekends lately, making it that we can't go do anything outdoors. There aren't many indoor options for entertainment around here, so we spent a lot of the weekend playing at home together, which is just fine with me.

Actually, on Saturday afternoon Samantha and I went to see Finding Dory at LSSU's arts center. When I took her to The Jungle Book over the summer, we saw that Finding Dory was going to be playing, and Samantha expressed interest in seeing it, so I wanted to try and take her if possible. We got tickets for the 2:00 show on Saturday, so Ben stayed home while Aedan napped so Samantha and I could see the show. It's fun to be able to go see movies together, to go on a little Mommy-Daughter date. Samantha enjoyed it, and it's easy to take her to a movie because she can sit still and pay attention for a full length movie. Aedan, on the other hand, would be too much of a handful to take to something like that. We will definitely have to keep our eyes out for other kid movies that play throughout the year.

Both kids were pretty tired and cranky on Saturday with lots of crying and time outs. I think it will take a while for everyone to adjust to our new schedule of the school year and learn how to adjust our sleeping schedule to accommodate it. However, that evening before getting the kids ready for bed, Aedan wanted to sit on the potty and he actually peed! I was getting the bath tub filled with water, and I think the running water helped him go. I didn't actually see him pee, but he made a weird face like something tickled him and then he looked down. When he got toilet paper off to wipe himself, there was a wet spot on the toilet paper as well as a few splashes on the front of the toilet seat. I made a big deal out of it and was super excited that he finally allowed himself to go pee on the potty, even if it was just a little. Something we did with Samantha, in particular to encourage her to go poop on the potty, was to have the potty fairy come and leave her a few M&Ms if she went in the potty and not in her diaper. We decided to have the potty fairy come for Aedan as well, so Ben got a few M&Ms set out on the coffee table for Aedan. Aedan was super excited that he went pee in the potty and that he got M&Ms. Hopefully having this success will help him have more interest in sitting on the potty in the future. He hasn't expressed too much interest in it yet, and I don't want to push him when he's not ready, especially since potty training tends to take longer for boys than girls. It will happen eventually for him, but I was excited for the success of that night.

As the day progressed on Saturday and into Sunday, I developed a pretty bad head cold. My guess is that I picked up some germs from being in the high school on Friday. I was feeling pretty lethargic, my head was fuzzy, and my nose was running, so I was glad to have a low-key weekend at home with the family.

With the start of a new week on Monday, Aedan and I were going to be falling into a new routine. We will go grocery shopping on Mondays, go to MOPS every other Tuesday, and then go to the library for story time on Wednesdays. It felt good getting back into the swing of a routine, and I was looking forward to having opportunities to meet other moms and give Aedan the chance to play with other kids his age.

Also, on Monday morning Ben had his follow-up appointment with the urologist, following the tests he had a couple weeks ago in relation to us dealing with infertility. I don't want to say too much detail because I don't want to embarrass him, so I will just put it simply. It doesn't appear that there is any issue with him that is causing us to not get pregnant. So, now we are left with either there being an issue with me, or that, for some reason, we are not supposed to have a baby either now, or ever, I suppose. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday to see what is going on with me, so we will see what comes from that.

Mondays are always long and hard with Ben being gone on campus for about 11 hours. Plus, I was feeling even worse on Monday with lots of sneezing, my nose was running, and I just felt crummy. I would have loved to just lay on the couch and rest all day, but as a stay at home mom with two kids, that's not an option. Once Samantha got home from school that afternoon, the kids had a smoothie popsicle for a snack, and then we just took it easy that evening. I helped Samantha with her homework, read books to the kids, made a simple dinner of fettuccine alfredo with broccoli, and then Samantha requested to paint after dinner. A quiet, indoor activity sounded good to me, so we got out the washable paints, brushes, and paper, and Samantha and Aedan had a great time painting together. Samantha was very careful to not mix her colors, cleaning off her brush before switching to a new color. Aedan purposely swirled all his colors together on his paper plate. Samantha carefully painted certain shapes and objects. Aedan haphazardly drew lines and swirls, on both sides of the paper. It's so fun to watch how different these two are. Part of it is the difference of three years of age, but I know part of it is personality as well. Even though I had a hard day and didn't feel well, I'm glad I get to spend my time with them. I'm glad I get to make them meals, read books to them in the rocking chair, and hug and kiss them every night before bed. In all of our struggle to try and have another baby, I'm pretty lucky to be the mother of these two wonderful kids.

(Blog about September 6-12, 2016)

The Last Week of Summer

Samantha: 63 Months, Week 3
Aedan: 28 Months, Week 1

Since this was our last week of summer before Samantha begins kindergarten and is in school full time, I wanted to make sure we did a few more fun things before our schedule forces us to be around town more and to bed earlier at night. I did have to get a few chores and errands done, so I tried to get those out of the way at the beginning of the week so we could play the rest of the week. On Tuesday morning I had to get the grocery shopping done, so after playing in the house for awhile, we got that errand taken care of. Here are a few pictures Ben took of the kids that morning after they got up and got dressed for the day. They both decided to wear their Cubs shirts. Samantha has really enjoyed matching clothes with people lately.

Our day was a little busy because I also had to drop Roscoe off at the groomer for a hair cut right around lunch time, which made lunch time and getting ready for nap time a little hectic. I thought about having Samantha nap that afternoon, but with school starting in a week, I knew she needed to start getting used to not napping during the day, especially during the week. However, when she got out of her room from quiet time, she was acting very tired and was refusing to do things that I asked her to do without crying and whining about it. She had a pretty interrupted sleep on Monday night with getting up to go potty twice and then also coming downstairs once to wake me up and tell me that she had a bad dream. She's been doing that a lot more lately. She never came into our room previously, but for some reason since we've moved to our new house, she has come downstairs a handful of times and will stand by my side of the bed and tap my shoulder to wake me up. It's been for a few different reasons, like a mosquito bite that was itching her, not being able to find her blankie, or having bad dreams. It sometimes surprises me to be awoken from sleep to find her standing next to my bed, but I find it interesting that she always chooses to wake me up, not Ben. I don't know why, but I'll take it, because I feel like she prefers Daddy during the day a lot of the time because he is sillier and rough houses with her more.

On Tuesday evening we had a very special occasion: Meet the Teacher night at Samantha's school. She was really looking forward to this night when she could meet her teacher, see her classroom, and see where she would sit and hang up her backpack. However, as we got ready to leave for her school, Samantha came down to the bathroom while I was finishing getting ready. I sprayed some perfume on myself, so then Samantha reached into the cabinet to get perfume out, too. She has done this before, so it didn't worry me. However, just as she was in the middle of asking me if she could use perfume, she already had the cap off and sprayed it right into her eyes. Immediately Samantha started screaming and crying, saying that her eyes hurt, which I'm sure they did. I got a towel wet and tried wiping her face off, but she still said that her eyes were burning. They were very red, and she kept blinking because they were still feeling so irritated. I wasn't sure what to do or even how much spray she actually got in her eyes. It was time for us to leave for Meet the Teacher night, and I was frustrated that Samantha was all ready to go and wasn't patient enough to wait to spray until after she asked. I would have gladly sprayed some perfume on her for her. I know it's good to flush your eyes out with water when you get chemical sprays in it, so I had her lay on the counter and put her head under the water so I could rinse out her eye. Needless to say, she was not a fan of this, and her hair was getting all wet and messed up. I tried my best to clean her eyes out, but the water hitting her eyeball felt weird, so she wasn't very willing to hold her eye open for me. I did the best I could, and then I just had her sit on the counter until she could calm down some. She was crying and hyperventilating, and her face and eyes were bright red from crying. This was not the most ideal thing to have happen right before going to school to meet her teacher for the first time.

After hugs and consoling, I was able to calm her down enough to head out to see her teacher and classroom. Ben has a class from 5-6 so he wasn't able to come. I put Aedan in the stroller so that he wouldn't try to run away from me or get into things in Sissy's classroom. We met Samantha's teachers, Ms. Cornwell and Ms. Newell, and they seemed like really nice ladies. Like all the kindergarten classes, Samantha has 22 kids in her class, including herself, and she is sitting at a table with three other students, two boys and one girl. We thought it was funny that the boy sitting right next to her was named Aidan, so that will be easy for Samantha to remember. Here is Samantha sitting at her table in her special spot in the classroom.

The kids had a little scavenger hunt to complete to find different areas of the classroom, and once we completed that we got a picture with Ms. Cornwell before it was time to go back home.

Here are a couple pictures of Samantha's classroom. It is very neat and tidy. There's lots of natural light coming in through the windows. There are plenty of activities and areas for free play, as well as a couple rugs where kids can sit to listen to stories or to do work not at their tables. The classroom is very nice, and I am excited for Samantha to start school here. I think we made a good choice in schools for Samantha. I know she will have a wonderful school year because she is smart, kind, obedient, helpful, hard-working, wants to please, and loves to learn new things.

On Wednesday morning after walking/biking over to campus with Daddy and dropping him off at his office, we went to the playground across the street from our house to play for awhile. This was an activity Samantha requested, and I was glad to oblige. However, shortly after arriving there, Samantha chose to go on the swings. She knows how to swing and how to pump her legs back and forth, but for some reason she was just flailing her legs around and getting frustrated that she was getting nowhere on her swing. I am glad to give her a push or two to get her started, if she asks nicely and is actually trying to pump on her own. However, I knew she wasn't really trying on this occasion, so I didn't give in and help her until she tried to solve the problem on her own. I just went on pushing Aedan until Samantha calmed down enough to actually start pumping her legs on her won. I didn't say anything for awhile, and then once she actually got herself going and was really fast and really high, I said, "See? Once you stopped freaking out and flailing your feet around, you were able to push yourself just as high as I would be if I were pushing you. You just have to try, and it's not going to help the problem to cry and freak out about it." I hoped she learned a good lesson from that experience.

I did take the kids out to a couple places that Wednesday morning. I wanted to look for another pair of tennis shoes for Samantha, as well as some rain boots. We made a special stop at a cupcake place to purchase some cupcakes as a little snack. We took our mini-cupcakes, found a bench downtown, and enjoyed our sweet treat together. After looking at a couple places for shoes, we ended up at Payless. Both kids got their feet measured, and Samantha measured bigger than I expected. After some convincing, I steered her away from the Frozen light-up shoes, and she picked some black and pink shoes with lots of different colors on the sides, like the Lisa Frank patterns back in the day. Samantha needs to have a separate pair of shoes for gym class, so I figured another pair of tennis shoes would be helpful. We then went through the drive-thru at Biggby coffee to use our buy one get one free coupon for some coffee for Daddy and me.

I gave Samantha the option that afternoon to either not take a nap and stay home from the concert in the park, or take a nap and then be able to stay out later at the concert. It was the last one we would be able to attend since school starts next week, and Samantha will not be able to be out late on a school night. After eating potato soup, bread, and green beans for dinner, we headed out for the concert. It was a bit of a chilly evening, so I had the kids wear sweaters just in case. The band was a Mo-town type band, and there were several kids dancing around up in front, so Samantha wasted no time going up to join them. Aedan danced some, too, but he was more concerned about getting back to the chairs to eat popcorn every couple minutes. I didn't know how it would go taking the kids to the concert on my own, since Ben has night class from 6-8 on Mondays and Wednesdays, but I figured it would be worth a shot. Plus, it was one more grasp at summer time fun. The kids really enjoy going to the concert, eating popcorn, dancing to the music, and then running around in the locks park for awhile. It was a good evening, and by the time we got home, Daddy was done with class which made the kids extremely happy. They sure do miss him when he's gone, and these days with the late night classes make for very long days for everyone involved. However, Ben had no choice in the schedule since he was coming in as a new professor and the schedule was already set ahead of time. Plus, he is getting paid extra for teaching overtime hours which is also helpful for us to get more secure financially after depleting most of our bank accounts moving up here, starting over, and not getting paid for three months. Anyways, here is a picture and video of the kids dancing that evening at the concert.

Since Ben has to be on campus a lot later due to his evening classes, he has been staying around the house longer in the morning. It's been nice for him to be able to play with the kids in the morning, since he misses out on some time with them at night. While they were all downstairs together, the kids found our Cubs hats and decided to run upstairs and show off their cool look. I think they both look pretty cute in baseball hats!

It was a bit chilly this week, only getting to the low 70s as a high. I wanted to take the kids to Sherman Park one more time for the summer so they could play and also swim in the water and dig in the sand. I had them get their swim suits on, and I packed a picnic lunch for us, hoping that it would at least be nice enough to play after the sun had been out for awhile. However, it was a lot windier than I realized it would be once we got to the water. The kids were shivering a little as we ate our lunch, so I told them it would be best to not get in the water at all, but that we could stay and play on the playground for awhile. There were a couple other kids there that were actually camping for the weekend, so Samantha really enjoyed interacting and playing with them. It was a fun time out at the playground, even if we couldn't actually go in the water or play on the beach. Maybe it will be warm again another day and we can try to go then.

I had been looking forward to Friday for awhile because we were going to take advantage of the fact that Samantha wasn't in school yet and go on a day trip together as a family. The weather actually cooperated this time and it was going to be sunny and in the mid-70s, perfect weather. So, we planned to take the kids to Mackinac Island for the day. We bought tickets for the Arnold Transit Line ferry because it was the cheapest out of the ones we looked at and to our kids the boat ride was going to be cool enough as it was. A boat left at 9:00 a.m., and we decided that would be the best boat to ride on so that we could get to the island and maximize the time the kids were in good moods. They were pretty excited about the boat ride to island, as neither of them had really been on anything like that before. We sat in seats and looked around for awhile, but you know how it is with kids, they don't sit for very long, so we were up walking around the boat, watching the captain drive the boat, and looking out over the side of the boat at the water and the Mackinac Bridge in the background.

Once we got on the island, we walked around a little bit, found a map at the information center, and made our way over to this grassy area in front of the fort. Everything on Mackinac Island costs a lot of money since it is such a tourist trap, so our only plan was to rent bikes at some point to bike around the island. Samantha really wanted to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride, but it was definitely too expensive, which we tried to explain to her. We stopped in this grassy area in front of the statue to have a little snack before making our way to a playground to let the kids run around an play for awhile. It was nice that we didn't have too much of an agenda, we just wanted to do whatever looked fun and interesting to us.

After the kids played on the playground for awhile, we decided to walk through the main part of the town and up the road to the Grand Hotel. This hotel is too well-known not to check it out. However, they charge $10 a person (for an adult) just to be able to go into the hotel and walk around. I thought that was a little ridiculous, but I could also understand how they wouldn't want thousands of people traipsing around the hotel when they have paying guests trying to enjoy their experience. The hotel was elegant and decadent, which we expected it to be considering they call themselves the Grand Hotel. Here are a couple pictures of the inside.

After seeing the inside of the hotel, we made our way to the outside patio that stretches the entire length of the hotel, with rocking chairs up and down the patio for people to sit on to take in the wonderful views of the Mackinac Bridge.

After seeing the hotel, we went down into the gardens for awhile and had fun walking (or running, in the kids' case) around the labyrinth.

Once we made our way out, Samantha wanted her picture taken on this bench with a carved out turtle statue. She is sitting on top of the turtle and it's head is sticking out between her legs. I'm not quite sure why they both have their hands up in the air. Samantha was just doing it to be funny, I think, and Aedan will copy anything his big sister is doing.

We walked back to the main area of town to eat some lunch before renting bikes for the afternoon. We got a tagalong bike for Samantha where she was just hooked on to the back of Daddy's bike. She could pedal or she could just ride, whatever she wanted to do, and she thought that was pretty cool. We got a bike trailer for Aedan to sit in, and that was attached to my bike. We left the screen up so that Aedan could see better and feel the cool breeze as we rode our bikes. It was really fun riding bikes around the island together.

About halfway around, we stopped at a beach to let the kids play and throw rocks in the water. Aedan was pretty comfortable in the bike trailer and looked like he was almost asleep when we pulled over to stop. However, he perked up pretty quickly when it was time to get out and play. We had Samantha take her pants off so she could wade in the water without getting herself all wet, and I took Aedan's pants off as well which at first made him very uncomfortable and he kept asking for shorts to put on. This beach was full of rocks, so Ben and I just sat down together and watched our kids play and throw rocks. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were having a great time together as a family.

It was so fun just playing and relaxing, but we had to get on our bikes to ride the rest of the way around the island to return our bikes and make the 3:00 ferry back to St. Ignace. The next ferry wasn't until 5:00, and we didn't want to wait that long. For some reason the lady that helped us with our bikes told us to go around the island clockwise, even though Ben had read on the internet that the best way to go is counter-clockwise. We listened to the lady, but I'm pretty sure she told us the wrong direction. Most everyone was going the other direction, and it seemed like we were going uphill and against the wind a lot more than the people coming the other way. Nevertheless, we made it back to the bike stand with plenty of time, and I was even able to go to a local coffee shop to buy some coffee for Ben and me and a fruit smoothie for the kids to share.

Once back on the boat, the kids were super excited to drink their strawberry-banana smoothie with whipped cream on top. (Who knew they would be so easy to please!) Then, we just enjoyed our boat ride back to the mainland. We spent a lot of time up in the front of the ship looking out over the water. We had such a wonderful family day, and I'm so glad we were able to do this together. The kids had a blast, Ben and I had a blast, and I'm so glad we could spend these last days of summer together. Here are my two wonderful little kiddos. I just love watching them interact with one another.

On the way back home from our day trip, Aedan felt asleep right away in the car with his paci. Samantha probably could have fallen asleep, but she didn't let herself, choosing to color instead, but that's okay because it was only a forty-five minute drive anyways. Then, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home, cooking out hot dogs for dinner, and I cleaned the house while Samantha and Aedan locked Daddy up in jail in the basement. This is one of their favorite games to play with him lately. They will "lock him up" in jail somewhere, fully expecting him to escape. Then, they will go in the other room and wait for him to escape. Once they've discovered that he escaped, they go look for him in his hiding place, and then he will jump out at them and chase them around. The kids love playing this game, and I can always hear shrieks of delight coming up from the basement.

Saturday was the day the kids had been waiting for all week because Ema and Papa were coming to visit us from Upland. They drove part of the way on Friday night and then stopped in a hotel, so they still had a few hours to drive on Saturday morning. Instead of impatiently waiting around the house, we decided to let Samantha ride her bike and Aedan ride his tricycle over to campus while there weren't students around. We stopped by the Norris Center first to that I could get my guest membership pass to use to get in to the Norris Center, whether for swimming in the pool or going to work out in the fitness center. It's nice that I can get a pass for only $30 because at Miami it was so expensive to become a member of recreation center, that we could never afford that, not even for Ben. It's also wonderful living right down the street because we can just walk there in two minutes from our house, meaning that we can utilize the facilities a lot more.

Anyways, the kids had a good time riding their bikes around campus, climbing on rocks, and enjoying the sunshine while they waited for Ema and Papa to arrive.

Ema and Papa arrived between 11:00 and 11:30, and the kids were SO excited. They couldn't wait to run outside and give them great big hugs. Then, the kids took them all around the house to show them their rooms, our decorations, and the play room in the basement. They hadn't been here since we moved in at the beginning of June, so it looked much different than the last time they were here. Ema and Papa got to work being great grandparents by playing blocks in the basement and reading books to both of them after lunch.

Once we got the kids down for naps, we put the grandparents to work around our house. They brought special tools along with them to help us cut floor and trim to go around the dishwasher and base of our cabinets in the kitchen. Bill tried to help fix the light above our counter that doesn't work, but it doesn't seem to be reparable. He also fixed the water spout on our sink so that it wasn't lopsided anymore. Donna and I went outside and got to work on cleaning out the rest of the garden area in front and on the side of our house. She helped me pull weeds and cut off dead branches. She helped me know how to cut back my bushes to help them grow back even fuller. She dug out trees that had sprouted up, and between the two of us and 3 hours of work, we pretty much cleared up the whole area, something that I've wanted to get done for a long time. These pictures aren't the greatest because of the shade from the trees, but it give you a little glimpse of the before and after view of the front of the house. Now that it's cleaned up, next spring I will be able to get new bushes and plants planted to really spruce up the look of the front of the house.

Before

After

I felt like we had a really productive afternoon getting work done at the house, and I was very grateful for the help from Bill and Donna. Owning a home for the first time is overwhelming at times, especially when neither Ben nor me are particularly handy or know much about troubleshooting problems around the house. We were grateful for some help of seasoned home owners and experienced do-it-yourselfers.

Saturday evening we decided to go out to eat at Zorba's, the local Greek restaurant, before going over the to see the locks. The kids have been to the locks a lot this summer, and a boat slowly rising in the water is not that interesting to a kid in the first place, so I just took the kids over to the park to let them run around and climb trees while Ben stayed back with the grandparents to watch the boat go through the locks.

On Sunday we relaxed some in the morning before going to church together. Then after lunch and getting the kids down for naps, Ben took the grandparents on a walk around campus. When Samantha woke up from her nap, she wasn't feeling the greatest. She looked pretty tired and almost like she wasn't feeling well, and she complained of her tummy hurting, so she and I just sat and cuddled on the couch together while we watched a show. During the past week Samantha finished all the pages in the workbook that we've been working on all summer to help her keep up with what she learned in preschool about letters, numbers, shapes, patterns, and handwriting. Her handwriting has greatly improved, and I'm pleased to say that she almost always makes her letters with the correct form now instead of starting at the bottom and going backwards. It's amazing how just doing a few pages a day like that can boost her skills so dramatically. She is a smart girl, and she will learn so much in her days at school.

On Sunday evening I made a Mexican casserole dish for dinner, and Ema always likes to have ice cream after eating Mexican food, so we decided to make a trip to Dairy Queen. Ema and Papa walked there, while the rest of us road on our bikes. The kids were very excited to get their ice cream cones while the adults enjoyed their blizzards. Samantha did a fantastic job riding there on her bike, but for some reason she tired out quickly on the way back. She didn't want to pedal anymore, but we told her she had to because there was no other way to get her bike back home. So from then on, she cried pretty much the whole way back home. We had no idea what was going on and why she was crying so much. She took a nap that afternoon so she shouldn't have been that tired even though she was acting like she was very overtired. Kids are strange sometimes and oftentimes their actions and emotions are a mystery or nonsensical.

Monday was Labor Day, so Ema and Papa were able to stay through Monday morning, which was nice. We decided to go out to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse to show them the beautiful view of Lake Superior, kind of as a little outing before they had to hit the road. We left about 9:00 so that way they could spend some time there before driving back to Upland. We had a fun morning together, and I think it was a good distraction for the kids to say good-bye to Ema and Papa while we were already out doing something fun. It made them a lot less sad about it. Ema and Papa left around 10:30 or so, but the rest of us stayed at the lighthouse for awhile, playing some more and having some crackers as a snack.

Once we were done at the lighthouse, I suggested that we stop at a local pizza place called Superior Pizza & Subs for lunch. It had really good reviews from people in the area, and so far we haven't found a pizza place that we really like, so we were excited to try this place. We got some garlic knots as an appetizer, and the waitress put on Nick Jr. for the kids while we waited for our pizza. Oh man, this pizza was delicious! By far our favorite pizza place. In fact, Ben remarked that we haven't had pizza like this since Mother Bear's in Bloomington. This pizza place is in Brimley, so it's probably about 15-20 minutes away from our house which is the downfall, but it may be worth it to drive to Brimley when we really have a hankering for good pizza.

The rest of Monday evening we spent at home, spending the last few moments of summer together. We ate dinner early, had Samantha take a shower, and we got all ready for her first day of kindergarten on Tuesday, September 6th. I can't believe that we have a kid in kindergarten now. I can't believe that Samantha is old enough, but at the same time, I know that she is old enough, and I know that she is ready for it. Ema and Papa left behind a sweet little note for Samantha to read before going to bed that night, and here is a video of her listening to Ben read it out loud. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them to take the time to encourage Samantha in that way.

(Blog about August 30-September 5, 2016)