Go to the Park

It was such a beautiful day today and we spent the morning at our neighborhood park, and, I think, it went really well. I made the mistake of telling Anna that we were going to the park this morning before we were actually 100% ready to go. Toddlers have no real ability to wait. Now, now, NOW! My second mistake was thinking it would be okay to drive to the park. Anna is used to walking/riding in the stroller to the park and freaked when we started to get in the car, because surely this meant we were not going to the park, but to some other horrible place, like the doctor's or Target. It took me all of five minutes to calm her down enough so that she would actually hear that were driving to the park...yes, we're still going to the park.

We met up with some friends there, the Allen Family. Erin is the mommy and she has two kids; Camrynne (3) and Levi (1). They played nicely together, sort of. They ate their snack together, sort of. I keep thinking we're into that stage where Anna will actually play with the other kids, but she really still does her own thing; especially at the park...but maybe that's just what kids do at the park. I kind of remember being in my own little world at the park, at the playground, in the cafeteria...pretty much everywhere...okay, bad example.

It was really difficult to keep an eye on everyone and I tried to keep them at the "baby" park; which, technically is still where Anna is meant to be, but everyone wanted to go to the big-kid park with the scary high climbing stuff and slides. It wasn't too bad. Abby is fearless but slower than the other kids who thought she was going to change her mind when she got to the top of the slide. Nope. It may take her a long time to get to the top of the slide, but she sure as anything is going to go down it...again and again and again.

The most adrenaline pumping moment? Abby was playing in a slide and then got out when I had my back turned and started walking down the trail through the park and away from the park. AAAAHHHH!!! My heart almost stopped until I saw her again...like being hit by a bus.

Other than that, it went really pretty well and I think we could make that more of a regular outing. Speaking of outings, we're going to the children's museum this Friday. We're trying to get a couple of times out this week, since we're going to be doing a lot of prep-work next week for our trip to Arkansas to visit my sister's family and will be home-bound.

A side note, last night the temps dipped down to below our air conditioners set and I have turned off the air. I believe that Fall is now officially upon us. Goodbye Summer. Happy and sad to see it go. I know we're looking forward to Fall stuff. Aaron and I have already talked three or four times about caramel apples from the Conner Prairie Apple Store. Mmmm.

Personalities and Growing Up

"I started writing when I was seven or eight. I was very shy and strange-looking, loved reading above everything else, weighed about forty pounds at the time, and was so tense that I walked around with my shoulders up to my ears, like Richard Nixon. I saw a home movie once of a birthday party I went to in the first grade, with all these cute little boys and girls playing together like puppies, and all of a sudden I scuttled across the screen like Prufrock's crab."~Anne Lamott, In the Introduction of 'Bird by Bird'

I had a chat recently with someone who struggled in school because they wanted to be part of the "crowd." They couldn't afford the cool clothes nor did they live in the presumably fashionable part of town. I had a hard time relating to her story, because truly I never experienced that struggle. Some might say, "Well, duh. You didn't go to public school." But, I did go through the fifth grade and also I went to university. I never experienced that struggle in either setting. I hardly ever noticed that anyone else was there. Even at the early elementary school level, I only wanted to soak up the learning. I read voraciously anything and everything I could get my hands on. I was, like the author, that weird kid that would just scuttle through on the edges looking for a nice comfy spot to read. I'm sure that if anyone even remembers me from school or college, they remember me that way; probably thinking I'd either end up being a serial killer or having an unusually large number of cats. :)

I carried my loner card with me to school. I was there for a purpose; to get everything they could give me. I never joined a group of any kind. The closest I ever came was when someone approached me about joining the National English Honor Society. I didn't date. I really didn't even notice...though I am pretty sure that my university was co-ed. Hmmm...vaguely remember cute redheaded guy in Sociology. :) (Side note: Yes, I have a thing for the redheads. Yes, Aaron does have red hair. God's gift to me).

All of my girls are such "people" people. They love chatting with people and will start up conversations with strangers at the supermarket. I've been thinking of personalities lately and wondering what kind of people my children will be. Anna is so outgoing, yet studious. Abby is sensitive, quiet and graceful. Charlotte, while still young, is already forming into a go with the flow kind of kid. They are all such tender-hearted little people.

I just wonder where they're headed in their lives...who their friends will be and what kind of young women they'll turn into. I know too fast the time will come when they'll all be gone...living in their own homes and Aaron and I will be "empty-nesters" with all kinds of time on our hands. Kind of makes me sad. Hmmm. :( It seems strange to be able to think about an empty house when we have the three little ones underfoot. But, until you're a parent you don't have any idea how fast time does go. Seriously, it feels like they were all just born.

News

While it may be nothing, it may be something. :) An opportunity has passed our way to purchase this old farmhouse (1870) in Noblesville situated on just over 2 acres. While we certainly haven't decided and are just beginning the process of prayerful consideration. Here is the exciting news that a great many of you have already weaseled out of me. :)

Back to MOPS

I'm sitting here, munching on fries, having just put the girls down for their naps. I think this has become our little tradition getting "cheeseburgers" after MOPS. (Anna refers to any place that sells cheeseburgers as "cheeseburgers." Wanna go to cheeseburgers.) This was our first session of the Fall semester. Three diaper bags...three children in three different nursery...pushing a double stroller with one hand and Anna's hand in the other. Needless to say, I was oh, so sweaty when i sat down to meet my new table mates. "Hi, how are you? Excuse me as I try not to drip sweat on you." :)

Anyways, MOPS was great. For those of you not familiar with MOPS, it stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. It's really just a nice time for mothers with young children to get out and meet some other new moms while also learning some things that have practical application for your life. Another GREAT thing about it is that there is a spiritual element involved as well and even further than that they follow the biblical mandate of the old teaching the young. Each table has an older, more mature mother, who has been down the same road we're going down now; they refer to her as the table mentor. You also have a table leader that just kind of seems to bring it all together.

One thing I would be very interested in knowing is how they divvy people up into the various tables. Last year, my first year in MOPS, I figured they put all the pregnant woman at one table. Seriously almost everyone at my table was pregnant or had just given birth, and even funnier, as one of the moms from my table last year pointed out, we all named our children "C" names. (Camille, Cole, Cooper, Caleb & Charlotte)

This year there seems to be a mix of peoples. Two of the other moms have children under a year and are "trying" to have their second baby. It seems like the rest are done with either their one or two children. I did seem to bond with one woman who is trying to have her second child. She asked if we were going to have more and how many, and I told her that we were kind of leaving that number up to God and, I could have hugged her, she said, "Us, too." You don't really hear this often today. Most women that I talk to have decided on a certain number and it's usually one or two. A lot of people when they find out that I have three girls, they say something about how "we must be trying for a boy", or "are you going to keep going until you get a boy?" No, we're just going for children. Well, there it is...the month wouldn't be complete until I had posted something about family planning. :)

All that said, I love MOPS and the opportunity it has given me to grow in friendships and in Christ.

U.S. Puzzle

We've been doing a puzzle with Anna mostly. It's a wood cut-out puzzle with all the states. She really enjoys it and already has some favorite states. Here are a few:

• She always wants to see Kansas first, because that's where Dorothy is from.
• Indy-Anna, for obvious reasons. This has been difficult. She thinks the name of our state is Indy and that I'm saying, "This is where we live. It is called Indy, Anna." Argh.
• She really likes California because, "Daddy was born in California. Daddy was a baby. Ha Ha! Daddy's a baby!"
• Arkansas, because "Raegan lives in Arkansas!"

Waiting for the Bus

This morning as I was leaving our subdivision, it was around 7am, I saw small groups of highschool age kids waiting for the bus. They all looked grumpy and sullen. On my way back, 8:30-ish, I saw small groups of elementary age children huddled together clutching their backpacks; there mothers grouped together a few feet away chatting and laughing together. I didn't really think about the highschool students, probably because I don't have highschoolers, but when I saw those little tots waiting on the street corner, it made my heart hurt. I couldn't imagine letting my little ones go on that bus...letting them go into that kind of environment that ultimately turns them into grumpy, sullen teenagers.

I've had this feeling every time I see small children waiting for the bus; a sort of sorrow. Looking at this, I know I'm meant to be a homeschool mom. It makes me happy to know that they'll never go to a public school, Lord willing. I'm thankful for the resources that we have available to us as we begin to homeschool, including "the fam", and I'm doubly thankful for a husband who whole-heartedly is part of this decision. :)

A little DRAMA

Well, we've had an exciting past few days, which has kept me from blogging as often as usual. Last week, I admit freely, I was hormonal and slightly PMS-y. Okay, really PMS-y, bite your head off, in desperate need of some brownies PMS-y. :) Feeling better, but there were some things that really set me off and put me in instant "Mama Bear" mode...and without going into detail this blog is now by invitation/sign-in only. Sorry for the inconveinence, but gotta keep the crazies at bay; this includes myself. :)

Saturday morning, I went in to Kaye's Beauty College, where my sister-in-law, Mary is almost done with her cosmetology degree (Yeah, Mary!). Mary first cut off 10 or so inches that we're donating to Locks of Love. My hair grows super-fast, so I'm able to do this every two or three years and it still is back down to my waist each time I get it cut. Next step was some polishing off the cut and adding some square layers, pretty cool for the curly hair to help it not be so poof-y. Then, we did something that I've always wanted to do and colored it. "You did what?!" (That's my mother in the back of my head.) First, it's not permanent color, so it'll wash out in a few weeks. The color is much darker than I'm used to, but fun for a change.

This weekend we tried like anything to get Anna to go on the potty. Where we are in our toilet training is Anna holds it. She will hold it for upwards of 4 hours during the day and will cry when we put her on the toilet. She will wait until she gets a diaper/pull-up back on or until she can't hold it anymore and then she'll piddle on the floor. We tried just flooding her with fluids and putting her on the toilet A LOT and then leaving her on the toilet when we knew she had to go until she went. She was on there for a really long time and starting screaming for a diaper. I know this will end, but right now it's really frustrating.

Lastly, we're starting more of a structured preschool with Anna modeled off this letter of the week program. It's really a pretty cool system and we've filled in the holes with our own bible and music things, too. Anna's been really enjoying it and I'm excited about the prospect of opening new doors for her. (Pun intended, as I call this our "door of learning" in my head. :) )

There may be some pretty exciting news on the horizon in the next couple of weeks, but I don't want to jinx it by talking about it too soon; and no we're not pregnant...everyone seems to be asking me that lately.