Its a good thing Emily's not allergic to peanuts. Because tonight I had to slather her hair, neck and chest in peanut butter to remove the abundance of dried gum.
Yes, peanut butter gets gum out of hair and it works like a charm.
Yes, Emily had THAT much dried gum in her hair and on her body that I had to cover her in it and SCRUB. HARD.
Yes, she woke up like that this morning with no time to "fix" the problem or she'd be late for school, so she spent the day covered in dried gum. (Can you imagine walking around with a sticky neck all day? Yuck.)
No, I don't really know how she got this covered. Except that she must have fallen asleep chewing it.
No, I don't ALLOW my kids to chew gum at bedtime. (Nor that much gum... ever.)
Yes, the gumball machine she got from her Papaw had to be taken away.
Hopefully she's learned her lesson.
Oh Emily. I think even if I just had her, it would be enough to blog about for years.
Mermaidia
What do you do when you've just moved into a new house, your husband is gone for the week, two of your kids are at their grandparents', and its too hot to go outside with the little ones? Why, decorate of course!!!
Next, I took the swatches from that paint and headed to Joanns. I got 4 different fabrics in those shades that I thought would keep with the feminine, whimsical, beachy look. I made a curtain, 4 throw pillows and a lamp shade. My grandmother came over and taught me how to make a ruffle and I love the way it all turned out! I'm so proud! :D
I made two pillows solid, and two pillows with four squares.
I already had a bunch of mason jars for the seashells. And already had some shelves...
I love love love the way this room turned out. The girls loved it, its functional, its CLEAN and organized (for now anyway ;)) and it feels so good to have at least one room of the house finished. The girls have dubbed it "Mermaidia" haha!
I found some string lights that look like starfish and match the color of my mermaids hair perfectly. I get really excited over little details like that. :)
While Jake was in the Dominican Republic, he bought the girls a painting for their room... its an underwater scene with a whale and fish and coral... its beautiful! It totally fits the theme and now they have something super cool from the D.R. so once I get it matted and framed, it'll replace the cork board.
Even Kit and Josefina are happy with the new room so ya know... mission accomplished. ;)
**Big sigh** One bedroom down, 4 more to go!
And how do you decorate when you have a very limited budget to work with? Buy paint and fabric, and make the most of it! I'm so proud of myself! It was a surprise for the girls and I had so much fun doing it.
From the time that we first decided to move and the girls' knew they'd have their own room (as in, not with babies) they said they wanted a "beach" themed room. Ashley has this obsession with seashells (and rocks... but... whatever) so I thought a beach themed room would be perfect for displaying her seashell treasures.
So when we had the house painted, the "big girls' room" got painted a soft shade of aqua.
And the week they were out of my hair the house seemed the perfect time to decorate.
But ya know, beach theme can go about a bzillion different directions. It can be bright and colorful or you could do a palate of whites and light turquoises. It can be hawaiian or it can be sort of nautical. But mostly, beach themed kids rooms can get cheesy and cheep looking really easily. Yuck. So I went to my favoritest inspiration, the Pottery Barn Kids website. ;) And they had all of this super cute summer stuff, but my favorite thing were some whimsical mermaid decals. TOO cute.
So this became the inspiration for the room. More of a feminine, whimsical, underwater vibe, with a pink and aqua palate. PERFECT.
But I sure didn't want to spend the $$ on any of the stuff from PBK. So I took one of the mermaids and traced it (on the screen of my laptop, lol!). Then I did the little trick where you make a grid on the paper and a grid on the wall and draw one square at a time on the wall. Then I got some of those little $3 cans of paint from Lowes and painted it in. Voila, an entire wall filled with a beautiful blond mermaid for just $12! Whoo hoo!!!
I actually changed her up a little from the one on the decals. I changed her tail to be stripes, and I made her eye a closed lid instead of a big dot. And I gave her a fully covered bodice instead of a midriff. :)
So this became the inspiration for the room. More of a feminine, whimsical, underwater vibe, with a pink and aqua palate. PERFECT.
But I sure didn't want to spend the $$ on any of the stuff from PBK. So I took one of the mermaids and traced it (on the screen of my laptop, lol!). Then I did the little trick where you make a grid on the paper and a grid on the wall and draw one square at a time on the wall. Then I got some of those little $3 cans of paint from Lowes and painted it in. Voila, an entire wall filled with a beautiful blond mermaid for just $12! Whoo hoo!!!
I actually changed her up a little from the one on the decals. I changed her tail to be stripes, and I made her eye a closed lid instead of a big dot. And I gave her a fully covered bodice instead of a midriff. :)
Next, I took the swatches from that paint and headed to Joanns. I got 4 different fabrics in those shades that I thought would keep with the feminine, whimsical, beachy look. I made a curtain, 4 throw pillows and a lamp shade. My grandmother came over and taught me how to make a ruffle and I love the way it all turned out! I'm so proud! :D
I made two pillows solid, and two pillows with four squares.
I already had a bunch of mason jars for the seashells. And already had some shelves...
I love love love the way this room turned out. The girls loved it, its functional, its CLEAN and organized (for now anyway ;)) and it feels so good to have at least one room of the house finished. The girls have dubbed it "Mermaidia" haha!
I found some string lights that look like starfish and match the color of my mermaids hair perfectly. I get really excited over little details like that. :)
While Jake was in the Dominican Republic, he bought the girls a painting for their room... its an underwater scene with a whale and fish and coral... its beautiful! It totally fits the theme and now they have something super cool from the D.R. so once I get it matted and framed, it'll replace the cork board.
Even Kit and Josefina are happy with the new room so ya know... mission accomplished. ;)
**Big sigh** One bedroom down, 4 more to go!
Beyond burdened... breaking...
This is the last thing I should be doing right now (blogging) but my heart is so heavy, I feel like its sunken down to the pit of my stomach and is making me sick. And I have to get this out...
On the surface, my day looks like this:
I woke up this morning and nursed my baby. I got myself ready, came downstairs, got my 1st and 2nd grader dressed, fed, and hair fixed. I packed up backpacks and met 2 other moms in the driveway for our morning carpool. After my husband drove all those kids away, I came back inside and got the next 3 kids dressed and fed. Then I loaded all 4 in the car to take Micah to school, only to realize my stroller was in the suburban with Jake. And I cannot take 3 "hand holders" and a baby carrier across a parking lot and into a busy school... without my stroller. It physically cannot be done. So I called my grandfather to meet me at the school and sit with the 3 girls while I took Micah in and got him settled into his classroom.
Now I need to take the girls 30 minutes out to the church, where Jake is, so that I can get the stroller out of the suburban. So that I CAN take my stroller and children into the school to pick him up at noon.
Then I'll bring them all home, feed them lunch and lay them down while my grandfather (the superhero) sits here with them during naptime so I can run over to Abby's school and have the big IEP meeting. Then I'll come home, get the kids up, Ashley and Emily will get home from school, I'll start dinner, feed them all, do homework with the big girls, bathe the little ones and put them all to bed. Then I'll sit on the couch and wait for my husband to get home from youth group so I can hear about his day.
So.
Why, in the midst of this day, is my heart so burdened? Because right now, on the other side of the world, there's a little 11 year old girl with Down Syndrome. She does not have a family because she has Down Syndrome. And she's wasting away at a mere 10 lbs. Unless someone saves her. I know that I cannot. But who will? Most people won't even look at her profile. Most people feel helpless so they don't even look.
And the ONLY thing I can think of are these words "If Jesus is the answer, and Jesus lives in us, doesn't that mean that WE are the answer?" Over and over these words repeat in my head.
So there she sits. If she's still alive as I type this.
On the surface, my day looks like this:
I woke up this morning and nursed my baby. I got myself ready, came downstairs, got my 1st and 2nd grader dressed, fed, and hair fixed. I packed up backpacks and met 2 other moms in the driveway for our morning carpool. After my husband drove all those kids away, I came back inside and got the next 3 kids dressed and fed. Then I loaded all 4 in the car to take Micah to school, only to realize my stroller was in the suburban with Jake. And I cannot take 3 "hand holders" and a baby carrier across a parking lot and into a busy school... without my stroller. It physically cannot be done. So I called my grandfather to meet me at the school and sit with the 3 girls while I took Micah in and got him settled into his classroom.
Now I need to take the girls 30 minutes out to the church, where Jake is, so that I can get the stroller out of the suburban. So that I CAN take my stroller and children into the school to pick him up at noon.
Then I'll bring them all home, feed them lunch and lay them down while my grandfather (the superhero) sits here with them during naptime so I can run over to Abby's school and have the big IEP meeting. Then I'll come home, get the kids up, Ashley and Emily will get home from school, I'll start dinner, feed them all, do homework with the big girls, bathe the little ones and put them all to bed. Then I'll sit on the couch and wait for my husband to get home from youth group so I can hear about his day.
So.
Why, in the midst of this day, is my heart so burdened? Because right now, on the other side of the world, there's a little 11 year old girl with Down Syndrome. She does not have a family because she has Down Syndrome. And she's wasting away at a mere 10 lbs. Unless someone saves her. I know that I cannot. But who will? Most people won't even look at her profile. Most people feel helpless so they don't even look.
And the ONLY thing I can think of are these words "If Jesus is the answer, and Jesus lives in us, doesn't that mean that WE are the answer?" Over and over these words repeat in my head.
So there she sits. If she's still alive as I type this.
And I will go pick up my stroller and get my son from school. I'll go on with my day. I'll click seat belts through my kids' chubby little legs and be reminded that there is a girl who's leg is no thicker than one of my finders.
God please.... God please....
I have no more words.
Getting into the groove
As we slowly slip into the groove of a new school year, I'm feeling so very blessed.
I was really anxious about Micah and Abby's school situations this year. Though we still live in the same town, we are now just barely inside a different county. Which means Micah and Abby can't go to the same school anymore unless I want to pay out of zone fee's. And not only do they have to change schools, but they'll both be going to different schools.
It was previously written in Micah's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that he would be in PreK this year, 5 full days. But. This new county doesn't "do" preschool for six year olds (no matter how far behind in development apparently). So Micah has to go to the school we are zoned for and start Kindergarten. *Big sigh* I can't believe my little boy is starting Kindergarten.
So now I'm not only dealing with stress of "figuring out" a new school but also all of the emotions of another one of my babies starting Kindergarten. That's an emotional milestone! And extra stressful for me with Micah because I'm completely NOT convinced he's ready. But when it comes down to it, will Micah ever be ready? Probably not really, no. So here we go... we're strapped in to this wild ride of a roller coaster called Elementary School.
So that's how I WAS feeling. Then we went in for Micah's Kindergarten testing. I got to meet everyone that will be working with him this year. And it was a great meeting! I feel so much better about sending him now. Though its a mainstream class, his teacher has a background in Special Education, he'll have his own TA (teachers assistant), and the best part (to me) is that they are all willing to sign with him! HURRAY! In fact they're encouraging it! Of course he'll still have his speech therapy, we are by no means giving up on the hopes that he'll some day talk. But this will open up communication for him in a huge way at school. As I was chatting with one of the staff, I looked over and his TA was hunched down, looking in his face, smiling and signing "friends". I thought I was going to melt right there. :) :) :) It was like a little wink from the Lord saying "he's gonna be fine".
Now, why is Abby going to a different school? Well, this school doesn't have a preschool program. So Abby has to go to the closest school that will provide special education preschool. Which isn't far at all, but I am sad she won't be at the same school with Micah. And when she starts Kindergarten, she'll likely go to Micah's school... on one hand, I'll be really happy they'll be in school together again. On the other hand, that means 3 schools in 3 years. :(
I haven't met anyone from her school yet. We've got lots of evaluations and meetings before she can start. So I'm just praying the Lord will line up the right people for her.
On a side note, we were cleaning up the playroom yesterday and Abby held up a letter M from a puzzle and said, "Mom. Mmmmm." YAY ABBY!! She knows almost all of the letters' sounds. I'm so proud of that girl. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, for the big girls, we just started a carpool with 3 other families in our town. And I'm super excited about it! I think its going to be really helpful to all of us. We'll never have to drive out to the school on Jake's day off, which rocks. And the girls won't have to spend every afternoon in aftercare which equally rocks. But bless Jake's heart, he's the one doing the morning driving and gets to spend his morning car ride's listening to the conversation of 6 early elementary kids! Lord, give him some extra grace!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned for more school year adventures from the Spencer family.
I was really anxious about Micah and Abby's school situations this year. Though we still live in the same town, we are now just barely inside a different county. Which means Micah and Abby can't go to the same school anymore unless I want to pay out of zone fee's. And not only do they have to change schools, but they'll both be going to different schools.
It was previously written in Micah's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that he would be in PreK this year, 5 full days. But. This new county doesn't "do" preschool for six year olds (no matter how far behind in development apparently). So Micah has to go to the school we are zoned for and start Kindergarten. *Big sigh* I can't believe my little boy is starting Kindergarten.
So now I'm not only dealing with stress of "figuring out" a new school but also all of the emotions of another one of my babies starting Kindergarten. That's an emotional milestone! And extra stressful for me with Micah because I'm completely NOT convinced he's ready. But when it comes down to it, will Micah ever be ready? Probably not really, no. So here we go... we're strapped in to this wild ride of a roller coaster called Elementary School.
So that's how I WAS feeling. Then we went in for Micah's Kindergarten testing. I got to meet everyone that will be working with him this year. And it was a great meeting! I feel so much better about sending him now. Though its a mainstream class, his teacher has a background in Special Education, he'll have his own TA (teachers assistant), and the best part (to me) is that they are all willing to sign with him! HURRAY! In fact they're encouraging it! Of course he'll still have his speech therapy, we are by no means giving up on the hopes that he'll some day talk. But this will open up communication for him in a huge way at school. As I was chatting with one of the staff, I looked over and his TA was hunched down, looking in his face, smiling and signing "friends". I thought I was going to melt right there. :) :) :) It was like a little wink from the Lord saying "he's gonna be fine".
Now, why is Abby going to a different school? Well, this school doesn't have a preschool program. So Abby has to go to the closest school that will provide special education preschool. Which isn't far at all, but I am sad she won't be at the same school with Micah. And when she starts Kindergarten, she'll likely go to Micah's school... on one hand, I'll be really happy they'll be in school together again. On the other hand, that means 3 schools in 3 years. :(
I haven't met anyone from her school yet. We've got lots of evaluations and meetings before she can start. So I'm just praying the Lord will line up the right people for her.
On a side note, we were cleaning up the playroom yesterday and Abby held up a letter M from a puzzle and said, "Mom. Mmmmm." YAY ABBY!! She knows almost all of the letters' sounds. I'm so proud of that girl. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, for the big girls, we just started a carpool with 3 other families in our town. And I'm super excited about it! I think its going to be really helpful to all of us. We'll never have to drive out to the school on Jake's day off, which rocks. And the girls won't have to spend every afternoon in aftercare which equally rocks. But bless Jake's heart, he's the one doing the morning driving and gets to spend his morning car ride's listening to the conversation of 6 early elementary kids! Lord, give him some extra grace!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned for more school year adventures from the Spencer family.
Resolutions
I was talking with a friend the other day about school starting and she had a great point that really got me thinking. The back-to-school time of year is kind of like a New Years for moms. Its true! Its a time we mothers (of school aged children) set all of these resolutions and goals for that school year.
But I'm hoping that unlike New Years resolutions, these School Year resolutions won't fall apart after just a few months. Its worth the effort if I can hang on to even one of these goals! I'm really going to try.
Ok, so wanna hear mine? (This is in no particular order.)
Resolution #1 ~I'm going to iron uniforms this year.
I really tried to purchase polyester uniforms for the girls this year. That glorious fabric that doesn't wrinkle or turn up at the bottom hem. But for whatever reason, all brands that have that fabric run wide. Or at least- wide for my string-bean children. So I bought them "slim" jumpers in a khaki/cotton material. And unless they're ironed after every wash, the bottom hem will start rolling up. So I'm going to be a little more domestic and iron my kids uniforms.
On a side note: I was ironing uniforms yesterday and Emily asked what I was doing. "Ironing" I said. "You mean you're flattening our clothes?" Emily asked. Hmm... something like that. "Yes," I replied. "Can you flatten my shoes too because they're really crumpled." "No I don't think that'll work." I wasn't even going to ask what exactly she meant by crumpled shoes....
Resolution #2~ I'm going to wake up 30 minutes before the kids need to get up.
I should tell you, I come from a long line of southern women who never leave the house with out "putting their face on". This baffled me as a child. How do you put a face on and take it off? But now, as a grown woman with very blonde eye lashes and an uneven skin tone... I get it. If you've ever seen a mom drop off her kids at school or standing at the bus stop wearing sunglasses and a hat on a very overcast, dark morning- don't ask. It means she hasn't had time for a shower and barely made it out the door. Give her some grace.
This year I want to get myself ready for the day even if I don't have plans to leave the house. I will. I must. I resolve that my husband will not come home to a wife wearing no makeup and sweatpants. But if I don't get up before the kids do, it won't happen.
Resolution#3~ I'm going to pray with other moms.
Two of my best friends and I had our first babies within weeks of each other. Then, we blinked. And now they look like this.
I love that they are still best buds after all these years. :)
So we're going to meet, weekly if possible, to pray for them. I know that we each pray for our kids. But there is power when believers get together and agree in prayer. (Matthew 18:19) And these three snaggle-tooth kiddos represent 10 more younger siblings! Yes. Prayer. Lots of it. Bring it on.
And that's it for my resolutions. Lets keep the list short, I think it'll have a higher success rate that way. :) We'll see how its going in six months.
But I'm hoping that unlike New Years resolutions, these School Year resolutions won't fall apart after just a few months. Its worth the effort if I can hang on to even one of these goals! I'm really going to try.
Ok, so wanna hear mine? (This is in no particular order.)
Resolution #1 ~I'm going to iron uniforms this year.
I really tried to purchase polyester uniforms for the girls this year. That glorious fabric that doesn't wrinkle or turn up at the bottom hem. But for whatever reason, all brands that have that fabric run wide. Or at least- wide for my string-bean children. So I bought them "slim" jumpers in a khaki/cotton material. And unless they're ironed after every wash, the bottom hem will start rolling up. So I'm going to be a little more domestic and iron my kids uniforms.
On a side note: I was ironing uniforms yesterday and Emily asked what I was doing. "Ironing" I said. "You mean you're flattening our clothes?" Emily asked. Hmm... something like that. "Yes," I replied. "Can you flatten my shoes too because they're really crumpled." "No I don't think that'll work." I wasn't even going to ask what exactly she meant by crumpled shoes....
Resolution #2~ I'm going to wake up 30 minutes before the kids need to get up.
I should tell you, I come from a long line of southern women who never leave the house with out "putting their face on". This baffled me as a child. How do you put a face on and take it off? But now, as a grown woman with very blonde eye lashes and an uneven skin tone... I get it. If you've ever seen a mom drop off her kids at school or standing at the bus stop wearing sunglasses and a hat on a very overcast, dark morning- don't ask. It means she hasn't had time for a shower and barely made it out the door. Give her some grace.
This year I want to get myself ready for the day even if I don't have plans to leave the house. I will. I must. I resolve that my husband will not come home to a wife wearing no makeup and sweatpants. But if I don't get up before the kids do, it won't happen.
Resolution#3~ I'm going to pray with other moms.
Two of my best friends and I had our first babies within weeks of each other. Then, we blinked. And now they look like this.
I love that they are still best buds after all these years. :)
So we're going to meet, weekly if possible, to pray for them. I know that we each pray for our kids. But there is power when believers get together and agree in prayer. (Matthew 18:19) And these three snaggle-tooth kiddos represent 10 more younger siblings! Yes. Prayer. Lots of it. Bring it on.
And that's it for my resolutions. Lets keep the list short, I think it'll have a higher success rate that way. :) We'll see how its going in six months.
Potty Talk
I think we need to buy stock in Pampers.
I've been changing diapers steadily for almost 8 years now. We are currently buying diapers in size 1, size 4, and size 5 pull-ups in pink and in blue. That's a lot of booties to wipe every day.
I've got a whole diaper changing station set up under the TV in the playroom. A child locked cabinet is complete with diapers, pull ups, baby wipes, diaper rash creams (Aquaphor and Kroger brand desitin), disposable gloves (for those random explosions and I figure the babysitters appreciate them :)), grocery bags (who needs a diaper genie when you can use grocery bags, they're free!) and a vinyl nap-mat that I pull out to lay them on because there are wood floors in there.
Of course Kate has her own changing station in the livingroom. I don't lay my 6 wk old on the floor in the playroom. ;)
But I have to say, Micah's not being changed on that nap-mat much these days. His potty training is coming along wonderfully! He really only wears one pull up a day and is keeping it dry! He goes #1 in the potty and if I make him sit there long enough he'll go #2 as well, YAY MICAH!!!!
So why do I not switch him to undies? Trust me, I'd love to go back to just having 3 in diapers. Its because (and this is SO frustrating) Micah still won't tell me when he needs to go potty. :( He knows the sign for potty, so it shouldn't be a communication issue. I just have to guess when he might need to go again, usually timing it around the time that I'm changing the little girls' diapers. And sure enough, he'll go. So he's holding it... so long as I don't forget and make him wait too long. If I randomly ask him if he needs to go, he'll say yes every time. Just for something to do. And because he loves washing his hands. *insert eye roll*
From what I understand, this is typical "time training" from the orphanage. They just took all of the kids to sit on potties at set times every day and they learned to hold it until those times. Kinda sad. If any of you adoptive moms have any tips for breaking the time-trained thing, I'm happy to hear it. I wish he would just tell me when he needs to go. :(
So the other reason I'm keeping him in pull-ups is because... I'm scared. Its just the truth. But if you ever saw what comes out of that kid if he accidentally gets milk... you'd be scared too! As long as he doesn't get dairy in his diet, we're good. But when he does, watch out. And I really don't want to clean that out of underwear. Or where ever else it might land.... ugh.
Abby on the other hand, will say "Uh oh Mommy! Pooped!!!!" This is her universal phrase for letting me know she needs to be changed. Then occasionally she'll follow it up with the signs for "wet" or "dirty". Which, as her proud mother, I think is pretty impressive. :) And she really likes sitting up on the potty if and when I take her but shes terrified if anything comes out and wants down immediately. Nevertheless, I'm confident that she's really close to being ready to potty train. At this point I'm only waiting on Mabry.
Mabry turns two this fall and the plan is to potty train Abby and Mabry together. I had hoped to do Abby this summer but ya know, having a baby and all, I've been a little busy. :) So hopefully by Christmas we will have only one more to potty train and five kids successfully using the potty!!!
Then I'm going to buy stock in Charmin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
