Pre-School At Home

So, homeschooling has been something I have been back and forth about ever since I found out I was going to be a mommy. The idea of homeschooling is great. It is a relaxed setting and the parents, who are natural leaders for their children, can guide them through the most important time in their lives. I was homeschooled for high school and I loved it. I was able to go at my own pace, I didn't have to wake up super early and be tired all day. I could focus more on the subjects that I was most interested in and I didn't have to deal with some of the drama that highschool entails. I never felt like I missed out on anything!!!

I think the reason why I even hesitated was because I was nervous. Being the teacher is such a big responsibility! Not to mention, right around the time Jaden was of pre-school age, I was about to give birth and I wasn't sure I'd have the energy.

So, about 2 months before Fenn was born, I put both Jaden and Mara in pre-school part time. I really needed a break physically and mentally at that time, even if it was only a few hours a week. I found a really great place and I was very excited about sending them to school. They both started out in a toddler classroom where there were 9 kids total and 2 main teachers. Their teachers were great with the kids and I fell in love with them after Jaden had her seizure and they handled everything so well.

Mara was on the young side, she was only 18 months old. While she did enjoy seeing her teacher and getting to paint and play on the playground, she always cried when I left. She also had a difficult time napping since she was used to co-sleeping for naps. So, when Fenn was about 2 months old, I decided to take Mara out and have her be home with me. At this time, Jaden was moved up to the pre-school aged classroom.

I was hesitant because I didn't know the new teachers that well. The classroom also had more kids, 24 instead of 9. But, because it was summer there were less kids than usual. After a couple of months, the school year started and the classroom enrollment went up to full capacity. I started noticing Jaden's behavior changing. She was often very rough and aggressive in her play on days that she had school. I also didn't like the disconnect with the new teachers and it seemed like everytime I was there picking her up or dropping her off it was someone new and the main teachers were never there.

So, I started to research homeschooling options. At this point Fenn was 4 months old and our life was finally getting into somewhat of a predictable routine. I felt confident that I would be able to take Jaden out of pre-school and homeschool her as I had initially thought about doing. Her last day of school was September 14th.

I searched the internet high and low for homeschool curriculum that I felt would work for us. Someone recommended "Five in a Row." It is based on the Charlotte Mason way of teaching. Basically, you learn through literature. The "Five in a Row" curriculum has you read the same story to your children every day of the week (five days in a row). It then gives you ideas for learning activities that go hand in hand with the book. I felt like this was perfect for us because both Jackie and I are avid readers. Their pre-school curriculum is for ages 2-4, too, so Mara can participate as well.

I am very excited about getting started! I will admit I am still a little bit anxious since I have never done anything like this before. But, I'm thinking it will be a great bonding experience with the kids and it will make our days more interesting.

Home-Made Soft Pretzels

The other night I was craving something sweet, but I have been on a mission to use only the food we have in the house in order to clear out some things that have been sitting in the pantry. A friend of mine posted a link on facebook to a home-made soft pretzel recipe along with pictures of how hers turned out. I knew we had everything necessary to make the pretzels and I figured I could make them a sweet treat by dipping them in cinnamon and sugar when they were done.

The recipe we used was one that did all of the dough prep in the bread machine.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Soft-Pretzels-For-Bread-Machines-45567

After the second rise cycle I removed the dough and divided it into 6 pieces. Jaden and Mara helped me roll them out into long strips.

Then we formed the strips into pretzel shapes and put them onto a cookie sheet to let them rise.

After letting them rise for 20 minutes or so, you drop them in boiling water with baking soda for about 10 seconds and then put them back on the cookie sheet and bake them.

After they baked I dipped them in melted butter and then sprinkled them with a cinnamon sugar mixture. I added some pink sugar crystals to make them pretty for the girls.

I'm not sure what happened, but they were not as fluffy as they should've been. However, they still tasted pretty good. The girls, of course, just licked the cinnamon and sugar off and left the rest!

Fenn is 4 months old!

My little boo boo:

Today my baby is 4 months old! I can't believe how quickly time flies these days. I remember being hugely pregnant with him and anxiously awaiting his arrival. I remember giving birth to him at home and everyone being so surprised at his size!

He still is a big boy. About 1 week ago he weighed in at 21lbs 8oz!

He currently loves to talk. He smiles and laughs a lot! He is pretty mellow and he loves being held and being close to someone. He loves to sit and observe his sisters playing. He gets really excited and you can tell he wants to play with them. He can sit up unassisted without leaning to the side, although he does start to lean forward after awhile. He sleeps pretty good at night- he gives me one 5 hour stretch in the beginning and then eats every 3-4 hours after that. He also naps well during the day- 3 naps and one is at least 2-3 hours long. The best sleeper of all my children!

In the past few days he has started sucking his thumb. I think this is so cute! My older girls were not thumbsuckers so it is new to us.

He also loves to play in his exersaucer as he has full hand control to play with the toys. His sisters love to play with him. Jaden really dotes on him and makes him laugh. Mara is finally warming up to him and will share some toys with him. It is cute now because whenever she sees a baby she points and says "DiDi" which means baby brother in Chinese. Jaden argues with everyone that his name is not Fenn, he is "baby brother." It is so cute.

I'm very content with my little family and I look forward to watching my children grow!

Mara is 2 years old!

My baby girl is now officially 2 years old. I cannot believe how quickly time flies once one becomes a parent!

Looking back on that day, it was one that transformed my life forever. Mara's birth healed my heart in ways I didn't know it could. The labor and birth, itself, was an amazing experience. But on top of all that, I was given the most precious gift of being the mother of such a fun loving and expressive little girl. I can't wait to see what the future has in store!

2 years has taken us from this:

To this:

For good measure, I leave you with a the shortened version of Mara An's Birth Story:

I went to bed on the evening of Tuesday, August 28, 2007 with no signs of impending labor. I had almost 2 weeks until my due date and I was definitely getting excited to be so close to meeting the newest addition to my family. That night, I was sleeping in the twin bed in the guest room while Jackie and Jaden slept on our king in the master because I was very uncomfortable at that point in my pregnancy. I remember waking up around 3am feeling a little bit off. I went to the bathroom and returned to bed since I knew I would be up early with Jaden. Around 6:30am, I awoke again feeling crampy. I went downstairs and tried to focus on my cramps to determine if they were contractions or not. I timed them for about 30 minutes and they were coming 4 minutes apart and lasted 45 seconds long. I immediately woke Jackie up just to let him know I thought I might be in early labor. But, I told him not to worry too much. At 8am I called the doula we had hired to let her know what was happening. She told me it sounded like early labor and that my contractions needed to last longer and to call her back in a few hours time if things continued to progress.

At this point Jackie and Jaden were awake. He called his mom to have her come and take care of Jaden when we needed to go to the hospital. I called my mom, grandmother, and aunt to have them come spend time with me at my house while I labored at home. While we waited for them to arrive, Jackie and I decided to take Jaden for a walk around the neighborhood to make things stick. I was having consistent contractions through the entire walk but they were manageable.

When my family arrived, Jackie left to drop the cat off at the vet. My family and I just hung out in my living room watching Jaden and my cousin Elijah play. My aunt timed my contractions and they were still 4 minutes apart and no more than 45 seconds long. They were getting stronger, to the point that I had to stop and breathe through them, but I wasn't in so much pain that I felt I needed to leave for the hospital.

Around 11:30am, my aunt and grandmother left to get everyone some lunch. We had called our doula and told her we would meet her at the hospital around 12:30pm. I decided to go lay in bed and my mom joined me. Jackie was home from the vet at this point and was laying down with Jaden in the other room to get her down for her nap. While laying in bed I put my MP3 player on to listen to my Hypnobabies Birthing Day track. As I layed in bed listening, things just suddenly got very intense. My contractions started coming one on top of the other. My mom was getting worried that we needed to leave for the hospital immediately. She started to help me out of bed but everytime she tried to get me up I would have another contraction and wouldn't be able to move. She finally got me into a sitting position, at which point I felt a lot of pressure on my bladder. I told my mom "I think I need to pee" and suddenly we both heard a "pop pop" sound and my water broke. My mom started working quickly to get me up and let Jackie know we needed to leave asap.

Jackie came in the room and handed Jaden off to my mom. I started to feel more pressure so I felt down with my hand and felt Mara's head already crowning. I told Jackie and my mom that she was coming out! Jackie helped me get my pants off and started throwing blankets under me (I was standing). I pushed and Mara's head came out, I pushed one more time and her whole body slid out into Jackie's hands. I immediately sat down and held her and just stared in amazement.

At this point my aunt, who my mom had been calling intermittently with updates while she was getting lunch, came running up the stairs into my bedroom. When she stopped in the doorway she had the most shocked look on her face as she saw me sitting there peacefully holding my new baby girl! My mom had called 911 at that point and they told us to tie off the cord. My aunt found one of Jaden's pink hair ribbons and tied it off. When the paramedics got their they cut the cord, loaded us into the ambulance, and we were transferred to the hospital.

Mara An was born on August 29, 2007 at 12:15pm. She weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long.

"An" means peace in Chinese. As crazy as this birth experience may sound while reading it, in reality it really was such a peaceful event. Everyone involved did an amazing job under the circumstances. I got the homebirth I had truly wanted and Mara showed everyone that she will do things her own way and in her own time, which is true to this day!