Almost

I've got an "almost" four year old and an "almost" two year old - I am amazed at them every day - still. 

My almost four year old will wake up from a three hour nap (yes, she takes three hour naps, crazy!) and with sleepy eyes and bed head, she will immediately start talking about something with real value.  She might say "Easter is coming in a few days and we are going to have an Easter egg hunt!".  She has thoughts and ideas running through her head and she verbalizes them so well.  Her most recent favorite thing is to ask me to tell her a story.  I tell her thirty second "stories" about when I was a little girl or when her or her sister were babies.  She gets so excited that she will ask for a story over and over again.  Sometimes she asks for new stories and sometimes she wants to hear a specific story that I have already told her.  The best part is when she tells me a "story".  It always begins with "When I was a grown up . . . . "

My almost two year old is at the point where she can speak in full sentences but you can't always figure out what she is saying.  Her enunciation isn't great, but proununciation is pretty good.  Her vocabulary is excellent.  And yet, that doesn't keep her from throwing temper tantrums.  Those darn two year olds.  I don't know what it is about that age. I always thought it had to do with not being able to verbalize your wants and needs, but that clearly isn't the case with Gwen.  Most of the time she is a wonderful, happy, ball full of energy, but occassionally she will completely breakdown without giving me any clue of what set her off or how to get her to stop.  These tantrums don't happen often, but they definitely increase when she is sick.  Sadly, she has been sick quite a bit.  It is awesome that the first year of her life she didn't get sick at all, but since then, she has been sick many times.  A few weeks ago she got the flu, then she had a random virus which gave her a 24 hour fever, and now she has a sinus infection.  My poor baby.

It is amazing how both girls can act like such big girls most of the time and then flip the switch whenever they want to go back to being a baby.  They have grown up so much in the last year.  I love being able to remember when CC was the age Gwen is now.  It is hard to believe that a year ago, Gwen wasn't even WALKING!  And yet now, she has the mobility of her almost four year old sister.  Now, she climbs up onto the kitchen chairs (or table, yikes!!).  I remember when we moved into this house, when CC was almost the same age as Gwen is now.  I was so afraid of letting Christina sit on those chairs.  I thought that she would surely fall off and break something.  I kept her in a booster seat for a long time.  Now, Gwen is actually slightly younger than CC was at that time, and I can't keep her feet on the ground.  She climbs on chairs, tables, couches, anywhere/everywhere.  The stairs, which were once practically banned by CC at two years old, are familiar ground for Gwen.  She goes up the stairs on her own without a problem and I am only slightly paronoid when she goes down them on her own.

It is also so entertaining to see the things the girls have in common as well as the ways they are different.  They both love to dance.  I know I've mentioned it before, but it is too cute how Christina asks to have dance parties and how Gwen will just stop what she is doing and boogie down whenever she hears music.  At two, CC use to hate being stuck inside and Gwen is now the same way. She will actually go and put her shoes on, then come over asking to go outside.  CC doesn't do that anymore, but she is obsessed with knowing what we are going to do.  She has to have plans.  When it is nap time, she'll ask "what are we going to do after our nap" or if it is lunch time, "what are we going to do after lunch?" "and then what are we going to do after that?" . . . While CC is perfectly happy playing either indoors or outdoors, she also loves to watch her favorite TV shows - Dora the Explorer and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Her new favorite show is Strawberry Shortcake which is actually more for big girls.  This is the first show she has watched that has commercials and a decent storyline which actually keeps even me interested.  Gwen on the other hand normally prefers books.  She gets seriously p.o'ed if someone takes a book from her.  She tries to sneak them off to bed with her each night, but I always have to fight her for them.  If she could, she would stay up all night flipping through the pages.  She loves TV as well, but is too active to want to just watch for long.  She'll ask for "Dora" or "Pirates" when she wants to watch though, which is really cute.  It is especially cute how she asks to watch one of her shows whenever anyone is watching TV, as if she should get to pick what we watch at all times.

I might have mentioned before how my girls seem to have been blessed with some athletic abilities.  CC has an arm on her and has had a great throw since she was practically a baby.  Hopefully she'll use that skill for tennis or softball when she is a little older.  Gwen on the other hand seems made for football.  She is small, but strong and sturdy, she knows how to tackle and she absolutely knows how to run.  She often runs away from me, zigging and zagging, trying to throw me off her trail.  She also will often grab something from CC (like a toy or book) and then run away with full speed ahead.  She even knows how to block to keep her item safe, lol.  I love watching them discover their abilities and talents.  Like CC with negotiating.  That girl knows not to take a first offer when she hears it.  You want to give me five minutes of play time, how about ten?  Three pieces of candy, nope, I'll take five. lol  And she never shys away from asking for what she wants, even if it is a piece of cake for breakfast (not that she is ever going to win that one).

Knots in my stomach

I remember my college search well.  I had the big huge book of college's that I could page through and read about any and every school out there.  My Mom did not give me any restrictions, so all I had to do was come up with what I wanted in a college and then set out for it.  I limited my search to the South East.  I wanted to be away from New Jersey and experience all that college had to offer, without being across the country.  I was already fond of those states and also had family in VA as well as GA.  From there, I narrowed down the schools based on a variety of other factors.  It was pretty easy really.  Those college books really provide a ton of info and I guess I knew what I wanted.  Once I had about a handful of schools, we slowly but surely visited all of them.  Based on those visits, I was able to eliminate about half.  In the end, it could have gone either way between two schools.  Another visit to one of my top choices, as well as an additional scholarship thrown on top for good measure, is what pushed me over the edge. 

I don't know what my college search process was like for Mom, but I know for me, it was essentially a piece of cake.  Between scholarships and financial aid, cost wasn't an issue which is normally what makes the process so difficult (I would expect).

So please tell me, why is picking an ELEMENTARY school for my children so difficult???

My stomach has been in knots for days.  Ever since our daycare gave me the Pre-K paperwork to fill out for Christina, I have felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to figure out where she will go to Kindergarten.  Let's not even discuss the other huge decision I have to make (send her off to Kindergarten on time even though she won't even be FIVE yet, or hold her back and allow her to take Pre-K again so that she will be older than the kids in her class and not younger).

Where I live, there are a gazillion schools.  Public schools are like a free-for-all, you just go wherever you want to go and private schools come in options like Catholic, Christian, Non-denominational, Montessouri, Charter, etc (etc, etc).  I can send my kid to a school an hour away if I want, or I can have the bus pick her up and take her up the road.  Does that make the choice seem obvious?  Well, I can assure you, it.is.not.  There are factors, many many factors.  Yes, I can figure out what I want out of a school for my children.  In fact, I have done just that.  Unfortunately, just because I want those things, does not mean that I can get those things.  Maybe I am being unrealistic, but I want a great school with sports and activities, music and art, oh and did I mention that I want it to be nearby and also be ahem - affordable.  I can find great schools with all of the programs I want, but the price is through the roof.  I can find great schools with a better price tag, but their programs are severly limited.  There are public schools that seem to have everything except their test scores aren't great.  Ugh!!

So maybe I am being unrealistic and maybe I'm driving myself crazy for no reason at all, but I won't give up until I find the best fit for my children.  But oh wait, there's more.  The kicker is that these wants are my wants, right?  And hey, I might want the school to have tennis and cheerleading so that the girls can participate in those sports.  But, guess what, that doesn't mean that my kids will actually want to cheer or play tennis.  Maybe CC will want to join the fencing team and oh my goodness I completely left that off my list!  What would I do then?

Give me a chill pill or something because I've got a long road ahead of me!

More on couponing

I recently read that families bringing in $100k or more a year are twice as likely to coupon than those bringing in $35k or less a year.  Also, those with a college degree are twice as likely to coupon than those that don't.  I fall into both of those statistics and yes, I am smart enough and hard working enough to know that spending some time into couponing will save tons! 

Couponing has really been huge for me.  Since I've started (officially the first week in January), I have been able to stock  up on almost every item that our family uses regularly.  I no longer feel the pressure to go to the grocery store on a regular basis.  I no longer have to worry whether or not I will have enough money to buy groceries.  I no longer have to search the house for something to eat if I want a snack.  I actually have options at dinner time!

Now I don't shop out of necessity.  I shop when I can get the absolute best deals and I have a great time doing it!  I shop because I enjoy it.  I also got into a really good groove with organizing and clipping my coupons so that I don't spend nearly as much prep time as I use to.  I scour the ad's and/or couponing websites and only clip the coupons for the deals that are the best and/or that I want.

Adding to my collection of free stuff from last time, take a look below at all of the free stuff I have gotten in the last few weeks.  Most of this comes from drugstores, but I have also gotten some really great deals at grocery stores, especially Publix.  I'm not sure what my average savings has been lately, but I'm guessing it is about 80%.  In general, I haven't paid more than 50% of the retail value for anything (except the Sunday paper!)  I have also been able to get discount gas cards which has been awesome.

Parenting, what a big moutain to climb

Ok, I admit.  I wrote this post a looooong time ago and totally forgot about it.  It is still valid though and wanted to get it up here.  So here goes . . .

Up until now, I thought that being a Mom was fairly easy. If you think about it, your main goal as a Mom is to keep your child alive. Break that down and all you really have to worry about is sleeping, eating and keeping your child healthy. Of course those three things are huge and I’m not going to discount all of the issues with getting your infant to sleep through the night, getting your toddler to eat a normal meal, or just getting your child through winter without heading to the ER, never mind any bigger health issues. These issues are real.

Of course as a Mom, you are also responsible for how your child grows and learns. Let’s face it though, with all of the education tools out there for infants and toddlers, it is a pretty easy job. Everything that your child needs to learn in the first few years of life, are things that come second nature to you as an adult. The challenge begins once your child has mastered the art of learning. It is now up to you as a Mom, to make sure your child is learning the right things. It is up to you to make sure that your child is not learning the wrong things. I know, I know, this is not new information, but seriously? Have you thought about it at all and what exactly that MEANS to you as a parent??

I am a Mom of a three and a half year old. She goes to school, she meets people, she makes decisions, and she does much of this all on.her.own. Yikes! I am totally excited about her growing into a responsible and independent person, but I have realized that I need to start making decisions on how I am going to raise her. Like, important decisions! And yeah, maybe I think too much, but hey, that is just what I do. So here are a few goals of mine and the dilemma’s that I am struggling with . . .

1. GOAL: keep CC safe from strangers that might want to do harm (STRANGER DANGER)

Dilemma: I want her to be a friendly person. I don’t want her to be afraid to talk to people. I like that my children wave and say hi to people as they walk by, but I also need to keep them safe. Trying to figure out how to teach her about strangers and not hinder that friendliness is not an easy task.

2. GOAL: teach her not to “tattle-tale”

Dilemma: I want her to tell me when there is a potential issue with her sister. For example, if Gwen is playing with something that could hurt her, I want to know about it. I think in general, if CC learns to take care of her sister or look out for her best interest, it will help her grow into a responsible and caring person. At the same time, I don’t want her to get the wrong idea and think it is a good idea to tell on others when they are doing something “wrong”. So, I have to teach her to distinguish “wrong” from something that could cause harm. And even further still, a harmless wrong like eating an extra cookie is totally different from throwing Daddy’s Google TV controller in the toilet.

3. GOAL: teach her to be respectful of others and follow directions

Dilemma: I want my daughter to speak properly to adults. I want her to be respectful and to occasionally say “Yes Sir”, “No Ma’am” when it is appropriate. I want her to listen and to follow directions, but I don’t want her to grow up always following. I want her to learn to be a leader and to realize that she does have her own opinions and ideas. I want her to be confident and learn to think through things herself. I want her to learn to negotiate and also to please others but not by always giving in. These are complicated ideas, I know. These are not the kind of things you can teach a three year old, probably not even a ten year old. But, these are the things in the back of my mind. How do I teach her to obey me without teaching her to just obey? Is this the feminist in me speaking? Maybe. But, I don’t want her to be some robot that just does what she is told all of the time. Yet I also don’t want her to be a wild child that does whatever she wants, whenever she wants.
I could go on and on with these goals of mine, but I won’t. I just want to put it out there that I am now aware that this parenting stuff is going to get more challenging as the children get older. I don’t even want to think about those teenage years!

With two girls so close in age, I would assume that there will be no learning time in between what I teach CC and what I teach Gwen. Gwen is already so advanced and picking up things I never would have expected a child of her age to pick up. I have a feeling I am going to be teaching both of them life’s lessons at the same time. I only hope that I can get it right the first time, because I don’t know if there will be a second time. Of course two more children thrown into the mix (hopefully, one day!) may change things completely. I guess we’ll see!

Leap Day

February 29th wasn’t just leap day for us this year, it was the first time Christina has actually had a half birthday. It was nice to recognize the day since it rarely comes along. She got a few special treats and she wore her birthday skirt to school.


On an already eventful day, I got another surprise on Wednesday. Turns out that my little Gwendolyn is graduating speech therapy! Technically, she already has graduated, but the ceremony isn’t until the end of the year.

We recently had Gwen’s one year speech therapy evaluation and she passed with flying colors! She scored as a two year old in most area’s (she’s only 20 months) and as high as a 29 month old on others! I am one proud Mama.

It isn’t a shock to me that Gwen is doing so well, but it totally came as a shock to me that we don’t have to go to speech therapy anymore. I didn’t know when it would end or how it was determined. Basically though, she is so far ahead that they no longer recommend her attending. They will of course re-evaluate her in six months and if she is still on target or advanced, then we will only go back once a year.

Both of my girls continue to grow, learn and change every day. Christina can finally ride her little trike at home and I am excited for the Independence Day parade in our neighborhood where she will ride along with her friends. Gwen is so much like a big girl now the way she speaks and plays with her sister. We are hoping to start potty training in a few months also.

Some of my favorite things from my girls lately:

-CC always singing songs randomly. I love to hear how she interprets the songs! For example: “I can be your trouble maker, you can be my bass”

-Gwen actually used a SEVEN word sentence the other day!! I can’t remember what it was though, bummer. I rarely keep track of what she says anymore because she is always talking and I’m always surprised at how much she says.

-They both love to have dance parties. Christina always asks if we can go home, put princess dresses on and dance around to loud music.

-CC loves to say “ya’ll” and I laugh to myself every time I hear it. She is so purposeful with it and it still sounds so foreign to me.

-Both girls sleep through the night consistently – woohoo!!