The homeschooly life
Today our family met with Mark, our new homeschool facilitator. We reviewed my education plan for the coming school year, completed a parent evaluation, and snacked on banana bread and tea (which Lily was happy to serve out of her little tea party set).
Writing up Nicholas' education plan and discussing it with Mark today has got me examining our homeschooling life. We're in the midst of our third year of homeschooling and in many ways it feels like we're just getting into our groove.
In the first year, I struggled with finding our style. At first I took the approach of relaxed eclectic but within a few months I realized that, at heart, we were really unschoolers. I just had to get over my fear of trusting Nicholas and his ability to pursue learning. The rest of that year I felt the aches and pains over learning and trusting in the process, but we never lost sight of the fact that homeschooling was the right choice for our family.
The second year was a flurry of activity. Nick and Lily were getting a feel for the things they liked and we spent days upon days prowling about the science center and libraries. So much of my energy went towards my pregnancy that there were times I felt I was barely keeping up with the kids.
This, our third year, is different in so many ways. With Olivia's arrival, dynamics and relationships within the family have changed. Nick and Lily are now the both the big kids, and as Lily becomes old enough to join in on some programs and start doing workbooks she feels more than ever like she's homeschooling as well. Nick is more immersed than ever in his books and projects, and it's not uncommon for the girls and I to be doing activities together while Nick tucks himself off somewhere in the house to learn and create on his own.
I took a different approach to creating Nick's education plan this year. Normally, I listed out all the various subjects and created goals and strategies pertaining to each subject. When I sat down to work on it this year, though, it seemed more than ever that this layout didn't reflect our approach to learning our my views on Nick's development as a well-rounded individual. Instead, I created the headings of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual and included under this broad areas what we are and will be doing this year. I'm really happy with the outcome and the way that it allows much more room for the life learning that is part of our homeschooling life.
In discussing with Mark our journey from public schooling to homeschooling, I had the chance to really appreciate just how much this approach to life and learning has meant to our family. I love the way that Nick has positively flourished in these past few years and the way that our family relationships have grown and strengthened through our family-focused lifestyle. In the midst of the myriad of mommy worries, at least I can know without a doubt that in this area we've made the best choice for our family.
Posted by KimProbable at 8:07 PM
Burn baby burn
So in my efforts to return to my pre-pregnancy weight, I've been learning more about calorie consumption and expenditure. There are lots of fancy calculators online where you enter in your weight and how long you did an activity and then it tells you how many calories you burned.
Some of the activities are ridiculously exact ("laying crushed rock") and some are just outright bizarre ("caulking, except a log cabin") but I've noticed that they all seem to have one thing in common: they don't take into consideration the extreme multi-tasking that a mom of 3 deals with on a daily basis.
To help out any of you fellow moms who might find yourselves in need of a more realistic list of daily activities in your calorie burn calculator, I offer you the following.
Sweeping floors, 30 minutes - 157 calories
Sweeping floors while jiggling a fussy baby on your hip, 30 minutes - 183 calories
Sweeping floors while jiggling a fussy baby on your hip and dodging two children and a dog playing tag, 30 minutes - 204 calories
Putting away laundry, 30 minutes - 110 calories
Putting away laundry with the help of children who need to be reminded every 30 seconds about the job at hand and how it has nothing to do with punching anyone or playing with Lego, 30 minutes - 159 calories (just call it 318, though, since you know it's going to take twice as long)
Cooking, 30 minutes - 95 calories
Cooking while wearing baby in a sling, 30 minutes - 117 calories (add 20 calories if baby is nursing)
Cooking while wearing baby in a sling with the "help" of two children, 30 minutes - 155 calories
Food shopping, 30 minutes - 110 calories
Food shopping in the bulk foods section with a curious 4 year old, 30 minutes (if you can last that long) - 259 calories
Sexual activities, 30 minutes - 62 calories
Sexual activities requiring climbing two flights of stairs and locking the door to hide from the children, 30 minutes - 89 calories (add 10 calories if you had to make an extra effort to be quiet)
Before you ask, no I don't have any scientific backings on any of these numbers, only many hours of practical study. Far too many (well, except maybe for that last one).
Looking at my ultra-reliable chart here might lead one to believe that pregnancy weight should just come flying off in a house of our activity level, but there's an intricate equation which relates the level of daytime stress to the level of evening chocolate consumption. But that's the makings of a whole other blog entry...
Posted by KimProbable at 8:04 PM
While the oatmeal pot soaks
I remember this crazy, hormonally-induced mini panic attack I had during my pregnancy with Lily when I tried to figure out how I was going to take care of my big kid (Nick) while dealing with the constant and intense demands of my newborn (Lily!). I remembered how all-encompassing meeting Nick's needs during the first few months was. When I did the math of 23.5 hours a day of newborn care added to the 11.5 hours a day that my then 4-year-old needed I came to the realization that there were simply not enough hours in the day. And it was too late to turn back.
Things continued on (obviously), and eventually our baby girl arrived and things sorted themselves out. I learned to juggle children's needs. I learned to prioritize. Most importantly, though, I learned to multitask like I'd never multitasked before. I remember playing Mario Kart with Nick one afternoon while nursing two week old Lily Lou (hands-free nursing is the best skill ever, by the way).
Four years later, here I am again learning all over again how to squeeze more of me out of my days. Babywearing is a huge part in this as I'm able to carry, nurse, and comfort Olivia on the go or while using both my hands for taking care of other family members. We're also able to be much more mobile than we would be if she had to be in a crib to nap. If I've got a wrap, a drink, and some diapers I can head out with the big kids to explore and enjoy the world around us.
The other thing I'm learning is to use the small moments. The other day the kids and I were listening to their new Music Together cd (I'll dedicate a post sometime to rave about how much we love Music Together) while they were playing with Play Dough and I was washing dishes, and Olivia was snoozing on my back in the Mei Tai (lazy little slacker!).
I stuck the oatmeal pot in the sink to let it soak for a bit and I scooped up Lily to dance around the kitchen for a bit. When the song ended, she went back to her sculpting and I went back to my dishes, and I couldn't help but think of how when Nick was her age I'd have had time to dance to the entire cd with him. Not that I really felt Lily was lacking for attention since she was chattering away with Nick and I, but it's just different.
I had more of this post in my head at some point, but I'll wrap it up here since I foresee the rest of this just turning into the totally disjointed thought process that my sleep-deprived brain is coming up with now. G'night! *yawn*
Posted by KimProbable at 9:22 PM
Snapshots
Kelly and Lorry came by today for a visit and to drop off a camera. Lorry saw my Facebook status about my still-missing camera and generously offered us an extra one they had at home. As a scrapbooker and a sappy mom, not being able to take pictures for around 3 weeks of Olivia's 6 weeks out in the real world was making me sad and Kelly and Lorry's thoughtfulness was very touching.
We all took turns snapping some photos this afternoon (seeing Lily's gave me a better idea of how our house looks to 3-year-olds!) and when I was taking a whole bunch of Olivia, Lily asked me why I was taking so many. I told her that sometimes you have to take three hundred pictures to get a good one.
Out of over a hundred I downloaded from the memory card, our entire life can be summed up in just 3 photos.
First off, a picture that Liam took of Nick, Olivia, and I. Nick's there in body but not in mind. That's the kid I have so frequently these days. Physically, he's home with me, but his thoughts are elsewhere, whether wedged between the pages of his current book or somewhere just beyond himself where he's re-living this morning's video game or plotting out his next project to build with treasures from the recycling bin.
Then there's me, not a trace of the makeup I used to wear every day, hair kind of pulled back into a falling out ponytail, and wearing stretchy clothes that mostly cover the bulges and bumps that my postpartum body is made of. While I do miss the way I used to have time to straighten my hair, carefully put on makeup, and pick out nice outfits that compliment my body, I'm far too enthralled with the little squishy person in my hands to really mind that I totally lack the time and energy to do these things anymore.
And then there is, of course, Olivia. She's cute. And squishy. And you can almost smell her milky goodness from the photo. And that is currently the entirety of her existence.
And then we have a picture I took. It was supposed to be of Olivia but Lily felt the need to get in there too. My dear, amazing, beautiful Lily. I can't get a normal picture of her. Or maybe all the crazy faces are normal since she makes them all the time. And the jumping in on whatever Olivia's doing? That's almost the entirety of
her existence these days. She seems to alternate between loving up the baby and trying to be one of the big kids with Nick. If there's action somewhere, she wants in on it. If my attention is on something, she wants to make sure I'm still aware of her too. What she lacks in patience, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm and pure spirit.
And finally, we have Liam in a photo all by himself looking slightly pained. It often feels like there's a three-ring circus going on at home and Liam's off at work, stressing and making his brain smoke a little. I sometimes have these moments when he leaves the house when I envy his bus ride to work where he gets to listen to his own music or read a book uninterrupted, but the reality of the situation is that I don't envy the load he bears in being our breadwinner. I know that the worries and problems he confides in me are only the tip of the iceberg, and that his efforts and responsibilities are enormous.
So there you have it, a package of Johnstones all wrapped up in a package of three snapshots. I look forward to the days when I'll look back on these pictures and swoon over the memory of Olivia's babyness, wonder how I ever thought that Nick was old at almost 9, laugh at the young woman that nutty little Lily grew into, appreciate the time and energy I have for myself again, and feel ever more grateful for my incredible partner in life.
Posted by KimProbable at 10:54 PM
Evolutionary Parenting
This post was originally going to be all about babywearing, its benefits, and my history with slings, wraps, and my Ergo, but somehow between the business of life and the giant gaping hole where my brain used to be, the writing in my head is not materializing into writing on the screen.
Here, instead, is a brief glimpse into the love affair I'm enjoying with my wrap. It's a Merry Carry that I purchased from my dear friends at
Tadpoles and Butterflies.
First some pictures. Right off the bat, we have a shot love the lovely Olivia enjoying a wrap-induced snuggle a few hours after her birth:
A naked afternoon nap on day 2:
Her first outing on day 3, a walk to the playground.
My activities while wearing Olivia in the wrap these past couple of weeks include:
- eating
- sleeping
- blogging
- sweeping the kitchen
- cleaning the toilet
- riding the bus
- buying groceries
- going for a walk while Lily rides her bike
- chilling at Folk Fest
- preparing meals (I was going to say cooking, but that's a bit of a strong term for the food prep I've been doing lately)
- doing laundry
The only thing I've yet to manage that's really important to me is nursing her in the wrap. Once she's a bit bigger it'll be easier and I'll be more mobile. Woo!
For anyone who's interested in reading more about the benefits of babywearing, here's a list of
informative links from The BabyWearer.
Posted by KimProbable at 2:40 PM
Priorities
Life these days seems like an endless series of bodily functions. Someone needs to eat. Someone needs to sleep. Someone needs to pee or poo. Part of it has to do with adding another person into our family and part of it has to do with how much that small person's bodily functions require my personal attention.
Every day is a bit better, but we're still miles from what was normal life a few weeks ago. Today, the sum total of my productivity was keeping most of my family taken care of and purchasing $300 worth of groceries. A year ago, that would have been a small part of my day and I could have gone on another outing or two and still had time and energy to spare. Today, though, by the time I shipped the older kids off to Grandma's house, fed the baby, washed the puke off the baby, dressed the baby, fed the baby, changed the baby's diaper, and got the baby to sleep so I could drive the five minutes to the grocery store, it was 4:30 in the afternoon. That's an entire day gone. Woosh!
Times like these help me determine my true priorities. Sleep, food, clean(ish) clothing. Those are the bare minimums. From there I can add in things like getting some cleaning done, playing with the big kids, poking around on the computer or talking to someone on the phone (or not, right Chad?!). A big leap above that is actually leaving the house. I'm only finding that I'm up to that feat every couple of days, which should make the upcoming 5 day stint of Folk Fest very interesting.
And now my priority is shifting from this rambly blog post to the frustrated baby who won't settle for her Dad...
Posted by KimProbable at 8:26 PM
