Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A Third Child?

I don't know if I'm ready for it and I'm not sure about it in general. After your second child, with two girls, people ask you "are you going to try for a boy?" I used to think I wanted a big family, with lots of kids and lots of love. I equated the amount of children you had with how fulfilled you would feel. The NUMBER started at 5, than crept down to 4. After my second, the hubby and I finally agreed upon 3... maybe.



Our first child was easy. We had it made. Despite the fact that at 7 days old she had heart surgery and we experience a tremendous amount of unexpected stress, which I'm still in therapy for today, we had it pretty dang good once the dust settled. She slept through the night at almost a month old. She never had any feeding problems, was in good health otherwise. She grew up to be the sweetest little girl, only occasionally testing her parent's limits. She followed directions and hardly threw tantrums....

That's when number two came along. That is when all hell broke loose, including my water bag at 28 weeks. I was on bed rest for 4 weeks while we held off the labor and she came at 32 weeks. Ryleigh was a preemie but didn't look like it since she was a large baby, 5lbs! We thought, since again we experienced tremendous unexpected stress, that GOD was granting us with another easy baby. We were terribly wrong.



Don't get me wrong, I love my children so much, but number Two has been more of a challenge than we expected. In addition to a new baby my oldest started having more tantrums. I remember looking at my husband, with two screaming/crying children and thinking what the hell happened to us. I have learned to laugh through the tantrums and the outbreaks, although I'm not sure it's helpful on the children but it keeps my sanity. I know that this too is a season and will pass.

So here we are, 2 and a half years later, confronted with the idea of having another. Ryleigh still drinks a sippy cup of almond milk before bed (it's the substitute for bottle we were supposed to wean her off of at 12 months) but we are trying. We have done everything wrong with our second and I feel insecure with our parenting decisions. I am sweating through answering another question about the third.

So do we shoot for a third? I don't know anymore. It changes on a day to day basis. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the kid's behavior.
I think about how we could be done with diapers soon.
I think about not needing a minivan, although it would be nice.
I think about just being over that baby stage.

But then I think about how warm and wonderful it felt to have a little someone inside of me and how wonderful it would be for Bella and Ryleigh to have a little brother or sister.

I will just have to wait until I know. Do you ever really know, though? Can someone please let me know how they knew when enough was enough?

They are so precious together!



Healthy Weight Loss Update

I wanted to give an update on how The Fast Metabolism Diet: Eat More Food and Lose More Weight
is going... extremely well! The first couple of days were hard to kick my caffeine addiction but this week has been really enjoyable.

I had amazing results last week that I am almost intimidated to post because most people will say it's too much for one week. I promise I did nothing but eat healthy and according to Haylie's plan. I lost 10 pounds in the first week!! I really couldn't believe it myself.

Read the book for yourself and see if this is something for you. Find the book here...



I'm still a little insecure to post full on pictures of the progress but I'm working myself up to that:).


*This post contains my affiliate link that helps support my family. The opinions and experiences expressed are entirely my own.

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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Taking a Time Out and a Recipe

Sometimes you just need to take a time out. There have been things on my mind lately that have been taking over my life and I couldn't find the right words to type. I had a post that I have been staring at for two weeks now and it just never felt right to hit publish. It was about struggling and not being in the right frame of mind and I will leave it at that. I have prayed for patience, understanding and to not feel so resentful. While I don't feel 100% sometimes you just need to push through the block to get out of the rut.

I started a new THING on Monday. We'll call it a thing even though it's a diet. It's the Fast Metabolism Diet. I've had a couple of friends try the 28 day plan and have had some great results. The thing I like about this diet is I don't limit how much I eat and it's all real foods. One of the things I can't have is caffeine, which has taken a toll on me the past two days. I love my morning coffee but I really need this THING to work. I've been a dieter now for 10 years and I still continue to beat my all time max weight record. I'm hoping this will be the lifestyle change of my life, like the last 10 were supposed to be. I've lost 6 pounds in four days! So far so good.

The past couple months, every weekend has been jam packed that I haven't had an opportunity to just sit. I need some relaxation and some rest.That is exactly how I plan on spending the rest of my long weekend. Maybe even a trip to the Zoo!

So as I'm sitting her craving a buttery cheesy something, as this THING doesn't allow dairy, I revert back to one of my older recipes that I am so wishing I could sink my teeth into right now.

Croque Monsieur

This is so delicious. I got this recipe for Ina Garten! She is one of my favorite chefs. I changed the recipe a bit to fit what I had in my kitchen. I also changed the sauce, I felt it wasn't thickening enough.
This is a great brunch recipe and so easy to make!


Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup hot milk
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 12 ounces mozzarella, grated (5 1/2 cups)
  • 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
  • Spicy brown mustard
  • 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sandwich sliced at your deli.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. 
Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. 
Remove the heat  and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 cup of the Mozzarella and set aside.
Toast the bread, bake on a baking sheet 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add two slices of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Mozzarella. 
Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Mozzarella, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. 
Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.
 
 Enjoy and have a great weekend!


Thursday, May 8, 2014

Working Mom And A Non-Traditional Homeschool Schedule

As a homeschooling Mom, who works full time outside of the home, it can seem difficult and even impossible to fit homeschooling in. I've heard many times where families have both parents working full time outside of the home and desperately wish they could homeschool. It's possible..... But difficult.

Non-Traditional Homeschool Schedule Options
Bella is only in Kindergarten, which doesn't require as many hours daily to devote to "school work" but we started a little early to really take the time with the basic subjects. We are doing Kindergarten year round for a year and a half. We started in December of this year before she would technically be starting Kindergarten in the fall.

We plan on doing year round with a couple small breaks for the holidays and summer. This will give us more than enough time to achieve the goals we set out for her.

Year round study
It's great if you don't have  the same hours as a traditional school would provide a student. It also is nice because you can transition to another grade level easier since the time frame of the break is minimal and the transition is pretty seamless.

Alternative Schedule
Because homeschooling offers flexibility of schedules, we are able to plan our week around our careers. We are lucky that my husband works the third shift that allows him to be home with our girls for most of the day. He gets home and goes to bed around 4:00am. He sleeps in until 11:00 am. He also has taken ownership of the homeschool responsibility and is teaching some of the subjects during the day. It's helpful if your spouse is willing to take on a subject or two and be a part of the educational experience. It makes it a whole family thing and takes some of the pressure off of Mom.

I work a condensed schedule that allows me to have Friday through Sunday off. I do most of the teaching in the evenings and on the weekends. Education never stops in our house and we have something going on every day of the week. This spread out schedule helps with the young ones and she doesn't get burnt out.

You can see from the schedule below, the area shaded in orange is when I'm away from the home working.

Team work makes the Dream work!

Here is a breakdown of the subjects and how they are taught.

Husband: 
Handwriting (Mon-Thurs 11:30-11:45 pm)
Math (Mon - Thurs 12:30-1:30 pm)
Electives (Mon - Thurs 2:00 - 4ish)
Gymnastics (Wed 4:30-5:30pm) Lesson outside of home, obviously not taught by Dad.
Me:
Handwriting (Fri 9:00-9:15am)
Vocabulary (Mon-Thurs 7:00-7:30 pm, Fri 9:15-9:30am)
Reading (Mon-Thurs 7:30-8:00 pm, Fri 9:30-10:00am )
Math (Fri 10:00-11:00am)
Co-OP: Friday afternoons

We use Saturday as a make-up day and tackle any electives and fun learning opportunities such as field trips, usually to the Zoo, museum, or nature walk.


So it can be possible to homeschool even if you work full time. It takes a lot of commitment, structure, and flexibility. The beauty of homeschooling is that it can be done anywhere and anytime. It's important when you do decide on your alternative schedule to watch out for a few things...

Questions to consider...

When is my child's prime time for learning?

What subjects need to be completed during prime time?

What is my child's natural schedule? My kids have a later bedtime than most but they also sleep in later, so they get the right amount of sleep for their growing bodies.

Is this schedule doable? Meaning, do you really plan on teaching vocabulary within 30 minutes of getting in the door? A plan and schedule is essential but the following through is what is going to make it work.

We plan on doing this schedule for the next 2014-2015 school year. The following summer we will pick up 1st grade. For the grades that require more "school hours" we will add on Sunday.

I hope this helps anyone on the fence with homeschooling in a non traditional schedule.If you have any additional tips on this subject please post them in the comments or feel free to email me!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Magical Mondays: My Disney Bucket List


Even though I have been here over a dozen times, there are still a few things I have not been able to experience personally or with my family.

For this week's Magical Mondays, I am highlighting my bucket list for our Disney Vacation in September.

Disney Vacation Bucket List
(Some of these I've already done but are worth the repeat!)

1. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique with the girls
2. French Restaurant in Paris - Epcot, World Showcase
3. The New Snow White Ride.. Just opened up!
4. Belle's Castle and Be Our Guest restaurant
5. Dole Whip in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom.
6. Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom
7. Hollywood and Vine Character Breakfast - Hollywood Studios
8. Embroidered Mickey Ears w/ the names for the whole family
9. The Christmas shop in Downtown Disney
10. Downtown Disney shopping... I need a new coffee mug!
11. Character photo ops and signatures (the last trip Bella really got into this!)
12. Going on the Dumbo Ride with my youngest
13. The new Fantasyland Parade
14. Visit Tom Sawyers Island
15. Afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian... they have a tea party for the little ones!
16. Enjoy a Gourmet cupcake from the Magic Kingdom (Chesire Cafe and pretty much every other park)
17. Enjoy a brownie sundae at the Ghiradelli Soda Shop
18. Eat and enjoy the music at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney
19. Eat and Drink my way around the World Showcase
20. Climb through the Swiss Family Tree House
21. Sport matching family vacation tees- I know this one is corny
22. Disney Junior Live on Stage at Hollywood Studios
23. Let the the wiggles at Honey I Shrunk The Kids play yard
24. Camp out at Fort Wilderness
25. The Hubby pulling the Sword out of the Stone in Magic Kingdom


There are endless things to do at Walt Disney World resort, so it's important to plan in advance and know what you want to see and do. Otherwise, you will miss out on some of the timed parades and shows. I'm all for just winging it but this really is not a place you go to without a plan... unless you go multiple times:).