Dance Class

I have Elizabeth enrolled in a dance class. It is for little kids. They work on ballet and tap and I think it is the cutest thing ever. Elizabeth looks so cute in her leotard and skirt. Granted, we haven't mastered doing anything yet, but that's ok. She's only been in the class for 3 weeks...1 day/week. She still relys on holding the teacher's hand through everything, which is frustrating to watch, but I am grateful she see's the teacher as an adult whom she can go to for help. We'll see how things progress. She is the youngest in her class, so I think she will get there.

Apple Orchard Field Trip with Playschool

Elizabeth at the dock

Martin taking a bite of his apple

Last Friday, the kids had their first field trip with their school class. We all met out at the Apple Orchard and were able to pick apples from a tree. Each child got to climb a ladder and pick 2 apples from the tree. I was amazed how well the kids did...all of them. The ages of the kids in the class range from 18 mon. to 3 years. It was amazing to see how skilled the kids are.

I was grateful Marty was able to take the day off and come with me...Martin was our challange...wanting to run off at every turn. He doesn't stop to make sure you are there behind him...he just keep on going.

My Little Man

Martin went in for his 18 month check-up on Thursday. He was such a trooper. He weighs 25 lbs and is almost 34 inches tall. While the doctor was doing her routine exam, she discovered that Martin had ear infections in both ears. The left one much worse than the right. I was surprised that he wasn't tugging at his ears, so I was caught off-guard by this news. Poor guy gets another 10 days of antibiotics plus another trip to the pediatricians office in 3 weeks. Already with 2 days worth of medicine in him, he seems to be doing better.
We have also moved him into a toddler bed. He definitely likes it way better than the crib. Now he can get up and play when he wants. Last night was a bit difficult for him and so I opted to put him in his crib to keep him contained. After 10 minutes of crying/screaming I went to check on him and found that he dumped his blankets overboard and climbed out of the crib (something he has never done before) climbed into him toddler bed and was sitting there crying. It was so sad, yet so funny all at the same time. He has also learned to open doors since this new transition. Yes, we do have locks on the outside of the door to keep him contained in his room. It's amazing to me how much he is learning and accomplishing every day. I think it's cause he wants to keep up with his sister.

Chickens

As most of you know, Marty and I got chickens in the spring. These stupid birds have really been a pain in the butt, but all that is finally paying off. We got our 1st egg last week. I say...it's about time. I'm really excited about the fresh eggs we are getting and hopefully these chickens will continue to pop out those eggs.

Almost Over

Just exhausted

Well...I have 1 week left...YEAH! There is one week left of my classes, and I am so excited. The 2 that I've been taking haven't been as horrible as I would have thought, just time consuming. I feel like I finally get a break and can now focus on cleaning my house. Some things we've been up to this summer...Marty and I took a trip to Mexico (I'll post some pictures later), family coming to town, Jessica's wedding in Seattle, and the biggie...getting a start on the house. It's amazing what has been accomplished.

The Day of All Days

It's been a rough one. I still do think that we are ready to say good-bye to the pacifier. It's day 2 and I was hoping for a day that looked a lot like yesterdays. I think everything was different because we went to town. Yeah, we left the house and did a little shopping, just me and the kids. I think that really threw Martin's schedule off, even though I'm not sure why. Plus, Marty's been working out at the property for 2 days now and neither myself nor the kids have seen much of him. I think Elizabeth has been the most affected by not seeing him. She sure has been defiant lately. And where has that come from? I say yes, she says no. Today I turned my back for 5 sec. and she had gotten up on the couch and grabbed the soap and smeared it all over her and the couch. I can't even explain ho many times we've talked to her about getting into the soap. I thought the solution was to put it out of reach, well she's just smarter and figures out a way to get it. It's frustrating, but I figure that everyone goes through days like these. I am just so grateful I put my kids to bed at 7:30 each night, so I can have my sanity back...if it's only for a couple of hours.

What's new???

no...this isn't Martin, it's Elizabeth's friend Tyler.

This one is my cute little boy

It's been so long since I've posted anything. I used to think I was good at keeping up with this blogging, and now I know that I'm not good with it at all...lol.

Well...a couple of months ago...right around Martin's birthday I got referred to see a urologist....I couldn't believe it either. It was a bit of a scare cause we didn't really know what was going on. Turns out I had a couple of very large kidney stones. I had one in my ureter...sp??? that was stuck and now allowing my kidney to drain, so I had a pretty huge kidney due to the fluid retention. Well, my doctor scheduled me for a surgery to have a stent put in. I went in and was out an hour later. I was able to get it taken out a week later. I do have to go back next month to get an x-ray just to make sure they are all taken care of. So that's that.

We went to Arizona a couple of weeks ago for Lea Ann's 1st birthday party. It was really nice to see family and get to hang out, even if it was for a short time.

I registered to take a couple of classes this summer through Southern Oregon University. I guess in order to renew my teaching certificate next year I need to take 9 credit hours of graduate level classes. Thankfully I thought about it and looked it over before it was too late to do anything. I've heard it's very hard to renew a certificate if you let it lapse, so here I go...ready to spend thousands of dollars just to keep my teaching certificate around. It's so frustrating. Thankfully I only have to do this once.

Also, I registered Elizabeth in a playschool for next year. It looks like it will be very fun. I took the last opening, and Martin is 1st on the waiting list. It would be nice for him to get into it also. It's once a week for an hour and a half of play time with other kids. The teachers do arts and crafts with them as well as a little instruction time. Also, parents are required to attend with also so that there is plenty of help with the little ones. I'm really excited about it and I'm happy that it's super cheap too.