This past weekend I decided to make some changes. Specifically, I decided to put the girls in the boys' room and the boys in the girls' room.
The girls' room is right in the middle of the hallway and has a pocket door. I don't like closing their door as I'm worried they will have trouble opening it in the middle of the night if they need to go to the bathroom. The hallway outside their door happens to be the squeakiest part of the hall so every time we walk by it is really loud and often wakes one or both girls up.
The boys' room is at the end of the hall, right across from our room, and has a regular door on it. By putting the girls in there I can hear them better at night and I can pull their door to and not have them hear as much noise. Plus, the floor in the boys' room is quieter so when I go in to one of the girls I don't wake the other one up.
We started the switch on Sunday night. Of course it decided to thunderstorm that night. But it worked out great because I stayed in our bedroom folding laundry and listened for the girls. I could peek in on them without waking them up. When Danielle got scared I was able to go in and comfort her without waking Emily up (Danielle was the only one who ever woke up).
Right now we're on trial for a week, so we haven't actually swapped any of their clothes or toys yet. I want to see how this works. But so far I am LOVING it and think it may be a permanent change.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Two down, two to go
Sunday after church Tim was stung by a wasp. It was apparently building a nest underneath one of the handrails and it wasn't too happy when Tim put his hand on the handrail. He was stung twice on one hand and once on the other. Other than screaming like a girl (Mark's words ;)) he handled it very well. It didn't swell up much on Sunday, but he woke up Monday morning with both hands pretty swollen.
This afternoon I gave him some benadryl as his little hands were so swollen you couldn't see his knuckles. :( Poor baby. They don't seem to bother him though as he's busy building more houses out of blankets (the latest every-afternoon activity) and the couch.
Two of the kids have now been stung and not had severe reactions. The minimal-reaction part always makes me happy. Here's hoping the other two respond the same way!
This afternoon I gave him some benadryl as his little hands were so swollen you couldn't see his knuckles. :( Poor baby. They don't seem to bother him though as he's busy building more houses out of blankets (the latest every-afternoon activity) and the couch.
Two of the kids have now been stung and not had severe reactions. The minimal-reaction part always makes me happy. Here's hoping the other two respond the same way!
Friday, June 25, 2010
No more school
Today when I picked the kids up, Tim informed me that he no longer wanted to go to school. He only wants to go to summer camp. Specifically...
"I don't want to go to school anymore. I only want to go to summer camp. I already know how to read. I don't need to go to school anymore."
Apparently being able to read 3 and 4 letter words with one or two vowels means you have maxed out your learning opportunities at school. Can't say I was surprised by this one. Tim would much rather be running and doing than sitting and learning! :)
"I don't want to go to school anymore. I only want to go to summer camp. I already know how to read. I don't need to go to school anymore."
Apparently being able to read 3 and 4 letter words with one or two vowels means you have maxed out your learning opportunities at school. Can't say I was surprised by this one. Tim would much rather be running and doing than sitting and learning! :)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I feel like a crummy mom
The boys have been attending summer camp at their school. Since it's a Christian school and the camp is held at the Baptist church/school, we weren't too concerned about content. They go swimming every Monday, on a field trip ever Tuesday (today was the City Museum--lucky boys!!), to a movie every Wednesday, have stations (cooking, arts and crafts, etc.) on Thursday, and go bowling on Fridays. The boys love it and they are definitely sleeping well. :)
But we've run into a small problem with the movies.
It started the first day of camp (a Tuesday) when they came home and said they had watched The Tooth Fairy. Not only is it rated PG, but the grand total of what they got out of it was "the kid got mad and smashed his guitar!"
Not really life lessons we want our kids to be learning.
So I'm thinking it's a fluke...and then they watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (PG) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG). They are slated to watch Where the Wild Things Are (PG) today and I finally put my foot down. I don't want my kids watching that, and for more reasons than just the rating. I talked to the director of the program who said "well those are just the movies they show so that's what we go see." Really? Because I'm thinking the church would not be so happy that you're taking kids to see movies with cuss words in them (d*** and hell for the movie today...ones later on this summer are worse), not to mention the content, especially since about half the kids in the program are 7 years old and under.
So I had the fun job of telling the boys that they would not be going to the movie with all of their friends. Instead, they would be sitting outside the movie with the camp director. So now they think they have done something wrong or are in trouble. :(
As it worked out, Mark is going to take the boys to work with him this morning and drop them back off at summer camp at lunchtime. We're still looking into our options for next week...
But we've run into a small problem with the movies.
It started the first day of camp (a Tuesday) when they came home and said they had watched The Tooth Fairy. Not only is it rated PG, but the grand total of what they got out of it was "the kid got mad and smashed his guitar!"
Not really life lessons we want our kids to be learning.
So I'm thinking it's a fluke...and then they watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (PG) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG). They are slated to watch Where the Wild Things Are (PG) today and I finally put my foot down. I don't want my kids watching that, and for more reasons than just the rating. I talked to the director of the program who said "well those are just the movies they show so that's what we go see." Really? Because I'm thinking the church would not be so happy that you're taking kids to see movies with cuss words in them (d*** and hell for the movie today...ones later on this summer are worse), not to mention the content, especially since about half the kids in the program are 7 years old and under.
So I had the fun job of telling the boys that they would not be going to the movie with all of their friends. Instead, they would be sitting outside the movie with the camp director. So now they think they have done something wrong or are in trouble. :(
As it worked out, Mark is going to take the boys to work with him this morning and drop them back off at summer camp at lunchtime. We're still looking into our options for next week...
Saturday, June 19, 2010
And even more base ball...
We had another busy day of base ball. We drove a couple of hours into Illinois for the game. Early on, Mark was in left field and the kids and I were at the playground behind him. I yelled at him to check out Emily and me.
Emily was swinging, by herself, pumping and giving Danielle a run for her money as to who could swing higher.
I was sitting on a bench, in the shade. :) :)
The helicopters from Alex's birthday were a huge hit and the kids spent a lot of time flying them. Emily is not quite able to make them go (she pulls the string too slow) but the bigger kids were all able to get them into the air.
The kids also took turns playing left field with Mark. That was highly entertaining for me, especially since none of them run after the ball. They all just stand there and watch Mark run and then tell him he did a good job when he gets back to where they are!
Emily was swinging, by herself, pumping and giving Danielle a run for her money as to who could swing higher.
I was sitting on a bench, in the shade. :) :)
The helicopters from Alex's birthday were a huge hit and the kids spent a lot of time flying them. Emily is not quite able to make them go (she pulls the string too slow) but the bigger kids were all able to get them into the air.
The kids also took turns playing left field with Mark. That was highly entertaining for me, especially since none of them run after the ball. They all just stand there and watch Mark run and then tell him he did a good job when he gets back to where they are!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
He's 8!
I can't believe I'm now the mother of an 8-year-old. And that he was only 5 when he came home!
I made the slight mistake of asking Alex the night before his birthday what kind of cake he wanted. I was expecting "chocolate" or "vanilla" or "sprinkles" or something along those lines. No, I get
"Noah's Ark."
I started laughing and Mark asked if he should go find a Noah's ark cake, but I was pretty sure I could do it at home. So I baked a sheet cake while moderating an online chat for adoptive families. I then cut the cake in the shape of an ark, and frosted it the next day. It wasn't the best cake I've ever seen but not bad for a couple hours notice. Most importantly, Alex liked it. :)
Alex only asked for one thing for his birthday: "a helicopter that flies up in the air." I didn't think he was quite ready for a RC helicopter, so I went searching for one of those helicopters that sits on a trigger and shoots up in the air. After lots of searching, I finally found one on Amazon. Even better, it's made of foam so it can be flown inside!
Happy, happy birthday to my firstborn!
I made the slight mistake of asking Alex the night before his birthday what kind of cake he wanted. I was expecting "chocolate" or "vanilla" or "sprinkles" or something along those lines. No, I get
"Noah's Ark."
I started laughing and Mark asked if he should go find a Noah's ark cake, but I was pretty sure I could do it at home. So I baked a sheet cake while moderating an online chat for adoptive families. I then cut the cake in the shape of an ark, and frosted it the next day. It wasn't the best cake I've ever seen but not bad for a couple hours notice. Most importantly, Alex liked it. :)
Alex only asked for one thing for his birthday: "a helicopter that flies up in the air." I didn't think he was quite ready for a RC helicopter, so I went searching for one of those helicopters that sits on a trigger and shoots up in the air. After lots of searching, I finally found one on Amazon. Even better, it's made of foam so it can be flown inside!
Happy, happy birthday to my firstborn!
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