{day to day}

I think I have the weather to blame for my somewhat introspective, thoughtful mood lately.  I have been spending my days focused on my boys, their needs, my responsibilities and our time together. I lost my old life with the twins when Wyatt joined our family, and making time during Wyatt’s afternoon nap to do pre-school with them has been such a joy. I feel like in parenting three at once, I am often missing special moments with each one individually.

The boys look forward to pre-school each day, and while it is generally less than an hour, I am excited for their attention spans to grow, and for their little brains to soak it all in.  This week we are doing the letter A, the number 1, the shape SQUARE and the color RED.  Those are the goals. Recognition of letters, numbers, shapes & colors.  That’s it. I am keeping it simple both for myself and for the boys.  Each day I am also reading an educational book and discussing any questions they have.  We also practice cutting and do some kind of art project, to keep it fun!

{Yeah... that's the view out my front window right now!}

Today we read a book on Feelings and I asked the boys about specific feelings. These are the answers I got. Jack said he feels HAPPY when he is proud of (his cousin) Gustav for writing his name.  He said he feels SAD when Daddy goes to school.  Logan said he feels MAD when Jack takes his toys.  And he said he feels EXCITED when we go camping. “It’s pretty much fun,” he added, holding his fingers up, continuing on with, “You can go fishing… swimming… do smores…” I could eat them sometimes!

When I am there, doing school with the boys, I am channeling my home school guru, Josh’s older sister and my best friend Julie.  She has homeschooled her three boys for years, and she is my motivation.  I know if she can do it, I can do it.  I am excited that already the boys recognize the letter A, and can attempt to write it, although it looks more like an H than an A. Hey, it’s a start!

 In addition to finding time each day to spend with the big boys, I am trying to make sure I spend some quality time on the floor, playing with Wyatt.

 His favorite toys are containers with lids and the pop up toy where you push, pull & turn the nobs to make the animal doors pop open. He also adores opening drawers & leaving surprises in them, like his taggie or his brothers’ Legos.

 His favorite time of day is bath time, and he is a super naughty splasher!

 He is getting better about staying in the playroom with Logan & Jack, joining in whatever they are playing, which they have been surprisingly tolerant about.

 He hates when Josh goes to work and gets so excited when he gets home.  His favorite treat right now is this freeze dried fruit (mostly he just eats the strawberries) my sister-in-law found for him and he has four teeth on top and four on bottom with which to chew them.

 As soon as we got here, I feel like his language just took off. It has been so exciting!  He can sign and voice “more”, “water”, “done” and “bye”.  He also voices “hi”, “hello”, “cracker” & “thank you”.

 When he wants to nurse, he pulls on my shirt.  We are still nursing.  I had planned to quit while we were home shortly after his first birthday, but then I talked to my doctor and apparently breast feeding for two years can reduce your risk for breast cancer by 80%.  I have talked to my grandma and it seems that maybe her family has the breast cancer gene, which means I could be at risk. So if nursing Wyatt a little longer can reduce that risk, I am all in.

I am happy to be home with him all day, every day so he can nap on his own schedule and not be pushed onto the twins’ schedule.  I left him only a couple times while we were in Vancouver, but each time I had trouble enjoying myself, worried over how he was feeling without me there.  I always thought, when I used to be a baby-sitter, that parents who felt that way were weird! I just knew I’d want a break from my kids when I had them! And while going out without the kids is nice, and I do need adult interaction time without my three little distractions, I just really feel that my place is at home right now.  There will be time, when they are 6 & 9, for me to have a life outside our family, but right now, I belong here with them.

 Yesterday Josh had orientation for University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) after work.  He will be taking two classes toward his Masters of Education in Counseling this fall, and let’s just say his plate is going to be very (very) full!

 While he was gone, the boys and I made tortillas and then made enchiladas.  They were awesome helpers, and I thought maybe if they helped make them, they would eat them.  I was shocked when it had that exact effect I had hoped, and they each ate one & a half enchiladas!  Every new food they add to their repertoire is exciting to me!  They even ate the leftovers at lunch today!

Well, I think that's all I have for now.  Just a little update on our day to day life, figuring out our new routines and settling back into life in the bush!