by Laura Fleetwood | May 27, 2007 | Uncategorized
So, either Justin really trusts me or he just really doesn’t care about his appearance. We purchased an electric razor with guides, so we can save a few bucks by having me cut Justin’s hair. Today was the first attempt and I must say it didn’t end in disaster, which is what I was afraid would happen based on my butchered attempts to cut Audrey’s bangs in the past.
Justin happily reported that I did at least as well as some of his worst cuts at Great Clips, which I proudly took as a compliment considering I had no idea what I was doing. Don’t look too closely or you’ll see my feeble attempt at blending a #2 on the bottom with a #7 on the top. The good news is I’ll have plenty more chances to perfect my technique. At least I haven’t been fired, yet!
Audrey, by the way, in keeping with her tendency to copy every thing I do, gave both Anna and Misty a hair cut with her invisible razor and I must say that they look divine!
by Laura Fleetwood | May 27, 2007 | Uncategorized
So, I mentioned our possible move to the desert. Justin has a job opportunity that could take us out to the Phoenix area in about a year. It’s not something we’d have to do, but he’s always wanted to live out there and I feel like this is the time in our life for us to make a move like this that could benefit us long term.
Part of me is really excited. I’ve never lived outside the Midwest and it would be a family adventure for sure! The other part of me is scared to death and dreading the hot, dry, brown desert climate and landscape. I love having all four seasons and think it’s really important for the girls, as well. Not to mention the obvious fact that we’d be leaving the security of our friends and family for the widely unknown.
Nothing is is certain, but I’m mentally preparing myself for the hardest move I’ve ever had to make and I’ve moved A LOT in my 30 years on this earth. I’m glad I have a year to get used to the idea. I’m savoring every blade of green grass and spring shower we have. One good thing is that we’d be moving from the 10th worst to the 17th best city for air quality! See here: http://www.webmd.com/news/20070501/top-25-cities-for-clean-air
That article made me feel a little better about moving until I read about the scorpions THAT COME IN YOUR HOUSE. Apparently scorpions are to Phoenix what mice are to us. OMG, if I EVER find a scorpion or tarantula or rattle snake anywhere near myself or my girls Justin might have to scrape me off the ceiling. I did mention they have clean air, right?
by Laura Fleetwood | May 25, 2007 | Uncategorized
If someone would have told me 2 months ago that I would be doing the following I would have called them nuts. It’s amazing how your world can change in a matter of days. There’s so much behind each of these statements that I’ll write about each of them in detail later, but just need to get them out here for now.
– We’re contemplating moving to the desert. What? This Midwest girl living in the desert? I KNOW!
– I’m seriously considering homeschooling the girls and am so excited about it that I can hardly stand it. Amazon.com is becoming my best friend.
– We’re losing our beloved baby-sitter, so my nice little world of work/family balance is seriously at risk. Within the span of one week, I all but resigned from my job and then took it back. I’ve got things figured out for the summer, but after that I’m the dark about what to do. Yikes!
– I ran 5 days in a row last week and my body is loving me for it. Maybe I’ll fit in my size 6 clothes again someday after all!
Wish I could see into the future to know what’s really ahead, but for now we’re just riding the waves as they come! More news is coming…
by Laura Fleetwood | May 25, 2007 | Uncategorized
The Scene: Me sitting at the table as Audrey comes into the dining room after going potty.
Audrey: Mom, I have a coupon in my underwear.
Me: What?
Audrey (completely serious): I’m pretending the toilet paper is a coupon.
Me: What do you mean?
Audrey (with exaggerated gestures): You know, those things that you use when you are bleeding?
Me (dying to try to keep a straight face): Oh, a tampon?
Audrey: Oh, Yeah, a tampon, that’s what I mean. I’m pretending this toilet paper in my underwear is one of those.
by Laura Fleetwood | May 25, 2007 | Uncategorized
Ok. It’s been so long since I’ve been on here that I have a million random things to write about. There’s been much going on and processing it all has taken every last brain cell I have, so blogging had to wait. I’ve found that I have to internalize things and stew over them for awhile before I can put them out here. Over the next few days I’m going to try to dump it all out, so this is just a fair warning!
by Laura Fleetwood | Mar 23, 2007 | Parenting
Anna had her 4 month check-up last week, complete with 2 shots on each leg. Luckily big sister Audrey was there to make her feel better afterwards. Audrey was so cute. As the nurses were getting ready to give Anna the shot, she says, “Now Anna, it won’t hurt too bad…we will make it all better!”
Anna weighed in at 12 lbs 8oz, which is more than double her birth weight of 6 lbs. She is 24″ long and is very strong. I think she’ll be sitting on her own in no time at all.
Parenting the second time around is definitely a different experience. With Audrey I was so worried about all of the milestones. As soon as she mastered one thing I was moving on to the next, barely taking time to enjoy the current stage. With Anna it’s much more go-with-the-flow. I know first-hand how quickly time passes and I’m challenging myself to sit back and enjoy these moments as much as I can.
by Laura Fleetwood | Mar 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
Anna’s first solid food: rice cereal and apple juice. She liked it, she liked it! It makes for some interesting diapers, though.
by Laura Fleetwood | Feb 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
Yesterday was a sad day for many University of Illinois fans. It was Chief Illiniwek’s last dance. The university folded to NCAA pressure and the Chief is no longer the U of I mascot. It was a sad day for me, too. My father bleeds orange and blue and I have many fond memories of attending football and basketball games with him in Champaign. The first time I saw the Chief perform at half time I got chills up my spine. Amazing dancers have been performing the Chief’s dance since 1926. To U of I fans and alumni, the Chief represents collegiate loyalty to the fullest.
It’s sad that in this world of political correctness, we are forced to let go of such traditions when they are soooo not hurting anyone. If anything, fans are reverent when the chief performs. Justin’s family has Native American roots and I would never stand for anything that degraded or humiliated them.
Justin and I were discussing this and I mentioned to Audrey, “It’s sad that you will never get to see the Indian chief dance.” I didn’t think much more about it but later that night I was giving her a bath and she looked at me sadly and said, “I can’t see the Indian dance?” I promised her we would find the dance on the computer after her bath. She didn’t let up until we did. Since then, she’s probably watched this video 30 times. I think even she can sense the respect that students and alumni have for their beloved mascot. It saddens me that my girls will never get the chance to see the Chief perform in person when they go to games with Gramps. Hail to the Chief!
by Laura Fleetwood | Feb 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
Background: Audrey’s pediatrician’s name is Dr. Buffa. Her baby doll was sick the other day and she was pretending to be a doctor to “check her out.”
“Don’t worry baby, it won’t hurt. I’m doctor Buffalo and I will take care of you!
by Laura Fleetwood | Feb 8, 2007 | Uncategorized
Christmas 1979: Myself (age 3) and my sister, Sarah (weeks old)
Christmas 2006: Audrey (age 2) and Anna (1 month)This is the same rocking chair!
by Laura Fleetwood | Feb 8, 2007 | Uncategorized
So, I just wrote about Audrey starting to use the toilet for the first time 6 days ago. For the past 4 days she has been completely dry. She has used the toilet (for both #1 and #2) every single time she had to go except during the night. She’s even wearing underwear. Just like that, in less than a week! We don’t even have to ask her if she has to go. She lets us know on her own. It’s really amazing.
I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. In every situation where we were fearful of all the horror stories, i.e. taking away the binky, not using a bottle anymore, moving from the crib to toddler bed to big girl bed, Audrey has adapted with such ease that we often wondered if something was wrong! I’m a bit scared that her mellow, adaptability now is going to revert at some point (teen age years?) and we’ll get paid back in spades. Be that as it may, we’re enjoying it right now!
I’m not naive enough to think that she won’t regress a little at some point, but really it’s pretty amazing that she caught on so fast. I didn’t believe people when they said, “when she’s ready, she’s ready,” but I guess it’s really true! We’re so proud of her and thrilled to be almost done with buying diapers for 2 kids!
by Laura Fleetwood | Feb 8, 2007 | Uncategorized
At our Parents as Teachers session last week, Miss Melanie asked whether we were going to enroll Audrey in the “Minds in Motion” program through our school district. It’s 1 or 2 mornings a week for those kids that are born after the 3 year old preschool cut-off of August 1st. Since Audrey was born on August 6th, she’ll always be the oldest in her class – essentially a year older than her classmates. Anyway, it got me thinking about what we should do for preschool. I don’t know if it’s this way everywhere, but in this area it’s just assumed that you’ll send your child to preschool. In fact last night was the registration night for the fall. Parents line up to register their child 6 months in advance just to be sure to get a spot.
My first reaction was to sign her up. After all, she’s very bright and loves learning and she would benefit from the social aspect of it, right?!? Then I started researching some things and changed my mind. First of all, if she did Minds in Motion and then did 3 and 4-year-old preschool, that would be 3 years of preschool before she’s even in kindergarten. She has years and years of school ahead of her, why not just let her enjoy being home while she can?
Also, there’s research and schools of thought (specifically, waldorf-based education) that says that too much academic focus in the toddler/preschool years can actually inhibit creativity and cause kids to lose interest in learning in the long run. See the following links:
Universal Preschool
Waldorf Education
Waldorf Home Preschool Curriculum
Plus, I’m already away from Audrey a few days a week at work, why would I want to spend even less time with her. So, I’m opting not to do the Minds in Motion and maybe not even do preschool at all. Instead, I’m going to implement some components of a Waldorf-style learning environment and just have more structure at home.
I’m not saying that preschool is a bad thing, but I don’t want to be one of those parents that uses it as a substitute for daycare and I don’t want to rush Audrey into something she’s not ready for. These years are a precious time for me to have a huge impact in her life and I want to be the one teaching her the lessons and priorities that I feel are most important. School and the “real world” will come soon enough!
