We have been having some severe weather here in the northeastern part of the United States. We have had heaps of snow (yay!!) along with some frigid temperatures. Schools have closed for both of those reasons. I don't remember ever having school closed because of how cold it was outside, but it has happened multiple times this winter. When the windchill is -20 (or whatever it was), I can't blame schools for closing and delaying. I remember waiting for the bus in the cold as a kid and it certainly wasn't the most fun I've ever had in life. (Although if we're being really honest here, it was more like me running to the bus stop before the bus pulled away. Still not a morning person.)
Facebook is alive with angry parents: some angry because school is closed, some angry because their kids are driving them crazy, some angry because their kids will now be in school past the originally scheduled end date, and some just angry.
Before I continue, let me say up front that I know homeschool is NOT for everyone. So, what I am about to say are just my opinions which are biased and potentially flawed.
As a homeschooling mama I love snow days. Winter can be long and hard. Snow days are so joyful. I find it beautiful that my kids can do their schooling, then bundle up and play in the snow. We still accomplish the schooling that needs done, but can enjoy the fun six inches of fluffy white stuff. Now, the negative degree days were a little more difficult. We did our schooling, but going outside wasn't nearly as enjoyable. I have the privilege of having an unfinished basement that I sent the girls down in to ride tricycles and run around to burn off some energy. And the truth is - I did send my girls out on some of those really cold days. They were appropriately dressed and I only let them stay out for about 10-15 minutes, but it was worth it.
Have you heard of Common Core? I don't know much about it, but what I do know I don't like. You can follow this link to view a fabulous example of a Common Core math problem for a fourth grader. http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/22/heres-another-impossibly-stupid-common-core-math-worksheet/
I think that article speaks for itself.
Up until we started homeschooling I would have said it was not for me. Now we are halfway through our first year and I love, love, love it!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
2014- The Year of Joy
In 2013 we had a theme for the year, something we had never done before. Since 2012 had been a very stressful year we had concluded that our goal for 2013 was to be the "Year of Rejuvenation". Throughout the year, we continually reminded ourselves of this and sought to rejuvenate our minds and bodies.
We found this to be such an amazing way to focus our family and spur us on to positive thinking. As we look ahead to what 2014 may hold, the word that continually came to mind was "busy". Trent continues to have significant responsibility at work and at church, both of which require a fair amount of his time. I have the girls to teach, a baby to care for, and my small painting business that I hope will grow this year.
We have decided that our theme for 2014 will be "Joy". This word came to mind because regardless of how busy we are, we can always find time to be joyful. This will certainly be a good reminder in these first few months of 2014 where winter can seem to drag on and on and on. When the girls are restless and I am frazzled, I can and will find joy. And in those beautiful, beautiful Spring and Summer months when life is bliss, and it is easier to find joy, I will hold on to those moments to get me through the long and dreary days.
I hope you all have a joyful year and have found a way to focus your thoughts and energy into positive thinking! One sure way is to look to our Heavenly Father and bring praise every day and in every situation. the "sacrifice of praise". Cheers to another beautiful year!
We found this to be such an amazing way to focus our family and spur us on to positive thinking. As we look ahead to what 2014 may hold, the word that continually came to mind was "busy". Trent continues to have significant responsibility at work and at church, both of which require a fair amount of his time. I have the girls to teach, a baby to care for, and my small painting business that I hope will grow this year.
We have decided that our theme for 2014 will be "Joy". This word came to mind because regardless of how busy we are, we can always find time to be joyful. This will certainly be a good reminder in these first few months of 2014 where winter can seem to drag on and on and on. When the girls are restless and I am frazzled, I can and will find joy. And in those beautiful, beautiful Spring and Summer months when life is bliss, and it is easier to find joy, I will hold on to those moments to get me through the long and dreary days.
I hope you all have a joyful year and have found a way to focus your thoughts and energy into positive thinking! One sure way is to look to our Heavenly Father and bring praise every day and in every situation. the "sacrifice of praise". Cheers to another beautiful year!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Four Daughters
Four daughters. Four precious little women. God has given me a huge task in giving me these four ladies. Raising four girls in an American culture that screams at them: DIET, EXERCISE, ORGANIC, GLUTEN-FREE, YOU'RE FAT, YOU'RE TOO SKINNY, DON'T EAT THAT. Not to mention the images of women that will be portrayed to them through media; magazines at the check-out counter, the internet, movies. And of course, the most influential and damaging of all, friends and family.
We love our family. Really and truly, we do! But even the most loving family member can say words that can injure a child, especially a female child. Some things that I have heard said to my children are, "You're too skinny, you need to eat more." "Look at your fat belly."
I then heard my child repeat those things about herself. "I'm fat." And I run in and try to do damage control. NO, you are NOT fat!! You are three-years-old!!
We live in a society obsessed with body types. Thick, thin, skinny, fat, obese. Any of these can be unhealthy.
For two years I lived in Mississippi, the "fattest of the fifty states". While living there I became disgusted with a culture of gluttony and all-you-can-eat buffets. Then I come back to living in Pennsylvania, and many of my Facebook friends are the complete opposite - super-skinny, gym obsessed females.
I am trying to teach my daughters that there is a happy medium between these two extremes. I try to feed my children healthy food, a variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and grains. But we also eat fast food on occasion, and we eat something sweet after almost every dinner. Moderation is key.
Also, please don't pick yourself apart in front of my children. If you are really that concerned about your "chub" sticking out over your pants, do something about it. Don't mention it in front of my little girls. I have no desire to have my six-year-old stay in her size 6 pants. She is growing! She NEEDS to find that her clothes are too tight or too short so that she can grow appropriately into a young woman.
What are ways that you find helpful to raising daughters to have a healthy body image?
We love our family. Really and truly, we do! But even the most loving family member can say words that can injure a child, especially a female child. Some things that I have heard said to my children are, "You're too skinny, you need to eat more." "Look at your fat belly."
I then heard my child repeat those things about herself. "I'm fat." And I run in and try to do damage control. NO, you are NOT fat!! You are three-years-old!!
We live in a society obsessed with body types. Thick, thin, skinny, fat, obese. Any of these can be unhealthy.
For two years I lived in Mississippi, the "fattest of the fifty states". While living there I became disgusted with a culture of gluttony and all-you-can-eat buffets. Then I come back to living in Pennsylvania, and many of my Facebook friends are the complete opposite - super-skinny, gym obsessed females.
I am trying to teach my daughters that there is a happy medium between these two extremes. I try to feed my children healthy food, a variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and grains. But we also eat fast food on occasion, and we eat something sweet after almost every dinner. Moderation is key.
Also, please don't pick yourself apart in front of my children. If you are really that concerned about your "chub" sticking out over your pants, do something about it. Don't mention it in front of my little girls. I have no desire to have my six-year-old stay in her size 6 pants. She is growing! She NEEDS to find that her clothes are too tight or too short so that she can grow appropriately into a young woman.
What are ways that you find helpful to raising daughters to have a healthy body image?
Monday, January 6, 2014
Caroline Rose
December 20, 2013 is a day to be remembered.
I woke up at about 5 am to take a shower, being sure to wash with Hibicleanse. Trent carried the girls out to the warmed up van in their pajamas and covered them with blankets. We were on the road by 6ish. We drove to Trent's parents house and dropped the sleepy big girls off to spend the day with Grandpa and Grandma.
Trent drove me to the hospital. We were very excited to meet our fourth baby and prayed for good health. We arrived at Women & Babies Hospital shortly before 7 am. My cesarean section was scheduled for 9 am. Check-in went smoothly and I waited patiently through the routine procedure.
I was very vocal about my previous negative experience with the spinal, and wanted to be sure that the same mistakes weren't made again. I talked with the anesthesiologist and he assured me they would do their best. Before I knew it they were ready for me to go to the operating room. Trent waited outside as I walked down the hallway into the operating room. As soon as he left my side I could feel myself start sweating. The walk down that hallways brought back a flood of memories regarding Magdalena's c-section.
As they prepared me for the spinal the nurse joked about the fact that I was sweating and I told her how nervous I was. Everyone was really fabulous and patient with me. She tried one spot and I could feel pressure on my spine. Instead of continually trying the same spot (which is what happened last time), she took the needle out. The doctor came and had me sit differently. Because of my scoliosis when I arch my back it made it more difficult to get a wide space in my spine, and it actually closed off a space that would normally be open. The doctor recognized this and adjusted my body accordingly. The nurse anesthetist was then able to get the spinal in with no problem. I was praising the LORD!
Trent came in and the surgery began. I felt like everything went much quicker this time than it did before. When they pulled the baby out one of the nurses said, "Ah, he's peeing! I mean - SHE's peeing. It's a girl!"
It was quite humorous because I was very confused as to the reference to "he". Even though we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl I was pretty sure we would have another girl.
Caroline Rose Hess entered the world at 9:09 am, was 19 inches long and weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces. She is lovely and perfect.
Immediately after being born the NICU nurses who were in for the delivery began giving her oxygen. She had fluid in her lungs. They took her over to the NICU and Trent went with them. I went into recovery alone. As strange as it may seem, I was extremely grateful that I had a previous experience with a NICU baby. I was much more confident and sure of her safety than I was with Maggie.
Trent came back to recovery to give me a Caroline update and to call our family. First up were big sisters. Trent called his parents house and asked to talk to Anne.
Anne said, "What is it?"
He said, "Well, her name..."
And Anne excitedly said, "HER?!?!"
and Grandpa and Grandma (who were on speaker phone) said, "Her??"
Anne said, "Well, what is her name??"
Trent said, "Caroline Rose Hess."
Anne said, "Caroline.... what a nice name."
The girls were all excited to hear about their baby sister.
Trent also called my mom who was waiting very impatiently at work to hear the news! She contacted my dad and siblings for me. A little while later we put the announcement on facebook to spread the word more quickly.
I'll try to write more about our 10-day NICU stay on another post!
I woke up at about 5 am to take a shower, being sure to wash with Hibicleanse. Trent carried the girls out to the warmed up van in their pajamas and covered them with blankets. We were on the road by 6ish. We drove to Trent's parents house and dropped the sleepy big girls off to spend the day with Grandpa and Grandma.
Trent drove me to the hospital. We were very excited to meet our fourth baby and prayed for good health. We arrived at Women & Babies Hospital shortly before 7 am. My cesarean section was scheduled for 9 am. Check-in went smoothly and I waited patiently through the routine procedure.
I was very vocal about my previous negative experience with the spinal, and wanted to be sure that the same mistakes weren't made again. I talked with the anesthesiologist and he assured me they would do their best. Before I knew it they were ready for me to go to the operating room. Trent waited outside as I walked down the hallway into the operating room. As soon as he left my side I could feel myself start sweating. The walk down that hallways brought back a flood of memories regarding Magdalena's c-section.
As they prepared me for the spinal the nurse joked about the fact that I was sweating and I told her how nervous I was. Everyone was really fabulous and patient with me. She tried one spot and I could feel pressure on my spine. Instead of continually trying the same spot (which is what happened last time), she took the needle out. The doctor came and had me sit differently. Because of my scoliosis when I arch my back it made it more difficult to get a wide space in my spine, and it actually closed off a space that would normally be open. The doctor recognized this and adjusted my body accordingly. The nurse anesthetist was then able to get the spinal in with no problem. I was praising the LORD!
Trent came in and the surgery began. I felt like everything went much quicker this time than it did before. When they pulled the baby out one of the nurses said, "Ah, he's peeing! I mean - SHE's peeing. It's a girl!"
It was quite humorous because I was very confused as to the reference to "he". Even though we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl I was pretty sure we would have another girl.
Caroline Rose Hess entered the world at 9:09 am, was 19 inches long and weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces. She is lovely and perfect.
Immediately after being born the NICU nurses who were in for the delivery began giving her oxygen. She had fluid in her lungs. They took her over to the NICU and Trent went with them. I went into recovery alone. As strange as it may seem, I was extremely grateful that I had a previous experience with a NICU baby. I was much more confident and sure of her safety than I was with Maggie.
Trent came back to recovery to give me a Caroline update and to call our family. First up were big sisters. Trent called his parents house and asked to talk to Anne.
Anne said, "What is it?"
He said, "Well, her name..."
And Anne excitedly said, "HER?!?!"
and Grandpa and Grandma (who were on speaker phone) said, "Her??"
Anne said, "Well, what is her name??"
Trent said, "Caroline Rose Hess."
Anne said, "Caroline.... what a nice name."
The girls were all excited to hear about their baby sister.
Trent also called my mom who was waiting very impatiently at work to hear the news! She contacted my dad and siblings for me. A little while later we put the announcement on facebook to spread the word more quickly.
I'll try to write more about our 10-day NICU stay on another post!
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