Homeschool

Yes it's true we've made the switch to homeschooling. There wasn't that much of a switch since Bear wasn't in school but it's been a change on all of us.
We are setting up the classroom still and we are almost done with it. So this whole week we've been doing work downstairs. At first Bear was a little against it but with some encouragement he's really jumped on.
Our day lately has been...
6am wake up, brush teeth, eat breakfast, morning chores, let mom drink some coffee :)
7am morning board (calendar, days in school, weather, money counting)
8am work boxes this was a great idea I found on a couple of homeschooling blogs. You have a certain number of boxes and in each one is a different activity. Since the room is not complete I've just been bringing each activity downstairs but when they're ready zack will get to take the box out and work
10-11 The last work box is usually a craft, sensory, fun activity, video, or a movie. Today it's Ponyo since he listened to me all morning and worked real hard.
11 lunch and then nap around noon.

When he wakes up we find something else to do. Park, library, music etc. we will find something for him to do. this schedule above is Monday-Thursday and on Fridays we got this awesome bible that's hands on. So we will read one story on Fridays and do the activities. Also on Fridays will be our co-ops.

This weeks theme was firefighter. He really loves it and we even talked a little about September 11th and Daddy's very important job for our country.

Please excuse the iPhone pics I will be adding more once I get the chance..
Also I am on my iPhone posting this so please excuse any typos.

I've got 99 problems and Sleep Aint One.

Oh to look back on the days when Mr.Bear was formula fed and slept for 12 hours every night. I feel back then I had him pretty trained in the sleep category. When it was time for bed we had him bathed, fed. read to, and BAM! he was out on his own, in his own bed, and in his OWN ROOM! Those days were pretty blissful. Then came the day that would change all days in history of our parenting days. The day he climbed out of his crib. We pretended not to notice the first few months and then Sailor Man had to eventually go in his room, lay on the floor, and wait till he fell asleep. Right then and there was when it all came crashing down. Then comes little Hippy Baby and his wonderful breastfeeding ways. With breastfeeding usually comes co-sleeping. Not always...but it sure makes things on Mom much more easier.

Now 1 year later Hippy Baby and I are still co-sleeping. Sailor Man is still in Mr. Bears room except now they share a bed. Is this normal? Maybe not for most but it is for us. Do I miss the nights of snuggling up to my husband waking up to his bad breath? You bet I do! But when we sat down and really thought about it and really put the boys first we made a decision that while they're young we will enjoy sleeping with them. After all they're only little for so long and when they're big teenage almost men we will miss the days when they wanted to snuggle up with Mom and Dad. I am pretty sure getting a "good morning" from them will feel like Christmas.

If you want to really understand co-sleeping we look at it like this...

1.)  Have you ever been in bed alone and really really wished your spouse, boyfriend, Mom, Edward was there? Do you fall asleep much easier when they're around. We as humans sleep much better when we're with someone. Sure having a nice big bed to ourselves is nice but nothing beats that warmth of someone you love and care about right next to you. Now imagine how a small baby or child feels alone in their crib/bed. We feel the boys sleep better with us therefore less waking up a bazillion times a night on our part.

2.) Studies show that co-sleeping helps prevent SIDs. Preventing the infant from entering into sleep states that are too deep. In addition, the parents' own breathing may help the infant to "remember" to breathe (McKenna, 1990; Mosko, 1996; Richard, 1998). I felt much safer having Hippy Baby by my side in his early days. Even though my husband and I are active sleepers we we're very aware that he was with us.

3.) Helps with breastfeeding. Like I said above Mr. Bear was formula fed. I feel in my heart that I was so concerned with him taking a bottle, sleeping on his own, and through the night that it ruined breastfeeding for us. We ended up listening to others bad advice and giving him formula. With Hippy Baby we have made it to the 1 year mark with breastfeeding and I couldn't have been more proud of both of us. 

As always when you co-sleep please practice it safely. Here is some links on how to co-sleep safely and some more information on it.

http://www.attachmentparenting.org/support/articles/artbenefitscosleep.php

http://www.attachmentparenting.org/infantsleepsafety/

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/sleep-safety/safe-co-sleeping-habits

http://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/familybed/

In a year….

So much can change in 1 year. This past year since Hippie Babies birth it has been a whirlwind of changes. Both Mr. Sailor and I have changed our mindsets on a lot of things from parenting to religion and back again. We have truly matured and now fully understand each other much more than what we have before. I feel 100% that this is mainly because we we're moved across the world and have had to solely rely on each other. Yes, I am making friends but in the end we are on this amazing adventure together. We are experiencing things that others only dream about and there's in no other person I want by my side to experience it all.

But this post isn't about us it's about Hippy Baby. Who just turned 1 on the 2nd.

Hippy Baby graced us with his presence on September 2nd 2011 after 12 hours of labor and 5 minutes of pushing at 5:36am he was ready to conquer the world. Weighing in at 7Ibs 9oz. and a long 21 inches. You can read more about his birth story here. I guess my best way to describe Elis first is through pictures so here we go.

September 2nd 2011

We were surprised at how quickly he calmed down

Daddy got to hold him first

Meeting his Mommy.

Some brotherly love.

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

1 YEAR!!!!!

This picture just sums up our year with Hippy Baby. It's been absolutely amazing! Love you our sweet boy.

Mr. Husbands Chili

For dinner tonight I am making the Mr a big steaming pot of Texas style chili. Whenever my man is having a real iffy type a day this is the stuff to make him very happy. I decided to share my super secret recipe with you all. It's really not that secret but it's oh so good.

Ingredients:
-Ground Beef or Turkey or our favorite Bison
- 1 tomato (diced)
-1 can of tomato sauce
-1 can of pinto beans
-1 can of corn
-1 packet of chili seasoning
-cheddar cheese

The How to:

1. Brown ground beef in a large saucepan.
2. Add diced tomato,  tomato sauce, pinto beans, corn, and chili seasoning to the pot.
3. Fill a can with water and add as well.
4. Heat to a boil then reduce heat to simmer and cover for about 20 minutes.
5. Put grated cheddar on top when you serve.

This recipe tastes great when served with corn bread and sour cream. YUMMM! Enjoy!

What The? Moment

As women we all have a tendency to multitask. Some of us are really good at it and some of us just fail. I think I fall in the failing part half the time and there's days where I am like "move over I am the queen of the world." Then you have some days where you look like this lady…

Today for me looked a lot like that. Crying baby with poop up his back, 3 year old running around like a maniac occasionally licking my arm, bad hair, no make-up, and ready to lock myself in a closet and cry. Then out of nowhere a sweet little 10 year old girl said to me "when i'm a mom I hope I am as pretty as you." Then her mom chimed in and said "I agree, I never left the house and wore sweatpants all day."

I seriously thought they were smoking some strong peyote. First off the 10 year old is way too young to be wanting kids run away child and wait till your 30 and secondly I had walked out the door with only eyeliner on one eye. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and my hair was tossed up in a bun on top of my head. I am pretty sure I also smelled like spoiled breast milk. Why I decided to leave the house in the first place is beyond me. Oh yeah because I wanted to take my kid to the only place where he's forced to be quiet….the library. I smile at the lovely wonderfully blind mother daughter duo and went on my way. Still confused I guess I looked better than what I thought and maybe Lady Gaga is trying to start a new fad with eye make-up on one eye. I will never know. What was your "What The?" moment today?

Happy 4th of July!

I can't believe it's already July before I know it we will be celebrating a new year. As many parents know a babies first year goes by entirely too fast. Sure they grow like weeds regardless but that first year zooms by you in a heartbeat. I am sitting here with a sleeping boy next to me and I am in awe  at how quickly 10 months have gone by. This time last year we were trying desperately to see the fireworks at Busch Gardens for the 4th. We got rained on but we still had a blast. This year we're in Japan and have an Eli in tow. We saw fireworks and ate some yummy burgers. Eli enjoyed some watermelon and Zack played with some new friends. It was a great 4th this year and we couldn't have asked for more in our lives.

Eli enjoyed watermelon. As of now this is his favorite thing to eat aside from breast milk.

The kids played hard and gave Steven a workout. Margot and Zack are like two peas in a pod and Eli just loves watching them.

 Zack is on the left on his first 4th of July. He was about 7 1/2 months old. Eli is on the right and he is 10 months old. They are complete opposites. Zack in awe over fireworks…Eli has no picture of watching fireworks because he doesn't like them. Zack  with his binky…Eli refuses binkies. Time sure does fly and I love them so much.

Ok I am going a little collage crazy here…sorry but here's our big boy Zack on all 4 of his 4th of Julys. From left to right 2009 7 months, 2010 1 year, 2011 2 years, 2012 3 years.

And here is Eli last year on 4th of July……

Hope you all have had a wonderful 4th of July and have enjoyed my picture explosion. 

When I grow up, I want to be a...

Let's take it back to 1990 something when Spice Girls were amazing, Rugrats was good kids TV, when you thought Pocahontas was the best movie EVER! Ok…ok so maybe I still think these things but that's not up for discussion. Remember when you finished this sentence with something like firefighter, ballerina, Britney Spears? Personally I wanted to be Nicole Kidman because I was in love with Moulin Rouge. But let's get real here, I could never pull off her hair or her alien like skin.

If someone had told me that I was going to be a stay at home mom to 2 little boys. I would have shot it down 1.) It was impossible for me to get pregnant because I would never kiss a stinky boy! YUCK and 2.) If I were to have kids I would have 5 little Nicole Kidmans running around so I could dress them up and put them in ballet (I obviously had not fully understood what teenage girls were like). This whole little girl fascination went on until I was pregnant with Z. I was convinced I would be having a girl. Our conversation the night before the ultrasound.

Steven: Lina you know we're having a boy right? 

Lina: huh? I know we're going to have a little girl. We should go buy some cute outfits.

Steven: Boys run in my family

Lina: Yes boys run really fast in your family.

So there I was getting all dolled up to go look at my baby "girl" we were going to name her Trinity and she was going to be just..like..me (I am sure my parents are laughing now, if you knew me in high school you understand.) They put the goop on my belly and there she was so little and perfect. This ultrasound was such a tease I wanted to take my little princess home NOW. 

Roberta (yes I remember her name): IT'S A BOY!!!!

I stopped and looked at the screen and started to cry. Not because of disappointment. I was really excited! A boy just like his Daddy. The man I fell in love with and the man who will always love me in return. I started picturing all the baseball games and our home being filled with trucks, dinosaurs, and superheroes. When I left the clinic all excitement of little girl was gone. We were going to have a boy. I remember calling Steven afterwards and telling him. He was so excited! That night we picked his name and started calling him Zack. When we got pregnant with Eli I didn't even wish for a girl I wanted another boy. So when they told us again "IT'S A BOY!!!" I was so excited to give Zack a brother and have another little Steven running around. 

So here I am doing absolutely nothing what I thought I would be doing and I couldn't be happier about it. I am a stay at home mom to 2 amazing little boys. I am building my very own photography business and I live in Japan. Life is simply good. So here it goes…..

"When I grow up I want to be…a better mom, wife, and photographer than I was yesterday"