Random Thoughts

Life is busy. Our routine is getting a little easier finally, though naps for Maddy & Noah still are not totally consistent yet.  We'll get there.  It's still annoying having pm kindergarten (if you're reading this, sign your kid up early for kinder so they'll have better chances of am kinder--we literally signed up a few weeks before school started, so we were put wherever there was space), since I feel like we can get nothing decent accomplished in such short blocks of time.  Like I want to go check out the damage from recent storms to our storage unit, but it's an hour away. So that means round trip 2 hours, so even only spending an hour there means I'll likely be rushing home to make sure I'm there for Sophie's bus to drop her off (I was late 1x because I went to walmart after dropping her at school and rushing back to pick her up on time, but afternoon traffic got in the way). Ugh!  And now that we signed her up for Saturday morning swimming lessons, I have to make sure I'm not doing involved things then as well. Just annoying that's all.

Sophie turned 6 on Sunday. Where has the time gone?! Wasn't she just my little colicky baby like yesterday??? She's so grown up and such a sweet girl. She cares so much for everyone and loves to help me and her teacher. My mom said she not only looks almost exactly like me, but that her personality is so much like I was as a child, she has to double take sometimes. Yeah, I'm proud! :o) She celebrated Saturday with Brian's parents, his sister and our nephew and Sunday with my mom and extended family at my Mom Mom's picnic. Sophie & Maddy played all day with my cousins (9, 5, & almost 4) and slept SO well Sunday night! lol!  We are having 1 more gathering for her birthday for my dad's family on Sunday. Sophie's counting down the days of course!  I cannot wait until we have a place of our own where we can just invite everyone down for 1 birthday instead of having to break it up 3x and be more stressful.

Maddy and Noah have been really good pals since Sophie started school. They didn't really play too much together (or gang up together!) before then, but now they're best buds. I think Maddy gets a kick out of telling Noah to say new words, so she's trying to say more words too.  She's definitely not talking like other 3 year olds do, but since I can't afford private therapy, Head Start won't call me back and she can't get reevaluated for a few months, we just wait and keep reading books, repeating words, etc. Noah's language is exploding though! He will repeat everything and it's really helping him speak a lot!

I'm finding it a bit difficult to be inspired to read my required reading birth books lately for my doula class.  For example, I LOVED reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth a few years ago, so I got her Birth Matters book to read for my class requirements and it's hard getting into it. I think it's only because my brain knows I have to write a paper after finishing it so it's being difficult.  I just wish I could pour through them like I know I normally would.  I need to do that and find 1 more birth to support and I'll be finished with my requirements! It's exciting to think that I'm almost certified though!

It's still challenging living with my dad & step mom. I love them, I am grateful for them opening their doors to us, but I HATE 2 of their pets!! They have an old 15 year old dog who they inherited from an aunt. The dog, Holly, barks all the time and has woken the kids several times. She also is unreliable to go pee or poop outside and thus it ends up on the carpet. Gross. But not as gross as my step mom's 15 year old cat Hobbes, who was born with half a brain. He is disgusting, plain and simple. He cannot take care of himself and his fur is matted and falls out in chunks all over the place. He cannot climb into the litter box very well, and sprays everywhere or half the time he cannot control himself and poops all over the hallway.  He is utterly disgusting and I just pray that death finds him soon. My dad hates him too, but since my step mom rescued him as a kitten, she can't just put him down. He's mean and meows if we're near him at all.  Brian is also very allergic to him. I have allergies too, but I must be getting used to it since I don't take my meds anymore and just deal with it. I'm debating starting a kickstarter fund to have him euthanized! lol! We all like their other cat, EB, since she's nice, clean and quiet. And the kids like the hermit crab we got my dad a few years ago! ;o) It's just frustrating dealing with 2 gross pets who are probably only still living so they can annoy the crap out of us. It is what it is.

We're also praying for a new car. We're trying to save money to buy something more reliable and so we have 2 cars (at least temporarily since my car is on the verge of dying. boo!). We were talking about how much we miss our van the other day, so we're hoping that life sends us another one soon. It got way better gas mileage for one thing and the space was awesome so we didn't have tons of hitting and screaming. But if we get another sedan, we will make it work. As long as the turn signals work, it doesn't need brakes, the parking brake light doesn't constantly ring, the windows work, the interior lining isn't falling off, and the transmission is fine--all stuff that's going on w/my car currently--I'll be happy!

Ok, enough typing! Must go get the kiddos lunch before I need to take Sophie to school and try to figure out how to spend the next 3 hours. ;o)