We took the kids out to our land today (yes, we own land! I feel so grown up!) We needed to mark the property line and figure roughly where the corners of our house will be so our sewer guy can finish up the perc test. ("The sewer guy" is actually named Mike, but to save my life, I can't ever remember his last name. We've been calling him "Sewer Mike" for the last couple months. Old habits die hard, so I'm sorry to say he'll probably forever be Sewer Mike in my mind. Sorry, Mike.)
Anyway, I realized my mistake as soon as we drove up: Temperatures were hovering barely above freezing, we had two restless kids with us, we had packed absolutely nothing for them to do or play with, and the land was one huge mud pit because of all the melted ice and snow. Perrin immediately ran off to investigate a big pile of sand. I feebly called out after him, "Stay out of the mud!" Brielle ran along behind him, so Trey and I headed up our hill to start laying down some twine to mark the property line.
Not five minutes later, Perrin started yelling for me frantically. He was stuck ankle-deep in some mud and had lost one of his shoes in it. He was trying to balance on one foot to keep his sock clean, but the boy has my genes, which means zero balance or coordination. His socked foot landed in the mud (along with a good 6 inches of his pants). He tried to regain his balance and ended up losing his other shoe. He couldn't balance long enough to get his shoes back on, so he ended up sticking his hands and arms in the mud too. By that point, I'd made it to him and was trying to hold him steady while he got his shoes back on. Mud was smeared all over my hands, arms, legs, and house blueprints, and we still didn't get his shoes on (they'd sunk quite a bit at this point). I finally marched him off to the car in his socked feet, then had him take off his muddy socks and wait for us in the car. I told him if he wanted to get back out, he would need to climb out before putting back on his socks and shoes.
Later, when we finished marking our house corners and came back to the car, muddy footprints covered most of the seats and floors. And we discovered once we turned the car on that he had pressed practically every button he could find (although he told us that he "didn't press a few of them.")
I forgot to mention that Brielle was hysterical at this point because she was cold, cranky, and frustrated at her disobedient parents, who did not cater to her demands of being carried all over our hillside.
Thinking to the year ahead and all the house projects we'll be doing, I'm getting a little nervous. This is gonna be hard work. Even a simple project like today becomes a time-consuming mess with kids factored in. We'll just have to do the best we can... and expect a few muddy footprints along the way.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
I think I've made up my mind.
Well, it looks like we're taking the homeschooling plunge. While many of my friends are filling out Kindergarten applications, I've been hemming and hawing and trying to decide what's best for us. The answer that has come to me after many hours of praying and pondering? A resounding "I don't know."
This hasn't been an easy decision for me because public school certainly has its merits. It's free (or rather, it's something we're already paying for anyway with our taxes). It provides opportunities for socialization that I can't quite replicate with homeschooling. It ensures that he'll be learning at an appropriate pace for his age and grade level, and he'll have the pressure of his peers and teachers to keep him on track. Having both kids in school would mean I could return to full-time work eventually. And possibly the best of all--public schooling requires very little effort on my part.
I know a lot of people, particularly Christian families, who choose to homeschool to protect their kids from negative influences. I understand why they do that, and I even agree with it to some degree, but I have to admit that this is not a major influence in my decision to homeschool. In fact, I even wonder if this could be a negative. I want my children to love and have compassion for non-believers and not feel suspicious of them or develop an "us-vs-them" mentality. I need to teach them to positively interact with people who don't believe the same things that they believe and to engage with them in honest discussions without compromising their faith and values. So how am I going to do this when they're stuck at home with me every day? Maybe it means they eventually will go to public school, or maybe it means we get creative by doing some outreach programs as part of our homeschooling. I have lots of questions like this that I haven't quite resolved yet.
So with all my misgivings and concerns, what tipped the scales in favor of homeschooling? I think the number one reason is the gift of time. Everyone says children grow up so fast. If I homeschool, I'll get to spend 2-3 times more quality time with my children than those who don't. (I know, I know... lots of people reading this would reply, "And that's a good thing??" But I really do enjoy spending time with my children. And I know you do too, cynical one.)
Another reason is that I've had 5 years now to get to know Perrin's personality and how he learns best, and I've concluded that traditional schooling would not be a good fit for him. He loves learning right now, and I don't want to take that away from him by putting him in a situation that simply doesn't fit his style and strengths. Homeschooling means we can read a book together at the park, or examine bugs under our microscope, or learn about trains from youtube videos, or take field trips to the museum. And he can chew gum or wiggle to his heart's content or ask me a zillion questions while we're doing school work, and I won't mind. And who better to choose his curriculum and teach it to him than the person who knows him best and cares more about his education than anyone?
So I think I've made up my mind. And if you've read this entire blog post of my ramblings, wow! I don't know if you're really interested in my schooling choice for my kids or just incredibly bored (because there are some seriously entertaining things on the Internet you could be looking at right now instead), but whatever the case, thank you for caring... and please pray for my sanity and patience for the next 18 years. Our incredible, entertaining, frustrating, overwhelming journey of homeschooling is about to begin.
This hasn't been an easy decision for me because public school certainly has its merits. It's free (or rather, it's something we're already paying for anyway with our taxes). It provides opportunities for socialization that I can't quite replicate with homeschooling. It ensures that he'll be learning at an appropriate pace for his age and grade level, and he'll have the pressure of his peers and teachers to keep him on track. Having both kids in school would mean I could return to full-time work eventually. And possibly the best of all--public schooling requires very little effort on my part.
I know a lot of people, particularly Christian families, who choose to homeschool to protect their kids from negative influences. I understand why they do that, and I even agree with it to some degree, but I have to admit that this is not a major influence in my decision to homeschool. In fact, I even wonder if this could be a negative. I want my children to love and have compassion for non-believers and not feel suspicious of them or develop an "us-vs-them" mentality. I need to teach them to positively interact with people who don't believe the same things that they believe and to engage with them in honest discussions without compromising their faith and values. So how am I going to do this when they're stuck at home with me every day? Maybe it means they eventually will go to public school, or maybe it means we get creative by doing some outreach programs as part of our homeschooling. I have lots of questions like this that I haven't quite resolved yet.
So with all my misgivings and concerns, what tipped the scales in favor of homeschooling? I think the number one reason is the gift of time. Everyone says children grow up so fast. If I homeschool, I'll get to spend 2-3 times more quality time with my children than those who don't. (I know, I know... lots of people reading this would reply, "And that's a good thing??" But I really do enjoy spending time with my children. And I know you do too, cynical one.)
Another reason is that I've had 5 years now to get to know Perrin's personality and how he learns best, and I've concluded that traditional schooling would not be a good fit for him. He loves learning right now, and I don't want to take that away from him by putting him in a situation that simply doesn't fit his style and strengths. Homeschooling means we can read a book together at the park, or examine bugs under our microscope, or learn about trains from youtube videos, or take field trips to the museum. And he can chew gum or wiggle to his heart's content or ask me a zillion questions while we're doing school work, and I won't mind. And who better to choose his curriculum and teach it to him than the person who knows him best and cares more about his education than anyone?
So I think I've made up my mind. And if you've read this entire blog post of my ramblings, wow! I don't know if you're really interested in my schooling choice for my kids or just incredibly bored (because there are some seriously entertaining things on the Internet you could be looking at right now instead), but whatever the case, thank you for caring... and please pray for my sanity and patience for the next 18 years. Our incredible, entertaining, frustrating, overwhelming journey of homeschooling is about to begin.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Thoughts on 30
Tonight is my last night in my 20s. It's hard for me to believe I'm hitting this milestone already... I don't feel like I should be in my 30s yet! (Or as an ecard on Pinterest put it, "I'm 30 but I feel like I should be 20. Unless I hang out with a bunch of 20-year-olds; then I'm like, 'Nope, never mind. I'm 30.' ")
I've known several people who were actually glad to leave their 20s behind because it can be a tumultuous decade of learning how to be an adult and possibly lacking the confidence or knowledge to be successful at the whole growing up thing. But I honestly feel like my 20s were pretty great simply because the major highlights of my life so far were in my 20s--getting married, getting my first real job, buying my first house, traveling to New Zealand and writing a book, giving birth to two awesome kids. It's going to be hard for my 30s to top all of that. So I guess I feel a little sad because I wonder if the best parts of my life are already behind me.
On the other hand, I'm excited for the decade to come. It's going to be different--probably much more focused on my family than on personal achievements. And I can look back to age 20 and see how far I've come spiritually, which gives me hope that I'll see God doing amazing things in my life and in my family's life in the years ahead as we continue to draw closer to Him.
So bring it on, 30! I'm ready for ya! (But you can cut it out with the gray hairs. Seriously. I'm not quite ready for that yet.)
I've known several people who were actually glad to leave their 20s behind because it can be a tumultuous decade of learning how to be an adult and possibly lacking the confidence or knowledge to be successful at the whole growing up thing. But I honestly feel like my 20s were pretty great simply because the major highlights of my life so far were in my 20s--getting married, getting my first real job, buying my first house, traveling to New Zealand and writing a book, giving birth to two awesome kids. It's going to be hard for my 30s to top all of that. So I guess I feel a little sad because I wonder if the best parts of my life are already behind me.
On the other hand, I'm excited for the decade to come. It's going to be different--probably much more focused on my family than on personal achievements. And I can look back to age 20 and see how far I've come spiritually, which gives me hope that I'll see God doing amazing things in my life and in my family's life in the years ahead as we continue to draw closer to Him.
So bring it on, 30! I'm ready for ya! (But you can cut it out with the gray hairs. Seriously. I'm not quite ready for that yet.)
Sunday, September 7, 2014
So long, summer
Summer is pretty much over, and I can't help feeling a little sad. We've had a lot of fun the last few months: Visiting Disney World and the beach, camping, playing on the slip 'n slide, making popsicles, catching fireflies, setting off fireworks, having cookouts, and staying up late as a family to snuggle on the couch and watch movies. Part of me doesn't want it to end. Our lives are a lot busier throughout the rest of the year and I'm afraid I'll miss our carefree summer.
But I also have to remind myself that I tend to over-sentimentalize things. Yes, we've had a lot of fun this summer and have made some wonderful memories. But there have also been days that have been so LONG and BORING that I would have sold my left arm to get five minutes of peace away from my little darlings.
I can already feel the pace picking up as we enter September. Our days of waking up and saying, "What do we want to do today?" are being replaced by structure and schedules and early bedtimes.
The good news is I just happen to love fall too. I love pumpkin patches and state fairs and bonfires and baking pies and watching my kids jump into piles of leaves. Yes, we're busier. Every new season and stage of life brings unique adjustments. But as long as I'm intentional about how we're spending what free time we do have, then I know we'll make lots of fresh new family memories this season too.
So, adios summer. I won't miss the mosquitoes, sunburns, yard work, and weeks on end at home with cranky kids. Change is sometimes tough for someone as nostalgic as I am, but I'm excited to see what good things God has in store for our family this coming season.
I'm feeling optimistic that it'll involve pie.
But I also have to remind myself that I tend to over-sentimentalize things. Yes, we've had a lot of fun this summer and have made some wonderful memories. But there have also been days that have been so LONG and BORING that I would have sold my left arm to get five minutes of peace away from my little darlings.
I can already feel the pace picking up as we enter September. Our days of waking up and saying, "What do we want to do today?" are being replaced by structure and schedules and early bedtimes.
The good news is I just happen to love fall too. I love pumpkin patches and state fairs and bonfires and baking pies and watching my kids jump into piles of leaves. Yes, we're busier. Every new season and stage of life brings unique adjustments. But as long as I'm intentional about how we're spending what free time we do have, then I know we'll make lots of fresh new family memories this season too.
So, adios summer. I won't miss the mosquitoes, sunburns, yard work, and weeks on end at home with cranky kids. Change is sometimes tough for someone as nostalgic as I am, but I'm excited to see what good things God has in store for our family this coming season.
I'm feeling optimistic that it'll involve pie.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Camp out!
We just got back from our first ever camping trip as a party of four. As soon as we got our tent set up yesterday afternoon, I whipped out our camera to begin documenting the fun, but the batteries were dead. So since I have no photographs from our camping trip, allow me to set up a mental scene for you.
The sky is dark and studded with stars. The sounds of insects and frogs permeate the air. A gentle breeze floats into the tent, bringing with it the scent of damp leaves and wood smoke. A small, grubby foot caresses your cheek. Suddenly, a quick movement within the tent causes you to sit up in alarm as you realize your son may have brought one of his many frog friends in for a sleepover.
(By the way, I was unable to confirm or deny the presence of a frog in our tent. If we did sleep with a frog, I think I'd rather not know).
Grubby feet and frog friends aside, the camping trip actually went really well. We camped right on the lake at Woolly Hollow. Perrin and Brielle were both ecstatic to see that the campsite was teeming with itsy bitsy frogs. While I wasn't quite as thrilled with the frogs, they did at least keep the kids occupied. After we set up the tent, we changed into swim suits and headed for the beach. We played in the water and buried Perrin in the sand about a thousand times. Brielle was starting to look a little droopy, so after a quick trip to the playground, we decided to see if we could get her to nap in the tent. No such luck. She was way too excited to waste time napping.
We went for a hike instead and strapped Brielle into a baby backpack. Within minutes, she dozed off and spent the rest of our hike with her neck at a 90 degree angle. Perrin continued to look for (and catch) frogs. At one point we told him to unclench his fist, and at least 7 or 8 frogs fell out.
We had a picnic dinner back at our campsite, then roasted marshmallows and made smores for dessert. Getting the kids to go to sleep in the tent was a little challenging, but we had pure exhaustion on our side and they gave up the fight fairly quickly. (Both kids did crawl across me in their sleep, however. Luckily not at the same time.)
The kids woke up at 5:45, which is a whole 45 minutes later than the one other time we took Perrin camping. So we had an early (early, early) breakfast. I feel sorry for the campers near us. I'm pretty sure everyone within a 300 foot radius was also awake at 5:45, thanks to a couple of big mouths. I'm reminded of the camping trips from Calvin and Hobbes--it's not real, character-building camping unless everyone is miserable, right? We're just doing our part to grow character in everyone around us.
After breakfast, Perrin and I rented a canoe and paddled on the lake together. Correction--I paddled. He made steering more difficult by "helping" with his paddle. He enjoyed the boat ride but seemed a little disappointed that we didn't see any crocodiles.
We had a lot of fun, but one night of camping was enough for us. Maybe when the kids are a little older, we'll be brave enough to stick it out for longer. And maybe someday I can get Perrin his own little tent. Frog friends welcome.
The sky is dark and studded with stars. The sounds of insects and frogs permeate the air. A gentle breeze floats into the tent, bringing with it the scent of damp leaves and wood smoke. A small, grubby foot caresses your cheek. Suddenly, a quick movement within the tent causes you to sit up in alarm as you realize your son may have brought one of his many frog friends in for a sleepover.
(By the way, I was unable to confirm or deny the presence of a frog in our tent. If we did sleep with a frog, I think I'd rather not know).
Grubby feet and frog friends aside, the camping trip actually went really well. We camped right on the lake at Woolly Hollow. Perrin and Brielle were both ecstatic to see that the campsite was teeming with itsy bitsy frogs. While I wasn't quite as thrilled with the frogs, they did at least keep the kids occupied. After we set up the tent, we changed into swim suits and headed for the beach. We played in the water and buried Perrin in the sand about a thousand times. Brielle was starting to look a little droopy, so after a quick trip to the playground, we decided to see if we could get her to nap in the tent. No such luck. She was way too excited to waste time napping.
We went for a hike instead and strapped Brielle into a baby backpack. Within minutes, she dozed off and spent the rest of our hike with her neck at a 90 degree angle. Perrin continued to look for (and catch) frogs. At one point we told him to unclench his fist, and at least 7 or 8 frogs fell out.
We had a picnic dinner back at our campsite, then roasted marshmallows and made smores for dessert. Getting the kids to go to sleep in the tent was a little challenging, but we had pure exhaustion on our side and they gave up the fight fairly quickly. (Both kids did crawl across me in their sleep, however. Luckily not at the same time.)
The kids woke up at 5:45, which is a whole 45 minutes later than the one other time we took Perrin camping. So we had an early (early, early) breakfast. I feel sorry for the campers near us. I'm pretty sure everyone within a 300 foot radius was also awake at 5:45, thanks to a couple of big mouths. I'm reminded of the camping trips from Calvin and Hobbes--it's not real, character-building camping unless everyone is miserable, right? We're just doing our part to grow character in everyone around us.
After breakfast, Perrin and I rented a canoe and paddled on the lake together. Correction--I paddled. He made steering more difficult by "helping" with his paddle. He enjoyed the boat ride but seemed a little disappointed that we didn't see any crocodiles.
We had a lot of fun, but one night of camping was enough for us. Maybe when the kids are a little older, we'll be brave enough to stick it out for longer. And maybe someday I can get Perrin his own little tent. Frog friends welcome.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Vacation thoughts
We made it home safe and sound from our whirlwind vacation to the beach and Disney World. We had a lot of fun! I think parents get a double dose of fun on vacation--you get to enjoy the activities and sights for yourself, and you get to experience your kids' joy. But parents also get a double dose (or triple dose) of work on vacation... you're slathering sun screen on three bodies instead of just your own. You're packing an insane amount of kid paraphernalia to take with you any time you leave the room. You're coordinating bedtimes and nap times and park times and swim times, trying to squeeze as much fun into the vacation without exhausting everyone. (It's a pretty hard balance to strike, and I think we mostly erred on the side of exhaustion. It would have helped if SOME little girl who will remain nameless would have been willing to take naps in her stroller once in a while.)
We made some great memories. Perrin LOVED the thrill rides and went on anything and everything that he was tall enough for--Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, even the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Even Brielle got into the spirit and by the end of vacation was demanding "Ride! Ride!" (Although I think her all-time favorite ride was the resort elevator.) But I think my biggest takeaway was just an overwhelming feeling of love and thankfulness for my kids. There was something really special about being on vacation with them, spending so much time with no real goal other than having fun together. I loved watching them have a good time. They got so excited about even the littlest things--feeding our expensive Norwegian pastries to the ducks, riding the monorail (or "mommy rail" as Perrin called it), or just taking an ice cream break in between rides.
No vacation is perfect, and we had some challenging moments. But I'm so thankful we decided to take this trip. Perrin is already begging to go back. (Um... let me take a year or five to recover from this one, okay?) But honestly, I really am looking forward to next time, even if it is several years away. And this time I'll bring some cheap bread for the ducks.
We made some great memories. Perrin LOVED the thrill rides and went on anything and everything that he was tall enough for--Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, even the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Even Brielle got into the spirit and by the end of vacation was demanding "Ride! Ride!" (Although I think her all-time favorite ride was the resort elevator.) But I think my biggest takeaway was just an overwhelming feeling of love and thankfulness for my kids. There was something really special about being on vacation with them, spending so much time with no real goal other than having fun together. I loved watching them have a good time. They got so excited about even the littlest things--feeding our expensive Norwegian pastries to the ducks, riding the monorail (or "mommy rail" as Perrin called it), or just taking an ice cream break in between rides.
No vacation is perfect, and we had some challenging moments. But I'm so thankful we decided to take this trip. Perrin is already begging to go back. (Um... let me take a year or five to recover from this one, okay?) But honestly, I really am looking forward to next time, even if it is several years away. And this time I'll bring some cheap bread for the ducks.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Catching up
Has it really been almost three months since I last posted a blog? Geez. I guess I need to update all my faithful followers (all three of you--hi, mom!) on what's been going on in the Richardson house.
In a nutshell: Perrin turned four, Brielle hit the terrible twos (even though she's not quite 18 months), Trey and I are training for the Warrior Dash (4-mile obstacle course and mud run), we're planning a family trip to Disney World very soon (but I won't tell the dates just in case any of you were planning on breaking into our house while we're gone), and we're doing lots of work on our land in Jacksonville in hopes that we'll be able to build a new (bigger) house sometime in the next couple of years. (Cuz you know how many bathrooms we have? One. You know how many people are in our house? Four. And for some reason my kids think "Mommy has to go to the bathroom" means "Let's go have family bonding time in the bathroom.")
Whew. So we've been busy. And although I love writing and blogging, it's one of those things that's been temporarily shelved while I'm in the years of temper tantrums and boo boos and mud pies and bedtime snuggles and toys all over the floor and annoying cartoons and pet bugs and more cuteness and frustration than I ever thought possible.
Someday I'll pick up my pens and journals and writers' guides again and maybe accomplish something more in a typical day than scraping unidentifiable orange goo from the underside of the dining room table. But until then, I'm content to be in this season of life. Just look at these cuties!
In a nutshell: Perrin turned four, Brielle hit the terrible twos (even though she's not quite 18 months), Trey and I are training for the Warrior Dash (4-mile obstacle course and mud run), we're planning a family trip to Disney World very soon (but I won't tell the dates just in case any of you were planning on breaking into our house while we're gone), and we're doing lots of work on our land in Jacksonville in hopes that we'll be able to build a new (bigger) house sometime in the next couple of years. (Cuz you know how many bathrooms we have? One. You know how many people are in our house? Four. And for some reason my kids think "Mommy has to go to the bathroom" means "Let's go have family bonding time in the bathroom.")
Whew. So we've been busy. And although I love writing and blogging, it's one of those things that's been temporarily shelved while I'm in the years of temper tantrums and boo boos and mud pies and bedtime snuggles and toys all over the floor and annoying cartoons and pet bugs and more cuteness and frustration than I ever thought possible.
Someday I'll pick up my pens and journals and writers' guides again and maybe accomplish something more in a typical day than scraping unidentifiable orange goo from the underside of the dining room table. But until then, I'm content to be in this season of life. Just look at these cuties!
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