I know that I don't blog nearly as often as I should. In a perfect world, I would have time to blog daily, so that I could record every precious moment of my life that I treasure. The things that my kids say and do are all worthy of permanent documentation! We have been having fun, and I can't wait until school is out so I can have the girls at home all day. This is a quick breakdown of life lately:
Shawn just finished up another semester of school. He is a bit disappointed, because he got a 4.0 last semester, and this semester he has a couple of B's mixed in with his A's. Since he had an 18 credit load and was taking classes like Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology, Infection Control, Medical Terminology, Composition, Human Development, and other tough classes that I can't remember, I think he should be proud. He isn't super upset, he just wants to do his best. I understand where he is coming from, but am very happy for him. Next fall he will begin the LPN program that he was accepted into as he progresses through his schedule towards nursing. We have really come to value our Netflix time at night; they kids are asleep and it's our time to just hang out with each other. It will be nice to have him around more, although that might not last long as he has been applying for CNA jobs. We'll see what happens!
Olivia can't wait for school to be out for the summer. She is not a fan. She loves hanging out with her friends, but classes and homework really interfere with her socialization. She adores her art classes and reading, but seems to feel that everything else is only tolerable. She despises math, yet does well in it and all her other classes, so I'm not too worried. I see so much of my younger self in her! That was truly how I felt about school as a child. With our tax rebate, Shawn and I are ordering a Classical Education home-schooling curriculum, and Olivia is not looking forward to that. I had to explain to her that she was not being punished for anything, but that there were areas of studies that we feel that are important but are not being taught in her school. She is very suspicious. She is still playing the trumpet, but boredom setting in. After sparring team finishes up for the season, she is not going to try out for it again. Again, this is much like I was as a child. I'm curious to see what she will be fascinated with next, and where she will find to be her passions in life! Recently we attended a family event, and I signed up for the 5k. The girls have been very interested in my training, and Olivia asked to do it with me. There was a 1k fun run for the kids, so I asked her if she would like to start there. She was excited about that, so I signed her up. She came in first place for girls! Both girls have been training with me as the weather allows, and I think winning this event has infected Olivia even more with the running bug. She and Genevieve have also signed up for a Mud Run this summer, so their training involves jumping, monkey bars, and climbing as well as running. I can't wait to see how they do! The adult course has a snake pit that you have to run through, and they are positively giddy about that.
Genevieve adores school. She always has. She loves her teacher, her friends, the janitor, the playground, and her homework. She digs in the teacher's recycling bin daily for extra worksheets that have been thrown away, and brings them home to do for fun. She likes calendars, and has two, plus an appointment book. We have calculators all over the house and van, because she plays with numbers when she is bored. When she was told about our home-schooling we would be doing this summer, she thought she was being rewarded, and thanked us profusely. When she found out she would be learning Latin, she couldn't sleep for three nights because she was so excited. She definitely has trademarks of being a crazy genius; her socks never match (nor do her outfits, for that matter), she forgets to go to the bathroom until it's panic time, she makes strange jokes, and tends to wander. She is so scattered, yet wakes up at precisely 6:30am every morning and gets dressed before her alarm clock (which she wanted desperately) goes off. Where will her passions take her? She is so different than I was as a child. It's so interesting to watch my girls grow. Gen has signed up for soccer this summer, and is excited to be on a team. She is very athletic, and was disappointed in her fun run; she had gotten a side ache, so didn't do her best. However, she knows she will have plenty of other opportunities this summer, and like Olivia, can't wait for the Mud Run. Where Olivia is a loner and likes to go read by herself, Genevieve is more dependent and needy. She always wants my attention, and needs everything with me to be very interactive. She loves the notes that I stick in her lunchbox every day, and would like me to write her notes for her pillow, and backpack, and jacket pockets.
Shael is growing more independent by they day. He still adores his sisters, and they still constantly dote on him. I'm so pleased! I had assumed that the girls would lose interest in him shortly after he came home, but he is still their favorite person. He demands kisses and hugs from them (and everyone, even strangers) frequently. He loves to snuggle with Olivia on the couch, and whenever he breaks free from our watch at night, he sprints into Genevieve's room and crawls into bed with her. It's adorable. He loves going for walks. For some reason, he believes that in order to go outside, he needs a hat and shoes. It doesn't matter if he's naked or fully clothed, as soon as he manages to pull shoes on and puts on a hat, he's waiting for me by the door. He doesn't care about what kind of hat it is; sun hat, winter hat, his sister's old Halloween witch hat. Those hats have all gone on walks with us. When I hang the laundry, he takes off running several times. With the girls, all I would have to do is tell them to stay put and show them to play with the grass and leaves, but Shael is off like a rocket. The other day, the goat was tangled, so I parked Shael outside of the fence. It only took me a matter of two minutes to get the goat free, but when I turned around, Shael was gone. He had found Olivia's snow saucer, which had a couple of inches of (freezing cold!!) water in it, and had promptly sat down in it and splashed around. He was not bothered at all by the temperature despite being soaked. He is very much a handful, but is well behaved.
I am pleased to announce that Shawn and I are pregnant with #4! The girls are ecstatic about it, they have been begging for another baby since Shael was born. We doubt that Shael will be very happy about a baby intruding. Sometimes when Shawn or the girls hug me, he whines and says, "My mommy!" We'll have to see how that goes. I know that the girls will be thrilled to give him extra attention. I have been feeling great with hardly any symptoms at all. I'm still running, doing taekwondo competitively, and lifting weights, and my doctor is thrilled about it. Fatigue and the occasional headaches are my only complaint, and knowing that it could be so much worse makes me very grateful. The baby is due some time in November. We aren't sharing the exact due date, so be patient :) **I would like to take this opportunity to remind folks to not tell a pregnant woman how ginormous she is (or to make her feel as though she is unhealthy by being "too small", though I've never had that problem!), or to ask the couple if this pregnancy was planned, or anything else insensitive or intrusive. I always get comments on my size while pregnant, and it stings. With this pregnancy, we are getting asked a lot if it was planned, and that's rude. Rant finished!** We have been asked if we're no longer planning on fostering or adopting. The answer is YES! We are still very much planning on fostering and/or adopting! We can't give anyone an exact timeline, but we're ok with that :)
Life is busy, crazy, and fun! We have a lot going on, and we love it. I love my husband and children so much, and am so thrilled that my family is still growing. Thanks to everyone who is a positive part of our lives, and I can't wait to update you as time goes on!
