This past weekend was filled with mostly fun…and very little work! It’s about time! And…my husband cleaned and cleaned and cleaned our house while I was away with the girls! That was so nice!

Friday night I attended my monthly book club meeting. We read The Last Lecture. I thought it was a very inspirational (true) story. Sad, but it makes people think about what they would do if they found out they had a terminal illness. How would we spend our last days? Why do we not live every day that way? Every day is a gift.

I had a great time at the book club. I was invited to join this club last summer, so I have not known these women very long, but I am starting to get to know them better, and I am really starting to enjoy this one night a month of girl talk, wine, laughter, and fun. Just in recent times, I have really desired “girl time”…a break from my regular, busy life. Every mom…and wife…needs some time away. It’s so hard to meet nice, good, “normal” people who have kids my kids’ ages where we have things in common! I have been very lucky to meet such great people in the past year! All of my really good friends live far away from me!

Saturday morning, I took Addie J. to her dance class. Actually, I spent the whole day with her. It was so nice! And long overdue! I feel that I have spent so much time with Reilly in the evenings…reading and doing school work with her…and I know I have spent a great deal of time these past (almost) six months with Jolie. I have been feeling badly for not spending as much time with Addie. I am the one who takes her to gymnastics each week, but I have been wanting more time with just her.

After dance, we went shopping, and then we went to her first “friend” birthday party. Her friend Angelina had a winter-themed birthday party. This is one of Addie’s friends from gymnastics. We had such a great time! I met many moms who were right around my age and had kids the same ages as mine. Three of us have baby girls! It was great to talk with some new moms while the kids participated in activities. There was a birthday party event coordinator there. That is an idea for Addie’s upcoming birthday party… My friend found this lady through Holland Christian Schools. I may have to hire this person, too! I need all the help I can get!

We did not get home Saturday night until around 7:00 p.m. Then, on Sunday afternoon, I took all 3 girls out and about for about 8 hours. We went out to eat, we went to the mall, and we went downtown GR. I am getting prepared for many photo opportunities!

It was Jolie’s very first time riding in a stroller, now that she can pretty much sit up. I have never even pushed her in a stroller while she was in her car seat. I have always just carried her around in her car seat, but she is too big for that now! Jolie LOVED her long stroller ride! She was one happy little girl! She wants to be held constantly, but she was totally content to just be pushed all over the mall.

We shopped a little bit, the two big girls rode the carousel…the first time ever without me…and I got a haircut. While we were gone, Dave cleaned the house and grocery shopped! I did not ask him to clean. I have learned that Dave does so much more when I do NOT ask him to do anything! It was SO NICE to come home to such a clean house after being gone so much this weekend. Usually, I am the one who cleans each weekend. This was a huge break for me! And it was a break for him, too…peace and quiet without any girls in the house! I was so thankful…

The weather was beautiful all weekend! It was a great weekend to go all over and have some fun! I am looking forward to many more fun times now that the weather is getting nicer!

A new beginning will be here very soon…

My husband made an awesome dinner tonight! We had salmon, potatoes, and corn! The girls were not loving the fish so much!

I went outside with Reilly and Addie tonight so they could play in the snow. I am so NOT a winter person! This is the first year they have wanted to be outside in the winter, in the snow, playing!

My two older girls are in bed right now. I can hear Reilly singing…”Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Ha, ha! I think that is her favorite song!

We completed another reading lesson tonight. Reilly has about 20 lessons left in the reading program we are using. I have loved teaching her how to read!

Still waiting on airline tickets to go down in price so Reilly, Addie, and I can fly to San Antonio over spring break this year! I don’t think it’s going to happen!

Book club on Friday evening! Girl talk, lots of snacks, and a little bit of wine! And discussing our book of the month, of course! This month we read The Last Lecture. {a true story} It was a great book! Sad, but at the same time, very inspirational!

Held my baby the whole time while we were at the dinner table tonight! It is a challenge, though, now that she can grab for everything!

Feeling super blessed by my family, my home, and just the simple, everyday moments I get to spend with each of my family members.

Baby Jolie is so, so vocal! Much more so than my other 2 babies! She loves to talk! She is not a quiet little girl! That is for sure!

I do not understand certain people…

My girls make everything so worth it!

I have met so many generous people online. I always see giveaways on others’ blogs, and I would love to have some giveaways on my own blog.

I will start small this first time. All you have to do is leave a comment. On Friday, I will have Addie J. (my almost 4 year-old daughter) draw a name. The person she draws will win a $10 gift certificate to Shutterfly. Leave your email address, and I will email the “winner” to get his/her address. Then I’ll send that person the gift certificate on Saturday morning! That’s all you have to do to play!

I promise to have more giveaways in the future! We’ll see how creative I can be in the future… For now, I’ll keep it all very simple! Leave a comment!

Dave is a negotiator… What can I say? While he is off negotiating our contract, I am a single mom to 3 kids–ages 5, almost 4, and just 5 months! I really do love this alone time with my girls!

I have been trying to get smarter about these evenings, though. Tonight I picked up all of my kids after school. Then we briefly stopped at home so I could get them all “looking cute” to go out in public–yeah, right! Basically, that means matching, clean clothes and hair brushed and done!

I asked Reilly and Addie if they wanted to go to Crazy Bounce, and of course, they were giddy with excitement! They love that place! I knew they would have fun. Plus, it would wear them out before bedtime AND help keep my house clean by NOT being home alone with them all night!

I do value a clean home. A VERY clean home. The house is not exactly where I would like it to be quite yet, but we are getting there! Anyway, back to Crazy Bounce!

The girls ran and played hard for an hour. They were both beet red and sweating! Jolie had fun, too. Between being held pretty much non-stop (by one of us, mostly me) and sitting on the floor… Have I mentioned that JOLIE IS SITTING UP NOW??? She is 5.5 months old.

After Crazy Bounce, where there were maybe 5 other people in that place…which was awesome…we made a stop at Target. Addie has been invited to her first *friend* birthday party this Saturday, so we went to pick out a birthday present and card. I am trying to stay on top of everything around here…

Then we came home. It was a little later than it should have been (about 7:45). Their usual bedtime is 8:00, but sometimes it stretches to 8:30 or *I admit it* 9:00. Not good. Most of the time, it is 8:00. Tonight it was closer to 9:00. I still had to make them dinner. I cooked. Reilly said to me, “Mom…you know how to cook?” I think that question lets you know who does all of the cooking around here.

Dave got home at 8:30, so I only had about 45 minutes of craziness. Reilly and Addie had made a “path” with all of the couch cushions… I do not like messes, but I am learning how to lighten up at times and let my kids just be kids, as much as it pains me to “let things go” a little bit!

The kids are in bed. It is 9:45. I am tired but not exhausted. There are a million things I want to do, but I will most likely collapse in my bed within the next 45 minutes. And then start over tomorrow… It is a busy life, but I love this time with my kids while they are little!

Tonight was FUN!

I feel like I have not blogged forever! I have been busy! I need to get back into blogging every day. I love going back and reading my blog(s) from the past few years. It needs to become a priority again–just so I can record all of those simple moments of our lives that end up being pretty significant after time passes and I take a glimpse back to remember when… Tomorrow is the first day of March, which always gets me very excited each year, so maybe that will be a good time to start blogging again every day.

Addie J.

Addie will be 4 years-old very soon! Her birthday is April 25. I think we may have a birthday party for her with family and a couple of her friends. I am trying to talk her into a monkey party. This kid seriously loves monkeys! She has monkey pajamas, books about monkeys, and when I took the girls to Build-A-Bear, Addie chose a stuffed monkey! Then she named *her* Angelina after her friend! So cute!

Addie has been in 3 year-old preschool this school year, and it has been a phenomenal experience for her. She LOVES her teacher so much! I feel very blessed by such special teachers in my children’s lives. Mrs. McGee makes every single day fun AND educational! Addie recently received a report card, and she has shown such improvement since the start of the school year. I was very excited!

Addie is not the studious, serious type. It has been much more challenging to get her to sit still and read books, learn her letters and numbers, etc. She would much rather be on-the-go! I think she has learned to find a little bit more of a balance between being a student and being a fun girl!

Outside of preschool, Addie participates in dance class on Saturday mornings and gymnastics class on Thursday evenings. She recently got moved to the next level in gymnastics (to the class that is a year above her age). We are very thankful for her God-given athletic ability. I think it will provide her with many awesome opportunities in her life. Her gymnastics teacher also said that when Addie gets ready for the kindergarten level of gymnastics that she can skip that class and move to the next level, which is down in the big gymnastics area–a year early. We started her in gymnastics at the beginning of last summer, and we plan to leave her in it all year-round. I do believe she will have the opportunity to compete (starting at Level 4) in the next 2-3 years. I will be taking her to the state gymnastics meet (Levels 4-6) at the end of April (it will be held in Holland) to expose her to a gymnastics meet.

Addie is a competitor. She loves to be active, and she loves to try her best at everything. Her gymnastics teacher said it all comes very naturally to her. We are thankful for that.

Reilly

Reilly is growing up so fast! We are still working on teaching her to read at home. In kindergarten, she is 1 of 3 kids who leaves during reading time (she goes to the library to work with a different reading group) for being one of the top readers in her class. We have been working on reading for a long time. Reilly is a motivated learner, and it comes easily to her. We are very grateful for that.

Reading is the basis for everything. Dave and I have made literacy a priority in our home. As a high school teacher, I have seen the struggles students undergo when reading is difficult for them. We will continue to work very hard with all of our children to help them be the best readers they can be.

We believe in phonics. In school, they focus on sight words. I think that is important after learning phonics. I do not think that just because a child can identify sight words that that means they are reading. Teaching Reilly how to read and following a top-rated reading program has taught me a great deal about the teaching of reading. I am thankful my child is motivated to be a good reader.

Reilly is reading, not merely identifying sight words. We have created many (and I do mean many!) supplementary reading activities for Reilly at home. Reading and writing are such important skills in this world. We have been doing both at home almost every night.

It is not a surprise to me that Reilly is one of the top readers in her kindergarten class. We are not making a big deal out of it. We expect her to work hard and to do well in school. My children will be taught to be thankful for the abilities they do have and to be mindful that certain skills such as reading may not come as naturally to other children. Dave and I want our children to be humble about their abilities. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. It is my job to help my children be aware of both their strengths and weaknesses. Boasting is not our style. Teaching our children humility is a priority in this family.

Jo-Jo!

My big 5 month old! Just in the past week or so, I looked at Jolie, and I said to Dave, “She is getting so big!” It happens so quickly! I miss the fact that she’ll never be that little cuddly newborn baby ever again, but I rejoice in the fact that she is a big cuddly baby now!

I love this age! So many exciting things happen in the second half of a baby’s first year of life! Jolie is very close to sitting up. She can balance herself for several seconds before toppling over, but she is still a little unsure of this whole sitting up thing! It will be so much easier to take photos of her once she is sitting up!

In the past 1-2 weeks, she has started to grab objects like crazy! She has also discovered the existence of our cat Maisy. Jolie loves her cat! She reaches out for her and tries to play with her. Maisy has been a good sport, even when Jolie has pulled handfuls of fur off of her!

Our little girl still has (big) blue eyes! Her hair is starting to turn blond…and she does not have much of it! She had much more hair when she was born!

She looks a lot like Addie.

I have taken photos…but I have not found the time to edit any of them yet. My goal is to start getting caught up with my photos this week.

I hold this baby a ridiculous amount of time…and I love every second of it. She is my last one, and I am savoring every moment with her. I love holding her while she falls asleep in my arms. I love taking naps with her. I love playing with her and hearing her giggle every day!

She is the best baby!

I could use a little fuel myself…and we could all use a little CHANGE!

Hey, now! Big announcement: I did it! I finally ordered my first studio lighting set-up! I am moving forward with all of this! I am so tired of not having any light in this state for too many months out of the year. Plus, I am ready to learn all about studio lighting! I am so excited!

My photographer friends can come over and play once I get everything set up… I am excited about all of the new possibilities having a studio will offer! It will be right around the time that Jolie starts sitting up, too, so it will be nice to have consistent, reliable lighting whenever I want it!

I also have many ideas for all of the creative *sets* Dave and I will build/put together to (eventually) offer a variety of options to my clients. I will need the next few months…and maybe the summer…to figure everything out! I will be able to do so much more now!

I am also excited to be getting the Sekonic L-358 light meter for exposure in the studio setting. I think I will be amazed by this instrument!

All in all, I have invested right around a grand to get started with a studio. It is my first big photography investment in two years! The last one was my camera!

Cranking out the work!

I do not know where I have been getting all of my energy lately…maybe from going to bed early almost every night in the past week! I have been getting so much done in my personal life!

*My house just keeps getting cleaner and cleaner… Yes, I like it that way! We have plans for decorating, painting, and getting some new furniture this spring and summer. I think we will get back to hosting some summertime parties this year, too! I love a clean, happening house!

*I finished Jolie’s baby book of her birth photos and information.

*I am currently figuring out Blurb… I am putting together a book of Reilly and Addie, and I cannot wait to start turning my blog(s) into books for each of the years I have blogged, starting in 2006. THAT is why I need to sit down and blog every day of our lives!

Kicking it at PT!

My knee gets better after every physical therapy session 3 times a week, but it has not been a pain-free experience! I do not ever take pain killers, though! I am toughing it out! I know that it will all be worth it in the end. I have a long road ahead of me…but I am willing to work my hardest and give it my all so I can be very active again! I will be rehabbing this knee for at least a year…maybe forever!

***Well, this is all I have for now… I have got to keep on the early-to-bed schedule! Everything has been pretty positive in our lives lately! We are very thankful for that!

This past weekend, I attended a photography training in Indiana. I have been part of an online photography forum for the past 2-3 years (Two Peas). It was so nice to get together with so many other women and finally meet these people in person! I love the Internet!

I took all 3 girls with me! That was quite the adventure! It was a lot of work! We left late Friday afternoon and arrived at our hotel just before 10:00 p.m.

Reilly and Addie were so excited to swim in the pool! They did that for a little bit Friday night…and then they did not fall asleep until midnight! They are usually in bed by 8:00-8:30. Then they woke up at 6:00 a.m. all excited to go swimming again! They wore me out, but it was fun!

Saturday was one of the most relaxing, peaceful days I have had in a long, long time! I loved chatting with the other women/photographers. Everybody was so nice and friendly. I could have hung out with all of them for the entire weekend! Thank you, Jeannette for hosting the training!

There were so many kids there, too! My two older girls had a blast, and so many women held my sweet baby! Jolie was a very happy girl all day! She loves attention!

We played around with some studio lighting, and you know what? I am finally going to order my own studio lighting. I have been thinking about it for a long time. I was amazed by how much power/light an AB 800 can provide. I am so used to NO LIGHT in MI!

This will be perfect timing, too. I will order a basic setup this week (for about $550). Jolie will be sitting up in the next month or so, so she will be the perfect little model!

I already have a backdrop stand, some seamless rolls of paper, and lots of ideas for more creative types of studio photos! I cannot wait to get started (in my basement).

Here is a group photo of all of us on Saturday. It was seriously so awesome and so fun to meet these women (I had already met one in real life about a year ago). What a wonderful experience Two Peas has been in my life! I cannot wait to go back again in April!

I am designing a wedding renewal invite for a photographer friend. I love designing, but it does take me a while to make something from scratch (like a blank piece of white paper in Photoshop). I was going for contemporary and fun. I did not take the photos; they were provided.

Front:

Back:

Sorry, I didn’t outline the invite; the white blends into my white background on my blog. I think you can get the idea of what this will look like, though! It will be a 5 X 7 front-to-back press printed card. I made it in Photoshop CS3.

It feels like I have spent so much time with Reilly lately, which I love! She is such a sweet little girl! I just love being with her! There is so, so much I want to teach her in this lifetime!

One thing I look forward to every night is teaching her how to read. She was ready to learn how to read at age 4 after a year in a wonderful preschool program, but I waited until age 5 for a couple of reasons. One, I was still pregnant and sick all of the time while she was 4. My life/health was too unpredictable to commit to an everyday reading program. Also, I do not feel the need to rush my kids when it comes to reading.

Some parents are obsessed. I am all about education, but I also do not worry too much about what they are learning as far as a formal education goes until they are 4 years old.

After 13 years as an educator, and after observing what goes on in both good and not-so-good school systems, I totally believe that parenting is much more important than the school the child attends. The value parents place on education wins in the end. We definitely value education.

My kids will be successful. I know that. Dave and I believe in providing our children with a well rounded education. I have spent hours researching home schooling, reading, and supplementary materials. I am supplementing Reilly’s education. I know she is more than ready to read.

She is not learning how to read in kindergarten. In a public school system, there are so many kids who do not enter school with the necessary basic skills. Thus, it seems like too much time needs to be devoted to covering the basics. What about the students who are far above all of that?

I know Reilly has benefited greatly from kindergarten. She has a wonderful, caring, teacher whom she loves. Much of the material, though, is a review for her (reading and writing). I anticipated this happening after witnessing all she had learned in preschool the previous year. I knew I would need to supplement.

Reilly is a smart kid. She is self-motivated. She is creative. She is a thinker and a doer. She is an adventurous little girl who is willing to take a chance in life. I love that about her!

The main book we have used is called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We are almost 3/4 of the way through this book. It is so easy to use, and Reilly has been very successful learning how to read by completing the reading and writing lessons in this book. She is a great reader!

Tonight, she read the following story out loud: “Hunting for a Deer” (and she read it pretty quickly–no pauses!) – I will have to record her reading very soon!

An old man got his gun. He said, “I will go hunting for deer.”

The girl said, “You can not see. So you can not hunt for deer.”

He said, “I will hunt for deer.”

Then a deer came to the man and said, “Are you hunting for deer?”

The old man said, “Have you seen a deer?

The deer said, “I am a deer.”

The old man said, “I can not see you. So I will not take a shot at you. We will go for a walk.” So the old man and the deer went to the old man’s home.

The end.

We are also supplementing with the following book: What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know – We are still focusing on literacy…we are currently reading lots of nursery rhymes, fables, and stories. We will be starting on geography and social studies in February. Then we will move on to science, visual arts, and math as the year progresses. This has been a great resource book to add into the mix. I also ordered What Your First Grader Needs to Know–just to be prepared for next year! These books also provide lists of great supplementary materials, and we have been seeking these materials at our local library.

Today the most recent books I ordered for Reilly arrived: Playful Pals Level 1 Readers! Books Reilly can read all on her own! 10 to a pack! They are so little and cute! They also come with stickers, which kids love! Reilly read the first one tonight all by herself (out loud to me), and she earned her choice of one sticker! She was pretty excited! Reilly is a very motivated kid when it comes to learning!

We spend approximately 20 minutes every night on her reading. That’s all. We also read additional books for enjoyment. I am all about reading. I believe it is the basis for everything. As an educator and a parent, I realize how crucial it is for kids to be strong readers. We read every day in our lives.

Another fun activity Reilly and I have enjoyed together lately is playing ball! She is in Saturday morning basketball, and we have been playing ball non-stop at home! Reilly loves it! Below is a photo from this past Sunday of the big ball Reilly loves to play with every day!

I just felt like taking a silhouette, so I had Reilly stand/jump in the doorway of our front door. I hope this weekend to take many, many more photos of my little girls!

Life is so much fun these days!