Popcorn, Bubblegum, Oh-Me-Oh-My

As you know, the school year has looked drastically different than a year ago. I was expecting hiccups here and there, especially difficulty going through Zoom and staying ahead of Luke's studies at home. However, I was NOT expecting having issues with the way they were teaching Mila! Here's how it all went down...

On Wednesdays, Mila is at home. She has two, 45-minute Zoom meetings with her classmates and teacher. I've learned that if I do it on the computer, she can't see her classmates, but it's hands-free and I can keep her in one place at the dining room table. If I do it on the iPad, we can sit anywhere and she can see her classmates at different segments throughout the meeting. I've learned that I can let her sleep in a little bit on Wednesdays, and she's not in a rush to eat breakfast, therefore, she can go to the first meeting, eat, and then go to the second. I've learned that it's difficult for her to complete more than one assignment in between the two Zoom meetings. Sometimes we will do one assignment, sometimes we will hold off until after lunch to begin working on anything. In fact, she is assigned 8 things to do a day, a lot of which are repetitive and have videos or games that go along with them. We can't do all 8 in one day. The teacher doesn't assign them until Wednesday morning (it would much easier if I knew ahead of time what they were so I could get a leg up on the videos at least), and they are due on Sunday by 5pm.

The first Zoom meeting starts with a song (completely dumb, much like the "I Love You" song of Barney... I don't know what kid would like it), and then a self-soothing, breathing technique (either S.T.A.R., which I don't know what it stands for, a drain or a balloon). Don't ask me why they do the technique when they haven't even started the class. What do they have to take a breath for when they haven't even done the work to get to the place where they need to take a moment? So, the first half of the first Zoom meeting is wasted on that. They barely cover the days of the week and the weather. Then, they move on to the English portion. Sometimes they end the meeting with a story.

The second Zoom meeting deals with math. I find that it's more productive than the first meeting. A lot of the kids though, in my opinion, should already know the concepts... but we're only at the beginning of the year.

Now, I've had my complaints here and there - 1. Don't waste my time and my kids' time on sing-a-long songs and techniques that aren't doing diddly. I'd rather the time be shortened or teach them what they need to learn. 2. Two Zoom meetings is almost too much. 3. Eight assignments is too much. These are Kindergarteners! (They do best by learning through living it.) But, if you're going to give assignments, let the parents have a choice out of the eight... it's just a thought. We're fairly committed; I think you can trust us to pick a variety of assignments and not just the "easiest" two every week. BUT, none of these complaints have made me feel like I need to pull all of my kids out of school IMMEDIATELY.

Last Wednesday started like a typical Wednesday. We had our first Zoom meeting. Mila wanted to be a drain because it's fun to rain down water. The teacher showed the kids a sight word that they didn't get to: SEE. And then, she had them go through an activity where the kids were supposed to watch for their name on the screen, and when they saw it read the sentence, which goes like this: "I am Mila. I see a turtle," and so on. (A great activity, although it took up a lot of time because the kids weren't really watching for their names, so the teacher could've just called on each one. And somebody had their sound on the whole time or were goofing off, so we couldn't hear as well. ~Another issue that gets in the way of being online.) Last, she ended with a book about a STAR that had a hard day and went to the other room and took a breath, like a star does, and felt better. So really, the whole session could've been narrowed down to 15 minutes.

I let Mila have her breakfast and then it was time for the second Zoom meeting. They had an activity on greater than or less than where she went through each student in pairs and they had to say if they had more or less, or equal to, their partner. Except that, the directions weren't very clear to parents so almost all of the students had exactly 10 items. Whoops. But, overall, not a bad session.

Then, came the hard part. I said, "Mila, let's do one activity and then you can go play. This one looks easy!" I picked out the one on the word, SEE, because it involved a simple tracing of the word, coloring in bubble letters of the word in rainbow (which Mila would LOVE), finding the word among other words (and Mila is very good at I-Spy), and last cutting and glueing the word together with the correct letters in the correct order. I didn't know it involved a long video. We did the assignment and then watched the video.

The video covered every sight word known to man I think. But we don't call them sight words. We call them "popcorn words" because they should "pop out at you on the page". And when we say each letter we should have proper mouth placement, and say it with the right loudness or softness. For example, V is loud and F is soft. And when we see a word our first strategy is to find the vowel (A, E, I, O, U) no matter where it is in the word. If it's alone, then it says it's name. But if not, you see what's next to it and if it has partner vowels like in the word BAKE or SEE. Oh, that's not all covered in this ONE video - there are pairs that go together like TH and SH. And she went on through every single strategy until I think we covered everything in the English language (which statistics show is the hardest to learn). I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. They were talking to 5-year-olds!!! I get worked up just recounting the moment... Then, she went on to say that as they're sounding the words out, there shouldn't be any pauses between letter sounds, but keep making the sound and pull it out of your mouth like bubblegum. And there were abbreviations and rhymes for everything.

What are my issues? 

1. They went through EVERY STRATEGY in one session. This should be a progression. Start off with the easiest strategy and work your way to the hardest. I felt like I was bombarded, and when I looked over at Mila, her eyes were wondering around everywhere except for at the computer screen. She became detached. It was too much! 

2. Don't require your kids to call it "popcorn words" vs. "sight words". Who cares? But more importantly, parents will know what a "sight word" is and have no idea what a "popcorn word" is. A little kid isn't going to know what the word "strategy" means either. Just saying.

3. This continues on with "bubble-gumming" a word. I get that you're trying to paint a mental picture to stretch out the word, and you can do that... but, we need time to think. A gap in the word is OK. It's not going to end the world if a child has a gap in their word as they're sounding it out. 

4. I can yell at you and the F will be loud. Mouth placement is just about moot. It works for showing the difference between M and N, where the tongue is, and if the mouth is open or closed, but not every letter needs that pointed out. 

5. Your rhymes are annoying. Limit it.

6. FINALLY, AND MOST IMPORTANT, Mila was prepared and completely ready to read before this. I set her up for success. At age 4, she knew the sounds of all of the letters. She knew that the A had multiple sounds, and the E could have different sounds, etc. She was ready to put the sounds together just by sounding it out. EVERYTHING that the teachers have taught her has set her back by ten steps. She is now QUESTIONING her reading and telling me that it's difficult to find items throughout the house that start with certain sounds, when she was doing this at home last year. She was working on ending sounds last year. And middle sounds. She's questioning herself! 

I am so livid, and hurt. I feel like we made the wrong choice. My baby was ready to read, and they did her a disservice and they're doing all of the kids a disservice. I was ready to pull her completely out of school and strictly homeschool. I was going to spend the $800 (hopefully I could find a deal somewhere) on an out-dated Biblical curriculum and teach Mila at home. Then, I thought it through a little bit. That would be difficult with Luke's requirements. I'll pull them ALL out. And just do my own thing. At our own pace. It is what it is. They'll know what they need to know. And learn about real world problems. The other option was pull her out and put her in virtual school, and anything that doesn't make sense skip entirely, except that it might interfere with Luke's virtual school (he would have to take on more responsibility; and Nayelli would interrupt. From the very beginning I've felt lied to about how the entire school scenario would go, and now it's to these horrid teaching practices.

So, I called up my dad. I said, "Dad, I need to vent. And then I need you to be that person that won't tell me what I want to hear, but what I need to hear. Can you be that person?" The conversation was a long one, but a good one. The culprit: Common Core. I was reminded that we had this conversation when Luke was learning a different kind of math a few grades ago. They had him add in a really weird way, splitting up ones with ones and tens with tens. If you think back to the good years of the 1990's, they taught a little thing called "carry the 1," which they don't do any more. It's more about mental math. While this might work for some people, it's not going to work for everyone. It's adding more steps and making a problem MORE complicated. That's what they're doing with English. For Kindergarten. They've broken everything up. And it's because of Common Core. Every child needs to know certain things, but what they need to understand is that every child is unique and learns in their own way. Rather than teaching multiple to techniques to everybody, they could narrow it down, and if there are kids that need more attention, whether slower at processing or ahead, give it to them. Let's get more specialized services! 

Who in their right mind would stand behind Common Core?

And while I'm on this rant, Luke's Reading assignments are POO. There is no order, rhyme or reason to them at all - not even Common Core. I'm doing that myself! 

And after talking with Luke, Dad and Aldo, I've settled on the fact that come second semester, I'll send Luke back to school so he can learn "how all the other kids are learning" and do the stupid Common Core assignments the right way, because he knows my way and picks up on those things easily. We've had discussions of History and I know what books he likes. He'll probably be repeating a lot because we're actually ahead. And while he's in school, I'll be able to spend the quality time with Elli that I've been wanting, take ahold on the house again, and be prepared to teach Mila (or re-teach) if I have to, and especially work with her on Wednesdays.

If this doesn't work, though, Aldo will have to consider pulling them all out and never going to public school again. :-P

SIDE NOTE: With elections fast approaching, this just makes me more involved in the voting process and knowing who the candidates are. I'm not talking presidential. Those guys are covered. It's blatant what their beliefs are and it's covered in the news and on social media all the time. I'm talking LOCAL. I'm talking school boards, county representatives, governors. I knew that local government was important, but even more since Covid. How our STATE has reacted to orders and suggestions, and even more so when the states and counties are GIVEN the final decision in areas. Man, it really makes a difference. I don't want our state or our school district to be a follower, but a leader. 

Because COVID

If you were awake and breathing in 2020 (oh the irony of those words), then you already know what the title of this post alludes to. If you were asleep, then I’ll fill you in... 

In early March, the government (at the recommendation of the health organizations) decided to put out a stay-at-home order to stop the spread of coronavirus, or more specifically "to flatten the curve". It was an effort to keep hospitals from being bombarded since coronavirus is highly contagious. You couldn't go anywhere unless absolutely necessary. Travel shut down. Kids were sent home from school. Restaurants closed. Major sports suspended their seasons. (You could rewatch the Chiefs winning the Superbowl on tv.) "Essential" workers were basically doctors, grocery store workers, and truck drivers. I remember that it hit China and Europe first and people all over sent out these videos saying that we (Americans) needed to take it seriously. People ran to the store and stocked up on all kinds of stuff. There was a time when almost all of the aisles at the store were bare - all you could find was chili beans and tofu. Toilet paper and disinfecting wipes were off of the shelves for weeks. During this time more information about the virus came out - it was from Wuhan, China  from eating bat soup? Rumors were constantly spreading that it was a bioweapon, that it was coverup for human trafficking, and that it was just another strain of coronavirus. In the meantime, my family just tried to get through the days at home. Luke had to complete 4th grade through Zoom and Google Classroom. Aldo was working from home and took a pay cut. There was huge controversy about churches being open/closed - whether it was a violation of religious laws and whether government had that power. The saddest part through all of this, I think, is that those in nursing homes haven't been able to leave their rooms much or have visitors because the elderly were most at risk.

We sent Granddad some encouraging pictures during our at home "Spirit Week"

Then, in June, George Floyd was brutally killed by police officers. This started all kinds of crazy - Black Lives Matter protests hijacked by Antifa rioting, looting, and open conversations on racial injustice - statues and monuments of historical figures (most likely those with a past as slave holders) were being vandalized and torn down - police shows were cancelled on tv (even Paw Patrol!, no joke) - activists were "woke" and if you didn't actively participate then you're a "racist". So then the health gurus said that it was ok to be out if you were protesting, but if not then stay home because of coronavirus. Like you were protected from it in a huge mob! There was more and more evidence of a wide difference in opinion between Democrats and Republicans that it seemed like everything became political. The news seemed ludicrous because everything had an agenda - spread fear of coronavirus, warp numbers of death rate, promote Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders.... President Trump isn't wearing his mask today! People started looking down the rabbit hole, including myself, into QAnon, human trafficking and cabal after the Epstein case. It made me realize just how much Hollywood, Netflix, and even the news promotes ideas, sometimes without us even realizing it.

 

Lots of biking and fishing

We planted a vegetable garden! 

(Lots of success with zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and jalapenos)

Pinning bugs for 4H Beginner Entomology

In July, a mask mandate went out that you have to wear a mask in public places, and thankfully there was a slow opening of businesses. As you would suspect, there's been controversy over wearing masks. Are they really keeping us safe or creating more health issues? What about those with health issues (like asthma or if they're hearing impaired)? What if you're carrying a concealed weapon? Will a plastic face shield work instead? Keep 6 feet away and wear a mask. Wash your hands. Wipe the shopping cart handles with disinfectant. Limit how many can sit in a restaurant together. The executive order was put out until rescinded, and I would like to say that it's been rescinded, but it hasn't. School was pushed back by three weeks of the start date so that they could put proper protocols in place to follow the orders.

Here we are. If you experience any of the symptoms, in any amount of severity, including none at all, and in any order, please get a nose swab to the brain and quarantine yourself for 14 days because you may have the markers for covid and be contagious without even knowing it:

• trouble breathing
• cough/ sore throat
  
• chest pain
• confusion
• trouble staying awake
• fever/chills
• fatigue
• body aches
• headache
• loss of taste
• loss of smell
• diarrhea

All of these, as you can see, can resemble just about all other common sicknesses... cold, flu, and allergy, AND panic attack symptoms and anxiety!

This year has been so strange. I didn't even mention the Saharan dust storms, Australian bush fires, back-to-back hurricanes in Texas/Louisiana, murder hornets, and genetically modified Florida mosquitoes. I'm sure people are suspicious that this might be it - the time before the end - the Tribulation or start of it. The majority of us (believers that I know) are just ready for 2020 to end. It feels like this has gone on for 36+ months, when we've barely entered 9.

 

Mila's Tangled Birthday Party

 

& First HAIRCUT!!!

She donated 10 inches to kids with hair loss.

Today, I took Mila to her first day of Kindergarten. We waited in the car line for over 20 minutes as each child had their temperature checked before leaving his or her vehicle and entering the school. They had to walk 6ft apart with masks on (not shields) down the sidewalk. I couldn't take her to class. I couldn't take her picture outside by the school sign, like every other child's right of passage picture prior to this year. I watched as she said she knew exactly where to go with hesitation in her small voice and then followed it with dramatic limping down the the school's entry way because her "foot fell asleep". We had the choice to send her to school full-time, remotely with daily check-ins, or virtually. We chose full-time because it was really only two days a week and remote the rest of the week due to Covid (which would include mask breaks throughout the day). Within weeks of school, that changed to four days of the week and one day remote (even though older kids go to school less??). (This must be a funding thing, and who's at least amount of risk.) Within days, I found out that there would be no mask breaks at all. 

The Night before Kindergarten

First Day of Kindergarten

This is not fair. Stressful. Insane. Emotional. Heart-wrenching. Sucky. Because COVID.

1. I couldn't go to church - because COVID.
2. I couldn't visit Granddad at home - because COVID. 
3. I couldn't go on our trip to Germany - because COVID.
4. I couldn't celebrate Aldo or Luke's birthday big - because COVID.
5. I couldn't take the kids to the zoo - because COVID.
6. I couldn't sign the kids up for sports - because COVID.
7. I couldn't play on the park equipment - because COVID. 
8. I couldn't help with Camp - because COVID.
   
9. I couldn't find the toilet paper, disinfectant wipes, baby wipes, and bleach spray - because COVID.
10. I couldn't do grocery pick-up - because COVID.
    
11. I couldn't buy a cheap pool, splash pad, or sprinkler - because COVID.
    
12. I couldn't give my honest opinion without questioning if I'd be labeled as racist or automatically assigned a political affiliation - because COVID.
13. I couldn't enjoy my regular programming of shows - because COVID.
14. I couldn't participate in fair activities with my kids like normal - because COVID.
    
15. I couldn't send my kids to school like normal - because COVID.
    
16. I couldn't breathe - because COVID.

In part, it hasn't been all negatives. The Gutz, Herricks, and us have been meeting for Bible Study on Sunday evenings and Wednesday morning Zoom devotionals. We've grown closer together in that. I spent more time/am spending more time with my kids. I got my CCL and found out that I'm a sharp shooter. :) I learned how to grow and keep a vegetable garden and enjoyed the products of it. I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose any either - we went on more bike rides and took more walks. We stayed strong as a family. <3

Sharp Shooter 😜

You can't see them, but all the bullet holes are in the center or cheek or eye. Score: 25/25

How Long Will I Do This?

I don't know how long I'm supposed to journal about my family life and kids for. I had this grand idea that I would have a book printed for each of my children up til their first birthday. So now I haven't printed off Mila's yet, and I just finished Nayelli's. Now that I'm done, do I continue on? Do I catch up once in a while? Dunno. Who's to say?

So..... just in case.....

For Halloween we dressed up as Wizard of Oz characters. I found this perfect rainbow dress for Mila so that she could be the Good Witch. Luke agreed that he would be the Tin Man. I made a little apron for Nayelli to make her look like Dorothy and sparkled up some socks with this red glitter glue, but it all ended up coming off as she walked. Last minute, Aldo dressed up as a Munchkin, I was the Scarecrow and Bandit was the Lion.

Happy Halloween - Oh, My!

In November we went to visit Aldo's dad in El Paso. Time was due to see Abuelito. Nayelli and Mila attached to him like a magnet. And the car ride was fun and one to remember because every major stop the kids got a fun present to unwrap.

  

Visiting Abuelito in El Paso, TX

The Alvidrez Bloodline

The Christmas Play was a hit! We did a Disney-themed musical that went through the life of Jesus. I obviously was obsessed with the two group performances that had movements. They were so powerful! One was to "He is Not One of Us" and showed how the crowds rejected Jesus before he was crucified, and the other was to "He Lives In You" and was the salvational message/lesson that the main character learned. I'll tell you this - I will NOT volunteer to make theatrical flats again.

This year for Christmas, we stayed within budget, which was pretty cool. And I think for the first time I actually have the budget saved. Luke's big present was my old iPhone. Mila really wanted the doctor Barbies and I was planning on building her a cardboard Barbie house. The house ended up getting saturated when I tried to modge-podge the wallpaper on, and so I tossed it. She was still happy with her Barbies though. Nayelli got a train to ride on. She wasn't overtaken at first, but now she's all about it. Mila and her will hide random toys in the back, and Mila will push Nayelli on it, or they'll fight over it. So good buy. Mila and Luke are also very into LEGOs. It's neat to see them work on things together. Nayelli on the other hand is at a hair-pulling stage.

Aldo got us into football sometime in the middle of last season, and he was absolutely stuck on watching every Chiefs game this season. Well, he awakened the monster. We ended up hosting a Super Bowl Party that the Chiefs WON!!!! FYI, I had no doubts. Though I may not go to downtown to see the parade, or try to have every sign or show my support on FB, I do cheer for my KC teams.

    

Reppin' Chiefs & KC Every Sunday

 

World Champions 2020!

• Aldo is still loving his job. His boss was in Thailand for the winter and it seemed like he had off for a long time, and had snow days, and could go in late, but now we're back on a schedule, getting ready for the season of roofing to take off again I suppose. And, he's mentioned a few times how he can see himself running this business with a friend/partner in the future. Hmm...
• You can read my update in the last post.
• Luke has been taking Bandit to dog training on Sundays. Bandit is going through anxiety, which I didn't know that they go through that around this age...??? So he's chewed up three leashes within the last month, and he really, really, really feels comfortable in his kennel. But last week we worked outside and Bandit did a lot better. So cross your fingers that Bandit continues to work out of this anxiety phase and do well for Master Luke. Luke also has been enjoying the Percy Jackson series this year. We started off reading the first two books together, but then he got so far ahead that I had to stop.
• Mila has enjoyed the old princess movies like Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. She's also gotten really protective over her room within the last week. I'm noticing that maybe it's best that she have alone time in her room to play without Nayelli. So much she has to share, that it's good to have her own thing at times. Mila, like I said, does well enough in homeschool and she's excited to go to Kindergarten with a playground and other kids. She loves art and play-dough. Her hair is down to her bottom, and the other day I convinced her that it's ok to cut because we won't cut it so short that it looks like a boy's.
• Nayelli is learning more and more each day. She calls Luke - "Ook". She calls Mila - "Beela". She calls Bandit - "Dit". She calls poop - "po-po", Papa - "po-po" and popcorn - "po-po". She understands so much, and right now I'm trying to get her to understand the difference between YES and NO and the head nods or shakes to match. Nayelli likes to get in the dog food because she wants to help feed Bandit, but then she also will eat his food, or fling it to him piece by piece. She likes holding onto phones or tablets or remotes, and other devices. I think she feels the power. But she also has a tendency to call unknown numbers or have important items selected and ready to delete with a click of the red button. She takes one nap a day from 2:30 to about 4:30. And recently, she likes story time at the library. It's almost too long for her, but I know that it does give her and Mila something different. She likes the theme song to Gilmore Girls and dances to it, just like Luke used to run to Big Bang Theory, and Mila used to to whatever we watched during her early years. Mila has taught her the Baby Shark song and I am not annoyed with it yet.

Til next time. Doo-doo do do.

Habits

I recently heard that it takes 27 days to make something into a habit (+ or - some in case you're thick-headed, etc.) and in that 27-day period the results will look like a flat line. Then, at 31 days the graph starts to go up and after that accelerates. (In reference to dieting...)

So lately my life has been around making day-to-day decisions and trying to form them into habits. Thanks, sis, for the encouragement and the nasty drink mix, that cost wayyy too much, that you shared with me. Aldo's sister and I were talking about losing weight, and I've been wanting to for a while. The last few months have been spent "getting back to normal". Starting in October, after Nayelli's birthday, I started weaning her from breastmilk. I've accomplished something! I did it. It really was a major feat. The trick for her was chocolate milk. She didn't like regular milk; my guess is that it was not sweet enough. She still doesn't like it. I have to fool her with 3 parts chocolate milk and 1 part whole milk. And now she'll drink horchata or juice too. (And we also found that she's allergic to soda pop! We've concluded that it's too much fructose corn syrup for her little belly that will make her have the runs and the bile will break out her booty in a rash. TMI?)

Back to habits. So I've been wanting to diet. And exercise. I just want to be proud of my body. I want to look and feel good. So I started with weaning. I've had two periods now and I should be on my third, but I'm not totally back to normal I guess, and I can prove now that breastfeeding takes the energy out of you!!! I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. It just comes down to GETTING MY MIND SET.

And it's one thing at a time. This past week I started to cut out cereal and replace with that nasty drink. Honestly, I don't see it fulfilling my hunger needs, but I'm going to stick to it. I only started on Tuesday and then on Saturday I decided to get cereal out of my household by eating the last bowl. And on Sunday, I split a pizza with Aldo at church for our last service as children's pastors. Today, I didn't have anything. But I've realized that I have go-to snacks... like chocolate, that I just want to nibble on throughout the day. That's going to have to be another goal.

And it's not just a cut this and this out when you eat. It's body, spirit, mind thing. So I also started praying, journaling and reading my Bible. THAT makes all the difference. I have more drive, I think. When it's backed up with prayer, then it's like God helps you, you know. I feel clear. I feel loved. I am emotional once in a while and my back hurts, but that has everything to do with me missing my period this month. I Googled that, by the way. I wondered... what are the odds of pregnancy after vasectomy + the odds per day of missed period? I found that after weaning a lot of women can have irregular periods for months. (Technically a period is only considered missed if you don't have a flow for 6 or more weeks after the start of the last period.) I started reading on Thursday, and took a break on Saturday and Sunday, and restarted right up again for this week. I haven't been getting up early in the morning. Sometimes it's during nap time. Sometimes it's here or there, but I found the time and I took it, and I made it a priority to do it. And there hasn't been mind-blowing moments. But one day I did read something marvelous and then later saw on Facebook that one of my friends was prophesying the same word. It really confirmed with my spirit that I was doing the right thing and that God loved me and wasn't mad or anything that I stopped reading for months. And that He would still use me. He would still talk to me and tell me important things.

I'm not sure when I'll add in exercise. I have this re-occurring idea that if I do burpees I'll lose the weight in a flash. <eye roll> ONE: I hate burpees. TWO: Not sure if it would do a thing with my belly jiggling all over the place. THREE: I don't know if I can do one burpee. I don't know if I can do one pushup!!! Should that be a goal? Be able to do 10 burpees? HA!

I've realized that being a stay-at-home mom is not for everyone. I have realized more about myself in this stay-at-home period. For example, I like the bed made. Hmmm... all this time! I've been able to let things go here and there because of kids and things like that, but more and more I'm starting to feel like myself again, and once a long time ago myself liked having the house clean. Now, I just find the energy and opportunities to do it. And I've kept up with the laundry and dishes. It isn't always pretty, but it's at a manageable thing where we wouldn't have to overhaul if friends or family decided to come over within the hour.

I've realized that I need things to look forward to. To plan for. To be a celebration and use my creativity, for me to expend my time on, for me to look forward to. Right now it's our trip to Germany in August 2020 with Granddad. I've done a ton of research on it. I've looked into travel companies - cruises, bus, itinerary planners - I've looked into the places, the costs, the history, the hotels, the bus/train system. I've got it down to where we could do the traveling and planning ourselves hitting up all the stops for a third of the price. But now I'm at a stopping point and can't go any further. Now I need the feedback of Granddad and mom and Nancy. I need the go-ahead to start booking. But I won't be able to do that until March because Granddad recently found out that prostate growths have returned. I don't know the seriousness of this. I don't know if he'll be able to travel come August. And so now I must wait. And I'm not good at waiting.

So in the meantime, what do I do? What should I expend my energy on? That's the crossroads that I'm at. In the morning I've been trying to keep up with Mila and school. I signed her up for Kindergarten roundup at the beginning of April. We'll see if schooling with me has helped in any capacity... I've been trying to keep up with the house. I can do that to a point. There is the vicious cycle that it just gets messy again. And I can't be the only one putting in the work. It's a family thing. So I'll do a little bit at a time. Luke is doing 4H again with Bandit, and he's added in some other projects that we'll attempt this year. Can't do any of them yet though, not until about June. We just eliminated children's church from our responsibilities and we have no obligation in ministry. That's not saying that I don't want to be apart of ministry, or that I'm not that in my home life or when I go to the store, etc. And like I said, I'm reading my Bible. But I'm not cramming it all in. I'm taking a bite at a time and letting it soak in. So now again... what do I do? What do I look forward to?

Should I make it about getting healthy? I'm 223 pounds and 31 years old. I had gestational diabetes with my 3rd kid. I'd like to not run the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gall bladder disease, and certain cancers. I'd like to live a long, healthy, enjoyable life. (The other day I tried a yoga kid pose and I couldn't bend down because my belly got in the way.) I'd like to be able to keep up with my kids.

I think I should put some work into my health. And I know it takes one decision at a time.

New Seasons

11.5 Months

I don't even know how to start this post because a lot has changed. Lately we've been trying to get the house back in order - like I said in the last post.. with a budget, and now with the kids involved in chores. I've been doing more deep cleaning around the house and following a daily schedule. Well, I can now because Aldo is more or less at a 9 to 5.

The main news is that Aldo left NFM. The easiest way I can explain it is that he's a claims adjuster at a growing company, but eventually he'll be in charge of production. He seems to like it. A lot of numbers are involved and fine-combing through files with city ordinances, etc. and going back and forth with insurance. We don't have the income we "need" yet, which is strange because I feel ok about it. I think the life insurance prepared me for us taking the dip. I know the money will come and I'm at peace about it. I like having Aldo home on the weekends, and home in the evenings. Yes, he stays late right now, but I know it won't always be like that. I just like seeing him happy and having energy. I mean... he's been playing football with Luke and Bandit.

Daddy's Home!

At home, I decided to go forth with teaching Mila preschool and she loves it. Every morning after breakfast we go upstairs to her room and "enter school" (a teal table in the corner). Sometimes we make it through our work and sometimes we don't. It really depends on how Mila is feeling and if Elli is too distracting. Usually school lasts about an hour and a half. After school I come down and fix lunch. Then Nayelli goes down for her nap and we have some quiet time and rest, or I try to clean up the house a bit. (Right now is my down time because I mowed the lawn this morning and did my work for the day.) I realized when we first started the school that I'm a great stay-at-home mom because I can find things to do. I'm like my mom in that I have to have a project. If I don't have something to work on and put my attention toward, then I get bored and lazy and depressing, watching things like "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" just so I can have some conversation, even though I'm not a part of it. (True story.)
At first it was hard going to "school", but now Mila has the hang of it. And I do too. She likes to earn stickers - princess, Minnie, Paw Patrol, star earrings, etc. And she loves cutting and gluing, and activity. Following a story where I don't turn the page as much is difficult for her. Or even worse, a story without pictures. So I'll start off school with the story so that we get the hard part over with while I have her attention. And if there's a day with two stories, then I'll tell the second during our snack time. It's a different experience than when I was at Miss Pat's. Mila doesn't have anyone to learn with. But at the same time, she shows some of the the same behaviors that Luke did - for example, she likes to tell me not to look while she's coloring the page and surprise me with it when she's done. Hopefully, she is learning that letters have sounds and remembering what the sounds of each letter are. So far we have gone through Aa, Mm, Ss, Ff, Rr, and this week we are working on Ee. She also has been having a hard time figuring out if a word starts with the sound during our Auditory Drills, but I'm not sure if she's just pretending or if she is really struggling. I guess we'll see when she enters Kindergarten.

Mila's 1st School

I'm going to be honest, I've been in a funk in the month of September. Probably even longer. Recently I've been praying more and reading my Bible more in the mornings. And it's been really good. It's been healing... I wasn't like how I was looking. I was snapping at Luke a lot. I was stressed. And negative. My birthday was NOT fun at all. Aldo said it was the Birthday Blues, that I get them every year. I didn't know that. I was so overwhelmed by wanting everyone else to have a good time, that I couldn't have a good time myself. Dumb huh? So... this might be my last year celebrating my birthday. From now on, let's just get ice-cream as a family or leave completely and go on vacation. :)

Other news:

• We met with Pastor Joe and told him that we were looking at ending our time as Children's Church Pastors after the Christmas Play. It's been a struggle coming up with ideas for the room and for a logo, and getting involved with the Warriors and other things, but we've discussed it and it's probably because, it's not supposed to be us that does it. After telling him, it was like a huge relief fell off my chest. And recently, I had a quick vision that we're supposed to "direct". Like, being an in-between making things flow. Interestingly that's what we're really good at. So I know we're supposed to do something... I'm just not sure what yet. And this past week, our worship leaders were let go. AND, Pastor T and Miss C let Pastors know that they were leaving the church. Crazy changes, huh? We have a leadership meeting tonight since all of this news... I don't know how it's going to play out. I hate being put on the spot. Also strangely, I haven't been so excited to be apart of something in a while. I'm excited to be praying and receiving healing and direction from God. I'm excited about the Women's Conference in October at CenterPointe. And I'm excited about the Christmas Play and that Aldo is so gung-ho for it too. And I'm excited to work with JoAnn at Project Give Hope. And, like we were at first, I'm excited to be used by God in whatever we do.
• Over the summer, Bandit did really well in the Agility competition. He got a white, however, we had worked on the teeter-totter only a few days beforehand and Bandit would barely touch it with his front paws. HE TRIED! At the competition he tried!! Luke and I were prepared for him to just skip that section and go to the next place, but Bandit tried and we were all surprised. I wish I could share the video with you on here, because I think the hearts of all of the audience were paused in anticipation. Everyone was rooting for him. It was really cool to watch.

 

 

Bandit & Luke in 4H

• We sent in our request for citizenship for Aldo. He went and got biometrics done. This Thursday, he has his naturalization interview where they test him on his English understanding and civics. Things like - how many voting members does the US House of Representatives have? (435), Name a writer of the Federalist Papers (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Publius), and who is the current Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi)? I wouldn't have been able to answer any of these before. I don't think 50% of Americans can answer these questions. Sad.
• Mila's Pink Tea Party was a hit! I got the girls tea party hats, feathered boas, gloves and fans. I also had tea cups on little plates for each guest to use for their pink lemonade, chocolate covered strawberries, pink wafers, and puff pastry. Aldo did a reading for us, which was really cute. And we tried to balance spoons on our noses. We finished with ice-cream and presents. I had a blast even though I didn't get as dressed up as I wanted too. It's all about her anyway. She was really upset when I changed out the calendar to September in our school room (because I had to remove her cupcake that represented her birthday...).

Mila's Pink Tea Party

She Loves Her Present! (4 Years Old!!)

• Our fridge has been out of service for a month. They (a second repairman sent through the HWA) also come on Thursday and hopefully we'll be approved for a new fridge rather than someone fixing this one (only because it stinks now and I just want the whole thing gone). We've been living out of mom's mini fridge inside the house and a "beater fridge" in the basement. Not the most convenient, but thank goodness we have these and can eat at home rather than traveling and storing things at mom's, or going the expensive route and eating out.

 Ethnic Festival 2019

 

Viva Mexico!

White Macaroni

9.5 Months

Well... summer is almost over. It's been busy, but I really don't have to say that. You know. It seems that if I can catch up on here once every three months, then I'm doing a good job.
Right now the kids are upstairs in my room together - Nayelli taking a nap in her crib, Mila on the iPod watching any kid video with girls dressed up, and Luke playing Minecraft on my phone. (I was just thinking earlier today... will I ever know what is "in"? Probably not. Because I don't allow the kids on certain things, and I don't download certain games, and we don't have all the money to spend... so no, we won't know what Fortnite or TikTok or anything like that is. We won't know the names of the dance moves. And... I'm not really that broken up about it either. Our kids are really well rounded and I'm proud of that.) So I'm downstairs in the quiet with Bandit resting for a second.

The latest news is -
We had a budget meeting. (I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but following the Dave Ramsey advice of a budget meeting was probably one of the best things we did as newly weds.) We talked about our income with the insurance, expenses and all the changes through the years. It was crazy to see the numbers associated with each childbirth, and each household. We were at mom's house for over 6 years and it feels like a little blip on a screen. Anyway, we decided together that Aldo wouldn't do pursue insurance any more. When we got back from camp Mila made a comment that "Daddy was always working" and I think that really hit him hard. So he stayed home on his days off, and it felt like he was home for months. We went putt putt golfing, we went swimming, we stayed home. It was amazing. <3
Yesterday he got to see Luke show Bandit in the 4H dog show. We've been working up to this since January (unknowingly). We joined 4H only to get the free dog training. Who knew it would be so hands on...? Probably my mother. Ugh. (Side note: my mom is not the most empathetic. I told her today we might not do it next year because of the huge commitment, and she proceeded to tell me how it's nothing compared to what all my Grammy was involved in, and if she can do it with 4 children then I can do it with 3......... in not so few words. JUST WOW.) Anyway, we entered Bandit in Obedience Sub-Novice, Rally Obedience 1 and Pre-Agility. I didn't think Luke or Bandit were ready for Showmanship yet. Here's a quick explanation:

• Showmanship - Usually what you see on tv. The dogs are groomed and everything is looked at... ears, teeth, hair, nails. Behavior. The owner has to show them in a way that makes the dog look really high class. And the way they walk around the ring, the owner has to know how to turn so that the dog is always where the judge can see them (human can never block the dog).
• Obedience - Both the dog and it's owner are judged on how well the owner commands and the dog's response to it. So the judge says something like "recall your dog" and the owner should know to make the dog sit, stay, walk back as far as he/she can, call the dog to front position, and either choose to make the dog turn rotate to the left or circle completely around his/her body to the right to get back to heel position. 
• Rally O - Same as Obedience, but instead of the judge telling you what to do, a sign tells you what to do. There are 17 exercises at minimum.
• Agility - This is the obstacle course. It has the "dog walk", tunnels, jumps, see-saw, and I forget what those multiple poles are that stick up and the dog has to zig zag through them really quick.

So we spent all day yesterday at the Leavenworth County Fairground for the dog show. First we watched Showmanship, then some of Rally O before it was Luke & Bandit's turn. They did really REALLY well. I thought it might be a little bit harder actually and we had been practicing all week! We knew coming into it that the longest Bandit would sit still for us was 30 seconds, so... he bombed the 1-minute sit and the 3-minute down exercises. Actually he turned upside down and got his belly rubbed for nearly 2 minutes of it. Luke won a white ribbon.

After lunch, Luke was the first to start the Rally O off. He had no one to watch how it was done... and, going into it Bandit seemed really excited to just be out of his kennel. My first thoughts were - ok, he's too excited.... another white ribbon. They did so well! On the spiral they went around the last cone twice, which the judge must have missed. After he completed a... I'll call it a "recall"... Luke lost track of the sign and had to peek at it again, then turned and asked the judge, "Did that count?" (1. You can't talk to the judge. So he was deducted a point for that. And 2. Band it was a little slow to complete the forward part of the exercise so a point was taken there.) And the other two points that were taken must have been for multiple commands. HIS SCORE WAS A 96 OUT OF 100!!! He got a purple ribbon! What's funny is, when he left the ring we went outside to let Bandit go to the restroom and I had this huge talk about how they did really well, but listed the things I noticed. And I said, "You know, if he gets a white, I'm ok with that. If Bandit gets a high score, we'll have to move him up a level and that's off leash." He seemed ok after that talk (the morning after receiving the white ribbon had been really emotional). So we watched the rest of the owners and their dogs - some wouldn't lay down at all, some went the wrong direction, some didn't pay attention to the numbering, some didn't walk between the final two cones to leave the ring! And next was just a fun costume competition. We were so focused on getting Bandit dressed up, that we weren't ready to get his purple. They called Luke's name and when he saw the ribbon, he looked at me and I looked at him. Shock and confusion. Sooo awesome. Then, in the costume contest, Luke and Bandit took 1st for Funniest. I can say that it was all Luke. It wasn't that funny compared to the little dog in the stroller, but when the judges came by Bandit hand un-banded his mask and was chewing on it. Luke quickly improvised and pretended like he caught the thief and was going to hand-cuff him. We have such a fun kid. <3

The whole day was quite an experience. I'm glad things are.... slowing down...? I say that, but we still have VBS ("Block Party") coming up the first week of August, mom's birthday day trip to Amish country this coming weekend, Mila's birthday in August, and working at County Fair with the final Agility competition.

Updates on the other two -

I've been getting things slowly together for Mila's 4th birthday. It's all things pink and going to be a tea party. She's going to have so much fun. I actually feel bad for her. Luke has Bandit and also watches Yu-Gi-Oh with Daddy. Nayelli is a baby and does baby things and gets Mommy's attention. But what does Mila get? How does she get our attention? I can't say. So... I've been really thinking about having a "school time" for her this fall. Maybe even ordering the material for the ACE pre-k that Luke went through. But I can't remember the pricing of the instructional materials. I know it was expensive. But my thoughts are, if I buy it now, I can use it for both Mila and Nayelli later. Right? But I also wonder if Mila is the type that has to learn from someone else other than her mother...

Nayelli's upper tooth on the left popped through. And then the rest of her mouth just looks inflamed. Ever since we got back from camp, she's been really clingy, so this hasn't helped. And we took her to the doctor the other day for a regular check-up - this is the age of parent separation anxiety (or whatever you want to call it). Oi. Her little personality is popping through. I can say - it's not little... just like her big brother and big sister. She loves music. Loves "Gangnam Style", "Man in the Mirror" and the theme music to Friends. She'll shake her shoulders back and forth, throw her hands up in the air, clap and also head bang. Don't ask where she learned her moves. I blame the siblings. They're usually the ones right??? 

Just some other things I wonder about -

I used to like blogging because I could get my thoughts down, and instead of writing it all out by hand, typing goes a lot quicker. It helped me get my emotions out and wrap my head around things. Let go of emotions. Nag and complain without actually having to go to those people about it. But I haven't been blogging as much, so I just got to keep stuff to myself, or unfortunately, Aldo gets to hear the brunt of it.

• I'm not so sure about the church anymore. I keep wondering about when we'll be leaving. Is that a normal thing to think about? When you are going to LEAVE the church that you are currently at? Even more, currently PASTORING at? I love the kids, and by no means want to leave them, or even the families. But I'm taken aback by the politics that have popped up. I understand that our pastor is getting older and that his family may take over the church, but I can't believe all the talk that happens behind the scenes. And should it be labelled GOSSIP? I don't know. And, since we don't have meetings between the department heads any more, most of the time I don't know what people are even talking about. And why do people ask me what's going on? I'm in back, dude! (They really don't. They more ask about how someone is doing after they lose their position. But like, did I know that?! How should I know? I'm in back!!!) I was daydreaming on the way home from church today. We've been talking about Elijah and how God provided for him. I totally believed that God put us in back for a reason. The kids. That's obvious. But I didn't think that he had more than one! Like, there's a protection that came from being in back. We're protected from all the politics in a way. Because what would have happened if we were in adult service while all of this movement was taking place? Pastor T and Miss C are no longer "associates", new worship leaders were brought in, the youth pastors were let go, the worship team was let go, we no longer have meetings, the youth were renamed and taken over again. It's like EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED. Thank goodness we've been in back. It's really been a safe place. I feel like we would have picked up some offense or offended somebody or gotten involved or been more apart of the "gossip". I feel protected and I'm really thankful for that. So I'm wondering what it's going to look like when we do end our time in the Children's area. Are we going to be asked to step down? Are we going to make that decision? Are we going to be at the same church? Are the same people we went in with going to be there? Will it be soon or in a year or in two or in five? Will we raise up someone to take over? It's just weird. 
• Dad and his life. He's been talking to me more and more, like really talking and opening up. I love that he is, but at the same time I worry for him. I don't like seeing him stressed. He is in the middle of moving to an apartment because something happened with his duplex that broke his agreement (not on his part). It tore him up that he made the decision to leave because he had to let go of years of collecting things and memories. It felt forced rather than him having that time to be ok with it. Then, he recently found out that the company he works for isn't renewing their contract with the building they are in. So to keep his job in 2020, he either has to move to Colorado, work from home (if he has that option), or take a severance package.

HOW THINGS CAN CHANGE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.

I'll end with a final note. One day, while grocery shopping I came across the cold Suddenly Salad meals that we used to buy. They didn't have the Tuna Helper in that aisle any more, and I was like - my kids like macaroni... Suddenly Salad is another take on it, but cold. This will be a good alternative option. So the day came when I chose to cook it. I forgot that it took a ton of mayonnaise and had this ranch-y powder to combine with it. I tasted it first, just to know what to expect and prep the kids for something "new". UGH. First bite was disgusting. So I got up my nerve and scooped out the kids' bowls and told them - if you eat all your white macaroni, you can have ice cream! THEY DID NOT LIKE THE WHITE MACARONI. They didn't fall for the ice cream bit. At one point Mila went to brush her teeth, came back and said the macaroni tasted better. That's because she still had toothpaste in her mouth. It tasted better because all she could taste was mint. So... we don't talk about the white macaroni any more. Anything that is gross will probably be compared to the white macaroni incident of 2019, which ended with me dumping more than half the pot in the garbage.

My mom says I need to continue blogging...

Little does she know I already am...

3 Months

Nayelli Grace (2 Months)

I actually haven't forgotten to write; I've just been really, really busy. From October through December we had been working on the Christmas play at church. It seems I was there at least three times a week. I was worried because it wasn't your typical Christmas play (a modern day Scrooge), and second it wasn't your typical nativity story that you would see in church (a modern day Scrooge with a spiritual twist). Furthermore, I had to do the set all by myself. And I had a newborn! And a three-year-old that can't sit still. Thank goodness Dad let me borrow his Netflix password, otherwise we would never have gotten it done.

Our Amazing Trunk or Treat (and First Family Photo)

Nayelli was a Unicorn Princess

After that we were sick for a while. About four rounds of itchy throat and runny noses, and pure exhaustion. I didn't feel much like talking about that. Actually, Nayelli had to be observed overnight at Children's Mercy because she had a temperature. Aldo had forgotten about this, but because of her young age, a slight temperature is something to worry about. It was rough. Aldo had to stay home with the kids and with Bandit. I had to stay at the hospital alone overnight. Nayelli had to sleep in a big girl bed/crib hooked up to monitors. Of course, she slept through the night proving the point that she is a "perfect baby". I slept in the rocking chair right next to her with lights on and waking up every hour to pump or for vital check, etc. I'm grateful though, because from this experience we learned that she can, indeed, sleep alone in her crib through the night. So when we got home, we swaddled her and put her in the crib. Since then she's slept through the night.

Nayelli's First Visit with Abuelito

The holidays were nuts. Absolutely nuts. Honestly, where do I come up with these ideas? And why do I open my big mouth? Why do I agree to things? For Thanksgiving, I decided that I wanted to see Dad's side of the family. We hardly ever see them for holidays. Then, Aldo's dad announced that he was moving to El Paso after Thanksgiving, so this was our last time to see him. And Aldo's mom would be going to central Mexico on vacation for Christmas. And Vero wanted to host, but not late at night. And Jerad would host, but he would have to do it later for the kids. It was all mixed up this year! Long story short, we made it to all three, but we were late to both of mine and I didn't get to do my favorite thing... play games! Never. Again. Never, ever again. Two Thanksgivings is enough. Three Thanksgivings is straight up coo-coo.  

Merry Christmas 2018! 

 The very first in our new house...

Christmas, I thought, might go better since we were hosting (Aldo's idea). I knew it was coming because Maecy hosted last year, and when we bought the house Aldo said we would host the next one. Hosting is just as bad as being the one to travel. I don't know who decided we'd be the only ones cooking... I know who. It was Aldo! IT WAS ALDO!!! Aldo told all of my family that we would cook mom's ham, buy a turkey as well and cook it, make mashed potatoes (because J and Amy might not be coming and they're easy), and I'd cook the green beans (per usual because I make his favorite). He told his family not to worry about a thing, that there would be plenty of food, just bring themselves!!! I was like, whoa now... if we're hosting two families at the SAME TIME, we're going to need more. Jerad brought a ton of soda. Granddad was supposed to bring the rolls (he brought hamburger buns). Maecy brought her pretzel salad dessert (delicious!), Mom made stuffing, and Jul came with (what he brings every year) pecan pie. Everyone came at the same time! IT WAS INSANE! Thanks to Granddad and his horrible memory, and Jerad's "5 minutes" turning into a solid hour, my side ended up at the house between 1:30-2:00. Aldo's side, running on CPT, got there immediately after. We were supposed to serve at noon. And I hadn't eaten breakfast. I was starrrrving! And you know what else??? We had two gift exchanges. And while everyone was playing games on the Cooper side, we had the Secret Santa with the Alvidrez'. And while they played the cube game and I almost burnt the second round of green beans, I also had to show the Coopers how to work the remote. Entertaining is stressful. All I wanted to do was play games!!! I had spent YEARS waiting to get to the adult table... it was like, my greatest accomplishment when I was finally able to sit down with everyone and be taken seriously at Up and Down the River... and now, I might actually strategize and win! Sheesh. Afterward, Aldo agreed that hosting both sides at the same time, even though we had enough seating probably wasn't the best idea. So now, we plan on switching years at hosting between the family. 
How did New Years come up? Aldo. Still Aldo. He told friends that he wanted to have them at our house. And invited more friends. Someone's kids invited their friends. And so on. Aldo had worked a regular shift, came home and grilled up some tacos, and hosted til past midnight. For a while there, it was a ton of music and, for me, running up and down the stairs to take care of Nayelli. Then for a while we played Texas Hold Em'. Midnight came, and since then we haven't had a spotless house. (Was it seriously ever going to be spotless? And with a dog that sheds?) Confetti was everywhere! I knew we'd have confetti to sweep up, but darn it, some kid took it upstairs and tossed it all over both of our kids' rooms and in the bathroom too! There's confetti in between the crack of the seat of our couch. There's confetti in our air vents. There's confetti in our vacuum that we emptied at least three times. And there's still confetti in our room (which was locked that night), from sticking to the bottom of our socks and shoes and being carried in there! Forever confetti. Fun night though. Since then, everybody wants to come to our house. I don't know why... we have hardly any seating. No one eats at the dining room table. Our dog goes bonkers when anyone comes over. Maybe I should stop smiling when someone throws out these bad ideas..... I'll replace it with Aldo's "grumpy cat" face.

I forgot to mention that in between the holidays, right before Christmas to be exact, Aldo decided to get a vasectomy. So there's that. I don't want to go into too much detail, but let's just say it was a bad experience for both of us. What should have been a 5-10 minute operation, ended up being 45 minutes. And the recovery was longer. And it's hard as a "nurse" when you don't know how to help the "patient" and how to empathize with what they're going through. All you know is that it was traumatic. And you know, it being the sensitive and prized area... all the more traumatic. 


Currently...

Nayelli
Gosh, because this is HER first year book that I'm working on... 
She's amazing. Absolutely amazing. I already said that she sleeps through the night. A typical day goes like this:

5:00-7:00 am • Wakes up after sleeping through the night for first feeding and goes back to bed
9:00-10:00 am • Wakes up for good, is very attentive and happy (I get most of my cleaning done)
Eating in between
12:00-2:00ish • First nap
Eating in between
Attentive, but wants attention. A good time for games, toys, and learning.
6:00-8:00ish • Second nap
Eating in between
10:00-11:00ish • Bedtime

She recognizes and loves my face. Daddy is pretty high up there too. More importantly, Bandit is interesting now. Except that I've caught him licking her hands, feet, and head while she's in the swing, so you have to keep an eye out. And on top of that, she likes to stick her hands in her mouth as fists. It's really cute. But what's not so cute is when she does it right after Bandit licks them. She also blows raspberries and will chatter at you and raise her eyebrows and smile, like she's telling you a story. Cutest thing ever! She drools a lot. Can babies cut teeth this early? Google says some babies are born with teeth, so at three months it could happen. Typically, they cut around 6 months, but a baby can start showing the symptoms as early as 3 months. If that's so, she might be slobbery in every picture from now til then. Just saying. Last, blankets now go to the mouth too. Today, I caught her examining her hands. The time when she starts examining all sorts of things with her mouth is coming. It's right around the corner.

Mila
Oh, Mila. She is a wonderful big sister. She doesn't try to "help" by taking care of the baby herself like I feared she might. Instead, she warns me when the baby is crying and I need to get out my "special leche". She'll grab you diapers and wipes if you ask repeatedly. And, she'll play with Nayelli by taking her toys, giving Nayelli a high-pitched voice and having a conversation for her, or by telling her she's "so cute" and reminding me to put bows in her hair. Everything is still "so cute". Nayelli is a "princess". Speaking of which... we had a conversation today:

Me [in control of Nayelli's hands]: Come at me, Mila. I'm gonna punch you. Come on. Come at me!
[Mila giggles]: No!
Me: Come on...
[Still giggling]: No!
Me: Hey, guess what, Mila. I'm a princess boss. 
Mila: No, you're not a boss.
Me: Yeah, Mila. I'm a princess boss. Mila's not a princess boss.
Mila: No!
Me: Yeah, I'm a princess boss. Mila's a baby!
[Mila giggles]: I'm not a baby! You baby! 

Gosh, she's so smart. And gorgeous! Both of my girls are GORGEOUS. I mean... watch out! But back to smart. I was worried because I haven't been able to work with her like I did with Luke. For a good portion of his life, Luke watched Elmo and that's how he learned everything. So I was very happy when she picked up Mickey's shapes book. And counting from "monkeys jumping on the bed". And colors from... well, I don't know where they came from. Power Rangers, maybe? I'm so proud.
Hopefully soon we'll be able to get back to the library, where she can have some big girl time and learn with kids her age. Get used to kids her age! She wants to go to "school" and calls the library her "school" and also church her "school". She'll tell me she has "homework" and then play with her toys for a while. I honestly have no idea what she's doing, but if it keeps her occupied for a little bit, then that's good. The girl is constantly talking, or singing, or moving. She's seriously a special kind.

Luke
This is the part where my mom said I should start blogging again. It comes from the fact that I enrolled Luke in 4H. He decided his first project should be with the dog. Actually I encouraged it. Dog Care & Obedience to be exact. Win-win! So we had our first class (without the dog). Class went well with three kids. The trainer is really nice and funny, seems down-to-earth and easy-going. She ended up giving out homework to work on this first week. Made sense since next class will be wild with 10-20 dogs, several of them less than a year old, meeting other dogs and other people for the first time in a new place with new smells. Some who haven't been on a leash that much. Some who haven't been in the car that much... like ours for instance. I imagine that we'll want to quit after the first week. Anyway, the homework was: to work on their name (a dog should look you in the eyes when you say their name, that way if you're out in a field and shout their name... they at least acknowledge you), work on a "stupid trick" that I can only describe as dog touches their nose to your open hand, and the basic trick of sitting. If the dog is already pretty good at sitting then you can toss them treats (which leads to staying). Well, we get home and Luke and I look at each other and say, "Hmmm... let's see what Bandit can do!"
Bandit is not a dumb dog. Close, but not the dumbest. He knows his name. Woohoo! He instantly wants to come at your hand if you put it out. Instead of a nose touch, it has turned into let me go above and beyond and lick your hand up and down for the treat. I will wrap my tongue AROUND your hand, that's how much I want a treat. :| And, for a treat... he'll sit right away. He'll also sit for praise. He likes attention. So, we're like... let's move on to the treat toss. The very first one bonks him right in the middle of the forehead! It was hilarious and sad. I've noticed that he's not very quick at sniffing things out. Apparently he's not very good at seeing things fly towards his head either. I will give it to him though, the treat is tiny like pea-size. I suggest we try a toy instead. So Luke and I do the trick with Bandit's squirrel that he just got for Christmas. He did sooo good! And Aldo taught Bandit to "drop it" so it's been turned into a really fun game! After 20 or so treats and fetches, we're done and I go upstairs. Before I know it, Luke comes up and tells me he has bad news. Bandit ripped up his squirrel. There's stuffing everywhere. Ok, no biggie. He's also ripped up my bra. My last bra. Ugh. THIS DOG! The trainer said to pay attention to how much praise vs. "no"s we tell our four-legged companions. I tied up the count real quick. (To be noted: Bandit has gone after my bras forever. Is it my smell? Is it the breastmilk? Is it the fact that it's just mine and he wants it? I don't know why he went for it, but he's on my Do Not Trust list. Cannot leave bras around, even if on the highest point of the couch or counter. He WILL find it. He WILL go for it.)

Aldo & Myself
Right now our church is doing a 21-day fast. It's been good so far. It is only Day 3...
In the midst though, we have been planning for the Children's Church ahead of schedule, which is nice (for me especially... the admin). We went on a "date" last night to go pick up a foosball table in middle of nowhere, Holton, KS. During the ride we talked about dreams that we've had on trips to go on, retirement, aspirations, work-related goals, etc. Today starts the day where I start getting the house in order and our five year plan written out, a budget in place and so on. Aldo and I are finally in agreement to do the insurance thing (not with the original company), AND in agreement that I should go back to school to become a CPA. I've looked into it several times and every time I think - Oh my gosh, I haven't done a math problem in forever and now companies and people are going to trust me to help them with their finances and taxes! I can't do percentages off the top of my head like Aldo can! I don't understand stocks! I would have to be attached to Excel and whatever other programs they have now. And, would working with numbers all day be mundane and dull? But, I am encouraged to try out a class at least. I can do it. If it doesn't work out, well, like Aldo's insurance job... it wouldn't be "the dream job"... but a means to the end. In all seriousness, I've made the dream job. I'm a mother.