Random Pics

Here are some random pictures that have been taken in the last several weeks.

Claire took this picture, and Ben was crying because he wanted to hold the camera. I swear I didn't pinch him.

Playing the drums


Stayin' Alive

The kids got sleeping bags and pillows from Grandma for Christmas, and here they are "sleeping" in them. Ben needs to work on his fake sleep look. Also, the little sweeties are holding hands. (click on the picture to see it better)

What Life is Like

I haven't posted in ages. I know the grandparents love the updated photos, so I generally try to include them in posts. Well, I haven't taken any recently; thus, no new posts. We also haven't really had any exciting new events taking place, so I worry that just posting about the "everyday" will be a bit boring. Ah well. It's my blog, right?

So I am officially an English tutor, and this part-time job keeps me surprisingly busy. The one student I "home school" requires me to come up with an entire course just for her. As any teacher knows, planning a course, writing tests, reading texts for the first time all take a lot of time. However, I find that I really do enjoy this job - such as it is. I get to teach just as I would in a classroom, and I don't have the piles of papers to grade afterwards! Win, win.

I'm also meeting once a week with two very sweet Korean girls who are boarding students at Salem. They are both very intelligent, but since English is not their native language, they are having obvious problems in their English and history classes. Anyway, one of the girls asked me to help perfect her English pronunciation. I am not at all trained for that job, but I did some research on common problems that Koreans have with speaking English, and we started to practice some of the sounds that are particularly difficult for Koreans to make. This practice generally involves me over-exaggerating the shape of my tongue and my mouth, so that she can see what my mouth is doing when making sounds. It's actually pretty hilarious. We spent a LONG time on the word "squirrel." She never really got it, but I did learn the Korean word for "squirrel." And it is actually much easier to say in Korean than it is in English.

Shawn's job is still going well, keeping him busy. We are actually very grateful for this, knowing that many companies like the one for which he works have not been able to survive the economic decline. Thankfully, they've had plenty to do, and the southern winter weather (such as it is) allows them to keep working.

As for Ben and Claire. Well, Ben's latest passion is for trains. He LOVES Thomas the Train and begs me to "play trains" with him all day long. Actually, he doesn't really beg. It's more like a command: "Mommy, you play trains with me, right this minute!" Imperious little stinker, isn't he? Actually, he says "right this mimit," so he gets away with the disrespect because he sounds so darn cute. He is still refusing his nap most days, but I just leave him in his crib anyway. He has become used to this situation and has now figured out a way to entertain himself for the duration. Yesterday this is what I heard through the door of his room:

"I'm going to eat my piggies for dinner. Yummy! (slurping noise) Those stinky toes are yummy to my tummy . . . ew, gross." (puking noise, followed by hysterical laughing).

Really, I have no idea where he gets this stuff.

He is getting closer and closer to really getting the whole potty thing. Yesterday, he actually told me he had to go to the bathroom and ended up with a dry diaper for most of the day. He still hasn't quite figured out when it's ok for him to take off his diaper (like when it's time to go on the potty) and when it isn't (like after he's pooped while in his crib). I've had more than one "finger-painting" clean up. It's hard to maintain one's sanity (and not cuss like a sailor) while cleaning up feces, so I'm really (really) looking forward to the day when he finally gets it.

Speaking of losing my salvation. Beyond poop clean up, not much drives me to crazy town like the daily struggle to get Claire dressed. If it's not her socks, it's the pants, the shirt, or her blasted hair bow. Tights drive her to histrionics, and we don't even attempt getting her to wear some type of shoe other than her CROCS. In light of this, Claire has finally started seeing an Occupational Therapist to help with some of her sensory integration issues. Her evaluation showed that she has some problems with the auditory, tactile, and vestibular (inner ear, balance stuff) senses. Mostly this therapy involves a lot of play, so she is really enjoying herself. We are hopeful that she can work through some of her fears and frustrations and can start enjoying more activities. I realize that this is totally not a PC thing to say, but one of my biggest fears for her is that after starting kindergarten next year, kids will quickly pick up on her little quirks and label her as the weird kid who walks on her toes. My heart breaks when I think of Claire sitting at a little desk wearing headphones because there is going to be a fire drill that day! Ok, it's a little funny too, but still.

Anyway, that's a brief (not really) picture of what life is like in the Black household right now.

Snow?!

Yes, dear readers of the North, you of the frostbitten toes and snow shovel-strained backs, this, this paltry sprinkling of white stuff is what passes for snow in the South. This meager showing of Mother Nature was enough to close down the schools, send people panicking to the store to stock up on break and milk (I don't get the bread and milk thing. Is that all you eat when it snows?), and keep people home from work - apart from the owner, Shawn was the only one to show up at his job.

Disgusted as I was by the snow, or lack thereof, the kids were thrilled by it. They were begging all morning to go out and play in it. I kept stalling because, I mean really, what all can you do to play in this??? Well, they did their best. Most of the time was spent trying to scape together enough snow to make a snowball. I finally accomplished one about the size of a ping pong ball.

"Look Mom, snow angel!"
"What do you mean you can't tell I made a snow angel?"

Love this one

Love this one too - well, except for the river of snot pouring out of Ben's nose. Please excuse.

How cute is he in his Paddington Bear coat?

Happy snow kids

This video is of Ben making "snow piles" and telling me from where he thinks snow comes.

Snow from the moon. Makes perfect sense to me.

The snow was completely gone about an hour later. Here's praying that we get a more substantial snow next time!

Worth It

After Claire was born, I continued to teach for a year and a half, but my heart was at home with my little girl, and I felt like I wasn't able to do the job I wanted to do, neither at work nor at home. Thus, leaving my teaching job of 4 years was really a no-brainer. This decision wasn't made lightly. We knew that sacrifices would be made, particularly in our finances, but we were willing to do this.

One sacrifice I hadn't realized I would be making was the sacrifice of the satisfaction that comes with completing a task, the satisfaction one attains from doing a good job on a task or from attaining a goal. For nearly my whole life until my decision to stay at home, I had been in a school setting, either as a student or as a teacher. With classes come assignments which require hard work all of which result in grades. As a typical first-born daughter, I strove to do my best, and earning A's on my report card was important to me, not just for the A's themselves, but because those grades represented the culmination, the completion, of some very hard work on my part. They were a very real representation that I had done a good job. As a teacher, I was able to see students learn new information, improve and leave my classroom better students than when they entered it. (ok, not all of my students did, but you get my point!)

But there are no grades given for being a good mom. Most of the time, I am quite thankful for this! But, whether it is selfish on my part or it is a common human trait, there are times when I do really wish for some type of grade, some idea of how well (or how poorly!) I'm doing this "job." Don't get me wrong, Shawn is very supportive, but there is still something inside me that yearns for the days of being able to "check off" items on my To Do list with a feeling of satisfaction. Now, of course, moms have huge To Do lists, but somehow these jobs never actually get done.

Item 1: Vacuum. Sure you can check that off, but guess what? Your son just dumped his bowl full of cracker crumbs all over the floor, and now you have to do it all over again.

Item 2: Go grocery shopping. Check. But wait, not only do you have to do this again every single week, but you also have to spend money on food that just never seems to stay in the refrigerator.

Item 3: Change Diaper. Check - for this hour at least.

Anyway, you get the idea. The list never ends. You never get to finish the list and throw it away.

Now, I, in no way, am suggesting that moms who work outside of the home don't have just as many things to do, nor am I trying to start a debate on the whole "who works harder" issue. I know lots of working moms and am totally amazed at the jobs they do, both out and in the home. I'm just saying that there are days when I do envy them the opportunity to achieve goals in the adult world. I want to have that sense of achievement again.

But then I have a day when I just happen to walk into my son's bedroom and see this:

Would my children love each other were I to work out of the home? Most definitely. Would Claire "read" stories to Ben and would Ben want his sister to "read" to him. Surely. Would this moment have happened some other time. Probably. Is this moment something I have "achieved" as a stay-at-home mom? No. But would I have necessarily been there to witness this one particular moment. Maybe, maybe not.

So, maybe I'm not earning A's, writing and defending a thesis, or teaching intelligent young women how to think and write critically, but I am a stay-at-home mom, and, right now, being privy to moments like these make all the sacrifices worth it.

Children's Museum

We have a really neat Children's Museum in town. However, it isn't really close to us nor is it reasonably priced, so we really don't get to go too often. Nevertheless, the other day, Claire announced that she wanted to go to the museum on Saturday. It's not too often that we give in to our children's every whim and desire, but in this case we did. Ben has been there before, but he was too young to really remember it or to really even enjoy it. This time, however, was another story. He had a wonderful time, cried when we had to leave, and was asking to go back the next weekend.

Super proud grocery shoppers. This had to be their most favorite attraction. (just wait, little ones. The attractive hypnotic gleam of the shiny grocery cart will soon fade - like right about the time you actually have to pay money for all that food you put in the cart and then do it all over again the next week.)

Ben also had a ton of fun "fishing." I think his Papa needs to plan a summer fishing trip.

Remember Lincoln Logs? Meet the giant Styrofoam version. They look pretty proud of their house, eh?

Isn't he a cute little doughnut maker?

Quick, the "Hot Now" sign is on!!

5 year-old on the half shell. HA!

In Memoriam

I had on a new necklace this morning, and upon seeing me walk into the kitchen, Claire, ever the lover of all things jewelry related, said, "oh mommy, I like your necklace. Can I wear it?" I said no she couldn't because I was wearing it right now. She replied:

"Oh, I didn't mean right now. I meant after you were dead."