Oh my goodness! Has it seriously been almost 2 months since my last blog? Well, needless to say it has been a busy and overwhelming couple of months. The final weeks of my pregnancy were almost more than any of us could handle. We spent the weekdays in Orange County at my mom's house for fear of me going in to labor at any moment. School (homeschooling, yay!) started on August 24th, but I wasn't able to do a whole lot with the kids while I was on Baby Watch.
FINALLY, Baby Jane was born on September 2 (Wednesday, hooray! Now each of my children were born on a different day of the week!) weighing in at 9 lbs 7 oz. Still just under 2 weeks early. She managed to break her left collarbone on her way out of the womb. However, she is the most agreeable, placid, calm baby on the planet. This is good, since she's still almost more than I can handle. She only cries if she is hungry or dirty. The rest of the time she is asleep, or calming staring off into space. Whew!
Now that she is 2 weeks old, and my body is well into recovery... we are starting to get into our new routine. Even though we are homeschooling, I still find that we are quite busy. Derek is attending preschool (love Mrs. Edwards!) so we are up and out by 740ish on Tuesdays and Thursdays to drop him off. Hattie's musical theater class (they are performing a play called BUG-Z) meets Tuesdays at 1050 - 1150 and Derek has to be picked up at 11. Lots of driving around on Tuesday mornings. Jason's Learning Center class is on Friday at 940 - Art with a Story... But I do enjoy the chance to sleep in (a bit) on Mondays and Wednesdays. And I like not having to be as concerned with Hattie's strict bedtime since our mornings are not so early.
Homeschooling is a struggle as I am forced to fight with Hattie every day. However, I must admit it is better (or the same) as the homework fights we used to have. We're learning and adjusting together. I like to think it will get better. Or at least that some days will be better than others. Surprisingly, I have found that I enjoy having the kids home with me all of the time. I even regret when I allow them to go to their friends houses to play for hours on end. But I am not quite ready to be hosting their friends yet. Haven't quite gotten ahold of having 5 kids and keeping house and all of that. Not that I was much for house-cleaning before Jane, but I'm still trying to get better. I think it's working.
Post-baby is going well, also. The first week or so was really difficult, but I feel that I'm recovering pretty quickly now. The weight is still falling off - but I look forward to the time when I can start working out. If I can figure out a time for it. I'd LOVE to get back in the gym... I'd love to lose 30 or 40 pounds (again)...
Rick is now working in LA. Driving approx. 80 miles each way every day. No fun, but he's sticking it out hoping for some prevailing wage work in Orange County starting up soon... Luckily he got our neighbor a job working with him, so they have been able to carpool the past week.
Not sure what's up with the house yet. Still waiting for word. But we haven't been kicked out yet, so that is a blessing.
Baby is crying - it is rare so I'd better pay attention - so it's time to sign off. Until next time...
