Terrible 2's

When my daughter (now 5) was my son's age (18 mos), I had someone tell me that the "Terrible 2's" actually start at 18 months and last until 3 yrs old. We some how skipped this with the Princess. She was (practically) born talking and had full sentences at 18 mos of age, so there was very little of the frustration that seems to lead to the terrible 2's. She was also a totally different kind of kid than the Prince is. She never really had terrible 2's, but she had what we termed the "Fearsome 4's". This stage was mainly her testing us, testing boundaries, bedtimes, talking back, asking why 300 times a day, etc. So I was unprepared for the Prince's head first jump into the terrible two's.

A large part of my son's terrible twos seems to be his lack of language. He has some words, but seems unable to use all of them at once. It goes in phases, although his first "real" word (used correctly all the time) was thank you. It was really cute and since we push manners pretty hard around here, it seemed fitting. However, now he has lost thank you and hasn't gained many other words. So his main form of communication is pointing, grunting and stomping his feet! Let me tell you, its a fun stage!

The other characteristics of the terrible twos he has started is throwing things and climbing. And the other day, he put both of these together to climb on top of the glass coffee table and throw things off and downward on the glass. I had a small heart attack when I found him like that. He has also started throwing fits, and kicking his feet when I pick him up to re-direct him from a hazardous activity. I know all of these things are normal behavior, we were just spoiled with my daughter's personality because she and my son are SO UNBELIEVABLY different. There could not be two children whose personalities are different. (Except my little sister and I, we are incredibly different also). I guess I stop re-reading New Moon (I have to make sure I know every single detail before the movie comes out) and pull out my copies of What to Expect for Toddlers and The Girlfriend's Guide to Toddlers.

Grammar Nazi's: Is it terrible two's or terrible twos?

Changes

I mentioned to my mother last week that I felt like Thursday (of last week) was the first day of the rest of my life. A little dramatic, but I think its kinda true. See, last Thursday, Princess started Kindergarten. Big kid school, not just preschool anymore. On top of that, she started in a great school and is in the Spanish Immersion program. Yep, she's hot stuff! This will be her school for the next 6 years (and hopefully the Prince's too, when he is old enough!). Not only that, but the kids in her class will be her only class for the next 6 years. That means if she has problems with a kid, or I have problems with a parent, there is no getting away from each other! I am very excited and nervous about all of this. This school requires alot of dedication from both parents and kids and to tell you the truth, I am kinda overwhelmed. It has been exciting to know that my oldest is starting a new phase of her life.

One thing that also comes with this new phase, is a new schedule for the Prince and I. We are all getting up earlier, and it is back to just my boy and I at home during the day. It has been nice though, to run errands with only one child and to get to work more often. We are all still adjusting to getting up an hour earlier than we have been, so I have had some tired babies at my house lately. Ben started school last week also, so we have had lots of changes! Ben is going to school for his EMT Basic, which will make him much more desirable to Fire Departments in our area. I am so proud of him for doing this, because Ben doesn't do school. He is probably the most intelligent person I have ever known, but school is not his thing. Most schools and classes are not structured to keep his attention. Its a BIG deal that he is going back to school and I am bursting with pride!

We planned on spending our first weekend of the school year relaxing and prepping for a busy couple of months. We had absolutely nothing planned for the weekend. However, God had other plans. Ben and I ended up spending a good portion of the day on Saturday in the ER due to a very painful kidney stone that Ben had. Thankfully, it was not nearly as bad as his last kidney stone and he is feeling much better.

This week is the first full week of school for both Ben and our daughter. I have a feeling they will both be exhausted this week! I will be spending a day training for my new second job with FCS. I am excited to start this new opportunity and am thankful to be able to help contribute to our household.

All in all, I still feel like, at least this last week has been the start of a new life for us. We are all taking on new opportunities that will change our lives in different ways, all for the better. I am excited to see all of the different blessings these will bring into our lives!

Bunco

Tonight was the first night of my new bunco group. If you know me in person, you know I like to be bossy and am so excited to be "in charge" of the bunco group! One of my bff's, Holly and I decided to put a group together and we some how managed to get 12 great girls, some married, some single, some childless, some blessed with children, and all different careers. We also managed to make sure that there is not a large group of friends/colleagues in the group. Before tonight, there was not a single person who knew everybody. In my last group, 7 of the girls worked together or were close friends, and they kinda dominated the group. It ended up being not very fun!
We had so much fun tonight. About half of the girls had never played before, and one of the newbies won 3 different prizes! I hosted the first month, so I had a good excuse to do the cleaning I never do until I am having company (cleaning the baseboards, dusting, wiping down walls, etc.). Since my husband is about to start back to school and will be gone alot, I am trying to make sure I have some regular activities with other women. I have a tendency to stay isolated, because I work from home, and I will realize after a couple of days that I have had zero social interaction! I have also joined a book club that I am really excited about! Over the next 4-5 months, I am also going to work on forming deeper relationships with some of my friends. Not all of my close friends have children, so its harder to get together.
I would love to hear from other work at home or stay at home moms or even work away from home moms about how they keep up their friendships and social interactions! Leave a comment and I will get back to you!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless WednesdayCan you resist this?