Mariposa Academy Homeschool

So, yes, my blog is messed up right now. I updated to the latest WordPress version and obviously something went wrong. Tech Support (aka Adrian) is stumped. Apparently when I mess up databases, I don’t play around. Word to the wise: when the instructions say to back everything up just in case, that’s not a step you should skip.

A couple of people have asked how the monthly shopping is going. The first day we tried it, we went to Big Lots. While Big Lots might be great for unexpected bargains, it’s not a place you can do your basic shopping. We ended up putting most of our items back on the shelf and joining Costco. Costco is great. I totally recommend it for families of four or more. With fewer than four people, it might not be worth it. And even with four of us able to use our Costco purchases, many things are just too big. We’re just not going to buy a 25lb bag of flour. But there is a lot that is both useful and a great bargain. We stock up on pantry staples, household stuff, and even a few perishables. Some things, like 3-packs of soy milk or 3 dozen eggs, we do manage to use quickly enough. Other things, like giant bags of shredded cheese or broccoli florets, I repackage into quart ziplocks and freeze.

For the rest of the perishables, as well as wine and some specialty items we can’t get at Costco, we go to Trader Joe’s. To be honest, I haven’t sat down and done the math to see how much we’re saving, but I’m sure it’s quite a bit. When I look into the shopping cart and see how much we’re getting for our money, it’s significantly more than we’d be getting for the same amount at Harris Teeter.

Right now Llani is “spelling” out words that Zeke wants to write– but instead of saying the name of the letter, she is saying the sound the letter makes in the word. For the most part, Zeke is writing the correct letter! I am so impressed with my little boy!

Thank you all for the kind and supportive comments regarding my postpartum depression. I’m kind of old-hat at this depression thing by now; I had PPD after my first two children were born, and plain old regular depression when they were older. I was on Zoloft until midway through this pregnancy, and I will most likely go on it again. First I want to make an appointment at the heart clinic; I will probably have to go back on Toprol XL for my PVCs (an arrhythmia I have), and I have heard of people not needing anti-depressants when taking beta-blockers. In any case, I think it’s best not to start two meds at once. I’ll get acclimated to the Toprol first and then start the Zoloft.

I know it will get better. In fact, I have been doing much better for the past week or so– but I’m sure I will backslide again before I start the meds.

Meanwhile I am feeling crappy today, but not from depression. I think I have some sort of bug. Zeke had two messy diapers and threw up twice yesterday. I felt achier and achier throughout the day, and sort of queasy, too. Today I am still achy. Adrian also was not feeling well last night. Ugh. Here’s hoping it’s just a 24-hour thing. So far today Zeke is fine.

The most exciting thing in my life lately is pee, believe it or not. We are trying Elimination Communication with Luz. We didn’t do it with Llani or Zeke, so I’m totally new to it. At first, I was too tired to even think about ECing. Then I wasn’t noticing any signs or patterns to help me figure out when Luz was going. But then for three days in a row she peed when I was changing her first morning diaper. So, Sunday morning, I took off her diaper and held her over the bathroom sink, and she peed! Much praise and a little happy dance on my part. I “caught” another pee Sunday afternoon, and then again yesterday morning and this morning. It is truly exciting.

Luz is lying on her playmat, being entertained by her siblings and by the toys dangling from the soft arches over her head. As I mentioned last time, she enjoys sitting in her baby rocker, too. At about 2.5 months, she notices the hanging toys and smiles enthusiastically while she examines them. It’s really cute to watch. It also is wonderful to give my arms and back a break. It’s especially nice to have two hands to eat or type with every now and then. After a short while she gets lonely or overstimulated and I have to pick her up, but I get a break a few times a day now, which is nice.

I have started using a mei tai to carry her instead of the ring sling I made. Sooo much easier. I do feel a bit sad about not using the sling I made with my own two hands, especially since I love the fabric. I think I will order some canvas and make a mei tai with that fabric. I’m also eagerly awaiting my resized DUO, now that I finally measured myself correctly. It should arrive today or tomorrow. That should be really nice and cool for the summer– or as cool as any carrier can be in a NC summer.

I’ve been blathering on about the baby for a while; you might be wondering what my big kids are up to. They have been drawing a ton. I think that’s what they spend the most time doing. I’ll get some pics of their artwork up soon. Many of their pictures are Narnia-related. They’ve also been drawing and cutting out paper dolls and accessories. Llani has been reading Magic By the Lake and re-reading Prince Caspian. She’s started writing a chapter book about the further adventures of many of the characters from Narnia. I’m really impressed with her writing. Her ability to think creatively, her almost-perfect spelling, her punctuation. Her near-constant reading has really taught her a lot. Playing World of Warcraft has also taught her spelling (and IM language).

Zekey’s favorite questions are “Why” and “What do you mean?” I know his curious nature is a wonderful thing and I never want him to lose it, but it sure is frustrating when Adrian and I can’t get two sentences out without having to answer two or three questions. Formerly brief conversations can take an hour, and every offhand comment is subject to deconstruction.

Adrian started a new job this week, and it seems like a really good move for him. Different, more challenging work, better money, and a shorter commute. So far he’s liking it.

I’ve had a really good week, depression-wise. We got out a couple times and yesterday we had friends over. Tonight we’re going to a barbecue with some of my favorite people, and I can’t wait.

I’ve been battling some pretty bad depression lately. The past couple days have been good, but when it’s bad, it’s really bad. Although I know, logically, that these things always pass, when I am in the midst of a depressive funk it is really hard to remember or believe that it will ever change. I feel completely hopeless and have no desire to do anything but sleep or cry. I scream at the kids and ignore the phone.

I think I am going to go back on Zoloft once Luz is three months old. I was planning to wait until she’d started solids, so my milk wouldn’t comprise her only food source, but I don’t think I can wait that long. Meanwhile, I am trying some natural approaches– taking omega-3 oils and high doses of B6 and B12, and trying to get out each day. It’s hard to motivate myself to get out when I am depressed, and it’s even harder to get the kids to get ready, but I’m hoping that if we make a habit of it when I am feeling well enough to manage, it will become automatic enough that I’ll be able to do it when I’m feeling bad.

As I said, the past couple days were better. Weekends are always better because Adrian is home. Saturday Llani and Zeke slept over at my parents’ house. Sunday morning Adrian and I went out for breakfast. As we were leaving, I complained that I had a massive headache.

“Wow, you’re in a really good mood for someone with a massive headache,” commented Adrian.

“Well, it’s one thing to have a massive headache,” I told him, “and quite another to have a massive headache and have to say, ‘Go put on your shoes….. Go put on your shoes…. Get your shoes on so we can go…. Are your shoes on? Why not? What do you mean you want to finish this game first? Why did you even start the game when you were supposed to be putting your shoes on? Where are your shoes? No, I don’t know where they are; they’re your shoes. Did you put them in the shoe basket? If you’d put them in the shoe basket you would know where they were,’ etc. etc. ad nauseum.” I was not exaggerating. That (and its variations) is what I have to go through for every step of getting out the door, from brushing teeth to getting dressed to, yes, shoes. Sometimes parenting is like rolling stones uphill.

Yesterday the kids and I somehow managed to get to the mall. We shopped for clothes for me first, and they were quite well behaved considering how bored they were. I got a few compliments on their behavior and general adorableness, which always puts me in a good mood. I also managed to find a cute pair of shorts, which I really needed. We went to the bookstore after that, and I bought Adrian his belated (yes, I suck) Father’s Day gift. What a gorgeous book! The recipes look delicious, and there is also information about pantry stocking, gardening, and keeping chickens. Yes, keeping chickens. Almost makes this city grrl want to find a place in the Berkshires and raise some chicks. And a goat would be nice, too. We could make cheese. Perhaps a sheep. Are there breeds that are good for both milk and wool? Perhaps we could have a sheep for milk and an alpaca for wool. Um, yeah, anyway…

You know what, strangely, is making a real difference in my depression? The infant-to-toddler rocker that my sister gave me. Luz really loves it, which means I can actually put her down sometimes and– wonder of wonders– take a shower while she’s awake. Up until a few days ago, I was waiting till she was fast asleep to shower. That sometimes took hours, and then she’d usually be awake and crying before I was finished and dressed. Now I put the rocker in the bathroom and she sits in it and stares at the hanging toys, and I can peek put and talk to her so she doesn’t get lonely. Being able to take a shower early makes a remarkable difference in how my day goes. In fact, I’m going to go do that now.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated (before today’s pictures, I mean). We’ve been busy, and I’ve been trying not to feed my online addiction too much. Also, when we are home and I actually do go online, I am usually typing with one hand while I nurse or hold Luz. Often I am typing and eating with one hand. That doesn’t lend itself to posting easily.

Luz is still the easiest baby and best sleeper I’ve had. If the difficulties of my pregnancy with her don’t scare me off from having a fourth, the prospect of having a difficult baby after being spoiled like this just might. It is delightful to actually get a full night’s sleep with an infant. Or, well, the closest thing to a full night’s sleep that a mother ever gets. I don’t sleep like I did pre-kids, but I am sleeping much better than I did with Llani or Zeke. That, I’m pretty sure, is one of the few things keeping me sane these days. Because even the easiest, most pleasant newborn in the world is still a newborn. She still wants to be held almost all the time. She still wakes up to nurse a couple times at night, and sometimes requires a diaper change at 4am. She still spits up all over my shirt five minutes after I get dressed, and needs to nurse right when I’m about to eat, and wakes up crying when I’m about to take a shower. Not to mention all the lovely ways a seven-year-old and a four-year-old can drive a person crazy.

Llani has finished The Last Battle, the last Narnia book, and is about halfway through Edward Eager’s Half Magic, which we are both enjoying immensely. Tuesday we took the next book, Magic by the Lake, out from the library because we know she’ll be ready to start it soon.

Zeke has been exhibiting a lot of typical (and very cute) four-year-old pre-reading behavior: pretending to read, saying that he doesn’t know how to read yet, talking about reading, and asking a little about letter sounds here and there. He also sometimes asks me or Llani how to spell something, and writes it down the way we tell him. But when I ask him if he wants to learn to read he says no. I’m certainly not going to push him, but I’m enjoying watching the process.

I bought magnifying glasses and binoculars for the kids, and the other day we brought them on our nature walk. The kids really enjoyed being able to look at things close-up. I have to say, though, that “nature” walks in the suburban subdivisions here are so boring that I just dread them. I thought of going on one this morning before it gets too hot, but quickly shelved the idea. It’s a shame, because I think outside time is important, and I wish we could do it daily. But where we are living, we pretty much have the worst of both worlds– no parks within walking distance like we had in the city, yet no backyard like most people have in the suburbs. Walking around the grounds of our condo complex quickly loses its charm, especially since the few times we tried to play ball in the grass we had to dodge dog poop. Blech. We have to take the bus to get to someplace suitable for outside play or nature exploration. Maybe I can make a point of doing that twice a week, and even arrange it as a regular outing with friends? Or once a week? I know we could manage it once a week; the only question is how early we’d have to go out to avoid the heat.

I read the first Mommy Track mystery by Ayelet Waldman, and can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I have also stared The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, which I am really enjoying. Having a little nursling means I get plenty of time to sit and read. Yay!

I leave you with the best bit of info ever– Luz smiles whenever I sing “You Are My Sunshine” to her.

pics of Luz:

and of my big kids: