Week 13 has been the week of busting out. I'm busting out of my clothes and I'm busting out of my lethargy.
Finally, my fatigue has really started to ease off. I'm still not sleeping well, so I'm still napping most days, but when I'm awake, I have energy. What a relief! I forgot what it is like not to have to drag myself through every daily task, and to actually want to do things other than lie in bed.
As a result, I've started in on a lot of the work that has built up over the past two months. Just in the past week, I've accomplished so much! I pulled out all of my old maternity clothes and reorganized my closet accordingly. I also received three maternity t-shirts for my birthday and a ton of used maternity clothes from a friend, so I might not have to do much shopping for quite a while. I did have to buy two new bras, though. My wardrobe is about 60% maternity clothes already, and I'm still in my first trimester. I love it!
I also started in on my most exciting project: developing my curriculum for Sam's first homeschool year. (I have decided to hire a mommy's helper for a few hours a day and give it a shot. Thanks for all the helpful comments!) This won't start until June 2012, but I'm so excited about it that I have to start now, and besides, I'm afraid I won't be able to do much once the twins arrive. I already have about 10 pages of notes, and I'm feeling great about the whole thing. I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to do, but there are still a few big gaps: I'm not happy with anything I've seen for science in first grade, I still have to compare four math curriculums, I need to compile a list of books to use for literature and reading skills, and other things like that. But I know where to go to figure those things out. There are no big mysteries left. I just have to put it all together, and remember to keep it as flexible as possible within my standards. Of course, I'll write much more about this as I get the plans together.
I think I've found the perfect stroller. It's super expensive, but I think the stroller is going to be the most important piece of equipment I buy for the twins, so it will be worth it. I still have to go test it in person, but if it's as cool as it looks, it's mine!
I'm trying to start tackling the home improvement projects we need to complete before the twins arrive. I've been working on getting new blinds for the past two months and all I've accomplished is to buy the materials for the sliding glass doors. I still need to figure out what to buy for the windows and get it all installed. Then, we have to remodel three bathrooms, create storage space in the attic, set up the nursery, and clean out our "junk room," which is where I'll set up our homeschool. Those things are the absolute minimum we need to get done before September, and it's stressing me out because I'm very slow about these projects.
But before I get too involved in those things, we need to buy a new car. That is even more critical than anything else because we can't fit three kids in our SUV. Well, maybe we could get three car seats in the back seat - I don't know. But I'm not planning to find out. We need a minivan, and I'm not going car shopping with two infants and Sam to take care of. So that is next on the agenda.
I still haven't finished planning our Italy trip, either. We leave in exactly three weeks and I don't even know how to get a cell phone that works internationally yet. I still haven't booked the museums. I haven't thought about what to pack. Ack!
But, at least I'm capable of doing things now, so I'm making progress. Man, that fatigue was so bad! Now you know why I haven't been blogging. And I probably won't get back into a groove with blogging until we get back from Italy. It's kind of low on my priority list right now.
Oh, by the way, both twins passed the screening test! It doesn't mean much - it only rules out a few things, and really, it doesn't even rule them out, it just tells us that the chances are very slim. But it was another good milestone. My next ob appointment is tomorrow, and I'm actually going without Adam, even though I think I'm having an ultrasound. This will be my first solo ultrasound (out of 20 or so) since I found out about my first miscarriage in September 2009. The fact that I'm comfortable enough to do it is a big milestone, too.
When T and I were in Argentina and they had a little airline strike that required us to have cell phones that worked we were able to add a few weeks of international coverage to our current cell phones through the website and it wasn't prohibitively expensive. You might try something like this...
ReplyDeleteYou made the BEST choice with that stroller. My nanny has one and I have major stroller envy; it's so light and versatile. I'm even contemplating selling our current double and jogger to buy the City Select instead. Now that you've got the stroller, the rest should be easy. ;)
ReplyDeleteI *looooove* finding resources to use for homeschooling. :) For science, I highly recommend Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding. The author rejects the idea that science should be taught as a smorgasbord of this and that and has produced a set of lessons that build on one another - at the front of the book there is this awesome web showing how the lessons relate, because it's not a strictly linear sequence. Awesome! Your library may have it so you can see it before buying. There's an associated yahoo group where the author participates and answers questions - I'm a big science geek (molecular biology major at Caltech) and have been very impressed by him. Sidenote - it's a big paperback book that I made much more usable by taking it to Office Max and having them cut off the spine and spiral bind it (it cost about $5 total) - that is a great tip to make books much more usable! http://www.amazon.com/Building-Foundations-Scientific-Understanding-Curriculum/dp/1432706101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300920953&sr=8-1
ReplyDeleteI also loooove Living Math: http://livingmath.net/ If you click on "reader lists" you'll find zillions of math story books (not text books!) that are sorted by topic. So fun to introduce math this way. I especially like the Sir Cumference and the Knights of the Round Table series (all about geometry, naturally).
Also, watch out for burning out! I know it's fun to plan, but be ready for some things to work and some not to - if they don't work out for you and Sam, don't force it, find something better. Flexibility is important. I learned early on not to buy more than I needed right now - I almost bought 12 years worth of Singapore Math (best scores = best curriculum = I should just buy it all now and save on shipping, right?). But then I found living math and discovered that I'm very happy playing with math with my son. I'm sure we'll use a curriculum of some kind when he's older, but at this age we're enjoying math, enjoying word problems, enjoying mental math, etc. If I had bought all of those math books, I'd be kicking myself! So watch out for that, too.
I'm glad the screening went well. :) It's nice to let go of some worries.
Thanks for the tips, everyone. Stephanie, I'll definitely check out that science program, and I like your way of dealing with a clunky book - great idea! You've also got my number when it comes to overplanning. I'm definitely trying to stay away from that. I'm not buying more than a year's worth of anything, and, like I said, I'm trying to keep an open mind and be ready to change things that don't work for us. Luckily, first grade is pretty low-pressure. If we didn't do any science at all, I wouldn't freak out. :) Actually, I won't freak out if we don't accomplish much at all. I'm looking at the first year as a big experiment. But, of course, I have my fantasies of how it will go. :)
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