Getting ready for dance class!
posted by Katrina | 7/05/2009 02:08:00 PM
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2 comments
A Single Woman's Journey To Motherhood
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About Me
- Name: Katrina
- Location: Washington, United States
I began my TTC journey in January 2005. It finally worked with the 5th IUI and along came Eliana! I started trying for a second (T42) a little over a year later, and was thrilled to get pregnant on the second try this time. Jacob soon joined our family! Not sure if I am done at two, but come along for my journey in motherhood. If you stop by, please leave me a short note! I like to know when I have visitors. :)
- Getting ready for dance class!
- Grandma, Eliana and Jacob
- Aidan and Eliana
- Bowling!
- Jacob and mommy
- Dressing up
- Rock star in the making!
- Easter egg hunting!
- Swimming
- First summer BBQ
- June 2004
- July 2004
- August 2004
- September 2004
- October 2004
- November 2004
- December 2004
- January 2005
- February 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- July 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
- February 2009
- April 2009
- July 2009
Blogs I visit
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swimming
Eliana is taking real swimming lessons for the first time. All the kids are 5 except her..I am so proud of her!
posted by Katrina | 4/28/2009 09:36:00 PM
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0 comments
Monday, April 27, 2009
Jacob and the walker
I thought this was just hilarious. The new sitter has one of those walkers, but it doesn't work on the carpet. Well, Jacob has figured out how to make it work, he picks it up and lunges forward! Of course, the one day I actually bring my camera to get video, he doesn't want to perform!
posted by Katrina | 4/27/2009 10:04:00 PM
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1 comments
Monday, April 13, 2009
Centraal Station Antwerpen gaat uit zijn dak!
I love it!
posted by Katrina | 4/13/2009 05:32:00 AM
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2 comments
Monday, February 23, 2009
A very late update
Oh, so much going on since I last blogged.
As you may have suspected, I choose #3. SAHM with 2 boys about 15 minutes from here. I could not have made a better choice. I am so very very happy there and seriously feel like it was a blessing that our last sitter had to stop watching the kids.
With our last sitter (J), I never felt like she was really attached to my kids, just the kids she watched and waited to go home. They seemed taken care of all right, but I didn't feel any great connection with her or that she attached to the kids AT ALL. There was one thing that bothered me daily too. Her son was potty training (well he was trained but she didnt know how to stop the reward system), and apparently he got a piece of gum for using the toilet all day. For some reason, the timing of that was always after my kids left so pick would go like this EVERY DAY: I walk in the door, son is excited to see me and says to his mom "Can I have gum when Eliana leaves?" Every blasted day. I felt like he was just waiting all day for her to leave...
For a long time, I thought it was just me. I was, as you may recall, so very very happy with T our first sitter that we had for 2 years. She even became one of my best friends, and I thought well, noone will be her and that she was what I was comparing everyone to and noone would live up to that.
Fast forward to new sitter. I have found someone who I feel is very much like T. I love her, the kids love her, her kids love my kids, and I honestly believe that she is attached to my kids (in fact she told me so). So very very happy. Thank you God that we finally found a great new sitter. Now I worry about future babies in her family as I know she wants more, but I hope that she can have them in the summer and still want my kids for a while. :)
Other news:
Jacob has started crawling. Well, not quite crawling REALLY, but he is very mobile. He is close to a real crawl just only uses one leg...LOL.
Eliana is signed up for preschool next year. This preschool was not even on my radar because it is nowhere near me, but it is near new sitter (C) and she agreed to take her which is awesome (again, part of my worries C will not watch the kids for some reason in the future but i need to just trust God that it will all work out). LOVE this school. I can't wait until Eliana actually starts in the fall. The preschool is at a church (actually a friend from church works there), is Christian, and they have at least one parent activity a month IN THE EVENING or weekend so parents can get involved. And they have a Christmas concert. Oh, I am so excited. :) Eliana is signed up for the two day program because the 3 was full, but we are on the waitlist for the 3 day.
Finally, a not so good update. Jacob has been coughing since late OCtober. You may recall the episode with the pencillin which was meant to clear up the wheezing/coughing. Well, it has continued and gotten worse and we went to the clinic on Sunday who sent us to the ER and even threatened to hospitalize him. They didn't thankfully. Today we were back for a follow-up at our ped and they have diagnosed Jacob with asthma (with acute exacerbation if that means anything to anyone out there...doesn't to me). We are now (not so proud) owners of a nebulizer, accessories, and various medicines including some steroids...ick. Please say a prayer for jacob that this episode soon clears up and that we can get off the steroids. Thanks.
As you may have suspected, I choose #3. SAHM with 2 boys about 15 minutes from here. I could not have made a better choice. I am so very very happy there and seriously feel like it was a blessing that our last sitter had to stop watching the kids.
With our last sitter (J), I never felt like she was really attached to my kids, just the kids she watched and waited to go home. They seemed taken care of all right, but I didn't feel any great connection with her or that she attached to the kids AT ALL. There was one thing that bothered me daily too. Her son was potty training (well he was trained but she didnt know how to stop the reward system), and apparently he got a piece of gum for using the toilet all day. For some reason, the timing of that was always after my kids left so pick would go like this EVERY DAY: I walk in the door, son is excited to see me and says to his mom "Can I have gum when Eliana leaves?" Every blasted day. I felt like he was just waiting all day for her to leave...
For a long time, I thought it was just me. I was, as you may recall, so very very happy with T our first sitter that we had for 2 years. She even became one of my best friends, and I thought well, noone will be her and that she was what I was comparing everyone to and noone would live up to that.
Fast forward to new sitter. I have found someone who I feel is very much like T. I love her, the kids love her, her kids love my kids, and I honestly believe that she is attached to my kids (in fact she told me so). So very very happy. Thank you God that we finally found a great new sitter. Now I worry about future babies in her family as I know she wants more, but I hope that she can have them in the summer and still want my kids for a while. :)
Other news:
Jacob has started crawling. Well, not quite crawling REALLY, but he is very mobile. He is close to a real crawl just only uses one leg...LOL.
Eliana is signed up for preschool next year. This preschool was not even on my radar because it is nowhere near me, but it is near new sitter (C) and she agreed to take her which is awesome (again, part of my worries C will not watch the kids for some reason in the future but i need to just trust God that it will all work out). LOVE this school. I can't wait until Eliana actually starts in the fall. The preschool is at a church (actually a friend from church works there), is Christian, and they have at least one parent activity a month IN THE EVENING or weekend so parents can get involved. And they have a Christmas concert. Oh, I am so excited. :) Eliana is signed up for the two day program because the 3 was full, but we are on the waitlist for the 3 day.
Finally, a not so good update. Jacob has been coughing since late OCtober. You may recall the episode with the pencillin which was meant to clear up the wheezing/coughing. Well, it has continued and gotten worse and we went to the clinic on Sunday who sent us to the ER and even threatened to hospitalize him. They didn't thankfully. Today we were back for a follow-up at our ped and they have diagnosed Jacob with asthma (with acute exacerbation if that means anything to anyone out there...doesn't to me). We are now (not so proud) owners of a nebulizer, accessories, and various medicines including some steroids...ick. Please say a prayer for jacob that this episode soon clears up and that we can get off the steroids. Thanks.
posted by Katrina | 2/23/2009 08:53:00 PM
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4 comments
Monday, January 19, 2009
More sitter woes
So, as if the 3:00 pickup wasn't bad enough...on Thursday, the sitter informs me that Grandma fell and broke her wrist. They have decided grandma can't live on her own anymore and guess who gets to take care of her during the day...yep. She can't watch the kids AT ALL anymore starting in February...Panic central. Again. I literally just feel sick that we have to look for childcare once again.
So, here is where I stand right now with choices for childcare:
1) A national day care center. 420/week Yikes! Not to mention the fact that I have a very hard time taking my baby to a day care center (think Eliana would probably like it well enough though...) near my house (5 minutes away)
2) Home day care #1. 360/week. Owner is a grandma who decided to get licensed to earn some extra money while watching grandson with Celiac disease (supposedly family was worried other day cares wouldnt take him?) Won't do much preschool activities..sounds mostly like babysitting, won't transport kids anywhere (such as preschool). About 8 minutes from my house
3) SAHM of 2 boys 4 and 18 months. 225/week. Goes to my church, nice big house, plans on doing some preschool worksheets with the kids and going on a few outings every now and then. Downfall: 15 minutes from home, adds at least 20 minutes to dropoff and pickup.
4) SAHM of 2 boys 4 and 7.5 months. 300/week. Lives in a townhome, not a lot of space, but will go out do and lots of activities. About 10 minutes from home.
5) Home day care #2. not sure of rate yet, going for a visit tomorrow night. Highly recommended by a lady at MOPS. I have heard great things about it every MOPS meeting. Does a lot of preschool activities and works very hard on potty training. about 15 minutes away from home, adding about 20 minutes to dropoff and pickup.
I am leaning heavily towards #3, but am scared to commit, worried about the extra travel time, and just that another SAHM might up and quit like this one....what do you think??
Oh, and there is one other option...there is one woman who lives in the next town north of me who would watch the kids for 600/month AND pick them up to take them to her house...seems awfully peculiar to me...that is a 20 minute drive one way at the best of times...but not at the hours I would need....
And also, for reference, I currently pay 300/week, with good old sitter I would have paid 250/week and with horrible sitter I paid 325/week.
So, here is where I stand right now with choices for childcare:
1) A national day care center. 420/week Yikes! Not to mention the fact that I have a very hard time taking my baby to a day care center (think Eliana would probably like it well enough though...) near my house (5 minutes away)
2) Home day care #1. 360/week. Owner is a grandma who decided to get licensed to earn some extra money while watching grandson with Celiac disease (supposedly family was worried other day cares wouldnt take him?) Won't do much preschool activities..sounds mostly like babysitting, won't transport kids anywhere (such as preschool). About 8 minutes from my house
3) SAHM of 2 boys 4 and 18 months. 225/week. Goes to my church, nice big house, plans on doing some preschool worksheets with the kids and going on a few outings every now and then. Downfall: 15 minutes from home, adds at least 20 minutes to dropoff and pickup.
4) SAHM of 2 boys 4 and 7.5 months. 300/week. Lives in a townhome, not a lot of space, but will go out do and lots of activities. About 10 minutes from home.
5) Home day care #2. not sure of rate yet, going for a visit tomorrow night. Highly recommended by a lady at MOPS. I have heard great things about it every MOPS meeting. Does a lot of preschool activities and works very hard on potty training. about 15 minutes away from home, adding about 20 minutes to dropoff and pickup.
I am leaning heavily towards #3, but am scared to commit, worried about the extra travel time, and just that another SAHM might up and quit like this one....what do you think??
Oh, and there is one other option...there is one woman who lives in the next town north of me who would watch the kids for 600/month AND pick them up to take them to her house...seems awfully peculiar to me...that is a 20 minute drive one way at the best of times...but not at the hours I would need....
And also, for reference, I currently pay 300/week, with good old sitter I would have paid 250/week and with horrible sitter I paid 325/week.
Labels: sitters
posted by Katrina | 1/19/2009 08:25:00 PM
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7 comments
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Big week for Jacob!
I have been trying to find time to blog since getting back, but we have been so busy, and so has Jacob!
On Sunday last week, I sat Jacob down in Eliana's crib so that I could change her diaper, when I turned around, he had pulled himself up to standing. He was so proud of himself, smiling and laughing and then boom! Down he fell (in the crib...so no need to worry). He is sure strong!
On Tuesday, his first tooth finally cut through.
And on Thursday, he said mama for the first time. He has no idea what it means, but I suspect he will soon since I get so excited each time. :)
What a week for Jacob!!
On another note, my new sitter has informed me that she wants me there by 3:00 every day. This has caused great distress for me. First, I can not guarantee to be home from school every day at 3. Some days I have parent conferences, students getting help, papers to grade, meetings etc. (school gets out at 1:50, we aren't allowed to leave until 2:20 unless of some emergency, and it takes 20-30 minutes to get to the sitter's) Second, this really means I can't go to the doctor or the dentist or what have you...especially my doctor because she is in the city where I teach while the kids are in the city that I live in and it is virtually impossible to pick up the kids and run back to the city I teach in in time for an appointment. As for the dentist, how can I go to an appointment with a 2 year old and infant? Very stressed about this. And thirdly, I had been coming home for about 30 minutes before picking up kids, to get dishes in the dishwasher or laundry in the washer, or check email, or just plain have a 20 minute nap when needed....I am very stressed about this. I told her that 3 was just plain not feasible on a daily basis, but I would try for 3:30. In the meantime, I don't want to change sitters again as we have had so many changes for the kids this year, but I will definitely be looking for someone new for September....
On Sunday last week, I sat Jacob down in Eliana's crib so that I could change her diaper, when I turned around, he had pulled himself up to standing. He was so proud of himself, smiling and laughing and then boom! Down he fell (in the crib...so no need to worry). He is sure strong!
On Tuesday, his first tooth finally cut through.
And on Thursday, he said mama for the first time. He has no idea what it means, but I suspect he will soon since I get so excited each time. :)
What a week for Jacob!!
On another note, my new sitter has informed me that she wants me there by 3:00 every day. This has caused great distress for me. First, I can not guarantee to be home from school every day at 3. Some days I have parent conferences, students getting help, papers to grade, meetings etc. (school gets out at 1:50, we aren't allowed to leave until 2:20 unless of some emergency, and it takes 20-30 minutes to get to the sitter's) Second, this really means I can't go to the doctor or the dentist or what have you...especially my doctor because she is in the city where I teach while the kids are in the city that I live in and it is virtually impossible to pick up the kids and run back to the city I teach in in time for an appointment. As for the dentist, how can I go to an appointment with a 2 year old and infant? Very stressed about this. And thirdly, I had been coming home for about 30 minutes before picking up kids, to get dishes in the dishwasher or laundry in the washer, or check email, or just plain have a 20 minute nap when needed....I am very stressed about this. I told her that 3 was just plain not feasible on a daily basis, but I would try for 3:30. In the meantime, I don't want to change sitters again as we have had so many changes for the kids this year, but I will definitely be looking for someone new for September....
posted by Katrina | 1/11/2009 12:45:00 PM
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3 comments