Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Welcome to My World

For as long as I can remember the two things I wanted to be when I grew up was a teacher and a mom. I used to be and will probably again be a preschool teacher. I am the mother of 3 children, well 4 if you count my husband.

I became a stay at home mom after my second child was born. It just was not economically feasible for me to go back to work. After all of my expenses I would've been making about $40 a month, that is if I got all of my scheduled hours. Working in child care there are times that when numbers go down you go home early (plus child care does not pay that well either) or if the baby's sick you have to stay home. With those two scenarios I could've potentially been in debt each month. I found a few part time jobs to help compensate for a portion of the income that I had once contributed to the family. It has been wonderful being able to be at home with the kids. I have been able to be home when the oldest gets out of school and we can start right away on homework. I was also able to breastfeed the youngest 2 until they were about 9-10 mos old.

Our son, Jay, is 11 and says he likes school, but hates homework. Our daughters are 3 years old and almost 16 months. Zee is not the typical middle child. Sissy loves to do what her big sister does. She is quite the follower, but she will not be bullied.

Jay has only child syndrome in many respects. He was the one and only for so long. He was the first grandchild on both sides as well as still being the only grandson on both sides. He was also the first great-grandchild on my dad's side and the 2nd on my mom's. Anyway he is still quite spoiled by the grandparents. He loves to spend the weekends with them. Two weekends ago he was spending the night with my in-laws and Zee decided that she wanted to stay too. This was her first by choice sleep over. (Her first real sleep over was by necessity when I was in the hospital having Sissy) Anyway, Jay was NOT happy that his sister was invading his territory.

I had always thought that Jay would be my problem child, but Zee, AKA Miss Attitude, will probably be my biggest challenge. She wants things done her way or no way. She is very stubborn. I wonder where she got that from?????? (My MIL says that my husband and I are the two most stubborn people she has ever met.) She is such a bossy butt at times. It's hard to believe that a young 3 year old can have such a strong personality already.

Sissy I thought was going to be my calm, quiet child. Boy was I wrong!!! She has been picking us on her sister's attitude lately. She will be 16 months soon and still does not talk. She says momma & dadda, but that's about it. I'm told that it's because we meet her needs too quickly. It's funny how people can say this. How can meeting my child's needs in a quick manner be a bad thing?
Anyway, I have talk to the Dr, whom I trust completely, and she is not concerned at this point. Sissy learned how to grunt at a very young age and that is still her preferred method of communication. I have been asked if I think she has a hearing problem. To this I say a big NO. She will be playing in the other room and hear a song on the TV or radio and come running so she can dance to it. In the vehicle she gets mad when I change the radio station if she liked the song that was playing. She seems to understand normal conversation. She will respond to simple commands/requests, such as "go get you're shoes" or "If you want a drink you need to bring me your cup". She will also answer yes & no questions appropriately by shaking or nodding her head. I guess she'll talk when she's ready.

There are times that it feels as if I have another child, no not my husband. I have a little girl who is almost 4 that I've been babysitting for 3 years now. She pretty much is one of the family.

I hope you have enjoyed the introduction to my life. I will be adding more later

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