Back on track

It has been 6 months since my last post, and a lot has obviously happened. I'll just try to summarize and then stay on track from now on.

Us: We moved to a new house that is "off the grid", which has allowed me to become a stay at home. It has been a bit of an adjustment, because we have to really conserve electricity (the house is solar powered), and we are at least half an hour from any stores or restaurants. We have seven chickens, and the kids love them. It's nice to have fresh eggs every day, and chickens are a piece of cake to take care of. The dogs, much to their dismay, have become primarily outdoor dogs for the rest of the summer. The house is just too small, and they shed way too much. We try to spend some time with them everyday, and Emma loves to play with them and give them treats.

Paul: Paul has been on three fires since the start of the summer. I know it's hard work and long hours, but Paul will do just about anything to help us pay off bills faster. He also likes to do anything he can to make his resume that much more impressive so he can become a district ranger sometime in the near future. I am constantly amazed at what a hard worker Paul is. Emma and Paul have become very close. He is like the best toy she's ever had. They love to play and wrestle and cuddle. While he's on fires, I tell Emma he's at work. When he comes home, it's like Christmas time for her.

Emma: I had no idea "toddlers" could be so clever. Even though she is still considered a toddler, it's hard for me to think of her as that. She seems more like a preschooler. Emma can almost count to 20 (she does it best if some one counts with her), and I only tried teaching her a few days ago. She can identify about half of the alphabet, at least 11 shapes and at least 10 colors. Emma speaks in very clear elaborate sentences. "I wanna go outside and feed the chickens, please". "Do you hear that sound? It's an airplane!" Swimming has become an absolute passion for Emma, and she has absolutely no fear of the water. Emma still goes to daycare about every other Friday to play with her friends. I think Emma will be very happy once Asher is a little more mobile. She loves him to no end, but sometimes she wants to play with him in ways he's just not ready for yet. When Asher wakes up, Emma will turn out his sound machine and sing or talk to him until I get him up. Speaking of singing... Emma can sing all of her favorite songs. She may gets the words mixed up sometimes, but that makes it even cuter!

Asher: Asher will be 7 months old in a few days. He can sit, roll and is babbling quite a bit. He loves to sleep on his tummy, but he gets really mad when he wakes up and refuses to roll back over. He just lays there and screams. It is very obvious that Asher would like to crawl and explore, but he is very impatient and won't even try. He just lays on his belly and yells. I remember Emma doing the same thing, and she was so much happier once she figured it out. I hope the same happens for Asher. Asher has had a very rough 7 months. He started out with reflux and poopy issues. Teething was horrible for him. Oh yeah! He's got his two bottom teeth! Once he got past all of that, he started to get really fussy again and was crying non stop all day. I tried giving him bottles of formula and offering more food. Nothing seemed to help. One day I gave him a different bottle because I was too lazy to do dishes. He loved the bottle and guzzled down the formula. Ever since, he has been a happy little guy. It was a long six weeks, but we are all a lot less stressed and getting much better sleep now.

Me: Being a stay at home mom is much harder than I thought it would be. It's easier on the days I take the kids into town to play at the park or run errands, but gas is too expensive to do that too often. Now that Asher is happier, we are able to spend more time outside. As long as the kids are happy, I'm happy! Emma and I like to cook and bake together. We made some pies and a Thai beef salad today. I try to work on school activities with Emma at least once a day, which has become much easier with a happier Asher. The kids are on the same afternoon napping schedule, so I'm able to take naps when I need them now. Asher usually wakes up about 20 minutes before Emma. So I bring him into bed with me for some snuggle and play time with just him and me. Living out here can be hard at times, but it is worth it to be able to spend so much time with Emma and Asher. I don't feel rushed to cook and clean while trying to squeeze in quality time with the kids anymore. I'm still not a very good house keeper, but I'm trying. Again... it's getting easier now that Asher is happier.