The basement, the kids, the stay-at-home-mom plan...

March was a rough one for blogging, I am noticing.  I really have been cutting back on user time in regards to computer and TV, and so the blog is suffering a bit, I see.  Also, the month was just sort of weird in it’s flow.  I had a week with Dave on his March break. A week of sick kids.  Two weeks with in-laws  here. Dave had a short mid-week trip to Toronto.   Anyways- just lots of stuff that has sort of thrown off the daily schedule. 

The next interesting thing happening (aside from an ice-storm today?!?!?) is that Aunt Katie is moving out this Saturday.  Only 10 minutes up the road into a house with some friends, but we just needed more space for the growing family!  

Dave and I had decided around Christmas this year, that I would open a home day care in September instead of going back to work.  With plans underway, however, we realized that what we really want (more than the ample extra income a daycare would provide) is for me to be able to invest primarily in my own kids as they are so young and I will be starting to home school Jesse in the fall. On days where my kids are happy and healthy, I feel like I could manage another 2 or 3.  However, most days, I feel stretched with the 3 of them all so young and needy.  I’m not ready to divide my attention quite yet. 

So, we decided to strip down the budget the bare necessities for the fall, and live a very non consumerist “YEAR OF FRUGAL” as we called it.  Upon realizing there would be STILL a deficit, we just started praying heavily for some sort of income or opportunity to make “stay at home mom” possible.  God is so good.  Not only were we given MANY random lump sums of money from people totally out of the blue, we also received a super income tax refund.  On top of that, we got an email from a co-worker of Dave’s.  His son’s daycare was closing down, and they were looking for someone part-time (just a few short days a week) to watch him come September. So!  I jumped on board.  It will be great to have another little one around a few days a week for the kids to interact with.  However, I still feel like I will have the time and energy to invest in all the kids well.  Not to mention, space in the van to go on all our regular outings.   On a totally selfish note, I will still have all holidays and full summers off!  I’m excited about it.      We’ve been able to balance the budget to include a few things we were sad to strip away,  afford to furnish the basement, and put a good chunk in savings.

Alors!  This Saturday after Katie moves out, I suspect a kind of crazy week with many ikea trips to set up another living, and (primarily) play space.   It will be wonderful to have a bigger open area for the kids to run around in (especially in the winter), and a hide-out for most of the toys!  I have spent the past week thinking up a million combinations of ways we can set things up, and trying to decide what to leave where, and it’s been fun!

I have also really been enjoying my kids these days.  (The nights have been another story with Janna’s unpredictable nightly screaming fits)  However during the day time, she has been much less clingy and grumpy since cutting back heavily on dairy in her diet.  She is also very quickly putting words together the past month.  “Butter and Ham wrap please”- she said to me yesterday.  “Daddy work,  gone.” As she looked out the window a few days ago.  She is also improving heavily with songs.  She sang along with “twinkle twinkle” in the car and got several of the words.  Very cool.  She continues to love dressing up, and having her nails painted.  The other day, she took a tantrum when she found a bottle of nail polish on the counter.  I was making a snack (her favorite activity of the day).  She saw the bottle and grabbed it and said, " Paink! Pease! Paink! Pease!" I suggested that we wait until after snack to paint her nails, and she went ballistic. " NO SNACK! THIS! NAILS! PAINK. NO SNACK"  What a nut 

Jesse is being SO cute with Robyn day in and out!  He has taken it upon himself as her protector.  If she cries he RUNS to her with a toy or song or to pat her head.  If it doesn’t work, he will shout, “ Mom! Robyn needs her milk!”  He also makes her chit chat and laugh like nobody else can!  Robyn continues to be the most awesome baby ever.  She is just so happy all the time, and easy going and fun.  Here Jesse is showing her the ropes of the jumper that we just pulled out this week for her to try out:

Well, that’s all for now. I just needed to post something and stay in the game.  Hoping to post some shots of the basement in a week when it’s all set up.  Happy weekend. Thanks for reading. I’m out.