Mama knows best...

So this morning I was having a discussion with my husband. We were talking about an activity which I thought was not age appropriate for our son. My husband said something about agreeing to disagree about it and my response was basically "We can disagree as long as you do it my way." And, I followed that up with "This is your pregnant wife talking." As if that makes it okay. Then I laughed so hard I cried.
Baby number four should make his appearance within the next six weeks. The crib is up and the kids keep hugging and talking to my big belly.

Communication

So, I've been reading a book that is supposed to be helpful in interpreting your baby's cries. Hopefully it will help with our fourth.

What I really want right now is an interpreter for my two year old. She has learned to say "no" and seems to use it for everything. Although, she does say "yeah" for yes. And she has a few other distinguishable words... "Mama", "daddy", "woo woo" while patting her leg for dog. She signs please, thank you, more, cat, baby, milk, play, ball, bicycle, doll, dirty, train, monkey and hurt. (There may be a few more but that's all I can think of right now.)

I just wish I knew what she was trying to communicate when she cries for 20 minutes for no apparent reason other than she's mad. Maybe that's it - she's mad and wants everyone to know it.

Our six year old didn't talk much until after he was two and now he expresses his ideas quite well. The other day he was playing with his sisters and said "the diameter of your tube is larger than mine". I don't remember talking about diameter in math but he must have picked it up somewhere.

I'll just keep listening and maybe I'll figure out what my little girl is trying to tell me.

The things people say...

I've been pregnant before so I know that the last couple of months one can get pretty big. I'm definitely showing now. And, the comments are starting to come.

The lady at the drug store...
"So when are you due?"

Eight year old girl at the park...
"Does it hurt?"

A guy college friend...
"You're a lot bigger than the last time I saw you."

And today a gentleman at church...
"What happened to you?" Instead of replying that my husband and I had sex, I just said "I blew up". Then he asked if it was my first and to that I was able to reply "no, it's my fourth".

Thinking of funny pregnancy related comments... I still remember having dinner with friends at a restaurant about seven years ago. She and I were both pregnant with our oldest children (they are now also expecting child #4). Her husband said something like "was it a surprise?" in reference to my pregnancy. And my husband replied, "no, we had sex."

Home Alone

Today I'm home alone (my dear husband took the kids to Howell for the day). I'm preparing for the school year - making lesson plans and getting organized. This was one part of teaching (professionally) that I enjoyed. It was having 20-30 students in the classroom that was overwhelming to me. Each child has so many needs (academic, emotional, social and spiritual) and I felt so inadequate to meet them.
Now as a mom who used to be a "teacher", I feel much more prepared to teach my own children (I am thankful for the lessons I learned in the education program at IWU and the hands on experiences at CCA and Lakeview). I know what's going on in my kids lives and how they behave outside of "school time". I've also learned a lot about child development, personalities and learning styles since college. And with only a few students (this year a first grader and a kindergartner) I can individualize lessons and spend one-on-one time with them.
I'm looking forward to a great year of learning with my kids.