So I am teaching our boys preschool. We decided it might be best if I taught the boys becuase we can't afford preschool costs and now since we are down to one car it would be pretty difficult for me to go get Hunter, but hopefully by the time Hunter is ready for kindergarten we will have a second vehicle so for Christmas 2 yrs ago (2008) I got a bunch of flashcards and coloring books and puzzles from the dollar store. I was thinking they would be great to use with Hunter (2 1/2 at the time), well he was just not having it. Fast forward to end of October and beginning of November 2009. Late one night I had a long talk with my mom about a lot of things. It was a really good talk, one we hadn't had in a long time, well lets just say it helped get my butt in gear on a few things. So the next day I worked up a school plan for Hunter, thinking Jaxon was too young still I didn't include him. I went through and made a chart of all the school related activities we could do. Puzzles, letters, numbers, shapes, colors, videos, books, etc. I also included simple chores for him too. Cleaning his room, bath, brushing teeth, etc. For each thing he did he would get a sticker. at the end of the week if he had made it to a set number of stickers he could have his choice of a hot wheel car (he loves them) or a candy. Hunter actually took to this pretty well and was excited to do school and get stickers and prizes. Jaxon started to pay attention to what I was doing with Hunter and he started to run over to where I had Hunter's chart up and would point and say "school" and "sticker". So made a chart that would be age appropriate for him. It has worked really well.
There were days when the boys were just not cooperating too well so they might not get any stickers, but there were days when they wanted to keep doing more and more. I tried to get the mto do school on the weekends but since Mark was home all day they weren't really focused, so we would only ask them to do chores. When Thanksgiving came around, they got the day before and the the day of off because they could play with the uncle (my brother) and Mark's family. Then the week before Christmas I decided that the next week I would give them off, sort of in the spirit of a Christmas vacation like what I used get. Then I realized I should do it for the week of New Years too. I was all ready for when Jan 4 came around, but the boys were not having it so I gave up, mostly because my mom was still on her break from work and they are very distracted when shes around. So I waited until this past Mon to start and so far we have gotten 2 days done. When the boys get up from their naps today we will start school.
For Christmas 2009 I went back to the dollar store to pick up some more/different school supplies to help with expanding and verying the "curriculum". Every four weeks I have raised the amount by 4 stickers for them to reach and strive to learn more. Though the amount I have set is really only for Hunter to reach, I usually give Jaxon a prize if Hunter has reached his goal since Jaxon doesn't have the same amount of thinghs to do and has a small attention span. Since I started I have also add to the main chart a behavior line where I can "score" their behavior for the day (1-10 for Hunter, 1-5 for Jaxon). If they are good at least 50% they get a "big sticker" worth 3 little stickers (what I use for their school). At the end of a few months if they have a certain amount of stickers (don't remember exactly the amount right now) they can get a big prize. The boys have so much fun piclking the stickers to use that day and which activity they want to do next. Jaxon has now started to show an interest in some of the things Hunter is doing so I have started to include him in on those instruction times. It probably takes us about 2-3 hours to get through everything and I do it during and after lunch time when they are in their chairs and more focused than in the morning when all they want to do is play and watch Playhouse Disney and I have to make sure they are finished before Grandma comes home because they just want to play with her.
So I am hoping this all works out and that the boys are learning a lot. They can sometimes pick yup on things really well, sometimes not so I hold off for awhile to give them more time before I try it again. My step-sis-in-law used to teach preschool so she gave me some materials that I could possibly implement into my school, unfortunately a lot of the things I want to do from her stuff is crafts and I have absolutely no room for the craft supplies here at my parents house, so hopefully once we get on top of our bills and back in our own place again I will be able to have space to do crafts with the boys. But there is some units that she had that I am going try to do either in a couple of weeks or months. We'll see.
Wish me and the boys luck! (On some days I need it ;-D )
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Girls night
So a group of my best friends from high school and I got together last night. For a majority of us it had been at least 6-7 years since we had seen each other in person. Some had seen others, some through just facebook others just phone calls. 1 I was in touch with regularly. When I thought of the idea to do this I was so hoping that the girls would be as excited as I was. They were! It was such a wonderful night. Lots of talking, eating, laughing. There was never a dull moment, no awkward silence, no strained talks or anything. We caught up on families, friends, politics and a little bit of religion. We went to J's family restaurant (it was great to see her family too) and had wonderful food. In my mind and everyone else's no one had changed, some of us might complain that we are heavier (they all dismissed my weight since I had 2 kids, so my excuse they didn't except), but we all looked the same in my eyes. Many things had changed, but many had not. I was so comfortable and happy I wish the night hadn't ended.
I have to say I have a wonderful life. I have a husband I love who loves me, and 2 beautiful little boys. What more could I ask for? Sometimes looking at my friends and seeing what they are doing career-wise or school-wise I am a little discouraged because I didn't finish college. But then I look at what I have and I realize that I am where I am the happiest. I do hope to go back to school once my boys are in school and become a nurse, maybe do the school nurse route because I want to be there when my boys are home. I was raised that way and I love it. My boys are so important to me that I would do anything for them. I can't wait to have my friends meet my boys and get to know Mark. I can't wait to get to know their significant others and meet their kids when they have them.
Since I have a full life I don't feel like I am missing out on anything, but when I was with my girls last night a piece I didn't know I was missing just fit into place and made me feel more whole than I already was. Luckily for us most of us are local which will make getting together more often easier, especially since they all expressed doing so. One of them, unfortunately lives across the country right now, but whenever she comes into town, there will definitely be another get together, so we can have her there. Mark even told me once we are back in our own place, that we should have all my girlfriends over and do a game night. Which sounds like a blast, of course I would want to add in a movie night, because in high school our parties were movie parties. I of course being the overly sappy person I am, told all my friends my feeling that I have expressed above to them and of course I cried. But they were wonderful.
So know I need to be more productive and stay in touch more often with them. Have lunch or dinner with some of them more often. I don't like making New Year's resolutions, so I won't call this resolution, but it is- to keep in contact with my girlfriends through, emails, phone calls, and visits. Emails maybe once a week, calls once a month, visits as often as we can fit them in.
Thanks to my girls- J, H, A, M, L! You guys are great!
I have to say I have a wonderful life. I have a husband I love who loves me, and 2 beautiful little boys. What more could I ask for? Sometimes looking at my friends and seeing what they are doing career-wise or school-wise I am a little discouraged because I didn't finish college. But then I look at what I have and I realize that I am where I am the happiest. I do hope to go back to school once my boys are in school and become a nurse, maybe do the school nurse route because I want to be there when my boys are home. I was raised that way and I love it. My boys are so important to me that I would do anything for them. I can't wait to have my friends meet my boys and get to know Mark. I can't wait to get to know their significant others and meet their kids when they have them.
Since I have a full life I don't feel like I am missing out on anything, but when I was with my girls last night a piece I didn't know I was missing just fit into place and made me feel more whole than I already was. Luckily for us most of us are local which will make getting together more often easier, especially since they all expressed doing so. One of them, unfortunately lives across the country right now, but whenever she comes into town, there will definitely be another get together, so we can have her there. Mark even told me once we are back in our own place, that we should have all my girlfriends over and do a game night. Which sounds like a blast, of course I would want to add in a movie night, because in high school our parties were movie parties. I of course being the overly sappy person I am, told all my friends my feeling that I have expressed above to them and of course I cried. But they were wonderful.
So know I need to be more productive and stay in touch more often with them. Have lunch or dinner with some of them more often. I don't like making New Year's resolutions, so I won't call this resolution, but it is- to keep in contact with my girlfriends through, emails, phone calls, and visits. Emails maybe once a week, calls once a month, visits as often as we can fit them in.
Thanks to my girls- J, H, A, M, L! You guys are great!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Pictures
My brother took some family pictures of us a few weeks ago. He is going to work on them and get them back to me soon, so as soon as I get them I will post them.
First time
I thought I might try out this "blog thing". I wouldn't call it a New Year's resolution, but I thought I would try. I enjoy reading about some of my friends who have blogs, so why not me.
So it is now officially January 1, 2010. I am sitting here in a quiet house trying to think about why to write. For those who don't know 2009 was a rough year for the Millett family. Mark is our sole bread winner while I stay at home with our 2 beautiful boys, Hunter and Jaxon. We were living in a house (renting) over in Old Town Murrieta, Mark had a great job and we weren't struggling,we were paying the bills and getting by. Then came June 6. Mark had been fired. I won't go into the gory details cause it just gets me too upset still. Well Mark was happy cause he had been unhappy for awhile and I tried to be supportive and happy for him. But of course I was stressing out inside. Mark was able to work off July's rent (my dad and his business partner owned the house) so that helped. Unemployment took forever to receive because they were saying they never received the paperwork even though Mark had received confirmation that they had, so that was another stresser because we were already stretched to our limit financially. Then came August and we didn't have the money for rent, so we asked my parents if we could move in, out of our family they had enough room for us even though Mark would have preferred our own place (another long story). Then the day came and we hadd finally finished moving our stuff to storage and my parents house and Mark received a call that we were so excited about. He got a new job!
Now it doesn't pay as much as he was making, but we were just thrilled that he was able to get one and they were already saying how impressed they were with him. So Mark has been working there. Mark's old boss came back and offered his old job back with a raise and some other perks, but Mark said no, but that he would help out at night for a few hours to help with paperwork because he has a good opportunity where he is at. At Mark's new job they are already eyeing him for position of manager when the position comes available. Which is wonderful news for us, I just wish it would happen really, really soon.
So we are now trying to catch up with bills (which is just stressing me out, yet I don't actually pay them, Mark handles that, but everytime I see a envelope for a credit card company, I'm sure my blood pressure jumps).
My boys are growing like weeds. I am teaching them preschool, since we can't afford to put them in a preschool and the fact I don't have a car anymore. Mark has my car since when he was fired he had to give the company car back, and the new job doesn't do that. The boys catch on pretty quickly to new concepts which is great. I reward them with stickers for each school task they do and chore they do and if they meet a quota for the week they get a prize. They love picking out their stickers. Jaxon has fewer things to do since he is still young but he enjoys what he can do. So when Jaxon doesn't have a quota it really depends on what Hunter does for the week. Jaxon takes a lot of his cues from Hunter. So when Hunter does a lot, Jaxon does too and when Hunter does little, Jaxon does too. Right now, since about the week before Christmas, I have them on a Christmas break. So this coming Monday, they will start school again.
Our holidays have been wonderful, full of friends and family. We kept it very simple, which really does fit mine and Mark's personalities. We normally have a bunch of places to go but we just stayed home a lot and spent time with the boys and each other. For New Year's Eve, Mark had his second job to go to so he didn't get in till 11pm, but the boys and I watched the ET Disney channel party and had a mini party at 9 so they could experience it but go to bed at their bed time. They had fun toasting, giving kisses, dancing around and counting down. Then Mark came home and I opened up our Martinelli's and we toasted while watching Dick Clark ring in the New Year. Then this morning I got to sleep in and Mark took the boys to go visit his sister's for a little bit. They are now home and in bed for a nap. Which would be my cue to go take a shower and get ready.
So for 2009 to be over I am glad to look forward to what 2010 brings. I know a lot of it has to do with what you make of it so I am going to try to make it a wonderful year. My boys turn 2 and 4 this year. Mark and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and we turn 27 (ahh!) and 31. SO hopefully this year will be better than last (even though we have had some good times last year- Disneyland, birthdays, first trip to the beach, etc.). So Happy New Year everyone! I will post soon.
So it is now officially January 1, 2010. I am sitting here in a quiet house trying to think about why to write. For those who don't know 2009 was a rough year for the Millett family. Mark is our sole bread winner while I stay at home with our 2 beautiful boys, Hunter and Jaxon. We were living in a house (renting) over in Old Town Murrieta, Mark had a great job and we weren't struggling,we were paying the bills and getting by. Then came June 6. Mark had been fired. I won't go into the gory details cause it just gets me too upset still. Well Mark was happy cause he had been unhappy for awhile and I tried to be supportive and happy for him. But of course I was stressing out inside. Mark was able to work off July's rent (my dad and his business partner owned the house) so that helped. Unemployment took forever to receive because they were saying they never received the paperwork even though Mark had received confirmation that they had, so that was another stresser because we were already stretched to our limit financially. Then came August and we didn't have the money for rent, so we asked my parents if we could move in, out of our family they had enough room for us even though Mark would have preferred our own place (another long story). Then the day came and we hadd finally finished moving our stuff to storage and my parents house and Mark received a call that we were so excited about. He got a new job!
Now it doesn't pay as much as he was making, but we were just thrilled that he was able to get one and they were already saying how impressed they were with him. So Mark has been working there. Mark's old boss came back and offered his old job back with a raise and some other perks, but Mark said no, but that he would help out at night for a few hours to help with paperwork because he has a good opportunity where he is at. At Mark's new job they are already eyeing him for position of manager when the position comes available. Which is wonderful news for us, I just wish it would happen really, really soon.
So we are now trying to catch up with bills (which is just stressing me out, yet I don't actually pay them, Mark handles that, but everytime I see a envelope for a credit card company, I'm sure my blood pressure jumps).
My boys are growing like weeds. I am teaching them preschool, since we can't afford to put them in a preschool and the fact I don't have a car anymore. Mark has my car since when he was fired he had to give the company car back, and the new job doesn't do that. The boys catch on pretty quickly to new concepts which is great. I reward them with stickers for each school task they do and chore they do and if they meet a quota for the week they get a prize. They love picking out their stickers. Jaxon has fewer things to do since he is still young but he enjoys what he can do. So when Jaxon doesn't have a quota it really depends on what Hunter does for the week. Jaxon takes a lot of his cues from Hunter. So when Hunter does a lot, Jaxon does too and when Hunter does little, Jaxon does too. Right now, since about the week before Christmas, I have them on a Christmas break. So this coming Monday, they will start school again.
Our holidays have been wonderful, full of friends and family. We kept it very simple, which really does fit mine and Mark's personalities. We normally have a bunch of places to go but we just stayed home a lot and spent time with the boys and each other. For New Year's Eve, Mark had his second job to go to so he didn't get in till 11pm, but the boys and I watched the ET Disney channel party and had a mini party at 9 so they could experience it but go to bed at their bed time. They had fun toasting, giving kisses, dancing around and counting down. Then Mark came home and I opened up our Martinelli's and we toasted while watching Dick Clark ring in the New Year. Then this morning I got to sleep in and Mark took the boys to go visit his sister's for a little bit. They are now home and in bed for a nap. Which would be my cue to go take a shower and get ready.
So for 2009 to be over I am glad to look forward to what 2010 brings. I know a lot of it has to do with what you make of it so I am going to try to make it a wonderful year. My boys turn 2 and 4 this year. Mark and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and we turn 27 (ahh!) and 31. SO hopefully this year will be better than last (even though we have had some good times last year- Disneyland, birthdays, first trip to the beach, etc.). So Happy New Year everyone! I will post soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
