Well, not much is going on around here, but since it has been almost a month since my last post, I thought I'd better bring you all up-to-date.
Mother Nature seems to have figured out that it is winter, so we've had some pretty cold days around here. Jeff and I were going to take the kids to the Como Zoo yesterday, but when we stopped at the gas station on the way, Jeff was so miserable and freezing in the few minutes that it took to pump the gas, that we changed our minds. We checked out a couple of local indoor play areas, but it seems we were not the only ones with that idea, and neither of us could stomach the thought of that many screaming kids. In the end, we took the kids to the humane society to play with the animals. Jeff and Christian fell for a young lab/spaniel who did nothing for me (I can't handle that level of nervous energy in a dog), and the girls loved every cat there. Alex spent the whole time saying, "I'm going to take this one home, and this one home, and this one home..."
Speaking of Alex, she's had a pretty major milestone this week. Potty training! The other two kids were trained when they were about 2 1/2, but we waited a little longer with Alex. I'm not really even sure why, since she was showing some interest (but not the ability) a year ago. But let me tell you, if I had to do it over again, I would always wait until the kid is 3 to potty train! Alex has been so much easier!!! We've braved a few outings without incident, including church this morning (where she went 3 times, once while in nursery without any help!).
Christian is considering joining Cub Scouts, which pleases me. I was never a Girl Scout, and Jeff wasn't a Boy Scout, so this whole scouting thing is new to us. But I think they're a good organization and it might be a nice alternative activity for him, since he is not a sports-lover. We went to a Pack meeting last week and he connected with some boys from school. The next day he came home from school saying it was the best day of his life because he had made those connections with the boys.
Of course, if Christian is going to join scouting, Samantha is not about to be outdone! She wants to join Girl Scouts, too! I asked around, and several other mothers of first graders at Parnassus are interested too, and somehow it has been decided that we're starting our own Troop! I think GS will be great for Samantha. She loves crafts and socializing, and is super excited about selling cookies!
Jeff started school right after New Year's Day, and is enjoying it, but finding it a lot more challenging than he expected. He is taking a lot of business classes right now, and the workload is pretty intense. He spends most weekends studying. He's still aggressively looking for work, but so far without any luck.
I'm preparing for a trip to Arizona in two weeks! Jeff is staying home with the kids, and I'll be visiting Gram for 5 days! I can't wait!
I'll end with a fun little anecdote. Of course it is from Alex, since she is the cutest of the Haack clan :-) I was sorting laundry this afternoon, and she wanted to help. So I would hand her an item, and she would tell me which pile she thought it should go in (she had a success rate of about 90%). I handed her one of her shirts, which she looked at with big eyes and exclaimed, "Oh, this is cuuuuuute!" I guess it has been too long since we've done laundry, if she's forgotten her own wardrobe!
And now I need to round up kids and put them to bed. Samantha is making a card to welcome a new student to her class tomorrow (yay! she won't be the new kid any more!) and Christian is studying for a Latin test tomorrow. What a wonderful life.
Mother Nature seems to have figured out that it is winter, so we've had some pretty cold days around here. Jeff and I were going to take the kids to the Como Zoo yesterday, but when we stopped at the gas station on the way, Jeff was so miserable and freezing in the few minutes that it took to pump the gas, that we changed our minds. We checked out a couple of local indoor play areas, but it seems we were not the only ones with that idea, and neither of us could stomach the thought of that many screaming kids. In the end, we took the kids to the humane society to play with the animals. Jeff and Christian fell for a young lab/spaniel who did nothing for me (I can't handle that level of nervous energy in a dog), and the girls loved every cat there. Alex spent the whole time saying, "I'm going to take this one home, and this one home, and this one home..."
Speaking of Alex, she's had a pretty major milestone this week. Potty training! The other two kids were trained when they were about 2 1/2, but we waited a little longer with Alex. I'm not really even sure why, since she was showing some interest (but not the ability) a year ago. But let me tell you, if I had to do it over again, I would always wait until the kid is 3 to potty train! Alex has been so much easier!!! We've braved a few outings without incident, including church this morning (where she went 3 times, once while in nursery without any help!).
Christian is considering joining Cub Scouts, which pleases me. I was never a Girl Scout, and Jeff wasn't a Boy Scout, so this whole scouting thing is new to us. But I think they're a good organization and it might be a nice alternative activity for him, since he is not a sports-lover. We went to a Pack meeting last week and he connected with some boys from school. The next day he came home from school saying it was the best day of his life because he had made those connections with the boys.
Of course, if Christian is going to join scouting, Samantha is not about to be outdone! She wants to join Girl Scouts, too! I asked around, and several other mothers of first graders at Parnassus are interested too, and somehow it has been decided that we're starting our own Troop! I think GS will be great for Samantha. She loves crafts and socializing, and is super excited about selling cookies!
Jeff started school right after New Year's Day, and is enjoying it, but finding it a lot more challenging than he expected. He is taking a lot of business classes right now, and the workload is pretty intense. He spends most weekends studying. He's still aggressively looking for work, but so far without any luck.
I'm preparing for a trip to Arizona in two weeks! Jeff is staying home with the kids, and I'll be visiting Gram for 5 days! I can't wait!
I'll end with a fun little anecdote. Of course it is from Alex, since she is the cutest of the Haack clan :-) I was sorting laundry this afternoon, and she wanted to help. So I would hand her an item, and she would tell me which pile she thought it should go in (she had a success rate of about 90%). I handed her one of her shirts, which she looked at with big eyes and exclaimed, "Oh, this is cuuuuuute!" I guess it has been too long since we've done laundry, if she's forgotten her own wardrobe!
And now I need to round up kids and put them to bed. Samantha is making a card to welcome a new student to her class tomorrow (yay! she won't be the new kid any more!) and Christian is studying for a Latin test tomorrow. What a wonderful life.
1 comment:
What a wonderful update! Allie and I both loved scouts. She did it longer than I did, and got some really great experiences as an older scout. Alex is adorable as always, Layla was also helping with the laundry yesterday. She is nearly on the 'potty train' and it's been pretty easy on us. I credit her teachers! As a first time mom, I am sort of winging it......on everything :)
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