Jayna's First Blog

Jayna and I are sitting down to compose our first blog together. Jayna is very excited!

Today, we played some games. First, we played Jr. Boggle, where Jayna learned how to spell some 3 letter words.

Jayna: "it was fun. I learned a lot about spelling."

Next, we played some jr. Monopoly (both these Jr games were given to us by my wonderful mother-in-law). Jayna did very well counting her money and buying her booths. She was dominating the game, really.

Jayna: "I didn't run outta money!"
Xander had a lot of fun at first, but got tired of having to only go as many spaces as the die rolled, so he began just driving his car around to wherever he wanted to go. He soon ran out of money with his squandering and left the game shortly after haha!


Playing games with the kids is such a great way to teach them. I prefer these creative ways to learn as opposed to just sitting down with worksheets. Games like Monopoly leave opportunities to not only teach rules and strategy in playing, but also teach money management, counting, adding, etc! And most importantly, of course, is spending quality time together.

Just Breathe!

Wow, things have gone into high gear! Jayna started Kindergarten at the beginning of this month. It has been wonderful, but has definitely changed around my schedule! She really enjoys riding her bike to school, so I try to make it a point to do that every morning. We ride the 1/4 mile to school, and then I take her bike back, and come pick her up by car at the end of school. When it gets a little cooler, I can probably start biking both ways. But right now I just can't take that kind of heat, even for just 1/2 mile. My new schedule is as follows (most days)

6- Xan wakes us up, right on the dot! he's got an amazing inner alarm clock that I really wish I could reset to about 7.

Breakfast, baths/showers, dressed/hair/teeth, backpacks bike/stroller and GO. Get to school at 8:15.

9- gym. I aim for 5 times a week, usually only get 3-4 because of dr appts or exhaustion. It's a great break from kids and a mood booster. Plus it helps me take care of the temple God has given me =).

10:30- home and snack.Tidy up, start my 1 load of laundry
11:15- pick up Jayna. come home and review any papers/ do any hw
12- lunch and clean up
NAP! During "quiet time", I sometimes take a 1/2 hr nap if super tired, or just sit with my load of laundry and turn on the TV (usually Joyce Meyers). Then I take care of business for the remaining 2 hrs- cleaning or office work usually.

3- "kid time"- the kids know this hour is theirs and make sure I don't forget it!!
4-6: here I try to get house clean for the evening, or if house is already decent I will try to fit in any more office work I need to do. With running a business at home, it seems like there is always something to do. I also get dinner going.

6-8- dinner, dishes, hang out with the family. Try to bring the dogs in and give them some playtime. I LOVE these 2 hours.
8- read books, pray with kids, get kids ready for bed.
8-10- do any last minute cleanup, make to-do list for tomorrow. Then try to relax and hang out with my husband. We have our devotions here, and Try to be in bed by 10(doesn't always work out!)

FRIDAYS ARE FUNDAYS...I try to throw the afternoon schedule to the wind and plan a nice outting with the kiddos right after lunch.

I find my household runs much better when I have a schedule. I can't always go off of it by the book. Dr appts, last minute visitors, favors needed by hubby or friends, or sicknesses/exhaustion (I bring that up a lot, its a big part of having 3 small kids!) sometimes change around my plans a bit. But I tend to have a scatterbrain and not actually get much of anything done if I don't have a daily plan. Jason laughs at me and thinks I'm way to structured for a stay-at-home mom. But reality is I think most moms do the same (or close to the same) thing as me! It makes us feel like we have a job instead of just trying to survive at home all day (and some days we do just that!).

Here are some pics as an update to what we've been up to

Moving Moving Moving!

After 4 years in Glendale, we are taking off to Avondale. I was really struggling emotionally with accepting this. I felt as though I had finally made friends, found the perfect school for Jayna, and found a wonderful church that I loved. I know my way around the area, know which grocery stores' layouts I like best =), everything that you become accustomed to when living somewhere for a while. Glendale was my home. Then God decided I was too comfortable =), like usual.

When Jason and I agreed we needed to find a bigger and newer home (think 500 dollar electric bills in a 1100 square foot home...bad insulation, single pane windows), I started searching high and low throughout Glendale/Peoria. But what I didn't realize that it is nearly impossible to find a home here that 1. is newer 2. has the rv gate we have to have for RitterBoys' Landscapes 3. is bigger 4. is within our agreed upon budget. God steps in here....

We found the perfect house, just in what I thought was the wrong location. Thomas road and Avondale BLVD. From this location, we agreed that church is still close enough to attend, but we would definitely be giving up Jayna's school(that I of course spent a TON of time picking out, because I just can't take any decision lightly). I also felt that besides our new church friends, I'd lose all my other new friends I had made. I cried for two days.

THEN THE AMAZING HAPPENED.

Suddenly, left and right, all of my friends that were here in Glendale were moving to Avondale. Literally 5 or 6 of my friends! And not just Avondale, but within a mile of where I will be!! It was amazing, my mouth is still trying to close! As for school, well...we are within walking distance from her elementary school. So I get to walk her (and the dogs of course) to school every day. There is also a park literally right across the QUIET street from our home. I plan on taking the little ones there many times.

We are only planning on living in this next home 1-2 years, but I just feel so blessed that God made that transition as easy as possible for me, and has included my friends and let me keep my church. I really want a place for my kids like my husband Jason had in Payson. A church where they grow up knowing everyone.

Poor Xander :(

My poor little Xander had to have his adenoids and tonsils removed last Friday. They were originally just going to remove his adenoids, but upon looking they realized that both were very enlarged. Tonsils makes for a lot worse recovery than just the adenoids. He has been so miserable. It makes me so sad! Friday when he came home, he was eating and drinking everything in sight. I was thinking "this won't be so bad". But that night...he woke up every 20-30 minutes in such pain. We tried to give him medicine but he refused. Then all of Saturday Jason was at a softball tournament and I was trying to get Xan to eat or drink anything...and he wouldn't. I tried two times to force him to take his pain meds, but he refused. He was in so much pain, he wouldn't even swallow his own spit. Finally, right about the time i was sure we'd end up in the hospital, Jason came home and was able to force down the medicine (apparently he is much more convincing than I am). Once the meds kicked in, Xander began drinking again. It is now Monday, and he still hasn't eaten more than a little yogurt and pudding, but he has been drinking chocolate milk, capri suns, and gatorade. I'm hoping he is able to eat again soon. I feel so bad for the little guy.

Turning points

So we have a few new things in the horizon of our family life!
First off, Jayna starts Kindergarten! She is currently attending kindergarten camp, which she LOVES. she is so excited for "real kindergarten"- which starts the beginning of August.

Next, Xander is half way potty trained! He goes pee in the potty chair almost every time! Even when we go out, he tells me he "needs to get my pee out". haha! #2 is another, story, but we are getting there! Hopefully soon!

Third, we will be moving soon! We are looking for the "perfect" house as we speak. We need more bedrooms and square footage (we only have 3 right now, and only 1200 sf). we also need either a 3 car garage or an rv gate (for our business trailer). Searching is kind of frustrating but exciting at the same time. The only homes I have been able to find so far that match our criteria are in Avondale/Surprise. If we move there, we'll be giving up our current church and Jayna's charter school. But if its the right house, I guess it'll be worth it :-/ . I'm still praying that we find a house in our current area.

Xander is getting his adnoids taken out tomorrow! I am pretty nervous! But I think it will really help the poor guy out. He has such a hard time breathing through his nose. I'm hoping it goes really smoothly and recover time is very quick.

I am reading "more hours in my day"- which is proving to be an awesome book! It has helped me a lot already and I'm only about 1/4 of the way through it! YAY!

Father's Day!

It's Father's Day! We are all hanging out with and just enjoying Daddy. It hasn't been really eventful. I made him breakfast, and Jayna made him a card on the computer. Then we got ready, went to church, came home and watched a movie while Sonja slept. When Sonja woke up we headed to lunch (around 2 pm). We went to Islands Restaurant. Then we came back home and have just been relaxing ever since. It feels SO GOOD to actually relax!! I can't even explain. We have been just so busy for the past many months with work and my college classes. I just finished my classes yesterday, and I am looking forward to getting those 12-15 hours a week back!

Here are some updates on the kids:

Jayna: She is going to be attending Pointe Charter School for Kindergarten! She is already so excited! School starts Aug 2nd, but she goes to summer camp (provided by the school) in a couple of weeks! I am very excited for her, but also a little sad. I want to cram as much me and her time into this summer before she is in school. Mostly I plan on doing crafts with her. I know she loves that and it's something we can do with the other 2 as well. We will probably stop by the craft store this week.

Xander: Still waiting on the boy to get potty trained!!! He still has little to no interest. but I"m going to try again this week, see if we can talk him into it. He is talking more and more, and we can actually understand most of the things he says! One thing he does that is so funny, is he repeats himself over and over! He'll say "mommy, I want to play with Iron Man", I say "ok", then he repeats himself over and over. I'm not sure why he does it. We have to sit there and say "Xander, listen to me, you can play with Iron Man, lets go get it". Once we get his attention, he doesn't usually repeat it more. He is SUCH a boy and loves everything that goes with it- action figures, superheroes, cars, guns, balls! It's so fun. And he LOVES his Mommy. He is my #1 fan!

Sonja: Of course, Sonja has probably changed the most, being the youngest. She is an avid walker and even runner. She has been saying "cheese, puppy, mommy, daddy, eat, she sign's "more", says drink, and says shoes. She also has been singing "Enter Sandman" ...she says, in correct tone and rhythm, "Exit, Light!!!" It is so funny!I keep trying to get it on camera, but every time she sees me filming her she stops everything to pose and say "CHEESE", and she won't sing. She is such a little clown!

Everyone's Growing Up So Fast!

I say this because it just hit me how smart Sonja has become. I hadn't really thought about it, because I'm so used to all the things the older 2 routinely do- talking, running, being silly. But someone mentioned how smart Sonja is, so I started paying attention to what she's actually doing, and it's pretty impressive for a 1-year-old!

She has started to communicate really well with me. She doesn't talk much, but she does a lot of body language. For instance, when she is thirsty, she'll go get a sippy cup, bring it to me and say "eh?" (which is her universal word...that, "Daddy" and "See"). Today, Jayna and Xander were at the babysitters- she went and got Xander's transformer pajamas, and brought them to me. I didn't understand what she wanted so I said thank you and folded them. She persisted- saying "eh!!" and lifting her leg up to me. Finally it dawned on me that she wanted to put them on. So I put them on for her and she was soo happy. It really contents her when she gets her point across.

The month of April was insane. I was in the hospital for nearly a week, I went to Oklahoma to visit my dad for nearly a week, and as soon as I got back, Jayna went to the hospital for nearly a week. So April was a complete blur. And now we have started off May not much better. I hired a sitter to watch the 3 kids while I got caught up on housework, business work, and school. I planned on having them watched this Monday-Thursday. Well on Tuesday, Sonja started throwing up. So today (Wednesday) I had to keep her home , (I have been feeling really sick today as well), and then today Xander started throwing up. I still have to pay for the sitter even though I can't bring them. So I am kind of feeling like I threw away my money. At least I am only having to keep one kid a day at home I guess. I still didn't get anywhere near what I would have gotten done though =( I was really hoping to get everything at least mostly caught up by next week.

Jayna is SSOOO ready for Kindergarten. I thought that full days would be too much, but she has been at this daycare for full days and she still isn't too happy to come home. She just loves being in that kind of setting. I'm really thankful that she is going to love it so much- it makes the separation a little easier for me to handle. I cannot believe its only a few short months away!

Xander man is totally into swords and guns right now. That seems to be the only thing he wants to play. He wants me to go outside with him and run around and fight eachother. Its so cute. He just can't get enough. He has a few swords and guns, but still if we see one at a store or yard sale, he'll ask for it. He just LOVES them! Such a boy!!!