Elsy’s Stay at Home Mom Blog

I signed Genesis up to take dancing classes for Toddlers.  She looks so cute in her tutu but is not doing so well in class.  At 2 1/2 I don’t think she is quiet ready to listen to instructions and do exactly what she is told.  Specially her, being so independent like she is.

I am still committed on taking her but at this point I am not expecting much to be learned.

She does look cute with her uniform on though!

I do hope that next year she will be ready.  I think she likes to dance.  If anything, I will try other types of dance class for her see how she does then.  A mixture of music and dance may work better for her I think.  I have to see what’s out there I guess.

I have a dilemma about my kids being in the MDO.  They are learning a lot and my husband and I are very happy but at the same time they are learning not so good things.  I hate saying this but my little girl is hitting and giving family members an attitude.

They have learned a lot, good and bad.  My dilemma is: IS THIS WORTH IT?  I like the fact they interact with other kids their age but at the same time I don’t want them learning those bad habits.

At the end when everything is said and done I guess if they go to school now or later they will be faced with those things.  I think I rather work through it now that I have more time to teach them what is acceptable then when they are mostly all day in school instead of 5 hours 2 days a week like they are now. This gives me more time with them then when they go to Kinder.

I just pray and hope that they will understand and be able to make a wise choice to act the way I expect them to act at school and at home, now and when they are older.

Saturdays T-Ball Game was great.  The kids did so good.  I was very impressed and I think the rest of the parents were as well.  My son looked like a pro even though he is only 4.  I think the Round Rock Youth Baseball does a great job in getting the seasons together and selecting excellent volunteers like my husband to teach the kids the basics.

My husband is enjoying himself with the teaching of the game.  He is really good at it and the parents express much appreciation.  He is even thinking of volunteering next season.

All the members of the 4U White Sox did great.  Even the timid ones and the younger of the players were at bat and did great.  I am so happy for all the kids and their parents.

This Saturday is our first T-Ball Game.  I am so exited but at the same time a little nervous.  I tell myself and the rest of the parents that at this level is not a competitive sport and we don’t keep score even.

But sometimes I get nervous because I don’t know how much the 4 year olds know about scores and winning.  I know that Mikey gets really happy when we pretend to play connect 4 and I tell him he won even thought he really does not get the concept of the game.

Maybe he should loose one or two connect 4 games and I can try to explain to him about winning and loosing. 

Any suggestions on this topic would be appreciated.

My 4 year old started T-Ball this month and it has been a blast so far.  The Round Rock Youth Baseball League started 4U last season.  4U is T-ball for 4 year olds.

My husband volunteered to be the team Head Coach and he is enjoying himself as well.  I have to admit it was a bit hard at the beginning but I feel fine now after a couple of weeks and Opening Ceremonies out of the way.

I know that my son loves baseball and I could not wait till this season began to sign him up.  He loves the game, what can I say.  It’s fun to see all the little ones standing in front of the T and swing.  Some hit the ball others miss it the first time.  But it is such a blessing to see my son enjoy himself

Mikey’s birthday party invitations are out. I have invited all 14 kids from his school and their siblings of course. I also invited some of his other friends from church. His party is a costume party and the feedback I am getting from the Moms is great. They all tell me it’s a great idea and that their kids love dressing up. One Mom said her little 4 year old is debating whether to dress up as Tinker bell, Cinderella or Bell and I thought that was cute.

Mikey will either dress up as a Pirate or Batman. We still have not decided. Genesis will dress up as Snow White and Danny will be Superman.

This time around I will buy all the food instead of cooking because I want to make sure the kids keep busy. I will have different stations with cool activities. I have a table with a nice train set that goes around a city and parks and roads and it is awesome. I have another table where they can color, and yet another table with building blocks. I will also have a jumper and of course the Pinata. I will also have a table with play dough and cookie cutters and other shapes they can use.

There will be a corner where they can all take a pictures and at the end of the party they get to take their picture home with them. They can do group pictures or singles. I will definitely take a group picture for Mikey to remember this special day.

This is going to be so much fun!

It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve been home with the kids and I feel like a pro. It did take me a while to feel at ease with staying home and not working but now that It’s been that long, I love it. I love getting up in the morning and making breakfast for my kiddos. They all seem to like different things and I know exactly what to cook for each of them.

Bath time is another one of my favorite things to do. I take them all inside my room after getting their clothes together and their diapers, powder and lotion for after the bath. They help me by taking off their clothes and placing them in the dirty hamper. Mikey is the first one in the tub and Genesis jumps in after I take off her hair spongie. The little one needs help getting in. They love hanging out together in the tub and playing with their toys.

I start with Danny since he is the youngest and after washing him down and rinsing him I cover him with nice warm towels and start getting him ready. He really likes the lotion on his cute little legs and arms. After I put on his clothes he is ready to go. Genesis takes longer due to her hair. After she gets out of the tub drying her hair and combing it takes a few more minutes then the boys.

All this time Mikey is having a ball! He pretends he is swimming and makes funny noises. I think he is the easiest of them all. But like I said earlier, I feel like a pro. I have the bath time down. Maybe that is the reason why I enjoy it so much but not as much as my kids I can tell you that!

I keep saying this but I really love Texas. Last week I helped out in Mikey’s class and realized something cool. Last week was family week at his school and my son brought in a family picture to share with the class. Mrs. Bev asked the kids about the Daddys. She asked “What does Daddy do?”. The whole class answered, “He works”. When she asked “What does Mommy do?”. They all answered, “She stays home”. That is when I realized this is the place I want to raise my children for sure.

All my life while working very hard in California I told myself that when my husband and I were ready to have kids I would raise them. I hated the idea of paying some stranger to raise my children. I believe that raising children it’s a huge responsibility and did not want to have someone else do it instead of me, their mother. With that in mind, I also knew that California was not a place that would allow my husband and I raise three children on one income among other reasons like a fast paced stressful life, the “get the biggest and better of everything no matter what the cost” mentality that one finds there. The good morals and values that I desired for my children were not the norm in the area we could afford to live in California.

When it was time for Mikey to show his picture after several kids had got up and said Daddy works and Mommy stays home, I heard Mikey say the same thing. I told myself that this is what I want the norm to be for him and his two siblings.

I want them to come home from school and find fresh baked cookies on the kitchen counter right next to a nice cold glass of milk for a snack followed by: Mommy helping them with their homework before Daddy gets home to play with them in the afternoon. I want to be able to have dinner together every night and for Daddy to have monthly dates with his only daughter and all boys night out with his boys. You may think I am dreaming this stuff up but in Round Rock Texas, we do have Daddy and Daughter dates and the whole city participates. You see, this is the norm here and I love it! There is no where else I would rather be. I love Texas!

My little boy was great with his potty training. I can say that he got an A+. He was wonderful. He never had major accidents at home or in public. I am very proud of him.

This is what I did:

First I put a side 2 days when I knew I could dedicate myself to hang out with him for the most part of the day. Then, I bought a potty chair to keep in his room as well as a timer to sit Mikey down every 15 minutes. Except on the first day I put a diaper on for his nap. Every 15 minutes the timer would go off and Mikey would sit on the potty. Sometimes he would go and sometimes he would not. At first he did not want to sit but would give in. Towards the end of the day he knew the drill.

The second day it was easier. The first thing he did when he woke up was sit in the potty. The timer was then set for every 30 minutes. During these 2 days he was wearing a t-shirt only. On the 3rd day he got brand new Spider Man briefs and he loved them. So, we made a deal if he wanted to wear them he needed to keep them clean. Over the past 2 months he had about 3-4 accidents toward the beginning but he is now a pro.

Mikey started school at the beginning of this month and he is doing great with going potty at school.

I tried doing this before when he was 2 but he was not ready. He is now 3 and completely potty trained. The first 2 days was the hardest but after that I made sure I kept reminding him about going potty. If a couple of hours had gone by and he said he did not have to go, I would walk him to the bathroom and he would realize that he needed to go.

Overall this was pretty easy, I am getting ready to start with my second child.

One thing that I forgot to mention is that most of the time during the first day Mikey and I were mostly in his room. The second day he was out and about doing the normal things that kids do. After that first weekend when we would go out in public, Mikey would wear a diaper but he never used it. After 2 weeks of that, the diaper came off completely.

Good luck to all the Moms that are starting this process for the first time!

This summer I wanted to get the kids out and having fun so I enrolled Mikey in swimming lessons. The City provides classes for toddlers at one of the community pools here in Round Rock.

The first day Mikey was unsure of himself. The strangers around him and the other kids he did not know but on the second day…., he was asking me “Swimming with the kids?” Needless to say, that made me feel better. To know that he enjoyed being in the pool and playing with other kids his age and not being afraid of the water like he usually is when I take him swimming.

This is his last week and I speak for him and I when I say “We loved it!”.