What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Friday, May 09, 2008

Reviewing April


April just sort of flittered on by without my notice and now it is nearly my birthday-the midmark of MAY! I guess it is time to post my monthly review for April.

On the Financial Front: Happy to report I met the goal of money being added to our home fund, in fact, tripled it. Couldn't have been done without that lovely little stimulus check, mind you, but it was done! WA-HOO. Never know when that homefund will come in handy. Hopefully soon. ;-)

Still haven't set aside any sort of retirement plan. I wonder why I am having such a hard time getting on the ball with this? I DON'T want Matt to be retirement age but still HAVING to work because we can't afford it. I know he will probably ALWAYS work, but once he retires it will be more 'fun stuff' like small dairy, tractor repair and renovation, buck skinning...you know, all that country boy stuff. I know it is important...so I need to do it. ok, Rebecca? Get with it already!

On the Health Front: I have had access to a body scale at the beginning of April and just last week at my mom's house. (We don't own one...) and Ta-Da! I have lost 14 pounds in that month. I am certain much of that weight is a direct result of boycotting those wonderfully delicious and oh-so-horrible-for-you fastfood chicken sandwiches that I had become addicted to. And soda. I also know that number is in part due to my lack of appetite and nausea from pregnancy. So. I don't expect to have a number of pounds lost in any other month review (at least for another 7 months...) because, after all, I've got a baby growing pretty darn fast inside me, but it was very exciting to have a number to be proud of this time. I am going to continue drinking lots of water and eating smaller portions (this might help my nausea too.) and of those portions more healthful food. Maybe I won't lose a NUMBER but I hope to see body changes~like thinner arms, maybe go down to ONE chin? Ah-wouldn't THAT be nice! ;-)

On the school front: Corynn is doing well in her quest to conquer the written word. She reads very small sentences and words. This is Mat. He sat on Pat. Pat was sad. You know the kind...but it is progress!

I still covet a particular phonics program and I will probably give way to my temptations before Andrew gets to reading-but for now, all I have been doing for Corynn is snatching up every possible easy reader books I can find. Dick and Jane, Frog and Toad, Little Bear, Bob books and Scholastic readers. Salvation Army has given us quite a selection! We just go through them and go through phonics flashcards. Over. and Over. and OVER. It is working well, but I think having papers and dittos to reinforce the learning and work on critical thinking skills would be something that is worthwhile to do. For penmanship, she dictates to me a letter to someone and then she copies it. It works well enough, but that does get expensive to mail! :-)

I will continue to work casually through the summer on math and reading and do fun stuff like nature studies and hopefully more crafts. By no means will it be structured though. I am all for summer vacation. The only reason I will continue working with reading is because I want her reading WELL by the time we start our school year. So. I am happy with the progress and hoping for continual progress. She still works very hard to sound out simple words.


Lastly:

On the homefront: The house is getting less and less cluttered with excess toys and clothes. I have been dropping off scads of clothes at the thrift store and piling up lots of household stuff and toys. I have decided to have a yard sale in the next month or so. Looking forward to making a bit of money, if ever I can find a location that ISN'T tucked in the country as far as our house is...

Overall, the house is staying clean and tidy, though it certainly has it's days. And my craft room has never been as messy-so this is the thorn in my side. I am going to try to tackle that a bit today. I have work that needs to be done in there-that CAN'T be done until it is cleaned. Yep. It's that bad. :-)

That is April's Review. My progress has lessened compared to January of this year but I still see progress. Which is nothing to sneeze at.


****A note on the above picture...***

That is me, last week, at NINE weeks. A far-cry from Bunkin's LAST photo. For outsiders, I am toss-up between a pregnant woman and one who had a dozen more donuts than she should have had this morning. It is dangerous to acknowledge my belly at this point, just in case I AM just fat-so no one says anything and I just walk around looking like someone who hasn't done a sit-up in her life. And I have.

But to ME? To me, I look HUGE. Well, huge for nine weeks, anyway. I realize that you show more quickly the more babies you have, but sheesh. I seriously wonder if I am further along than I originally thought-or expecting twins. *Trying* not to get my hopes up on EITHER of those possibilities, but it sure would be nice to have a REASON!

12 comments:

Mandie said...

You're so gorgeous!!! Great job on 14 lbs~ I'm getting jealous. How exciting that Corynn is reading! Have a great weekend!

Bonnie said...

I'm huge too, in fact I'm as big as a friend who is due in July. And I'm in maternity clothes already. I'm going to be sick of them before baby comes! You want to know what is most likely the reason for the early belly? It's kinda gross. My midwife said with all the pregnancy hormones, your intestines tend to relax, and make you look more pregnant.
Guess I need to get sewing some maternity summer skirts soon!

Anonymous said...

Well, you look great! I understand about the belly, as mine is starting to poke out and I'm only 10 weeks.

Something that I've found to be helpful for nausea is peppermint. I've been having mainly evening sickness and a cup of peppermint tea takes the edge off a bit. Actually, anything with peppermint can help, i.e. gum, candycane, etc.

Andie said...

Great job...guess I'd better start thinking about my April review...

About being big at 9 weeks...Bethany was my 3rd, and I was already in maternity clothes at 9 weeks. I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks to make SURE that she was alone in there because I was HUGE for how far along I was...not gaining weight, just big tummy. There is also the tiny fact that she came to us via the use of chlomid, so that also upped the twin factor...but she was all alone in there.

You are doing great with all your goals, I'm proud of you!

Blessings-Andie

Unknown said...

You look lovely Rebecca, and the photo is charming. Well done with all your successes this month!

Anonymous said...

I, too, think you look great. With each of my pregnancies I was bigger more quickly. And I wore maternity clothes earlier each time. That was partly because I just wanted to be comfortable. When do you find out a due date? Keep working on your goals. You are doing great. Don't be too concerned about retirement. Some economists tell people to get into a house while young, and then start saving for retirement. That may be the ticket for you. Any news on the job front? Love, Mrs. B.

Christine said...

You look beautiful, Rebecca! Happy Mother's Day, tomorrow! Congrats on Corynn learning to read. It just started kicking in for Lily, as well. She is reading the same type of sentences. Blessings and prayer for you and sweet baby.

Grandma Bibby said...

It happened thanks to Jean. Check it out at grandmasjewelsatblogspotdotcom.

inspired said...

Whenever I was pregnant, I never LOOKED pregnant until about the 6th or 7th month. You might think that a good thing, but it wasn't. I didn't LOOK pregnant, but I certainly FELT pregnant yet everyone else FORGOT!! You know all the nice things people do for you when they know you are pregnant? Well no one ever did it for me until I was so big I needed a backhoe to move me around! Enjoy being pregnant!!

Stephanie
www.homeschoolblogger.com/inspired

Andie said...

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope you have had a wonderful day with your family.

Blessings-Andie

Father's Grace Ministries said...

You look great! I've just found out I'm expecting my third child too- due in December.
Now when people ask me when the baby's due, at least I'll have an answer!!
I had surgery between my two girls and my muscles stretched terribly, so I've had a bit of a baby bump ever since!
Claire

Abigail said...

Beautiful picture!

I'm looking forward to learning when you're due, too. Regardless of when your due date is, though, you look great! I really don't think you look huge at all. (Of course, you know how much I normally pack on in the first trimester!)