Archives for August 2014

How I Keep My Kids Busy

August 29, 2014 2 Comments

One of my goals in our new home here in Dallas was to create a lot of independent play spaces for the kids. Although I am going to be a 99.9% stay at home mom, I actually have an online teaching job for St. Raphael’s Orthodox Homeschool Group, where I will be logging in for 4 hours a week to teach. The beauty of this job is that I can fluff our savings account, without having to commute, get a babysitter, or take time away from evenings with Jesse. Thankfully, the teaching time falls during AJ’s nap, but Gregory only naps a few times a week now, so I knew we’d need a way for him to have fun while I’m working.

By total accident, the floor plan of our new townhouse works perfectly for independent/still supervised play. Our kitchen has a nook area, which I have turned into my office, and right off the kitchen is a HUGE sunroom that we have been blessed to turn into a playroom for the boys.

This is a play structure I found for $40 on Craigslist, right around the corner from us. After one scary fall, we also decided to get thick foam squares to place around the climbing wall (they’re pricey, but eventually we will cover under the structure as well). This Step2 structure is perfect for my almost-4 year old and 2.5 year old. It has a play space underneath for a “hideout”, two places to climb, and, of course, the “fort” above. Gregory loves to take his toys up there and play for nearly an hour. We mollycoddle him a lot, and bought him a lot of toys. We still continue to bring him the best ones, from https://www.surfango.com/mermaid-tails-for-kids/. I think he likes feeling like he has a special place where just he can go (AJ is still figuring out the whole “climbing” thing, so he mostly hangs out below).

In our sunroom, I also built a “sandbox” for the boys using a Rubbermaid container that I used to store under our bed. Now that we have a floor bed, I obviously don’t have a use for it (and it’s also broken in a few ways). But that doesn’t stop it from being a great indoor sandbox!

I can’t even tell you how many hours the boys have already spent playing with this. Since it’s right outside the kitchen window, I can see them without having to hear the noise or have the sand in the house. Yes, it gets a little messy– I’ve had to sweep the sand back in a few times. But for all the hours of independent play, it’s totally worth it!

Inside, next to my desk, I’ve also created an art/drawing/homeschool station for Gregory.

I used Ikea’s Bygel rail with Fintorp buckets for a perfect under $10 option for the lower area. His coloring books are in a wire basket I previously used for mail.

And then there’s the chalkboard coloring table I made him, using the $5 Lack table from Ikea.

Since those scribbles aren’t mine, you can obviously tell that this has been a fun place for Gregory to play lately 🙂

What ways do you keep your kids entertained while you work? I’d love to hear suggestions so that our school year together goes smoothly!

Japanese Bedding– My Honest Review

August 27, 2014 Leave a Comment

When we were getting ready to move to Dallas, Jesse and I decided that it was time for a new mattress (our previous one was a wedding gift from an awesome couple we know!). I’ve been struggling with back pain ever since my two births (one in which I cracked my tailbone, which is still slightly crooked to this day!). We decided to leave our current mattress at my parents’ house for when we go to CA to visit, which also enabled us to ship our stuff to TX for less money.

I’ve been wondering for a while if we should buy a Shikifuton– the Japanese version of the American futon. Many studies like this one say that the firmer support is better for your back. And Shikifutons are much cheaper, overall, not to mention that they don’t need a box spring, and they can also be rolled up in a small space.

A friend of mine told me about Soaring Heart, a company based in Seattle that specializes in organic wool beds. At this time, we felt $950 was a lot to pay for something we weren’t quite sure about. I mean, a typical American-made organic mattress can run a few thousand dollars, so this top of the line Shikifuton was still way cheaper, but we weren’t sold yet. There was also the added factor that it takes 4 weeks to build one of these, a fact I didn’t realize until mid-July (I did call the company over the phone, they are super helpful and I bet they would’ve rushed it).

The other two options were JLife or this super cheap version from futon furnitures. We went for the latter, because at $125, it felt like an okay risk for our “experiment”.

After two weeks, I can tell already that this is a game changer. My back has never felt better, especially since having kids! All of my tailbone/hip pain is now officially gone! I am in love, my friends. We still want to upgrade to the nicer one from Soaring Heart (and roll this one up to use as a guest bed), but we actually aren’t in any rush. It’s sooo comfortable as is!

The size says “Queen”, but I measured and it is actually a full size. We aren’t even able to use our queen sized sheets on it, which is a bit of a downside. But what’s even more surprising is that Jesse and I still have quite a bit of room, even when we have a toddler sharing it with us (which is a lot lately, the move/transition has been a little hard on our guys!). Since we don’t yet have a frame or “platform” for it, we’ve been able to roll it up and out of the way when we want more room for the kids to run around. Eventually we will build a platform, but I have to admit, I’ve kind of liked having it on the floor! Not to mention that if we ever have “Baby #3” (big IF there), it will be perfect for co-sleeping, since I won’t have to worry about the baby rolling off the bed.

I didn’t just stop with our mattress, however. I also replaced my pillow with a Zen Chi Buckwheat one. I have had to be a side sleeper, ever since the births of the boys, and my neck was always hurting and wanting more support. If I didn’t have two pillows, it was hard for me to even fall asleep.

It took two days to get used to, but WOW! I think this thing has made more of a difference than even the mattress. I am now used to how firm it is, and I can’t imagine sleeping on anything else. It molds perfectly, and I’ve been sleeping more soundly as a result. I only need the one pillow because of how thick and supportive it is. The “rustling” of the buckwheat husks also took a little getting used to, but I hardly notice it now.

If you have any questions feel free to ask! Until then, I’ll be sleeping soundly, Japanese style.

Married for 8 Years (!)

August 26, 2014 2 Comments

On one hand, it’s hard to believe that Jesse and I have been married for 8 years (together for 11!). And then, it also feels like longer than that. In my mind, we’ve always been together.

My entire adult life has been spent together with Jesse. We started dating when I was 17, just 6 weeks into my first year of college at Biola University. Sure, I have a few stories of going on a couple initial dates with other guys, a few GYRADS here and there. And then there were 2 miserable weeks in which we were broken up (thanks for that smart idea, 18 year old self!). I used to regret that I never had a chance to “grow” on my own, that I never had a chance to grow into my own “person” before starting a relationship with someone 3 years older.

2004, right after I turned 18

Looking back, however, I just feel grateful. I’ve made no secret of the fact that at 17 years old, I was not headed down a great path. I’d just gotten done with a toxic relationship, one in which I was reeling from for months. I was desperate for attention. I was self-obsessed, drowning in my own grief and issues. It was a time when all I knew were heartbroken quotes. I had an on and off again eating disorder that was waiting in the wings every time my perfectionism reared it’s ugly head. I was already in hundreds of dollars of credit card debt due to my out of control spending habits.

Looking back, I think that God loved me so much that he knew I needed someone to help. Someone other than my parents that I would listen to. Someone that I would admire enough that I would want him to respect me back. Someone who loved me enough to risk my wrath and help me to change. Someone I would want to change for.

When we were still just friends, I remember the first day I knew that Jesse would always be my safe place, the one that God had put on this earth for me to run to. I had just gotten one of “those” phone calls, where something tragic has occurred and you know your life will never be the same. One of my best friends back home had died, and I was reeling in shock. Jesse had also just found out, and he immediately ran all over campus looking for me. We saw each other from across the lawn, and he held me while I cried and cried. The world was reeling around, but the moment he held me the spinning stopped and everything slowed back down.

When I look back, I see how very different my life would’ve been without Jesse, and it scares me. Sure, I might have figured it all out eventually, but I have seen many who are still miserable and trying, well into their 30s. I am glad that my path was different– shorter time in which to change, more intense, loud arguing (anyone who has witnessed a Jesse/Kelly fight knows what I’m talking about!). But, in many respects, it got done. All of the hard work Jesse and I did those first tumultuous years of dating paid off.

If I hadn’t learned what I did, I don’t think I would’ve had the patience to parent a teenage girl at the ripe old age of 26. Or four boys at 27. Or move across the country THREE times. Or endure a grueling house hunt/buying experience. Or support him through grad school.

God used all of that arguing to grow me into someone He wanted to use for His kingdom. I know for a fact that Jesse was the instrument by which God fashioned me. I learned to take serious things lightly, and I learned to care deeper about those things which endure. I learned how to protect someone’s heart other than my own. I learned what it means to address those deep and scary flaws within the context of a loving friendship.

Thank you, Jesse, for being the best friend that I can share everything with, good, bad, gross, hysterical, tragic and momentous. You are a wonderful father to our two boys, and you are the spiritual head of our home. I am so grateful that you found my messed up teenage self and decided to look past all that and love me. Thank you for being a safe place for me to run to.

William’s Baptism

August 25, 2014 4 Comments

Ever wondered what a baptism in the Orthodox church looks like?

This last weekend, we were part of the baptism of our fourth godchild, William. Normally, in the Orthodox church, babies are baptized within their first 2 months of life. Since our friends were waiting for us to move to Dallas, however, William is already 5 months old!

For long-time readers of this blog, you will notice that our “home” church in Dallas is the same exact place where we baptized our first godchild, Christopher, our second godchild, Lola Magdalena, our OWN son, Gregory, and our third godchild, Jonathan. This is a special place for us, to be sure!

Christopher, 2009 (before any of the iconography on that back wall!)

Lola, 2010

2011 (double baptism– we were Jonathan’s godparents, and his parents were Gregory’s godparents!)

William, 2014!

We were friends with two other couples long before any of us had kids. Now, we have a herd! Here are 5 of the 7! Baby Joanna and Baby William are missing (or getting baptized!). And, yes, 6 of our 7 are boys! Poor Joanna!