...but, also apprehensive. Not for the usual reasons - this is a planned pregnancy and Doug and I would be thrilled with a spring baby, but, so far, this pregnancy is playing out with eerie similarity to when I had my miscarriage.
When I was pregnant with Peter and Elliot I took a pregnancy test 5 days before my period was due. By that point my body was thrumming with pregnancy hormones - I was feeling symptoms and I tested strongly positive. All was well with the world.
This time I tested negative 5 days before my period - just like when I had my miscarriage. In fact I tested two more times over the last week and both those showed negative as well. I am not feeling any symptoms - just like when I had my miscarriage. Finally, this morning, 4 days after my period should have started, I tested positive, faintly positive - just like when I had my miscarriage. The fact that the test is so faint is not a promising sign. It either means the embryo did not implant until very late, which begs the question, why not? Normally the answer is that the embryo is abnormal or deformed in some way. Or, my body is just not producing hormones like it should. Again, that is probably a sign that there is something wrong with the embryo or the implantation. (Or, I could be off with my dates, but that is very unlikely since I took an ovulation test.) Last time, I had my miscarriage when I was just over 5 weeks along. That would be early next week. For the time being I am going to remain hopeful, but also mindfully realistic.
This morning, the boys and I are heading to the cottage for Labor Day (Doug will follow tomorrow) and my mantra will be que sera, sera.
Today was the end of the L unit. When we return from our Labor Day adventures at the cottage we will begin our T unit and reading The Carrot Seed.
Today Peter wanted to play again at the sensory table. First I made him help me clean up the soaked wood shavings from yesterday. He hated this. He didn't like touching them at all, and each time he hesitantly plucked a plastic dinosaur from the mess he would immediately scrub him hand with a rag.
For today, he requested sand for his trucks to dig in and water so they could go in a truck wash. This occupied him for an hour before lunch.
How we made it... First, measure twice. Or more than twice - we really like measuring so we often measured each piece 3 or 4 times, especially when dealing with wily teen numbers and helpful hands that kept moving the yard stick.
Next, cut once. But, really, that is once per piece which ended up being a lot of cuts. Peter was welcome to help with the sawing, but it just required too much strength.
Then assemble into a box like shape.
Add straps to help support the weight of the tubs.
And fill the tubs with fun stuff. On one side we have dinos playing in wood shavings and on the other side we have sea creatures with sand and rocks and shells and water.
Peter read his easy reader book to Daddy and Elliot.
Then he sorted insects into a pocket chart.
Lastly, he made a macaroni lion. I think his lion looks a little ditzy, but Peter refused to give him a nose, which I think might have made him look a bit more liony.
Dictated entirely by Peter. He was very specific about what I should draw and how I should draw it. The signature was a joint effort - he wrote the letters he wanted to and told me exactly how to write any other letters he deemed necessary.
He also put together a tangram Angus dog and cut and pasted Angus in a book about prepositions. The page he is working on in the picture says Angus is in front of the goat.
With each letter unit I am doing with Peter we are focusing on one sight word. Some of them logically go with the unit (he with the H unit), but others were chosen because they are easy and ubiquitous. This unit he is learning the word see. We started a word caterpillar in the hallway to showcase his sight words and give him ample opportunities to see and review them.
We love the Target $1 bins. The other day we were there and they had artist palettes and we decided to buy a couple. The palette holds a whole rainbow of colors and Peter loved mixing the colors in the middle just like a real artist. He started with L is for lion, but by the end, his creation was more M is for mud.
Last week I had a time saving epiphany. It seemed like every blog and message board was talking about back to school and packing lunches. I suddenly realized that if I were to "pack" lunches for the boys either at night or first thing in the morning, that it would greatly simplify the learning time to lunch transition. It is working out GREAT!! After dinner I sometimes pack leftovers directly into their lunch boxes for the following day. And then, in the morning I already have a knife and cutting board out to cut up an apple for my oatmeal and a piece of fruit for the boys' breakfast - it only takes an extra minute to cut up a few things for their lunches at the same time.
After learning time and lunch Peter went outside to bounce in the fresh air. Elliot and I watched from upstairs.
This is actually a compilation of learning time from three days. Day 1: Peter put stickers on his capital L while Elliot posed like a swimsuit model.
Day 2: Mama flaked out and did not fill Peter's learning drawers, so he played with play doh and made a train.
Day 3: Peter did the letter maze on his own so quickly I did not get a chance to take any in-process pictures. He also "signed" his name by putting a magnet on a P (completely his own idea). Then he proceeded to put the rest of the magnets on other letters saying he was making a lion shape.
Then Peter made a ladybug with a hole punch while Elliot tried to pull over a chair onto himself.
