I have decided to start a file called "mother-in-law" to record all the thoughtful things my MIL does for me and our family. I want to remember them for when I am a mother-in-law. I'll keep a running list here too.
THE HOLIDAYS
1) Take the grandchildren shopping to pick out presents "from them" to give their parents. This is what Hunter picked out for me.
Is this not stinkin' adorable?!?!
Jay picked out an electric toothbrush for me (with electric floss...he's really excited about that!) and ammo for John. Hunter picked out jeans for John and the above purse for me. LOVE IT!
2) Remember what it's like to be young with (or without) a family, realize that money is tight at times and ask them what is one thing that you skip buying at the grocery store (or wherever) because you just can't justify the purchase.
Mine was silver polish. Guess what was in my stocking! And guess who has the shiniest jewelry in town! ;)
This is just the beginning of the thoughtfulness that is shown to us every day.
I had my ultrasound 2 weeks ago. Actually, on our 10 year anniversary! This was a great way to spend our evening together...gazing at our sweet baby! Everything looks beautiful! We didn't peek...even though it was so tempting! I'm feeling great and looking forward to welcoming this little one into our new home.
How stinkin' cute is that foot? One inch long...oh my...
(these are iphone pics of the pic so the quality isn't great but you get the idea!)
John recently hosted his firsst birthday party at the studio a few weeks ago and it was a hit! I wish I had pictures to share. (Maybe I'll contact the mom and ask her to send me some...brilliant!) So I wanted to let everyone know there is a new place in town to have your next birthday party! Here are the details...
Brenham School of Rock 104 S. St. Charles St. Guests design and record a CD of songs picked by the birthday boy/girl. $175 for 2 1/2 hours of party time for 15 guests. Guests take home their CD party favors in a custom designed jewel case. You are welcome to bring cake, snacks, drinks, and of course lots of gifts! Check out our website at www.sirensoundproductions.com for more information!
Jay loves to write. And draw. And write little notes. And "lists" (filled with text, pictures, and check marks). I love it! So the other night I was on the bottom bunk with Tyler and Hunter getting them to sleep and Jay was on the top bunk...supposed to be sleeping. I'm laying there thinking about my little sweets and I hear a paper come down between the wall and the bed. I take it and it's a note from Jay that says:
I <3 U mom love Jay
My little heart melted. So I stuck my hand up to him and held it for a minute until he let go. A few minutes later, another note. This one says:
I <3 U mom I <3 U dad I <3 U Tyler I <3 U Hunter
Too sweet! So Tyler and Hunter finally fall asleep and I write him a note that says:
I <3 Jay. You are a sweet boy. Love, Mommy
He reads it and smiles and tells me to wait because he's going to write me a note. He finishes and hands it to me and it says:
I <3 Mom. You are a sweet. Love Jay
Then he tells me that he didn't say "boy" since I am a girl. Oh my, I love that boy....
Things have been wild and crazy around here the last few months. There has truly not been a dull moment. Here's are the key points:
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY! Part of the blogging silence has been due to awful morning sickness. I'm in week 13 now and feeling like life may go on and I will not die. That's a good feeling!
Tyler broke his collar bone 2 weeks ago after falling off the play ground.
We moved into our house! (before and after pics to come) There's still a lot of work to be done but I am so happy to finally be living in my house!
Unpacking
Tyler has an inguinal hernia that will need to be surgically repaired. It's not really a big deal (if surgery on a 2 year old can be "no big deal") It's a minor, routine procedure. We are hoping to schedule it March.
More unpacking and organizing
Homeschooling. Which mostly consists of reading lots of books, playing outside, and learning through everyday living.
Jay started choir at the First Baptist Church! He loves it and just thinks he is so big and important (and he's right!)
Hunter is growing like a weed! I think he gets bigger every morning. He is just so sweet and kind to all of us. There is the occasional food meltdown but that's to be expected every now and then.
Tyler will be 2 on Monday. Where has the time gone?
And more unpacking and organizing.
I hope to one day have a post that does not have to be an update but just a sweet post about every day life in our home. That seems a little ambitious at this point though! =)
Things are changing around here at every turn. Along with our decision for me to stay at home with the boys, John also decided to move his recording and music lessons out of the family music school and start his own studio. He has a dedicated recording following, sound gigs, music lessons, etc. He stays very busy with it all. And he’s good at it. The music school was great place to get started (and spend the last six years) but there are things that he needs/wants as his clientele grows and needs shift. Enter “da boof” (aka…the booth). He is very excited about “da boof” and so are many of his regular guys. They can’t wait to get in there and check it out! Soon boys…sooooon! So here’s the scoop on the new location of SirenSound Productions – Full Service Music Studio. Located at 104 S. St. Charles St. in Downtown Brenham • Recording • Live Sound • Guitar, Bass, & Drum Lessons • Zither Lessons • Song Editing/Writing/Production • Mixing/Mastering • Small Retail Store There is more to come! We are very excited about this new start. Wish us luck! Check out our website for more information on what's new! www.sirensoundproductions.com
I have to take a quick break from my Amelang Family Updates and post this...
My dear friend Traci invites me and my crazy crew over to her house just about once a month for some good old fashioned...well, chaos. Yes, that's the right word. So when we first started these little shindigs we were having such a great time that we combined our last names (Mueller and Amelang...you get the idea) and now lovingly refer to our get togethers as Muellang Fun Time (or something like that). It's always a good time... six children, two mommies, food, sewing projects, home school talk, water hoses, no naps, crumbs on the floor, wine (not for Traci since she is, as we speak, growing eye buds in her uterus), not stop talking, giggling, and telling someone to stop sitting on a little sibling! What's not to love?! Here are some fun pictures from our visit in July. Thank you Traci for having us over... I can't wait to have y'all over to our house! And, I know what they say about paybacks...I'm in for a great deal of...um..chaos. John, you should get a hotel room when the Muellang Shindig comes to Brenham! And Martin, you are a good man...
This week I embarked on a new adventure in life…a stay at home mom.I’ve worked at our family’s music school for seven years.I started when I was pregnant with Jay. It was a good job.I enjoyed it very much.I was only “part time” and things were flexible as far as being able to take the boys with me or missing a day if someone was sick.Even though it wasn’t a full time 9 to 5 job, I still missed out on the full experience of being at home with my children.I was always thinking about a bank deposit or wondering if I needed to go in to return phone calls or when I was going to make it to Wal-Mart to buy more paper towels.It was a full time brain load.
It’s been a good, long run.Now I’m moving on.
This is my first week of being at home and I am loving it.It’s noticeably different to me.I wasn’t sure how I’d feel.Sad? Anxious? Happy?I had no idea what to expect.My last day was weird.I was at the school all day (as I had been all week) I finished up what I was working on and said I was leaving.I looked around at all of the things that still needed to be done and it felt strange to leave and know I wasn’t coming back on Monday to work again.I felt like I was leaving a mess, things undone.Well, I was really…but not in a bad way.They are preparing for the upcoming school year and have about a month’s worth of work left to do to get ready.So I finished my tasks, actually hung around about an hour after I said I was leaving because it felt so weird to leave, then finally I packed up my crew for the last time as a music school employee and went home.
I noticed it on Sunday night as I talked to my sister about a birthday party for my mom the next day.I realized that I didn’t have to call anyone and see what I need to take care of before I left or drop in to check messages or feel guilty because I really should be updating the website or passing out flyers for the upcoming semester.Nope.None of it.I just got to leave.Oh, what I feeling!What a glorious feeling!
I have been thinking a lot about this SAHM thing.As I was putting the 285th load of laundry in the washer this morning I wondered why I want to do this.Why is this so important to me?I don’t have an answer yet except that it’s a desire that God has built into me…women…mothers.I am so grateful and hopeful that God will bless us and supplement my income in new and exciting ways.(more on that in a later post)
I just finished reading “For the Children’s Sake” by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.I read it on several recommendations and it’s wonderful.This passage was very thought provoking for me.
Cops and robbers.Mud pies.Scratches from climbing trees.Adventures on tricycles.One child stares at an ant carrying a crumb, and a few others start a club in a garage.
Certain factors encourage play.It is often easier home-based than institutional-based.There should be space, and lots of free time.Children need to be outdoors (for hours).They need to make noise, mess, and to have access to raw materials (old clothes for costumes, hats, tables to turn into camp, etc., etc.).They need privacy from intruding adults, but the need interested support in quarrels, thinking of another way around a problem, providing food, and, at the end, bringing the children tactfully back into the world where supper is ready, the camp has to be packed up, children are tired and ready for the soothing routine of evening stories.
Grown-ups need time if their life is to support this kind of play.The children have to matter more than the furniture (but children don’t mind at all sticking to the boundaries).This means saying no to too many time –consuming activities both for adults and children.It means welcoming their friends, and sympathetically diverting others who will “spoil our game.We just got to the good part” (said with feeling as a destructive two-year-old blundered into the “camp”).
Doesn’t that sound dreamy?I want my life to support this kind of play.The thought of not working was a little scary at first.The more John and I thought about it and talked about the kind of childhood we want our boys to have, it only made sense to be a full time, home school mom.Don’t worry, I know every day is not going to be cherries and lemonade but I am excited to see the wonderful, educational, and fun memories we get to make together.Wednesday night at dinner (after a long day of playing at the swimming pool) Jay was talking about the kids he is going to have one day (he does that a lot) and he said that he’ll teach his boys to wrestle the way daddy wrestles with him when it’s time for bed.He’ll say “my dad taught me this and now I’m going to teach you.” I asked him what he will say about me and he said “that you like me a lot.”It’s true…I do!I want more memories like these! I just love it!Don’t you just love making memories with these amazing little people that have been given to us?I’m constantly amazed…I love it. Truly.
Whatever you write on the heart of a child No water can wash it away. The marks in the sands are erased by the tide. Inscriptions will crumble with clay. The words in a book will decay with the years And even engraving in stone disappears. But God's Word inscribed on a child's heart For time and eternity, shall not depart.
(From "A Word to the Parents" in the ABC Memory Book)
John's mom has been going through her books, papers, and closets and passing down things she doesn't need anymore. I have received some wonderful things from her! One of the best so far is the ABC Memory Book. I really love it. I remember seeing this book in the children's bathroom with John and I were engaged. It's great to now use it with my boys.
We started with A this week and the boys like to sing the verses. This week is "All we like sheep have gone astray" Isaiah 53:6. The book is for ages 3-6 and it's in 3 stages. They start with just part of the verse (the black words) and memorize more as they get older (the blue words and reference) and then 2 verses per week in the third stage. One thing they require is memorizing each verse word for word, including little words. I usually let Hunter get away with mispronouncing a word or using the wrong word and I realize he's capable of more and I need to encourage growth in this area. I'm working on building my school year plans and this book will be up there on the "to do list" each day.
Is this not stinkin' adorable?!?!
