We have a little time out respite care coming our way. I'm thrilled to know it is there. We can have 3 hours a week for the little challengers. The kids get to go and play and have a great time with people who know how their minds work.
You can't imagine how thrilled I am. I have some very well meaning people that offer to take them but when times are tough I just can't accept the help because they don't know what to do with my RADishes. What you would do for most kids will feed a RADish in a not so good way when he or she is having a challenging time. D is going to try it out next week.
I can't believe school will be out soon. The weather has finally warmed up and summer skipped spring. I'm not quite sure how we are going to do this summer. It'll work out as it always does. And luckily, I am forgetful enough that I will forget if I have lost a little more of my sanity.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tender Mercies
We've had quite the last few weeks.
We had a monkey bar incident. D learned that you just can't do monkey bars with only one hand. A little surgery later and breaks in two places, the arm is on the mend. It's hard to visualize one armed monkey bar swinging.
We have a new therapist to try for S. We went to a different pediatrician and he pretty much told us what we sort of already knew. It's that dang RAD (and I don't mean the nice Royal Academy of Dance). We have a RADish or two it appears. So onto a therapist over 50 miles away to see what we can do about this reactive attachment disorder. What's really funny is that S has had a great week and a half since D flopped to the turkey side. I don't know how they do that. I just keep hoping and hoping (and then hoping some more) that she will really feel the joy that making good decisions brings. I don't expect her to be perfect. What kid her age doesn't have a fit here or there. I just don't want her to hulkify each time. And D? I'm hoping the getting the cast off helps. Today he spent a huge chunk of the day screaming at me. I have to lay out the consequences and then not give negative attention. That is so much more tricky than it sounds. DH is seeing it more which at least makes me feel validated. I swear I am not imagining this whole thing. Last week DH was on the phone to me and could just hear the screaming in the background. He asked why D isn't like that when he is home and I just had to tell him it's because he's pretty much not home. It's not hard to survive dinner, scriptures, prayers, and off to bed. I think that made him think a little. Today it was similar. D was screaming and screaming. After what was probably 10 minutes of talking to DH I said to the phone something that referenced DH. The second D heard it he stopped screaming. And when I finished the conversation he started it back up beginning with screaming because I "have to tell DH everything!" This parenting stuff is hard work, dang it! You want to give attention for good things and make sure they know it is sincere. Then you need to have consequences all prepared before anything ever happens and want make sure the kids are aware of them. And then you have to actually follow through. I just want to be lazy sometimes and not follow through. But that is like parenting suicide. If you don't follow though, the kid (radishes at least and maybe most kids) will think you can't be trusted to do what you say. So they feel less safe. Tonight was painful that way. We had been doing consequences all day. I tried giving him a clean slate after school. (In fact, the kids even had ice cream after school... granted they were little individual containers that had melted a bit and refrozen from a neighbor... but my kids don't care.) But I had told him he couldn't play with friends after school if he was going to choose to scream at me. So I sent him on his way to the backyard to have some fun and he snuck out. What's horrible, if I hadn't been screamed at all morning I would have thought, "What a turkey!" But I was tired. So I had him come in to do some writing. I found a poem about choosing the right to copy (a kid poem) and he just kept screaming. I finally just told him there would be 4 warnings and then he would get a quick early dinner and off to bed he would go. He would push it and push it and finally I gave him early dinner and sent him off. I peeked in his room after he had cooled down and chatted with him for a few minutes (while I burned part of the meat I was cooking on the stove). I couldn't let him go to bed thinking he was a horrible kid or that he wasn't loved. So I went in, told him how much I loved him and wanted him to grow up to be happy. And of course I told him that adults that spend all of their time throwing tantrums are never happy and that's why we have to figure out how to deal with frustrations as we grow. I told him I was sorry that he saw people screaming and hurting each other when he was little. I asked how it made him feel when that happened. And then I told him I want him to learn how to really be happy. I gave him a hug and went on my way. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
On another note... I have earned my gazillionth crappy parent award today. M was complaining this morning that she didn't feel well and couldn't practice. I made her practice anyway. And as I was IM'ing with DH asking him for suggestions of what to do with D she called from school. She had a stomach bug and had thrown up in the bathroom. GO MOM! She has felt pretty great tonight though and actually practiced without being asked. I found some videos of kids on youtube playing her songs very well. It was super motivating for her.
Oh, and a funny M thing. She and her best buddy had a little fight/miscommunication recently. My friend was driving them to dance and listened to the conversation about it the next day. Her friend said something about how she thought M had told her to give M's soda pop to the boys at the basketball hoop. (Really, M wanted her to shake it and tease them.) I guess M nodded her head and her friend thought that meant yes (imagine that!). So the next day my friend overhears M say something about how, "Sometimes when I nod my head it means yes and sometimes it means go get the scooter." I was laughing so hard. What a goofy kid.
I guess I didn't really give an update on S. She has been so much happier. We are ignoring some of our not so favorite behaviors. Well, ignoring really isn't the right word. We aren't looking for them but do acknowledge them when we see them (that follow through thing). It seems to be helping a bit, even if it is just to lower my frustration level.
T started swim team. The kid can still swim. I am thrilled. It's three days a week but at least it is nearby. I hope it strengthens his lungs.
And C is as hilarious as ever. She learned to pedal a bike (with training wheels of course). She is ditching her 3 wheeled scooter for the big kids kind. But perhaps the most funny thing is how involved she is in everyone's business. We were at DH's parents house and the grown ups were talking about books. She walked in, put her arms up on the table and asked, "So what are you guys talking about?" Where did I get this kid? She tells me which things are full of sugar and that it makes things yummy. (She is torturing me dang it!)
I shouldn't forget the grownups in the house. DH didn't get drawn for his marathon. I don't quite know what he will do. But as I type he is on the treadmill. We are still doing our crazy diet. He has lost double digit pounds while trying to eat and eat. I have lost next to nothing while eating a fraction of his food. Oh well, it's about habits (or something). Maybe it'll help keep me away from vanity. We have been off refined sugar and gluten for over two months now.
And I can't forget Mother's Day. DH got me something I have been wanting and wanting. I am now the proud owner of a Magic Bullet blender. I have used that thing a ton of times in the last couple of days. This morning alone I used it for super fluffy omelets for DH and then for coconut flour pancakes for his lunch. I did, however, over pulverise some veggies. Oh well, it's really fun.
And now for the tender mercies. C went on the potty tonight. We aren't training her. I did that for a few days a long time ago and gave up. She wasn't even two at the time. Twice in the last week or so she has just gone in and put the potty seat on, taken her diaper off, and gone. And another good thing was that her diaper was only wet.
Another TM was that we found out we have some water rights to sell that will pretty much pay for T's swim team for a chunk of the year and we won't have to move our budget around. I am thrilled about that.
I need to keep my eye out for the tender mercies. They are all over the place. I need to not lose sight of them.
We had a monkey bar incident. D learned that you just can't do monkey bars with only one hand. A little surgery later and breaks in two places, the arm is on the mend. It's hard to visualize one armed monkey bar swinging.
We have a new therapist to try for S. We went to a different pediatrician and he pretty much told us what we sort of already knew. It's that dang RAD (and I don't mean the nice Royal Academy of Dance). We have a RADish or two it appears. So onto a therapist over 50 miles away to see what we can do about this reactive attachment disorder. What's really funny is that S has had a great week and a half since D flopped to the turkey side. I don't know how they do that. I just keep hoping and hoping (and then hoping some more) that she will really feel the joy that making good decisions brings. I don't expect her to be perfect. What kid her age doesn't have a fit here or there. I just don't want her to hulkify each time. And D? I'm hoping the getting the cast off helps. Today he spent a huge chunk of the day screaming at me. I have to lay out the consequences and then not give negative attention. That is so much more tricky than it sounds. DH is seeing it more which at least makes me feel validated. I swear I am not imagining this whole thing. Last week DH was on the phone to me and could just hear the screaming in the background. He asked why D isn't like that when he is home and I just had to tell him it's because he's pretty much not home. It's not hard to survive dinner, scriptures, prayers, and off to bed. I think that made him think a little. Today it was similar. D was screaming and screaming. After what was probably 10 minutes of talking to DH I said to the phone something that referenced DH. The second D heard it he stopped screaming. And when I finished the conversation he started it back up beginning with screaming because I "have to tell DH everything!" This parenting stuff is hard work, dang it! You want to give attention for good things and make sure they know it is sincere. Then you need to have consequences all prepared before anything ever happens and want make sure the kids are aware of them. And then you have to actually follow through. I just want to be lazy sometimes and not follow through. But that is like parenting suicide. If you don't follow though, the kid (radishes at least and maybe most kids) will think you can't be trusted to do what you say. So they feel less safe. Tonight was painful that way. We had been doing consequences all day. I tried giving him a clean slate after school. (In fact, the kids even had ice cream after school... granted they were little individual containers that had melted a bit and refrozen from a neighbor... but my kids don't care.) But I had told him he couldn't play with friends after school if he was going to choose to scream at me. So I sent him on his way to the backyard to have some fun and he snuck out. What's horrible, if I hadn't been screamed at all morning I would have thought, "What a turkey!" But I was tired. So I had him come in to do some writing. I found a poem about choosing the right to copy (a kid poem) and he just kept screaming. I finally just told him there would be 4 warnings and then he would get a quick early dinner and off to bed he would go. He would push it and push it and finally I gave him early dinner and sent him off. I peeked in his room after he had cooled down and chatted with him for a few minutes (while I burned part of the meat I was cooking on the stove). I couldn't let him go to bed thinking he was a horrible kid or that he wasn't loved. So I went in, told him how much I loved him and wanted him to grow up to be happy. And of course I told him that adults that spend all of their time throwing tantrums are never happy and that's why we have to figure out how to deal with frustrations as we grow. I told him I was sorry that he saw people screaming and hurting each other when he was little. I asked how it made him feel when that happened. And then I told him I want him to learn how to really be happy. I gave him a hug and went on my way. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
On another note... I have earned my gazillionth crappy parent award today. M was complaining this morning that she didn't feel well and couldn't practice. I made her practice anyway. And as I was IM'ing with DH asking him for suggestions of what to do with D she called from school. She had a stomach bug and had thrown up in the bathroom. GO MOM! She has felt pretty great tonight though and actually practiced without being asked. I found some videos of kids on youtube playing her songs very well. It was super motivating for her.
Oh, and a funny M thing. She and her best buddy had a little fight/miscommunication recently. My friend was driving them to dance and listened to the conversation about it the next day. Her friend said something about how she thought M had told her to give M's soda pop to the boys at the basketball hoop. (Really, M wanted her to shake it and tease them.) I guess M nodded her head and her friend thought that meant yes (imagine that!). So the next day my friend overhears M say something about how, "Sometimes when I nod my head it means yes and sometimes it means go get the scooter." I was laughing so hard. What a goofy kid.
I guess I didn't really give an update on S. She has been so much happier. We are ignoring some of our not so favorite behaviors. Well, ignoring really isn't the right word. We aren't looking for them but do acknowledge them when we see them (that follow through thing). It seems to be helping a bit, even if it is just to lower my frustration level.
T started swim team. The kid can still swim. I am thrilled. It's three days a week but at least it is nearby. I hope it strengthens his lungs.
And C is as hilarious as ever. She learned to pedal a bike (with training wheels of course). She is ditching her 3 wheeled scooter for the big kids kind. But perhaps the most funny thing is how involved she is in everyone's business. We were at DH's parents house and the grown ups were talking about books. She walked in, put her arms up on the table and asked, "So what are you guys talking about?" Where did I get this kid? She tells me which things are full of sugar and that it makes things yummy. (She is torturing me dang it!)
I shouldn't forget the grownups in the house. DH didn't get drawn for his marathon. I don't quite know what he will do. But as I type he is on the treadmill. We are still doing our crazy diet. He has lost double digit pounds while trying to eat and eat. I have lost next to nothing while eating a fraction of his food. Oh well, it's about habits (or something). Maybe it'll help keep me away from vanity. We have been off refined sugar and gluten for over two months now.
And I can't forget Mother's Day. DH got me something I have been wanting and wanting. I am now the proud owner of a Magic Bullet blender. I have used that thing a ton of times in the last couple of days. This morning alone I used it for super fluffy omelets for DH and then for coconut flour pancakes for his lunch. I did, however, over pulverise some veggies. Oh well, it's really fun.
And now for the tender mercies. C went on the potty tonight. We aren't training her. I did that for a few days a long time ago and gave up. She wasn't even two at the time. Twice in the last week or so she has just gone in and put the potty seat on, taken her diaper off, and gone. And another good thing was that her diaper was only wet.
Another TM was that we found out we have some water rights to sell that will pretty much pay for T's swim team for a chunk of the year and we won't have to move our budget around. I am thrilled about that.
I need to keep my eye out for the tender mercies. They are all over the place. I need to not lose sight of them.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Nachos
I haven't blogged for a while so I am going to have to pretty much ditch those memories. I'll summarize things like this. It has rained and rained and then snowed a bit. Occasionally we got a nice day and the kids would go outside and I would pull some weeds. And then it would rain or snow. The dang weeds have grown back and are bigger. M's got some new glasses. Her bad eye is correctable to 20/30 now. We are thrilled. It's probably as good as it will get. But her bad eye actually sees without the glasses better than the good one. Luckily that one corrects to 20/20. The glasses are super cute. I went on T's field trip. The kids were pretty cute. They finally got into the moms come to field trips for the pictures thing and posed here and there for me. D made an awesome dinosaur bone out of legos for his book share. D and T have had a good time going to the mountains with DH the last two weekends. T came home, after switching to snowboarding, and told me he likes 'shredding' snow. S is on her so many steps backwards after our peaceful trip to AZ. I made an appointment with a doctor that has been recommended for behavior issues. It gave me a bunch of hope and even if nothing else comes out of it I will have gotten a little hope for two weeks in exchange for my copay. That's not too dang bad. And C, she hit the screaming phase of the terrible twos. Last week I thought she was cranky because she was ill (which she was after a trip to urgent care... ear infection). But she is still screaming every time she doesn't get her way. I haven't seen this stage at this age for a while. A couple of days ago I asked her, "Who's the boss?" to which she replied, "I'm not telling you." Luckily she does tons of cute things to help balance this out.
I really need to get back to the nachos. One year when I was a kid my mom served super nachos for dinner. We all thought it was great. My family was more into the Easter Bunny than celebrating the religious holiday and nachos were a big hit with kids. As we have grown up my mom has blotted the Easter nachos from her memory. She says we never had them. I told her that we often had ham or something a little more traditional but the kids weren't forgetting the year of the nacho.
Fast forward almost 3 decades.
I bought a turkey. DH and I have been avoiding refined sugar now for a month and a glazed ham wouldn't do it. DH's family was getting together but that wouldn't work because DH had to count after church and it was to be a longer day with fast Sunday, regular tithes, and a big scouting fundraiser. So at church little C was being a tyrant. There was no stopping that kid and then after the first meeting S was grumpy with me for not doing what she wanted immediately. (Okay grumpy equals hiking my dress up to my waist to be told to not do that and then doing it again for 'fun'.) So we took C home for a nap and S for a quick time out. It got more ugly as S took a swipe with her nails at DH. I decided to quickly put my turkey in the oven. I added my spices, covered the thing up, put it in the oven, and set the timer.
Three hours later I went to take it out. I realized that my house didn't smell like turkey. Hmmm... something was wrong. Then I remembered that I didn't turn the oven ON!
We were going to be turkeyless. And then M came up with her suggestion to have nachos. And we did. They were a hit with the young ones. And I carried on the tradition my mom claims doesn't exist.
I really need to get back to the nachos. One year when I was a kid my mom served super nachos for dinner. We all thought it was great. My family was more into the Easter Bunny than celebrating the religious holiday and nachos were a big hit with kids. As we have grown up my mom has blotted the Easter nachos from her memory. She says we never had them. I told her that we often had ham or something a little more traditional but the kids weren't forgetting the year of the nacho.
Fast forward almost 3 decades.
I bought a turkey. DH and I have been avoiding refined sugar now for a month and a glazed ham wouldn't do it. DH's family was getting together but that wouldn't work because DH had to count after church and it was to be a longer day with fast Sunday, regular tithes, and a big scouting fundraiser. So at church little C was being a tyrant. There was no stopping that kid and then after the first meeting S was grumpy with me for not doing what she wanted immediately. (Okay grumpy equals hiking my dress up to my waist to be told to not do that and then doing it again for 'fun'.) So we took C home for a nap and S for a quick time out. It got more ugly as S took a swipe with her nails at DH. I decided to quickly put my turkey in the oven. I added my spices, covered the thing up, put it in the oven, and set the timer.
Three hours later I went to take it out. I realized that my house didn't smell like turkey. Hmmm... something was wrong. Then I remembered that I didn't turn the oven ON!
We were going to be turkeyless. And then M came up with her suggestion to have nachos. And we did. They were a hit with the young ones. And I carried on the tradition my mom claims doesn't exist.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Plan Updated
Yesterday wasn't horrible. I put on the soothing music all day and the kids weren't too bad. S worked on earning stuff back and she had a genuine happy look to her at the end of the day.
And then she screamed for attention in her room when she went to bed. She had been with me all day (which seemed like misery for her at first) and helped me work. And then when she finally got her way and could go and be away from me she screamed.
As expected, D had a huge meltdown. It always happens when S starts to be better. It's the social stuff. T and his friends just play a little old for him and then when he tries to start commanding them to do things they blow him off. After the meltdown was over and I got him to stop doing his self talk we talked about how maybe we could find him some friends that were more his 'age'. I couldn't do much of this before because until recently we had lying all the time and you can't go to others' houses when you are lying all the time. But he is doing less fabrication of stories and such now and so I think it's time. I arranged for him to play with a cute kid today for just an hour before school. This kid barely made the K deadline and is young for his grade. D is old. They might make a good match.
I felt like supermom yesterday. It's amazing how great you feel when you look to the right source for your needed super powers.
And then she screamed for attention in her room when she went to bed. She had been with me all day (which seemed like misery for her at first) and helped me work. And then when she finally got her way and could go and be away from me she screamed.
As expected, D had a huge meltdown. It always happens when S starts to be better. It's the social stuff. T and his friends just play a little old for him and then when he tries to start commanding them to do things they blow him off. After the meltdown was over and I got him to stop doing his self talk we talked about how maybe we could find him some friends that were more his 'age'. I couldn't do much of this before because until recently we had lying all the time and you can't go to others' houses when you are lying all the time. But he is doing less fabrication of stories and such now and so I think it's time. I arranged for him to play with a cute kid today for just an hour before school. This kid barely made the K deadline and is young for his grade. D is old. They might make a good match.
I felt like supermom yesterday. It's amazing how great you feel when you look to the right source for your needed super powers.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Plan
Yesterday got worse and worse. Didn't I say I expected it though. It's how it always is with the little one. She has 5 steps forward and then 4 back. Her behaviors continued yesterday. She didn't even hide them. I would turn my back and she would do them in my family room. I was trying not to make things miserable for her but still keep her under my eye. She tore up the books I gave her to read and peed 3 times without using the potty. And lastly she threw some huge tantrums in her room that could wake up the other kids. Pretty much she was telling me to go to you know where.
DH sent me off to the grocery store to pay for some dog food. (He bought 3 bags and then saw on his receipt that he had paid for two so he thought it was best that we got this taken care of immediately since dog food is so expensive. I think he knew I needed a break.)
Last night I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. DH and I talked and came up with some ideas. Then at 5:30 this morning I got up and headed for my knees. I presented my ideas to my Father in Heaven and hoped he would give me the thumbs up or thumbs down. I then parked my behind and read my scriptures for a while. I read in Mosiah 23:15 "Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no contention among them." I need to work on the contention aspect. So I am going to try to take out the contention. There are consequences and choices. But I need to try to eliminate adding to contention.
A little later I read in 24:14 "And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."
With this comfort I started my day. I was pleasant to the little one. I told her she was going to have to earn her privileges back. She got ready for preschool and we left. On the way to preschool we talked about consequences and S said, "I don't get to choose the consequences but I get to choose what I do." (Can you tell we talk about this a bunch?) She was so pleased with herself because she is in charge of that. She smirked away as we drove there. Then, as we pulled into the parking lot (it's a very big parking lot) I asked her what the consequence was that I told her the day before before she continued to act out. She replied that it was no preschool today. Then we saw the school bus that was to take them on their field trip and drove out of the parking lot. It clicked pretty quickly. I hope it was a good lesson. I just couldn't reward that behavior. I called her teacher to tell her and told her how I really wished I could drop her off as my day would be so much easier but that I couldn't because she didn't earn it. It would also make the teachers look like them weren't in control because as we left yesterday one of them told her to not do it so she could go on the field trip. S wouldn't think they were in control of things at school if they looked like they were just saying things that didn't happen.
We are home. I am keeping things calm. I let her earn playing with the piano by lining up all the shoes that were in the hall. Then she started being mean with it and that had to be taken away. But I'm not letting it get to me. I can handle this. I have to.
On the other hand, D is doing great. That's a positive.
DH sent me off to the grocery store to pay for some dog food. (He bought 3 bags and then saw on his receipt that he had paid for two so he thought it was best that we got this taken care of immediately since dog food is so expensive. I think he knew I needed a break.)
Last night I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. DH and I talked and came up with some ideas. Then at 5:30 this morning I got up and headed for my knees. I presented my ideas to my Father in Heaven and hoped he would give me the thumbs up or thumbs down. I then parked my behind and read my scriptures for a while. I read in Mosiah 23:15 "Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no contention among them." I need to work on the contention aspect. So I am going to try to take out the contention. There are consequences and choices. But I need to try to eliminate adding to contention.
A little later I read in 24:14 "And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."
With this comfort I started my day. I was pleasant to the little one. I told her she was going to have to earn her privileges back. She got ready for preschool and we left. On the way to preschool we talked about consequences and S said, "I don't get to choose the consequences but I get to choose what I do." (Can you tell we talk about this a bunch?) She was so pleased with herself because she is in charge of that. She smirked away as we drove there. Then, as we pulled into the parking lot (it's a very big parking lot) I asked her what the consequence was that I told her the day before before she continued to act out. She replied that it was no preschool today. Then we saw the school bus that was to take them on their field trip and drove out of the parking lot. It clicked pretty quickly. I hope it was a good lesson. I just couldn't reward that behavior. I called her teacher to tell her and told her how I really wished I could drop her off as my day would be so much easier but that I couldn't because she didn't earn it. It would also make the teachers look like them weren't in control because as we left yesterday one of them told her to not do it so she could go on the field trip. S wouldn't think they were in control of things at school if they looked like they were just saying things that didn't happen.
We are home. I am keeping things calm. I let her earn playing with the piano by lining up all the shoes that were in the hall. Then she started being mean with it and that had to be taken away. But I'm not letting it get to me. I can handle this. I have to.
On the other hand, D is doing great. That's a positive.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
In the last week I have begun to think that just maybe S is making some progress. She hasn't been plowing through her food without tasting it. I haven't caught her eating anything that wasn't a food. She has even started deciding she is done eating without finishing everything. That is HUGE! Her behaviors seemed to be improving some as well. There were still stronger and longer tantrums than four year olds usually have but they weren't was they used to be.
I got a little cocky. I think deep inside I was giving myself a little too much credit for it. And then this week she was caught doing her most difficult behavior two times. I'm trying to change the reaction and see if that helps because with her you always have to be one step ahead. Her door is coming off her room today. That might help.
I had C on my lap and said to her, "C, your mom is just average." (Can you tell I had given myself a little too much credit just to realize that we are all pretty much average at something?)
And C replied, "My mom not average. My mom is awesome!" (I don't know how she got the verb in one sentence and not in the other. And to top that off, I don't think she knows what average even means.)
She made me feel better that little turkey.
Oh and on the other little munchkins, they all had good reports for parent teacher conferences. D's classroom behaviors are improving again. There are less meltdowns and less crying fits. This is huge. I was so proud of him. It's a real struggle for him. T had his first report of all outstandings. His teacher asked if he is as good at home as he is at school. (The answer is a big fat NO!) He really likes to goof around so I know it's hard for him not to do it at school. Once again I was a happy mama. And M had the cutest letter. She wrote that she hoped her teacher would tell us she was always respectful. And of course her teacher said great things because she is a super kid. It was really nice to have three good visits with teachers.
Oh and as for C. She is just chatting it up. I will be said though when she starts saying yep instead of lep. She is really into some good foot stomping when she is angry. She likes two ponytails, not one. We went to buy her a new swimsuit yesterday because they were on sale (and did I mention the ground is all snowy again today) and she did not want the ones I was interested in. She wanted a blue polka dot one. Blue is her favorite color. I should not have been surprised.
I think I have decided against going to Alaska for a week this summer. My mom is taking M up to their lodge and I was going to go. But in reality, the plane ticket alone is about 800 dollars and there are so many other costs as well. I just don't think I can do it. Eventually, my mom would like our whole family to go but of course, take that 800 and multiply it by 7 and it because one pricey trip. So we are looking at taking a two week vacation and driving up through Calgary and over to Prince Rupert and then taking the ferry for a couple of days to their lodge. I think it might be a bit of a fun adventure and it would cut about between 2 and 3 thousand dollars off the cost. We might die after being in the car together that long though. :)
And lastly, I lost a measly .4 pounds this week. I was starving. Last week I was hungry all week and I lost .8. So for two very hungry weeks I lost less than five sticks of butter. Once again, my good friend said don't worry about it. You are not going to lose much of anything when you are under so much stress so you might as well enjoy life a bit. But that would be almost 30 pounds by next year if I just stay stressed and hungry. I keep telling myself that wouldn't be so bad. DH and I did really well with the refined sugars though. There was a tiny bit in the barbecue sauce on the chicken on Sunday when we were at my MIL's but that is pretty much it. And I think we have been gluten free now for two weeks. I probably need to cut the rice and corn products out but I just so don't want to.
I can't wait for it to warm up a bit. I had dh get some rebar and I am going to pound it into the ground so my beans, cukes and peas can grow up it. We'll see how it works. Right now they are 10 feet long. The beans are supposed to grow at least 6 feet tall and here everything seems to grow even bigger than it is supposed to. I'm not quite sure how I will pound in 10 foot long sticks. I guess I'll just take a ladder out there and see if i can get them in about two feet. I'm hoping a really great garden can help with our food costs this summer. And if not, there is always a nice lesson involved in gardening.
I got a little cocky. I think deep inside I was giving myself a little too much credit for it. And then this week she was caught doing her most difficult behavior two times. I'm trying to change the reaction and see if that helps because with her you always have to be one step ahead. Her door is coming off her room today. That might help.
I had C on my lap and said to her, "C, your mom is just average." (Can you tell I had given myself a little too much credit just to realize that we are all pretty much average at something?)
And C replied, "My mom not average. My mom is awesome!" (I don't know how she got the verb in one sentence and not in the other. And to top that off, I don't think she knows what average even means.)
She made me feel better that little turkey.
Oh and on the other little munchkins, they all had good reports for parent teacher conferences. D's classroom behaviors are improving again. There are less meltdowns and less crying fits. This is huge. I was so proud of him. It's a real struggle for him. T had his first report of all outstandings. His teacher asked if he is as good at home as he is at school. (The answer is a big fat NO!) He really likes to goof around so I know it's hard for him not to do it at school. Once again I was a happy mama. And M had the cutest letter. She wrote that she hoped her teacher would tell us she was always respectful. And of course her teacher said great things because she is a super kid. It was really nice to have three good visits with teachers.
Oh and as for C. She is just chatting it up. I will be said though when she starts saying yep instead of lep. She is really into some good foot stomping when she is angry. She likes two ponytails, not one. We went to buy her a new swimsuit yesterday because they were on sale (and did I mention the ground is all snowy again today) and she did not want the ones I was interested in. She wanted a blue polka dot one. Blue is her favorite color. I should not have been surprised.
I think I have decided against going to Alaska for a week this summer. My mom is taking M up to their lodge and I was going to go. But in reality, the plane ticket alone is about 800 dollars and there are so many other costs as well. I just don't think I can do it. Eventually, my mom would like our whole family to go but of course, take that 800 and multiply it by 7 and it because one pricey trip. So we are looking at taking a two week vacation and driving up through Calgary and over to Prince Rupert and then taking the ferry for a couple of days to their lodge. I think it might be a bit of a fun adventure and it would cut about between 2 and 3 thousand dollars off the cost. We might die after being in the car together that long though. :)
And lastly, I lost a measly .4 pounds this week. I was starving. Last week I was hungry all week and I lost .8. So for two very hungry weeks I lost less than five sticks of butter. Once again, my good friend said don't worry about it. You are not going to lose much of anything when you are under so much stress so you might as well enjoy life a bit. But that would be almost 30 pounds by next year if I just stay stressed and hungry. I keep telling myself that wouldn't be so bad. DH and I did really well with the refined sugars though. There was a tiny bit in the barbecue sauce on the chicken on Sunday when we were at my MIL's but that is pretty much it. And I think we have been gluten free now for two weeks. I probably need to cut the rice and corn products out but I just so don't want to.
I can't wait for it to warm up a bit. I had dh get some rebar and I am going to pound it into the ground so my beans, cukes and peas can grow up it. We'll see how it works. Right now they are 10 feet long. The beans are supposed to grow at least 6 feet tall and here everything seems to grow even bigger than it is supposed to. I'm not quite sure how I will pound in 10 foot long sticks. I guess I'll just take a ladder out there and see if i can get them in about two feet. I'm hoping a really great garden can help with our food costs this summer. And if not, there is always a nice lesson involved in gardening.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Just a few things
I haven't written in forever because, well, I have so much to write and can't manage to get it all in.
We just returned from Arizona. We went down to a Cubs game to celebrate Joshua's birthday. They lost but it was fun.
In the two full days that we were there we managed to visit two friends, two great grandmas and a great grandpa along with dh's aunt and uncle and one of his cousin's family. I went to several garage sales and found M some cute jeans that were obviously not worn a whole bunch due to the heat (or maybe the kid just grew, who knows?).
We went to buy flowers to take to the boys and some younger guy (I'm thinking young twenties) came in to buy a dozen roses. A minute later someone else comes into the flower shop to say that someone's blue car has rolled into a major road. I guess the kid forgot to put the car in park or something. This was not some little road. We are talking a 7 lane road. I can't believe it didn't cause a wreck. That was luck for certain.
M was shocked because I didn't turn into a blubbering idiot at the cemetery. I did that two nights earlier and was feeling a little done with the tears and the woe is me. I can only woe so much and well, my eyes were so puffy after the first time that I made a decision to just not do that again.
I reflected once again on how my Joshua gave me C. She would have ended up just like him and instead she is a little miracle due to major medical following. I give thanks forever to my Joshua for her.
We managed to do everything on M's list. She has a shaved ice place she loves, Soupersalad and Dunkin Donuts. She's funny about traditions.
T and C were both a little sick. I thought it was just their regular tummy problems but it turned out to be something more projectile. C got me good tonight after we got home. Luckily, I cleaned up easily in the shower and she didn't get my new carpet. It sounds dumb but I was thrilled. Doesn't it figure that we skipped visiting my SIL and BIL because they had a kid with the stomach flu and we still ended up with it.
D and S had a much much better trip this year. We didn't have major tantrums at every turn. I think they both enjoyed the trip much more as well. S's tantrums did return when we got home but that was expected as she got her way much of the time in AZ and I believe she thinks that it is her doing. But it was better and I am so grateful. It was good to have a strong memory to compare with.
I'm a little stressed over health issues in my family this week. My grandma has some scary wound on her leg. She has MRSA and things just don't heal like they would on most of us. Then, I talked with my mom tonight and found out that when she was at a friends house she got attacked by a dog and ended up in the ER for stitches. I'm hoping she will heal a little better than she normally does.
My mom then told me as we were driving home that she has a blurry spot in the center of her vision and she is going to go and see a doctor. Of course, I jumped right to macular degeneration and started worrying away. She thinks it's because her blood was way too thin (according to the docs to the you could just bleed internally and die point) and she thinks her eyes just have been bleeding inside. Either way, it isn't good. I would hate for her to lose her vision. I'm hoping she gets in ASAP. This did make me think that my answer to my mom about taking M to their lodge in Alaska will be a yes. I don't want her to miss that especially if she is going to lose much of her vision eventually. I may end up heading up there myself. (Don't expect me to bring home a bear or anything, maybe a whale picture or two.)
The good news is that I was a pretty dang good dieter this week and I had better lose at least a pound. It's not often you come home from 'vacation' without gaining weight and I will be thrilled if I'm down a bit.
Oh, and the orange blossoms smelled heavenly in AZ. Oh how I love that smell! It makes me have the sniffles but I still love it. I really do like AZ. I feel so comfy there. But it was nice to come home and see no graffiti. DH and I spotted at least 200 deer on the way home. I would miss that too. They were everywhere.
Oh, and I came home to daffodils. That's always exciting. My bamboo plant bit the dust but the daffodils outside did well. I'll take what I can get.
We just returned from Arizona. We went down to a Cubs game to celebrate Joshua's birthday. They lost but it was fun.
In the two full days that we were there we managed to visit two friends, two great grandmas and a great grandpa along with dh's aunt and uncle and one of his cousin's family. I went to several garage sales and found M some cute jeans that were obviously not worn a whole bunch due to the heat (or maybe the kid just grew, who knows?).
We went to buy flowers to take to the boys and some younger guy (I'm thinking young twenties) came in to buy a dozen roses. A minute later someone else comes into the flower shop to say that someone's blue car has rolled into a major road. I guess the kid forgot to put the car in park or something. This was not some little road. We are talking a 7 lane road. I can't believe it didn't cause a wreck. That was luck for certain.
M was shocked because I didn't turn into a blubbering idiot at the cemetery. I did that two nights earlier and was feeling a little done with the tears and the woe is me. I can only woe so much and well, my eyes were so puffy after the first time that I made a decision to just not do that again.
I reflected once again on how my Joshua gave me C. She would have ended up just like him and instead she is a little miracle due to major medical following. I give thanks forever to my Joshua for her.
We managed to do everything on M's list. She has a shaved ice place she loves, Soupersalad and Dunkin Donuts. She's funny about traditions.
T and C were both a little sick. I thought it was just their regular tummy problems but it turned out to be something more projectile. C got me good tonight after we got home. Luckily, I cleaned up easily in the shower and she didn't get my new carpet. It sounds dumb but I was thrilled. Doesn't it figure that we skipped visiting my SIL and BIL because they had a kid with the stomach flu and we still ended up with it.
D and S had a much much better trip this year. We didn't have major tantrums at every turn. I think they both enjoyed the trip much more as well. S's tantrums did return when we got home but that was expected as she got her way much of the time in AZ and I believe she thinks that it is her doing. But it was better and I am so grateful. It was good to have a strong memory to compare with.
I'm a little stressed over health issues in my family this week. My grandma has some scary wound on her leg. She has MRSA and things just don't heal like they would on most of us. Then, I talked with my mom tonight and found out that when she was at a friends house she got attacked by a dog and ended up in the ER for stitches. I'm hoping she will heal a little better than she normally does.
My mom then told me as we were driving home that she has a blurry spot in the center of her vision and she is going to go and see a doctor. Of course, I jumped right to macular degeneration and started worrying away. She thinks it's because her blood was way too thin (according to the docs to the you could just bleed internally and die point) and she thinks her eyes just have been bleeding inside. Either way, it isn't good. I would hate for her to lose her vision. I'm hoping she gets in ASAP. This did make me think that my answer to my mom about taking M to their lodge in Alaska will be a yes. I don't want her to miss that especially if she is going to lose much of her vision eventually. I may end up heading up there myself. (Don't expect me to bring home a bear or anything, maybe a whale picture or two.)
The good news is that I was a pretty dang good dieter this week and I had better lose at least a pound. It's not often you come home from 'vacation' without gaining weight and I will be thrilled if I'm down a bit.
Oh, and the orange blossoms smelled heavenly in AZ. Oh how I love that smell! It makes me have the sniffles but I still love it. I really do like AZ. I feel so comfy there. But it was nice to come home and see no graffiti. DH and I spotted at least 200 deer on the way home. I would miss that too. They were everywhere.
Oh, and I came home to daffodils. That's always exciting. My bamboo plant bit the dust but the daffodils outside did well. I'll take what I can get.
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