I didn't intend to taake that long of a break from my blog here. Wow. Life got crazy busy and I was so busy living it, that I didn't blog about it.
In January, Hubby's grandmother died. She was buried in May. A week ago, my stepdad (my mom's ex-husband) died and his funeral was this past weekend.
Last school year, when Jeriah was in first grade, we were struggling with behavior and sleep issues both, while trying to get the school to recognize his need for both diff education and special education. We have since solved the sleep issue, have made significant progress in the behavior issue, Jeriah is in diff education for math and language arts and may not need the services from the special education department afterall.
This summer, Cephas and Koren swam for our local YMCA team and competed in four competitions, including our city championship. This fall, Cephas is continuing with team, while also playing football for the A squad on our city's midget football league. Next year, he will play freshman football. I can't believe it.
Koren decided not to do swim team this fall, so he will be doing taekwondo instead. He is also in the advanced orchestra at his school. During the summer, he went to school for two weeks, to be trained as a reading tutor, so he will be tutoring after school as well.
Oralee has been asked to join swim team, after a coach saw her swim at a team celebration. She loves it, even though she still has a lot to learn. She took piano this summer and we are currently on the lookout for a new teacher, because her teacher moved.
Jeriah also took piano this summer, which he loves. We really want to get him back to it as soon as possible. He is also going to be doing taekwondo with Koren. I hope it is good for him. We have had such huge improvements this summer, which have continued into our school year, with a few minor tweaks.
I just wanted to get a post on here, with a quick catch up. More tomorrow maybe.
Showing posts with label Oralee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oralee. Show all posts
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Family Activities - Week One
One of my goals for this year was to make an extra effort to spend some time doing family activities each week. There were a few from this past week that I could have chosen from, but the one that I am choosing to share is a trip that the kids and I took to a large gingerbread house display that was held at the Winter Quarters Visitors Center.
Here are some of the amazing pieces:
Mary and Joseph travelling to Jerusalem.
The Birth of Christ
Christ as a little child
John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.
Jesus healing the blind man.
Jesus healing the leper.
The Last Supper
The Resurrection
It was an absolutely amazing time! I feel incredibly blessed and thankful that we were able to go and visit and learn about this time in history! And a few fun shots of the kids:
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Here are some of the amazing pieces:
And then there was the life of Christ as depicted in gingerbread style:
Mary and Joseph travelling to Jerusalem.
The Birth of Christ
Christ as a little child
John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.
Jesus healing the blind man.
Jesus healing the leper.
Jesus calls the children to Him.
The Last Supper
The Resurrection
Some other pics from the museum portion of the Visitors Center:
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The kids standing outside a replica of a log cabin home reminiscent of the time. Cephas is all in black, with his arms across his chest. A friend of ours joked around that he looks like a bouncer, which is doubly funny to me, because we don't drink.
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Koren, Oralee and Jeriah pretending to pull a handcart like many of those who travelled from Illinois all the way to Utah.
It was such a blast and I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to go and visit and have fun and learn!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Labor Day
Today was an odd kind of day. I had planned to get up and spend much of the day doing homework, but ended up sleeping in. I have had hay fever this past week like nobody's business and it has been turning my world upside down.
I ended up staying in bed until around ten o'clock this morning, then I got up and started working on some homework. Truthfully, with all that has happened in our house in the last month and some medical issues I have been dealing with, I think I may end up failing this class if I am not able to drop it. I am going to talk to the instructor tomorrow about it and ask if I can drop it. I am guessing that I will need to have her permission to do so, since it is so late in the quarter. I just need to figure out what it is that I need to do for this class. I did get a full week's worth of work done. Problem is that I need to get four more week's worth done before Wednesday to get caught up. I don't think that is going to happen, but I'm going to try before I make my decision.
Hubby and I went down to get the kids from his parents around three in the afternoon. Oralee has learned how to ride her bike without training wheels finally. She's seven and has been terrified of riding without training wheels. We were certain that Jeriah was going to ride without them first. But Grandma said that Oralee was watching Angel tootle (yes, that's the word she used) around on the bike without needing the extra support and Oralee decided that if Angel (who is two years younger than her) could do it so easily, then she could too. She was determined to do it and now she can!
This is Oralee with the bike we bought her for her sixth birthday. We will be taking the training wheels off and she'll be ready to go!
Jeriah is the last one to learn how to ride a bike unsupported. If he is willing to ride on the tandem bike attachment, family bike rides are now an option. They just haven't been for a little bit now because the Jeriah and Oralee weigh too much together to be pulled in the bike trailer - not to mention, that they are cramped as can be in there!
When we got home, we had the kids do their chores and Hubby made supper while I worked on our month's menu and this week's grocery list. After dinner, I was hit HARD with a migraine. The kind of migraine where you don't even want to move. Thankfully, the kids are pretty much able to get themselves ready for bed and with Hubby's encouragement, they did what they were supposed to do.
Once all five of the kids were in bed and my migraine had subsided enough for me to function, I left for the grocery store. I picked up some fast food and a shake for Hubby on the way home but had to have Hubby bring all of the groceries in because I was having this horrible post-migraine shakey pukey feeling that is incredibly uncomfortable and scary to me.
He brought the groceries in and put the cold stuff away. The non-cold items are still sitting around in bags but I'll get to them first thing tomorrow morning. Well, maybe not first thing, but early on in the morning.
I have Paytin tomorrow morning so I need to make sure that the living room and den areas are really neat and tidy first. It just makes me feel better if those two rooms are at least tidy before her dad drops her off. Once she is here and napping, then I can get to work on the kitchen and putting the groceries away and folding the laundry and all that jazz.
Overall though, it's been a pretty decent day. I got a lot of stuff done today, despite feeling like I hadn't accomplished really anything at all.
I ended up staying in bed until around ten o'clock this morning, then I got up and started working on some homework. Truthfully, with all that has happened in our house in the last month and some medical issues I have been dealing with, I think I may end up failing this class if I am not able to drop it. I am going to talk to the instructor tomorrow about it and ask if I can drop it. I am guessing that I will need to have her permission to do so, since it is so late in the quarter. I just need to figure out what it is that I need to do for this class. I did get a full week's worth of work done. Problem is that I need to get four more week's worth done before Wednesday to get caught up. I don't think that is going to happen, but I'm going to try before I make my decision.
Hubby and I went down to get the kids from his parents around three in the afternoon. Oralee has learned how to ride her bike without training wheels finally. She's seven and has been terrified of riding without training wheels. We were certain that Jeriah was going to ride without them first. But Grandma said that Oralee was watching Angel tootle (yes, that's the word she used) around on the bike without needing the extra support and Oralee decided that if Angel (who is two years younger than her) could do it so easily, then she could too. She was determined to do it and now she can!
This is Oralee with the bike we bought her for her sixth birthday. We will be taking the training wheels off and she'll be ready to go!
Jeriah is the last one to learn how to ride a bike unsupported. If he is willing to ride on the tandem bike attachment, family bike rides are now an option. They just haven't been for a little bit now because the Jeriah and Oralee weigh too much together to be pulled in the bike trailer - not to mention, that they are cramped as can be in there!
When we got home, we had the kids do their chores and Hubby made supper while I worked on our month's menu and this week's grocery list. After dinner, I was hit HARD with a migraine. The kind of migraine where you don't even want to move. Thankfully, the kids are pretty much able to get themselves ready for bed and with Hubby's encouragement, they did what they were supposed to do.
Once all five of the kids were in bed and my migraine had subsided enough for me to function, I left for the grocery store. I picked up some fast food and a shake for Hubby on the way home but had to have Hubby bring all of the groceries in because I was having this horrible post-migraine shakey pukey feeling that is incredibly uncomfortable and scary to me.
He brought the groceries in and put the cold stuff away. The non-cold items are still sitting around in bags but I'll get to them first thing tomorrow morning. Well, maybe not first thing, but early on in the morning.
I have Paytin tomorrow morning so I need to make sure that the living room and den areas are really neat and tidy first. It just makes me feel better if those two rooms are at least tidy before her dad drops her off. Once she is here and napping, then I can get to work on the kitchen and putting the groceries away and folding the laundry and all that jazz.
Overall though, it's been a pretty decent day. I got a lot of stuff done today, despite feeling like I hadn't accomplished really anything at all.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Playing Catch-Up
I feel like that is what I do with most of my time right now. It is quite crazy to be honest. But first, I have to catch you all up to where we are now:
Cephas, age 12, seventh grade, center on his football team. ADHD fairly well controlled now, ODD getting controlled, aggression well under control. Trying to parent the younger kids: still a major issue. Has a best friend he likes to hang out with. I love it because it gives him a chance to be with another kid without his own siblings around. Best friend, Andy, has an older sister but she is much older than him and lives elsewhere for her college.
Koren, age 9 but almost 10, fourth grade, first year playing football. Still very studious and loves to learn, read, build with legos and hang out with his friends. His friends mostly live near us, so he can play with them outside near our home. Starting to come into his own stronger personality, but still loves to snuggle (even with Mom!)
Oralee, age 7, second grade. Princess-turned-Diva-turned-well, a handful. Has MAJOR attitude going on most of the time, but we're working on it. I have a pretty good idea what could be causing some of it though. Loves reading, writing stories, playing with her dollhouse and art projects. Also loves having Mom do her nails and hair. Nearly impossible to get this child to wear regular shoes, as she strongly prefers calf- or knee-high boots.
Jeriah, age 5 almost 6, first grade. Still has Asperger's, still reads way above grade level. Comprehension is still closer to grade level though. Very advanced in math. Can do sister's second-grade homework with ease. Brought home his first spelling pre-test of first grade this week with a perfect score on all of the regular words, plus the bonus words were spelled correctly as well. The challenge words are not given on the pre-test, but he was able to orally spell those for me when I asked him to. Kid is a whiz with words! Socially still at a deficit, but that is to be expected. Has started to pick on his sister. (Part of her issue with being a handful anymore.) Demanded some dignity about his bedroom situation and moved from the "girly room" he shared with his sister to the room his brothers occupy. Now, we have a boys' room and a girls' room.
Yes, a girls' (as in plural) room. No, I didn't have a baby, but yes, we kind of, sort of, have another kid. You might remember Angel, a kid whose mother works with Hubby. Well, just before the school year started, Angel's mom's life turned a little bit upside down and things were pretty shaky there for a little bit. I offered to have Angel stay with us so that her Mom could get herself situated and some things worked out. Angel is now with us temporarily but indefinitely. We have no legal rights or claim to her, her mom has full custody of her, but she just happens to be with us most of the time. So:
Angel, age 5, kindergarten. Adjusting well to being here and starting school. Loves being in school and is so proud of her work. Can now write her name. We had about four months where I didn't really have her, so she may have learned how to do it in that time, but I just now know about it. Does an amazingly perfect cartwheel (I'm thinking gymnastics may be in her future here soon!) and has gotten over her quiet shyness for the most part.
So, if you are following along, that's five kids, two in football, two who are on the Autism Spectrum. Busy yet? Nope! Cephas and Koren are both still in Boy and Cub Scouts, respectively. We were considering putting Jeriah in our school's Scouting program, but in doing so, he would advance from Bear to Wolf and then transfer to his brothers' Pack/Troop and have to go back to being a Bear, because of the difference in the way they do their Scouts. And instead of having Oralee do formal Girl Scouts this year, I have strongly considered doing Juliettes with her. It's basically like Girl Scouts for homeschoolers. She would do her activities and earn her badges and all that, but we would do it independent of a group. It is basically what ended up happening in her first year as a Daisy as well. And since we have Angel, she would also do Juliettes as well.
If that isn't all enough, you might remember we have three dogs: Tink, Tiny and Freddy. Tink and Tiny are Chihuahuas and Freddy is a Cocker Spaniel. To mix things up a bit, we added a cat, Phineas or Phinny for short. When we got him, we were pretty sure that Freddy wanted to eat him, but within a few days, they got along well enough. Now, Phinny does his own thing, the dogs do their own thing and all is well.
Hubby just passed his two-year anniversary at his work. There's a lot of stress there right now because he works in a restaurant and the restaurant chain was bought out by another company late last year and they have made some changes since the purchase. Well, on top of that, his store is also going through a Revitalization Phase. They are getting a full-store remodel and they are staying open throughout the whole thing, minus only ONE day! Can you imagine?! I'm so thankful that I don't work there. On top of being fired for being insubordinate to the General Manager (he's a friend of mine), I'd want to pull my hair out at all of the changes going on.
Speaking of changes, I have a couple of new things going on in my own life. I have started back to school. I started back in classes in Spring. I took 16.5 credit hours (4 classes) during the regular 10-week quarter, 4.5 credit hours (1 class) for the accelerated 5-week quarter and another 4.5 credit hours (1 class) for the accelerated 3-week quarter. I was able to knock 25.5 credit hours out in one quarter alone. For the summer quarter, I have slowed it down to only 18 credit hours (4 classes) and for fall, I am slowing it down just a bit more to the smallest amount that I am even willing to take and will only be taking 12.5 credit hours (3 classes), although I am struggling with that decision, feeling that I should still take 4 classes. Oh - and for my crazy Spring quarter? Term GPA of 3.588.
And to finish off the changes that will catch you up the rest of the way, I have started caring for another one of Hubby's co-worker's children. Her name is Paytin. I have her only part-time as I have a traditional class during the day, three days a week which is when her parents would be needing me to watch her. Instead, I watch her on my non-class weekdays. The very first day I watched her, she was only 15 days old. I actually had to check and make sure it was legal to watch her as I do daycare part-time, but am license-exempt. It is actually because I am license-exempt that I was able to take her. Her mom went back to work before Paytin was even two weeks old. I am in awe of her, to be honest. No way was I ready to go back to work that soon after having my kids. But she is determined. Both of Paytin's parents are going to be taking college courses this fall in addition to working and raising a newborn. They are going to be taking online classes. I haven't the slightest idea how they are going to do it all, but they are young, they are in love, they are determined and they are working hard to make the best life they can for tiny little Paytin and themselves.
And I'm pretty sure that you are now all caught up with our lives here. Stay tuned though. I plan to update more than every six months.
Cephas, age 12, seventh grade, center on his football team. ADHD fairly well controlled now, ODD getting controlled, aggression well under control. Trying to parent the younger kids: still a major issue. Has a best friend he likes to hang out with. I love it because it gives him a chance to be with another kid without his own siblings around. Best friend, Andy, has an older sister but she is much older than him and lives elsewhere for her college.
Koren, age 9 but almost 10, fourth grade, first year playing football. Still very studious and loves to learn, read, build with legos and hang out with his friends. His friends mostly live near us, so he can play with them outside near our home. Starting to come into his own stronger personality, but still loves to snuggle (even with Mom!)
Oralee, age 7, second grade. Princess-turned-Diva-turned-well, a handful. Has MAJOR attitude going on most of the time, but we're working on it. I have a pretty good idea what could be causing some of it though. Loves reading, writing stories, playing with her dollhouse and art projects. Also loves having Mom do her nails and hair. Nearly impossible to get this child to wear regular shoes, as she strongly prefers calf- or knee-high boots.
Jeriah, age 5 almost 6, first grade. Still has Asperger's, still reads way above grade level. Comprehension is still closer to grade level though. Very advanced in math. Can do sister's second-grade homework with ease. Brought home his first spelling pre-test of first grade this week with a perfect score on all of the regular words, plus the bonus words were spelled correctly as well. The challenge words are not given on the pre-test, but he was able to orally spell those for me when I asked him to. Kid is a whiz with words! Socially still at a deficit, but that is to be expected. Has started to pick on his sister. (Part of her issue with being a handful anymore.) Demanded some dignity about his bedroom situation and moved from the "girly room" he shared with his sister to the room his brothers occupy. Now, we have a boys' room and a girls' room.
Yes, a girls' (as in plural) room. No, I didn't have a baby, but yes, we kind of, sort of, have another kid. You might remember Angel, a kid whose mother works with Hubby. Well, just before the school year started, Angel's mom's life turned a little bit upside down and things were pretty shaky there for a little bit. I offered to have Angel stay with us so that her Mom could get herself situated and some things worked out. Angel is now with us temporarily but indefinitely. We have no legal rights or claim to her, her mom has full custody of her, but she just happens to be with us most of the time. So:
Angel, age 5, kindergarten. Adjusting well to being here and starting school. Loves being in school and is so proud of her work. Can now write her name. We had about four months where I didn't really have her, so she may have learned how to do it in that time, but I just now know about it. Does an amazingly perfect cartwheel (I'm thinking gymnastics may be in her future here soon!) and has gotten over her quiet shyness for the most part.
So, if you are following along, that's five kids, two in football, two who are on the Autism Spectrum. Busy yet? Nope! Cephas and Koren are both still in Boy and Cub Scouts, respectively. We were considering putting Jeriah in our school's Scouting program, but in doing so, he would advance from Bear to Wolf and then transfer to his brothers' Pack/Troop and have to go back to being a Bear, because of the difference in the way they do their Scouts. And instead of having Oralee do formal Girl Scouts this year, I have strongly considered doing Juliettes with her. It's basically like Girl Scouts for homeschoolers. She would do her activities and earn her badges and all that, but we would do it independent of a group. It is basically what ended up happening in her first year as a Daisy as well. And since we have Angel, she would also do Juliettes as well.
If that isn't all enough, you might remember we have three dogs: Tink, Tiny and Freddy. Tink and Tiny are Chihuahuas and Freddy is a Cocker Spaniel. To mix things up a bit, we added a cat, Phineas or Phinny for short. When we got him, we were pretty sure that Freddy wanted to eat him, but within a few days, they got along well enough. Now, Phinny does his own thing, the dogs do their own thing and all is well.
Hubby just passed his two-year anniversary at his work. There's a lot of stress there right now because he works in a restaurant and the restaurant chain was bought out by another company late last year and they have made some changes since the purchase. Well, on top of that, his store is also going through a Revitalization Phase. They are getting a full-store remodel and they are staying open throughout the whole thing, minus only ONE day! Can you imagine?! I'm so thankful that I don't work there. On top of being fired for being insubordinate to the General Manager (he's a friend of mine), I'd want to pull my hair out at all of the changes going on.
Speaking of changes, I have a couple of new things going on in my own life. I have started back to school. I started back in classes in Spring. I took 16.5 credit hours (4 classes) during the regular 10-week quarter, 4.5 credit hours (1 class) for the accelerated 5-week quarter and another 4.5 credit hours (1 class) for the accelerated 3-week quarter. I was able to knock 25.5 credit hours out in one quarter alone. For the summer quarter, I have slowed it down to only 18 credit hours (4 classes) and for fall, I am slowing it down just a bit more to the smallest amount that I am even willing to take and will only be taking 12.5 credit hours (3 classes), although I am struggling with that decision, feeling that I should still take 4 classes. Oh - and for my crazy Spring quarter? Term GPA of 3.588.
And to finish off the changes that will catch you up the rest of the way, I have started caring for another one of Hubby's co-worker's children. Her name is Paytin. I have her only part-time as I have a traditional class during the day, three days a week which is when her parents would be needing me to watch her. Instead, I watch her on my non-class weekdays. The very first day I watched her, she was only 15 days old. I actually had to check and make sure it was legal to watch her as I do daycare part-time, but am license-exempt. It is actually because I am license-exempt that I was able to take her. Her mom went back to work before Paytin was even two weeks old. I am in awe of her, to be honest. No way was I ready to go back to work that soon after having my kids. But she is determined. Both of Paytin's parents are going to be taking college courses this fall in addition to working and raising a newborn. They are going to be taking online classes. I haven't the slightest idea how they are going to do it all, but they are young, they are in love, they are determined and they are working hard to make the best life they can for tiny little Paytin and themselves.
And I'm pretty sure that you are now all caught up with our lives here. Stay tuned though. I plan to update more than every six months.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
ADHD, ODD and Aspergers, oh my!
I have talked some before about Jeriah's Aspergers and how he is doing such a fantastic job with school and social situattions, and learning and all that. And I have mentioned briefly about Cephas and his ADHD. Well, here's a little bit of an update about these two kiddos.
Jeriah is still doing an amazing job at school. He has adapted quite nicely to his school routine and to his work and expectations there. His grades at school are all at either meeting or exceeding district standards, which is amazing. At home, though, it's a different story. He has been really defiant and refuses to help out or cooperate or whatever. It's trying on a mama, let me tell you. There are some days and situations where my energy and abilities are long spent just a few hours after he wakes up. I need to schedule another appointment for him with our therapist. This mama needs some resources to deal with this very strong-willed child. He is amazingly smart and I adore him to pieces, but I'm at a point where I need some kind of resources and ideas for what to do now.
I had this same issue with Cephas at this age. It was so INCREDIBLY difficult because with Cephas, I had two younger children at this age, one of which was a baby. With Jeriah, I think it's almost worse though, because I also have Cephas at his current stage, which is taxing at this point, to say the least.
Cephas was diagnosed with ADHD last Spring ('12) and we didn't want to medicate initially. Plus, he had Midget Football, which took up a LOT of time and energy and everything else. It was something that was physically grueling for him and kept him busy enough that he was too exhausted on a regular basis to act out. And then football season ended. And then we started back in with some of the issues.
Two weeks ago, after about a month of really considering the options, we went ahead and met with someone in the psychology office who is in charge of prescribing medications. She put him on a low dose of one ADHD med for him to take that week. It's a short-acting medication and is only in his system for a very limited period of time. Then, the second week (this week), the dose was doubled and would last for twice as long. And it has done an AMAZING job for him at school. He has been able to focus and not even his best friend goofing around here and there has been much of a distraction issue while he is in school. But then, he gets home, the medication wears off and we have our hands FULL. I try to get him to do his chores and homework immediately after school while his meds are still possibly in effect, but if something comes up and we're delayed by an hour or so, the rest of the night is a complete struggle.
Anyhow, before I go into all of that, I should share about the visit that we had with his psychologist before we went to meet with the person in the office who makes the medication decisions. Anyhow, I was talking to the psychologist and told her that it often feels like in addition to his ADHD (which we have talked about and worked with at length) that it feels like he also has ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) and sometimes a touch of depression and with all of these things combined, it's like he has bi-polar or something.
She validated my feelings about all of that and showed my Cephas' graded assessments, in which his scores were 99.99% ADHD, 99.99% ODD, 99.99% Aggression (something or other) and I was like, Oh wow. Suddenly, it all seems to make sense. It's not just me losing my mind with this child (whom I love dearly, don't get me wrong!)
So, we met with the other person and started him on this medication. We have a meeting with both women coming up this next week and I cannot wait! There's potential that we will end up giving Cephas the low-dose med after school to get him through the evening and we may end up needing to give him another one to help him sleep as well. I don't know if I have ever mentioned this, but I really and truly dislike medications, but we are at the point where there's little other choice. We cannot have him un-medicated right now. But part of the problem that we are having right now is a side effect from the med of restlessness and insomnia. He's always had sleep issues and now on top of that, he has a medication that makes him more prone to it. So, in addition to the medication wearing off around the same time that he gets home from school, he's also not sleeping well at night and he is excessively tired, yet restless at the same time. It seems to be a vicious cycle.
These past few days in particular have been extremely challenging. I think that there has been three days in a row now that have me at my wit's end. The first two days that he was on the stronger dose, we didn't really have any major issues. However, I do think that by the third day, the sleep issue was really starting to catch up with him. All I know for sure is that I cannot wait until next week to meet with both ladies. I don't know if they are going to change his med, add on to it for the evening hours, or give him a sleeping aid of some sort. I almost want to try for the sleep aid first and see if that helps with the evening hours and the restlessness and insomnia issue first. But I don't know what route would be best to go.
It seems that he functions best when he is over-scheduled. You know, there was a big thing about kids being too over-scheduled and how they don't have downtime in our society, etc for quite a while a few years back. But Cephas seems to thrive and function the best when he is constantly on the go. However, I can't do it. Even if I don't have to do all of it, I'm still the one that has to take him here, there and everywhere else and it wears me out.
Right now, we have him involved in Swim Club. (Koren is also in Swim Club, while Oralee and Jeriah are in swim lessons.) Swim Club is quite physically demanding. Koren was complaining that they pushed him too hard, but Cephas kept pace with it really well. He has to do Swim Club before he can do Swim Team. I cannot wait for him to do Swim Team. He needs that intensity. Right now, Swim Club is twice a week. After this session is over, I plan on keeping Koren in Club and putting Cephas on the Team. Hopefully that will help matters as well. Then, this Spring, Cephas will also be playing soccer, Koren will be playing flag football, Oralee will be playing volleyball and Jeriah will be in soccer as well. It's such a demanding sports schedule, but given the similarities between Cephas and Jeriah at Jeriah's current age, I think it may be very beneficial to keep him busy as well. I've also toyed with the idea of having the boys do gymnastics, as Koren wants to and so does Jeriah. Oralee wants to do dance classes.
Anyone else exhausted just thinking about this? Because I am just from typing it and trying to keep it all straight. If I am sparse in posting over the next few weeks, this is why. I'm just trying to keep up with my ASD kiddos.
I also got into a huge disagreement with one of my best friends tonight. This is someone who hasn't been around for just over six months because he was deployed for a month, then he was home for about a month and has been gone for another three months. He doesn't spend all that much time with Cephas either. But as I was talking to him about just the ADHD, ODD, the meds and the current struggle, he made the mistake of telling me that Cephas doesn't have a disorder, that he's just twelve and developing his personality and such. This friend does not have children, does not work with children, rarely is even around children, much less any Spectrum children. Needless to say, we did not exactly see eye to eye about it and our discussion got heated and in the end, I unfriended him on Facebook. I told Bree about the conversation, as her son also has ADHD and ODD, although he's three years younger than Cephas is. But she understands what I'm going through with Cephas. And while she doesn't always understand completely what I'm going through with Jeriah, she's there and she's supportive and validates what it is that I'm feeling and going through with him. This other friend did the exact opposite. I also happened to be talking to Bree on Facebook and she was also getting riled up about this other friend's attitude.
This other friend gets home from his deployment tomorrow and I unfriended him tonight. Not exactly the best timing, but I was angry. Livid, really. I also wanted to talk to his wife tonight, before he gets home tomorrow, to let her know where I stood with her husband at this point in time. Let's just say, he really isn't scoring points with anyone at this point in time. His wife said that he was lucky this conversation took place while he is deployed and that it wasn't in front of her because she'd end up telling him a thing or two herself. I used to get along with him better than I did with her, but over the last few years, I have really lost a lot of respect for him. I hate to say that and to feel that way, but that's just the way that it is. I'm really grateful though, to have rediscovered such a good friend in his wife.
Okay, so this post was in large part an update and also a vent. Sometimes, it is so hard to balance all of this stress though. Thanks for reading through this. I'm exhausted and probably a little worked up yet. And to add to the stress, I also just found out today that Hubby is going to be back to work six to seven days each week. That is going to take yet another toll on me, because I'm going to lose him as a regular resource on Sundays. Wish me luck?
Jeriah is still doing an amazing job at school. He has adapted quite nicely to his school routine and to his work and expectations there. His grades at school are all at either meeting or exceeding district standards, which is amazing. At home, though, it's a different story. He has been really defiant and refuses to help out or cooperate or whatever. It's trying on a mama, let me tell you. There are some days and situations where my energy and abilities are long spent just a few hours after he wakes up. I need to schedule another appointment for him with our therapist. This mama needs some resources to deal with this very strong-willed child. He is amazingly smart and I adore him to pieces, but I'm at a point where I need some kind of resources and ideas for what to do now.
I had this same issue with Cephas at this age. It was so INCREDIBLY difficult because with Cephas, I had two younger children at this age, one of which was a baby. With Jeriah, I think it's almost worse though, because I also have Cephas at his current stage, which is taxing at this point, to say the least.
Cephas was diagnosed with ADHD last Spring ('12) and we didn't want to medicate initially. Plus, he had Midget Football, which took up a LOT of time and energy and everything else. It was something that was physically grueling for him and kept him busy enough that he was too exhausted on a regular basis to act out. And then football season ended. And then we started back in with some of the issues.
Two weeks ago, after about a month of really considering the options, we went ahead and met with someone in the psychology office who is in charge of prescribing medications. She put him on a low dose of one ADHD med for him to take that week. It's a short-acting medication and is only in his system for a very limited period of time. Then, the second week (this week), the dose was doubled and would last for twice as long. And it has done an AMAZING job for him at school. He has been able to focus and not even his best friend goofing around here and there has been much of a distraction issue while he is in school. But then, he gets home, the medication wears off and we have our hands FULL. I try to get him to do his chores and homework immediately after school while his meds are still possibly in effect, but if something comes up and we're delayed by an hour or so, the rest of the night is a complete struggle.
Anyhow, before I go into all of that, I should share about the visit that we had with his psychologist before we went to meet with the person in the office who makes the medication decisions. Anyhow, I was talking to the psychologist and told her that it often feels like in addition to his ADHD (which we have talked about and worked with at length) that it feels like he also has ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) and sometimes a touch of depression and with all of these things combined, it's like he has bi-polar or something.
She validated my feelings about all of that and showed my Cephas' graded assessments, in which his scores were 99.99% ADHD, 99.99% ODD, 99.99% Aggression (something or other) and I was like, Oh wow. Suddenly, it all seems to make sense. It's not just me losing my mind with this child (whom I love dearly, don't get me wrong!)
So, we met with the other person and started him on this medication. We have a meeting with both women coming up this next week and I cannot wait! There's potential that we will end up giving Cephas the low-dose med after school to get him through the evening and we may end up needing to give him another one to help him sleep as well. I don't know if I have ever mentioned this, but I really and truly dislike medications, but we are at the point where there's little other choice. We cannot have him un-medicated right now. But part of the problem that we are having right now is a side effect from the med of restlessness and insomnia. He's always had sleep issues and now on top of that, he has a medication that makes him more prone to it. So, in addition to the medication wearing off around the same time that he gets home from school, he's also not sleeping well at night and he is excessively tired, yet restless at the same time. It seems to be a vicious cycle.
These past few days in particular have been extremely challenging. I think that there has been three days in a row now that have me at my wit's end. The first two days that he was on the stronger dose, we didn't really have any major issues. However, I do think that by the third day, the sleep issue was really starting to catch up with him. All I know for sure is that I cannot wait until next week to meet with both ladies. I don't know if they are going to change his med, add on to it for the evening hours, or give him a sleeping aid of some sort. I almost want to try for the sleep aid first and see if that helps with the evening hours and the restlessness and insomnia issue first. But I don't know what route would be best to go.
It seems that he functions best when he is over-scheduled. You know, there was a big thing about kids being too over-scheduled and how they don't have downtime in our society, etc for quite a while a few years back. But Cephas seems to thrive and function the best when he is constantly on the go. However, I can't do it. Even if I don't have to do all of it, I'm still the one that has to take him here, there and everywhere else and it wears me out.
Right now, we have him involved in Swim Club. (Koren is also in Swim Club, while Oralee and Jeriah are in swim lessons.) Swim Club is quite physically demanding. Koren was complaining that they pushed him too hard, but Cephas kept pace with it really well. He has to do Swim Club before he can do Swim Team. I cannot wait for him to do Swim Team. He needs that intensity. Right now, Swim Club is twice a week. After this session is over, I plan on keeping Koren in Club and putting Cephas on the Team. Hopefully that will help matters as well. Then, this Spring, Cephas will also be playing soccer, Koren will be playing flag football, Oralee will be playing volleyball and Jeriah will be in soccer as well. It's such a demanding sports schedule, but given the similarities between Cephas and Jeriah at Jeriah's current age, I think it may be very beneficial to keep him busy as well. I've also toyed with the idea of having the boys do gymnastics, as Koren wants to and so does Jeriah. Oralee wants to do dance classes.
Anyone else exhausted just thinking about this? Because I am just from typing it and trying to keep it all straight. If I am sparse in posting over the next few weeks, this is why. I'm just trying to keep up with my ASD kiddos.
I also got into a huge disagreement with one of my best friends tonight. This is someone who hasn't been around for just over six months because he was deployed for a month, then he was home for about a month and has been gone for another three months. He doesn't spend all that much time with Cephas either. But as I was talking to him about just the ADHD, ODD, the meds and the current struggle, he made the mistake of telling me that Cephas doesn't have a disorder, that he's just twelve and developing his personality and such. This friend does not have children, does not work with children, rarely is even around children, much less any Spectrum children. Needless to say, we did not exactly see eye to eye about it and our discussion got heated and in the end, I unfriended him on Facebook. I told Bree about the conversation, as her son also has ADHD and ODD, although he's three years younger than Cephas is. But she understands what I'm going through with Cephas. And while she doesn't always understand completely what I'm going through with Jeriah, she's there and she's supportive and validates what it is that I'm feeling and going through with him. This other friend did the exact opposite. I also happened to be talking to Bree on Facebook and she was also getting riled up about this other friend's attitude.
This other friend gets home from his deployment tomorrow and I unfriended him tonight. Not exactly the best timing, but I was angry. Livid, really. I also wanted to talk to his wife tonight, before he gets home tomorrow, to let her know where I stood with her husband at this point in time. Let's just say, he really isn't scoring points with anyone at this point in time. His wife said that he was lucky this conversation took place while he is deployed and that it wasn't in front of her because she'd end up telling him a thing or two herself. I used to get along with him better than I did with her, but over the last few years, I have really lost a lot of respect for him. I hate to say that and to feel that way, but that's just the way that it is. I'm really grateful though, to have rediscovered such a good friend in his wife.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Cold outside, chores inside.
I know some areas are worse, but man, oh man, is it ever cold outside this week. This past weekend was GORGEOUS! Fifty-five degrees and sunny and today it was bitterly cold, overcast and windy. Okay, in all reality, our high for the day was 16 degrees and our highest windchill temp I do believe got up to around -5 degrees. But brrr!
All the super cold means that we have been spending a lot of time indoors. Doing a lot of planning and chore work. Which means that right now is a great time to show-and-tell our current chore system here.
I have four children. Each child has an age in years. Each child is expected to do the same number of chores in living areas of the home as they are old. If all of these chores are done each and every day without fail, said child receives a dollar amount equal to their age once a month. What this ends up working out to being is 3.5 cents per chore. I wanted something that would give the kids money but not be something that would break our budget either.
So here is how it works for Cephas (the child with the greatest age/number of chores/earning potential):
His room has to be clean in order for him to earn any stickers (the way we keep track of our chores) for chores. A clean room means that his bed is neat and tidy, under his bed is free of debris, his dresser, desk and bookshelf are all neat and tidy, the closet is neat and tidy with all items on hangers or in the canvas bins that we use for underclothes. This may sound like a normal thing to the rest of you, but to my twelve year old and his apparent lack of ability to see mess, it is something that has o be clearly defined.
Now for his chores. Currently, at his request, he has the living room. Once again, it may seem silly that we have such a specific list for him, but quite honestly, he needs to have completely clear expectations. His chores are: (1) clear the bookshelf of anything that doesn't belong on there, (2) clear the TV stand of anything that doesn't belong on there and make it look neat, (3) clear off the cedar chest, (4) clear off the couch, (5) clear under couch cushions, (6) make sure the area under the couch is clear, (7) hang up all the coats and backpacks neatly, (8) make sure all shoes are put on racks or in the shoe baskets, (9) clear off entry table of all non-essential items, (10) pick up floor area in TV area, making sure to check the perimeter area of the floor, (11) pick up floor area in the entry/shoe area, (12) clear off mom's side table.
All are super quick things to do, especially if he does it daily. If he doesn't do it daily, then it builds up and he has to work harder and longer to get it all done. He only earns one sticker per item each day and only if he keeps the chore items up throughout the day. He does have he ability to ask a sibling or a parent to pick up their item if he sees them leaving an item in an area that he is responsible for keeping tidy. He has to do it with respect though. He will get twelve stickers for doing these very basic routine pick up jobs in this one room. The other kids have similarly specific chore items to do in other rooms. This is a system that works for us.
On the wall in our hallway, I have a row of their current school pictures. Under this row of pictures, I have a string that is threaded through 8 mini clothespins that I got from Walmart. Two clothespins for each child hold a sheet of 8x11 printer paper on which we put their stickers. At night, after they go to bed, we place sticker strips with their accumulated stickers from the day in one of their clothespins. Then, once a month, we pay out for their stickers. They can keep the sheet or toss it. The boys generally toss theirs, while Oralee keeps her sheets and hangs them on her wall in her bedroom. Once paid, they get new sheets for the month.
I do allow the kids to do extra work and award extra stickers. For instance, if Cephas or Koren decide to do a load of laundry, it usually nets them 3 stickers (unloading the dryer and bringing the load to my bed or to the couch, transferring the laundry from washer to dryer, reloading the washer). They know all the little parts that need to be done each time. Sorting the load to make sure they are washing like items, using the right amount and temperature of water, cleaning the lint trap of the dryer, etc. etc. Last weekend, they worked together and did six loads of laundry. They worked together on it and I had no issues (because of how well they were working together, cooperating and showing initiative - I didn't say anything to them at all about doing laundry) of giving them each the same number of stickers that I would have given them if they did the work solo. My reasoning? Their joint work ethic. I wanted to reward that as well. And to show them that if they work together nicely, they can get the job done quickly and easily and reap even more benefits than working solo. Their additional benefit was half the workload, same amount of stickers and more time to spend doing what they wanted to do.
Cephas and Koren have been incredibly helpful around the house this week. They have helped me clean Oralee and Jeriah's bedroom, did probably 9 loads of laundry, Cephas cleaned his and Koren's bedroom, and helped me with some laundry work in my room. To be honest, my bedroom most often resembles a clothing store explosion. They earned A LOT of extra stickers for going so far above and beyond this week. The only thing that I actually asked them to do was offering them the opportunity to earn stickers for Oralee and Jeriah's bedroom. Bedroom chores are NOT generally worth any stickers. But if your bedroom chores are not done, you can earn stickers, but you may not collect them, if that makes sense at all.
Okay, so this is what our hallway looks like right now. I will be paying out for their stickers later today as it is the first day of the month.
This is Koren's chart. He has currently earned nearly $5.00 for two weeks worth of work. We had the same concept before, but the stickers were on a different chart (10-strips).
This here is Cephas' chart. He also has been working for about two weeks, and he has currently earned nearly $6.00.
This is Oralee's chart. She prefers her stickers to be placed on there at random. She has earned a little over a dollar and a half.
Jeriah's chart has the least amount of stickers, as he is the youngest and currently the most resistant to doing chores. He has earned just cents shy of a dollar.
I love this system! I love the fact that the kids' chores are so specific that there isn't any doubt that they know exactly what is expected of them. They know what each area is supposed to look like when it is done. It is great! They know what to do and how to do it. Also, I had mentioned that they can earn extra stickers for doing extra chores, if they choose, but their prerequisite for that is that their chore rooms have to be done and their bedrooms have to be clean. It has been a beautiful little arrangement.
Oh, and we are also about to institute a dinner chore wheel, where everyone has a roll to play in the dinner prep or clean up. Those mini-chores are not for stickers, but as part of being a family and learning to be a responsible member of the family. The dinner chores include: unload the dishwasher, clear off the table for dinner, help prepare the actual meal, set the table with dishes, help bring the food to the table, help clear the table of the extra food (everyone is responsible for getting their own place setting scraped off and to the sink), rinsing dishes, load the dishwasher, wipe down the table and chairs, wipe down the counters and stove, sweep kitchen and dining room floors, take out the trash. If everyone chips in and does even two items, the work will fly right by and we will have more time to spend doing whatever we want in the evening.
I think it is a great and wonderful plan and cannot wait to implement it later today as well. I love our chore system and how well it works for us. Maybe something in it will help you, maybe it won't. But I thought I'd share it because it is a system that we have been using for quite awhile now and it just works so well for us.
All the super cold means that we have been spending a lot of time indoors. Doing a lot of planning and chore work. Which means that right now is a great time to show-and-tell our current chore system here.
I have four children. Each child has an age in years. Each child is expected to do the same number of chores in living areas of the home as they are old. If all of these chores are done each and every day without fail, said child receives a dollar amount equal to their age once a month. What this ends up working out to being is 3.5 cents per chore. I wanted something that would give the kids money but not be something that would break our budget either.
So here is how it works for Cephas (the child with the greatest age/number of chores/earning potential):
His room has to be clean in order for him to earn any stickers (the way we keep track of our chores) for chores. A clean room means that his bed is neat and tidy, under his bed is free of debris, his dresser, desk and bookshelf are all neat and tidy, the closet is neat and tidy with all items on hangers or in the canvas bins that we use for underclothes. This may sound like a normal thing to the rest of you, but to my twelve year old and his apparent lack of ability to see mess, it is something that has o be clearly defined.
Now for his chores. Currently, at his request, he has the living room. Once again, it may seem silly that we have such a specific list for him, but quite honestly, he needs to have completely clear expectations. His chores are: (1) clear the bookshelf of anything that doesn't belong on there, (2) clear the TV stand of anything that doesn't belong on there and make it look neat, (3) clear off the cedar chest, (4) clear off the couch, (5) clear under couch cushions, (6) make sure the area under the couch is clear, (7) hang up all the coats and backpacks neatly, (8) make sure all shoes are put on racks or in the shoe baskets, (9) clear off entry table of all non-essential items, (10) pick up floor area in TV area, making sure to check the perimeter area of the floor, (11) pick up floor area in the entry/shoe area, (12) clear off mom's side table.
All are super quick things to do, especially if he does it daily. If he doesn't do it daily, then it builds up and he has to work harder and longer to get it all done. He only earns one sticker per item each day and only if he keeps the chore items up throughout the day. He does have he ability to ask a sibling or a parent to pick up their item if he sees them leaving an item in an area that he is responsible for keeping tidy. He has to do it with respect though. He will get twelve stickers for doing these very basic routine pick up jobs in this one room. The other kids have similarly specific chore items to do in other rooms. This is a system that works for us.
On the wall in our hallway, I have a row of their current school pictures. Under this row of pictures, I have a string that is threaded through 8 mini clothespins that I got from Walmart. Two clothespins for each child hold a sheet of 8x11 printer paper on which we put their stickers. At night, after they go to bed, we place sticker strips with their accumulated stickers from the day in one of their clothespins. Then, once a month, we pay out for their stickers. They can keep the sheet or toss it. The boys generally toss theirs, while Oralee keeps her sheets and hangs them on her wall in her bedroom. Once paid, they get new sheets for the month.
I do allow the kids to do extra work and award extra stickers. For instance, if Cephas or Koren decide to do a load of laundry, it usually nets them 3 stickers (unloading the dryer and bringing the load to my bed or to the couch, transferring the laundry from washer to dryer, reloading the washer). They know all the little parts that need to be done each time. Sorting the load to make sure they are washing like items, using the right amount and temperature of water, cleaning the lint trap of the dryer, etc. etc. Last weekend, they worked together and did six loads of laundry. They worked together on it and I had no issues (because of how well they were working together, cooperating and showing initiative - I didn't say anything to them at all about doing laundry) of giving them each the same number of stickers that I would have given them if they did the work solo. My reasoning? Their joint work ethic. I wanted to reward that as well. And to show them that if they work together nicely, they can get the job done quickly and easily and reap even more benefits than working solo. Their additional benefit was half the workload, same amount of stickers and more time to spend doing what they wanted to do.
Cephas and Koren have been incredibly helpful around the house this week. They have helped me clean Oralee and Jeriah's bedroom, did probably 9 loads of laundry, Cephas cleaned his and Koren's bedroom, and helped me with some laundry work in my room. To be honest, my bedroom most often resembles a clothing store explosion. They earned A LOT of extra stickers for going so far above and beyond this week. The only thing that I actually asked them to do was offering them the opportunity to earn stickers for Oralee and Jeriah's bedroom. Bedroom chores are NOT generally worth any stickers. But if your bedroom chores are not done, you can earn stickers, but you may not collect them, if that makes sense at all.
Okay, so this is what our hallway looks like right now. I will be paying out for their stickers later today as it is the first day of the month.
This is Koren's chart. He has currently earned nearly $5.00 for two weeks worth of work. We had the same concept before, but the stickers were on a different chart (10-strips).
This here is Cephas' chart. He also has been working for about two weeks, and he has currently earned nearly $6.00.
This is Oralee's chart. She prefers her stickers to be placed on there at random. She has earned a little over a dollar and a half.
Jeriah's chart has the least amount of stickers, as he is the youngest and currently the most resistant to doing chores. He has earned just cents shy of a dollar.
I love this system! I love the fact that the kids' chores are so specific that there isn't any doubt that they know exactly what is expected of them. They know what each area is supposed to look like when it is done. It is great! They know what to do and how to do it. Also, I had mentioned that they can earn extra stickers for doing extra chores, if they choose, but their prerequisite for that is that their chore rooms have to be done and their bedrooms have to be clean. It has been a beautiful little arrangement.
Oh, and we are also about to institute a dinner chore wheel, where everyone has a roll to play in the dinner prep or clean up. Those mini-chores are not for stickers, but as part of being a family and learning to be a responsible member of the family. The dinner chores include: unload the dishwasher, clear off the table for dinner, help prepare the actual meal, set the table with dishes, help bring the food to the table, help clear the table of the extra food (everyone is responsible for getting their own place setting scraped off and to the sink), rinsing dishes, load the dishwasher, wipe down the table and chairs, wipe down the counters and stove, sweep kitchen and dining room floors, take out the trash. If everyone chips in and does even two items, the work will fly right by and we will have more time to spend doing whatever we want in the evening.
I think it is a great and wonderful plan and cannot wait to implement it later today as well. I love our chore system and how well it works for us. Maybe something in it will help you, maybe it won't. But I thought I'd share it because it is a system that we have been using for quite awhile now and it just works so well for us.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sickliness
This week has been a week for the sickies. I got sick early on in the week, to the extent that had my Nursery co-leader already planned on not being at church, I would have stayed home. But, as it was the first day for Cephas to pass Sacrament and that my co-leader was absent, I decided that it would be best for me to push through and teach last Sunday. It was a great experience! I even met someone that is new(ish) to our ward, because our Nursery Presidency took pity on me with the babies and went to the Relief Society Presidency and asked them to offer a Sister from there to help me the third hour.
Then I came home and was sick, sick, sick on the couch for the next day and a half or so. I didn't really get to feeling bad until after church on Sunday, so I'm praying that I didn't pass anything on. It was like a really bad cold, to the point that I thought maybe I had bronchitis. As it turns out, I didn't have bronchitis, but man, it was horrible!
It hit hard for a good two days, but by Wednesday, I was at work (Monday was a holiday - no school or work on that day for us!) and by Thursday, I had three kids home sick. I sent them all to school on Friday, as I was subbing for someone else that day and Hubby was working as well. Plus, they seemed like they were well enough to be at school that day. We also skipped out on Scouts on Thursday night, even though it was the Pinewood Derby, because I just wasn't feeling well enough to do that.
On Friday, my mother-in-law took the kids overnight and I guess Jeriah had a rough time over there. He was just so miserable with his sinuses. My mother-in-law was worried that he had strep throat because Koren had that about a week and a half ago, but I assured her that he didn't have it. It was just a severe cold/sinus issue.
On Saturday, I worked on the house all morning long. I have had piles and piles and piles of clean laundry sitting in my room needing to be taken care of. I sorted through the clothes that I was working on and from that portion, I found 2 1/2 bags worth of clothes to donate. I reduced my clothing to sale/give away or consign to just one single tote and either folded or hung the rest. However, I didn't put it away. I was so excited because short of actually finishing the job on the portion of clothes that I had worked through, I felt like I had really accomplished a lot. Don't look in my closet at the six baskets waiting to be folded or hung in there. I sorted but didn't mate the socks and I sorted out the under clothes, but didn't do anything with them, other than put them all in their own basket.
My older boys (Cephas and Koren) worked really hard doing extra stuff here around the house, freeing me up some to take care of Jeriah and to do my own work that Ineed to get done won't let them do.
Saturday night, Jeriah had another rough night as this cold has really been hitting him hard. But we all got a decent night of sleep. I had forgotten that Hubby had to go to work in the morning for a meeting, so we ended up staying home from church today, which was just as well, being that Jeriah STILL hasn't been feeling 100% yet. And let me tell you, an autistic child during church services can already be a handful, an autistic child who sometimes still naps during church services can be even more of a handful. But an autistic child who sometimes still naps AND is sick? During church services? Forget about it. Often times, with Jeriah, I am exhausted by the time I hit the Nursery after Sacrament Meeting and I still have two hours to go! Add to it that I'm still not 100% myself and yeah, it's just out of my capability right now.
However, due to the fact that we stayed home, the older boys helped me out immensely today. They did their regular chores, then they did a little bit extra around the house, helped me out by cleaning up Oralee and Jeriah's room so that I could go in there, sort through and organize their toys and build them their toy storage and get it all set up and arranged and everything. Then, just because they wanted to be extra helpful, they did like six loads of laundry. Which means that I now have six.more.loads.of.laundry.to.fold. On top of the six baskets still in my closet. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely grateful for the help. But I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the laundry situation. And yes, I know that we have too many clothes. I'm working on it. Truly, I am! The last round of laundry that I did, I got rid of nearly a third of the clothes that I went through. I figure if I can get rid of a third of the clothes each time I'm doing laundry this next month, we'll be down to a reasonable, doable amount of clothes. Koren doesn't really need 20 pairs of pants (jeans/windpants/slacks/etc), Oralee really doesn't need 50+ pairs of bottoms either (leggings, skirts, skorts, capris, jeans, etc.) And for the most part, all of her pieces are interchangable, so it really isn't necessary for her to have all of that. It's just not.
And just now as I am typing this, Koren came rushing out of his room to the bathroom due to an upset stomach and he didn't make it. Glad that Hubby is home tomorrow to take care of sick kids, since I have to work. Poor kiddos. Poor Hubby!
Then I came home and was sick, sick, sick on the couch for the next day and a half or so. I didn't really get to feeling bad until after church on Sunday, so I'm praying that I didn't pass anything on. It was like a really bad cold, to the point that I thought maybe I had bronchitis. As it turns out, I didn't have bronchitis, but man, it was horrible!
It hit hard for a good two days, but by Wednesday, I was at work (Monday was a holiday - no school or work on that day for us!) and by Thursday, I had three kids home sick. I sent them all to school on Friday, as I was subbing for someone else that day and Hubby was working as well. Plus, they seemed like they were well enough to be at school that day. We also skipped out on Scouts on Thursday night, even though it was the Pinewood Derby, because I just wasn't feeling well enough to do that.
On Friday, my mother-in-law took the kids overnight and I guess Jeriah had a rough time over there. He was just so miserable with his sinuses. My mother-in-law was worried that he had strep throat because Koren had that about a week and a half ago, but I assured her that he didn't have it. It was just a severe cold/sinus issue.
On Saturday, I worked on the house all morning long. I have had piles and piles and piles of clean laundry sitting in my room needing to be taken care of. I sorted through the clothes that I was working on and from that portion, I found 2 1/2 bags worth of clothes to donate. I reduced my clothing to sale/give away or consign to just one single tote and either folded or hung the rest. However, I didn't put it away. I was so excited because short of actually finishing the job on the portion of clothes that I had worked through, I felt like I had really accomplished a lot. Don't look in my closet at the six baskets waiting to be folded or hung in there. I sorted but didn't mate the socks and I sorted out the under clothes, but didn't do anything with them, other than put them all in their own basket.
My older boys (Cephas and Koren) worked really hard doing extra stuff here around the house, freeing me up some to take care of Jeriah and to do my own work that I
Saturday night, Jeriah had another rough night as this cold has really been hitting him hard. But we all got a decent night of sleep. I had forgotten that Hubby had to go to work in the morning for a meeting, so we ended up staying home from church today, which was just as well, being that Jeriah STILL hasn't been feeling 100% yet. And let me tell you, an autistic child during church services can already be a handful, an autistic child who sometimes still naps during church services can be even more of a handful. But an autistic child who sometimes still naps AND is sick? During church services? Forget about it. Often times, with Jeriah, I am exhausted by the time I hit the Nursery after Sacrament Meeting and I still have two hours to go! Add to it that I'm still not 100% myself and yeah, it's just out of my capability right now.
However, due to the fact that we stayed home, the older boys helped me out immensely today. They did their regular chores, then they did a little bit extra around the house, helped me out by cleaning up Oralee and Jeriah's room so that I could go in there, sort through and organize their toys and build them their toy storage and get it all set up and arranged and everything. Then, just because they wanted to be extra helpful, they did like six loads of laundry. Which means that I now have six.more.loads.of.laundry.to.fold. On top of the six baskets still in my closet. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely grateful for the help. But I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the laundry situation. And yes, I know that we have too many clothes. I'm working on it. Truly, I am! The last round of laundry that I did, I got rid of nearly a third of the clothes that I went through. I figure if I can get rid of a third of the clothes each time I'm doing laundry this next month, we'll be down to a reasonable, doable amount of clothes. Koren doesn't really need 20 pairs of pants (jeans/windpants/slacks/etc), Oralee really doesn't need 50+ pairs of bottoms either (leggings, skirts, skorts, capris, jeans, etc.) And for the most part, all of her pieces are interchangable, so it really isn't necessary for her to have all of that. It's just not.
And just now as I am typing this, Koren came rushing out of his room to the bathroom due to an upset stomach and he didn't make it. Glad that Hubby is home tomorrow to take care of sick kids, since I have to work. Poor kiddos. Poor Hubby!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Happy New Year
Yet again, another unintended hiatus from blogging. You know, I plan to blog regularly and I do really well with it for awhile and then something comes up and I miss a day. Or two. Or a week. And the longer that I break from it, the harder it is for me to come back from it. I wait for the perfect project or the right theme to come back to or whatever. And that frustrates me. I don't need a theme or a project to blog. I just need to take a few minutes whenever I want to and just sit down and write something. Funny, I shouldn't have to give myself permission to skip a day without feeling guilty. Yet, that's the way that I feel. I'll work on it though. :)
Well, I have lots to tell you all about to catch you up with life as we know it. Cephas is now a full-ranked Boy Scout. He has had his Court of Honor and received his ranks and is ready to begin working on his Merit Badges. Way to go Cephas! He has also developed a major passion for photography, film-making, production and videos.
Koren's birthday was October 6th (the day AFTER my last post here) and my brother-in-law married his fiancee that day. They had an absolutely beautiful wedding and a great reception - during which all the guests sang Happy Birthday to Koren. He also received his own personal birthday cake (made by the caterer). It was wonderful! He was embarrassed but he loved the attention too. And sweet boy that he is, he maintained that the best birthday gift this year was his newly acquired Aunt.
Oralee. Wow, she was all sassy and spice the last time I blogged about her and she has now settled down quite a bit into a very sweet and mostly compliant, helpful and caring person. She has also gone very girly girl in a not-so-little girl way. Not that she's six going on sixteen or anything like that. But she's honing in on her own personality more and her own sense of style. She prefers her hair long and curly (and she has very straight hair!) and she prefers leggings and wearing long layers that can mix and match to the little girl cutesie matching outfits. I hope that makes sense. She's just so much older in some ways than she was just a few months ago.
And then there is Jeriah. He is excelling wonderfully at school. It is just amazing how much he has changed and how far he has gone academically. No matter how much we questioned whether we were doing the right thing with him in regards to enrolling him in Kindergarten a year early, I am absolutely certain that we made the best choice for him. He loves it! He's reading on a mid-first grade level or maybe slightly higher. His math skills are around the same level. He has even done his sister's homework for her. (I thought it was an extra, skipped over on purpose lesson from school but apparently, it was Oralee's current homework assignment and she was VERY offended that Jeriah had done her homework!) His social skills are coming along quite nicely as well. We have all noticed some instances of him "scripting" some behaviors of other children. But as long as we can nip that one in the bud, we should be fine. Thankfully, he has an amazingly wonderful teacher and he'd had an amazing practicum student from the university working with him as well (she is gone now, though, and he misses her.)
Hubby's job is going well and all that. I'm still babysitting for his co-workers, although not nearly as frequently as I had been. Angel's mom and dad have gotten back together and now her dad is working at the same place as Angel's mom. Their schedules are mostly opposite, so they haven't needed me to babysit and the best part is that Angel spends her time with at least one of her parents.
I have an interview set up to meet with someone about taking care of her son part-time in her home while she is working. It's a great set-up. She lives close to me, the hours she needs me are while my children are in school and she has another provider as well for the opposite days who is able to be flexible and switch with me for days that my kids don't have school. I'm excited to meet both the mom and her son later this week. Hopefully, it's as good of a fit as it seems to have been so far via messages and such.
But for the most part, I'm really digging this stay-at-home mom thing. I'm getting better about keeping up with all of the daily tasks. The biggest thing has been consistency with the kids' chores and bedrooms and for me doing my daily and weekly tasks. I still struggle (constantly!) with laundry, but I'm pretty sure that I can overcome that issue soon.
I also had a huge lightbulb moment the other day while looking at some newly-acquired cookbooks to have the family sit down together once a month - most likely the last Monday of the month - to have each person look through and pick out at least two main dishes and two side dishes and one dessert to try out that month. I figure that would provide us with at least twelve full meals, so that would also alleviate the pain of trying to menu plan. Plus, if it is something that they pick out and choose for the family to eat, the kids are going to be more willing to try new foods and new recipes. Then, at the end of the new meal, we'll determine if we liked the recipe. If it was a hit, it will get written into my recipe book that contains all of our favorite recipes. If it wasn't so hot, I'll put a sticky note in the book that we tried it, when we tried it and note who didn't like it. Or something like that. Because our kids' tastes change so quickly, six months down the road, whatever ingredient they didn't like in the dish may be something that they now just LOVE. For instance, in the past few months, Jeriah has decided that he doesn't like ketchup, but that he loves mustard. A lot. His cheeseburgers? Mustard only. 100% of the time. No ketchup, no pickles, no onion. Just mustard only.
Okay, well that was a really random hodgepodge post about nothing and everything all at once. But hopefully, I'll get back to a more rhythmic timing on my posts. Until next time!
Well, I have lots to tell you all about to catch you up with life as we know it. Cephas is now a full-ranked Boy Scout. He has had his Court of Honor and received his ranks and is ready to begin working on his Merit Badges. Way to go Cephas! He has also developed a major passion for photography, film-making, production and videos.
Koren's birthday was October 6th (the day AFTER my last post here) and my brother-in-law married his fiancee that day. They had an absolutely beautiful wedding and a great reception - during which all the guests sang Happy Birthday to Koren. He also received his own personal birthday cake (made by the caterer). It was wonderful! He was embarrassed but he loved the attention too. And sweet boy that he is, he maintained that the best birthday gift this year was his newly acquired Aunt.
Oralee. Wow, she was all sassy and spice the last time I blogged about her and she has now settled down quite a bit into a very sweet and mostly compliant, helpful and caring person. She has also gone very girly girl in a not-so-little girl way. Not that she's six going on sixteen or anything like that. But she's honing in on her own personality more and her own sense of style. She prefers her hair long and curly (and she has very straight hair!) and she prefers leggings and wearing long layers that can mix and match to the little girl cutesie matching outfits. I hope that makes sense. She's just so much older in some ways than she was just a few months ago.
And then there is Jeriah. He is excelling wonderfully at school. It is just amazing how much he has changed and how far he has gone academically. No matter how much we questioned whether we were doing the right thing with him in regards to enrolling him in Kindergarten a year early, I am absolutely certain that we made the best choice for him. He loves it! He's reading on a mid-first grade level or maybe slightly higher. His math skills are around the same level. He has even done his sister's homework for her. (I thought it was an extra, skipped over on purpose lesson from school but apparently, it was Oralee's current homework assignment and she was VERY offended that Jeriah had done her homework!) His social skills are coming along quite nicely as well. We have all noticed some instances of him "scripting" some behaviors of other children. But as long as we can nip that one in the bud, we should be fine. Thankfully, he has an amazingly wonderful teacher and he'd had an amazing practicum student from the university working with him as well (she is gone now, though, and he misses her.)
Hubby's job is going well and all that. I'm still babysitting for his co-workers, although not nearly as frequently as I had been. Angel's mom and dad have gotten back together and now her dad is working at the same place as Angel's mom. Their schedules are mostly opposite, so they haven't needed me to babysit and the best part is that Angel spends her time with at least one of her parents.
I have an interview set up to meet with someone about taking care of her son part-time in her home while she is working. It's a great set-up. She lives close to me, the hours she needs me are while my children are in school and she has another provider as well for the opposite days who is able to be flexible and switch with me for days that my kids don't have school. I'm excited to meet both the mom and her son later this week. Hopefully, it's as good of a fit as it seems to have been so far via messages and such.
But for the most part, I'm really digging this stay-at-home mom thing. I'm getting better about keeping up with all of the daily tasks. The biggest thing has been consistency with the kids' chores and bedrooms and for me doing my daily and weekly tasks. I still struggle (constantly!) with laundry, but I'm pretty sure that I can overcome that issue soon.
I also had a huge lightbulb moment the other day while looking at some newly-acquired cookbooks to have the family sit down together once a month - most likely the last Monday of the month - to have each person look through and pick out at least two main dishes and two side dishes and one dessert to try out that month. I figure that would provide us with at least twelve full meals, so that would also alleviate the pain of trying to menu plan. Plus, if it is something that they pick out and choose for the family to eat, the kids are going to be more willing to try new foods and new recipes. Then, at the end of the new meal, we'll determine if we liked the recipe. If it was a hit, it will get written into my recipe book that contains all of our favorite recipes. If it wasn't so hot, I'll put a sticky note in the book that we tried it, when we tried it and note who didn't like it. Or something like that. Because our kids' tastes change so quickly, six months down the road, whatever ingredient they didn't like in the dish may be something that they now just LOVE. For instance, in the past few months, Jeriah has decided that he doesn't like ketchup, but that he loves mustard. A lot. His cheeseburgers? Mustard only. 100% of the time. No ketchup, no pickles, no onion. Just mustard only.
Okay, well that was a really random hodgepodge post about nothing and everything all at once. But hopefully, I'll get back to a more rhythmic timing on my posts. Until next time!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A Sight For Sore Eyes
Yes, I am sure that this could be said of me lately, what with all of the running around and babysitting and craziness and all of that going on and me just trying to keep up with it all. Sigh. I wish this post were about me actually. But it isn't. It's about my day on Monday.
If you remember in this post I was talking about Oralee's doctor's appointment and the fact that they did the quick strep which came back negative. Guess who got a call at noon yesterday and was told that the cultured strep test came back positive? Oh yeah. That was me. So I had the pleasure of calling the school to have them pull her from class after telling them on Monday that she was cleared to go back to school. Yeah, total fail. That really upsets me. It makes me look like I don't know what I am doing as a parent (and you know, quite honestly, there are times when that is ABSOLUTELY true!)
So I walked up to the school (because Hubby left my keys at his mom's house on Monday when he was over there with the kids while she and I went to that Pampered Chef party) and called Hubby at the same time to ask him to drive over to the school so that Oralee doesn't have to walk home.
I get there to pick her up and she is distraught. I mean ABSOLUTELY distraught. Why? Because she will miss out on "Plan-Do-Review", the highlight of the Kindergarten day. Basically it is a play time where they get to Plan which area they are going to play in, then they get to Do it and then afterwards, they Review it with the teacher. And I made her miss out on it by having her pulled from class. Whoops.
I try to make it better for her by taking her out for lunch. She had already eaten, but I hadn't yet, so she had a strawberry shake with extra strawberries (because the bartender loves her - we went to Hubby's work, a neighborhood bar and grill) and fries while I ate my lunch. I think it made up for missing Plan Do Review just a little bit. At least, she didn't say anything more about it.
Wow, that was a bit of a side note. That wasn't even what this blog post is about. It's about Koren actually. You see, Koren has bad vision. As in really really bad vision. He wears glasses and in his good eye, his vision is 20/70. In his bad eye, it is 20/200. That is WITH correction. Without correction, it is more like 20/200 and 20/400. In essence, he is legally blind in one eye.
We have tried a few different things to improve his eyesight. Patching his good eye to make his bad eye work harder didn't really work very well because he would cheat and look through the corner. His optometrist intentionally wrote a stronger prescription for his glasses on the good side to make it a little bit blurry so that his other eye would have to work even harder. Neither option really helped much.
We went to see the pediatric opthamologist and his recommendation was one of three things (really there is a fourth option but it is connected to one of the other options.
I stopped in after the appointment to talk to his classroom teacher about it and then to talk to the School Coordinator about it. I tried earlier this year to get Koren some assistance from the school with his vision but to no avail. Of course, now the school is tripping all over themselves to try and accommodate him. I guess that there is a vision team for the district and the school is going to make contact with them to have them come out and assess Koren's needs and see how they can help him. We may end up with a 504 plan, which is basically a plan of accommodations for Koren to help him succeed in school. Or he may end up going onto an IEP, based on their assessment. Who knows?
We have a long road ahead of us and I have no idea what it looks like. I'm more than a little bit nervous about this. It just seems like there is a lot of stuff on my plate right now. Cephas and his behavioral/social issues, Koren and his vision issues, Oralee (well, she really doesn't have anything major going on, strep throat isn't that big of a deal) and then Jeriah and the whole preschool vs. kindergarten debate for next year. We'll just have to wait and see what happens and pray that we are making the right decisions for all of our kids.
If you remember in this post I was talking about Oralee's doctor's appointment and the fact that they did the quick strep which came back negative. Guess who got a call at noon yesterday and was told that the cultured strep test came back positive? Oh yeah. That was me. So I had the pleasure of calling the school to have them pull her from class after telling them on Monday that she was cleared to go back to school. Yeah, total fail. That really upsets me. It makes me look like I don't know what I am doing as a parent (and you know, quite honestly, there are times when that is ABSOLUTELY true!)
So I walked up to the school (because Hubby left my keys at his mom's house on Monday when he was over there with the kids while she and I went to that Pampered Chef party) and called Hubby at the same time to ask him to drive over to the school so that Oralee doesn't have to walk home.
I get there to pick her up and she is distraught. I mean ABSOLUTELY distraught. Why? Because she will miss out on "Plan-Do-Review", the highlight of the Kindergarten day. Basically it is a play time where they get to Plan which area they are going to play in, then they get to Do it and then afterwards, they Review it with the teacher. And I made her miss out on it by having her pulled from class. Whoops.
I try to make it better for her by taking her out for lunch. She had already eaten, but I hadn't yet, so she had a strawberry shake with extra strawberries (because the bartender loves her - we went to Hubby's work, a neighborhood bar and grill) and fries while I ate my lunch. I think it made up for missing Plan Do Review just a little bit. At least, she didn't say anything more about it.
Wow, that was a bit of a side note. That wasn't even what this blog post is about. It's about Koren actually. You see, Koren has bad vision. As in really really bad vision. He wears glasses and in his good eye, his vision is 20/70. In his bad eye, it is 20/200. That is WITH correction. Without correction, it is more like 20/200 and 20/400. In essence, he is legally blind in one eye.
We have tried a few different things to improve his eyesight. Patching his good eye to make his bad eye work harder didn't really work very well because he would cheat and look through the corner. His optometrist intentionally wrote a stronger prescription for his glasses on the good side to make it a little bit blurry so that his other eye would have to work even harder. Neither option really helped much.
We went to see the pediatric opthamologist and his recommendation was one of three things (really there is a fourth option but it is connected to one of the other options.
- Patch the good eye. We have done this before. It didn't work well, so he doesn't really want to repeat this option again.
- Put dilation drops in Koren's good eye. It's a long-lasting drop that we would give to him on Saturday and Sunday and it would last the whole week. Basically, it would make his good eye dilate for the whole week and his bad eye would need to work harder to compensate for it. Koren can't cheat and see around it. The only problem is that there are side effects to doing this. Right now, we do not know what the child can actually see but he seems to be doing fairly well compensating on his own. I mean, he is now reading at grade level and everything. His grades and work ethic are outstanding. If we do this, he may not be able to see anything. He may not be able to see to read, might not be able to do his own work, he will likely have headaches and he will have sun sensitivity. He may have depth perception issues which could include off-balance, light headedness, nausea and even vomiting. But he might not have all of this, or most likely just some of this. The doctor said that most likely only his vision directly in front of him about two feet (roughly the length of his arm) would be affected. He should still be able to see from a distance. The doctor would want to re-evaluate him in three months to see the difference if any.
- Use the dilation drops and remove the lens from his glasses on the good side. This is so that the good eye has NO additional help at all. Same side effects as the second option.
- Give Koren an oral prescription. It is still in the study phase and it is not something that the doctor does lightly. He actually consults with another doctor and together they determine if the drug is the right option for the patient. It is a last-ditch effort for patients with a significant difference between their vision in each eye.
I stopped in after the appointment to talk to his classroom teacher about it and then to talk to the School Coordinator about it. I tried earlier this year to get Koren some assistance from the school with his vision but to no avail. Of course, now the school is tripping all over themselves to try and accommodate him. I guess that there is a vision team for the district and the school is going to make contact with them to have them come out and assess Koren's needs and see how they can help him. We may end up with a 504 plan, which is basically a plan of accommodations for Koren to help him succeed in school. Or he may end up going onto an IEP, based on their assessment. Who knows?
We have a long road ahead of us and I have no idea what it looks like. I'm more than a little bit nervous about this. It just seems like there is a lot of stuff on my plate right now. Cephas and his behavioral/social issues, Koren and his vision issues, Oralee (well, she really doesn't have anything major going on, strep throat isn't that big of a deal) and then Jeriah and the whole preschool vs. kindergarten debate for next year. We'll just have to wait and see what happens and pray that we are making the right decisions for all of our kids.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Friendships
As I had mentioned before, the kids have developed some new quality friendships with some kids. Part of this came with the change in Scouts and part of it came with a change in my own relationships.
You see, Jeriah's first non-family semi-regular babysitter is a woman whom I have known for 22 years now, maybe longer? Bree is my friend that I mentioned here. She has two children, T and S. T is 8 and S is 6. T and Koren get along extremely well and so do Oralee and S.
Bree's great grandmother and my grandmother were best friends back in the day. I grew up calling her great grandmother, Grandma Thelma. And she grew up calling my grandmother, Mrs. K. My grandmother was introduced to her great grandmother as "Mrs. K" and Thelma was introduced as, well, Thelma.
Every single morning, my grandmother would call Thelma and they would talk to each other, then three days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), my grandma would go over to Thelma's house (she lived two doors down in the townhouse community where they lived most of my life) and together, they would drive to the senior center for lunch. It was so cute and I have such fond memories of it, that go back as far as I can recall. On breaks from school, I'd go along with them and spend the morning helping the seniors take their plates to their seats, going up and picking out prizes for them from the prize table during Friday Bingo and would just overall, do whatever I could to help out. I would eat lunch with them too. It was like having a whole community of grandparents while I was growing up. Trust me, if I even thought about doing something wrong, any one of those grandmothers wouldn't hesitate to stop me, scold me, or even give me a quick swat to get my attention. Love those ladies! I really do!
So anyhow, since Bree's great grandmother and my grandma were best friends, I spent plenty of time with both of them and since I claimed Thelma as another grandma, I also claimed her family as well, which if it were real, would make Bree something like a distant cousin of some sort. :) I think of her more like a sister and definitely as a best friend!
Bree and I actually share the same birthdate, year included! Kinda crazy, huh?
Bree and I only knew each other a little bit growing up, but we did know each other. Last year, we connected and really got to know each other and now, we talk on the phone at least 3 or 4 times a week and try to get together at least once (outside of Scouts) and we trade off kids and babysitting and all that.
So it is only natural that with our friendship, our children would also develop a friendship and I am grateful for it. You see, most of my years growing up, I was accustomed to being disciplined by whatever adult was closest to me. Family member, family friend, whoever. And I developed a major respect for my elders.
The friends that I am the closest to are the ones that are as quick to discipline my children as I am and they discipline in similar ways as well. They are the ones who have similar expectations of their kids and we feel totally comfortable in the role of being in charge of each other's children.
This is not true for most of the adults I know. I hesitate to discipline another child, even when they are in my home. Even if it is something as simple as telling them to stop something or redirecting them. I mean, I still do it, but I hesitate and am not totally comfortable with it.
So it has really helped all of us for the kids to be developing these new relationships and so wonderful for Bree and I to have developed our relationship as well. And who knows, sixty or seventy years from now, we might be the ones living two houses apart and going to the senior center for lunches together too. It's a neat thought.
You see, Jeriah's first non-family semi-regular babysitter is a woman whom I have known for 22 years now, maybe longer? Bree is my friend that I mentioned here. She has two children, T and S. T is 8 and S is 6. T and Koren get along extremely well and so do Oralee and S.
Bree's great grandmother and my grandmother were best friends back in the day. I grew up calling her great grandmother, Grandma Thelma. And she grew up calling my grandmother, Mrs. K. My grandmother was introduced to her great grandmother as "Mrs. K" and Thelma was introduced as, well, Thelma.
Every single morning, my grandmother would call Thelma and they would talk to each other, then three days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), my grandma would go over to Thelma's house (she lived two doors down in the townhouse community where they lived most of my life) and together, they would drive to the senior center for lunch. It was so cute and I have such fond memories of it, that go back as far as I can recall. On breaks from school, I'd go along with them and spend the morning helping the seniors take their plates to their seats, going up and picking out prizes for them from the prize table during Friday Bingo and would just overall, do whatever I could to help out. I would eat lunch with them too. It was like having a whole community of grandparents while I was growing up. Trust me, if I even thought about doing something wrong, any one of those grandmothers wouldn't hesitate to stop me, scold me, or even give me a quick swat to get my attention. Love those ladies! I really do!
So anyhow, since Bree's great grandmother and my grandma were best friends, I spent plenty of time with both of them and since I claimed Thelma as another grandma, I also claimed her family as well, which if it were real, would make Bree something like a distant cousin of some sort. :) I think of her more like a sister and definitely as a best friend!
Bree and I actually share the same birthdate, year included! Kinda crazy, huh?
Bree and I only knew each other a little bit growing up, but we did know each other. Last year, we connected and really got to know each other and now, we talk on the phone at least 3 or 4 times a week and try to get together at least once (outside of Scouts) and we trade off kids and babysitting and all that.
So it is only natural that with our friendship, our children would also develop a friendship and I am grateful for it. You see, most of my years growing up, I was accustomed to being disciplined by whatever adult was closest to me. Family member, family friend, whoever. And I developed a major respect for my elders.
The friends that I am the closest to are the ones that are as quick to discipline my children as I am and they discipline in similar ways as well. They are the ones who have similar expectations of their kids and we feel totally comfortable in the role of being in charge of each other's children.
This is not true for most of the adults I know. I hesitate to discipline another child, even when they are in my home. Even if it is something as simple as telling them to stop something or redirecting them. I mean, I still do it, but I hesitate and am not totally comfortable with it.
So it has really helped all of us for the kids to be developing these new relationships and so wonderful for Bree and I to have developed our relationship as well. And who knows, sixty or seventy years from now, we might be the ones living two houses apart and going to the senior center for lunches together too. It's a neat thought.
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