Happy Mother's Day!!!

Lil'S only occasionally sings, 

so this was a special surprise!!!

This is what he had his flowers say
 afterward, which I missed recorded. Amazingly, he was a champ and
repeated for me what he'd said,
which he also rarely does!

For a Special Someone

Baby's a BOY!!!

 

Here's what the kids say if you ask them.....

 

 

Lil'S, 5yrs next month

 

 

N, 3yrs next week!

 

 

H, 9yrs

Bit of Christmas Fun!

 

12 things that make for a cozy home

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/12-things-every-home-should-have-199606

loved this article. had to post.

Sabbath Day Quotes

This was actually in my email drafts box, dated 9/25/2014. I'll have to look and see if I ever sent it as I had meant to!

I wrote this up a couple weeks ago and meant to send it out with a couple cute pictures of hte kids.  Unfortunately, I'm on Seth's work computer right now and don't have those cute pictures, but, here you go!

 

Sam: "Mom! I find your bra! I want to wear it!"

Mom: "No, Sam, you're a boy. Girls wear bras, and . . . boys wear ties!" Sam proudly wore a tie to Church today for the first time.

 

(We're grateful we had one to wear!  It was the felt tie Mom & Hannah made Dad for Father's Day. It even matched his green, plaid shirt.)

 

Sam to Daddy after family devotional: "Thank you for teaching me Gospel!"

 

Why do you love Daddy Game

Samuel: He loves Mommy & Hannah & Me! (I think "love" is what he said)

Nathan shocked mom by actually giving a response!  He exuberantly covered his eyes with his open hands and then threw his arms out wide: He loves Daddy because he plays peek-a-boo with him! (Mom should not have been surprised, considering how conversational Nathan is.)

 Hannah: (2nd response) because he has the Priesthood.

 

Happy Sabbath!

Seth, Rebecca, Hannah, Samuel, & Nathan

 

Lil'S - Sensory Breakthrough!

LONG story short, as I've not written about Lil'S and his speech and sensory issues much--especially lately, Lil'S has finally started hating speech therapy and refusing to go, so I'm now working with his speech therapist to involve fun occupational therapy / sensory activities to his speech therapy.  (There's this fabulous little sensory room adjacent to and even attached to the speech room, and it killed me to think he wasn't allowed to use it!) Here's what I emailed her this evening about our first attempts results!

Mrs. [M]!

[Lil'S] just had his best day of preschool EVER!!!  Yes, it helps that they went to the library and he's my little book lover (transportation toys and books!), but this is the first time I've ever picked him up where he was calm and centered like he often [should have written "more like he sometimes"] is at home.  (Unfortunately you and his preschool teachers don't usually see that side of him, not that I get to see it all that much either, though!)  I asked him to go to his locker and get his sandwich [ops, lunch], and despite the fact there were swarms of kids and parents and I had no hope in the world that he actually would, he made his way unaccompanied through the crowd, to his locker, retrieved his lunch, made it back through the crowd, and handed me his lunch.  I'm sure my jaw dropped!  Usually I have to really work with him to get through each step, and that's when he's willing to cooperate!  (As in not running away, screaming--car in hand--because he doesn't want to go home.)  Ms. [B] said he was attentive through each of the lessons and activities.  Usually he lasts five to ten minutes max, as you're familiar with.  When he was asked to come to an activity, he was disappointed to stop what he was doing, but he still did it and came.  SERIOUSLY AMAZING!!  [Transitions of any kind are often like pulling teeth with this darling child of mine.]

Some sensory activities have an instant effect and can last for a couple hours, but vestibular input can have an instant or delayed effect that can last up to eight hours, even if someone's given only 10-20 minutes of it.  Vestibular input is one of the things [Lil'S]'s the most oversensitive to, so I'm pretty sure only 5-10 minutes is enough for him.  

In summary, something he did this morning set him up for success through the rest of his morning.  I'm going to assume the main help was the intense vestibular paired with intense proprioception (trampoline & crash pad & swing), but it's true that the whole combination of activities may've been what is needed to be added to his home activities to help him be more centered through his typical day.

 - bean box: tactile/visual; 

 - trampoline w/ handrails & crash pad: "alerting" vestibular & proprioceptive to balance it out; 

 - swing (actually, I just found it's a "bolster"): "calming" vestibular; 

 - even the warm air from the van he commented on afterward and the cold breeze that thrilled him as he walked to preschool: calming/alerting tactile

So, anyway, I'm wondering if we could do the same activities Thursday as we did today and see if he does as well at preschool afterward.  If it works, we'll be setting up some things at home to mimic those activities so he can be centered before speech therapy and the rest of daily life.  (We just may end up investing in an OT trampoline, crash pad, and bolster ourselves if our homemade attempts don't seem to work.)  I also think doing those same speech/OT activities again may help him better learn to follow all the rules that accompany the activities.  Here's hoping!

Thank you so much!

:)

Teen H

Yesterday, after dealing with the trauma of nobody showing up for H's birthday party (I think we need to work on our communication skills), I asked H how she was going to treat her friends on Monday, as a way to open up a conversation about healthy ways of dealing with this sad occurrence that wouldn't put up an unnecessary barrier between her and those she considers to be her friends.

Her answer?

"Depends on my mood. . . ."

Well, at least she's aware of that fact! 

Silly Lil'S

 

Just wanted to share a couple cute moments I had with Lil'S this evening.

Lil'S asked for a cookie.  I was about to get him one when I found that a bag that had once had two cookies (of a different type) now only had a single cookie in it.

Mom: "I said one cookie!  You already ate a cookie!"

Lil'S: "I know. And it tasted so good."

Mom: couldn't help do anything but laugh

He finally started asking for another "football" cookie again, and as he was just so cute I was having a hard time refusing.  So, I told him that if he helped me he could have another cookie.  I had him put some paper in the recycling, which he was overjoyed to do, and then I handed him a red pillow to put back on the couch.  

 

Of course, Mitzie the cat was sitting on said couch.

Lil'S wandered over to the couch with the pillow in arms and announced, "I will give Mitzie squooshies."

I quickly responded, "No, no giving Mitzie squooshies."

Lil'S insisted, "She was meowing because she wants squooshies."

He then proceeded to rearrange the couch pillows while chatting quietly and nicely to the cat.  I couldn't hear what he said, but the cat wasn't complaining, so I took advantage of the moment to continue working on what I was in the middle of, although, yes, I knew I was being "inconsistent" by not making sure he wasn't squashing the cat, which actually was likely.  Here's what I found when I checked in on the two of them.

 

Yup!  He was giving Mitzie "squooshies"!

(Note the partly eaten cookie in his hand above the cat.)

Happy Birthday, S!

Last week we celebrated S's 33rd birthday! When he asked, I told him he still qualified as being in his early, versus mid-, thirties. ;)

The little ways we celebrated

Breakfast: BACON!  (the fancy, nitrate-free kind)

He got to read a book!  An entire book!  (The Cuckoo's Egg)

Quality time with the kids

Dinner: shrimp salad, frozen berries & yogurt (& mini sponge cakes for me & the kids) 

I bought him a Frosty at some point that week. :)

Lots of "Happy Birthday!"s throughout the day and week.

Decorations, thanks to Miss H

Cards from family

He escaped to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

And a little surprise that will have to be shared in a later post. (Ah, the suspense!)

Holiday Meal Planning

As we aren't going to be with family this Thanksgiving and don't even have a table for eating Thanksgiving dinner, I've been in a bit of a panic whenever the upcoming holiday has crossed my mind.  However, this evening I saw an ad for holiday dinners offered by a local grocery store: seriously tempting! Instead of paying for gas we'd pay for a pre-cooked meal.  But then, I started reading ingredient lists and started getting grossed out.  Xanthan gum in my mashed potatoes???  Are you kidding me?  Uck!  And most everything had added lactose.  (I'm intolerant--and we've realized H has outgrown her intolerance!!! major financial blessing!!!) Or added starch (no starch for S).  Boo. . . .  I can't imagine us having the time amidst juggling our little ones, basic household duties, and our household projects.  (Not being surrounded by junk or disorganized important stuff would be nice.  Our goal is to finish our shelving unit organization by Thanksgiving week.)  As it stands, though, S and I chatted briefly and came up with a good compromise that hopefully won't take too long to prepare or clean up after.

Thanksgiving Dinner
. turkey
. roasted, mashed cauliflower (toss in alongside turkey & garlic & puree with garlic, etc., when tender)
. mushrooms, tender green beans, and carmelized onions sauted in light olive oil, butter, and garlic
. whole wheat rolls (purchased, clearance find is best ;) can reheat in oven . . . blaspheme, I know, but you do what you can!), butter, honey/jam
. fresh fruit platter (purchased)

Yum!!!

What are you doing for your holiday meal?

Sticker Love

Lil'S loves stickers! 

So does N!

This is from a month ago, when Lil'S decided to reward himself with his potty training Cars stickers. 

Marathon Birthday Review--super incredibly belated and sadly still not completed

Er, um, so here's the post I started last spring.
Sorry!

All the birthdays in our family are close together--well, maybe a month apart close together, but considering they're right in the middle of all our major holidays, it makes for one busy season.  Thus, this year, I haven't posted one bit about them, nor much of anything about any other holiday.  (Except a tiny blurb about Christmas mid-January.) Well, anyway, here's a quick summary.

December

Right in the middle of the excitement of our first ever family pictures came S's birthday!

(Cue the crying, gratefully-not-puking-at-this-moment baby!  Guess why I haven't blogged: when we haven't been celebrating something, someone's been sick.  Seriously.  I don't recommend living near two major hospital and university centers, especially if they have a strong international attendance.  We love all the culture, don't get me wrong!, but there's been a little too much "sharing" going on.)

Back to S's b-day: He's now 32!!!

I had him pick up a deli chicken, but at least I managed to get his starch-free, chocolate cupcakes baked and a chocolate sauce (or edible attempt) put together!

H invited him to her school's Fine Arts Night for his b-day.
H was so excited, and S is one good sport!
They enjoyed their time together.

And my 31st birthday:

(I finally am starting to feel like a grown-up. . . .)

S found me some German Chocolate Cake when he ran errands for me that night.  (This may seem el'cheapo pathetic when it comes to celebrations, but considering how crazy things have been and our budget and the fact S's been working on his class in the evenings on top of his typical work and daddy duties, I was more than thrilled!  German Chocolate is my favorite!)

(See how thrilled I was?)

a big glass of milk to go with it

And returning to the term el cheapo, I am!
I was so proud of Seth: he even found it on manager's special!
Expiry date?  A whopping three days away!
I swear it was baked that day--delish!

Little Miss H is 7!!!

She requested Belgian waffles with berries & whipped cream for breakfast.

The boys enjoyed it as much as she did.

(Okay, so I wasn't up to the berry mess I knew N would make!)

tasty!

This was her "smile" for the camera.

She's definitely seven.

And she STILL has her vampire fangs. 

I'm starting to wonder if those top teeth will ever grow in.

pretty dress from G&G S

She got some snazzy cards from both sets of grandparents.  They each included stickers and decorating fun, which is totally up her alley.

Look at that face: More presents? And they're huge!

Bring on the birthday cake.  

S had to keep Lil'S from blowing out H's candles for her!

Happy Birthday, Miss H!!!

sweet & simple

that's how things go around here!

hahaha! guess who got the camera!

Playing with the toy puppy G&G S sent her.

Lil'S is 3!!!

Cupcakes the day before with his preschool friends! 

(And a couple other friends we snuck in.)

Where's my cupcake?

Family Celebration

Family Band
We learned from this how awesome a "share present"* really is.  There were no fights, tears, whines, or even whimpers of jealousy.  There were simply happy, playful, totally excited kids.  I'm sure S and I shared quiet high fives about this, and if we didn't, we should have!

*When my youngest brother was three years old, he gave my dad a toy airplane for Christmas.  When my dad opened it, this blue-eyed, chubby-cheeked baby brother of mine declared, "It's a share present!"  My dad asked who he was to share it with, and, of course, the little guy answered, "Me!"  The term has been fondly used by my family ever since.  (Although, I'm starting to think the conversation may have occurred after the present opening, when my dad and brother were chatting in my parents' room, and was just retold to the rest of us by my dad.  Hmm...I'll have to check my sources on that.  Either way, the phrase has stuck!)

N is One!!!

And, so horribly, that's where this post had been left off, and I'm currently unable to finish it since all our pictures are waiting to be removed from our computer that died.
What a shame! I guess N will get to have his own post, albeit likely a year late the way things are going!

Happy Halloween!

This mama is determined to not get behind with holiday and birthday posts this year, and the fact that my computer is now my camera certainly helps with that goal. (Did I ever post my birthday marathon entry? Oh, dear!)

Seven-year-old H asked to "be a cheerleader for the whole United States!" As someone else put it after I shared that with them, our nation "could use some cheerleaders right now."

 Three-year-old Fireman Sam was obviously up past his bedtime, but at least he cheered up as candy was passed out!  He and sister enjoyed a candy fest while I put the baby to bed afterward, even though only 2 of our 9 apartment neighbors were home and giving out candy. Those two were generous, so they nearly made up for the others.

Twenty-month-old N didn't mind his father simply putting an E.T. shirt on him. He also figured out how to be offered extra candy at our first stop!

We've Moved!

States, not blogs. Thus the lack of posts, despite the hundreds of things I've wanted to post about.

We now have . . . .

a house under contract...yippee!!!!
- an apartment in Stockbridge, GA
- a swimming pool!!!
- a van
- a tablet (our computer died while Seth was in NC :( )
- a super cozy lay-z-boy (thanks M and A!!! it's made H such a happy girl! and me too!)
- a new haircut (not one pictured above)
- a new blog picture (5th anniversary...went backward in time...prev was 3 yrs ago...ah, well. It was better than the bedragled one H took of me while Seth was out of town. ;) )
- a new LDS congregation
- a new family to play with every couple weeks (kids aged 6, 4, 2, 2wks)
- a new elementary school
- an awesome 2nd grade teacher for H,
- and H successfully falling asleep WITHOUT melatonin!!!!!

I'm feeling really spoiled, which is good, because we could still use....

- a washer and dryer (EEK!)
- a keyboard for my tablet
- an unpacked apartment

- a husband available to help unpack and declutter (just teasing here, I know that isn't happening)
two potty trained boys (scary)
a housekeeper/mommy's helper so that someday the two above items might actually occur
vinyl in apt's eating area so we can allow our kids outside our tiny kitchen
kitchen table and chairs
a toddler who doesn't scream hysterically when we try to put him in his car seat because he wants to sit in his brother's forward-facing seat...or his sister's....when his head is so huge that it can't possibly be safe to let him sit forward-facing until he's like 10.
a mother who goes to bed before 12 or 3 a.m.
drs, dentists, pediatric versions of the same, and a speech therapist
and last but not least, a health screening/form that will allow H to go to school Monday....hoping to get that tomorrow!!!!

Parenting lessons I've been learning myself . . . .

I'm glad someone got it written out and spread around.  A good friend send me this link.

http://www.stevewiens.com/2013/03/12/to-parents-of-small-children-let-me-be-the-one-who-says-it-out-loud/

:)

Conversing w a 12-mo-old

I think I may've just had my first true conversation with my 12-month-old!  It went something like this:  

He was in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready this morning, and he was standing at the tub, trying to reach over the side into it.  I warned him, "No fall in!"  

He stopped, turned to look at me with a grin, and lifted his foot to the edge of the tub and shook his head "no".  

I laughed and said, "Yes! No fall in tub!"  I laughed again as he put his hand on his head with his fingers spread out, which is his sign for "silly".  

"Is that silly?" I asked him.  

He then placed his hands firmly on the edge of the tub and did a huge head bop; it was different than his typical I'm-a-baby-and-like-to-bop-my-head kind of bop, and I realized was very likely an attempt to nod "yes".  He then reached his chubby hand to the faucet and looked at me with a grin: "Mom, I want to take a bath!"

H's Art Portfolio

This and the next two pictures are from a card H made for her cousin who was getting baptized.

She'll often scribble on the brown bags we occasionally send her lunch in.

She made me a ring out of paper and tape!

I loved it!

summer time color exploration

Noise maker

Although the wad of paper did eventually stick to the tape she used inside. ;)

This makes me laugh, so I just had to include it.  

It's from an All About Me poster her teacher had her and her classmates do.  

Look at all those kids! 

She did this one day during the summer with ink, paper, and scotch tape.

Several months later, H made this (scotch tape, foam sheets, and pencil) while S and I talked to the ADHD Clinic people.  There is a disagreement in the ADHD world as to whether ADHDers can focus intently on something without that focus being in a scattered way.  This and the earlier figure obviously required sustained attention, although as I wasn't there, I don't know if she took breaks from it and was redirected to it by her chaperone or not.  Her companion did say that it was completely H's idea and that she didn't help H with a bit of it.

By the end of kindergarten, her teachers usually had her coloring a background and a foreground as well, so I thought picture I stumbled across I thought was unfinished, but H now informs me she was done with it.  Note the movement lines for the butterfly's wings.  That--and the insect's curly antennea--is what drew my attention to this crayon drawing.

This and below are her birthday card to me.  

She asked me what my favorite colors were--pink and blue--before she got started.  I loved it!

This is a self-portrait made at school.  All the kids pictures looked much like this, so they must have received some kind of guidance about drawing it.  I love the hearts on each side at the bottom and the wisp of hair on her forehead.

This was a teacher lead art project as part of their cultures lesson during the holidays.  I think it's a cute idea.

She's made up her own cursive, and was thus gifted a handwriting book from her OT so she could learn correct technique, and since then has added this decorative script to her repertoire.

Apron Pockets

I have finally learned the true purpose of apron pockets: 

hiding the pick-me-ups that get a woman though rough evenings!
he, he, he!