Update! ;D

Hello Folks! ;D

I'm making time for my writing amongst all the chaos and hoopla of daily life around here! A Quick Update for now and more later, of course! :D

Firstly, ... hmmm... where to start.... Well the good news is my Mum is coming over for Christmas!! I'm so thrilled as we had all thought she wouldn't be able to come this year and it really just isn't Christmas without family around. The children are excited too and my new British friends are also chuffed to bits as it means she can bring us a stash of goodies from home!!! ( chocolate, some chocolate, and more chocolate!! ;D )

We lost our sweet Minnie dog to a car accident a couple of weeks ago.... she was hit right outside out house and died quickly. I was amazed at the depth of our pain at her loss. What a sweet, sweet soul she had and what a great hole in our lives she has left. We have had her cremated and her ashes remain on the mantle for the time being. We plan to scatter them along the paths where we walked...but not just yet...

The children are doing marvelously! I've taken on a part time job working from home... only, as anyone who works from home knows, part time turns into full time in no time!! :D Jessie has declared more than once that she hates my job and Jackster sure knows how to pick his moments of mass destruction and mayhem to coincide neatly with any work calls I may be trying to complete! I have learned to share my time with my job and the children as much as possible and have taken the time to sit and watch re runs of The Gilmore Girls with Jessie as we eat our lunch. She loves the quality time we spend and it has become our little tradition to do together. The other day I was sitting staring at the small screen, pulling my hair and cursing through gritted teeth.... she walked up to the computer, turned off the monitor, took my hand and led me to the couch. "Gilmore Girls Time..." she said..... smart kid that one!

So basically, to sum up, life is rocketing along nicely! I'm STUNNED it's November already... what happened to the blazing summer heat?!? oh wait... yeah... it was in the 70's today....!! Nebraska weather... I'll never get used to it..!! We are all doing well! I'm planning on volunteering with the children at the Cat House in Lincoln...! We have orientation on Wednesday.... ahem...... we'll see how it goes, shall we!!?!?

Anyway, lovely to be back! Hope you are all fit and well and avoiding the dreaded H1N1 .... Can't wait to catch up again soon....


Mustache....!!! : )

xxxxxxxxxx

Hope is the thing with feathers.

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.


Emily Dickinson

This post is a little different from my usual posts. For a long time I followed the story of a friend's daughter's battle with leukemia. Her mother would post updates online, through the Caring Bridge Network. We journeyed together to the present day where Chloe is now finished with her therapy and is making great and positive strides to good health. Sadly this is not the case for many children and one little girl especially has become dear to me. Anika Wilke was diagnosed with leukemia at 22 months of age. After enduring more than two years of chemo she was free of cancer.....three years later it came back. Next Saturday will be Anika's ninth birthday. Her parents are hoping she lives long enough to see it, but they know the cancer has her now. The doctors have told her family that she will not survive. All they can do is try to manage her pain. Her family would love to have her come home for just one day but it doesn't look as if that will happen...

Anika's story is obviously heart breaking and the worst of it is still to come. It makes me feel so very grateful for the health of my own nine year old girl. Life is so fickle and so hard for some people. I'm so thankful for the life I am fortunate enough to lead and I wish for peace for Ani and her family. I can NOT imagine their pain.

Jessie and I want to send Anika a little something for her birthday. Apparently anything pink would go down really well with her! You can't go wrong with pink! If you felt so inclined, this is Anika's address.

Anika Wilke
c/o Banksia Ward, level 3 Woolworths building
Royal Children's Hospital
Herston Road
Brisbane Qld 4029
AUSTRALIA

Here is the link to the Caring Bridge Network for Ani.....

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/anikawilke/journal


Thanks for reading.

I am so AWESOME!! :D

OK, so I'm not so awesome at keeping a blog frequently updated but that's ok.... it's mine and I like it ....!! I AM awesome at this biking thing !!! My friend and I biked TWENTY FIVE MILES this evening !!! TWENTY FIVE !!! and I didn't puke!!!!!! LOL!!! This may not seem like a parenting post, but you know what, it totally is. This bike riding is making me a MUCH better parent. I'm getting two nights a week ( or two blocks of hours a week ) to myself.... I get to visit with my friend, get lots of exercise and amaze myself at my endurance!! This leads to me being a much calmer, happier and more patient parent.

We are working our way up to a goal of 100 miles in one day and 1000 miles by next June in time for the BRAN. It's so empowering to have a goal to work towards. I've started setting smaller goals for myself... some are worthy ( keep all the laundry out of the baskets and off my floor!) and others maybe not so much ( get a gold star in Bejeweled Blitz....!!) but by setting myself goals of various sizes I get to have something to aim at....and by setting smaller ones I get to achieve something quickly and easily as I am working on my bigger goals. It's very satisfying!! I read recently about a young girl who has chosen to set herself a goal of climbing 14 peaks of 14,000 feet by her 14th birthday!! What fun!!! I have asked Jessie to think of some goals she would like to achieve and am keen to hear her responses. Goal setting gives us direction, a focus, a point on the horizon to steer at without which we are just treading water, waiting for the tide to carry us wherever it may.

I can not end this quick post without mentioning my hubby and kids and their contribution to my efforts! Rex has been so supportive.... he readily picks up supplies for me that are indispensable for my rides... he's bought me books to read on cycling for women, he buys me all the Gatorade I can handle.... he has fixed my tires, helped me figure out trail maps, filed my brakes, but most importantly he has encouraged me to ride, he takes care of the children, he puts them to bed, he lets me sleep in. He's my SAG support and my kids are my cheering squad. I love 'em all to bits! :D

Where have I been all my life?!? :D

I've recently awoken from a deep sleep. A looooong deep sleep. I feel as if my eyes are open and my arms are stretched out to embrace life to the fullest. Recent events have unfolded before me ... I finally got together with "The New Lisa" .... remember? from Waaay Back?? I'd met her in Hobby Lobby in 2007 and it is only recently that we finally got together!! Since getting together though we have made a plan to ride in the Bike Ride Across Nebraska in 2010! It's about 500 miles!!! My bike was found on a dump and I was not much of a rider !!! Within the space of a little over a week we have ridden a 10 mile ride through the Lincoln trails, participated in the Trail Trek ( another 10 miles ) and we plan on doing a 20 mile ride this weekend. On our Trail Trek Lisa's friend, Michelle came along and I made a new friend.

Lately Farrah Fawcett died as did Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon and Billy Mays. My friend suddenly lost her father, a relative was diagnosed with a "cherry" aneurysm in her brain... all on the same day. Life suddenly started looking really short. Getting together with Lisa, taking on the challenge of the BRAN, meeting new friends like Michelle and Elayne, another new friend who loves to Geocache and sew... it's opening up my life. Lisa speaks Spanish and has SWORN to teach me! She also wants to play guitar so she and I are going to get lessons together. Elayne plays SAX !!! Finally! I have found a friend who can play Sax and she has already been able to get me started on it! I've had it years and not got a note out of it, suddenly I can play at least TEN !!! LOL!! It's a HUGE start !! A friend of Rex's is a drummer in a band !! NO WAY !!!!! Someone to teach me DRUMS!?!??! How AWESOME is that?!?! I am hoping to sign up for a class next month on Sailing and Kayaking! It sounds such FUN!! Lisa has a friend who shoots clay and I'd LOVE to try that, so I'm pumping her for info so I can have a go !! Another friend of Rex's has a handgun I'd love to take out to a shooting range and play with !! Last time I shot any targets I was pretty dang good at it! I'd like to prove to myself it wasn't some sort of fluke !!! I'm making something of a bucket list I suppose! Here's what it looks like so far...

*Learn to play the guitar
*Learn to play the Sax
*Learn to play the drums
*Learn Spanish
*Ride the BRAN
*Learn to Sail
*Try Clay shooting
*Fire a gun at a shooting range
*Ride a motorcycle
*Race a car on a race track
*learn to fly a plane
*ride in a hot air balloon
*learn to Ski
*get a tattoo (a reeeeaaally small one!! )
*get my nose pierced
.... and more and more and more ......!!!

I can see so many of these things if not all of them as totally do~able. The funny thing about them is the more I sense their possibility the more things fall into place to make them happen!! :D I'm trying to open myself up to new situations, new possibilities and see where they lead me!! Look how just meeting new people has totally opened up a new WORLD that was there, hidden behind my once closed eyes!!
I haven't seen the movie "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey, but I feel like I am him... I'm trying to say YES to the situations that come my way, thrilled to meet new people, enter new situations, try new things....!! Yes yes yes!!!!!

Where have I been all my life!?!? Right here. Where am I going?!!? Anywhere I can!! : D

Ooops.....

Well, all I can say is the earth MUST be flat, otherwise how would it be SOOO easy for me to fall off it like that!! : D My problem comes mostly with photographs. I have SOOO many pictures I want to share with you and the constant resizing and farting about with them to get them on my blog is very waring. tsk.

Anyway, we're all good over here... well most of us anyway. We lost two of our pets rats in one day.... there's more to that story but I'll have to remember to tell it some other time.... We've been doing lots of geocaching and have been working hard trying to find a bicycle situation that will work for Jack. Speaking of Jack he's driving me mad too!!! Today started off terribly but by the end of it seemed to have smoothed out some what. I have set the children on to chores... and they LOVE them the goofy kids! Who knew kids would fight over who gets to clean the toilets?!!? Jack is a star about chores and seems to relish the responsibility of it all. Bless him! He emptied all the trash cans, cleaned all the toilets, vacuumed the living and dining room, set the table for dinner (with drinks) and cleared the table afterwards! Jessie has done two loads of laundry today ( washed, dried and folded ) made a salad for dinner and helped clear and wash the dishes. I feel like a slave driver but I LOVE that they are learning to take responsibility for things and I am happy to be getting things done in the house!! Anyway, with the responsibility of the chores Jack really did seem to relax a lot. He does need to be kept productive I think. I do him a disservice by not keeping him busy enough. He went to bed, with no argument, at 7:30 and was fast asleep before 8:00. A Good Day....!! ;D

I've been trying to work out on my Wii Fit ( but have slacked off lately and now I have guilt.... gah!!! ) I rediscovered the joy of Vitamin B this afternoon and think the lack of it may have been a huge contributing factor to my feeling terrible lately. I've been sooooo tired ALLL the time. I can sleep all day long and wake up exhausted!!! What's THAT about?!!? I took a vitamin B this afternoon and am amazed to find myself feeling quite alert now.... of course I've just realised that instead of sitting on my warm and Oh So Comfy recliner, I am typing on the computer which would naturally leave me more awake, but heck, I FEEL better!! ' D

Anyway, I'm really busy with lots of little things here and there... I'm hoping to catch up with more friends over the summer, and I also want to try taking cuttings from my rose bushes and rooting them! ( I accidentally typed Rotting just then. Hmm.... very telling! )

I'm going to go and make a cup of tea and revel in my cleaner and tidier house ( we'll all ignore the kitchen shall we?!!? ) and then I'm going to try for an early night! ; D

It's good to be back! : D

Toodles!

Memorable Memorial Monday!

I took the children, backpacks crammed with picnic goodies and all our bikes to Pioneer's Park today! It was a gorgeous day and the park was full of people celebrating Memorial day. The air was filled with the smell of grilling and the plink of baseball bats meeting baseballs. We biked for MILES and I'm so proud of the children's stamina!! Jack began to grow weary near the end and made several attempts to coax us into stopping and picnicking at every opportunity, but really considering the heat, the terrain and the fact they are kids, I think they did wonderfully! ;D I didn't stop at simply bike riding either!! Once we'd returned to our start point we loaded the bikes into the van and then set off hiking!!! We stopped off at one of the nature centers for a potty break, to get new pencils, pet a couple of snakes and play some games, then headed out the other side of the building to continue on our adventure. We saw Elk headed for a swim, Geese and Goslings, a Blue Bird, fish, frogs and all manner of wild life. I'd signed up for a Waymarking site and we searched out some particular monuments to log on the site. We spent literally hours at the park and I KNOW the kids will sleep like LOGS!!!! ( I HOPE they sleep like logs!! )

For now, here are some pics... I need to go and do a quick tick search and then put the grubby kiddoes into a nice cool bath!! ;D

 

Jack needed a helping hand on some of the hills!!!

 

 

 

Jack watching an ant on a tree trunk!! ( The tree turned out to have a hollow limb that was home to at least one angry wasp....!! )

 

Jessie kept an eye on the bird population!

 

Jack took his little bug net and tried to swipe a few critters to study!

 

Finally time to stop for the picnic! You may not be able to tell in these pics, but the kids were SHATTERED!!!

 

 

 

Once the bikes were back in the van it was time for the hiking part of our program!!

 

 

Sandals and mulch don't work too well.....!!!

 

 

Jack LOVED this drinking fountain!! ;D

 

We really enjoyed this suspension bridge! It was great fun to make it swing and jump! The kids hated LOVED it.....ahem.....!!!

 

Here Jack and Jessie are pondering just what may have made the rather large, deep hole in the ground! My money was on Man Eating Scorpions, but they weren't having any of that!!!

 

A lovely day all round! Only Ice Cream could have improved it!! ;D

Sleep well???

Oh my! Another long night! I went to bed late as I stayed up to wait for the laundry to finish in the dryer, then I folded it rather than leave it to wind up a crumpled mess. Naturally just as I was getting done the dog needed to go out, then puppy needed to go out and was AGES pottering about...I finally got upstairs about one ish, then about one thirty the puppy started barking her head off downstairs. I got up and hissed at her to shaaaddd upppp!!! I went to the bathroom, came back to bed, settled under the covers and snuggled into my pillow.... and she started barking again. I got up, hissed at her to be quiet and went back to bed ( noting at the same time, that one of the children sounded restless.....) It was a really hot night and all the windows in the house were open so as I lay down and settled under the covers and snuggled into the pillow I was not surprised to hear the roar of a train and then the relentless wail of the horn. I lay awake for a while before finally getting back to sleep. At about 3 the puppy came upstairs and started mantling about in the bedroom. I patted the bed and called her to jump up but she didn't and eventually she left again. I settled down under the covers and snuggled into my pillow and was just settling down to sleep when the cat started clawing at the door frame. I sat up and hissed at him to STOOOOOP IIIIIIIIITTTT!!!! Lay back down, settled under the covers and snuggled into my pillow. I had just closed my eyes when the cat started up WOWLING. "wwwwWWWoooooOOOOOOlllllLLLLL".... in the hallway, right outside the kid's rooms. AAAAGGGHHHH!!!! I got up, snatched up the wowling cat and shoved him down the stairs, closing the door behind him. I went back to the bathroom, came back to bed, settled down under the covers and snuggled into the pillow. No sooner were my eyes closed when I heard a scritch scratching at the door at the top of the stairs. Next thing the cat comes hurtling sideways into the room on his tip toes with his tail jauntily raised over his back. He skittered around the room, attacking socks, pants, books, rugs, anything that caught his eye. He scarpered out of our room, belted back down the hallway towards the kids room, made a fast U turn and shot off into the bathroom. He leaped up on the counter, back down, out the bathroom, back into our room, caught up a sock and killed it with his deathly claws.... rampage rampage......I got out of bed, SWOOPED him up and brought him into bed with me. Hubby sleepily reached out to pull back the covers for me. I scowled in the darkness at the cat and said "Now just lie down and shut the hell up will you!!!" ...."Me???" Rex asked sleepily !! I held onto the cat as he struggled wild eyed and batshit crazy. Clearly he wasn't going to go to sleep. I got up, carried his crazed ass all the way down to the basement where I rather unceremoniously shut him in. Sigh. I came all the way back upstairs, went to the bathroom AGAIN ( I don't know what's wrong with me! ) climbed back into bed,settled under the covers, snuggled into my pillow and closed my eyes. Suddenly there was a strange sound and Rex jumped out of bed. "What was THAT!?!" he asked. Ugh. It was the garbage trucks. It was 5am and a holiday weekend, but apparently it's necessary for the garbage trucks to come and empty those gigantic roll off things. Yeah. Those are quiet. Rex closed the window and got back into bed. I settled under the covers and snuggled into my pillow. I was just drifting off to sleep when I was assaulted by a pair of underpants to the eye. Next a pair of shorts, a T shirt and a small boy took umbrage on my head, legs and nipples respectively. Now, my son is six and it's been many a moon since I nursed him,but still he manages to cause my nipples injury. As a rather small breasted woman I am constantly surprised by the child's particular skill of stepping on, leaning on and other wise compressing my nippular regions. Sigh. Again. My dear husband suggested that my son get up and get dressed and go downstairs leaving "Poor Mommy" to sleep. They went off downstairs together, I settled under the covers, snuggled into my pillow and closed my eyes.... only I was too hot. I dragged myself blearily to the window and threw it back open, went back to my bed, settled under the covers, snuggled into my pillow and drifted off to sleep....... for about 2 hours.......

Tired much!??!?! : D

How to AP Parent a boy who won't be AP Parented and other such piffle...!!!

Well I'm not going to mention how much time has passed since my last confession blog post!! It's been a while, I've been busy, let's leave it at that!!

Moving on! ;D

Our weather has suddenly grown magnificent and I find myself spending as much time out in it as I can. I also find myself encouraging the children to be out in it whilst I remain indoors, in the cool and the peace and quiet. Yes. It's like that.

Jackster is proving to be problematic. Oh I know, we aren't really surprised by this are we? After all, he is a boy, he is nearly 7 and he is hampered in his lack of communication and social skills due to his Down's. I've finally come to the conclusion that I can not parent him the way I parented Jessica. It just won't work that way. That has been my problem I think. I have tried to parent both children in the same way and they are as different as chalk and cheese. Jessie longs to please and always has. She wants to hold my hand, be polite, be helpful and kind. Jack ... not so much. Jack seems to feel no compunction what so ever to make me happy and seems sometimes to be TRYING to make people crazy! Awkward doesn't seem to cover it sometimes!! Awkward and stubborn!! As I said, I have reached a difficult conclusion and that is I have been too soft on him. I've been parenting him incorrectly. With Jessie I could reason with her. I could make suggestions, encourage, discuss.... with Jack he doesn't care for reasoning, ignores suggestions, yells at me and talks over me when I try to encourage and is as likely to threaten "'Mack you?!" if I want to discuss something with him. Ergo my thought that he needs to be parented a tad more firmly. What we have tried, and what seems to be working for Jack, is a zero tolerance approach. OK, not Zero, perhaps one ! A One Tolerance approach!!! We have found that "suggesting" something to Jack doesn't work. We now TELL something to Jack. He gets choices when it's reasonable, but only when it's reasonable. For instance, at the dentist recently. I'd sent the kids in with the dental tech and waited in the waiting room for them. I had to speak to someone about my insurance so was near the door to the surgery. I peeked in through the window..... Jessie was in the chair getting her teeth done and Jack was on the floor playing whilst a dental assistant stood by looking frustrated. I popped my head in and asked if they WANTED him to be playing or were they wanting him to do something else. They said they wanted him to have his X rays, but he was busy playing! They had asked him "Jack, do you want to go and get your teeth X rayed now?!!!" I told them to say "Jack, it's time for your X rays now." They did. He got up and went with them to the X ray room! ;D Like magic!! If I tell Jack he needs to do something or to stop something he gets one chance to do it. If he doesn't do it I will remind him again, if still nothing, then he will have to go and sit in the corner until he is ready to do what he was asked. I do all this as calmly and gently as possible, but also, firmly. No messing. I have also found if he asks me, say, for more ice cream, and I say no, and he continues to whine and beg for more I tell him as reasonably as possible that he has had some ice cream, he is not going to have any more just now and I will no longer be discussing it as it is non negotiable. He may continue to beg or whine on, but I refuse to even acknowledge his whining and he soon tires of it. I have already noticed that the whining is lessened. A huge part of our problem stems from my tendency to baby him and side with him due to his Down's. He has been able to get away with a lot more poor behaviour than his sister ever did mostly because she was so easy to parent. With Jack I would do everything I did with Jessie and it wouldn't work. I'd get so worn out trying to get him to do as he was told that I would eventually just give up and let him do what ever the hell he wanted just so I could get some peace.

Wrong wrong wrong.

Yeah, I know that now. Anyway, happily I think there is still hope for us here. I'm going to try treading this tougher, unused path and see what gives. It feels hard as I don't like being tough on him, BUT I don't like him being so mean and rude.

Wish me luck folks, it's a new and steep learning curve for me! I'm going to need some new climbing boots!! ;D

May Day! May Day! ;D

Ah hah hah hah....!! :D

Yes yes, May is here, May the ....um......SEVENTH no less, and I have once again forsaken thee for the fast and loose state of Iowa and the headiness of the Ice Cream Capital of the WORLD.... (again!) We went to Iowa last weekend and met up with the FABULOUS Alicia. We went to a lovely park to eat sandwiches and play, then we came back to the Ice Cream Capital of the WORLD and had HUGE and FABULOUS ice creams, THEN we went back to their motel and swam for a while THEN we collected our cares and woes and VICTORIA and headed back to our house! ;D Victoria is staying with us for a while and we are all having a really fun time together! ;D We've been for lots of walks, played at the park, learned long division, made a human cell (or rather a representation of one made with Jello and candies!! ) We've been to the library van, shopped at the store, built tents, practiced multiplication tables, played Wii, learned how to burn wood with a magnifier and the sun, identified birds, practiced bird calls, found a bunny tail ( :( ) planted pansies, made a scrapbook, done chore sticks, tried on prom dresses, played with make~up, made cards, played Hyperdash, made some time~lapse movies, ridden bikes and this morning we are going to bake a cake and this afternoon we are going to visit a friend's farm. I have still to make good on my promise to take the girls to a mall, Toria wants to teach us some of her soccer drills and Jessie and Toria have asked if they can host a party in the basement!!!! We're pretty busy around here right now!! :D I have lots of photos to post and will do so momentarily! I also need to share some photos from when Jessie and her cousin Megan went shopping for flower girl dresses! Oh MY how my little girl is growing up! :D

So I'll bid you adieu! I need to go and get dressed!! The girls have showered, had breakfast, got dressed, taught the dog some tricks and are now outside putting up another tent. LOL!! It's amazing how having an eleven year old suddenly in your life can wear a person OUT!! ;D It's like they are moving at three times my speed!!!!

Photos to follow.... Enjoy!!! More soon! I promise!! :D


Jackfella...

 

Alex...

 

Jackster....

 

Anna....

 

Ice Cream Parlor!

 

Jessie

 

The kids love the Giant Ice Cream Cone!

 

 

Jackster in the pool .... obviously!!

 

Victoria reminding me of Esther Williams...!

 

Annalee and her baby brother!

 

All the kids in the pool!

 

Jessie!

 

Growing up Glamorous!

 

Smiling girls!

 

The Power of Imagination! ;D

Has anyone here read Llama Llama Mad at Mama?? It's a wonderful story about a little Llama who HATES going to the grocery store and has a temper tantrum. His Mama is a really AP Mama and she sorts it all out. This book has saved Jack's tiny heiny more than once and this past Tuesday was no exception although THIS time what we came up with was, in my humble opinion, nothing short of genius!! ;D Jack and I were alone in SUPER TARGET!!! ( dun duh duh duuuuun!!!! ) and we were doing OK until I started to check out sun visors and got into the "compare and contrast" mode that I am likely to get into if I am considering buying anything a) I may not really NEED and b) that costs more than $5 !! Jack took off running and came back with a tub of Ice Cream. Peanut Butter Chocolate Caramel Swirl or some such flavor! Now, Jack had NOT been a very pleasant boy all morning but on the way to the store we had listened to NPR's classical music and he fell asleep in a flash. Having had a nap he was a lot more personable and I ALMOST got the ice cream. It was super cheap BUT it was super CHEAP! I made the mistake of checking out the ingredients ( yes, I'm one of THOSE shoppers....! ) and put it hastily back on the shelf. Jack took off again a while later and returned bearing a large container of Cottage Cheese. Hmm... I asked him if he knew what Cottage Cheese IS and he indicated his uncertainty. We returned that to the shelves too. I began to get the notion that possibly Jack wasn't enjoying this shopping trip as perhaps he might, so I came up a cunning plan...!!! We would PRETEND to shop!!! ;D Every time Jack saw something he wanted to buy he would PRETEND to put it in the cart!!! We picked out juice, cheese, puddings, pies, cakes, pizzas, toys, games, flowers, candy.... so much stuff that we couldn't see around the top of the cart and Jack had to help me push!!!! He helped unload all the pretend stuff at the checkout and the checkout lady was amazed at all we had purchased!!! I was pretty pleased at the price!! 'D Jack helped me push the cart back to the van and helped me unload all the pretend groceries into the trunk!!

Happy Jack = Happy Mama.....!!

Genius I tell ya, Genius. !! ;D

Who's afraid of Long Division!?!? :D

Do YOU know what 12 billion, 984 million, 635 thousand, 786 divided by 7 is?!?!?! :D Jessie does!!! :D LOL!! We'd been working on long division for a few days on and off and Jessie HATED it. She had decided she was a numb skull and would actually cry in frustration about it. Poor lamb. :( I tried all sorts of things including using pretty colors and virtual pies, counting blocks and imaginary apples, but to no avail. It just wouldn't seem to stick..... until now!! I remembered the Living Math forum on Yahoo groups. I used to get their mail every day ( that's a LOT of math mail for a non math geek like myself...) and I distinctly remember seeing an enormous math problem the moderator had given her daughter to work on. I realised that Jessie's problem was simply a lack of repetition! The long division problems she was attempting were not long enough!! If they are too short her brain has to flit from one problem to the next without being allowed time to absorb the process. I wrote out an enormous long division problem for her and told her not to panic. She used her multiplication chart to help her out and away she went. She did balk initially, but soon found she was getting the hang of it and you haven't SEEN excited until your daughter leaps up and down squealing with pride and delight at mastering such a seemingly impossible challenge!!! Natually she begged for more!! :D I had to tell her I wouldn't write her ANY MORE huge questions last night and she had to go to bed and rest but I promised I would write more in the morning... sure enough the girl was still in her nightie and not even fed yet when she came to me, pen and pencil in hand, begging for another question!!!!

YEEEEE HAAAWWWWW!!!!

So, I guess we don't need to do any more homeschool for another six weeks or so now!! ;D ( Just kidding Mum....!! ) LOL!!!!

Initial attempts with color...



Loooooong division!

Hello again! :D

It's not you, it's me. I've been like this with everyone lately! :D I MEAN to write, I have lots to say, but I think it's going to take me too long to get it all down and I never feel I have enough time .... so I put it off. Meanwhile MORE stuff happens and I get behind .... ugh. So.. this is it! Time to put off putting off... ( in all honesty I have TONS of laundry I need to do so blogging is my way of putting THAT off instead!!! LOL!! )

Here goes!!

Firstly I know you'll be wondering about this, hubby still doesn't have a job BUT we are amazingly pretty positive about it all. I'm surprised how well we have adapted and how smoothly things are going so far.

We spent Easter weekend painting and decorating Jessie's bedroom, the old nursery. She and Jack had shared a room for years but we recently asked her if she would like her own room and she thought it was a great idea. We LOVE her new room... and we REALLY love the CLOSET best!!! Oh to be a kid again and have a room like this one! ;D LOL!!


Here are a couple of before and after pics! : D

This is the room after we had cleared out all the baby stuff that was in there...



The closet as it was...



Jack helping with the painting! Note the ingenious paint bucket! :D



Here Jessie and I are demonstrating the Bump hubby and I drew on the wall as I was pregnant. We drew around my belly every month or so...! It's pretty cute! ;D



Some more pics......



This gives you an idea of what the room looks like... I don't really have a wide enough angled lens to get a good shot of the whole thing!!



Here are some shelves in her closet....



Shelves above the desk we made for her....



Hanging space...!



We've since added a bead curtain in the closet doorway....!! I LOVE her room!! ;D LOVE it!! :D

Next... Jack's room...!! I still need to plan some more on that one though!! Jessie's was really easy!!

Ok so other than that, what else have we been up to?? Well, there's always laundry of course...and dog walking...!! We went for a walk yesterday and as we walked Jessie looked down and gasped **OH!!! An OWL PELLET!!** sure enough! It was!! We looked closely at it and saw lots of fur and bones. As we looked further we saw evidence of many more tiny bones scattered around. We didn't have anything to pick it up with and as I was walking three dogs in one hand and pulling leash attached to a bike upon which sat a very heavy boy in the other I didn't feel I could do much with it at the time. We went home and Jessie raved to her Daddy about it. Together they walked back to the footpath, this time armed with plastic bags. They gathered up what they could find and brought it all home. Jessie then spent the evening dissecting it and speculating upon which wee beastie may have been dinner for the owl. We had noticed a huge owl on a previous walk a few days prior to the pellet discovery so now we know where it likes to eat!!! I think it was a Horned Owl, but could have been a Barred Owl... either way, it was a biggie!!!

Let's see... what else.... oh yes... sadly Shadow, our gerbil died yesterday. She was remarkably old and so it wasn't a surprise, but it was still sad as we did love her so and she was such a funny little thing. I took her out of her tank and held her so that Jack could see her and pet her. He said she was so soft... He sighed and said "ok.." when I said I was going to bury her. Jessie cried when we put her in the ground, but was mostly alright about it. She HAD just been cutting up Owl pellets... it sort of puts a perspective on things I suppose!

Jack learned an important physics lesson last week! We went for a bike ride and he headed downhill at top speed with his legs splayed out either side and the pedals FLYING under him! He was doing fine until he hit the curb at full speed, FLEW off the top of the bike and landed on his chin and knuckles. Oops. Jessie and I had been yelling for him to stop for sometime before the accident so I suppose that's just what happens. I'm really glad I had insisted he wear his helmet before we left the house. He's a LOT more cautious when riding now...!!

We bought some math game books recently, Fraction Jugglers and Number Jugglers, both by Ruth Bell Alexander. We got them used from Amazon.com. PLEASE be sure and check that the book you order comes complete with the number cards you need to play. Took me two tries to figure that out. Ahem. Anyway, they have really fun math games that can be played at any level and that encourage children to think differently about numbers. There are no right or wrong answers so children don't worry about trying different things...!! (ugh! Enter note of frustration here.. I can NOT concentrate at the moment so I can tell my thoughts sound scattered but I can't focus enough to fix it!!! Forgive me..!! Moving on...!!) For instance in one of the games you are encouraged to "Make 10"... you are dealt some cards and you need to use as many of your cards as possible to make 10. You could say 8+2= 10 OR better you could say 2+4+2-3+5 = 10 !! the idea of course is to get rid of your cards first. Children who are just learning math can use simple addition or subtraction, but the more advanced child can also use multiplication, division and so on and STILL BE PLAYING THE SAME GAME!! :D The books are a hit and I'm very glad I got them! ;D I WILL be looking for another copy of Number Jugglers WITH THE CARDS as we ended up having to make our own!! ;D

We've also been playing lots of Scrambled States of America, Webkinz quizzes, Wii, War, Scrabble and so on. Jessie has been working in her "office" ( closet! ) and doing some schooly stuff. We watched an awesome DVD from Netflix called The Human Machine which was amazing and taught us everything we needed to know and then some about the human body. One sad fact that stuck with me is that if we were to eat just 15 extra calories a day ( which is the same as only three pistachio nuts ) in a year we would put on a pound and a half in weight. Oh. Oh dear. That explained a LOT to me!!!

Anyway, there ya have it!! I had a few minutes while the children were playing relatively quietly and happily together and I was able to put together this hodge podge of a blog post for you! Now the children are squabbling ( really!?!? Oh that NEVER happens....!!) and the laundry has beeped some time ago and I know it's just wrinkling up in the dryer as I sit here... I ought to go.

It's been lovely to catch up... let's not leave it so long next time eh?! :D

Oh LOOK!! A PARENTING post!! :D

Things have been a little, um, different around here lately. The news I was going to try and keep from you until it had all blown over is that Rex has lost his job. We thought he would walk straight into another one, but this little thing called "The Economy" apparently got in the way. We're doing fine and we're keeping on keeping on, but a steady job would be nice! Let me know if you have one going!!! ;D We consider ourselves very lucky compared to so many others in this sort of situation. So, there ya go. That's what's going on here! However, I promised a parenting post!

I was talking to my friend Diana on the phone today. She is such an awesome lady, really patient, calm and understanding. We talked about what to do when children are angry and she has a great idea!!! One day when her daughter was angry Diana told her she needed to close her eyes and picture her anger. Diana then handed her an invisible balloon. She told her daughter to blow all the anger into the balloon and it could be as big as she needed it to be. When she was done Diana pretended to tie off the balloon and told her daughter she could choose to either pop it, or let it blow away. She chose to let it blow away. Sometime later the family were all sitting on the couch and her daughter said, "Mom.....I'm going to need a couple more of those balloons...." !!!!!

Isn't this an awesome idea!!! I'm going to try and remember it myself. I've also heard that it's impossible to blow bubbles when you are angry as you have to control your breathing which in itself makes you calm down. So, if you have an angry child give him an invisible balloon or a bottle of bubbles and watch the anger float away!! ;D



Now, how to get him to pick up his toys??

Parental Guidance suggested... and ignored!

So the other day we were watching the Drew Carey Show.... * sigh * yes... I know.... but honestly the stuff that is apparently suitable for children really isn't and Jessie's tastes seem to have moved away from child based shows on to more adult humour, even if most of it is over her head. As the show began hubby and I looked at each other and quietly shrugged. Jessie was thrilled to watch and, eh, what harm could it do.....

Ahem.

This episode happened to be the one where, in order to raise money to buy a Pwhlli to replace the one Drew had "accidentally" shaved and castrated, the gang decide to strip naked for money, a la the Full Monty. Too late to turn the channel NOW Baker family, we just have to keep a straight face and bear up to the parenting challenge. We were doing fine, explaining just what HAD happened to the dogs testicles, exactly WHY the men thought that taking off their clothes would make them some cash and so on and so on..... well... we were managing just fine until one of the characters decided that he had "surprisingly red hair" and was just too ashamed to go on with the show, which left Drew a man short. As Drew was at the bar trying to figure out what to do, a friend of his appeared and said he would love to strip too as he'd just got out of jail and really needed the extra cash. Drew was not sure it was a good idea so Ex-con asked Drew if he would like to see just what he brought to the party. Both men stepped behind the bar, a zipper sound was heard, Drew gulped a large mouthful of drink, slammed the glass on the bar and said "You're IN" !!

Jessie turned and looked at Daddy, then looked at me.....

"Mom....What DID he bring to the party???"

"Um.... " I stuttered, thinking fast ...." Cheese and crackers I think......."

tsk.

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little BLOG too!!!

It seems the days are racing by, three to a day at the moment. Days are blurred together and I don't even know which is which! I THINK it's Tuesday today.... oh yes, it is, we went to the library van today! MUST be Tuesday! :D

Yesterday afternoon our day was made interesting by not one, not two but THREE tornadoes Doppler Indicated over our house!!!! One touched down not too far away and took out a farm, but we just had a little scare or two... or three!! We knew bad weather was coming for a few days prior and the weather all day was not leaving any doubts about it's intentions. My head was POUNDING all afternoon from the air pressure.... ugh!! The wind picked up around 4 ish I think and Rex and the kids went outside to watch it. They stood by the house under the carport and I could hear Jessie say she was scared and Jack said he wanted to go inside. Rex reassured them it was just wind and they were fine. Then he said "However, if I say it's time to go inside, we have to go in right away....." and no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the Tornado Sirens started going. Man I've never seen anyone race in the house faster! We were up and at em in no time flat! We rounded up the dogs and shooed everyone down under the stairs. I suddenly realised we'd left the cat in our haste!!! I ran back upstairs and the cat was standing there looking around him as if wondering where the HELL everyone went!! I scooped him up and hauled him down to the basement and crammed his fat ass into the itsy bitsy cat box we have for him. We all sat down there as the wind howled. The weather radio told us that the tornado was over Hickman and Jessie WAILED! : ( Poor baby. So the first tornado passed us. Suddenly the weather radio told us another one was over head. HAIL started pounding the house, happily it was only quarter size hail and not the softball size they had been talking about a few miles away!! Yowzah!! The rain was coming down so hard the garden and driveway were flooding as we watched. After a few minutes it all cleared up. It was still raining but the clouds had cleared and it was daylight once again. We all headed back upstairs, we released the cat from his tiny box and all the dogs stretched and shook off their tensions. Phew!!! My head was still hurting so I stood in our doorway breathing in the wonderful clean and fresh air that comes in after a good storm. I was listening to distant thunder.... only it didn't seem to stop rumbling.... and there was no lightening. The rumbling just went on and on ... and seemed louder.... and louder......
I turned my head and said "uh.... Guys....." just as it hit the house!!! Suddenly you could not see out of the windows. The rain and wind were so strong that it was impossible to see anything!! "DOWNSTAIRS!!!!!!!!" I shouted and down we all ran. The cat, however, had wised up and I had a devil of a time trying to catch the little bugger!!! We all made it downstairs (AGAIN) and we watched the wind and rain pound the house. The rain was so heavy that the neighbors house across the street just vanished from my sight. Again the weather radio told us, too late of course, that there was ANOTHER Tornado over Hickman!! We quaked under our staircase and Rex and I took turns to watch out the windows... ( yes, we're THAT type of people!! ) Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The rain dried up, the sun came out and the storm moved on. A rainbow formed in our garden and arched over to our neighbors house and all was right in the world!!!! Craaaaaazy!!! That was plenty of excitement for me, so I went to bed to sleep off my headache leaving hubby to watch the kids! Sometimes that is almost like dealing with the forces of nature too... but he's had lots of practice! ;D

Keep taking those Happy Pills....!!

I finally did it. Since I was 13 years old I have had a problem with anger especially around certain times of the month. I have tried all sorts of ways to deal with it, vitamins, cutting down sugar, exercise, journaling...nothing really seemed to help and it only got worse after I had children. I would flare up at the slightest thing and basically walk around in a state of frustration...a fuse waiting for the slightest spark. On Thursday I had an appointment with a really lovely therapist who specialises in hormones and moods. I had looked forward to the appointment with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I knew that I would most like be prescribed something..a situation I had been desperate to avoid for years and years. I didn't want to be a "zombie" I didn't want to no longer be "me" .... However, the situation at home was getting intolerable for my husband and children. I yelled at them all daily without restraint. I would slam doors, throw things, screeeeeam and yell.... I NEVER hit the children, but yelling and screaming is abuse all of it's own and I knew I needed help, never mind the strain I was putting on my marriage. My husband is a WONDERFUL man and I would be an idiot to drive him away. I have a knack for saying just the right thing to cut him down at the knees. A wife always knows just how to hurt her husband the most. Nice eh. Anyway, I went to the therapist and we talked, fast, for an hour. She sent me away with a prescription that I would take for only two weeks out of four. She said for my situation it would work immediately as it wasn't treating depression but anger. I left with hope in my heart! I stopped by the drug store on the way home and picked up my TIIIIINY pills. At bedtime I stood, considering. Did I want to take this? How much will it change my life? Inwardly shrugging I put the teensy thing in my mouth and washed it down with a big gulp of water. I went to bed, I slept.

I woke up in the morning feeling a little ...woozy? Not bad, just sort of..light. The children were squabbling in their bedroom. Hubby went to sort them out, I wandered in after and talked to them.... and felt....nothing!! I went downstairs and the dog was barking..... nothing......!! Rex said he was going to go out with his friend on the weekend...... NOTHING!!! LOL!! It's a miracle drug!!! :D I took the children and puppy for a walk to the post office. I had a parcel to mail and a letter... Jack didn't want to walk, Jack kept stopping, we ran into a woman with two HUGE out of control dogs..... NOTHING!!!!! Things really came to a head yesterday morning when I was putting the top back on my moisturiser. The lid fell off and hit the floor. I simply bent down, picked it up and put it back on the bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SURE that sounds like no big deal, but honestly, in the past, the fact that the lid hit the floor would have INFURIATED me!! I'd have likely cussed and then slammed it back on the bottle!! I realised yesterday that perhaps it wasn't "NORMAL" to get so mad at a bottle top!!! It was normal for me!!!! I have noticed that if I hear the dog bark for example, a really loud and sudden ""YIP"" I no longer get that "JOLT" of anger! I don't get ANYTHING!! I find myself waiting for the jolt!!! Since I don't get it I am able to deal with the situation calmly!!! It's AMAZING!!!!!

Anyway, there ya have it. The "NEW" me !! :D And NOW I'm off to clean the house!!!! Isn't it a MIRACLE!!!?!!?!!

Springing Forward! :D

Well let's try and keep things positive, shall we?!!? :D We've had some wonderful weather here recently..... two days of temps in the high 70's and low 80's! I KNOW!!! but today... it's 34 and drizzly! Ah well.. could be SNOWING!!!!

I've had some great AP moments with the kids, well, Jack, lately, yesterday was a doozy. Hubby and I were sleeping in and we suddenly woken by SCREAMING and crying from downstairs. It was Jessie, no doubt about it, so I tore down there wondering what on EARTH had happened. It turned out Jack had hold of an extending dog lead and had WHIPPED her on the arm with it. It must have really hurt. Jessie was crying and Jack was yelling at the top of his voice in an attempt to drown out hers.... I hugged and comforted Jessie and made sure she was ok. I sat her on the couch under a blanket and then turned to deal with Jack.

As you know, I'm kind of at a loss with him and would much rather just NOT deal with him, but this had to be sorted out. In the last day or two I have come up with "THE CORNER" !!! It's NOT really like a Time Out and IS sort of like a Time Out.... it's a place where Jack can sit, where I can see him, and where he can relax and consider his immediate future!! I don't really see the point of "Time Out" per se. Telling a child to sit on the floor for a set period of time and then saying "Time's Up, off you go" doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. It just teaches the child to wait out the clock and possibly to simply go back to doing what he just did!! I prefer the idea of removing a child from a situation that he is struggling in and giving him as much room and as much time as he needs to regroup and decide what he needs to do next. I think it's a small distinction, but a distinction none the less. This way gives the child a bit more ownership of the situation and teaches him a little more responsibility for his actions. {{shrug}} I don't know for sure of course, just my humble opinion!! :D

Anyway, I took Jack over to the corner and had him sit down. That sounds easier than it really was, but I'll spare you the details this time. I was pretty upset with him for hurting Jessie but at the same time wanted to know how and why it happened. It's VERY hard with Jack as he struggles with communicating clearly, so you have to be able to try and follow what he is saying without running into the danger of putting words in his mouth. Anyway, after some time it appeared that he had hold of the handle of the lead and was pretending to be playing Wii. He said he was playing Wii tennis (though Jessie said she has her doubts about that...!!..) and had swung the leash like a racket, hitting Jessie on the arm. I'm not sure it was intentional but also need to be careful I don't give him the benefit of the doubt at Jessie's expense either!! It's a delicate balance between always presuming he's "mean" and always presuming he's innocent!! Ah the politics of parenting!

Anyway, we talked about how he hurt Jessie and how that made her cry. I asked him what might make Jessie feel a bit better and he said "A Doctor..." !! "mmmm...." I said...."yeeesss.... and what ELSE perhaps?!!?" He decided and apology and a hug might go a long way to help but he wasn't comfortable actually DOING it. I explained that I'd like him to stay in the corner until he felt ready to apologise for his actions to Jessie. I went into the kitchen and kept an eye on him. He sat there for all of, oooo, 30 seconds? and then went up to Jessie and said sorry and gave her a hug. She is SUCH a sweetheart she instantly wrapped her little arms around him and smiled and all was forgiven. Phew. That's one to me, I think!!

For the rest of the day yesterday Jack was an absolute sweetheart! He sat next to me on the couch watching Bob the Builder. He snuggled me and said "I Luff You.." and warmed my heart! We made Apple Brownies together (recipe to come in the sidebar!) He helped me light a fire and we sat snuggled on the floor infront of it watching for faces and pictures in the flames. Finally he went to bed without too much trouble, especially after I suggested we read Llama Llama Mad at Mama It's his new favorite bedtime book! ( I kind of love it too! ) It's a really sweet and AP book about a Llama who's bored at the grocery store and acts out to show his disdain!! ;D I was happy and surprised when Jack pointed to the little Llama and said "That's ME" and then to the Mama Llama and said "That's YOU!!" I'm going to have to buy a copy of that book and take it with us to the store to remind us both how to behave! : D

Anyway (yes, I said "Anyway" AGAIN!!) friends.... I need to go and bundle up on the couch once more... I have a sinus infection or some such thing and feel a little "ugh!" It's a cold and drizzly day, the cat and the dogs are all stretched out sleeping on the floor, Jack is watching The Little Mermaid and Jessie is sitting in the window reading Nancy Drew books. Time for me, the couch, a good book and a roaring fire to make become reacquainted! : D

Happy Sunday!

Ketchup! :D

The days are FLASHING by and I find it is 5 days since my last confession...oh... wait... wrong box.....! ;D Ahem!

Well! Today finds me in a fairly relaxed and happy state... I'm not sure why, perhaps it's the mood enhancing drugs..... I keeed, I keeed! ;D I wiiiish I wiiiiish!! ;D I think it's more likely to do with the fact that I was dressed before 9 am this morning and the kids and I got a few things done that needed doing. I am the sort of weirdo sweet and sensitive sort who NEEDS to get things accomplished in order to feel happy and content with herself. I know, I know, I really should work on that!! ;D

I'm also working on trying to be more positive and happy.... Last night as we were sitting at the dinner table hubby mentioned that perhaps I should try NOT using such negative words as "damn" "flipping" "flaming" and so on as the children and the whole household come to that, pick up on the tone..... so, in order to be a nice compliant little wife, I came up with "Jolly" !!!! It does amuse me!! :D "Oh dear, it seems that the Jolly dog has peed all over the Jolly floor again!!!" It IS hard to stay angry when you talk that way and it reminds me of "Queenie" in the Black Adder shows!! ;D "Who's Queen!!??!"

Megan came over the other day and she and I played with the children to keep their "jolly" spirits up and get their "jolly" wiggles out!! A friend of mine gave me a neat book ( which has already disappeared somewhere in the many and varied piles around the house...) that had some great ideas for indoor play. One of them was a tug of war with a T towel and two small kids! ;D The kids sit on the floor facing each other, toes touching if I recall correctly, and each of them has hold of either end of a T towel. On the count of three each child starts pulling until one falls over or lets go...!! Easy eh!?! An old favorite is the Sock Game..... all players ( there has to be more than one...! )sit in a circle with their feet touching in the middle. On three everyone races to pull off their opponents socks. The winner is the person who has one or both socks remaining on their feet at the end of the game. Another game we enjoyed was leg wrestling. Both children lie next to each other, top to toe, with their feet at each others hips and their toes pointing towards each others heads. On the count of three both players wrap their inside legs together and wrestle trying to pull each other over... it's pretty hard to explain, but give it a go and see if you can figure out what I mean! ;D Aaaaaanyway... that was what happened this weekend!!! ( LOL!! Can you tell I'm distracted!?!? Hubby is trying to talk to me and I can't type, think AND talk all at the same time!! )

Today was a tricky day in the afternoon.... the morning went well but then Jessie went to her riding lesson. Jack and I did a little reading, played Scrabble ( of a sort! ) and Blokus ( again, of a sort! ) then we went to pick up Jessie. Now you KNOW something is not right when you walk into the horse barn and everyone is walking towards you AND THEY ARE ALL CRYING. Yeepers. Turns out Jessie and her 10 yr old friend were both riding in the arena and the horses decided they wanted to play. They took off galloping around the arena with both girls hanging on for dear life and the instructor yelling "HOLD ON!! HOLD ON!!!" well, sadly, Jessie didn't hold on quite tight enough and fell off, rolling across the dirt and eventually hitting the fence with her helmet ( thank god!) arm and leg. Poor girl. Apparently she wanted me right away but they decided not to call me ( I guess I was due to arrive there in only a few minutes anyway...??... ) and they took the girls up to "The Big House" where they were given milk and cookies to stop their blood sugar plummeting with the shock. Jessie was given a horse necklace which is apparently a "bravery medal" of sorts for girls who fall off. When I went to pick her up she was still in shock as was the instructor, the other little girl, the other little girl's mother, and, before long, me! Jessie seems fine, she plans to continue riding again as soon as possible, but, Oy, she's going to be sore tomorrow! ;}

**************
LOL!! As I was typing here I suddenly remembered Megan came over on Sunday and brought old Prom dresses for Jessie to dress up in... they were SOOO pretty and Jessie looked fabulous in them. We took a ton of pics and I was going to add some for you to see.... I inserted the photo card.. and nothing happened. If you know me from Facebook you will have heard that my computer is DOA. I'm using Jessie's old computer which is sssslllllooooowwww..... In trying to get the (Jolly) camera card reader to work we managed to lose the (Jolly Jolly) mouse...... GGGAAAHHHHHH!!!! Staying positive, keeping calm.....!! I'm going to post this rambling effort of a post NOW before the whole shebang crashes!!!

Fingers crossed I get my old computer fixed before too much longer!! ;D

'Night all! :D

When the excreta hits the oscillating unit......

LOL!! Things have been a little.... um.... unsettled around here recently. I can't really say why just yet ( no, I'm not pregnant though that WOULD be unsettling!!) suffice it to say that unless something comes along pretty soon, hard times are on their way. Anyhoo.... that's the reason behind my sporadic posting lately... my head is on other things!!!

I was talking to hubby this morning.... worried that I am failing the kids, that they aren't learning anything, that they can't follow a simple direction, have memories of sieves and so on and so on... I get like this, panicking..... He reassured me that they are doing fine. He came up with a plan and he told Jessie what he wanted her to do this morning. I expressed concern that all Jessie is knowledgeable about is DRAGONS!!!!! DRAGONS?!?!?! they aren't even REAL!!! HOW will this help her in life!?!?!!! Then.... I found this and I began to relax. Theresa's right!! It's not the "what" of the learning that counts.... it's the learning. It's the process. It's all a process.

There are so many days these days when I just want to pull the covers over my head and never, ever get up again. Sometimes being a parent seems so overwhelmingly hard to me and being the fighter that I am... well.... I just want to quit!!! Rising every morning to the sounds of kids quarreling is not the best note to start the day on... and it seems to happen every day. Even right this moment I can't hear myself THINK because Jack is HAMMERING on the piano.... AARRGGGHHH!!!!!
If I go to bed early I'm annoyed and frustrated as I don't get enough time to myself, if I go to bed late then I'm cranky, annoyed and frustrated because I am TIRED!!! People say I should get up before the kids... um... they get up at 6:30. Just how flaming early should I get up!?!?? LOL!!

Anyway, I'm totally rambling here, completely distracted and unable to focus... Jack is making me INSANE!!! Jessie IS actually doing some school work and the dogs have FINALLY quieted down and are now sleeping!!!

Sorry about this nutso post!! I'll give it a better try a bit later on! ; D

Enjoy your day!! :D

Random moment of randomness....

LOL!!

Yesterday I had a moment. A good moment!! We ( Me and the two crazed Monkeys I call my own ) were driving home from somewhere or other..... (**thinks.....** !! Oh yes!!! WRESTLING!!! Now THERE'S a whole 'nother post!!) and we happened to spot a large flock of Geese flying above us.... then another.... and another..... and....oh look.... another !!!! We appear to be under the flight path for the Canadian and the Snow Goose express! There were literally ( and yes, I'm prone to exaggerate, but not this time ) THOUSANDS of geese. They swarmed above us like a Rorschach image... constantly flowing from one outline to another. Jessie would call them out...."A polar bear"....." A horse with a rider"......" A woman with long hair"...."A fish"..... it got so that I was spending so much time looking at the sky I really wasn't paying due care and attention to my driving. That's enough of THAT, I thought, ...... so I pulled into a housing estate, stopped the van, and we spent the next 15 minutes watching nature's Bob Ross at it's finest!!! :D

You know what's sad??

I'm LOSING followers.....!! :( That really is sad. I had 12 (YEAHY!!!) now I have 11.... booo. Was it the Mammogram post??? What happened!?!? Why did I lose you!?!!? :D

Come back!!!!!





** sobs!! **

AP moment of the day......!!

Yes!!! There was an AP moment today!!! And I was there!! ;D LOL!! In fact it was literally two minutes ago and I thought "I should BLOG about this!!!" :D

What happened is I foolishly asked Jack to pop down to the basement and fetch TEN of the dried beans from the great big bucket of beans that they use to play with. ( It's a tactile thing....) Anyway..... an hour passes..... finally I begin to hear yelling. I'm sizzling onions on the stove so I wonder just what the yelling is about and can't even tell if it's happy yelling or sad yelling...! I run downstairs to find Jack yelling "PARADE!!!!!!!! PARADE!!!!!!!! " and scooping great handfuls of dried beans and flinging them EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!! AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Now, this is where it gets good!!! Instead of yelling like a banshee at the terrible mess he has made I check to make sure that it is PARADE he is yelling and then ask if he's pretending the beans are confetti. I am reassured that this is indeed the case. I keep my cool and ask if perhaps we might pick up the beans when we are done..... all heck breaks out. Jack is furious and upset. OK. I'm thinking hard now and trying to recall all my AP training ..... my brain seizes upon Playful Parenting!!! Aha!!! ;D "OK Jack!! After the parade is over and everyone has gone home, I need to know that the street sweepers are going to come and pick up all the confetti so that the streets will all be clean in the morning... ok??!!!"

"OK!!" he agrees and gleefully gets back to his work!! ;D

Wow!!!!! What do you think!?!!? Good eh?!?! :D

Play with me?!

My good friend Risa( Reeeeesah!!) sent a link today to a fascinating article about the Serious Need for Free Play. The article goes into great depth regarding how children need... NEED to play. I don't mean they need to play chess, or they NEED to play the violin... they NEED to play fairies and dress up, wrestling and chase. They need games where they are the villain or they are the hero, they need to build forts, play with legos, look through paper tubes, create worlds in their bath tubs. Children need to use their imaginations and, as Jack says, they need to spend some time " 'tendin' ". Jack and Jessie both are GREAT pretenders. They are often rescuing wild ( and totally imaginary ) beasts from various worldly locales. They pretend to be creatures themselves, the picnic table is everything from a fort, to a boat, to a magic school bus. This very evening Jack went out to the garden as it was growing dark. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but apparently he was planting candy trees!!! I later saw him go out again and water them!! ;D

When I first read the article my initial thought was one of concern. As homeschoolers maybe Jessie isn't getting enough play time with friends of her own age. She does have various homeschooled friends and we see them at least once every couple of weeks if not more.... but perhaps she needs more friends to play make believe with... maybe she needs more pretending....???? then I thought about it. Jessie and Jack play make believe every.single.day and I have nothing at all to do with it!! :D They get on famously despite the (ever reducing! Yeahy!) communication gap and Jack has learned so much from Jessie just through their play.

So next time the kids are driving you bonkers ( and you know they do!!) tell them to go outside, or, if it's not all that nice out tell them to go under their beds, and to find where they left their imaginations. Come to think of it, why should the kids get all the fun!?!?! Why don't WE have a go too?!!? :D

I'd like to thank The Academy.......

I have my first ever blog award... !! And TWO people gave it to me at once!!! What do you think of THAT!!?!? Must be like buses!! Nothing for ages then two come along at once!! :D

I'm very grateful to Stephanie and Alicia for nominating me.

I'd like to also thank my husband for his undying love and devotion, and my two dear children for their craziness which gives me reason to write in the mornings!

I believe there are rules to this blog award, but you know me, not much of a rule follower. I'm a skimmer. I read instructions by scanning for key words thus I know I have to name some things that make me happy and then nominate others for the award.

The "nominating others" reeks of chain letterdom and spam to me, but that might sound ungrateful. I will say that I read all the blogs in my side bar and some more I've yet to add. They all make me very happy and make me feel less alone in the world!

Other things that make me happy are:
*Hearing Jack laugh in a HAPPY way ( not in a "I'm tormenting the cat and I LIKE it" kind of way )
*Drinking Ice Wine with my hubby and getting giggly after one glass.... but still drinking two more anyway!!
*Being with Jessie
*Watching the sun make the snow sparkle like diamonds ( I LOVE diamonds!)
*Drinking cups of hot tea whilst sitting on a sunny step.
*Swimming in a blue ocean
*Spending all day with good friends
*Walking with my dogs
*A good morning run
*laughing uncontrollably ....... I could go on and on....

Turns out lots of things make me happy!!

Who knew!?!? :D

Nothing says "I LOVE YOU" like getting pee stains out the carpet! :D

Today's post is brought to you by the Bissell Little Green Compact Multi Purpose Deep Cleaner*!! ( wow ... that's a mouthful. Guess I shouldn't be eating it eh?!! :D ) Well for my Valentine's gift this year, this
is what I asked for !! :D Our carpets are just nasty with all the dogs, cats and little boys who use them on a daily basis. OK.. it's not daily, it just FEELS like daily. For instance, Minnie, our old rescue dog, peed liberally all over the carpet the other day. On Valentine's morning no less I was woken by the words "Minnie has thrown up all over the floor" ... * siiiiigh* !! So anyway, unromantic it may seem, diamonds and chocolates it is not ( though I did also receive a box of chocolates ( I know, I know, I'm spoiled.... !) ) the Bissell Little Green was the perfect gift.

Yesterday I finally took it out the (recycled) box, added the earth friendly cleaning solution, (it's not called the Little "Green" for nothing!! ) plugged it in, turned it on and began stain removing!!!! Whooo!! :D It works really well!!! Jack and I kept searching to find more dirty areas of floor so we would have something else to clean!!! It was so satisfying!!! My friend Diana recommended it to me a month ago and I am so lazy if someone has a product and likes it, well, that's a good enough recommendation for me!!

So there ya have it! A Valentine's treat everyone can enjoy!! :D Clean carpets in no time!!!

No need to thank me! :D




*and PS, I'm not being paid to recommend this product, though I wouldn't say no if it were offered!! ;D I have principles, but I'm not STUPID!! :D