Perspective part 2

I actually wrote the last post on perspective a couple of weeks ago, didn't add anything to it, just couldn't bring myself to post it until today. I know I'm so cheeky. I just couldn't post it, without having some sort of results. Like I mentioned in part 1, I just can't fail and posting "my dirty laundry" for all to see and then not following through on those resolutions I made for myself... that would be the definition of failure for me.

So I decided all this towards the end of May, and set these resolutions for myself. So far so good!

1 & 2 Keeping the right perspective & choosing Joy- How easy it is to dwell on the nail polish in the carpet, or the sippy cup that has been hiding under a bed and what once was milk is now a solid, or the tantrums of a 2 year old, frustrations of a 4 yr old and sassiness of a 5 yr old. The title of the blog is the blessing is in the SEED, and this right here is all the perspective & joy I need. I have started printing out quotes and bible verses and have them sporadically around the house as a constant reminder that each and every day is a blessing and not to sweat the small stuff :)

3) Organize/Re-decorate the house- This is where a lot of transformations have changed. The garage and backyard were cleaned/organized. The playroom is undergoing a major change and it's almost done, just needs a few more decorative touches to add some color. Expect a post or 2 soon. :) Steve made 2 trips to the recycling centre/landfill. I'm also in the middle of re-doing my office, I'd like to get the playroom done first and then will finish the office. We took a trip to Ikea and also placed an order online for delivery so we got new furniture for both spaces which is why both are being worked on. Since we had to pay a flat rate delivery fee we wanted to get everything that we wanted to save money.

I also created schedules and printed out morning & evening routine charts for the kids. These are so awesome, it's amazing how much of an impact some pictures, and words on a piece of paper makes! :)

So that's what we've been up to for a couple weeks now, we're a bit excited to have started these projects that we've been wanting to do for so long and not just starting them but we're almost done! The feelings of joy, peace, and accomplishment, ahh it's wonderful.

Perspective part 1

After talking with a great friend on the phone and openly admitting that I stress out about stuipid stuff, but let more important stuff pass by; I'm going to try and change that. How the towels are folded, which toys go into which bin, how the dishwasher gets loaded; little things like this bug me. However things like, filing receipts and important papers, putting laundry away, organizing, meal planning, etc. I always put off until the last minute or don't do it at all and instead have piles of paper or laundry(of course behind closed doors or cabinets so the house doesn't appear to be chaotic.)  I should be grateful that the towels are folded, toys are put away, dishwasher is loaded instead of stressing out that it isn't done "right".

"A pebble held close to the eye appears to be a gigantic obstacle. Cast on the ground, it is seen in perspective. Likewise, problems or trials in our lives need to be viewed in the perspective of scriptural doctrine. Otherwise they can easily overtake our vision, absorb all our energy, and deprive us of the joy and beauty the Lord intends us to receive here on earth." Richard G Scott

 I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, or else there wouldn't be best selling books with the title "Don't sweat the small stuff" out there. Unfortunately stressing out about the small stuff does absorb my energy and it does take away my joy, which is so ridiculous! So, it's time for a change. I'm making some "mid year resolutions" :)

-Remember to keep things in perspective, don't sweat the small stuff
-Always choose Joy
-Organize/re-decorate the house
    -I know this isn't exactly with the theme of this post, BUT, your house is a reflection of you, and when you enter your home you should be overcome with feelings of peace and tranquility. This isn't the case for me. I have feelings of eagerness, anxiety, and sometimes of being overwhelmed. I immediately think of what didn't get cleaned or how this room is not how I like it. Decorating and Organizing just got placed on the back burner, I had other priorities and didn't think that taking time and money away from my family to make a room more homier or to organize a cabinet or 2 was as important; lesson learned!

So here I go letting everyone know another of my imperfections, and for a perfectionist with a type A personality, this is hard to type because if I fail, I won't be the only one who knows it. HA

Playroom & Summer

The kids are out of school this week, for half term. Since they are in a British school they get out of school July 20th and start again the 1st week of September. Since their summer break is only 6 weeks compared to 11 like the American Schools have, they have 1-2 week long breaks throughout the year.

So this particular day I woke up to the sound of giggles, and there was a request for pancakes for breakfast. First things first, a cup of coffee. Then I made pancakes with a fresh fruit salad. Afterwards I turned on the British cartoons while I cleaned up from breakfast. We colored some pictures for Daddy. Had another cup of coffee. Kids played with play doh while I started a load of laundry. Pulled out all the supplies for painting, and set that up. Debated on another cup of coffee. Colored some more pictures for daddy then we played hungry hungry hippos; looked at the clock and it was only 9:30 AM. AHHHHH... what are we going to do for 6 weeks while the kids are out of school? It's definitely time for a summer schedule for the sanity of SEEDD we need a schedule.

We have a section of the living room designated as the playroom, my goal over the next month, before the kids are out of school, is to revamp the playroom. My list is as follows:

~Get rid of small pointless toys
~Organize all toys in new baskets
~Label all the baskets
~Paint the table& 2 stools and get 2 new stools for it
~Hang a shelf for our phone center(the only outlet for the internet & phone is in the corner of the playroom)
~Set up "centers" it works for schools so why not do it at home.

If you have any tips or suggestions on how you survive summer, or plan to survive, lol, Throw them my way for sure & I'll be sure to share any ideas I get. :)

A day in the Life

 As a mom to 3 kids 5 and under, everyday things just get in the way. I saw this poem on facebook the other day and it is sooooo spot on:

You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the coffee. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her ...she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old. While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee. Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

I've recently been on a "schedule kick" I don't know why I haven't thought of it before, I LOVE schedules always have. So last week I was tired and exhausted, for many reasons but mostly because I didn't feel like I accomplished anything that I wanted to get done. So last Weds. I made and printed off a weekly cleaning schedule for myself; a morning & evening routine for the kids including pictures, and then I sat and scheduled out my entire day. It wasn't until I typed it all out that I realized I do a lot during the day, and just because my to do list grows instead of shrinks doesn't mean I've failed. I realize to some scheduling out your entire day would drive you insane, for me it is doing the opposite.

Just a glimpse of how our day goes:

7:00 AM- Wake up, shower, get ready for day
7:45 AM- Get Kids Up, eat breakfast
8:05 AM- Kids Get dressed, brush teeth, get ready for school
8:25 AM- Take Elora & Derek to School
9:15 AM- Start Daily chores
10:30 AM- Time with Dylan, playing cars, coloring, watching Dinosaur train, whatever he wants to do
11:30 AM- Pick Up Derek from School
12:05 PM- Lunch
12:30 PM- Boys Nap/ More Daily Chores plus free time for mommy which lately has been napping
2:45 PM- Pick up Elora from school
3:30 PM- Snack
3:45 PM- Homework/ organized activity for Kids
4:30 PM- Start dinner; kids get to play outside or if raining TV time
5:30 PM- Dinner
6:00 PM- Clean up from Dinner, kids do chores
6:30 PM- start bedtime routine
7:30 PM- Lights out for kids
7:35 PM- Finish any daily chores
8:30 PM- Time spent with Steve
9:30 PM- Catch up on Facebook, e-mails, prep for next day, watch dvr shows while folding laundry
11:00 PM- Bed :)

Stonehenge~ Jan 2012

As most of you have seen the pics on Facebook, we went to Stonehenge, and a few other places. However you don't know the entire adventurous story. I think the motto for that day was simply quoted by Dory in the movie Finding Nemo "Just keep Swimming."
It was a chilly day, but nothing compared to Minot. We left at 7:30 AM and started our 3 hour drive. The kids were great the entire ride, when we arrived at Stonehenge we ate our picnic lunch. We received a membership to English Heritage as a gift from Steve's mom and family so we didn't have to pay to enter. The entrance to Stonehenge is actually across the street and you walk through an underground tunnel and come out the other side, the kids thought this was soo cool. The ground was very wet, and there was about 2 inches of mud, we hadn't realized that there wasn't a paved walkway around, so we had to trek with the 2 kids and push Dylan in the stroller through the mud. "Just keep swimming"

 Elora wanted to push Dylan in the stroller, but with all the mud and there were so many people there we said no. She had lost her mind, it was so bad we had to give her a time out on one of the benches, for 5 minutes until she finally calmed down. "Just keep swimming"

We also saw a few other things that were in the area, we figured if we were going to drive 3 hours we better make the most of the day. We forgot to get extra pounds from the ATM so when we tried to find parking near the cathedral it was too much for what we had on us, so we parked quite a ways away in a 2 hr parking spot. "Just keep swimming"

After all the sites, everyone was hungry but we had a long drive back so we decided to get McDonalds, which by the way if you haven't had European McDonalds it is DELICIOUS! We plugged it into our GPS which took us right into the center of the city, there was no parking of course so I hopped out and ran into the restaurant to order our food. Placed the order... they don't accept swipe cards, I only had 5pounds so, had to cancel my order and just got 4 burgers. "Just keep swimming"

Overall the day was great, we got the chance to see a ton of neat stuff and had tons of fun with the kids, even with all the unexpected events. Enjoy the pics :)

HAHA SO I'm going through some of my blog posts and noticed this draft, I never published it because I was still in the mentality of "my kids aren't perfect but noone else has to know that!" Yeah what a difference a year makes!! After hearing Derek's evaluation and then reading this, things make so much more sense now. So here's the unedited blog post from July 2011.

A comedian by the name of Anita Renfroe has a theory called the "room in da womb" theory. With the 1st baby, there is not a whole lot of room in there so they are over achievers, and must fight for every inch in there. With baby #2... "Hey look at this, it's kind of comfy in here, but wait it looks like there was someone in here before me hey that's not fair! And I'm going to tell her it's not fair for the rest of my life!" Baby #3 "Hey look at this, there is tons of space in here, I'm loving this, I'm just going to relax in here!"
This description fits my children perfectly! The personality of Son #2 is wearing me down lately. Derek is definitely his own person, which I'm sure I will be very happy about when he is a man and with a family of his own, but right now I would say he is definitely my strong willed child. Terrible Two's... no way, that was easy! How old is that saying anyway, because every mom of boys I know has agreed that it should be called the Terrible Three's!

Today we went bowling with a group of other mom's and their children, we know them very well. Before we entered the building we went over all the rules. "We will be on our best behavior, we will not eat here except for some cupcakes so do not ask because my answer will be no! Do you understand what I said, please repeat it!" Oldest child, "yes mom I will be very good and won't bug you or ask you any questions." Middle Child, "yes mom." My response... "ok what did I say?" "umm... what?" So I proceed to explain again but this time using 10 words or less... ok repeat what I said. "K Mama!" Sigh... ok just going to settle for that.

We are all having a great time, except for the high pitched screams coming from child#3 who is always content until he's out of food and then he'll let you know. By frame 4 "Mama, I'm hungry! I'm hungry! Mama, Mama, Mama!" After I told him no about 20 times, he decided to take a friends snack, another little girl saw this and didn't like that he had her snack and tried to take it from him to give it back. Derek was not having this he proceeded to push, slap, and pull her hair to get her away from the snack pack that he had a death grip on. Yes... this is my son. I grabbed all 3 of my children and left the bowling alley mortified and cried the entire way home.

This is the same son, who sneaks things into his bed that we have no clue where he even gets them from like purple puffy paint, magazines, straws, juice boxes(we never have juice boxes in the house), snacks, and of course dino's. Sigh... some day he will grow out of this... someday!

Derek's Evaluation

After 2 months of waiting, even though it has felt a lot longer than that, Derek had his evaluation today. The e-mail we received said it could last from 1 to 3 hours, it only lasted 45 minutes. Now most people wouldn't complain about that, and I'm not; exactly. When I arrived Steve was walking out of the classroom with Derek, they had already talked to him and given them their findings, the only thing left was some paperwork that Steve didn't know the answers to such as; when did your child first; roll over, crawl, walk, say a pronoun... etc, you know all the questions that only a mom of one child would know the answers to off the top of her head.

I asked how everything went and what we do from here? This was the response I received "Your son is a very polite smart little boy, who loves dinosaurs! Honestly, from reading your e-mail we were prepared for a handful but he did everything we asked without hesitation and was very sweet."

"He has an issue processing big sentences. This could be why he struggles in big group settings, because there are too many details being thrown at him and his brain can't process it all, it goes into overload and that's why he melts down. He is frustrated because he knows he's supposed to do something but he doesn't understand any of it. So when talking with him use smaller sentences and do things in steps. Such as please pick up the book; once he has done that then say Go put the book on the shelf; then when he's done ask him to Come sit down. Most cases we would normally say Ok go pick up the books put them on the shelf and when you've finished that come sit on the carpet."

They tested his general & fine motor skills. He scored perfectly on the general motor skills, like jumping, running, hopping, etc. However he only scored 20/60 on his fine motor skills, things like the way he holds a crayon to color, a pencil to write, cutting paper, holding a fork etc.

Derek saw a speech therapist and she said he was right where he needs to be for his age, so no problems there. He also had his hearing and vision checked, passed that with no problems.

Where we go from here? They have 45 days to get back to us and set up a consultation meeting to discuss what they have found, what they think needs to be done, and set up any referrals for treatment, therapy etc.

So we will just wait. I expected to hear a little more of the results today, and was a little disappointed that we could wait up to 45 days, but I think about where Derek was when he first started school to where he is now. He has grown so much in these 5 months. He now has best friends that are excited to see him. We went to a festival on Saturday and surprisingly there were about 5 of his school buddies there, every time we'd go to a new booth, or area of the festival there was one of Derek's friends and they would growl at each other and chase each other around us, typical boy stuff. Usually though it's Elora who runs into so many friends, it was very surprising and I was excited for him!

We have only received one bad report from school in the past 5 months, compared to his first 3 weeks when we were being pulled aside EVERY day after school. So things are coming along, taking each day as it comes.