Another New School!

Catie no longer accepting of change.

No doubt about it change is hard and every time we have moved the kids have had to change schools. Catie has been in seven schools since we started educating her.   She is a pretty easy going kid for the most part and for the first few moves didn't protest too much...the last few moves have been pretty much war in our house.   We had to make some pretty big promises to get her to agree to this last move.   We are in the process of adding a new dog to our pack...ugh!  The pup has her own issues...I won't even get into that right now!  We had to promise to buy a house...done...we bought our house...and I love it!   I can't wait to share it with all of my family and friends.  The last one was we promised to take her back to Illinois to visit her best friend and see some of her favorite places...that got side tracked a little and we had to put it off but we plan to make it happen.

Alex rolls a little easier with our changes.

  Alex was a little easier to convince...he was even pretty easy going about it...he said "mom dad where ever you are that is where home is"   a pretty grown up statement from an eight year old.  Of course he had just had the hardest school year of his school career yet and was ready to get the heck outta town.   He really struggles with school sometimes and could really give or take being in the school setting for the most part.  He has asked me to home school him several times...I don't feel like I am cut out to be that kind of mom however,   We did get so much accomplished with him and much of it was not at the school request or involvement last year.  It was with counseling and hard work.  We learned a great deal about Alex in a short period of time and he is an amazing little guy.  

Ready to be a Wildcat! 

We have had some great things to start this new school year so far...Catie has made some friends!   PRAISE GOD!  HALLELUJAH! She got on the bus home and we didn't get a phone call that she was having any form of a panic attach and she made the whole trip home.  She even got back on the bus the next day and has done it every day since then...griping about every single bus driver the whole time.  Apparently they change drivers for the middle school buses frequently.

Alex has also had some great thing in his first week of school. He loves his new teacher...I have to admit I am quite liking her as well.  She sends an email every day telling us what they have done at school and what they should be doing that evening.  This is so nice...since my son has a tends to tell me another story entirely every night. He also has one of the neighbor boys in his class and that has made the transition from home to school much easier I think.  He seems to be settling in quite well.  

The not so good...Both kids have trouble getting up in the morning...one way more than the other...we have way early bed times...my husband thinks it is too early but if these kids go to bed any later I am going to have to drive them across town myself to get them there on time.   Alex needs a lot of rest...or I should say a lot of time in his room to unwind or he just doensn't get the rest he needs...Catie would probably be ok if she would just get up when her alarm went off...Mom is not the alarm.
Rusty misses the kids...we tried very hard to get a puppy over the summer some of you will remember the cute pictures of Catie and Alex holding a sweet little pointer mix puppy.  Well we never got to bring her home...she had and still has a really stubborn case of giardia a parasite and we couldn't bring her home until she cleared it. After weeks and weeks of waiting we felt that we wanted to talk to some specialist and when we did they told us if we brought her home it could be months of waiting, Rusty could get very sick and we might have to wait for her to grown out of it.   We had to back out of the adoption...so we are on the look out for another dog.  You will just have to wait and see what we bring home.  

 

A little more skeptical of this whole Wildcat thing! 

So happy to cuddle a Roo!

I have changed my morning walking routine a little to accommodate two kids waking up in the morning...I try and get up at the same time as Catherine and out the door in time to get back in time to see her get on the bus.  Sometimes I am getting back to see the bus drive away and sometimes I see the bus pull into the neighborhood.  It really kind of depends on how fast little Rusty legs are moving and how many times he wants to stop and pee on the little things we pass.    

Older kids are getting home...just not his kids.

Rusty is waiting patiently.

He is getting a little older and a little slower but you couldn't tell for the most part that he is 8 years old.  He keeps up with the kids most days and is a busy little pup.  He is enjoying the kids being in school a little bit it gives him a change to sleep most of the day away.  He gets very excited when he hears the school bus though.  He might be little but he thinks he's mighty and his kids love him. 

My favorite time of day is when the kids are coming home form school...they tell me about the things they did, the exciting stuff they experienced, and the people they talked to.  We are connected and I love to connect to my kids!

A happy boy has arrived.

/

She really tried very hard to make the volleyball team.  Next year?

So when it is all said and done...yes my kids have been in 8 and 5 schools each...and yes that is a lot...but they are strong independent individuals that make friends fast and they are resilient.  They will go so far in this world.  We never ever intended for them to be in this many places by this age but it is what is and we can't change any of it.     

The Crash...Seat belts...angels and common sense! Photos are graphic

I have to be completely honest...this is not going to have my my normal light hearted tone.
I have an important message to get out and I have been sitting on it  for two weeks.   I was scared to write to put this out there...I am worried the pictures are too graphic. My husband has had them all over Facebook though...I want to tell the story of wt happened the say our lives were saved.
On July 5th, 2015 it was clear and dry and we were excited to be going home.  We had a car full of fun things to do.   We had some new plants and the kids had a new Wii.  We were excited to get home to our dog Rusty Roo.   He had been at the vet's office for boarding all weekend and the kids were ready to play with him.  We stopped to grab a quick lunch on the way out of town...we had our food and our iced tea.  We were ready to go...the Doug had plenty of gas and we listening to the tunes.   We were just cruising along...the tolls came and went...as we pasted Wanamaker...haha....that's a funny name for a street...Nathan asked me if the tire felt low....I said no...the road was just really rough there. We crested the next hill and the road got smoother and the ride did not...worry crossed Nathan's face...he asked "are you sure? if this was my car..."
"I said no"...worry now in my voice too " you should pull over"
Nathan began to decelerate...I felt than he signaled...and I saw him change lanes...first one and then a loud pop..what was that...what was that...a slide the car (Doug) is sliding!  We slid across the next lane Nathan corrected because the car was sideways...we hit the grass still facing westbound...I think, best we can tell from skid makes and where Doug landed.  We slid though the grass for 15 feet and boom we were in the air.  "Oh my GOD!  Yes I said GOD, I said a dozen prayers in 12 seconds...then as if it was all ok I kind of relaxed. I pulled in my armed and we hit the ground...the side I was sitting on hit the ground and the window exploded on me.  I picked glass out of my arm yesterday...still coming out of all of my body.   It has been two weeks.  The second and third roll were very quick only second between the two of them.
  Nathan swearing the whole time.  As soon as the Doug came to a rest the kids made some noise...the first sounds we heard from them.   They made no sounds during the accident.  Catie asked "what just happened"  We had to ask Alex if he was Ok...he took a minute to respond.  Both kids were asleep when were we had the accident...so they were taken by surprise by the whole event.
Catie unbuckled and helped Alex unbuckle and they scampered out of Catie's window.  Catie stood outside the window crying for just a second then as if there were angels there were 4 men at least  2 women ushering the kids away from the car checking them over for injury calling for help.
Nathan asked if I was ok...I kept saying "I don't know."
There were people all around us telling us help was on the way and we were going to be ok.  I was so dazed...Nathan just wanted to know if I was ok...and I couldn't get him an answer because I was hanging from the ceiling and I couldn't free myself.
As I was hanging from the ceiling I remember a few things.   1. Nathan told me over and over to not stick my feet through the window...apparently when you are hanging from the ceiling your feet tend to stick out the windshield. 2.  My weight is a huge issue...lol...pun intended here.  I am grossly overweight...I have been my whole life...no jokes.  I know you and most of you know that I have always struggled with this.  I am done with this...I will never ever have that issue again.  I see my doctor on Thursday to see what I can do to make serious changes.   I have already lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks.   This is going to happen.  My weight will never be a factor again in escaping a car accident again.   Mind you I don't plan on doing this again.  3. Seat belts are awesome and I am so glad I am a hard ass about the kids wearing theirs.
So I had to do a push up and Nathan had to unbuckle me while we were trapped in the car...I was freaking out at this point...because the guy on the outside said there is no way to get you out.   I said "oh yes there is...do it now"  and turned to Nathan and told him to find me a way out.
The guy on the outside looked around a minute and he quickly figured out that the seat that I was formerly sitting in could be reclined and we could climb out the back window the kids climbed out of.  I got about half way out and had to stop...it was so much work...it was such a little space.   The people were helping me and Nathan was helping me.   I had to stop and breath and I was hurting.   I had my face in the dirt and glass...I so didn't care.   I spent a few seconds crying and and then climbed the rest of the way out...
Nathan scrambled out behind me and laid on the ground until the paramedics arrived.  That was only a minutes or two...they checked Nathan over and he got up and walked over to the kids.
By this time I had told the people standing all around us that our son had Asperger's Syndrome and he needs to know that I am ok...because of course they were not letting me up from the ground.  I could have been too injured internally to move so they kept me laying down.  I couldn't see Alex or Catie.   I needed both my kids to know that I was ok and I especially needed Alex to know I was going to be fine.
After a few minutes the paramedics asked me if I felt like sitting up and they finished their exam...I was able to sit.   Then after 10 minutes and some digging and hunting for my shoes we got me to my feet.  As I leaned against the vehicle and surveyed the damage...and it was extensive...we left our weekend along a 30 x 45 yard swath of I-70 exit real estate.  I had a life flash before me kind of moment...my family was sitting together dirty beaten and dazed in a rather shabby pile of stuff and people collected our things around them.  It was so surreal and sad.
The funniest moment and there were many...so strange....I can laugh now...and we did in those God awful moment right after in happened.  Nathan and I were so shaken.  We laughed, we cried and we did all kinds of hysterical things that would make normal people look at us in horror I am sure.  But nothing about this was normal.   Anyway the funniest moment was when the paramedic asked me if "I would like to be transported in the ambulance?"   "Um...let me see...we just rolled down a hill 3 1/2 times at least...and I spent several minutes with my feet sticking through the windshield...I then spent several minutes hanging from the seat belt and had to climb through the window...yeah maybe I should go with you to a hospital?!" "Can the family come to or should they get a cab?"
I made a very long climb up the hill...it is the edge of the Flint Hills...and it is rough ground.   I was again examined.  The rest of the family was loaded in...the sheriff collected a lot of our junk.  We made a long slow ride to the local hospital in Topeka and spent the next 5 hours getting tested for internal injuries.  I wish that they had cleaned the glass off of me at the hospital better...I might not be still removing as much from my skin as I am now.   That is not anything I can do anything about though.   It is old news and I am healing and so is everyone else.
We have hidden problems...Catie is complaining about not being able to sleep.  I am not having that problem, but the thought of driving down I-70 gives me severe anxiety.   So much that I don't want to do it alone...I am making plans this next week to drive a whole different route.   My husband is unhappy about this...it will waste time...of the precious time!
Alexander and Nathan don't seem to be experiencing anything after the event.   We are all doing our own thing.
That day is a weird memory and our life has changed.  We were saved...we used common sense and put on our seat belts.   They saved our lives...they were angel wings...I tell almost everyone I meet that seat belts save lives!  I mean it...I had one guy say "they save money on tickets"  I turned around looked straight at him and said "more important they save lives"...its true.  We are required by law to wear them...time and again they have saved lives we are just four more winners.
Please make sure you buckle up...we never ever expected to have a roll over car accident.  Nathan is a very save driver...I always knew that there was a chance that the Durango (Doug) could roll.  It was a generation of SUVs that was of poor design...many rolled over and even the visor had a rollover warning.   We never drove in way that would cause it behave that way though...the rear tire sheared off at highway speed making for a bad combination for us.    We just were very blessed to be riding with angels and seatbelts...
here are the pictures if you want to see them...

 

"The conversation"

I started writing this blog a little over four years ago when Nathan and I were going through what seemed like the hardest thing I could think of...becoming Foster Parents.  As it turns out that wasn't it...walking away from becoming foster parents was harder.   I shake my head in wonder sometimes at how our lives have changed show much in four short years.   I love it hear in Salina and as we get ready to move again I wonder at what changes are going to have to happen before we are going to be foster parents again.   This is so far from where I was going with this post....I was starting this really awesome grateful post about my daughter!
So here is goes!
About a week ago we were having lunch (BBQ yummm) near home and we were listening to the song by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Same Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0.
Catie piped up that she didn't know anyone that was gay...Nathan and I both choked on our lunch.  We laughed and asked her what she was talking about she knew plenty of people who were gay.  She said she didn't know who was gay...I shrugged and looked at Nathan and we began to tell her who she knew.   I will not be listing out who she knows here as Kansas and not all of our friends and family are as accepting Nathan and I are.   I will not expose any of our family and they are all family to us to ridicule.  After several minutes Catie called a stop to the countless numbers of people we were telling her about.   We explained to her that she had know most of these people most of her life and I guess it never mattered much who they loved just that they loved.   We knew and she just always understood they were apart of her life.  She never knew any different so she didn't know that there was any difference.   Many of these people were integral parts of her life...she just didn't know any different and isn't that they way it's suppose to be?
I want that kind of blindness for everyone...just see everyone the same...like an 11 year old that sees you the same as the next person.  

The Pack...OMGOSH?!?!

This is really going to happen...we are really going to buy a house?  We are really going to move for the 10th time in 17 years!
Wow how did this happen again?  I am really getting tired of packing and unpacking.  I just unpacked didn't I?  It's really only been a year since the last move.

I am getting excited about this move...I truly am!  We are buying a house!  We are going to be home owners again.  We lost our last house during the '08 collapse.  That was so much fun(insert sarcasm) we should try it again.   We are really looking forward to having something to call our own.  It's been a rough couple of years since we lost the house...we never seemed to get things right since then.
We have just been bouncing off one obstacle after another and not really getting a very good handle on the situation.
So Tuesday was the first day off from work and I wanted to make sure I made the most of it.  I got some errands ran and I did  a few chores.  I started to pack a few boxes but I could never really get going...so two boxes later I was done and I called it a day.
Wednesday rolled around and I was more ready to get some packing done but not really motivated to do it first thing in the morning.  So I worked on a blanket I am making for one of my daughter's friends for a while.  Still not feeling it...oh crap...am I ever going to get this done?  Finally I decided I better get my butt to it and just jumped in...packing here I come!   So I packed five whole boxes.  Whoo!  I am so glad I got that done!

I am so grateful that my job gives me the flexibility to take the time to get my house packed and still keep my employment.

Do you know what a food allergy looks like???

My daughter has a red dye allergy.  Any contact with red dye sends her to the bathroom usually to spend the next 20-45 minutes with severe stomach upset, cramps, bloating, gas, and you guessed it diarrhea.  If we are lucky I can get it to stop there with a couple of Benadryl and she sleeps it off...if not she then starts throwing up and that's when I have to get out the big guns...Epi-pens are not our friends, but they do save lives.   This reaction isn't the one that people hear about so often...they hear about the mouth swelling and the tongue itching.   Well the reality is this is the same thing it just take my daughter's body a little while longer to register an allergic reaction than most...and this is pretty typical of someone who has an allergy that is progressing to anaphlaxis.  The same thing is happening to her...it's just further down in her body.

 Catie has lots of know allergens.   We had allergy testing done a year and half ago to determine what she was truly allergic to.  Unfortunately there is no test for dyes and chemicals.  She has over and over again had reactions to red dyes.  We have used elimination to  determine this allergy.
Last week after Easter Catie was upset with me because I got a bag of jelly beans.  She was well and truly pissed at me that I brought this poison into  the house.  She then begged me for a green jelly bean.  I saw no harm in giving her a green jelly bean.  So I told her to get one.  I watched in horror as she got two green and one yellow and popped them in her mouth.   She then trotted out of the house as if nothing was wrong.  An hour later she came home home complaining that she was hot and cold at the same time.  Her face was bright red and her cheeks we puffed up.  She had two hives on her face.  She started to complain almost right away  that she  her stomach was hurting.   So two Benadryl later she was ready to sleep through dinner.   I do wish she would listen to me.
 We have had since had Alex tested and he is also allergic to many things.  He is doing very well since we found out he has some allergies.   We have both of the kids doing allergy shots and they both seem to be improving.  Catie is on maintenance and Alex is on build up.

I want everyone to have the access we do to free
 Epi-pens https://www.epipen.com/copay-offer/

UPDATE: This link has been revised! 

Or if you use Auvi-Q  https://www.auvi-q.com/affordability/

This link was added.

The Generic Epinephrine Injection is also available now...from Mylan
https://www.my-generic-epinephrine-auto-injector.com/
You can get a discount card for the generic injector at almost all pharmacies now.  CVS makes it very easy.  They were the first to roll out this program and have since remained the top in the market to keep it affordable.  

Since this was first published my son has since been diagnosed with a shellfish, sage and cinnamon. I have also been diagnosed with a milk allergy.  It has complicated our lives in ways I could never have dreamed of...but I now know what was wrong all those years ago when my daughter would throw up for no reason after eating in the backseat on the way home from dinner.  I have a better understanding of why my son breaks out in hives from head to toe and we have no idea why.
Catie is done with allergy shots.  Alex is on maintenance and doing well.

The Best Yes!

I Am So Grateful!!! I am way behind...but that's ok...I have no intention of trying to catch up...so I will just pick up where I am.   I am so grateful for all of the wonderful people who have supported me through another year...we have amazing people all over.  I have an amazing family mostly in Kansas City and surrounding area but some other places as well.   I have friends in all places near and far and I am so grateful to have called home Kansas City,Independence, Leavenworth, Bloomington and Salina...and soon to be Manhattan.  I have made some lifelong friends in these places and thankfully Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Pinterest have allowed me the opportunity to keep in contact with most.
This week has been so awesome...I have had celebrations of my birthday all week and I so enjoyed it.   I am not one of those people that doesn't enjoy getting older. I do enjoy my age and know that with each year it is a beautiful gift that I have been given.  I wish my mom had been given a few more of those gifts.
My title leaves so many questions...I know...
I am reading The Best Yes, By Lysa Terkeurst with my Small Group.  It is really an amazing book about choosing to say no when you need to.   Giving yourself the space to give God a chance to make things happen in your life. I am so Blessed by my small group...I love these women...they are a wonderful part of my life. If you have never been part of a small group or a women's group you are really missing out.  Small groups offer a chance to get to know your fellow church goers at a whole new level.   It also allows you to develop some friendships with people you might not have considered before.   Go ahead step out there get to know the people around you...they might surprise you.  Another thing...if you feel like you are too busy just keep this is mind.  I feel like I am on a vacation every week for an hour with my friends.  It is awesome and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Here is the book...take a look. http://thebestyes.com/
The last thing I want to share is the amazing experience Catie and I had at the Girl Scout annual volunteer luncheon and annual meeting for Kansas Heartland Conference.  I wanted her to see how Silver and Gold Award winners were honored.  I also wanted her to see how annual business was taken care of.   We had the pleasure of meeting the CEO of Girl Scouts Anna Maria Chavez.  The first Latina CEO.  She was very nice and stopped to talk to all the girls including Catie.  She was very kind and happy to take a picture with her.  She also gave Catie a very special patch for her vest signifying her meeting her.  It was a very nice afternoon.  I am very proud of Catie and the way she behaved and I think she was very impressed with the Gold and Silver awards...she was very bored with the annual business meeting however.  On the way home I was talking to Catie about what an honor it was to meet Mrs. Chavez.  To put it in perspective...the last time a CEO visited Kansas was 1990.  In 1990 I was a Girl Scout and I did not meet the CEO.  I have a picture here to prove it...I have no idea what I was thinking with this hair style by the way...

Potty training with ADHD, no one ever said this would be this hard!

He's eight!   I never ever guessed my son would still be wetting the bed at age eight on a regular basis.   We have checked to see if something else could be wrong so many time...he's fine the doctor says.  This is normal.  He's a deep sleeper and he will grow out of it.  I consult other moms to see if there children are still wetting the bed...nope.  All of my friend's children stopped wetting the bed in the normal time frame.   My son just has pushed through to the other side and is still wetting the bed in the post normal stage.  At least it feels that way.   He is growing so there is no doubt in my mind that his bladder is big enough to handle the overnight control.  We control liquid intake and make sure he "goes" before bed. We wake him two hours after he goes to sleep to "go" again.

 We wait and grow impatient for his little body and mind to catch up to the other children so we can be part of the club.   That exclusive group that seems to be eluding us so fully right now.  The one that is just out of reach the fully potty trained club.   I feel completely helpless in this because there is nothing that I can do to make this go any fast for him.   He is going to get it on his own.
We recently tried a medication to help him sleep better and it was also suppose to help him over the hump with his bed wetting.   Much to our disappointment he is still wetting the bed and he is back in pull-ups full time.  They are costly, a pain in the butt and God help us if one gets into the washing machine.  He seems to not mind so much what is going on and is not so much worried that he is still wetting the bed.  
I wonder about this off and on...I think it is strange that at one point he was almost completely done with bed wetting and now we are back to every night and completely needing the pull-ups.   Someday...I have hope and I will keep the faith!  Until then we will keep telling him to "go" before bed, take it easy on pre-bed drinks, and waking him up in the middle of the night for a midnight trip to "go" again.

By grace alone I am saved!

This Good Friday I am grateful for the loves of my life. God has given me so much.
My live revolves around these three...everyday...almost all day.  I have a grateful heart because I have a wonderful husband who works long hard hours to provide for our family.  He has worked extra hard this week to make sure things fall into place with our new house and the mortgage company.  He is a busy guy and he makes sure we are all taken care of...I am so proud that he calls me his wife and he looks at me and sees someone that he wants to stand next to.  He is the love of my life and I am darn grateful to have him!
I am grateful for that little girl that keeps me on my toes.  She is a handful.  Just like I was and she knows it.  She is amazing and brilliant and so very lovely.  She can be sweet and meek or flash and outgoing.  She is an ever changing little beauty!   She is a beautiful creature that keeps Nathan and I guessing every second about what she is going to do next.


This little boy is my wildest joy!   He keeps me hopping and that is so awesome!  The joy I get from watching him dance is unmeasurable! He is so sweet and easy to please.  I hope that we can always be this happy!

My little dancer!

Alexander is one of my biggest joys.   I absolutely love that he loves ballet.  He has gone back and forth all year long about being a ballet dancer.   He is torn about how boys can be ballet dancers.  He truly loves the art form however and you can see it in him when he moves.  He has tried to tell us at least 4 times over the course of the year that he wants to quit but as the week wears on we talk about dance or view his favorite videos and he ready to go again.  He also adores tap.   It is not my favorite type of dance but I will always humor my son and I love to see him happy and dancing.  I will list some of the links that he enjoys...if you have a little guy that dances he might enjoy them too.

School of American Ballet https://www.youtube.com/watch?

The Nicholas Brothers Best Tap Number Ever...Alexander's favorite dance by far...we watch it weekly at least...sometimes over and over again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF3KOLS9qLg

The third one is a commercial but it really demonstrates how strong male ballet dancers are...and that is the one thing I really think we want Alexander to understand and the people who are teasing him...and really the cause for him wanting to quit over and over again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GND3nlj7Y-w



So not really about my grateful journal tonight accept I am grateful I have a son and I am grateful he is willing to stick to a craft he really enjoys because I love watching him dance!

Feel free to comment!

Gratitude attitude

There might be something to this grateful journal...I am starting to feel something change in my life.  I definitively  can feel the shift in my perspective.   I can see my kids picking up on my better mood too.    I hope my husband is seeing the improvement in my mood  as well.
My kid are enjoying the the new change of pace...
Today I am really grateful for my small group ladies!  They Rock...I laughed so much tonight and had so much fun this evening.   I love these ladies...they make
everything so much better for my week.   I am so going to miss them!
I also am grateful for my puppy dog Rusty Roo.  He is such a good puppy dog!   He is such a good companion and my best little friend.
I grateful for pizza...and late night snacks...I love pizza!

Grateful for laughter

 Silliness and fun were the headlines at dinner today.  I quickly snapped a photo of my sweet boy playing in his shirt.  In just a minute later my husband had his shirt up over his head too.
I was having a rough day, my stomach was hurting and my teeth were hurting.  I soon was laughing and having a good time.   It made my day!
Then I posted my pictures on Facebook and the real fun began.  First the comments began to come in...and people who got it liked the picture and commented on the pictures.  Then my dad took a picture.  I absolutely love that he will play along!  He's a good sport.
Then one of my best friends in the world puts her picture up...I love it!  She truly gets it!  She gets my sense of humor and knows what this is all about.  Thank you Mollie!  You made my day.
To Alex, Nathan,  Dad and Mollie I am Grateful!
Thank you!

Just as soon as I finished this post I found a picture of my niece as well...I am a happy woman tonight!
Please share you gratefuls!

What I am Grateful Four! lol

Haha...I'm not very good at puns but every now and then.

I am late...a little...well maybe a lot!

Last night was the youth lock in...at the church and I was in charge of the games.  I am so grateful my daughter allows me to participate in her life and the activities that are fun to her.  We had  so much fun...we played life size hungry hungry hippos.  We also played pudding pictonary.   Not only did the kids have a good time...I had an amazing time!

I am oh so grateful my husband is a team player and he was down for helping out as well.  He made dinner and then set it out again at 11 so everyone could have a late night snack.  Then he stayed late to clean up while I brought our grumpy younger pup home to go to bed.   He is so very awesome and I could not have a better best friend or partner!

I am grateful for my little girl.  She is so awesome and I am very proud of her.  She is growing up so fast and I feel sometimes like I am missing pieces of her growing up, because it's happening so fast.


please feel free to share your gratefuls!  :)

G3

On Day three I was really having a hard time coming up with my grateful ideas until I called my grandma.  She is my step grandma I gained her by marriage and no one could ever tell her or me that she is anything less than family.  She has been a grandma to my kids since the day they were born and I would never take that away from of them.  She and I spent nearly an hour on the phone as we do most every time we talk.  We didn't talk about anything very important but I know the time was well spent for both of us.  I love hearing how her week is going and how she and her gentleman friend are doing.   It is always a worthwhile conversation for both of us...I hope she knows how much she means to me.  She tells me every time we talk how much we mean to her and that makes my day no matter how uncool my day has been.

At dinner I asked Catie if she was getting excited at all about the new house and she said yes...Woohoo!  Thank God for small miracles!  This is just a little thing since I know she isn't super excited about moving to Manhattan...she likes the idea of the house though and I'll take it!

My third thing tonight is Alex has decided he is going to go ahead and do the flash mob with me tomorrow.  He also didn't freak out about dance class tomorrow morning when we mentioned it tonight.  That is super huge since he had such a huge melt down on Monday night.
Going to bed on a high!

Grateful Journal part 2

In an effort to grow a positive outlook I am writing a grating a grateful journal and I am on day two...

I have picture of Nathan in his chef wear on this page to remind me that I am very grateful that he is not a chef anymore...today he had to work late and he was still home at 6:45.  That is so much earlier than he ever got off as a chef.  He routinely worked 12-16 hours as a chef and had to work every weekend and all Holidays.   Having home to spend the evening with us is a huge blessing.

Next I have Alex pictured...he has given me a run for my money today...and kept me on my toes today.   I am so excited that he might be willing to admit that he is willing to hang onto dance class.  He had a huge melt down at the beginning of this week and told us he was never going to dance again. This morning he danced all over the kitchen and my heart just melted to see such joy on his face.  Who knew a child could cause such raw emotion???


I won't put any more pictures..the last thing I am grateful for is the whole home inspection.  It is done and it went very well.  Nathan was there for the whole thing and he feels confident in all of the findings.  This sure puts my mind at ease and gives me a little more breathing room.

Please feel free to share your gratefuls!

Grateful Journal

As a practice to build positive light in my live I will begin writing three things I am grateful for everyday.

A new home in May for our anniversary to call our own...we are buying a house in our next port of call...some permanence will be very nice.  I really like this house...everyday when I tell someone new about it I find something I like about it. Some of the things I didn't like about it I think I am starting to find endearing.  My husband really likes this house...and I am hoping that he will want to stay there for a really long time since we have moved at his request the last few times...

My husband's job is very good right now...he really seems to love his job and is growing his business.  He is doing very well in his field and his employer is finding his culinary talents very useful.   I pray that continues and we find good things in this company for a long time to come.  I feel like this is a great fit for us a for a long growth and could keep us very comfortable.

I am very grateful for my job.  I love working where I do.  The people I work with don't always get along and I don't always get along with them, but I always have customers who make my day.  I walked out of there today knowing that I am going to miss this job.  I also know I will find a job again that I am just as happy with and enjoy the people I work with.  

Please feel free to share your gratefuls!

Not Super Mom and that's ok.

I suck at this sometimes!   ADHD is kicking my ass!   

My poor son must feel like some weird science experiment.  He has been through the wringer this weekend and it was a suppose to be a fun weekend.  A holiday weekend.   Thank God we were not traveling.    

A few months ago we noticed Alex's ADHD medication wasn't working like it should be...so we made adjustments. We saw some change but not enough.  I talked to his teacher.   She was frazzled but willing to work with me.   He was quickly loosing ground and not wanting to go to school.  The place he previously loved to go.   I back peddled and even went to school with him to see if I could see what was going on.  I observed him most of the day...and for the most part his teach said he was behaving as normal.   That was not good.  He was unfocused and disruptive.   He wasn't the only student...but he was my student and my only concern.   I'll pray that the other kids parents are as concerned as I am.   I talked to the lead teacher.   She is very supportive and offered great advice...things I had never ever thought to do.   She encouraged me to get Alex in some kind of therapy for his
ADHD and seek outside help not try and take care of it all on my own.  I shared with her my concerns that Alex might have some autistic tenancies and she gave me some advice on how to proceed with that in a small town in the middle of Kansas that doesn't offer much in the way of diagnostic and treatment.   

Finally it came down to we had to switch Alex's medication.   It has been a more successful transition that the last time we tried this transition.   There have been some set backs however...Alex is having some issues with the new medication.   It makes his stomach hurt...a lot.   He has spent two nights throwing up a lot...that was of four nights.  He has complained at every meal that he can't eat that it hurts...we have  tried everything to get him to eat just a few bites...even getting his favorites...cheeseburger and fries.  He just can't eat.   It really bums us out,,,dad especially gets upset because he things Alex is just not eating because he doesn't like what was made.   Truth is he can't eat...he has an upset stomach,   I'm up right now because I got to get up with Alex and clean up the mess he made in the bathroom at 2:30 a.m. oh well...I can sleep later.   He hasn't slept much either the poor little guy keeps waking up with stomach cramps and leg cramps.   Both are common side effects of the new medications...the worst part...I think it actually is working...He seems more focused and able to concentrate.   

LOL...why didn't we do this sooner?

Look what we found at the thrift store today...only $19.99
You  might notice that all of Alex's photo's are blurry and out of focus...yes I am horrible at taking pictures.   He also didn't stand still for a second...even when I asked him too...silly boy.   He was so busy bouncing that he couldn't take even a second to stop and take a picture.   This is AWESOME!   We have been looking for a way for take some of the steam out of this little boy...he's been all outta sorts since school got out.  He has had not much outlet for all this energy.   He is wearing himself out as I type this..and I am loving it!!!    One of my very wise mom friends had one of these on her back porch and she uses it to give her kids a time out...they have to jump though a time out...of course they love to jump, and it also getting out some much need energy.   Catie spent some time on it and yes she enjoyed it...but her time was up and she hasn't asked her brother to get back on it.  Now he's starving....this is awesome!


We might just have a mandatory period of jumping everyday...just to wear him out a little.   Oh wise friend...what other tricks do you have...
bottom line...best 20 buck we spent today!