Legos

I have to admit that there are times when I feel a little sad that I've never taken my kids to Disneyland. Silly, isn't it? What a first world problem! My kids have never complained. They've never been like, well, when are WE going to get to go?

Of course we'd love to take them. It seems like whenever we decide to make the plan, something big and crazy happens, and we never get to the point where we can even think about saving for it.

So, I asked Hazel one time, if she felt sad that she'd never been to Disneyland. She thought a moment, and then told me, no, but I would really really like to go to Legoland! I told her that it was geared to smaller kids...is that still her dream? Yes, mom. Legoland. Harrison gave the same response and he is 15. I even told him that some of the rides he would be too big to go on. No biggie. They just want to SEE it.

I don't know why this just made me smile, but it did. Most kids dream of going to Disneyland, our kids dream of Legoland.

There you go. :)

Time

It's been a while since I last posted on here. Life has been busy! My two littles are like energetic puppies. I was raised with five brothers, so I am familiar with boys, but man, these two...they make me tired just watching them! Crawling, jumping, climbing, tumbling, tugging, pulling, in, out, up, through...and don't forget the wrestling! Constant wrestling! I'm surprised one of them hasn't gotten injured or broken a bone yet. (cross fingers it doesn't happen any time soon!!)

Harrison has now been busy doing his online school/regular school mix for a few months, and I think he is really enjoying it. It seems to be a good mix for him. He is doing really well keeping up with his online school work, and he works very hard and diligently at it. Then he has orchestra at the regular school, and seminary, and he is really enjoying those too. It makes me happy to see him liking school and doing great at it.

Hazel we are still trying to help her catch up, but she is getting there. I am glad she has the teacher she does. I really like her, and she does a good job, and she is very understanding and empathetic to Hazel's needs. It's just right for Hazel.

Jeffrey, boy Jeffrey has just done a total turn around! He is talking more, interacting in conversations, wants to read books, count, say colors, it is just thrilling and amazing and makes my heart happy! The doctor checked out his ears and throat the other day, and Jeffrey interacted with him! Our pediatrician always makes little bird chirps when he looks in little kids' ears and when he did it this time, Jeffrey looked at him and said, "There's a BIRD in my EAR!!!" It was so cute! It makes me smile just writing it!

Emmett is so super smart! He already counts to ten. I'm sure he doesn't understand the significence of it yet, but it just amazes me that he does it! He also recognizes a few sight words (very few) and letters. He's just fun, and crazy! I love him though. I love them all. It's not that it's super easy and all just smooth sailing, but being a parent is very rewarding.

So, now onto the other stuff...

I have a growth on my jawline. I know. Eww.. I had it checked today by a surgeon, and it will need to be removed. So, there may be a small surgery in my future. My doctor said it looked like a sebaceous cyst. The reason it needs to be removed is it has grown like crazy the last six months, from being the size of a pencil tip eraser, to more like a big marble (the big steelys). It's also infected and not a happy sebaceous cyst, which also points towards it needing to be removed. I'm supposed to have an ultrasound on it so they can see all the structures and make sure it doesn't involve any facial nerves, large blood vessels, etc... so, hopefully that will be all okay and no problemo... praying for good outcomes on that one.

There are other intriguing things going on that I can't write about yet. So...I may write about it next time. We'll see.

School is in session...kind of...

Hazel started school this week. This is a week earlier than they started last year, and last year they started a week earlier than the year before that. So...yeah. Still, they get out for summer about a week before everyone else. BEFORE memorial day so that will be new for us.

Harrison's main school starts on Wednesday next week, and then the school he takes orchestra at and seminary will start on the 31st. He's actually been working on one of the classes this week because it is self paced and if he can get it completed before the school semester starts he won't have to do work from that class because it will already be passed off.

Jeffrey starts preschool on the 31st. His teacher came to visit just to meet him. He hid behind the recliner. That's his spot. His teacher from the year before came too, and she mentioned to me that he also had a spot in the classroom that he liked to go to. I guess he likes to have a safe spot where he feels in control. :) He will be going to school four days this year. If it is too overwhelming for him they will back it down to three and then try to get it up to four. I really didn't ever want him to start kindergarten right after he turned five, because he would be the youngest in the grade. I just didn't think that would be a good thing. I still don't. I am going to use all my parental power to have him go to preschool another year.

I was pretty impressed that all the kid's school holidays are pretty evenly lined up except for spring break. Harrison's main school is off for spring break one week before the other schools in our family. Still, we may be able to work it so he does his school work that week and then takes the next week off when his orchestra and seminary will be having spring break. That's the cool thing about online school.

It's going to be a busy year!

Summer is Here!

School is out. At least for my kids. Seems kind of weird since the district we live in doesn't get out for another week. :)

I decided once again that our summer would be a little more structured than it has in the past. We'll see if I am successful at achieving this! I told the older kids that I thought it would be good to set some goals so that we would have something to work toward. They liked that idea, so hopefully it will be a good motivator.

Basically the morning will be filled with doing chores for the day and working on the goals, which for both my older kids includes practicing music. The goal setting begins today. I would also like to have a wake up time. Not super early, I mean, it IS summer and I don't want to totally kill their fun, but if I let her, Hazel would sleep in until 10:30 every day.

The other thing we need to work on is getting things ready for Harrison to do online school. Of course he is already registered, it's just making sure he has a space that is suitable for doing school work. I know that they say they can do it "anywhere" but it seems in our family, that if there is  specific place set aside to work on schoolwork it just seems to go better.

At the very least I would like my kids to work on practicing their instruments. This one is especially crucial for Harrison since he hurt his wrist in February and is just now getting to the point where he can start working with it again. He's lost a lot of muscle and wrist control in his bow hand, so hopefully he can gain some of it back.

Of course it's important for Hazel too. She has a lot of building blocks she needs to work on. We'll see how that goes. She doesn't like having me for a teacher. Lol. I really have to be more aware of her frustration triggers when I teach her.

So, 1, 2, 3, here we go!

Time Goes By

There has been a lot on my mind lately. So many things, that I honestly don't think that I could just pinpoint it down to one thing. Still, every time I would come to my blog and think I should write something, it just wouldn't happen. Either I was too emotional and the words wouldn't come right, or I would have some kind of just, blank, where there was literally nothing that I wanted to write about.

I have this desire to write something profound, and yet, it's just not there right now.

Then, today I noticed that it has been almost a month since I had posted on here, so regardless of my mindset and feelings, I figured it was time to just write something.

The school year is winding quickly down to an end. Harrison will be leaving the charter school this year, and that just blows me away. If things were now the way they were when I was 14, he would be starting high school. As it is, he will be in high school at his online school, and middle school for his orchestra and seminary classes.

That's the other good thing. Everything is all worked out so he can be in orchestra! YES!

I hope it will be  a good experience all around, and I have a feeling it will.

Hazel will be at the charter school still. I briefly talked to her about whether she wanted to go to the intermediate school next year, but she told me no. I like the charter school, so that doesn't bother me at all.

Jeffrey will still be going to the Early Learning Center next year. That's another thing that I just don't think about. In some ways, I can't think about it, because at this point there isn't a whole lot I can do, and the options just aren't there.

Jeffrey qualifies for the ELC which means he has some learning concerns. I guess what I mean by that, is he has some autistic leanings and his behavior is a big part of why he qualifies. I know that they have been working really hard with him on being more willing to listen to the teacher and be with the group. He is much more content playing on his own and doing his own thing and he doesn't like to cooperate. I know people don't really understand that unless they are around him.

When I first tell people that, they just look at me and sometimes say, "Well, he's three, all three year old's act like that." They're right, it is a common behavior with a three year old, however, there's a range of "normalcy" and he definitely falls to the more defiant/autistic side, many times to the point where he will not cooperate no matter what and then will have a mega meltdown. A lot of this behavior has improved, but it is still there. It definitely acts up when his routine is changed. So, we try to prepare him when we are going on trips, or church, or anything. Sometimes it helps. A lot of times it doesn't.

Anyway, Jeffrey's birthday falls within the school year deadline by a week or so. As soon as he was born I always planned on not sending him to kindergarten until he turned six. I just felt like it would be a better thing. I didn't want him being the youngest in his grade. Well, since he is going to the ELC and it is run by the school district, if I want him to continue getting speech therapy and other services, I would have to send him to kindergarten when he turns five. He can't go to the ELC for three years. So, it is a trick to try and figure out what the best thing for him will be, and whether it would be better to have him in a regular preschool for a year when he is five and then put him back into school when he turns six. I also don't know if it would be better to put him in regular public school or the charter school. I know they have speech therapy and special ed at the charter school, but I don't know how good it is. I guess we will just have to see! It is also about that time that we will have to decide if we want him tested for autism or not. Something to look forward to figuring out!

So, at this point I am just trying to take it a day at a time. Don't sweat the small stuff. Look at the bigger picture. Be positive and don't focus on all the dark unknowns.

Most of the time I can do this. :)

My CMT has been really acting up the past month. Where my fingers were just super mildy numb... it has gotten worse. (No guys, it's not carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, if I had that surgery done, it would make my condition a million times worse.) I have a harder time keeping a grip on things. I've been dropping things a lot. Of course, my feet have been affected as well. I have been tripping more and losing my balance. It's a little disconcerting at times, and I just have to breathe and be glad at the things that I can do.

I did get my flowers all planted though, and I'm glad that I did. They are so pretty and beautiful and it just makes me smile to see them. I planted geraniums in my window boxes. Geraniums were just meant for window boxes! They love it! I love it too. I love opening my blinds and seeing these big beautiful blooms of color with gorgeous green leaves. It just starts me off on having a good day.

Kids are funny!

So, Shane and I like to go look at thrift stores. Well, I guess you could say SHANE likes to look at thrift stores and yard sales, and I tag along for the ride. I do like to go to the D. I. on occasion though.

It's quite funny actually. We will be driving along, Shane's yard sale sonar will perk up and he will see a sign buried in the dirt with "yard sale" written on it. Okay, it's an exaggeration, but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened one day!

So, Saturday we were in the D.I. and Shane was with Hazel looking at the little girl dresses. He found a cute denim jumper and asked her how she liked it.

She looked at him and stated, "I don't like it Dad, cause that dress is made out of PANTS!"

hehehe...still makes me chuckle.