I just had to make sure to write about a new purchase we made recently for the baby. I read on someone's blog that they were excited to try out the Miracle Blanket (mb), and the name alone got my attention :-) So I looked it up. I have been trying to train Aubrey to go to sleep on his own. I have most of how I've been doing that almost written up. So for specifics, stay tuned! Aubrey was having difficulty staying asleep. He would wake up consistently at the 7, 20 and 45 minute marks. Every. Single. Time. It made nap time very difficult for me because I had to be there to help him get back to sleep. This would take up at least an hour of my time for each nap. But more often than not it took two hours. So things have not been getting done around here, and it shows! After reading about the blanket we immediately bought one.
We were already swaddling Aubrey for each sleep time, but none of our blankets were large enough. That meant that he would get unwrapped. Or if he didn't get unwrapped he would loosen it up enough to move around too much. While I was waiting for the mb to arrive I was having second thoughts. I was wondering if it was a splurge more than a need. Let me just say that after I wrapped him in it for his first nap and he slept for the whole nap through, I deemed it a necessity!! WOW! This blanket has transformed my life :-) Plus I had nothing to lose as the blanket comes with a 100% guarantee!!! How incredible is that? If I didn't see a change I could just send it back and get a refund. I assure you this blanket will NOT be going back.
Here is even more incredible news. Their customer service is amazing. We had the blanket for a few days when I noticed a small hole next to one of the seams. I knew I could repair it, but we only had it for a few days. So I looked up their policy about exchanges. On their site they say that even if the baby's older brother runs the blanket through your paper shredder (in the first four months from purchase) they will give you a new one.....FREE. Plus, if they can repair the damage, they send the repaired blankets to a charity for special needs babies. How amazing is that? The company knows how horrible it would be to be without this blanket so they ask you to take a picture of the damage and email it to them. They then send you out a new one, along with an envelope with return postage! This way I got to keep our damaged blanket and still use it and wait for the new one to get here. It came yesterday. So now I just have to wash the new one to use, and wash the old one to send back (they ask that you wash them before returning).
How I wish I had this blanket for all my children!! I was reading the multitude of testimonies on their site. At first I didn't see how many there were. The customers were RAVING about this blanket. I was beginning to wonder if they were fake. But then I saw just how many there were, and I knew that it was probably legitimate. And I assure you that they are, now that I see what this blanket does for our baby.
So if you have a newborn, are expecting a baby, or are looking for a baby shower gift, BUY ONE, or two, or three :-) Ha, ha!
Check the Miracle Blanket out for yourself, the testimonies and videos are real.
Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts
Friday, March 04, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Starting full GAPS after the weekend
Come what may :-) I have weighed, and measured everyone's height. I also took the older two girl's and my measurements for inch loss for our T-Tapp experience. I know there can be differences in growth charts, but I was a bit upset to see Jed take a down turn in his height. His weight came down a bit (on the curve that is, not actual pounds lost), and his height really came down. He was actually *just* touching the bottom line this past summer. Now.....it's down there! I even went so far to look up the safety of human growth hormone therapy! For some reason the idea of it all scares me (so maybe I should be wary as it could be my mommy radar), but I wonder if he, as an adult will be upset with us for not doing it. And from what I read, the therapy does not sound appealing at all. The child needs to have five injections a week UNTIL they reach puberty! YIKES! That alone would make it unrealistic. Although there may be other ways of getting it instead of by injection. Still, pretty scary stuff. So, where does that leave us? Well, they say if the child starts the injections by age six they should achieve expected adult height (compared with your own family's norms). I guess that gives us a good year to see if we can make headway to remedy Jed's health and growth. Not that we have seriously considered the growth hormone, but it is a bench mark of sorts, to know when it would need to be started to see the expected growth. But I still think, doing things more naturally, although may not get Jed to 'normal' height, it may get him healthier and without risking any possible side effects. Lots to pray about in that arena.
This weekend will be our big shopping weekend. I plan on trying to make bulk chicken and beef stock to have on hand. Plus bulk cook some beans (only white ones are allowed on the diet). I already have some water kefir brewing, and *hopefully* some cultured cream brewing. I made a mistake and put my starter that I just got into the whole 3 quarts of cream, when it was supposed to be started in two cups!! Not sure how that is going to work. But we'll see. I plan on turning the cream into butter. Probiotics are very, very essential on this diet and I am trying every way I can to come up with ways to get them into our diet. We'll have the milk and water kefirs, kombucha, yogurt and the cultured cream. I plan to try my hand at sauerkraut and other cultured veggies and fruit. I will need the weekend to make up these bulk foods to have on hand during the first month. Things are still not back to normal (are they ever :-)) and I want to set us up for success. I do not want to have to stray from the diet because I wasn't prepared. This will take some getting used to as the diet is pretty limited. You can have all meats, and pretty much all fruits and veggies. The only beans allowed are white ones and possibly one or two types of green beans. You can have coconut and olive oils and butter for fats. Hmmmm, I think that's it! No grains, or starches, no sugar, no artificial anything, and no dairy (except in fermented form and homemade at that). I know Moira has been itching to start as she asks me when we are starting once or twice a week. I was already itching to start (pretty much literally), but now more so after seeing the growth charts.
And as much as I am excited I am also scared. Scared that some how we won't see the changes we are hoping to see. But that is out of my hands. I can only do what is humanly possible and the rest is up to the Lord. So we will dive in and give it our best.
Along with the diet changes I am also trying to get a handle on our schooling situation. Or maybe just our household situation, or maybe it's just more of a 'life situation'!! Ha, ha! I am sure it has to do with just wanting to get things rolling more smoothly. We are getting things done, just not everything done. We got caught up in laundry, but it's not all put away. We have been doing school, but not all the subjects. The girls are really 'suffering' from a lack of structure and need the bar raised on the quality of work they have been doing. It's pretty much a catch 22 situation we are in, and although I am seeing a possible way out, it appears that we will not be pursuing the means at this time. Which of course if frustrating and discouraging, when you are dealing with this day in and day out. I have been trying to give it over to the Lord, but I find myself taking it back again :-) I can only pray that when we finally do DO something it will not be too late for our oldest couple of girls.
Well, the baby has been sleeping soundly for the past couple of hours, I wasn't expecting that. If I had expected it I would have gone to sleep when he did (at 8 PM). Thursdays are so very hard for him to deal with, which makes night time a nightmare. The poor kid gets so overstimulated and can't settle on his own. I am proud of him that he accomplished it in only one hour tonight as opposed to two and a half hours last Thursday. I think this is why I am having problems with getting him to go to sleep on his own. You really need to be consistent. But being out of the house four days a week doesn't lend to being consistent. He is learning, but he has to readjust every couple of days. Making the learning go a lot slower. Anyways, I'm off to bed, hoping he will sleep a bit longer for me to get some shut eye before he wakes up to eat. I'll have to show you the fist pictures I got of him smiling. He's finally smiling!! Oh, what a beautiful smile it is.
This weekend will be our big shopping weekend. I plan on trying to make bulk chicken and beef stock to have on hand. Plus bulk cook some beans (only white ones are allowed on the diet). I already have some water kefir brewing, and *hopefully* some cultured cream brewing. I made a mistake and put my starter that I just got into the whole 3 quarts of cream, when it was supposed to be started in two cups!! Not sure how that is going to work. But we'll see. I plan on turning the cream into butter. Probiotics are very, very essential on this diet and I am trying every way I can to come up with ways to get them into our diet. We'll have the milk and water kefirs, kombucha, yogurt and the cultured cream. I plan to try my hand at sauerkraut and other cultured veggies and fruit. I will need the weekend to make up these bulk foods to have on hand during the first month. Things are still not back to normal (are they ever :-)) and I want to set us up for success. I do not want to have to stray from the diet because I wasn't prepared. This will take some getting used to as the diet is pretty limited. You can have all meats, and pretty much all fruits and veggies. The only beans allowed are white ones and possibly one or two types of green beans. You can have coconut and olive oils and butter for fats. Hmmmm, I think that's it! No grains, or starches, no sugar, no artificial anything, and no dairy (except in fermented form and homemade at that). I know Moira has been itching to start as she asks me when we are starting once or twice a week. I was already itching to start (pretty much literally), but now more so after seeing the growth charts.
And as much as I am excited I am also scared. Scared that some how we won't see the changes we are hoping to see. But that is out of my hands. I can only do what is humanly possible and the rest is up to the Lord. So we will dive in and give it our best.
Along with the diet changes I am also trying to get a handle on our schooling situation. Or maybe just our household situation, or maybe it's just more of a 'life situation'!! Ha, ha! I am sure it has to do with just wanting to get things rolling more smoothly. We are getting things done, just not everything done. We got caught up in laundry, but it's not all put away. We have been doing school, but not all the subjects. The girls are really 'suffering' from a lack of structure and need the bar raised on the quality of work they have been doing. It's pretty much a catch 22 situation we are in, and although I am seeing a possible way out, it appears that we will not be pursuing the means at this time. Which of course if frustrating and discouraging, when you are dealing with this day in and day out. I have been trying to give it over to the Lord, but I find myself taking it back again :-) I can only pray that when we finally do DO something it will not be too late for our oldest couple of girls.
Well, the baby has been sleeping soundly for the past couple of hours, I wasn't expecting that. If I had expected it I would have gone to sleep when he did (at 8 PM). Thursdays are so very hard for him to deal with, which makes night time a nightmare. The poor kid gets so overstimulated and can't settle on his own. I am proud of him that he accomplished it in only one hour tonight as opposed to two and a half hours last Thursday. I think this is why I am having problems with getting him to go to sleep on his own. You really need to be consistent. But being out of the house four days a week doesn't lend to being consistent. He is learning, but he has to readjust every couple of days. Making the learning go a lot slower. Anyways, I'm off to bed, hoping he will sleep a bit longer for me to get some shut eye before he wakes up to eat. I'll have to show you the fist pictures I got of him smiling. He's finally smiling!! Oh, what a beautiful smile it is.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Postpartum tips
This post would be for the women folk ;-)
The art of belly binding! Ah, the things you learn after having multiple children. ha! After I had our third I remember standing up for the first time after the birth and feeling like I couldn't breath. My midwife told me to hold my stomach with my arms and that made an instant difference. She told us about a belly wrap, for which Jeremiah went to search for one the very next day. It made a huge difference for breathing when I needed to get up and about the first few days. But I only wore it for when I got up. Then I had Saoirse. After my first three births the after birth bleeding only lasted for a week before changing over to the lochia. But with number four (Saoirse), it lasted about three weeks. Then with numbers 5 and 6 my after birth bleeding lasted at least a full 5, almost 6, weeks!! I figured I was making up for all the lost periods I had missed by being pregnant! This time around my midwife told me the research that had been done on belly binding and how it makes recovery quicker. Hmmm, ok, I've done that.....but she said I needed to wear it 24/7. Well, I'm a week postpartum, and the bleeding changed over to lochia a day and a half ago!! I am sure it helps that I have an easy baby, so I am not 'walking the halls' at 3 AM. So sleep helps too ;-) I would definitely recommend getting a belly wrap if you are having your 3rd or more, or if you have weak tummy muscles.
Pain relief. I have relied on plain ole Ibuprofen for pain relief after a birth. That has always worked well enough. This time, after getting home from the hospital I decided to try Arnica in the Q potency. That stuff is amazing!! It works better than the Percaset that I took in the hospital and the Ibuprofen. Much better. I want to say that I saw an online homeopathic pharmacy that may carry such a high potency, but you may have to get it from a homeopath. It would be worth it if you've had difficult recoveries. Our homeopath's wife took it after her c-sections as her only pain relief. Like I said, amazing.
The wonders of the internet for postpartum: Food Tidings. This is new to me, and it is an amazing concept. I've never coordinated meals for anyone after they've had a baby, but I am sure for all of you who have, you would love a way to make that job easier. Foodtidings.com is your answer. You just need to get some basic info from the new parents (address, phone, time they want meals, how often, and likes/dislikes or allergies) and then send out the link to your small group, church, family, etc. People then sign up for a day and put in the meal they are bringing. This way when someone else goes to sign up they won't be the 3rd person bringing hamburger casserole :-)
Thinking ahead. It took me until my fifth to really see the need for this. I just thought that the postpartum period was one of chaos! I suppose I would have with our 4th, but we were in the process of moving, and I was wrapped up in boxing up our house. I think we get so excited thinking about the new baby, and all the gear we will need for our new arrival that we stop there and don't think past that. I would recommend reading any books on babies (Happiest Baby on the Block, The Baby Whisperer, etc.) before the baby comes. Plus really think about what tasks that you can do before the baby comes to make your postpartum time easier. For me that would be decluttering, to cut down on cleaning. Also it means freezing a bunch of meals ahead of time. I can not tell you how easy it makes your recovery when all you have to do for dinner is pull a bag out of the freezer and pop its content into a pot and reheat. No slaving over a stove and no need for fast food (unhealthy and expensive) or convenience foods. It will save you time and money. I also decided this time to write up an easy schedule for us to work towards. It also gives anyone helping you out a structure to work with. My schedule does not have any times on it, just a list of things that need accomplishing during the day. I also like to have some activities for the kids to do that are a bit fun. This time around I didn't and I wish I had. In the past it's as simple as new coloring books and a few games picked up from yard sales. If they loose the pieces I don't stress it as we bought it for 50 cents :-)
Getting help. I would recommend that you find family, friends or others to help you after a baby is born. You do not need to be superwoman! You need to rest, it is rejuvenating to take a shower, and it helps keep the house orderly. If you do not have any older children to help, then look for a mother's helper or an older teen. Also make sure if you have a child that will need watching while you give birth that you have a backup. I was so thankful that I had another person to call on when what would have amounted to a need of a few hours turned into a need for 30 hours of care. At this stage of the game I have older children who can help, but it was very much needed when I only had 2 or 3 or for that matter 4 children besides the baby to care for. I know the difference between having help and not having help, and trust me when I say...find help :-) I don't believe we were meant to do this on our own. Even in scripture, at least in the Old Testament you find that the new mother was not supposed to do any work for 40 days after having a son, and 60 days after having a daughter. Surly that meant that someone else was doing the work for her. I don't think that was meant to change, even if our society has.
Colic. A word that strikes terror in the heart of new parents! I would recommend the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" for a look at some great ways to calm a baby. It is sound advice, and even the neonatologist in the hospital says he does this all the time for new parents knowing how helpful it is! And he works with a lot of babies :-) Also, I do believe that foods you eat may be affecting the baby. I've had enough experience to know this to be true. One of the biggest culprits is dairy. Other common irritants are strong spices, onions, and acidic juices (OJ). But it could be anything. For Jed is was dairy, chocolate, and onions. For all of my other babies it was just dairy. Take note of what you are eating and keep a mental record of when your baby is crying. Every baby will vary as to how long a food will affect them, so be persistent. If you have a baby who spends great lengths of time crying and screaming and the advice in the above book does not help, try to weed out a food irritating your baby. This time around I also found a product called, Colic Calm, which can be found at CVS, or online. It's homeopathic so it is safe for baby. I''ve tried it after one night Aubrey was cranky and couldn't settle down. It took about 20 minutes or so for it to kick in. Some people report success immediately, for others it may take about 30 minutes. But with going no dairy, knowing some of the baby calming techniques and my homeopathic remedy at the ready, this has been our easiest baby yet.
That's all on my mind right now. If I think of any other helpful tips I'll make sure to pass them along. Do you have any tips? Please send them my way. I'll make sure to post them for all to benefit from.
The art of belly binding! Ah, the things you learn after having multiple children. ha! After I had our third I remember standing up for the first time after the birth and feeling like I couldn't breath. My midwife told me to hold my stomach with my arms and that made an instant difference. She told us about a belly wrap, for which Jeremiah went to search for one the very next day. It made a huge difference for breathing when I needed to get up and about the first few days. But I only wore it for when I got up. Then I had Saoirse. After my first three births the after birth bleeding only lasted for a week before changing over to the lochia. But with number four (Saoirse), it lasted about three weeks. Then with numbers 5 and 6 my after birth bleeding lasted at least a full 5, almost 6, weeks!! I figured I was making up for all the lost periods I had missed by being pregnant! This time around my midwife told me the research that had been done on belly binding and how it makes recovery quicker. Hmmm, ok, I've done that.....but she said I needed to wear it 24/7. Well, I'm a week postpartum, and the bleeding changed over to lochia a day and a half ago!! I am sure it helps that I have an easy baby, so I am not 'walking the halls' at 3 AM. So sleep helps too ;-) I would definitely recommend getting a belly wrap if you are having your 3rd or more, or if you have weak tummy muscles.
Pain relief. I have relied on plain ole Ibuprofen for pain relief after a birth. That has always worked well enough. This time, after getting home from the hospital I decided to try Arnica in the Q potency. That stuff is amazing!! It works better than the Percaset that I took in the hospital and the Ibuprofen. Much better. I want to say that I saw an online homeopathic pharmacy that may carry such a high potency, but you may have to get it from a homeopath. It would be worth it if you've had difficult recoveries. Our homeopath's wife took it after her c-sections as her only pain relief. Like I said, amazing.
The wonders of the internet for postpartum: Food Tidings. This is new to me, and it is an amazing concept. I've never coordinated meals for anyone after they've had a baby, but I am sure for all of you who have, you would love a way to make that job easier. Foodtidings.com is your answer. You just need to get some basic info from the new parents (address, phone, time they want meals, how often, and likes/dislikes or allergies) and then send out the link to your small group, church, family, etc. People then sign up for a day and put in the meal they are bringing. This way when someone else goes to sign up they won't be the 3rd person bringing hamburger casserole :-)
Thinking ahead. It took me until my fifth to really see the need for this. I just thought that the postpartum period was one of chaos! I suppose I would have with our 4th, but we were in the process of moving, and I was wrapped up in boxing up our house. I think we get so excited thinking about the new baby, and all the gear we will need for our new arrival that we stop there and don't think past that. I would recommend reading any books on babies (Happiest Baby on the Block, The Baby Whisperer, etc.) before the baby comes. Plus really think about what tasks that you can do before the baby comes to make your postpartum time easier. For me that would be decluttering, to cut down on cleaning. Also it means freezing a bunch of meals ahead of time. I can not tell you how easy it makes your recovery when all you have to do for dinner is pull a bag out of the freezer and pop its content into a pot and reheat. No slaving over a stove and no need for fast food (unhealthy and expensive) or convenience foods. It will save you time and money. I also decided this time to write up an easy schedule for us to work towards. It also gives anyone helping you out a structure to work with. My schedule does not have any times on it, just a list of things that need accomplishing during the day. I also like to have some activities for the kids to do that are a bit fun. This time around I didn't and I wish I had. In the past it's as simple as new coloring books and a few games picked up from yard sales. If they loose the pieces I don't stress it as we bought it for 50 cents :-)
Getting help. I would recommend that you find family, friends or others to help you after a baby is born. You do not need to be superwoman! You need to rest, it is rejuvenating to take a shower, and it helps keep the house orderly. If you do not have any older children to help, then look for a mother's helper or an older teen. Also make sure if you have a child that will need watching while you give birth that you have a backup. I was so thankful that I had another person to call on when what would have amounted to a need of a few hours turned into a need for 30 hours of care. At this stage of the game I have older children who can help, but it was very much needed when I only had 2 or 3 or for that matter 4 children besides the baby to care for. I know the difference between having help and not having help, and trust me when I say...find help :-) I don't believe we were meant to do this on our own. Even in scripture, at least in the Old Testament you find that the new mother was not supposed to do any work for 40 days after having a son, and 60 days after having a daughter. Surly that meant that someone else was doing the work for her. I don't think that was meant to change, even if our society has.
Colic. A word that strikes terror in the heart of new parents! I would recommend the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" for a look at some great ways to calm a baby. It is sound advice, and even the neonatologist in the hospital says he does this all the time for new parents knowing how helpful it is! And he works with a lot of babies :-) Also, I do believe that foods you eat may be affecting the baby. I've had enough experience to know this to be true. One of the biggest culprits is dairy. Other common irritants are strong spices, onions, and acidic juices (OJ). But it could be anything. For Jed is was dairy, chocolate, and onions. For all of my other babies it was just dairy. Take note of what you are eating and keep a mental record of when your baby is crying. Every baby will vary as to how long a food will affect them, so be persistent. If you have a baby who spends great lengths of time crying and screaming and the advice in the above book does not help, try to weed out a food irritating your baby. This time around I also found a product called, Colic Calm, which can be found at CVS, or online. It's homeopathic so it is safe for baby. I''ve tried it after one night Aubrey was cranky and couldn't settle down. It took about 20 minutes or so for it to kick in. Some people report success immediately, for others it may take about 30 minutes. But with going no dairy, knowing some of the baby calming techniques and my homeopathic remedy at the ready, this has been our easiest baby yet.
That's all on my mind right now. If I think of any other helpful tips I'll make sure to pass them along. Do you have any tips? Please send them my way. I'll make sure to post them for all to benefit from.
Monday, February 22, 2010
New Beginnings
So we are turning over a new leaf. I realized that I needed to take my own advice. My advice in short, "You won't die". I suppose that needs some explanation. I will explain it as it pertains to our new overturned leaf. You see we've had some problems sticking to our guns when it comes to parenting. There are so many different avenues one can go down when it comes to "how" one parents. The best way would be a biblical way. But sorting that out and figuring out how that really looks in real life is not always easy. There is one way that I have experienced working. It's called 'tomato staking'. The very basics are that you keep your children with you at all times. You make sure to say what you mean and mean what you say. You need to catch every act of disobedience. The child needs to obey you or there is a consequence. The kicker is that what ever battle you come across you must win! Winning means that the child obeys with a good attitude. You don't give up until their attitude has changed.
This is a lot of work. It is very, very emotionally tiring. It is physically tiring. It is hard. By day three everyone is worn out and you end up letting things slip here and there making future attempts 10 times harder to accomplish. I let up because I feel like I can't survive the suffocation. I can't turn my back on the children. That means no *me* time. Ouch! How can I go on when I can't get any time to recharge?!? Aaahhhh, then I realize I needed to take my own advice. It is so much easier to give advice than take it, isn't it? This really is a great piece of advice. When faced with a tough situation, and you feel like you just can not go on, or that you need to cave in....you need to stop and think....if I can't do what I want (me time in my example) is it going to lead to my death? The obvious answer is, "Of course NOT!" Yet I haven't been living that out. I feel like I might just be crushed by the never ending work and diligence that is needed for this thing we call parenting. Now granted it is a LOT easier starting when children are young. It is going to be a long few months around here to see some much needed attitude changes in some older children. But I need to keep remembering when my *wants* are being drowned out.....I won't die. I can keep doing what needs to be done, right now, today. I don't need to think about tomorrow. I don't need to think things like, "this situation will never change."
So we are off. I started right in the middle of the day. I knew there would be no 'good time' to start. I need to be willing to put all life on hold in order to follow through with the needed consequences. As a matter of fact we had our first clash with 'life' and 'follow through'. Saoirse was refusing to cooperate. So life stopped. And because we didn't back down until her attitude changed she ended up missing her first soccer practice. Ouch. But that has been my weakness. I have let life get in the way of what is most important in parenting....my children's hearts.
So things will be busy around here. Very busy. I will say that great strides have been made with Jed and Jonah. By evening both boys were coming when I called them. I am sure there will be some needed reminders tomorrow, but I am happy to see some success the first day.
Along with this change I decided to do more photos of our days. The good and the ugly. It is so much nicer to write about the good things that go on around here. I don't plan on sharing everything, nor photographing everything. But I would like to try to be more 'real'. It will sort of be like, 'a day in pictures'. But I know that I will not always be able to photograph everything we do, as a lot of what I do takes both hands :-) But I will try to be mindful this week and take lots of photos. So here is my start:
Yeah, isn't that a site?! This is the real deal. Right before I sat the girls down to have a talk about how things were going to change around here, I decided to snap pics of where we were starting. One of our weak points is not having routines. Clearly we need some cleaning routines. The above is a bucket of dirty utensils awaiting the dishwasher.
Of course my days are not complete without Jed's homeopathic remedies. Here is his first remedy of the day. The jelly bean box is where I store his remedies. On the other side you see the line up of Dixie cups. His remedies need to be given in what we call 'dosage cups'. Too long to go into now, lets just say it takes a lot longer this way. BUT it makes a huge difference in his reactions (or lack there of) to the remedies. He is a much happier camper this way. Which makes the rest of us happy :-) A non stop screaming 3 year old is not a pretty site.
There's plenty of this around here. One of those never ending chores. Sometimes I'm master and sometimes its master over me. Right now I'm losing!
Oh, look, we even have work to do outside! Those are our two garden beds. We will be trying the no till method this year. Mostly because I'm lazy! Not really, but I do have other things that need tending to than having to tend to weeds.
Tonight's scene. I was off to bathe the boys and came across Saoirse 'painting' her nails (that's lip gloss she's using). Jeremiah was in charge of the girls while I tended to the boys.
Some cute boy getting a bath this evening. They love the water!
Coming back to the living room I caught Moira just hanging out. She and Isabella were reading.
I had to print out some pictures for Flannery to write some thank you notes on, and was surprised that Jed wanted some too. He sat right down and got to work. I was totally shocked to come out from putting the baby to bed to see that Jed was coloring his picture the whole time. He colored in the whole thing!
Flannery and Saoirse coloring. It was a coloring fest on the living room floor :-)
This is a lot of work. It is very, very emotionally tiring. It is physically tiring. It is hard. By day three everyone is worn out and you end up letting things slip here and there making future attempts 10 times harder to accomplish. I let up because I feel like I can't survive the suffocation. I can't turn my back on the children. That means no *me* time. Ouch! How can I go on when I can't get any time to recharge?!? Aaahhhh, then I realize I needed to take my own advice. It is so much easier to give advice than take it, isn't it? This really is a great piece of advice. When faced with a tough situation, and you feel like you just can not go on, or that you need to cave in....you need to stop and think....if I can't do what I want (me time in my example) is it going to lead to my death? The obvious answer is, "Of course NOT!" Yet I haven't been living that out. I feel like I might just be crushed by the never ending work and diligence that is needed for this thing we call parenting. Now granted it is a LOT easier starting when children are young. It is going to be a long few months around here to see some much needed attitude changes in some older children. But I need to keep remembering when my *wants* are being drowned out.....I won't die. I can keep doing what needs to be done, right now, today. I don't need to think about tomorrow. I don't need to think things like, "this situation will never change."
So we are off. I started right in the middle of the day. I knew there would be no 'good time' to start. I need to be willing to put all life on hold in order to follow through with the needed consequences. As a matter of fact we had our first clash with 'life' and 'follow through'. Saoirse was refusing to cooperate. So life stopped. And because we didn't back down until her attitude changed she ended up missing her first soccer practice. Ouch. But that has been my weakness. I have let life get in the way of what is most important in parenting....my children's hearts.
So things will be busy around here. Very busy. I will say that great strides have been made with Jed and Jonah. By evening both boys were coming when I called them. I am sure there will be some needed reminders tomorrow, but I am happy to see some success the first day.
Along with this change I decided to do more photos of our days. The good and the ugly. It is so much nicer to write about the good things that go on around here. I don't plan on sharing everything, nor photographing everything. But I would like to try to be more 'real'. It will sort of be like, 'a day in pictures'. But I know that I will not always be able to photograph everything we do, as a lot of what I do takes both hands :-) But I will try to be mindful this week and take lots of photos. So here is my start:
Yeah, isn't that a site?! This is the real deal. Right before I sat the girls down to have a talk about how things were going to change around here, I decided to snap pics of where we were starting. One of our weak points is not having routines. Clearly we need some cleaning routines. The above is a bucket of dirty utensils awaiting the dishwasher.
Of course my days are not complete without Jed's homeopathic remedies. Here is his first remedy of the day. The jelly bean box is where I store his remedies. On the other side you see the line up of Dixie cups. His remedies need to be given in what we call 'dosage cups'. Too long to go into now, lets just say it takes a lot longer this way. BUT it makes a huge difference in his reactions (or lack there of) to the remedies. He is a much happier camper this way. Which makes the rest of us happy :-) A non stop screaming 3 year old is not a pretty site.
There's plenty of this around here. One of those never ending chores. Sometimes I'm master and sometimes its master over me. Right now I'm losing!
Oh, look, we even have work to do outside! Those are our two garden beds. We will be trying the no till method this year. Mostly because I'm lazy! Not really, but I do have other things that need tending to than having to tend to weeds.
Tonight's scene. I was off to bathe the boys and came across Saoirse 'painting' her nails (that's lip gloss she's using). Jeremiah was in charge of the girls while I tended to the boys.
Some cute boy getting a bath this evening. They love the water!
Coming back to the living room I caught Moira just hanging out. She and Isabella were reading.
I had to print out some pictures for Flannery to write some thank you notes on, and was surprised that Jed wanted some too. He sat right down and got to work. I was totally shocked to come out from putting the baby to bed to see that Jed was coloring his picture the whole time. He colored in the whole thing!
Flannery and Saoirse coloring. It was a coloring fest on the living room floor :-)That's it for our day. I have a couple of other odd ball pictures I wanted to throw in.
I really loved how Jonah's eyes match his shirt! And what a smile!
This was just too cute. Next to Jonah is my newly crocheted hat. I use it as a night cap of sorts. Well he loves to touch it and pull on it and such....when it's on my head. But he stays clear of it when it's off my head! Too funny. I wanted to take a picture of it on him.....not a chance!
I really loved how Jonah's eyes match his shirt! And what a smile!
This was just too cute. Next to Jonah is my newly crocheted hat. I use it as a night cap of sorts. Well he loves to touch it and pull on it and such....when it's on my head. But he stays clear of it when it's off my head! Too funny. I wanted to take a picture of it on him.....not a chance!Have a great day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow :-)
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