Christmas Report

My mom and I finished our Christmas projects on Christmas Eve this year. That is better than last year when I was finishing Christmas morning.

The evening of Christmas Eve we went to church for the Christmas Eve service where I had volunteered to take pictures of families all dressed up in their Christmas gear. Then came my family. The picture you see is all my husbands family...from his parents down anyway. My lovely niece in the corner is copying her facinating older cousin. No, she doesn't have autism. I thought it was totally funny. I'm not sure my SIL thought so, though.

From the church, we went to Tony's parent's house to have dinner and open presents. Thiis is not usually my favorite thing to do, being that there are 4 two-year-olds (not to mention my other two) in their tiny condo. I think that it turned out pretty well, though. They took out a couch to make more room. Some of us had to sit on the floor, but it wasn't as cramped. I'm usually more comfortable on the floor anyway.

The kids were loaded with all kinds of junk. Their toy supply increased dramatically, as it does every year at Christmas. Some funny stuff happened. Becca opened one toy, a Barbie, and took it to me and said, "look mom, it's a hoochie Barbie" speaking of the doll's revealing outfit. You see, I have had several conversations with my daughter about appropriate clothing, and she picked up on the one time that I used those words to describe a inappropriately dressed Barbie doll. I wanted to laugh, but Becca probably would have taken that the wrong way (not to mention the person who gave her said Barbie), so I qietly told her that we would fix it later. A bit of extra material sewn in all the right places fixed the outfit just fine, the moment, however uncomfortable at the time, was quite funny.

My kids were really pretty good that night, so I don't really have much to complain about. My nieces were pretty good, too. I think that one parent wished her daughter was better behaved, but I thought she did pretty well considering how exciting Christmas is and being with her cousins. That was kind of awkward sometimes, but I kept my mouth shut pretty well I think.

Christmas morning was good. My kids woke up at about 8, or a little after. They were excited, but they slept in. That was a nice present.

The kids loved the presents that we made. Ali took all the things that we gave her to dress up in and put them all on. She was really cute.

The dolls were a big hit, too. My pictures were a little blurry because my auto-focus still doesn't work on my camera, and I was just trying to get the reactions and I didn't get the focus fast enough. I'm a little bummed, but you can still see the reactions, even if the quality isn't that great.

Another great laugh on Christmas was the package to one of the girl's toys. It was a set of cooking utinsils for their play kitchen. Well, you can read the box. Apparently is was translated to English...badly. I didn't really notice anything other than the price (it was only three bucks, I guess I know why now). Tony noticed it and asked me for the camera. We were all laughing.

That evening we went to my grandmother's house and met my younger brother and his wife there and exchanged gifts with all of them. My grandmother is notorious for her strange gifts (I don't think my husband will ever get over the wooden barbecue skewers that she gave to him once...though he has fond memories of his own grandmother's funny gifts, too). This year my husband and I received a laundry rack. Yeah, one of those things that takes up space to lay out your sweaters on. I've never used one. My husband knew that he wasn't supposed to put sweaters in the drier, but I don't think he has ever dried them any other way. I rarely dry anything any other way. Anyone need something to take up space? We also received a book that we have gotten from her at least twice before, and a cd of something that I would never listen to. My girls all scored dolls and Micah got...I don't remember, but he didn't play with it over there, he was too busy playing with a set of cars that she keeps over at her house for him.

Overall, it was a pretty successful Christmas. Loads of fun. We still have more with my brother and his family coming down here to sunny (ha!) California from the snowy Washington state. That will be fun. Hope your Christmas was merry!

Picture Editing Software

Photoshop is amazing. I love the program. I can't afford it. I know, there are a lot of ways to hack the download, but I'm not into doing illegal stuff. I did the free trial thing so that I could finish my photography class well, and it was really nice to have it. Now I'm spoiled. My free trial is over and I want it back.

I just have trouble going back to the free programs that are just substitutes for the real thing. I have gimp. It is really great, but not really easy to use. I have paint.net. It just doesn't have all the great features that I have been using so much. My mom bought photoshop elements, and I can use that on her computer, but going from the full version back to elements is just frustrating.

So yeah, I'm spoiled.

While searching for a new free program that would make me feel better about being broke, I ran across a new download that makes me feel a little better. It's called gimpshop. It's a free program that goes along with (well, it hacks the program) gimp to make it look like photoshop. It's not perfect, but it's is free, legal, and easy. I started playing with it and I began to breathe again. I can still do many of the things that I love doing with my pictures in a comparable amount of time. I'm not sure how to do all of the stuff that I like to do yet, and I'm not even sure if it has the capability of doing all of them, but I'm not suffering as bad. I'll figure it out.

Merry Christmas People!

The thing that I most like about Christmas is people. I like to people watch. I like to see people in good moods or seriously bad moods in the middle of the "most wonderful time of the year." I like watching people open presents. I like it when people aren't bothered by Christian music playing in the malls because it is about Christmas. I like watching people get frustrated at their kid's list in the toy store. I like getting up early on Black Friday to watch people start their shopping with frantic searches for something cheap that their kid will like.

I like all that stuff. It's just fun to me. I don't really care if I get any presents, I just want to see others get some. It sounds selfless, but it isn't. I selfishly crave the moments, and if I could capture them on camera, it would be even better. Tonight I go to a party full of teenagers. It's even money whether or not the attitudes are good or bad, if you know a teenager, you know that. I like getting pictures of these teenagers in the attitudes that get others irritated at them and in their joyful moments, the overly enthusiastic times that people tend to overlook because the bad times are so very bad. I love seeing that. I love sharing those moments with their parents later just to remind them about the good stuff when the attitudes come back.

I love watching my kids this time of year. There were at least two times so far that I wished I had my camera stuck to my eye all the time so I could have caught some moments of wonder. Becca is just beautiful when surprised.

This year I have been a little too busy for the good people watching. Sitting on a bench in the mall just watching people is the best. Try it sometime. Don't worry about the parking space, find one in the back, you are just going inside to sit anyway. I know that spots in the back are hard to find right now, too, but when you are relaxed and don't really have a specific destination in mind, it makes the parking lot less frustrating. Find somewhere to sit. This is again not too easy, but the walk to find this place is interesting, too. Enjoy the walk. Watch people around you. When you find your spot, sit and relax. The frustrated people will be there. The happy people might be there. I like to sit and pray for the really frustrated ones. I like to pray for the kids getting dragged along, or shoved out of the way. I like to pray for those working in the kiosks. It can be difficult this time of year. I've been there. Those who work in the toy stores are also in need of a lot of prayer. Patience is pretty thin the closer it gets to Christmas. I've been there, too.

So, if you are in the mood and have a few hours to spare, give it a try. I don't recommend doing it with small children, but older ones might appreciate it if they have the patience to sit and watch. I guess it depends on the child.

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11

Christmas Presents

Warning: If you are family and like to be surprised, don't read any further. I don't think I'm really giving anything much away that I haven't already told you, though, unless you are a child. Here's something to distract you.



Ok, ready?

Long ago when I realized how broke I was going to be a Christmas, I decided that I was going to use my homework for my photography class as presents. By the way, this helped me make several decisions in my class, and really helped me out in many ways in class. It is also helping me now, since I am even broker (a great word) than I thought I would be.

So now my decisions are basically just about the kids. I am in the middle of a huge project for the older girls. My mom and I are making Barbie clothes. Sewing little tiny stuff is hard. I'm not really the sewing type, either. I just don't think that the kids would appreciate the pictures.

The little girls (4 two-year-olds) are all getting dolls that I am making. That's pretty fun, actually. The sewing isn't that difficult, and just the design is fun.

The boys are all I have left, and I'm not totally set on something yet for them. Micah might get a book of Lego designs. He has a whole lot of Legos that he won't use because he doesn't have instructions. He loves the kits because he has the instructions. The problem is that once he does the designs in the package, he won't play with them anymore. It's an autism thing. He really has to be shown how to play, otherwise he will go back to lining everything up. I figure I'll print up some instructions and put them in a notebook. I do have to make sure that he has all the blocks in the designs before I put them in. I haven't totally decided about that, though. I know, nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?

I am not sure about my nephews yet, either. I had ideas, but I was waiting for some money to magically appear in my budget. It didn't happen. I'm bummed.

I have to say, though, that making gifts feels better than buying them. I know that the things that I am giving are personal. Last year I gave all adults in the family calendars that I made. That was fun. Very personal, and not something that they will get somewhere else.

Still, I'm frustrated at not being able to shop. I love shopping. Retail therapy is my favorite. It was sad not to be able to go do Black Friday stuff. Bills have to be paid, though. I used to be able to shop all in that one day, but family got bigger, and bills went up, and life happened.

I am determined not to let that get me down, though. The stuff I am making this year is fun, personalized, and from my heart (and my mom's...Tony did think up something, too.).

So what do you think, do you like getting hand-made gifts?

Apartment hunting

What a horrible title for my blog. No, I'm not looking for a new place for us to live (not yet, but we are living miracle to miracle paying bills around here). My grandmother is looking for an apartment. This means that I am doing the work to find something that fits her needs, and then going to get her to show her the place, then she says yes or no from there. So far I have only shown her one place that fit close to her criteria, and she turned that one down.

I really don't mind doing the looking, and I understand her desire for something just right. I hate moving, and I know it won't be fun for her either. Still, shopping for a senior apartment with the kids along has proved to be difficult. So many people don't like that I have two toddlers along and want to make sure that I understand that we are not welcome. This irritates me, since I am quite clear that my grandmother is the one needing the apartment, not me. So basically I try to do things over the phone or on the internet, but that doesn't always work to find out everything.

I don't think I want her to live somewhere that wants to make me and my kids feel unwelcome anyway. Part of the reason why I am doing the searching is because she wants to live out here by us so I can take her places and take care of her easier. If I am doing that, my kids will be around. I don't want to have problems with that later. I just think that if I am clear that it is for my grandmother, and she doesn't get around very well so she wants me to check things out before going to check the place out herself, I shouldn't get an attitude out of people.

The one place that I showed my grandma was a place that I visited with my mother. I guess she looks like she could be shopping for an apartment for her mother more than I look like I am shopping for my grandmother. I was there, and the twins, so either their attitude was just better than others, or they believed my mom more than the others believed me.

Hopefully I'll find somewhere soon. My grandma isn't in a rush, but she does want to move or at least know where and when she is moving soon. Personally, I don't like her neighborhood that she is in right now, so I am in a hurry. If you read my husband's blogs you know that there's some horrible things that go on around there. It wasn't too bad when she moved in, but over the past 17 years the place has gone downhill. It is difficult to find somewhere in her price range that fits her criteria, though. Of course, that is almost every apartment hunter's problem, right?

Organization Update

In my efforts to become more organized (well, at least where my children are concerned), I did what every other geek (a title that I now claim next to my husband with pride) does: Google search.

I searched for a chart for my kids to help me get ideas on how to put together one of my own, but then I ran across one that was adaptable and easy and basically perfect for my needs. It's called Handipoints. It's really simple. You just go on and create a list of chores or tasks for your kids to do. Those tasks, when completed, create points for your child (or take points away if your child is doing something bad). Those points can be saved up to be used on goals that you (or the child) creates.

It's really adaptable and easy to use, so we gave it a try. I started on Tuesday right after blogging about this last time and doing my googling. Well, I had to go to the store and get printer ink, too.

The verdict? I'm still undecided. It's working for Becca, though. Her whole attitude changed when I started to give her points for things. Now she wants to get her chores done so that she can earn her date out with her parents and no siblings(though she told me that she just wants her daddy to go and not me...still not a fun thing to hear). She gets got a demerit for a bad attitude just one time, and now she is working on that. I also don't have to fight her to get her hair done in the mornings because she wants points for brushing her hair. The total turn around in attitude is great for her, and I'm really excited to see how long this lasts.

Micah isn't totally up to it, though. I think his problem is that there isn't the instant gratification that he normally gets for doing things. I think I'll have to start marking the chart with stickers instead of checks, or letting him check things off on the computer. That might solve his problems.

Ali and Zoe just don't get it. They are only 2. I didn't really think that they would, but I didn't want to leave them out.

There's also a thing with Handipoints to create a character and get things for him to wear and stuff using another set of points, but that thing costs money, and I'm all about the free stuff. Still, it seems like fun stuff. I haven't really discovered all that the program does, I'm sure, but still, it's working just for the charts for now. I'll probably stay up late sometime and figure it all out.

My frustration was really regarding Becca anyway, so if this continues to work for her at least, I'll consider it worth it. It's nice to get away from the constant crying over having to do chores and homework. I really didn't like having to continually ground her for attitude issues. It's also nice for her to be reminding me that she has to do her homework or feed her dog.

Just a little Cuteness

This morning the twins and I went to the grocery store. Always a fun experience. On the way home I hear Ali in the back shout, "Mommy, I need to go potty!" At this time, we are about 2 minutes from home, and I am thinking that I will probably have a mess in her seat to clean up. I tell her to try to wait and use her big girl muscles. She flexes her arms and makes a funny face then suddenly crys out, "God help me, amen!"

We made it home with no mess.

She got on the toilet and went, and then she said, "God helped me, mommy!" To which I replied, "Yes He did."

God cares about the little and big stuff in our lives. In the process of potty training, I have cleaned up many messes. This one wouldn't have been a big deal for me, but apparently it made a difference to Ali. She called for help and God answered her, even though to others, it wasn't a big deal. Do you ever think that your problems aren't big enough to ask God about? Size doesn't matter to God. He's big enough for the big stuff and small enough for the small stuff at the same time. He's God, and He loves you.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

-Jesus Christ

John 10:7-10

Organizing kids

My beautiful little girl went to school this morning in her old shoes that I should have put in the trash. Why? She couldn't find her newer shoes because she didn't put them away, and Ali just loves to wear other people's shoes and pretend to be them.

We were late getting ready because Becca was still doing homework this morning. I've come up with a plan, though.

I am making a chart. It's a chore chart that all the kids can check off when they do things. When all their check marks are in place, they can play or watch tv or anything else that they want to do. We already have the do homework before watching tv rule, but since Becca's homework isn't really organized for each day, I'll have to check her stuff when she gets it and organize it so that she does a little each day. Micah is going to need it so that he remembers his chores. Becca usually remembers her chores, but puts off her homework. I figure I'll put the twins on there, but their only chore is to pick up their toys so far, and I'll have to come up with something to work for homework because I know that they are going to want to do that, too. They already asked for homework yesterday. I am debating putting Cassidy on there, too. She's only here in the morning, but if the twins start getting into it, Cassidy will probably need to have something to do, too. I may just give her homework or something. The girls like to color, we may just do some of that every day with an occasional craft project or something.

I haven't totally figured it out. I know that it will have to be big, or no one will remember it. I may have to make separate charts for each child just because their activites are so different. Hmm...I don't know. I do know that the 99 cent store has poster board real cheap, so I could try things out. Still, if it is going to be reusable, I'll probably have to laminate it or something.

Remember when I said I am a walking disaster? I meant it. I am no good at this organizational stuff. I can intelectually fathom the idea for organization, I just don't do it. Yeah, that's where my kids get it from. Micah actually is more organized than I am. He has his routine and will remind me of things if I forget. If I start this chart thing and do it with both kids together, my hope is that he will begin to remind Becca. It's pretty fair that he should help teach her organization since she teaches him all the time about interacting with people. They are therapy for each other.

Well, that's my plan. I should probably write down all the rules for them, too. I did stuff like this when I was teaching preschool, you would think that I could put it into place with no problem in my own home. It kinda sounds like a verse I read recently:

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15

That passage is about sin and the struggle with it. When I read it, I usually have to read it over and over a few times because it kinda gets confusing, but its really worth it. I recommend reading the whole chapter.

Kindergarten stuff

Well, tomorrow Becca goes back to school and has her first day of all day kindergarten. This means that today, we are doing her off-track homework. About 3/4 of it is being done today. The packet was about 40 pages of busy work that is just so simple that Becca has had a hard time doing it for very long. That means that I have spent my entire day telling her that she has to do 4 more pages and then she can have a break. Then I tell her to go back and re-do the ones that she just scribbled through so that it can be done. Yep, she's really lazy.

The one negative thing that Becca's teachers have to say about her is that she procrastinates and then rushes through her work at the last minute. Yep, that's exactly what she is doing here at home. They say that she'll probably do better once she has the harder work that is coming, but I'm thinking that there isn't much in Kindergarten curriculum that she doesn't already know.

She has been told almost every day of the break (except weekends, I just don't think kids should do schoolwork on weekends unless it's really necessary) that it is time to do some homework, and she will sit down and apparently look like she's doing something and then when I get distracted, she escapes. I know, it's probably all my fault.

So here I am. I'm now going to make her a schedule now. Every day she will have a more structured plan for her work. I hate schedules. I really don't want to do this. I get enough of that with Micah. Still, she has to learn organizational skills somewhere. Maybe a checklist. I'm thinking on it.

So, those of you who are moms (or happen to be organized, or just have a thought you'd like to share...I'm not picky), do you have any ideas? I'm not really organized myself, as I previously admitted, so whatever plan that I make would have to be simple and probably very visible so that I am reminded about it as well as she is.

Here's a fun proverb:

"All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23